Private A trial passed

[T'zarna Khab]

Location: Temple Prime, Ossus
Tag: Kessa Vex

T'zarna had recently been scouring the underworld for items regarding ancient Dark Side rites. They were three colorful gems, each one imbued with dark energies. Her purposes were her own, she told none of the treasure hunters why she needed the gems, nor did she explain their dark origins. All they needed to know was that they would be paid handsomely for their troubles.

Temple Prime was quiet, a rising monument to the occupation of Ossus. The Fallen Order created it to be an unquestionable marker for their soon-to-be empire. It would be the first of many. Until the whole galaxy was dotted with them, she would not cease.

Eventually there was a rumble, one of the hunters had returned! This was a great development, many of them had gone silent, lost to the stars. It wasn't unthinkable that they had died trying to recover the lost gems, such was the cost of treasure hunting. T'zarna began her trek to the highest point of the temple, a flat surface used for the landing of shuttles and smaller ships. Sconces were lit, and there were cultists armed with blasters following their supreme leader. It was all a show to present to the, hopefully successful, hunter.

"Thus far you are the only one to return of the seven that I sent out. I will remember your resilience hunter," T'zarna remarked, her hands becoming hidden in the baggy sleeves of her robes. She looked to one of the cultists, who then dropped a case of credits at the feet of the hunter. "You will find it all accounted for. What once was to be split between seven, now belongs to one..."

 

[Kessa Vex]

The hunt had taken Kessa farther than she expected when she first accepted the contract. What had initially sounded like a relatively straightforward recovery job became a long trail through forgotten records, underworld contacts, dead ends, and places where sensible people generally knew better than to linger. The gem itself had not been waiting politely for someone to collect it either. By the time she finally held the colorful stone in her hand, Kessa understood why T'zarna had been willing to send seven hunters searching for the three gems at once, even if she understood considerably less about what the thing actually was.

Kessa had learned long ago that curiosity could be useful, but there were occasions when asking too many questions complicated an otherwise profitable contract. T'zarna wanted the gem, Kessa had agreed to retrieve it, and whatever significance the stone possessed beyond that arrangement belonged to her employer unless it became immediately dangerous to the person carrying it. Nothing during the journey to Ossus had convinced her otherwise, so the gem remained safely secured until her ship settled onto the upper landing area of Temple Prime beneath the low whine of repulsors.

She emerged carrying the recovered gem within a small protective case and took in the reception waiting for her. Armed cultists, burning sconces, towering architecture, and T'zarna herself standing at the center of it all created an impression Kessa suspected had been very deliberately arranged. She approached without hesitation and stopped at a comfortable distance before presenting the case, keeping whatever thoughts she had about the temple and its occupants carefully behind an expression of professional composure.

The revelation that she was the only hunter to return earned a slight lift of one eyebrow. Seven hunters had gone searching and, so far, only Kessa had made it back. Whether the other six were dead, still searching, or had simply decided that whatever they encountered was worth disappearing over remained to be seen, but the credit case dropping at her feet suggested T'zarna had already decided how much their absence was worth. Kessa crouched long enough to check the amount displayed before closing it again, apparently satisfied.

"I can't complain about the revised payment arrangement," she said as she straightened, the faintest trace of dry amusement entering her voice. "Though I imagine the other six might have a different opinion if any of them eventually turn up." Her attention returned to T'zarna, curiosity beginning to outweigh any interest she had in the fate of competitors she had never met. She had succeeded, she had been paid handsomely for it, and that combination made the obvious question considerably more interesting. "You sent seven of us after three gems. Are there more gems to find?"

T'zarna Khab