The Ships Have Come (Alicia)

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum waited patiently on the Fate. More precisely outside the Fate. He stood atop the small ship as he waited in space. He knew that the transport vessel he had purchased would be brought soon. He wanted to be able to see it without the distortions of the atmosphere. Thus, he stood magnetically on the external surface of the Fate as he waited. In the meantime he watched the planet Mustafar behind him and the stars that surrounded him.

It was a beautiful sight, one that he wished he could view far more often than he did. But then again he would have time aplenty in the future. He had a plan that would be of great magnificence if it ever came to pass. This was a part of that plan, not the most important part, but one that would play a role nonetheless. He had even turned off his comm connections, so that he would have no interruptions. Of course, all the droids attached to him could easily access him via the HoloNet, which they would do if a message was urgent enough.

[member="Alicia Drey"]

 

[Alicia Drey]

[member="Ultimatum"]

Mustafar was a world of interest for Alicia Drey. It's stockpiles of Mirkanite- powerful enough to power a superlaser- was a resource that had potential. Although mining on the world had suffered over the centuries, from the combined devastation that was the Four Hundred Year Darkness and the Netherworld Crisis, there was potential to be tapped into here.

When she was contacted by Ultimatum, on the basis that he wanted to procure an Acavus-class bulk cruiser, Alicia could not afford to refuse. The sale was of importance, generating so much needed revenue for Chandrila Group, following her recent investments. Ultimatum's buy was then welcomed.

But on the premise that he would be buying a ship off Alicia, entailed a meeting. Creating contacts was something of a commodity and she would get to know the man, by offering him a tour of his new cruiser before parting ways. LOOM looked like an exciting prospect as well and that would also be discussed, if the other wished it.

Sat in the Acavus' hangar bay was Alicia's own Initium, which she would use to transport herself and the skeleton crew that had accompanied her on the journey. It would be up to Ultimatum to procure his own crew for the cruiser. Alicia assumed said crew was ready to receive the new cruiser upon it's arrival in the Mustafar system.

"Dropping out of hyperspace in five... four... three... two... one."

Slipping out of hyperspace, the stars slowed as the Acavus arrived above Mustafar. Clasping her hands behind her back, Alicia said: "Broadcast to my client that we have arrived and are ready to receive him and his crew. I will meet with him in the cargo bay."

Leaving the bridge, Alicia headed to the cargo bay to meet with Ultimatum. She would surprised to discover that he wasn't a man, but a living machine. This would only serve to make her more interested in his operations.

 

[Ultimatum]

The ship's side door open, telling Ultimatum that it was time to move. Of course, he could have known that from the massive ship that had appeared in visual range. He walked slowly around the ship, enjoying the funny fact that he could walk all the way around the ship and be upright the entire time. It had no proper gravity field on the outside, so he could move about as he pleased, using his magnetic soles to hold him to the ship. Soon he was inside the Fate as it moved towards the much larger transport vessel.

He marveled once more at the difference in designs between the ancient concept that was shown in this repaired LAAT gunship. It was a ship of a different era and obviously shouldn't have been working on its own accord. He was glad that the repairs of the ship had gone to plan and this was his most commonly used ship for transport of people.

When he reached the ship, the doors on the Fate opened and he stepped aboard. He looked around, admiring the size of the bay. He noticed an organic nearby and turned his attention to her. He bowed at the waist saying, "Greetings. I am Ultimatum. I appreciate your willingness to bring this magnificent ship here. It will help considerably with my work and that of my company."

[member="Alicia Drey"]

 

[Alicia Drey]

[member="Ultimatum"]

Alicia regarded Ultimatum in shock. What was he? Her instant thought was a droid. Yet, he was not unlike any droid she had encountered. A cyborg then, maybe? If so, then the extent to which Ultimatum had gone too transform his body with cybernetic was the most extensive case she had ever laid eyes on. It was simply unheard of. That amount of cybernetics should make someone insane, as the person lost parts of themselves to the machine they had become.

If he was neither a droid or cyborg, then what was he? She tried to keep her surprise at a bare minimum. This was a business transaction, after all.

"Hello Ultimatum. I am Alicia Drey. Welcome to your new ship."

Joining his side, she said: "Codes to the bridge and it's essential systems will be transferred to you, once I have certified that credits have been exchanged. I will also slave the cruiser to a system of your choice. I assume you have your crew ready to board?"

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum thought for a moment, looking around as he did so. A whole new ship, larger than his planned base of operations, but definitely not quite as combat ready... Not that the Hammerhead cruiser being repaired at the shipyard was really ready for anything other than living aboard. This would serve well, he had many things in mind for the ship, most of which could be found in their initial description.

He responded after the question, "I have a crew ready to be brought aboard, they are waiting in transport from the planet. I was not certain where you would come in to the system. They will arrive shortly." He sent the order without so much as an outward movement. It was all done inside his head and sent through the HoloNet back to the planet where a similar program reinterpreted it and put it as an order to the hoard of droids that would become the pilots of this vessel.

He asked, "So, is the hangar bay?" He looked forward to a tour of the ship.

[member="Alicia Drey"]

 

[Alicia Drey]

[member="Ultimatum"]

"Yes. Please, send word to your people to make their way aboard. I'll do the same for my own, once control has been passed over to you."

Smiling, Alicia led Ultimatum to the platform that overlooked the cargo bay. Approaching the railings, she said: "As you can see, the cargo bay is quite spacious. I designed the Acavus to accommodate large quantities of goods. You happen to be the first to buy one, actually. Normally, the Acavus class are used to transport foodstuffs from Chandrila. Enough to feed a small city, if filled to full capacity."

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum sent the message quickly and silently as he followed [member="Alicia Drey"] through the ship. It was a marvel most definitely. He hoped to utilize this to the fullest capacity. He also would need to ask some questions.

"This is quite a magnificent feat of construction. I applaud the effort. Could this ship be made to carry livestock or other animals? Or do you have another ship for that?" He didn't mind either way. The ship was an investment, perhaps he could help he company some. They had what appeared to be delicious meats and wheat, unfortunately he could not partake in the flavours. That was one area that he was still working on, the ability to taste as an organic did. He had scent receptors and that was an important part to taste, but they were set in such a way as to simple report the different smells, not to decide if they were pleasant or not.

This would carry much food though and that was what was important. He would require such soon, hopefully.

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Ultimatum"] |

Nodding, Alicia said, "Thank you. I did try with this one."

"Chandrila Group, which created the Acavus class with Emeritus Industries, used this class of bulk cruiser to transport foodstuffs, including livestock. So yes, they are capable of carrying animals for transportation. Shall we move on?"

Gesturing, she moved on from the railing and into the adorning hangar bay. She explained, "The hangar bay is relatively small. Large enough to receive a few transports, but it definitely isn't meant to be used to carry, say, compliments of starfighters and so on. Presumably, if you were to spend the time, the Acavus' cargo bay could be modified to hold a compliment on board."

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum looked around the bay. As she said, not big enough for a large number of fighters or anything of that ilk, however it would handle transports, which was all he had intended on anyways. He looked forward to using this ship. Transporting animals and food was important, it would require a lot of work but it would suffice to know that this ship would be up to the task.

"Very good." He wondered what was next.

[member="Alicia Drey"]

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Ultimatum"] |

Leading the cyborg out of the hangar bay, they took a trip to the bridge. As they walked, Alicia explained the crew quarters, dining hall, engine room and several spaces that were used to hold supplies for the crew. All the things Ultimatum would need to know about the ship, from the necessary crew size to it's bare minimum, if his Acavus should ever find itself with a skeleton crew.

Entering the bridge, Alicia clasped her hands behind her back in the center, a few spaces off from where the captains chair was. She said, "I'm ready to transfer codes to you. If you could complete the transaction by sending the credits to my account, then we can finish this up." Producing a datapad, Alicia had already prepared her account to be ready for the transaction.

Transaction for the purchase of one Acavus-class bulk cruiser for Ultimatum. Credits transacted to Alicia Drey, for the sum total of 3,200,000 dactaries

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum followed, listening intently as the tour went on. He memorized everything he saw, knowing that in the future it may be most important. This was a well designed ship, that was for sure and he appreciated that this organic was willing to sell him one of them. He wondered for a moment if she knew he was a droid, or if she had a made the relatively common mistake of believing he was a cyborg of some sort.

When at last they reached the bridge, Ultimatum looked around, before turning his attention to the datapad that [member="Alicia Drey"] had procured. He smiled and filled out the information required to complete the transaction. He had created multiple banking accounts in different regions, for the obvious reason of avoiding having all his money in one place. He knew the dangers of keeping all of one's 'eggs' in one's basket. Most of these accounts had a few million credits in each, the ones he used for these transactions were from the more reputable and reliable banking systems. He was fortunate enough to have collected quite a plentiful amount of credits.

He finished with a stylized signature, very unique and protected by more than just his ability to alone remember it. He had something akin to a warning system that would alert him to the use of the signature on any device connected to the HoloNet. He could figure out what it was being used on and where, it would not often be difficult to figure out who was using it.

He handed the datapad back to Alicia saying, "There you go. Pleasure doing business with you."

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Ultimatum"] |

Alicia took the datapad back.

"Thank you."

For the next minute, she checked that the three million, two hundred thousand credits had been transferred to her account. When it checked out, she signed off her banking details on the HoloNET and folded her datapad closed, sliding it into her pocket.

"I shall transfer codes to you now. Again, thank you for your purchase."

Moving onto a nearby terminal, Alicia had all the codes transferred to Ultimatum. She even slaved them to the droid, who she thought to be a cyborg. Rising up after it was done, with the Acavus in Ultimatum's control, she turned to speak to him.

"I thought before I left that we could discuss your corporation. LOOM, I think the name was?"

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum allowed the codes to be slaved to him, normally security features within his system would have caused the slaving process to fail, this was in case someone attempted to slave a small droid or ship to follow him around and act as a beacon on his position. He was glad to have the ship slaved to him for now. It would allow him to familiarize himself with the ship's computer and begin communicating control.

He turned his attention to [member="Alicia Drey"] as she asked about his company. "LOOM, correct. What would you like to talk about within the company?"

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Ultimatum"] |

"I thought whilst I was here, I could get to know more about LOOM. What sector do you deal in? What do you sell? And so on. I'm well known for making investments in new companies, although I'll be the first to admit that I don't have much of a track record to speak of."

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum contemplated that. LOOM was expanding nicely, considering that he was keeping a somewhat low profile with the company, but to have someone other than that Sith as a business partner would be nice. It wasn't that the Sith had been unhelpful, in fact quite the opposite, the Sith had made certain that LOOM had a shipyard and a working full factory. It was the intention that made Ultimatum less trusting, the Sith was more than likely simply using LOOM as a stepping stone to greater power.

"LOOM is still small by most standards. We have however been able to construct a working shipyard and a factory. Up until very recently we have only worked on small tech like droids and personal armors. After we built the shipyard a few starships were produced, you saw one of the products when I arrived. Recently we finished a factory for lightly armored vehicles, though it hasn't been used yet. I would be most interested in joint productions as well as investment. I have not truly sold any products as of yet, dealing in a strictly build for other companies sort of area. In fact, you could as Spaarti about their droid caretakers, those were created on Mustafar."

He finished with a bit of pride, they were the most produced product simply for Spaarti and those droid's work was so important to the clone's life that Ultimatum always felt proud of them.

[member="Alicia Drey"]

 

[Alicia Drey]

[member="Ultimatum"]

"I am actually a shareholder in Emeritus Industries, but I am looking to move on. I don't get along with my business partner and I am finding it difficult to work alongside him. He puts his nose into business that doesn't concern him, if you catch my drift? I've designed several products for Emeritus over the years. I wouldn't mind working for LOOM and giving you some ideas, if you would be willing to work with me?"

"I have ideas to develop new cloaking technology, based on what I worked on in Emeritus at first. Mustafar is out of the way and it's secluded. It's a pretty good place to develop something without the wrong people finding out about it."

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum listened. He admitted that his company did need direction and while Mythos had given one direction, Ultimatum had not been the one to completely approve it. He had agreed because there was no need to disagree. However, he found the man's style dissimilar to his own. Whereas, [member="Alicia Drey"] here seemed to have a much more similar style, at leas based on this one technology that she was looking to make.

Ultimatum had always found stealth to be preferable to outright show of arms. He liked subtlety and was actually working on preparing the ship still in the shipyard for stealth operations. That damned vessel was so old that it had needed so many repairs as to have made it costly for any man to work. It was good he had a government and large quantities of money to keep these repairs going. The Hammerhead cruiser was obsolete, it had been so for millennia and here he was having it repaired and updated so as to be useful again in his ways.

"I think it would be good to work together. We could help produce products for your company as well, if needed."