Re-firing the Old Foundry

[Taeli Raaf]

Saleucami, a world that had once been infamous as being a final holdout for the Confederacy in the Outer Rim sieges and for developing technology for the original CIS. Taeli and Krayt Industries had decided to adopt the planet as a new shipyard world and develop more of their weapon and droid division here. Yet another world in this sector that would be a focus for Krayt Industries in the coming times.

Taeli had already contacted the planetary authorities to inform them of the construction and they had been eager to agree as it meant their world wouldn't be an obscure speck anymore. The fires of industry would beat again on the world.

"All convoy ships have arrived, the local workers have all been hired and debriefed on the facilities that will be under construction here, Taeli," Jaxson said, looking over his datapad as several ships from the convoy diverted to the planet below to offload the materials needed to build the weapon and droid facilities.

"Third planet in this region," she chuckled. "We are rather busy, whatever will we do next."

"Expand further," Jaxson replied, dispatching the workers to begin assembling the shipyard modules. Two Type III shipyards would be constructed in orbit, or that was the plan anyways.

"Indeed indeed," Taeli said, nodding at her chief engineer.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

As the workers swarmed to the surface and in space, Taeli was keeping a close eye on the progress. There weren't very many workers they could hire here, Saleucami being a rather desolate world, but there was a sizable population of immigrants that could field some workers. Dispatching a few overseers to the communities, she hoped they could hire some of the people here just to increase the work force even more.

"Modules continue to be unloaded, with some being started already, my Lady," Jaxson said, looking up from his datapad. "The Type III's should be ready soon, Taeli, relatively speaking."

"Our workers have found a suitable spots for the droid and weapon facilities," she stated, smiling wider as a report flashed across her own screen that her people had negotiated an agreement with a local community to provide them with raw materials. Saleucami had many mineral deposits that would be useful for growing their foundries here.

On the surface itself, the workers were breaking ground on the first droid facility, pre-fabricated buildings marking off the work zone and housing the equipment for the production lines for now. The weapon facility was planned to be constructed in the mountains, to both isolate it from attack and keep any population center safe from any accidents that could occur.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

From the viewport of the ship, Taeli could see the first modules of the first Type III shipyard being assembled, plasma torches flashing within and workers darting around the massive station. The second and third Type III's were still being unloaded from the ships that had carried their modules to the system, but work on assembling them would begin rapidly as well. It would take awhile, but the world would be a rather large shipyard production planet.

"I must ask, Taeli, why are we really developing our holdings out here and not back in Sith space?" Jaxson asked, looking over the reports rolling in from the surface.

"Many reasons, my friend, many reasons," she stated plainly. On the surface, a report stated that the droid facility was going up as quickly as possible. Some workers and droids from the local population had shown up to help with the production, the droids especially useful because they were of the type that were used to build automated factories. Once they got ahold of the materials, they started building more of themselves, and in turn those would speed up the production of the droid factory. Maybe they would even hold to their programming and build an automated factory itself as well.

"That's a vague answer," Jaxson replied, looking up from his datapad.

"I don't want to reveal anything more right now," she said. "Needless to say . . . we're going to be forging a new direction for the company."

Jaxson was quiet for a moment as he considered her words, and nodded. He was smart enough and had known the Sith Lady long enough to know how to read between the lines of what she said. They would be expanding into new markets then, but not like he would care. He and the workers were loyal to the woman that ran the company after all.

The weapon facility had begun to be built in the mountains and another one established in the strange rock formations of the Saleucami landscape. Saleucami would be a major point for Krayt Industries, they both would see to that.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Work continued at a decent pace, maybe not as fast as at Jabiim, but then this world didn't have as many people living on it. Taeli really didn't mind though, the job was simply to get everything set up. The three Type III shipyards that were now being assembled just made her smile, mainly because those would probably be done first given they only needed assembled.

Down on the surface, makeshift pre-fabricated buildings had finally been up at the mountain weapon facility, while more permanent buildings were under construction at the droid facility. She suspected, judging by the reports they were getting, that the droid facility would be the first one to finish on the surface. The worker droids that the population had brought were already going to town, building more of themselves until they would hit critical mass and construct a factory that would be a second droid facility.

"Work is going smoothly," Jaxson said, looking up from the datapad he was on. "I estimate it might only take a few days for some of the facilities to be fully up and running, even while construction is ongoing."

"How long for the shipyards?' she asked, sitting down across from him.

"I have our most experienced assemblers working on those, plus drones," Jaxson chuckled. "I would imagine they will be ready for building ships within a fortnight. The weapon facility might take longer, since it is being built in the mountains. Takes some time to carve through hard rock like that."

"Indeed, indeed," she nodded.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

A few days later, the Type III shipyards were almost done, two of them completely assembled and currently going through system test, the third was still being assembled, but was in the final stages of such. Taeli had been quite pleased with the progress being seen here, especially as of right now, they would be able to produce a great many ships from here.

"Shipyard One is reporting all systems are green," Jaxson said with a grin. "Once the first shipments begin to come in, it will be ready for building."

"What about Shipyard Two?" she asked, looking up from the paperwork she was working on.

"Still running system checks," he replied. "They should be done within the hour. Shipyard Three is about two hours from being complete and then we will be running system checks on that one as well. Shouldn't be more than a day for that."

"Good, what about surface facilities?" she asked.

"The droid facility is coming along far faster than we anticipated," Jaxson reported. "Those worker droids really sped things up, they hit critical mass two days ago and built a new factory in record time. I've never seen anything like that, but that factory is churning out more worker droids. The full facility is still being worked on, but the assembly lines are ready to be installed within two of the buildings."

"Excellent, I had hoped those wouldn't take too long to install," she said, smiling to herself. "And the mountain facility?"

"Facing some complications, but we've come up with a better way to deal with the problems," Jaxson said, tapping his fingers on the desk.

"Problems?" was all she asked, an eyebrow quirked up. She hadn't been aware of anything that would really slow down their expansion there, beyond the rocky terrain.

"A small group of locals has been objecting to the construction, especially as we took the route of carving the facility into the the very rock," he explained. "Just protests outside the zone, but last night, some of our workers reported that two men sneaked onto the site and stole some power cells for the drilling machinery. We had extras but. . ."

"I'll go handle this myself," she said, getting up. "Keep me informed of the progress of everything."

"Yes, ma'am."

Heading for the hanger bay, she got onto her ship and took off to the mountain site. She was curious to hear about what these people were saying.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Landing near the mountain facility, Taeli headed over to where a sizable group of twenty people were picketing outside the construction zone, being led by a hulking brute of a Gotal. Seeing her approach, the protest moved to surround her.

"Are you the person in charge of this desecration?" the Gotal bellowed at her. "Are you responsible for this abomination of a base that has besmirched our sacred mountain?"

"I had no idea that this mountain held any historical or religious connotations," Taeli said, bowing deeply. "My deepest apologies, my research didn't turn anything up about a significant connection to this one."

"That is because it is only sacred to those of us who follow the ancient prophecies of the Seer," the Gotal replied, anger rising from him. The others weren't too far behind in their anger. "The Seer foresaw the darkness and pain that would grip the galaxy almost nine hundred years ago, she foresaw her own demise and left behind a sacred scroll of her predictions on the peak of this very mountain. We recovered it and have become her true disciples!"

The workers on the weapon facility had stopped working temporarily to see how Taeli would handle this. She was still considered a Sith Lady, even though she knew she no longer was one at heart. Everyone expected some sort of harsh treatment of those that were standing in her way.

"Again, my deepest apologies for this unfortunate incident, but I was under the assumption this Seer you spoke of, yes I know about her, was mainly based in the desert two hundred kilometers from here and had no connection at all to this mountain," she replied. "Nowhere did I find any tales about her being connected in any to this place, but perhaps my sources were incomplete. What can I do to placate this offense so my people can continue work?"

"I demand satisfaction by combat!" the Gotal challenged, drawing a virbosword that was easily a hand-span wide. "If I kill you, your people leave this system completely!"

"Fine, but if I defeat you, you and your people won't bother us again," she said, taking an offered vibrosword from one of the protesters.

All the while work continued elsewhere, the second shipyard now finishing system checks and the third having been completely assembled. System checks had begun for that one as well, and the droid facility continued to be brought up to at least some semblance of operational while building continued on the other buildings. The first assembly line was being installed now.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

With a bellow, the Gotal leader of the protest charged at her, and Taeli simply sidestepped him. Her strategy for this fight was to wear her opponent down, as per usual. She also wasn't going to use the Force against him, viewing that as unfair and would immediately disqualify herself if she attempted such tricks.

Her borrowed blade locked against his and she backed up in a circle, dodging another attack, deflecting another here. That was how it went for several minutes, she blocked, dodging or deflecting his attacks away all the while he became more and more frustrated and tired.

"Stand and fight, coward!" he bellowed, breathing heavily. It was clear to Taeli he just wasn't use to a protracted fight against someone.

"Why?" she asked, sidestepping a wild overhead strike of his blade and lightly tapping her blade against his shoulder. "You act like I should just accept defeat."

"It is inevitable!" he yelled, charging at her again. "The Seer foresaw a champion's victory to protect our sacred mountain!"

"Really?" she asked, dodging the charging Gotal and as he passed, she brought her hilt against his temple. The Gotal fell heavily to the dirt from the strike, but he wasn't completely unconscious. Staggering back up, she had to admire his zeal. It was stupid, yes, but she could respect it. "I think you might need to reevaluate what prophecy means. They can always be interpreted differently."

"No! The word she spoke of our fated to occur!" he roared, but his body wasn't responding well to his muscles' commands. She caught his blade one more time before she swiftly disarmed him and flicked the borrowed blade up to his throat.

"You lose I'm afraid," she said, a tinge of sadness and disappointment in her voice. "Foreman, continue work."

"Yes, ma'am," the foreman said, shooing his people back to building the weapon facility. The place was literally being carved into the mountain, using that as the actual structure, with the corridors and rooms being dug from the rock and plated with metal and wires. Labs were alrady having some equipment moved in as temporary generators were moved inside.

"What will we do now?" one of the protest members muttered as the Gotal glared with hate at her.

"I would recommend a pilgrimage to the Seer's original place," Taeli said. "If I remember correctly, she had step up her camp in the shadow of one of the natural rock formations in that desert. Nothing about this mountain was connected to her. Might I ask when that scroll was discovered?"

"Two hundred years ago," another member stated. "Can't remember where exactly though."

"I see," she said, handing the blade back to a protest member. Turning her back on the Gotal, she pulled up her datapad to see a report that the first assembly line for the droid facility was done being installed and the shipyards were in the final system checks now. "So, I again would recommend going to that site to become closer to your ancient prophet."

The protesters started to move away, taking her advice, two of the men grabbing the Gotal and pulling him along. Religious cultists, how they could be so . . . silly.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Three days after that incident, Taeli was looking at the complete droid facility, workers moving in and out as they offloaded the first mineral shipments from Jabiim. The weapon facility in the mountains would also be receiving their first shipments, but they had just finished the place and labs just yesterday. Taeli had plans to keep expanding here, but looking up she could see the orbiting shipyards were now working on the first of the new prototype ships she had commissioned as part of their next phase.

"Project Radiant," she said, with a smile. "The first in our next line of ships."

"It will be impressive once we finish it," Jaxson said from beside her. "Where to next?"

"Head to Erilnar for now, start setting up the deal for us to open the new headquarters there," she said, a smile on her face as she looked at the man that had been with her ever since they first started work on the Wrath-class starfighter. "I'm going to stay here for a few days, enjoy the quiet for a bit."

"Fair enough, ma'am," he chuckled. "Don't work too hard now."

"I doubt I'll be working, I've got some new books to read," she said. Saleucami was now the cornerstone of their operations in this region, even if she had plans to expand elsewhere. The Centrality region was ripe for such expansion, especially Erilnar and Scillal.