Religious and the Tech Junkies

[Corey's OOC]

Back to Bastion.

Marek was starting to feel, Force forbid it, at home in the northern half of the galaxy. The majority of his alliances were on this side of the galaxy. Until the Ravens got their act together, he was working with people he knew for the Techno Union. Fringe Space, One Sith and the new players, well, relatively to how long the Techno Union had been going through name changes, the Primeval. He had recently attended the gala they offered, and while that was a blast, he found something a bit better to do during his time there and evening directly after.

So it was back out there, aboard his Santhe Challenger, one of the Techno Union’s companies. Followed by one of the new Hydra War Droids, more to show a Haor Chall product than anything else, this one loaded with Browncoat Arms former BlasTech weapons. Sure, maybe this paragraph was an advertisement for the Techno Union, but that was the whole purpose of him being here.

He had made his way to the meeting spot with one @Anja Aj’rou, and was awaiting his meeting time. He had his holodriver out, actually not anything fancy, but one of Saiba Group’s products. There was a lot to talk about. And hopefully soon he’d be out here to barter on Bright Star’s behalf, but now? Just the Union, getting Primeval’s support and proposing a deal or two.

Simple.

 

[HK-42]

HK 42 entered the establishment, hoping to get a lightsaber blade in his right arm, like a weird sword surgically attached in his arm.

He sees someone who might be able to help,[member="Marek Starchaser"] by name.

"Introduction: I am HK 42, [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]'s HK unit.
"Request:I am looking to see if I can get a lightsaber blade attached to the interior of my arm, to where the blade would come out when ever I want to."
"Question: Are you able to do this, or get me one?"

He'd be in front of Mr. Starchaser, awaiting his reply to the HK unit.

 

[Corey's OOC]

Marek had zero issues with droids. Hell, his nation’s army was built on them. His company, Bright Star, employed a lot to run the ships, but an engineer Marek was not. Looking to the droid, the Techno Union representative Foreman tipped his head to the side. Right, an HK unit. He’d come across exactly two, well, three now, of those. They had an interesting dialect, not much different than the Hydra War Droid. Marek looked over his shoulder and gave the HWD a look to stand down. Sentry mode.

“I mean… we could do it. Just wire it into your system, I’m sure. I’d need to get one of my engineers out here, or you to one of them. But I’d also want to check with your boss first, before I start upgrading her hardware. Just that I don’t want to be over stepping bounds, understand?” See? He spoke to droids like they were people, but Vong, and other Force-dead… plagues? Not so much.

“Speaking of, is Anja nearly ready for the meeting?”

HKs were not protocol droids, Marek knew this.

[member="HK-42"]

 

[HK-42]

"Insult: well Meatbag, I'm not a fucking Protocol droid, so how the hell would I know that, you spineless, gutless, Obsolete excuse of a meatbag."

"Statement: Just get me to an engineer, so then I can get the Lightsaber blade I requested."

HK 42 sits at a near by chair, waiting for an Engineer to show up to give him his arm lightsaber blade.

[member="Marek Starchaser"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

See? Droids like this, they were the ones that Marek enjoyed. It reminded him of Prime. Prime was one of those units that existed for combat, and was probbaly a few bits of binary line away from sentience, or decency. Getting Prime and [member="HK-42"] together in the same room? That would be fun. And to throw the Primeval's droid into battle alongside Techno Union machines? Perfection.

"As soon as I have permissions from the organics that you assist, I'll be more than happy to have you upgraded." He wasn't sure about droids making calls on anything, that was... Tricky. "Trust me, I respect what you're after."

 

[Boethiah]

Anja was not purposefully making him wait for her, nor did she plan for her droid to stumble upon the meeting room. Once the room where the Fel Emperors would coordinate with their admirals, it was now where Anja conducted diplomacy. She had forced one of the Crinan Princesses into exile here and conducted business with Titan Industries but now it would be the room where an alliance was built between two powers. The Primeval have for over half a decade been an ally of the One Sith who in turn have had warm relations with the Techno Union. Perhaps it is this mutual friend that have brought the two parties together or perhaps it was an interest beyond the current state of affairs.

Regardless of why he was here, Anja's purpose was certain... Neither of them were going to walk out of there until she was pleased and likely he had a similar mindset.

Entering the room, Anja caught [member="Marek Starchaser"] mid-sentence with her HK unit. "What is going on in here?" She asked curiously, but not of the guest; more so her droid. In most circumstances she would be unhappy about this interruption but luckily her droid would be granted certain impunity merely because of the amusement provided. If Marek didn't care about the droid's presence then she wouldn't either.

[member="HK-42"]

 

[HK-42]

"Introduction: Ah, hello Master, good to see you."

"Statement: I had asked for an upgrade, a lightsaber blade in my right arm, that way I am more useful in killing"

HK 42 watched both [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] and [member="Marek Starchaser"] carefully, so then he can listen to the full conversation between the two.

 

[Corey's OOC]

Marek had to admit, the droid had a certain bloodlust that he felt akin to. Maybe it was the whole construction of this galactic Team Dark Side he was working on? Marek had very few dealings until late with the Primeval. Working with the One Sith gave him enough time to understand how things in this side of the galaxy were going, and gaining the support of the One Sith’s partners was going to be an essential move. And of course, he didn’t come without gifts of his own, or the ability to bestow gifts.

The droid wasn’t bothering him, it was programming and violence. When Anja walked into the room, though, Marek’s demeanor changed, his back became more rigid and he could feel the Force change. He himself was a self-styled rogue with heavy Sith training, his Force presence wasn’t going to be the most dark, but definitely in the darker half of gray. He was the calculating type of Force user. And that was what brought him here, he knew who he could and should call upon for support.

“This droid is just displaying a wonderful bit of bloodlust. I’m only… not the person he is looking for. Greetings, Miss Aj’Rou, a pleasure to see you again.” Of course he was pleasant, she could kill him, and she was a potential ally. It was funny how both of those worked so closely.

@HK-42 @Anja Aj'Rou

 

[Boethiah]

Unlike the Sith, Anja's force signature did not radiate the same way. It lacked passion, rage, and the decisiveness of the Sith Lords but neither was it as tranquil and unbroken as the Jedi. If it could be described at all it might be said she was wild, untamed, and completely antagonistic to the living force. The Host Lord was never trained in the force, she no masters, and learned to control her innate gift through self-discovery rather than observation and routine. In some ways this meant she would be completely off guard in a fight against a true master but it would be a deadly mistake to underestimate her own--albeit unorthodox--mastery.

A funny thought was that she could hardly read ones signature in the force and was sometimes deemed 'force ignorant' but hat was beside the point.

Anja smiled lightly in a rare display on warm emotion, "I am glad you enjoy my droid." She glanced to the HK unit as she spoke.

"A pleasure to meet you as well," she continued, "I trust that you've found yourself comfortable on Bastion?"

[member="Marek Starchaser"] | [member="HK-42"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

It was a bit similar. Marek was a partially trained Master in the Force. He knew where he was going, and he knew a bit from lessons on how to get there. A lot of it, he made up as he went along, but he got to where he was going. The Force from him would be a bit wild, a bit dark, and a bit observant. The vibe the Host Lord was giving off… There was something about it that just grabbed Marek. Maybe it was the untamed feeling? Was one of those things that just felt so damned seductive. But it was Marek, he was a damned hedonist.

As for being Force ignorant, he knew how people manipulated the Force, not quite on the concept of a blue mage, but the Starchaser line was decent enough at that. But wasn’t one of the best string musicians self-taught and was considered one of the best.

“Yeah, I am. It feels like I hadn’t left. The Ball you threw was definitely a wonderful time. I’m sorry we didn’t get to speak during that, but you know how life works.” Running a galactic nation, sometimes you needed to put out fires before they burnt part of your neighborhood down. "I'm not one for always beating around the bush, but clearly we've got politics to discuss today." Maybe after that they could speak on a more personal level.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"] [member="HK-42"]

 

[HK-42]

"Statement: I understand the two of you are chatting it up.

"Question: but can we get this arm upgrade done and over with?"

"Statement: I'd like to get this upgrade done."

[member="Marek Starchaser"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

She wasn't used to these kinds of talks... In fact she wasn't used to talking at all, let alone being diplomatic. Yet at the same time she felt herself the most capable of getting anything worth having out of this discussion. Of course there were those under Anja whom had the authority to conduct diplomatic affairs but her trust in them was limited. A matter of importance such as this made her uncomfortable towards the thought of not leading it herself. Naturally then she had to act a bit differently than usual but only a bit.

"Your enjoyment is a positive note and you have no reason to apologize, I wished for the guests to enjoy themselves without interruption." She spoke softly yet there remained her commanding presence. It wasn't pride, really, it was more like an unyielding sense of responsibility; standing tall for her people.

Politics...

Of course that was the word used to describe the nature of this affair and she was ready to respond until her HK unit decided it was as best an opportunity as any to interrupt her. Impatience wasn't the right word... It was a droid, patience didn't exist because it was programmed to process as quickly as it needed to.

Normally she'd ignore such a slight but she didn't want to create unnecessary tension. "I will get to your needs later, forty-two." She didn't name him yet but as it was his designation it did fit, it rolled nicely off the tongue actually.

With that interruption--hopefully--dealt with she returned her attention swiftly to the man standing before her. He seemed young in appearance, perhaps younger than her but Anja didn't seem as old as she was herself. The thirty-six year old Umbaran did not fit the descriptions given off by those whom her people have slaughtered. They described a colossal, monstrous woman with a bad temper and insatiable bloodlust for the young and nations.

Raising her left hand to her right shoulder, she adjusted a strap along her ceremonial armour which tightened the fiber at her neck, keeping the armour in place.

"Politics?" Wondering caused her to pause before continuing, "I suppose you're right." Again there was another pause in her words, this one was much shorter. "Our alliance with the Sith has been beneficial... Enough to rouse my consideration that perhaps it was time we seek new allies. Although your people have been associated to us through mutuality I believe a more official agreement would suit both our interests." The amount of words that came from her lips was honestly remarkable in comparison to her 'everyday' conversations.

After she was done speaking her eyes which were drifting found their place back to him.

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

Marek knew a bit about business and a bit about business deals. That was what this was. A business deal, between the Primeval and the Techno Union. Sharing of resources, sharing of knowledge, and perhaps giving the Primeval some wonderful discounts on machines of war and machines of creation. And with the way he was invited to the ball, something about being galactic team Dark Side, that made this all the easier.

“I understand that was the reason, and the only apology I have is I wanted to discuss with you then, what I’m hoping to bring up now. But a social event is hardly the time or place.” Plus there was that hot little Sith number. “Though, it did give me a great view into your people out here.” Which was always a good thing.

“Your droid has a unique blood lust. We can help… temper it, if you’d like? Have a lot of droid engineers in the Techno Union. After all, it is our primary war force.” If she wanted to have [member="HK-42"] upgraded, or be able to use the droid for something other than war. Marek’s personal HWD was used as an escort droid, but unlike the unit known as Prime it didn’t have a crazy bloodlust and desire to wear the skins of its enemies.

Keeping an eye on Anja, but not the eye most people would suspect from Marek, after all, this was politics, not some dating line. The one thing Marek could do, despite his hedonist tendencies, was separate business from pleasure, most of the time. “Part of the reason why I was looking to speak to you the other day. With the One Sith as our allies, and from what I hear in the pipeline, the Fringe Federation may or may not be finding solace within your ranks, you’re already allies through association. But I’m here to provide you with a formal request for alliance, and an opportunity for some technology and research collaborations.”

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[HK-42]

"Threat: Try to 'Temper' me Meatbag, and I'll make sure you rot away, with a hole in your gut."

HK 42 was not a big fan of the suggestion of temper control of this droid. He wanted to kill and enjoy it, not kill and not know what he did. He enjoyed the blood lust, like all HKs do, and did not want the enjoyment to go away.

"Statement: Let's just get this upgrade going, so then I can be more efficient in my kills."

"Question: Master, may you permit the upgrading of my weapons systems, mainly by allowing them to give me a Lightsaber blade in my arm?"

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"] [member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Boethiah]

So it seemed their interests aligned. More closely than she had expected, it would strike some as odd that a businessman and a zealot would get along.

"An alliance between us would be beneficial..." She couldn't help but feel that this was different than when she first made their pact with the One Sith. Of course they weren't Sith but this was filled with more formality than her negotiations with Darth Vornskr who at the time was only known as the Voice of the Dark Lord to her.

The change in tempo was a welcomed pace that she could understand a bit more easily, "I have no interest in what this galaxy has to offer so we will share all that we can. As long as our goals align, I assure you there will be great benefit in an alliance." She continued.

Her droid's sudden interruption--again--was not unexpected. Anja turned her attention to the HK unit, "Your request is granted and such procedures will be dealt with afterwards." She couldn't blame the creation for desiring improved performance. She may not have understood droids very well but she knew their nature enough. With her thoughts back on track her eyes once again wandered back to Marek.

"I suspect that after this day the entire galaxy will be engulfed in war and Chaos. Even after losing trillions of souls, our enemies still choose to fight." It was a funny thing, really. To think that no matter what disasters, what great crisis emerges, that The Republic, Mandalorians, and allies would still have the energy and will to fight back. But with a Coalition between the One Sith, the Techno Union, and The Primeval the nature of galactic warfare may change yet again.

[member="Marek Starchaser"] | [member="HK-42"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

It was something else, wasn’t it? Being a businessman and working as a politician. And then he was dealing a member of the occult. He was not ignoring the droid, he did give the HK unit a nod and held up finger. Patience would do the unit well. He told it he needed to speak to its master. And the only reason Marek called it an it was because Prime identified as only ‘Prime’ and when questioned had no gender. It was programming. Lethal and beautiful programming.

Goals, that was the trick in the long run. Really, the Techno Union was content as anything to just build tech and expand their corporate horizons to the galaxy. “I’m sure it will be a beautiful partnership.” Marek grinned as he looked at the Host Lord and nodded.

“The battlefields of the galaxy are changing, for sure. We’re arming out borders and will be more than willing to assist you. The one request is that you understand, when we come to assist, we will be bringing not only our tech, but members of the Obsidian Order. A specialized branch of Force users who defend the Techno Union. They’ll respect your laws, so long as when you are assisting or visiting our space, the same is given.” He nodded to Anja.

That was about it, wasn’t it? “With the Sith, Primeval and Techno Union in balance, I have a feeling the galaxy will start to look a bit better.” Not brighter. Darker. Marek didn’t want to change the world, just leave it colder.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"] [member="HK-42"]

 

[Boethiah]

"Your laws will be respected, that is understood." It was a reasonable agreement between the two that those who traverse the boundaries of each other's realms would be subject to their laws and customs; to an extent. As long as they respected each other then there would be no issues. It wasn't unusual for many--allies or not--to be uncomfortable with The Primeval and their ways. For some they were barbaric but for others they were just too mysterious, too different to be trusted. The Techno Union was much easier to judge. They were businessmen first and nationalists second, their history with secession and a staunch attitude towards their economic freedoms were well known even out here.

In some ways The Primeval was similar. Businesses that were allowed to operate in the Host's territory were not expected to pay taxes, to follow regulations, or even report on their activities. So long as they did not interfere with The Primeval then The Primeval would not interfere with them. This was precisely the same attitude they would expect in an alliance. "The galaxy is a fickle thing, change cannot be controlled but... If you predict it." She paused and pondered on what other objectives the man before her might have... "--If you predict the changes, you can control their path."

[member="Marek Starchaser"] | [member="HK-42"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

That was what made the world go round. People respecting one another. As for the Obsidians stepping into Primeval space? Well, they’d behave, Marek would make sure the Archon of the Order has strict instructions to make sure that everyone stepping into the Primeval space, as well as One Sith space did so with the utmost respect to their Force counterparts. “When anyone from the Techno Union space shows up, we will hold ourselves to the standard of a welcome guest, do what we need to do and vacate your space in better shape, if so possible, than we left it.” Which meant helping eliminate threats, or dropping off new toys. Like Santa Clause. Techno Clause. And stepping in as a guest, which meant to not judge the Primeval based on how they work.

Freedom of business in an ally’s space. That would be something. Marek would have to set up a separate appointment to confirm with the Host Lord about luxury liners arriving and touring through the worlds. Marek looked at Anja and nodded. “And that may be why we’re here, together today. Working for the profit and glory of the living natural Force, and how it’s supposed to handle itself.” All things tended towards chaos, after all.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[HK-42]

"Statement: I understand you two are having a heart to heart conversation,But I am needing an upgrade."

"Annoyed Addition: And I have grown tired of waiting for this upgrade."

HK 42 had been listening in to the entire conversation, and quite frankly, had lost all known patience for this upgrade to be conducted. He just wanted the upgrade done and over with so then he could kill more meatbags like them.

[member="Marek Starchaser"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

Their arrangements were more pleasing than anyone could've guessed. No proof required and they both seemed confident that they'd each uphold their end of the deal. However; this was also a path to greater things. Sooner or later one of them was bound to utilize this relationship for bigger plans that went beyond the realm of alliances. For the Techno Union it would most likely be a more traditional business deal -- something to profit off of. For The Primeval that was a trickier subject, they didn't naturally want things but should the Techno Union have something in their grasp that the Host Lord desired she wouldn't hesitate to ask.

For now, though, as long as concerns were laid to rest that was all that mattered. The two would respect the boundaries of their respect territories and offer aid when needed.

"You all have your ideas on the force, let's just call it a day where fate itself was kinder than yesterday." She wasn't trying to argue against his idea of the living force, it was just a concept she didn't care too much for in general. She had the force; that was all that mattered.

As for her HK unit he was still being impatient, perhaps that was something that would be addressed later when he received his upgrades. She had no words but her eyes wandered towards forty-two before going back to Marek.

[member="Marek Starchaser"] | [member="HK-42"]