All that existed was silence

[King Iedolas Solidor]

Audiences with the other Nine Houses was always a boring thing. Although they never came out their castles in the ring cities, Iedolas had a disliking about having to discuss every single matter with them first. They respected his authority, but money was always a horrible thought among the Dukes of Houses Juoni and Tyrell, always greedy elzeris thinking about their own pockets instead of the long term profits.

He had but one more meeting that day. A man to be interviewed and see if it would be hired to train the Intelligence Bureau, or palace guards, man and women ready to protect their capital without cost. Would be a ruthless man, a man that knew how filth thought to teach them not only how to attack and defend, but how to foresee danger before its spread.

In his personal opinion, he had no problem with the current guards. But these soldiers were lazy, were comfortable thinking the palace of Enfer was invincible. And reality proved otherwise.

“Send him in.”, Iedolas said in a harsh tone of voice to his personal intendant.

 

[Brent Smith]

[member="Primarch Iedolas"]

Since he officially resigned from the FOSB and was now freelancing on his own, Brent had to find his own jobs. It was a hard scrabble to find anything that didn't puncture his morals and put some decent food on the table. He was still recovering what it meant to be Brent and not Viktor, but for now, Agent Smith was a happy middle ground; the trenchcoat-clad dark man of insatiable normalcy and enigma.

He strode through the door in his underwhelming ShadowZal, covered from head to toe in black. When requested, he handed over the extensive weapons hidden inside; two repeating blaster pistols, a carbine, a flechette laucher, a sawed off disruptor rifle, twin Verpine shattergun pistols, a Charric pistol, four knives, and a string of piano wire. One would wonder why he had to carry so many weapons--old habits died hard. Brent was used to being a walking armory clad in plain clothes.

Even inside, he declined to discard his sunglasses. They suppressed the outside world and made it easier for his heightened senses to make sense of everything, rather than be overwhelmed. As he walked casually into the throne room, the pale man's gaze fell quietly on everything inside. His eyes took in every pillar, every detail. Fine grains of dust, seems, the age and quality of the rocks, the very essence of the craftsmanship all were obvious to him. They always had been, and it all told a story to the near-human.

"Nice place you got here," he said with a nod before offering his hand. "Its a little too gaudy for my tastes, I am a much simpler man. Agent Brent Smith, Freelance. What can I do for you?"

 

[King Iedolas Solidor]

“It's your majesty, sir.”, said the voice of his intendent at the his back, a fact that made Iedolas smile for a brief moment, as his violet eyes were set upon the man in front of him. Tall, strong, stern and wild, a man that remembered him of his brother, Regis, still in exile.

“Oh no, my good Byron”, Iedolas said, both hands being used in his throne so he could stand up. His intendant bowed to his grace as he did that, and Iedolas started to walk off the throne, going step by step in the stairs at the side of his high Sun Throne. “One must never correct a man not accustomed to our ways.”, now near the end of the steps, Iedolas still smiled to the man, dismissing Byron with a short swing with his left hand. “Mister Smith, a real pleasure to have you in here.”, after he stopped walking the Primarch still smiled, as he took a measure of that man, from head to toes. “I have a excellent recommendation hololetter from Queen Popara the Hutt. Long business both of us had in our long lives in this plane of existence. The Hutt itself does not know you from anything beyond your fame.”

One that had to be quite impressive, to be heard by the Hutt lorda in the other side of the galaxy. Iedolas was a cautious man, that lead a cautious people that had intentions of uniting with many other noble from star systems in forming a great alliance to keep trade and order in their corner of the galaxy.
“Enfer is but a place. Built seven hundred years ago by my great grandfather. He died in this very room, ordered by one our ancient rulers, the Mad King.”, ancient history was something that the man was not likely to be interested, and as Iedolas walked down to stay side by side with that man, he could not help himself from smiling. “I am in dire need of the services of a man such as yourself. A strong fighter, brave and cunning man. That knows how to smell a stank before others.”

[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

[member="Primarch Iedolas"]

"Oh, my apologies," Brent said with an amiable smile towards the man who corrected him, then his host. "I come from a much less, eh, noble, I guess you could say, background."

He came from the middle class, or working class if you preferred that. Anyone who was able to get a hold of that would have likely paid a fortune in hard work. And the rest--his family--well, Brent had worked hard to hide that from the rest of the galaxy. The agent put his hands in the pockets of his coat, walking just slightly behind his host. if this man was one of those noble hot shots, well they tended to like that. It was something about respect or power or something like that. "Oh he has, huh? Well, I'm no one of consequence." Brent inclined his head towards the noble. Only the best agents were no one of consequence. If people knew who you were--well it was kind of hard to sneak in to pretty much anywhere. That was Brent's specialty, disappearing.

"I don't know if you would call becoming someone else brave, but I can take that I guess," Brent said. "I mean, sure I could do more of the same for you. That isn't too hard. But as my aunt used to say 'repair a man's speeder, he rides for a day. Teach a man to fix it, he rides for the rest of his life.'" Brent stopped stepping into the light, a single beam of it shone down through a window onto his face, even that still did not penetrate his dark lensed glasses. The outlines of his eye were vaguely visible through the light's penetration.

"With the right funding and people, I could make you a network that would keep your boarders aware of danger before it even thinks about breathing your way. Or even making them disappear before they begin," he paused, "The real question is what is off limits for you? Who are you unwilling to make disappear?"

 

[King Iedolas Solidor]

In his years alive, there was very little it surprised Iedolas in this life. He was taught how to use and master the ways of the Force, he met a hundred different planets and a thousand different races, travelled to see wonders and horrors, saw stars being born, suns dying and armies being crushed, he saw victories and defeats. But never, in all his four hundred years alive he would imagine that a mere human, mortal and flawed, would have impressed him with such words.

Morals and ethics were things that the elzeri valued above everything due to their faith in the Dios, their gods, but Iedolas was not like them. A man without morals, no ethics, no fear to go where most would, was something that he could see value beyond any word he could think of. However, he never thought he would find such person in a human, the same humans that got ‘almost’ kicked out of Kaikielius so long ago when the elzeri took over the planet.

“My compliments to your aunt… She is a wise woman.”, Iedolas said in a polite and kind tone of voice, he was indeed impressed, never he had found the need for intelligence services in his planet. Easy it was to smell the backstabbing and plots the other nobles made into webs in their quest for power, but they were not going to deal with elzeri and vahlas for long, soon would be humans and worse.

The Primarch thought for a long time in how to respond this question, he even stood his head up, looking with his violet eyes over the marble face of Queen Jaenara Solidor, the first Solidor to ever become ruler of the planet. As lessons in history rushed though his mind, he replied with a solemn tone of voice.

“Long ago, House Praji, Core founders of the Old Republic, human nobles ruled over this planet like no other. They became tyrants so confident in their power that they never expected when my ancestors, the elzeri, rose in a rebellion, crushed their armies and slit their throats. Now the Praji are no more.”, one Solidor took part of that he remembered, eight hundred years ago. “I have a vision. To unify the inner rim and beyond under the Protectorate, to make those squabbling nobles in nearby systems to join, even by force. And for that i am willing to sink my hands in blood, to stain my soul and to sacrifice even my own children.”

Every single word he said, was done with a calm and cool tone of voice, like he had no real feelings about any of those things. Like he was like Jaenara, truly made of stone. “Does that answer, satisfy you?”

[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

[member="Primarch Iedolas"]

"Thank you, I come from a long line of working class, wise aunts," Brent said with a winsome grin.

Brent listened as this man related his willingness to give all for his empire. He had heard of this type, powerful and power hungry. They were devoted, singular, and willing to go to extremes. Brent was a family man himself, he always had been. The idea of laying his parents or siblings on any alter was--well, something he couldn't even conceive that.

"Crystal," Brent said casually. He was used to these kinds of maniacs, even if he disagreed with them in every way. "The real thing you sound like you need is an offense based intellegence agency, more than a defense one, to exploit your enemy's weaknesses."

He turned, continuing down the hall out of the beam of light, "I started under the FOSB, before I retired from their ranks. The real strength behind their ruthless effiency is the lac of poltics. Whoever was there, was there because they could do their job. No meddling was allowed from the outside to pull favors and gain ranks--or to call hits on political enemies. If I am going to make this organization, I need the freedom to do that without interference. Who has to die to let me be able to make that happen?"

 

[King Iedolas Solidor]

His commentary about aunts made Iedolas laugh. A soundless thing, that showed up as easily as it disappeared in his lean and bitter lips. He was not a man that was known for being pleasant or flattering, he was what the people needed him to be; strong willed, capable and visionary. In Kaikielius, especially in the court, there was no room for weakness if one had the desire to survive and achieve his goals. Swift rulers came and were replaced, those that history remembered were the ones that achieved greatness. Like his father, Primus IV, that ruled for more that stayed in power for more than one hundred years sitting in the Suncryst Throne.

He had ambition, vision and the desire for more. In his heart, Iedolas knew his people were capable of achieving those goals, like the other planets in the Inner Rim and Tapani Sector, that were begging for a more ‘favorable’ rule. That human gave a good option for him, to create a powerful agency that could observe, provide and also eliminate threats when they appeared.

“Who?”, he thought of this for a while, rustling the idea in his mind. He knew every Duke and Duchess among the Nine Houses in Kaikielius, most of them were easily controlled by him. But there was one, that aimed for his title and position, there was always someone that posed a political threat. “One human.”, the Juonis were among the founding houses, they were the ones that descended of the first humans in Kaikielius. “Duke Mace Juoni.”, he was a human that married a elzeri only because his father told him to do so, he hate it elfs, he hate it his wife and his children.

“The man is but a hungry dog. For wealth and more. Get rid of him, and you shall have all the freedom and funds you need to do your job and create this network.”, calmly Iedolas started to walk, glancing upon the dead eyes of his father, made to statue, not far from where he sat. “You shall report to no one. Not to the Sanctum, not to the Enclave, only to me, and i shall allow you to do what must be done. That way, we also… get rid of politics in our path.”

[member="Brent Smith"]​

 

[Brent Smith]

[member="Primarch Iedolas"]

Brent nodded at the command. Just one person had to die, and as far as things went, that was pretty good. Usually secret organizations like this were born in a bloodbath. The fact that just one person had to disappear made this so much easier. Of course, the truth was there would be more killing to get to this Duke Mace Juoni.

"Alright, consider it done," Brent said with a nod. "I am going to need to gather some people around me to do it. As far as I see it, they will be ground zero for your Intelligence Agency. The first agents. If you have anyone you would like to recommend or you know we can trust, send them my way. They have a week to get in contact with me."

Brent put his hands in his trench coat pocket, "So, do you have a preferred method of killing or is this a dealer's choice kind of thing?"

 

[King Iedolas Solidor]

The Juoni and The Solidor had a quarrel ever since the day House Praji was exterminated. No one knew how that came to be, it was said by his father who was told by his grandfather that when the Solidors were mere knights in the service of some order that served the old gods, that the legendary Sor (like they were called in those days before it became Sir) Arlan Solidor that helped in taking back Kaikielius from the Praji, suggested the Juoni should suffer the same fate not giving any aid for them. The Juoni, proud as they always were, mixed themselves with elzeri blood to blend in with the new rulers but they never forgot that insult, that soon became arguments in court, murder, lies, plots, accusations and many other small things. Mace Juoni was a buffon, a half breed of no wits and no ability to play the games of court.

Better dead than on his way. His son he could deal, but the fat bastard had to die, he would have poisoned him twenty years ago if it was not for his taster, one that he would have bribed, but the bastard was his own nephew. Kaikielius believed in those little games of power, where all were either players or pieces, anything could happen if one is never caught, and the Solidors had a motto for the last five generations. ‘We are just enablers of the game’, and so they remained, ruling the whole thing from the shadows as they made friend turn against friend to get rid of its enemies.

“I shall send someone from my Artirisian Legion to help with the informations and our ways, and to help estabilish security… My steward, Halim Ondore shall help with the funds and locations.”, he would remember to suggest some compound he knew of from them to operate in the shadows and as he heard that question, Iedolas smiled and said, without a single shred of decency in his tone. “Yes, only one… That it can't be traced to the source.”

[member="Brent Smith"]​