A deal between two devils.

[Loray Tares]

A claw of armor, the abyss of an ocean tied to metal plating, rattled against the keyboard. He moved slowly back and forth, entering information into the holonet input. [member="Aver Brand"] was off doing her own thing, likely moving pieces of a grander scheme together - spliced between Nadir and Maena. But Loray had bigger issues to deal with, ones of a more personal matter.

The sort that had spanned 400 years.

He was once content to let this dog lie, to let the world pass this man by. But his eternal weakness would forever taunt Loray, looking back through the mirror. Whole, unbroken, and weak.

The encrypted transmission opened up, showing the darkened helmet of the mercenary and brightly burning red visor, washing out all other detail.

::I have been informed that you have knowledge pertaining to Gabriel Sionoma::​

​

[member="Darth Carnifex"]​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Indeed I do."

The Dark Lord's visage was fully on display, his muscular armor-laden body sitting atop a throne constructed of jagged black iron surrounded by macabre Sith ornamentation and the bleached trophies of his enemies taken throughout decades of battle. On his waist rested several lightsabers, some of which had been taken in the Battle of Krayiss II from those weak-minded Force Users who had followed the Dominion to their doom while others were of obvious simplistic Jedi design, most likely harvested from the Silver Jedi.

"I had fought Gabriel Sionoma for many years now, he had proved to be quite the bothersome thorn in my side." A dark smile widened his lips, "He even managed to kill me once."

He still remembered that day on Dromund Kaas, although the details were bereft of color and hazy as if it had been a dream. It had inevitably been all for naught for Gabriel, as the Dark Lord had reconstituted himself and exacted terrible vengeance on Gabriel, leaving him crucified in a sepulcher to die.

"But these days I find myself too preoccupied to pursue the man, so when I heard about your offer I couldn't help but bite."

[member="Loray Tares"]​

 

[Loray Tares]

The armored figure steepled his fingers together, lacing hands in front of his helmeted face. He had never truly anticipated that sort of response, that Gabriel could have been anything other than a mild nuisance to esteemed Lords of the Sith. What purpose did weakness have, when pace was dictated by strength and power?

::Unexpected.::​

​

He paused, a tilt of the head, as he looked the figure up and down. Despite the formalities and secrecy, these two were not mere strangers. In fact, they had once held nearly equal positions within the war machine. And even then, Loray had seen the work of this man on the canvas of Ivory - chest and head. But while Aver had been removed from the apartment, Loray had taken it upon himself to reclaim the Soul Saber for the time being.

With it, his anger for his brother far outpaced the vengeance that he could share with [member="Irajah Ven"]. He would never believe her to be formed by these particular actions, it was simply paint peeled back to expose sturdy brick. But that brick was beautiful, masterful craftsmanship, and what he and few others had seen beneath the layers was now entirely exposed and evident. He fought back the urge to continue that thought, looking down at the saber.

::Tell me of your experience. In detail. And what circumstance led to you two fighting?::​

​

[member="Darth Carnifex"]​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Ah, so he wanted the full story. Unexpected, but amusing.

The Dark Lord clasped his hands in front of him, crossing one leg over the other as he leaned back into his throne and let his mind wander back their earliest meetings. "We first met on Taloraan, when the Alliance launched a strike to assault the floating city and remove the One Sith's presence there. I had arrived shortly after the battle began and took flight on one of the gas giant's native beasts before running straight into Gabriel above the city's tallest spire. We collided and fell onto the spire where we proceeded to fight, and as for why it was clear. He fought on the side of my enemy, and therefore he had to die."

Pretty simplistic line of thinking, if you're not with me then you're my enemy. "After that I fought him on Dromund Kaas, but by that point my body had begun to degrade beyond the point of salvation. I coaxed him into battle and let him deliver the finishing blow so that my spirit may be freed from its decrepit shell so I could return even stronger than before. Which I of course did on Lujo in a long forgotten sepulcher with the aid of my uncle Prazutis and the Sith Lord Soeht. They kept Gabriel at bay while I anchored my spirit into my new body, and once the ritual was complete I fought Gabriel myself and subdued him."

His eyes narrowed, his voice dropping to a growl. "I left him to die in that cave, beaten and crucified on a slab of stone. I should have ended him then and there, but I thought it more cruel to leave him to suffer. Since then we have only fought again once more on Skor II, but after that he's eluded me and I've found myself unable to commit myself to tracking him down and ending him. Which is what has brought me to you."

[member="Loray Tares"]​

 

[Loray Tares]

Gabriel had been busy, indeed. Loray knew of the fighting that had occurred between the One Sith and the Galactic Alliance but only in passing. What he had been told or what he had read, busy tending to self made responsibilities on Nadir. After all, this occurred in the wake of the destruction of Selvaris.

Implicit within Kaine's commentary was the spin that he expected of anyone, retelling history from their own point of view. Loray had opinions about his brother that were deep and formative, the basis for which his existence came to be. He was the twin that was aborted, Gabriel was the one given life. He was given everything. Until it was all taken away.

::Taloraan...Dromund Kaas...Lujo.::​

​

These were all old events, occurring back when Galactic Alliance had pushed hard against the One Sith. But...

::...Skor II. The war that is waging between the First Order and The Galactic Alliance.::​

​

That particular war was of interest to the Equalizers, given the constant battle and opportunity for work. In fact, he could recall specifically that Aver had been part of the event pertaining to the defense of Mustafar. For the Galactic Alliance. His hands tightened as he felt an anger well up in the pit of his stomach. Gabriel had been under his nose all along, hiding in plain sight. He wondered if they had ever fought on the same side. He wondered if Gabriel had been there for the defeat of Coruscant.

::It is clear that he is under the employ of the Galactic Alliance. Do you know in what capacity? Is he one of their many soldiers? And do you know where he currently lives?::​

[member="Darth Carnifex"]​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

He shrugged, "Haven't a clue."

And he was telling the truth, he had only faced the man in battle amidst chaos and destruction. He'd never bothered to find out whether Gabriel was fully on the Alliance's payroll or if he showed up as a third party who just so happened to be opposed to the First Order. "I just know that he's fought for the Alliance. It will be up to you to divine such knowledge from the information I give you as I suspect you're more dedicated to tracking Gabriel down than I am."

He suspected that it was more than just some bounty or hit, this seemed personal. Kaine wondered...

"Which I am willing to divulge in its entirety, but I only ask of one thing in return. Forget the credits, I have plenty. In the event that Gabriel is rendered deceased or immobilized, I request that a sample of his genetic material be delivered to me. Assure me of that and all that I know will be yours."

[member="Loray Tares"]​

 

[Loray Tares]

He paused. The thought of his own DNA, however tied to Gabriel that it might be, being owned by another - it made his blood boil. He had seen what Kaine was capable of when given genetic material. His mind drifted to the thoughts of a certain Grand Master, opportunity struck from sight.

But this was more important than that.

Besides, Gabriel would have no need for his own genetic material, when he was six feet beneath the ground.

::The offer is accepted. I will trust that the information you provide is wholesome and complete, to the extent of your knowledge. Any possible recordings and formatted intelligence, I expect in consideration of the accepted terms.​

​

You have my gratitude.::​

​

[member="Darth Carnifex"]​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"I feel that you will find the information more than adequate."

At the Dark Lord's behest all of his compiled data on the subject of Gabriel Sionoma, including audio and video files recorded during several of their encounters, was uploaded and transmitted directly to [member="Loray Tares"] through their secure encrypted link. Of course, these were only copies of the original date, but nothing had been changed or removed from the total sum.

The Dark Lord planned to keep true to his word on delivering all that he could to aid in the destruction of Gabriel.