A Far Less Demanding Set of Requirements

[Darth Osano]

KORRIBAN
VALLEY OF THE DARK LORDS

Nothing in the Pentastar Sectors escaped his notice. The Helix Syndicate was very deeply entrenched there. Outside of that region, the story was different. Maleagant's spies weren't everywhere, but they were located where it counted. Such locales included the Core Worlds and the Stygian Caldera. He also had a few ears located in areas surrounding the nesting grounds of more well known Sith, like Darth Tirdarius. There was no particular reason for this. It was simply to keep tabs on what was going on, and interesting things were going on indeed. Particularly surrounding that apostate Silver Jedi, [member="Connor Harrison"].

Despite the buzz surrounding his murder of the woman who leveled Korriban City and his subsequent departure from the ranks of the more impotent strain of Jedi, Maleagant had no idea who he was. What he was about, what he was doing. And he didn't care either, not until he had received a ping that Harrison's shuttle had been hanging around the Oricon System, ostensibly to pay Lord Tirdarius a visit. Someone was sliding down the slope of apostasy, apparently seeking to go from a Jedi exile to a Sith adept. A goal deserving of applause if it were true. There was no way for Maleagant to know the details of what was discussed. But he could hazard a guess.

If Tirdarius' reputation matched reality, then it was likely a very long and tiresome monologue with a few token fragments of traditionalist, pragmatist Sith wisdom inserted every so often.

Or Tirdarius had greater plans in the works. Perhaps he was not just interested in resting on his laurels after all. The only way to know for sure was to ask.

//: Begin Transmission
//: Encryption: Secure

//: Mr. Harrison,

Your visit to the Fortress on Oricon has not gone unnoticed. If it was not to your satisfaction, you may be interested to meet with me instead. I have considerably more resources and the willingness to part with them more easily than who you have met with previously. I will be waiting at the tomb of Ajunta Pall on Korriban for your response.

 

[Connor Harrison]

The Valley was more than familiar now to Connor. Helping both Jedi and Sith unearth relics and tombs of the past, as well as destroying some of them in confrontations, the message from another Sith sniffing around was welcome, and a good distraction after the Oricon meeting.

Granted, Connor wasn’t exactly making shockwaves within the Sith, and he expected if needed he could fizzle away with little notice. But he was here for the long-run and not to feel intimidated or played as a victim just because he was here from a life serving the Jedi.

Not everyone was perfect.

The tomb of one Ajunta Pall took a while to locate in the humid wind of the planet, a planet his old allies helped shake up with the bombing of Korriban City. Events that played out had led him right back here, and so Connor walked slowly through the valley without let or hindrance. Waiting and watching, his eyes were alert and his hearing precise.

This could of course be some wonderfully ruse set up by Tirdarius himself as another game or test, pushing Connor to mental and physical breaking point. Well, that was the case, then bring on it, Tirdarius.

[member="Maleagant"]

 

[Darth Osano]

The last time Maleagant had been hanging around the tomb of Ajunta Pall, he had been there to bother Darth Pyrrhus about instruction in lightsaber combat. Now things were different - it was his turn to start dolling out instruction. Maleagant did not consider himself the teaching type, but it was amazing what he would lower himself to doing. All in the name of networking. Maleagant had little in the way of personal power. Even among other Acolytes his skillset was somewhat lackluster. But not every Acolyte fresh off the boat had a sprawling criminal enterprise seated squarely behind them. Since this was a much more informal meeting that did not demand he grovel to a proper Lord, Maleagant was not alone.

Outside of Pall's tomb, in a small, square landing field, Maleagant's shuttle was waiting. There was clearly no effort made to conceal his presence in the valley. The Sithling himself was waiting outside, and milling about in a loose and informal perimeter was a smattering of Helix Syndicate Enforcers. Maleagant himself was hanging around near the lowered boarding ramp, checking a datapad periodically. Apparently he was also keeping tabs on something else while he was out here. Things were getting busy in this sector of space and only promised to get worse.

The Enforcers appeared ready to stop Harrison, but stopped themselves on Maleagant's call. "No. That's him."

Seemed obvious enough. Not a lot of people came wandering through here these days.

Once [member="Connor Harrison"] had come close enough, the Acolyte extended his hand for a shake. He introduced himself in his usual bombastic manner.

"Maleagant."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Naturally heading for the shuttle in the distance, and the only current sign of life, Connor treaded carefully but didn’t hesitate the closer he got. He only slowed when a couple of, what looked like, guards moved to intercept. However they were soon called off.

Connor came face to face with the Sith hopefully behind the message, a man with striking and defined features looking like some primitive warrior.

"Connor,” he said, gripping the hand in a firm shake. "I take it you sent the message.”

He looked around at the guards and the ship, and the surrounding tomb.

"Seems you know your stuff, because yes, there was a lot of condescending monologues and I even got a knife through my hand for the pleasure. Not what I expected, but if that’s what the Sith now base themselves on, maybe I made a mistake coming this far.”

[member="Maleagant"]

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"I did." Maleagant answered.

A faint smile twitched at the corners of his mouth as the apostate lodged his first complaint against Tirdarius. It may not have been what Connor expected, but it matched Maleagant's low expectations precisely. "We are not all as... Bombastic." He said, softly, as if to enforce his point.

One day, perhaps when he had the luxury of wasting time idly arguing the merits of Sith philosophy, he would seek Tirdarius out himself. Maybe enjoy a similar dialogue, sans the violence. But right now he had a day job. More important things to do. Necks to break, checks to cash, that sort of thing. Tirdarius had climbed to a nice, lofty position and now remained there. Some people preferred to keep climbing. The climb is all there is.

He imagined Connor fell into a similar category, given his current circumstances.

"Did he request anything of you?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

At the Sith’s question, Connor shrugged slightly, wincing a little.

"Hm, you could say that. Wants me to seek out and murder a former student of mine who has also transitioned to the Dark Side as he thinks she’s holding me back.”

Shaking his head, he sighed.

"Yes, I have shackles I need to break, but I have no idea what his gain will be from that. If you ask me, it’s nothing but dangerous for all parties.” Then, standing tall, he snapped out of his musing. "Anyway. He basically doesn’t think I can cut it, I don’t understand the Sith lore and it came across he is the gatekeeper I need to sway with golden coins to gain entry in the Sith Club. Just hope I get a badge and certificate.”

Glancing at the guards around him, Connor didn’t feel uneasy, not at all, but just…wary.

"May I ask what you can offer Tirdarius can’t except a headache? Although saying that I imagine many Sith don’t share his view on things. He seems to like to talk the talk.”

[member="Maleagant"]

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

Murdering students. Fascinating. It appeared that the artificial engineering of melodrama was an art not yet completely lost to the Sith. For a final time, the right corner of Maleagant's mouth twitched erratically. Connor's flippancy and manner of describing things was either quite amusing or quite annoying to Maleagant. Then again, he hadn't tried to stab Harrison through the hand yet or demand the symbolic murder of someone he used to know, so it must have been the former... Right?

"The best Sith are self-taught, one way or another." Maleagant began. He retrieved a small data-logger and displayed it to Harrison. "I have access to digital duplicates of datacrons, scrolls, tomes. Even recorded holocron sessions."

Maleagant was far from having the most comprehensive cache of Sith artifacts and literature. There were other Sith with much more to their name, much more potent knowledge to deal with. But such higher level teachings were beyond the grasp of both Maleagant and Connor, so their acquisitions would have been pointless. Maleagant's own collection had been drawn from a pair of expeditions to some more remote tombs and some black market acquisitions. They would still be useful to anyone with the wherewithal and persistence of mind to study them closely.

The Acolyte continued. "You assist me, I give you what you need to learn. No condescension." He paused to return the data-logger to his breast pocket, then added more reluctantly. "I will also vouch for you among my colleagues."

Neither of the men there should have maintained the illusion that Maleagant's sponsorship would silence the most vocal Lords or Connor's dedicated detractors, particularly Tirdarius and his adherents. But both could recognize one "friend" in the ranks of the Sith, no matter how small, was better than none.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor stepped forward and looked at the data-logger while the Sith spoke, glancing at both now and then.

"I see a pattern with Sith,” he said when finished, "that it's always a two-way deal. I scratch your back blah blah blah. So, what is it you want from me?”

He folded his arms and stepped back. The word passed through other Sith was nice to hear though, and greatly needed.

So far he'd done most things the Sith had asked of him pursuit of enlightenment, so nothing could really be too much of a task this time.

Could it?

[member="Maleagant"]

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

Of course the pattern of pragmatic deals demanding one good or service in return for another was present among the Sith. It was present among the Jedi, it was present among the Aing-Tii. It was the cornerstone of the galactic economy. Maleagant narrowed his eyes disdainfully as Harrison rattled off his blah, blah, blahs. Maleagant was considerably stoic, even for a Sith. Yet suddenly he sympathized greatly with Tirdarius' decision to stab him in the hand and kick him back out until he murdered a former pupil.

When Maleagant spoke again, his tone was still even. "There is a MOD 17-class Freighter currently on Maramere. Its call sign is Servitor. You will board, hijack, and bring the freighter here, to Korriban."

It was a tall order, but nothing a former Master of the Silver Jedi shouldn't have been able to handle. The contents of that freighter were of great importance to Maleagant and he did not have the time or resources to spare to seize it himself.

"Once I have it, I will pay credits in addition to what was already mentioned."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor listened, nodding at the instruction. Sounded an interesting task, but there were doubts straight away.

"Alright, if you can provide me with anything you have on this freighter that will be good. What are we looking at in respect of cargo, crew, do you know what we’re up against?”

It should be straight forward enough depending on what info the Sith had.

And the nagging feeling this was one of those tasks where the hijacker never came back from the job.

[member="Maleagant"]

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

A different datalogger was withdrawn from Maleagant's pocket and presented for Harrison to take. "The cargo includes several dozen large, sealed crates." Maleagant explained. "Do not open them."

The datalogger would be more forthcoming about other information regarding the ship, however, whenever Harrison elected to insert it into a computer and peruse the attached documents. The files were unusually large, even accounting for the high quality images they contained. In any event, the crew was staffed mostly by cargo loading droids, aside from the maintenance officers and the bridge staff. Harrison was looking at about thirty bulky droids, fifteen maintenance personnel, and then the rest would be working the bridge of the ship. No additional passengers were expected.

Some of the maintenance team, about six of them, were listed as having rudimentary combat training. Their names, photographs, and biographies were included, as well as a list of weapons they owned or likely owned. Interestingly enough. The captain of the ship was a portly Neimoidian by the name of Yen. He had a very long rap sheet that was included among the other files. Yen had a history of unscrupulous trade dealings, accusations of drug smuggling, arms dealing, tax evasion, and so forth. A bounty of 6,000 credits, alive, had been attached to him by a local sector authority in the Mid-Rim. The rest of his crew were either had no criminal record or were too petty of criminals to warrant bounties of their own.

As for the physical ship, it did not appear to deviate strongly from any other MOD-17 Container Freighters. It was painted a muted green color and its name was scrawled along on both the port and starbound sides in sickly, yellow aurebesh. Blueprints of the ship, its security systems, and its layout were included. Maleagant could never be accused of sending his employees into places completely blind.

"You are free to deal with the crew as you see fit. Everything else you need to know is included here."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor took the file, looking at it and knowing it would give a read-out in his ship. He tapped it to his chest.

"I will take a look.”

Wrapping his fingers around it and keeping it tight, he had another question.

"So you want the ship, and the cargo, nothing else. Can I ask why you've not gone for this yourself? Is this some suicide mission or just a test I've walked into?”

[member="Maleagant"]

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

A less composed individual might have rolled their eyes. A suicide mission? A test? It seemed even brief exposure to the Sith was enough to obstruct a person's worldview. Everything becomes part of a convoluted scheme that ultimately points to nowhere. Maleagant had no interest in seeing Harrison dead and, if he did, he would not resort to such roundabout methods to do so. The man was literally right in front of him, alone with Maleagant and his guards. It might not have been a short battle, but most gamblers would bet the same way.

Maleagant also had no patience for tests. Either a person could do a job and they should be hired or they cannot do a job and they should not be hired. He had it on good authority that Connor could handle this and it just so happened that Maleagant had the necessary resources to tempt him into handling it. "It is neither of those things," Maleagant explained. "This is a job. You are a contractor."

As for why he was not doing it himself, he went into slightly more detail. "My more trusted employees are busy pursuing other projects. I myself have a meeting on Dxun I must be present for and a training simulation on Dilonexia Twenty-Six to supervise with a colleague."

It would perhaps come as a surprise to some that certain Sith filled their schedules with more than idle brooding in fortresses of doom.

 

[Connor Harrison]

A con…Connor recoiled, a bemused look on his face, and slightly offended.

"A contractor? Well, I’ve been many things in my time but never a contractor.” He sighed and shook his head. "Very well.”

He edged away, looking at the Sith with amusement in his eyes. The situation was certainly strange; it was basic in request, but the way it was panning out was not what the former Jedi had expected, but then when had anything ever gone the way one expected.

"So I’ll contact you from the ship on the coordinates in the pad when I’m done and bring it on over. I’ll be sure to have my secretary type up an invoice for using my services.”

Connor shot him a small smirk and turned to leave back down the Valley, mulling over the excitement yet to come. Hijacking was a skill not yet applied to anything, so there would always be a first time.

[member="Maleagant"]

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"It will pay better than your last job." Maleagant dryly remarked. He did not see anything particularly wrong with such a title. It implied a certain amount of expertise.

For Connor, this was apparently something of a peculiarity. Something strange not inclined to happen again. For Maleagant, this was just another in a long line of business transactions he was going to need to make over the course of his life. If Harrison was unfamiliar with these proceedings, then Maleagant attributed it to his background as a Jedi. Jedi were obsessed with vows of poverty and living like paupers. Sith had no such fetishes. The ones actually wanted to see something come of their labors, material wealth was a practical necessity.

Maleagant folded his arms and watched coldly as Harrison departed.

"I'll be waiting."