They All Want Armies

[Catalys Maijora]

"You're asking for a lot," he stared into the empty glass held in his right hand. Then he glanced up to Catalys. "It can be done, however." The man sighed...

Catalys walked over to the desk, tapping his fingers along the metallic top. "When will it be ready?" His helmet betrayed any expression which lied beneath. The reflective armour made one stare at themselves when holding conversation with the Umbaran agent. Was it meant to intimidate? Perhaps. Or perhaps it simply was.

He nodded to distract himself, "I don't know--sooner than usual; if necessary." There was a crack in his words. Pressure did that to a man, made it difficult to talk when their hearts pounded, and minds stressed under the very thought of failure. Anxiety was a power weapon if you knew how to invoke it. Too much and the work is sloppy, but just enough and you'll get results sooner than later.

"It is." There was no need to hide the truth.

When dealing with Sith, it wasn't water cooler culture. You didn't address your concerns unless they were mutual. Catalys knew that. The man sitting across the desk knew that. Anyone in their presence who wasn't already dead knew that. Catalys waved his hand to dismiss the R&D specialist, for a far more important man was about to walk through the door behind him.

[member="Darth Adekos"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Catalys Maijora"]

Farquar III was a miserable, barren factory world. If it could even be called a world, anyway. It orbited a gas giant named Farquar II. Darth Adekos was not especially well versed in classifying rocks in space, but he figured that technically made it a moon. Whatever it was, Farquar III was home to dozens of large, shut down factories and a few struggling factories. Factories that lacked meaningful output due to an absence of resources. Improper mining methods had left Farquar III even more barren than barren was initially able to get. Truly a staggering testament to the primitive technologies of the Manifest Period some millennium ago.

As of now, the Sith Triumvirate needed new armor for its soldiers. As of the past twenty years, Farquar III needed foreign investment injected into it. Adekos would accomplish both tasks in a single stroke, simultaneously strengthening the power base the Triumvirate would rise from and spreading good, old fashioned capitalist prosperity in his wake.

He had arrived here on the planet second. An agent of good repute had preceded him to speak with some factory representatives. Darth Adekos knew very little about Mr. Maijora, but Carach had implied the man was of great skill. He was also an Umbaran, which no doubt meant he was even more skilled than he would let an oaf like Carach realize. Adekos moved to the side of the metallic hallway to avoid getting run down by a nervous looking analyst who barely looked up as he went. The analyst flinched when he realized what he almost had done and scurried off at an even faster rate. The Sithling rolled his eyes and found his way to the office where Maijora waited, the doors sliding shut behind him.

"Your friend seemed nervous." He commented. "Did he have anything interesting to say?"

 

[Catalys Maijora]

"Only that he'll work faster," Catalys twisted himself away from the viewport, steeling his gaze upon [member="Darth Adekos"] from behind his helmet. "I don't believe we've met... Yet, it seems every Sith I meet has a habit of scrutinizing my past prior, anyway." He was curious to know what the fellow Umbaran before him knew. Certainly it was no secret that this Catalys Maijora is the same one who served as the Host Lord's enforcer, and briefly an agent of the deceased Dark Lord during the latter days of the One Sith's golden age.

Placing a hand outward, he gestured to an empty seat. "Do you prefer to sit or stand?" He'd ask, the modulator in his helmet regulated the tone of his voice. "I prefer to stand myself, sitting is stagnation." He'd walk around the side of the viewport, the world below in view, and approached the flank of Adekos. Locking his arms behind his back, he stood tall. No more words escaped the agent's lips. He simply awaited an answer.

As for the analyst from earlier, he was undoubtedly hurrying himself in the concept phase of their new armour.

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Catalys Maijora"]

If sitting was stagnation, then Adekos had spent an inordinate amount of time stagnating. That would explain more than a few things. "Oh, the joys of positive reinforcement." He replied. "And no, I doubt we have. I would remember meeting another Umbaran anywhere aside from home." The Darth assumed, probably incorrectly, that they shared a home planet. Adekos had heard of Umbarans being born elsewhere in the galaxy. Usually mentioned in hushed voices. An Umbaran born off of Umbara was barely an Umbaran. They didn't get that same, all natural, Umbaran experience that was essential to being Umbaran.

Of course, by some accounts they were better off without that experience. "I'll stand, thank you. It's no trouble." Adekos said.

His reasons for doing so were far less dramatic. Adekos disliked being the only person in the room sitting. Sitting when other people were standing yielded power to the... Standers. Perhaps his reasoning was a bit melodramatic after all. Adekos followed Maijora's gaze out the window and saw Farquar III sluggishly orbiting below. From this distance, the transplanted Geonosian hives and the eerie Skakoan luxury spires were not visible, but Adekos knew they were down there. They were not pretty sights, but they were productive. If they wanted beauty over industrial power, they might have launched their revolution on Naboo.

And that would have been disastrous.

 

[Catalys Maijora]

"I see," it was quite the 'lazy' response to say the least.

Where he stood, the two were in the same boat -- literally and figuratively. "My only goal is to succeed where my predecessors failed. I can control the Primeval's remnants so long as the Host Lord remains dead. The Black Court of Balagoth was rather unintended, but with the mad Hutt gone; well... Things are better." The explanation of why he was here was probably unneeded. Nay. It was entirely unnecessary. Of course that was merely the surface of his interests, but what lied on top most certainly reflected even those desires which never see the light of day.

"I can put our best to your uses. Assuming we have the facilities to produce arms, and train soldiers. We've fought Mandalorians and Sith hunters alike. Whilst the One Sith stagnated by fighting a worthless enemy in the Republic. When I faced their fleet at Balmorra, my ships set forth past destroyed Sith vessels. For what? To find incompetent Republic Admirals responsible for such destruction? Truly, very, silly." The fact he ended up on the losing side in the Rebellion was perhaps partially what invoked his insult towards the One Sith's leadership.

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Catalys Maijora"]

Host... Lord? Black Court of what? This was all Primeval gobbledygook to Darth Adekos. He cared little for the unintelligible chantings of the Primeval. They had not become relevant in his eyes until the remnants of their debauched government found their way into Triumvirate custody. "Ah, yes, of course." Adekos said, nodding in apparent agreement and understanding. Mad Hutt? All Hutts were mad. Terrible, unsightly creatures. The only thing he disliked more than Hutts themselves were the craven sector of space they resided in.

Maijora continued on. For his part, Adekos kept an attentive ear. Even if he didn't understand all that gibberish about Black Courts and Crazy Hutts, it cost nothing to be polite. "The strength of the One Sith was never their naval prowess. They simply have the good fortune of controlling some of the wealthiest, most densely populated core worlds. Infinite manpower. Infinite revenue. Not truly so, but by my estimate they'll continue to float along for at least another decade before financial collapse."

"Then again, if they're anything like the Republic, they will continue on far, far longer than the collapse of their economy. And their military. And their government. And every other institution even remotely associated with them..." The Umbaran sighed. The best countries lacked the will to live, while the worst were full of a violent desire to persevere. A great injustice for all the galaxy. "Soon enough we'll have all the facilities we need and the mining worlds to support them. We'll have to expand into the neighboring sector to find the agricultural base to support a long-term population increase, but as of now we have as good a start as anyone could ask for."

 

[Catalys Maijora]

"You are different from Carach." He noted audibly. What he didn't note was precisely how. Where Carach seemed more interested in his personal ego, Adekos was a man who seemed interested in legacy. Leaving behind an institution rather than a memory. Of course he could be wrong.

Catalys never took much time to consider what his interest was in all of this. Really -- did it matter much? Support the Sith. Support the Jedi. Support Technocrats or support Zealots. Each had their own chips to bargain with, and as long as the Umbaran was the House; well you know the rest. "Armour is one thing. What else is necessary?" Despite being less than a long-term thinker, Catalys did at least keep himself a to-do list. If not to keep busy, it sure helped improve his value to whomever he worked for.

At least it was that way with the One Sith, and the Primeval before them.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Catalys Maijora"] | [member="Darth Adekos"]

The Triumvir strided through the hallways of the Farquar factory. As with most things on Farquar III it had been abandoned, left to rust under the eternal influence of entropy, at least until the Sith Triumvirate came along. They did not believe in wasting things that could be useful and so they put certain plans into motion that would renew the usefulness of these facilities.

It would take money, of course, but after decades of business, integrating themselves in nations and empires, and the general practice of heists, if there was one thing that they had enough of it was money.

All these hallways were the same to him, but he could feel the faint outlines of Adekos somewhere deeper in the facility. He passed an especially nervous Bith engineer who started bowing and uttering apologies as Carach passed - he waved towards him in a gesture of peace, a quick touch of the mind followed and actually made him feel a little bit more at ease.

Fear worked, but loyalty worked better.

"You are different from Carach." which was quickly followed by: "Armour is one thing. What else is necessary?"

Carach caught the first comment and entered the room just in time for the second one. Gaze sweeping through the room, he noticed that both men were… standing for some reason, while there were perfectly serviceable chairs right next to them.

Behind him the two Decanii positioned themselves by the door - one Falleen, tall and slender. The other a stocky human specimen, both fairly competent if a bit too… rigid.

There was no hesitation as the Triumvir settled himself down in one of the chairs, noticed that said chair was exceptionally comfortable and then sighed contently.

“I tested the chair for safety, Adekos. No poison darts and very comfortable, you may sit in the knowledge that it will not cause your imminent demise.”

One of the Decanii straightened up from that. The immediate thought was something in the way of: “Hold on, do we have to check their chairs before they sit down?”

A short shake of the head projected the negative answer in turn.

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Darth Carach"] | [member="Catalys Maijora"]

Before Adekos could give Maijora a deserving answer, Carach stumbled in. Following him were a pair of Triumvirate Decanii. They were the basic, front line, Force wielding soldiers of the Triumvirate. They were well disciplined and trained in the Dark Side. The perfect fighting force to put legions of mindless Sith Acolytes and Jedi hooligans into their place. Of course, right now they were just hanging out on this derelict factory world with two of the three members of the Triumvirate. Instead of defending the Triumvirate against those short-sighted enough to try and destroy it, they were here. With Carach, a chronic joker with balefully poor taste.

"How courteous of you, Carach. I dare speculate your legacy of charity will long survive you." He replied mirthlessly. Somewhere in the Ardik family tree there had been an uncle killed in a similar manner. He never saw it coming. Just a sharp pain in his bottom and then cardiac arrest. It had set his family back at least two castes, but eventually they reclaimed it and then some. The offending family's name had been summarily struck from the records. Mercy was not common on Umbara.

Anyway, back to business. "We'll need weapons. Vehicles. Starships. Once we're secured on the ground we'll focus our efforts into constructing shipyards. For the present, the fleet Carach 'requisitioned' from the One Sith will more than suffice in defending our holdings."

 

[Catalys Maijora]

Catalys rolled his eyes from behind his helmet towards [member="Darth Carach"] -- which thankfully provided only the coldest demeanor. After the Sith Lord finished his little 'sitting speech' the Umbaran returned to the conversation at hand. From the mouth of a far more reasonable, logical, and otherwise unwasteful [member="Darth Adekos"]. "At your service, then. If Carach hasn't alerted you, our only request is autonomy. We won't hinder your operations, of course, but we can't be expected to show up whenever requested." Essentially, it was a gentleman's agreement rather than a contract.

Perhaps not the most lucrative agreement concerning a cold-hearted businessman such as the one standing before him. However; Catalys knew nothing about Adekos, or who he was, or what he represented. Only that they shared mostly mutual goals in the long run. Or at least enough where they weren't trying to kill each other. Maybe it was just the fact that killing was a rather tiresome process to begin with? Likely it didn't matter at all what their reasons were. The result remained the same.

"Hopefully this armour will prove to be precisely what you're looking for then. I won't lie, the design is based almost entirely off of one we developed for the One Sith. Of course it's better." It had to be better. Catalys wasn't one to simply rebrand the same product and sell it as new. No; when someone called for an innovation, he had to take it at least a step further than the last.