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It was a busy company to say the least. The hustle and bustle that kept the company running legally sometimes allowed for certain things to get lost in the shuffle. It was inevitable really that service orders, and production orders would be lost, misplaced, or some how misunderstood. All the same over the course of the following week, a number of legit 'mistakes' began appearing on the factory floor.

 

Truly there was no mistake but instead the manipulations of a lone man who not knew how to work the system but owned the system. With the desire to keep the force he was building under wraps, numerous work orders went 'missing' and slowly but surely a small but accurate forces was being built.

 

Yet all plans had an end, and even as this secret force was being built, transport was being arranged to smuggle them off world. There would be no records of the movements. Nothing to trace the various battle and slicer droids being built by 'accident' For all intents and purposes, all mistakes were either lost in the shuffle, or if traced led to a dead end.

 

So the assassin worked.

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  • 5 weeks later...

The mechanical voice sounded over the comm again.

 

"Here we are in the heart of manufacturing for most of the droids in the galaxy. As of late some one has been stealing top of the line Slicer droids.

 

The local authorities are at a loss. That is where you would come in. Normally I would handle this myself but, this should pose little challenge to a man such as yourself.

 

Find the being responsible, either bring him to justice or kill him.

 

The local authorities have pierced together a dosser of the being in question. Some Duros named calling himself Stonebone Kandar. They claim he is armed with a lightfoil and e-11 blaster.

the Slicer droids went missing, a few security droids disappeared as well. It is safe to assume he has reprogrammed those for his own personal safety."

 

There was a silence as the comm shut off before one more quip came forth.

 

"Take the creature with you."

 

The comm shut off one more time as the ramp opened, exposing the man to the gentle light of a sunrise. What the Sith didn't know and wouldn't for some time was on this mission he wouldn't be alone in more ways than one.

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"The beings' stole from a Sith. Their fate is sealed." The young Kiffar said as he jumped from the ship along with the animal. He hit the ground just as soon as the ship flew off. Vos huffed then scanned the local channels and quickly piggy-backed onto a Law-Enforcement channel. Quickly maneuvering on the data-pad, he created a cryptic world, the channel fell into this trick and was thrown back to where it came, the mainframe of the Local Authorities. It was simple enough, but required alot of time and patience. And he was well versed in the trick since his time with the Hutts. He was inside the mainframe in a matter of seconds. Vos searched for the files pertaining to the theft.

 

Alot of Stonebane Kandar references came up. He downloaded them all. Too much time in the mainframe and he would be discovered. "C'Mon Boy."

 

The Anooba purred, it was off it's restraints for the first time since that cage. It followed Vos into the City. First on his list of stops was the factory.

 

( I will edit this in a few hours to add more, if Slicer has not posted a response to this. But now, it's time for work.)

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High above the clouds a single ship was lost in the brilliance of the current sunrise. There at the crack of dawn the sun began to peek out from the horizon. The first rays of the sun graced the land, warming it and those who waited with baited breath for it to rise. The clouds began to be lit with a fabulous, glorious light as the rising sun announces the coming of a new day. A new day held a promise of new things to come. It allowed one to dwell upon what possibilities the day may bring, instead of the past regrets.

 

Though the ship was stationary, the wind was something fierce. Slicer took a deep breath. He had checked and double checked his gear. He was as sealed a can be and everything seemed to be working just fine. He took another deep breath and looked down. Past the clouds he was at least 31,300 meters from the surface. He shock his head and looked back into the safety and comfort of his ship.

 

There was no actual need to do this. He was sure if push came to shove, in a life or death situation he would perform admirably. In his time in the Galaxy, he has seen a lot of guys pull of stunts that would seem highly improbable. Each time the amount of time devoted to learning how to pull of such stunts always seemed small or barley practiced at all. It was as if they had a natural gift or some unknown deity allowed them to perform in the clutch in every situation with out fail.

 

Yet, he rather not have to rely on the mercy of some unknown entity. It was bad enough the Force still existed with its iron fist-ed grasp on the galaxy.

 

Slicer took a step closer to the edge, bracing himself by the door. His visor caught the steadily growing light and reflected off into the interior of his ship.

 

There is nothing to gain by waiting any longer.

 

In a single instant everything changed. For many panic would have overtaken then as they found nothing but air under their feet. Slicer had preformed hot drops before. Had done so quite a few times, and each time the drop always initial took his breath away.

 

High in the skies a lone armored figure plummeted toward certain death. The light from the was reflected off the being, as if denying the rays a chance to penetrate to the cold creature in cased within. The wind wild and ferocious whipped past the being creating a roar so deafening, that no sound outside of his own encased world could reach him.

 

Slicer's eyes watched as his ship rapidly disappeared before his eyes. He had opted to fall in a position that reminded him of a rocking chair. It had made sense, as most of his weight was on his back. Suddenly a thick fog overtook him as he dropped like a brick through the air. The cloud completely covered his being. Water droplets smashed up against his armor, and fractured, leaving a glittering trail long after he had exited the cloud.

 

A warning light came one. That that soon turned the inside of his world red, as its incessant beeping alerted him to a problem. The stress of the fall was affecting the pack on his back. There was no safety net for this jump. If he screwed up, he would for all intents and purposes, leave a rather large crater and a rather stylish if smashed armor set. His insides would be turned to jelly and his bones would be pulverized into a fine power. His remains would be collected via a straw and probably disposed off in a nearby waterbottle. Yet that particular outcome did not flash before they eyes of the still falling Sith Master.

 

No, the bounty hunter was of a different breed. One who knew the inns and outs of his equipment because not only was it his job but, his life depended on it. He took the stress warning as it were, and adjusted accordingly. Falling as he were, the slightest movement could easily send him into a spin. Moving in a very fine tuned synchronization between the halves of his body, he rotated so he could watch the ground coming rushing toward him. He stabilized as the thought of just how unforgiving the ground would be whisked through his mind like a stray breeze. Yet he was as unfazed by that thought and more concerned with his current speed.

 

He was approaching the safe zone. Part of the reason he was performing this was to better himself at his job. Though the sudden inexplicable rush of adrenaline was more than enough of a reason to preform such an activity. Still it was nigh impossible to detect a person falling through the atmosphere. It was far more stealthy than flying in a ship. Still this was the highest jumped he had ever performed for a good reason. As with the way sensor technology was now, the chance of his ship able to fly low and fast for a quick hot drop was not always a guarantee. Though his hip was the fastest and stealthiest ship this side of the galaxy. Or any side of the galaxy for that matter.

 

A new beeping noise made itself known in his little world. One that told him that so far he had reached a a maximum speed of 614 miles per hour.[988 km/h ] At such a speed, it was a good thing he was wearing armor, as he shuttered to think on how much a bird or even a bug would hurt if he hit one traveling at this speed. He was also alerted to the fact that he had been falling for four minutes and thirty six seconds. This has been his first mark. If anything at all had gone wrong, this was the absolutely last point where he would have wanted to start slowing down. However, all systems were green which meant that he would push forward.

 

It was not a matter of pride, but instead an extreme test of his limits. In the back of his mind some where, the bounty hunter felt invincible against and all forces of nature. Even ones that should be certain death such as plummeting through the atmosphere. Though he only felt invincible in this because he had what nature did not. Technology and man's ingenuity. Ever since man had shown on the scene, nature had been trying to kill of the species in one way or another. Be it from natural disaster, or man's own internal nature to protect only his own and turn on anyone else. Yet man had grown, had developed technological advancements that drafted the power of nature, and had created whole civilizations that kept the baser instincts of man in check. Old and out dated as she was nature, was still a formidable foe, and one Slicer loved to triumph against time and time again. This included the nature of death, which was in part one of the reasons he was preforming this death defying stunt at his ultimate limit.

 

He watched as he continued to plummet counting off in his head a grand total of five extra seconds before suddenly deploying his life saving measure. With a sudden stop and yank, his jetpack/repulsior hybrid came to life. Employing both gravity defying technology and lift, the bounty hunter almost spun out of control, as his rapid plummet quickly and violently slowed to a crawl of where it had once been. His eyes briefly lost focus, yet he quickly stabilized himself and them at the rather low altitude of 2500 meters.[about 8000 feet] A sense of absolute joy shot through the bounty hunter at another successful death defying stunt achieved. The rest of the descent was relatively peaceful, allowing the bounty hunter to enjoy the view as he floated more or less down to the ground. In contrast the sun rose high and higher into the sky.

 

He aimed for his target structure which was a nearby rooftop. This exercise had truly been designed to be tough. Landing in a smaller target zone, that was elevated would be something more likely to do in the field, than say a small grassy soft field some place. When he was about a story and half up, he cut the power to the pack and dropped. It was far quieter to drop then it would be to float all the way down. Furthermore it was easier to get a sound suppression system like a belt, that would mask a mere drop instead of a whole jetpack. He knew from personal experience that a two story drop was likely to hurt if not injure him. So he had waited until he was sure of no injury. Landing with a relativity dull thud, the adrenaline was still high as he quickly pulled out his lightsaber. There were three battle droids standing on the rooftop. He dispatched all three quickly and quietly, allowing this entry to be the only time he used the Force.

 

The urge to laugh to overcome the rush was quickly swallowed as his ship suddenly appeared over head in view. He sighed silently to himself. He had scheduled to practice this exercise three more times, if only to switch the method of dispatching the droids. Truth be told, he was unsure of the best method and wanted to just know by memory what would be best to fall back on.

 

”œStatus report on the apprentice.”

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Tobias gained entrance to the factory. His natural gift, infused with the Force, would provide answers. Psychometry was a great tool in his lineage. The visions he acquired were of Stonebane, and about Eighteen droids. Plus his accomplices. He also read over some of the investigation. It looked as if some of the authorities were payed to ignore this incident. Fools. Pondering if he was in his bounds to exact these individuals demise, he decided against it. They would actually be used later on, if he needed.

 

The Anooba snorted, drawing Vos back to reality. He pressed onto a building that Stonebane eluded to. Somewhere in old warehouses. "Nooba, Come." He directed. The beast followed.

 

The duo walked down the alleyways and through storefronts to come to his next place to investigate. It was a Duro's Pub. "Stay." He commanded the Anooba. The beast laid down without hassle or incident. Vos walked up the small flight of stairs. Eyes were immediately cast upon him. He walked up to the middle of the room, deliberately leaving his back to the door. His cloak hiding his face, he called out as the music stopped.

 

"I am looking for Stonebane Kandar. Tell me what I wish to know, and the reward will be great. Refusal to tell me....I will have to forcefully obtain what I want. And I can get....Creative...." He chuckled manically so a few around him would hear him.

 

Several Duros looked at each other, others got angry. Vos could feel the anger, they left themselves exposed to the Force. But he was looking for just one. One Duros. And there he was. He felt the being try to sneak out of the building. He watched the Duro's bartenter's eyes shift. He looked at Vos, then his eyes shifted, obviously towards the few aliens who had weapons. As His lead ran out of the building, the armed Duros stood up and started to draw their weapons.

 

"Unwise." Tobias said, raping their minds with his words. They sat back down as the man before them, spun and walked out the door. Getting back onto the street, he noticed that the Duro's had taken off in what could be considered running. Vos looked down at the Anooba. "Do not harm him, but stop him." He spoke through his mind. The beast chased after the Duro. Tobias coughed and rubbed his nose. His datapad had been going off since he walked into the building.

 

He was making progress...

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Today had been quite the interesting day so far for the bounty hunter. The tell-tale squeak of stress echoed through out the warehouse. Shifting in his seat, the plates of his armor rubbed off on the disposable plastic chair. Though his helmet was off he was never one to let his guard down. His visor proved to be an excellent mirror to quite a bit of the room behind him. This included the door. Though it seemed like bad protocol to sit facing away from the front door, he was just slightly right of the back door in the open and empty warehouse.

 

Always security conscious, he could see every entrance and exit conceivable. He stayed away from all doors and windows on the off chance he was attacked. However, he was close enough to make a dash to a nearby exit. Though the warehouse had not been used in some time, holoprojectors mounted on the walls detailed the outside world to him. This was for him a rather basic safehouse. He knew his ins and outs, and had a good idea of what was going on in the outside world.

 

The clink of a fork hitting a plate rattled through the rafters as a sound of treds inched their way to the table.

 

"Will that be all master?" Came the mechanical voice.

"Actually no. I am feeling up for some sort of dessert. Feel free to surprise me." came the gravelly reply, unassisted by speakers. He rarly heard his own voice in the open air when not under some kind of cover.

"Very well sir, it will be out momentarily."

 

As the droid wheeled away plate in hand, Slicer leaned back in his chair. He had just enjoyed a rather filling and balanced lunch. It was something he had learned a while back. When in between jobs, it was always good to rest up, train hard, and recharge ones batteries so to speak. Today he had been living just that. Starting his morning with a HALO jump had been interesting, to the point that he had performed twenty-nine more jumps. With different methods to try, came the need to practice three of his favorites. So he had done so ten times each. It was said that the human brain needed to be exposed to something twenty-six times before it was mastered. It was always interesting to him how the body seemed to like a month sized number for everything it did.

 

He had then moved on to his next activity. Breaking and entering was apart of his job description from time to time. Though most of his missions did end with him blasting or cutting through doors, locks, walls, and windows. Still the approach was always stealthy and in the Galaxy he lived in, stealth was hard to come by.

 

The force had always assured him extra insurance in this department. The ability to remove himself from active electronic scanners, had always come in handy. Yet sometimes he didn't need to be removed as he needed the whole camera taken out. After all he was only one man, and sometimes you needed an army, to take on a target. Slicer had found that while he was a one man army, it never hurt to look like he was more than he was. So he had practiced different disabling measures for security cameras. Since most where rather light sensitive he found firing a laser at them was a quick way to kill the feed and make it look like something was wrong in a big way. This allowed a little action to look like a big one done by more than one man. Powerful as he was in the Force, he had been caught before, as when you are found out to be one man, overwhelming Force is generally applied against you.

 

From black sun on Kashyyyk, the rebels on Gala, or even the Link on coruscant. It always paid to look bigger than you were if you wanted to avoid a storm of laserfire.

 

A small plate of frozen yogurt was set infront of him, as he reflected back on the last time an overwhelming Force had pinned him down in a server room. Tearing his thoughts away from that gloomy night, his spoon dove into the cream, and the bounty hunter ate alone. Like he always did. Surrounded only by droids at best, who would be getting a memory wipe right after he was finished and the supplies were restocked. He sighed into his frozen yogurt before pulling out a datapad.

 

It was time to see how his electronic spy was faring tracking his new apprentice.

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Tobias walked after his beast, and after the Duro. He walked down the main road, following the screams and overturned carts. Catching up to the Anooba, he saw that he had the Duro cornered in a doorway. The Duro looked up at the Kiffar, then down at the beast. Obviously scared for his life. Begging would get him no where, but Vos would have liked the idea. Several people were staring at him, the beast and the Duro.

 

"Go about your business, unless you want to be lumped in with him, and my business." He said to the on lookers. Almost immediately the road was busy once again.

 

Vos walked up to the Duro and grabbed him by the back of the coat, dragging him into an alley. He screamed the whole way, until Vos threw him against a dumpster. "Shut up. Or I WILL kill you." The alien whimpered.

 

The alien soiled himself. Obviously he was scared out of his little mind. He tried to back up, away from Vos. Saying something in his native tongue, loosly translated meant "Demon"

 

Vos knelt down, his blue eyes penetrating the darkness. Softly he spoke. "I am not a demon, but I will be your worst nightmare if you do not tell me where Stonebane is."

 

The alien cried out, too frightened for his life. The Kiffar spoke again..."Tell me, and you will not get hurt."

 

"He...He...He is in the Warehouse Sector Seven. Three-B."

 

Gripping his shirt and throwing his body against the dumpster, "What does he have."

 

"T-t-t-two Body guards, countless minions. Droids are abundant."

 

"Last question...What is your name?"

 

"Quatar, I am a lookout in his operation."

 

Vos stood up. "Well, Quatar..." He dusted his cloak off. "Thanks." A smile was hidden behind his hood. Silently, he ran his foot through the head of the alien, and through the side of the dumpster. He brushed off his hands and called the Anooba. Together, they walked to Sector Seven.

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The droid tracking the apprentice stopped at the scene of the carnage. Internally its 'gears' were turning about a course of action. There was clearly a lot to do. In order to keep local law enforcement from investigating, the body would need to be taken care off, witness maybe need to be bribed, and some clean up work might be needed. These were all concerns that could not be addressed by that particular droid. So instead it made a call.

 

Trailing after the wayward apprentice, the droid calculated that the clean up team would have five minutes tops if they did their job right. From traffic delays to the actual work detail itself. Still satisfied with the right course of action, it continued its tail.

 

---

Slicer kept many books. Mostly all on a electronic database. He had kill logs, sniper logs, medical logs, diet logs, routine logs, bounty journals. It was safe to say he did quite a bit of writing along with his reading. Each log or journal having its own purpose. Such a routine log so he never visited the same routine on a planet to many times. After all routines could get a man like him killed. Still he did nor have a journal where he simply kept his thoughts. He had a journey on tenets he wrote to remind himself not to get killed. A little tips and tricks book designed to keep him focused. He wrote out a detail guide on his own lightsaber style, incase he ever suffered memory loss, and need to bring his mind back to where is muscle memory would be.

 

Yet as he had embarked on a new leg of his life, the instruction of another, he felt it was time to start putting even more ducks in row. So he sat down and he wrote to pass the time.

 

A single transmission later and a copy was sent to his apprentice's datapad. Perhaps it would get them off to a better start and the inevitable failure he felt like he would be responsible for would instead turn into a success.

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Something was following him. He could feel a certain aurora. Just something wasn't right. It was the nauseating feeling in his gut. Ignoring it, he found himself being an attraction. Not stopping for anything, he found himself in the warehouse sector. The buildings all looked alike, except for the one he was looking for. It had what looked like a busted up Protocol Droid. Something wasn't right. Tobias remained out of sight.

 

It wasn't hard, night was falling on the City. That aurora was all over the Warehouse Yard. He reached into his Force connection and searched over that droid. Something just did not sit right.

 

Then, he found what was wrong. The droid, while it looked ill-repaired, was actually hiding something very important. Something screamed of power. Maybe it was sensors. Tobias had come across this situation before. But he encountered it, the hard way. It had been a bomb, and he was hasty and had a few scars to remind him of it. If he disarmed it, it would cause attention, possibly.

 

He would have to find another way. Something, that will surprise Stonebane and the droids. He looked up, and he got an idea. He used the Force to jump up the stairwell along another building. It wanted to creek, but Vos used his sound suppressor technique, and scaled the stairs and across the roof. He glanced through the window, there was no Duro inside. Nothing alive was inside. He would wait for five hours before he would either move in, or destroy the warehouse. For now, he would read the article his teacher just wrote.

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Talking....Voices....In an alien tongue. Rising from his slumber, Vos was hidden by the darkness. Looking through the windows of the warehouse he saw a Duro. Along with one human female. They were arguing.... He cracked the window to listen better....

 

"Bane! Do you even know who you stole these from?!" She screeched.

 

"Some company that has a faceless leader." He turned his back to the girl, obviously uninterested in what she had to say.

 

"No....No...No..! You stole these from a very involved bounty hunter." She gripped her fists so hard her knuckles turned white.

 

"There is no way he could trace me here. If so...He will be unaware that I am waiting for him."

 

"He has eyes everywhere.....Bane, Return the droids!"

 

"No. These are my droids. I acquired them personally. I stole them fair and square."

 

"Bane...I quit. He's going to find you and kill you. I don't want to die. You know where I live, get at me when the droids are returned. I hope to see you again...." She trailed off and slammed the door behind her as she left.

 

Stonebane cursed at her in his native tongue. Tobias examined his target very carefully as he saw the alien place a holdout blaster into his pocket. Vos was used to these blasters, as he had one in his services to the Hutt's. The Duro then went about on his datapad, looking around at the various crates in the warehouse. Reaching out with the Force and positioning himself just right... He brought down some crates across the yard. The noise of the crates covered the noise that Tobias made by dropping down into the warehouse.

 

More cursing from Stonebane. "Droids. Clean this up."

 

Tobias paused. Droid's had thermal sensors on them. He needed to hide. He needed to take out Stonebane, get the datapad and reprogram the droids. Sitting behind a crate where he was no where in sight. Using the Force he picked up a blaster near Stonebane's blind side. It felt like a small holdout blaster pistol. He couldn't hold it, as in squeeze the trigger. Setting it down carefully he jumped from the crates. Using his trick he learned from another holocron awhile back, he silenced his footsteps. Walking up in the shadows he found the blaster he was using earlier. Clutching it in his hand he walked up.

 

"Should have listened to the girl, He does want the droids back...." Vos said.

 

Stonebane dropped his datapad and tried to turn around. But it wouldn't cut it, the plasma reached the Duro's neck and without a sound he dropped. Quickly he heard the droids whining up in the back. Wiping the blaster clean of prints he dropped it. He summoned the datapad to his hands. Then quickly he jumped up the crates and out the windows he came in. He sneaked away from the warehouse. Hiding out away from the scene he saw mafia members and the law enforcement converge on the site. It was time to leave. As he did, he could hear a firefight between the droids....then a loud explosion.

 

So that was what that droid was, a bomb....Good thing I didn't go through the front door. He chuckled.

 

Then he sent a signal to Slicer. "Job Accomplished."

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He had been listening to a band known as Far cry when he was informed of progress. Well not so much progress as it was movement. The music brought a slow, dark and moody atmosphere to the ship. One that he had appreciated during his meditation time.

 

Silencing the music he had the droid show him the optics of what was going down. For a long time there was nothing, until a sudden explosion and the sounds of sirens tore through the nightly gloom. His apprentice commed him shortly afterward.

 

"Excellent. Return to the ship." was his only reply

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Tobias whistled for the Anooba to join him as he calmly walked away. With the coordinates recieved from his new master, he made his way into the night.

 

Meer minutes went by before Tobias randevued at the ship.

 

 

(Didn't really see how to expand on this, Short and Sweet.)

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As if emerging from a mythical yet felled creature, booted steps marked the arrival of the assassin. Carrying a package in his arm he tossed it towards the apprentice as he continued down the ramp.

 

"Interesting package you have there. Looks like my tech. Not bad taste."

 

He came to a stop four feet from his apprentice. Hands hooked into his belt he nodded toward the ground. Making the indication he wanted the man to sit.

 

"Alright so give me the debrief on what went down. Following that I going to need a bit more information from you. You have wants and desires. Name three needs you feel like you have and perhaps four or five wants. Lying to me only hurts you in the end so attempting is is stupid. Plus I will know if you are lying and will likely kill you for the insult."

 

He stood motionless waiting.

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Coming up to the ship, his new teacher was coming out. Tobias handed over the datapad that had all the notes on it. Stonebane's network of contacts, mercenaries, and corrupt officials. No doubt, if he wanted to start his own private network, they would come in handy. He hadn't a network since Hutt time. But Vos didn't have any need for that setup, just yet.

 

He stood even though his teacher wanted him to sit.

 

The Anooba brushed up against his leg and purred a little bit. "I entered the city and I went to a Duro bar. When I questioned the populous, one Duro ran out of the bar. Tracking him down I questioned him and made sure he never had the chance to warn Stone. I then went to the warehouse that he was said to be in. While I waited for him to come back, I read your message. Then, Stonebane came to the warehouse. I used the Force to create a distraction, then I made my way into the storage center through the roof, because there was a droid outside the main entrance that didn't feel right. I then approached him from behind, grabbed his attention, made him aware of what his fatal error was, then shot him with a blaster from his own supply. I grabbed the pad and exited through the roof. The local authorities were alerted, by what I presume was the burglary alarm. No One saw me or the beast."

 

Tobias stressed the last bit. And then he sat down, waiting for Slicer's response.

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Slicer stood arms folded across his chest over his apprentice's defiance. It was human nature to form a barrier to protect against threats and on some level the refuse of an order was a threat. It was a subconscious thing, not even noticed by the bounty hunter. Yet his appearance did seem far more threatening, as he was planted firmly in the ground as though ready for a fight.

 

Night had fallen and he switched over to night vision while his apprenticed talked out of habit. Constantly surrounded by powered devices, he took little notice of the change itself. Instead he spent his time evaluating his apprentice, as well as the words the man spoke.

 

He had the right idea but his methods needed refining. Still it had been enough to show he wasn't dealing with a complete idiot. Just mostly an idiot. It was a big difference. His arms unfolded when his student sat down and then he spoke.

 

"Well, I suppose you have begun to prove yourself a decent asset. So I shall show you the path of the dark side."

 

He thought about clipping the datapad to his belt, and then thought better of it. Though he had detected no danger from i, it was far to early in this relationship to just be trusting the gifts handed to him by his apprentice. Instead he placed it on the ground close to his apprentice. Via voice command he instructed one of the AI on his ship to remote hack the device. He had originally installed the equipment to steal nav data from a ship before it jumped into hyperspace but, he hadn't practiced it use yet. This would provide an interesting test for the system.

 

All o this of course went unnoticed by the apprentice. Instead only a being fully clad in armor and possibly human stood infront of him as if waiting.

 

"Though if you wish to learn you will have to answer the question from before."

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Tobias looked down at the floor. Shit. He really didn't want to devulge his life story to this person. Even if he was his master. Watching the Anooba he thought for a minute. He really had no idea what he wanted.

 

Tobias spat outside the ship, an awful taste in his mouth came about as he realized what he wanted. The reason was unknown to him, but he decided on these few desires. It's what drove him.

 

"I want a fortress like Lucifer does. I strive to learn Kinetite. I want to learn real lightsaber combat....and for the fourth....I want revenge on the Hutts."

 

Feeling pathetic. Thats what the taste was in his mouth. He didn't even want to face it himself. Let alone tell someone whose face he hadn't even seen. Anger flooded his veins. He needed physical activity. It's what he had been accustomed to all these years, but now he was using stealth. It was a different change, but he needed some form of exercise.

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Cold, impassive, these would be the words to describe the motionless being standing before both man and beast. Truth be told more emotion could be found in the mirrored visor than on the face behind it. Yet the dearth of emotion output was only a mask for what was ticking in the assassin's mind.

 

Slowly Darth Asperser removed a single lightsaber from his belt. It bore the color that was the signature of most sith yet it remained unactivated. Instead he tossed it toward his apprentice.

"A lightsaber - any weapon - only achieves worth in how it is wielded.

 

A lightsaber form, much like the lightsaber you use is deeply personal. Some find one of the seven forms that best reflects them and they become a student of that form. Others forge their own path.

 

To dominate you're opponent's movements, you must be superior, you must surpass his movements. Lightsaber combat is the easiest to obtain this in by its very nature. "

 

A snap hiss tore through the still night air and a bright cyan blade shone through the air. It was the color more likey to be found on a jedi. Yet in the hands of the bounty hunter the warm cyan glow was replaced with an icy cool grip. Chilling the very beings who had been unfortunate enough to see it move as an extension of the assassin.

 

"This is a single lightsaber blade. It is easy enough to keep track of with your eyes or the Force. Where ever you see it, that is where it is.

 

Beyond the use of a single blade comes two different dual blade forms. One is the double bladed lightsaber that resembles a staff. Most beings fear that saber, especially as it can cause more slaughter per swing.

 

However, it is just as easy to predict as the single blade. for where ever you see one blade, you know where the other is. For they are joined together in a straight line.

 

Truly the most difficult to surpass is a being wielding two blades. For you have to track two blade instead of one. Yet even then you can find the right method. As it becomes more of a matter of where it is not than where it is.

 

The question is, which do you think suits you? I can teach you many forms, or I can show you my own. Form DCLXVI Krij'Val is a form of my own creation. It is.... unorthodox. Yet it is not your job to make up your mind now. Instead simply follow my movements and open yourself up to me."

 

He took a guard poise and began a kata of sorts. Talking as he moved.

 

"Defending is more worthwhile than attacking as aggression led to frustration, and frustration in any kind of sport or exercise led to one becoming tired much quicker. Yet, defending can waste time, so make your defense your attack and your attack your defense. Every strike is a block and every block is a strike."

 

An imagined block turned into a parry which formed the spin that gave power to a strike. It was a shun that turned into a jung ma. Truly quite the fluid riposte

 

"According to Jedi master yoda

Lightsaber skills, important they are. How to use as well as how not to use. When to move as well as when not to move. Never throw away good advice simply because it comes from some one different than you."

 

In mid swing his lightsaber turned off. Finishing the swing his lightsaber turned back on as it came back up. An opponent who would have moved to block the lightsaber swing, would now find that the blade had slip past his guard and was on the return up through his body. Slicer dodge the imagined and predicted slash that would come in an attempt to stop the attack.

 

"Surprise, misdirection, deceit and deception. With out these, you have nothing but predictability. Master these and you shall be unstoppable. No enemies, both seen or unseen shall know how to strike you."

 

He finished the kata by dropping a deactvated lightsaber on the ground while shoving down with both hands. As if catching the wrist of his opponent's lightsaber between the index and thumb of his hand. Shunting the blade of his opponent aside his other hand races back up as the disregarded lightsaber flies back up, ignited and causing a killing blow as it impacts in his palm. It was the sai tok and few Jedi would ever employ such a method.

 

"Always remember the best blades are kept in their sheaths. For time is money, don't fight if you don't have to. Walk away if need be, and finish it quickly if you must. A lightsaber form is personal. The more you show it often, the more some one can learn about you, find your weakness and exploit it."

 

Lightsaber still in hand he gave it a twirl to bring it back to a ready position, then started again on the same kata. Thrice more before finishing the basics of that kata. As he finished, the kata quite long and tiring he spoke once more, breaking the silence.

 

"Every move you make should have the potential to kill."

 

He deactivated the lightsaber and clipped it back on his belt in order to evaluate the current status of his apprentice.

Slicer.jpgMy sig is my profile...

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What Slicer was saying actually made perfect sense to Tobias. A lightsaber would only be used at the most extreme circumstances. It would be a tough and grueling task to learn, but long ago, Tobias swore to himself he would master it. Catching the lightsaber Slicer had thrown, he listened. This was not his saber. He had his clipped to his belt. For now he would use the one given to him. Some would say saber combat was his driving force to learn more and more. This was the fuel he needed. To learn. To better his abilities as a warrior. He watched intently as his guide ran through the motions. His. Motions. He tried to read what was going to come next, but there was no way to read it. He had such little training with the saber.

 

Tobias watched as the assassin moved and used the ancient weapon. It was as if he trained every night and morning. Which was what Tobias intended to do. Slicer defiantly had some powerful insights into life, his opponents, his prey. The man...or being....or whatever it was. Had to be. To remain in this business for very long you had to be smart, or you died.

 

Vos watched the next trick...where the man before him swung his lightsaber down, deactivating it, then reactivating it almost immediately. Brilliant.

 

He then activated the weapon and slowly got used to the feel of the ignited saber. Slowly going through some motions he mimicked Slicers more easier movements.

 

Those words that he spoke about Master Yoda and about how Saber combat could tell someone of your soul....Those would stick with Vos forever. You could say he would now live by them. He thought about the three different saber variations; single blade, double, and dual handed. That lesson, he would remember also. Somethings were better left to the living to teach, instead of some Holocron.... He thought to himself....

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"You are attempting to be a sith, and are no doubt filled with many misconceptions about how to achieve that state. My talk of defense is no doubt foreign as Sith always feel like they must charged blinded forward, like a stubborn panicked bantha. Yes, confrontation/conflict is required for growth, on the personal as well as the galactic level.

 

However, to embrace combat in place of meditation constantly, and focused all emotions on battle rather than calm is a way to ruin. Never have an utter reliance on emotions, it unleashes monsters and clouds your judgment. Ruin is soon to follow.

 

In a fight you are better getting your opponent to lose control than for you to do so. Of course not all emotion is to be avoided. Anger can cloud your judgment. Sadness can make you smarter. It can make you more skeptical and able to think critically. You can become more convincing. Always remember no matter how strong you become in the Force. Your body is still a machine and can be manipulated as such.

 

Lastly there is a reason the dark side is stronger. For many beings in the galaxy, focusing on dark and negative thoughts can increase their endurance in tasks, then thinking good thoughts or thinking about nothing at all."

 

He nodded in the direction of the ship. Before placing boots on the ramp.

"Come time to leave."

Slicer.jpgMy sig is my profile...

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Tobias knew this lesson would only be taught once. He hung on every word. Imprinting the words into his mind to later act in accordance of the lesson. As the young Kiffar stood up, he timed it perfectly with Slicers wish to leave. Silently, He followed him up the ramp.

 

Something felt wrong....Out in the universe..Some massive Force Entity was gathering. He could feel it. No matter. He wasn't too too worried about it, unless Slicer deemed it a good exercise to seek out.

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  • 4 months later...

On the outskirts of Nubian space a vessel that could best be described as a space-worthy tank dropped out of Hyperspace, holding its position for a few minutes until it was joined by two CORSEC transport shuttles. The trio of ships formed up and began their approach towards the outer-most planetary checkpoint making no signs of aggression towards the planetary defense team. Instead the lead vessel, the Trak'aad-class Justice transmitted their authorization packet and stated business to the station.

 

Their business was simple: as the newly sanctioned law enforcement division of the new Galactic Alliance Government with jurisdiction covering the Core Worlds, which included Nubia, they were to establish a field office in Rordis City from which they would be able to assist local law enforcement more readily when the need arose.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Sgt. Kal Iskar sighed wearily as he sat his fresh cup of instant caf down next to his monitoring station. It had been a fairly uneventful shift thus far. The usual shipments had come through without incident, exports went through mostly on schedule.

 

In short, he was bored and looking for something to entertain him. So when the alert let him know that there were three decently-sized vessels headed his way, he smiled ready to hail them and eager for someone to interact with. He was disappointed to see that they were already hailing him. He clicked on the viewer as he responded, ”œIdentify yourself and your business.”

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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ShadowFett was somewhat amused by the exchange which he had figured Mirdala hadn't realized at first she was transmitting to him. It had taken the man a minute to realize that she was a Mando, and that had quickly changed the way he had been speaking to her. "He wasn't being difficult, vod, he was hitting on you," he said, his voice reflecting his amusement but his choice of words somewhat blunt. "Until he realized who you were."

 

Fett popped Flirt out of her pouch on his belt. "Flirt, you're with Mirdala for this one," he told the beskar'ad, handing the positronic processor to his traat'aliit'ad.

 

"It will be a pleasure to serve you, Mirdala!" Flirt exclaimed cheerily in her usually sultry female voice.

 

Flirt was a little slow, but she would beat even the toughest security systems in time. Fett kept meaning to take her in and drop an enormous sum of credits to get her speed up, but he'd been on this case pretty much since joining CoreSec. If the Galactic Gunshop had recovered from the ordeal those Black Sun shabuire had put it through, he would stop there next time he was on Triple Zero.

 

Soon the Justice was setting down about a klick from the meeting point. Since they had a little time to set up, it was better not to set a tank registered to a name like ShadowFett down right on top of their target. Not when they were trying to be discreet. Fett loaded his verpine shattergun with a mix of thermal well and regular rounds, eschewing the cortosis because he was hardly expecting to run into a dar'jetii here. Still, a few cortosis-shell rounds in one of his pouches was appropriate. Fett was cautious by nature. It was the only way he had tackled an orbital defense station, the Imperial Spire, a Super Star Destroyer, and a Death Star in the last few months with barely a scratch to show for it.

 

Taking also his assault rifle and a sonic pistol to supplement the weapons built into his beskar'gam, Mand'alor disembarked, engaging security systems and telling 2277 to exempt Mirdala from them. The CoreSec shuttles set down around them and now disgorged a small complement of special-tactics cops which should be more of a help than a hindrance on an operation like this. "Let's move, Lieutenant," he told the leader of that squad, then started walking toward their destination himself, syncing up the map in his buy'ce with his current surroundings.

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Mirdala's brow furrowed as she regarded him for a minute, her right eyebrow raised slightly, then she shook her head, amusement finding her at last. "I guess word's out that Mando'ade aren't the wooing sort then?" She laughed as he retrieved the slicer droid from his pouch.

 

"I can see why you call her Flirt," she observed as she accepted the processor from Fett.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Mirdala readied herself as the Justice along with the other two CORESEC shuttles touched down on their designated landing pad at their new field office. She'd seen to it that the plans for the field office had been stepped up to be both an appropriate cover for this current operation as well as a fully functional permanent foothold for rapid response within CORESEC's jurisdiction. It was closer to the edge of the city, as the intention was not to replace local law enforcement, but rather to be a resource and base of operations for any cross-jurisdiction cases, such as the one that they were currently engaged.

 

Mirdala had been in contact with local law enforcement since they'd began their decent to the planet's surface and was met by the local head of city security, Chief Dalik, an older Rodian, shortly after stepping off the Justice. He cast a glance in Fett's direction as the Commissioner organized his team into their sniper groups, but as he'd been in contact with Mirdala he addressed her, though it was in Huttese, a sure sign that he wasn't especially thrilled that they were here. "You should have anything you need, but I want my office kept informed." He seemed to glower down at the petite Lieutenant as though attempting to intimidate her.

 

Without missing a beat as she directed the unloading of the cargo that was a mixture of the mission gear and some miscellaneous office supplies and equipment for the field office, Mirdala responded in the same language, "We will keep you informed as needed, Chief. Once we're done we'll file a report. If we need anything we'll let you know, your cooperation is appreciated. Remember, we're not here to take over your job, but simply following a lead from a case that began on Coruscant. The field office is simply a means for efficient communication between the departments and a resource for your department as well."

 

Mirdala had no interest in entering a territorial tussle or a bigger and better competition. She and her team were here to do a job, and she was about to let the Chief know as much as she nodded, signaling their conversation had ended and turned her attention to assembling the team that would be working with her.

 

The Rodian set back for a moment watching the activity, he hadn't expected the younger woman to have been familiar with the Huttese language or to have been so abrupt. He wasn't happy about them being here, but knew enough of current politics to keep his mouth shut. The CORESEC officer seemed to understand his feeling of being invaded and was trying to ease his upset, but he still didn't like the idea of the organization camping out on his back doorstep ready to ride in if they could find the proper excuse. Still, he would play nicely as it was part of his job as the department representative. He left them to be about their tasks and headed back to his office to make sure that they didn't do too much damage.

~~~~~~

 

Mirdala saw that the last of the equipment was unloaded and signaled for her team to ready their gear. "Remember, the goal here is to blend in as you make your way to the check-in point. We have set up work to do that needs to be done quickly. We arrive at different times and you all know your tasks. First group head out. "

 

As the teams made their way to the hotel where the meeting was set to take place, Mirdala kept going over the day's goals in her head as she commed ahead to the Decadence Hotel's manager who'd been their main point of contact and had offered full cooperation once he'd been assured that damages would be covered by the GA. It was Mirdala's goal to keep those as minimal as possible.

 

She entered the intersection that the hotel was on and took a moment to familiarize herself with the area at the street level, or at least the level that this section of the city was on as the area was laced with raised side walks and was designed to accommodate larger speeder traffic as well. She signaled to Fett that she was in the area, knowing that since his teams moved out long before hers did that they were likely in their positions in the surrounding buildings.

 

The hotel itself was in a more affluent area of town and was set apart on a larger lot that had a garden leading up to the hotel's front entrance and a side street lead to the casino and gaming area along with one of the three restaurants the lodging establishment boasted. She could hear the peals of the bells carefully tuned to induce feelings of joy across the harmonics of most of the general species of the area in order to entice them to part with their credits. Balconies jutted out here and there as the floors got higher and were carefully designed to direct the flow of the waterfalls that trailed down the sides of the building. The air was heavy with the perfume of various non-native and exotic seasonal plants designed to help mask the industrial fragrances that sometimes wafted into the area. Mirdala quietly observed the beauty of the building, but was unmoved by it because she knew the kind of clientele that were the only ones that could usually afford such accommodations in a city such as this.

 

She was the only one of her team to enter the building in her CORESEC uniform, as she was still maintaining the cover that they were there to set up the new field office, rather than to arrest suspected conspirators in the deaths of the senators. She strode purposefully towards the entrance and stepped through the intricately carved doors as they were opened for her by a ready doorman who greeted her jovially. Mirdala nodded as she walked past and casually strode up to the check-in counter and greeted the clerk.

 

"We are honored that you have chosen to stay with us as you set up your new office here," the twenty-something blonde remarked as she handed Mirdala the key to not only the suite where her team had been instructed to meet, but also to the conference room that was to be the meeting place for their quarries.

 

"I just go where I'm sent ma'am," she humbly stated as she cheerfully waived and left the office.

 

During the whole exchange her implant had been busy integrating with Flirt, who was happily perched in her right breast pocket. She was careful to only allow integration for communications and data feeds only. The last thing she wanted was some droid poking around her head when she needed to be mission-ready.

 

Once again she transmitted to Fett her position as well as the suite number where her team would be staying. The room was just above the floor with the conference center. As Mirdala entered, the team of six fell silent in their conversation, ready for further instructions and their leader was more than happy to oblige them.

 

"Here are your assignments..." Mirdala began as she briefed them on the rest of the day's objectives. She instinctively knew that her own traat'aliit'ad was doing the same with his sniper teams.

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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Though Mirdala had taken her team to find a place to lay up for the night, ShadowFett's team went straight to the meeting site, sticking to side alleys as much as possible. A sniper team would need much more time to set up, and Mand'alor had spent entire nights laying in wait with a sniper rifle at the ready, waiting for his target to show. The men with him did not lend themselves to idle chatter, and Fett appreciated their professionalism. Though most of them did not have extensive military service, they were well-trained soldiers, and he had learned through his time with the Augury that even aruetii soldiers existed that were good to have watching his back.

 

And he had their respect. Though he had made his name as a beroya and a hired gun for Black Sun, they knew his service record as well. Everything pointed to his combat experience and his penchant for fighting his way through impossible situations, like standing alone against Arach'tar on Centerpoint Station. Had there been a major conflict in which he had not been involved? Not recently.

 

This respect made leadership easy. When they arrived, they linked commlinks and he gave brief orders to each, which they followed without question. They dispersed into the buildings around the meeting site, finding lines of fire from various distances. The meeting would have security, troch, and as it came near, they would have to be exceptionally careful. Fett himself found a high perch about a block away after circling the entire premise, lining up an ideal shot through a couple windows and into the heart of the meeting area, a large conference room on an upper floor of an office building.

 

Slowly, one at a time, the rest of the team reported that they had found a suitable position, and Fett marked their locations on his HUD. "Good work," he said once the last of them had reported. They were operating in pairs except for the solitary ori'ramikad. "Mark your spot so you can find it again, then withdraw."

 

It was a successful stakeout. To ensure they weren't caught by meeting security, they would return to these locations only once the meeting was underway, eliminating any opposition to get into position at such a time as the organization's leaders were already trapped within their office building with Mirdala's team between them and the exit. Ori'jate, Fett thought as he withdrew. Now they would find a place to stay separate from Mirdala's team so as not to draw attention. When they came back, it would be time to get down to business.

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((Sorry this took so long. Writer's block hit like you wouldn't believe and well, as you can see I don't think I've got it now.))

 

"Any questions?" Mirdala inquired of her team, allowing them a moment to speak as she met the gazes of each one of them looking for the ones not brave enough to speak up on their own. She found none, but did find herself looking into the faces of the four men and two women who completely understood their role and respected Mirdala enough to not test her with silly questions. "Good, look over those dossiers so you know who our big targets are. Once we've got what we need to nail these guys, we'll need to move quickly to secure the heads of the group. You've got the guest lists. Flirt, pull up the databases for them, and see what you can find that the current police records don't show."

 

"I would be most happy to serve you Mirdala!" she said in her cheery tone as she plugged herself into the nearest access panel and began slicing her way through the information systems for the local police.

 

Detecting the hack, Mirdala transmitted via her implant sharply, "Flirt! They are working with us! Here's the password so you don't piss them off!"

 

The little droid transmitted back a noise that was something like a sigh of annoyance, though perhaps it was boredom, Mirdala couldn't be sure. "If I must. It really isn't any fun this way you know."

 

The officers saw their leader regard the droid for a moment, then shake her head, before saying aloud, "If you find any trails that lead outside the local police database, then slice your way through to get what you can."

 

The droid beeped affirmatively at her. Mirdala shook her head again and waved to dismiss the rest of her team to their various preparations for the next day's arrest. Mirdala had preparations of her own to do before then that were vital to gathering the evidence that would be needed to bring this organization to it's knees, and with all going according to plan, six feet below that.

 

Sgt. Izak, a brown-haired man in his late twenties spoke up in a standard military-like bruskness as she readied her kit, "Lt. Ad'Goran, ma'am?"

 

She turned to look up at him, still not used to being addressed by rank, or her last name, "Mirdala's fine. Yes Sgt.?"

 

"Permission to accompany you as security detail this evening as you do whatever it is that you're going to do in the conference area. You don't know if they'll have people searching the area earldy or not. What if someone sneaks up on you while you're working?"

 

Mirdala took a breath for a moment, considering her response to his gallant offer, while somewhat practical, was wholly unnecessary. "I appreciate the offer, but I'll be fine on my own. I have a few surprises in store if anyone comes looking for trouble. You also forget that we have other teams out there who's specific goal in this mission is to hukaat'kamar, to watch our sixes. Have you ever tried to get the drop on a Mando'ad before?"

 

He shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny, but recognized her point. "Once. It didn't end well. Point taken ma'am."

 

"I appreciate the thought though," she said, not wanting to demoralize him further. "Work on your assignment and you'll be ready tomorrow."

 

"Yes ma'am!"

 

Mirdala finished gathering her things as he went back to the rest of the group, a part of her wished at that moment to be more of the behind-the-scenes role that she was to playing. Sure, she could lead a team, but she much preferred to be the one that was watching everyone's backs. This command was causing her to step outside her comfort zone, and while she knew that it was good to grow, she hoped that she and Fett had made the right decision on the assignments.

~~~~~~~~

 

A few minutes later she stepped off the elevator and on to the plush carpeted floor of the hallway that led to the designated meeting point for the Banker's Guild. A quick scan through her implant told her that there were to heat signatures designating anyone standing guard over the room. Another scan for electrical signals revealed no droids that were transmitting in the area, and no surveillance systems in place either to monitor her movements.

 

Still, she kept close to the shadowed wall as she made her way towards the conference room door. A quick slice into the system, via her implant, and the door slid aside for her effortlessly and closed behind her just as silently. The staff here apparently kept the facilities here in impeccable shape, Mirdala noted to herself.

 

As expected with a room designated for meetings, a long oblong table was the room's main centerpiece. It was solid wood imported from the forests of Kashyyyk, very strong and extremely durable. Mirdala didn't want to think about the effort it would have taken to have so intricately carved the hard wood into the ornamented table that she saw before her now as she sat her bag of gear carefully on it's polished surface.

 

The large and cushy-looking chairs that surrounded the large table were of equal quality of construct of matching wood and baby nerf hide.

 

The furniture was not what Mirdala was hear to admire, it was the state-of-the-art and top-of-the-line conference recording equipment that she was here to appreciate. The monitor was large and of sufficient size for interplanetary conferences. The room's multiple cameras covered every possible angle of the room and were set to auto-detect the speaker and to track his or her movements as they navigated the room or switch vantage points when the speaker changed, ensuring that the viewing party had the best view of what was going on.

 

It was perfect for what Mirdala had in mind.

 

During the short journey to Nubia, she mulled over the puzzle of how to accurately gather the evidence that CORESEC would need for the GA to prosecute the individuals responsible for the death of the five senators. The issue was how to do so without being able to insert one of her own people, without setting bugs that any security team worth their pay-grade would sweep for and destroy before they could do their job, and without giving away the operation. The solution had been found when she'd been researching what would be her on-hand resources once they were on-site. A bit of research on the specs of the hotel's conference system told Mirdala that it would be the perfect option for the mission; all she'd have to do was splice some wiring, disable some features, and alter some of the feeds. They would use the room's equipment to record and monitor the meeting.

 

The resourceful Mando'ad crouched down to remove the access cover to the recording system, quickly bypassing it's redundancies and safeguards with the aid of her implant as this system wasn't set up to have layer upon layer of security that would have been present on a similar setup in the Senatorial Spire on Coruscant, for example. This was an elite hotel who's need for conference room security was much less.

 

Once she'd cracked the system, the first thing that she did was install the remote transmitter, choosing one specially designed during her time in the Augury to operate on the same secondary E-band frequency that her implant used. This way, even if her quarry opted to use jammers in the meeting, she'd be able to access the system to remotely engage it and monitor the meeting unhindered.

 

Her next task was just as simple; disabling the recording indicators so that there was no outward signal that the meeting was being documented. She engaged the system and checked the feeds through her implant on both audio and visual, made some minor adjustments and tested again this time disabling through the remote and reengaging.

 

The connection was solid. Her work done, she transmitted the completed objective to Fett, sending the feed accesses to him as well. In the event the Banker's Guild used jammers on the meeting, she'd be close enough to pick up the primary signal from the modified set up and then relay it to Fett who could then use the information to coordinate with his sniper teams.

 

Her work done, she replaced the cover securely and activated the system for a final test. With it turned on she ran a broad-spectrum scan for both audio and electric frequencies, checking for the merest spike on either as she retested the remote toggle. All lines remained normal. Satisfied, she smiled wryly. Tomorrow they would spring the trap.

 

"All systems green," she transmitted to her traat'aliit'ad, "See you after this is over. Alpha team out."

 

She returned unseen to the suite that served as their staging point where the rest of her team was either reading over the material that Flirt had managed to find, or had already laid down for the evening. Mirdala nodded that the first phase of her plan was complete and headed to the main bedroom where the usual large bed and furniture had been removed and seven roll-aways had been placed barrack-style. She sat on the edge of the bed farthest from the door and tried not to wake the two officers that were already sleeping. She ran one last check on her gear and set up before laying down, beskar'gam, uniform, and all and relaxing into a light slumber.

 

She was ready for tomorrow's bust as well as the rest of her team.

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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ShadowFett's team didn't have any problem finding a place to lay low for the night, and soon the rest of the reports came in that placed everyone at full readiness. Retiring to his own room and making sure that it was completely secure, the Mando'ad allowed himself to drift into a battle-ready light sleep, the way a verd slept on the eve of battle. Restful but mindful, asleep but alert. This was the path to which he had devoted his life, and tomorrow he would actually be serving the galaxy instead of a contract. It didn't pay as much, but it felt... responsible.

 

A few strange dreams met him that night. Echoes of the past, memories that were not his own. Yuusuke Hakusho, conversing with Rane Scando. Marc Spector confronting Jidai Geki. The fall of the Deathstriker faction and how he thought of Induran Habithae. They felt in many ways like they were a part of his life, but he knew that they were not. And yet these figures in his past had shared something that he felt, too. The responsibility of Moon Knight to uphold justice and defeat evil. A strange path for a Mando ori'ramikad, and yet perhaps the natural progression of his interpretation of the Supercommando Codex and the very reason he had left Black Sun.

 

The next morning, he ate something loaded with protein and carbs, which would help him during the day. Popping his buy'ce back onto his kovid, he checked in with his team and Mirdala's. The meeting was in just a few hours, so it was time to make final preparations. He double- and triple-checked his besbe'trayce. He gathered the team and they started out for their target. They had a little time to kill, since they wanted to get there only after the meeting's security was in place to avoid detection. They would use the time to do another scouting run around the perimeter and make sure there were no surprises....

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As expected, as soon as the sun wearily made its first appearance so did the various security, bodyguard, and assistants of the meeting's attendees. With carefully ingrained precision each made personally sure that the facilities were to their employer's exacting standards and security needs. Hotel rooms, recreation areas, and restaurants were swept for bugs, booby traps, bombs. The amount of noise was enough to let Mirdala and her team know that the time for the bust was almost upon them.

 

Mirdala had been the first to rise that morning and had seen to it that each of her people had had a chance at a good breakfast at the morning's debrief as the sounds of the preparations below them continued and reached its crescendo. Her quiet calm as she looked each of her people in the eye reminded them of the job that they'd been selected to do. This was to be CORESEC's first real bust of a criminal organization.

 

The waiting's going to be the thing that's hardest for them, Mirdala thought as the officers held hushed conversations in small groups.

 

She activated Flirt before she made final inspections to her set up. "Anything more you were able to find?"

 

"More than the information on the targets from the Police database?" The droid asked smartly. This was the first time that she'd been put on loan, and she wasn't too happy with it, especially being handed over to a woman Fett trusted enough to be on his ship when he wasn't wearing his helmet. She didn't like it one bit. Her programming told her that she was to obey this woman per Fett's orders. If she could have inwardly sighed, she would have.

 

The woman regarded the beskar'ad for a moment, wondering what was going on in its positronic little brain, before responding "Yes. This was the task. What did you find?"

 

Confident that she'd successfully struck a nerve with the woman, she responded in a cheery albeit slightly superior tone, "Loads of suspicion, but never any concrete evidence to prove associations. Very shadowy group in individuals not a lot about any sort of personal life or other ties to anything but a legitimate business. So no charges have ever been pressed, but there was a file opened not too long ago. Something about the purchase of materials by an individual that were innocuous in and of themselves, but when combined could be used to make a small, but dangerous explosive."

 

Mirdala's thoughts drifted immediately back to Coruscant and the bomb that had exploded just as they'd arrived to investigate the senatorial offices. It had felt like a warning to be careful about what was uncovered during the investigation, a gesture meant to intimidate the investigating officers.

 

Too bad those officers had been battle-hardened beroyase and former members of the Augury, a special ops group so secret that only a handful of people outside the organization itself knew that it had even existed. "What kind of bomb?"

 

"One similar in destructive power to the one detonated at the Senate during the initial investigation of the murders. According to the report that you, yourself, filed."

 

Fett, Mirdala transmitted silently and undetectably through the implant, aware now that her team was watching her closely and their discussions had ceased. It looks like we have a potential connection, someone linked to one of the guests recently purchased items to make a bomb similar to the one that detonated in the Senate building right after we began our investigation of the senator's deaths. He could be here now, signal the others to keep an eye out for anyone on the rooftops as well. It's a ”œhunch”

Edited by Guest

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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The hours passed quickly to ShadowFett, and soon the time for the meeting to start was only about thirty minutes off. Meeting security was in place, and Mirdala was listening to the last few touches before organizational dignitaries began to arrive. This no doubt meant that a perimeter was in place, armed guards standing at all the posts that would give a clear sniper shot at the meeting--the same places Mand'alor had picked for his teams.

 

But now they had checked in as in place. "Move out," the Commissioner told his teams. "Remember, nonlethal force only." They split into their groups with well-trained precision and Fett headed out himself, relishing the chance to work by himself. It wasn't that he failed to understand the advantages of having a traat'aliit, but rather that he was not only more than effective enough alone for this job and preferred relying on his own wits and competency rather than giving orders he wasn't certain would be fulfilled at the hands of lesser ramikade.

 

Staying discreet, Fett entered the lobby of the building at the top of which was his sniper post, using the back door. There were two men there that were clearly security--he could tell not by any uniform, but by the fact that they were large, armed men in what was normally an office building. Typical hired muscle. The Mando'ad, undetected, moved behind them then, producing his assault rifle, shot them once each with a stun bolt so fast the second couldn't react to the first falling.

 

Then it was a turbolift ride up. He told it to go one floor below his intended destination, then took the stairs the last floor. Using his buy'ce, Moon Knight activated his penetrating radar as he neared the door onto his target floor. There were indeed three more men on this floor, one separated from the other two by a wall. The two near ones momentarily had their backs to him.

 

Fett quietly opened the door. Fwip. He stuck a paralytic dart in the nearest target, who let out a grunt as he fell. The other man spun. "F-Fett!" he stuttered. He dropped his gun and got on the floor. The third man must have heard this and he came barreling around the corner, weapon out. The Mando'ad saw him through his penetrating radar before he came in sight and thus met him with a stun bolt as soon as he had the shot. The former beroya approached the man who had surrendered.

 

"I- I got no quarrel with you, Fett. This is just a job to me," the man stammered.

 

"Give the all-clear to your commander," Fett instructed.

 

The man nodded and fumbled for his commlink. "Still clear up here, boss," he said. Once he got the affirmative, he shut it off and looked back at Fett. The Mandalorian deactivated his recording device with an eye movement and a blink, then approached the man and rammed the butt of his rifle into the side of his head. "Lights out, shabuir," he said.

 

Moon Knight put his assault rifle down on the ground near the full-wall window facing the door, then lay down next to it facing out, pulling out his verpine shattergun and quickly setting his sights on the meeting location, the first few organization members starting to arrive. He commed Mirdala once the rest of his teams had checked in. "In place, vod," he said. "Whenever you're ready to move in, we've got your back."

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Though she knew that he couldn't see her, Mirdala nodded her affirmation of his response as she activated the green indicator that she knew he'd see in his HUD. The stage was set and as the curtain went up the players were taking their places at the table...

 

~~~~

 

While Mirdala and her team watched tirelessly for the next few hours as the meetings delegates plodded through the mundane business that could be deemed legally as "legitimate". Through the drone, Mirdala could sense her team's mixture of boredom and suspicion that CORESEC had been misdirected so that the real case could just get colder and colder.

 

Mirdala couldn't ignore the small voice in the back of her head that told her that their patience would be rewarded. It was then that a figure entered the room and took the last remaining seat.

 

His face was sallow and scarred from his left brow to his right cheek as though he'd used his face to block a vibroblade sometime in the distant past. His pale blonde hair was tied back at the nape of his neck and he was garbed in a black dress shirt and slacks. He was greeted warmly by the Chairman, or at least the one that appeared to be leading this meeting from the typical seat of power at the head of the table.

 

"Twenty! I take it your business on Coruscant went well?" His tone was almost that of a pleased grandfather as he spoke to the younger man.

 

Mirdala's entire team, as though sensing that this was what they'd been waiting for leaned forward, each attentive to their set of screens. Mirdala motioned for Sgts. Izak and Crea to make ready for the arrest as she returned her attention to the main recording, waiting for them to give her what she needed to wipe the smug look off of Twenty's face.

 

His voice was harsh, as though he wasn't used to making use of it, as he responded, "It went well. CORESEC is too busy chasing their own tails to ferret out what's really going on. The Grandmaster of the Jedi was implicated as planned, there wasn't a single survivor."

 

"Excellent. With our 'helpfulness' in the Naboo Campaign, we will stand to gain more profit as this war comes to a close. As all the agencies and organizations meld together, that means more paper trails to hijack and more credits flow into our pockets," He laughed contentedly. He'd been head of the Banker's Guild long enough to know that as profitable as war time had been, this transition period would prove to be a better cash flow. Until it abated and he'd have to organize for the tenuous peace to break down once more.

 

Mirdala signaled her team to get ready to move out, she knew that they were close to having enough for a slam-dunk case. She just needed to allow them a bit more rope to hang themselves with. She turned back to watch the feed, once more.

 

A more rotund gentlemen was fidgeting about in his seat uncomfortably and turned a shade whiter as he was addressed by the Chairman, "Sykesi, this talk of death making you uncomfortable? How else do you think that you are able to make the credits that keep your engorged-self full with the delicacies and decadence that the galaxy has to offer? If you want out," the Chairman gestured to one of the security guards to come forward," then that is something that we most certainly can arrange. Twenty, do you still have some of your special brew? I think this man needs a good stiff drink."

 

Sykesi's three chins quivered and shook as he vehemently shook his head that he didn't need a drink. "A-a m-momentary lapse in f-focus." he waived the thug away, holding his hands in surrender in front of him. The guard behind him cast a glance to the Chairman who nodded his momentary forgiveness. Sykesi wouldn't be making the return trip home, but there was no reason to interrupt this meeting further.

 

"Now then esteemed colleagues," he began, directing their attention from the momentary distractions and back to the matter at hand. "What say we get down to the real reason for this meeting, How to best thwart the relief efforts on Naboo so that way our candidate can gain a more decisive victory?"

 

A dark-skinned Twil'lik spoke up, "What about tainting the medicine supply that the Survivor Foundation is bringing them? Plenty of export here to make that happen. Or we could just poison some for random mayhem, cause a panic and help the markets go down so we can buy up the cheap stock." He licked his lips eagerly at the prospect of the wealth that stood to be gained from such tampering. Panic was good, panic was what lead to people questioning the ability of their government to save them form the chaos of life. "You're sure we should play along with all this GA business and not try to improve profits from playing both sides of a renewed conflict?"

 

Mirdala's green eyes darkened in anger, she'd heard enough, "Let's move out, remember use of non-lethal force is authorized, but you are free to defend yourself if fired upon." She punctuated the remark by slamming a power pack in to her side arm and grabbing a separate stun pistol that she'd purposely chosen because of it's different weight and grip so in the heat of whatever was about to go down, she wouldn't grab the wrong weapon by mistake.

 

She left the recording going, allowing their targets to dig themselves deeper in to the pits of treason, treachery, and the fast track to a prison cell for the rest of their days. Mirdala had a feeling that for some of them the end would come sooner rather than later based upon the discussions so far.

 

Her team moved silently and swiftly as one, descending on the the hired muscle in the hall way, she could still hear the voice of the chairman in her ear, but had turned off the visual so she wouldn't be distracted.

 

With mechanical swiftness they dispatched with the four guards in the hallway just outside the double doors leading into the conference room. She slid along the wall just to the left of one of the doors and motioned for the others to do the same. She cut the audio feed and switched to visual so that she could get a quick read on where everyone in the room was and relayed that information to not only her own team's HUD, but to Fett and his team as well. Red blips appeared on a green background  on her own screen as well. She cut the live audio and video feed, but left the recording running, keeping only this tactical display up as she locked eyes with each member of her team to verify readiness.

 

Adrenaline pumping, and that exhilerating and familiar rush coming over her, Mirdala signaled for the door's lock to be keyed so that the two panels drew back in unison as she stepped, stun gun drawn, into the room, her CORESEC badge shining brightly from her right breast pocket.

 

"Everyone freeze! You are all under arrest! Weapons on the ground now!" her voice was clear and commanding, and the calm determination in her face left little room for argument. That didn't stop them from trying to slip their way out of this one anyway.

 

With carefully rehearsed decorum for situations such as these, the Chairman rose from his seat, his voice calming, as though he were about to sweetly chastise his over exuberant grand-daughter. "My dear, whatever for? This is a business meeting of our stock holders. I do hope you have solid proof of your words before you go throwing about words like 'arrest'." He gave a subtle hand movement to his body guards to pretend like they were standing down. He hadn't achieved the position in the Banker's Guild that he had by letting little do-gooder brats intimidate him.

 

Mirdala's eyes locked with his, but her periphery kept close awareness of the henchmen and other guests at the table. The rotund man from earlier had once more turned white, and Twenty's hands were in his lap, not a place that she wanted them. "Everyone's hands were I can see them," she instructed, not yet responding to the Chairman's inquiry.

 

"Again," he began, patronizingly to the young woman, for surely this was her first case or she wouldn't have been so brash to have barged in as she had. "What. Charges?" He punctuated the pause with a lift of his eyebrows as he leaned forward on the table. "And put that thing away, we don't want anyone getting hurt now, do we?"

Mirdala didn't waiver and part of her pitied the man's lack of respect for the law or one of it's enforcer's. She really hated being talked to like a misbehaving child, but she held her temper in check because she knew that she'd need a cool head to ensure that none of them were given any opportunity for recourse or a loophole to get out of serving their sentence. That, and the recording of the whole affair would help as well since her team was disciplined enough to not fire unless fired upon first. ”œThe list of charges is vast and varied with individual, but the main ones are conspiracy to commit murder of a government official, terrorist activity, and treason against the current government, just to name a few.”

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Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya. - "Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger."

“A Mandalorian woman's greatest talent is not her charm or beauty, but her strength of body and will.” - Mandalorian proverb

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