Finders Keepers

[Lina Ovmar]

Corellia was the perfect pit stop for any smugglers run. No one asked questions, and when you descended on the dockyards in the dead of night they cared even less. Mia had always told herself when she little, that the moment she was allowed to spread her won wings she would never set foot on this planet. Not that it was the planets fault she was boring there (or so she assumed), but when you had nothing else to blame for abandonment where else are you supposed to hate.

“Wayward Angel, please state your business.” The bored voice came over the comm link and made Mia roll her eyes.

“Eight years, I’ve been docking here for fuel and every time you ask me that.”

“Standard practice. State your business”

“Refuel, both for me and the ship.” She snapped irritably adding “Dumbass.” Under her breath.

[You can’t fault them for following procedure] Bandit’s message splashed across the monitor and she smiled. [If they didn’t follow procedure then what would happen? They would have no control over who landed and who didn’t.]

“Shut up Bandit.” She said smiling and shaking her head, as the controller directed her to bay 9. Rain was lashing heavily against the window but the two of them brought the ship smoothly into land. Shutting down the systems, Mia snatched up her helmet and jammed it on her head to greet the engineers with. The R9 droid reached the door before her and lowered the walkway.

Mia descended two steps down and stopped. Something wasn’t right. The engineers were not there. She took another step, perhaps they were inside after all, who wants to be in the pouring rain to refuel a late night dock? Still, she rested her hand on her blaster and continued her descent cautiously.

“Bandit,” she said softly to the R9 droid, through their automatic link. She didn’t need to finish her request.

[The package is secure. Its in the storage compartment in the engine bay.]

She didn’t want to lose the sword she had recovered. It had taken her weeks to track down and cost a fortune in ammunition to get her hands on. It was worth every blaster bolt, the jewel in its crest alone would pay for her fuel for a year.

"Good. Go sit on it. I'm gong to find the engineers."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Said engineers were dead, it was an unfortunate reality when Moridin was around that most people would end up dead. These engineers didn't really have to die truthfully, if they had lived it would not have hampered him in anyway. However their deaths had been amusing, ever since he had awoken his power had been growing again. These men had in a way killed themselves, of course it had been Moridin who had nudged them into doing it.

The Dreadlord had taken their minds, warped their thoughts, and then made them pick up the blasters that they shot themselves with. It had been an exercise in control, and Moridin had found that the people of this age were just as easy to control as four centuries ago. He was glad for this, it meant that fools still existed. The comm-link on one of the bodies chirped signifying that a ship had landed. Moridin closed his eyes for a few seconds and reached out with the force, his blade was near. A slight smirk appeared on his face.

His Sith Sword, a blade that had been lost nearly four and a half centuries ago. He remembered the loss of the blade well, it had been during the Sith Invasion of Hapes. He had been pushed to his limits, and his demise had been near. He had used all the blades power to keep himself alive, and then at the height of combat he had dropped the sword, not being aware of the consequences of doing so. The blade was lost forever, or so the Sith Lord had thought until recently.

Moridin had detected the presence of the blade in a force sensitives hands. The blade had a sort of...link to him, and when someone with the ability to use the force touched it the part that was connected to him sent a signal...or more of a cry for help. The Dreadlord had recognized it instantly, and with an insatiable hunger he had gone towards the blade and mapped out its movements, the next stop was here.

From the corner of his mind he sensed something moving, a life. Before it could reach the building Moridin blinked. He called upon the force and then in a wave of blackness disappeared into the shadows. He wanted to know what kind of a person found his sword...before he kill them.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Mia’s blaster was in her hand, it weight was comforting and she found herself relaxing slightly with there. She paused at the doors of the control centre before palming the controls.

Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw. The bodies… the blood… what the hell had happened. For a moment she just stood in the doorway her eyes moving from one body to the next as her helmet scanned them all checking for any heartbeats, but only silence greeted her.

Her blaster remained lowered at her side as she slowly moved into the room. She wasn’t particularly sad, she had never really known these people. In fact if anything she was a little bit annoyed that they were all dead. Approaching one she studied it carefully, noting the blaster still in his hand. A wave of cold dread washed over her as her mind ticked away. She reached down slowly clutching the man’s hand and putting it to the entrance wound on his head.

She dropped it rapidly and stepped back. Every man had killed themselves. How? Why? Was that even possible? It was messy. It was something she hadn’t dealt with before and she did not like it one bit. That would be enough to make anyone run, but she was not anyone. And she was far too curious for her own good.

“Bandit. Seal the ship. Nothing gets in there.”

[Understood]

Taking a deep breath she raised her blaster and moved slowly round the room checking every dark corner and finding nothing. Her sensors found nothing and yet…

She holstered her blaster and removed her helmet, her dark red hair falling about in a tangled mess. It looked so much worse without the helmet on. She set the helmet on a table and put her blaster back in her hand. “Alright, let see what we really have.”

She began her sweep of the room again.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Moridin watched as a young girl entered the room and stepped among the corpses. He watched her with an intense interest, she did not run screaming at the sight of dead bodies. That in it of itself made her somewhat more than ordinary. Aside from that however there was something else. The Dreadlord probed her with the force, subtly of course. He reached into her, and a slight smirk formed on his face as he realized what he sensed. She could touch the force.

So it had been she who touched his blade. It had been she that was at fault for his Swords return to life. How very interesting, Moridin was more than slightly intrigued by this and for a few minutes he simply watched her. He floated around the room, invisible to the naked eye as she delved into the massacre inside the room. Eventually he decided on a course of action.

Slowly the Dreadlord stepped over the corpses, taking careful measure to make no noise. Finally he stood before the doorway, several feet away from Mia and her sensors. He watched her for a few more seconds, and then he appeared in a flurry of blackness.

Moridin was not a subtle person, and when he reappeared that became entirely evident. Tendrils of blackness appeared from the floor, wrapping themselves around the empty space, and then Moridin stood among them. With a grin The Dreadlord looked at the girl, his tribal clothing seemingly aflame with blackness.

“So. You're the one that found my blade.” His voice echoed through the room, a tactic of pure intimidation.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Mia was not easily spooked, yet when the darkness erupted by the door to reveal a man there was no denying that her heart had leapt into her throat. Eyes wide with shock, her blaster snapped up to point at the persons face, her finger in the trigger ready to fire at the first sign of hostility.

Though, what wasn’t hostile about a man appearing from the shadows with tendrils of darkness coming off him like smoke and asking her about the sword, she wasn’t entirely sure. Yet she wasn't quite ready to pull the trigger yet.

“Your sword? I don’t see it in your hands. I didn’t see you with it when I picked it up. So what makes you think it’s yours?” her eyes flicked to her helmet containing her com link to Bandit.

Should have left it on, Mia. The old man always told you to leave it on.

“Do you know what, don’t answer that. As impressed as I am by your crazy little entrance and what I am assuming is your very sick work on these guys, I really am not prepared to discuss this with you.”

Squeezing the trigger she fired three bolts at the man before darting for her helmet.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Moridin looked at the girl with a very unimpressed visage. At this point he was just bored with the situation. He wanted his sword back, and he was hardly going to let this girl talk him out of getting it back. The Dreadlord saw as she pulled the trigger, and almost in an instant his hand shot up. His hand reached up and the force formed around it. He pressed backwards with the force and the three bolts struck his palm.

Almost immediately they bounced off of his hand. They struck against the ceiling, the wall, and the floor and then in the next instant Moridin moved forward. The force ran through his entire body, wrapping around his bones, muscles, and tendons. He moved faster than any living thing could and in an instant he appeared in front of the girl on top of the table with his foot on her helmet.

“Little girl I have neither the time, nor the patience to deal with you today. So I ask you, where is my sword?” Moridin pressed down on the helmet, aiming to crack and break it in between his foot and the sturdy wooden table.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Mia cursed as the force user appeared in front of her, his foot planted firmly on her helmet. She could hear it groaning under the pressure he placed on it, and began to imagine how much it would cost her to get a new one if her broke it. She looked up at him, her face a picture of irritation.

"What's it worth?" she asked. Seriously disadvantaged or not, she was not going to give up her pay day that easily. "And if its yours why didn't you claim it sooner?"

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Moridin put more pressure on the helmet, and then snapped it in half. It broke underneath his heel with a loud crack and groan. The Dreadlord frowned at the woman, he was positively displeased at this point. He did not need to be questioned or sought after, he was a Sith Lord, one of the most powerful in the galaxy.

“It is worth more than you can possibly imagine, and it is mine.” The Sword actually had no tremendous monetary value, its value was more in what it could do for a force user. The weapon was a way to amplify ones power and ability within the force, not to mention that it was also a superbly forged blade, and invaluable tool to a Sith Lord like him.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Mia closed her eyes in dismay as the helmet cracked under his heel. Everything she was witnessing told her this was not a man to be messed with. To just go to the ship and hand him the sword, this was not going to be a fight she would win. But despite all the warning signs she just couldn’t help herself.

She ignored his scowl and picked up the pieces of helmet from at his feet before turning her back on him and slowly moving to the door. “Sorry old man. You can’t have it.” She looked inside the helmet with a sigh. It was going to take her days to fix that mess. She stopped at the door and turned back top face him “Was this really necessary? I mean, most people would offer me a lump sum and be done with it. Did you have to break the helmet?”

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Moridin peered at the woman, complete disinterest in his eyes. As far as he was concerned this conversation was over. This woman had denied him what he wanted and so now she would die. It was not pleasant of course, but one did not cross a Sith without consequences that simply went without saying. The Dreadlord looked at the woman, then the door. It was still pouring rain outside, and there was some distance between here and her ship.

He could kill her easily between now and then, all he needed was for her to turn her back, and she would be dead. The Dreadlord pushed aside part of his robe, moving the tribal garb to the side to reveal and array of knives and lightsaber hilts within the robe. “Yes.”

Moridin simply answered as he raised his palm and closed his fist. As he did so Mia would feel a massive pull on her, the force wrapping itself around her and attempting to wrench her to Mordin.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

everything around her tightened, as her foot moved forward she found herself fighting against something, against a force. She twisted round as the man dragged her back towards him. She was not going to let some jumped up force using git kill her. she was a Mandalore, and she was not going to go down easy. Not now, not ever.
She allowed herself to be pulled towards the man, waiting till she was within an inch of him before activating her jet pack. If the heat from the didn't burn him it would at least be enough to distract him from his force pull.

Twisting to face him she drew a knife from her belt and launched it at him with more speed and accuracy that was normal for a human.

"BANDIT!" she shrieked in the hope the droid would hear her.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

The Dreadlord saw the blade come out and moved his palm towards drawing one of his lightsabers to slice her hand off. The problem with theory was the flash of the jetpack. The light and the heat erupted and Moridin had to shield his eyes, although only briefly. Because of this Moridin felt the Knife enter his side between his ribs. Moridin winced slightly from the pain but immediately shot his hand like a viper towards the Womans Arm aiming to pin her in place where she was.

“Ouch.” Moridin said as he moved with his other hand to grab her by the throat.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

She reached for her beskad but another force trick stopped her from moving. "Force users never fight fair." she grumbled as his hands closed around her throat. She became acutely aware of the fact that she was not going to survive this fight. She could hear Jaxx laughing at her, telling her how she should always trust her instincts and not ignore them. how many times had he told her tthat and how many times had she ignored him just for the sake of ignoring him.

"Kill me and you will never get the sword." She gasped, groping at his wrist and trying to pull him free. "That ship will leave the planet and orbit and self destruct. My R9 unit is programmed to destroy anything that might lead to my employers. Cargo and all."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Moridin stared at her for a few seconds as he tightened his grip around her throat. He was more than ready to snap her neck and just be done with the entire thing. That would make this entirely worthless however, if he did that this whole trip would have been a waste and he would have to make months forging another sword something he didn't really have time for. He needed his blade to be at his best, lightsabers were fine but he needed his sword to be at his peak.

“Bring me to my blade and I won't snap your neck.” Moridin spoke very seriously, he wanted his sword. If the girl brought him to his blade she would live, and perhaps there would be something else in it for her. The Dreadlord began to form an idea in his head and a slight smirk appeared on his face.

His muscles relaxed, and then Moridin released his grip on her throat and arm. At the same time however he made sure the knife in his side stayed there, he didn't exactly need blood all over his clothes. “New idea. Bring me my blade, and I shall give you something as a reward.”

The Dreadlord's Smirk widened as he put his now free hand somewhere within his pocket. From it he pulled a small coin, it appeared to be a shiny metal although without closer inspection it was impossible to tell. Moridin let the coin roll across his fingers, he had realized from her clothes and helmet that she was a Mandalorian, and as of late Moridin had had a keen interest in those people. She would be another piece of the puzzle.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

She drew in deep breaths as he released her throat and rubbed it, a stream of curses unfit for a woman's tongue streaming from her mouth, amid mutters of "...months of work...cost me a fortune in bribes...too many bodies to count.."

She glowered at him and shook her head. "One minute you try to kill me , the next you offer me a reward." she threw her hands up in dismay "whatever, a reward is better than a death threat though I'm probably not going to like whatever it is you have in mind." Even as she spoke her eyes betrayed her hunger as she watched the coin rolling across his fingers.

She headed out into the rain, cursing again about her broken helmet. She had been so happy little more than half an hour ago, now, she was loosing what she had worked so hard to gain, she needed a new helmet and was probably about to get herself into a mess she did not want to be involved in. She didn't look to see it the force user followed or not.

Bandit recognised her and lowered the boarding ramp. "Bandit you goodfornothingtincan bring me that sword before I grind you up and make you into bantha fodder."

Bandit's response echoed through the ships corridors and sounded very much like an insult...or a swear word. She wasn't sure, her binary was good, but not that good. Defeated and fed up she sat down on the floor at the top of the boarding ramp and the droid rolled up beside her, the sword clutched in his mechanical arms.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Moridin followed her although it was lackluster at best. At least he was getting his blade back. As soon as they stood at the end of the boarding ramp the droid appeared with The Dreadlords blade in hand. The Sith grinned and raised his palm again. The force wrapped itself around the blade and pulled it away from the droid tearing it away and sending it flying into Moridins hand. As soon as the sheath touched his skin several dozen black needle like strands jumped form Moridins wrist and into the blade.

A force User would have been able to sense it, a massive wave of the darkside released itself from Moridin and the blade. The wave ran through the clearing and the forest. It was powerful and it added almost a sickening feeling to the air itself. The Sith Smirked, he had his blade back.

Moridin turned to Mia and continued to roll the coin across his fingers, then he stopped and held the small round circle up to show her. “This coin is made of Lutetium. It is an extremely rare metal that in this day and age is almost unheard of.”

The Metal was even in the days of the Empire considered one of the rarest within the galaxy. This coin alone was worth millions. Lutetium was considered so rare because it was only found on one world, and even on that one world no one had really found a steady source. Lutetium unlike gold or silver or electrum would never loose its luster, it would never scratch, and a single coin like this could be made into a variety of jewelry, it was basically the ultimate high class metal.

“The coin will more than pay for any expense you had with the blade and replace your helmet. If you take it however. I will require something else from you.” Moridin's smirk grew deeper and more sinister.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Mia scrambled to her feet as theblade reach the man's hand. She felt the energy and the darkness that emmited fiorm the two together that made her stomach churn. Paling she realised she was not just dealing with a force user, but a Sith. A sworn enemy of the mandalorian's. A sworn enemy of her's. and yet she had planted what she could only describe as a powerful weapon in the right (or even wrong) hands, straight into his palm.
She had lost all interest in the money, the cost and everything else. She had shamed herself by simply not dying. She moved back down the boarding ramp, with R9 whistling nervously behind her. "Your a Sith. I'm a Mando'ade. Whatever it is you want it can't be good. So I will hear your name, and your proposal before I make my decision."

It wasn't a request, her face was wrought with anger and she wanted nothing more than to kill this man before her. If only she had the strength. "And I wan't my blade back"

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Moridin had already slipped the blade onto his back by the time she responded. The blade and its sheath fit snugly beneath his robe as if it had a place their before. The Dreadlord smirked slightly at the familiar weight and feeling of the sword. He was back to full strength, the blade seemed to yearn for blood. Good, nothing had changed. Finally as she spoke the Dreadlord listened. Ah yes Mandalorians and their hatred for the Sith, what an annoyance that was.

“I'm well aware of what you are.” The Dreadlord's smirk grew into a full on grin. He loved dealing with Mandalorians, they were far more straightforward than the usual bunch Moridin had to deal with on a daily basis. “And it is why im letting you live. When you return to Mandalore tell your people that their time of independence has come to an end.”

“You're soldiers. Mercenaries. Bounty Hunters, and thats it. You're not conqueror’s, you're not leaders. You're soldier's for hire and that is all you will ever be. Deliver that message, and consider your debt wiped away.” Moridin spoke sternly, and quite seriously and at the end of his words he flipped the coin towards Mia, intending for her to catch it.

The Dreadlord knew that the Mandalorians wouldn't take kindly to his words, in fact they would likely try to come and kill him, but then that was exactly what he wanted.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Mia's blood boiled at his words and she found her blaster in her hand again, she wasn't sure when she had pulled it free or raised it but she was acutely aware that she was now pointing it at his face. She couldn't find any words to express her anger so she merely glowered at him gathering her reeling thoughts, weighing up the consequences of pulling the trigger.

She watched the coin tumble through the air and made no move to catch it. It clattered to the floor at her feet. Slowly she the rational side of her mind regained control and she lowered her arm. "Apart, we live our own lives. Bounty hunters, smuggler mercenaries, whatever you want to call us. But we have a certain trait called loyalty that you and yours lack. When our leader calls, we unite and when we are united we are unstoppable."
She shifted the grip on her blaster, using its weight to keep herself calm. "you are not the first to try and smash us, nor will you be the last to die trying. I need a name to deliver this message with."
Behind her bandit began beeping with urgency. Security was on it way. She would have to refuel at another planet. Oh, how she hated bad days.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“Unstoppable” Moridin grinned at the word. That was perhaps the biggest lie Mandalorians tol their children, they had been stopped more than once. Sure they were powerful warriors, perhaps the strongest individual fighters within the galaxy, even he had trouble when fighting certain members of their race. But they were hardly unstoppable, Moridin knew this, but he also knew the worth of a good fighter hence this entire plot of his. “Moridin. Darth Moridin of the Sith Empire.”

“Tell your people. Tell your leader, and prepare yourselves to be broken.” The Dreadlord smirked and looked at the girl, then he took a couple of steps back off of the boarding ramp and onto the ground.