Bespin: (Black Sun's) Cloud City

[Delta73]

Delta sighed as the large, junky ship made a swan like landing on his bay. Pilots these days...

 

He motioned towards the cockpit, and the scud missiles came to bear, his voice was projected through the main speakers of the bay.

 

"Pilot, if you would be so kind to come out and tell us who you are, we would be happy to repair your ship and make it serviceable. A meal also awaits you."

 

It was strange the varied levels of hospitality that were deposited upon visitors, some were completely ignored, while some were welcomed with open arms and food. Strange. Almost like it was already planned out through previous private arrangement....

[Frozen_Slicer]

"Pilot, if you would be so kind to come out and tell us who you are, we would be happy to repair your ship and make it serviceable. A meal also awaits you." said a voice the engulfed his ship.

 

Erdric's eyes opened, it seemed that he was being met with rare kindness, so far throughout his life not many people had been kind. But an offer of assitance and food was even more of treat than he would have ever expected.

 

When all had settled, Erdric sat up in his cockpit and peered around a little. When he felt relativly safe, he popped the hatch open, and walked down his run way, making sure to take it slowley, as to not make the soldiers think he was a threat.

 

He headed in the direction of a man in dark mandalorian armour. He seemed to look like he was in charge, for he was not activley pointing a gun at Erdric, which made Erdric feel a little more comfortable talking to this man.

 

"Greetings" Erdric said as he gave a slight bow to show respect." I am Erdric Starkos, thank you for allowing me to land here, I dont think I will be too long, just long enough to repair my ship, and ill be on my way. Though I am in need of a place to rest for a little". Erdric was sceptical about a place to sleep for the night, but he figured it wouldnt hurt to ask.

[Delta73]

The man gave a short bow, and Delta returned it. He gestured to the service crew, and the great group began to service the vehicle. Paint was stripped, micrometeor impacts were quickly puttied, filled, and sanded. Wires were repaired, and the ship was slowly refurbished. The carpets were ripped out and replaced with ones of red velvet.

 

While that was being done however, Delta escorted the man to a large dining hall, a great buffet of every type of food was before him. After Delta filled his plate with burgers from the finest Bantha, he sat down across the table from the man.

 

"So good sir, what type of business are you in?"

[Frozen_Slicer]

Erdric stood amazed, he had full intentions of repairing the ship himself, but was very glad that he no longer had to. He watched for a moment as the crew members set to his ship with purpose. After a moment or so, Erdric followed the gentelman into a great dinning hall. It seemed as if this man and his crew had been preparing for a guest long before Erdric had entered the system. He was not phased however, more in awe than anything.

 

Erdric taking caution however, waited for the man to finish dishing up before he he did. He put some burgers on his plate as well, and sat down and began to eat slowly.

 

"So good sir, what type of business are you in?"

 

the man on the other side of the table asked him.

 

""Well, sir... One might say I am in the business of making money." Erdric let out a nervous chuckle "I dont really have much of a job as it stands. Though I am looking for work." Erdric was a little nervous to let out that he was a young bounty hunter. People in the galaxy had never cared for his type of profession, and he wasnt sure if the man infront of him was one of those people.

 

Erdric had thought it out and decided hed just try to test the waters, and drop subtle hints to his profession

 

"I do spend a lot of my time looking for people though"

 

Erdric had hoped that it was sublte enough, he wasnt too keen on being blunt at this point in time.

[Delta73]

Delta shoveled a bit of pudding into his mouth and wiped his lips with a swath of Ewok Fur. A rarity nowadays, a single package of Ewok fur washcloths could go for twenty thousand credits on the black market. He studied the man, an interesting specimen to be sure.

 

"So you wish to earn a living wage in this economy?" Delta swept his plate aside and brought out his large data pad. He quickly sent a text message to His old Scorpions. "LOL READY TO GO KILL A BUNCH OF MORE PPL?" Then brought up his spreadsheet. He scrolled through it for a few seconds....

 

"Aha!" He exclaimed, clicking on a percentage tag. "For bringing me a head of a Jedi as well as his lightsaber you can get thirty million credits. Though the going rate for sith is a bit higher for.....fifty million." He looked at the man,

 

"Would either of those contracts work for you?"

[Frozen_Slicer]

"fifty million credits"

 

The bluntness of such a statement almost knocked Erdric on his ass.

 

"Sound pretty damn good to me" Erdric was excited yet nervous. The biggest target he had ever taken down was a scumbag on Nal Hutta that was in debt to the hut family that ran the planet. " I might need some assisstance with a target that big, deffenetly going to need a better firepower."

 

With such a blunt statement from the man infront of him, he figured it would not be beyond his capability to retrieve better equipment from this man.

 

"I will be in need of a decent data pad with all the information on the Jedi that you want taken down."

[Delta73]

Delta nodded slightly, and flipped through another chart of available agents. "Well if you are in the Sith or Jedi hunting mood, there is an agent available on Coruscant. You will meet him at the CelCon construction facility on Coruscant in 24 hours, he will meet you there, and allow you to be fully equipped for the mission. Your ship should be ready."

 

He took another bite of pudding.

[Frozen_Slicer]

Erdric gave a curt nod to the man before him. He still didnt have a name or anything of the sort, wasnt even sure what all just happened. He understood that he was offered a job tracking down a target, and that it was obviously was an important target for such a high bounty. What confused Erdirc was ow could this man have so much trust in a complete stragner, granted he had proved that he was a man of power and wealth, and that there was assuredly more than one blaster pointed at him at that moment.

 

"Very well, I will head that way." Erdric stood up and bowed to the stranger. "Thank you for your hospitality sir"

 

He rose from the bow and began to make his way back to his ship. On his way out he snagged a few more goodies and slipped them in his pockets. He was sure that he was seen doing it, but didnt think anyone would mind.

 

He was escorted by some guards back to his ship, which was a good thing because he would have gotten lost had they not been there. The bay doors opened and before him sat the Galactic Chaos. Yet it had deffently been changed. A fresh coat of black paint had been applied to his ship. Accented by a red stripes running up the forward arms of the ship. It had seemed that all the engines had been fixed, and all the systems seemd to have been replaced. It was deffently not the same ship that he had almost crashed.

 

Erdric climbed into the cockpit of his ship, and began starting it up. Everything about the ship worked far better than ever before, systems turned on faster, engines warmed up quicker, and the navigation system retirved a more precise location.

 

The galactic chaos began lifting off the pad, and pointed toward the stars. With in a few seconds, the Galactic Chaos had made its way back into space.

[Silas]

As far as planets went, Bespin was pretty shitty. A giant ball of metallic gases that were uninhabitable but for the most minuscule fraction of the atmosphere. For all of its uses, Tibanna gas and Rethin among other things, it was still a floating sphere of clouds with no natural way to enjoy it. It was nothing more than a useless waste of a space, which made it the perfect place for a man who was supposed to be dead to resurface.

 

A small Starwind-class pleasure yacht drifted through the pale orange clouds, its lone occupant sitting in the cockpit with a seemingly eternal scowl on his face. He had much to be angry about. He had served one criminal empire for more than 20 years now. He had seen leaders rise and fall, had served at their right hand, had risen and fallen as a leader himself and just when things had settled down and he was able to enjoy the spoils of his personally-waged war on society, Smash went a blew it all to hell. Literally.

 

When the assassins had come he had lost every single one of the Black Sun agents most loyal to him. Those who had seen him through the faking of his own death once before and had assisted in his deception on Corellia. Those who had risen again with him from the ashes of a broken organization to stand at Smash's right hand. They died valiantly, doing their sworn duty to the very end. The battle had been fierce and in the end it was he alone who had survived.

 

At that point he knew that he would have to shed his name. Vesper Stubernic, Jacen Onnd and all of his previous identities were as good as dead. Anything on current Black Sun record was useless to him. Thankfully he had spent his multiple decades with the organization gathering as much information as he could and making sure that it was backed up in places that he alone was aware of. Each leader of the Black Sun had brought a different vision for the organization and with those visions had come a vast number of resources. Resources that were, thanks to his forward thinking, all still readily available for his use. Abandoned terrorism projects, blackmail on thousands of world leaders, almost more information than he knew what to do with. Almost.

 

The pleasure yacht burst through a cloud barrier and the rebuilt Cloud City broke into view. He spotted the Black Sun base of operations almost immediately and was struck with a pang of guilt at the sight of it. It was nice, sure, but it didn't even come close to holding a candle to the citadels of old. It made him long for a time when the mere sight of a Black Sun Citadel would strike fear into the hearts of their enemies. It had been a simpler age.

 

Pushing the nostalgic memories from his mind he pulled out a long thin stick from his jacket, lit it, inhaled deeply, exhaled and allowed the slightest hint of a smile to creep on to his lips. The drug within was top of the line, cultivated at a tiny plantation and refinery on a backwater, Outer Rim world that he had invested in during his first few years with the Sun. It was his version of a death stick - what he called a joint. Given the way his head was spinning now he judged it to be a worthy investment. He took another drag and moved his hands to the dash. He began to transmit an incredibly long and complex series of identification codes that none other than Jacen Onnd's ghost would know. Before his eyes shields dropped, turbolasers powered down and a single, amazingly well-concealed docking bay door opened.

 

He set his new ship, the Trump Carde, down and stood, brushing the front of his suit with both hands to alleviate the creases. His left hand moved over a reassuring bump in his left breast pocket. The gun made of pure gold given to him by Smash himself rested there. Inside it were bullets made of the finest Corusca gems harvested from the deepest reaches of Yavin Prime's core. It was an ever present reminder of the man who had done so much to shape his view on the galaxy. More than any other leader of the Black Sun, Smash had taught him what it was to be truly happy in this line of work. And then he had gone insane and burned it all to the ground.

 

The landing ramp lowered and he descended it, taking a final drag of the joint. He dropped it to the ground and left it there to incinerate itself into oblivion. He let his hands casually fall into his pockets and walked away from the ship. He exited the private docking bay and found the turbolift that he had been looking for. He entered a few barely-remembered codes into the display and braced himself as the turbolift car began to race toward the main complex of the Black Sun base. He was back. After all these years and all he had suffered, he had finally returned. The car stopped and a true smile made its way on to his face. The *DING* of the turbolift marked the beginning of Silas Carde's Black Sun.

[Silas]

Construction was just concluding as Silas woke from his afternoon slumber. After weeks of staring at unsightly machinery and even more unsightly construction workers, it was refreshing to wake up and find the most incredibly voluptuous posterior looking back at him. It was attached to a perfectly formed pair of legs and a waist that couldn't have been more than 20 inches all the way around.

 

"You must be my new secretary," he said with a slight grin on his face. The two beautiful cheeks in front of him rotated to be replaced by an equally beautiful, albeit slightly less impressive, pair with a smile between them. She was a breathtaking woman. The skintight dress she wore was doing its best, and failing miserably, to contain the mountains on her chest. Shimmering blonde hair fell just past her shoulders and her glasses gave her the look of a sexy, naughty librarian. "I see you found your uniform. Do you like it?"

 

"It's a bit tight."

 

"You'll get used to it," he chuckled with a wave of his hand. It was a clear dismissal and one she was wise to heed. She turned and left the room, her ample caboose bouncing along behind her. He could certainly get used to this view.

 

He pulled both a joint and a cigarette from the pocket of his suit jacket, lighting the former and leaving the latter on his desk. He leaned back in his chair and pondered recent events. Over the past few weeks he had made substantial upgrades to the current Black Sun base of operations. All defense systems, both internal and external, had been tested for pin-point accuracy. The dreary interior, previously reminiscent of a mobile-military operation, now sported vaulting archways and lush carpet of the deepest black. The light fixtures were made of real gold and diamonds and gave the "base" a very warm air.

 

The walls were a deep red, signifying the fire that Smash had started that had almost burned the Black Sun to the ground. It was that same fire that had been lit in his soul and prompted his return. Outdated equipment from the Research and Development Labs had been replaced with with state-of-the-art technology and were the labs themselves were now fully staffed around the clock. A massive training wing had been added on, boasting the latest in flight simulators as well as hand-to-hand combat and weapons facilities.

 

The part that Silas truly cared about was his office. It was a large room, tastefully decorated, with three of its four walls being covered by computer monitors that flashed every thirty seconds to show the economic market conditions on thousands of different worlds. His desk was made of the finest wood from a long forgotten world and contained an unending supply of the finest liquor and drugs that could be found in this galaxy.

 

He put out the joint and lit the cigarette, pouring himself a generous helping of his favorite spirit in the process. It was at this moment that a commotion outside his office drew his attention. A few seconds later one of his operatives came bursting through his door being dragged by an adolescent vornskr. About seven-tenths of a meter in height, its muscular frame made it an impressive sight.

 

"I have the vornskr you requested, sir."

 

"Yes, I can see that," Silas said through a grin. "You may go".

 

The operative handed him the leash and left the room with a sense of haste that one did not see in most people. He smiled down at the beast, marveling at the amount of brilliant work that had gone in to creating this wonderful creature.

 

The only way to truly tame a vornskr was to remove its poisonous stinger-tail. This particular beast had been raised with a Human Replica Droid fashioned after Silas himself. The vornskr had been taught a healthy respect for his new master while still learning the hunting skills that Silas so desperately desired. It would be his protection, his loyal bodyguard.

 

He motioned the beast towards a luxurious looking pallet laying on the ground next to his desk where it promptly plopped down, resting its head on its paws and looking directly at the closed office door. It was all he could do to not laugh maniacally to himself at the sight of it.

 

He moved back around the desk and sat down at his computer. He took another drag of the cigarette keyed in a few commands to the terminal. The commands he entered would send a signal out to ALL ACTIVE BLACK SUN OPERATIVES informing them of the erection of the new Citadel at Cloud City and telling them to return home. Today he had acquired the first of his hunters and soon the rest would arrive. He put the cigarette out in the ashtray. It was time to go hunting.

[Vothe Kyrik]

((What funds are you using for this construction? I thought I read that Smash liquidated most of Black Sun funding? I quite like the idea of a less overt Black Sun, back to its roots so to speak. It seems to fit the era better, and sheds all the excess that gets in the way of actually RPing actual operations.))

 

-- Incoming anonymous message from Coruscant for Silas --

 

"Greetings. I lead a small team operating on Coruscant. I must say it's good to hear something coming over Black Sun channels, but I find myself unable to confirm your identity, and I was under the impression that all Vigos had been terminated. Please authenticate and share what you know of what happened on Dubrillion, and my team will report in."

 

-- End of message --

[Silas]

((Ben would be a fool to believe that a single post, funny and well-written as it was, would destroy a faction. This group spanned many worlds and has known many leaders, all with their own secrets. My ñ has many contacts outside of the organization as well as having led the faction at one point himself. If Ben had bothered to killshot any of us or post something similar happening at other locations than Dubrillion then I might consider money an issue. As it stands I find it extremely plausible that my character would have access to this kind of funding. If it really bothers you feel free to PM me and we can talk this out and come to a mutual agreement. And Black Sun has never really been a group to to hide. Even in the EU they were feared and respected. That said, I'm always open to new ideas.))

 

A return comm that would have smelled of booze and tobacco if comm messages had a smell was sent back to Vothe.

 

--Comm--

 

Smash was a fool who didn't know how to draw the line between work and play. He should have known that I would never fall so quickly or easily seeing as he trained me. I've seen this coming for years and have made...provisions, in the case that he should try to burn all of our hard work to the ground. The general stationed at the Cloud City installation during the time of the attack was loyal to me, and Delta under me, and as such ignored Daisaku's order. The base here remains and is fully operational.

 

Return home agent. The rest of your life as one of the richest men in the galaxy awaits.

 

--End Comm--

 

At the end of the message was an incredibly long and complex set of letters and numbers that would identify Silas Carde as the former leader of the Black Sun, Jacen Onnd. Any true Black Sun agent would recognize the encryption and comprehend what was in front of them.

[Velos Menethil]

((http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/pinckz/MEA_zpsd0b9e423.png)) -- MEA Logo))

 

A small shuttle bearing the silver MEA logo hovered above Cloud City and awaited clearance to land. A lithe chiss approached the comm systems and sent a small message to the control team monitoring communications.

 

"Hello, this is Azhira Vemros. I am requesting permission to land on behalf of my employer Velos Menethil. I have business to discuss with the current head of Black Sun. Thank you."

[Silas]

The MEA Shuttle was given clearance to land in docking bay 47. Upon their arrival, the shuttle's inhabitants would find two armed operatives ready to escort them.

Edited August 19, 2013 by Guest

[Velos Menethil]

The bodyguards were large and overbearing. It was a little excessive due to the circumstances, but because Azhira worked for an arms dealer, she knew how important security was to some people. She exited the shuttle craft carefully and dutifully with her back straight and her manner plain. The men on the loading dock offered to search her and she submitted willingly. The more they knew about her the better. If this deal was going to go well, she needed to not be hiding anything.

 

The Chiss Female had blinding white hair with deep blood red eyes. She had beautiful azure colored skin with lighter blue freckles. Her face was framed by silver earrings on each side and a custom set of MEA sunglasses that fit her oddly balanced ears. She was dressed in business casual with tight black slacks and a stylish black suit coat that hugged her body comfortably. When one of the bodyguards lifted up her left sleeve, they found that her left arm was cybernetic, built with special polymers and synthetic materials to make it almost invisible to metal detectors. It had a built in blaster pistol that wasn't super powerful, but the purpose of the construction was to replace a broken limb and serve as an alternate form of defense in situations that she couldn't wear a gun. It was why she wore a glove on her left hand, so she wore gloves on both hands to even them out.

 

She looked at both of them when they paused at her arm and she nodded silently. They continued unrolling her sleeve and concluded their check expeditiously. The rest of the check was trivial with no other notables and their journey through the complex was relatively uneventful. When the MEA representative was finally in front of the Black Sun leader she approached cautiously. She held her look of indifference for as long as appropriate and then took on a look of practiced patience. She was silent when she approached and didn't speak until she felt her entire spiel could be heard.

 

"I am here to give greeting from the Menethil and Expanthos Arms corporation. As you may have noticed, if you have been keeping an eye on intergalactic stocks, we are currently falling down the ladder of reliable investments due to the absence of wartime need. I was sent as a representative of Velos Menethil, our CEO, to help and cinch together a new type of demand. One that he hoped you were willing to be a part of. We could provide you arms and defense services at a reasonable discount if purchased in bulk, and in return you could serve as a repeat consumer and assist us in rebuilding our company." Azhira finished curtly as if it would hurt not to conclude her sentence at exactly the right moment. She took time to adjust the silver MEA pen in her breast pocket and brushed a stray hair out of her face.

 

She took her glasses off and slipped them adjacent to the silver pen and looked at the Black Sun leader without betraying an emotion. It would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous, but her nerves weren't important now. She had been in the MEA corporation for several years and with Velos for a couple of those, so she was accustomed to this feeling. Even so, it never ceased to amaze her how unsettled she could get in different situations.

[Silas]

"The last person to pitch me a business venture died at my hand."

 

The words hung in the air like the thickest of fogs. Their eyes met as he spoke, each refusing to be the first to look away. It wasn't a threat, or a "promise" for that matter; it was the truth. This middleman needed to be aware of who she was dealing with and what the company she represented would be getting in to. A "partnership", for lack of a better word, with the Black Sun was not something to be entered in to lightly.

 

"Twice."

 

Silas leaned back in his chair and lit a cigarette. From what he understood it was rude to partake in mind-altering vices while in the midst of business discussions, so he ignored the spice and booze sitting on his desk. During their brief walk from the hangar bay one of the guards had informed him of their guest's unusual appendage, and as such they had remained in the room standing silently on either side of the only visible doorway out. He knew their presence wouldn't be necessary, but they served as a reminder of the brute force the Sun could still display. Finally breaking eye contact, he spoke.

 

"I've developed a habit," a quick puff, "of investing in things I don't need and turning them into something that everybody else wants". He stood and slowly walked around his obscenely large desk, intentionally choosing the side where his pet was lying quietly alert, coming to stand directly in front of her. A long drag this time. Their eyes locked once more.

 

"Tell me, Azhira Vemros, how is it that such a beautiful woman came to possess such a...unique attribute?"

[Velos Menethil]

Azhira had long grown accustomed to the smell of cigarette smoke, but here in this office, she could have fooled herself. She was ever aware of the growing smoke and the presence of masculine excesses that preceded each movement and gesture made to her by the man, but she refused to let it bother her. The fact that small flecks of smoke were building on the edges of her suit fabric, or that he smelled of horrid things that one should not speak of, or that there was a painting in the back that was slightly eschew; these things would not bother her even if they were present in her mind.

 

When the dirty crime lord adjusted his crooked eyes to look straight at hers, she twitched internally just a little bit. A piece of ash fell on the carpeted floor and left a small stain on what used to be a beautiful design, marring the beauty that lay beneath the man’s filthy shoes .

 

She looked up at him with his question and stared back into his eyes with indifference. “I suppose there is no harm in telling you,” she said softly with a straight tone.

 

“In my earlier years, I was studying to be a surgeon. My parents encouraged what little vices I indulged in and I got to live with their financially stable benefits until I was a practicing surgeon. This ambition was cut short however when my left arm was violently ripped off by a piece of experimental machinery.” Azhira shuddered a little and let the shudder spread to her entire body. She remembered the pain, and the tingles around the stump cried out in sore agony as if the wound was only days old.

 

“My partner, at the time, helped me recover and got me a job handling the defense division at a Menethil Company. Slowly I climbed the ladder and became the businesswoman I am today.”

 

Azhira nodded her head, indicating that her speech was done. She then proceeded to continue standing in complete silence, waiting for the man to answer.

 

[Silas]

"That's about as interesting a story as I could have hoped for."

 

He reached an arm behind his back to put the cigarette out in the ashtray resting on his desk, all the while holding her steady gaze. She was a business woman like so many others he had known. Efficient, intense and for some reason they tended to be quite beautiful, but if there was one thing to be learned after forty-plus years in this galaxy it was to never trust a beautiful woman.

 

"As you can see I have little need for more security. I recently renovated this compound with top of the line equipment, perhaps even some of your employer's own making. I run a crime syndicate specializing in weapons, drugs and illegals. One company in a galaxy of trillions is of little consequence to me."

 

Silas lit another cigarette, the motion appearing to be the most natural movement he knew, all the while still maintaining direct eye contact.

 

"However, something about you has aroused my interest. So given that you now know that I can continue on from this moment having never met you or your company and not be the worse for it, I pose you one question: What's in it for me?"

 

He let the question hang in the air for a second before continuing.

 

"You see, I have the money to do as you request. To stop your stocks from falling and save your dying company and your job. Even if I didn't, the Black Sun has connections that far exceed even my own network. But why should I invest in you, rather than say a couple of nice prostitutes or an excessively over-priced bottle of booze? I've spent many years climbing up the proverbial ladder to get to where I am today and I spent a great number of those years dreaming about what I would do when I finally had everything I wanted, which brings us back to my original question: What's in it...for me?"

[Velos Menethil]

"Well... Mr. Onnd, or Carde if that is what you wish to be called. I will show you." Azhira took her glasses from her pocket and slid them behind her ears. She smiled a little when her glasses lit up with a small hum and a light blue glint.

 

"We are the leading researching and manufacturing firm for both Weapons and Shields for Aircraft and Infantry. We provide excellent customer service, because we do what we can to avoid ruining our good name with cutting corners and false promises like other companies. In fact, the only reason we are hemorrhaging any money, is because we invested more in our Research and Development. And the only reason we did that was because we had an increasing level of military demand. Now that the military demand is gone, we have all of this high tech hardware and no where to put it. We also have the gumption to make more hardware, but no one to sell it to." Azhira paused and stopped smiling. She pressed a small button on the side of her glasses and they projected a small holographic display of the current merchandise, supply and demand readout of MEA.

 

"We would be requesting a partnership. We have access to a great deal of high-tech weaponry, shields, tools, plating, turrets, etc. We also have access to weaponsmith, shipwright, armorsmith, and artisan contracts. We offer you these, as well as a bulk vote on our board as to where we would shift the focus in our Research and Development and other things. If this does not interest you, I would be curious to see what you expect and need out of a company like ours Mr. Onnd."

 

Azhira smiled again when she said his name and bowed a little in respect.

Edited August 29, 2013 by Guest

[Zalis Krales]

Nimbus blasted out of hyperspace above Bespin with just two lone occupants who weren't sleeping together, a rather old fashion trend these days in the universe. Zalis turned towards Vothe, or rather shouted back at him.

 

"We're here."

 

She didn't much get too much of his personal life from the trip as she hoped. Vothe was a mystery that she felt needed to be crack or solved before her time with him was spent and done. But she was not below finishing her detail to the job and remaining professional throughout her time either. Bringing up the communications console, she send a request to Cloud City, letting them know that two of Black Sun operatives were responding to the call and were wanting permission to land.

[Emily]

As Delta's ship came out over the gas giant Bespin, it appeared their dinner was at an end. As a vigo, Delta was immediately granted permission to land at Cloud City. As they came in for a landing among the clouds, Eris was silent, pondering how much had changed in the past few hours. There were times in life when things happened that were unexpected. This whole mess had been one of them.

 

Once the ship had landed, she rose to her feet. "I've never been to Cloud City," she commented to Delta. "It's beautiful."

 

To tell the truth, she was eager for some fresh air, and hoped that she'd soon be out of the nauseating presence of the ysalamiri.

[Vothe Kyrik]

Vothe had spent the trip in silence. He had found a suitably comfortable location and first had maintained his gear--he took apart, cleaned, and reassembled some of his weapons and other pieces of equipment, tinkered with and upgraded another, and the like. When those activities inevitably concluded, he'd spent the rest of the trip in meditation, an enigmatic cloaked figure sitting completely still and completely silent. What filled his mind in that time was far beyond what Zalis Krales could comprehend, the mysteries of the universe far beyond her mundane perception and her fleshly pursuits.

 

That didn't make her useless, of course. She seemed to be a cunning agent capable of quite a lot, and the scent of her soup backed up that impression. If Black Sun was made up entirely of agents of her caliber, galactic society and government would be upended and perhaps Vothe would find himself preying on different targets.

 

Presently, the old, simple vessel was approaching Cloud City, and Vothe rose from where he had been sitting. The ship had clearly fallen into disuse--Zalis had never lived in her freighter. He imagined she had better places to spend her nights. But that meant that the ship's interior was useless in divining information about her.

 

The assassin wafted like a specter to the cockpit, his footfalls soundless. He slipped into the copilots seat and sent his Black Sun clearance code. "Take us in."

[Zalis Krales]

Zalis was staring at the gas planet when suddenly Vothe was right beside her in the copilots chair. She took a moment to look at the Anzati as he focused upon something else. Brushing a single strand of her hair of her way, she turned back to the controls and did as he said and piloted Nimbus in. Granted, he did not say what docking port they should head towards, but she felt confident that if he sent in a code, her console would soon light up with a beacon of where to go. Her instincts did not let her down as it appeared shortly after they got through the atmosphere. Carefully, she maneuvered them down into the docking bay and put her ship down easily enough. As soon as she finished powering the ship down, she turned towards Vothe and spoke rather softly with a hint of innocence as she strapped her holster to her hip.

 

"I'm not all too familiar with Black Sun protocols, so I'll let you fully take the lead here. No sense in me burning bridges before I start."

[Vothe Kyrik]

"Black Sun is like many employers, except much of what they do is blatantly illegal and they're not ashamed of it," Vothe said, gesturing for Zalis to follow him and heading down the boarding ramp. "The organization is very large, so in order to rise you need the right kind of attention from someone above you." He left it up to her on how to get said attention. Some earned it through merit, by the repeated successful execution of contracts. That was how Vothe had gotten Smash Daisaku's attention, although he had no leadership aspirations. To Vothe, the hunt was the destination.

 

But others simply wanted power, influence, and credits. Someone with Zalis' assets would probably find it easier to attach themselves to someone higher up, gain their favor without ever risking an operation, and then bask in their favor and wealth for as long as it suited them. Vothe thought very little about such individuals, but that was how he viewed the vast majority of those who found themselves in the employ of Black Sun. Scum, criminals, vagabonds, and lowlifes. Vothe had never visited Cloud City before, but he was certain that it had been much better off before the recent change in management.

 

Presently he slipped past the Black Sun security checkpoint unmolested and followed his nose toward where Vigo Onnd--or whatever his name was--would be. He soon found himself approaching some sort of administrator's office with multiple presences inside, and so he lingered just outside.

[Delta73]

Delta smiled he was now changed back into his armour and was holding her sith uniform and a small silver box. "It is quite beautiful, here, your lightsabres as well as your uniform."

 

The ship settled down onto its landing struts and the ramp lowered dramatically. "Step outside, and you have your power back, you may come and go as you please, also you have a suite reserved for you in the Grande Plaza. Here is the pass key, you can hide out there whenever you like. Though I am not sure we are friends, if you ever need protection from your past, I and my organization are here for you."

 

He and his body guards came down the ramp and assembled. He shook her hand. "I can call the Sith or the Jedi if you would like..."

[Zalis Krales]

Zalis walked in silence behind Vothe to the administration office of some sort as she processed what exactly Vothe had just told her about Black Sun's protocols of climbing the proverbial ladder. As they walked in fully, she turned and leaned against a wall and stared at an unnecessary pictures which purposes was to do nothing more than let people know that the organization held lots of credits. As she looked up at it, she spoke rather softly.

 

"So in other words, I could reach the top through sleeping around..."

 

Her voice may have hinted that it was something she disapproved of, despite the fact that her history would show that she slept around to gain a kill of a client. Gaining leverage in some organization without putting work in seemed plain wrong to her. But even then, she was determined not to let that happen. She was good at what she did, as well as having many other skills that could help bolster profits to an organization like Black Sun. She could easily climb ranks that way without sleeping around.

[Emily]

Eris accepted her armor back, and took hold of the box containing her lightsabers with the other hand. When he offered her a pass key for a nearby suite, she took it. Unsure how to express herself, she ended up giving him a bow, a symbol more traditional for the Jedi Order than the Sith, although not unheard of in the latter. "Thank you, Vigo. I appreciated our discussion, as well as the lesson. If you would be so kind as to call for an offworld transport for me, I would be much obliged."

 

As they came down the ramp, she felt the Force wash over her blessedly, eliminating her nausea and growing headache and letting her feel like herself again. She could feel the life of the Black Sun members all around her, including one that felt Force-sensitive and quite trained. She wondered who that could be, but dismissed her idle curiosity. "Perhaps I will take you up on your offer in the future," she told Delta. "For now, though, there are a few things I need to take care of elsewhere in the galaxy. I wish you the best. Farewell."

 

Knowing that it would not take long for a Sith transport to arrive, Eris found a place where she could change into her armor, use the 'fresher, and wait for the ride to come. She also purchased a small drink, and sipped it while she waited, forcing herself to think of nothing else but enjoying the restful view of the clouds. When the transport arrived an hour later, piloted by an undistinguished acolyte, she boarded and gave the acolyte the coordinates.

 

Not long after that, the ship left the planet and headed into hyperspace.

[Silas]

((No one could keep my name straight when I actively RPed here years ago and I come back two years later and suddenly everyone knows and remembers my name after I went through all the trouble of changing my character sheet for you all?! ))

 

Silas kept his face passive as the woman gave her presentation. It was an adequate business pitch making use of logical arguments but it lacked any sort of flair. This was a dying company, even if their representative refused to admit it. The only thing that would save it would be drastic action, action that the company's CEO had neglected to take.

 

A small line of text appeared on one of the monitors on his desk, barely visible out of his peripheral vision. He casually made his way back around to stand behind the structure while pondering this woman's proposal. The alert was from his secretary telling him that two agents had just reported back in from Coruscant. One went by the name of Vothe, a man that Silas recognized from his time on Dubrillion before Daisaku had gone crazy. The other he didn't recognize, though based on her appearance he would be rectifying that shortly. He sent a short response to his secretary requesting that she ensure the two operatives found their way to his office. With this accomplished he turned back toward the woman in front of him.

 

"Your company is hemorrhaging credits because somewhere along the line someone made a bad choice and no one has done anything to correct it sense. The Galactic Civil War may be over but that does not mean that the citizens of the galaxy are all cheery, happy people. Conflict exists everywhere, you must simply know how to exploit it."

 

He took great care in extinguishing his cigarette, savoring the metaphorical picture in his mind. The deathstick had served its purpose and now it was time to dispose of it.

 

"I'm assuming, since you're here begging for help, that your CEO is ready to begin again in building a business empire. From this point on I'll need to speak with him in person. As pleasant as you are to look at, there is actual work to be done. Return to your employer and inform him that I'll accept nothing short of a fifty percent plus one vote on your Research, Development and Expansion goals and a face-to-face meeting here on Cloud City. If Black Sun is to save his company we are going to do it right."

[Velos Menethil]

The insults that were intended to sting her merely glanced off of Azhira's power suit. She looked nonchalantly at the crime lord and showed him in not so many words that she was keen to sarcasm and also familiar with the methods with which he discarded her pitch. The offer was nice, but he didn't know the half of it. Velos didn't want to tell them everything until he knew he had them. He even hid some of the presentation from Azhira, deliberately depriving the head of Black Sun from knowing what was going on behind the scenes.

 

Azhira was satisfied though, and with a curt nod, she stepped out. She acknowledged the people in the hall with small nods as well and smiled at Zalis when she walked past. She had already been informed of Ms. Krales’ involvement with the Black Sun and was the reason that Velos knew she had been offered a job with them. The chiss looked like she was about to turn around a corner when she came to a sharp stop at the end of the corridor and took post on the side of the hall, as if she were waiting for someone. She then placed her finger up to her right ear and muttered a few words to the air.

A few moments passed by after the Chiss left, and when the sound of her heels seemed almost unnoticeable, a small sound perforated the air of Onnd’s office. A holo projection of a man appeared in the center of his desk and he offered a small bow. The hologram was small and didn’t give the man’s full stature, but the rendering was almost flawless. He looked at the Black Sun leader’s eyes and smiled a bright winning smile.

 

“Thank you for accepting my offer. May I have permission to land?”

 

“We have much to discuss…”

 

The last word almost felt like a summons. For, after the last word, a Yacht appeared in the sky above Cloud City. It was colored with metallic blue, onyx, and a silvery white which mingled quite well with the earthy browns and oranges of the installation below.

[Silas]

Silas was in the middle of pouring himself a small whiskey - a reward for making it through an entire meeting with a woman and not mentioning or complimenting any specific body part - when the hologram appeared on his desk. He watched it curiously, amazed that a man with such a flamboyant smile would waste his time by sending a sales rep when he was so close by himself. It was only fair that Silas reciprocate. He took a measured sip of his drink before speaking.

 

"You have your clearance to land, though I must admit to having another meeting scheduled at this time. When you land my guards will ensure that you find your way safely to my office. My secretary will inform you when I am ready for you."

 

With that he terminated the transmission and sent a quick message to his secretary, asking her to invite Vothe, his guest and Delta to join him in his office. They certainly had much to discuss.