Sirka and Boqo collab




Boqo looked back at his bodyguard. "Don't worry about it, as long as you keep me alive on the ground, I keep us alive when we aren't." He said, confidence shining through. He knew how to handle himself in space, he just needed Sirka for the times he wasn't.

He pressed a button on his dashboard, opening a channel with the planetoid. "This is the Rapier from the Golden Exchange. We have a gift for the great Timana." He learned from Koren that Hutts like to get stuff, especially when the people giving them are praising the slugs. There was some alien-languaged muttering on the other side before a very bad basic-speaking person on the other end told them they were cleared for landing.




The Rapier landed in the apprioprate bay, slow and steady. They didn't want to come over too hasty. It did land with it's face towards the exit, which was a small but useful thing about the Scout Courier: Their entrances were at the back of the ship, meaning they would faster be ready to fly out again. Boqo pressed a few buttons on his dashboard before a hatch opened and revealed his DH-17, which he picked up and put in his holster on his belt. He stood up from his pilot seat and looked back at Sirka. "Let's just forget what just happened and focus on the mission, okay?" He said, referring to the awkward moments from earlier.

Sirka gave a brief nod. "Don't worry, I'm a professional. Besides, I'm not keen on dying either." She replied as she stepped back on to the lift just behind the cockpit. Again, they had to go back down separately, unless Boqo wanted to be crushed into the wall.

Although she had not seen the package being loaded, Sirka did not have trouble following its scent to the cargo hold, nor was it a challenge for her to pick out exactly which of the containers in the hold contained the body. Now that she was closer, she could discern a bit more information about the package. It was a fairly fresh kill. At least, the obvious signs of rot had not yet set in. That meant that either their package's death had been planned well a head of time, or this delivery job itself had been planned this very day. That would, perhaps, explain why she had been hired to begin with, as Koren may not have had any of his usual security hires on hand for the job.

Regardless, Sirka went ahead and picked up the container holding their package as Boqo was coming down the lift. Unlike the droids, Sirka was able to hoist it up onto one shoulder seemingly without effort, using one arm to keep it stable and balanced. With her other arm, she grabbed her repeater off of her back and held it from the top, which she felt struck a balance between being ready for a fight, and not being overtly threatening towards any of the security staff. Ultimately, the best outcome would be if she could keep a fight from breaking out at all, even if it meant less hazard pay. "Okay, you lead the way, and I'll keep close next to you."

When Boqo came down and saw Sirka already carrying the package, he was pleasantly surprised Koren gave him such a physicly strong bodyguard. As they unloaded, the two of them made their ways through the slums to the establishment of Timana, which wasn't far from the landing pad. Security first wanted to stop the saurian, but after explaining they were needed to carry the gift to Timana, they let them both through. They did seem a bit on guard with the big bodyguard next to him, but most of them were thinking they were just for the heavy lifting anyway. Boqo actually felt a bit safer now. Once they passed all the security, which didn't dare to come close to the gift for the Hutt or the person carrying it, they finally reached Timana's room, where the big slug himself was sitting facing the doorway.

Although she did not make it outwardly obvious, Sirka was constantly on-guard for every step they took through the city. Every few seconds, she would flick out her nose-tongues and try to concentrate on the guards, or anyone else that looked armed and dangerous. They were walking through the slums, so most of what she smelled was not terribly pleasant, but being that she was raised in the slums of Nar Shaddaa, she could ignore it.

For the Hutt's guards themselves, Sirka could sense a bit of tension within them as she passed them by, but nothing too unusual. She did not imagine that it was a common occurence for someone to start a fight in the middle of a Hutt's territory, so most of them who had been on the job for a while would probably have settled into a routine of standing around and looking tough.

The large chamber in which they had been directed to present their "gift" to Timana seemed rather standard for a Hutt crimelord. Plenty of space for guards, decorations that most average people woudl find tasteless, and a place right in the middle where the Hutt could lay down his or her fat rolls and make themselves feel important. In any case, once they were face-to-face with the Hutt, Sirka carefully lowered the package down off of her shoulder and onto the ground for the Hutt's employees to take over. Sirka herself kept silent, since she assumed it was Boqo's job to do the talking.

Koren sighed as he left the office shortly after the Orro had. Imperials were always a mess, and he was a little worried about what he knew was on the transport. The Rebels had been very tight lipped about what it contained, what he knew was on board… if the rumours were true things were going to change in the sector. Cipher had been quiet for too long, this was no doubt going to change things plus the New Republic was still thinking about rearing its head in the sector. As he moved back to his office a droid came up to him and handed him a datapad before simply walking away. To anyone else it would have been weird though Korens business required him to always be available, he was always receiving and redistributing information. He had played with the idea of getting cybernetics for a while, though anything needed to make a dramatic improvement in his ability to retain and recall information would drastically affect his personality, and that was part of the reason he was so good at his job. There was a reason people let him live when he sold their secrets.

It was because he knew everything that went on here. People knew there was a risk associated with making a deal with him, and anyone who didn’t realize that was a fool not worth his time. Something flashed up on the datapad and he sighed. “Call Skidder to my office.” Aurrie buzzed and then turned around, it would be easier to use commlinks here. Though there was the occasionally ambitious attempt at counter-espionage. In the end it would prove pointless, but he found the added security despite the delay of sending a droid to be well worth it.

He turned to Besh. “We’ve acquired a new piece of hardware, and all my own couriers are busier. Time is off the essence, go get Elias in his ship, he owes me. Tell him to head for Near Pando, I’ll comm him the specifics on the way, it could potentially get rough so give him extra credits to hire his own security. I’m not in a good enough mood with him to actually supply it, that’ll be a nice hint for him. Then once you’re done with that I need to get in contact with Klaatu Barada, send him a message and request a meet. I’ve got something he could be interested in.”

As the two droids buzzed away Koren returned to his office, plain, simple, utilitarian. The fancy rooms were for those he needed to conduct business with someone of a certain class, and were used to a certain level of comfort. When he was working? He didn’t need anything fancy. Sitting behind his desk he began working through files, waiting for Skidder to arrive.

Skidder glanced around the spare and mostly empty office with his best I’m-totally-comfortable smile on his face as he entered. The austere level of decoration always made the gun-runner uneasy. After all a man who enjoyed his wealth, or at least enjoyed showing his wealth off, was easy to understand. One who didn’t usually had deeper motivations, which made them dangerous and worth avoiding. Unfortunately, selling dangerous things to dangerous people was Skidder’s main means of living and Koren was likely the most dangerous of them all. Oh, not because of wealth or influence or power though Skidder knew he had them all in plenty, Koren was dangerous because Skidder owed him a debt. The kind of debt that usually meant he’d be sent into even more dangerous situations, and at a discount to boot. Which was exactly why the arms dealer was pretending this was the nicest interaction he’d have all day.

“Always a pleasure to serve the Golden Exchange, Your Bossness! May I ask, what task am I honored to do today?”

The man was a coward. There was no other way that Koren could possibly explain him, though while he may be cowardly he was brilliant at what he did. Which is the sole reason he had entered this arrangement. He indicated to the seat at the opposite side of the table. “Take a seat Skidder.”

Once Skidder was seated Koren spoke again. “What do you know of Umbaran weaponry?”

Skidder raised an eyebrow in surprise but otherwise kept his face placid “Umbarans? I know they were a hyperspace-jump ahead of the rest of the galaxy tech-wise, at least. Saw an Umbaran blaster pistol once, the damn thing got more punch out of an ordinary power cell than any blaster I’ve seen since-” Skidder gave Koren a conspiratorial glance and hushed his voice like he was wary of eavesdroppers “-and between you and me Your Omniscientness, I’ve heard darker rumors too. Gas that’ll make a being fight through mortal wounds harder than a rancor and faster than a damn fast son-of-a-sleemo, droids that can infiltrate any place and shock you to death before you can notice they’re there...why d’you ask?” he said, hoping he didn’t know the answer already.

“I ask because there’s a shipment of Umbaran weapons and technology being sold in Hutt Space. I need you to go verify the legitimacy of the weapons, purchase them if they’re the real deal and bring them back to Paradise.” Koren wasn’t in the habit of stockpiling arms, however this was a serious game changer and could tip the scales of the conflict in Hutt Space. He wasn’t ready for anyone to have this kind of an advantage, if they were fraudulent then he didn’t care as much. Though these weapons could turn a small time player into a big player, and that was a power upset he didn’t want to witness.

“I’ll pay the usual rate, and I’ll even include money for a protection detail. However the stipulation is that a hired gun with you does not see, or touch the merchandise. That’s a no go. Any questions?”

Well, Skidder hadn’t expected that! It might almost be worth it to be able to say he’d traded genuine Umbaran weaponry. Rare feats like that helped build a reputation. On the other hand, “Your terms are good enough. But am I allowed to know who the initial seller is, Your Generousness? I mean, I am one of only a handful of sellers who could authenticate such weapons, so I’d like to know who I’ll be dealing with if it suits you.” And with that information, the sorts of people who’d likely be trying to kill him over the merch, though with such a rare find the list was going to be long. “Not to mention where the sale’s taking place. Can’t go there if I don’t know where it is.” Skidder knew that Koren liked to keep details on certain jobs close to the chest, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d just been dropped a set of coordinates and a pass-phrase for whoever he was buying from or selling to in the least.

Koren shrugged. “The initial seller? Not terribly important. He’s an old contact from the Clone Wars, a Neimoidian. Turns out he apparently managed to smuggle out a ship full of Umbaran weaponry. He’s been living quite happily as an arms dealer, turns out he’s managed to make quite the killing out of selling combat droids. Nothing quite like the amounts serving in the Clone Wars of course. Though apparently a couple of years ago the Empire found his factory and destroyed it, he’s lived quite happily off his riches for a long time though with the fall of the Emperor and the instability needs to do some upgrades to his compound, and while he has money he doesn’t want to use all of it, hence the shipment of Umbaran tech he’s been sitting on for years.” Koren brought up a hologram flicking through the apparent catalogue of items. From blasters and bodysuits to droids and mines.

“He doesn’t have any vehicles apparently, though I’ll see if your ability to talk can find out if there is truth in that. In terms of Venue, there’s few places that don’t have a large criminal presence. I’m sending payment to a new group of mercenaries on Ques-” Not that he actually believed them to be mercenaries, though the planet and their suspected origin would work to his advantage “-to clear a landing zone big enough for your ship, and his. Completely neutral, I’ll forward you the coordinates once you leave. I should point out, you’re not selling. You’re not redistributing, or keeping for yourself. These weapons are being brought right back here. Any questions?”

Skidder took in Koren’s meaning well enough. Try to hold onto a portion of the stash himself and it would be a violent violation of their agreement. Not that he wasn’t tempted, but even Skidder wasn’t foolish enough to try and keep a secret like that from Hutt Space’s most notorious information broker.

“None, now that that’s cleared up. Seems like a fairly decent point-A-to-B deal unless the information and location have already leaked to other ears-” Skidder was hasty to add “Not that I doubt your security and discretion. I’ll still take you up on that payment for extra muscle. Being shot by a glitchy old Battle Droid from the Clone Wars isn’t how I want to get out of the business. Unless there’s anything else, I’ll start my search for talent. I’d appreciate any suggestions in that direction, but only if they come free of strings or charge.”

Koren shrugged. “You’re perfectly capable of picking your own bodyguard.” Koren stood up. “Alright, are we done here?”

Skidder stood up as well, still grinning albeit less from nervousness-although a certain queasy feeling remained- and more from excitement at the thought of such rare weaponry and his being associated with it.

“Yeah, we’re done Your Perspicaciousness! You’ll have your guns shortly! Just be sure to give me the credit and the credits when the job’s through!”

Then, Skidder turned and walked out with as much dramatic dignity as he could before scurrying off to find an mercenary he could trust to not get too curious about his soon-to-be cargo.

Watching the Vodran board the ship in a singlefile line, Klaatu couldn't help but calculate the money as it walked onto his ship.
‘You’ll be worth about eight maybe nine thousand credits’ he thought to himself as a thinner adult Vodran walked past his gaze.
‘Oooh you’ll be worth at least twenty five thousand,’ Klaatu though.
“Make sure the big one there gets to eat good, we want him to be as stocky as possible when the buyers come.” He barked at his men, slightly grinning as he spoke.

Klaatu thought of Harra the Hutt, the former unofficial ruler of vodran. Thanks to her completely dismantling their infrastructure and societal hierarchy, the planet lay open for taking. The people were too unorganized to mount any kind of real defense against his armed force thugs. What united his men wasn’t a valiant cause or fear that klaatu might break them(though he has before). What unites his men is the knowledge that at the end of the day they all know their getting a large chunk of credits. Even though Klaatu was a sadistic twisted freak with a weird desire to hear his victims scream, he never shorted anyone on pay, and was consistently generous to those who did a job well done. Ironically, the crew of criminals was that based on an honest work labor system. As with every successful hull of livestock, the crew all drank a celebratory mug, saluting their Captain.

Once the last of the new prisoners were loaded into the cells, focus shifted towards take off. Klaatu however was too busy thinking to pay attention whatever it was commander oren spewed at him. Vodran had utterly no government, and no one to track him and his crew. It looked almost too easy. The base on nal hutta was only a bar with a min-hutt palace second floor with some minor modifications. It was to easy a target for his team to continue to operate out of. This planet however, was a natural camouflage with the foggy swamps covering most of its surface. It would be easy to stay hidden if they really put forth the effort. The more he considered it, the more Klaatu liked the idea. Interrupting Oren, Klaatu commanded him to get the nal hutta outpost on the holocom immediately.

In a few moments, very buff gamorrean appeared on the holocom, bowing to Klaatu, praising his leader. “Halt all operations on Nal Hutta immediately. I don't want anymore deals going through the cantina anymore, you understand me? From now own, the only thing you offer customers is a nice beverage and maybe some food.” Klaatu spoke, the Gamorrean grunting and nodding in reply. Turning back to Oren as the com went dark, Klaatu was quick to order the Lambdas to come in for a landing on the remains of the village, surrounding the Tartarus.

Walking down to engineering, Klaatu found both Izen and Blodo at separate tables both deeply involved in their work. The noise of the workshop hurt Klaatu’s eardrums, forcing him to cover his ears as he entered the room. Unable to get their attention by yelling or stomping, Klaatu fired his blaster between the two tables, making both nearly jump out of their skin. Both of them now facing Klaatu he told them their new instructions.
“I need you too to get all the scrap metal you can. I don’t care if its broken gun parts, old ship parts, or you kill one of the cyborgs and take him apart, but I need you guys to make 48 shock collars.”
“Shock collars?” Izen asked “What could you possibly have pla…” He stopped, thinking “you know what, I don't want to know. What kind of shock collar are we talking? One to tame a beast or just to keep someone from getting out of hand?” Izen asked, pulling out a pad to take down the specifics of the request.
“Are you trying to make them automatic or do you want them to have controllers?” Blodo asked.
“I need them to be able to respond to a controller, but I need them in groups. Six controllers that each have eight collars at its command.” Klaatu explained.
The math was simple. He had 6 ships, including the one he was standing on. That means he could divide the slaves into 6 different group to go to 6 different places and gather resources for them to begin construction with. There are a total of 79 prisoners on board the tartarus, only 15 areto unhealthy for labor, and only 5 are too young to put to work or sell. That left him with 11 alternates to keep his labor force just below the point of overexhaustion. Add in his 60+ crew members on board and piloting the Lamba’s and he had a rather large workforce.
“How do you expect us design and craft nearly 50 slave collars with just the supplies on the ship?!?” Izen asked, regretting his tone immediately. Klaatu strode up to the small zabrak grabbing him by the collar, lifting him off the floor with one hand, he began to choke the small mechanic. Blodo only stood aside, watching his friend’s life force drain from his eyes. Klaatu began to think calmly again, releasing his grip of the small alien’s neck, dropping him to the floor in a small heap.
“You’ll figure it out, won’t you boy’s?” Klaatu asked, a his tone hinting at something much more painful coming. The two aliens only nodded with their eyes to the floor. Adjusting his suit, Klaatu walked out of the engineering bay, his composure regained. As he strode back down hall, headed for one of the solitary cell’s to let off steam, one of oren’s communications officers approached him from behind.
“Sir, you have a message from a Koren Graeff, he requests our services.” the crew member spoke, as he read the message on the small screen in his hands.
‘Stress relief will have to wait’ Klaatu thought to himself. “Show me this message.” Klaatu said taking the screen from the officer’s hand, walking with him back towards the elevator.
Arriving on the upper deck once more, Klaatu sat in his rarely used captains chair. “Commander Oren, please send a transmission to this golden company. Ask them where they would like to meet and what kind of livestock are they looking for.” he said, resting his head on his arm.
“As you command sir.” Oren replied, nodding at his officers to send the message.
“Are the prisoners all locked away?” Klaatu asked, scrolling through the cell database. On the small screen in his hand, he could access every camera on the sip, as well as open, shut, and lock any cell door.
“Yessir, all prisoners are locked away and accounted for.” Oren replied back, checking his own device.
“Take us back into orbit then commander.” Klaatu ordered, adjusting the screen in front of him. As the ship left the surface of the planet, Klaatu looked onto the small device and grinned with pleasure sa he fill one of the cells with gas. The prisoner in the cell began to panic, grabbing at their throat, banging on the walls, gasping for oxygen. Just as the alien passed out, he turned off the gas and kicked the vents back on, circulating air back into the room. As the alien regained consciousness Klaatu began to lower the oxygen and release the gas again, waiting again just to just until the alien passed out. He continued to toy with the alien’s life as the ship began to take off again, back into orbit.

Cipher sat in the camp, up in the air some form of avians sung their sweet song in the trees. Unaware of the plot, and subtrefuge that went on beneath their colourful wings. The Believers had camps like this all over Hutt Space, no-one knew all of their locations. not even him, and no-one knew that he was at this one other than himself. It helped that nobody knew what he looked like, he just blended in as another face in the crowd. It was the way things had to be, he wasn't part of the revolution in order to be cherished and loved. He was here to break down the Hutt Cartel and their associates to the ground, break down the Empire and the New Republic till everyone was free. He looked over the plans of the next operation, it would take some more manipulation to get into place.

Though there was another issue. He eyed the hologram before him of a downed Imperial Vessel. It had crashed some time ago, apparently due to some internal conflict between Imperial forces. What was interesting was the fact that anyone who attempted to salvage from it turned up dead, and the idea that a group of extremely powerful mercenaries just so happened to move in afterwards. It proved a high value target, one that would earn the respect of others. He was going to attack those everyone feared, and when they saw that the Believers feared nothing.

Everyone would fear them.

The moff made it down the hallway before he couldn't run or breathe anymore. "I need to get out more." He sighed, taking the turbolift down he found himself among the common rabble of Paradise. Droids bustled to and fro, aliens and humans were going about their lives together, and the smell on the lower decks wasn't all that great but he managed. The moff looked to be more out of place here than anyone else, his imperial uniform was a dead give away and some of the stares he got were full of murderous intent.

He weaved his way through groups, until he found who he was looking for. As he was about to call out for her a weequay blocked his way, next to him stood a rodian. "Excuse me gentlemen." Orro managed to say. "My brother died fighting imperials, they murdered him when he surrendered." The Rodian said.
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, you will be."
"Listen, if you look at my uniform." He gestured to his clothing. "You will see that I am a moff, which means that my bodyguards aren't very far off. And also I don't think the droids here will be happy with you if you start a fight." He said this loud enough, that it would attract attention from nearby.

The busy streets of Paradise were crowded with people from all parts of the galaxy. A few Imperials could be seen making their way around, clad in off duty outfits while Talina was certain there were more in plain clothes. The Empire didn't have the greatest reputation amongst the masses of a place such as this, so many aliens held poor opinions of the great Empire. Even many humans did as well, which disgusted her. Talina leaned against the wall, her arms folded as her cold eyes moved through the masses.

Talina blinked as she waited for the moff to make his entrance, Orro was a man she greatly respected and she had come right to this location to await his arrival. The Imperial agent was ignored by the groups of denizens of Paradise, she was just another face in the crowd. Part of her wondered what had happened following her brawl in that bar, a greater part of her didn't care about ithe aftermath one bit. She was simply shedding herself of two drunken, idiotic men harrassing her. She had done nothing wrong, there were no law aganst self defense. Perhaps they'd mull over their actions while their injuries healed and reconsider a more respectful attitude towards others. They were lucky she'd only broken a few bones and left some aching bruises. She was capable of much more.

Then her eyes widened and she saw Orro's face stick out amongst the crowd. He was clad in his unmistakeable uniform, and currently being pestered by two anti-Imperial alien scum. Talina wasn't sure it was the brightest move on his part to wander the station in full Imperial regal, but that did not mean he should be hasseled by those filth. She practically bounced off the wall, her boots clicking against the hard floor.

"I'd listen to the moff, fellas. It wouldn't be the wisest move to assault him, his bodyguards wouldn't the only ones coming at you." Talina stated with a firm expression of confidence and honesty. Her fists clenched as she sized up both brutes, they were bigger than her, but that hadn't stopped her many times before. She'd come from behind the two aliens, pushing through the crowds and appearing before Orro, whom she gave a firm nod.

Orro smiled, Talina's apperance made the aliens shift ever so slightly. "Please do not give us trouble, there is absolutetly no need to." The aliens looked back, at the moff, then to Talina and shrugged. They left the pair alone, and Orro smiled. "Your timing is imepecable as always. And you are just the woman I was looking for anyways. But not here." He started to walk down the corridiors of the ship.

He weaved his way through making sure Talina was behind him, as he made it to his private Lambada shuttle in the hangar, he took a seat and began to speak. "I learned that the new republic is in the system, that one of their corvettes crashed on a rock called Dirha. We want to get there first, that's why I'm sending you with Special operations troopers, your mission is to secure whatever is in there, kill anyone who stands in your way, and come the hell back with it. I'm giving you an infinite amount of support if this mission goes south, you need star destroyers to blow a chunk away from that planet? Overkill, but alright, if you need the entire army then you have my permission to use it. Any questions?"

Talina smirked as the alien duo departed, deciding against harrassing the moff. It was a wise decision by the two aliens. As they left, Orro spoke out to Talina. He had been looking for her specifically, as he walked down a corridor, she followed him. Eventually the two Imperials reached the moff's private shuttle, as Orro took a seat within the vessel, Talina sat directly across from him and listened closely to what he was informing her of.

"How many troopers will be accompanying me on this mission, sir? I greatly appreciate you providing backup for the operation, though if I work to me usual level of talent then those will not even be required." Talina replied with a confident smile.

"Am I right to assume a 'take no prisoners' approach? To kill anyone that originated from the corvette so to not allow any survivors?" She asked, the Imperial agent having never heard of Dirna, where the Rebels had crash landed. She'd have to get full intel on the rock before landing on it.

Orro smiled, he liked the other womans confidence and she had more than enough ability to back it up of course. "You will be taking Victor Tarrick, and a squad of his troopers with you, he should be somewhere on paradise as we speak. As soon as you are done here. You will find him, he will pick his team, you will gear up and then head out. As for the enemy" He started to stroke his chin deep in thought before making a grand gesture. "Crush them, if you want you can distengrate them. Leave none alive and leave their corpses as an example to the next fool hardy rebel to so much as pick up a blaster." He smiled, as he said that and clenched his fist before sighing.

The moff stood and walked over to a cabinet in his shuttle, he pulled out two glasses and a brandy from Kuat, he poured out one for himself and the other for his intelligence operative. "Whatever is on that corvette we don't want them to have, but I feel I should tell you, they are in the system. Which means, I have to secure the alligence of the other Moff's I can trust you to help me in this, yes?" He asked, looking to his companion and taking a long drink of the brandy. It wasn't as good as the drink he had in Koren's office but it would suffice.

"I know Tarrick, he is a good soldier. A good choice for this mission, sir," Talina replied with a nod, it had been sometime since she had seen him in person but he was talented. "I will make sure none of the rebel scum leave that rock alive."

As the moff rose to his feet she followed. Orri pulled a Kuat brandy from the cabinet and poured two glasses. The moff had a good taste in alcohol, the brandy must have cost and arm and a leg to acquire. But for a moff, that was not too much. As she took a sip of the brandy, she took a long taste of the strong liquid then swallowed it with a smile.

"Of course sir, the other moffs will align with you. When all are united, the Empire will retake the galaxy and vanquish the weak New Republic." Talina said with another wicked smile. Her words filled with intent, it was practically a dream for the devoted Imperial agent. But she would ensure it became a reality.

He had no doubt, that this agent would help him. She was loyal to the empire, as was he but she could be described as fanatical. Orro had no doubt that she would help him secure the alligence of the moffs, even if he had to burn a few of their planets to cinders he would do it just to bring them back under The Emperors will, he took a long drink of his brandy lost in thought. "Good, I have confidence in you. I have a shuttle awaiting you, in the public docking bay. Tell no one else of this mission, don't even mention it until you and Victor are in the shuttle and out of range. Also one more thing, take a long way go around the system before entering it. Should keep any agents off our tail." He said that with a calm and authortive voice, but the smile on his face spoke of excitement.

He knew Koren would find out of course, but any other agents who wanted to follow the team would probably lose them somewhere, Orro got lost in thought before looking up and at Talina. "When you suceed with your mission, you and Victor will report back to me directly and only me. Then I imagine I will have to find something else for you to do. But I'm keeping you, you are free to go" He laughed at that, there was never a shortage of things to do, and she had proved herself a valuable weapon. Orro opened up the ramp on the shuttle and nodded to Talina, not saying anything else. But he knew, he knew that with her help this game was winnable.

"Understood sir, no others shall know of this mission." Talina replied with a nod as she listened to the firm, direct orders from the esteemed moff. As the shuttle ramp extended, the Imperial agent smiled then saluted Orro. She was ecstastic to be undertaking such a mission for the Empire. The fact that it was personally given to her by Moff Orro only added to that excitement. Then she made her way down the ramp without another word.

Delni laid back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling well-after Sirka had gone. She had sobered at least slightly compared to before her shower, but she was still quite intoxicated. She was still in good enough of a state to recognize that her sister had left, and would probably be gone for a while. She didn’t like it, but getting more jobs was one of the reasons she had come to Paradise with Sirka. She kept thinking about her sister’s parting words to enjoy her vacation. Sirka had definitely expected that she would want to get some rest, but the more Delni thought, the more she realized that she was not quite tired.

After a few more minutes, Delni threw off her blankets and sat up on the side of the bed. She was perfectly able to recognize the fact that she was drunk, but she found herself more curious about it than cautious. She never let herself drink that much, which naturally meant that it must have been someone else’s fault. She did not even remember what the Mandalorian, Elias, had said about the drink, but her thoughts ended up on him regardless. Her sister obviously was not to blame, and there were not many other people left she had spoken to that night.

Sirka had left her datapad on the table next to her bed, so she did not need to stand up to grab it. She had the contact information for the Mandalorion; that much she remembered. Though, she had to reference the note he gave in order to actually send him an audio message. “Okay, Mandalorian. Be straight with me. What was in that drink?”

Elias had barely managed to make it to his room before the effects of the ale hit, and even then, he'd had to call a droid to keep his door locked to make sure that he didn't go drunk wandering again. Of course, he couldn't complain, that Twi'lek had been one hell of a good looking broad, though explaining to Koren how he'd ended up with a dancer hadn't been fun and had landed him in a position of doing a dozen jobs for the man for free. The alternative had been far worse though, so it was all good at the end of the day. After several hours of rest, during which he was entirely unaware of the fact that his botched job had followed him to Paradise, and when he received Delni's message, he was browsing some jobs that Koren had forwarded to the terminal in his room. As it stood though, he wasn't finding any that were overly appealing to him right then.

About the time he was going to give up and go back to the club to try his luck again, the comm unit he kept on his wrist beeped at him, which solisited a frown from the smuggler. "Who would be buzzing me now of all times?" Hitting answer, the slightly slurred words of one Delni came through and he chuckled as the message played.

“Okay, Mandalorian. Be straight with me. What was in that drink?”

Elias didn't send a message back, instead opting to call her on the provided channel. When she picked up, he spoke. "Well, the secrets of Mandalorian Ale are still beyond me, I'd wager a whole lot of alcohol."

Ques, Camp Valor (23.241° N, 58.566° E)
0820 hours, 15:6, 4 ABY

---

The lights hummed their dull sound as they slowly began to grow from dim dots to what felt like the brightness of suns to Elias. He rustled from his position on his bunk, grunting before throwing his feet to the side, his head throbbing for a second and his vision blurring as he struck the ground. His first steps were sluggish, but he picked up pace as his men streamed by him into the open canteen. A pot of the bitter powdered coffee was already steaming on the counter, and all made way for Elias to receive a cup, which he then began to sip from. His appetite was not there, but nor was his strength, so he opted to gather what one might consider 'marching food'. Some hardtack and thin cuts of heavily seasoned Bantha meat would do, and he went to work as he sat down, a datapad produced from its carrier as he swiped along.

His typing and swiping carried on for a good amount of time, and his plate slowly cleared, the mug of coffee becoming empty, and he called upon his Sergeant, the faithful second-in-command and advisor he had fought with for some time, and he rose, announcing, "Quiet! All teams to the operations quarters by 0930 hours." And as he sat, continuing to sift through his messages, he again looked at the time, which had passed quickly: 0920. The canteen around him was now barren, his troops getting their head-start. He rose, disposed of his dishes, and stretched, stifling a yawn before turning to head outside.

And he was met now with a downpour. Monsoon season on Ques. It reminded him of home, but it was inconvenient, the ground turned to thick mud and everything coated in a deep blanket of rain, obscuring the ability to see. He pulled his cowl around himself tightly before making for the command post, trudging through the thick brown sludge which constituted the ground. He arrived at the command post drenched with his boots coated in mud, but it did not bother him, his own experience having produced the same result throughout his childhood. He hung his cowl at the door and exchanged his boots for casual plimsolls, allowing them both to dry.

He turned towards the operations quarters and headed within. He was met with the entire detachment seated by team in three rows, five chairs long, and a podium at the front, a holoscreen display situated behind it. He coughed, taking the podium and producing his datapad once more, starting to speak. "Right. We've got our first contract for our cover. Got some illicit goods traders called the Golden Exchange wanting us to protect an arms deal about 100 klicks west of here. I know nobody's a fan of protecting some gunrunners, but Central says their word's good seeing as they sold to the Alliance before. Not to mention the credits and potential information involved. Objectives entail securing the AO and keeping away 'prying eyes'. The prying eyes weren't specified, so expect anything from rival gangsters to the boys in white themselves. I want the E-Web dug in where it can get maximum coverage of all possible angles. I want Alpha team to position themselves with a hardpoint at the Northwest approach, stretching along the North and West, with Bravo doing the inverse at the Southeast approach, stretching along the South and East. Am I clear?" The troops responded in unison, "Aye, Staff Sergeant."

"Good," replied Elias. "Carry on about yourselves. We depart tomorrow at 0730 on the Ark. And remember, no unit flashers or patches, maintain complete OPSEC." The troops began to disperse and Elias was left in an empty room with only his thoughts. He noticed his tenseness, his age despite his youth, and he sat in one of the chairs, producing a cigarra and slipping it between his lips, striking his electric lighter, allowing the sweet-scented smoke to drift from the item, and he relaxed.

Delni took a few moments longer to register Elias' explanation than usual. "Wait, Mandalorian...you trying to kill me or something?" She replied. She tried to act offended for a few moments, but she could not help but to let out a laugh eventually.

"So you didn't spike my drink, then? Okay, okay, I guess I won't have to get my sister to bite off your face." Delni said with a lighthearted chuckle.

Elias chuckled at the mention of her large and lizard like sister with her mouth full of razor sharp fangs. While the Mandalorian was fairly confident in his ability to win a fight, he wasn’t overly eager to try his luck. ”Yeah, I typically only use it for about three things, to get a person to spill their secrets, to actually get drunk, and warn people who think they’re clever they’re playing a dangerous game. On rare occasions, like this one, it’s a sign I’m willing to trust you to some degree. Anyways, what’s up?”

Delni laid back on her bed, grinning as if Elias could see her, though they were not on a video call. Again, it took her a few moments to actually answer him, mostly because she had not actually given more than a few seconds of thought to what she was doing, or intended to do. She had called Elias mostly on impulse. “Oh, well, nothin’ for me. Well, kinda something for me. Big sis already got another job. She said, uh, she had a job from Koren. Wouldn’t tell me anything about it, but I guess it must be great since she took off already. I...was wanting to have some nice time off with her, but now I’m stuck on vacation all by my lonesome.” She explained, her tone speaking to her annoyance. Of course, in her right mind, Delni would be understanding, even excited for the opportunity, but right now she just felt like venting her emotions.

Elias leaned back in his chair and nodded along as she spoke. When she finished, Elias was just reaching for a glass of water. ”Yeah, I can see how that would suck. I’m actually free right now, if you need someone to hang out with. Can’t find any decent jobs right now anyways.” What they would do completely escaped his mind, but that could be figured out when they met up.

Delni’s mouth turned to a sly smirk, as she still did not quite acknowledge the fact that she was staring into a blank screen during an audio call. “Hmm, ‘hang out’ with you?” She said, giving drawn-out emphasis to the words. Regardless of any sort of tone or meaning that Elias had added, Delni’s mind was perfectly fine giving them her own interpretation. It took her, yet again, a few seconds longer to consider. It was obvious to anyone present that she had been flirting with him back in the bar, but it was not terribly serious on her part. However, she was now intoxicated, and upset about the fact that she was going to be stuck alone in Paradise for who-knew-how-long. The kind of thoughts going through her head about him at the moment did not seem so bad. “Okay...I think that would be...great. Where, um, should I meet you?”

It took Elias, who was reading the specifics on one of the jobs he had as he spoke with the Togruta, several seconds to realize what she meant as she spoke. But as soon as it clicked, his eyes opened wide in surprise, though his tone gave nothing away. ”Hmmmm...how about my ship? I can send you the docking bay it’s in and meet you there in about five minutes.”

There was a hum and a nod from Delni before she finally remembered that she actually needed to say something. “Well, I might be able to make it in time.” She said, practically giggling. “Just, um, yeah, send it to me.”

Grinning himself like a fool, Elias keys in the hangar his ship is in before standing and stretching. ”I’ll see you in five then, beautiful.”

Given the newfound rush she was in, Delni did not bother to pretty herself up for her meet-up with Elias, as she had before going to the club. In fact, in so much of a hurry was she that she did not do anything aside from stand up and jog out of the door, in a nightgown, wearing no shoes, and just carrying her datapad. Despite her best efforts, it did take slightly longer than five minutes for her to reach the specified hanger, since she misread the directions on her datapad twice.

Eventually, Delni did reach her destination. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, for her, she had not been stopped by anyone along the way for any one of the many things she was doing out of the ordinary. Ill-advised trysts such as this were certainly not the norm for her, but it also would not be the first time. She might have needed to send Elias another message, were it not for the fact that there was only a single light freighter in the private hanger.

Delni was familiar with the model of vessel, since old, outdated ships were the norm on Nar Shaddaa. As such, she was able to find her way around well enough, even in her current state. She called out Elias’ name a few times after boarding, but received no response. Obviously, he was running a bit late, so Delni decided to have some fun and surprise him on arrival. Searching around the ship, she found the room that Elias used to sleep and laid down on his bed. Stretching out, she found it to be surprisingly comfortable. Comfortable enough to close her eyes for just a few seconds…

Elias wasted no time getting to collecting his armor and putting it on, securing his helmet last as he walked out the door of his room. He knew that Koren would abide no crime in Paradise, whether it be petty theft or mugging, but he also knew the risks that people would take to acquire a set of genuine Mandalorian armor, so he personally took no chances. Along the way though, one of Koren’s droids came up to him, Besh if his memory served him properly. The droid didn’t give the Mandalorian a chance to speak however.

”Master Koren wants you on your ship and on your way to Near Pando. I am authorized to give you an extra one hundred thousand credits to hire extra protection, though you are to hire it yourself.” The extra credits were handed to Elias and once more, the droid cut him off as he went to speak. ”He says it should give you a hint and that he is not happy with you. Good day, Elias Ordo.” The droid vanishes and Elias forgets all thoughts of his rendezvous with Delni. What did I do to piss him off THIS time…

Ques, Camp Valor (23.241° N, 58.566° E)
0725 hours, 16:6, 4 ABY

---

"Lash those crates!" Elias roared above the din, the wind blowing the rains sideways. He made a knifehand motion, and his men seemed to understand, ratchet-strapping the supply that they were to take with them, and continuing to ferry in fuel and supplies. Elias tried to light another cigarra as he shielded himself with his cowl, helmet and shemagh partially assisting, but the end would not catch, and he stowed it, frustrated.

"Get that E-Web mounted on this ramp! I want the T-21s closest to the door for firepower amplification, and I want them first off when we touch down! Get me my team leaders!" And as he yelled, the two corporals and his second, the Sergeant, were before him, and he reiterated the plan before bound up the ramp onto the Ark. And the troops piled in, formed in the rows of fold-out jump seats in between the folded cots which had been their home on their journey to Ques. Elias took a seat close to the door, sat beside a significantly younger Private wielding a T-21. And so parts of the skeleton crew from Company D piled aboard as well, a pilot, a co-pilot, and a weapons operator/crew chief. As the ramp raised and the upper door section lowered, the deck rattled as the G9 Rigger took to the skies, the lower wing unfurling before the speed ebbed and built.

---

Ques, Above the Deal Site (23.311° N, 57.437° E)
0800 hours, 16:6, 4 ABY

---

The ramp slowly lowered and the E-Web operator poked the weapon's barrel out, scanning the ground as they moved towards the deal site. Elias, sat onto the ramp along with both T-21 operators and the assistant E-Web operator, observed the ground and rose promptly, crouching and then staggering to the cockpit along the rattling floor. "Circle around! I need a good look at the area before we set down!" The pilot acknowledged, and began to bank left.

Elias stumbled back to the ramp and produced his binoculars once more, scanning the ground and standing by to direct the E-Web's fire. And yet, he saw nothing, the rain, though considerably lighter than earlier, still blanketing everything with a grey shroud. Elias, reluctant, stated under his breath, "I have a bad feeling about this.." before keying his commlink. "Set us down!" And so the vessel began to angle downwards, and the wing folded as they edged towards the ground, and Elias, over the thumping of his heart, heard the gear lower and prepare to touch down.

---

Ques, the Deal Site (23.311° N, 57.437° E)
0820 hours, 16:6, 4 ABY

---

And no sooner had those metal legs touched the ground than the T-21s were out, followed by the streaming ranks of the teams, the command team following Elias, including the E-Web, now dismantled with the operator carrying the weapon itself and the assistant carrying the tripod and ammunition battery, searching for an opportune area to set up. "All teams, proceed with initial phase. I want my team to hang back, sans the E-Web!" Elias barked into his commlink, throwing knifehand left and right. And the troops dispersed, fanning out into the respectable clearing among the towering trees.

Team Neumman (Believers), Ques, A Few Hours Ago

Ques was a swamp planet; quiet, but with its share of peril. Therefore, Ken Neumann had chosen this as a base for his crew, which aside from Puevi (his best friend), was mostly made up of freed slave children. Despite that, Ken was confident of both the secrecy of the facilities being set up (they hollowed out a few giant strangler figs and placed their technology inside; hiding them from prying eyes) and the morale and future prowess of his crew. Terrence, Corrin, and Rika, a trio of fourteen-year olds that the Believers had freed just a few months ago, were now dilligently planting a network of stakes with a crude sensor attached to them; more stolen stuff. This network would form a perimeter that would warn of hostile intrusion, whether from the local wildlife, or from enemies. Of course, there would be regular patrols as well; he intended to have prior warning before cutting up any tresspassers.

The flat clearing nearby would also be of use for the Believers's small pirate fleet, a fleet that needed hiding places and repair facilities as much as it needed weapons and extra vessels. He was sure that once Cinder had mustered enough ships, she or he would be glad to have a safe refuge for them.

Team Neumman (Believers), Ques, Right Now

Terrence, Corrin, and Rika, three teeenagers clad and equipped in much the same way as Ken (except that Rika had a carbine instead of twin vibroswords), would run at the sight of the ship and the heavily-armored people who had quickly deployed out. However, not having had much training, they would activate their jetpacks right away, causing a loud 'woosh' sound, disturbing the nearby flora and fauna, and turning a pocket of water in a tree hollow into steam. Then, Terrence, a black-haired boy with black eyes with a slight, thin build, would find himself entangled in some tree branches; same for his jetpack, which he wisely turned off with a push of a button.

Corrin and Rika turned around, trying to get Terrence free, but losing valuable time. Especially when they were being chased by trained personnel.

------

Ken, in the base, would hear the sensor-stakes beeping loudly, and turn around to say to his friend Puevi: "Stay here and prepare to evacuate the base! I'm going to rescue the trio!"

The young man, already wearing his own jetpack, flew up, high into the air, and with more practice, began zooming towards the projected location of the team; they shouldn't be too far from the clearing. Turning on his Shield Belt, Ken knew that he would have to cut up any intruder fast in order to save his team members. But it seemed the facility was lost; someone else had staked a claim to the clearing. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He thought to himself as he neared their location; technically, the Pathfinders should have plenty of time to catch them...

Upon deciding that delaying getting help was out of the question, Elias made a beeline for the club where he’d seen both the other Mandalorians in the hope at least one of them was still there. As he walked in, he was met with the sight of only one, and after a moment’s thought, finally placed where he’d seen the armor before. The man sitting at the bar was one of Clan Fist’s Neo-Crusaders, and while Clan Ordo used to have bad blood with them, the recent gaining of Mandalore’s independance from the Empire, and a new leader chose, had had all those grudges buried. Sighing, he accepted fate and approached, but kept his helmet on. Most Neo-Crusaders collected on bounties after all. “Name’s Elias Ordo. Koren’s hired me to do a job for him, but wants me to get extra help. I’ve got one hundred thousand credits to do it with. Fifty thousand now, fifty thousand when we get back. Sound good?”

Sol’id had been in the middle of ordering a new drink when approached. The powerful Mando clad in full body armor turned his head to see a face he’d only seen in passing. After gauging the man for a moment, he turned his full body toward him at the prospect of such coin. “It probably does.” Sol replied, standing up to his full height. “What would this job be?”

Elias’s gaze follows the other Mando as he stands before he shrugs in answers to the man’s question. ”I’ve been informed details will be passed along en route. All I know is it sounds like we’re supposed to be doing some kind of pick up job near Pando.”

En Route Sol’id thought. He didn’t enjoy not having the information up front. But Koren wasn’t known for screwing people over, and he couldn’t think of why this man in front of him would lie. “Fair enough.” He said, his hands flexing, itching to get his equipment back from the front. “I have my own transportation. Unless Koren is providing some.”

Elias shook his head as he turned to lead the way out and back towards one of Paradise’s many entrances. ”Nope, that’ll be my job. But if you’ve got a ship, I’ll just send you the coordinates and meet you there.” He paused outside the club and put some thought into it before sighing. He really hoped this didn’t come back to haunt him. ”Actually, how about we both go in my ship? I’m sure Koren will have some form of surveillance at the site and two ships would look bad.”

Sol’id was just strapping back on his weapons and extra equipment when Elias suggested they travel in the same transport. It wasn’t exactly ideal, just in case things went south. He didn’t want to be reliant on another vehicle or pilot. But the logic was sound. After a moment’s hesitation, he nodded. “Very well. What kind of ship do you use?”

Elias retrieved his own gear, the Black Nebula blasters going into their holsters smoothly and the vibrosword into the sheath just in front of his jetpack, and wrist launcher back into place, along with a short sync up to ensure it would work when he needed it to, and then he lead the way to his hangar. ”An old XS Light Freighter from back when Jedi were supposed to be like gnats. The guy who owned it before me kept it upgraded, so the hull’s old fashioned, but everything else is new.” Elias finished talking just as the ship came into view.

Sol’id remembered that design, taking the info in as he slide on and locked the rocket launcher along his wrist. “Not a bad flier.” He admitted. Most older ships could keep up with whatever junk was getting wrought out of factories nowadays. He stepped beside Elias and hefted his Czerka Mandalorian Blaster, glancing at him. “Ready when you are...partner.”

Elias took pride in his ship and only side glanced at Sol’id when he said partner, but the idea wasn’t exactly horrible, and so they embarked, the ramp raising as the member of Clan Fist entered the boarding hatch. Elias wasted no time in heading for the cockpit, which was just a short hallway away from the crew rest area. In a matter of moments, the ship was off Paradise and on it’s way through Hyperspace, heading for the coordinates that Koren had already given. “So, since we’re working together, I feel knowing more about each other than our clan names would be good. But you already have my name, so how about yours?” Elias said as he emerged from the cockpit area and took a seat on the couch, removing his helmet to show his face for the first time since the pair had actually met.

Elias was younger than Sol’id would have thought. He guessed that was why he seemed to be naive enough to want to be friendly. But he guessed he could give him his name, though the helmet would stay on. “Sol’id of the Clan Fist” he replied, before continuing after a pause. “Been mostly working for the Hutts the past decade, outer and mid rim worlds.” The large bounty hunter replied after a second of thought. “You’re from the core?” He asked.

The recognition of where he was born caused Elias to flinch slightly, but it wasn’t something he was unaccustomed to anymore and he offered a nod. “I am. I wasn’t born into Clan Ordo, but they took me in all the same. I’ve been told my beskar’gam is one of the newest suits to be seen in generations, as it’s one of the first new ones to be forged from scratch instead of handed down.” He sighed as he realized Sol’id wasn’t eager to be sociable.

”Crew quarters is down the right hall, or at least you get there quicker that way. Pick a bunk, rest if you want or wander around. It’s gonna be a few hours before we reach the coordinates.”

Sol’id regarded the younger man for a moment, unmoving. His expression unreadable behind his helm, but within a few moments he spoke. “You’re a mandalorian.” He said, as if that was all that was needed to succeed. “That’s enough for me to feel honored to fight alongside you.” With that, he placed his fist to his chest, and went to rest find a place to rest before they would arrive.

Collaboration with @Heat



The forward observation deck of the Paradise had long since been refitted during the Golden Exchange's ownership of the ship. Most of the already sparse interior had been stripped from the ship and replaced with a relatively open floor plan lounge. Overlooking the nose of the ship, and granting an impressive view of surrounding space, the observation deck had been converted into a sort of luxury lounge and vista. Fine tiled flooring along with stricter bouncers and increased security meant that this place was relatively devoid of the scummier forms of life in Hutt Space. A single bar in the center of the lounge, along with long couches and low tables kept the sightlines clear and open, and one could see from the any point in the lounge through the large windows that were the walls of the observatory. Likewise, the lighting on the lounge was minimal, centered around the bar and few tables, allowing the glow of the nearby star and planet to illuminate the lounge with its view.

The lounge was populated with only a small number of people, most of them either diplomats passing through Hutt Space, or other well-to-do sort of folk. Here, Captain Victor Tarick spent his leave, feeling quite at home standing at one of the windows, hands clasped behind his back, staring into the black empty. Unlike most Imperial personnel, who wore imperial uniforms, those of the special operations sector weren't supposed to openly display their allegiences. Of course it was easy enough to assume one was an imperial, but it was a security risk to allow onlookers to know the extent of his position. Instead of the grey and black of the standard imperial uniform, Victor wore a bespoke suit of deep blue, impeccably tailored to his form. His hair and beard were well groomed, nails clean and manicured, and his skin, short of the long jagged scar running down the left half of his face, was smooth and umblemished. At a waist chest high counter that ringed the outer wall of the observatory sat a cigar, leaning against an ashtray, its tip smoldering a deep orange, as small wisps of smoke wafted upwards towards the vents above.

At his place at the window, Victor stared lovingly at the Star Destroyer sitting just ahead of the Paradise. Though Victor had spent much time aboard Star Destroyers, and staring at them through the viewscreens of various imperial craft or from the bridge of another Star Destroyer, there was something different, awe inspiring, about viewing them from as spectacular a view as the Paradise's. The ISD Adamant had been Victor's home since a year after the destruction of the Death Star II, and was aptly named, for it was one of the few vessels Victor truly felt safe on. Even the Paradise, for all of its security features, didn't feel quite as secure as several meters of durasteel backed by advanced turbolasers and shielding.

A door came open on the opposite side of the observation deck, through it stepped a single dark haired woman. As Talina entered into the luxury location on he upper level of Paradise, she smirked. A bouncer eyed her for a moment, as did a bartender before she walked towards the center of the open floored lounge. She was not as finely dressed as the other people in this part of the ship. She didn't really care about that, she hated dresses, they were near impossible to move in during a fight or sprint. She was just her to find her fellow Imperial Special Forces soldier, and this is where he was said to be.

She stood in front of the bar, one hand on her hip as she glanced around the room. The lounge was sparsely filled and devoid of the trash that wandered other part of Paradise. After a brief second, she spotted the man she was here for. He was clad in a fine blue suit towards the back of the lounge, stargazing out a window. A trail of smoke hung overhead, he seemed content with where he was at the moment. She'd be with him in a moment. She looked at the bartender and ordered the same drink she asked for in the other, less classy establishment. The man's hands danced expertly as he quickly forged her order. Then he placed it down in front of her with a nod, she scooped it up with a smile and strolled away.

"Breathtaking isn't it?" She asked Tarrick, appearing to his side, martini in hand. Talina stared out the window, a confident smile on her face. Something about the sight of an Imperial Star Destroyer sitting silently in space just stirred up the most patriotic of feelings within her. It was one of the most majestic, awe inspiring things she could set her eyes upon.

"Quite so." Tarick replied, his voice soft, longing even, a far cry from the hard edge and steely bite his voice normally carried while on duty. His eyes remained locked on the Star Destroyer in the distance, as though he was trying to etch its form permanently into his brain; as though if he averted his eyes for but a moment, it would disappear. "Truth be told, when the second Death Star fell, I felt lost. I'm not a thinker like you. I'm not smart, at least not incredibly so. I'm just a soldier- I was, just a soldier. I fought and shot and did whatever I was told, until there was no one left to tell me what to do."

"My men and I were aimless, soldiers without a cause, drifing like common mercs, filth." Tarick continued, his amber eyes hardening and his voice growing cold and bitter, almost spitting out those last shame filled words as though they were poison on his tongue. "Once proud soldiers of the Empire, forced to struggle for survival, to choose between the allegiances of petty warmongers and ordered to shoot my own brothers."

"But now," Victor's voice returned to its original softness, pride swelling in both his tone and chest, his eyes releasing their lock on the destroyer, and finally turning to look at the Imperial spy, gesturing subtly with an outstretched arm towards the Adamant, hand slowly clasping into a proud fist. "Now, we are home. Now, we have purpose. Now, we are strong."

"You're damn right we are. The Empire never fell, we are the backbone of the galaxy. Any man that can look upon a stunning sight as that and not feel a single chill is one without a soul." Talina extended a hand and placed it upon Tarrick's shoulder, looking the fierce soldier in the eyes with a look of pure determination.

Tarick offered Talina a slight, almost noble nod of his head, a sign of respect to his superior. She was a well respected and powerful member of the Special Operations sector. While many troopers regarded Imperial spies with some degree of caution- Talina included- for their seeming willingness to sacrifice even other special operations lives for the sake of their missions, Tarick trusted Talina to at least sacrifice his life for something worthwhile.

"But I'm sure you didn't come to whinge and reminisce about days past." Victor said as he reached out for the cigar on the counter and took a puff from it. "So, Miss Eriston, how might I serve?"

He referred to her not by rank, as they were in public, and those in special operations avoided naming one another by rank if only for the sake of security. Even if there was no one within earshot, inside the confines of Paradise, someone was always listening.

"Orders directly from Moff Orro." Talina replied, speaking softly as the moff's name exited her mouth.

"Top secret, he told me to not speak of it until we are inside of a shuttle awaiting us in the docking bay. He was very direct about no one else knowing, I don't blame him, you never know what wandering ears are around you. Especially in a place like this. You've seen how those spacer slime glare at any uniformed Imperial in this station." Talina said, the digust obvious in her words at how her fellow Imperials tended to be treated here.

The last thing she'd do is go against the words of a moff, even if she doubted any Rebel scum were in this high class lounge. It wasn't their kind of hangout, too fancy. They were in the dirty cantinas all around Paradise, fratenizing with all of the shifty aliens that filled their ill motivated alliance. She refused to recognize the so called, 'New Republic', they were violent usurpers with no respect for law and order. She took a long sip of her martini then glanced back towards the Adamant, calming her nerves.

"Well, I suppose we should get going then." Victor concluded, pulling a silver container out from within his jacket. Flicking the top open with his thumb, he took the still burning cigar and slid it into the container before shutting the container and extinguishing the tobacco with lack of oxygen. Sliding the container back into his jacket, he gestured for Talina to lead them. "Just as well, leave was getting boring anyway."

"Frederick told me about what happened at the dive bar," Victor commented idly as they made their way through the corridors of Paradise and towards the hangar. His otherwise even voice had a hint of teasing and amusement. "Interesting predicament, I'll have to hear about it later."

"Two drunken spacers messed with the wrong girl. I didn't kill either of them, just kicked one between the legs and shattered a wrist. They'll live, then can tell everyone they got their asses kicked by a girl," Talina replied with a smile, holding back laughter t remembering the incident. She didn't even realize a stormtrooper was in the bar when the 'fight' broke out.

As they entered the hangar their designated transport was there waiting for them. Other Imperial personal were spread around it, talking amonst themselves. Talina pressed a button and the the ship's ramp descended for Victor and her. As they both entered it, the ramp closed up and she took a seat across from him, finally able to inform him of the mission.

"Now that we're in a secure place I can finally tell you about the mission. Moff Orro has put us in charge for an intriguing operation. The rebels, in their usual brillance crash landed a corvette on Dirna, an otherwise unremarkable rock within the system. We have been ordered to secure anything of importance from the corvette, eliminate anyone that survived the crash then make it back in one piece. The Moff has put his faith in us and afforded us any amount of backup for the mission." Talina said, hitting on all the key points.

"You and I will personally be investigating the crash site, along with a squad of your finest soldiers. If we do this to the very best of our remarkable abilities, which I am most certain we will, then the rebels will not even know what hit them. They'll be corpses in the dust and we'll be in and out with no problem," She said with another confident smile, then a more serious expression appeared on her face. "Though we shouldn't try to take any unnecessary risks, I believe strongly in the intel that Orro gave us but we should properly scout the world before landing on it. Never can be too sure, those rebels can be tricky, they may know their marooned and that the Empire is in the system with them."

"As lowly as I regard rebel scum, the last thing I would do is underestimate them." Victor agreed, as their shuttle pilot took off and began ferrying them back to the Adamant. The last time the Empire underestimated the rebels, they lost the death star and two of their key leaders. Victor would not allow such a fate to befall his current commanders. He would strike his foes with sudden and overwhelming force, minimizing the chance of casualties while maximizing any possible gains from his mission. "I shall prepare probe droids to be loaded onto our vessel, they will launch shortly before we land to prevent anyone from acertaining our intentions."

"Excellent, I want a wide area around the crash site surveyed. If any unusual sights are observed by the probe then I want to know right away." Talina replied with a nod as the shuttle rose up and made its way towards the glorious Adamant. She was highly confident about the mission, as she often seemed to be when doing anything. Tarrick was at the top of his game as well, which further rose her confidence.

With that, Victor began running through a mental list of his current special operations squads. While the Ultmara sector posessed some 20,000 stormtrooper, and the remnants of Victors 322nd Legion made up some 2,000 of that number, Victor's special operations troopers numbered less than 50, each and every one handpicked by Victor for their skill and tenacity. If it were his choice, he'd call on every single one of his troopers for such a mission, but he didn't have that luxury. Not only would it be tactically unsound to deploy the entirety of his elites on one mission, many of them were in use elsewhere in the sector.

"Dagger Squad." Victor commanded, speaking into his comm-link, his voice taking on his usual steel, "Adamant Armory, 20 minutes."

"As you command, Captain."

Delni slowly opened her eyes, only to immediately and painfully regret that choice. She ended up staring straight up at one of the lights, then quickly pulled her hands up over her eyes to shield them from it. “Ahhhrg.” She groaned.

With her eyes still closed, she sat up on the edge of the bed and took her time in getting her bearings. She took the time to simply breathe, and think back on what she had been doing before. She remembered drinking quite clearly, if it was not obvious enough. Then, she remembered going, or being carried, rather, to her room. Then, her sister left on a job, something that came up rather suddenly. Recalling the details, she slowly turned her head and reached out beside her to grab the medicine that she remembered her sister setting out for her. Except, it was not there. She just ended up grabbing at the air, and after opening her eyes just slightly, she realized that she was not where she thought she had been.

Anxiety grew within her as more memories came to mind. She recalled making a call to Elias, then… “Oh, wait! Did I…” In a near panic, she looked around the room, ignoring the pain of doing so, but found that she was alone. She also did not see any...evidence that she had gone through with anything. “Thank the Force.” She muttered with a long sigh.

Elias hadn’t rested in the ways he probably should have during the course of the hyperspace voyage, as he’d slept just before Besh had dropped this blasted job on him. Instead, he had been working on ways to get them out of the Hutt’s hair before it realized that the smuggler who’d set his slaves free and never delivered them was going to be paying a visit. It was a risk that he had been trying to avoid, and of course it would be Koren who lands him there otherwise. Sighing, he was in the cockpit when the console beeped at him. Taking a seat in the pilot’s chair, he drops them out of hyperspace and sets the Eclipse into a holding pattern while he went to grab a couple of special grenades from the stash in his room.

Hitting the button, he finds Delni, the Togruta from the bar, sitting on his bed looking around with a relieved look on her face. Elias, on the other hand, could only groan as what they had arranged to meet up for raced back to him. “Of COURSE, this would happen when it’s too late to turn back!” This was, of course, shouted loud enough that Sol would be able to hear the lament.

Since she had been given enough time to recall the position she had put herself in, Delni was not as alarmed as she might have been when the door opened. She jumped slightly at the sound, then slowly managed to look up at Elias while holding her hand up just above her eyes to block out some of the light. Her first thoughts as to what had likely happened was that he had found her passed out on his bed and just decided to wait around until she woke up. It would have been a terribly embarrassing situation, naturally, but it was one she would have taken a thousand times over compared to reality.

“Huh...what, wait? ‘Turn back’? Aren’t we...what the hell do you mean?” She asked, her voice quickly growing in volume.
Sol lifted his head up from the groan he heard, having just sat down after finding himself looking through the ship. His warrior instincts honed to a razor’s edge, he snapped to as soon as the noise was heard and carefully, dangerously marched out of the guest quarters with his gun held by hip fire, walking with his feet almost separate from his upper body by the way he moved.

...Only for him to lower his gun in a deadpan “...” when he saw the Togruta from the bar atop the younger Mando’s bed.

“Do you bring your girls on jobs all of the time?” Sol’id asked, cutting through the tension of the moment. He seemed annoyed at the prospect of an unexpected guest, particularly if his fellow Mando had done it deliberately.

Elias realized that as his guest, who he’d not actually intended to do anything with while she was drunk, was fully unaware that he was on a job for Koren and could only barely stand the annoyance in Sol’s voice and he realized quite immediately that he was not going to have a good day. So he started with Delni. ”Look, after we got done talking, I was on my way here when Koren’s droid, Besh I think, stopped me and gave me a job from the man himself. Soon as he said it was from Koren himself, I sorta, well,” he glanced from his fellow Mandalorian to Delni, ”forgot about you. So, Sol’id, I didn’t do this on purpose. And Delni, well….you’re going to have to hang out here until I finish the job.”

Delni did not maintain as much calm as Elias. In fact, there was very little about her that was even approaching being calm at the moment. “What? Oh no. Oh, no no no. That, uh, that can’t be right. I can’t...be somewhere else. You…” She began, her eyes narrowing squarely onto Elias. “You invited me here. You invited me, then you just...left? What!? You...karking, lying, manipulating, no good...son of a mynock! How do you just...leave? With me! You basically just kidnapped me! I have to get back to Paradise. I can’t just go off on some crazy dangerous job with some guy that would apparently forget his own head if it wasn’t attached!”

Sol’id did not know just how to take this. He solved most of his problems through intimidation and killing, but…
“I should have taken the Hammer.” He sighed, referring to his own ship still upon the waystation at Koren’s. He stood at the center of the doorway, shouldering his gun but not moving as the two continued.

Elias growled in slight anger at the insult. ”Woman, have you ever dealt with Koren himself after he’s found some reason to be pissed off at you? And then he gives you a job with the money to hire extra help and has his droid tell you that it’s a hint and that he’s not happy wit you? No? Then shut the hell up. I forgot about this because I wasn’t about to piss off one of the most dangerous non-Hutts in ALL of Hutt space!” He took a deep breath before continuing, trying to keep his suddenly rising temper in check. This was not the first impression he wanted to give Sol’id.

”Look, I apologize for unintentionally kidnapping you, wasn’t the plan when I invited you to my ship. In all honesty, I was going to keep you out of trouble while your sister was gone, since I’ve had my fair share of drunken escapades while under the influence of Mandalorian Ale. All I’m asking you to do is once we touch down on Circumtore, you stay low and out of sight. Then we’ll make the drop at Near Pando and go back. Then we can forget this escapade and call it a day. I’ll even give you some of the credits as an apology.”

Delni had already been fuming, and Elias’ shouting response certainly did not help matters. She shouted right back at him, sometimes over him. “Have I dealt with Koren? No, but I can also say I’ve never accidentally kidnapped someone! Because I’ll say, that takes a pretty special kind of stupid, and...ahhrg.” She interrupted herself, bringing her hands up to her temple. The shouting was definitely not doing wonders for her headage. “Blazes, my head…”

The interruption was enough for Delni to give Elias a chance to speak more calmly. She wanted to blame Elias for this completely. However, while there was no way she was going to admit it out loud she was still beating herself up for her own stupidity in getting herself in this mess in the first place. Passing out drunk in a strange man’s ship was not her best move, she had to admit. She pulled her head down, keeping her hands pressed against her forehead. This was not where she wanted to be: stuck who-knew-how-many light years away from Paradise, away from her sister, in a tiny nightgown. In fact, looking down at herself, she was just starting to realize that the garment was a bit more revealing than she was comfortable with at the moment. It was not meant to be taken in public, in any case.

The powerful Mandalorian vet at the back watched the exchange between them, and the new relative calm. He regarded Elias for a moment, and thought he had never been in this situation, he’d been in plenty of situations where the unexpected became reality. Wordlessly, he reached into his utility belt where most of his equipment was housed, and he pulled out one of his smaller stimpaks. Unknown to most, they weren’t just healers, but also pain medication. He wouldn’t use them as such, but if it defused the situation further so they could get back to the job...

Sol’id Fist stepped forward, walking past Elias for a moment, and holding his hand out to Delni with the stimpak in it. “It’s a small enough dose for it to help your head.” He explained. If she accepted it, her dainty hand would look utterly small compared to his large hand. He looked to Elias after, and continued. “I’ll be out near the exit bay. Meet me when you’re ready.”

Without another word, he marched out of the room and into the hallway, the only sign of him getting further away were the booted steps that seemed to diminish with every one.

Delni did not have any particular reason to be angry at the larger Mandalorian. Though, she certainly had every reason to be afraid of him. He was heavily armed, heavily armored, and she had no idea who he was. She was already experiencing the consequences of trusting one stranger, but on the other hand, he did not seem the type to resort to tricking someone. If he had the mind to hurt her somehow, she had a feeling that she would see it coming. Hesitantly, she took the stimpack in her hand, but did not yet make any move to use it.

Elias sighed as Sol spoke and nodded. ”Yeah, right. I’ll be there soon, ship just needs to be given landing vectors.” After he left, silence ruled in the room as Elias walked over to a wall panel that wasn’t readily apparent and retrieved a couple of cryoban grenades along with a couple Ion ones. Couldn’t hurt to be prepared. Turning to the Togruta, he kept his eyes firmly on hers, not wanting to make the situation seem worse. ”Look, I know I screwed up. If this were anything but a screw up, I wouldn’t blame you for feeding me to your sister later. But this was an accident and I promise to make it up to you somehow. Fair?”

Delni finally responded with something besides anger, even if it was just a sarcastic laugh. “You act like I’d even be able to stop my sister after this.” She commented, following with a long breath. “Look, I guess...this isn’t completely your fault. Mostly your fault, definitely, but I shouldn’t have passed out here. I shouldn’t have drunkenly decided to try and go sleep with some guy I barely know. Now...I just don’t even know anymore.”

Holding up the stimpack, she stared at it for a few moments before finally pressing the end of it against her arm. “This had better not be more drugs.” She muttered before injecting its contents. There was no point in refusing; if they wanted to do something to her, she doubted she would be able to stop them. That fact alone made her feel almost sick to her stomach.

After a moment, she glanced to the bed and noticed her datapad near its edge. The stimpack was quite quick to act, so she was starting to feel well enough to be able to look at something bright. “At least I have this. Maybe I can message my sister, let her know what is going on. Though I have no idea where she is, or if she is in any position to get the message. So am I really going to be just sitting here in this ship waiting on you for hours?” She asked.

Elias was still securing his grenades when she asked and he shrugged. ”Unless you feel like pretending to be part of a smuggler’s crew. One of my old crew members was a Togruta and when she moved on from smuggling, she left all her old clothes behind. Haven’t had a crew since, so I haven’t cleaned out her dresser. Although...I’m not sure anything she had is much more modest than what you’re wearing now.”

Delni tilted her head slightly to the side. “A Togruta? Well that’s...convenient. Anything about my size would do, of course, but still. My sister has always said I’m a lucky one, I guess.” She replied. “I mean...I’m not going to be going out on your job with you. I, uh, I don’t know how to fight. I can’t shoot. Well, my sister says I can shoot pretty well for someone with no real training, but still. I’ve never been in a fight; I can’t go out being a smuggler. Still, I would like to at least get dressed. It would be so nice to have a shirt, some pants, and, um...underwear.” She said with a rather bashful expression.

Nodding his understanding, Elias leads her to the dresser the clothes were in and heads back out, pausing in the doorway. ”Being part of the crew, you wouldn’t have to talk. All the same, I’d stay on the ship.” Closing the door behind himself, Elias heads to the cockpit and sets course on the provided landing vectors. Now if they could just get this done without having to shoot anyone, the day might go just a little bit better…”[/color]

Delni spent some time in the room, perhaps more than Elias might have expected. Still, she did eventually emerge, and by her stomping feet, she still was not quite happy, not to mention still barefoot. She marched up behind him in the cockpit and leaned onto the back of the co-pilot’s chair with a distinctly frustrated sigh. “Was she a smuggler, or a stripper?” She remarked. “Somehow even smaller than me. Shoes didn’t fit. I think she put holes in this vest on purpose, and these shorts are barely longer than my nightgown.”

Delni pushed off of the chair and looked back down at her datapad. “Whatever. It’s not that bad; I’m just...frustrated. Look, um, Elias. I know neither of us wanted this, so let’s just get it over with so we can go home. I don’t like the idea of being stuck here in the ship with no idea what’s going on, but I will stay here. Can I contact you on that number you gave me if something goes wrong here? Is there anything I can do from here to make this go faster, or at least giving myself a better chance to get back home alive? I’m pretty good with computers, if that helps.”

Elias chuckles at the way she opens the conversation and gives her a genuine smile, which is somehow more charming than his charming smile. ”She enjoyed being a visual distraction when the situation called for it. And by she enjoyed it, I mean she called dibs on the spot whenever plans were laid out. She actually went on to become a professional dancer, so there is that.”

As she continued speaking, Elias ran through things in his head before nodding to himself at the mention of being good with computers, the timing being good as the ship touched down. ”There’s a couple of auto turrets that need activated and I’m going to want you monitoring the guards on their frequencies. That keeps you in the ship and in direct contact with me. Don’t worry though, I won’t be going too far anyways.”

“I...think I can do that, actually. Yeah. As long as your ship has all the right equipment, of course. I remember trying to listen in on conversations like that back on Nar Shaddaa. You know...for fun.” Delni replied. She was actually surprised that there was something meaningful she could actually do, and it would at least beat sitting around with no idea what was happening. “Yeah, just, uh, show me to the terminal, show me what I need, and I’ll do what I can.”

It helped that Delni had come to him in the cockpit, and after a few minutes, she was shown how to do what he had asked of her, and he was walking down the loading ramp with Sol in tow. ”I’ll do the talking, get us out of here as quick as I can. Shouldn’t take too long.”

Tesar sat beside his team mates, one of the few in the small craft that didn't wear a rain jacket. He didn't need it, his scales protected him from from the downpour. He was used to sudden downpours, having been raised on Barab I. Where literally every night downpours verged on the insane. As soon as the doors dropped down Tesar was out of his seat and on the ground before anyone else, the weight of his body digging into the soft mud slightly. He looked around, his eyes more accustomed to the gloomy outlook of the planet than those of anyone else in the team. His ears more honed, more precise than his companions.

Shortly he was joined by the rest of his squad: Rane was an old Duros and the team leader, Rell was a Mon Calamari with a tendency to blow things up and the latest addition to their team was Corran. A human who Tesar didn't like yet, he didn't like his smell. There was just something about it he didn't like, Tesar never liked change. He was finding it hard enough with these new rules and regulations that were apparently the result of them blowing up the second Death Star. He didn't understand it, and he didn't like it. As the ships engines cut the sound of the rain intensified as if it felt like now was it's time to shine without the competition from the sounds of the engines.

Thats when Rane spoke up - "Okay team, we're covering the Northern Quadrant. Push out, line formation spacing of at least twenty metres. Stay within visual contact with one another as much as possible-" Tesar heard something in the distance, his hunter reflexes instantly kicking in and his back straightened as he tried to hone in on it. As soon as this happened Rane stopped talking, he had worked with the Barabel long enough to understand that.

"This one hearz something-" He paused to sniff at the air. "-and smellz something living." He turned and pointed in the direction to which he had heard the sounds. "That way."

Rane cocked his rifle, as did the rest of his team before tapping on his commlink. "Boss, this is Rane-" Obviously with their 'cover' in place the use of ranks was out of the question. "-Tesars got movement along the Northern Perimetre. My teams moving to check it out."

Barely before he finished speaking Tesar ran off, his back crouched as to remain a low profile. Pushing through the mud, his feet sinking in and the mud splashing as his feet pushed through the mud. The mud fought to keep his feet, though his strength and training prevented from him staying anywhere for too long. He rushed into the trees, his mind on the singular focus of finding his prey. Not caring for the squad that he had foolishly left behind, nor the disciplinary action that he would probably have to face for leaving his squad like that when they got back to base.

He looked up into the trees and saw three humans there, he would guess from their size and smell that they were adolescents. He snapped his jaws as he looked up to them, raising his blaster he shouted over the din of the rain. "This one recommendz you lay down your weaponz."

Moff Orro watched as Talina left the shuttle, his second in command coming up the ramp shortly after. She studied the moff closely, he looked to be lost in thought once more, so she cleared her throat before she spoke. "My lord, that deals with one portion of the rebel scum. What are we going to do about the others." She asked, getting his attention. "Absolutely nothing... Yet, for now we are going to turn our eyes within. We are going to bring the other Moffs underheel. I don't approve of the steps we are going to take, but it must be done." Orro sighed. "We'll need mercenaries for this. Can't have them identifying imperial personnel." He turned to his second in command, who didn't need any behesting.

She left the shuttle, and put out the call for mercenaries. It was a simple message, just a message to meet at a private hangar for good credits, the location of the hangar, and the employer was also listed.

Willoh hadn't moved much in the nightclub. All the mandos had left, the fun lizard lady had left, and while dancing with the patrons was fun, very very very few of them looked at Willoh like they did the Twi'lek. Of course Willoh wasn't scantily clad or on stage or around poles so that probably had something to do with it.

An advantage of being a droid was the optional 24/7 holonet uplink. And while that was fine for watching gungan videos or instructions on how to make a warp drive, it also let her react to new bounty postings that popped up nearby. Sure, getting pings of 'Help me find my pet" over some populated worlds were very annoying, but occasionally you could snap up interesting ones before other bounty hunters could even see that they existed.

And that advantage paid off. As she was getting bored with the nightclub scene, a new bounty popped up over the holonet,one of her bangs moving a bit to signify the ping. It was an imperial one, which was a wee bit odd, and Willoh wasn't sure she could trust all the info it gave, but she didn't have any sort of beef with the imperials like those rebels, and was interested in the job. After all, some imperial influence would be pretty neat to have, and the credits weren't half bad either.

Accepting the bounty almost as soon as it was posted, Willoh got ready to depart. Waving bye to the patrons of the nightclub, she made het way to the specified hanger which was a bit higher up. She didn't get to chat too much with the elevator attendant, droids were notoriously not very chatty unless they were old. Once she reached the proper hanger, she was greeted by quite the imperial group.

The hangar was busy with imperials, men just doing there routine basics. Making sure the shuttle was ready to launch, loading things for the officers on Orro's shuttle. Of course, some of them were just a clever ruse. Not all of them were just lowly imperial mechanics, some were Victor's highly trained operators made to blend in.

Moff Orro watched them work, sitting on a pile of crates. Shuffling through the contents, he nodded at one of the men and he took the crates into the shuttle, the hiss of the automatic doors opening was what drew him back into reality.

Considering this was a private hanger, Willoh wasn't surprised at the massive amount of imperials doing imperial things. Though why they weren't using droids to lift some of those crates and such was a mystery to her. But that wasn't something to ponder, they were hiring! And Imps were fairly decent clients. Just say "For the Empire" and collect your credits when the job is done and they tend to not bother you.

[color=7bcdc8]"Hiya guys! I'm here for that job posting you had?"[/color Willoh said, waving at the various imperials to try to get their attention. She wasn't all that sure who was the commander, she didn't really keep track of imperial uniforms and whatnot, though she guesed it would be a more 'lazy' imperial, so she tried to wave at ones that weren't moving too much. She didn't get much of a reply til the 4th imperial she greeted who was on some crates.

Orro looked at the droid who entered the hangar, the odd thing about it was it was modeled after a female, and it was alone. Not that the last part was much of a surprise, there was a series of IG droids who worked as bounty hunters for the empire once. "Yes, over here." He said, with a wave of his hand.

Walking over to the imperial gesturing for her, Willoh moved up to him, the other Imperials keeping a close eye on her. "Hiya.... Commander? I'm Willoh, and I'm here for that job posting you guys put up." Willoh said, giving a standing salute to the guy. It was best to be very polite to imperials, they were a very... particular group about manners.

The moff nodded, the droid acted oddly human. He didn't know if it was an error in her programming, or what it was. But she already did half of the job for him, by being a droid. So he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "I am Moff Jacen Orro, but yes I am a commander of sorts." He chuckled, and took off his hat. "I'm going to be frank with you, I need a droid and someone who can be discreet. You fit half of that criteria so tell me, can you do what needs to be done?" He asked, and ran a hand through his hair.

Watching Moff Orro do his little bit, Willoh nodded. "Discreet and a job? easy. Do you need someone murdered or something and no one knowing?" Willoh said, eyeing the guy. So Moffs, if she could remember, were pretty high up on the imperial totem pole, so doing a good job for this guy sounded like a great way to get some infamy. "Or is this some kinda stealth mission where you need something from someone?" Willoh continued, changing her colors to a more imperial color scheme to show she was ready for whatever he needed.

The moff smiled, he had the droids attention. "Well maybe the latter. I don't think murdering him would be the best thing to do for me. You see the target likes to collect droids, they can't betray him as easy as say another sentient could." He smiled, it was a kind smile to put the other droid at ease, in truth the other moff he was targeting really loved his droids in the literal sense.

"We are going to play a friendly pazak game, where you will be the wager, as for a droid model like you, I haven't seen a droid like before, and probably neither has he. You will infiltrate his manor, you will get as much information, as much dirt on him as you can, and then you will give it to me. Simple really. And I will be happy to give you 300,000 for a job welll done sound good?" He asked, he sounded so sure that this plan would work that he wouldn't really mind if the droid went higher.

300k? That was way above what she was used to. Her last bounty only paid like 40k, and the last imp she had to deal with was like 30k. Sure those jobs weren't as 'risky', but still, this was great! While she doubted this job would get her much widespread notoriety, having a good relationship with this Moff would probably lead to jobs down the line with more widespread fame. Unless he expects Willoh to join the Empire. Being a free agent was much more interesting.

"300k? That sounds fine to me. I'm not there to assassinate him anyway." Willoh said, not showing her surprise at the bounty. "So this guy... You want all the skeletons hes got, as the phrase goes. No problem. So this guy is a droid collector? Or is there something more to it? What info do you have." Willoh said. considering the bounty was great, that also meant this Moff thought it was dangerous and if this guy was a droid collector, he'd have anti droid measures and those could... hurt. But from the sound of things, he probably wasn't that paranoid and she could be in and out before things got too dicey.

Orro smiled this droid was so much like a human, he almost felt bad about sending her into a dangerous situation. "He'll probably want to put a restraining bolt on you, thats about it. Other than that, I guess I should tell he's a Technosexual, meaning he might try some things. But I will try to warn him in advance that might not be very smart." He chuckled and continued. "I want everything, down to his dealings with the royal family, down to who he is selling slaves too, and where is he getting them from. Nothing gets left out. I want the schedule of his daughters activities, I want to know what school she goes to." If he couldn't blackmail him with his activities he wouldn't mind threatening him with his child.

Willoh listened to the mission. Basically steal all the information that wasn't nailed down, or get a copy of it, and make sure to not get caught. "Alrighty, sounds reasonable enough. So, details to iron out. Or backstory rather. Since hes a droid lover, and I'm so charming, should we spin the story that I'm an advanced maid droid, or one of those Nar Shadda club droids? Would rather have a fake restraining bolt either way though, those things are NOT fun." willoh said. Best to get both their stories on point to make it seem legit. She'd have to act the part either way.

Orro nodded. "The maid droid, would get you much closer, to both targets. The father, and the daughter, we can pass off your unique traits as the ability to be a better caretaker. We will probably go for a fake restraining bolt. I'll give him a fake controller. You'll just have to play the part of a good caretaker, a little yes master here, a little listening to him within your parameters of course." He gave the droid one more nod and continued. "But a more important question is, is your business here taken care of?" He asked.

Willoh wasn't too thrilled about trusting the guy with a fake restraining bolt. No offense to him, but she preferred doing something like that herself. "I have a fake one myself. Just need a control unit. But yeah, acting, Thats always fun. Oh, sorry. Roger Roger Master." Willoh said, making and opening a 'hatch' on her side and manufacturing a fake restraining bolt out of her own nanodroids, making sure the Moff thought that she was just hiding a restraining bolt in a hidden compartment or something. Nodding to Orro, she placed the fake bolt where it would normally go on a droid of her model type.

"Just need that controller and we're good to go. And I guess we'll take your ship, not mine." Willoh said, putting on a serious face for a second before switching to a look a maid droid would have. "Oh, wait, final question." Willoh said,having thought about it. "Escape plan. Do we have one, or do I make it up? And wont he be suspicious when you show up with his info after his maid droid he got from you went missing?"

"If I have to pull you out, I will have intelligence agents nearby with a shuttle. As for the last part." He smiled, it was a sweet thought to have your opponent right where you want them. "If you did your job, I can confront him all I want. He won't try taking my life, or it will go public. Shame for any human is more powerful than any blaster, or light saber. And at that point, you won't need to hide. Your last objective after you secure that information, will actually be to let me in." He said, his voice was so calm and sure. There wasn't even a little bit of hesitation in it. "But if you are ready, well let's go to Kessel." He continued.

Considering these two were acquaintances and the target would trust Orro enough to take a droid from him, that last bit he mentioned wouldn't be such a bad thing. And that would be a great way to escape, especially if Orro brought his own droids to escort him. "Yep, lets go. Hope you got a fake controller on you." Willoh said, holding out her hand for a moment before getting into her 'maid droid' act.

collab with @Alias

Kast's droid managed to land the freighter in the wide hangars of the Paradise with little difficulty. A close call with a particularly erratic flying cargo freighter had ended in some choice words being exchanged, but otherwise, the short trip from the surface of Ilos to the orbiting Paradise was uneventful. Throughout the entire trip, Kast had kept his eye on the Jedi. He'd left the man alone to do his meditating, but didn't trust the Jedi enough to leave him alone on his ship- especially with Koren's daughter so close by as well. He doubted the Jedi would try to hurt the girl, but the last thing Kast needed so close towards the end of a job was getting the girl's head- or his own cut off by a Jedi and his lightsaber.

"OOM, watch the ship." Kast said as he stood up. "Jedi, lets go."

Tez exhaled as he lifted himself up onto his feet. The meditation provided a nice reset from the events today, but Tez had this feeling that they would not quite add up to the events altogether. He walked down the boarding ramp beside the Mandalorian and the metaphorical Princess of Paradise.

"Please lead the way, bounty hunter. I think you can tell a place like this doesn't really house... my kind of crowd." The Jedi requested in his calm voice.

As they approached the main entrance by the hangar, a trio of droids approached them, a BX Commando droid flanked by a pair of B2 Super battledroids. The BX raised its hand to stop them and began its typical commands to stop and disarm. Kast glanced at the Jedi, and gestured towards one of the B2 Battledroids with his head. Their blaster hand was locked up in safe position, their other holding an open bin for the jedi and bounty hunter to put their belongings in.

"The boss wants you here, but no one brings weapons onto Paradise." Kast said, gesturing to Tez's lightsaber.

Tez studied the three droid security guards. At first, he was taken aback as they approached with guns. The thought that this was instantly a trap intially flashed across his mind until the Commando spoke it's probably usual spiel and Kast explained the situation. Tez took out the lightsaber hilt and looked at it for a few moments. Bad idea for a Jedi to head into a hive of scoundrels and criminals without his lightsaber.

The Jedi obliged with a final sigh, dropping the saber away. [b"I best be getting that back..."[/b] He specified, shooting a look to Kast to ensure this happened. While he did feel uneasy about not being armed, he reminded himself that he was well trained to fight without it by his old master, and that was without the Force being added to the equation.

Kast specifically waited for the superbattle droid with Tez's lightsaber to walk away before he started disarming himself. 2 blaster pistols, one rifle, half a dozen blades, wrist gauntlets, and a belt of detonators later the two were sitting on a turbolift heading to the upper levels of Paradise, Koren's daughter and her Magnaguards in tow. The daughter of the Golden exchange led them to a suite on the upper floors, where she gestured the two to enter.

"My father will be with us soon." Loretta explained, as the group entered the suite. It was a relatively large room, with high quality amenities, as expected of a upper level suite. The bed was large and cushy, and it featured a desk made of fine wood. A half kitchen and minibar was on the opposite side of the room next to a washroom, and the entire room was lit by a single lamp, bathing them in a warm, orange light.

"Now all's left to do is to wait for the old man and get paid." Kast muttered aloud, mostly to himself.

Tez looked around the room, seeing all of the first class features to the room. It wasn't very often he was surrounded by so many facilities. He instantly went to the washroom and used the sink, using the cool, flowing water from the tap to clean himself up a little, washing away the dirt that was on his face. He came back and saw Kast and his female accomplice. Tez wasn't sure about Koren's inner fold of Paradise but it was safe to assume she was one of them. He walked over on the bed and pressed into it. The way it squished down, he couldn't help but lay on it. This level of comfort hadn't been experienced for years as he sunk into the bed. He could see how Paradise got it's name.

Ques - Forest Clearing.

Ken would sight the reptilian creature of an unknown species pointing his gun at Terrence, Corrin, and Rika, and immediately move to interpose himself between him and them. With his Shield Belt activated and dual vibroblades drawn, he can withstand at least one shot before being able to cut Tesar. And due to being a mistrustful ball of anger, he would have done that if not for the presence of the kids. So instead, he asked grimly:

“Who are you? What is your purpose here? Why are you threatening these children?”

“This one is merely securing an objective. These hatchlingz were spying, and are carrying armz. They are combatants.” Tesars attention had shifted to the new human who had moved in between him and the children, as he flicked his tongue he could practically taste the anger and the mistrust in the air. “I recommend you lower your weaponz.”

By now the rest of his squad would have caught up, likely setting up positions in the trees, he himself removed one hand from his blaster. He only really needed one to fire his weapon, in the other he extended his claws.

Ken had split-seconds to make a decision; normally, he would have said ‘Kriff it; I’ll take as many down with me’, but his team was at stake. They didn’t deserve to die before they had been properly trained. So he would lower his vibroblades and turn off his shield belt and jetpack and then tell his team:

“Terrence, Corrin, Rika, lower your weapons.” Then, turning to Tesar once more, Ken would say:

“Slavers don’t normally care about the distinction between combatant and noncombatant; neither do the harder sort of merc. So all right, we surrender.” A caveat. “But be warned; we are free and forever free - we’d rather die than be taken again.”

Tesar tilted his head. “If you are surrendering, this one believez that you are not free. So are you surrendering or not?” Tesar really did not get the distinction, they were going to be taken as they had surrendered. However this young one, apparently the leader, had said they would rather die and that they would be free.

Ken blinked. “We surrender; but we will not be taken to slavery, nor sold to those who would do that to us. We expect to be freed after negotiations, or at worst banished from the spot you claimed. Do you get that distinction?” He said with barely disguised fury.

There were few things in the Galaxy that were as foolish as messing with a Barabel, Tesar flashed his teeth at the boy. “This one would never do such a thing, this one also doesn’t appreciate you talking like you believe this one iz an idiot.” Tesar tapped his commlink. “Boss. This iz Tesar, I have several prisonerz at my position.”

Ken would give a ‘hmph’, then throw down his weapons at the ground. Terrence, Corrin, and Rika would do so as well.

The young man would then say: “So, you’re mercenaries. Ones with some honor I take it. Guess it’s a coincidence we met here.” He then stretched out his hands to be cuffed. “My name is Ken Neumann; I’m running a sanctuary for runaways.” Partial truth.

Elias’s voice buzzed over the commlink. ”Understood, Alpha team. I’m sending an escort to bring them back to the Ark, over.” And the sound of rustling grass further inside the clearing confirmed the same.

Ken yawned. “Anyway...if I’m going to be your hostage and all, can I at least contact my fellow refugees so that they don’t mount a rescue effort? Also, holding out my hand for cuffing is getting boring. Do you even have restraints?”

Tesar sissed, barely containing the laugh. “This one still findz the humans sense of humour truly entertaining. You will not be making a call and any rescue attempt iz worthless.” He sissed, the rest of his squad had closed in by now and several of them were already climbing up to the still trapped youngling. As another team approached they moved in and cuffed the others, while Tesar moved over to Ken.

“You are lucky This one is with this group. On Barab we kill or maim those we hunt, now I merely capture.” He reached down to his utility belt, pulling out a zip tie. Upon tying it around the humans wrists he pulled it tight locking them in place. It’d be impossible to get out of now unless someone were to cut it.

A moment to snark. “Wow, you really are cheap not to be able to afford decent cuffs. Anyway, will wait for your leader’s people to arrive, then.” A nod. “Happy to entertain you, though.”

The escort of two men, the Sergeant and the Command team’s long-range commlink operator, a young fresh-faced Corporal, now took over. The net buzzed again with Elias’s voice. ”Bring them to me.”

A collab between @Letter Bee and @CaptainBritton

Ques, the Deal Site (23.311° N, 57.437° E)
0940 hours, 16:6, 4 ABY

---

And as Ken and his followers were guided to the Ark, they were met with the man himself. Elias stood rigid, A280 hooked across his chest, off to the right of a manned E-Web. The Sergeant and Corporal which escorted Ken and company now dispersed, spread out with weapons at the low ready, leaving the prisoners before Elias, who removed his helmet and withdrew his cowl, the rain now soaking into his hair.

If there were chairs, Ken and his team would be sitting on them, before the former would say: “You are the commanding officer of this outfit, right? If so, what do you want to know? Note that if you want information that compromises the freedom of slaves, I will try to kill you and you’ll be forced to kill me.”

Elias had guided them in, indeed, and a table was set, a slab of metal surrounded by folding chairs. However, only Ken was seated, the others allowed only to seat elsewhere, amongst the folding chairs farther from the discussion. Elias, seated opposite of Ken, now drew a cigarra from his breast pocket, biting off the end and lighting it, slipping it between his lips. “Cut him free.” He ordered sternly, and such was, the Sergeant stepped forward to briefly ensure there were no available weaponry on Ken’s person, before drawing his combat knife and slicing away the zipties. “I am. Elias Folen, commander of this private contractor outfit. Am I correct in assuming you’re the commanding individual of your band of, ‘runaways’, did you put it?”

A nod as Ken felt himself more at ease. “Yes, me and my friend Puevi back at base. We’re freed slaves seeking a refuge.” A pause. “You might be wondering why we selected a spot easily reachable by starships; that’s because we’re not without...friends. A smuggler or two that gives us food in exchange for rare herbs and some local fauna. Either way, we don’t mean to cause trouble.” Well, not exactly true.

“We’re only here on a contract. We’ve no interest in turning anyone in. There’ll be quite a bit of activity here in the coming hours, and we’ll be guarding it. My only request is that you depart from this clearing until that activity ceases. We mean you no harm, but if you try anything, my troops won’t be as empathetic as I am.” Elias puffed on the cigarra. “Rest assured, you’ll be allowed to return here by nightfall. Now, you mentioned something about contacting your comrades? I will allow such a thing, so long as you relay my request and comply. Is this a deal?”

Ken offered his right hand to shake. “It’s a deal. Surprising that a merc would be so reasonable. Anyway, I know you heard my name on the comms, but let me introduce myself properly; my name is Ken Neumann.” A thought. “Also, if you need extra manpower for one day - not for this job, but in the future - we might be available. Again, if it doesn’t compromise freedom of slaves.”

He then smiled. “Friends? Well, sort of?”

Elias reciprocated the handshake, replying. “Honest contractors are a dying breed indeed.” Elias paused. “It is enjoyable to meet you. We will keep the offer for manpower in mind. And indeed, if not friends, acquaintances. Now, how about that commlink call?” Elias beckoned the young Corporal with the back-mounted long-range commlink, unhooking the receiver and offering it to Ken. The receiver itself had a piece to listen through, one to speak through, and many dials to specify frequencies. In tandem, Ken’s comrades were cut free from their zipties.

Ken called Puevi through the base’s local frequency; it had only basic encryption and authentication. He would then say: “Puevi, it’s Ken! I and the trio are all right! Anyway, I made a deal with the mercs; they’re letting us go and we get the clearing after nightfall.” Some chatter. “What’s that?! Ah, okay, you got it. Well, we’ll be returning back shortly - prepare dinner!”

He then looked back at Elias. “Thanks again, Mr. Folen! We’ll be escorted out, we’re sure?”

Elias nodded. “No problem. Please, do call me Elias. Indeed, the two who brought you in here are prepared to escort you to the perimeter. Your weaponry will be returned upon arrival there, and you’ll be free to leave.” And the Sergeant and Corporal again were prepared to walk alongside Ken and his comrades.

And with that, Ken and the trio of kids behind him would walk out, actually happy...