Darkness on Kerest - A Quest to Gain Light Absorbing Cells

[The Red of Sinner]

The Ryuk came out of hyperspace like a monster that just came out of hiding for hunting prey in the vast vacuum of space. The Dark Jedi, Romeo, sat casually in his commander's chair on the first bridge as he watched Kerest come into view of the giant view points places on the bridge.​

Celty, his second mate, came up behind him with a report.​

"We should be there in minus three minutes Romeo. If you don't mind me asking, why are we here?"​

Romeo smiled to himself, and looked up to look at Celty who was hovering over him. Of course he had set a course without telling the crew why they were coming this way.​

"The planet of Kerest holds a very precious technology. It's a sort of light absorbing cell. I want some for my new weapon. It will create a shadow field around me, covering me in darkness, and making me a fearsome sight in war."​

Romeo turned his attention back to the planet, telling the officers on the bridge to order the pilots to stop once they broke atmosphere. They would use the Drakon Dropships to land as it would be better to come with troops rathe rthan go alone.​

 

[The Red of Sinner]

This didn't take long, and didn't give Romeo enough time to set himself up for the trip on the planet. So he brought only what he needed, a backpack with water, and a few protein cubes, his lighsabers, robes that formed with his body's structure, and a datapad with a connection to a bank account. Romeo was in hopes to buy a lot of these cells. He wasn't sure how much a single cell cost, or how they even bartered on the planet, but he would make sure to get enough for multiple uses.​

With the Ryuk drifting around the planet's sky, the hangar bays opened in the large circle that was near the back of the ship. What came out was a squadron of BlackFire fighters for patrolling, and the Drakon Dropship with Romeo inside it, along with a five man team. Celty had stayed on the Ryuk to keep scans up for just in case someone thought better to try and take Romeo out. The word try was meant in to be a joke, as Romeo felt no one here could possibly do that really.​

"There's a city northwest of us here. We're gonna land a few clicks outside it, and walk the rest of the way there men. Check your rifles, and other equipment. These people are known to be violent." ​

Romeo's men quickly doubled checked their rifles, removing power cells, and checking HUD systems while also checking their grenades, and coms.​

"We're ready sir." ​

 

[The Red of Sinner]

Moments later, the dropship was coming to a slow crawl, then a full stop and hover over the landing zone. As far as Romeo could tell, it was all plains around them with waist high grasses that danced in the wind. The grass has a golden green color to it, a sign that the autumn months were rolling in. When the dropships opened up, Romeo felt the cool, crisp air hit his face, nipping at his skin in threats to try and get inside to his bones, and chill him to the very core. His skin rose as well, but as he hopped out, followed by the five men, he quickly adjusted the to temperatures of the planet.​

It didn't take a long to start the short walk to the city nearby, in fact one could see it in the horizon as they got closer. Large spires rose into the air, with various ships, and speeders buzzing around them. Some even flew over head, making the men to get a little cautious with their approach.​

"Sir, are you sure it's okay with you to be coming here? The threats are unknown, and danger seems a high price to pay for such a small thing."​

His commander spoke to him.​

The man was about the same age as him, near his early thirties, to late twenties. He was the first to be recruited into the Drakon Regiment, and lead the men with a astounding wave of leadership about him. Never flinching at the sight of danger, and death.
"Commander, you underestimate my power. The force is my ally, and it is yours. Trust me, we are in no real intimidate threat. If it comes to it, the Ryuk will lay waste to this cest pool of a place."​

 

[The Red of Sinner]

The mean walked in a U shape with Romeo in the middle, and sometimes they would check their six, and their various other surroundings. This didn't last long as suddenly Romeo yelled for them to drop. Black masses moved forward as his men dropped to their bellies, and Romeo held his sabers in both hands. As the black masses came closer, a voice spoke out from one of them.​

"Why do you come to our planet outsider? You have a large ship hovering in our skies, while smaller ships fly about like buzzards searching for dead meat. You bring men with guns. At the moment, I am tempted to send you back."​

It was nearly impossible to tell which mass was speaking as they were grouped so tightly it was like a giant rain cloud on the ground. Romeo placed his saber back on his hips, and chuckled.​

"My dear friends, I am Romeo Sin, as I am sure you have heard of me. I come in search for you great light absorbing cells for my various projects I have in mind. I will pay handsomely of course."​

There was a pause of silence for a moment as Romeo made a signal with his com, causing his men to rise back up into a crouch, weapons still trained on the black clouds. That was the only thing about the clouds. They didn't stop blaster fire, that, and Romeo could tell there was at least twelve inside the black mass, so they couldn't hide from the force either.​

"Then let us talk business Romeo Sin, the late King of Shadows."​

 

[The Red of Sinner]

Romeo smiled to himself as the black mass suddenly was gone, and twelve Kresetians stood before them with their Darksticks being placed back into their sheaths. A much larger male came forward, and with observations, Romeo could tell they looked similar to a Vong in some sense, though only by looks. These people were much more open than the Vong, and much better to look at too.​

"We will escort you back to the city, there we will talk a price for a certain amount to be give to you. You must realize, many people come wanting these cells. Only a few leave with what they came for. It's a precious thing to us as we have perfected it's use in battle. It's what gives us our edge in combat. It's surely not uncommon here. It outside that it becomes harder to find."​

The Kresterian turned, making a motion for Romeo to follow. With a little wave of his hand, the Drakons lowered their weapons, and followed after Romeo. On their way to the city, the Kresterian introduced himself as Utan, who was in charge in the city, and these parts of the planet. After a hour of discussion, they finally made their way inside the city. It was busting with life, various species resided here, most, though, were Kresterians.​

"So, Utan, tell me. Those that left without the cells, what did they leave with?"​

The Kresterian smiled.​

"A nasty beating."​

 

[The Red of Sinner]

A couple of minutes later, they found themselves at the top of the highest Spire in the city. The office, if that's what this could be called, it was more like a trophy room, was large, and circular. Windows lined the walls all around, and a single triangular table with red markings on the top of it laid in the middle with chairs tuck under it.​

Utan sat on one side, and offered for Romeo to sit with him. On Utan's side, the eleven warriors stood, and watched with anxious eyes. Romeo's side was better trained though, they stood attentive, with their helmets masking what they were doing.​

"I dont like this, feels like a trap." ​

"Everything feels like a trap to you."​

"Remember when Eclipstica started to fall? He swore up and down zombies were coming."​

"Ahaha, I remember that."​

"Can it everyone."​

This was the conversation that was going on inside the helmets. With utter stillness, no one would be able to tell they were talking to one another.​

"So, Romeo Sin, how much were you looking for?"​

"I was hoping for a few crates of it. How much does it sell for here?"​

"No, we can not give you crates of this cell Romeo, surely you know this is too much for one man."​

"Really? I see no problem with it. I can pay for it all."​

"Can you?"​

"More than possibly, yes."​

"One hundred thousand per ton."​

"How much does a crate hold?"​

"Ten tons."​

"You ask for too much. That's a million per crate."​

"You said you could pay for it all. I told you this was a precious item to our culture. It's not like your asking for blasters, or durasteel Romeo. You're asking for a cell that is a couple of years ahead of it's era, and a cultures signature turn in it's history."​

"When you put this way, your point is loud, and clear Utan."​

 

[The Red of Sinner]

It felt like Romeo was getting no where with this, a million per crate was a lot to ask for. Too much really in his eyes.​

"See? Told ya, this was looking good."​

"I said quiet. Let Sin handle this."​

His troopers continued to speak. Romeo knew they spoke when it was this quiet, he spent a lot of time with these men. They were his friends, and his soldiers. Loyal to the end.​

He shook his head, and leaned back. The Vahla had to find a way to lower the price, and still get a lot of the cells.​

"How much per kilogram?"​

"Five hundred." ​

"That's still a big price to pay. I feel like I'm getting ripped of on my end."​

"Romeo, I assure you, this price is a good deal for what you want."​

Let me think on this real quick."​

Romeo looked at his datapad, and flipped through the information on it. He had only brought a few grand. This was maybe a enough to for a weapon or two, but not enough for multiple things. He rubbed his chin in though, his red eyes going over his notes, and came up with an idea.​

"Let's make a business contract Utan. Shipments, I want shipments made monthly. A crate worth weighting one ton every half month. I'll shipping and handling, plus send my own ship to come and get it."​

"Romeo...you are a dangerous type, I can see it in your eyes. Can I trust you to keep with this deal?"​

Romeo smiled, and leaned forward. Now that he had this man's attention, he was ready to make things interesting.​

Of course he could keep up with this deal, the only problem was what he would do with these cells.​

"We will make it a one year contract. We'll renew it every end of the year. I'll take a ton of it today, and pay fifty thousand as a down payment for the next shipment."​

"Well, I see you are trying to cut the cost as much as possible, and still get a nice chunk of the product Romeo. You're a smart man. With a contract, you are guaranteed to get what you want, and get it at it's base price. Hell, you'll never have to come back again, and still get the cells on a yearly basis...alright. Let's sign this contract."​

 

[The Red of Sinner]

Romeo quickly dished out a contract that pretty much repeated what he had just said, and left his signature on the bottom of it. Along with this, Romeo also handed out the Ryuk's transponder codes so that at any point in time, the Vahla could be contacted by Utan. With this, he slid the datapad over, and even had a copy ready for Utan's side of the deal.​

After a few minutes, Utan's signature was on the contract, and was pushing it over to Romeo when he suddenly stopped.​

"I wonder, what do you plan to do with all this anyways?"​

Romeo smiled to Utan, with a very evil intent in his eyes. Romeo was a mastermind in constructing things seemed useless, but were actually a weapon of clever deception. That was how he always won, even if he lost, he won.​

"I plan to add the cells to my lightsaber, and maybe armors. I want to build up enough of this stuff to try something as well, but that is for me to know, and for me to pay you with credits, not information on what I use this supply for."​

Utan chuckled, and continued to pass the datapad over. It almost seemed like everyone in the room all at once relaxed. A droid came in with drinks, and Utan offered everyone a chance to sit down, and converse with one another. To celebrate their new business contract, and partner. Utan even went as far as to toast to his new business partner. Romeo pretended to drink from the liquid, as he no longer drank anymore, and preferred water, or caf these days.​

 

[The Red of Sinner]

After this party, if thats what you could call it, Romeo said his farewells, and took his leave of Utan's spire. Romeo found the dropship just outside of the city too, the commander must have ordered it to land closer, giving it the all clear.​

As the small group made it to the dropship, one of the men fell down from behind hit in the back of the head as suddenly a dark mass was over them. Orders were shouted as Romeo's men fought back, luckily they had HUDs that shifted from different styles of view, one being interfered. Shots were fired, and Romeo felt something sharp at his throat, and a sting as it threatened to cut it.​

"Are you ready to die King of Shadows?"​

"Are you?"​

Suddenly the sound of a lightsaber echoed out, and a grunt filled the air, and then a scream.​

Romeo closed his eyes, allowing the darkside to guide his moves, and body. Another attacked to his left. He side stepped to his right, and brought his lightsaber up to deflect the Darkstick, then brought up his other hand to engulf the attacker in fire. With each death, the black mass became smaller. Again, an attacker came at him, from his front. Romeo moved forward, bring up his sword to lock the Darkstick, and came with his other sabe this time, slashing the attacker in half.​

 

[The Red of Sinner]

What felt like forever, was only two minutes. The attackers were dead, and all his men were alive. The Darksticks just simply weren't enough for their armor, or a match for a lighstaber. When it was all done, and over with, Romeo picked up one of the Darksticks. There had been eight attackers, none of them were the guys from the meeting. No these were assassins.​

It also seemed no one was coming to see if they were okay, this made Romeo wonder if his business partner had set him up.​

"Sir, the cargo is secure, and accounted for."​

The Vahla found it odd. What did these men want?​

"Take the Darksticks, this is now part of your armory as Drakons. Hopefully this wasnt part of Utan's plans..else I may have to come back, and make an example of him...Alright boys let us head out. I tire of this planet." ​

A few seconds later the dropship was taking off, and heading towards the Ryuk. Romeo got what he came for, and hopefully more if Utan kept the deal golden. He was paying a lot of money the cells, and the contract seemed decent enough for the both of them.​

Only time would tell.​