The Beginning or the End?

[Jaster Awaud]

​

Location: -CLASSIFIED-
Time: -CLASSIFIED-

Tydus sat there in his seat and looked through a data pad. This planet he was currently on was rather interesting, Talasea was one of the few planets that had increased gravity. This made his ability to move a little more difficult, but he was a cyborg. It was more of the planets moister and heat that was effecting his motors and hydraulics a little messed up. Thus this was the best place to have this kind of meeting, a meeting that could change the borders of the Criminal Underworld. The datapad that he looking at held the name of planets around the galaxy. As agreed he didnt have his Dia Sha-Dow with him. These were men and women that were abducted, sent to a secrete location, and trained to be Assassins, Saboteurs, and Spies. They were trained to kill someone with their bare hands and hand to hand combat. These were highly trained people who served the the Shadow Legion with the utmost loyalty. The agreement of the three that were to meet there though was alone, and no threat. Loyal Soldiers were actrutally allowed to be placed outside of the meeting room.

The meeting place was agreed to be the old Talasea's Planetary Governor's Palace. This place was very old and the planet was mainly uninhabited, at least that's what his intel told him. Nothing and no one was around except for several of his men that were loyal to him around one of the several landing pads where his ships was parked.

This was when Miss. [member="Zofia Marek"] and [member="Aeshi Tillian"], entered the room. These women were some of the newest trade companies that were in the area. They were still nothing compared to ATC or the United Trade Conglomerate, though the UTC HQ was now in threat by the First Order so they were very weak. These women were possibly now the new interest of the galaxy, and there were constantly stepping on one another's toes while completing new trade treaties. This could be either a good thing, or possibly make things between one another worse. He stood to greet the two women, "Greeting Miss Marek, and Miss Tillian, please have a seat and we can begin."

 

[Zofia Marek]

"Captain," Marek corrected absently as she took a seat in a nearby chair, ignoring the quiet clack of the armor she wore.

She'd pulled on medium Cuirass armor for the occasion, ever mindful of the dangers of such a meeting. The armor plates were a brass-gold color while the blue of the undersuit set a pleasant contrast. For those unfamiliar with Ganath and the Ganathans, it was a strange, brightly colored but interesting uniform. For the knowledgeable, they were the colors of the Ganathan Royal Bodyguard and only worn by those who had earned, or been granted, the privilege.

On her hips she carried only her Adumari blastsword in its scabbard and the empty holster where she usually kept her sidearm. It was a quiet, supposedly peaceful meeting, but paranoia was a healthy habit in some areas of employment. That said, the blastsword was without powerpack in a token gesture of disarmament. In the dark, only the dim, slow strobe of a tiny light competed with the single lamp in the middle of the room, the dull red light glinting occasionally from the gauntlet of her left forearm.

She leaned back in her seat, her legs crossed before her while her hands sat neatly folded atop her knee. The Cathar didn't bother swapping the vision modes of her helmet to compensate for the darkness. It wasn't needed and, potentially, was detrimental what with the bright directional light over the table. Marek made herself a bit more comfortable in the seat for a moment longer and waited for the rather clandestine meeting to begin.

[member="Tydus Wryeens"] [member="Aeshi Tillian"]

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

[member="Tydus Wryeens"] [member="Zofia Marek"]

Aeshi strode in, pausing to let her eyes adjust to the dark room. Melodramatic, much? Nothing was more suspicious than a meeting in a dark room. It practically begged for someone to shine a light inside. Whatever was wrong with a normal cantina meet-up was beyond her. But from what she had been able to dig about this meeting, this fell squarely on the illegal side. Not that big a deal, but the shadow espionage stuff was what she avoided. Legitimate smuggling deals were about the most illicit she preferred to go. But she would see how this would turn out.

She didn't say anything as she took a seat, sprawling back in it and kicking her feet up on the table. She had no armor, just her normal ship's clothes, two empty holsters. The guns were back on the ship. But then again, she didn't need guns. It was the biggest part of her training as a Warden. How to use her arms and legs as weapons, use the Force if need be, but discreetly. Combine the two and you can catch a whole lot of people with a surprise bigger than most liked.

"Likewise, but call me Ash," She said as the other member of the party made a comment on rank. She was a Captain first, trader second. Yeah, she was in the mercantile business now, but that was because she had her own ship and could do as she pleased with it. That was the point of the charter.

The gravity was a little rough and the humidity difficult for one so used to artificial environments, but she'd work with it easy enough. Just ignore it for the most part.

"Right then, let's get straight down to business." She studied the two of them, both much more heavily armed, even in appearance, than she was. "Seems we're trying to work out a trade deal here and I'm going to lay my cards on the table. Not in the business to get rich, get power, any of that." She sat up and leaned forward, "I want to do my thing without interference. Got better things to do than get in a fight over trade. Frontier's rough enough of a place as it is. You got problems with that?"

 

[Jaster Awaud]

Tydus looked at both [member="Aeshi Tillian"] and [member="Zofia Marek"], they both seemed to follow the agreement to an extent he expected. These women had gotten in his way, and even worse they got in the way of the Shadow Legion. The counsel wished him to stop all work and find a way to end this situation by diplomatic means. They did not give him alternate means should he fail here and not end this diplomatically. As such he had a lot riding on this meeting then just "business".

He sat back down in his seat as the women entered and sat down as well. He sat forward in the seat, his Faceplate was reveled by the singular light sources. His eyes glowed yellow, and a little steam exited the lower areas of the faceplate. Then a mechanical voice broke the slight silents that followed 'Ash's' Question. "Yes, that would be correct, I'm glad we could get past all that pleasantries," Tydus sat back in his seat and reached into his coat, then retrieved out two Data-Pads. He then passed these two Pads out to the two women. The pads slid across the table to Zofia first the to Aeshi.

The pads would slip the galaxy into three different colors. The most noticeably looking color outlined the Outer Rim, Unknown Region, and the Tingel Arm, only excluding Wild Space. The next area included the Mid-Rim, and the Expansive Region, with a small bump to include Denon and a Nubia. This area also included Wild Space where many of the criminal activity such as piracy and raiders. The last area covered the Core Worlds, Colony Worlds and the Inner Rim, excluding Denon and Nubia.

Tydus spoke up again, "You two have gotten in the way of our plans for a long time now, and have set back our plans for several weeks now, as such the Shadow Legion have come to a conclusion that we would need to solve this diplomatically instead of through open armed conflict, this is our suggestion of separated territories."

 

[Zofia Marek]

The datapad slid to a halt and Marek glanced at the contents without touching the pad. It was cut and dry, simple and sweet, but there was a... small problem.

"Your concept of a diplomatic solution is to divvy up the galaxy into territories?" the Cathar asked, her tone polite, though pointed. "Let's be honest, here. If this 'shadow legion' had any real strength you wouldn't be bringing us here for diplomacy, you'd be bringing us here to issue ultimatums. That, and I would have heard of you, or at least heard of something."

She figured the man was either using a voice filter or had some sort of cybernetics. She knew she wasn't dealing with a droid, she could sense as much.

"You're trying to fight from the high ground when you're on even footing," she stated, one hand waving dismissively. "At the very least, give the illusion that you have the advantage. Bringing the two leaders of the two groups that have set your plans back by supposed weeks into a cliche board meeting straight out of a detective holomovie shows you have no advantage. That is, unless your plan is to unveil the typical 'secret weapon' like a stereotypical holovid villain."

Zofia crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, idly flicking through the various vision scopes on her helmet. She did so half out of idleness, half out of practicality, noting the variations of reality each scope showed her. The helmet turned to look at the other individual in the room and the only other female.

"You're here for what is supposedly a trade deal and you're goal isn't power, money, and prestige? You're either the most honest.... whatever-it-is-you-are, or the most naive. And who, pray tell, do you even represent? A hospital? Charity? Local religious sect?"

[member="Tydus Wryeens"] [member="Aeshi Tillian"]

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

[member="Tydus Wryeens"] [member="Zofia Marek"]

-----------------

Aeshi picked up the datapad and raised an eyebrow. That was interesting, to say the least. Territories were clear enough, but which belonged to whom wasn't something that seem particiularly clear, unless hers was the one involving Nubia and Denon. Nubia was the source of her charter and Denon held another charter. Interesting part of space, to be certain. Either way, she had no desire to partition the galaxy. It stood against everything she believed in, and furthermore, given his mention of this Shadow Legion, she had a hunch that as a Warden, it would be her duty to dismantle them.

Which was unfortunate. She'd heard legends at her outpost of another world beyond. Engaging in a shadow war to bring down a criminal gang was something she had no interest in. But if push came to shove, duty came first. It was part of the code. Or what would become her code, she suspected. That was the thing about life on the frontier. No governments, no societies, and no laws meant individuals had to define their own laws to live by, especially in the quasi-underworld she moved in.

Duty and responsibility were the key to survival, especially in a community. You didn't pull your weight, you died. Other people died. Things went bad and it was your fault. Carry your weight, be prepared to carry extra for the good of the team.

As Zofia spoke, Aeshi gave a tight nod of her in agreement. Nor was she going to bow down to some criminal element. But then Zofia turned to her and Aeshi smirked. "I'm the Tillian Outer Rim Trading Post, chartered by the Nubian Chartered Merchant Council and part of Tillian Family Enterprises."

She leaned forward further. "And a GUIDE pathfinder. I'm here for freedom to do what I want and need without interference."

Aeshi held up the datapad and gestured to its territories. "That's really not an option."

But the key to negotiation wasn't to state an offer wasn't unacceptable. It was to create a better option, but to do that she needed to know what they wanted. She didn't quite recognize the other's armor, but it was clearly military. Up to date and modern, so she was well funded and had significant research backing. The other had significant technology backing as well. Aeshi just had the remote controls for her ship on one forearm and a universal translator on the other one.

"Since you are here for this Shadow Legion..." Aeshi waved her hand idly, "And we've disrupted your plans, how about a compromise? We don't divvy up the galaxy and we don't interfere with each other. Free trade, free markets. Better for everyone."

 

[Jaster Awaud]

[member="Aeshi Tillian"] [member="Zofia Marek"]

Tydus was a bit disgruntled about this meeting so far, he expected that these people were merchants by trade. They would stay in their corner, and take what they needed. Truthfully though, Tydus had the financial backing, weapons, and ships to spread the core worlds several times over. It was the Council who wanted peace, staring 'We can't hide in the shadows if we involve ourselves with all out war'. Of course they were correct, such a conflict would end with land grabs and miss use of intelligence gathering. This alone was not what the Shadow Legion stood for, this meeting would need to be a success, and all he wanted were the worlds he had stated.

Tydus arms motors made a noise as he squeezed his hand into a fist as Zofia commenting about not having the higher ground. In truth he as a slight advantage, that being his home base was on Commenor, a planet within the core. As well as the funds to post raiding bountines for pirates and maybe even rouge soldiers who were looking for a quick buck. The Legion wanted to move slowly, and he was forced to accommodate to their needs. As such he released his grim of his own hand and did his best to calm down. He then waited for them to finish, "Free trade is fine, but the core worlds are to be under our direct control, thus meaning you can only create trade treaties after we have made ours, the borders I have offered as a suggestion would be the territories you have direct control over, and the rest of us would agree not to settle those planets until the designated owner has first dibs, these are starting posistions for your companies, it would also mean a garentee of no conflict and of course no rigging for failure, this treaty is an agreement between merchants, free trade is what gains us profit, but the Legion is so much more then that, so if you don't agree with the split of boarders,"

Tydus looked to the two women, then placed his arms on the table, "All we care about is you staying out of the Core and, Colony Worlds, at least until we have our own building in place."

Tydus then used his index finger on his left hand to point to the data-pads, after such he made a wiping movement with his finger like he wanted them to turn the page. After doin so their was a logo of Rendili Stardrives, "Of course I didn't expect merchants like yourself to do this for free, as such the Legion or more like GTI will be having a meeting with Rendili Stardrives in the next few days, where we will be consulting with them to manufacture new smuggling technology as well as Droid Fighter, these will be given as gifts to you and your companies if you comply with my request, is that acceptable then to you two?"

 

[Zofia Marek]

"So, we have a woman focused on Capitalism at its purest and a representative of the would-be rulers of the core of the galaxy," she shook her head with a grim chuckle. "The problem is, the only people right now with the strength to take and hold the Core, overtly or covertly, don't want it."

The Cathar leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table and clasped her hands before her. The datapad on the table switched to show the emblem of the Rendili Star Drives. She blinked once and shrugged internally. He was bargaining with play money to her mind.

"They don't want it because holding it is dangerous. A covert group that wants to hold it needs to either be backed by a major presence, namely a corporate entity or galactic nation. The fact that you're here attempting to bargain and pay us off, appeasement more or less, tells me that you have neither. To overtly hold it requires a substantial power base and strength of numbers. Again, if you had either or both, this would be a meeting to issue ultimatums and demands, not collaborative diplomacy."

"That said, you want diplomacy and a peaceful resolution, which is always preferable in most cases. So, let's look at the current offer," she stated, tapping the datapad with a single finger to shut the screen off. "First off, you're not paying me with what amounts to cheaply made tin cans that hardly serve their use as scrap, much less warships or starfighters. Second, you're not paying me off at all. I do not take bribes or payments to look the other way, much less give preferential treatment. Also, despite calling yourselves the Shadow Legion and claiming to operate in the shadows, your decision to sit here and give us all but a lecture on what, exactly, your group is and is doing shows that I probably haven't heard of you because you've no real presence in the Underworld rather than that you excel at your roles and jobs."

She jabbed a thumb at the other woman at the table, the one with backing from Nubia.

"That said, she seems to want to compromise, so I'll follow suit, in my own way," she stated, her tone never losing it's politeness. "Free markets, free trade sounds like a good plan. We do what we feel is necessary for our corporations and groups, covert and overt, and figure it out along the way. No territories, no 'calling dibs' on locations. First come, first serve. If you get there first, I'd suggest being able to hold on to the location either diplomatically, economically, or militarily. It's a rough galaxy out there and the Core is very, very profitable in many ways. All it takes is one galactic giant to come in and remove you, so generally behaving oneself is a solid goal, I feel. If there's a dispute, so be it. Figure it out or fight it out. It makes no difference to me. However, there will be no laying claim to territory unless you feel you can hold it, and... you'll have to forgive me if I'm a tad blunt with this statement for I feel it to be true... Quite honestly, I highly doubt you can hold the Core all by yourself, Shadow Legion or not. Feel free to lay claim, but if I feel you can't keep your little fingers wrapped around it, I'll pry them off one by one should my trade and expansion lead me to do so."

[member="Tydus Wryeens"] [member="Aeshi Tillian"]

 

[Jaster Awaud]

Tydus looked at [member="Zofia Marek"], the little kitten had shown some ferocity in staking her claim to the territories she currently held. Tydus enjoyed it slightly that such a women would want to start a conflict so early in her career. In the Business of Trading and Transport, they were all small fish in the galactic sea. The ATC held some of the strongest contracts in the galaxy. Then there were the other corporate giants in the galaxy who where only willing to play ball if it benefited them, and as small fish that didn't involve them. The attitude of the women was quite amusing as she truly thought she was the most powerful in the room.

Then there was [member="Aeshi Tillian"], a women who was pretty much a singular smuggler who called herself a company. She would benefit from free trade as much as the Cathar women, neither of them were established near the Core World and if he so desired could cut off their tails and never return them. It was those fearful dogs of the council that wanted him to make peace with such insignificant bugs who called themselves business people. This however was an order and an order he would comply with until he deemed it useless.

He clasped his hand together and looked passed the women. He then let out a small chuckle as the woman spoke, he then spoke, "Its funny you still think hearing of us is such a surprise, we are called the Shadow Legion and meet on planets where the gravity is heaviest with minimal eyes and no weapons, do you think its cuz we plaster posters to recruit young kids." He tapped his finger on the table twice, "You Carthar always enjoy thinking your on the top of the totem pole, and enjoy your suddle threats, and sense you have made your threats, I will make my ultimatum cuz quite frankly I don't respond well to threats."

He then stood up and placed his hands openly at the on the table, "You and Ash here don't have a centralized base in the core words, both of you are headquartered in the Outer Rim, and lets not forget you've never heats about us or our supporters, do you really think you can hold onto your holdings in the Core Worlds let alone your own holdings?" He again let out a small chuckle, "Accept the deal, or dont, I dont really care, but lets not cross paths like he have before Carthar, now how was that for subtle threat?

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

[member="Tydus Wryeens"] [member="Zofia Marek"]

The Core. Aeshi was intimately familiar with the Core Worlds. Especially the Core World itself. She'd grown up on Coruscant under Sith occupation, down near the slums. As they argued, memories flooded through her mind. Old, battered bunks with mildewed mattresses that made the floor seem like feathers. Basic food rations- always living with hunger in her belly and a craving for real food and all the food she could eat, plus extra. Being beaten by older kids until she learned to scrap with the rest of them, harnessing the pain and the anger and the hunger to launch herself with desperate fury at the often larger children. Stealing food from street-vendors and disappearing into the warrens of back-alleys. Getting beaten bloody by a squad of One Sith soldiers and dragged away by wary locals. So many nights crying herself to sleep in the dark, her missing parents a sharp, painful emptiness where her heart was supposed to be.

That brought her up short. With the One Sith collapsed, her parents could still be out there somewhere, locked up in some prison ship or on some forgotten prison colony. All she had to do was find where they had been taken. Then she was brought back to the present during the conversation. It brought a frown to her face as she considered. This was ruthless negotiation at its core on an unprecedented level. Smuggling was easier. Start high and negotiate to where you actually wanted to be. No veiled threats or claims of this or that backing it up. If things went sour, whoever had the biggest gun or the best reputation won out. You got what you paid for.

"I grew up in the Core," Aeshi said after a moment of examining the light fixture. "And I want no part of it. Do what you will there, the both of you. Makes no difference to me." Her eyes narrowed as she studied them both. "But if this Shadow Legion moves against me or any of my affiliates, I will root your organization out of the shadows and burn it to ash. Nothing subtle. Nothing hidden. Just laser straight truth."

With that finished, she leaned back in the chair, kicking her boots up on the table. "No deal."

 

[Zofia Marek]

"Trained on high gravity worlds? Without weapons? Oh, my!" she said with mock surprise. The Cathar couldn't help but chuckle faintly at the situation. Sure, it was dangerous to make enemies, even reckless with the size and strength of her company. She acknowledged her actions could, perhaps, be somewhat foolish in light of the situation, but she couldn't help but feel that concern was even necessary. That said, she didn't get this far believing she was invincible.

"For someone calling themselves the Shadow Legion, you seem far from subtle in the slightest," she stated with a cool grin, though she knew that the man couldn't see her face from the helmet she wore. "You call us here to discuss diplomacy and when your footing is found equal to all of ours you demand we leave the Core primarily to you, at least initially. This Shadow Legion is either a legion of amateurs that need no second glance or whatever leadership you answer to placed their faith in the wrong person. Either way, the point is moot."

Personal opinion voiced, it was time for a formal stance. She uncrossed and crossed her legs, her hands folding politely in her lap as she leaned back in the chair. Once more, the only illumination was the slow, steady strobe of red light as it picked out the edges and raises of her armor.

"The Royal Ganathan Trade Company will decline the offer put forth by your Shadow Legion. As the RGTC Chairman I cannot find anything of value with such a deal for my investors, chief among them the Ganathan regent: King Karl Ek XXII," she stated, her tone formal and polite. She picked up the datapad from the table and tucked it under one arm as she stood, the armor she wore clacking faintly with the movement. "If there is nothing else...?"

[member="Aeshi Tillian"] [member="Tydus Wryeens"]

 

[Jaster Awaud]

[member="Aeshi Tillian"] [member="Zofia Marek"]

Tydus smiled from behind his face mask, making it none visible for the two before him. The Intel on either of them were limited. Yet he always found a way to keep the upper hand. Today he still kept it, threats, warnings, deals, none of this would work. These were merchants, the only thing they cared about was profit, sometimes even more then their life. He couldn't offer them money, nor would he. These trading space rats will just keep getting in his way. Killing them here would make it all disappear, yet he had his orders.

The councils orders were if they were to decline, they would be free to go. Then Tydus would have full authority on what to do next, and he already had it planned. "Nope, if you wish to decline the treaty," Tydus sat back down and placed his hand behind his head, "you are both free to leave, and the Leagion wishes to thank you for your attendance, we would also like to request that you never speak of the legions name outside theses walls, if it doesn't, we will eliminate the threat to our secrecy,"[\i] He nodded his head to the door where they had entered, then stating, "That's how you haven't heard of us Miss Marek, now I wish you both a safe trip back." He only lifted his right hand to wave goodbye.