Sirka turned her gaze slowly down to the Weequay, though she did not many any move to help him. She sighed, shaking her head and downing the drink that he had poured for her. She did not quite know what motivated him, but he still seemed like quite the fool to her.

Delni finally took interest in what her sister was doing when she heard the thud of the man hitting the floor. She stood up next to Sirka as the droid was approaching, looking down at him as well. “Sirka, what happened this time? Did you knock him out?”

Sirka gave Delni a look out of the corner of her eye. “No, I didn’t knock him out. He knocked himself out.”

“Really? And how’d he do that?”

Pausing briefly, Sirka looked over at the large, still mostly-full glass of alcohol on the table. She took it in her own hand and let out a huff. “Stupidity.”

Sirka slowly, lethargically spun her stool around and planted her feet on the ground, pushing herself up with the drink in hand. She saw the droid, evidently a friend of the Weequay, and shrugged. “Hard to be bothered by free drinks.” She said, grunting out a laugh. “Don’t know why I’m his type, but…whatever.”

The conversation was interrupted by a small, floating droid which flew up to Sirka, almost uncomfortably close to her face. Unlike the humanoid droid, she recognized this one as one of Koren’s, which was immediately confirmed by its message of: “Master Koren will see you now”.

“Hmph, that was quick.” Sirka muttered to herself. She had honestly expected a bit more time to relax. Regardless, she wanted to get her payment, so she was not going to be keeping Koren waiting. “I’ll be back here when I can, sis. Or back to our room, depending. Anyways, try to stay on the ship this time, yeah?”

Sirka started to step past the Trandoshan, who had quite obviously been with the droid that was now dealing with the Weequay. That, and his scent, suggested they knew each other. Sirka raised up her large glass towards the Trandoshan as she passed by him. “When he wakes up, thank him for the drink for me.” She commented as she continued on her way.

Delni, however, did not leave. She stood over the Weequay looking to make sure he was still breathing for a few moments before turning her attention to the droid. There was a certain curiosity in her eyes as she looked it over. She was not examining it as a whole, but rather its parts and mechanisms. When she stared into its optical sensors, it was more like she was trying to stare at the electronics behind the lenses. “You’re an…interesting droid, aren’t you? You’ve got this certain look about you. You’re a combat model, right?”

“You’re an…interesting droid, aren’t you? You’ve got this certain look about you. You’re a combat model, right?”

ZD-6R turned his optical sensors to look at the Togruta and nodded his head in the affirmative. "Correct. ZD-6R at your service. Formally based off the IG series." The droid turned towards the Trandoshan who motioned at him to pick up the Weequay. "The trandoshan over here is Strakisssh and the Weequay who is about to pass out on the floor is known as Zirex. Despite his inability to handle his liquor, he is an extremely capable computer expert and droid repair technician. The three of us are all that is left."

The droid grabbed Zirex by the back of his shirt and lifted him up. The Weequay looked at the droid with a foolish smile on his face. "Hey, ZD, did you know there's another droid next to you?" The droid barely registered the comment. ""Of course there is." The Trandoshan turned to look at the Togruta and smiled a hopefully non intimidating smile. "Excuse me, do you know who we can talk to about finding a room for our idiot comrade to recover? This is our first time aboard paradise and we are still unfamiliar with where to go and who to talk to."

Delni did turn her head to Strakisssh to answer him, though he might have noticed that there was some difficulty in getting her to pry her attention away from the droid. "Oh, yeah. Each of the hotel levels has a droid receptionist that can rent you a room. Depending on what level you go to, the prices might be reasonable, or stupidly expensive. If you have any basic questions about Paradise, you can ask pretty much any of the droids around the place. Even the security droids are programmed with the answers to normal questions from guests.

Quickly, Delni turned her attention back to the droid, still with just as much interest in her gaze. "So this is your droid, I'm guessing?" She said with a quick glance to the Trandoshan. "I thought your model looked familiar. Some of the Hutts like the IG models for security. But you said 'based on the IG-series', hmm. Yeah...I can see it, you're not actually one of Holowan's droids, right? There are a lot of little details that are different. That armor's a lot thicker, for one. You've got some seriously hefty protection on your chassis. The IG series is known for their surprising agility, but you look like you'd be more at home taking and dealing damage in the middle of a firefight. Reminds me of my sister, really. And your parts...I'm guessing whoever put you together tried to combine the advantages of several different manufacturers?"

The Enforcer drifted quietly in it's orbit of the station of Circumtore, though not so low as to draw the ire of the Hutt who owned it. Rumor had it he was already riled up between a failed assassination attempt on the well known Hutt Space neutral ground of Paradise to a raiding of one of his docking bays that lead to the loss of some very precious cargo that had been paid for by an as of yet unnamed party, but it had been mentioned to be more than the original buyer. The pilot spent some time going over what limited information he had before deciding that while this was mysterious, it wasn't linked to what he was searching for, at least not so far as he could tell.

Setting a new hyperspace course, the ship arrived in sight of the legendary Providence-class known as Paradise, the only place in all of Hutt Space that could truly claim to be a neutral ground and mean it. Finding a private hangar to rent wasn't hard, and it's price was, all things considered, fairly reasonable, so after landing, the boarding ramp lowering and allowing the man on board to disembark as the door that allowed entry form the boarding ramp sealed shut behind him, approached a lift. However, as he did so, he felt a slight shiver in the flow of the Force around him, a shiver he'd felt only one other time, when he'd come across a dying Jedi. Stopping in front of the droids, he handed over his blaster and saber tonfa after ensuring they wouldn't accidentally get activated.

He then asked for directions to a decently reputable bar on the ship and for directions. He arrived there and began to drift through the crowds, talking to himself quietly. "I can sense the Jedi on board, but not where he is. I could focus on him, find him that way, but that would expose me and leave me vulnerable. How to handle this..." By this point in his quiet ramblings, he would have come into sight of the Trandoshan and Togruta and droid who were all conversing.

The massive warship floated in space, stationary as activity stirred inside of it. The original occupants were long gone, any traces of its Imperial roots seemingly wiped other than the eye-striking design of the ship itself. As evident by the insignia painted upon the exterior of the bridge, the Revenant was under the control of a group far different from the Galactic Empire. The Star Destroyer served as the home of the Shadow Marauders, the largest and most powerful pirate band within the chaotic region of the galaxy under control of the Hutts. Smaller vessels hung around the colossal ship, the insignia also painted upon them. Three X-Wings and four TIE fighters swiveled over top of the Revenant, dancing amongst the stars before they darted into the hangar. The Maruaders had no sides to pick, no qualms with taking and using whatever starships they could get their hands upon.

Inside the warship hundreds of pirates mingled, spread all throughout the ship many called it their home. Some had made families here, others simply drifted in and out of it, their fearsome leader in total control of who lived in her ship. Banners and murals decorated the hallways, a large room within the ship having been transformed into a tavern. In the hangar the pirates exchanged stories and memories, their ships parked all around it. A few merchants were allowed free entrance and leave to the ship, those that sold their wares at a discount to the Maruaders. Other visitors were not common, any unknown vessels that decided to approach the Revenant were often treated as hostiles. The Star Destroyer never stayed in one place for too long, traveling intermittently through Hutt Space.

The command bridge was comparatively quiet to the rest of the Revenant, seated in a makeshift 'throne' at the head of the bridge was a Devaronian. She was clad in eyecatching red and black Mandalorian armor, bought off the blacket market. Lalni Vudeiz sat with one leg crossed over the other, watching as a trio of approached her, crossing the walkway. To one of her sides was her fearsome bodyguard, Kur, an enormous grey furred figure with a heavy scattergun strapped around his back. To the other side was one of the most senior pirates, Iakar. Each of them giving a distinct glare of their own towards the approaching group.

"Captain, this is the one we caught sending messages to the Imperials. He wishes to explain himself." A Twi'lek male, simply known as Vib said to her. He was one of the many pirates in her command, loyal to fault and willing to die for her. She always made sure every single member of her pirate band made her that promise. She was their queen after all.

"He thinks hes worthy of even looking at me after what he did? Of breathing the same air I am?" Lalni asked cruelly, directing it at the apparent turncoat. The poor fool was covered in bruises and burns, missing several teeth as he simply stared at the floor. His hands were bound behind him and he was clad in dirty rags.

"What were you sending exactly? Coordinates? Informing them of our latest raids?" She continued to question, raising out of her seat. Standing in front of the traitor, she grabbed him by the chin and forced him to look at her. The man was almost shaking, one of his eyes blackened brutally, he was barely even able to open it.

"It was nothing serious-s. I promise." The man weakly stated. For a moment Lalni just menacingly stared at him, looking down upon him as gears turned within the ruthless woman's head. Her underlings knew of her brutality, how cruel she really was to those that failed her, or worse, betrayed her. Then her fist slammed into the turncoat's jaw, causing him to gasp in pain. The aggressive pirate queen had put strength behind the swing.

"That doesn't change that you still did it. Whats your name, fierfek?" She asked in a disgusted tone, kicking him swiftly in the gut.

"Iaxic, my names Iaxic." The man muttered, following a bloody cough.

"Well Iaxic, why did you betray us all? What did you tell those damned Imperials?" She asked, sitting back down in her seat. The rest of bridge dead silent, no one daring to speak when their leader did.

"I just told them about our recent raids, nothing more. I met one of their contacts at Paradise, they promised me a lot of credits to feed them information they wanted." Iaxir shamefully spoke through a gaped tooth mouth.

"Just credits? You get all the credits you can handle from us. Ask anyone here, they all know how generous I am, and you should too." Lalni replied. Iaxir having been with the Marauders for almost a year now.

"No, they promised protection for my kid, my son. He's on an Imperial world. They said they'd put him through school." He weakly added.

"Your son? Tell me about him." The pirate queen said, intrigued at this development.

"He's only five, his names Cen. His mother died right after he was born. He's staying with my sister, I haven't seen him in months. I just want a good life for him." Iaxir stated, on the verge of tears. Pain mixing with sadness. It did not sway Lalni at all from her furious state.

"I wonder what would be worse. Your son becoming an orphan, or him forever seeing his father as a treacherous fool?" She asked, locking eyes with him, a smile leaking onto her face.

"I beg you, please, mercy." Iaxir pleaded, tears beginning to run down his face. It was a pathetic display. to her side Iakar shook his head, not saying a word as Lalni continued her menacing glare towards the traitor.

"Well, I can't sell you to the Empire. They wouldn't want you. They'd have you killed or throw you in jail. That's if they didn't try to break the deal, but they probably would, knowing them. Maybe I'll let this mistake pass by, let you live and spend the rest of your pitiful existence working to overcome this shame you inflicted upon yourself." Lalni stated, she'd rather not do any deals with the Imperials anyway. Iaxir was silent as he heard her words, for a moment he believed she'd let him live. Those hopes were vanquished a moment later as the pirate queen made her decision.

"Put him out the airlock." She stated, smiling, then waved him away.

The pirate behind Iaxir yanked on the man's arms, dragging him to his feet then away from Lalni. She was done with him. Tears were streaming down the man's face as his fate was sealed. He tried to beg more, hoping she'd change her mind, screaming and trembling as he was escorted to his fate. But there was no chance. Perhaps in his final moments as the air was sucked from his lungs, the sterile coldness overwhelmed his body and he suffocated slowly in the never-ending darkness of space he'd think of he should have reconsidered his treachery.

"So this is your droid, I'm guessing?"

Strakisssh shook his head as he grabbed Zirex and threw him over his shoulder. "ZD is his own droid. He's not our property, He joined of his own accord," the Trandoshan smiled the most polite smile he could considering how many sharp teeth he had. "Thank you. I'll see if I can find a room for him" He turned to look at ZD-6R. "Hopefully we can head to Nar Shaddaa in a few hours, until then feel free to do what you wish."

"And your parts...I'm guessing whoever put you together tried to combine the advantages of several different manufacturers?"

"Correct." ZD responded. "I was created on Nal Hutta by a minor Hutt who intended to use me against his rivals but many of the upgrades that you noticed were added somewhat recently during my time with a mercenary group. Although the Hutt created me as a tool against his rivals, I wished to leave my own mark on the galaxy so I left."

Strakisssh had gotten directions from one of the many droids and was in the process of heading down to the hotel levels when he passed a man heading into the room. Something about the man put Strakisssh on his guard but he smiled politely at the man as he passed him. "I don't feel good..." Zirex muttered as Strakisssh carried him towards the lift. The Trandoshan rolled his eyes. "Next time you should stick with something that won't nearly knock you out." The only answer from Zirex was a grunt of pain.

"An independent droid? I have been seeing that a lot lately, it seems." Delni commented. The Trandoshan started to carry away his friend, but the droid appeared to be staying, so she saw no reason to leave. Her attentive eyes were still on the parts she could see on his chassis. "Hmm, well the Hutt must have hired someone who knew what they were doing. Usually, those kind of 'custom' droid builds end up creating a mechanical monstrosity that combines all the weaknesses of its parts. Power distribution issues, hardware incompatibilities, physical stress on mismatched parts; I saw all kinds of things like that on Nar Shaddaa. I can't see your insides, but your build looks a bit more sensible."

The Togruta started to stare directly into one of ZD's optical sensors. "Hmm, sensor looks like it might be Imperial. Arakyd Industries seeker droid, maybe? Oh, that would be sensitive. That wiring might be Industrial Automaton, which makes sense, actually. It can regulate power spikes better than pretty much anything. Those servos seem heavy duty, but...that makes sense with all that armor, yeah. These joints have built-in locking mechanisms; good for lifting, or controlling recoil..."

Delni continued to look over every piece of the droid she could see, making educated guesses as to the parts' origins, functions, and advantages. She was obviously quite interested in how he was put together, and quite knowledgeable on the subject.

---

"Commander, probes have returned." Reported one of the special operations troopers as he marched onto the bridge where Victor, Talina, and the bridgecrew of the IS Archer, the Arquitens class light cruiser provided to their task group for this particular operation. Small, fast, and relatively well armed and armored, the Arquitens provided enough firepower to get the job done, without compromising their stealth or mission. Alongside the Special Operations squad, the Archer also carried a platoon of Stormtroopers and a platoon of regular infantry, on the off chance extra manpower was needed.

"How's it look?" Victor replied, hands clasped behind his back, helmet clad head staring at the rocky ball floated in space before them.

"We've got readings of life signs within the ship- a scattered few, but they're in there. Surroundings in a 5 mile radius are clear- not a whole lot of life on this rock in general.

"Good." he half said to the trooper, as he turned to Talina. "Well, Ms. Eriston, it appears the time for action is now."

"Captain, have the Archer the stormtrooper platoon on standby We'll call you if we need you."

---

"Troopers, dismount!" Victor barked as the transport reached its designated landing position. The first four troopers out the door immediately began spreading out, and took a knee, rifles leveled and outward facing, on the watch for any targets. The rest of the troopers dismounted the transport and took a knee as well- hands scooping up handfulls of dusty sand and dirt and patting it onto their armor. The dust wouldn't camoflauge their figures in the open, but it'd dull any shine left on their armor.

The dropship had let them off in a short ravine a few klicks away from their destination. They could use the rocky and rough terrain to cover their advance towards the downed cruiser. With a sharp bark from Victor, the squad broke into two elements and began fanning out, to increase their coverage of the area and preventing any explosive ambushes from eliminating more than one trooper.

Talina shifted out of the transport, her boots kicking up dirt as she set foot on the barren world. Pride tore through her as she watched the highly trained soldiers under Victor's command spread out into formation. The Rebel scum sure as hell didn't have any troopers like that in their command. She did the same as the others did, rubbing dirt onto her armor. It was a wise tactical decision. As she rose to her feet, Talina gave a long gaze at her surroundings. She let out a deep breath, then smirked underneath her helmet.

It had been too long since she had gone on a mission like this. It was refreshing to be away from the constant chaos and filth which filled Hutt space. Far too long since she had last worn armor like this, the awe striking design of it that caught her eyes the first time she remembered seeing Stormtroopers. As the teams split in two, she led one, which included Victor, while the second element peeled off make their own way to their specific objectives. A small detachment took their place above the battlefield, as ordered earlier. As they inched closer towards the corvette, a tinge of nervousness went through her. But she quickly shut that away, putting faith in the Empire's elite soldiers.

Dagger Squad broke into its seperate elements, their sniper team taking a concealed position at the top of a ridgeline overlooking the crashed corvete, Talina and Victor's team followed the trail left behind by the crashing corvette to breach it from the main port side airlock, while the B group swung around wide to breach the ship from the starboard airlock. The approach to the ship itself was clear, and aside from an occasional comms check, the trip was silent.

As Victor, Talina, and the rest of their element made their way to the airlock door of the corvette, a quick sharp hand motion from Victor sent their remaining squad members rushing up and stacking up against the main door of the airlock. One of the troopers- Gator, swapped out his blaster rifle for a scattergun, while on the opposite side of the door frame, Jakal pulled out a stun grenade. While the rest made a few last minute checks to their weapons.

"A team, in position." Victor murmured over the comms.

"B team, in position." Echoed Fred, the trooper in command of the other element.

"Sniper team, all clear up here."

Victor glanced at Talina and set his blaster to automatic fire mode, and took a position behind Gater. Taking a knee, Victor pulled a small slicing kit out of his pack and hooked into the airlock's door system. "All teams standby."

The CR90 used a standard security system- already damaged by the crash, making the hack a quick and simple task. Within moments he had the controls to the central airlock door slaved to his wristpad. He took a deep breath, and almost unconsciously, the other members of the element mirrored him.

"Breach!" Victor barked, pressing a button on his wristpad and roughly rapping against Gater's shoulder. The airlock door slid open and Jakal hucked a stun grenade deep into the airlock, detonating with a dull thump as Gater swung into the door and fired her scattergun once. As soon as Gater and Jakal passed the threshold, Victor and Koss followed suit just as quickly. During a breach, the most dangerous place to be was in the center of a door's threshold. The name of the game during a breach was shock and awe: A stun grenade to disorient and confuse any potential contacts, followed by an extremely rapid and aggressive entrance to quickly neutralize any foes inside their target room.

Talina charged through the doorway as it came open, clenching her trusted 434 heavy blaster pistol in her gloved hands. The entire trek towards the corvette was near silent, no ambushes were sprung upon them and on the outside there was no signs of Rebel activity. She knew better than to think that meant they were alone here. Her nerves tinged once more as they entered the inside of the crashed vessel. It had been a long time since she had stepped foot inside one of these corvette's. They were an all too common sight amongst the rebellion's forces.

As Victor swung into the room, he saw a humanoid figure. It wasn't wearing stormtrooper armor. He shot it. It didn't matter what or who it was, if it wasn't one of them it was an enemy. There was a scream, the sound of a body crumpling, blasters firing, a scattergun reracking. The moments of a breach were always a haze for Victor- an adrenaline filled blur where all that mattered was fast reactions and a faster trigger finger. It wasn't until Gater yelled 'clear!' that Victor's vision returned to normal.

The airlock chamber was small, and they had still another door before them. But for now this room was clear. A pair of bodies lay slumped against the walls of the airlock. One wore the black vest and blue shirts of a rebel ship-trooper, the other wore the coveralls of an engineer.

As the sound of blasters going off echoed through the room, then bodies hitting the ground. Talina had slipped towards the left side as they breached, firing her weapon twice. Two corpses laid sprawled against the airlock walls, obvious rebels that had been expertly eliminated, entirely caught offguard by the door breach. She exhaled, releasing the raised tension from the breach, then smirked as she looked over the two dead hostiles.

"Damn fine job with the breach, these two didn't stand a chance. We should keep moving, I'm sure these aren't the only ones in the ship. Any word from the other team?" She asked, shifting her glance towards Victor.

"No need." Victor replied, his statement seemingly punctuated by the distant echoing of blaster fire. "Fred can hold his own, and we'd better keep moving." He pulled out a small holoprojector and activated it, displaying the standard blueprint of a CR90 Corvette. "We're going to take the main corrider and clear the cockpit, tactical room and quarters- thats likely where whatever we're looking for is. Fred is going to take his team through the hangar bay and side corriders, and clear out the midships."

The recap took but a second, and kept their objectives fresh in their mind. Victor opened the second airlock door, and the group found themselves face to face with Fred's group, who had finished clearing out their airlock as well. They offered eachother a slight nod, and Fred's team ran through first, rifles leveled as they headed into the side corridors. Victor offered Talina a gesture.

"After you, Commander."

With a nod towards Victor, she took the first steps into the corridor, slowly and cautiously with her weapon at the ready. If they planned it just right perhaps they'd get the drop on any rebels in the downed ship. Take those fools out quickly and keep moving along, like the well oiled Imperial machine they were. As they moved down the main corridor she swore she heard voices not far ahead. Then Talina darted to the side of the corridor, slipping into a doorway where she took cover, watching for any approaching enemies.

A couple surviving rebels crossed the hall as Victor and the rest of the stormtroopers filed into the corridors. Victor made eye contact with one of the rebels before he dove off to the side, the remaining troopers either following suit, or backing back behind the bend of the corridor. The rebels gave a start, and one of them shot a panicked bolt down the hall. The bolt screamed down the hall and collided with the corridor wall, sending a small spray of sparks and rubble against one of their troopers.

"Supress and advance." Victor barked into their comms. Behind them Jakal and Koss switched their weapons into automatic and began spraying blaster bolts down the hall as they rushed forward- the sheer volume of blaster fire forcing the rebels to keep themselves behind cover. Following behind them, Victor and Gater followed, the former producing thermal detonator.

"Detonator out!" Victor called into their comms as he triggered the explosive and lobbed it down the hall. He was rewarded a few seconds later with a scream of surprise followed by an explosion. A few seconds after that, the sounds of once airborn bodies hitting the ground.

As the chaos began within the crashed corvette, the sounds of battle echoed through the compact corridors. Talina stayed tucked behind cover for a moment, as blaster bolts rang by her on both sides. She kneeled down, then quickly peeked out from behind the doorway, and fired her 434 twice. The powerful blaster shook as it laced two shots down the corridor towards a rebel that was firing upon another stormtrooper. The rebel went down with a scream of pain as the bolt struck him in the gut, the second shot crashing into the wall behind the now collapsed rebel.

Talina went back behind cover as Victor's thermal detonator went down the hallway, exploding with a loud bang only amplified by the tightness of the corridor. She dashed out from behind the doorway, switching sides and moving forward as the surviving rebels scrambled to recover from the explosive blast. Two surviving rebels fired out towards the rapidly approaching troopers.

"Two more left! Keep it up." Talina muttered into her comms as she blindfired her heavy blaster pistol twice, causing the two surviving enemies to flinch and remain behind cover for a moment.

Victor and his squad continued advancing down the hall, intermittently firing to keep the rebels from poking out to fire at them in the exposed corridor. As he reached the corner, a rebel soldier stuck his arm out to fire down the hall. Victor grabbed at the rebel's arm and pinned it against the corridor wall, blaster bolt firing off to the side before the blaster pistol fell out of the rebel's hand. Pulling the rebel out of cover, Victor twisted his body and threw the rebel soldier over his shoulder. Before the rebel could get up, Victor brought up an armored boot and sent it crashing through the rebel's plastic helmet.

Glancing over, Gater had similarly dispatched the remaining rebel trooper. Victor took a moment to get a good look over at the rebels. They were ragged and unprepared. Likely still fixing up after their crash. They had a collection of beat up pistols and rifles to their name, and most of them were carrying tools with which to fix up the ship. All the better for them, it meant that they weren't prepared for a fight.

"Let's keep moving. There shouldn't be that many of them left."

As the last remaining rebels were vanquished in the corridor, Talina watched as Victor brutally finished off a particularly unlucky one. That's what they got for daring to go against the Empire. The rebels in this downed ship weren't prepared for a battle, they had executed their approach well enough that it didn't give the scum any time to set up a defensive.

"Yes, let's keep going, whole entire ship be needs tiared out. Radio the troopers on the outsider, ask them for a status report." Talina ordered as she took her eyes away from the beaten and brutalized corpses of their enemies.

Almost in response to Talina, Ashe- the sniper they left outside radioed in. "Hey Boss, we've got company, a flight of Rebel U-Wings on the horizon. They look like their in a hurry. I estimate 15 minutes before they reach the ship."

"Radio the Archer, have them scramble the stormtrooper platoon." Victor replied as they continued through the ship. While he had no doubt that his squad could take on a Rebel rapid response force- why fight a hard fight when they could call in back up of their own? The regular stormtroopers would minimize the risk to Victor's specially trained Special operations troopers, who were far more difficult to replace.

"Gater, Jakal, go clear the tac-room and download everything, find what we're here for. Koss, you're with me, we're clearing the cockpit and quarters."

It seemed as if the rebels were going to make a move and launch a counter attack upon them. Talina was confident they'd be done with the mission by the time the rebellion had amassed their forces and begun their own attack. The platoon of elite, standard stormtroopers would be enough to deal with that problem. Inside the corvette, she could practically sense how close they were to getting what they needed, clearing out the vessel and making their escape.

"I'll go with Koss and you, those rebels won't stand a chance with us three coming for them." Talina stated with a smile. Then the the group split up, though with constant radio chatter they'd know exactly where they all were within the downed ship.

The cockpit of the corvette was crampt and tight quarters, and Victor had opted to switch his longer rifle out for his more compact, automatic blaster pistol. As the three men and women filed down the hall, Koss at the front took a knee and started scanning the sectors ahead of him- he'd secure the hall while the rest of them secured the rooms. There were four rooms in the hallway, they'd clear them out two at a time.

Taking one door, Victor gestured for Talina to take the door opposite him. Keying a button on his wrist, he forced the doors to slide open. Swinging into the first room, pistol raised, he found himself in what was left of the power-control room. Here a pair of engineers rushedly worked on a set of power converters.

Talina nodded and took up position at the opposite door, her 434 clenched tightly. She let out a deep breath, clearing her thoughts and steeling her nerves. As soon Victor's door came open and he darted inside, the door she was at shot open and she charged inside. Three men sat inside, apparently talking amongst themselves when she barged in.

"What the hell?" One exclaimed as Talina unloaded her blaster into the man's chest, three shots sending him to the ground hard as he fell backwards over a table. The second and third reacted with surprise. Then one scrambled for a blaster rifle leaned against a wall while the other fumbled for their sidearm.

Noticing him as he turned into the room, one of the engineers fumbled with a blaster pistol and was shot twice in the chest for his efforts- his blaster pistol clattering to the ground and firing off into the side of the room, sending sparks flying from the nearby console.

"Ah shit! Wait! I surrender!" the remaining engineer cried out, wringing his hands and raising them above his head as quickly as he could.

Victor shrugged. "No prisoners." He said as a way of a reply. The engineer's eyes widened and he screamed out something unintelligble as Victor put another pair of blaster bolts into his chest.

Talina quickly fired her weapon, supressing the trigger and unleashing several shots towards the two rebels. One went down hard, a shot to the arm and two the gut causing him to lose his weapon and fall to the ground with a scream of pain. The third got their hands on the rifle but was unable to use it as Talina cut him down with a shot the shoulder, then the neck. Another shot mised narrowly and hit the wall, covering it with black residue.

The room reeked of smoke, an all too common result of laser hitting flesh. Talina look over the bodies, ensuring they were dead. Then her eyes drifted through the small room, an apparent storage area. Food and other supplies, nothing related to the mission. She stepped back out into the hallway, glancing towards Victor as he stood over the dead in his own room.

"Last room." Victor said quietly, motioning up towards the door at the end of the hall- the cockpit. As they did, Victor's commlink bleeped. Picking it up, he was greeted by two faces- both identical underneath their stormtrooper helmets.

"This is Fred, we're done mopping up here."

"Gater, we've finished downloading the ship's databanks."

"Good." Victor replied. "Rally at the airlock, we'll be joining you shortly."

Talina leaned against one side of doorway, Victor posting up on the other side. She couldn't hear any voices in the room, or footsteps. She gave one glance towards Victor, nodding just before the door came open and the two elite Imperial soldiers charged inside. They were greeted by a duo of rebels, one seated at in the pilot's chair, fixing the controls. Another hooking up wires to the side.

Both men stared at the door as it came open, looks of fear on their faces as the soldiers beared down upon them. The one in the chair swiveled around, yanking out his sidearm. He quickly squeezed the trigger, a split second before Talina did. A shot rang out from each weapon, Talina's striking true as the rebel's bolt slammed into the wall, narrowly missing the armored Imperial. Victor quickly disposed of the other enemy, putting him down with consecutive shots to the chest. Two corpses sprawled onto the floor of the cockpit, the last of the rebel scum in the crashed vessel.

"We're done here. Let's get a move on it, excellent work, soldiers." Talina said into her communication device, smiling at a job well. She expected no less.

"Hmm, sensor looks like it might be Imperial. Arakyd Industries seeker droid, maybe? Oh, that would be sensitive. That wiring might be Industrial Automaton, which makes sense, actually. It can regulate power spikes better than pretty much anything. Those servos seem heavy duty, but...that makes sense with all that armor, yeah. These joints have built-in locking mechanisms; good for lifting, or controlling recoil..."

ZD-6R couldn't help but be impressed by the woman's knowledge. She was very well versed. "The Hutt hired the best to create me. They did too well of a job however. When I was brought online, they disabled everything but my CPU. From what I understand, they wished for me to download all of my combat protocols and be ready for combat the moment they had everything installed. But I saw how the Hutt treated others. I still am not sure how I was able to differentiate between Good and Bad, but I am grateful that I was able to. It allowed me to find the closest thing to a real family."

The droid's optical sensors then flashed. "But the Empire took nearly all of my family. I fought them before to try and leave my mark on the galaxy but they took the StarBlades from me. That was a mistake on their part. We will avenge our comrades."

Ah, Nar Shaddaa, where you couldn't even trust the air you were breathing.

Darton had made it a habit to grab a hotcake and bottle of Corellian ale whenever he did business in the Vertical City - which was exactly what he was doing now. He tipped the vendor a couple extra credits before grabbing his food and drink, slowly making his way through the crowded street, towards the local docking area.

He'd just finished a deal with a couple of Nikto who were selling a small cargo of precious gems - over two thousand little stones in all - for a price agreed upon by the Hutts. Fortunately the deal had gone rather smoothly, as in nobody had to pull for their blaster, and the parties went their separate ways.

So off he went, his parcel tucked inside his jacket, with carton of hotcake in one hand and bottle of ale in the other. It was a particularly smoggy evening in the city, and Darton kept his chin and mouth tucked under his zipped jacket, his breath a little short. The streets of Nar Shaddaa were always a bit of a blur, walking amongst aliens of all shape and size, with gaudy signs piping neon light into one's eyes at every twist and turn, loud cantina music or the slow strings of a gambling hall driving into one's ears, and all the while a little fight here or there and some poor unfortunate getting thrown out into the street like a piece of trash. Such was life on this forsaken moon.

Finally having reached the his landing pad, to no surprise the Buzzard was waiting for him, dimly lit as the smog roiled overhead, its green accents like hanging moss over the hull, age and rust showing in places. His perfect getaway location. Shifting the hotcake over to his other hand, he reached down under the main body of his Z-95 and discreetly opened the hatch. He only cracked the compartment open a little, as the package he fished out from his jacket was fairly small, and fit into his little hidey-hole along with some other cargo that was due for delivery.

He closed up the compartment and climbed his way up to the cockpit, opened the canopy and nabbed his helmet from off the seat, where he'd left it. Sitting down in his comfy leather seat with his feet up on the console, munching on a hotcake and sipping a beer was a pleasure like no other in this beautifully corrupt place.

Delni prevented herself from laughing, considering that the subject did sound a bit serious. "Taking on the whole Empire? That might be a bit beyond what you can do by yourself, even for a well-made droid. Although, honestly, you might not have to wait too long for them to die on their own." She replied.

Delni took a moment to sit herself down on the bar stool next to her. She still found it strange how she kept ending up talking to "independent droids" so much recently, but she supposed it was not the strangest thing to happen to her. If nothing else, they could make for unique conversation partners. "I can't say that me or my sister are big fans of the Empire ourselves, but there's just some things you can't do anything about. Just got to...do what you can and accept what you can't. I just take solace in the fact that the Empire is quickly becoming a broken shell of what it used to be. And it seems like it's tearing itself apart just as much as the New Republic is. Did you hear what happened a while back? Pretty sure the news coming through the holonet is reliable enough. Only a few weeks after they lost their Emperor, and the Empire razed their own planet to the ground. Vardos, one of their big loyalist worlds? They wrecked it. The propaganda says it's supposed to send a 'message', but the only message I'm getting is that they're idiots."

After returning to Paradise, Elias thanked Sirka for the offer, but declined for the time being, instead heading back to his room to begin perusing the list of jobs he had again. After he reported to Koren on the success of the job, and the sellout that had been his contact, Elias was going to head back out into the hyperspace lanes for some more credits. After an hour or so, one of Koren’s droids showed up at the door to his room and informed him that it was time to report to the leader of the Golden Exchange and, with a job still unchosen, he headed for the meeting location.

He had turned over all his weapons as usual at the entrance to the lift, but after the ambush at the warehouse and the dock, even though it was Paradise they were on, Elias somewhat wished he had his blasters at the very least. The room he arrived in wasn’t too fancy, but it wasn’t completely barren, a few holopictures on the walls and a decent view of the planet they were in orbit over made up the majority of the decor along with a table and some chairs. He took one and leaned back slightly, waiting for Koren to arrive.

This would be Sirka’s first time actually meeting Koren in person, provided he actually showed up in person. Her initial job had been given to her through a droid. Perhaps it would be a better first impression not to be carrying a giant glass of alcohol, but on the other hand, it would have been a shame to let it go to waste. Besides which, the glass looked just about the right size in her hand anyways.

By this point, Sirka expected that Koren knew some of what happened on Circumtore. Boqo would have returned by now, so he would know that she left after completing her task. She had given him a synopsis of why she was leaving, but not every detail. She walked around the hall for a minute or so before finding the correct room. That, or Elias was waiting around in the wrong one. He likely heard her hefty footsteps coming all the way down the hall. Sirka stepped into the room and gave a token nod towards Elias in acknowledgement of his presence before finding a place to stand next to the window. Looking down on the planet below.

The door opened and in walked Koren. He looked tired by this point, he had been pushing his body to its limit. Meeting after meeting, he wasn’t exactly young these days. Coupled with the fact he had been in combat and shot recently… overall it wasn’t exactly a good day for him. He nodded at Sirka as he walked in, Boqo was already having to deal with other things and Elias was here too. Koren looked at Elias with a neutral expression upon his face. “Elias, if you ever run here while being chased specifically to get me to fight your battles for you again, you’re not going to be happy. You didn’t just bring a little cruiser, you brought a fleet with a star destroyer. It’s bad for business.”

He then turned to Sirka. “So I hear you ended up doing two jobs for me-” He looked between the two of them. “-Why doesn’t someone tell me what happened?”

Sirka’s head turned just enough that she could pass a glance to Elias. “You were the one that brought an Imperial fleet to the system? Why am I not surprised?” She said, taking another drink from her glass. It was half-empty by this point, and she made a mental note not to have another. It tasted perfectly fine, but even for a being of her size, it was strong enough to worry about.

Sirka turned herself around towards Koren and flicked out her nose-tongues. The impression she got from him was not what she had expected, to say the least. He was tired, and his scent confirmed that it wasn’t just a trick of the light. For this meeting, she took great interest in every detail that she could pull from his auroma, from all of the hormones and chemicals that influenced his state of mind. Reading a Human was almost second-nature for her by this point, and for a Human with as much experience and power as Koren, she wanted every advantage in negotiation that she could get. “Well, it’s a really weird story, I can tell you.” She lifted up her hand and pointed a thumb at Elias. “It starts with Elias here accidentally kidnapping my sister. Don’t worry, we worked that out.”

Elias held up a hand in protest as he took a sip from his flask. “I thought we agreed it wasn’t a kidnapping on the way back?”

“I was getting to that.” Sirka remarked, shooting a quick glance towards Elias. “‘Course, I didn’t say it wasn’t a kidnapping, just that I didn’t blame you too much anymore. My sister admits it was just as much her fault as yours. Anyways, my sister just happened to end up falling asleep on Elias’ ship, who you just happened to give a job that sent him straight to Circumtore, where I just happened to be. So, like I said, a weird story with some crazy luck. I finished my job on Circumtore for you with no problems. The Hutt took the ‘package’, got angry, but didn’t attack us. I do believe he got the message you intended to send. As I was finishing up that job, though, I got a call from my sister about Elias and that other Mandalorian getting into some trouble. She had hacked into the comms of the people Elias here was meeting and figured out that they were probably going to ambush and betray them before she lost all contact with them. So, even though I just wanted to smash Elias’ skull into the ground at the time, she convinced me to go help them. I had already finished up my job with Boqo, so I agreed. I came up on those pirates outside a warehouse and interrupted their ambush before they could spring it on the Mandalorians. As for what went on inside, well, Elias can tell you about that.” She said, tilting her head towards the Mandalorian.

Elias’s eyes were hard as he sighed. “Well, it started with your contact on Circumtore, Koren. I don’t know who it was, but they paid the guy enough to get him to sell you out and betray you. The warehouse that Sirka came up on was the location he gave us, but when we arrived, there was nothing but a box with a Besalisk on it. The short version of what happened was I dueled him and busted him up. He pointed us to a hangar where your cargo was actually at, and it was about to be loaded onto transports by a bunch of pirates, but...I don’t know, seemed like someone had paid them to try and steal the cargo, or else Timana took the chance to try and cross you outside of your turbolaser range. Anyways, after the fire fight, we loaded it up and the cargo was delivered to the drop location. No further hitches.” He took another sip before continuing. “And I didn’t think Taurus was THAT hot headed, otherwise I would have tried to shake him first. I apologize and will pay for any damages I can afford to.”

Koren made sure not to let his annoyance show. There’d always be the traitors and the cowards who felt they could get enough money to find their way out. “Did the contact survive?”

Elias nodded, his own face betraying a slight hint of anger. ”For now. I don’t forget the face of a man who double crossed me, and there’s no where that man can hide that I won’t be able to find him.”

Koren merely waved his hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it.” He tapped his datapad, putting in instructions. “I have a hunter on call at all times, he’s well versed and has my contacts at his service. We’ll find this besalisk and make an example of him. In terms of the mission…-” He looked at Sirka “- Or missions. The results are wholly acceptable, the cargo is being moved to a secure facility where I can get to work on it in a way that benefits my objectives, and Timana the Hutt has successfully been put in his place so all around a good job has been done.” He turned to look at Sirka. “I doubt you’ll be offended however I solely chose you due to your uniqueness, and so far I haven’t been disappointed so far. Stick around and I may have more work for you. Soon, more likely than not. You’ll both find the second half of your payments in the requested accounts.”

Sirka gave a single nod in acknowledgement. “I think I shall. I respect what you have going here, and I always respect fair pay.” She replied. She could smell the annoyance on Koren, but she suspected it was not directed at either of them, since it subsided soon after the mention of the contact that betrayed him. Regardless, she continued to observe his scent closely.

”The Besalisk was the one waiting for us in the warehouse. Your contact was the one who met us at the hangar...wasn’t he?”

Koren shook his head. “No, the contact was the Besalisk. The being who approached you at the hangar would be a one time hire, it’s quite common among many members of my organisation. Rather than risk exposing themselves they’ll hire someone just off the street to relay important information, had he not considered betraying me it would have been very unlikely that you would have seen him.” He turned back to Sirka. “The one thing I need to know, is will your sister become an issue? Or is this a dynamic duo type operation?”

Sirka shook her head. “What happened on Circumtore with Delni was just weird luck. Can’t say it wasn’t good luck, though. If my sister hadn’t been there to send me in, the pirates would have had a much more effective ambush. If nothing else, it might have delayed the Mandalorians enough to get away with that package. Hard to speculate, though; you never really know what’s going to happen. I’d say my sister is capable, definitely. Good with technology, a quick learner, a real natural. But, she’s no fighter, and she doesn’t go out on my jobs. You won’t have any issues.”

Korens curiosity was close to the surface, he had plenty of technological people however the issue was trying to get them to work at other people. “Then maybe we’ll get her working for me yet. Anyway-” he checked his chronometer. “-get some rest and be in the main hangar in thirty minutes. I’ll have another job for you. I can also have some work for your sister if you feel like she’d be interested, nothing dangerous of course. I have many jobs available aboard Paradise and there’s no safer place in the galaxy. As for you-” he turned to Elias. “I think we’re more or less done here for now. Keep your eyes out though, I’ll be holding a race soon.”

Briefly, Sirka was caught off-guard by Koren’s offer in regards to her sister. Getting Delni to work for Koren directly had not been her intention in the slightest. But, after a short pause, she replied. “Well...I can’t speak for my sister. She helps me, but she hasn’t been taking jobs herself. But as long as it’s not dangerous...I’ll bring her with me to the hanger, if you want to talk to her.”

Sirka leaned her head back and finished off the last of her drink. She was not actually supposed to bring the glass out of the bar in the first place, but she supposed she could give it to a droid or something on the way out. She gave a nod to Koren and started on her way out, but paused briefly to look back at him. “Oh, and, uh, I’m looking to buy some parts to fix up an E-Web, if you happen to know where to find them. Might make me more...effective.” She commented before heading on her way.

Elias nodded and stood, turning to head for the door before pausing. He’d gone out of his way to avoid letting it be known he did that kind of work, but after Circumtore…”Koren, if you ever need another Hunter, feel free to call me up. I’ve only done a handful of bounty jobs, but I’ve never lost a target yet.”

“Do so, Sirka. In terms of weaponry, there’s a vendor in the hangar who will hand you the actual merchandise or several higher end dealers within the ship who will have the merchandise delivered. If you know the parts you are wanting, go to one of the ones within the ship. I’ll have them know to discount you as you are going to be doing a job for me.” Koren sighed as he turned to Elias. “I have a job for you, though I swear, if you try any smooth moves on this one…” He raised a finger threateningly.

“My daughter is going to attempt to sneak off the ship again. I’d rather her do so with someone on my payroll going along who can contact me the moment something goes wrong, she’s currently hiring a droid known as Willoh to act as her escort. I need you to find a way to convince them to take you along for the ride. If they refuse? Go along anyway. They cannot know you are working for me, or have worked for me in the past. Understood?”

Elias had to admit, of all the girls that had fallen for him, Koren’s daughter was the only one that he hadn’t worked his magic on. And yet, every time he was in a bar by himself and unaware, there she was. Typically, Koren didn’t allow her within fifteen feet of the smuggler, but if he felt a need to send him with her on this trip...But then the droid did know him. ”Well, Willoh might prove an issue, but it shouldn’t be hard. I’m going to need a REALLY good reason why you’re letting me near her though, since it’s no secret you know everything that happens on this ship.”

Koren shrugged. “I’m not going to be aboard the ship, she knows this. That leaves you with prime opportunity, just don’t make it terribly obvious.”

Elias nods and heads towards the door, but pauses just before leaving. “What exactly is she sneaking off to do?”

Koren shrugged. “Who's sneaking off where?” After he finished speaking he turned and left via his own exit.

"Taking on the whole Empire? That might be a bit beyond what you can do by yourself, even for a well-made droid. Although, honestly, you might not have to wait too long for them to die on their own."

"I do not seek to bring down the entire Empire." The droid responded as his visual sensors turned from red to blue. "There are five remaining individuals who's deaths will allow what remains of us to avenge the StarBlades. A small hologram appeared in front of the Togruta. "We are looking for an experienced individual who can hack into the Imperial Data Net to identify these individuals. Zirex has attempted to on a number of occasions but he has been unsuccessful." The holographic image of a Stormtrooper wearing red armor with a black targeting visor appeared, followed by a woman with curly black hair wearing an officer's uniform. The third image was that of a massive humanoid covered entirely in what looked like Mandalorian armor that was red and black. The fourth image was of a man with scars all over his face wearing the uniform of an Imperial general and the final image was of another woman with a massive blaster rifle strapped to her back. Most of her face was covered by some sort of mask.

"These individuals were either part of the attack on the StarBlades or we assume they took part in ordering the attack. Holographic images recovered from our base show these targets present during the attack or going through our databanks once the base was abandoned. Zirex was able to recover the images but that was all."

Did you hear what happened a while back? Pretty sure the news coming through the holonet is reliable enough. Only a few weeks after they lost their Emperor, and the Empire razed their own planet to the ground. Vardos, one of their big loyalist worlds? They wrecked it. The propaganda says it's supposed to send a 'message', but the only message I'm getting is that they're idiots."

"The Empire is made up mostly of fools." The droid agreed as he deactivated the holograms. "However, their actions have concerned me. If they were willing to destroy one of their own worlds, it makes me wonder what world will be next? Where will they strike next?"

Delni observed each of the holograms that the droid projected, but each image it showed gained little reaction from her. They all looked like rather unique Imperials, if they all were indeed Imperial, but none of them were familiar to her. The only thing that did seem pretty certain from what she was gathering was that they were dangerous. "Sorry, I...don't know any of those people, unfortunately. Or perhaps fortunately; they all look like the kind of people I prefer to avoid. The Empire might be tearing itself apart, but as long as its proverbial legs are still kicking, I like to stay clear. Right now, they are a bad combination of dangerous and desperate. Some of them are flying around the galaxy like mynocks with their heads cut off, but there are others that seem to have a bit more...purpose with what they're doing. The ones in Hutt space are at least not destroying themselves, mostly."

The Togruta shrugged her shoulders. "It's hard to guess their plan when it seems like even they don't know what they're doing. But, if you are set on doing this, you will probably need more than just you, a Trandoshan, and a drunk Weequay. If you want my advice, I'd say to be patient. Maybe see if you can find some people to help you, or at least who want to hurt the Empire just as much as you. My sister, she is that giant lizard who was sitting here before. She's a mercenary, and she's worth at least over a dozen of anyone else you could hire. Thing is, she's meeting with the owner of this place right now, and I don't know if he has another job lined up for her. She might not be available in the short term, but you'd probably want more than just her anyways. Maybe I can give you my contact details, and maybe we can end up working together in the future."

Orbit of Kintan
1400 hrs, Unknown Date, 4 ABY

---

Leonard had finished his date with Ken, received the information on Kintan's defenses, and now, his Venator (The Gamechanger) filled with the latest military technology, jumped to Lightspeed to the Kintan System itself. While the discovery of the Nikto species' lingering loyalty to the Hutt Cartel was...surprising, the fact remained, his retrofitted Venator wasn't his only asset; he had buzz droids, Droideka Mk. IIs, and mercenaries that can serve as boarding parties. He'll prove himself the next Thrawn soon enough.

Ken Neumann looked around the windows of the bridge, blinking at what he saw, or rather, didn't see. "The computers say we're in the Kintan System, but where's Planet Kintan? All I see are asteroids."

Raj VIzla looked at Ken darkly. "That's because we're in the Kintan System's asteroid belt, a few million - or was it billion? - miles away from the planet. Leonard's strategy is to pull in some of those juicy asteroids and use them to manufacture droid starfighters, some of which shall be stored in this ship, others which shall be seeded all throughout this region in order to arrive as reinforcements at pre-arranged times during the battle, or harass other installations in the star system itself."

Rule Findos, the Nemodian logistics officer, then interjected. "Here's hoping that the Hutt Cartel fleet does not notice our preliminary operations here, then. Either way, we should scramble some of the starfighters we do have as an escort; the ship's forges won't work if the weapons are running at the same time, and vice versa."

Lumbering nearby Kintan itself was the, albeit small, but powerful defense forces entrusted to the command of a Togruta with green skin, named Kalo Zysh. This associate of the Hutt Cartel entrusted to the governorship and defense of Kintan had shilled to the Nikto, and had constructed a formidable group of not simply criminals, but partisans, citizens truly attempting to do good for their planet, being led by a slaver and trafficker. The Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruiser, the flagship of the small flotilla above the planet, was easily picked up on sensors, flanked on both sides by Lancer-class frigates, and a Ton Falk-class Escort Carrier lingered nearby the main force. They were not alert, nor alerted, by the presence of the new arrivals.

Which was a good thing, as Leonard's Venator, whose factory ship upgrades were functioning at max efficiency, was now seeding Kintan's asteroid belt with Droid Tri-fighter and Hyena-class bomber squadrons. It also kept a full wing of the newly-manufactured starfighters for itself.

Leonard would then give new orders: "Have the droid starfighters behin zooming towards Kintan at Sublight, while The Gamechanger will deactivate its forges and jump to lightspeed some distance from the Dreadnought, then, without waiting for a hail, deploy its own wings of fighters and bombers en-masse to screen our advance. Now that our forges have been deactivated, our armament will be able to function at full capacity, and focus fire on the Lancer frigates each; turbolasers first, then torpedoes - both proton and buzz droid - and after that, ion cannons as I want as many vessels intact as possible. After that, we can begin boarding operations on the larger vessels. Any questions?"

There were none. And so, some minutes later, the Venator-class Star Destroyer would appear right before the Hutt Cartel armada, deploying a thick cloak of droid starfighters that would fire as they deployed, making their hostile intent clear.

The Hutt flotilla didn't bear a hail even as the Venator drew closer, the starfighters blotting out the sun as they sped towards the unsuspecting fleet. Despite being off-guard and otherwise unprepared, the ships scrambled into formation. It was made obvious that these were not pirates, nor citizens pressed into service. Spared no expense, the vessels were manned primarily by trained men, Imperial defectors and former spacers at the helm and guns of each vessel, though yet still corners were cut, so arguably "non-essential" crew were hordes of Nikto pressed to service. Loaders and gunners swarmed their stations and a formation took shape, the Dreadnaught bearing its five fore turbolaser batteries at the forward of the formation, the Lancers making an arrow formation, the maneuverable frigates manned entirely by quad-lasers dedicated to making a starfighter pilot's life hell. A wall of lasers and flak clouded the advance of the droid starfighters, as the Ton Falk stayed at the rear, not yet ready to deploy its wing of fighters.

Leonard surprisingly kept his cool. "The Lancers are focusing on our starfighter screen; keep our armament on them as I ordered before. As for the dreadnought...focus as much spare energy as you could on the forward shields; get their attention. At the same time, deploy our Seperatist Troop Transport and two L/AAT shuttles at full speed towards that capital ship; use only droids as they can survive much more G-Force than an organic."

A smile. "Once our Droideka Mk. IIs enter that vessel, it's as good as ours."

The Dreadnaught unleashed its turbolaser batteries full force in volley, being the only vessel with real anti-ship capabilities. The Lancers, under constant assault from both starfighters, bombers, and the Venator itself, crumbled, the two frigates attempting to adjust before disjoining the formation slightly. The flak wall opened slightly, but resumed, all fire forward in a last-ditch attempt to cease the starfighter onslaught at the very least. Finally, the wing of fighters poured from the Ton Falk, numbering six ARC-170s, seven V-Wings, seven X-Wings, and four TIEs, all marked distinctively with red symbols, the crossed tridents of the Hutt Cartel. The fighters swarmed over the flak wall, and scattered immediately, attempting to catch the droid fighters as they either began to fly into the flak wall or began to peel away from the flak wall.

"The Lancers are down!" Leonard said. "Have the remaining Droid Tri-fighters focus on the enemy 'Aces' - for I am sure they must be 'Aces' in their own way - while the Hyena-class bombers are to keep escorting the transports boarding the dreadnought; we need our Battle Droids and Droideka Mk. IIs inside if we're going to have a chance to win this!"

The fighters made their valiant effort, but they were sheerly outnumbered, swarmed on all sides by droids without concept of retreat or loss. The Hutt fighters attempted to peel away from the swarm of droid fighter surrounding them, but met their fates, all but extinguished. The Lancers, meanwhile, were continuing the effort, however their hulls were weak and their deflector shields essentially gone, and the first was cut whole through by torpedoes, and the second simply went dark under sustained fire from the horde of fighters. The Ton Falk went to make a valiant escape, speeding off, essentially unarmed regardless, attempting to make it to range for a hyperspace jump.

But the Dreadnaught, it would stand and fight. It may be the last ship left, but it was not about to give up. The turbolaser batteries redoubled their efforts, with the Dreadnaught, half the size of the Venator and much slimmer, attempting to make itself a small target, slimming itself while forward facing and letting fly turbolasers by the volley.

Leonard, impatient, would then say: "Rule, hail the Carrier; offer its crew 50,000 credits in gold nuggets to stay, and another 40,000 to attack the Dreadnought with its remaining starfighters."

A response followed, the Ton Falk halting in its tracks. The response was as follows, albeit in the form of encrypted text, easily decoded by any other vessel with comms equipment. "NO STARFIGHTERS LEFT. WILL STAY."

The Dreadnaught, oblivious to the betrayal from its ally, continued its barrage, but was also oblivious to the next flaw. As the bombers strafed its hull, the transports full of droids made it inside, through brute force breaking the hangar doors away. Though, nothing outwardly occurred at first, and the vessel kept up its attack for a tense few minutes.

However, in the halls, the bulk of the crew, the Nikto conscripts, were crumbling under the onslaught of the boarders. The veteran defectors, pirates, and spacers among them were too few to mount a coherent defense, and pods went out, arrayed in all directions, lifeforms present in almost all of them, before the Dreadnaught went dark, no lifeforms present aboard.

Now was the moment of truth. "Use Tractor beams to pick up the escape pods! Broadcast messages to them offering payment to defect! Also, recall the Seperatist Troop Transport and the L/AATs - we are going to begin the ground phase of this liberation."

Raj turned towards Leonard. "What forces will I lead?"

The reply was, "You mean we, because I am going down as well. Also, we lead 1,500 mercenaries, 50,000 Battle Droids, 500 Droideka Mk. IIs, and 6 Leonard-class assault tanks. Oh, and 80 Hailfire-class Artillery Droids and 80 recon craft." Leonard then went to Ken. "You're coming too; let's see how good you are with a vibroblade."

A collaboration between @Letter Bee and @CaptainBritton

Surface of Kintan
1400 hrs, Unknown Date, 4 ABY

---

Preliminary scans of the surface of Kintan revealed the consolidation of forces was formed in and nearby the once-abandoned fortress of Kh'aris, with an excess of 3,000 troops plus armored augment, not able to be completely revealed from orbit. Though, it was evident the Hutt forces were preparing for a siege in the fortress.

The fortress itself, built prior to 30 BBY, was used by Dooku and Separatist forces before being abandoned in late 30 BBY. Kalo Zysh and his troops occupied the fortress as their headquarters upon Zysh's appointment of governorship. Standing atop an arch bridging two mountains, the only ways in and out are the two gates on either side of the arch, or by air.

Leonard's orders from his shuttle were: "Deploy the bulk of our forces by the gates; but our best - the mercenaries, Droidekas, and the tanks - are to be deployed by air. It is time to engage."

He then drew his spice injector, and said, "I will be operating at reduced intellect once I use this to increase my fighting skills. Raj, you be the leader then; keep me safe if you want your paycheck."

A smile at his other companion. "Ken, it would be good to fight beside you."

Ken's response was a nod as the shuttle began its attempt to land on top of the arch, escorted by still more droid starfighters who were taking fire from the fortress.. "For the efforts with liberation of Kintan and the freedom of the slaves there, I am grateful."

Then all talk ceased as the final phase of the liberation began.

And grounded there, with unoperational legs, being more of a gunnery platform lying on the ground, was a stripped-for-parts AT-ACT, with weapons systems intact and built into some sort of flak tower, being stripped of most cabin plating with quad laser batteries dotted across the hull, creating a massive crossfire of green and red lasers, with the primary heavy laser batteries on the still mobile head giving a large-spread flak sweep.

Troops scattered around the fortress itself, manning the walls and putting out an impressive array of fire at the assaulting forces.

"Keep on holding!" Leonard screamed in defiance as the Hyena-class droid bombers took fire for the landing craft; with the survivors landing on the fortress grounds and shifting into walker forms. His L/AAT, already smoking from holes blasted into its armor, safely made its way onto the fortress walls as well, opening its doors so that Leonard, now carrying his energy shield and cortosis vibroblade, Ken, who now had his shield belt and swords activated, and Raj, who was carrying an assault rifle, can attack the defenders with their Droidekas in tow!

Nikto supplemented by their pirate commanders manned the fortifications, wielding a wide array of weapons procured from the Hutts. A280s, E11s, and other weapons threw blasts forth against the oncoming horde, both on the arches and on the fortifications themselves. As Leonard and his entourage arrived, they were met by multiple of these Nikto, prepared for close-in combat and hand-to-hand. A squad of seven met them, attempting to encircle them as their transport left.

Leonard sped towards the centre of the squad, the speed of his reflexes giving away the fact that he had already injected himself with spice. Ken took on two other Nikto, vibroblades on each hand. Raj, meanwhile, shot a wrist-mounted taser at one Nikto, blasted another with a pistol, and charged yet another as he turned on his jetpack to increase the speed of his tackle. As for their Droideka Mk. IIs, they were already laying down a counter-wall of fire...

The Nikto fell all around, the conscripts meant to face other crime lords, not a droid army. The best of the squad to hold up was the commander of it, a Twi'Lek in spacer's rags, wielding a sword and DL-44, prepared to meet Raj's charge, jumping in front of Raj's initial target and taking a broad swing.

Raj ducked underneath the Twi'lek's guard, and moved to punch at the captain's chin with an uppercut, even as Leonard and Ken were taking out the other mercenaries...

The Twi'lek recoiled, attempting a thrust at Raj's center mass, with his off hand bringing his DL-44 to bear. The Nikto around crumbled easily. The whole fortification seemed to shake as the Nikto either jumped off the wall or died. And it was an easy choice, though most died, crushed as a mass due to the fall.

But Raj was already drawing a vibroknife of Mandalorian armor to parry the sword, even as his other hand shot the wrist-mounted taser that was going to be used for the initial target. Leonard and Ken were now pushing further into the conscripts, with the former's faculties being dulled.

And the fortification continued to shake, long after it began its abandonment, even after the retreat had ceased. Dust flooded the ground, and the wall began to crumble. Charges were bringing the wall down, and were hoping to take the invaders already on the wall with it.

Raj, once the Twi'lek was brought down, would give the signal for a quick evacuation, then rush towards Leonard and gesture to Ken to help him get their leader back to the shuttles. They would then do so, hoping to save the tanks they used as well!

The walls crumbled around them, sewing confusion, as the combined Hutt forces retreated within the central keep of the fortress, and fired out of battlements both atop and within the keep, creating a 360 degree base of fire.

The next order from Raj would be: "Once the rubble has settled, send out three of the assault tanks - assuming we saved the tanks - to bombard the central keep's gates; said tanks have an energy shield, so they should be safe from counterattack for a few crucial minutes. The forces we sent to attack the gates should also have broken in by now."

He then turned to Ken. "You did well, Believer."

As enemies surrounded the keep, the fire from within intensified, until tank fire collided with the keep gate, turning it to ash and revealing a wave of fire pouring out against the attackers from within.

Raj kept his cool. "Another wave of Droidekas are to be sent to engage the gate's defenders at almost point-blank range! Also, send in our strongest mercenaries once the droids have punched an opening; Wookiees with bowcasters, Bothans, and even Gungans and Quarren and those 'Shark Aliens'. Humans follow after. Go, go, go!"

The fire summarily ceased as the Droidekas rolled in, the blaster fire contained within the keep for what seemed like hours, but only minutes, very tense minutes passed, and all fire ceased. The entire fortress was taken in just fifteen minutes. And dragged from the rubble of the firefight, the Togruta, Kalo Zysh, hands held high and a grimace on his face. It was either be executed by Hutts, or submit as a prisoner.

Leonard, recovering his faculties from the Spice he had taken, went to Kalo, and spoke: "Kintan is free and even if I let you go, the Hutts will just execute you as a failure. But join me and you can live your remaining days in luxury, swimming in credits."

Kalo dropped to his knees, seeing the small state he'd built set on fire, and remained silent for a solid minute, staying there. "You destroyed my home.." He managed to mutter. As distraught as he was over the whole dishonor at the defeat, he'd built more than a state, he'd built a home for himself. "I- I will join you. I just, wish to leave this place. These people- Thousands lie dead here." He becomes choked up, allowing to be ferried away. Kintan belonged to Leonard.

The banker-industrialist, now a warlord, nodded in agreement. He would then make his way to the comms suite and announce that the Nikto were free from their chains...

---

Elias left the room that he had just met Koren in with a slight frown on his face, his flask now stored back in his pouch. He was supposed to slip harmlessly into a job that...well, then again, he knew that Loretta had something of a crush on him, and that was something the Smuggler could use to his advantage. Stopping one of the droids, he asked where Loretta was at that time. "Mistriss Loretta is currently meeting with the droid bounty hunter in a private room about a job. Are you interested in the same one?" That definitely proved that she was meeting with Willoh, since he knew how quickly people could change their minds on a hire upon meeting and so the Mandalorian nodded.

"I am. Mind giving me directions?" The droid obliged and, after a short jog to the door, he knocked on it before entering, one of his best smiles on his face. "Hey Loretta. I saw your job posting, thought I'd come check it out. Mind if I ask for the details?" Loretta's face flushed slightly when the Mandalorian walked in, but she didn't hesitate to share.

"I'm taking a trip to Grakkus the Hutt's arena to get some Jedi memorabilia he has that I'm interested in. I already offered Willoh the job of my escort, but I wouldn't mind you tagging along." Elias's grin grew larger and her face grew flusher. He was REALLY going to have to explain what had happened to Koren so that he didn't get shot out of an airlock, but he had succeeded in getting to go, and that was the goal.

"Consider me ready and willing. We'll need to pick up my weapons though. And...you're probably going to need transportation too."

Scipio Industries and Finance + Ken Neumann

Despite himself, Ken was impressed by the swift liberation of Kintan, even though he inwardly knew that the liberation could easily have become a 'liberation' had Leonard's whims been different. But said whims were startlingly easy to decipher; they mostly consisted of 'having fun' with 'his toys'. Briefly, Ken wondered if he were just another plaything for the independently wealthy industrialist turned lordling, whose attitude was different from Elias (Folen)'s fatherly warmth yet no less an influence on his path. What was said path? Well, just a more pragmatic road to the Believers' goals of sector-wide emancipation.

As the eighteen-year old laid himself down on his bed in the quarters alloted to him on Leonard's ship - quarters close to where Leonard slept - he made the decision to pull out a small comm unit from his jacket; he had brought it for the Paradise trip, but had only used it to report that the Slaves from Vordan are free now. This comm unit was special as it was able to encrypt and decrypt Believer codes and bounce messages through multiple hubs. Perfect for contacting his superiors.

Typing a message through said comm unit, Ken would report to the Believers' higher-ups.

Kintan and a large proportion of the Nikto species have been freed from the slavery of the Hutt Cartel. The man behind this liberation is Leonard L. Scipio, a former industrialist and banker now turned independent warlord. Scipio is physically interested in me and has a mildly immature and childish personality that can nevertheless be of service to the Believers' goals. Requesting that a representative be sent to Leonard's HQ - my present location, a Venator-class Star Destroyer named The Gamechanger - to assess the viability of Scipio as an ally. Freeman out.

And with that, Ken smiled.

@Sep@Zarkun Perhaps @RumikoOhara@EliteCommander

Sirka, upon leaving her meeting with Koren, rushed to try to accomplish as much as she could in the limited time she had. Koren had requested her presence in one of the hangers in half an hour, and she was not about to give up a potential job. She headed straight back to the bar she had just left before the meeting to pick up Delni, who was still quite engaged in her conversation with the strange droid. Delni did not want to leave so suddenly, but the fact that her sister told her it was important was enough to convince her to come along without much argument. At the very least, she did give the droid enough information to be able to contact her, should these “StarBlades” actually get into a position to be able to hire mercenaries.

Sirka explained the situation to Delni on the way to the hanger. She did mention that Koren had taken notice of Delni’s technical ability that he potentially could offer her a job, but Sirka also spent about twice as much time stressing to her sister that she did not have to accept a job from him if she did not want to. She repeated, quite a few times, that Delni should turn it down if it sounded dangerous, and that turning down the job would not affect Sirka’s employment in any way.

On her part, Delni was not completely sure how to feel about potentially being offered work. The idea of jumping into mercenary work, even of a non-lethal sort, had not seriously crossed her mind up to this point. She had always just been helping her sister to find the jobs. It seemed almost bizarre to think that she could get involved herself, though her recent experiences did perhaps help her to warm up to the idea.

Once in the hanger, Sirka followed Koren’s advice and sought out the weapons vendor, after having her own weapons brought to the hanger, E-Web included. Since they were outside of security, it was one of the few places on Paradise where one could actually have their weapons. She had not yet had too much time to examine the E-Web in detail, but she knew enough about blasters that she believed she knew what parts would be needed to fix it, and what was most likely to need replacing based on the damage she saw. Still, she did purchase a few extra parts, just in case the damage was more widespread than she had expected. Sirka was not sure if she would actually have time to fix the weapon before her next job, but she started on the project while she waited regardless.

The Believers had been ready to receive the communication from Ken, so there was little delay in processing. Along one of the hubs the encrypted transmission was bounced through, it was picked up by a Believer communications officer, then passed on to its final destination.

Among the Believers, communication was not a straightforward process, and was not always quick. Passing messages within a single cell could be quick, depending upon their protocols and the situation they were in. However, long-range communications, especially when multiple cells were involved, greatly favored security over convenience, especially where their leadership was involved. Combined with the fact that their leaders tended to be cautious and patient when planning their orders, and it could take days or longer to receive a response at times. That might have been what Ken was expecting; however, in this particular case, it was only several hours before Ken received his response. Although, it would take his relatively weak device well over an hour to decrypt the message, even with the proper encryption keys. The voice in this message was not Cinder’s, but rather that of the Rodian woman who was Ken’s usual contact among the Believer leadership.

Confirming your report on the completion of your primary objective, agent Freeman. It is our understanding that you were not able to mount an attack against GORT company, but that was only your secondary objective, and based on the information you provided us, we do not disapprove of your decision to shift your focus onto Mr. Scipio. We will continue to monitor GORT company for future action against the slavers. I have re-assigned an agent in the sector to meet with and assess Mr. Scripio and his organization. The agent should arrive within the next cycle. I recommend you inform Mr. Scripio of our agent’s arrival beforehand to arrange the meeting. Our intent is diplomacy, not espionage. Acklay out.