Laying the Foundation [Sontrebren Crew/Phoenix Corp Only]

[Jiang Winters]

Naboo. The world was a stark contrast to Winslow's homeworld of Grizmallt. Whereas Grizmallt roared with the clang and screech of industry, Naboo's pristine air was filled with the cry of avian life and the water teeming with armadas of fish.

The cities of Naboo were far more beautiful as well, and the wide-open plains unmarred by the sight of mechanized agriculture. The people themselves were much more straight-laced as well, with corruption and uncleanliness being much more difficult to spot amongst the colorful throngs of Naboo citizens.

However, it was not the tourism appeal of the world that had brought Sir Johann Winslow and his business partner, Jacob Roseberg, to a long-abandoned homestead in the plains of Naboo.

The Homestead was a typical example of the architectural trends of Theed, with ornately colored concrete walls that had faded and pitted with age, and a domed roof that was similarly worn. It was a two-story structure, and behind it sat the destroyed ruins of a barn of similar construction. The remnants of the barn served as concealment for the drab gray Phoenix Corporation light freighter that had landed there. The corporate logo had been painted over, and the logo of the long-defunct Tricell Corporation stenciled into its place. Likewise, the ship's serial numbers and transponders had been similarly erased, making the ship untraceable.

Winslow stroked his beard as he stood in what was once the living room of the home, examining a stack of rectangular olive drab plasteel weapons crates, each one unmarked and untraceable. In the center of the unfurnished living room sat a folding table, on top of which was a datapad and holographic projector. Thick blankets had been scrounged from the Light Freighter's crew quarters and draped over the windows to keep light out while the holographic projector was active, and it also served to keep out the crisp early afternoon air, which was surprisingly cold.

"Well, that should be everything. Now we just have to wait for the lads from the Sontrebren Crew to arrive." Winslow muttered to himself, as he removed his tophat for a second and ran a gloved hand through his light brown hair, before settling the old-fashioned black hat back atop his head.

Yes, that was the reason he and his partner and good friend were at the abandoned homestead, out in the middle of nowhere. To negotiate an alliance between their corporation and the criminal faction known as the Sontrebren Crew. An alliance that, if Winslow had his way, would be mutually beneficial to both factions.

 

[Viggy]

Inconspicuously mixed with a large freighter full of tourists touching down in Theed, Poknor rubbed his furry palms together impatiently as he waited for the doors to open and the exit ramp to lower. About ten of his fellow passengers had insisted on chatting with him, and all of them had been boring people with equally boring interests they insisted on sharing. The Cathar longed to pull his blaster pistols out from their hiding places in his boots and wreak havoc on these silly, stupid tourists. But that would compromise the whole reason he was here in the first place.

At last he was off the ship and free to move away from the sightseers, dismissing their invitations for him to join them on bird watches and tours of Theed’s centers of culture. While he liked the fresh air, Poknor cared nothing for any other aspect of the planet. He went straight to the outskirts of the city, where he found a cheap speeder for rent that seemed to work well enough. He paid the fee to its owner, and started the speeder up, beginning his journey across Naboo’s endless rolling hills of green grass. He kept an eye out for Teo along the way, wondering how the human Capo would be making his way to the meeting place. He supposed it didn’t matter, one way or another the tech-oriented man would be showing up.

He arrived at the correct coordinates the Phoenix Corporation had sent him. He liked the meeting place they had chosen - it was discreet and out of the way. That showed they weren’t afraid of the Crew, as he might have thought they were if they picked a more crowded area. Walking up to the brightly coloured structure, Poknor opened the door and stepped inside. He was surprised when he saw Winslow, the man was rather eccentric-looking for a businessman. No matter.

“Hi there. I’m Poknor, Underboss of the Sontrebren Crew. Boss Zeth sends his regards; he regrets not being able to meet with you himself, he had pressing matters to attend to. I can see you’ve got everything set up to show me what your company has to offer, but I have to humbly ask you wait a moment. One of the Capos should be along shortly, and he wants to see everything.”

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

Naboo was natural, completely natural. It was beautiful in a way that man can not make. Teo loved it here, it was such a contrast to himself.

"I'm here." Teo spoke as he joined the men, his transportation was no where to be seen. In fact, there had been no trace of him until he'd entered the room. "Beautiful day outside, maybe it's an omen." He brushed a hand through his hair and flashed a confident smile to Poknor.

 

[Jiang Winters]

"Ah, Underboss Poknor. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Winslow replied, turning around to face the gray-furred cathar male. The Underboss was not as fancifully garbed as Johann was, but the CEO didn't care. In fact, Poknor could have shown up in a tropical shirt and khaki shorts and Winslow wouldn't have batted an eyelash. Such things simply didn't bother him anymore, at least, not after he hired a secretary who showed up in costumes as outlandish as his own usual wear.

"Delay? Of course, it is no problem. We have all day." He added in, mere moments before the capo walked in, which caused him to chuckle slightly at the timing of the man's entrance. "And you must be the Capo we were about to wait for. Welcome, good sir! My associate, Mr. Roseberg, will join us whenever he feels ready. In the meantime, help yourself to one of the shots of brandy on the table and take a seat, and I'll start explaining exactly what services the Phoenix Corporation is interested in procuring from you, and what we will offer in return."

 

[Viggy]

“Likewise,” Poknor replied with a feline smile. Strange as Winslow might be, he certainly had good manners. A refreshing change for a Cathar who worked regularly with the scum and villainy of the Galaxy. He chuckled a bit himself at Teo’s good timing, smiling back at the human and his casual talk about the weather.

Taking a seat and helping himself to some of the brandy Winslow had offered, the Underboss nodded to the businessman. “I’m all ears, my friend.”

 

[Jiang Winters]

"Right! Let's get started then, shall we?" Winslow replied in a jovial tone, as he rapped the top of the holoprojector with a leather glove-clad fist, causing it to snap to life and display the Phoenix Corporation logo as the CEO began something of a presentation.

"I'm sure you blokes already have a good idea of what the Phoenix Corporation does, and if not, well, it's really not anything that needs explaining for the purpose of this meeting. So I'm going to cut directly to the chase: I need someone to do the corporation's dirty work. That means industrial espionage, sabotage, intimidation and/or elimination of rival CEO's and anyone who happens to get in our way, and a bit of piracy and smuggling here and there." He explained, pushing his longcoat back with his hands and resting them upon his hips. Or at least, the lower part of the cuirass that covered his hips.

"And in return..." He nodded towards the projector - which had started flicking through a long list of weapons, armor, tactical equipment, vehicles, and cybernetic augmentations, among other things - and then continued speaking. "We'll give your faction not just credits, but enough toys to make a rival gang think thrice before making a move on your operations. We've brought some of those items with us today, so you can field-test them and ensure they perform to your liking. We've also brought a bit of a teaser - one suit of Crusader Mk IV Power Armor, one of the most advanced models yet - to show you some of the equipment we will loan to the Sontrebren crew for those tougher missions, both ours and your own."

The projector displayed an image of a pair of Crusaders in combat - which happened to be the same image used in the EDF's recruitment brochure - and then died out, a pair of lights on the ceiling flickering to life and giving the room a more comfortable level of illumination. "So, what do you and your Capo think, Poknor? Are you interested in a friendship with the Phoenix Corporation?"

 

[Viggy]

Poknor maintained a mostly expressionless face throughout the presentation, though he couldn’t help but raise a brow and let a little smile tug at his lips when he saw the power armour. That was military-class equipment, just the kind of power the Crew would need to become an aggressive crime force in the galaxy and command some respect. The jobs Winslow mentioned they would be doing didn’t sound easy, but they didn’t sound like anything that the Crew was unfamiliar with either. So far, the Underboss liked the look of this alliance very much. But he had an appearance to uphold as Underboss, so the Cathar didn’t let his excitement show. As Winslow came to the conclusion and asked whether or not he was interested, Poknor thoughtfully stroked the fur on his chin.

“Let me talk privately with Teo for a moment,” he said, taking out a small electronic device from an inside pocket. The device was for communication, and it was wirelessly connected to Teo’s cybernetically enhanced mind. Typing on it, the Cathar could communicate with his human Capo silently.

“What do you think? Looks great to me,” he typed in, knowing the words would sound within Teo’s mind. He waited for a response from Teo to show up on the small computer screen in his hands.

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

The letters flashed on the Cathars screen.

-All seems to be in line.

-Test the weapons and we will look over the contract.

-Are there any other benefits?

-Can they provide facilities?

At the end of his statement Teo nodded to signal his statements end. The rest of his body remained absolutely still.

 

[Viggy]

The feline Underboss nodded approvingly as he read the replies, particularly at the last suggested question from his Capo.

"Well, everything looks great so far and we'd love to test out what you've shown us. But you're asking us to do some very dangerous work. Don't get us wrong, we are just the ones to do it - but are there any other benefits to a friendship with Phoenix Corp? Facilites we could make use of as safehouses, labs, and so on when we're away from our own homesteads and hideouts?"

 

[Jiang Winters]

Winslow lifted one of his gloved hands and stroked his beard as he pondered Poknor's question for a moment. "I hadn't planned on extending the use of our facilities to the Sontrebren Crew... But I suppose it could be arranged, yes. There will be a few things to set up and we'd need to issue you some form of ID that would allow your people into our facilities... But all that can be worked out later. In short, yes, we will set up safehouses and whatnot for your people." He replied.

The eccentric man then clasped his gloves together in front of him, a soft clap echoing through the room as he exclaimed, "Right, well now that we have that out of the way, let's go blow the living daylights out of some targets, shall we?" With that said, he whipped about and headed for the weapons crates, longcoat fluttering behind him as he approached one of the larger olive-painted plasteel crates and unceremoniously kicked it open, exposing the contents of the crate: CAR-15 Assault Rifles, equipped with Chainsaw Bayonets.

"This is the CAR-15, one of our basic assault rifles. Fires a mid-power round, deadly accurate at short to medium ranges, with decent stopping power. Plus it has a high rate of fire and a 60-round clip, so you can literally shred targets if you have to. Muzzle climb is negligible, thanks to the muzzle brake and the chainsaw weighting it down. And to boost its accuracy, we've designed it so that it can sync with a cybernetic interface or a soldier's Heads-up Display, meaning a targeting reticule and ammo counter appears wherever you point it. It's the EDF's workhorse weapon, and we'll provide as many of these to the Sontrebren Crew as you need, along with suitable amounts of ammo. That is to say, 600 rounds per rifle delivered. If you'd like to test fire it, you'll find that in the room right behind you, we've knocked out some walls and installed targets, both armor-plated and 'soft'." He explained, turning about and holding two rifles up for the Capo and Underboss to see. He was going to show them some of the more basic weapons and armor, then demonstrate the Crusader Mk III Power Armor that was sitting in the cargo bay of the Phoenix Corporation Freighter.

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

He looked over the gun, he knew their traits well enough, but he never liked bayonets. "We could do without the bayonet, it's too heavy, it makes the gun too heavy to work with. Show us what it can do."

 

[Viggy]

The Cathar listened closely as Winslow went over the specs on the CAR-15. A grin spread on his feline features as he saw the chainsaw bayonet. “Nice… a little impractical, but very nice. Intimidating.”

Taking one of the assault rifles from Winslow, Poknor went into the shooting range set up in the room behind them. He wished he had a helmet with HUD, or cybernetic enhancements like Teo had, so he could test out the targeting and ammo counters Winslow had described. But in the meantime, it was more then enough fun to pump rounds into the torsos and heads of the targets set up. The gun seemed to have good armour piercing capabilities, and the Cathar also tested the chainsaw on one of the ‘soft’ targets. It was shredded in seconds, making Poknor grin again.

 

[Jiang Winters]

"The CAR-15's chainsaw is built into it's foregrip, which is interchangable with the CAR-10's foregrip, which also includes a rail system so you can mount a flashlight, underbarrel grenade launcher, or a forward pistol grip. We'll provide you with a number of CAR-10 Foregrips so your people can customize their rifles. For now, Teo, here's a CAR-10. It's essentially the same rifle on the outside, but the internals aren't as robust as the CAR-15." Winslow replied, pulling out a similar-looking rifle from the crate, different only in that it had no bayonet.

He set the rifle down on the table for Teo to examine, then followed after Poknor as the cathar went into the impromptu shooting range. He stood back and watched as the Underboss tested the rifle, shredding several of the armored targets and then chainsawing another hapless dummy. Judging by the grin on the Cathar's muzzle, Winslow was going to wager that Poknor liked the rifle; definitely a good thing.

Once they were done with the rifle, he'd show off some of the body armor available and one of the cybernetic augmentation programs, and then finally wrap things up with the Crusader's demonstration.

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

Teo examined the weapon, "Thank you, sir." He had no need to do anything but see it in action, he already knew about it and had seen it in action before. Teo then turned and lifted the rifle in one hand. His arm was reinforced prosthetic and could withstand the recoil of the gun without harm.

He let it rip, using auto-targeting programming that he had written himself. "Low recoil, a solid gun that I see potential for even in the tinkering stages. I think we could use these, they're better than the rifles we give out and looks like they were build to take a beating. Overheating doesn't seem like a big issue, looks like a solid rifle. We'll also need replacement parts for now, to repair the malfunctioning ones. There are always a few bad rifles in the box."

 

[Jiang Winters]

"Of course. We'll provide a supply of replacement parts and tools along with the rifles." Winslow replied, as he produced a small palm-sized datapad from a pocket inside his coat and examined the screen for a moment, before speaking up again. "Right, well since you two seem happy enough with the rifles - which is only part of the weapons we'll provide - let's move on and take a look at some of the other toys Phoenix Corporation will set you two up with, shall we? So, which would you rather look at, Armor, or Cybernetic Augmentations?"

 

[Viggy]

Poknor tested the chainsaw on an armoured target as Teo and Winslow discussed the weapons’ finer points and the human Capo outlined what would Phoenix would need to include with the rifles. Winslow had no arguments with what Teo asked for, and although Poknor was disappointed to find that the chainsaw bayonet was useless against armour, he was still very pleased with the CAR-15 overall.

“Let’s look at the armour next,” the Cathar said as he put the rifle he’d tested down with the others. He had no particular reason for wanting to see the armour before the cybernetic augmentations, but he figured it didn't really matter which one he chose to see first. They would see it all, after all.

 

[Jiang Winters]

Winslow beckoned for the Underboss and Capo to follow, then led them back out into the living room in which the crates were located. He walked to the far wall where a thin sheet was draped over a pair of man-sized objects and yanked off the protective cloth covering, revealing, two different suits of armor, one heavy and one medium, each equipped on a pair of dummies placed side by side.

"I've brought two suits of armor for you to inspect. The first is Crusader class infantry armor, not to be confused with the Crusader Power Armor. The Crusader Heavy Infantry Armor is a simple, straightforward composite armor built for maximum survivability without severely hampering the wearer's movement. It's issued with a thin black armorweave bodysuit with a built-in cooling system, to keep the wearer from roasting. Most pistol-grade slug rounds and blaster pistol bolts are stopped cold by the armor, and its hard armor plates can withstand several hits from assault rifles and blaster rifles, and will even withstand strikes from a battle rifle. But sustained fire will punch through the plates, so avoiding fire is still your best bet. We'll issue replacement plates and repair kits with every suit, so you can put it back together after getting it shot up."

As he spoke, he gestured to the heavily plated, gray suit, then pointed to the helmet. "The armor is equipped with a basic tactical computer and FOF tags. The helmet's HUD - or most any HUD Eyepiece capable of syncing with the computer - will link with the tactical computer, which in turn links with any compatible weapon you happen to be holding. The Tactical Computer then displays a targeting reticule - customizable for different scenarios, of course - showing where the weapon is aiming and displaying how much ammo is left in its clip or power cell. The computer will also display a faint blue aura around any friendlies in the area, provided they have a FOF tag. We'll send detailed instructions on how to set up the FOF system and armor tactical computer to get your people started on that."

With the first armor having been showed off, he took a step to the side, and then gestured to the second suit, a light tan armored suit that looked to be much lighter in weight than the other. "This is M-51 Medium Infantry Armor, standard issue for EDF Infantry and the preferred body armor of about half a dozen mercenary groups in the galaxy. It's inexpensive, robust, dependable, and has a perfect blend of comfort, agility, and protection. It'll reliably stop blaster rifle fire and assault rifle fire, but the armor plates are overwhelmed and destroyed more easily than the Crusader-class armor's plates, and if there's a battle or sniper rifle kicking around on the field, hide in a hurry because this armor will only stop one or two rounds from such a weapon and that's only if you are one lucky bastard." He explained.

"Unlike the Crusader, the M-51 doesn't have a Tactical Computer or HUD built into it, but it does have a FOF tag. You can upgrade the armor with a Tactical Computer if you want, though. There's a slot for such a computer and a mount for a HUD eyepiece built into the helmet, so installing those modules would be straightforward. Oh, and we do have some light infantry armor available, but both suits are so modular and customizable that really, you can transform them into light armor if you need to." He finished, then clasped his hands behind his back and waited to hear what the two had to say.

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

"We'll need fifty of the M-51's and twenty of the Crusaders." He was compiling a list of measurements of The Crew. He's sat silently by as everything was happening, he didn't care for combat suits. Combat was chaos anyway and armor was a gamble, often enough people got a good shot right between the plates. "I can have all of the specifics on the suits sent to you in a few minutes."

 

[Viggy]

The Cathar rapped his furry knuckles on the Crusader’s armour plating, as he took a good look at the helmet. He gave the M-51 set a similar inspection. He had never used a helmet or eyepiece with HUD before, let alone Tactical Computers. He smirked to himself a bit, imagining it would make a combat situation feel almost like a hologame. At the same time though, he could definitely see how such technology could help a Crew member’s life in a tough spot. And if the armour was as strong as Winslow described, it could save lives. Keep the Sontrebren Crew’s men and women from being pumped full of holes was important, and the Crusader armour in particular would also make the Crew’s muscle intimidating.

“Very impressive,” Poknor said simply, giving Winslow a feline smile. “I’ve never been one for armour before, but I think I’ll start wearing M-51 myself, once all this arrives at the hideout. In the meantime, let’s take a look at those cybernetics you mentioned.”

 

[Jiang Winters]

Things were really going quite smoothly; Winslow was pleased. So far, the Sontrebren Crew's officers had been happy with both the armor and the weapons that the Phoenix Corporation would provide. He quickly typed the number of armored suits requested into his datapad, then proceeded to the holographic projector as Poknor spoke.

"Hm, you're going to wear M-51? I'll see to it that a variant tailored for Cathar physiology is included. The only major difference is your helmet will have ear slots." He thought aloud, as he tapped a set of instructions into the holographic projector, causing it to load up and display images of the various cybernetic implants that the Corporation would offer. "Oh, before I get started, bear in mind that we'll only provide Cybernetic Augmentations for four of your crew in the beginning, not including the Boss and Underboss. After that, we will award you implants as bonuses for certain difficult missions, or we may give you implants so your people can perform difficult missions. Also, the image I am going to show you is a testbed subject for a combat enhancement program that was run by this nasty little R&D company called 'CARD'. The subject has quite a few augmentations, but we'll only give out one implant at a time, and we'll dole out more as time goes on, so whoever you choose to give implants to, make sure that they choose their implants wisely."

With that, he turned and tapped on the projector, causing the image of a fair-skinned human male with a fairly athletic build to pop up. After a moment, the skin and muscles of the holographic representation was stripped away, showing the bones and internal organs. "The first and simplest augmentation we can provide is a small implant grafted into a rib. It contains a miniaturized bacta dispenser, and activates immediately upon detecting an injury. The model we will provide can heal a single blaster or slug pistol wound fairly quickly - or at least stop the bleeding- but then it will require a refill. This particular implantation can be done in about an hour, and heals within two to three days with the proper treatment."

The hologram than shifted, showing a close-up of the dispenser for a moment before zooming back out and layering muscle over the skeleton and showing the eyes of the subject. "The next augmentation is replacement of the subject's natural eyes with synthetics that look and behave just like the real thing, but they have far more acute vision and can see in several different spectrums. They even have a built in HUD that syncs with other implants and can even link to a datapad, if one has a neural net interface, which I'll get to in a minute. The downside is it's recommended that the augmentations be given a week to 'take', during which time regular bacta treatments must be taken, and the synthetics have to be de-activated through the entire healing process. It'll then take two to three days for the augmented individual to adjust to their new eyes."

After he stopped speaking, the hologram automatically turned around, displaying the back of the subject's head, at which point Winslow pointed out the base of the skull, where a pair of small circular ports were located. "This is a Direct Neural Interface, or DNI. It's a fairly common augmentation among EDF Power Armor Pilots now that we're releasing suits compatible with the interface. Very safe implantation, but it does take roughly two weeks to fully take, though we did note that Cathar pilots tend to recover much faster, generally within three to five days. It probably has something to do with the fact that the species tends to be rather quick to heal. Anyways, after the implant has healed, the augmented individual can begin using it immediately to sync with electronic devices or compatible Power Armor, though it generally takes anywhere from three days to a month for the user to master use of the augmentation. For maximum combat effectiveness, we recommend that you use a HUD with the DNI, unless you have synthetic eyes in which case there's really no need for a HUD eyepiece."

Next, the hologram zoomed out, showing the muscle tissue, which was interlaced with black strands of what appeared to be muscle, but was actually synthetic material. "Hmmm... Well, this final implant is synthetic muscle and it's really quite impressive, but... So far, we've only been able to get it to 'take' in species with powerful healing abilities, or in species that are extremely resilient to begin with. Even then, it can be dangerous unless the augmented individual can learn to control their new strength before they rip themselves apart, so until we can perfect the augmentation, and devise a way to reduce the three-month recovery time, I cannot in good conscience give it to any of your personnel."

He slapped the projector once, and it died out. "There are some other augmentations we have, and we do supply cybernetic limbs, but the implants I've shown you are the highlights. Now, the next thing I have to show - and I absolutely guarantee that you will love this - is power armor. Specifically, the Crusader Mark III, the EDF's workhorse armor."

[ooc: I really need to stop being so creative. Writing this post short-circuited my brain. -.- ]