Zalis Krales

Zalis turned her head at the newcomer, one who had now fully stepped into the light from at least her perspective. What in the seven hells... a Troig! She had never personally seen one before. Although, she did read up on them during one her early career assassinations as the target had one as a personal assistant. Granted, he was off the night she struck. The awareness of them would make it hard to gain leverage over the situation and therefore would need caution to gain what she needed from this outcome. It was then that it threw two EMP grenades towards a wrecked vehicle. It gave her an opportunity to scan the field and see movement. She poked her head out to watch them go off upon their intended targets. The movement showed her that Terra had at least three others near her. It was about all that she could see. Movement wise, and numbers made Terra and her fellow Mandalorians the more deadlier foes on the field. From her current position, she would need to move to help pin them down into a tighter firefight. Pulling herself back behind cover, she looked around to see a few things of interest that could help her flush and move. One was a processing loom a good jump on her right. There was also some raw glitterstim directly to her right. She checked her equipment, outside of her blasters and now single vibro dagger, as he other was stuck with the spider who had retreated, she had a single thermal detonator at her disposal. She knew she would want to save it until she was desperate. Knowing she didn't have much of an option, she lifted her blaster and fired on the raw glitterstim, creating a dust cloud over her area. Jumping up, Zalis took off, pulling her second blaster back out and firing in the general direction of where Terra's companions were at. In her run, she moved down to her right and jumped behind a large durasteel pipe as her cover. The position gave her a strong position to flush the Mandalorians back to be caught in between the fire from the Troig and herself. As she landed, she quickly turned to go low and begin to continue to pour some fire to help push back the Mandalorians. ((1))

Zalis had a pause for a single moment as she watched Terra. She watched those that accompanied Terra from the corner of her own eyes, trying to keep them within eyesight of potential harm. As Terra spoke, suddenly an Energy Spider came out and Terra was quick to snap off her own blaster at it. Zalis took the opportunity to jump behind cover herself and prepare herself by putting away her vibrodagger in exchange for her other blaster. All the while having a new line of thoughts. That bitch was going to shoot me. The thought brought a smile to her face. Terra was about to make this engagement fun, at least from her own perspective. There was suddenly another entry into the field, one who made it very clear that they were not a fan of Terra and wanted to stop her as well. Hmm, another angle in this for me. Whether this new entry was a friend or foe was still to be determined, but until such a time could be figured out, they were an ally of sorts. Both did not want Terra to blow up the assets in the mines. But until the spider was dealt with, no one would have a victory. And it was clear that neither knew how to deal with the spiders either. "Don't waste blaster fire, it only eats the energy you moof-milkers" Zalis moved herself to the left with her back towards Terra in order to gain a better vantage point. As she moved, she fired a few shots at the spider, hoping that it would provide an opening for the others and that they would heed her words and use a weapon that didn't waste energy. She made a jumping leap towards a large column, turning her body as she did, tossing a vibrodagger towards the energy spider.

The landing pad wasn't as crowded as Zalis anticipated. A few, maybe four tried to oppose her on her way into the tunnels. They were quick and easy targets, enough that even her simple blaster fire pinned them back, having them put into bad positions, which lead to what she would say was a confirmed 2 dead, maybe 3 with one clearly trying to find a way out of the main fire arc she poured in their direction. It didn't last, as upon her reaching the south east tunnel's entrance, she let her blasters fall to her side to make a stronger run. As she ran through the somewhat dark musty tunnel, she could almost begin to smell the very distinct scent of Coaxium and Kesselstone mix within the musty smells, making it one that she assumed would make anyone without a mask get light headed if they stayed within the tunnels for longer than an hour. Hopefully, she would not be within the tunnels for that long. There was also the very clear dim lights that showed shadows from all angles, making surprises on the harder side unless one worked within the shadows and moved quickly to not let such shadows giveaway their position. But almost as soon as she had the thought, she was indeed taken by surprise from an Energy Spider, one whom didn't seem to mind the soft light from one side of the tunnel. Without much of a reaction, she lifted her right hand to fire a few shots towards its eye while taking her left hand and putting away her other blaster in exchange for a vibrodagger. Without breaking her run, she charged the spider head on, sliding underneath it as she came up upon its main frame. As she slide, she tilted her body towards the right and stuck her left hand up to drag the dagger against the spiders main underbelly. Zalis quickly used her own slide as momentum to help her make a jump up off a far wall of the tunnel that the Energy Spider was building a small web upon. She didn't care if she killed it, as that was not her goal. Protecting the processing plants were. As she rounded another corner, she could hear the squeal of the spider behind her, but could see some movement in the lights ahead near the processing plants. Sith-spit! She was upset at the fact that the spider may have given her position away. Wanting to have some element of surprise, she quickly jumped up mid run towards a small air shaft feet first. The air shaft was small and slender. She would be able to fit, but barely. It wasn't large either, that much she could tell from the outside. It maybe covered enough area to help filter out the air within the main large processing room. Upon getting herself within the main shaft, it also made noise, but she could still hear the spider squeal along with what sounded like heavy blaster fire coming from somewhere else. And much to her won surprise, the shaft was indeed small. So small in fact that it wasn't even the length of her body. So upon hitting the outer crate cover with her feet, she went all the way through to the other side, landing on her feet. Still in shock that the air shaft wasn't all that large, she stood up from a crouched position with a vibrodagger in one hand and a blaster in the other. There before her was an all too familiar figure. Terra. Zalis smiled, "Hey bitch. You look like hell." She said it all with a friendly demeanor and a voice that suggested that maybe she regretted not being able to get close with her as she did with Delta. But somehow she knew, from looking over Terra that this meeting is about to be a fight. Terra was a damn good fighter from the early Black Sun reports she had always read on her. This wasn't going to be easy.

Of all of the emotions one would think that Zalis, the Queen of Vice would be feeling as she had her ship, Lucky Strike navigate the Akkadese Maelstrom towards the planet, many would not have guessed nauseated, but she was. The idea of the whole situation brewing on the surface brought up many scenarios playing out in her head, all of which had many of the legitimate companies she owned or had high stock in could come crashing down around what was transpiring or could transpire. At that was her sole purpose in making the run as fast as she could to get here. Not to respond to the Black Sun's call for agents to help defend it if they could, but rather to protect her own agendas, which could do more damage to the Sith Empire and Rebellion, which in turn would hurt her own business. She stood behind the pilot droid, PD-087, who was navigating as best it could with its high tech gear. She couldn't care less how the droid actually did it, so long as it got her planet side safely. As the ship moved, she got her dress off, which revealed bare minimum clothing, to which she quickly but her weapon belt and straps on, followed by her brown leather jacket and combat boots. She needed to make sure that she was in a position to defend her assets, no matter what. "Ma'am, there are a few reports coming in quickly. It seems to be several small insurgents attempting take overs at multiple locations. I will try to find the least dense populated are-" "No- swing me over near the processing plants. I want to protect them." She didn't give the droid a chance to respond, she began to walk back towards the landing ramp. She knew what she was about to do, and the droid knew its role in all of it. She opened the landing ramp, having sirens from within the ship blare at her in warning, which were quickly drowned out by the loud whoosh of wind that took over. She zipped up her jacket and and stepped down onto the landing ramp towards the edge, holding onto one of the gears that held the ramp. She looked towards where the ship was headed and saw what she needed to see. Lucky Strike was moving quick and low towards one of landing pads, and she saw her moment. She stepped off the ramp and leaned backwards in a quick fall over the landing pad. She used a trick she learned when escaping crime bosses she would assassinate from high buildings on Coruscant. She spun herself backwards so that she would land without a lot of impact upon her own bones and joints. As she landed, she pulled out two blasters and began to pour fire towards those that began to oppose her as she moved hurriedly towards defending the processing plant.

Zalis watched for a moment as she realized there were actually two different events that now required her attention. Corellia was a prime spot to establish a Czerka office on, even more so as a way to help relief efforts would open many more doors for her. But Kessel... the complications there were great and many. On one hand, the spice mines were a place that Black Sun used to help shore up more of their illicit clientele that fancied such things. Smuggling in and out of their ways always high traffic, and could potentially become more so with a take over or a destruction of any part of the facility. But it was her ties to the company of HealthiDrive that would suffer from any form of destruction or increased security measures. She needed to respond there and quickly. "Unfortunately yes." She looked at Kane now with a half smirk upon her face. "Because I'm starting to gather that you and me have very similar goals... Don't capitalized too quickly up Corellia. Wait for me, please." She now winked as she turned to leave. She made sure to take with her the basket of weapons provided to her upon meeting Kane. With the basket in hand, she made her way out of the bar and towards her ship. She needed to keep the legitimate business aspects of Black Sun alive. Because of that, she needed to protect the assets of HealthiDrive, and that is exactly what she intended to to upon arriving at Kessel...

Zalis was pleasantly surprised by Kane and his ability to handle things. With her drink refilled, and another offered up, she gladly took the new drink and made her toast with him. This was the beginning of a beautiful partnership, she had a good hunch about it, even better than her hunch on making the bid for Czerka. Her own flattery of the man increased with the droid and the protocols he had set it up with. Very similar to her different droids she employed on Ord Mantell to help get things situated. "Setting up a shop here would be fantastic. Czerka could use a more Core world to operate out of." She took a moment to gently brush her hand on the droid, if for nothing else but to get a feel for it's metal surface and know how it felt, but such a moment was short, as her comlink buzzed. She checked it quickly, as it was in private mode, which meant someone knew the priority override. It also meant that someone wanted her to see something quickly. The message was short. "Corellia: Coronet City" There was no name attached to it, so it could have been Remo, but there was no way of knowing. She made a face of confusion for sure, but looked up at Kane. "Do you mind if we pull up the Holonet? I think there is something someone wants me to see."

Zalis slowly let a smile appear upon her face. She liked Kane and where his mind was at. "I like you. You know your goals, what paths to take and when to take them. Consider us official partners in business then." She picked up her glass, only to remember that it was emptied a few moments ago and put it back down. Not wanting to stay seated any more, she stood up and re-picked up her glass in hopes that it would be refilled for her. "Czerka has moved the majority of its factories to Ord Mantell, and the cruise-liner Titan has become to mobile HQ of sorts for Black Sun. Legitimate business, much like what I've tried to accomplish in the past few years while behind the scenes is where the more illegal stuff takes place. You can normally find me at either of those two locations, as I try to help maintain the PR issues Black Sun has developed over the decade." She stopped and thought for a moment about Delta. While he was always a loose canon and a massive risk in her business plans, she did miss having him around to have fun. She decided that she would have to personally invite him to spend a week on Titan with her. "Anyways, that's where the majority of the business takes place on our end for the most part. Still trying to recover a bit from the whole Dark Sun incident. Maybe with this partnership we can find new locations and expand upon the seeds that have aready been sown."

Zalis listened with great interest, as much of what Kane said was something along the lines of what she would have setup if she were in his position. Although, his own vision seemed to lack some details, it was still worth taking the first step to get the ball rolling. Putting down the basket and picking up her drink, she looked over Kane for a moment before taking a drink. "You make it sound simple enough. I've always been a big fan of playing both sides, making a profit on whomever is willing to pay. But if I'm honest, it hasn't been as easy recently. The Rebellion, Jedi, Local governments that support them have... strayed from buying even from Czerka, along with HyperTech and HealthiDrive, all because I have stock in them and make a profit. Incom-FreiTek suffered some slight losses, and even more so to buy my share out..." She threw back the entire glass now to empty it's content. "Granted, I still make huge credits selling outside of Rebellion and Jedi patrolled areas. Only the Sith Empire doesn't care whom they buy from. They're also pissed at some of the recent moves made, but that doesn't seem to stop their buying." Putting down the glass, she moved to lean back. "I think the real question is, are you willing to risk backlash at connecting your company to ours? I'm more than willing to try anything to make more credits. But I can't force you to put your hard work and reputation on the line for that."

Zalis raised an eyebrow at the story of Ronin. She had heard stories of him before hand, never negative or positive from her own perspective. She took a moment when Kane finished to take him and his story in. The man was something of a mystery to her. She would have thought that through her time making connections and rising through the ranks of Black Sun that surely she would have met him before, or even heard of him. Yet she had not, and here he was. His success was something that made her question her own tactics. She lowered her head to stare at the floor for a brief second before lifting it to meet his eyes. "I guess my immediate response is how?-" She left a second to pause, and only a second. "How are you planning on doing this and how do you even envisioning this working? How much will it cost me?" She tilted her head slightly to the right which caused a single stray piece of loose hair to fall on her face. "I haven't made it this far with my own success without knowing that these things cost something and that cost is almost always tied into... personal motivations." While she knew he said to honor his late father, but in her own experience, such motivations were gut and heart string pulls only. There was and will always be an ulterior motive.

For a brief moment, disappointment was all that Zalis felt upon realizing that the entire area was a holographic projection. But such a feeling was overtaken by the sheer amazement at the feat. The man before her was playing a game unlike anyone else of whom she had ever interacted with before. She stared into his golden eyes as he introduced himself. His suit was fine looking, showing off style, yet not too elegant to draw too much attention to himself. As he offered her up a bouquet of arms that suddenly fancied her interest, she took a huge swig of her glass of Merenzane Gold and put the glass down. "A Business man. Many take interest in Black Sun Vigos when we enter a room looking to do business with us. Many more attempt to move moons for me because of my other connections. Although I must admit, even in my time owning Czerka and working for grander dreamers of Black Sun, I have never seen such an amazing feat such as this-" Zalis threw her arms open to display the entire bar, but also making it known that Midnight City itself was something worth noting to her. "And nothing can even begin to compare to what you have done here with Midnight Corporation since days before the Crusaders helped ravage this planet." She now accepted the basket from Kane and began to half heartedly look through it's contents. It was the very subtle way of letting him know that she was listening to what he had to discuss and that she was indeed interested.

Zalis listened intently for a moment as Borto went on with his own desires to become one of the best well known smugglers. It was very typical of the conversations that she always had, young gun wanting to prove themselves to anyone who would give them a shot. She knew he would make many mistakes before he ever got to have his name made known. Picking up her drink, she took notice of the note below it, and she quickly picked it up to keep Borto from seeing it. Taking a rather small drink from her glass, she eyed the bartender, whom gave her a quick signal of where to go. Pulling out a datacard for Borto, she left it on the table for him. "Give me a buzz tomorrow and I'll see what I can get for you. For now, I have other business to attend to." Standing up, she moved quickly across the floor to the staircase. While she knew very well that there were eyes and ears everywhere, such as the Sith informant who watched her since she walked sitting in the far right corner booth. His choice of seating made him far more obvious then anyone else in the room. Although she did not fear for her own safety, as she knew the Sith had bigger fish to fry at the moment then her, and the tension was only recently worsened by Delta. Otherwise no one would have cared that she walked into the room. But there was something that she could appreciate about whomever it was that invited her to the VIP section. As she made her way to the final step into the lower section of the bar, the VIP section, she took a better decent size drink this time and allowed for her own movements to become a bit more bold, allowing for the pleated strips of black fabric of her dress to make noticeable movement as she entered the room. It was just who she was to make an entrance worthy of being noticed by everyone.

Zalis found herself walking in to the infamous Last Call, which was either restored or rebuilt after the Mandalorian conquest and destruction of the Coruscant. Clearly there was a ton of work put into restoring Coruscant to it's original glory of sorts. The large station, Midnight City helped bring forth that feeling that someone was still walking around Coruscant at night during the night life that always teemed to life with lights, music and sweet smells. Part of her was a bit upset that she didn't have Black Sun take advantage and do something similar. But her own thoughts and desires at the time were not focused upon such a feat. As she walked through the bar, many eyes darted her way and began to covet her the way a dog would covet meat being brought into the pack by a superior hunter. With a side smile, Zalis knew that she choose correctly in her outfit. The black slightly revealing top with many pleated strips of black fabric that showed off her legs as she would walk. Heading up to the bar itself, many eyes watched her, and one very interested Zeltron followed her up. The young woman bartender gave her a smile. "What can I get for you?" "I'll take a Merenzane Gold-large glass." "I'll cover her drinks." The voice of the Zeltron said behind her. Zalis turned to stare the light pink, dark jet blue Zeltron in the eyes. "Your outfit draws as much attention as I do normally upon entering a room. The black color makes your fair skin stand out, and the red hair really does pop. Tell me, what brings you in here today?" With a smile still on her face, she leaned back on the bar counter top. "Connections. I work for a very powerful company. What about you?" The Zeltron leaned in from his stance that he took. "I'm here to make connections as well. I heard... smuggling was coming back strongly as a trade here on Midnight City. The name is Borto. I'm the best smuggler on this side of the Core." The Zeltron sat down finally in the chair next to her. "I work for Black Sun. We're always looking to hire smuggles with a drive to get things done. Does that at all interest you?"

Letting out a heavy breath she held in for a moment upon arrival, Zalis stared at Ord Mantell through the viewport of Nimbus. Her own thoughts swirled through what sort of mess may have transpired since her last time here. Somehow she had expected for the Vigos she left behind to handle business in her absence, but such reports that she read up on during her travel from Titan to here proved otherwise. As she piloted the ship atmosphere side towards Sandorne Palace, a comm hail came in. With an eye roll she answered it. “Ma’am, we were not expecting you back so soon. Vigo Rylan is in the middle of setting up the monthly meeting with the casino owners in 15 minutes. If you’d like, we can have you p-“ Have“ me what exactly? Are you or Rylan even aware of why I’m here? I’m landing in my private pad and will do as I please within my own home, much as I’ve alway done.” With that, she cut the feed. Her emotions now turning to a slow and steady anger at the leadership she left in charge. Not wanting to have the fool Rylan get enough time to prep for her, she quickly pushed the throttle to have Nimbus race faster towards its resting spot. **** Sandorne Palace Meeting Room **** Dressed in a black and white tuxedo, Rylan smiled as the final guests arrived and found themselves comfortable within their seats. Already glasses of fine sparkling Ryloth wine and trays of assorted desserts were being passed around as a display screen began to show numbers and reports of the last quarter revenue. Rylan himself threw back a glass before standing up to take center stage. He did his best to ignore the comlink that was constantly buzzing from Gwail. Whatever she had to say was something that could wait. “Gentlemen, may I applaud your efforts to help increase revenue during a time when Black Sun has seen a slight decline in approval ratings from more cite worlds. I’m sure if Zalis was here, she would have a few words to share with you, an-“ the room of occupants suddenly had their own eyes widened and Rylan knew exactly why. A slow turn around revealed Zalis standing behind him. She was in a pure black dress with her hair pulled up and her blues eyes held a fire in them that Rylan had seen a few times before and knew better than to step on her toes at the moment. “The floor is yours, Queen of Vice…” With her own eyes burning deep into the soul Rylan, she slowly wakes past him and stood before the counsel of casino owners. “Gentleman, what the kark have you been doing in my absence exactly? You think that a two percent increase in revenue is worth a celebration of any kind? What sort of plans have any of you made to capitalize upon the upcoming visitor traffic of the pod races and the arms expo?” There was a quick clearing of a throat before a man, strawberry blonde hair and beard with near black eyes gave a smirking looking stare and spoke up. “You think that just because you gave us a better foundation that you’re in a position to bark out orders. Black Sun’s funding here only helps generate traffic, nothing more. And your survival funds do nothing more than allow me to keep two or three employees on hand. You, sweetheart, are nothing more than eye candy for us.” Zalis stood up to stand straight and narrowed her own eyes at the man. Huesfan, the womanizer who made some vocal protests recently in the casino world that women shouldn't be on the same level when it came to owning recreational facilities. Part of her wanted to rip his groin out where he stood, but she knew better. So she went for playing him. “Why of course. I’m only here to provide you with ideas from someone else. It’s not like I could come up with an idea of hosting a gala event for the arms expo leaders. That would be beyond me.” Huesfan smiled and stood up. “That does sound like an idea worth doing gentleman, one that I heard floating around long before you spoke it. My place is big enough to host it.” Zalis gave a small curtsy with a smile. “I guess you all are dismissed then. Fluanern, can you come up here?” Zalis backed up and watched as people started to leave, but held her arm out to hold Rylan in. As they were leaving, both Fluanern and Gwail entered. Upon everyone else leaving, Zalis began to pace the room looking at her staff. “Rylan and Gwail. I left you both in charge with the orders to what? I know they weren’t to goof off and allow for the casino owners to get out of control. I believe my words were, ‘Increase Black Sun dominion.’ What has transpired here in my absence is beyond dismal and worthy of consequences.” Zalis withdrew a blaster in her hand openly in front of the three staff. Gwail’s voice spoke up rather nervously. “It hasn’t been bad enough to kill us all over…” Zalis began to laugh and shake her head. “No, no no! It hasn’t been that bad to kill you both over.” She lifted the blaster and shot Rylan in the throat. “Just one. You on the other hand, are demoted. Spaceport duty. Get out of my face you schutta.” Zalis put her blaster away as she began to walk towards Rylan. “Fluanern, You are the head Vigo of Sandorne Palace now. I expect for you to make right what your predecessors failed.” The young Bothan male gave a smile. “No worries Ma’am. I have a few test poisons ready to be tried. Assuming from how the meeting went that you had me watch, you want Huesfan… more compliant?” Zais only smiled at him and nodded her head. Fluanern knew from that what he had to do, so he left the room, leaving Zalis to stand over Rylan’s body. “And you had such a high promise of potential… Too bad you bet your credits on the wrong path.” Walking out of the room, she saw Fluanern ordering an agent to be assigned to taking care of Huesfan, along with two others that she did not recognize. The holonet was buzzing about some profiteer on Coruscant making progress with a cooperation named Midnight. It had her stop for a second before letting Fluanern know that she would be taking off immediately to Coruscant, as now she has urgent matters to connect with The Midnight cooperation.

Zalis stood for a moment watching guests enjoy the evening activities provided, as many were done with dinning and began shopping the stores onboard. Others had come to a point of heading out to dinner for their selected time in the main dining hall. Many of the guests walked through the main hall and would take up a glance at Zalis as they walked by. It was of course, no surprise as she was wearing a white dress with a silver and sequin outer layer. The color matched her slightly pale skin, but made her red hair pop and standout like a fire burning bright amongst the snow. Next to her stood Akor’ketez, her faithful assistant of many years now. He let out a loud breath of sorts before leaning in. "Ma'am, things have been going very well here based upon your own projections. Many companies and royal families have pledged funds to help maintain the cost of this liner to stay up and running for five years now. And the latest reports are that Remo has been doing exactly as you thought he would do, providing a steady movement on the forefront. So with all of that in mind... may I ask why you hold here?" The question burned within her, but not an angry burn. She herself had wondered why she allowed herself to become so inactive. She let go of the railing that she only just realized she was gripping with tightly clenched fists and turned to walk back towards the main turbo lift, allowing for her red hair to flow freely as she moved. "Perhaps my own ideals were too strong. Maybe I felt as if though I was better off alone and untouched..." She let the last part hang as one of the receptionist for the spa walked out and inquired about a shipment they haven't received. She only waved the girl off and she kept walking by. After they were out of hearing range, she continued. "I may need to venture off this cruise liner and stir up some contacts. Prepare Nimbus for me." She pushed the main call button on the turbolift and then turned around to face Akor’ketez again. "Watch the Banking Clan rep... He's creepy. Feed him some fo the fish we haven't sent back after the Mon Cal incident. I'll return by the time King Utherza takes his vacation with us." The turbolift door opened upon her finishing and Zalis quickly walked in. As the door was shutting, she gave Akor’ketez a wink as it closed on him to handle the rest of the arrangements.

Eternal elegance would be a word that many would describe the sheer beauty of the design and interior of the Titan. Even now as many of its maiden voyage first guest began to arrive, the sheer awe and wonder of everyone taking it in and making comments about the ship was causing a stir. Freshly waiting to leave the dock, as passengers were coming onboard, media crews were outside pegging people for interviews. Senator Hiirsa Pliokannelb was currently being interviewed with her family on how they planned to spend their week on the luxury cruise liner. One of the media outlets was making a report on the Velmor royal family and how they have already snuck on board privately through paying for Czerka’s private experience, which was privately offered to those of higher-ranking status to avoid having to do such interviews. One reporter was talking with a few families of those who have lost loved ones on Dark Sun station, to which got to participate on the cruise’s maiden voyage for free through the generosity of Zalis Krales. Before guests could even get on, they were screened for weapons, which were prohibited due to travel restrictions of the ships design to enter many different territories throughout its voyage. Only security guards were allowed weapons, and even then, they were not allowed within the main dining halls. Within the actual main grand entry lounge, a single reporter and crew were given special access to tour the whole ship, including the private Black Sun quarters, to which Zalis had already gone on report of saying that such things are important for the galaxy to know that their own suites are less than the royal and penthouse suites of the ship. One of the penthouse suite buyers, Fyrrik, the president of BlasTech was talking up how the quest relations so far have been beyond what he was expecting, and exceeded all expectations. Soft music was playing in the background and there were plenty of servers walking around offering up complimentary drinks to everyone, they even had a special drink for kids. All of the servers and workers were dressed in outfits of the two shades of green, with the orange and white and logo on the left chest. The whole grand entry hall was a soft orangish yellow stone with soft lights built within them giving a soft warm glow against the black marble floor. Standing at the main point where guests could take stairs up or down two floors on each side or walk around to the turbo lifts stood Zalis Krales. She was dressed in a dress of white and silver with a black outline. The outfit alone made her red hair pop and stand out. The media outlets marveled at her sight, but none were able to connect with her, as she made herself the main host, greeting and shaking hands with every guest that came in. She made it a point to spend more time with the guests who lost loved one from Dark Sun Station. There was one patient reporter who decided to wait until all guests were onboard to stake out the sacred interview with the one and only Zalis, so they hung back and awaited their opportunity. “So Zalis, what inspired this grand cruise line and do you fear that this is the wrong time to make the giant push?” With a soft bat of the eyes and using a hand to push some of her hair back behind her ears to keep it out of her face, she simply smiled. “The cruise liner has always been a dream of Czerka, and one that as Black Sun began its merge was something that fit directly into our new model of business. We’ve always wanted to provide safe entertainment for the galaxy. Being a part of wars was something that has long been dying out, and even some of our old Vigo’s struggled to let the past die-“”You mean Delta””Yes, Delta was one of those who struggled to transition. But with our new direction, as evidence through creating safe places of business and moving to provide better experiences for the galaxy like Dark Sun bank, we feel like this is the perfect time to launch this project. The galaxy needs to know that we are not who we used to be. And let’s be honest, the galaxy also needs some fun and relaxation. Hopefully Titan can be that place for everyone. And I’ve already said it once and I’ll say it again, I would love to have the Jedi and Sith join us for a time away. This place will always be a safe place for anyone to come and relax at.” ***** 1 HOUR LATER ***** “600,000 credits! You wasted 600,000 credits on slave trade?!?!” “umm-well..I..” The young Mon Calamari stammered as he searched for the right words to say to his employer. “It’s… still a productive field and one where many… buyers still pay good amounts for good slaves.” Zalis was clearly fuming and she paced the meeting room that was reserved alone for Black Sun. The doors were locked and no one was inside outside of the young Mon Calamari, a Human male by the name of Vaynar, and 2 Twi’leks, one male and one female by the name of Ghorza. She was still within her dress for the opening ceremony to greet passengers. She took a moment to look in the eyes of the male Twi’Lek, Akor’ketez, who had been her main assistant for over a year now. He gave her a look that suggested he already knew the outcome of this meeting before she did. “Slave trading is an outdated business. It should have died out.” “No Ma’am, the market in the outer rim highly suggests that it’s what they want more than anything else we could offer.” She rolled her eyes in sheer annoyance of his words. “No. That market has indeed dried up. It’s not profitable to anyone anymore. If your buyers truly want that, they are blinded by their own outdated desires.” Zalis leaned forward as if to slap the young Mal Calamarian, but she stopped to instead tower over him. “You have 6 standard months to make a profit out of this, or else the funds are coming out of your paycheck. Leave.” The young aspiring Vigo made no hesitation and quickly left the room. Akor’ketez locked the door behind him. Zalis quickly put herself to stand in front of both the male human and the female Twi’lek. “You’re both co-Governor Vigos of that area… who authorized that and thought it was a good idea?” The female began to speak but was interrupted by the male. “It was a joint decision ma’am. We both felt like it was a good ide-“”Oh bullshit- that was a single person’s decision. Whose?!” The last word was made louder and stronger to get her point across. There was hesitation on both parties before the male spoke again. ”I am again going to stand by my answer that it was a joint decision…” Zalis got more annoyed and turned to have her side to both of them, only to quickly draw out a vibrodager and stab it into the heart the Vaynar. The loud gasp and clear sound of air being forced out on impact made the female Twi’lek flinch. “Let that be a lesson to you Ghorza- when you’re in charge, everything is your fault.” Zalis now turned to face her and narrowed her eyes. “Go and make sure that everyone now knows that sector 7 is back to a single governor Vigo status.” Zalis watched as Ghorza quickly left the room in partial gratitude and the other part sheer fear. As the door shut, she turned back towards Akor’ketez with a sigh. “They’re continuing to follow after a path that holds no future. Slave trading… what a joke.” She began to walk to a refresher that was in the room and started to clean herself up from the mess. “Clearly you mean the clientele. We all know the Vigos are running scared of what it could mean to bring in less. They also know you’ve fully wiped out Delta’s assets and removed him from all databases within our systems for not following the new direction.” Turning her head to look at the pale blue Twi’lek, she shook her hands dry and walked away from the refresher and back towards the table. “They don’t understand that what they want is no longer profitable. It’s a dying culture that’s breeding ignorance and self-centeredness and it needs to be burned out…” She quickly picked up a datapad and began to quickly type something in. Upon her finishing, she handed it to Akor’ketez. It was a bounty to be published. “Ma’am… one of these belongs to us…” She just simply nodded her head. “The only way to fix this is the let it all die. We need to kill it. Including our own. Post it, but don’t let it have any ties back to Black Sun. Once you’re done with that, I could use you in the main dining hall for tonight. We need to be on fully to gain investments from some of our… high profiled guests…”

Zalis sat and thought through the next few steps within her office. Deep down, she knew that the next steps were critical for the survival of Black Sun for future endeavors, but it didn't make them easier to officially act upon. Letting out a sigh, she put down the datapad that showed the progress of Project Titan and placed it next to her drink. A male Twi'lek eyed her as if wanting permission to engage in conversation with her. The awkwardness of the situation was made easier upon the few droids in the room that were packing things into a few suitcases for her. After a moment passed by, she finally looked at him and let out a very loud and annoyed sigh. "Yes Serfilut- you may speak." The Twi'lek clearly got slightly uncomfortable upon being given permission, and because of it took a few seconds longer than what Zalis wanted him to in speaking up. "Well... You've spent the last few weeks working very hard to push the local owners inline and getting them used to your... Vigos, that I can't help but wonder if you plan to be more... hands off." Slowly, he began to fidget with his fingers. A tick that Zalis picked up on rather quickly. Most people had a nervous tick, and somehow around her recently, many people starting showing them more often than normal. "Yes. But not in the sense that you're used to. Locally, all systems that belong to Black Sun will now be in direct control of their Vigos, while I will continue to provide... a more legitimate front to the rest of the galaxy. Expect for Remus to be the one whom you report to. But... for credits and other business you can still approach me directly." It was a slight lie, but one that Serfilut would never pick up on until it was too late to change course. He would be stuck by the time anyone found out the true grand scheme of Black Sun. It was apart of the long term goal that she had been laying the ground work for for over three years. Even Delta had no clue what was truly in store for the galaxy. As of right now, only her and Remo knew, and the droid's programing was still kicking in to fully see everything. Not wanting to have any further conversations, she stood up and waved her hand at Serfilut. "You are dismissed. Continue with Project Alimony and report to Remus when done." She then snapped her fingers at the droids packing her things and waved them out of the room. She needed to get to the forefront of Project Titan soon.

Zalis didn’t really remember any part of landing or what sort of interactions she may have had on her way up to her suite, yet here she found herself, laying down on her bed. She only managed to take her coat and shoes off, so she lay with just her white dress on and stared up at the ceiling. It held patterns of gold swirled into black marble made it look like the ceiling was trying to hypnotize her. Part of her wanted to pull out her blaster and start shooting at it until it changed to something more appealing. The thought of being disgusted with her ceiling was made quickly irrelevant with the Holonet talking about Kyllan’s choice to ask for the full 30 days before responding to the bailout. It was then that she lost her cool and reached for her blaster and fired a good 7 shots into the screen. Her mind quickly had a few choice words about him, but she needed him to believe that he still held some form of control over what was about to happen in the next few months. The sparks of the screen were making some noise that stirred her to stand up and pace the room. She wasn’t really sure why she felt like him buying time was hurting her plans. Hell, it took two years to pull off the first phase of this plan, what’s 30 days more. She stopped as she looked out her window of the busy streets of Worlport city. Below was a collection of beggars, thieves, scoundrels, business types, aspiring crime lords and the wealthy all mixed together. She watched very carefully as a few had conversations, every so often one would point towards the giant building, Sandorne Palace. Although many knew it simply as Black Castle. With a sigh, she turned and left her suite. Without any shoes on, she began to walk to floors of the castle, allowing for a few of the working officers to talk with her, all seemed to be hesitant with her at first, after all, she had killed those whom failed her on sight before. She needed to change that image amongst the crew, and that was what she was doing now. Simply walking the halls having conversations with those who worked for her and doing her best to encourage them and give small praise for the things they were doing right – which was as simple as just maintaining the building. She needed to slowly move the whole organization from fear driven to motivational driven. They need to start to feel as if it’s better for them to do better work, versus doing things simply out of fear. Hell, maybe she could use some of these officers to become Vigos down the road. But for now, she did need to launch her next two plans into motion. Using her commlink, she contacted Remo. “Remo, I need for you to access our system files and carry out Project Titan and Project Alimony.”

Black Sun HQ Ship Titan Type: Star Liner Class: MPO-1500a Length: 610 m Crew: 135 Passengers: 675 Armament: 8 twin blaster cannons Description: A new design by Chandrilla, made specifically for Black Sun, the Chandrilan Class II starship is the top of its class when it comes to luxury liners. The cruise liner features top line staterooms for costumers to stay in along with a personal service droid in each stateroom. The liner offers up unique places for any guest to feel welcomed, all of which includes 12 different dining options, including 4 main dining halls, 8 cantinas, five grand floors of casino options and 3 theaters for entertainment pleasure. There are also 3 unique spas onboard along with 2 game centers and 3 libraries of holodramas. There is also a meeting room for anyone looking to combine work and pleasure. It is also equipped with 5 Sienar-Chall Utilipede transports for guests to travel to planet side for an excursion on their trip. The ship also has special accommodations for Black Sun, which includes a private hangar that can house up to 4 freighter size ships and private staterooms for up to 7 Vigos to stay onboard the ship at any given time. There is also a personal meeting room for them alone, and a personal office space/stateroom for Zalis.

There was an official comm request sent from Kyllan Rother, chair and owner of Incom Corporation requesting a chance to meet and talk with the Alliance officials over his options.

We now have an update on the Market Crisis that struck at Dark Sun Station. Zalis Krales has officially offered all companies affected by the crisis the bailout clause within their contracts through Czerka. The bailout would allow for the majority of the companies to continue their service to the galaxy and they could choose between two options within the bailout. One option is to payback the amount within a year the full amount without any interest, or to co share product sales at two different rates. We know that HyperTech and HealthiDrive both have agreed to the terms and accepted the bailout. As of right now, Kyllan Rother is the only company involved who has not accepted the bailout as of yet. He has instead asked Zalis for a grace period of thirty days, which is in the clause to consider his full options. We do know that She has given him that time to explore his options, but in her press conference, she has openly expressed that she is sure that his best option is to exercise the clause, but understands his position and frustration in the whole process.

Zalis spent the next few days making a few press conferences, comm calls out to other investors and contacts who have suddenly become very aware of the new development within Black Sun and the clear as day change of how they were going to operate. After she finished up her business with everything that she could do on Onderon, she and Remo departed back to Old Mantell to re-establish the pecking order for things to come.

Zalis kept her eyes upon Kyllan as he finished sending off his own report to the Holonet. There was a single moment where she felt what she would describe as glee that sparked within her as she watched him having to resolve to the actions that she had rendered him and many other companies to. Kyllan’s face also began to display some form of what looked like guilt. Zalis knew it well from the days of her youth when she was a mere assassin and her contracts were all crime lords. She could recall one whom expressed openly his guilt of sleeping with her as he undressed before her. It perhaps showed his own weakness and justification of what she did to him. what she did to them all during those days. Kyllan was no different. “You’ve been laying the ground work for this for years now. I wonder what other elements are still in play…” Zalis picked up her drink and finished it off before she even responded to him. Taking the drink was all she could do to not let her eyes roll so loudly that everyone halfway across the galaxy could hear it. “Yes. I’ve spent a long time to put these pieces into motion. And for your other statement- I bet you would. I don’t indulge information as former idiots who ran this company did. I keep plans close and ideas even closer.” Zalis allowed for a moment for Kyllan to look directly into her eyes. He looked her over and fully understood everything that had transpired. He knew who Zalis was and now fully understood how dangerous of a woman she was. How dangerous she would continue to be if others also brushed her off or thought of her as the common crime lord. No- she was something very different and deadlier than everyone who came before her. Zalis watched him as he picked up a drink from a waiter walking by. He made it obvious that he wasn’t done talking to her, but was slowly starting to walk towards the Swoop racing oversight. She allowed for herself to follow him, but knew that the next question belonged to Ky alone. He reached the oversight and took a hard drink before placing the glass on the railing and leaned into it himself. She was still approaching it as he spoke. “My god, you really have changed leaps and bounds since Ahakista.” He took a moment to glance her over, and Zalis knew this was her que to turned herself to lean sideways upon the railing next to him. “Your stunning features is where people always land themselves in massive trouble.” Flattery wasn’t something that Zalis handled well, even when she marked targets way back when. It was a learned skill to be able to roll with them, and that was about as far as she could go this time. “So tell me Ky… Why bring yourself here? I mean, outside of Coruscant falling and you needing a new market to setup a large shop… Onderon doesn’t really fit the good guy role at the moment. You’re here for something else.” Her question was enough to put him on edge slightly. He stirred ever so slightly, letting her know that she may have struck a little too close to a raw nerve. After the moment passed, he took another hard drink and refused to look directly at her now. “While I doubt that you could know that much, or that it would even interest you… Before Coruscant’s fall we were looking to setup a secondary HQ. Both of us thought that coming to a location like this one… would draw some attention off of us.” Zalis knew with a quick poke, she could completely unravel him. She knew already far more than what he was comfortable with, and he held no idea of how much she really did know. But, he was still someone whom she needed to not flat out hate her yet, so she had to continue to work her magic upon him. “I’m sorry. I know that the loss of Coruscant hit many companies really hard. The Mandalorian Crusaders really struck out and made it difficult for a lot of people. If I had seen you earlier before that…” She let her own words hang, knowing that Kyllan would feel out the rest of it.

We interrupt your programing for this special bulletin report. We have received word that the popular bank, Dark Sun has been destroyed by terrorist, leaving many companies in a massive credit loss. Companies such as HyperTech, HealthiDrive and the famous Incom Corporation are now in deep financial distress. The entire bank held close to 528 trillion credits, all of which were tied to major companies, along with investments that make the loss of the station just under 1,000 trillion credits. Surprisingly, while the owner of the station is the famous Zalis Krales, who has many ties with Black Sun and other corporations was the sole owner of the bank and has already released a statement and documents which show that only 15 contracted employees were Black Sun. Which means that the other 985 employees were all civilians who died with the station’s destruction- making it one of the highest civilian death tolls in the past eight years. In Zalis’ press release informed us that the fleet was present for a training exercise along with an escort of a major company who was getting ready to invest in a second station. She also believes that such hostile actions were first taken by the Jedi and Republic forces and held no valid reason to attack. Because of the contracts, Zalis is not personally held responsible for any of the loss or damage done, as many of the investors and companies had their own equipment or supplies on the other side of the attack from the Jedi and Republic forces, which makes the loss worse for those companies. Kyllan Rother, chair and owner of Incom Corporation has also released a statement, saying that until such a time of recovery from the massive credit loss, will NOT supply any more equipment to any side involved in the fight as their own losses were too great and for him, it showed a great lack of consideration to their suppliers, who are now out of massive funds to continue to produce for the supply and demand. We are still awaiting to hear from the other companies on what their position will be on the entire event, but we are expecting for them to follow suit and withhold their supplies to play catch up on what they lost. We also know that there is a commerce clause in many of the contracts, which allows for a secondary company to help fund the product lines, but all companies affected have a clause with Czerka, which is also owned by Zalis. There is no word from her if she will extend that clause to the companies as of yet. Please stay tuned as we follow this market crisis.

Zalis found herself walking down a fairly grand staircase into the University, Ov Taraba and all its grandeur. There were games of Hintaro, Binspo, Sabacc and Swoop racing videos all as the main focus. Even as she walked down the staircase, she took in all of the beauty that the place held, black and white marble stones for the floor. The sheer beauty of everything was well worth noting for any future projects that she would have Black Sun undertake. Upon letting her foot hit the main floor, she very confidently walked past a server who was carrying a tray of some form of champagne and took a glass off of it and moved towards the main hall where dinner tables were placed for guest to sit and eat. As she moved herself into the room, if only to draw the attention of others to her, she was suddenly touched on her shoulder ever so slightly. As she turned to see who it was, the voice that spoke made her recognize who it was without any question. “You know, when they say it’s a black and white party, people tend to dress that way and not wear something that’s black, red and gold.” Zalis was already smiling when she met the face of Kyllan. His smooth face with dark black eyes and soft and wavy brown hair made her beam with true joy. “You know me Ky, I always go for the eyes.” Kyllan’s face began to show his own smile in return as he placed his hand back at his side, while he used his other hand to direct Zalis towards a tall standing dining table. “You know, that last time I saw you, we were on Ahakista in the Daystar. You made me a mark.” Zalis took a sip of her drink before putting it down. “I made everyone a mark back then Ky. It’s just how I operated back then. If I recall… You sold me out to the authorities for… what was it again?... a Kyber crystal?” The statement drew a chuckle from Kyllan. “Yeah, we had a weird relationship back then. Part of me was jealous that security go to search and feel you up before I ever did. But hey, clearly, you’ve moved up in the world. The head of Black Sun I hear?” The feelings on reminiscing upon their prior relationship was beginning to stir with Kyllan. Zalis made a mental note of it before turning her head back towards her drink. “Yeah. It’s been a very long journey for me. Rough at times, even rougher now. But I feel as if the winds are about to fully change in my favor.” Kyllan raised an eyebrow at Zalis in sheer amusement. “Favor isn’t there yet. Dark Sun station is currently under attack my dear.” Zalis rolled her eyes at the very mention of that fact. She was getting tired of hearing it. The last thing she wanted was to hear about how things were going on a station that was begging to be hit- but no one knew that outside of her. It was her well-guarded secret that such a disaster was supposed to strike Dark Sun. Letting out a very annoyed breath, she lifted her eyes towards Kyllan. “I’m surprised you even care about it.” There was a look of displeasure suddenly on Kyllan. “I own Incom Corporation and Incom-FreiTek now…” Zalis slowly closed her eyes and let out an exhale as she understood now. “Both of which have large sums of credits at the station…” Zalis shifted slightly, but not in an uncomfortable way, but rather to a stance of annoyance. “Oh well. That’s a loss for you then I guess.” The very response drew a confused look from Kyllan. “How does it not affect you?” Zalis turned to face Kyllan directly. “The station isn’t owned by Black Sun, if only through a single connection point- it’s owned by me. The finical impact it has on me and my company are, well, almost nothing. The loss is solely upon the companies who had funds there.” She now turned herself back around to rest her back against the table as she had been doing before. “Contract wise, in the agreement signed, such a loss to funds in this manner are not covered by Dark Sun. We cover disaster or brought on damages from within our company. And since the station is being attacked by X-wings created by your company, it creates a complicated situation of conflict of interests. And the other companies present like HyperTech and HealthiDrive also have suppliers present during the fight… Those funds lost fall upon the companies themselves. So making up those funds come through your companies having to charge more for your products.” Zalis offered up a smile and a wink right before she took a drink. Even as she did, Kyllan’s face began to fully process it. She could tell that he was beginning to understand the move she had made. As she put the drink down, his own words came out of his mouth very slowly. “So… That was your move. To make something so grand and appealing for companies to be a part of, knowing very well that the side nature of your other company would draw fire to it… but there has to be a bigger picture. I know you well enough to know that there is always a bigger picture.” With a soft smile still upon her face, Zalis offered up a quiet response. “Oh, you have no idea of how big the picture is. But yes. There is more to it than that. I know that some companies upon finding out will simply stop supplying the attacking forces. Because of which, the easiest ways to gain such resources now fall upon the black market or with Czerka… of which I also own…” “So your end game in this is to drive up your own funds. It’s literally a win-win for you.”

Zalis gave Remo a sympathetic nod as she understood just enough of what the droid was trying to communicate, which was the lack of ability to actually do so. Within her own mind, she made a silent vow to find a way to give the droid a vocal processer to make it easier for the two moving forward. Even as the droid had finished his beeping, Yordel spoke up rather quickly. “My dear Zalis, why do you concern yourself with such people. I strongly beli-“ “What you strongly believe and your opinion may stay within your own damn mind. Know your own role well Yordel, and know my role. You walk a very fine line. So your next words you speak better hold something of value to me, otherwise I’m going to consider this entire visit over.” She narrowed her own eyes at the man who clearly now looked like he had just seen a ghost of sorts. Slowly taking in air with his throat, he adjusted himself to stand up perfectly straight and looked her in the eye. “But of course, ma’am. I understand very well. There is going to be grand party held within two days’ time. Many of the wealthiest business owners will be present. They are all looking for… places to invest in.” Zalis allowed for her to gain a grin from ear to ear as he spoke. A little bit of fear used at the right time was always very effective. “Thank you Yordel. I promise to keep you on the list of market owners that we want to keep supplying then.” Zalis then turned and began to walk away from the stand and more towards some of the higher end cantinas. “Remo, did I pack anything that would be appropriate for such a party?”