Scipio Industries and Finance + Ken Neumann

The two were eating breakfast in a large, brightly lit room within The Gamechanger that looked out over the skies of Kintan. Leonard and Ken were discussing the message sent to the latter some hours ago; the former was strangely excited to meet the Believer agent.

"People who love bringing other people down just like me? Why wouldn't I be pleased to hear from them? After all, we're enemies of the Hutts together; I must have marked myself for death when I took over Kintan," Leonard was saying as he sipped fine wines while eating finely roasted waterfowl. "Ken, I and the Believers are so going to work well with each other, particularly as, again, we like setting things on fire. I mean, Cinder is the name of your leader, right?"

Ken nods. "I see you're not mad at me bringing in the wider Beleivers network without your permission."

"Mad?!" Leonard was incredulous, "Please, I need allies right now, especially as the Nikto are still unsure as to whether we can keep them free. That and rebuilding the Fortress of Kha'ris is taking more time than I thought; my fault for wanting to install a shield generator and an Ion Cannon. There's also the fact that I need more ships; the Dreadnought and Carrier we captured in this expedition wouldn't be enough."

Ken's reply was, "What about repairing the Lancer Frigates? Their anti-starfighter function would be of good use in the future, I think."

Leonard nods. "The Lancers are already being repaired by droid workers from this factory ship; they'll be largely staffed by droids and droid brains. Word has also been sent to Dandoran that any mercenaries who want to join are welcome. So, as you can see, I am preparing a defense..."

@Sep@Zarkun Perhaps @RumikoOhara@EliteCommander

En Route to Nar Shaddaa

"Were you able to gather any more information on our target?" Strakisssh asked the droid as he checked his weapons that he had gathered before leaving Paradise. It never hurt to be prepared. ZD-6R's optical sensors flashed once as he retrieved the information he had gathered before leaving Paradise. "I was able to gather a small amount of relevant information: Apparently our target left the Empire shortly after the Battle of Endor which in itself is not surprising. What is surprising is how quickly he made a name for himself. From what information I have, he has gathered a number of mercenaries and smugglers and computer experts into an organization that he seems to be in charge of. He appears to be spreading his influence throughout the criminal underworld."

The Trandoshan paused at ZD's words. "I'm surprised the Hutts haven't dealt with him. From what I understand, they don't react well when upstarts try to muscle in on their operations." The Droid paused for a moment. "It does seem somewhat odd now that I think about it. Perhaps he doesn't have as much influence as he thinks he does."

The sight of Nar Shaddaa began to fill the view ports and both Strakisssh and ZD both checked their primary weaponry and made sure their blasters were fully charged as the shuttle began to head for a docking bay. "Remember: We need to take the target alive." ZD-6R told him in what could be construed as a stern voice. The Trandoshan nodded in agreement. "You said most of the sightings have been in the Red Sector?" The lizard man asked the droid.

"Correct. The last sighting was two days ago in the seventy third residential block of the Red Sector. Accounts state he and a small number of mercenaries were seen fighting with a local gang who were forced to retreat."

"Do you have a plan to draw him out?"

ZD's optical sensors turned blue for a moment. "I always have a plan. Despite our target being a former Imperial general he was known to be overconfident while serving in the Empire. What we need to do is attack his sense of pride."

"And how do you plan to accomplish that...?"

The droid turned to look at the Trandoshan.

"We need to attack something or someone close to him. I suggest we start by either attacking a number of his operations or territory."

The lizard like alien sighed heavily. "I'm going to be the bait again, aren't I?"

It was a day after Ken had sent his message that a small freighter exited hyperspace near to Kintan, setting itself on a course directly to Leonard's flagship. It was a lightly armed, unremarkable civilian vessel with only a single life sign aboard. It quickly transmitted codes to the Venator, which marked it as being the Believer representative they had been waiting for.

Upon landing in the designated hanger bay, the representative wasted no time in proceeding out of the vessel. The freighter's ramp lowered, revealing a tall, brown-furred, Wookiee female. Alongside her was a black-painted humanoid protocol droid, which appeared to be a re-programmed Imperial model. She walked down the ramp with her droid, seemingly unarmed, unless she was carrying a weapon in one of the few pouches she was wearing.

The protocol droid walked ahead of her with purpose, looking for whoever was in charge of greeting them.

Timana roared as he threw his protocol droid across the room. Kintan had been under Hutt Control for centuries. Some of the Nikito had been rebellious of course, but not enough to warrant a larger fleet presence above their homeworld. He doubted all of the species would even go for being free. He had to plan a counterattack before the council started breathing down his neck, or at least before the Queen did. He wasn't ready to face her yet, not by a long shot. He shouted over to the protocol droid at the other side of the room. [Fetch me the courier! Darton Fanx.] The droid struggled to get back up, Timana threw a chair at him as he bellowed. [NOW!]



Koren was going over the numbers, and frankly... it was enough. The plan would work now, with the size and composition of all the big players he could easily stand a chance. He looked up at one of the many screens in his tactical analysis chamber and sighed. Orro had just gained a Bellator. Jumped in from outside of Hutt Space, likely a survivor from some form of battle. That was a power shift, friction between Orro and the Hutts would likely increase over the coming months as a result. Orro was powerful and he was just becoming more powerful as time went on, that wasn't something that the Hutts could leave unchecked for very long. This was coupled with the fact thatt he businessman was an idiot enough to attack the Hutt world of Kintan.

Koren had assumed he had been going in to try and recover something, instead it turns out he went full on occupation. There were certain players you didn't interfere with in your first couple of days. The Hutts were one of those players, they may be divisive however it would only take a common enemy to band them together and that was the last thing Koren wanted until he was ready. A united Hutt Cartel? It would be catastrophic for everyone in Hutt Space. Hell, if they pulled their resources it could be catastrophic for those outside of Hutt Space if the council felt that they had the ability to expand outwards. Without further ado he walked out of the tactical centre. A squad of droids standing waiting for him, it was time to make his next move on the board.

((Collab post between EliteCommander and Letter Bee))

Servant droids would usher in the Female Wookiee and her Protocol Droid to the Bridge, where Leonard and Ken were poring over a star map. Once the Believers’ representatives had made their presence felt, the latter two would get up, with Leonard saying, “Ah, you must be the Believers’ representative. We’ve been expecting you.”

Ken would smile and say, “And by that, Scipio decided to hold the strategy meeting at the same time as your arrival in order to demonstrate that he is capable of defending liberated territory as well as freeing it. He is a show-off.”

Raj Vizla looked at Ken darkly at that through his visor, but at the same time, was impressed by the Believer representative’s obvious fighting prowess. He had always respected Wookiees and their fighting prowess.

Leonard would then tilt his head at Ken slightly, then the two would bow a little to the Wookiee before Leonard continued, “I am really happy to see that my gesture - freeing an entire planet - has received attention.”

Ken was tempted to look at Leonard darkly, but decided that his boyfriend didn’t merit it yet.

Before the Wookiee could give a response, the protocol droid stepped forward with its slow, awkward gait, seeming to mimic Leonard’s bow. “You are Mr. Scipio, correct? Are you capable of understanding Shyriiwook? If not, then I would be more than happy to translate. That is my primary function, and purpose in being here. I can happily say that my model has a 99.86% success rate in conveying accurate meaning in Basic.”

Leonard would then: “Ah, Shyriiwook is a language I haven’t learned, but I do know Droidspeak, which then again won’t help here. So Basic, then.”

“Excellent, sir. I am glad to assist.” The protocol droid responded, at which point it stepped back to allow the Wookiee to take over. Her roaring, growling words were translated through the protocol droid immediately after she spoke them.

”I am Lewchawwa, I represent the Believers. To start, we would like to give you our thanks for your role in freeing these people. If you know of us, then you know our cause is to give justice to the oppressed. To that end, we would like to offer to bring as many transports as we can muster to evacuate as many of the former slaves as possible before the Hutt Cartel’s counter-attack.”

The businessman-turned-warlord’s reply was: “Perfect! That ensures that whatever the outcome of the Hutt counterattack, our efforts would not have been for nothing.”

Why did he, Leonard L. Scipio, feel a measure of warmth from helping others? After all, this was just an excuse to destroy those who thought they were ‘above’ him, right? So why did he feel good from doing ‘good’? But he kept those thoughts to himself as he continued:

“Would you appreciate a few squadrons of droid starfighters to accompany your transports? Droid starfighters are something we can manufacture in excess, after all.”

Lewchawwa lightly shook her head as the droid continued to translate her words. ”I thank you for the offer, but it will be safer if the transports are less conspicuous. We have experience protecting liberated people, but our methods rely on secrecy that a fighter escort could compromise. We hope to have our ships our of the system before the Cartel arrives. You can rest assured that these people will be well taken care of. If this place ever becomes safe for them again, then they will have the option to return.”

If Leonard had any experience reading Wookiee expressions, he might have saw what at least appeared to be genuine gratitude in her expression. However, her visage did become more serious as she looked over the map between them. ”But for the counter-attack itself...do you truly intend to try and hold this world?”

Leonard nods. “Like I said, I like pulling down those more powerful than me; the Hutts are those people now. I have started rebuilding the Fortress of Kha’ris, this time with a shield generator and Ion Cannon; I also plan to install more ground-based weapons and more shields on uninhabited areas of Kintan’s surface to lure the Hutts into splitting their attention between the ground and space earlier than they would expect.” A pause. “I also plan to manufacture explosive ‘space mines’ at the mouth of the main Hyperspace Lane, in order to shock and ambush the Hutt fleet.”

”Those all are effective traps, but…” Lewchawwa began, pausing as she gave the map another, contemplative look. ”Traps can only go so far, and the Cartel will react to this before enough defenses can be built and installed. Even if they are, I fear it will not matter in the end. Make no mistake, the Believers are in full support of everything you have done here so far. We applaud your success against these slavers, and we recognize the message it will send throughout our corner of the galaxy. The Hutts are vulnerable, they can be fought, successfully. You have shown that. But, that does not change the power they have at their disposal, in the short term. We do not need spies or intelligence reports to tell you that the Hutts are going to strike back with a kind of ferocity that has not been seen in a long time.”

The Wookiee clenched her hands into fists, and her roars became louder. The subject of the Hutts seemed to provoke more than a few emotions within her. ”Those...vile slugs are petty, emotional, and completely ruthless. They will respond to even minor slights with...terrible cruelty when they know they have the power to do it. What you have done here is an insult to them, and has sent a dangerous message. They will want to send an even stronger message in response. I respect your ambition, and you can probably inflict some heavy damage in a fight, but they will overcome the best-planned defense with the force of numbers alone. I suggest, instead, that you work with us. Save your forces now so that you can do even more damage later.”

Leonard surprisingly didn’t object. “Very well, but I will leave behind a force of droids in various places in Kintan, including the fortress of Kha’ris, as well as the minefield. But the main body of Scipio Industries and Finance will go where you go. Thank you for listening to us.”

Even Lewchawwa was momentarily shocked by the very sudden reversal of Leonard’s intentions. It was fortunate that she did not have the Human facial expressions to betray that surprise so obviously, and her droid translator did not convey the tone of her voice. ”Thank you. I hope to prove that a tactical retreat now will provide more chances to make greater gains later. We tend to operate on populated worlds, so bringing your ships and resources to us may not be appropriate, but we do know of some remote places where you can hide your forces effectively. I can have some coordinates recommended to you, once I return to my superiors. But, as for this battle...the Believers do not think it should be avoided entirely. You seem to be adept at strategizing, based on your successes so far. I am not aware of the specifics, but I do know that it would be to the advantage of the Believers for this battle to tie up Cartel forces for a time. If you can draw them into battle, spring your traps, do your damage, then retreat before they can close in on you, then not only can you do more damage to them, but it would be an opportunity to us.”

Raj would then interject. “This battle would only be an option if the Hutts don’t have Interdictors. So I have to ask; can your sources find out if they do? Because while we are...allies now, it is bad business to risk destruction on assumptions.” A look of reprimand at Leonard. “Also, we might need to take the contents of the Hutts’ treasury in the Fortress of Kha’ris back to our ship, then; we need to recoup financial losses sustained.”

”We have eyes on every Hutt world, and a cruiser is a hard thing to hide. Our sources can find the answers you need. If nothing else, ambushing them with whatever you are prepared to lose could give us the opening we need. I also agree with your...advisor. Take anything you can of value that belonged to the Cartel...and burn the rest. Destroy their infrastructure, collapse their mines, burn anything of value that you cannot carry with you; anything that might make the Cartel want to enslave people here again. Just make sure not to destroy anything that the locals need to take care of themselves.” Lewchawwa recommended.

Ken spoke, “For a moment, I was worried that the last provision would be neglected; no offense. I will personally oversee the destruction of the mines in Kintan, if Leonard would give me the droids.”

Leonard nodded in agreement at that.

Lewchawwa nodded. ”Do whatever you can, but be quick. We have precious little time as it is, so every moment counts. My people already started gathering transports in case you agreed, so we can have them here this cycle. You will have to spread the word of the evacuation to the former slaves on Kintan. They have been through a great deal of stress recently, and I do not think it will be easy on them, but let them know that the Believers will be here to help them. Knowing that it is us who will be here for them may help to calm the frightened among them. Our message resonates with those in need.”

Leonard extended his hand. “Then it seems we have an agreement; our comms suite will carry your message.”

Lewchawwa shook Leonard’s hand with the understandably strong grip of a Wookiee. “Any communications equipment will do to communicate with my superiors. I will inform them of your decision right away. I hope it does not offend you, but I will need privacy, and I will need to encrypt my messages. I have strict orders to follow our security procedures at all times.”

“Not offended,” was Leonard’s reply. “Thank you again for your time and attention.”

Koren rarely made it into the regular hangar, which is possibly why it drew looks for him to be entering such an area. His wound still pained him, however he gritted his way through it. His two droids following him loyally, as well as his ever present bodyguard. He nodded at the Togruta and her… sister? He still wasn’t sure what species she was and to be honest it kind of had him on edge. So, straight up.

He raised his hands as he approached, in a gesture that basically said this is not meant as an insult, but a genuine question “Sirka, before we get started. What species are you?”

There was a slight grin from Delni, given how frequently that question came up. Meanwhile, Sirka simply gave a quick shrug as she answered him. “Don’t know, honestly. As long as I’ve been alive, I’ve been one-of-a-kind. I was rescued from Trandoshan slavers by Jedi as a newborn. No idea where they took me from. They were close to the Unknown Regions, so maybe they were adventurous? I’m not about to go exploring unknown space over it, so I gave up on figuring it out a long time ago. I can say that I’m reptilian, obviously, but I’m warm-blooded.”

Koren shrugged. “Works for me, I’ll put out some feelers if you want. See if we can dig anything up on anyone else throwing around Hutt Space or the Outer Rim that matches your body type. However-” He clapped his hands together. “-That isn’t why you’re here. This is the exciting part, jobs, money changing hands-” He waved his finger between the two sisters “Bad news though, for these jobs I’m going to split you two up and send you different directions-” He raised a finger towards Sirka as if to shush her before she could make any objections.

“-My own personal bodyguard will be going with you Delni, while your sister comes with me while I run some errands. I’ll be perfectly safe, you’ll be perfectly safe. Everyone will be safe, and well paid.” He smiled to himself. “Any questions?”

There was hardly a hint of hesitation from Sirka before she responded in her usual protective form. “How safe? She’s not a fighter by any means, unlike me.”

Delni reached up and placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “It’s okay, sis.” She said softly before turning her attention back to Koren. “But I do have to ask what it is exactly you are expecting me to do on these errands? What, um, specific kind of skills are you looking for from me? I certainly don’t mind making extra credits, but, um, I want to be sure I’m the right person for your job.”

“Safe enough that I’d send my own daughter, if she had been available.” Koren turned to Delni.

“I hear you have computer skills, a good slicer is always something that is useful in my profession, and I’m trusting you have the same honesty and integrity instilled in your sister here-” he indicated towards Sirka.”-Afterall you were raised in the same household.” He looked between the two sisters. “You Delni, will be heading to Nar Shadda. There’s a rather troublesome leader to a mercenary band. Real wildcards in Hutt Space, the entire galaxy really. I need you to hack into their systems from somewhere where I know they are going to be meeting. Get the information on their base, get it back to me. In and out, real simple.”

“Are you expecting a fight to break out?” Sirka replied, prompting Delni to roll her eyes and nudge Sirka with her elbow again.

“It’s okay. I’m sure he wouldn’t want to send his own daughter if there was going to be a fight. And I doubt a Nar Shaddaa merc band is going to have Imperial-level security. I believe I can do that, yeah. I’ve done that sort of thing before for less...intrusive reasons. I accept.” Delni replied.

As much as Sirka wanted to argue with Delni on the matter, she did not want to do so in front of Koren. So, she gave a sigh of resignation. “Okay, so...what do you want me to do?”

Koren shook his head. “There shouldn’t be a fight-” and Koren screwed his face up slightly. “-the mercenary group started out as an Imperial strike group, there will be someone on site in order to assist you with the hacking. In terms of you-” he turned back to Sirka. “My bodyguard is going with your sister, so you’re going to take his place. We’re going to see if you’ve got what it takes to enter the big leagues. Anything else?”

Sirka gave a single, affirmative nod to Koren. “Taking over for your bodyguard? I can do that; no problem.” She replied, her tone bearing no hint of uncertainty. “One of the most common types of job that I take, for obvious reasons. And less obvious reasons. If we do run into trouble, you can feel free to hide behind me. Literally. My hide is blaster resistant.”

Koren nodded as a Star Courier landed in the hangar, of course there was no pilot he trusted more for this job than Boqo. “This ship will take you to Nar Shadda, Delni. I’m sure you recognise the vessel Sirka.” He then turned to Aurrie, whispering to the droid who then flew off out of the hangar. “As for us Sirka, you have five minutes to move any gear you need to my personal hangar. I’ll meet you there when you’re ready.” With a billow of his coat, he turned and left.

“Understood.” Sirka replied tersely. Since she could not bring her weapons outside the hanger herself, she had some of the B1 droids move her E-Web and other weapons to Koren’s private hanger, apart from one. Before Delni could board the Star Courier, Sirka stopped her, taking Delni’s hands in hers as she pulled something out of one of her pouches. “Delni, I...look, sis, I’m sure you already know how I feel about this. I do appreciate you wanting to help bring in credits, but don’t feel like you are obligated to. You already help me out plenty, even without going out and doing things yourself.”

Delni placed one of her hands on top of Sirka’s, smiling. “I know, sis. Don’t worry, I don’t feel any kind of pressure from you. I just...I don’t know, I feel like this is the right thing for me to do. Things have been kind of stagnant for me the past few years, in terms of my goals, and I think taking a more ‘active’ role in things might help that. At the very least, it will mix things up.”

“Well, here, take this.” Sirka responded as she slid the object into Delni’s hand. It was the hold-out blaster that she had taken from the Devaronian back on Circumtore. In Sirka’s hand, it was almost comically small, but it fit quite snugly into Delni’s. “I know you’re not expecting to get into a fight, but you should be prepared for anything. Still, only get into a fight as a last resort, and let that bodyguard do his job, okay?”

“Okay. You just take care of yourself.” Delni affirmed before lifting herself up on her toes and hugging Sirka around her neck.

After giving their goodbyes, the pair parted ways, with Delni boarding the Star Courier, and Sirka having a droid guide her to Koren’s private hanger.

Nar Shaddaa

"This isn't a good idea."

ZD-6R barely looked up at the sound of Strakisssh's voice. "You should have said something three minutes ago when we were done placing the charges. The informant told us he was last seen in this area therefor targeting this particular operation is a sound strategy. Besides, you said yourself you do not enjoy spice and would gladly like to see the trafficking of it cease."

The Trandoshan shrugged his shoulders after a moment. I still think we should have gotten more data before we placed the charges. All we know is that he's in the building with at least two body guards. At least that is what we will face if the informant spoke the truth. We have two minutes left, it's time to take cover."

The two mercenaries ran to the side of a building and Strakisssh watched the countdown continue. ZD's eyes suddenly flashed after a moment. "Intercepting communications signals from inside the facility...oh dear."

The lizard man slowly turned to look at the droid. "What? What's wrong?"

"Some sort of energy field was just activated from inside the facility. All explosives are now non-functional. Detecting life-forms approaching from all directions. I believe we have been betrayed." The two mercenaries looked up to see a very disheartening sight: heavily armed men and women of all species had their weapons trained on them. A hearty laugh echoed from above them.

"I hear everything in this sector. You really thought I would be caught off guard by a lizard and a tin-can?!" A man wearing red and silver stormtrooper armor appeared. But it wasn't that individual that caught ZD's attention, it was a mercenary wielding a massive blaster rifle strapped across her back that stood at his side.

"Target identified." ZD said in what could only be described as an enraged tone.

Koren walked down the ramp of the black cruiser, it had been a while since he had used the ship. It was well known in Hutt Space and he didn’t tend to like travelling around in something easily identifiable. After all, he liked to conduct most of his business in silence. This was something however where going in loud and proud was probably beneficial. After all it sometimes paid off to make his presence known, with his plan getting closer and closer to fruition now was one of those times. A space station, forgotten by the Empire orbited the Runaway Prince.

A shipyard to be specific, now Koren had waited and let the station be forgotten by all but it’s current inhabitants. A pirate band, former Imperials who used their knowledge on Imperial systems to try and purge as much reference to their base of operations as possible. They were good, Koren was just a little bit better… and helped them finish the purge to become anonymous. He hadn’t told them that he had been the one to help them yet, and he had let them quietly gain power in their little sector of space and become used with their capabilities.

Now it was time to cash in. He raised his arms as he saw Sirka in the hangar. Pointing back at his ship. “What do you think? You’re about to fly in Hutt Space History! The Nightfury!” He turned back and looked at the ship with a wistful look on his face. “Practically built the Golden Exchange with this beaut, before Paradise was even a Casino.” He sighed.

“Not quite as famous as the Millenium Falcon, but maybe locally famous.” He clicked his fingers and a couple of droids disembarked, helping Sirka with her belongings and loading them onto the ship.

“It shouldn’t be a difficult mission, we’re going to the Runaway Prince. More or less forgotten world, there’s an Imperial Shipyard there. Been running off the grid for the last four months, pretty much forgotten about. I want it, we’re going to go get it. Simple, huh?”

Despite what Koren said about the fame of the Nightfury, it was not a name that Sirka recognized. Though, she did not think he was lying. It was more likely due to the fact that she had spent most of her life solely on Nar Shaddaa, worrying about her own problems there. It was only in recent years that she had began moving offworld for work. Nevertheless, she took a few moments to observe the ship as he was talking about it. The model was nothing she recognized, and she was pretty sure it was the first of its kind that she had seen.

“Unfortunately, I’m the wrong person to ask about ships, famous or no. Spent most of my life planetside. Growing up poor on Nar Shaddaa makes you worry more about surviving moment-to-moment than dreaming about space. At least it did for me. My sister would probably recognize it; she’s always been a bit more of a dreamer. Anyways, I hope I can get that E-Web functional before we get there. It sounds like we might need the firepower.” Sirka commented.

Koren sighed. “Fair enough. Not everyones a ship guy-” As he signalled for her to follow him up the ramp he continued to talk. “-A Consular Class Cruiser in the Galactic Republic. They used to be ships to ferry diplomats around, the front pod literally detaches in order to save you. Think of it as a glorified escape pod. Fast, nimble and can pack a punch. Really it’s a good all rounder ship.” He pointed down a hallway. “Down that way are your quarters-” and he pointed up a hall. “-The main cargo hold and the cargo ramp are in that direction. Your weapons are all held up in there.” He pointed straight ahead. “Bridge, break room and all that is straight ahead.” He turned to face Sirka.

“Either way. You need anything else or are we good to go?”

Sirka was about to shake her head, but decided to actually consider his offer for a moment. “Well, if you have anyone that can help fix up that E-Web, I’d stand a better chance of being able to use it on this job. I’m strong enough to carry the thing around myself, and I already have everything I need to mount the power supply to a backpack. As long as I have time to calibrate the power source beforehand, I shouldn’t have trouble using it by myself. Otherwise, I’ll just use my regular blaster. Aside from that, I’m not very picky in terms of accomodations.”

Koren nodded. “In the main hold you should find a being named Onyx, go to him and give him what you’ve got and tell him what you need. He should have it ready by the time we arrive at the Runaway Prince.” He clapped his hands together. “This should be good, I’ve got a good feeling about this. It’ll be great.” He gathered his coat around himself and walked towards the cockpit. In the pilot seat sat a tall and sleek Kel Dor male. Koren nodded as he sat down in the co-pilot seat.

“Alright, Zhast, get us out of here.” With little more to be said the repulsors fired up easing the ship first off the deck, and then out of the hangar. Zipping away from Paradise at speeds that a ship half its size would struggle to match.

Sirka did not outwardly show as much enthusiasm as Koren, but she tended to default to a more professional attitude for her jobs when she did not know the client. If she ended up spending more time around Koren, she might end up learning more about what he really did and did not respect. His scent did not seem alarming at the moment, at the very least. For now, she followed Koren’s advice and went to collect her E-Web and its replacement parts to bring them to this “Onyx” person. She knew enough about blasters to maintain and work on them herself, but she was sure that whoever Koren had on hand would probably be faster at it than her.

After having time to gather what she needed, Sirka walked into the main hold, lugging the E-Web and its parts under her arms. All of it together was bulky, even in her hands, though she did not seem to have a problem with the weight. The ship itself was not crowded, so she assumed the light-skinned Besalisk, the only person in the hold, was the one she was looking for. He was actually about as tall as Sirka herself, though she was much more massive. She found the emptiest surface near her to set down all she was carrying. “Onyx, right? Koren told me to come here. Think you can get this working before we get to our destination?” She asked.

The Bellator dreadnought came back into Ultmara, it was a crippled ship. It would take some time to repair, but all of the guns were working and the ship would be okay. The other three star destroyers he had taken with him to greet the Bellator came along side. "Steve, in all actuality this will not be my flagship. It presents too big of a target, but it will be announced that it is my flagship. You are to act as my flagship, even without me present can you deliver?" The moff asked, his hands folded behind his back as he looked out the viewport. "Yes m'lord we can do that." Steve replied giving a half bow.
"Good, take care for now Steve, welcome to my little slice of the empire." Moff Orro smiled, and exited the room, taking the lifts back down to the hangar.

Taking the shuttles, and his troops with him. Orro returned home, his two politcal prisoners would be coming with him of course. The girl, and her boyfriend his former trooper. The two of them were going to make nice pawns in the game to come, he could use Moff Livanni's reasources, and given time he could even get him in the same room with the other moffs.

The ride to his "Palace" was quiet, and nobody said anything to Orro until he landed. "Take the prisoners to meet Moff Taurus, the lovebirds will be sharing a cell." He said. "Yes M'lord." The troopers nodded, and went off to carry out his orders. The palace, itself was very utilitarian, the roof was fitted with AA cannons, two turbolasers flanked the front gate, E-webs were set throughout the yard, foxholes were dug. The inside of the manor was void of decoration, the floor was metal mesh so any blood spilt would drain away, small turrets were set here and there throughout the building. All and all he made this palace a fortress, he wasn't one for decorative peices when practicality made more sense. Tired, from all of the places he'd been the moff collapsed on his bed in his office and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, in a holding pattern around the moon of an unnamed planet two systems over, Supreme Commander Jason Je'and had returned to his now fully reinforced fleet, his Z95 setting down in the hangar of his flagship before he disembarked and headed for his quarters. On his way there, Hammer met him in the halls, a datapad in hand which he hands to the Supreme Commander. Reading over it, Jason sighs. "The information is useful, but it doesn't solve the dilemna we've been in since we blitzed Mortifus. Which do we hit next?"

Hammer nodded, his helmet under his arm for the time being. "Perhaps we don't have to make a direct attack, sir. One of the observation teams in Moff Jacsen Orro's Ultmara Sector just transmitted a report. Remember his take over of Moff Livanni's territory?" Jason nodded, his face growing dark. Using the man's daughter as a hostage, it was a cowardly act, one that only proved that the Empire had no honor and no reliability.

"I do. Has he finally returned home then?" Hammer nodded and lead the way towards one of the briefing rooms.

"He has, and he's apparently sent Livanni's daughter and her boyfriend to his prison on Ultmara itself. The convoy left around fifteen minutes ago planetside time." Entering the briefing room, Jason would find that Hammer had gathered a commando team already, Epsilon Squad. This was the squad that had been responsible for taking the watchpost prior to the blitz on Mortifus, and so their abilities were not in question.

"Alright then, we'll send them in. Have they been briefed?" Hammer nodded and Jason smiled. This would be a good test of the commandoes in a more...hostile environment with less predictable encounters. "Good. Epsilon Squad, you know the objective and you know your mission. God speed." The four Clone Commandoes saluted both Commander Hammer and the Supreme Commander before going to retrieve their gear and load up on the salvage ship that would take them to Ultmara. The team consisted of their sniper, a clone by the name of Sharp, who specialized in force recon and long range support. On his back rested a small droid that was deployable as both a small portable shield and defensive turret, the technology based on the Droidekas from the Clone Wars. Next was Eighty, their assassin and close combat specialist. While his expertise lay primarily in wielding bladed weaponry, particularly those attached to his armor, he was no slouch with his Blast Cannon when the situation called for it and he was a decent shot with his pistol as well. The third member of their team was Niner, assault specialist extrodinaire. If it's a rifle and it can be tuned or improved, he can do it, and he never misses a shot, even if his target doesn't make sense.

Finally, at the head of their squad, was the squad commander, Winter. He was their anti-armor specialist and pretty damn good with a sword, though he still wasn't good enough to best Sharp. Reaching the armory, it was only a matter of minutes before they were armed and en route to Ultmara, a group of non-Clone specforce with them to operate the salvager and provide cover for them. The Clones knew they were heading into a wildly different situation than the watchpost had been, but they knew that messing up Orro's plans were the only way to keep the Empire on the back foot.

The Imperial district of the planet had been set up like a fortress, with storm trooper patrols keeping an eye on the street and AT-ST's on standby to be used in case of siege, The Moff used his heavier vehicles the AT-AT's to patrol the much wider streets outside of the imperial district but they could be streamlined to support the palace if need be. In the streets walked guard patrols of both aliens, and humans. In imperial uniform, but they were not stormtroopers instead they were used for milita detail, and frontline infantry. Officers were not denoted among them though other than by emblems, to make them less likely targets for criminals trying to get information out of the empire.

A space assault would be folly with the amount of defense sattalites set up, and the amount of civilian ships going to and from the planet. As soon as the junker entered the system it was hailed by a star destroyer. "This is the star destroyer Pride of Kuat please proceed to Imnay space port and prepared to be boarded by imperial authorties. Do not attempt to resist, we will be quick." The voice said, it sounded bored with what it was doing. But nonetheless it transmitted directions to the space port of where they were to land.

The pilot of the salvager, a Mirialan, grunted an affirmative before following the provided coordinates. Killing the channel, he growls. "Damned Imperial scum. Can't even let fake sscavengers have engine issues in peace." A Mon Cala member of the specforce team shakes his head.

"At least they don't know we're fake. And do try to remember that." Their unit captain, a Selkath, poked her head out of engineering, an annoyed look on her face as she pointed a spanner at them.

"Would you two cut the chatter? We need to get these four on the ground WITHOUT looking suspicious." The pair shut up and silence reigned until it touched down in it's designated landing bay. After a moment, the loading ramp lowered to allow the inspecting troopers onboard. Meanwhile, a hidden airlock under the ship slide open quietly at the same time, and once the troopers had gone up the ramp to meet with the Selkath, who was acting as captain of the vessel, four armored individuals, who's armor had been intentionally dirtied to dull it's reflective nature, slipped out and sealed up the hidden lock before moving towards a sewer access. Popping it open, the four Commandoes disappeared into them with the grate being replaced behind them.

The squad of imperials marched up the ramp, unknowingly walking right over the group of commandos. The insides of the sewers were safe at least, there was an occasional body laying face down in the slude from the cities seedier inhabitants. But one could walk the entire thing of tunnels all the way under the palace.

The underbelly of the palace, was unguarded it was quite the easy way into the palace itself, dodging skulking the streets but there was no way to tell where to properly exit into the palace itself, or where you were going to be coming up.

Sharp took up the rear of the formation, his rifle moving around as they walked in formation; Niner on the right with Winter on the left while Eighty took point, his Blast Cannon their hello to any unfortunate stormtrooper to stumble across the four. It was important to note that instead of the sniper rifle that Sharp would normally use on the field, he was packing a DMR carbine, which was the more practical option for their current engagement range. After several minutes, Eighty signalled a stop. "We're somewhere under the palace, sir, but we don't have any way to know where the prison is."

Niner nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and as much as I enjoy blasting Stormies into oblivion, just the four of us can't handle the garrison that's likely here. It isn't a watchpost." Winter stood thoughtfully, looking over the various entrances they had before snapping his fingers.

"Sharp."

"Aye, sir?"

"You go thermal, I'll go magnetic. Between the two, we should at least be able to avoid the barracks." The sniper nodded and his visor changed to a red tint while Winter's took on a blue. Silence reigned while they searched, scratching Xs onto the doors that weren't what they were looking for. After about fourty-five minutes, Winter stopped at a door on the left with Sharp next to him. "You get groups that look to be in cells up there, Sharp?"

The sniper nodded, reaching for the open button. "I did, sir. This is most likely the prison." As he was ready to push it, Winter, Eighty, and Niner stacked up for a breach, Eighty in front with Winter then Niner behind him. The moment the door slid open, the commandoes charged in, but found only an old storage area, various pieces of outdated equipment in it. The next door lead to a hallway, where the sound of prisoners calling for release reached them. "Bingo."

The prison cells were unberably hot, they felt like a scorching desert. Something that Orro did to his prisoners to make them clearly uncomfortable. The cells contained political prisoners, and major criminals, there was a squad of stormtroopers posted in the cell block, and at the far end of it a console manned by an officer that would release the prisoners, or activate alarms.

To say the squad was surprised would be an understatement, caught flat footed they reacted the best they could taking cover where they could, the officer going for the console to activate the alarms, the storm troopers offering covering fire where they could.

Having caught the squad of stormies off guard, it bought Sharp the few second he needed to put two blaster bolts through the back of the officer as he made a break for the alarms before he took cover along with the rest of the commandoes. The following firefight was brief but intense, the two sides exchanging fire rapidly. But after eight or nine volleys, only one stormtrooper remained, and he wasn't in great shape. Winter hefted him up and slammed him into a wall, his blaster pistol to the man's gut. "Moff Livanni's daughter. Now." The stormtrooper grunted.

"Go to hell, you clone son of a-Oof!" Winter had delivered a punch to his gut and then leveled the blaster pistol with the trooper's kneecap.

"Moff Livanni's daughter. NOW." Grunting in pain to lift his head back up, the trooper pointed at the cell numbers.

"She's in cell block B, number 2. Please, I have a family, I enlisted to provide for them. Don't kill me. Please." Winter sighed, and signaled Niner, who swiftly and promptly slammed the butt of his DC-15A into the base of his head, knocking the stormtrooper out cold. Winter took a moment to find the right block and then get them moving. The trip was relatively short, and further patrols were easier to avoid.

Fifteen minutes later, they stood outside the door to their target, who was supposed to also be in there with her boyfriend. The guards for this block all lay unconscious, the Commandoes having had time to set their blasters to stun this time, but they couldn't take much longer. "Eighty, go." The door slid open to reveal Livanni's daughter and her boyfriend huddled together in fear, having heard the shots outside. Winter nodded and Niner and Eighty grabbed them and bound them before ushering them back towards where the clones had come in.

The girl screamed, the boy was bewildered, when the clones entered their cell, as they grabbed her she fought screaming at them. "You idiots, leave us!" She shouted, at the clones, she tried to pull away but failed. "He already won anyways!" She shouted at the clones.

Niner dug the barrel of his blaster pistol into her back, prompting her to be silent. "Do we look like some of your daddy's loyal stormies? No, we don't. We're Commandoes and the only reason we're here for you is to complicate things for Orro. WIthout you, your daddy has no reason to listen to Orro. Course, it's entirely possible that he simply joins forces with Orro to get you back but we're willing to work with that." Winter turned to look at Niner, who fell silent.

Within a few minutes, they were back in the sewers and heading for the spaceport. For good measure, both Livanni's daughter and her boyfriend were gagged before they got to where their ride was waiting.

The group escaped with no further incident, and Orro was awaken quite rudely. "M'lord, the prisoners. Moff Livanni's daughter have been freed." His attendant said, looking visibly disturbed that someone could break into the palace. Orro on the other hand looked at the man, and laughed. A manical laugh, something that disturbed the attendant to his core. "Well then, we better find whoever took them, cameras in the prisions looked through find our assalians, increase security from where ever they came from, and we will hunt them to the ends of the galaxy. They played their hand, lets play ours." Orro said, when his laughter finally subsided.

The girl tried to speak when they gagged her, but eventually she gave up and awaited for the ride to end. For wherever they were going to take her, and the man of her dreams. Her brave trooper who seemed just as alarmed as she was, but she hid it much better. She hid it like a moffs daughter, awaiting her chance.

It wasn't long before the junker was back on the hyperspace lanes, making a multi system jump. It would be a few hours before they met back up with the fleet, so orders were given by Winter to secure the two Imperials before removing their gags. Winter spoke once it was done, their hands manacled to chairs. "So, what's Orro got to gain from extorting your father? Shipyards? Mines?"

The girl just sighed. "Spice from Kessel, slaves from the mines to bargain with the hutts, also the loyalty of my father. Before he left Orro started changing the guard, he probably has my fathers officers by now. So he's already won, Orro's plans are for some sort of meeting of all the Moff's. What he does from there is all up to speculation." She sighed, looking at the commandos. "If you care at all for your republic, you will go back and kill him." She said, hidden venom in her voice.

Winter chuckled, taking a seat nearby. "Unfortunately, the fleet isn't up to full strength yet, nor are our ground forces. But don't worry, Orro'll get his soon enough. When we reach the fleet, we'll have to see if what the Supreme Commander thinks of you. Might be willing to train ya up, give you a unit to lead against Orro yourself. Until then, get comfy, it'll be awhile until we reach the fleet."

---

The black vessel dropped out of hyperspace, a stone's throw away from the station. Koren nodded at the pilot, transmitting the necessary codes to the crew aboard the station. He then proceeded to turn around and walk towards the main ramp where he’d meet Sirka loaded out and ready to go. “Now I’m not entirely sure how it worked with your previous jobs, droids will disembark first. Then me, then you. I know you may be used to going first on protection jobs however I doubt many of them had a reputation of the same calibre, not to blow my own horn or anything. Why, this time in this cutest little restaurant on Canto Blight, I didn’t pay for a single thing. It was good too.”

The ramp descended and they were welcomed to the smell of oil and machinery. Stormtroopers stood at either side of the walkway, a black skull painted on their shoulders. Koren raised his arms taking it all in. “Gentlemen. I’ve come to speak to your boss-” He turned, ignoring the squad of Commando Droids that had positioned themselves at either side of the walkway. “-This is my attaché. She’ll be present for all of the meetings.”

He placed his hands down by his belt, using his shoulders to keep his jacket open. “So, shall we begin?”

Much as Sirka had expected, Onyx had no trouble repairing the E-Web in time for their arrival. Sirka had spent most of her time rigging the power supply to her backpack. Both it and the weapon were far heavier than what she had been using, but they were nothing she could not carry with her build. She could definitely imagine situations where she would want to use her normal repeater, particularly if she had to be more mobile, but they were going to a space station. She could not think of a better place for a fast-firing blaster cannon than tight corridors.

Sirka stepped down the ramp just behind Koren, holding onto her weapon loosely with a makeshift sling over her shoulder than she had managed to rig up shortly before they landed. It had taken about fifteen minutes to calibrate the power supply alone, so it was not a weapon she could just pick up when surprised. It was not terribly ergonomic to hold in her hands, so she would definitely need to do some further modifications later on, when she had time.

With her towering figure right behind Koren, Sirka applied her practiced art of being intimidating, but not outright threatening. Her fingers were not near her weapon’s trigger, or buttons, in this case. However, her posture made her seem even taller and more imposing than usual. She flicked out her nose-tongues, though she had to admit some annoyance at the fact that they were surrounded by stormtroopers. Their armor was sealed, and it made it difficult to pick up their scents. Fortunately, officers and other “important” Imperials were rarely in the same kind of armor. She gave a brief, subtle nod down to Koren, ready to move on.

An Imperial Officer approached, he wore stormtrooper armour on all but his head. The entire outfit painted black, making him differ from the rest of the stormtroopers with an obvious scar from combat covering his right eye down his face. He was obviously the one in charge of the situation. At least some form of stormtrooper commander, sometime in his history at the very least.

“Koren Graeff. Welcome aboard, to what do we owe this pleasure?”

Koren chuckled slightly. “I’m here to speak to your boss. There’s some important details that we need to discuss.”

“Such as?”

“Such as the fact that had it not been for me, this lovely little outfit would still be under the command of the Empire.”

“Lies, we purged our existence from the Imperial Systems, Agent Relek saw to that.”

“Yes well this Agent… Relek was it? Is apparently no Criminal. There are mentions of this station in multiple places in the Imperial System. It wasn’t easy to purge.”

The stormtroopers all raised their guns at Koren on cue, the droids at the ramp all moved into a ready position. Koren didn’t flinch. “Then why don’t we just kill you? Then our secret is safe.”

Koren shrugged. “You could kill me, that’s for sure. Would your secret be safe? No. Not really, and I guarantee you’d live to regret the decision. For anything else other than the fact that this ship-” he indicated to the Nightfury “-Has enough droids aboard really mess up your day. So I’d advise you take me to see your boss.”

The captain flinched slightly “Wait here.”

Koren turned to look at Sirka. “Diplomacy in action here, while we wait… how’s the new weapon?”

“Heavy, about like I expected.” Sirka replied. Unlike her normal repeater, it was too bulky to attach anywhere on her backpack, so she had to carry it around at all times. “It’s not ergonomic, but that’s nothing that can’t be fixed with some scrap metal and a spanner. Biggest limit I see is the power supply. From what I’ve read on these things, the power generator has a real tendency to explode if the power feed into the cannon isn’t properly regulated. It takes fifteen or twenty minutes of calibrations to get the power supply working on its own, so you don’t need someone else to manage the power. That means I can’t just pick it up and go every time I turn on the power supply. You figure the Empire would have been able to afford better quality for their soldiers, wouldn’t you? ‘Course, they do like to cheap out on their people’s safety, don’t they? Maybe I can understand why these people here would want to split from them.”

With another glance at their surroundings, Sirka flicked out her nose-tongues to grab the scents that the officer had left behind and figure out his emotional state. Figuring out how he was feeling could give her a better sense of what they should be expecting. The right scents could even help her tell if someone was lying.

After a few moments to take in the scents, Sirka leaned in a bit closer to Koren, speaking quietly. “He was nervous. On-edge. Your little display definitely rattled him. Don’t think he was lying though. Didn’t smell quite that kind of nervous.”

Koren shook his head and raised a finger. “Never overestimate a threat.” He moved his finger from a shushing position on Sirka to the ship. “If they were worried about the threat of extra forces attacking they’d be watching the ramp or the ship right now, instead they’re watching us. What that lets me know is that they aren’t nervous about that, they’re nervous about me. To be fair I can see why, I’m not seen doing a lot of my own dirty work these days so-” Koren shrugged. “-This is a bit of an oddity, that I’m interacting with people while doing my work.”

The Captain returned and indicated in a direction out of the hangar. “The boss will see you now, however he insists that your security remains here.”

Koren nodded and looked at the droids. “Commander, stay here and secure. You’ll do fine.” With that he turned around to face the Captain blocking his way. “Excuse me.”

“All of your security-” The Captain pointed at Sirka.

“She’s an attaché. Amazingly astute with figures, numbers and smells. She goes where I goes. No exceptions.” The Captain crumbled and then lead them down the hangar, within moments they entered a dimly lit room, at the head of an old table sat a large human male. Obviously overweight, sweating with nervousness and worry. Though also a sense of defiance, much like everyone he had dealt with so far.

The Captain bowed. “Mr.Koren Graeff, your grace.” Koren without so much of a introduction moved to sit down, he picked up a piece of fruit from the centre of the table and took a bite from it.

“So glad to finally meet you, it’s been a long time coming Firsk.”

Sirka immediately gave up on finding a seat the moment they were lead into the room. She was more likely to break them than to find any degree of comfort, so she settled for standing alongside Koren. That, of course, had the added benefit of making her seem even more imposing to someone sitting, and kept her more able to react quickly to any sudden danger.

From the moment Sirka entered the room, she was flicking out her tongues at regular intervals. It allowed her to get a regular, ongoing picture of how the former Imperial officers were reacting to anything she or Koren did, of course, but doing it regularly also made it seem like more of a natural reflex for her species than something she was doing for an intentional purpose. Koren Graeff himself did not know what species she was, so it was pretty much impossible that anyone else around them would have any notion of how sensitive her nose actually was. If she detected any hostility from their hosts, then she would be able to react accordingly. Hopefully, now that Koren knew the extent of what she could sense, he would be able to pick up on cues from her so that she would not have to announce it to him aloud.

Firsk, a former Commander in the Imperial Navy sat at the head of the table. A droid entered the room bringing in food, placed it before him and he licked his lips as he picked up a piece of meat. “Mr.Graeff-” He chewed for a moment “-Of what do I owe the pleasure?” He was annoyed, even Koren could see that. Self-important people often became annoyed when they were disturbed at times where they had certain things to do.

“You owe me a favour, I want your factory to work for me.” Koren spoke very matter of factly, there wasn’t any malice in his voice, though the change in Firsks demeanour to anger was obvious to anyone who could read body language.

“You what? And what exactly makes you think that?”

Koren raised his arms to indicate their surroundings. “Without me, you wouldn't have any of this. A Moff would have been here months ago with a firing squad ready to take you out for desertion. So as far as I see it, there’s a bit of a debt situation going on here.”

There was no question of the commander’s rage, though Sirka still paid close attention to his scent regardless, in case there were any surprises. Her nose could detect subtle changes from the commander and his officer, so she kept her eyes moving between everything else, even the droid. Her black eyes made it difficult to determine exactly what she was focusing on to the average observer.

“We never asked-” Koren raised his hand to stop the commander.

“You didn’t need to ask, the point is that I did something for you, which means that you should do something for me. If you aren’t in a charitable mood-” Koren shrugged. “-Then I guess we’ll just need to go anywhere and leave you out here all alone, without any business or protection. I fully understand.” Koren turned to Sirka. “That seems to be what the Commander wants isn’t it? To be left out here all alone without protection?”

Sirka could see where this was going, she believed. It was coercion, then. Perfectly fine by her, and absolutely not something she was a stranger to. She just needed to follow Koren’s lead and complement the threats he made using that constant, ever-so-imposing presence she possessed. She leaned her head forward, bringing her just a bit closer to the commander without moving her hands or making any other overtly aggressive moves. “Indeed. And I think he doesn’t realize exactly how much protection we provide. How...capable we are.”

Koren raised his hand at Sirka. “Now Commander, I hope that you don’t take that as a threat from myself, I deal in information not blood after all. I’m just saying it’s a dangerous galaxy. There are all kinds of outlaws running around these days since the fall of the Empire. As you know only too well, otherwise you wouldn’t of went into hiding.”

The commander coughed uncomfortably. “This is a lot to think about, and I shall be in touch, however for now I have to decline your very... polite offer.” The commander worked hard to hide it, but he was worried. Even Koren couldn’t have been confident in his analysis of the commanders behaviour. Either way, he stood up.

“I hope you don’t mind then, but I’ll return to my ship. I expect we’ll be well compensated for our time, and have it refuelled before we leave?”

The commander waved his hand. “Yes, yes. Of course.”

“Excellent. It may take us some time to get underway, just so you are aware. The ship isn’t as young as it used to be.” He stretched himself, feigning pain in his joints. “It’s not the only thing.” Koren chuckled, as the commander imitated the chuckle very nervously. “Thankyou for your time Farski.” He indicated towards the door. “Sirka, if you’d please lead the way.”

Sirka was, of course, quick to follow Koren’s instruction. However, she still made sure to take in a large sample of the commander’s scent as she started to turn, in addition to those she had been taking every time he responded to Koren. He was obviously nervous, but what she looked for was the more subtle hints. Chemicals his body could release instinctively that might reveal some kind of deception. Behind all of the polite words, the subtext of the meeting was obvious to everyone. Koren was leveraging his influence over the commander, so some kind of violent betrayal from the former Imperials was not out of the question. Her job was to protect him, so she would need to be alert to that kind of danger.

Sirka lifted up her weapon with one hand, but kept the other closest to Koren free as she lead the way out of the room. Although, she kept herself quite close to him, almost to the point that she was touching him. She was alert to danger, and if she detected it, then she wanted to be able to quickly put herself between it and him.

Koren followed Sirka out of the hallway, heading towards the main hangar where they had docked. He scanned around, and as he looked left he noticed an open hangar with a very specific ship in it. A circular flight pod, three angled wings. Koren paused and tapped Sirka on the shoulder. “Is that what I think it is? I think that’s what I think it is.” He looked her dead in the eye. “This station is something we need. If we have that-” he pointed at the ship. “-That’s all the bargaining power I’ll ever need on the Empire. I’ll get a free pass.”
Sirka observed the ship as Koren pointed it out to her. She did not have the background to really be able to recognize the significance of the vessel, but it was obviously some sort of TIE fighter. She leaned her head over and replied in a low voice. “A special TIE fighter? I’m up for whatever plan you have in mind, whenever it’s time.”

Continuing on they returned to the hangar and walked up the ramp of the Nightfury. Once inside the vessel Koren took a seat in the lounge, far more comfortable than it normally would have been. “You’re handling yourself nicely Sirka, remember. In negotiations the most important thing is that you hold all the cards.” He leaned himself back.

“If things go well today, I may have a more… permanent position available for you.”

Sirka did not feel quite as comfortable trying to take a seat as Koren, though there were at least some that looked like they could hold her. Regardless, she did at least prop her weapon up against the nearest wall, and leaned herself up against it as well. “I have experience being the big, scary monster to back up my employer’s suggestions, threats, and the like. And to make them look more reasonable by comparison. If this does become something permanent, though...well, I’ll say that I do have a better ‘acting range’ than just that. Just tell me if you ever want me to take a different approach. For now, though, I’d like to focus on the task at hand. I don’t like to get caught up worrying about the future when there’s still important things to focus on here and now. Don’t want to get distracted. You want those special TIEs, right? Did you already have a plan in mind for that? I’m guessing you prefer non-violent solutions. You probably didn’t need my nose to tell that those two were frightened, but that could make them dangerous.”

Revenant
On the edge of the Ilos system

As the Star Destroyer floated silently in space, the Maruaders within waited patiently for a new arrival. Lalni gazed out the wide window of the bridge, peering into the seemingly endless darkness of the stars. Her hands were folded behind her and she did not speak a word as her loyal underlings shifted behind her. Her fearsome bodyguard stood where he had been, at the side of her throne, keeping a watch of anyone that approached the powerful pirate leader.

"Captain, we've received a transmission from an approaching vessel. They claim to be a messenger of Koren Graeff of the Golden Exchange. The ship's credientials match up and they're requesting permission to board the Revenant." A Falleen pirate stated clearly, speaking from his position at a console on the bridge. Lalni took a brief moment to process the information, then spoke.

"Let them land in the hangar, then have them escorted right to the bridge. I'll speak with Graeff's messenger personally." The pirate queen calmly said as she walked back towards her throne, before taking her familiar seat there. The Falleen sent back his leader's orders, giving the ship clearance. She had been expecting one of Koren's people to come to her, it seemed now was the time.

Aboard the docking ship was a blue skinned pantoran, the yellow markings truly bringing out her features on her face. She wasn't intimidated by her surroundings, and indeed seemed remarkably calm at flying into the middle of a pirates nest of activity. As she walked tothe throne in what was once the bridge she bowed politely out of respect for her host. Her own employer had instructed her on the importance of proper ettiqute.

"Forgive me Captain, however I am unsure on the title with which you desire to be called. I however am Lassa. Envoy of Koren Graeff. I'm here to hire your band of pirates for a, deal, my employer is trying to make. Price to be discussed on acceptance or denial of the job."

"Captain is a fine title for me. Welcome to the Revenant, she's a fine ship ain't she?" Lalni said with a cocky smile as she leaned forward slightly in her seat. The prospect of employment from a wealthy and well-reputed from someone like Graeff intrigued her.

"We may be interested in taking a job offer from Mr. Graeff, will need to hear the fine details first though." She added. Giving Lassa the chance to interest her further.

Lassa held out her hand with a hologram transmitter in its palm. A hologram appeared of a T.I.E Fighter manufacturing station. "My employer needs to send a message, while he could attack this station and take it by force that would then require finding skilled personnel to work on it. However if he can convince it's commander to willingly work for him, that would be beneficial. My employer wishes to show how persuasive he can be in times of conflict, and ho wmuch weight his name carries. Have you attack the station, he'll declare himself and then you cease and desist. In payment my Employer will offer you a lifetime of replacements for any fighters you lose, information on Imperial and Hutt shipments in the region and a Light Cruiser."

"How heavily guarded is this station? Should we expect heavy Imperial resistance?" Lalni asked, her eyes moving towards the hologram then to Lassa. The mission had her attention, but she wanted to make sure she knew what they could be dealing with. Ships could be replaced, but loyal people were harder to replace.

"It isn't, they have remained off grid since the Emperor died. Removing almost every trace of their existence from the Empires systems. My employer discovered them, removed every other trace and let them have some times to themselves before he mad ehis offer. I should warn you though, should you seek to liberate the station for yourself, the reprecussions will be vast."

"Hm, I can assure you we will not take it for ourselves. I am no fool, I value beneficial partnerships with powerful people like your employer," Lallni said truthfully. If it were someone weaker than Koren then perhaps that would have been a lie, but she didn't want to cross him an by extension, the Golden Exchange.

"We'll accept your job offer. I'm sure Mr. Graeff will see just how effective the Maruaders can be." The pirate queen said with a smile.

Lassa handed an aide a holotablet. "Then you have the information required to make your course, by the time we arrive we should have perfect timing."

"Prepare our fighters, jump the Revenant into hyperspace near the coordinates. I want a hundred of you dogs ready to move out as soon as we reach that sector. I'll be seeing to this mission personally, to ensure it goes off without a hitch." Lalni said, barking out orders across the bridge as the pirate band kicked into action. She popped out of her throne with a burst of energy. It was a good old fashioned raid, it had been sometime since she flew her personal starfighter in a combat scenario. She was practically itching to fly again.

"I hope you're ready to see our little pirate band in action." Lalni confidently said to the messenger as the Revenant leaped into hyperspace.

Nar Shaddaa

Strakisssh fired another round from his A280 blaster rifle and was able to force a number of the attacking mercenaries to duck before he was forced to duck to avoid getting a number of blaster bolts to his head. Off to the side he could see ZD-6R doing his best to try and minimize the damage by attempting to duck and dodge but his armor plating was making that difficult. "ZD! I'll try and give you cover! Take them down!" He shouted to the droid. The droid immediately straightened up and his built in heavy blaster cannon began to glow as more blaster bolts began to find their mark as the droid opened fire.

"Rerouting power to weapon systems." The droid intoned as the droid's blaster cannon found it's mark over and over even as he began to stagger from the amount of blaster bolts hitting him. The former Imperial General turned gang leader was forced to duck along with the woman with the oversized blaster fire as ZD-6R did his best to thin the ranks of those firing at him. Strakisssh was doing his best to assist taking down the few that were managing to avoid the droid's deadly blaster bolts. For a moment, the Trandoshan thought they might get out of this alive only to see a small circular object land next to ZD. His eyes widened in alarm.

"Ion Grenade!"

The droid barely had time to look down before the ion grenade detonated, ZD's blaster fire increased for a moment before he hit the ground with a thud. "Defensive systems disabled. Offensive S-S-Systems disabled, Shut down imminent." The droid intoned as he hit the ground with a thud and the red lights of his optical sensors faded as the droid was disabled. The Trandoshan let out a roar of rage and rose to hit feet and unleashed a salvo of blaster fire. He was barely able to count the six remaining mercenaries including the target and the secondary target before four blaster shots caught him in the left arm. He hit the ground with a thud and a moment later heard the sound of approaching boot steps. He grunted in pain as he turned over and saw the target they had came her to capture standing over him.

"Filthy lizard." The former imperial general snarled as he kicked the trandoshan in the face, knocking him out cold.

Marrick eyed the conflict with Alix. Alix had to admit, Marrick wasn't what he had expected. He knew for a fact however that he had to prove himself more useful than Talbor, if Talbor got his claws into Marrick first Alix may as well forfeit his life. The two of them had worked well together this far, but the finding of Marrick more or less made Alix obselete. Talbor felt he didn't need the guard anymore, despite the fact that Marricks skills with a blade as of yet were... sub-par. Should Marrick come into a true fight with a skilled lightsaber combatant his chances of survival weren't incredibly high.

Ex-Imperials, traiterous scum. He didn't quite understand what the conflict between the Imperials and these two individuals was, however he wasn't going to stand by while people tarnished the name of the Empire by being common criminals. Desertion of duty and the like. He bowed towards Marrick. "M'Lord, I request the right to deal with this traitourous scum before we complete our mission. For too long have I had to sit idly by while the good name of the Emperor and the Empire has been tarnished by these petty criminals who go around wearing Imperial Uniforms as if it is their birthright."

Marrick eyed up Alix for a second, before nodding. Alix pulled his red helmet back onto his head and dropped down from the building, running his hand along it to slow his descent slightly, when he neared the bottom he pushed himself out at a perpidicular angle, into an arch and then a roll to break his fall. He sliced the bottom of his staff under a mercenaries feet knocking him to the ground as he came back up. He pointed the blade end towards the general. "You there! By command of the Emperor, relinquish your weapons, your uniform and your life."

Koren smirked, and chuckled slightly. “I always have a plan-” Koren checked the chronometer he had on his wrist. “-That plan will be here anytime now.” He tapped his commlink. “Okay Zhast, lift us out. Nice and easy, not too fast. We don’t want to leave the system before our guests arrive.” Koren turned back to Sirka as the vessel eased out of the hangar.

“The thing is Sirka, you need to cover your bases and if you’re playing a trick on someone-” He shrugged. “-You need to make sure that they don’t realise they’re being tricked. That left me with little options, but I found a suitable candidate for the job.”

Sirka chuckled. “Luckily for me, I can keep getting constant updates on the exact emotional reactions for everything I say or do. For the vast majority of species out there, even the best liars can’t control the chemicals their glands involuntarily put out. It’s not 100% reliable, I’ll say, but it’s still damned helpful. I’ve become practiced at reading people, and those officers were making it easy.”

Koren had ordered the pilot take them off of the station, but it was clear to Sirka that they were not done yet. Honestly, she could not say that she liked the fact that she had not known the plan he intended. It made it hard for her to judge the best course of action when she did not know the endgame, but it seemed like things were going well so far. “Hmm, so what’s our role in this plan? Any way I need to be preparing?”

A short distance from the station a Star Destroyer emerged from hyperspace. Any that happened to glance out a window of the formerly Imperial station would clearly spot the impressive feat of spaceship engineering. Lalni was in the hangar, making final preparations for the mission. As the pirate queen was handed a datapad containing the names of all the Marauders flying out on the mission, she wondered how the ex-Imperials within the station would react upon seeing the Revenant appear.

“Let’s roll out you dogs! Give these Imperials a show. Whoever takes out the most gets a prize.” Lalni exclaimed loudly, the loyal pirates around her hollering in excitement as they pumped themselves up. Then each of the chosen Marauders piled into their personal starfighters, engines all across the hangar turned on.

Lalni climbed into her personal TIE interceptor, one she had flown as her personal flagship ever since they had captured the Revenant. Painted on the top of both wings was the distinctive insignia of her pirate band. She had one of the most skilled engineers within the Marauder ranks fit the interceptor with shields and a small hyperdrive, enabling her to use the full potential of the ultra fast ship.

She strapped herself into the cockpit, then flipped the engine on. Her interceptor slowly rose off the hangar floor, then rocketed out into space. Behind her a swarm of Marauders gathered, emerging from the Star Destroyer. It was a mixture of all kinds of starfighters, entirely united under one flag. They rocketed towards the station, as the Revenant ominously drifted in the backdrop.

The intercom of the ship buzzed on before Koren could reply. “Sir, we’ve picked up a Star Destroyer in system. Flying under the transponder Revanant, she’s launching fighters-” There was a brief pause, Koren raised a finger and mouthed the words to show he was expecting them “-The stations launching fighters to intercept, though they’re easily outgunned by the Star Destroyer.” Koren tapped the button to speak back.

“Thankyou, keep us updated on the battle and let us know as soon as the station opens a line of communication with us.” He tapped the button cutting off the microphone. “From you, I just need you to be ready. There’s no doubt going to be… unhappy Imperials when we return to the station. The thing with cowards such as those, that when they realise they’ve lost they’re like cornered rats. No doubt they’ll try and take me hostage to try and talk the pirates out of their attack. Thankfully I do have control over whether or not they stop, I am a powerful individual after all, however I do not intend to be a captive.” Koren leaned back in his chair. “Until then, sit back and enjoy the show.”

Sirka reflexively raised up her head at the voice over the intercom, then turned back to Koren as he continued. She hummed briefly. “Pirates, with a star destroyer. Interesting. I think these defectors might be realizing that they’re out of their league right about now. They were already frightened enough back in that meeting. But yeah, a cornered rat is dangerous.”

“Gives me the most deniability, the ship would have been removed from the Imperial Network after it was captured, thus the data on this facility wasn’t wiped from it. They saw the chance at increasing their power, and took it.” Koren shook his head. “Tragedy.”

There was a pause as Sirka paced for a few moments in thought. “Say, does it matter to you if any of these defectors escape? Or, if it turns to violence, do they all have to die?”

“Escape is not an option, dealing in death is generally distasteful and it’s not what I really do. Detain if possible, though don’t let them escape. I mean there’s nowhere for them to really go unless they slip into hyperspace, my messenger aboard the Pirate ship will have let them know that I expect no ships to get away-” A holo projection appeared of the station. “-A detachment of droids will make their way to the escape pods, to prevent anyone from jumping ship. I don’t want the risk of them being picked up in a pod by the pirates as a bargaining chip. The main hangar we’ll be landing it will be secured, teams will also secure the primary and tertiary hangar. We’ll make our way to the command deck to take control of the station. It’s a textbook infiltration of an enemy space station.” He sighed. “Just like the War all over again, though I imagine you don’t remember much of that.”

“Hmm, unfortunate. A cornered animal fights to the death, but give them a way out and they’ll take it.” Sirka commented. Reaching down beside her, she hefted up her E-Web and flipped a few switches to feed power into it from the generator on her back. She checked the power levels to make sure the calibrations she had made before were still being effective. Having never actually used it in combat before, she wanted to be particularly cautious about it. “I guess it will have to be a fight, then. Nothing I can’t handle, though. I imagine they’ll expect me to be tough, but most people don’t expect it to take more than a few blaster shots to take me down. I can draw attention away from you, or anything else, really. I’m not invincible, but I can serve my role best as the center of attention, in the middle of the fight. When it comes to the actual firefights, I’m sure I can open up some opportunities for you and your droids.”

“They’re scrambling fighters in defense, captain.” One of the pirates on the bridge in the Revenant radioed to Lalni as she rocketed towards the station. The encroaching swarm of Marauders followed around and behind her.

“Good. Let none of them escape, keep the Revenant ready strike down any that try to flee.” The pirate queen replied as the group of pirate fighters split and divided, shifting in multiple directions in any attempt to take down every single Imperial deserter.

The space outside of the station was ablaze with color as the battle began. Starfighters went down left and right, explosions littering the stars. The highly capable Marauders took an early advantage in the battle, picking off enemy TIE fighters one by one. Lalni did not doubt the intimidation factor of her Star Destroyer lurking in the backdrop psychologically affected the ex-Imperials. She flew down, before suddenly bursting upwards in an arc. Suppressing the button which controlled the ship’s blasters, she unleashed a fury of shots towards an unlucky opponent. As the enemy TIE exploded into pieces, two more suddenly attempted to get a drop on her, firing at her from behind.

“Got two of those bastards on my tail.” Lalni stated as she attempted to outmaneuver both of her chasers.

She flew aggressively, spiraling in an attempt the shake them. One landed several shots on her ship, impacting her shields but not breaking through them. They would if they kept it up. As she attempted to fly up and shift behind them, one of the approaching TIEs went up in flames. Then the other one, spiraling out before exploding in fire.

“Damn fine work, Rikil. You saved my tail. Keep up the pressure!” Lalni exclaimed with a smile into her commlink, before she locked onto another TIE.

Koren nodded. “I don’t expect you too jump in front of a blaster bolt for me, after all self preservation is important. All I need you to know is that should I be injured your pay will be cut, and killed well-” Koren shrugged. “-What pay?” He chuckled slightly in remarkably good spirits. He knew that everything was going as planned so far. People barely understood how the pieces were moving on the board all connected, or that was as far as Koren believed.

There was a second intercom buzz. “Sir, they’re launching a second wave of fighters. Including a squadron of bombers and blastboats and five Defenders.” Korens smug attitude faded slightly, however didn’t turn sour. It was possible that the station was packing something heavier, it did construct fighters after all. Tactical guile from the leader of the Marauders would keep the Star Destroyer from taking too much, if any damage.

The Defenders could be overwhelmed by numbers. Even in the hands of a rookie pilot they were devastating craft however numbers were not in their favour. Watching the battle play out two of the ships veered off towards the Nightfury on a direct course. Koren tapped his communicator. “Open a channel to them, now.” His voice growled slightly. There was a ping to indicate the signal was going through. “This is Koren Graeff of the Golden Exchange, I’m neutral in this conflict, what in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The voice of the Captain from before broke through the speakers. “We know you’re behind this Graeff. Call off the attack now, or get blown out of the sky.”

“I don’t know what you’re speaking about, they’re in Imperial ship they probably have records that weren’t purged as they won’t be connected to the Imperial Network.”

“Cut the poodoo Graeff. Call off the attack, no more warnings.” Koren sighed and clasped his hands together, looking up at Sirka.

“This Sirka, is why you always have a backup plan.”

(Collab with @Sep)



The smuggler in his Z-95 had just about finished his meal when his comlink began to chime. Tossing his garbage out onto the landing pad, Darton brought the comlink out of his jacket and checked the call signature.

He frowned, recognizing who exactly was calling. He straightened up in the cockpit, nestling his helmet between his knees and trying to make himself look as presentable as possible, just in case he had to flick on the hologram setting. Clearing his throat, he finally clicked the ‘answer’ button.

“Fanx here.”

A robotic voice answered. “Timana the Hutt demands your presence at once, there is a matter that demands your attention.”

He scratched his beard, momentarily contemplating. What could possibly be this urgent? Timana knew how busy his schedule was. Unless…

“If it’s about the rancor eggs, assure Timana that-”

“Timana does not rush such trivial matters. A planet under Hutt protection has recently been occupied, you are required to deliver a message to the would-be conqueror.”

Darton pinched the bridge of his nose, screwing up his eyes.

Goddamnit.

He felt his stomach turn, hotcake within. This wasn’t how he thought this day was gonna go.

Composing himself, he returned his attention to the comlink.

“I will arrive shortly,” he said curtly, shutting the comlink off.

Basically, Timana wanted him to delve into enemy space firsthand, and make threats on behalf of the Hutt himself. Which would probably result in his head returning to Timana on a platter.

Well, it wasn’t the worst situation he’d been in. Not by a long shot. He shivered at the memory of-

Nope. Hard pass.

Centering himself for a moment, Darton strapped in to his fighter, helmet on, and keyed in the co-ordinates to Circumtore.

"You there! By command of the Emperor, relinquish your weapons, your uniform and your life."

The former imperial General raised his eyebrow in mild surprise at the appearance of the new enemy and his mercenary getting knocked over. "You do realize that you are outnumbered by quite a bit don't you?" He said with a smirk. "The Emperor died at Endor and the Empire died with him. I'd kill you myself but I have other things to do." He motioned for four of his remaining mercenaries forward and the woman with the oversized blaster rifle aimed it directly at the newcomer's head.

"Kill him." The former general said simply as one of the remaining two mercenaries grabbed the unconscious Trandoshan and the other attempted to lift the droid only to find him too heavy.

The Trandoshan shook his head from side to side as he slowly began to regain his senses. He looked up and saw that the Mercenary was attempting to drag him away. So he did the best thing he could do under the circumstances.

He bit him.

The Mercenary let out a howl of anger and pain as he dropped the lizard man on the ground and grabbed his bleeding hand with his other hand. The Trandoshan turned to look at ZD and saw a few of the optical sensors were lighting back up.

"ZD! Corellian Sunrise!" he shouted the reactivation phrase to the droid.

The droid's optical sensors fully reactivated and the droid slowly rose to his feet. "Damage assessment: Armor plating damaged. All other systems are fully online. He targeted the woman with the over sized blaster rifle.

"Targets locked."

Scipio Industries and Finance + Ken Neumann

As Leonard watched his non-droid mercenaries drill from the bridge, Pau Je, his Kaminoan scientist, approached him. He would then say in a cold and clinical tone: "A request, Mr. Scipio."

The businessman-turned-warlord looked to his side and nodded to give permission, Pau continued to speak, "Do you remember my original terms of employment?"

A nod, before Leonard would say, "I was sixteen then, but I remember promising you sanctuary and a chance to resume your research into biology and genetic engineering. That and a cloning facility, but the refusal of your own fellow cloners to join put paid to that notion." He pursed his lips. "Do not tell me that I failed the terms of our bargain."

Pau Je slightly bowed, then said, "Not yet, but you have not advanced its terms either. At first I can bear the lack of a cloning facility, because aside from the renegades who fled from Kamino before the Galactic Civil War, I did not have anyone to share my dreams with. But now, those renegades have reappeared, and they have already done what I wanted to do." A clinical sigh. "So, I seek either two things. One, to be given leave to join the Republic-in-Exile that the renegades are part of, or Two, for you to give me a reason to stay; right now, my scientific skills are underused."

Leonard nodded. "Granted; transportation will be provided. Anything else?"

Pau blinked. "You'd grant that so easily? You've changed; I thought you'd be more cruel."

A sigh, "I thought so too. But you'd be useful for building goodwill between my faction and the Republic Remnant. And unless you actively work to slander my name, you'd foster it even if you don't try to. Now, go in peace."

The Kaminoan responded in thanks, before heading out of The Gamechanger...

@Sep@EliteCommander

"Ok, so... is this a mission for two that I didn't see in the ad, or is something else going on here?" Willoh said, a bit confused at the Mandalorian who just came in and asserted himself onto the job. Willoh wasn't sure if she should be annoyed or not at his intrusion, considering Loretta was using her as top billing so far. Something about this Mando looked familiar though, but Willoh couldn't place it.

"Who are you again Mr. Mando?" Willoh said, gesturing at Elias. She got the feeling she had met this guy yesterday.

Elias glanced at Willoh and mentally grinned. The droid didn't recognize him off the bat, which meant that making sure they didn't find out he was here on Koren's orders was considerably easier. "Just a...friend, you could say, of Loretta's. Noticed the job on the postings and figured I'd follow up on it." Placing his helmet back on his head, Elias beckons to the door. "Perhaps we should go before anyone else shows up?"

"Good idea." Loretta nodded. "Though he's here at my request Willoh, it's my job, my choice."

Something about this Mando felt off to Willoh, but she couldn't tell what. Either way, she agreed. Best to get the job done and all that. "So... You need to grab your weapons first then? What kind of weapons?" Willoh said, ending with a very suggestive tone as the Trio got up and started to walk towards the hanger. Willoh really didn't work with other bounty hunters on a job all that much, considering the lifestyle, so she was going to have fun with it.

Elias glanced at the bot as Loretta attached herself to his arm. "Weapons that work for me. Answer enough?" He lead the way back towards his ship, and stopped at the checkpoint, holstering his twin heavy blaster pistols before replacing his jetpack and placing the vibrosword back in its sheathe on his back. He then continued towards his ship. "Not to jump to conclusions, but I figured a ship that's flown by an organic might work better for our employer." Elias kept the additional reason to himself though. Plus Koren can find my ship if we get into some kind of trouble.

"I'm a bit sad you didn't ask me what weapons I need there Mr. Mando," Willoh said, putting on a cute act. She was a bit annoyed at how Loretta was hanging on the guy, but even if this guy was suspicious, Willoh was sure he wasn't stupid enough to take one of the paradise family hostage. Even if it came to that, he had shown Willoh his weapons, but Willoh hadn't shown hers.

As they approached the Mando's ship, Willoh said. "Yeah,I have no snacks for ya. Just hope your a good pilot." She said, eyeing the ship. She figured if Loretta was going to listen to this guy, Willoh should tag along and keep an eye on the two of them, at least until the job was done. Something about this guy felt off. Not sinister, just, off.

"It's just supposed to be a purchase, right? My skills as a pilot shouldn't be needed." Loretta had nodded in agreement and Elias lead the way up the ramp. Once the pair were comfortable in the crew lounge, he himself headed into the cockpit and got them back into space. After punching in Nar Shaadaa's coordinates, the Mandalorian sent them into hyperspace before joining them, his helmet coming off once more. "Well, it'll be a few hours, so get comfy. Can play some Sabacc if anyone's willing to loose a couple of credits."

Was this just a purchase though? Usually if you just wanted to be taxied somewhere, you bought a taxi service, not a bounty hunter. But then maybe Wiloh was thinking too much into it, having just come off of an imp stealth mission. "Yeah sure. I'll play ya. Unless you don't think you can beat a droid?" Willoh said, laughing.

Elias shrugged. "I make it a personal habit not to gamble against a droid that can count their cards without trying." If he was honest, sleeping was fine with him, but it was a risk, especially since Koren's daughter was on the ship and it would be his luck that Koren would think he tried things. "Got other things to do as well."

"Hehe. Could always not play cards. Theres that chess thing as well." Willoh said, giggling. "So what are these other things Mr. Mando?" Willoh said, again putting on a custy act. She doubted she'd get much of anything from this guy, but it was fun to play around just the same. Just as long sa she kept an optic on both him and her client, so nothing bad happened.

"Well, there IS Dejarik, but I wouldn't play that against a Droid either. I'm personally taking a nap. Do me a favor and stay out of my files, and away from my maintenance hatches." Elias laid back and close his eyes, his breathing becoming slow and rhythmic after a couple of minutes, giving the illusion of sleep. In actuality, Elias was using a trick he'd learned from the Ordo Clan to see what his 'employer' and the driod had to say.

"Aw darn it. Guess hes going to just laze around. Welp, Got any ideas on what you wanna do to pass the time Loretta?" Willoh said once Elias started his nap. "If nothing comes to mind, we could just watch stuff on the holonet. I can project videos onto a wall no problem. Thats what I do when I'm by myself anyway, without the projection thingy of course." Willoh suggested. Loretta, keeping her composure but feeling a tad bored with the prospect of a 5 hour travel time said. "A few holonet movies sounds like a good plan."

"Sounds great! If our Mando friend here wasn't asleep maybe he could give some suggestions. I usually watch informational stuff or Gungan comedy videos myself, dunno if you'd be into those. Speaking of informational videos, did you know there is a holonet video that teaches you how to make a hyperdrive from scratch?" Willoh said, not hiding her excitement in the least.

---

After an hour or two of Willoh talking about the various parts, and ways to build the parts, of a starship, followed by some comedy videos, Elias pretended to wake up and headed to the kitchen area for a drink. It was about an hour after that that the ship's autopilot dropped them out of orbit over Nar Shadaa, prompting the Mandalorian to resume his place as pilot until they landed. Once they had disembarked, and then Elias turned and made sure his ship was locked down, he turned to Loretta. "Alright, princess, lead the way."

"Nar Shadda is a fun planet, lots and lots to do! Its a shame they don't let droids into the casino. You know, counting cards and all that..." Willoh said as they disembarked, Loretta leading the way to the Hutt arena she wanted to visit. Why she needed two bounty hunters for this task Willoh didn't really get. Unless she was worried about the lowlifes on Nar Shadda, which would be a valid concern. Willoh had a few run ins with said low lifes on this planet before, especially with the slave and droid trade being what it was here. "So Mr. Mando, ever been to any nice spots here that I should be aware of after that Hutt arena? I've already tried sneaking into the casino, that didn't work out so well for me so don't suggest that one!" Willoh said, trying to strike up conversation.

Elias snorts as they walk, a hand resting on one of his blaster pistols, though his armor was deterrent enough for most of the cutpurses in the crowd. "If you only tried the primary casinoes, you didn't look hard or deep enough. Sure, the other ones are seedier, but they use jamming tech during the shuffling process, keeps droids from keeping track of the cards. Buuuttt you also run the risk of getting ion blasted and scrapped too. Take your pick I guess."

"Eh, I wanna avoid those types of casinos too. Been to one once, the jamming gives me a headache and I had to turn a guy into mincemeat because he tried the same thing you said. Took me awhile to clean the sawblades..." Willoh said omniously. "But I'm sure you've had to deal with low lifes as well, both of you, haven't ya?" Willoh said, striking up more conversation as they all made their way to the Hutt arena.

They approached the old Arena. A couple of gammorans stood guard. Loretta turned to the two of them. "If I'm entirely honest, I'm not coming to buy with being asked... per say." Loretta turned back to look at the gate. "I'm hoping I can convince them to part with something by pure amounts of credits. If not-" Loretta shrugged. "-I'm sure we can arrange something."

"Second time in two days I've gone shopping with another lady. fun fun." Willoh said, making sure the trio wasn't being tailed or anything.

Elias eyed the pair in front of them and then glanced at Willoh. "Well, if credits don't work, there's always good old fashioned blaster diplomacy." In his personal experience, what credits couldn't get, either cunning or blaster skill could, and the Smuggler had plenty of that to spare for both.

"Or seduction. I've only ever had it work once though, sadly." Willoh said, laughing. "But yeah, I'm up for some firefights." she continued as the trio entered the arena. Looking around, Willoh tried to find a piece of metal, or something made out of metal. But even a slightly out of use arena was still structurally sound, and there wasn't anything easy around to pick up that she could turn into ammo.

Loretta arched an eyebrow between Willoh and Elias in a is she for real type movement. Her bodyguard was a little more... extra than she had been expecting.Loretta raised both her hands. "Don't worry about it guys, I've learned a thing or two from my father. He's only one of the most succesful people in Hutt Space after all." As she neared the edge of the arena Willoh would see a figure appear behind them, a man dressed in a long black coat. Point at them, and then yell.

"Loretta Graeff!"

Loretta winced, audibly. Turned arround and then smiled the fakest smile Elias likely ever saw, and he had probably seen a few.

"Oh, heeeeeey... I'm sorry but I'm busy right now. Call back later." With that she turned around.

"I wouldn't do that, unless you want a blaster hole in the side of your head." She winced again, turning around even slower. Hands raised. "Listen, it's a real bad time. Tell you what, why don't you take this up with one of my two friends here, you can even take your pick-" She pointed her thumb back in the direction of the arena. "-I've got other things I need to do."

Elias narrowed his eyes at the man and strode forwards, his hands coming to rest on both his pistols. "Willoh, stay with Loretta. I've got this." Coming to a stop a few feet away from the black coated man, he took a dueling stance. "Mind telling me what has you so hot and bothered, or do we just get to the shooting?"

Willoh nodded at Elias, and got into a defensive postion around Loretta. Forming a guass rifle inside her arm, she popped it out, as if she was hiding it in there all along. On her other arm she raised it in front of herself and formed a shield, again making it look mechanical as if she had it in her all along. She didn't have that many shots with her guass rifle but considering how difficult it was to dodge and how much damage it did, she probably only needed a single shot. That was assuming Mr. Mando missed, and Willoh doubted he would. And her shield made out of her own alloys could probably only take a blaster shot or two, but it was better than showing what she really was.

(Collab with @Sep)



Easing the Z-95 down onto the landing platform, Darton shut off the fighter’s repulsors and began powering down. Once that was finished, the smuggler/courier sat for a few more moments in his closed cockpit, removing his flight helmet and closing his eyes.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves. It was a technique he’d perfected over the years, and it didn’t take long for him to properly compose himself, before thumbing the canopy release button, getting out of his seat and jumping down onto the platform.

From there, it was a short walk into Timana’s palace. Shadows creeping around every dimly-lit corridor, aliens of all kinds wandering here and there. To get to the throne room was easy: just follow the music. Having walked this passage several times before, Darton had the way committed to memory, and only listened to the mellow beat of the music, and smelled the rapacious scents of spice and alcohol along the way.

Within moments, the sounds and smells amplified exponentially - a blind man would be able to tell that this was Timana’s throne room. So here he was.

The booming voice of Timana permeated the room, the protocol droid being quick to repeat his masters words in basic. “Courier, Timana demands that you deliver a package at once to the one who has seized Kintan from his control. You will deliver the package, then leave to continue on your duties for the rest of the Hutts. Remind the hostile force that kidnapping or killing you would further be seen as an act of war against the Hutts.” Timana waved a gargantuan hand and a Twi’lek with durasteel cuffs around her legs chaining her to the wall moved over, handing Darton a small box.

Well, if the only thing he needed to do was pop in, deliver a box, and fly out of there, he didn’t anticipate any problems.

But it was never that simple.

“Thanks dear,” he said softly as the Twi’lek handed him the package. He turned back to the massive Hutt.

“I must be honest, your excellency - high probability that things might not go so well on Kintan. Details, Timana, details. What am I expecting when I get there?”

“The individual appears to be in control of a single Jedi Cruiser from the Clone Wars, and the traitors of a Ton-Falk appear to have joined him. From what we have been able to learn from our own agents he appears to be some kind of businessman.”

“Okay… ex-Imps and a businessman…” He shifted the box between his hands, “Should I ask what’s in here?”

“You do not need to know, though you can be rest assured it is not an explosive device. You are far too valuable an asset to be wasted on a suicide mission.”

He almost laughed.

Almost.

“I’ll take your word for it. And I guess I’d better be going.” He slung the box under one arm, and gave a mock salute to the Hutt. “Take care, big Tim.”

He made his way out through the throne room doors, and nearly forgot-

“Oh, hey!” he called, “Your rancor eggs; they’re-”

The door closed behind him. Ah well.

He made his way back to the landing platform where Buzzard was located, hitting a button on his beckon call to get the ship warmed up and ready for launch. He handed the box over to a droid which he instructed to stow in the secret hold, as he had many times before. He just hoped he wouldn’t be shot down on arrival. He made a mental note to jump in a little out from the system and ease in in order to give his hyperdrive enough time to recharge, just in case he had to make a speedy exit.

Pulling himself up to the cockpit, Darton settled himself down into the leather seating and strapped in, pulling his helmet over his head. He got the O-K from the droid that the package was stowed, and summarily flicked a switch to raise the hold door.
Switching on his repulsors, Darton eased off the pad, throttling up and feeling the g-forces squeeze him as he pulled up, heading into the blackness once again.

((Collab between Letter Bee and Perpenheimer))

Space Outside Kintan

Raj Vizsla would say to Leonard as the businessman and Ken were playing dejarik at the former's quarters, "Single ship zooming in from hyperspace; transponder says Hutt Cartel. Further information says it's a Courier bearing a message to us. Should we shoot him down?"

Leonard's answer as he ended the game was: "No, if we shoot every messenger, then there would be no concept of communication. Get the torture equipment ready though, just in case." A pause, and the businessman said, laughing, "I kid, I kid!"

He then said to Ken, "Let's go meet this Courier." And with that, the two then prepared to go down to the Venator-class' hangar, where Darton Fanx's ship had been impounded if it docked, and Darton himself was being searched by a few mercenaries and droids.

***

Darton shut the comms and transponder down and let the Venator's tractor beam take him in. Luckily, they hadn't shot at him, but he didn't expect a warm welcome either. The Buzzard set down roughly in the hangar with a clunk, as Darton finished the Z-95's shut-down sequence, and the bay doors closed overhead.

Darton removed his helmet and began unbuckling. He looked up through the canopy; there were a few figures - thugs of some kind, and droids - that were approaching. Not the warmest of welcomes he'd had, but it was to be expected. He figured they's probably confiscate his personal effects, so he decided to leave them in the ship, tucking them under his seat.

Best not to seem threatening with this bunch.

He hit both the cargo door release and the canopy release, feeling the cool air of the hangar come rushing into his cockpit as it hissssed open. Smoothing his hair back, Darton put his helmet by his feet and got up, standing on the seat.

He halfhazardly raised his hands, elbows by his sides, calling down to the approaching mercenaries. "Hey, fellas!"

"Let me see your hands!"

Darton wiggled his already-raised hands. "Yer lookin' at 'em!"

They aimed their weapons at him, then bobbed them towards the hangar deck. "Get down here!"

"You're the boss, boss." The Courier lowered his hands and began to climb down, conscious of the muzzles of the blasters at his back, but keeping his cool as he turned around to face the squad.

"Step forward," said the apparent squad leader, and Darton did so, hands now raised again. "Search him," he commanded the others.

Darton was pretty glad he didn't say 'fire,' but he was happier that they wouldn't get anything out of him. Nothing better to annoy your captors by having nothing to offer them than to lose your stuff.

Except, well, he did have something. Just not on him.

Still being patted down by the mercs and scanned by the droids, Darton noticed a couple of finely-dressed men approaching.

Ah, the paymasters. Better late than never.

To the figure in the stylish cloak, adorning the gait of wealth, he said, "You must be the businessman I've heard so little about."

Leonard nodded suavely, and extended his hand. "My name is Leonard L. Scipio. I am sorry for the inconvinience caused by the search."

Ken and Raj were now on either side of Leonard, looking to see if there was any hostile move from Darton. Leonard, once the Courier had shaken his hand, would then say: "So, you come with threats from the Hutts? What cliche are they living up to now?"

Darton shrugged. "Listen, I don't know very much. I just deliver the mail, and I've got a special delivery for ya. Hell, I don't even know what it is."

A blink from Leonard. "Show me the delivery, then. Hopefully it is not too outrageous."

"You got it, bossman," he said to Leonard, before turning to the merc squad leader and giving him a sly smile and a sideways wink. He strode back up to the side of his Z-95, before pausing and turning back to the assembled group.

"Would you all mind... turning around for this one?" he said, making a circular motion with his finger.

Leonard spoke; "All right, but if anything happens to us, we'll be blowing you and your ship up."

He, Ken, and even Raj turned around, as well as the guards. The droids, however, kept watching; Leonard was not totally letting down his guard.

"Perfection," he quipped, before darting under his ship and snatching the package. "Special delivery, for, uh, whoever you are."

Leonard and his party turned back around; the businessman was impatient for this charade to be over. Darton handed the package over to the businessman.

When the package was opened, Leonard would see a single sabaac card. On turning over the card he would notice that it was the death card.

Leonard turned to Darton, saying: "So the Hutts are outraged beyond all reason at my onslaught. Guess it won't matter if I commit an act of war, then."

Raj took out a blaster and Ken drew his vibroblades. Leonard just smiled; he was toying with Darton.

"Ah ah ah," Darton chided, waggling a finger. "War isn't what the Hutts want. You can bring the Hutts out here, in all their rage; or you can let me go, and think about it for a day or two. Besides-"

He pulled a spare beckon call from his sleeve, retrieved from his cargo bay. The Z-95 powered up and aimed its blaster cannons at the assembled group.

"-I'm leaving anyway."

Looking nonplussed, Leonard would say, "Now, now, don't be hasty. A gift from the Hutts deserves a gift back, wouldn't you say?" Smiling sinisterly, Leonard ordered a floating droid tray to come over; said droid tray carried a platinum crown studded with brighly colored gems the color of blood. "Give this to your employer; tell him that I had this crafted myself as a gift for his Queen."

Ken looked at his boyfriend; what was he planning? Raj, meanwhile, saw the not-so-subtle signal implied by the gems' red color.

Darton smiled, knowingly. "I would love to accept this gift on behalf of the Hutts, but I must politely refuse. Timana insisted I return having delivered the package - no more, no less," he lied. This was going to get him killed, one way or another. He still had the upper hand. "I will, however, be sure to inform the Queen of the gift you offered."

A nod to signal non-hostilty. "If you can communicate with the Queen instead of just Timana, then you must be more important than I think. So tell them this; I seek chaos, the sort of chaos that is good for business. But I don't particularly care from which quarter the chaos comes from." Leonard's eyes sparkeled with mischief. "So tell Timana this; that I know all beings chafe when under a superior they find unworthy. As for the Queen, tell her she has my due respect for keeping her subordinates cowering in cowardice under her."

Darton looked around, listening for anything else. After a few beats of hearing nothing, he grinned, clapping his hands together, making the merc leader cringe as he was still holding the beckon call. "Okay! Guess that just about wraps it up, then!"

The Courier hopped up and began mounting his Z-95. "Seeya later folks!"

As the Z-95 flew off, Ken said to Leonard, almost laughing: "Did you just hint that you were willing to help Timana take out his Queen? If this works, we'd have plunged a dagger into the heart of the Hutt Council!"

Raj turned to Ken, "Or Timana might refuse and we'll instead get a gigantic fleet attacking Kintan. Either way, prepare for the biggest battle in your life so far."

Leonard acknowledged Raj's points with his next words; "We'll get a fleet assault by the Hutts anyway. I am not leaving Kintan unfought; I plan on keeping my promise to my Believer clients. The only difference is if the Hutts will stay united afterwards..."

@Sep