Project Praesidium

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="Alicia Drey"]

Somehow Camellia found that more terrifying than having gone through the wrong channels. That sounded immensely difficult to navigate through and understand, let alone manage to get through quickly and efficiently. Now of course she supposed when it came to the tibanna gas on her homeworld they were just stingy and difficult to work with in order to acquire a purchase of it, but then when their supply was smaller than Bespin's and replenished itself at a slower rate they couldn't help it and the Rendili woman supposed the same went for Naboo in this case with their plasma resource. Although all the same Camellia still thought the bureaucracy on Naboo was especially more tedious than compared to a world basically based around economic power sustaining government action like her own.

All the same, she stood when Alicia did and moved to follow Ajira as the Naboo woman began to lead them out and explained where they would stay and the option of visiting about Theed. "Mmmm, I stand corrected in what I said so I thank you even more for the effort you've put in for us Lady Cardei. As for your suggestions I think I might just rest at your estate unless we go for a group opportunity together. I might use the chance to prepare the documentation for you and have it ready by tomorrow."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Camellia Swift"] [member="Alicia Drey"]

Ajira nodded graciously. "Of course. Lady Shambleau? Will you do the honours?"

Shambleau took half a step forward. "Miss Swift, Miss Drey, I have a hovercar waiting to take you to Lady Cardei's town estate."

***​

The hovercar was another of the limousine models, all mirror polish and art deco sensibilities, about as solid Theed as you could get. Shambleau didn't herself drive, but took the front seat opposite the Twi'lek driver. The Twi'lek took the scenic route, across three waterfalls and down the grand promenade. A festival was in progress, lighting the evening night with candles and paper lanterns in the shape of waterlilies. Festivalgoers packed the streets, even in early night. Despite the route, the limousine soared high and reached Ajira's home in short order. Her staff provided the guests with fully furnished, impeccable and well-appointed guest suites that shared a balcony and overlooked the river.

Meanwhile, of course, Shambleau knew that Lady Cardei would be burning the midnight oil on this. Shambleau made herself available to the visitors in case they needed any special resources or information overnight. She was also in charge of making sure the Force dispersers were well-tuned; certain aspects of the house needed to be kept away from Force senses.

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Lady Shambleau"]

Camellia found the trip relaxing, although she actually felt a tad uncomfortable getting stuck inside a vehicle so soon with so little time spent in the meeting. Nonetheless she enjoyed the views along the way, Naboo scenery truly deserving of the many tourists it drew in. Mostly attributable to the planet's lush landscapes of beautiful lush plains and gorgeous waterfalls. Theed architecture itself didn't hurt either with naturally vibrant colors and artistic designs that made everything feel like it was set in a fairytale almost. Its beauty likely was on par with the jade citadel or the old alderaanian capital. The Rendili woman didn't let it pass her notice that Lady Cardei's aide specifically had them get a great look at an ongoing festival to add to the awe of their little ride. Not that she was complaining as she smiled at the sights and accepted how pleasant everything was. Especially when she got to see the room they were letting her stay in when they arrived at the estate. Complete with a balcony in the fresh night air she was quick to take advantage of as she sat down on it with her datapad ready to get everything in order for the next day.

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Camellia Swift"] | [member="Ajira Cardei"] | [member="Lady Shambleau"] |

Alicia paid no attention to the festivities or the beauty of Naboo. She had enough of that during her short meeting with Ajira, having spent the majority of it watching the sun. The pang of annoyance that she didn't get what she wanted from the gecko was still with her. But she was adaptable. I'll just need to construct the prototype, then I'll get the power source for it, she thought to herself as the limousine glided over Theed.

Taking out her Lenoi II datapad, Alicia brought up the records she had recovered. The base that she had discovered on Duro had held several secret treasures. First, there was the remnant of the JN Program in the form of a living clone, that she had brought back with her to Sojourn and whom she knew to be currently staying within the confines of her secret Skyhook near Bimmel and Lorrd.

Then there was the research and development of the JN Program itself, which Alicia had downloaded before the facility had been destroyed by it's flood protocols. In an effort to revive the program at a later date, she had spent a significant amount of money on procuring cloning technology, which she had achieved during Patricia Susan Garter's last days as owner of Spaarti Creations. Whilst she was on Naboo, Jeron Verity was in the process of setting up a subsidiary to GOMM Industrial, a research and development section of the company that Alicia would be in charge of, whose primary goal was to provide cloned soldiers for GOMM to use in it's policing efforts on the Outer Rim Territories. Alicia endeavored to also revive the JN Program, without Jeron or GOMM becoming aware of it's existence, through the use of subsidiary. Having her own personal army of Force-sensitive soldiers would be useful as her work progressed.

But among the recovered files that Alicia had taken, she had procured another experiment that the Imperial Remnant had conducted centuries ago. From the notes made by the chief operating officer, he noted that they had considered recreating their own Shield X prototype, so that in the event of an attack, they could protect the facility with an impervious shield. But they had thought better of the construction, deciding that the secrecy of the facility- combined with budget restraints- was enough to protect them. How wrong they had been, Alicia thought to herself as the limousine delivered her and Camellia to Ajira's home.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

As [member="Alicia Drey"] and [member="Camellia Swift"] settled in for their evening's work, Shambleau retreated to the comm centre. Lady Cardei was working late at the office, and normally Shambleau would work alongside her, but tonight Lady Cardei had tasked her with seeing to the guests' needs.

"You rang, milady?" she said, shutting the door behind her as Cardei's holographic visage flared to life.

"I've just spoken with Kolus Barth," Cardei said. A minister in Her Majesty's Office, responsible for foreign affairs, Barth was one of the senior lords who would need to sign off on the deal, presuming it got past the plasma regulators.

"This early?"

"I spoke to Adegar and Quenth, and they saw fit to read him in. And he took it to the Queen."

Shambleau blinked, and blinked again. Humanoids. "That's...unusual, milady."

"I agree, and he didn't give a reason. But pending our recommendation, Shambleau, our guests have preliminary approval. Someone in Her Majesty's Office seems to have taken a personal interest in the concept. I've spent the last quarter hour going back and forth with Kolus Barth on the technical side of things. Once our guests send me their presentation material tomorrow, I'll pass it along, and I'm told we'll have final approval before the end of the day. I'm literally sitting here writing a priority note for decision."

"Stang. Milady."

"Took the words out of my mouth. Something has HMO busy, and not in a good way. I'm not sure I like the way the wind's blowing. You remember what I told you about Miss Drey after you got back from meeting the Muun on Chandrila?"

The Mikan shivered gently. "Indeed. You think...influence may have been brought to bear?"

"The estate has life-sign sensors. Do make sure the count doesn't change overnight without your awareness, will you?"

"Aren't you coming in tonight, milady?"

"I'll be writing all night. It should go without saying, but don't tell our guests the timetable has moved up; explaining the context might confuse things. They'll be sending in the materials tomorrow morning anyway. That's soon enough for our purposes. Mind the dispersers don't get misaligned."

"Of course."

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Alicia Drey"] [member="Lady Shambleau"]

Tapping away at her datapad, Camellia only had the moment on her mind as she worked furiously to finish her side of the project presentation. Making every mention she could to her company's product quality especially in regards to reactor designs which was their primary role in bringing the shield generator miss Alicia had in mind. With its own built in reactor it could be powerful without having to tax the power plant of whatever ship the shield was attached to too heavily.

Still, the Rendili woman sighed as she rested her head on her hand and looked over what she had put together as she checked herself for any errors or just unnecessary flow. More of the information would come from Chandrila's end since the actual system construction and schematic details were from Alicia's and her techs. Well, her part was ready for the presentation so as she stretched Camellia pulled herself out of the chair and moved to the other side of their connected balcony to rap her knuckles lightly against her associate's door. She would hand over her side of the work they had to give to Lady Cardei so it could be added to Alicia's.

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Camellia Swift"] | [member="Lady Shambleau"] |

Alicia had made three requests from Shambleau, when they arrived at Ajira's estate. She had requested a meal and a drink, of which she left up to the cook, expecting the best of Naboo's cosine to be on her plate. The second had been solitude. She didn't want to be disturbed for the rest of the evening. Other than an emergency situation, such as a fire or if Ajira and Camellia required for her something, such as further discussions over the plasma or about the project, Alicia was to be left alone for the rest of that evening.

But the third had been peculiar. Alicia had requested a holographic projector be brought to her quarters. When Shambleau had the device brought to her quarters, Alicia politely thanked Ajira's aide for her assistance and shut the door. For the rest of that evening, Alicia prepared a projection of the Praesidium generator, detailing how the plasma would be utilized to power the device; it's size, width and height; how much it would weigh; and the power demands that device would need to hold up it's impervious shield.

Suffice to say, the power demands were significant. In the moment of activation, it would demand the ship in question to distribute all power to the Praesidium, except for systems such as life support. This was the main flaw in the concept. The ship couldn't fire back. It wouldn't be able to move or slip into hyperspace. Effectively, the ship would become a stand still target for other ships to fire upon. The shield was designed to be the last option.

To empathize that the shield couldn't be penetrated, Alicia came up with a scenario displayed on the holographic projector. She used the Indispensable-class as the ship that was being targeted. The scenario would display a situation in which the Indispensable was surrounded by several hostile ships, who were firing upon it. In normal situations, such as this, the ship was surely doomed. Before destruction followed, a bubble appeared around the Indispensable. Whereas projectiles, fired by the hostile ships, had been making contact on the ships hull, they were now making no contact with their target.

To showcase other advantages, for she summarized that they would understand the main one, Alicia ended the scenario were several reinforcing ships arriving to drive away the hostiles. The Indispensable powered down it's Praesidium shield, still standing and safe. The presentation took Alicia several hours to finish, and by the time she had, she realized that she hadn't even touched the meal that had been delivered to her room. Too tired to eat, she instead drained the glass of iced water that had been brought alongside her untouched meal, then climbed into bed to sleep.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Camellia Swift"] [member="Alicia Drey"]

Theed at dawn had a hazy unreality, as if you were seeing everything through mist. Ajira's office faced the sunset, not the sunrise, so she took her tea on a balcony of the plasma facility adjoining the hangar. She'd worked until quite late on her recommendation note, and certain inquiries. When the data arrived from Swift and Drey via Shambleau, Ajira went to work once again.

By late morning, she'd finished the note for decision, sent it in, and received an expedited reply. Disturbingly expedited, even. Shortly thereafter, she returned to her own house to meet with her guests in the solarium.

"Miss Swift, Miss Drey," she said, settling into a chrome-and-wicker chair. "Someone on high has taken a significant interest in your project. Thank you for the material you've provided. I'm pleased to say that, despite all expectations and ahead of every possible schedule, Her Majesty's Office has signed off on the plasma deal. Specifically, they'll provide enough for prototyping, then a larger quantity for the finished product." Her own suspicions would remain private for now.

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Camellia Swift"] | [member="Ajira Cardei"] |

Alicia turned to Ajira. She noted that the eyes of her guest seemed as heavy as hers felt. It seemed that she too had been up all night, working on the proposal that Alicia had presented the day previously. Rubbing beneath her eyes with her right fist, she held a cup of coffee in the other. Taking another gulp, so as to help stimulate herself with it's caffine, Alicia replied: "That is good news."

It was to be expected, but Alicia decided to keep that to herself. She didn't from to gain any suspicion from Ajira nor her partner to surround the project and the expedited circumstances surrounding the grant that Alicia had gained for the plasma. Returning to her drink, Alicia remained stoic but silent. There was still much work to be done.

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Alicia Drey"] [member="Ajira Cardei"]

To be quite honest, after turning over her share of the work Camellia had slept like a rock. She had become far too exhausted and not even realized the splitting headache she had acquired until she lay down and once she had she never wanted to get out of the comfortable sheets ever again. So when she was awoken by a heads up alert on her comlink that their host had a get together planned. As if it weren't enough that she was hardly a morning person, the headache made things doubly worse as she got herself dressed and slid out of her room to roam and search for the right hallway to lead her to the solarium.

Yet when she did settle into the location for their morning meet, Camellia didn't find her headache going away as Ajira informed them that their presentation was already received and greenlit for the prototype stage. "Good news and strange news and strange can make good turn bad." Not about to feign knowing what was going on, the Rendili woman sipped the tea that was present as she wondered what was actually happening. If there was a tedious process behind everything then it was definitely weird to get past the bureaucracy so fast. If Lady Cardei had been the only one they needed to go through the speed would have made sense. . . but for the committees to make a decision in one night. . . .I would have bet a week at the fastest.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Alicia Drey"] [member="Camellia Swift"]

Ajira nodded, a pro forma response to their pro forma responses. "It's excellent news," she said, "for all of us. Now that Her Majesty's Office has signed off on the project, of course, I'm sure you'll be wanting to set up research sites on Naboo. Assuming you haven't already secured those locations, of course, though I'd imagine you've waited for the plasma deal in order to commit. I can connect you both with my real estate facilitator, unless you already have facilities in mind. And of course, you're both welcome to stay here while you set up, though I understand if offworld business calls you away. I'm fortunate that Theed Hangar is so focused in the Naboo system; I don't have to be here or there constantly, or spend my life on a HoloNet call.

"I do, however, have some business to conduct at my estate in the lake country this weekend, and I could use a little rest after the week I've had. If neither of you have plans, and if you're still in the system by then, I'd love to have you for dinner. There's nothing quite like Naboo's lake country."

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Ajira Cardei"] | [member="Camellia Swift"] |

Alicia didn't feel it necessary for her to entertain their host no longer. She had the plasma that she required for the prototype. She was also content with the knowledge that when the Naboo laid their eyes upon the Praesidium shield- a name that she had come up with last night, which translated from the ancient dialect it came from as 'Protect'- would throw their precious resource at her to build more shields for them. But she did want to. She didn't need to do all the work. The easy part had been done and now it was time for the prototype to be built. But did it necessarily have to be her to do it? What was the point of having Chandrila DataTech, if they couldn't do the work for her?

"I will have my people on Chandrila begin development of the prototype," Alicia explained. "I will pass on the designs that I have come up with and leave it to them to figure it all out. I've done the difficult parts of the work, all they need to do now is build the damn thing. With thanks to Camellia and her assistance in the power distribution of the shield, I think we'll have our prototype within the next six months. But that's just an estimate."

"Before we part ways then, I'd love to have dinner with you, Ajira. It wouldn't hurt to get to know each other." Turning to Camellia, Alicia asked: "Will you be joining us?"

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="Alicia Drey"]

Seeing how enthusiastic the other two women were, Camellia did her best not to let the morning drowsiness weigh her down as she had to agree at face worth the news of having access to the plasma they needed to start the project was indeed excellent. THey could begin on the actual project and get things underway, all of which was exciting to hear. It was so weird still that kept the Rendili woman from just giving in completely to the good word. However, none of that had any merit on whether or not she should accept or decline the dinner invitation she was being offered. Since she had expected them to be stuck working on approval and collection much longer than this there was some time to spare on Naboo a bit longer.

So with a nod to her associates, the Rendili woman smiled and sat back comfortably in the chair. "Certainly, I don't see a rush for anything and it's always nice to sample Naboo cuisine. I'd be happy to have dinner with you both."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Alicia Drey"] [member="Camellia Swift"]

Regulatory affairs continued apace over the next day. By elite speeder and then by boat, Ajira brought her aides and guests into the lake country. House Cardei owned various estates; Ajira, though styled Lady Cardei, only owned the one, with the rest devolving to cousins. But this one estate, though not the largest or the most ornate, was still downright palatial to Shambleau's sensibilities.

Then again, she'd grown up on a beach and trained in a planet-sized refugee camp. Sometimes indoor plumbing still made her long for the sea.

The guests had the run of the estate -- the house, waterfront, fields and hills -- at their discretion. From meeting their needs in town, Shmableau knew they were the kind of people who focused on their work almost exclusively.

In due course, Lady Cardei's chef Styne offered a minimalist, high-quality dinner at the house's banquet hall. The only people present were Ajira and her two guests.

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Lady Shambleau"] | [member="Camellia Swift"] | [member="Ajira Cardei"] |

Alicia ate her meal, knife and fork held in either hand. She lifted her gaze to Ajira, so as to spark up conversation: "I was surprised by the speed of the process. I think I speak for myself and my partner when I say we were expecting weeks, perhaps months, until our proposal was accepted. I have heard that the Naboo bureaucracy can be difficult to navigate, particularly when outsiders are involved in the process."

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Lady Shambleau"] [member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="Alicia Drey"]

Camellia rather enjoyed her stay on Naboo at the estate even though she spent much of it working. After all she had upcoming auctions and meetings with committees on the up and up to sell new warships for the various galactic powers. Still, Naboo's landscapes and scenery were so serene, and it wasn't like Rendili lacked scenic nature locales either, but even the Valleys and Mountains of her homeworld didn't quite have the fantasy picturesque feel that Naboo had. Nonetheless she couldn't enjoy it quite as much as she had on actual vacation trips. Although their work was almost finished it felt like.

When Alicia had her say though the Rendili woman nearly snickered. All bureaucracies were hard to navigate, and all because of their distaste for outside influences. If not that then they were caught up in their own self importance they failed to do their jobs in a timely manner and set back everything else as a result. "I wouldn't have thought months, but I agree it was a pleasant surprise everything went swifter than expected. At least as compared to our original assumption of just making contact with Theed Hangar. We do appreciate your help and there is no doubt if you need a connection in the future we can aid you with we'd be more than happy to oblige."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Alicia Drey"] [member="Camellia Swift"]

Ajira raised her glass, half a toast, half just an acknowledgement. "I was surprised as well. I think I can trust both of you to be circumspect when I tell you that I believe some other factor is influencing decision-making at the highest levels. My current thought is that the Techno Union's weakness may be turning Her Majesty's attention outward -- a focus on system security. Good business for those in the security industry, but it does make one worry about the system's prospects. The Galactic Alliance, for one, could be a worry."

She shrugged and leaned back, sipping her wine. "Then again, it's possible that I'm reading far too much into this event. It may be that someone in Her Majesty's Office took a personal interest in your project. It may be that our names carry more weight in certain circles than I'd thought." She chuckled. "It may even be that some Sith Lord is playing games with some staffer's or minister's mind. Force knows there are enough of them around. Sith Lords," she added pensively, "not minds."

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Ajira Cardei"] | [member="Camellia Swift"] |

Returning to her meal, Alicia slowly and carefully carved away her food with her utensils, allowing time for either the line of conversation to change or for Camellia to continue it. She silently had no intentions of continuing speaking about Sith Lords and the implications that came with them. She wondered whether or not Ajira was testing the waters, but thought better of it. After all, there was nothing to suggest that the Sith had anything to do with Project Praesidium and the shield technology that was currently in development. Or was there?

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="Alicia Drey"]

Camellia herself was a toss up on Sith Lords. On one level she had nothing bad to say about them, but on another they had conquered her homeworld, cut off her connection to prior business associates in the Southern Galaxy who longer wanted to work with the shipwright since they were under an assumption the Sith controlled every facet of its work idiotically, and they were generally forceful and jerks about business themselves when they came to her. Granted they had let her essentially govern her homeworld herself after the surrender back when the Republic had pulled out from the Inner Rim, and the Rendili woman couldn't say they were harming anyone either. . . .but they were terrible for business. All their vong craft and weapons meant the shipyards weren't making money filling Sith warship orders or repairing damaged ships. Although there were fewer Vong presences than before.

Tapping her finger in though though, Camellia actually grinned enjoying the talk of politics. Originally she had assumed Naboo might be favorable to the Galactic Alliance, but then they had been a large part of the Omega Protectorate's operations back in the day. "The fall of the Techno Union's might certainly will change people's perception around the galaxy. Even with my homeworld being in Sith territory I can't actually say if any of them have made any moves, I've stayed out of major powers politics and military functions since their conquest. . . .which is an experience that warrants advice. You should warn the Queen to make solid allies and form a strong security force. You'll want plenty of members in it, a world, no matter how prosperous or well advanced, can fall when a major power rolls in if they don't have enough people to resist. Not that I have much to complain about, in the end my world has been left in relative peace after all was said and done."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

As [member="Alicia Drey"] retired for the night, Ajira found herself interested in what [member="Camellia Swift"] had to say. Her spirit, of course, was that of Ashin Varanin, who had any number of reasons to hate the One Sith with a bloody passion. Ajira Cardei, the cousin whose body and life she'd stolen, had few personal reasons for hatred of that magnitude, even if she'd served in the Omega Defense Force.

"Your world was lucky," Ajira said softly, examining a chunk of pear on her fork. "I've been to Togoria."

She trusted in her qey'tek meditation and Force dispersers to strip the Force implications from her anger.

"As for security, though, I agree with you. I believe others do as well. Similar considerations may have influenced the project's approval process. And then there's House Rade in the mountains south of Theed - the grapevine says they're pushing for independence and security self-sufficiency."