What is done in secret has great power…

[Darth Timoris]

​

Melori stood in the huge open-plan room she maintained on the top floor of an undisclosed apartment block on an undisclosed planet.

Her Acolyte kneeled as she demanded. It was a form of punishment. Previously she’d rebuked her charge for daring to bow at her. But today she was forcing her to subjugate to teach her a lesson. In part because — if she was honest — Melori was angry with herself. But more of that later.

But for the moment she was focused on a holoprojector. Finally she deactivated it and dropped into her high backed chair, forcing a long exhalation through pursed lips. "Scavengers," she said after a moment.

Into a brief succeeding silence came a persistent plopping sound from outside the room's floor-to-ceiling viewpanes.

"Rain," she muttered.

"The rivalry between these two mining organisations intrigues me," Melori was saying as she once more moved about the cavernous room that was both her sanctuary and repository. The hood of her cowl was raised over her face, and the hem of her robe trailed on the gleaming floor. Her voice was cool, absent of emotion but not without instances of intentional inflection.

"I see a way that we might exploit this entanglement to our own gain," she continued. "A push here, a shove there, and both mining companies will collapse. Thus, we will be able to take over the operations, the trade routes, their vote in the senate and, in so doing, gain the further allegiance of those that need the ore."

She removed her hands from the ample sleeves of her robe. “The CEO claims to be persuaded of the worth of serving us, but I want him fully in our grasp, so that there can be no doubt of his heeding my commands."

She cast her hooded gaze across the room to a deeply shadowed area in which her Acolyte sat silent as a statue, her face lowered, so that all Melori could see was the crown of her head.

"Your thoughts betray you, my young Apprentice," she remarked. "You are puzzled by my steadfast interest in the interests of miners."

[member="Zaria"]

 

[Zaria]

Knees bent and head lowered. Zaria's eyes remained fixated to the floor below her - following the will of her Master. There where times she could bear absolute testimony that the floor had moved in waves. Ripples. Was this just an illusion of her own mind or some conjuration from her Master? Zaria was being punished but she wise enough not to make an inquiry of the situation. If she failed her Master some how then she would double her efforts not to do so again in the future - and since she knew not the reason for such a punishment she would ensure she doubled all efforts.​

​

Only Zaria's ears dared to follow her Master as the powerful Sith moved around the damp and cold cavern. She listened as her Master spoke of miners, mining corporations, votes, and even trade routes. Zaria did not understand the movements and dealings of politics - but she was learning them now. Slowly she began to understand where Master Timoris was heading with all this but failed to grasp why they - rather her Master - was interested in such matters. Did her Master want to own one of these mining corps? Both even? Maybe her Master was seeking some form of amusement. Zaria noticed of late that her Master was feeling a bit angrier than usual. Revenge?​

​

Zaria's face burned with slight embarrassment. Her thoughts were betraying her. She had not learned the technique to mask her thoughts from others - so she was an open book to more powerful Force users. Zaria found her voice and answered, "I am, Master. Permission to speak freely?" A silence fell over the cavern while she waited for some reply to her question. When none came she bravely continued, "I am curious why you need such a ruse. Why not simply just take what you need from the infidels? Surely they pose not threat to you."​

​

​

[member="Darth Timoris"]​

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori was a Sith. Except that didn’t mean a huge amount – the Dark-side had more facets than a corusca gem.

Her brand of philosophy was ingrained by her first Master. Her oldest Sister. She’d been obliged to read about the Rule of Two – and although did not believe in killing her Master – she did sign-up to the concept that the weak were unworthy. That they lived only if they served a purpose. She would not kill for no reason, but she did not hold the average person’s life as sacred. They lived for as long as they served her purpose.

But that was something Zaria would learn over time and either agree to – or form her own opinion. The One Sith’s views were at odds with Merlori’s – but then, so were the Sisterhoods. There was always common ground – but for some reason people always liked to focus on where they were different.

And perhaps this mission would be part of Zaria’s learning. For much of it came from Melori’s current Master. Despite being something of an outcast from both the One Sith and the Sisterhood, she still viewed Venefica as her Master. And she taught Melori the importance of her own Apprentice’s next lesson.

But her anger needed to be quelled first. It clouded her judgement.

“My disappointment is palpable. I know this. Am I such a bad Master that the One Sith would look to steal you from me? That one would have the audacity to call me a poor teacher? I accept you will not divulge a name. But should I find out the who…they shall face my wrath.”

Melori was typically a closed book. Right now her face was full of rage – but as she paced up and down she allowed it to dissipate until she was neutral in expression once more.

“To answer your question? I was trained as an assassin. As were you. But what does a success typically achieve? One death. Perhaps it is a political killing and some power shifts – but alone it only ends the life of one person. I am not suggesting we abandon your training – but you need to understand another dimension. When a single kill is not the answer.”

“Imagine the power gained from manipulation. To have corporations working for you. Freely. Believing it is their own will? To remove someone here and accelerate the promotion of another there. To have companies, even industries at your beck and call? Planets even?”

She left her words hanging, allowing her Acolyte to absorb them and to use them as she wished. More questions? An insight? It mattered little as long as she was thinking about what she had heard.

[member="Zaria"]

 

[Zaria]

Zaria's hands balled into fists when she thought of the approach to betray her Master. Sith as she saw them where not loyal to anyone but their own power - minus only a select few such as her Master. Zaria was not a Sith but a follower of the Dark Jedi philosophies - where she believed loyalty was important. The name of the one that sought Zaria out to betray this woman who took her under her wing would one day have their head removed from their shoulders - their lightsaber presented to her Master as a trophy.​

​

At first Zaria failed to understand the words her Master spoke previously. Now she understood them. Absorbed them. Zaria never cringed from killing but she would not refrain from doing so - as long as the death served a purpose. What her Master was speaking now appealed to her. An alternative to killing. Zaria's focus rested on those words. Manipulating others to serve her. To hold one with the power of authority in her grasp.​

​

"I understand, Master," Zaria answered relaxing her hands and feeling the small trickles of blood run down them where her nails dug into flesh. "And no Master, you are perfect. Only the weak would refuse to challenge you openly."​

​

"I'm ready to learn more about this manipulation of others." Zaria took a deep breath and in great confidence asked, "What it thy bidding my Master?"​

​

[member="Darth Timoris"]​

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori smiled. “Pergitor. A planet in the Minos Cluster. It is currently independent – which suits our purpose.” In truth it was a chance for them both to learn and without the interference of any major governments.

“It’s major export is minerals and is therefore useful for our needs." She moved closer to [member="Zaria"]. "To realize our goal, we will be forced to deal with all classes of beings, each less noble than the last. But this is what we must do. You will be my direct hand in this.”

"Stand, Zaria, and face me." She gave her Apprentice a moment to comply before continuing. "Thus far your apprenticeship has been impeccable. You have never wavered in your intent, and you have executed your tasks flawlessly. Your skill as a sword-master is peerless."

Melori fell briefly silent – never a good sign. "There are certainties, Zaria," she said at last. "But there is also the unforeseen. The power of the Dark-side is limitless, but only to those who accept uncertainty. That means being able to concede to possibilities."

Then Melori approached Zaria and handed her a data disk. "Study this as we travel. It contains the names and descriptions of the beings we will encounter, and other information you will find useful." She beckoned her Acolyte to follow her to the far wall of her lair. As they approached, a great panel drew open, revealing a lofty view of the planet-wide cityscape that was Coruscant at night.

"You will find Pergitor to be a much different landscape than Coruscant." She turned slightly in Zaria's direction, appraising her from beneath her cowl. "I suspect that you will savour the experience."

[member="Zaria"]

 

[Zaria]

Zaria did as her Master commanded. She rose to her feet and took the data disk twirling it once in her hand before slipping it into a pocket in her robe. By the tone in her Master's voice they would be leaving the lavish confines of Coruscant for a planet she assumed was nothing more than a cesspool in comparison very soon. ​

​

Onboard the vessel that was taking them to the planet of Pergitor - Zaria detached herself from her Master. Zaria had traveled with the blonde-haired woman numerous times to understand she wished to be left alone. Zaria had some work of her own to do while they traveled. This mission - if Zaria understood it completely - was one that had been put in motion long before she stood at her Master's side. Though this was not a lesson in itself she still ingested the meaning behind it.​

​

Zaria slipped the data disk into a computer terminal. First on her agenda was learning about the planet itself. To her amazement the information pertaining to the planet was astounding. The information was so heavily detailed that every minute particle of the planet and it's cities had been placed before her eyes. Schematics for every building was here along with the tunnel system of the sewers. Street names were included. Even the establishments that served food or hosted gatherings or rented rooms had it's hours and availability comprised in the file.​

​

Zaria then moved onto the rest of the file. She studied the faces and memorized the names of potential targets. She began testing herself by playing a game of memory by matching names to faces and vice versa. At the conclusion she did the same with the first information she studied. Preparation was not only key but this she knew was a lesson from her Master.​

​

The next day she stood at the exit of the shuttle - a breathing mask attached to her waist. Zaria wasn't unsure if her Master would send her out beyond the sealed city limits but it was far better to be prepared than to be punished later. When her Master arrived Zaria said handing her the data disk back, "It is how you have foreseen, Master. Mr. Chlo has requested your presence in a meeting. According to his file he is a sneaky sod who owns a minor mining firm. He uses droids as bodyguards and assassins and no doubt will have them stationed nearby. The meeting is in some open faced cantina called the Burning Lover. Your orders, Master?"​

​

[member="Darth Timoris"] ​

 

[Darth Timoris]

Dressed in her usual robes, Darth Timoris did not immediately answer her but nodded as she listened.

She stared out of the shuttle – at the teeming rain – and raised her hood. With a purposeful stride, she led the way, striding down the main street of the company town. It had assembled in the midst of what had once been a trackless tropical forest. Beneath the cloak, she wore her two lightsabers hooked to her belt, within easy reach should she need them.

Melori used words like a man in a desert used water – sparingly. . She moved with a measure of grace and looked around.

A grid of permacrete streets, the town was a warren of prefabricated domes and rickety wooden structures, many of them lacking transparisteel in their windows. Music spilled from the entrances to cantinas and eateries, and folks of all description meandered tipsily down the raised walkways. The place had the feeling of frontier towns throughout the outlying star systems, with the routine mix of aliens, humanoids, and older-generation droids; sterility and contamination; repulsorlift vehicles operating alongside four-and six-legged beasts of burden.

The residents, all of whom either worked directly for the mining company or were there to defraud those who did, projected the same mix of autonomy from the laws that regulated life on the Core worlds and enslavement to perpetual toil and poverty.

Unlike Coruscant, where beings hustled to and fro with determination, here reigned an atmosphere of purposelessness, of accidental life, as if the pitiful beings who had been born here, or who had arrived for whatever reason, had resigned themselves to the depths. Like the bottom feeders who dwelled in the lawless bowels of Coruscant, they seemed to be going through the motions of living, rather than grasping life and turning it to their own purposes.

Melori wondered if the revelation fascinated her Apprentice as much as it disheartened her.

The air was thick with heat and humidity – despite the sealed nature of the area, and the buzzing and chirping sounds of the surrounding forest played at the edge of her hearing. She could sense the interplay of life there, the fights and flights, and the ongoing struggle for survival. And the forest had imparted some of itself to the town. For here lived beings who were not above hunting and killing to obtain the sustenance they required. A veneer of laws regulated such things, but beneath that veneer lurked a more base morality that allowed opponents to settle their matters without fear of intrusion by keepers of the peace, judicials, or even worse, the Jedi Knights.

Life was cheap.

She threw out her right hand and snatched a fist-sized insect in mid-flight. Dazed, the flitter lay in her palm, perhaps wondering on some primitive level just what make or manner of predator it had blundered into. The creature's six legs wriggled and its pair of antennae twitched. Its twin eyespots and carapaced body glowed with a faintly green bioluminescence.

She momentarily studied the insect, then sent it on its way to rejoin the multitude that buzzed about the town.

Finally she spoke. “Lead the way. You’re in charge. If you’re unsure what to do…improvise.” There was a trace of a smile on her lips. Melori taught by her actions. If her Apprentice had been attentive, she would now know instinctively what to do.

[member="Zaria"]

 

[Zaria]

The silence her Master cherished was something Zaria understood quickly in her Apprenticeship. They were opposites. Where her Master chose to be silent or pick her times to speak - Zaria was quick to speak and sometimes not everything that came from her mouth was ladylike. So it was no surprise that they left the shuttle without another word spoken between them. ​

​

While they walked in tandem Zaria observed the surroundings around her. The idea to build a town inside some kind of forest fascinated her. The beauty had been robbed by the sights of desperation everywhere. Mining towns by standards attracted a certain type of crowd. Failed soldiers trying to reinvent themselves. Thieves and murders fleeing the hands of justice. Sometimes it was just people that had no other skills than hacking away in mining tunnels hoping to make enough credits to counter the low life expectancy that plagued their internal systems. Mining towns were a dangerous place.​

​

Faces covered in grime and soot looked up - some halting whatever task they were doing - to stare at the duo. Strangers was the word Zaria thought. A couple of middle-aged men stumbled over to them. Both staring at her Master with hungry eyes. The two men pushed their hands toward her - palms up - and began begging for credits. Zaria was about to shove them on when a thought occurred to her. Win the hearts of the people and the people would sell their first born if you asked them. Zaria reached into her robes producing four credit chips and dropped two each in their hands.​

​

"As you command, Master," Zaria replied stepping in front of her Master and took the lead. Zaria knew the area they were in by memory. They were not far off from the Burning Lover but taking a direct route without examining the area around it would be fool-hearty on her part. Zaria wanted the people to see her Master. To recognize her face. So when the time came they would see her as their hero rather than another rich owner come to lay more weight upon their shoulders.​

​

While she walked her eyes casually looked to the rooftops seeing droids. Mr. Chlo's droids by the designs she had also put to memory. Zaria was right in assuming this bugger was going to strong arm her Master in one form or another. Zaria fought back a chuckle. Mr. Chlo had chosen the wrong mark. To cancel his plans she gradually shot waves of Force energy toward the droids - disrupting their internal systems and turning them into metal statues. ​

​

Once more she produced credits - her pile dwindling in her robes - and began to toss them to more street urchins. Win the people over. Zaria didn't need to say anything to her Master. Her Master was wise enough to understand the gestures behind her faux gratitude. They rounded the corner where another pair of droids waited - where they too became useless. Zaria was systematically turning the odds in her Master's favour.​

​

Zaria led her Master to the Burning Lover and the table where Mr. Chlo - a rugged old Bith - sat all alone. He had put his faith foolishly in technology and sat with a smug expression. Zaria knew that smugness wouldn't last long. He was alone. No droid would come to his rescue if he called for them. Mr. Chlo was playing a game that he couldn't win. He set the rules and Zaria changed them. Her Master was the Queen and little old Mr. Chlo was just a pawn.​

​

​

[member="Darth Timoris"]​

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori watched and allowed her Apprentice to continue. One thing she especially like about her was her willingness to be proactive. Too often Acolytes waited to be asked, or told. Melori saw a method in her gifts – and made a note to give her Apprentice more to shower the locals with on the way back.

And she noted the droids being subtly decommissioned one by one. Smart move. Very smart. It also allowed Melori to focus on the meeting.

Melori came to a halt at the noisy cantina. It was the sort of place where anyone who entered would be apprised by the clientèle within, but she cared little. She headed in slowly, gracefully, straight for the table of Mr. Chlo, keeping her hood raised and her face in profile when a human female bartender approached.

"What can I get you, stranger?"

"Pure water," Melori said, her voice impassive.

"Big spender, huh?"

Melori made a negligent motion with her fingers. "You'll bring my drink and leave us alone."

The muscular, tattooed woman blinked twice. "I'll bring your drinks and leave you alone."

Melori expanded her peripheral vision to take in the entire cantina. She made use of the mirror behind the bar to see what her eyes could not, and he drew on the Dark-side to fill in the rest.

The cantina had an air of benign neglect, a smell of liquid inebriants and greasy food. The lighting was deliberately low. Flying insects of various sizes circled the illuminators, and children of several species ran around. Males and females fraternised openly, with a sense of levity or abandon. Music was provided by a ragtag band of Bith and fat Ortolans. Along the length of the bar Weequays conversed with Ugnaughts, Twi'leks with Gands.

If some of the residents they had passed on the street were the hunters, the manka cats, here were the nerfs – the cats fed on the ones who gave themselves over to intoxicants and games of chance and other vices. It was the sheer absence of discipline that sickened her. Discipline was the key to power. Unflinching discipline was what had forged her into a sword-master and warrior. Discipline was what enabled her to defy gravity and slow the inrush of sensory input, so that she could move between the moments. Something her Apprentice was learning swiftly.

Melori sharpened her faculties, extending the range of her hearing to monitor nearby conversations. Most were as prosaic as she had expected them to be, revolving around gossip, flirtation, petty complaints, and future plans that would never be realized.

Then she heard the word sabotage, and her ears pricked up. The customer who had uttered it was a stout human, seated off to Melori's right in a booth along the cantina's rear wall. Another human sat opposite him, tall and dark complexioned. Both men wore the grey lightweight coveralls that were standard issue for employees of the local mine, but the lack of lommite dust in their hair or on their clothes made it clear that they weren't miners. But that was for later.

Melori now looked at Mr. Chlo and deliberately took a sip of water.

Melori’s eyes were no longer fixed on the man but on something she had glimpsed on the wall above the booth. It resembled the bioluminescent flitter she had captured earlier on. This one, however, wasn't moving from its spot. The reason became apparent once Melori probed it through the Force. Not only was it a fabrication, it was also a listening device. She gave her Apprentice a gentle nudge to deal with this bug too.

And still she sat in silence...

[member="Zaria"]

 

[Zaria]

Zaria didn't require any beverage of sort and shook her head when the bartender glanced her way before shuffling off to fill her Master's request. Zaria walked the perimeter of the cantina staying no more than 3 meters from the seated table where this Mr. Chlo and her Master sat. She didn't need to hear the conversation - any important information would be shared with her later - but what she did need to do was to examine the faces of the other patrons. Mr. Chlo - according to his file - may employ droids but even the greatest criminals where wise enough to change their methods of operations from time to time. ​

​

Most of the patrons gathered around seemed to be engaged in topics pertaining to the mines themselves. Except for two she kept close tabs on. They wore the garb of miners but they were just to clean. A quick glance at one of the miner's hands revealed the lack of scarring and calluses on the hands. Whoever they were - they were not blending in well to those with trained eyes. Zaria slipped a hand inside her robe and pulled it back out palming a tracking device the size of a pin head.​

​

Zaria casually moved back to their table and when she was close enough feigned a trip falling into one of the seated men. "I'm so sorry. Two left feet I have," she said by fake apology while attaching the device into the fabric of the clothes. "Oh look! I spilled your drink. Let me buy you another one?" Before the man could protest Zaria told the bartender to bring him a drink and tossed the last of her credits on the tray.​

​

Zaria made her way back to the table and felt a nudge from her Master when she passing by. Without looking at the device and being very subtle in actions - disabled it with the Force.​

​

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[member="Darth Timoris"]​

 

[Darth Timoris]

At a round table nearby sat a Rodian and two Twi'leks, ostensibly engaged in a game of cards – sabacc in all likelihood. Melori watched them for a moment. Their playing was desultory. She observed their facial expressions as the mine-workers continued to converse. When one of the men said something of interest, the Rodian's faceted eyes would flash and his short snout would curl to one side. At the same time, the Twi'leks' head-tails would twitch and their pasty faces would flush ever so slightly.

The Rodian's left ear was sporting an earbead receiver, while the Twi'leks' receivers took the form of dermal patches, disguised as lekku tattoos.

Melori was certain that the trio were in the secret employ of the Bith’s main rival. She recognized the Rodian from the disk she had shard with her Acolyte.

Creatures of habit, the mine-workers that sported the Bith’s colours probably occupied the same booth night after night, completely unaware that their conversations were being monitored. Such carelessness exasperated Melori to the point of fury. The men were deserving of whatever harm would surely come their way.

But for now she had a bigger fish to fry. So she stared at the man and finally he spoke, his top lip glistening.

“My, you’re a talkative one.”

She remained silent.

“Listen, I don’t know what your game is but I run this town. I pull all the strings when it comes to the mines, so if you want a piece of the action, you need to square it with me first, right? For a fee I just might be prepared to turn a blind eye.”

Melori remained tight-lipped. She could help the Bith control the mining in this sector or she could allow his rival to step in. They were clearly planning a move on each other. The question was…did the man she’d yet to meet provide a better prospect than the one in front of her?

The Bith fingered the collar of his ill-fitting suit. Melori wondered how anyone could be less qualified to be supported. His own men were being spied upon in the bar he chose to use.

“No,” she finally said. “You lose.”

Under the table her hand clenched. Under the shadow of her cowl, it would take an observant person to notice her eyes morph yellow. The Bith momentarily raised his hands to his chest and then sat still, his arms flopping to his side. His heart had been squeezed so tightly it immediately stopped working.

The three mine-workers now left the cantina on foot. Melori decided to join the Rodian and his compansions and beckoned for her Acolyte to join them. As she approached their table, she heard the dull thud of a body hitting the floor behind her.

And nobody batted an eyelid.

[member="Zaria"]

 

[Zaria]

The Bith's death went practically unnoticed and even she barely gave it a courtesy glance when she stepped to her Master's side. "I placed a tracking device on one of those clean miners, Master," she whispered into the ear of the blonde-hair woman as she adjusted the collar on her Master's robes. With the device in place they started to follow a trio that detached themselves from the cantina scene.​

​

Zaria studied the trio - more importantly the Twi'lek. There was something striking familiar about the male alien. Zaria knew she had seen him somewhere before but couldn't recall where. Then it came to her. "The Rodian we know, Master. That Twi'kek," she was saying as she took another look at him to make sure she was correct and added, "Is a bounty hunter. Rather he's an assassin in the employ of one Fattu the Hutt. His name is Yuart Racor and if he's here then it's a safe guess to assume Fattu has a financial interest as well."​

​

Zaria looked over her shoulder at the dead Bith and nodded. The pieces where coming together. "I think you killed his mark, Master." Zaria had dealings wih Yuart Racor in the past. There was no love loss between the two and Zaria vowed revenge one day on the Twi'lek. Unless her Master gave the direct order to kill him she would stand-down for now.​

​

The trio stopped and spoke a few words to each other. The Twi'lek gave a nod and broke from the group. "With your permission I would like to follow the Twi'lek, Master. I might be able to deduce if the Hutt is involved or if he is working outside his usual parameters. If you allow me Master, I will deal with the Twi'lek accordingly."​

​

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[member="Darth Timoris"]​

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori nodded. "We shall find each other when the time is right. I trust your judgement and let us see where our individual endeavours take us."

Again, there was that proactive streak that Melori so admired.

So, with the three now slept up, Melori followed the remaining two. They left the cantina on foot and wended their way to a ribbon of trail that wove through a dense stand of forest. She followed from a discreet distance, keeping to the shadows when the moon came up, full and silver-white.

The trail eventually arrived at a tight-knit community of flimsy dwellings, many of them raised on stilts to keep them above pools of runoff water left by the rain. The humidity was oppressive.

The dwelling that was the duo's destination was an elevated cube with a metal roof angled to channel rainwater into a ferrocrete cistern. The cube's only door was accessed by means of a ladderlike stairway. A rusted landspeeder with a cracked windscreen was parked in a muddy front lot.

Melori kept to the trees while a thickly built human responded to the Rodian's raps on the door frame.

"Come on up," the man said. "Everyone else is already here."

Melori waited until the two were inside, then she hurried from the shadows and planted herself under an open side window. Not content with her choice, she ducked beneath the house and clambered up one of the stilts to wedge herself between the floor joists of the front room. In the room above, someone was pouring liquid into several glasses.

She extracted a miniature recording device from a pocket of her robes and placed it against the underside of the rough-hewn floorboards.

"Here's the long and short of it," the man said while the glasses were being filled. "It's been decided that we need to level the playing field. We're going to strike. Our shipments will reach the planet, and theirs won't."

Someone whistled in astonishment.

"Does the boss realise what he's letting loose?" perhaps the same man asked. "This is going to lead to a shooting war."

[member="Zaria"]

 

[Zaria]

Zaria waited a few moments to allow a safe distance between her and Yuart before she began following him. Yuart was a paranoid class assassin. He was good at his job but he never took risks. Zaria had to follow him carefully because if he spotted her he might break into a run and whether or not she caught him - he would not give up any answers. Paranoid and loyal to a fault.​

​

Yuart walked through the streets occasionally looking over his shoulder. Zaria knew him and had learned his habits. So when he showed signs of looking she would step out of his view by hiding behind something or combining herself with the crowd of people. As she suspected - Yuart led her to ship that bore the symbol of Fattu the Hutt. With the presence of this infamous crime boss Zaria understood the stakes had now just been raised. "Why are you here Fattu," she asked herself outloud.​

​

Zaria wished she could just hop aboard the ship and rip out the answers she needed but like Yuart - Fattu knew her by face if not by name. Zaria had the knowledge that the Hutt was here and she could report that back to her Master. Zaria was frustrated that she missed her target of opportunity with the Tw'lek. She was just about to turn and leave when she caught sight of the two clean miners. She watched as they boarded the Hutt's ship. "Well kark me."​

​

She pulled out a small device and set it to the on position. The transmissions she was receiving from the bug was clear and crisp. She began recording the meeting between the Hutt and the two miners. "Found yourself a backdoor in did you, Fattu," Zaria chuckled. Zaria's eyebrows raised when one of the miner's described her Master to the Hutt and was most displeased when Fattu ordered her to be removed. Zaria knew Yuart would be the one to do it.​

​

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[member="Darth Timoris"]​

 

[Darth Timoris]

"This comes straight from the boss," the man said. "He's been in the trenches before. Those are his words, and this is his show."

"His show and our livelihood," someone pointed out. "There has to be a better way of settling this. What about petitioning the senate to intervene?"

"A cure that can be worse than the disease," another answered, much to Melori's amusement. "The Senate will defer to committees run by corrupt bureaucrats. It will take months for it to get to the courts."

"No senate, no courts," the man said. "That much has already been decided. It's up to us."

"So what happens?"

"We've been able to learn the hyperspace route their ships are going to take. They are scheduled to decant from hyperspace at 1400 hours, local time. The folks we're employing to execute the strike will be able to calculate the precise re-entry coordinates."

"Who are we employing?"

"The Advent clan."

Expressions of dismay flew from all corners.

"Cutthroats," someone said.

"Exactly," the man said. "But we need to team up to accomplish this, and the boss is willing to spend the necessary credits. By using them, no one will suspect us, and the boss wants to keep his hands clean while I make the connections. Besides, the Advent have the means to get the job done."

"And no scruples to stand in the way."

"Have they agreed to terms?"

"At first contact," the man said. "Although I have to say that I sometimes wish I could see both mining corporations brought down, so that someone with real foresight could build a better organization from the dregs."

Several glasses clinked together.

[member="Zaria"]

 

[Zaria]

Engulfed by the shadows she had chosen to hide in - Zaria watched the Twi'lek assassin exit the Hutt's ship. Zaria wanted to confront him right here but considering the proximity of Fattu's vessel she knew that Yuart would receive reinforcements quickly. Zaria was deadly with her saber staff but against those odds she would not survive an all-out scuffle with Yuart and whatever else the Hutt threw at her. The Force and patience would choose the proper setting for the encounter. So Zaria followed him again.​

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Yuart was leading her away from the main hub of the city into a neaerby forest. Zaria was struck with confusion as to why he was going out here. Her Master was back in what could be loosely described as a city not in a forest. Then at the last moment before Yuart spoke she realized she had been careless. "I smelled you Zaria when you where trailing me the first time. Fattu sends his regards," Yuart said turning around holding a vibrosword in one hand and a heavy blaster in the other. "Smelled me? I'm surprised your nose still works after I smashed in our last encounter, Yuart."​

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Yuart gave a weak smile to her response. "Charming, Zaria. Let me tell you how this plays out," he began tossing the blaster aside in favour of using the vibrosword. "First I'm going to kill you. Once that meaningless task is done I'm going to kill the woman that is with you. Fattu doesn't want any competitors interfering with his plans." Zaria removed the long hilt from her waist and raised it out in front of her. "This saber staff is the same one I used to kill that pretty assassin wife of yours. It's also the same one I killed your handsome assassin brother with. You can say this staff has a taste for your family. Come Yuart, shouldn't keep your family waiting."​

​

Yuart gave another weak smile as he walked toward her. Zaria returned his smile with one of her own as she powered up her weapon. "I'm going to enjoy killing you, Zaria." Zaria laughed then said, "Your wife and brother said the same thing and yet here I stand."​

​

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[member="Darth Timoris"]​

 

[Darth Timoris]

"So what's our part in this, Chief, if the deal has already been struck?"

The man snorted. "We need to prepare ourselves for their counterpunch."

Melori peeled the recorder from the floorboards and dropped down to the loamy soil below the house. She remained still for a long moment, crouched in the darkness, listening to sounds of distant laughter and the stridulations of profuse insect life.

Melori reached within her cloak and unclipped the long cylinder from her belt. One end, then the other, Melori told herself. Both, to effect a single purpose.

Melori waited until the moon was low in the sky before she went to the mining company’s headquarters at the base of the escarpment. The incidents of sabotage had caused the complex of buildings to be placed on high alert. Armed sentries, some accompanied by leashed beasts, patrolled, and powerful illuminators cast circles of brilliant light over the spacious grounds. A five-meter-high electrified stun fence encompassed everything.

Melori spent an hour studying the movements of the sentries, the periodic sweeps of the illuminators, the towering fence, and the motion detector lasers that gridded the broad lawn beyond. She was certain that infrared cams were scanning the grounds, but there was little she could do about those without leaving evidence of her infiltration. A probe droid would have been able to tell her all she needed to know, but there wasn't time and she wanted to do this personally.

A thought went to her Apprentice. She was sure they would meet up again soon, the natural order of things dictated it.

So she focused back on her own situation. To test the possibility that pressure detectors had been installed in the ground, she used the Force to propel stones over the fence. As they struck specific places on the lawn, she waited for some response, but the guards stationed at the entry gates simply continued to go about their business.

When she was satisfied that he had committed the results of her reconnaissance to memory, she shrugged out of her cloak and leapt straight up over the fence, landing precisely where some of the rocks she had tossed rested. Then she sprang to a series of other sites that ultimately carried her to the wall of the principal building, moving with such speed the entire time that whatever holorecordings were being made wouldn't show her unless they were played in slow motion.

She reached one of the doors and found it locked, so she began to work her way around the building, testing other doors and windows, all of which were similarly secured.

[member="Zaria"]

 

[Zaria]

Yuart charged toward her like a charging rancor - all teeth and one nasty bite. Zaria had faced him before but only briefly. Yuart's fighting style was something between a mixture of emotion driven passion and recklessness. Yuart was a risk taker who survived not by sheer luck but by skill. Yuart was one dangerous Twi'lek! Zaria bent her knees preparing herself to repel the series of blows she was anticipating to happen. The first strike followed by the next four forced Zaria to backstep - not retreat just to draw him in.​

​

The last time they had briefly fought - Zaria was a mess. It was no wonder she didn't cut off her own arm just trying to power up her newly created lightsaber. Outside her Father she never faced anyone in a life or death fight before. When she faced Yuart she was a frightened little girl. Yuart had picked up on that tendency and for the short duration of their fight exploited it. Had it not been for the arrival of security he might have killed her. Yuart fled the scene prompting three of the security team to give chase. It was assumed by the last security officer that since she was in possession of a lightsaber she was a Jedi - and he allowed her to walk away.​

​

Yuart's powerful slashes cut through the air or were parried to one side or the other. No amount of conditioning could ever offset the body's natural desire to spend energy. Zaria - in defense role - was not forced to spend her energy like Yuart. Where he was slowly draining himself she was still much full. Yuart threw an all or nothing strike toward Zaria. Using Trakata she shut down her blade as she raised it to block his attack. Yuart's attack missed the absent blade while momentum carried him forward. As Yuart passed by she threw a left hook smashing the right side of his jaw.​

​

"This has been a real hoot," Zaria spat. "But pressing matters and all." Zaria had been practicing a new Force ability - Force Choke. It was nothing fancy and absolutely not as powerful as the ones she witnessed - yet. Zaria had seen people killed by the ability but she wasn't strong enough to do it - yet. What she could do with it was halt people in their tracks and breed fear into their minds. Yuart spun around from the blow to the side of his face. He barred his teeth seconds before the first pressure was felt on his throat.​

​

Yuart naturally gripped his own throat with one hand. When fear began to sit in he dropped his sword and gripped it with the other hand. Zaria walked up to her slightly incapacitated opponent placing a hand on his shoulder. Zaria leaned in and whispered into his ear, "Tell your wife and brother I said hello." Zaria drove the blade from the only ignited end of her weapon up into his chest cavity. "Now to return to my Master."​

​

[member="Darth Timoris"]​

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori tested the building's flat roof for motion and pressure detectors as she had the lawn. Vaulting to the top, she was confronted with an expanse of solar arrays, skylights, and cooling ducts. She moved to the nearest skylight and ignited her lightsaber. She was ready to plunge the blade through the transparisteel panel when she stopped herself, and peered more intently at the panel. Embedded in the transparisteel were monofilament chains, which, when severed, would trip an alarm.

Deactivating the blade, she re-clipped her lightsaber and sat down to think. It was unlikely that the central computer was a stand-alone machine. It would have to be accessible from outside locations. There would be remote access. Melori berated herself for not having recognized that fact earlier. But it wasn't too late to rectify her oversight.

She returned to the dwelling just before sunrise. Unlike the headquarters complex, the stilted house had no security. The man either didn't have enemies or didn't care, one way or the other. Perhaps he was that resigned to fate, Melori thought. It scarcely mattered, in any case.

She circled the house, occasionally chinning herself on the windowsills to peer inside. In a rear room, the man was sprawled atop a knocked-together bed, half in, half out of a net tent that was meant to keep nocturnal insects from feasting on his blood. He was fully clothed, snoring lightly, and dead drunk. A half-emptied bottle of brandy sat on a small table alongside the bed.

Melori gritted her teeth. More carelessness, more lack of discipline. She couldn't summon any compassion for the man. The weak needed to be weeded out.

Melori let herself in through the unlocked door and scanned the front room. He was a man of few worldly possessions, and not a particularly orderly one. His dwelling was as chaotic as his life appeared to be. The confined space smelled of spoiled food, and lommite dust coated every horizontal surface. Water dripped from a sink faucet that could have easily been repaired. Arachnids had woven perfect webs in all four corners of the room.

Melori searched for his personal computer and located it in the bedroom. It was a portable device, not much longer than a human hand. She called the machine to her and activated it. The display screen came to life and a menu presented itself. It took only moments for Melori to find her way to the central computer, but for the second time that night she found herself locked out.

The computer was demanding to see his fingerprints.

Melori might have been able to slice her way inside the central computer, but not without leaving an easily followed trail. What is done in secret has great power…she must live by her own teachings.

Melori gazed at the man. With a scant motion of her left hand, she caused the man to roll over onto his back. Born of some uneasy dream, a prolonged groan escaped the human. Melori gestured for his right arm to rise, wrist bent, with the palm of his hand facing outward. Then she stealthily carried the computer to his hand, easing the display screen into gentle contact with the outstretched fingers. When the machine had toodled an acknowledgment, Melori dropped his arm and rolled him back onto his side.

By the time Melori left the bedroom, the directories for the database were scrolling onscreen. Melori pinpointed the files relating to the imminent delivery and opened them.

[member="Zaria"]