See The Future

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

Alric stood once more in the sanctuary halls of Bastion, its massive durasteel columns and its huge high ceilings seemed to be freeing, though constricting in a way that Alric couldn't quite explain. It was odd. He had been here several times, more than a dozen, yet none of his companies ever held a piece of this world, none of them had ever operated here.

It was a fortress world, a planet meant for war.

Perhaps that was why.

Building a factory here would mean it might be in danger one day, building shipyards might mean they get destroyed. Then again perhaps it was simply because there was nothing to build. His lips thinned for a moment, and his head shook as he dismissed the thought.

It didn't matter. The Primeval never doubted his loyalty, even if he had no holdings on their capitol. They trusted him, and he trusted them. The Dark-Net was coming along nicely, nearly completed, the seedships having sailed all over Primeval territory in order to do as their programming commanded. The network was now up and running, quickly taking over the Primevals secure communications, as had always been the plan.

Now it was time for the next step.

 

[Boethiah]

Anja was more than interested in continuing The Primeval's renewed relationship with [member="Alric Kuhn"]. There's no substitution for genius and people like him were leading the future and she of all people knew that progress was the only thing that'd keep The Primeval in that future. Regardless of what's known or unknown, the Dark-Net--a communications network solely for The Primeval--was beginning to show itself as a masterpiece.

Inside the Palace, in a familiar chamber, Anja awaited the arrival of Alric and as usual a servant was there to take any requests or to leave if none were to be made.

Familiarity was not a usual trait for these Wild Space zealots but Bastion was not your ordinary backwater world. To try and change Bastion would be to try and change how food tastes... Sure you can always add some spices or sauce but in the end the base ingredients were required for it to even exist. You couldn't remove the core traits of Bastion without sacrificing flavour.

Even though they were religious, they weren't blindly ignorant.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

There was no delay or wait this time, Alric made his way as fast as he possible could towards where the woman who stood at Host Lord would be.

Curiously there were no guards this time, only Alric himself. Perhaps it was a measure of the trust he had gained, perhaps it was what he had earned. The Dark-Net was valuable, and with his return to the galaxy it had shown the Primeval that once again he was not only here, but was reliable and willing to work with them.

Of course perhaps that meant less now that they had all the technology of the Fringe Confederation, but it still meant something.

The Doors to the oh so familiar chamber crept open, creaking slightly as they pulled to the side. Alric moved quickly, his shoes ringing within the empty halls until he found himself placed one more in front of the Host Lord. There was a smile on his face as he saw her, a smile of confidence and half amusement.

"Host Lord." It was a way of grabbing her attention, and greeting her.

 

[Boethiah]

Anja nodded to him, taking a seat on the cushion and unlike before she didn't gesture for him to sit as if he was more of an associate than an honoured guest. That level of mutuality and respect was a rare perspective to be taken by the Host Lord; even few of her greatest Warlords have been granted that level of recognition.

It wasn't that she was a cold person, but when you're a leader of anything like The Primeval having an open personality only got in the way of what mattered.

"Few familiar faces bring me relief such as yours, a pleasure as always." One of the few compliments she had ever bestowed on anyone... Only if someone kept track. It was true though; although she had many competent advisors and allies, there were few who were commendable enough to actually made her pleased to see to them. It was enough for her mind to wander away from the listless day-to-day exploits of governing.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

He smiled.

"I'm glad to hear it." Alric said with no small amount of humility within his tone. "But as always I'm afraid my presence here is not social."

The one time he had come to Bastion for a social occasion had been their gala. He remembered that well, Silara had been with him and the party had been an...interesting one. His face turned melancholy for a moment, a brief depression falling over him as nostalgia crept into his mind and took hold. A brief shake of his head dispelled the idea, instead turning towards the future, what he was doing now and why he was here.

"As you know, the Dark-Net is now operational. The Seedships have deployed seventy percent of the network and the rest will take only a few short weeks. Vanir Technologies has grown, but It's time for me to grow it even more." Again he was coming to the Primeval. Perhaps it was because he trusted Anja and her people more than any other government.

Funny, most people wouldn't think of the Primeval and connect the word trust. Yet Alric did.

 

[Boethiah]

She didn't expect him to come without his own interests in mind but she also didn't expect him to come without something in return, either.

"Understandable," she nodded, "I assume you have some sort of proposal or venture in mind?" She wasn't going to dance around the point any more than he would, pleasantries were owed to a few and he was one of them but in the end it was business that held priority above the rest. And he was the best at it.

Whatever deals Alric had in mind, Anja didn't doubt that she'd be more than happy to come to an agreement. He always brought something worthwhile for them, something to help them win wars or maintain their expansions. If she had something he required, she knew he wasn't going to ask without offering something of value in return.

She didn't forget the carriers he once developed for her back when Titan Industries was his primary asset.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

"I need resources." Alric stated plainly. "Ore's, droids, people, planets, everything."

Plain and simple. If he wanted Vanir to grow, he needed raw materials, the people to process them, and places to do as such. So far he had been able to do that on his own, Vanir had expanded on dozens of neutral worlds, but it wasn't enough. He needed rapid and more succinct growth, he could only do that with Primeval at his back. Slowly Alric pulled a holographic display device from his pocket, lifting it and showing it to Anja.

"Give them to me, and I will do for the Primeval what I once did for the One Sith. A fleet, armors, arms, unique technologies the galaxy has never before seen." They already had that of course, a Fleet and many warships, but what they didn't have was Alric. He had a unique gift for cultivating talent, and that talent brought advancement like nothing else.

Across the hologram a dozen blueprints began to show, weapons and showcases of the technologies that Alric was creating and had created so far.

 

[Boethiah]

It was more than what she usually heard from him.

Starships, weapons, and technology? Sure. But what he was offering to her was that on a much higher scale, a scale that required some dependencies and trust between the two.

"I believe we can work out an arrangement. If you'd like, we'd be willing to help you reacquire facilities that belonged to Titan; they've gone silent." It made the most sense to her. There was less development required and the resources already existed. Add that to the Beskar mines of Echoy'la, the Phrik of Wayland and Bastion, and the bountiful wealth of the Chiloon Rift; any company would do more than survive.

It was partially the reason why The Primeval did so well to begin with.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

Titan.

Did he want those facilities? He was familiar with them. He knew what was in them, what they were used for, what he could do with them. Yet there was something in the back of his mind that told him no. Something that poked and prodded at him, something that knew it would be a bad idea. His lips turned into a frown, his face sagging slightly as he tried to pin point that feeling, only to have it drift away at the last moment.

"No." He said finally. "Titan..."

For a moment he drifted off again, then refocused. "Titan is blighted, at least for me. I can make my own facilities. Plus that way their purpose will be more suited for what I plan."

He tapped his chin for a second, scratching his beard as a realization dawned on him. There was something, something that he would like from Titan. "Wait." Yes. "Citadel Station, Telos. The Shipyards there that I created for the Maladi's. Those, I think those would be most useful."

They contained more than the memory of slaughter that Tefraxis had brought.

 

[Boethiah]

Part of her was surprised that he refused the suggestion, then again another part of her knew that if he did want them he would've asked much sooner.

"Citadel Station would not be difficult. Our own facilities aboard the station would make an excellent staging ground... I assume there'd be static if not automated defenses, yes?" She didn't want to plan ahead too much but the discussion was a good one to have, the sooner they acted the better it would be. For a while her advisors have been requesting that she act and seize the facilities the moment Titan switched hands but something had her believe it was unwise and perhaps now this is the reason.

If she had seized Titan's old facilities, who knew what changes that would cause for her; perhaps circumstances would've been different in this meeting if that had been the case. She believed that no action was without consequence and that all choices made are done so for a reason; very religious of her.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

He nodded. Kiran would have a better list of defenses, in fact he imagined the man would already have a plan in mind for taking the whole station. His Zeltron friend had always been advantageous, and the seizing of Citadel Station would not be difficult for him, especially with some of the new equipment that Alric had been creating for Vanir Technologies.

"Kiran will handle it." He always did. "He'll have the original plans for Titan's defenses on the Citadel, and from there things will go rather simply. Once I have a portion of Citadel Station I can begin the production of warships, albeit slowly. So far Vanir Technologies has been seen by the galaxy as relatively peaceful. The transition will catch many by surprise."

It had been inevitable of course.

With the Primevals backing, however, the need for subtlety and neutrality slowly melted away. "I'm sure, Host Lord, you won't regret this."

 

[Boethiah]

She was aware of who Kiran was, he was without a doubt the most successful mercenary employed by The Primeval. She knew little of his associations outside of that, however, but as long as he did what he was paid to do she did not care in the slightest.

"I know I won't regret this," she spoke quite positively on the matter. "If you're looking for starship production facilities, one of our Warlords has established a rather lucrative location in the Chiloon Rift simply known as the Time Foundry. I'm sure such a facility would benefit your needs but of course you'd have to negotiate with him directly." Zambrano the Hutt was not considered to be sane and in actuality his territory was governed by the Directory, a small council of advisors who managed the day-to-day duties for the Warlord himself.

She was confident that Alric's words were true--she trusted him enough to know his judgment tended to be on point.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

"I'll look into it." Alric said with true curiosity in his voice.

Of course shipyards were in his plans, true shipyards. There were worlds that produced half a dozen vessels a year, there were shipyards that could make Star Destroyers and Frigates at a massive rate, and then there were Shipyards like Kuat and Fondor. Entire planets dedicated to the creation of starships. Their entire planet was devoted to the task and they created hundreds upon hundreds of vessels annually.

That was what Alric wanted.

It was something difficult, if not impossible, to recreate in this day and age. A shipyard so vast and massive that it could produce entire armadas on its own. That was what Alric wanted, and it was what he would have soon enough.

After this step.

"I'll inform you of everything going on." He believed their business was concluded for now. Alric would have to make arrangements now, ensure that everything went well with this new transition. He bowed his head. "Host Lord."

 

[Boethiah]

Anja nodded to Alric, "It's always a pleasure to conduct business with you." She spoke respectfully.

The Primeval were in need of greater technology. They were waging war against Jedi and Mandalorians, the two united would surely be a formidable foe and require much to subdue. If he could utilize their resources to construct fleets and armies, then the Primeval would have an advantage that other powers could only hope for. It used to be said that you either had quality or quantity, but this man was someone who was able to do both. He could make an advanced capital ship become manufactured at the rate of small frigates. Or put the power of a battleship into a small cruiser.

If he was bringing that same level of genius back to this galaxy, then whoever obtains it would have an invaluable advantage.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]