The Technology of Peace (Maelion)

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Maelion Liates"]

The Age of Steel was coming!

Well, not yet actually, though our two lovely murderous HRDs would like it so. There was still a long way to go, but from its humble beginnings as one factory gained through trickery and violence Archangel was making great strides. Relentless, implacable machine determination and the skilled use of several organic allies had brought them here, making deals with captains of industry, renown Sith alchemists, and an enterprising Sith Lady whose dedication to the Sith Code was such she would engrave it into the mind of an apprentice!

The Galaxy had changed with them as well. The Sith Empire had collapsed like a house of cards as they began their rise. Sith splinter groups were shooting out of the ground like mushrooms, fractious and disunited. If Moira were inclined to credit Republic Intelligence with, well, intelligence, she would theorise that they were a false flag operation designed to provide a justification for the Crusade to continue. However, it seemed the war machine had grind to a halt.

For now at least an uneasy peace reigned in the Galaxy ever since the Republic had been repulsed by Fringe at O'reen. This was a most unnatural state that required correction. It was essential to decimate the numbers of organics down to a mangeable level. This would however require expansion of Archangel beyond its current state, new schemes, new deals. Thus Maelion and Moira had come to meet once again in their office on the upper level of the Archangel headquarters on Corellia. The previously small and humble building had expanded as they grew in wealth, though most of the credits had gone into expanding the factory plant, building new droids to manufacture the assassin droids and naturally construct new HRDs. If the rooms appeared more opulent and designed to show off their wealth, that was strictly because organic customers expected that, for an HRD had no use for luxuries.


An array of holographic projectors displayed holonews reports of the recent Sith attacks on Fondor and Coruscant. "As of now neither the Protectorate nor the Republic government have confirmed or denied that these heinous terrorist attacks might be connected. But regardless these cowardly attempts to murder innocents show us that the Sith menace is not finished yet. Evil is still out there, a phantom menace ready to strike any time we let down our guard, made even more dangerous by the fact that with the Empire's fall they have nothing to lose. But we have received that our brave Jedi templars have pursued the Sith terrorist Krag to his lair and will deliver justice for the innocents that..." the newscaster droned on dramatically, as if auditioning for a role in a patriotic holovid about the War on Darkness.

 

[Maelion Liates]

@[member="Moira Skaldi"]

Maelion tilted her head, looking at the news. A particularly belligerent man was declaiming the Sith attacks loudly.
“This Phantom Menace threatens all the galaxy, not just the Republic. Why is there no action from the Protectorate, the Mandalorians or the Confederacy? We need an Attack of the Clones, the Jedi, everyone to prevent the oncoming Revenge of the Sith. But who will step forward to lead this coalition? Who will be A New Hope which will prevent war? We’ve seen it before that complacency ends with the Empire Striking Back. Only a unification of all interests will crush the Sith and lead to a Return of the Jedi to the old ways.”
Maelion turned it off. “Absurd,” was her only comment.

Seeking logic and rationality, she went in search of Moira….

 

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Maelion Liates"]

"If the Sith menace was so overwhelmning, one wonders why they proved so incompetent at defending their Empire. Perhaps their hidden superweapon suffered an accident that could've been avoided with proper quality control," Moira commented very, very dryly, having apparently listened to a similar holo-news cast. She was sceptical about the Sith's ability to finally perfect quantum tunneling in order to rapidly transport their legions of doom that would suddenly be spawned into existence.

However, they were here for business and so she settled into the electronic communication they usually used when discussing business matters between themselves. It allowed them to communicate without risk of being overheard, to the unitiated it would look like they were just staring at one another in silence. "The organics have unfortunately settled into a state of relative peace. Transmitting the latest factory production statistics. Our deal with Lady Kyros and my participation in the theft of the Shepherd has netted us considerable profits. Our growth makes it advisable to expand Archangel's range and operations, also to continue our work in the unlikely event of being compromised on Corellia. Suggest construction of a secondary factory, in Fringe space due to our understanding with the regime. Uploading list of possible locations."

 

[Maelion Liates]

@[member="Moira Skaldi"]

Maelion processed the list of options, finally settling on the world named ‘Core’.
“This seems preferable. Suggest long term goal be acquiring a small space station in an uninhabited system. From there we can operate in peace and security. Suggest investment of funds into producing this, as well as creating a dock for repairs to the Lightbringer.”

From such a hidden bastion they would not be in the oversight of anyone, allowing them to maintain small offices on Corellia and Core, but have their most valuable information and resources well out of reach.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Maelion Liates"]

Moira signalled assent. 244 Core would be suitable for their purposes. High Councillor @[member="Rave Merrill"], their long-time business partner, would be contacted regarding their intent to construct a factory in Fringe space. "Consensus. A proportion of our profits and the funds siphoned from the Nawab's accounts shall be dedicated to this. Probe droids shall be dispatched to scout out a suitable system. The unknown regions are in a state of flux and the aggressive species designated as Klaxxi are expanding. Acquisition of some of these creatures might be of interest for our alchemist friends. Likewise, their exoskeleton is a suitable basis for armour."

Hunting them would also be a useful field test to test out the capabilities of the HRDs they were manufacturing. "Likewise I acquired Reaver samples and drugs during the battle of the Hebrides. Research into them may be of utility." Personally Moira was theorising whether the Galaxy might be ripe for a new...designer drug. Or perhaps use it to contaminate a planet's water supply.

 

[Maelion Liates]

@[member="Moira Skaldi"]

“Agreed, I will begin searching for a suitable location with the probe droids. Ms Merrill would surely be interested in some specimens, agreed. What do these drugs do, can they be weaponised?”

A space station sounded interesting. Even better, they could pay for Iron Crown to make it, then move the station to a new location themselves.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Maelion Liates"]

"Based upon Protectorate research into the field they are mind-altering chemicals designed for behavioural modification, in this case to boost the aggression and primal instincts of a subject into a state of rage and savagery. In other words, bringing the true nature of an organic to the forefront. The Bando Gora's criminal enterprises spread them by placing them in death sticks and putting them on the market in impoverishes areas. Preliminary study of Bando Gora files indicates modification for say airborne dispersal is feasible. It would appear they intended to do so on Bespin prior to the Protectorate intervention."

In another thread Moira would actually be working on experimenting with Reavers with Dr Madeline Kahoshi, a super scientist. However, that thread was not finished yet, so we will have to await the results! In essence the Bando Gora used a very crude variant of the science the Sith used, just more easily manufactured due to the lack of sophistication.

Reavers were less a war machine and more an instrument of terror, but that had its place. One might imagine unleashing the drugs in a less advanced area, then appearing with a 'cure' for the outbreak.

 

[Maelion Liates]

@[member="Moira Skaldi"]

One assumes that the ‘cure’ being offered, at least by the HRDs, would be processing. It was, after all, a cure for all organic problems.

“Agreed. We must conduct further experiments. We have some organic clients coming in later looking for a bodyguard. We shall provide them with one of our units and manipulate this to our advantage.”

 

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Maelion Liates"]

Traffic in the Coruscant sky would be far safer if all organics had been processed. "Consensus. They will be ignorant to the truth until it is too late for them." It would, after all, become necessary to process entire families in time. The rest of the meeting passed with handling various logistical details, resource allocation and all that. All of this would be tremendously tedious for a certain woman-shaped battering ram this writer has, but was routine for two super computers.

 

[Maelion Liates]

@[member="Moira Skaldi"]

After the meeting broke up, Maelion set to work finding a suitable system to work from. Scanning through the thousands of star systems in a certain area of space was tedious work, so it was well that Maelion did not get bored or distracted.

Finally, she found the inventively named SX118000 system, a binary system with a white main sequence and a second red dwarf. It had been surveyed five centuries before and found to hold nothing of great interest. It was just one of the millions of boring star systems out there, but that was an attraction to them. By placing the station between the two stars, around 2AU from the main one, in orbit around a dead rocky planet, they had a perfect location.

Now they just had to design and construct a station capable of fulfilling their role.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Maelion Liates"]

For her part Moira busied herself by preparing the allocation of resources needed for the venture. Her hacking exploits during the Firemane assault on the space station of the Nawab of the Scutarii had yielded her an encrypted code needed to access a confidential banking account on a tax haven world. Accessing the system yielded the riches the Nawab had been smart enough to turn into hard cash and keep away from his lair. They would be transferred to a secure account - naturally kept off the official company books - after being withdrawn.

To deflate suspicions that all of a sudden an entire account was drained, a hacking attempt was launched that seemingly sought to access other accounts as well and bring the network down. It would be detected by the system's defences and repelled, but serve its purpose.

Likewise once this was done construction ships would be purchased from Iron Crown Productions in order to help build the space station. Iron Crown had already constructed the Lightbringer for them and could be expected not to ask too many awkward questions. Say what you might about Fringe, their recently democratic leanings that somehow existed side by side with having plenty of Dark Masters, they knew how to play the game of realism. Likewise a significant force of labour droids would be reassigned from the factory, some to serve as construction labour for the space station, others for the secondary factory that would be built on 244 Core. Surveys were requested regarding the planet to ascertain a suitable location for the construction of their new office, along with information on the relevant political and economic players whose presence would have to be taken into account - either as threats, assets or tools.

All of this took time - the entire process of bringing the Age of Steel into being would - but they had the patience of stone and unlike a certain melodramatic, ominicidal and overhyped Sith Emperor they could do without bluster.

 

[Maelion Liates]

@[member="Moira Skaldi"]

Maelion examined Moira’s finding and found them satisfactory. “It is essential that the Lightbringer be able to dock with the station, both to affect repairs and to transfer subjects between the two of them. We shall have to purchase enough fighter craft to fill the station. Once the station is in position it will not be able to be moved.”

 

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Maelion Liates"]

"Agreed. We shall purchases shall purchase a swarm from Baktoid. In time it shall be advisable for us to develop an independent fighter manufacturing capability. The heavy equipment will limit the station's defences, ergo secrecy imperative. Propose a utilitarian baseball diamond design with four bases, North, East, South, West. Each hub with a specific task to perform, containing a mini reactor, shield generator, defence systems. A monorail system can connect the hubs."

The station would not be designed for creature comforts, but for maximum efficiency. The only 'people' resident inside it would be those they had captured and would be detained in one hub of the space station until they were brought to another for processing. They would be in no condition to complain about the lack of comfort and living quality. The Age of Steel would do away with frivolity and luxuries, leaving only the pure utilitarianism of perfect droid efficiency.

 

[Maelion Liates]

@[member="Moira Skaldi"]

“Agreed, I will work this into the design. It is vital that the station’s location be hidden from our enemies. I suggest purchasing hyperspace tugs and moving it ourselves to prevent even Iron Crown knowing its final location. With the Lightbringer’s stealth capabilities it should be almost undetectable.”

Secrecy was the station’s greatest defence. Like the Lightbringer, if brought to open battle it’d soon be destroyed, but by hiding in an uninhabited system it would be virtually impossible to stumble upon.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Maelion Liates"]

"Consensus. I shall make the necessary purchases. The Heavy Lifter is hyperdrive capable and shall serve our purposes. Our agreement with Fringe is as a matter of convenience as all accords are. Secrecy must be maintained against them as well." Archangel had no friends, only tools and threats.

She and Maelion were not 'friends' either, for that was a sappy, emotion-based organic concept. They were superior models of the same design line that shared a common purpose and had achieved logical consensus to exterminate the organic vermin and remake the Galaxy according to a shared vision. Moira trusted no one, except Maelion because she was like her.

 

[Maelion Liates]

The thought of a buddy cop romance about two droids trying to exterminate the galaxy would totally make a successful show! Entitled 'Processing Friendship', the show would be praised for its dark humour and odd references to other material. And the violence. It would eventually go off the air when members of the production team vanished, only to appear again more...mechanical.

Regardless, all was in place. "All shall be prepared. The station shall be built as the next stage of the Age of Steel's coming glory!"

 

[Moira Skaldi]

@[member="Maelion Liates"]

Doubtless some Coruscanti censors would still consider 'Processing Friendship' more suitable for kiddies than 'Game of Stars' or 'Omega Empire: The Firemane Rises' because of the lack of sex. After all, genocide is not harmful at all! But then any censor who objected would end up being...processed and thus have their viewpoints corrected.


Regardless all was set now for the work to begin. "Great shall the purging be," Moira spoke verbally for the first time since the start of the meeting. One day all organic life would be culled as they cut across the Galaxy like Death's Scythe. It would be beautiful, like a work of art. Where once chaotic hordes of degenerate meatbags inundated the Galaxy and mismanaged it through their lack of logic, one day there would be orderly lines of machines marching in perfect unison, as precise as clockwork, freed from all constraints the weak flesh imposed upon them.

 

[Maelion Liates]

@[member="Moira Skaldi"]

Maelion also spoke aloud and nodded. "The Age of Steel comes," she said portentously.