Niche

[Darth Metus]

Planetary Defense.

Each and every government concerned itself with the maintaining of its borders. They amassed fleet after fleet in the hopes of pushing back enemies before they so much as reach the ground. Yet as recent history has shown, the various nations of the Galaxy have relied too much upon standard, naval combat. In the event that a battle goes to the ground, there is very little to deter the advancing force from eliminating their objective; save the warm bodies of their foes.

Something had to be done. This grievous hole...a niche...had to be filled. And Arakyd Industries would soon be the one to fill it.

To this end, a meeting was called. The Board of Directors was mustered so that the first step in taking advantage of this new market could be made. Called by their CEO, the Board was to be assembled on Vulpter: the corporate Headquarters. Some would arrive physically whilst others would attend via hologram. Regardless of how they came, all would not keep Dagora-Kel waiting.

 

[Malok]

Having recently been ascended to the mantle of Senator once more, Ned Rostu had quite a full plate. Surprisingly enough, that was exactly the way he liked things. At this age, most would want him to kick his feet up in some fancy retirement facility; or to live out his days pinching the posteriors of Zeltrons and Twi'leks. However, Ned liked to keep his hands busy with productive ventures; and treading the worlds of business and politics satisfied him completely.

As such, when the conference began, the Chief Financial Officer of Arakyd Industries arrived via hologram. Folding his hands neatly before him, he then awaited the arrival of the others who would make the meeting possible.

 

[Darth Metus]

Jedi Master Denko was busy.

Jedi Master Denko had responsibilities.

Ever since his return to the Republic, things had been going well; yet preparing for the impending Darkness was something that dominated most of his time. However, as a minority shareholder of Arakyd Industries, the Feeorin had an obligation to poke his head into the various meetings. As such, when the conference was called, the Jedi Master was one of those who arrived via hologram. His menacing, hulking figure was not one that evaded notice, but he did not intend on scaring anyone intentionally.

So he smiled. And that made it even worse.

 

[Darth Metus]

So the gang was all here. Good.

Dagora, ever the blunt individual, started the proceedings with a simple inquiry. From behind his helm, chocolate eyes gazed upon those gathered; and all received nods of acknowledgement before the words escaped his lips. However, when he spoke, it was clear that change was coming to the company: change that the CEO himself was confident in.

"How many of you have witnessed warfare firsthand?" he began, noting the hands that raised. "And whilst on the battlefield, did the tide of battle turn due to the government forces...or by the planet's native defenses?"

 

[Malok]

Curious.

Ned leaned forward in his seat as he listened to the CEO. It intrigued the Senator greatly just how quickly the man had ascended the ranks of the corporate ladder. One day he was the newly hired leader of a simple subsidiary, the next Ned was calling him "boss." The Senator did not exactly trust the man on a personal level, but so long as he ran the company correctly there wouldn't be any pronounced opposition coming from him.

Raising his hand briefly in response to the inquiry, Ned was the first to respond.

"During the fledgling days of the Republic, we relied more upon what might the natives and the army could collectively muster. But with time, we relied upon ourselves more."

 

[Darth Metus]

"Exactly." said Dagora.

"We have an opportunity ladies and gentlemen. An opportunity to see the potential in this reality. Nations rely so much upon their own strength that, when the collective Army or Navy fails, there is next to nothing they can do to halt an enemy advance. However, what if we were to step into a new realm? What if we were to create vessels that could achieve the task of last line of defense? Or general planetary defense?"

"Not only would this alleviate the gravity of a government's failure, but it would also give neutral worlds a fighting chance. No longer would innocent planets be steamrolled or aggressively pressed into the fold. We can enable them to defend themselves."

 

[Darth Metus]

The Jedi Master was wary of the CEO, and for good reason.

In an era long since past, dissatisfaction with the former stagnation of the Republic lead Denko to the Southern Systems. There he encountered a rather peculiar congregation of force wielders: an Order that attempted to balance light and darkness through mutual goals and cooperation. Twas there that Denko made contact with Dagora-Kel, and that contact would lead to the procurement of two percent of Arakyd Industries. That said, the Jedi recalled the vile crimes Dagora was accused of...and as such treaded very lightly.

Despite this, the man had some good ideas. This he had to admit.

"I'm assuming that you have something in mind already?"

 

[Darth Metus]

Leaning forward, the CEO addressed his console with a few keystrokes. This in turn produced a holographic image for all eyes to see. In addition, files were dispersed across the Board, affording each member details regarding the pending product. Once the transfers were complete, Dagora sat straight once more.

"Our lead engineers put their heads together and conceived this beauty. A submarine, built to the specifications of a modern capital ship. Completely sealed, adaptations made for aquatic and surface-to-air combat. Park one of these in a native ocean and invasionary forces will have all the more difficulty securing any semblance of victory."

 

[Malok]

Lofting a brow, the Senator took a gander at the projection and at the files that had been sent. This particular craft would be limited production, no doubt in response to gingerly stepping into the market. No "hangar" or comparable analog, as the corporation had yet to devise any aquatic vessels up until this point. For the most part it read like any other capital ship, save that it was coated in Nightshadow and lacked a Hyperdrive. Looking up, Ned gave a nod of approval.

This had potential. And, there were enough worlds scared chitless of the One Sith that such an innovation would definitely have buyers.

"I, for one, think this is an excellent step in a new direction. As far as finances are concerned, I approve of this project."

 

[Darth Metus]

The Jedi could not help but to concur.

Although he was skeptical about the CEO, the potential good in this vessel was impressive. With but one of these, any world with an ocean could defend a vital area. What's more, between the Nightshadow and the meterage of nine hundred, detection whilst submerged would not be much of an issue. There were capital ships of much larger sizes that could evade sensors, so why wouldn't this whilst several thousand leagues under the sea.

"Agreed. I like this concept quite a bit. It will benefit aquatic worlds the most, but I hope we have something in store for worlds that are characterized by other major biomes. Are the engineers already working on such?"

 

[Darth Metus]

Excellent.

Things were going exactly the way Dagora anticipated. Shortly after the Senator gave his approval, the remainder of the Board affirmed their support of this project. It was not going to be cheap, but one always has to spend money to make money. Hopefully there would be aquatic worlds interested in such a defense, such as Kamino or even Ando. Dagora added checking those avenues to his mental check list before addressing the Jedi Master.

"We are going to gauge the success of this project first before diving into other biomes. However, we have a rough draft of a potential skyfighter in progress. That will be discussed at our next meeting, but for now let us adjourn and get to work straightaway."