Private A Rook and a Chance

[Holt]

Aurelius Baldor

Spoiler: Gear

Roc-class Mk I Stealth Armor
BAW-56 Blaster Pistol

​

If you asked Holt whether or not he was a gambler, you would get a complicated response in return. Aside from a first retort of how you knew him and why you were asking, he would reply that he had never and probably would never bet money on silly things such as cards or dice. Such actions were foolish wastefulness of hard-earned and useful assets that more often than not would be lost for no gain. Yet, as a Rook and intelligence gatherer for the Ministry of Secrets, one could say that Holt gambled something even more precious than money when on the line of duty -- his life. It seemed almost a jaded concept, and truth to be told Holt had been in this life since longer than he or Confederacy records could remember; the former due to the poor memory retention of the human brain, and the latter thanks to some file manipulation Holt had performed on his own behalf.

Nevertheless, Holt was not the sort of man who dwelt on such philosophical things. He was far to old for any more idealistic crusades, and now he plainly saw the galaxy and those who were in it as what they truly were -- a means to an end, and asset for a job. Yet even though it was that simple, it seemed that life and the Ministry of Secrets continued to throw curve-balls whenever they could. Perhaps that was the reason that Holt was now in orbit of Kessel, a planet that had for centuries competed with the likes of Nal Hutta and Nar Shaada for being the capital of the criminal underworld. Historically it had been a mine of both addictive spice and the rare and valuable coaxium, one of the most efficient and expensive hyperfuels in the galaxy. But now, it was under the control of a rather charismatic and wanted crime lord, a Devaronian by the name of Aurelius Baldor who'd had a surprising amount of contact with the Confederacy. A little digging had told him that the crime lord had happened into a game of sabacc with one of the Defense Force's High Marshals, which in a different time would be a matter of investigation for the Ministry. Yet one of Holt's fellow agents in the Ministry had been a participant as well, and in that case it had been one of his work peers that he didn't dislike, so he'd let the case slide. He was also aware that the Crime Lord had been approached by the Black Sun, and had apparently accepted an invitation to join their growing ranks -- more investigative work on the droid's part, of which he was grateful for -- and the Silver Jedi Order was also encroaching on Baldor's territory. Not exactly a great situation to be in.

Holt was not a man of politics, and in truth he didn't even feel much of a special connection to the Confederacy when it really came to it; his service in the Ministry was more of a debt than anything else. Yet, in the certain cases when galactic affairs could interfere with his line of work, Holt occasionally felt the need to step in and sway events more to his likening. As a Rook of the Ministry of Secrets, his role was to provide contacts, support and gear for agents on the field -- essentially the role of the 'man behind the curtain.' And Aurelius both provided a resource as a well-connected contact that could be useful in the future, as well as a source of valuable coaxium, of which Holt was not only interested in for its fuel but also its rumored explosive properties, of which he could experiment and design new weapons with back at the Rookery if he was provided enough of the substance. This all went through his mind as Holt went through the processes of decloaking his Osprey-class Stealth Corvette as the ship entered the lower atmosphere of the spice world. Holt counted on not being shot out of the sky as a sign that talks would not immediately go south, and was pleasantly surprised when he was transmitted landing coordinates for a small crater within the planets surface, obscured slightly by a yellow ocher-colored smoke that seemed to cover the entire planet. As he touched down, Holt made a mental note to pack a rebreather the next time he visited Kessel. That is, assuming there would be a next time.

 

[Aurelius Baldor]

Aurelius Baldor paced in front of the large window behind his desk, looking out at the spice and coaxium mines below. This was his, and with the Silver Jedi on one side and the Bryn'adul on the other, just over the horizon, he stood at great risk of losing it. He puffed at a tabac stick, trying to relieve some of the stress that was mounting. Aurelius had the Kessel Guards, of course, as well as a squad of bodyguards, but if he wanted to defend his property he would need much, much more. Even if he were to leave Kessel, he would still need more to muscle his way onto another world elsewhere.

As if an answer to his thoughts, a message came through to his desktop communicator. A corvette approached was approaching the palace, and from what he was told they had come peacefully. He did not recognize it as Nyx's ship; no, this was a newcomer to Kessel. "Be ready for anything. I'm coming down to the pad right now," Aurelius said to the guard captain on the other end of the communicator. Grabbing his coat from its resting position on the back of his chair, he put his arms through the sleeves and beckoned for his powersuited guards to follow him.

Down at the landing pad Holt would see the Kessel guards ready, but not in hostile positions, simply being cautionary of the unexpected visitor. The appearance and equipment of the guards had changed little since the Galactic Civil War hundreds of years ago, but you know what they say about things that ain't broke. Aurelius made his way to the landing pad shortly after the ship had touched down, and took a moment to admire the ship before him. Military perhaps? Doubt it's a civilian, he thought, or else they wouldn't be here. After all, very few upstanding citizens have ever ventured to the planet of spice mines. Hands akimbo, the Devaronian puffed the tabac stick and waited for the ship's passenger to disembark.

Holt ​

 

[Holt]

K E S S E L
Aurelius Baldor
​

Steam hissed from vents as the landing ramp of the stealth corvette extended to rest in the red, dry dirt of Kessel. The entire corvette and interior were shrouded with black, and every now and then would shimmer with slight transparency when its inactive cloaking device would briefly stir. A single man -- Holt himself, alone and unaccompanied -- descended down the walkway at a brisk pace, one that told of business and gravity of the situation. Holt had donned his usual field coat, with its collar upturned to conceal his neck and lower face. He wore his stealth armor, itself little more than a sophisticated armor weave bodyglove, underneath his nearly civilian-like clothes. His pistol he kept hidden as well; not for the case of deception, but simply because the Rook wore no outer holster.

Reaching the end of the landing ramp, his boot dug into the firm ground of Kessel, and Holt took in his surroundings. Various pipes and vents belched gas above and liquid below, and on the perimeters of the landing pad, he could see guards stationed -- not with weapons drawn in a hostile position, which Holt took as a good sign. In front of him, alone, stood a tall and rugged Devaronian in a handsome coat, puffing a Tabac stick. Everything about the man spoke of wealth and glamour, a stark contrast to the meager outback setting of Kessel. Nevertheless, Holt recognized the man from the holes he'd used to brief himself on. "Aurelius Baldor, Lord Commissioner of the Shadow Hand," Holt said by way of greeting, coming to stop a couple of paces in front of the Devaronian. "I am Holt. I have some matters I would wish to discuss with you."

 

[Aurelius Baldor]

Holt ​

Aurelius smiled, taking the tabac stick from his mouth with a clawed hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Holt. Let's bring this inside, much more comfortable than out here." He beckoned for Holt to follow as he turned back towards the black palace looming over them. If he looked around as they walked, Holt would see that while the sentries were organic, all of the workers at the facility were droids. Slavery was so passé and droids were more efficient; they never need sleep or food, only routine maintenance, the occasional break to avoid frying their servos, and an oil bath once in a while.

The droids were hard at work within the mines as they passed through, working to fill Aurelius' pockets with coaxium, spice, and kesselstone. While Aurelius was not the richest man in the galaxy he was never hurting for wealth, even if his meager holdings on Kessel didn't make it seem that way. The Kessel Guards had begun to return to their usual duties, though they kept an eye on Holt's ship just in case. Aurelius' bodyguards trailed behind the two of them, clad in aging Krail 210 battle armor and armed with high-explosive percussive cannons. It never hurts to be careful nowadays, after all. As they got further away, the odor of Kessoline grew more faint, as well as the noise of the machinery.

"That's a beautiful ship you have, Holt. What shipyard birthed such a vessel?" Aurelius asked his new visitor as they walked towards the palace, the imposing black tower growing larger as they got closer. He had taken note of the corvette's occasional shimmering, and he figured he had a decent guess as to what caused it.

Which meant this man was serious business.

 

[Holt]

K E S S E L
Aurelius Baldor
​

Holt followed the Devaronian through the acidic landscape of Kessel, careful not to step in the steaming pools of liquid that riddled the scorched desert planet. Kessel was truly one of the few planets Holt had traveled to that was truly inhospitable; it hosted hardly any native life, flora or fauna, and even its atmosphere had an unpleasant, acrid smell. Despite that, Holt showed no outward signs of his discomfort; ever the diplomat, Holt had learned over the course of his life to hide his feelings and intentions behind a mask of indifference.

"The chassis and basic components were purchased from Roble Manufacturing, but let's just say that the ship is a design built in-house," Holt replied to Aurelius's question. He didn't think much of it; Holt's answer was ambiguous enough that it was likely to satisfy the crime lord's curiosity without giving any secrets from Intelligence Command. Holt had still not revealed his purpose yet, but as they drew nearer to a dark tower that Holt had to assume was Aurelius's base of operations, he felt he would soon be able to talk to the Crime Lord in confidence. But for now, he merely followed the Devaronian in silence, comfortable to wait until they reached their destination.