Pilgrimage to Lehon [Ask] [Black Tie Syndicate]

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="The Black Hat"] |

The precedent was easy to understand. It was just another raid. The Black Tie Syndicate had found a lot of old, extremely rare and expensive artifacts, ranging from lightsabers to holocrons to even the old robes of Darth Bane himself. So when Alicia made it aware that she had a lead on the long lost holocron of Darth Revan, she got in touch with her associates in the Black Tie Syndicate to conduct another raid. They would retrieve the holocron and make a pretty penny off it.

Alicia was waiting in the Dragon Palace Casino on Antecedent, a long way away from the Lehon system, where her leads told her the holocron was based. She was told that the Black Hat herself would be accompanying her. She was yet to meet the infamous slicer, who had been so useful for the Black Ties and their operations. It was a fantastic opportunity to get to know her better, whilst gaining ownership of a holocron that was long believed to be destroyed.

Waiting for the Black Hat to arrive, Alicia was smoking a cigarette to help pass the time, whilst watch the many denizens of Antecedent lose their money to the nearby betting machines and their games.

 

[Miss Blonde]

Miss Blonde trusted Alicia as much as a hen trusts a fox, or a scorpion to a frog. Needless to say she wasn't the type of person you hinge your bets on, and this was due to the fact that the woman had connections, she had her own organizations, and she was a member of the syndicate yet she wasn't a member of the Black Tie Council and she only showed up once in a blue moon when she wanted something. Now that was what one considered to be either rude, or suspicious behavior. Or maybe a bit of both.

So there was a snowball's chance in hell that she was about to let her adopted kid go with this woman alone to a system she'd never heard of to find a Holocron that she wanted that just so happened to match the mask that they found. And as her time as a field agent you learned one thing, there was no such thing as coincidences and the like.

So with a quick stroll through the casino Miss Blonde had a nine at her hip in a holster and in her hand she had a few gizmos and gadgets for the upcoming raid. Approaching the table where the woman waited Miss Blonde smiled and finally introduced herself to the woman she had never formally met. A voice over the radio just didn't do it justice.

"Welcome. As you know I'm Miss Blonde. I never caught your handle, what is it?" she asked the woman with a overly friendly voice.

[member="Alicia Drey"] [member="The Black Hat"]

 

[NightSister]

Azalyn had decided against her mask tonight - it would only attract suspicion - but she was still clad in black and armed as she entered the Casino. At least one of the people she was meeting tonight would be for the first time, but to her, when you were tracking, knowing the target's appearance was a luxury instead of a necessity and she quickly spotted who she was looking for. She approached the pair discreetly.

"Hey there. I'm Raven, and I'm sure you know why I'm here."

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Miss Blonde"] |

It never occurred to Alicia that she hadn't formally met Patricia Susan Garter. Yet, despite this, they had done a lot of business in a short amount of time together. Not all of it had done the way Alicia wanted it to go, however. Spaarti Creations was now in Republic hands. Several artifacts- items that Alicia wanted to procure- had been sold to nearly every Tom, Dick and Harry that happened to see the auction at the time. Still, without her help, Alicia wouldn't own Darth Bane's lightsaber nor his robes.

Lifting her gaze to her, Alicia observed the one who called herself Miss Blonde before responding: "Alicia Drey. Seems weird that we're only meeting just now, doesn't it?" she said nonchalantly, whilst placing the cigarette in her left hand down into the ash tray.

 

[Miss Blonde]

Something was different about this woman's strokes, and it was clear as day. For starters no seasoned criminal used their name, or a name that could be traced back to them. And Alicia Drey was a name that could very well be traced back to her, and that made Miss Blonde uncomfortable because it meant one of two things. The woman was either an idiot who just used their real name for whatever, or that rabbit hole went a little deeper.

"Your handle, I don't think I can be saying Alicia Drey over the radio. Truth be told I don't want to know your real name, it complicates things in this business and whether it's fake or not it's a name that people can grasp further than Surgeon, Giant, and what not. So it'd mean the world if you could have a proper code name for this operation. It's just protocol." Miss Blonde said in a very professional voice.

"Also yes, it would seem so. But speaking of operations we're hunting another darkside artifact, and last time that didn't go so well with me. So I had this guy made." Blonde raised up her comm link and would give Alicia a friendly smile.

"Vega can you bring me Hush?" Blonde said over her comm link.

There was an affirmative response and within a few seconds a man across the way wearing black suit and tie puffing on a cigarette walked forward carrying a blade at his side safely tucked away in sheath. Coming towards the table the man set down the blade gave the women a nod then walked back.

"This is Hush, we're going to use him to secure the artifact. He emits a constant five meter aura of force light. Pretty cool right?" Miss Blonde gripped the blade and pulled it from its sheath.

Hush shined and Blonde was simply showing off the sword to the woman so she would understand that before they approached the holocron they would need to use this or potentially be filled with any dark side energies.

"You wanna hold it?"

[member="Alicia Drey"]

 

[NightSister]

Azalyn cleared her throat, gently reminding the two that she was there.

"Excuse me. I'm here for the same reason as you two. Codename Raven."

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Azalyn Falconer"] | [member="Miss Blonde"] |

Alicia turned her gaze to Azalyn, nodding towards her. "Welcome, Raven. Take a seat. We're still waiting for someone else." Turning her gaze back to Patricia, her eyes thinned as she motioned for a man to come over. She hadn't even noticed that she had been watched. Better not to underestimate this one, Alicia reminded herself. Turning her gaze to the sword, she visibly flinched and recoiled at the presence of the Force Light imbued into the blade. Damn, she thought.

"Some people know me as Vhette," Alicia explained, leaning back in her chair. She tried to make it as nonchalant as possible, but it was obvious that she was leaning away from Hush. "Do you mind putting that away? It makes me feel kind of sickly." She rubbed her nose with the back of her finger, as if wiping away something from it.

 

[NightSister]

Azalyn sat and observed the sword, intrigued. She didn't often come across Force artifacts - they were hardly in high demand amongst her clients - so this was a rare moment, and she was doing her best to burn it into her memory.

"That's pretty impressive," she said quietly. "Nice to meet all of you."

She lowered her voice even further, not wanting to attract attention.

"So, a raid. Anything else you can tell me?"

 

[Miss Blonde]

"Raven nice to meet you, I'm your employer Miss Blonde. If Alicia here moves kindly blow her brains out in a manner that doesn't get too much blood on my table." Blonde said as she raised her sword towards the woman's face.

"You think I'm stupid don't you?" Blonde said with a very angry voice.

"This sword makes dark siders a bit uneasy, and not that I have a problem with your kind but when they want us to grab a certain holocron that happens to match a certain mask then I get suspicious. Now I'm going to ask you a question and the answer to that question will decide whether or not you are leaving here alive." Blonde would then press the sword a little closer.

"Do we have a problem, sith?" And that was it.

Now Blonde hated the sith and dark siders in general but she wasn't all that clean herself that's why she was willing to work with them. They could be great assets and useful, hell Keira was a dark Jedi for a while and they were best friends. But Blonde didn't know this woman, and she'd have no problems cutting her down.

Hopefully the dark sider was going to be chill so they could do business together. Again she didn't mind working with them but when they had their own little secret agenda trying to use or undermine her then they had problems.

[member="Alicia Drey"] [member="Azalyn Falconer"]

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Miss Blonde"] | [member="Azalyn Falconer"] |

"No. We don't have a problem." Despite the unease that Hush was giving her, Alicia observed the sudden and unexpected situation with a level of control. It was inevitable that something like this was going to happen. She had made several bids on dark side artifacts that Patricia had retrieved and put up for auction. She had her own resources, wealth and contacts that were outside the Black Tie Syndicate, so it was easy for the blonde haired fury that stood in front of her to assume some was wrong. Perhaps another crime lord, looking to muscle in on her operation, or as she had deduced, someone who was hiding a very dark secret.

"Mask? I honestly haven't got a clue what you are on about. I haven't heard about any mask." Alicia genuinely hadn't. It was the first time she was hearing about it. "But the holocron in question? Yeah, I'm looking to find it." Slightly miffed with how she was talking to her, Alicia said bluntly: "I've done a lot of business with the Black Tie Syndicate. I haven't done anything to jeopardize or affect it's operations in a negative way. So I'm either in or out. What do you say?"

 

[NightSister]

Azalyn could tell that she was being honest - firstly, because it was a skill of hers and secondly, because nobody could lie with a feared crime lord beside her and a respected assassin holding a chain around her neck. She raised her eyebrows at [member="Miss Blonde"] to say that [member="Alicia Drey"] was telling the truth and eased her grip on the chain ever so slightly, but not enough to let her out in case she'd somehow made a mistake.

 

[Miss Blonde]

"Good to hear it then!" Blonde said as she pulled the sword back and sheathed it.

Extending her arm with the sword in it the woman had one of her assistants take the blade and pull it far back enough for Alicia to not feel its effects. Now that the cat was out of the bag and Blonde was aware they had a sith in their midst it left her with a few options. She could try to have the woman killed but that was particularly hard with sith, they were like cockroaches and no matter how many times you flushed them they just always found a way to climb up until bowl.

The second option was to banish her from their space and outposts, but then again the woman knew too much meaning she could do too much damage to their operations. And option three was to carry on as usual and keep a vigilant eye, while Miss Blonde preferred option one by a very large margin three was the safest bet that would ensure everyone kept breathing despite how much she wanted the sith to not.

"You think I'm upset because you lied to me? We're criminals dear, it's what we do. You are what you are and I respect that, just don't let Miss Nothing know you are a Sith or she'll try to kill you and I can't stop her. So it'll be our secret." Blonde would then look to Raven with instructions for her.

"Raven, see to it that the ship is prepared. We're dusting off in five, we have holocron to get. Miss Drey has been good to us for what she has been around for, and we reward loyalty and a good work." Blonde would give a genuine smile then walk away from the table to go get her crap together for the job.

"Hat, just meet us on the ship. We're leaving in five." Blonde would speak on her comm and let the Sith and her fellow black tie do their business before they left.

[member="Azalyn Falconer"] [member="Alicia Drey"]

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Miss Blonde"] | [member="Azalyn Falconer"] | [member="The Black Hat"] |

Alicia rubbed her neck, sore from where Raven had been holding the chain to restrain her. Truth be told, Patricia didn't know much. She deduced that there was something dark and sinister about her. Hush had been the test to confirm this. But Alicia Drey could be many times. Dark Jedi. A collector of dark side artifacts. Or a genuine Sith Lord. In the case of the latter, it wouldn't do well for both parties to have a falling out. It was a bad idea to get on the bad side of a Sith.

Silently, Alicia stood up to follow Miss Blonde and Azalyn out of the Dragon Palace Casino, towards the ship that would take them to the Lehon system. Voice slightly hoarse, she said: "I collect artifacts, like holocrons, lightsaber and so on. It's something of a hobby. I find them to be fascinating." Turning her gaze to see where she was going, Alicia went on to say: "I wasn't sure about the Black Tie Syndicate, Blonde. I've joined up with the Red Ravens and Hutt Cartel before. I found the Ravens to be too egoistical or the Hutts were a flop. But I have good vibes about the Syndicate. I'm ready to commit to the organization."

 

[Miss Blonde]

Looking up at the small drop ship Miss Blonde smiled at the woman's remarks, obviously they were lies and she was still trying to jerk her around which in this situation it was best for her to just be honest. But Blonde wouldn't push it, in good time she'd have Alicia either come clean or disposed of violently or non violently, either way the job would be done and the clock was ticking.

"Listen to me well, Sith. Now is not the time to keep lying to me. The bell has been rung, and time is off the essence." That was all Blonde would need to say before a wolfish grin spread on her face.

"Oh you haven't seen anything yet." She said with that smile on her face.

A few hours later ​

[media] https://youtu.be/3OnMd47ZfWQ [/media]​

Back in the proper hands the Red Dress exploded out of hyperspace and the massive two thousand four hundred meter ship cloaked itself seamlessly into the black void of space orbiting around Lehon. So not drawing any attention to it the ship would sit there as planning went on in the hanger.

"So as Miss Drey here has informed me we'll find the holocron in the depths of a ruined temple, now I for one don't want to go inside that thing and part of me just wants to tractor beam the damn thing off the planet and search the rubble. But we need to get this holocron. So here's what I'm going to need, there are a number of large predators in that jungle and a few could get a whiff of us in that temple and come in for a snack. So team one will be guarding the outside, and team two will be headed inside the temple of doom. So load into the Dropships, sign your wills and let's get going."

Blonde would reach down and pick up her phrik plated helmet, Hush, and a two pistols that would go into holsters on her hip and chest. It was time to get to work and get moving.

[member="Azalyn Falconer"] [member="Alicia Drey"] [member="The Black Hat"]

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Miss Blonde"] | [member="Azalyn Falconer"] | [member="The Black Hat"] |

Alicia stood on one of the observation platforms on board the Red Dress. Arms folded over her chest, she was thinking over the incident at the Dragon Palace Casino. I was right not to underestimate her. Smart. Intelligent. Subtle. She has the traits to be a powerful Sith. But I sense she does not want to. If only she could be seduced... Brought back out of her thoughts and into reality, Alicia's attention was brought to Patricia has she begun to explain what they had to do.

"Given that it was I who brought us all out here, I will be heading into the temple," explained Alicia to the others. "I will also be handling the holocron within." Turning her gaze to Patricia, she said: "I think that you and me should head into the temple together."

 

[NightSister]

Raven raised her eyebrows a fraction. "Putting the holocron straight into the hands of the Sith? Can't say I agree with that premise." She was reasonably sure that the woman had good intentions, but at the same time when she kept switching between truth and lies, it was probably best to keep their guard up.
"The two of you can go in, but we'll leave the holocron to Miss Blonde."

 

[Miss Blonde]

"If you think myself or my daughter are going anywhere with you alone ever again then you must be high. Not until I know exactly who and what I'm dealing with you can pretty much &@$# yourself." Blonde said to Alicia with a very satisfying tone of voice.

"Imma be real with you, you'll be sent in with some of my lighter hitters, I'll stay out here and watch over you. You'll still get your holocron but consider us your taxi and back up, that's unless you want to come clean to me. You have my word that we will honor our agreement and that our business relationship will continue, but as I stated until you decide to be upfront you're with the B team." Blonde would then look over to her team of men assembled and shoo them into their drop ships.

After that she was going to wait for Alicia and see what exactly she wanted to do. If she was going to continue to jerk her around or lie. Truth be told this was her last chance, it was go time and if something happened in that temple to her men then hey old temples just happen to collapse all the time don't they.

"Raven, load up. And take command of the predator watch team. Go hunt something, we'll have ourselves a BBQ."

[member="Alicia Drey"] [member="Azalyn Falconer"]

 

[Alicia Drey]

| [member="Miss Blonde"] | [member="Azalyn Falconer"] | [member="The Black Hat"] |

Alicia ignored Patricia. She didn't care about being on the fringes of the organization. It was a loose confederacy of different individuals, and whilst the crime lord known only to her cronies as 'Miss Blonde' had her fingers firmly tucked in every pie, Alicia had her own slices to boot. There was always going to be competition in any organization and it seemed that she and the blonde haired fury were set to become long term rivals. That suited Alicia find. Rivalry was good.

Departing the bridge, Alicia made her way to the rendezvous point with the 'light hitters' Patricia had spoken about. They were a rag tag of henchmen, hired by the Black Tie Syndicate and firmly on Miss Blonde's pay. I'll have to watch my back with these men. Without a word, she climbed into the transport that would take her and the team assigned to watch over down to the planet surface.

 

[Seanna Vel]

Suiting up as she knew that it was about show time to go do there next little job if one could called that. Only as she walked onto the one of the pods to take them downwards there task and jobs was clear. Just that she brought some of her breast hunters. They had there own job to do in this task one that she knew didn't need to repeat. After all some had worked for her before this time.

Finding herself cheeking her own weapons just in case one never knew what danger or trouble could lie a head of ones path. Either way she would stick to Miss Blonde like butter with jelly. Even then she couldn't help but have a smile upon her lips before she went over what was met to be for the crew she would sent to the jungle below. They task was simple make sure nothing got by them until there own task was complete.

Finding her own team going one ship while she went to find Miss Blonde herself [member="Miss Blonde"] "Reporting as order"

[member="Alicia Drey"] [member="Azalyn Falconer"]

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Miss Blonde"] | [member="Azalyn Falconer"] | [member="Seanna Vel"] |

Darth Ayra felt the transport buckle, hit by turbulence, as it roared out of the Red Dress and down towards the strange, mysterious, alien world that was Lehon. As the transport continued to shake, Ayra steadied herself in one of the seating confinements and bowed her head, as if she was hearing something. If one of Blonde's men was able to see her face- which they couldn't clearly at that moment- they would have saw a look akin to something like supreme enlightenment or intense concentration.

The cause of all this was what Ayra felt. She hadn't felt the dark side this powerful. Even at this distance, whilst she was still being carried to the surface, she could feel the ancient, arcane power left on the world. When she had visited Korriban, the planet had felt hollow. It felt like a fraction of it's former self, as if it had been gutted for all it's power and secrets, which of course it had, given the tombs and crypts of ancient Dark Lords that had been looted over the years, by bandits, criminals and newer generations of Sith, such as Darth Ayra and the Black Tie Syndicate.

When she had visited Korriban, it had been to find the tomb of the legendary Darth Bane. She wished to find knowledge and wisdom from the Sith'ari. Guidance to the resurrection of his legacy, which she had received in the form of acceptance, that Alicia had felt through the Force. But she hadn't ultimately received anything that she could put into practical use. It was more of a spiritual awakening, as if the mantle had truly been conferred upon her. She had entered the tomb thinking she was the Dark Lord of the Sith, only to emerge from it as one.

But as she came closer to the planet surface, Darth Ayra could feel that there was something left for her to discover. She feel the presence of something that had been left buried over the centuries, that she had come to claim for herself. As the Sith'ari had ventured to Lehon centuries ago, to discover the long lost holocron of Darth Revan, Darth Ayra followed in his footsteps to reclaim the same knowledge that had later been lost by Bane's descendants, when one fell into madness born out of trying to mix Jedi and Sith teachings in an effort to discover new understandings of the Force. Thankfully, the fool had been cut down by his own Apprentice, and the Rule of Two had continued on, until it eventually reached this time, to this era, where it would have to be rebuilt once more.