Private A Pound of Flesh

[Lirka Ka]

Lirka had been remade once again, though this time in spirit rather than flesh. Her "marriage" to Carnifex had emboldened the Once-Sephi tenfold, her ambitions looked only higher than they ever had before. The brand upon her forehead, raw as if it had just been pressed, drove her forward. Hidden beneath her helm as a personal reminder of her mission.

Alliances needed to be forged, her power base established. Lirka was an outsider to this Empire ultimately, even with the blessings of Carnifex. But she was not alone, there were others like her: creatures that existed in the shadow of the Sith but were not truly among their rank. Though in this case, machine was a more fitting name.

Commodore Helix

She had heard of the droid after the whole ordeal on Vassek, and has taken much time following to try and get a better understanding of just what such a relic could represent. Lirka had worked with droids before, in a different time and a different face, they were an odd thing to try and broker with: there was no manipulation to be done, only arguments of cold logic.

In a sense, it was almost comforting.

What was less comforting was the occasional document pointing towards the Droid's work among the Tsis'Kaar: a ally she could trust as much as a foe. But, Lirka understood cold logic better than any of the overly emotional Sith that overfilled the Empire. And even a droid could be reasoned with.


So she made the call, a decree of mutual benefit among two outsiders. And she waited, in the void of neutral space: these were deals to be made in darkness, outside of prying eyes.


The dungeon ship, Shackles of Ambition, had been reforged. And now it hung in space, awaiting to see if she had made a poignant enough prospect for a machine to consider.

 

[Commodore Helix]

The ship wasn't kept waiting long. The massive frame of a Vourdalak-Class Cruiser lurched suddenly from hyperspace.

Helix stared down at the vessel that pinged on his vessel's instruments. This had not been a call he'd been expecting, but all sorts needed dirty work done now and again. What had made him pay attention was the fact that it was the Kainites asking. In his experience, they tended to clean up their own messes just fine.

Helix didn't share the Tsis'kaar's misgivings about the other little factions in Sith society; he'd taken up work for the wider Order before, and would do so again. Provided, of course, that it wasn't likely to blow back on the Marrs in any significant way. They were still his closest allies. He still had ships to build, weapons to keep fed, and droids to repair, and such things seldom came cheap. As such, he found it beneficial to make other contacts, when possible. It never hurt to have more friends in high places.

Still, caution was due. He was aware that not all segments of the Order appreciated his slow, patient clutching for power. He'd been walking a delicate knife-edge between useful enough to keep around, and not ambitious enough to appear a threat. This could have very easily been a trap, so he brought along a vessel very capable of handling any ill-advised attempts to ambush him. Besides, it never hurt to let a new contact know you meant business.

He opened a channel, hailed the other vessel, and spoke.

"This is Helix Solutions vessel Metanoia, hailing prisoner transport Shackles of Ambition. I understand you'd like a word with me. Here I am. Speak your proposition, and I will listen." His voice was a deep, unpleasant buzzing noise, halfway between the sound of an earthquake and the sound of an angry insect hive.

 

[Lirka Ka]

That was the oddity of Lirka Ka, the least Kainite of them all, and yet now she was perhaps the most Kainite of them all. The boundless hypocrisy of her existence would always be evident. She sat upon her command throne now, looking out to the void as the Droid's hulking cruiser appeared before her. Mighty indeed, and Lirka couldn't help but grin as possibilities flashed before her eyes and his hail reached her ears.

Lirka was always her own entity at the end of the day, operating in the shadows for whatever nefarious schemes she was cooking up at any given point and time. Usually related to some grand money-making expense, power building politics more becoming of a Sith than a humble Imperial, and who knew what foul things were being devised in her recently-enlightened mind now.

And perhaps it was most ironic of all that Commodore Helix and herself had danced the same knife as they navigated their way through this Empire.

Ignoring the bustling of the crew around her, she responded: she kept her voice cool and unemotional, mirroring the cadence of a droid the best she could: Force knew she had been enough years around them to have some practice.

"Kainite Dungeon Ship "Shackles of Ambition", this is Slavemaster General Lirka Ka. You are correct, after the events of Vassek I have found myself most interested in your endeavors, and I believe our causes may be aligned to produce results of higher satisfaction to both parties. Filing request to come abord vessel Metanoia so that we may discuss this matter face-to-face."

As if Carnifex wouldn't just hear of it anyway.

 

[Commodore Helix]

Helix considered the words that now rang in his countless audioreceptors. The nano-entity had suspected that the Kainite commander from that day would be the one to make this call. Lirka Ka , she had called herself. He knew the name only by reputation. A particularly cruel slaver under Kaine himself. An auspicious start to the meeting, for the commander to come in person.

Vassek had been a slaughterhouse, and despite his relatively modest forces in that conflict, he flattered himself that he had done more than his share. It shouldn't come as a shock that it had drawn some attention from the allied forces present.

The creature's request to board his vessel displayed confidence, or perhaps foolishness. He was inclined to believe the former. Foolish Sith did not tend to live long lives, nor to attain positions of command as this Lirka Ka seemed to have. Such confidence was rarely ill-founded. He would have to watch this one.

He still was somewhat suspicious of the creature's intent. He had briefly glimpsed her fight, and was reasonably confident that she was no Sith proper. A military officer, then or perhaps one of the engineered bioforms Carnifex seemed so fond of. He had begun creating such things for himself. At the worst, a meeting with it might prove instructive, and at best, highly profitable.

"Permission granted, Shackles of Ambition." He responded. "You may dock in our hangar at your earliest convenience. I will clear a meeting hall for us."

He spun on his heel, striding off the bridge to go meet the Kainite delegation in person. He brought no guards; he no longer required much in the way of extra protection, and he had put up enough of an aggressive front already. There was such a thing as "too much of a good thing".