Private iv Kâlinys Rakâ Aûksifas’ari

[Aerarii Tithe]

(Translation: ‘Prisoner of the Golden-handed Sith’)

Deep Space, Tingel Arm

---

Two bright lights came together in a dark and uninhabited corner of the Tingle Arm. One of the lights - a luxury yacht - glistened as distant starlight reflected off its polished and graceful chrome exterior. The second light - a more the utilitarian and deadly design - contrasted sharply with its jagged lines and staggering assortment of weapons. The two vessel came alongside one another and extended docking tubes which locked into place.

With a hiss of steam the pair of airlocks separating the two vessels opening, admitting an armoured Mandelorian and his captive into the opulent yacht. The helmeted bounty hunter shoved the bound prisoner forward, causing them to trip and fall to their knees. With an armoured gauntlet the Mandelorian pulled away the hood that concealed the captives face. Cuts and bruises on the prisoners face spoke to a failed attempt to elude capture.

Aerarii Tithe looked around, squinting and blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light. Since the Mando had grabbed him he'd known he would eventually end up in an Apostate prison. But the outlandishly decored ship he found himself in did not look like any prison he had even seek. The bureaucrat examined the ostentatious gold and blood red detailing around him, clearly a custom creation. There was only one person he knew who would choose to live in surrounds such as this.

“Alright Avernus, you’ve had your fun,” he called out, waiting for his ‘friend’ to show himself. “How about you pay this nice gentleman so he can be on his way.”

---

Avernus | Trajan Fett​

 

[Avernus]

"No, no! Please, have a seat! Pour yourselves some drinks from the minibar or what-have-you!" Avernus' disembodied, upbeat and plummy voice insisted loudly from elsewhere in the ship. Clearly not the standard procedure for receiving a bounty delivery. At that exact moment, a multicolored disco lamp dropped from the ceiling, and a small part of the floor retracted into a high-grip dance floor as music suddenly began to blare. The loud and flashy display only lasted a few seconds before ceasing and each of the moving bits returned to their hiding places as the music cut off just as abruptly as it had started. From elsewhere, Avernus held his face in his hand for a moment as he realized he had flipped the wrong switch.

"D-Disregard that!" he called out from elsewhere once again. The tone and diction in his voice hadn't changed at all, putting up a perfect facade of not being phased by such a blunder. This time, a minibar swung out from one of the walls and a few seats lifted from hidden slots in the ground. The light over the area dimmed, and the music that came with the sudden outswing of the minibar was far tamer than the electronic, auditory monstrosity that had assaulted the ears of his two 'guests' before.

Elsewhere in the ship, or more specifically, in Avernu's private chamber, he was taking the final look at the fit he had set up for himself. He'd obviously been preparing a very special outfit for this occasion. He'd only had some brief correspondence with Tithe after the first and only time they had met in person on Christophsis. Since the falling out with the Sith Empire and the 'apostasy scandal' there had been nothing but radio silence between them. Flooding the galactic bounty boards with Aerarii Tithe's photo probably didn't make the best impression post-apostasy.

With the aforementioned circumstances, a good second impression was important. Avernus had made sure he had dressed himself appropriately for the occasion. After several long moments of checking himself out in the mirror and making sure everything looked just how he wanted, he made his way out of his chamber. With a confidently flamboyant strut, he approached Trajan and Tithe before stopping a few feet in front of them. "So," the Pureblood began with a smug grin. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked facetiously.

Aerarii Tithe | Trajan Fett​

 

[Trajan Fett]

Muunilist​

Harnaiden​

A few hours earlier...​

​

Blending in was never the name of the game for Trajan. Or really, any Mandalorian hunter. Quick and dirty with gadgets and guns more often won the day. However, when a Bureaucrat like Tithe was the name of the game, things got a little bit more complex. Rarely did Aerarii ever roam about to get his hands dirty, even if he worked the dirtiest business around, banking. A career in Sith-Imperial finance mean't comp'd services and picturesque venues. All of which mean't tighter security.

Muunilist was a tough nut to crack. Being the atrium of Sith-Imperial finances which projected its economic value across the rest of space dipped in deep red, it wasn't all too easy to sneak around. With uniform streets and buildings separated by great Muun statues, a Beskar clad hunter stuck out like a sore thumb. Granted, that was rarely not the case. Picking out a corrupt node in the Sith-Imperial banking clan he was able to get a clean code planetside, even if his ship of choice might've tripped every alarm. It was all "banking clan business". From there, he picked on his corporate connections to get a clean in to the city's wealthier districts as a hired hand.

With a war brewing, Technoid's business in Sith space became...precarious. In what was all but essentially a stalling tactic to let the Corporation move all its assets present at its Sith Imperial distribution office off-world, a Skakoan representative summoned Tithe to meet in a familiar venue. Aerarii might've gotten a brief glance at the Mando leading up to the fine dining venue where the Skakoan centered the business talks. If he ever asked about it the classic Corporate write off of "I don't believe in violence, I hire people for that." to pull a laugh and lower any alarms might've been said. All the while, Trajan snooped the nav-com of the speeder which ferried Tithe to the venue, only after putting the assigned driver under with a surprise nap ushered in by the crook of his elbow against his throat and the temple of his helmet against the back of his skull until he heard that characteristic stifled choke and snort of someone who was well and truly out of breath and choked out. Leaving a bottle of corellian Whiskey and a questionable holomag in the passenger seat, it would've been a difficult sell to actually spell out the reality.

And that's when he found himself flanking the door of Aerarii's suite. With the lights off and nothing but the city lights peeling in through transparisteel he waited. When the metallic door hissed open, the butt of a Drago was there to seek out the Treasurer General's cranium.

---

<"Huh..."> The Mando offered as they stepped through into the yacht to an ostentatious fanfare.

He'd encountered Avernus before, not in the best of light but he'd certainly encountered the Sith. Being well used to the eccentric loud thumping electronic noise of seedy clubs in the underworld, he could only help but bob his head to the tune as he waited for the contractor. When the Dark Lord Formerly Known As 'Avernus' emerged from the darkness Trajan appraised the Pureblood with a quick glance up and down before he nodded once in seeming approval. Did he like the outfit? Not really. But it was certainly a more entertaining display than a great many other employers who sought to posture in shades of fear or behind bureaucratic red tape.

<"You owe me the pleasure of coughing up my fee, Sith."> Trajan sounded out. Avernus conceded any attempt at sowing intimidation in the Mandalorian when he emerged dressed as an industry slave. He wanted his money.

---

Aerarii Tithe | Avernus

 

[Aerarii Tithe]

Deep Space, Tingel Arm

---

With the exuberance that only Avernus could muster, the Sith Pureblood sauntered into the main compartment of the yacht in expected regalia and to musical accompaniment. All in all this was a good sign, Aerarii stood a much better chance of talking his way out of this with the Sith Lord rather than a Qotsisajakaar jailor.

The armoured hunter who had brought him here demanded recompense. Tithe had already tried offered the man double the bounty to release him, however the idealistic fool was too committed to the honour code he lived by. Not that the barve was much of a conversationalist. He hadn’t even bothered to identify himself before knocking Aerarii out hold in his Muunilinst dwellings, denying the bureaucrat the opportunity to call the emergency command that would summon the deadly assassin droid concealed in a nearby false-wall to fend off such attacks.

The bureaucrat turned his attention back to his host. “I must say Avernus, I find the whole affair to be quite unbecoming.” He took a seat at the bar which had folded from a nearby bulkhead.

“What about that plush government job I got you? Remember partying on Christophsis? How about that time you ran over that dancer on the way home from the club and we covered it up from the local security forces…”

Aerarii paused after the last sentence. He shook his hand as he thought back to the evening in question, then clicked his fingers as be remembered it. “Actually forget that last one. It was me that was driving wasn’t it?”

“Irregardless, your religious proclivities are your own business. I’m sure this Qotsis… jack… arms… are a wonderful bunch and I wish you well. But why involve me? I hardly think I’d fit the mould of individual they’re looking for, I can’t even pronounce their name? Tell me my dear friend, why would I join something that I can’t even say correctly?”

---

Avernus | Trajan Fett​

 

[Avernus]

With a smirk, Avernus walked around to the inner side of the bar that had come out from the wall. He began to mix a round of drinks as he responded to the bounty hunter. "Right, the fee, thirty million was it?" He paused for a moment, still in the process of weaving together a strange alcoholic concoction. "Tell me, Trajan, do you take AvCoin?" His smirk contorted into a smug grin as he asked the Mandalorian if he took the digital currency that was still breaking out of obscurity. It was a shame Zhani Amadine or Phadia Alshu weren't here to tell him about how revolutionary of an idea AvCoin truly was.

"I remember the Foreign Investments Board well, Tithe. In fact, it was a good template when forming the IBED. As for Chrisophsis, you'll probably be surprised to discover I'm currently the Viceroy. Gat Tambor was generous enough to transfer his seat when Confederate leadership began to fail his expectations." Two cocktail shakers began to float on either side of him and shake in mid-air as he began to pull out another large bottle of liquor. He poured a small amount of the liquor into each of the three glasses, and as the cocktail shakers floated down, he picked each of them up and poured them over the initial liquid. Finally, he added the herb topping to the drink, slid one over to the Mandolorian and took the other and walked it towards Tithe.

The ice knocked against the sides of the glasses with high-pitched clinks as he sauntered forward. He extended his hand forward with the drink towards Tithe, offering him a Dagobah Slug Slinger. "Surely you aren't oblivious to what an asset you are, a friend even. I didn't want you dead, because I had what I think you'd consider-" his breath sputtered with some kind of alien and morbid anticipation. "-some interesting offers for your services."

Aerarii Tithe | Trajan Fett

 

[Trajan Fett]

"Do I accept what?" AvCoin™. Of course - why did a thirty million credit bounty seem too good to be true. Trajan could literally buy up anything he could want with one million and he might not make it out of here with...one credit. Only AvCoin™. Well Trajan would be damned if he wouldn't negotiate.

"Fine. I know those Aurodium clogs you've got are more expensive than anything I own so I'm not going to honey dick around the real dosh. How about this...Five Million, right now. Galactic Standard. The rest...I'll take in...AvCoin™." Trajan offered in return to the Pureblood.

"I get any less than my due? Well there, Prince." Trajan mutters before he pulls a Void Grenade from his belt and holds it up in the air. It wouldn't do any anything to Aerarii Tithe, really. However it'd make whatever force ability Avernus had...next to useless and allow the Mandalorian to properly shake the lunch money out of his pockets.

"This make more sense? I'd rather not...disturb whatever business you two have planned." The Mandalorian stated sternly.

---

Aerarii Tithe | Avernus

 

[Trajan Fett]

WELL

 

[Aerarii Tithe]

Deep Space, Tingel Arm

---

Aerarii sampled the drink Avernus provided, figuring that the Sith was unlikely to poison him after promising a bounty hunter 30,000,000 credits to deliver him unharmed. The complex combination of flavours exploded in his mouth, each ingredient carefully selected to compliment the next. “Hmm, very interesting,” he said as he took another sip. “Is that Rodian spice liquor I detect?” It was good to see that Avernus had not lost his sense of style during his exile from the Empire.

Avernus began to explain the reason he had arranged for a bounty on Aerarii’s head, only to be interrupted by the man who was here to collect said bounty. Kurze did not take kindly to Avernus' offer to pay in the new currency he had developed. Aerarii took an extra long drink as the Mando pulled out a grenade and threatened the Sith Lord.

Tithe tried to stay calms despite the beads of sweat beginning to form on his brow. He nodded toward the pile of his personal effects which Kurze had confiscated from him. “Credits are credits by dear fellow,” he explained. “I’m certain a man of your, errr, aptitude, can find someone who will accept such an up-and-coming currency” The bureaucrat would prefer not to lose his head out here in Wild Space, especially when a potentially lucrative offer was about to be made.

“If it’ll get you to put the bomb down, I’m inclined to help cover the fee myself.” Consider it an investment on finding out what Avernus was up to.

---

Avernus | Trajan Fett​

 

[Avernus]

Avernus' yellow eyes narrowed as he looked towards at Trajan. His narrow optics stared intensely has his left hand came up halfway. The tension in the air became very tangible as he stared the bounty hunter down, the lightsaber on his belt beginning to shake slightly. He licked his lips with anticipation, looking like he was ready to strike out at any moment.

Suddenly, the tension climaxed with a sudden flash of movement. Careening through the air and into Avernus' hand was-

A briefcase.

Big Money's intense stare gave way into a smile as he held up the briefcase. "Of course," he replied softly to Trajan. Holding the briefcase forward he released his fingers from the handle. The container would float slowly through the air towards Trajan. Avernus sat down on one of the bar stools, leaving one seat between himself and Tithe. "Five million G-Standard," Avernus would affirm as the case reached Trajan. "Now, I would appreciate it if you didn't threaten to discharge weapons in such close proximity to Tithe. The man's been through enough, no?" The sympathy in Avernus' voice was an odd sound, hard to tell if he meant it or not.

 

[Aerarii Tithe]

Deep Space, Tingel Arm

---

Aerarii took another sip of his drink as Avernus negotiated fearlessly with the bounty hunter. Who would emerge victorious from a potential bout would be too close to call. The armoured Mandelorian was certainly not lacking in the armaments and a knowhow of how to use them. Avernus, even without his Force powers, would remain an expert duelist, and knew the inside of this ship better than anyone alive. Were his own life not at risk, Tithe may even consider placing a small wager.

Thankfully, the transaction was completed without the need to discharge weapons, and Avernus took a seat on another of the ships luxuriously upholsters barstools.

“Your concern if of course appreciated,” he said to the Sith Lord. “While not the most gracious host, Mr Kurze provided adequate lodgings.”

“Noting that Mr Kurze likely has exigent matters elsewhere, and I plan to charter his services to provide safe passage home, shall we could get down to business? Namely, why you bought me here?”

---

Avernus | Trajan Fett​

 

[Avernus]

Spoiler: ooc note

Trajan Fett actions written with permission.

Trajan took the handle of the briefcase cautiously as it came towards him. He lowered the voidstone grenade and sat the briefcase on the bar. Popping the latches, it opened up to reveal stacks and stacks GSC chits and notes. Five million, just as the Mandolorian demanded. Oddly specific to have five million specifically at the ready, almost as if the Sith Lord had a premonition about this very interaction. Trajan closed the briefcase, content to take his leave until the Sith-Imperial bureaucrat mentioned the possibility of further gains. While reasonably skeptical he acknowledged with a simple, "I'll be in my ship."

Avernus smirked as Tithe suggested they 'get down to business'. "Tithe, business is precisely the reason I've brought you here," the Sith proclaimed, lips accosted shortly after by the brim of a glass. "I've heard a bit of a rumor, one that asserts that you may just be overseeing Mygeeto and all of its riches, if not now, then soon." A smug grin was shot toward the bureaucrat as the Sith swiveled away from him in the barstool. With a flick of his hand another briefcase floated its way over to the bar, setting down atop it gently. "Should I assume it is, really, only a rumor?"

 

[Aerarii Tithe]

Deep Space, Tingel Arm

---

Aerarii relaxed noticeably when Avernus explained why he had brought him here. “Ahh, business. For a moment there I feared this may have been personal, or worst - politics.” An exemplary businessman, he was always on the lookout for a potential new investment. His former colleague was doing well for himself judging by the opulence of the yacht. But how had the Qotsisajakaar come into this much money so quickly?

Tithe took another drink when Avernus asked about Mygeeto. The Appointments Committee was leaking worst than a Sarkan stock swap. His host summoned a sealed container to land on the bar before the bureaucrat and asked if his promotion was indeed occurring.

This was dangerous territory. Avernus knew Tithe well enough that whatever was in the case would be difficult to resist. If the case was opened, the knowledge of what it contained would be impossible to forget.

“It, ehhh, it is true that my hard work has been noticed,” he replied as he placed his empty glass on the bar, trying to avoid studying the case. “But Mygeeto is an unpleasant world. Very cold and whatnot, I’m sure you remember. I shan’t expect to spend much time there. Are you considering investments in the area?”

---

Avernus​