An Academic Address (Closed)

[Storm]

Lucius Stark was an academic.

Well, to a degree. He'd been living in the criminal underworld for some time, now - living and working. Nonetheless, he'd also been working on the sort of stuff that came with him being a Doctor. A wily character, he hadn't expected to be involved with any major faction ever again, nor did he think he would be; this was merely a business meeting, a meeting in which he'd be able to sell ideas to the Hutt Empire. That sort of made him an entrepreneur, no? To be honest, Lucius was slightly worried. The Hutt Empire weren't the Republic; they weren't bound by rules, laws, codes of conduct. Yes, he could get a better price, but who said they wouldn't just kill him after he'd given his idea? Somehow, Lucius didn't think they would. But was that fact, or wishful thinking? It was too late now, regardless. He was in the palace of the Hutt Chairman, and was awaiting his meeting now. Taking a glass of water from the bedstead, he gulped it down, to calm his nerves. Damn, calm yourself, Lucius. Rational thinking came with sensibility.

He pulled Elys out of his pocket.

Her face was just as he remembered from when she had been living, and he, as he always did, marvelled at how he'd captured her in eternal life. "We're here." He frowned. "Although I'm not sure for just how long."
"Relax, Lucius. They won't kill you."
"Perhaps." He bundled his equipment into a briefcase, as he looked over at her. "What makes you so sure?" He asked, quizzically.
She shrugged. "You've got ideas. They might want more."
Stark nodded. It would have made sense. With a snap, he sealed the clasps of the case, looking round the room once again. It was opulent and beautiful, just what the suites of importance in the Hutt palace were rumoured to be. To be frank, Lucius was loath to leave the room. Nevertheless, business was business, and the guards would arrive soon to pick him up. There was a knock on the door; right about time. Quickly, Lucius smoothed down his suit, pushed his hair into position, and strode to the door. He opened it to encounter the guards.

"Are you ready to go?"

Lucius nodded. "If you've already taken my equipment, yes." He exited the door, before shutting it behind him. The guards nodded, and took place alongside. Lucius slipped the hologram of Elys back into the inside pocket of his jacket, as he strode through the corridors attempting to maintain an air of control despite being flanked by guards. Despite his worries, he was also excited about the address he'd be making today. Presumably, it'd only be the Chairman who'd be there, something that made Lucius job all the better. He didn't want some military fool wrecking things. Ironically, Lucius remembered Venator Furtificus, the head of the Alsakan military, from when he was on Xenvaer. It was strange to think that, once again, Furtificus' guard were escorting him. They ascended a flight of stairs, Lucius leading, before entering a vast atrium. Magnificent doors stood at the other end; Lucius presumed that, through there, he'd be making his address.
"Wait here." The guard instructed, dissapearing behind the doors. For a few minutes, Lucius waited, before the guard returned. "Enter." He said, and Lucius did as commanded. Entering, he bowed.

"Greetings, great Chairman."

 

[Phil]

The incredible large Hutt on his throne laughed at the small man who entered his presence. He had a young woman resting against his large body, holding only a cloth against her body that was covering her up. Gorrbag would much rather see this small man be chased by his pets, but he was told that this man had some good things to tell the Hutt. However, if he proved to be a waste of time, then... well... Gorrbag would have his fun yet.

"Ah, Lucius Stark. The brain head. I don't like talking to your types much, and I already got a tight schedule. So let's cut to the chase and get down to business, Hm? Have a seat."

Gorrbag pointed his hand to a chair that was in the center of the room, empty and waiting for someone to sit in it.

 

[Storm]

"Thank you, sir, but if it's all the same with you what I'm about to show you involves a holographic projection."

Lucius' equipment had been brought up earlier by the guards, and presumably thoroughly checked. Lucius stepped over to the holographic projector and slid a slide in from the tray at the front of the machine. "If you'll observe, my Lord..." Lucius began. Despite the fact he was wringing his hands, and seemingly on edge, this couldn't be interpreted as a display of fear; indeed, those who knew Lucius would recognise that he'd done this all his life, and this was merely a trait of his. A flash of blue flickered across the room, and then the hologram appeared. It showed a man, standing in a wood. "If you observe, my lord, this man is a Jedi Knight." The lightsaber hanging on his belt was evident of this, and he was looking around rather as if in shock and - was that? - fear. "These men", Lucius indicated three men entering the scene, "are bounty hunters." The Jedi spun around, and drew his lightsaber. The men weren't using particular caution, yet all the Jedi could do was use his lightsaber. And very poorly, at that. "The Jedi is not using the Force." Lucius mused.

"An interesting concept."

Lucius paused. "Why, if he had access to it, would he endanger his own life to the point of death without calling upon it?" Lucius queried. On the hologram, the Jedi was overcome, and threw up his arms as the blaster bolts killed him. "The answer is, he didn't." The idea was new, surprising. "This planet is Myrkyr. I received this hologram from one of my colleagues, and visited the planet. There, I found a number of creatures, none of which were proven, in tests, to affect the Jedi's connection to the Force. None, save one." In the hologram, Lucius pointed a finger at a creature climbing a tree, as the bounty hunters circled the body. There was a click as the scene changed. "This planet is no longer Myrkyr, as I'm sure you can see." Lucius pointed out. "This is Courkrus, and this forest is completely devoid of any of these creatures naturally." The hologram then showed a man placing one of the creatures upon a tree. "Once again, a Jedi comes." The man ran, and hid, as a Jedi blundered his way through the forest. Behind him, ran the three bounty hunters.

This time, the man was using the Force.

"Here is the interesting part." Previously, the man had been fighting using Force techniques. When he ran into the area of the creature, however, he suddenly stopped, and looked at his hands in amazement. The bounty hunters attacked once again, and the Jedi seemed clumsy with his lightsaber and unable to access the Force. Once again, this Jedi was killed. The hologram now zoomed in on the creature. A thin, lizard like creature, it was coloured similar to the tree and had a frilled mouth. It was an interesting creature. "These creatures," Lucius explained, "are called Ysalamir. I've identified, using a number of other tests in similar circumstances, that they create a bubble in which the Force cannot be reached." Lucius did not need to explain the practical emphasis of this; it was surprising enough. "Unfortunately, I have neither the budget nor the technology to bring them out of the forest and strap them to soldiers." That sort of technology would be unreachable for thousands of years. "What I can do, however." Lucius drew a breath. "Is put them in a stable environment in, say, a palace."

"And render that palace safe to any sort of Jedi attack."

 

[Phil]

Gorrbag yawned first when he saw the Images of the Jedi getting mowed down, but his eyes widened when he saw the little critter that Stark mentioned are Ysalamir and that they create Force Bubbles. He listened on further, disappointed that he could not even breed the creatures and latch them onto his soldiers, but a smile grew on his face when there could be a place in the Palace for these creatures. It would definitely ensure that his palace would be safe from any sort of attack from the Jedi or any Force User who tried to assassinate him. He rubbed his chins slightly with his hand, using his other hand to twirl his chubby fingers through the girl's hair as he thought all this over.

"You make very good proposition, Stark... if it is true. I usualy expect live demonstrations of such things as this. However, you are smart. If you tried to trick me, you know you would be dead before you even realized it. Yes... this may very well work out..."

 

[Storm]

Lucius chuckled, slightly nervously.

"My Lord, I'm not foolish enough to attempt to trick a Hutt who controls half of the galaxy, and a half of the galaxy that's growing to perhaps be two thirds." Indeed, Lucius wasn't. "That, however, sir, isn't my sole idea." Lucius took a breath, and took another holographic slide. He slid it into the projector, and stood back. A rancor appeared in the hologram, roaring in anger. Around it, swarmed men with guns. "Rancors are in large supply for the Hutts." Lucius stated; it wasn't a question, it was a fact. "These men are Republic soldiers, attacking one while on a mission. This was given to me by another associate." He paused. Despite being injured, the rancor was trampling numerous soldiers and, before dying, did itself well. Stark rewound, to the period just before the rancor's death. "If we examine the areas the rancor was shot," Lucius spoke, "we find something very interesting." A number of red dots appeared over the rancor, showing the areas it had been shot. There were numerous blasts on the chest and arms, and a few on the legs. There were also many on the head and armpits.

"Now look at this."

Stark rewound to the beginning. Every time a shot was fired, the red dot appeared. "In the first half of the hologram, the rancor is shot primarily in the chest and torso. These areas are very strongly protected. As such, the rancor isn't injured very much at all. In the second half of the hologram, however..." Lucius wound forwards.

"The rancor is hit in the inner thighs, armpits and neck."

"This negates the bones of the head, and arm/leg protection. As such, the rancor is severely weakened." Lucius brought up another hologram, of a concept idea. "This is a rancor with armour placed in strategic places. It also has a bomb inside the helmet, so a rancor "misbehaving" can be easily killed."

"These could be used as beasts of war."

 

[Phil]

"Hmmm... Rancor war beasts... I like the sound of that. I only got a few at the moment, so I will have to send my boys out to go grab some more and get them to making me some babies."

Gorrbag laughed, he was loving these ideas for his army more and more as Stark went on. It was then he had an idea, one he thought would be brilliant, but possibly dangerous as well. Would it be possible to put a gun off a starship onto the Rancor, and have it controlled by a beast rider? No.. the Idea was too dangerous, especially if the Rancor got out of control. Gorrbag released the girl from his grip and yelled at her to get some drinks. As she left, Gorrbag turned back towards Stark once more.

"You are on your way to becoming a rich man in this Empire. You are on your way into making a place for yourself in this Galaxy, which is good for when the time the Republic is no more. But I am curious... Have you tested one of these beasts with armor against a firing squad?"

 

[Storm]

Lucius smiled to himself.

He was already a very rich man, and he doubted that there was anything the Empire could offer him to tie him down to one particular faction. He was independent, and had been for many, many years now. "Actually," Lucius allowed himself a smile of success, in response to the Chairman's question, "I have." He opened a final hologram, which showed a rancor in poorly constructed armour defending itself. This time, it fared much better, and Stark was forced to fast forward to the point where it was finally overcome.

With a click, he removed the slide.

"With better funding, and better materials, the armour can be made much stronger, and so the rancors enhanced much stronger. We also have a slide of a rancor undergoing the explosion procedure, in case it gets out of control." Stark laughed.

"Needles to say, that was an easy success."

Stark removed the slides, and placed them in his pocket. "I've got copies of the slides here, Chairman." He drew a bag from the projector's tray, and extended his hand, holding it.

"Those are my ideas."

 

[Phil]

"I like them, they will prove very useful indeed. I only have one question. How much? How much will you need for these plans to become operational?"

Gorrbag asked, knowing money would not be a problem for him or his Empire. However, he wanted a number so he could make arrangements for the construction of the habitat for the Ysalamir, as well as the men required for gathering the creatures. The Rancors would be the hardest, as capturing them was quite difficult, even with the right equipment. He did have the ones right below him and Stark captured however, so it could be done once again.

 

[Storm]

Stark considered, for a moment.

"As a personal fee, we've already decided a price." Stark mused. Indeed they had; the Chairman had said that, were his ideas up to scratch, he'd receive a certain amount.

"As for the projects..."

Stark considered. "The plans for the armour I have left behind. Your men can capture the rancors and put the armour into production. There's no science involved in that past the idea, so that side is gone. But the Ysalamir? That's more complicated."

He considered.

"I'll need control of men in order to instruct them in how to correctly and safely remove the Ysalamir. That'll be one cost. The amount of Ysalamir would be twenty five, in order to safe guard this palace - twenty five men should do the job. The money I'll need to construct the homes will be about the rate of a starship, I'm afraid."

That was the price.

 

[Phil]

"Done."

As soon as he finished, the girl from before came in, clothed once more as she came in with a tray that held a bottle and a bowl with something any person would find revolting while Gorrbag found it delicious. He had the tray placed next to him as he reached into the bowl, grabbing a small critter of sort and tossing it in his mouth as it squirmed down his throat. He then turned his attention back to Stark.

"You'll have access to my men and the required money. If any of them as so much kill one of those creatures, they will answer to me. I'll have my best men take care of the Rancors, so you will focus entirely on the Yesalami or whatever they are called."