Jump to content

The Shadow's Gambit


Raynuk Montar

Recommended Posts

Raynuk allowed himself to glance around the suite, as it had been some time since he last gazed upon it. “It serves its purpose. This is the suite the captain set aside, intended for the owner of the ship, so it rarely gets used. Though, it does serve as a nice alternative to my usual bare essential quarters.”

 

He crossed the room, approaching the large half-moon shaped desk that sat in the middle of one of the suite’s rooms. Walking behind it, he tapped a few keys on the console housed within, causing a hologram to emerge from the desk itself.

 

“This… is the Shadow’s Gambit.” Raynuk began, as the hologram of the Star Destroyer shaped ship began to slowly rotate around. “To the galaxy at large, it is a casino and cruise ship, making trips around the galaxy, taking on passengers and offering them a certain level of living for weeks at a time. Countless restaurants, shops, and activities are contained within this ship, and after some clever channeling, it all serves to fund the Sith, as it has since its creation.”

“What’s a casino?” She asked watching the rotating hologram of the ship’s layout. The whole thing was curious to her. “And who owns this ship? Won’t we be in trouble if we’re caught in his quarters?”

 

Raynuk’s face lit up with amusement. “A casino is a place people go to gamble; to make bets, to try their luck and potentially make more money. It rarely works out though; usually people just lose money, but the allure and the chance to sometimes gain a thousand times the credits you put in is enough for them to keep doing it. As for the owner, I am fairly sure Mr. Ezra Montar won’t mind…”

He dropped the name casually, but couldn’t help the sly grin that crossed his face as he looked sideways at Raia for her own reaction.

1fE1uLv.png

I ate a hippo. It was delicious.

May the Forth therve you well...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

“I have an uncle or is he my - uh what do you call someone’s father’s father? Can I meet him? Is he here?” she said excitedly looking back at him, then her expression fell slightly as her brain began to catch up. “Wait...Ezra Montar. Wasn’t that the name 2V put on your hospital records on Corellia? You own this casino ship?”

OGKL9H5.png

PMs need to be sent to Mirdala if you want a timely response.

Provide anonymous IC feedback here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Initially a little disappointed that Raia didn’t catch on instantly, the wicked grin returned as she figured it out. “I was the one who designed and commissioned the ship, yes. Though for obvious reasons, I could not do so as Darth Quietus. For a brief period of time, I was both Darth Quietus and Ezra Montar aboard this ship. The captain of the ship knows the truth that it was created and is owned by a Sith, but has proven to be worthy of the trust I have placed in him.”

 

“Can I meet him?”

 

Raia’s question was met with Raynuk shaking his head. “I… don’t think we should bother him. No one, not even the captain, knows I am aboard, and I would prefer to keep it that way; better to just blend in with the other passengers right now.”

Raynuk was tempted to disclose that the real reason for his concern was the outstanding bounty that had been placed not only on his name, but also tagged the Ezra Montar alias. It was a matter that had gotten pushed to the wayside in the wake of everything else, and was something he did intend to look into when he found the time and remembered to do so. But now was not that time either. He tapped a few more buttons on the desk, and the hologram of the ship was replaced by a list of all the shops, restaurants and vendors that were currently operating on the Shadow’s Gambit. The list was massive, but thankfully the system was built to filter the list down to whatever desires or whims the passengers wanted.

 

“So; what are you hungry for?” He asked, changing the subject and gesturing towards the list.

 

“Filter; Food.” he spoke, addressing the system, resulting in the list rapidly scrolling and then slowing down, listing all the places to get a bite to eat, which was still a long and daunting list.

 

“Uhhhh,” Raia looked at the list and didn’t even know where to begin. “I really don’t know. This one?” she said picking one at random which was some kind of Devaronian restaurant which served live food.

 

“Live food huh…” Raynuk asked, pulling up the menu for that particular restaurant and displaying it. “Well, if that’s what you want, then I guess that’s where we will go.”

“Ewww. No! I don’t know what any of this stuff is. Why don’t you pick three and I’ll pick from there?”

 

Raynuk nodded, secretly glad he had called her bluff, then moved the display back to the list of restaurants. After a minute or so studying the list, he filtered it down a few times with verbal commands, until there were four left; all highly rated by past passengers, and possessing a wide range of foods and styles to select from.

 

“The Krayt Corner Cafe, Shellper’s Family Restaurant, Planetoid Buffet, or... Jatisyc Karyai.” He listed them off. “Sounds Mandalorian…” he mumbled about the last choice.

 

“What’s a buffet? And what’s a Mandalorian?”

1fE1uLv.png

I ate a hippo. It was delicious.

May the Forth therve you well...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After explaining to Raia what a buffet was and carefully telling her as brief a history as he could about Mandalorians, Raynuk watched Raia think about her choice for a few minutes before she decided on the Planetoid Buffet. He found her choice not surprising, given that he had noticed how much her face lit up as he was describing the sheer amount of different foods that would be contained within.

 

Initially heading for the door, he paused, and turned, deciding that his own attire was not only still too “Sith”-like but was also still sporting a fair amount of his own blood caked into it. He glanced at Raia, then crossed the room again, heading towards the closet within the bedroom of the suite.

“Suppose I shouldn’t go out looking like this.” He mused as he passed Raia.

 

Taking much less time than Raia had to change, Raynuk emerged a few moments later. He was wearing a simple set of gray casual cloth pants, and a darker gray, high collared jacket over a brown tunic. His boots were likewise simple, giving Raynuk a look almost akin to a military officer on leave.

 

“Shall we?” He asked, reaching for the door.

 

The two passed through the hallways of the Shadow’s Gambit with very little difficulty, effectively going unnoticed among the crowds of the ship. Raia had plenty of questions as they traveled, as she always did when presented with a new experience or environment, and he did his best to answer what he could, tempered by what he thought she needed to know.

 

Topics ranging from how the ship operated, how many people were aboard, and what species certain passengers were that she saw in the hallways came to discussion as they walked, but it turned out to be the massiport side housed in the portside aft dome, which the pair had to travel through on their way to the buffet, that Raia became fixated on, causing Raynuk to nearly have to literally drag her away from, promising that she could explore more after the meal.

 

Raia had never seen so much food before in her life - and that counted both quantity as well variety. Raynuk’s description now seemed woefully inadequate to fully encompass the spread before her. If she hadn’t been hanging on to his arm as they entered, she likely would have just stayed rooted in her spot in shock.

 

Following Raynuk’s lead, she got in line with the rest of the patrons and took a plate after he did. That was as far as she followed him though, letting her stomach do the choosing as she looked at the overwhelming amount of food to chose from.

 

Finally, she’d fit as much as she could on her plate and she joined Raynuk in a smaller booth out of the way of most of the foot traffic in the restaurant where she didn’t hesitate to start trying everything. There were more hits than misses as she devoured her first, second, and then third plates of food, delighted when he’d told her she could go back more than once.

 

Raynuk was nothing if not amused watching Raia devour foods of all sizes and types as she tore through everything the buffet had to offer. Having gone light on his own plate in terms of food, he spent a large portion of the time they spent within the restaurant simply observing Raia’s renewed interest in what the galaxy had to offer to her. Each time she got up to get more food, he of course kept a keen eye on her, but also took those reprieves from her immediate presence to scan the room, knowing it was possible, but perhaps not likely, that there was someone aboard the Gambit seeking the bounty on him.

 

“Is something wrong Tētis?” She asked, returning from her second trip to the dessert line. “You've gone all serious. Is it the Cult or Jaina and Tirzah?”

OGKL9H5.png

PMs need to be sent to Mirdala if you want a timely response.

Provide anonymous IC feedback here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Damn…

 

Raynuk had spotted a figure across the room that was acting odd enough to merit more than a cursory glance, and Raia had returned quicker than before, the sum of which was Raia catching Raynuk, as she said, ‘all serious’. He turned to Raia as she sat down, and offered her a genuine smile of reassurance.

“No no… none of that. At least not right now. Yes the cult is still out there, but up until right now I was not thinking about them, or Jaina and Tirzah. Jaina very respectfully declined my offer to help her, and so I must trust that she can accomplish whatever lies before her.”

 

He reached over the table and stuck his fork into one of the several desserts she had brought back this time, stealing a bite with a wry smile.

 

“And if she can’t… well, then I guess I get to play the part of the hero again.”

1fE1uLv.png

I ate a hippo. It was delicious.

May the Forth therve you well...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Raia put down her fork and looked at him. “Then what is it? If it’s because I feel different in the Force, I can explain that. In fact, I probably should have told you sooner.” She offered a hesitant shrug.

 

“That mark Furion gave me, well, it turns out it was more than just some annoying tattoo. I wasn’t fighting Ar-Pharazon alone. The Dagger helped and was destroyed for helping me get back to you. I think she was responsible for my visions. I guess that means I don’t have to be scared to paint or draw anymore, but it also means I can’t help, at least not the way I used to.”

 

She was honestly confused as to how she should feel about that, so she went back to eating the pastry she’d procured. “Do they sell paints here? I’ve kind of made a mess of things in my room and I’d like to redo it.”

OGKL9H5.png

PMs need to be sent to Mirdala if you want a timely response.

Provide anonymous IC feedback here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Raynuk studied her face for a moment. “You don't feel different in the Force… But this, Dagger, explains a lot that has happened with you since we met if that’s the case. And yes, we can absolutely get paint somewhere.”

 

A blanket of silence fell over them again, until Raynuk broke it. “What do you mean the Dagger helped and was destroyed for helping against Ar-Pharazon? If it is gone, how does that make you feel?”

1fE1uLv.png

I ate a hippo. It was delicious.

May the Forth therve you well...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

“The Dejarik Board. I was trapped there. The Stuffed Man said it was because I had a choice to make about going back or remaining. She made herself known to me then and didn’t have a lot nice to say about what you did.” Raia explained.

 

“I honestly don’t know how I feel about her being gone. I feel free, but at the same time I don’t think I know where I’ll miss her or whatever help she gave me. I just woke up from a bad nightmare, the worst actually, and I’m still doing my best to believe this is real and not an elaborate trick from the man who had laid claim to me as payment for your actions against him.”

 

Confused grey eyes met his, somehow begging him to help her make sense of all that had happened in the last few days, and at the same time knowing that some things might never make sense. “I’m just glad he wasn’t successful. I don’t think I could face myself again knowing that I’d hurt you like that.”

OGKL9H5.png

PMs need to be sent to Mirdala if you want a timely response.

Provide anonymous IC feedback here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Raynuk shook his head, still confused despite Raia’s explanation. “You’ve completely lost me. What Dejarik Board? I haven’t seen one of those in years. And who’s this stuffed man, Ar-Pharazon? And you’re saying the Dagger was a she, and that she had an opinion on what I did? I’m sorry meita but very little of that makes sense to me.”

 

His eyebrows had furrowed in his confusion, as his eyes seemingly searched the table for answers to fill in the gaps he was still struggling with. But no answers came, and he instead looked back up at Raia.

 

“But… regardless of whether I understand or not, this isn’t a trick, that much I do know. We’re both here, and you’re stuffing your face with desserts.

1fE1uLv.png

I ate a hippo. It was delicious.

May the Forth therve you well...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

“It’s...I thought-” she started before taking his hand and closing her eyes. “Maybe I can show you. It’s not a vision, just a memory, right?” The physical contact helped her focus on his presence within the Force as she opened herself up to allow the flow of memories surrounding her time on the board to flow through her and to him. It only took a matter of seconds, and she was proud of the fact it seemed to have worked. “You said you’d been through something like that before, like how you brought me back. I guess it’s different for everyone?”

 

Raia finished off the rest of desert while she allowed him time to digest everything she’d shown him and looked around casually at the other patrons not quite able to shake the sudden feeling that someone was watching her and her father. She felt an uneasy chill run through her as she met the eyes of the figure Raynuk had spotted earlier and she quickly looked away.

 

“Is there a place that I can get a staff to train with too? I want to be stronger.”

OGKL9H5.png

PMs need to be sent to Mirdala if you want a timely response.

Provide anonymous IC feedback here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Raynuk willingly allowed Raia to try and show him what she seemingly couldn’t explain, and closed his eyes, focusing on her once more. He felt her connect with him, but no vision, no memory came to him. He saw only empty darkness; the nothingness of death. But as they both came out of the projection, Raynuk was surprised that Raia considered it to have worked perfectly. Whatever the girl had experienced on the other side of death, it was clearly not something she could share; it was for her eyes and memory alone.

 

He decided not to tell her that he saw nothing, instead falling back to simply watching her finish off the desserts. Her wandering eyes didn’t go unnoticed either, but as he had been doing the same, Raynuk didn’t question the reasons. He did perk up as she asked another question however.

 

“Of course. We’ll take a trip over to the bazaar, and you can look around. Should be able to find your paints there too. Just… promise not to walk away with something without paying for it this time eh?” He answered, gently teasing her for her purely innocent mistake on Coruscant weeks before.

 

Raia rolled her eyes. “Once was enough to learn the lesson, Tetis.”

1fE1uLv.png

I ate a hippo. It was delicious.

May the Forth therve you well...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After a rather uneventful shopping trip and the promised exploration time for Raia, the two of them returned to the suite with their purchases. “So now we go back to Korriban? Can you teach me on the way?” she spun the staff a few times in her hand, finally happy to have the room to acclimate to it.

OGKL9H5.png

PMs need to be sent to Mirdala if you want a timely response.

Provide anonymous IC feedback here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ducking out of the way from one of Raia’s staff spins, Raynuk nodded. Her intent and desire to learn more combat techniques had fueled the purchase of the staff, and knowing that he couldn’t exactly have her train with it against his lightsabers, The Sith had also purchased a practice sword of his own, which if the seller was to be believed, had been crafted out of the wood from a Wroshyr tree on Kashyyyk, giving the weapon strength while being only marginally heavier than Raynuk’s warhammer.

 

“I believe so yes. Kashaw had requested that I return to Korriban to pass judgement on this new hopeful before he potentially tears the Temple apart in a tantrum if he doesn’t get his way.” Raynuk answered initially.

 

Knowing that the trip here had been unplanned and stressful on all involved, Raynuk had also taken the small shopping interlude to purchase a few items, namely snacks and chew toys, for Vex’aedr, who had been forced to not only watch Raynuk get attacked, but also to attack Raia and be witness to Raynuk killing her and bringing her back. Even if the tuk’ata never showed it, Raynuk could tell it did weigh on the massive beast.

 

So after examining the wroshyr blade, Raynuk crossed the room to where Vex had decided to take a snooze, and placed one of the treats down in front of Vex’s snout. It took only a few seconds for Vex’s mouth to open, and his tongue to roll out and snatch the treat and deliver it back into the jaws of the beast, all before Vex’s eyes even opened and his head lifted.

 

“And I agree, we are overdue for another training session. Can’t have you run off under Draken’s wing without knowing you can handle your own as the daughter of the Warrior King.”

 

A few minutes more saw Raynuk, Raia, and Vex all enter into the hidden turbolift again and Raynuk seal the doorway behind them as the lift returned them to the hidden Sith bunker where the Ravenhammer still sat. Raynuk sent Raia and Vex ahead to the ship, while he began to run through the procedures to return the bunker to its standby state. One by one the sections of the hallway went dark, the feeds into the command center shut down, and the few droids that had been activated returned to their storage stations.

 

Passing through the doorway into the docking bay, he only paused long enough to seal the door, intending to issue the final shutdown command once the Ravenhammer was free of the Gambit. The exit from the docking bay was as silent and unseen as it’s arrival had been, which filled Raynuk with a brief amount of relief, pointing to the fact that they had gone unnoticed. As soon as the massive doors to the hidden docking bay slid back closed, Raynuk sent the final command, and turned the Ravenhammer to jump back into hyperspace, leaving the Shadow’s Gambit behind once more.

1fE1uLv.png

I ate a hippo. It was delicious.

May the Forth therve you well...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An encrypted comm. for Lord Quietus --

 

 

Has this white Wolf lost his way?

There is a spirit inside of you that is shackled beyond measure

The beast inside of you howls in pain,

But the power I possess shall set you free.

 

Meet me at R-XX, you will find me there. Come ready to feed, Wolf.

 

- The Spider.

 

P3UXctm.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

A MandalMotors Tra'kad-class vessel, the Justice, appeared out of hyperspace not far from the Shadow's Gambit. Its pilot, ShadowFett, had wondered what circumstances might eventually bring him here when Kuat Drive Yards had told him about Quietus and the project when it was first being constructed. Until now, he'd assumed that it would be in the midst of a hostage situation when the dar'jetiise decided they had enough important patrons on board that they could manipulate the jetiise or Galactic Alliance into capitulating to a list of demands in order to ensure their safety. In actuality the Gambit had been operating quietly ever since and was a generally popular vacation and gambling spot wherever it went as it toured the known galaxy, and he wasn't here to liberate it.

 

Fett requested a landing approach and stated that he was on leave from his duties and was here to see the fabled Seventh Moon Casino. When he received his docking clearance, he took the Justice directly there and set down, disembarking in full beskar'gam, though he was not carrying most of his weapons. In his distinctive armor, he would be recognized. Some would remember him as a bounty hunter, for his reputation before he got involved in the war. Others would see him as the CoreSec commissioner he had been for years after it had ended. A scarce few might recognize him as Mand'alor, the one who had gathered his people together to repel an invasion fleet from their distant corner of space. And still others might see the crescent he wore on the corner of his chest plate and see Moon Knight, latest in a long line of hunters and vigilantes.

 

He was content to be recognized as any of these. He left his ship alone and headed into the long corridors a thoroughfares that would take him to the Seventh Moon. The ship, which superficially resembled an Imperial Interdictor cruiser, was more like a city on the inside, wide-open concourses with shops, cafes and vendors, buildings towering underneath huge transparisteel domes where an Interdictor's gravity well projectors would ordinarily be housed. All manner of humans, aliens and beskar'ade walked richly-carpeted streets and a bouquet of familiar and unfamiliar aromas wafted from exotic diners. Fett could have believed he was in one of the rich areas of Nar Shaddaa if he did not look up, and he decided he was impressed both by KDY's work and the vision behind it.

 

This was in many ways his favorite sort of place to work. There were plenty of things happening here, and it was certain that someone had the information he needed. But first he would need to get the lay of the land and see where his nose for trouble would get him.

iTJBZId.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Several minutes later, Mirdala emerged from the Justice dressed in some of the raiment worthy of the upper class of some Core World or another, courtesy of the wardrobe that Daren had left them during their stay at the resort on Borleias. She'd selected an outfit that allowed her to wear her discrete beskar plates beneath the fabric. Vi'ika was at her side, wearing a service harness, though this time with all of the ammo packs and other battle gear removed.

 

Flirt was clipped into a pouch at her hip since Mirdala's mission was less direct than her husband's. All she needed was a place to hide the droid and a socket to plug in the quirky slicer to be left alone to her work. The Mandalorian woman had already had to threaten the droid once when it had mentioned the little girl Mirdala and Kandor had nearly adopted on Borleias, so things were off to their typical working arrangement. Flirt offering her unsolicited advice and Mirdala offering the usual reprogramming.

 

It hadn't been hard to disappear into the crowds once she stepped into the more common decks of the ship. Immediately she felt a degree of disorientation from all of the smells, sights, and sounds contained within the ship. Sure she'd lived on Coruscant for a while, but at least all of those things had somewhere to go, here they were trapped within their pleasant guided shell of a ship. The good news is that so many people coming and going would make it easier to keep her activities unnoticed. Definately bigger than where you took me on Borleias, she relayed through their shared implant channel. I'm going to check in to one of the more modest rooms in the lower decks, which should give us a secure rally point and a place for Flirt to continue to work, undisturbed. Meet you in two hours in the shopping area mid-ship?

fMZZcER.png

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Sounds good," ShadowFett transmitted back to his riduur.

 

He was now approaching the Seventh Moon Casino. An order of magnitude larger than the one they'd visited on Borleias, the expansive, multi-level facilities were home to every game of chance any Moon Knight had encountered and some that none of them before had. Fett walked slowly between tables displaying battling holo-beasts and transmissions live-streaming podracing on Malastare, noisy slot machines and quiet games of pazaak. But his attention wasn't upon the games, but the gamblers themselves, sentients of every variety and from all walks of life. In his beskar'gam, he drew a few gazes from those who were not too hypnotized by the dazzling lights that distracted them from their dwindling supplies of credits. Some paid him no mind, some looked curious, and others appeared nervous -- no doubt there were some among them that owed debts or even had bounties on their head and assumed any Mandalorian was a beroya or enforcer.

 

But those bounties were small sums, and not worth Fett's time. He moved on and listened, trying to filter through conversations for anything unusual. It was slow work, but he was patient.

 

He'd made it to the far end of the casino and about halfway back up the other side before he heard something that caught his attention.

 

"Think there will be another protest soon?"

 

"I can't believe you're interested in that bantha poodoo. Who are they to decide what we do with our vacation time anyway?"

 

"I just think their message is worth hearing is all. You know I think I saw someone dealing glitterstim on our way here?"

 

"Why can't you just relax? This place is harmless. Let the conspiracy nuts be conspiracy nuts."

 

"I just want to be on the right side of things."

 

Fett decided to pause nearby and listen in a bit more to see if there were any details, but they didn't shake out. A lot of conspiracies were baseless, but there was often a grain of truth buried somewhere in them, making them a good place to get more substantial rumors and find people with legitimate connections. He would keep an ear to the ground for further mentions of a protest, but for now it wasn't otherwise actionable.

 

The Mando'ad checked his chrono and started heading to the rendezvous with Mirdala. If she'd gotten Flirt in place somewhere, it was only a matter of time before the little beskar'ad would be able to access the Sith files that were no doubt stored somewhere aboard.

iTJBZId.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

After securing a room in one of the more modestly priced hotels on the Gambit, Mirdala had found a place to plug Flirt in and rearranged the chair in the room slightly to hide the droid further. The front desk had originally balked at the idea of Vi’ika staying but backed off when Mirdala pointed out the vest and flashed her old military ID that still bore her old alias, that only Fett and his incredibly detailed networks had been able to link to her - Ca’tra Dar’manda.

 

Vi’ika began to pace the room as though checking it out for her liking before she settled at the foot of the bed and watched as Mirdala unpacked the cases that she’d brought from the Justice. One held her own suit of beskar’gam the others held civilian clothing for herself and Kandor and she’d brought the empty case for his, though she doubted he’d be out of it much.

 

Securing the datapad that provided an uplink to the Justice’s systems and 2277’s databanks, she stretched her neck from where she’d been reading through what data 2277 had on the Gambit while she waited for the two hours to nearly lapse before her meeting with Kandor. So far she had most of the immediate area’s layout committed to memory and would continue to look through the construction and engineering data for clues as to their target’s location. There was something here, she could sense it in her gut. What it is and where it might lead them, she could only guess.

 

With a brief, shrill whistle, she rose and headed for the door, Vi’ika close at her heels. Mirdala only paused long enough to toggle the “Do not disturb” indicator on the door before leaving their hotel and heading for the mid-level marketing area.

 

They were almost to the elevator that would take them there when a voice called out, “Excuse me, ma’am? You’ll need to leash your animal for safety.”

 

Mirdala turned to face the crewman, likely security from the looks of the uniform and the loadout at his waist. “Of course, how silly of me,” she shook her head as she reached into the satchel at her hip and took out the leash she’d gotten when Vi’ika had first been given to her but had never actually used it with the sandhound. “Can you tell me Mr…”

 

“Rhyden. Officer Rhyden.”

 

“Officer Rhyden,” she corrected sweetly as she scratched Vi’ika adoringly along the scruff of her neck. “Could you please tell me where this elevator would take me? I’ve only just arrived and it’s such a large ship. So easy to get lost especially by myself.”

 

He looked at her then at Vi’ika and sighed, apparently quite used to having to play tour guide. “These go directly to the mid-decks where you can find most of the shopping, restaurants, and a variety of gaming establishments.”

 

“Any you’d recommend? Who’s got the best odds?” She studied him, though the manner she employed was more akin to flirtation and appraisal rather than taking stock of what likely constituted a typical load out of the security staff, on this level at least.

 

He gave a short laugh and scratched the back of his head. “Depends on the game, ma’am. As far as eateries go, I hear there’s a nice Mandalorian place or something that recently opened up. Seems to be popular these days.”

 

Mirdala wrinkled her nose. “Tried that once...far too spicy for my tastes.”

 

“Then I’d recommend Planetoid Buffet. Can’t really go wrong with their variety and they tend to mark the spicy stuff.”

 

“Think you could show me the way?” She offered coyly.

 

“Afraid I’m not able to leave my post ma’am,” he responded politely. “However if you take these elevators up and turn left down the main walkway, you’ll eventually run into it. Have a good evening.”

 

Mirdala nodded, having expected as much regarding his ability to accompany her. Not that she really needed it, she had access to Kandor, 2277, and Flirt, so she could easily find her way back if she got lost for some strange reason.

 

“Come on, girl,” she called to Vi’ika, “Let’s see what fun we can find in the upper levels.”

fMZZcER.png

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ShadowFett arrived in the shopping area and spotted Vi'ika before Mirdala. The sand hound, which was sitting on her haunches, was nearly as tall as his riduur and decidedly a bit conspicuous for the low-key snooping that Mirdala would be doing, but that could be a useful quality as well. Attention tended to gravitate toward novel sights and away from the small plainclothes Mando'ad who was apparently minding her own business nearby.

 

"Su'cuy Mird'ika," he greeted her over their private link as he approached the shop front that she was browsing casually. "You and Flirt get along enough to get her situated?"

 

The walk over had been uneventful. The Shadow's Gambit wasn't quite as big as a city, but it was larger than most resorts. It would take some time to get a feel for everything that was going on. But he and his riduur had noses for trouble and Flirt could cut past all the osik and find out what was happening behind the scenes, once she'd had enough time to cozy up to the ship computer.

iTJBZId.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

"Su'cuy Cyar'ika," she responded via the same channel, hiding her amusement at his observation by picking up a trinket from a table and looking it over before putting it back where she'd found it. "We got on long enough to get her plugged into a portal in our room. She's making new friends with the various ship's systems as we speak. How about you? Scare up anything interesting?"

fMZZcER.png

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Not much yet," he admitted. "Rumors of organized protest. Probably just some misguided activists with nothing better to do."

 

He tilted his head and started walking, and soon she followed. "Want to find some skraan, take it back to the room?"

 

Ultimately, although they had left the Justice separately so that anyone watching arrivals might assume he had come alone, it was inevitable that people watching them would end up being able to draw the association. They would be sharing a room, meeting up at regular intervals, and potentially operating jointly depending on where things went. Fett's overt approach and his beskar'gam likely meant that someone had eyes on him already. Though few still would recognize him as Mand'alor, the war in the Sector had drawn some attention to Mandalorian affairs and people who were interested would be able to make the link, making him even more a public figure of interest.

 

Association with Mirdala he could live with, but he still wasn't about to start showing his face off in places like this, which made sitting down for a leisurely meal at a restaurant out of the question.

iTJBZId.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

"You don't have to tell me twice," she laughed. "I'm starving."

----

 

Several days later she was finishing up some work on the Justice with 2277 when he interrupted her.

 

<<”That is the third time in as many days that man has come near the ship. He doesn’t check out as dock crew. Do you suppose he wants something?”>>

 

Mirdala looked up from her data and met the droid’s photoreceptors briefly before looking past him to the monitor where, sure enough, there was a human male of about average height and build not so subtly eyeing the ship as though slightly hesitant to approach it.

 

“Scan him,” she ordered, grabbing her holdout blaster.

 

<<”Already done as soon as he approached,>> Twenty-two remarked. <<He doesn’t appear to be armed and has yet to attempt anything with the ship.”>>

 

Mirdala nodded once to the droid and moved toward the boarding ramp. “We’ve got a visitor,” she relayed to her husband via their encrypted implant channel as she activated the door. “Think I’ll go see what he wants.

 

She received his acknowledgment as she linked him into the conversation via her implant channel. “Can I help you with something?” she asked with her hand poised with deceptive casualness over the sidearm in its holster at her hip.

 

The man took a step back, apparently not expecting to encounter someone other than the ship’s registered owner. “I’m sorry, I must have the wrong ship,” he began to turn and walk away.

 

“You were looking for the Justice, were you not?” she called after him. “It’s rather an unmistakable vessel being of Mandalorian make and all. Not the person you expected to run into, is that it?”

 

Part of the discussion between her and Kandor the last few days had led to the decision that neither of them was going to go to any great lengths to keep their association hidden. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t been shy about greeting their guest.

 

Slowly he turned and seemed to be weighing something in his mind as he sized her up, but said nothing as he approached the ramp, apparently making up his mind. “You work for ShadowFett?” He reached into slowly his coat pocket, not missing how Mirdala’s right hand went immediately to her blaster.

 

“If you have something for him, I’ll see that he gets it,” she promised, holding out her left hand. Twenty-Two had already scanned the man, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t potentially be carrying something dangerous that wouldn’t show up on a scan.

 

“I was told to give it to him only.” Something was clenched in the man’s fist now.

 

“I’m on his ship. I’m still breathing,” Mirdala responded. “Also, you’ve been here the last three days and have done little more than skulk about the ship. You are hoping not to run into him.”

 

Once more he seemed to be weighing his options. Finally, he came forward a bit before holding his hand open to reveal a data chip. “You’ll see that he gets this then?”

 

“You have my word he’ll get it,” she confirmed snatching the chip and heading back up the ramp before he could change his mind.

 

They watched each other as the ramp closed, encasing her within the ship once more.

 

---

 

“It’s encrypted to you,” Mirdala remarked, handing Kandor the data chip as she shucked her jacket upon her return to their hotel room. “Figured that it would be easier to bring it here than waste time on hacking it. It’s not like we have secrets from one another." She leaned forward to kiss him. "How did you sleep?”

fMZZcER.png

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kandor returned the kiss as he accepted the data card. "Well enough," he replied to her question, then picked up his buy'ce off the nearby table. Sliding the chip into an appropriate-sized slot on the bottom rim of his bucket, he put it on and linked with 2277, looping Mirdala's implant in on the channel.

 

"Twenty-two," he addressed the beskar'ad. "I assume we can decrypt it?"

 

"Yes, Master," 2277 responded. "It appears to be using your old CoreSec public encryption."

 

Fett frowned. "Is it authenticated?"

 

"Negative. I cannot verify the author. The message is audio only, and it passes security inspection."

 

That meant the droid couldn't detect any malware or viruses stored on the chip. "Begin playback."

 

A voice that had clearly been run through an alteration program that thoroughly masked it began to speak. "Hello ShadowFett. You may call me Seraph. I have stationed myself on the Shadow's Gambit for some time now in an attempt to uncover its secrets, and I have come upon disturbing information concerning its origins and owners. I don't know your current status, but given your reputation I believe the information I have will be of interest to you, and in return I'm hoping that you can help me set things right here. If you're interested, come to room 117B at 2300 hours tonight. Bring Ad'Goran if you want. If you don't show, that's it, we won't be in contact again. Seraph out."

 

The recording ended. Fett removed his buy'ce and looked at his riduur. "Thoughts?"

iTJBZId.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mirdala closed her eyes for a moment as she thought aloud. “Former CoreSec or maybe someone higher up in the command structure?” She opened her eyes though they were unfocused as though she were trying to see her way through the new information. “Though maybe not. They know about me, but it seems like someone still with the organization with enough autonomy to self-assign would know your current status with the organization. Could we be dealing with a potentially rogue agent?”

 

She shrugged. “I don’t suppose it matters. Either way, I don’t sense any ill intent. At least not directed at us. You know I’ve got your back either way.”

fMZZcER.png

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Could be," Kandor mused. "Also could be an elaborate dar'jetii trap if they're getting nervous about us poking around." A little bit of paranoia was practical in this line of work, if it could even be called paranoia. Fett would define paranoia as abnormal concern toward an imaginary threat on someone's life. He and Mirdala had very real threats on their lives, and no matter how fast they killed their enemies they seemed quite capable of earning them even faster.

 

It wasn't all grim however. He and Mirdala weren't the only ones in the oyu'baat who sided against evil. "We'll attend on the chance that the offer is legitimate and he actually knows something about Quietus," he said after a moment. "We don't have to go in blind."

 

In the last few days Flirt had slowly been making friends with the Gambit's central computer. One of her most difficult targets to date, the Sith had spared no expense in hardening the ship's memory core and higher functions against would-be exploiters and espionage agents. Even now the tiny beskar'ad was a long way from full control, but she already had access to several tiers of data and could exert influence over less-secure shipboard systems such as lights, guest room and some security doors, climate control, and assorted attraction-related functions. Given enough time, she would be able to do much more, which would open areas of the ship to them where security would very much not wish for them to be and thus just where they sought to go.

 

Upon Fett's query, Flirt immediately piped up with her usual chipper female voice. "I've looked up room 117B. It's registered under the name 'Treym Bolvar'."

 

"Most likely a psuedonym," 2277 interjected.

 

"The room has been in use under the same name for 71 standard days, 5 hours and 22 minutes," Flirt continued. "That is several standard deviations longer than the average stay, and is usually a marker of wealth."

 

"Does the system have any flags on the room?" Kandor asked.

 

"Yes, Master Fett. The staff has been informed not to perform room service or enter at any time without the consent of Mr. Bolvar. They have complied, and the occupant has since been a model guest."

 

"Send a timetable of when he enters and exists his room if you can get it," Fett told her. "If you make any progress on the security cameras, let me know. A visual would be helpful."

 

The Gambit logged when each room was occupied and how many people were inside in order to assist staff and regulate the temperature. Looking at tabulated data spanning the past few weeks, Fett was able to make a few determinations. First, Seraph used the room a lot. There was time each day when he wasn't in, particularly in the early evenings, but he conducted his business from 117B. He often had guests over, usually one at a time but occasionally in small groups. This told Fett that Seraph often worked by proxy. Maybe he was worried about being recognized, whether by security or other guests. Or perhaps he simply preferred not to get his hands dirty.

 

Beyond that the data could tell him very little. Since no Gambit staff had been inside the room in over two standard months, there was no record of what might be inside, and without access to the security footage, Fett was unable to identify Seraph or his associates that might use the room. But the logs did note that Seraph was not currently in his room.

 

"If he follows his usual patterns, Seraph should be out for a while longer," Kandor said to his riduur. "What do you say we swing by his place a bit early, have a look around?"

iTJBZId.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

“Flirt, is there a vacant room nearby that we could use as a stakeout?” Mirdala asked, already donning her kit.

 

“The room across the hallway and a door down is available,” the positronic droid chirruped in response. “I've just marked it as occupied and transferred access to the two of you.”

 

Mirdala paused as she was rummaging through her go-bag, “Good. That’ll give us a chance to get down there and set up before our meeting. I should be able to get a better read on things once I'm closer to this ‘Seraph.’”

 

---

 

Several minutes later found the two of them in full gear and in the room Flirt had secured for them. For the moment, it was essentially a stakeout, but instead of establishing direct line of sight which would provide others with the opportunity to observe them in return, they made use of other means.

 

Rooms in this part of the Gambit had small exterior-facing cameras on the doors. High-tech peepholes, they had a small display which would allow occupants to see who was at the door. In addition to this, the two Mando'ade had access to penetrating radar within their buy'cese which would allow them to image the interior of Seraph's room. The system wasn't tuned to provide details which would obscure their vision through their HUDs during combat, but it would at least tell them if anyone was in the room and give them basic structural layouts.

 

For the moment, Seraph was absent as anticipated so Mirdala turned her attention to the room’s set up instead.

 

Initially, there was nothing in particular that drew her attention, but her gut told her there was something there.

 

“Flirt, pull up the schematics for these rooms and patch them through to my display,” she ordered, dialing up the detail on her new penetrating radar.

 

A moment later, and her display lit up with the requested data. “Kandor,” she breathed sharing her read out with him,”Do you see it? There's something odd with that back wall, almost like it's movable or something.”

 

She turned off the penetrating display and reached out with the Force, carefully and probed subtly. “I don't sense any Sith, but they could also be ramped down or hiding in other ways…”

fMZZcER.png

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fett didn't expect any dar'jetiise at this point in the hunt, but it was good to have Mirdala's Seeker senses double checking. The pair of them had a penchant for being able to take down such targets, but they weren't fights that you wanted to charge into unprepared or unawares.

 

That concern out of the way, he focused his attention instead on the wall his wife had indicated. "Flirt did say the staff hadn't been inside in a while," he mused over their private link. "Still, hard to believe that Seraph could have made structural changes without them noticing." He supposed a clever man with the right sonic dampening equipment could pull it off. Or the Gambit came equipped with such rooms to service a certain segment of its clientele. Fett wondered idly how much effort was actually given towards preventing illicit dealings in controlled substances or black market items -- the Gambit stood to gain a lot from turning a blind eye to such activity that did not threaten the safety of the other passengers. A ship drifting through space and thus not under the jurisdiction of any system law and already a place to indulge in an assortment of vices, it could attract an even greater diversity of wealthy patrons by enabling such deals to be made upon its decks.

 

"In any case, I wouldn't be surprised if he has more smoke and mirrors planned for us," the Mando'ad transmitted.

 

They continued to wait and watch for a few minutes until a man wearing the by-now-familiar orange and black Shadow's Gambit security uniform came strolling casually up the hallway. At first Fett thought nothing of it, but then the man paused to linger for a moment outside of Seraph's door, lifting his eyes to the top right corner of the doorframe. He nodded, then continued on his way, but not before running his palm across the door and sliding what appeared to be a small datacard into a receptacle just below the keycard slot.

 

"Must have a camera," Fett deduced. He looked at Mirdala and tilted his head toward the doorway. "Think you can manage?"

iTJBZId.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Mirdala offered him a shrug and placed her palm against the door, closing her eyes. Her focus first turned inward, then breathing deeply she reached out with the Force picturing the data card within the compartment. Her breathing slowed as she tried to bring the card from the slot, doing her best to remember what she’d learned during her training with Kirlocca.

 

For several long minutes, nothing seemed to be happening. Nothing was happening.

 

Frustrated, she placed her other palm against the door and tried again. She could almost see the data card rattling within the compartment, but it didn’t seem apt to budge much further. She let out a discouraged growl and stepped back from the door.

 

Why isn’t this working? she wondered, face hidden beneath her buy’ce.

 

Kandor picked up on her frustration. "It's okay," he said. "There's no rush."

 

“I don’t understand,” she admitted. “I can sense the Force, so there’s no ysalamiri blocking me. I can see the card, but I can’t get it to respond.” She took another breath and paced a bit in front of the door. “I’ve done it before…”

 

"Usually in the middle of battle," he pointed out.

 

She sighed and nodded, realizing that her Force capabilities would need a lot more practice unless she kept relegating them to battle-use. What good was a tool that could only be used under fire?

 

“I’ll keep trying, then.”

 

Once more, she stepped up to the door and did her best to clear her mind of everything but her goal, mixing some of what the late Wookiee Grandmaster had taught her of the Force and what she’d learned about isolating in the empathic stream from TeVerd.

 

This time she opened her awareness further at first, sensing the other beings going about their day further up and down the hall from Seraph’s rented suite. Hotel staff and other guests danced at the edge of her consciousness, but the stillness remained within the suite they were targeting.

 

Slowly and deliberately, Mirdala tightened her focus and maintained her steady breathing as she honed in on the compartment and the data card within. Gently, she began to pull the compartment door open and coaxed the data card back up what appeared to be the room’s mail slot.

 

It fell to the floor as her focus broke for just an instant before she redoubled her efforts and managed to move it toward their door bit by bit. A little less than a minute later and there was a satisfying clunk sound within their own mail slot.

 

Her immediate work done, she sat down on the edge of the room’s bed, momentarily drained from the effort.

fMZZcER.png

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Ori'jate," Fett said as he retrieved the data card from the slot, confident that Mirdala's trick would be difficult to notice on the security cameras. It was a standard card devoid of markings -- any iconography it may have once displayed had been removed.

 

He pulled a datapad from his belt pouch and sat down next to his riduur. "It's encrypted," he observed after sliding the card into the reader and only getting static on the display. "2277?"

 

"Attempting decryption now, Master," the beskar'ad replied. About four seconds later, he spoke again. "Done. Transmitting decryption key. It was not sophisticated."

 

Inserting the decrypt module into the datapad loaded with the key, Fett watched as the static was replaced with aurabesh text and detailed map files. "Well now, what are you up to, Seraph?" he wondered aloud, positioning the datapad so Mirdala could also see the readout as he scrolled through.

 

"The data is incomplete, Master," 2277 reported. "But it contains passkeys, maps, and patrol information for Shadow's Gambit security. Someone armed with this data and sufficient resources could pose a significant threat to shipboard operations."

 

"Share the files with Flirt please, burc'ya," the Mando'ad requested mildly. "Let me know if the passkeys get us access to anything she hadn't worked out yet."

 

He offered the datapad to Mirdala. "Wonder just how dangerous this man is."

iTJBZId.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

“Safer to assume he’s at least as dangerous as Ab’ki, Fieyr, or Judyc,” she said grimly, accepting the data pad from him. “I don’t think he would have reached out if he didn’t have a back up plan of some sort if we didn’t show or refuse whatever he has to offer. Better to stay cautious.”

 

She synced up the data to her helmet’s read out as she continued to glance through it. Something wasn’t sitting right with her, but she realized it could completely be unrelated to the present situation and more connected to the last few months of being hunted and fighting back against the shadows of her childhood. In hindsight, she’d taken far too much for granted - from blithely trusting Fieyr simply because he was like TeVerd and Carid as a teenager to assuming safety in Coronet City only to be led by a child into the captivity and torture that awaited her at the hands of her father-in-law and even the unrealistic certainty that TeVerd would always be with her once they’d been reunited.

 

It had been a harsh realization to come to, but one lesson that she would take to heart. “It was something Buir would constantly drill into my head. There’s every possibility he’s not that dangerous, but I’m not willing to take that chance.”

 

She handed back the data pad to her husband and checked the readout from the peep-hole camera to resume her watch on the door, checking the chrono in her HUD as she did so. It was 22:58, but there was no sign of approach from either direction. Switching to her newly incorporated penetrating radar, she turned her attention to the suite, noting that, where there had been no one before, there were now three wireframed figures wandering about the interior, and any one of them could be Seraph.

 

“I’m showing three figures in the room. Did you happen to see their approach?”

fMZZcER.png

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...