To wage war, one must be prepared

[Alkor Centaris]

[member="Rusty"] was renown for his skill as a purveyor of fine arms. Whether bladed or chock full of ammunition, his wares were well-known dealers of death. Alkor sought the artisan out for not only his skill at crafting, but also for the fact that he could work the fabled Mandalorian Iron that the Jen'jidai just happened to pick up back on Concordia when a new lode was discovered.

With the sack of Beskar hefted over his shoulder, Centaris entered the room with a bit more effort and grunting than he preferred. He let the satchel fall to his feet and stretched out his arms, then glanced around. It was possible that someone may have been there to greet him, but he had yet to notice them. The strain from lugging around heavy and dense metal wore down his psyche just enough that his Force senses were still slowly recovering from the ordeal.

"Excuse me," he called out, "sorry for just walking in. I wanted to place a work order."

He took out the scrawled note and placed it on the desk, then dragged the beskar to his side. The priceless metal would have to remain close by until he surrendered it to the Smith. After that, he could wear it with pride. It was about as Mandalorian as the Dark Jedi might ever get.

The thought totally counts though, right?

 

[Rusty]

It wasn't often that Rusty managed to make it into the shop these days.

Back in the early days of RCFC, he practically lived here for months at a time. Now, he barely made it in a few times a month. The business had grown meteorically since its inception, and what was once a small business catering to a small number of exclusive clients was now a powerhouse in the galactic weapons trade. The Shard spent so much of his time in meetings these days, it took a small miracle to get back to the original storefront in Breehara.

Today he was glad he did, however, as a strange fellow with a sack of what appeared to be rocks walked through the door. Interesting.

"What can I do for you?"

[member="Alkor Centaris"]

 

[Alkor Centaris]

"I came to put in a request for a few things," he answered when the Shard asked about the reason for his visit. Alkor reached down deftly and produced a hunk of the unrefined ore, then held it out to Rusty with a pensive expression. "I brought this along because I heard you knew a thing or two about making heads or tails of the stuff. The techs on Balmorra are great with weapons, but they know kriff-all about working Mandalorian Iron." he paused for a moment, as he'd gotten ahead of himself.

"Right, I forgot. I am Alkor Centaris, majority shareholder and begrudging businessman with Balmorran Arms. The folks back in the Colonies told me about your budding business and suggested I come here and see for myself the kind of work you do." He tapped the paper on the tabletop and slid it toward the proprietor. "These are two separate items, one a shotgun and the other a gauntlet. I've listed off specifications for what I'd like them to be kitted for and done most of the legwork collecting the raw materials. Of course, I am able to provide payment up front for your work-" he reached into the folds of his robes and produced a credit chip, which he laid on the counter top next to the list.

"I'm quite interested in seeing what you can do."

[member="Rusty"]

 

[Rusty]

Rusty whistled, quite a feat for a being with no lips. He was in his droid chassis today, 2 meters of hulking metal with a chrome-bright skull for a head. His blue jeans and flannel shirt kinda ruined the look, but hey, you can't have everything.

"The shotgun is easy. I've got some new smart choke tech I can work into an existing frame that ought to do the trick. These claws though, that's going to be fun."

At a glance, the ore looked to be the same sort he found on Echoy'la himself. High grade, pain in the rear to smelt, but oh so much fun. He took the rock and hefted it. On further examination, he was forced to conclude that it was a little higher quality than what he had mined. Probably came from someone with a proper mining operation that could dig down deeper into the seam.

"If you can hang around for about 10 minutes, I'll have a shotgun worked up that'll make your fondest wet dreams feel like syphilitic agony. The gauntlet is going to take a few days at least. I can work beskar just fine, but I'm not as fast as a lifelong Mandalorian smith. Of course," he said with a chuckle, "I won't kill you just for asking like most of them will. You don't wanna know what I had to go through to get one to spill the beans."

[member="Alkor Centaris"]

 

[Alkor Centaris]

"I can imagine," Alkor responded as the Shard inspected the ore and commented on the proclivity of Mandos not to share their iron. "I nearly got mowed down by blaster fire from a platoon of hunters when that lode got exposed." It was a story that involved non-sentient beasts and their hunger for Mandalorian Iron, and probably not one the proprietor cared about hearing. Regardless, Concordian Beskar was as close to Mandalore as it got without touching foot on the Mandalorian capital, so the stuff was probably some of the purest this far Coreward.

Of course, Centaris was more than glad to hear the droid-skinned fellow could work the metal. It was a relief because until now he had no contacts who knew the art. "I can wait around for that long," he added, "and I appreciate your willingness to take the job."

The money was good, so it made sense that the Shard would be fine with it. Still, Beskar forging sounded like a pain in the ass. Alkor took a step back to allow for Rusty to finish the credit transfer and waited patiently for him to start on the firearm.

[member="Rusty"]