Open Building the Unbuildable

[Raith Sokol]

Sokol had been planetside for an entire day, and still he felt as if he had not spent enough time preparing for the day's meeting. Arriving by commercial transport early in the morning the day before, he had checked into a hotel and spent the rest of the day brushing up on his proposals, before heading out to take a closer look at the design of the base they would be meeting in.

Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it simply was not enough.

After all, it wasn’t everyday you got the opportunity to meet the defence secretary.

The ISC was one of the fastest growing regional powers in the entire galaxy, rapidly on its way to graduating to galactic superpower if his forecasts were accurate. They’d announced massive reforms to the public finances, and even now undertook a total reordering of their members' armed forces into a combined cohesive structure. That meant the ISC was investing billions in infrastructure projects to support this huge growth, and Sokol was keen to get in on the action.

So, he had spent several weeks putting the feelers out to various industry figures, and finally, had got himself a meeting, here on Christophis, with the Secretary of State for Defence of this flourishing galactic power.

Standing in the lobby, in front of the Secretary's private office, Sokol felt the nerves rising. He was dressed in black trousers and a light coloured shirt, a simple black tie and a formal jacket. In his jacket pocket could be seen three code cylinders, and in his right hand he clutched a brushed leather bag, containing his datapad, and some notes.

He had spent months on the proposals.

Proposals that would see Christophis back on the map as a major producer of ships, with supply chains running from here to Mon Calamari, which should sweeten the deal in bringing the aquatic world into the ISC.

Sokol straightened his tie, tried not to sweat too much, and waited for the meeting.

 

[Carrick]

Carrick would have very much preferred a chance to meet with Raith without needing it to be first thing he did when disembarking from his transport but needs must. And he had quickly come to realize that needs, in this case, were often rather forthcoming when it came to things that needed doing immediately. His time had been eaten away until he didn't have a chance to actually arrive in reasonable time, instead having just enough time to straighten his hair and suit as he was driven the final distance to where he would be meeting with Raith.

The fact that Christophsis was as much of a hub for the defense industry for the ISC as was possible to currently be was perhaps the only reason he wasn't later - he didn't have much chance to stray far from the base after all. There was always something that demanded his attention.

Entering his private office from the roof-based lading pad off to the side, he helped himself to half a mouthful of coffee as one of his assistants double checked his appearance.

"Raith is already here?" he asked, getting a nod in return that he returned, "Good. Only get one shot at a good first impression after all..."

Moving to sit behind his desk, he noted that some of his files were still on the desk but they were only low security clearance files. Those with higher clearance that Raith was currently cleared for had already been locked away but these remained for now, as much to give the impression he was terribly busy as it was a product of his terrible habit of expanding to use up the whole of any work surface he used.

"Send him in on your way out."

The instruction given, the assistant carefully marched out of the room, silently opening the doors and nodding in acknowledgement of Raith.

"The Secretary will see you now."

@Nor'baal

 

[Raith Sokol]

"The Secretary will see you now."

"Thank you." he found himself responding, almost on autopilot, as he walked in through the door the Secretaries assistant was holding open for him, Immediately he found himself in a domineering office, bound with the trappings of power, holograms of military insignia and more on the walls, as the engineer walked the not inconsiderable distance across the room to the Secretary himself.

Stopping a respectful distance away, he awkwardly stuck out his right arm, offering a handshake, and introduced himself.

"Secretary, thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. My name is Saith R...Raith Sokol, and I am an architect and civil engineer. My office and yours liaised a few months back around some of the forthcoming infrastructure projects you have planned for the ISC, and in that time I have devised a few schematics and blueprints for various undertakings."

Raith placed his briefcase down and opened it, displaying assorted plans within.

"Perhaps it would be best if you let me know what projects are a priority for you?"[/font]

 

[Carrick]

Well the poor man was meant to be an engineer and not an orator so Carrick didn’t hold the introduction against him. Instead he rose from his own seat behind his desk and moved round to the front to accept the handshake that was offered. Slightly sweatier than was ideal but, well, the man appeared to be rather nervous so it couldn’t be helped.

“The pleasure is mine Mr Sokol.” He assured the engineer with a small smile and a calming tone he had learned during his time as a Jedi Knight, “Please – take a seat.”

Gesturing to the seat in front of his own desk, he moved back to his own seat as the engineer immediately carried on talking. Carrick was settling himself back down into his seat when it came down to some of the more important issues that the two of them were there to discuss. Looking over some of the blueprints for the time being, he nodded a little bit before reaching into one of his desk drawers.

“You’ve been very thorough but, of course, I trust that you will be accommodating…” he pulled out a rather standard non-disclosure agreement form and placed it on the desk with an almost apologetic smile on his face, “Sorry Mr Sokol but I’m afraid we must ensure that we are all playing by the rules. I’m sure this is all old hat for someone with your level of experience in the industry but it’s new enough to me that I still apologize every time.”

Once Sokol had signed the NDA, Carrick would sign his own part of the agreement before immediately opening with what seemed like a bit of an odd question.

“Christophsis or Naboo. Which would you prefer to build a shipyard for?” he asked, bluntly before smiling a little wider, “Largest ship to be produced would be a frigate. I’m not asking you to design those monsters around Kuat after all.”

@Nor'baal

 

[Raith Sokol]

Sokol sat down when invited, and shuffled in the chair trying to make himself comfortable as he talked through some of the plans. He was stopped, however, when the old faithful, the conversation killer, the NDA, emerged from the drawer. Sokol leaned back in his chair and took the paper from Carrick - who was about to realise first hand, what it was like to have a detail-obsessed engineer in the room.

"Of course." he took out a pair of glasses "A moment if you please."

He put the glasses on and began to read the NDA, line by line, Mumbling as he did so.

"Standard non-disclosure agreement....yes....agree to not share info....yes-yes...." he chortled away to himself, tracking the lines on the page with a stylus as he did so "...must use provided dr...no that won't do...." he struck a line through a section requiring him to use provided droids for his designs, and then scurried down the rest of the document, making no further changes.

Five painful minutes later, he signed on the dotted line, and then, as if it was nothing, carried on.

"The Kuat have no taste for good engineering. Their vessels tend to be over-priced and too utilitarian, they go for size over substance each and every time. It never works." Sokol replied, his eyes never leaving his datapad as he scanned through information on the two worlds "Naboo, no. Their local workforce is too expensive and too focused on pleasure vehicles. Christophis has more adaptable labour laws, and I can bring additional people in from Mon Cala, my world of choice for weapons engineers - they are masters in the field."

He stopped, as if thinking, and then put his datapad down.

"Yes. Christophis. Six months, with the right resources, and a ready access to Mon Cala." he replied, in a matter of fact tone. "Yes?"

 

[Carrick]

Carrick didn't mind at all when the engineer took out a pair of glasses to actually look over the fine detail of the NDA. He wanted to work with Sokol and the best way to endear the engineer to the idea of working with the ISC was to ensure that he did nothing to give the impression he would be a terrible boss. Trying to entrap him with a terribly worded NDA would put him firmly in the "shitty boss" camp so Carrick had made sure that the legal document was entirely neutral.

That he was checking it over was a nice little addition to what he already knew of the man.

"Do you have a preference for tea or coffee?" he asked the other man as he read through the document, fixing to make a cup of either for the man as he prepared some tea for himself, "We have a small collection of flavored teas."

And, his personal favorite, Alderaanian Breakfast tea. So very simple, so very basic and yet so very classic with a splash of blue milk and a cube of sugar to add a touch of sweetness. If Sokol expressed a preference he would make the engineer a cup of the beverage he preferred before returning to the desk.

"Ah yes the age old spacer's creed; buy Kuati if you have the credits and Corellian if you have the brains." he repeated a joke he had often heard working with smugglers and smaller time workers while he served as a Jedi Knight, "Naboo does have other local workforces and ready access to plasma but I understand your reasoning."

He took a measured sip of his tea.

"The Christophsis shipyard would also need to have a section of semi-permanent berths enough for a fleet of this style." he added, showing Sokol a list of the make up of one of the Three-Fold Fleets the ISC would be using, "As for Mon Cala, I understand your desire for their expertise. Though not my strongest suit, I believe they are well known for having very advanced shielding technology as well."

Another sip of tea.

"When you say ready access to Mon Cala... how do you mean? They currently trade with us. Would your plans require them to be an ISC aligned world themselves or would a closer trade deal alone be acceptable?"

@Nor'baal

 

[Raith Sokol]

"Neither. Caffeine addles the mind." Sokol responded in a clipped tone, fully oblivious to the rudeness of his reply "Ah yes the age-old spacer's creed; buy Kuati if you have the credits and Corellian if you have the brains." the Defence Secretary replied, and he cast a look over the plans.

Sokol did not laugh.

Instead, he focused on scribbling down some notes on his datapad, as the secretary commented on features that the facility would require. "Quite doable." the engineer remarked, before turning to the 'Mon Cala' question. "Either is fine. I have worked under different, less formal arrangements in the past when it came to labour. The Hutts always dealt with labour shortages more...directly. Such a method I not legal here I am sure. So, I just need an immigration deal with them. Beyond that, matters not to the completion of the plan."

 

[Carrick]

Caffeine addles the mind?

"Then that explains why there's always free coffee at New Republic voting booths I suppose." he casually shot a shot at... well a political enemy that had no way to know he'd scored a hit but, well, habits were hard to just ignore, "Remind me to add some to the for the ISC's own."

He handed Raith a glass of water instead - he doubted the older man would find much objectionable about the drink but if he did Carrick was more than prepared to ignore that or have someone step out to get another drink. His demands for the shipyard were doable? Well that was what he was going to be paying the man for so that was a relief.

Carrick hummed ever so slightly at the comment on Mon Cala.

"I will reach out to them to discuss strengthening trade ties and allowing a movement of skilled workers. For less skilled workers we have another potential supply." he admitted, handing a draft of something that was not yet common knowledge, "We have a number of refugees rapidly leaving Hutt worlds. Some have experience within the shipyards of said slugs - could you use their meagre talents?"

@Nor'baal

 

[Raith Sokol]

"They will need to be closely supervised." Sokol responded quickly "Ideally, I would like to visit Mon Cala and see what we can do to bring greater numbers of engineers, and possibly even labourers over. Perhaps," Sokol paused, wondering if it was his place to make such an offer. He proceeded regardless "Let me put it this way. If the ISC would see a benefit in Mon Cala being more closely aligned with their operations, I would be happy to support on any projects to bolster that relationship."

"Regardless, either way, their labour will be sufficient. We can commence work by the end of the day." he stood up, and started to gather his things. "Would you like to see the site, and, once the foundations are in, inspect it for yourself?"

 

[Carrick]

Closely supervising the workforce made almost entirely of people coming from a crime-ruled (never mind crime-ridden, it was well beyond that in Hutt Space) while they were working on projects of varying degrees of importance to the nation? Carrick would be insulted that Raith seemed to think he would accept anything less than overwhelming security but he was coming to believe that Raith Sokol was not, as some might say, a people person.

"Have no fear Raith - you'll find that your security detail on site will be as heavily involved in the project as they can be without causing unacceptable delays." he both assured and warned the engineer, "If they find reasonable suspicions they will halt work in that specific area until the... gaps... have been filled."

What were a few bodies in the foundations of something that needed to be done? Nothing he would lose sleep over when it was happening to criminal leeches trying to steal from their hard work.

"I'll be seeing you again soon. Though, of course, I'll make sure to call ahead - surprise inspections are beneath us I feel."

**Skip**​

Surprise inspections were beneath him, though scheduling said visit only a scant three hours before he was due to arrive was not beneath him at all.

Indeed, Carrick arrived at the site of the main construction with his security detail exactly three hours after he had had the notification forwarded to Raith. Of course to ensure the man did, in fact, know about the meeting he had sent both a digital notice and sent a man to inform the engineer just to be safe. He returned the salute given to him by an officer of the ISC Army, specifically the officer in charge of the security of the project.

"Major Currza." he greeted the officer in clipped, professional tones, "I am in your hands."

The Major gave him a rundown of the security measures in place as he led him toward where Raith was hard at work supervising - likely looked a lot like just staring at plans and barking commands to most people but Carrick knew well enough to assume it was something more. As he approached he smiled and spoke up.

"Mr Sokol; everything going well enough I assume?"

@Nor'baal

 

[Raith Sokol]

"Three?" Sokol was staring out the viewscreen of the construction sites observation deck, listening to the report from one of his foremen, a sharply dressed man from the ISC Military Engineering Corp. The Officer was reading off a report of a recent fight that had broken out between the workers of 'Sub-Section B', a waste discharge pipe being installed onto the lower levels of the in-progress project. "No matter." Sokol calmly entered the data into his system, adjusting the work flows to account for the change in staff, and spoke again "Increase the shifts of splinters nine through eleven by one hour each for the next week to make up the shortfall." he instructed, waving a hand to dismiss the Officer.

As the man left to carry out the instruction, Defence Secretary Carrick and his entourage arrived at the dimly lit operations hub.

Sokol cast a look at his watch, and scowled.

They were late.

"Major Currza you must do better. I need a review of your processes within the hour. A," he checked the timepiece for accuracy ".... five-minute delay like this has knock-on effects." he ignored the Majors look, and focused on the Secretary, collecting his jacket and shock prod as he did so. "Secretary, if you would follow me?"

 

[Carrick]

Raith Sokol was ruling his operation like it was his own personal fiefdom but Carrick honestly couldn't bring himself to care all that much. So long as the man managed to deliver what he had promised, he could be as eccentric and difficult to work with as he liked - practicality trumped comradery in his experience. Major Currza looked like he wanted to shoot the man and barely managed to disguise it behind a thin veneer of professionalism.

"Sir."

The Major stepped away to continue seeing to his duties, saluting Carrick before leaving. As he did so, Carrick looked around the operations hub before making to follow Raith himself. With his security detail keeping pace behind them, Carrick wandered confidently along with Raith.

"Of course Mr Sokol - I trust that, delays not withstanding, things have been going well with the project so far?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and an easy smile, "I do so enjoy being able to report good news to the President and being on track for your ambitious schedule would certainly be good news."

@Nor'baal

 

[Raith Sokol]

Sokol kept pace with Carrick as they walked from the command hub and out into the main corridor leading down to the 'factory floor'. "The President will not be disappointed, there are no delays. We have ensured to stay on schedule, and I have been," he paused, mulling over the word to use "...surprised, by the welcome received by some of the representatives from Mon Cala. We have provided many of their best and brightest with gainful employment."

"In fact, Secretary, I believe they are open to a closer relationship with the ISC, possible within the ISC as well." he added, continuing down the corridor and stopping in front of an observation window where he came to a halt. "That aside, below you can see the main superstructure of the conveyor. The hull is dropped in here," he gestured to the roof "...and from there the mechanical staff can enter the working area through the bottom and sides of the main hanger."

He turned to face the Secretary "Questions?"

 

[Carrick]

'The President will not be disappointed' was quickly going to become Carrick's favorite phrase to hear from Sokol and other engineers working on other military infrastructure projects that the ISC was working on across it's space. If things continued to proceed in a similar manner, they might well soon be more than the backwater they currently were. A united and fairly prosperous backwater but one none the less until they could prove otherwise to both themselves and the Galaxy at large.

And to do that, great works needed to be accomplished and the shipyard/naval base was shaping up to be one that would serve both on an infrastructural and military level. Things that worked on multiple levels worked out well for him and the ISC as a whole so it was win-win really.

"Excellent to hear on both points." he agreed with a grin, "I do believe Mon Cala can play a vital part in our own emergence should they be willing to play ball in such a manner."

Having Mon Cala join the ISC would be a coup no matter how it was presented. While something of a (literal) backwater itself, Mon Cala had become famous the Galaxy over for it's ship building as many of their models had been used by the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic in the immediate aftermath of the end of the Galactic Civil War. It would be a hell of a rub if they were to sign on with them rather than stay with the FWA but he wasn't going to be getting his hopes up too much.

Looking over the construction, he couldn't help but feel an immense wave of satisfaction and only some of it was from Sokol. Likely the engineer didn't see anything to be particularly proud of until the work was done but he could work with that too. He shook his head slightly.

"Not about the build - I'm convinced that you are doing fantastic work on that. However..." he tilted his head to one side slightly, "I will be making a visit to Mon Cala with a friend of mine soon. Anything in particular from them that would assist with your work?"

@Nor'baal

 

[Raith Sokol]

Sokol shared Carrick's enthusiasm with regard to the benefits of Mon Cala, a planet he well knew was renowned across the galaxy for its leadership in ship construction. Yet, its asset was also what kept it so free from external interference - a proud world, a strong people, and one that was able to hold its own, as history had shown, against the odds.

Even though he was not a politician, Sokol knew that it would be a hard sell indeed to get them on board with the ISC.

"Indeed. Mon Cala could benefit from some sizable works. Most obviously there is a new inward traffic shipyard. A design I have considered, which makes a deep 'tunnel' from a surface port to the cities below - enabling off-world traffic to enter the cities directly. Aside from that, there are largescale oceanic projects to consider, most notable connection bridges between settlements, energy stations, and reef-protections to explore."

Sokol had clearly been working on this for a while.

"I believe what would most benefit the planet, given its proximity to Sith space, however, would be orbital development. Shield generation screens, similar to those employed by the Krennic Project a few centuries back, alongside orbital platforms intended for the purposes of defence, could be explored."

 

[Carrick]

As much as he was intrigued in a general sense by the proposals to improve the way of life for the peoples of Mon Cala and their prosperity, he didn't think it was a priority. Of course there would be exceptions to that line of thinking but only if certain things happened in the near future. Primarily?

"I would be very happy to see such projects go ahead - if and when Mon Cala decides to join the ISC they would be something to look upon most favorably."

But if they didn't join the ISC he wouldn't be pushing for Raith to spend so much of his time on them. No, he would continue to ply the man with challenges and ISC Crowns in order to keep him busy within ISC space. He could, certainly, work outside of the ISC but Carrick would endeavour to make it so he was so fulfilled within the ISC that he didn't feel the need to look elsewhere.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Krennic Project? Oh, you mean Tarkin's Triumph." he hummed a little bit as he thought about it, "I suppose I could see it's appeal, though it was far from a fool-proof defence if I recall. The rebels managed to do great damage with just a token attack force."

Though if any defense force could be realistically be expected to prepared to defend itself from it's own ships being rammed into themselves, he wasn't sure.

@Nor'baal