For Tactical Purposes (Pyrrhus)

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

Mr. Pyrrhus-

My name's Alec Rekali. I run a Mandalorian clan that makes more money than you've ever seen. Sith killed my dad, and my aunt, and my uncles, and my grandmother, but I've lost family to the Republic as well. Suffice it to say, I'm not entirely on anyone's side because nobody is entirely on my side.

Believe it or not, I'm told we may have some common interests. I know we don't operate in the same circles, and our goals likely don't align -- in most respects. But I can think of a few things we might both care about. Deeply.

So here's what I propose. My ship, the Hutt caravel Garden of Unending Delights, is going to be at Nar Shaddaa next week for the glitterstim festival. You've got a boarding pass. I don't care if you bring a lightsabre or whatever, just don't show up with plate armour or a metric fethton of super soldiers and we'll get along just fine. Or heck, wear the armour, long as you don't expect to keep wearing it.

Alec

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

The message from [member="Alec Rekali"] was an unexpected one. He wasn't sure what to make of it at first. It was not unlikely that it was a trap of sorts. In the event that it was, his pride demanded he sprung it and proved that it would not contain him. Though a Sith did not jump head first into certain death, they did have a tendency to misevaluate their own strength. Alec seemed a pragmatist like himself, if the message was anything to go by. She was not held back by sentimental values. Friends and family had fallen from blows delivered from both Light and Dark. Victims of circumstance. It did not stop her from working with their kind.

What interests she thought they had in common he did not know, but he intended to find out. And so when the next week came, Pyrrhus' ship found itself floating above Nar Shaddaa, heading towards the Garden of Unending Delights. It certainly was an intriguing name that came before curiosity. His ship, the Phasma-class Infiltrator was built for stealth but he did not need it now. He would show up on sensors long before he came within view. And when he did, he announced himself and his intention to board.

Assuming nothing had changed, his ship would do exactly that. The ramp would lower itself into the Hutt caravel's hangar. The Togruta Sith, Darth Pyrrhus walked out. He had come alone. No company he brought would make much difference in this setting, he imagined. Though the lightsaber hung from the side of his belt, he had indeed come without his armour. Pyrrhus was easily recognisable as a Sith, wearing the black and grey tunics and undertunics, underneath dark robes typical for those of his order. Possessing knowledge of the Dark Side he needed no protection beyond his mastery of the Force.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"Aliit'buir?"

"Yeah?"

"[member="Darth Pyrrhus"] has docked."

They doubted her, she knew: the cousins and contractors that staffed her Huttese caravel. She couldn't blame them. For all that she'd stolen the Republic's last great shipyard, made billions in currency arbitrage, walked off with an Immortal-class dreadnought in the middle of a temporal flux -- for all that she'd accomplished, you just didn't invite a Sith Lord to your home. Common knowledge.

She slid out of her chair at the centre of the bridge -- "You have the conn, Kyr" -- and headed for the hangar. The Garden of Unending Delights was a heavily modified Huttese light frigate. It hadn't possessed a hangar bay initially, but now a good portion of the hull was available for landing and cargo storage. She'd guessed that Pyrrhus would show up in some kind of fashionable personal transport, so she'd cleared out the largest bay. The Phasma-class, at sixty metres, just barely fit. She had to hand it to the ship's pilot.

The blast door hissed open, and there he was: Pyrrhus of the Dark Council, alone, robed, armed (visibly, at least) with just a lightsabre. Alec was a Sith Lord's daughter and the granddaughter of a Nightbrother Master; she understood that he didn't need bells and whistles to till the Garden. Small requests, small acquiescence: the foundation of an understanding. For her part, she'd left her beskar'gam off. Instead, she wore one of those gaudy gold business suits that Draco Vereen sold. The suit's fabric had been woven from gold wires so microscopic and flexible that it actually did feel like cloth. So while he wore the traditional clothes of his occupation, she wore the trademark brand of conspicuous consumption. It looked about as good on her as those robes did on him, and she didn't mind looking a bit. It wasn't like any ex-lovers were watching jealously; in the docking bay, they were alone. And she didn't especially care if he caught her looking.

"Welcome to the Garden, Lord Pyrrhus," she said. "Huttese caravel, designed to carry everything from TIE Defenders to a full-sized harem. It's no warship, but it's got everything you'd need for a good time." Eyes not leaving his, she gestured back over her shoulder with a tilt of her head. "This way."

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

It was fortunate that Pyrrhus did not fly his own ship. It saved him the humiliation of crashing into [member="Alec Rekali"]'s light frigate. He was not a talented pilot. The Nautolan female, Dawn, became his saving grace. She was one of the best pilots in his employ, and member of the notorious unit The Nameless Ten. She would stay with the ship while the Togruta left. At any sign of trouble she would bail with the ship, unless ordered to wait for him. It was a vessel he would like to keep.

The doors opened before him, and he was at last introduced to his host. He hadn't been entirely sure what sort of welcome to expect. Watchful eyes quickly scanned her, attempting to evaluate both risk and her intentions. Well she hadn't brought an army of soldiers with blaster rifles levelled his way, nor was she in battle armour. That was a good sign. There were few surprises about what Pyrrhus would bring; the Force and his lightsaber. If it had been a trap, she likely would have been prepared to deal with both. What she saw was what she got, with the exception of one lightsaber hilt hidden up the right sleeve of his robe. Hopefully it could remain as such for the duration of his stay.

The suit was an interesting choice, and it fit her well. One could often read a lot of a person based on what they wore, although he still was not sure what to make of this one. She seemed to take in the sight set before her, same as him. He suppressed a smirk, only letting half of one show at the corner of his mouth. It did not last long. "Thank you, Miss Rekali." Miss Rekali? Was that the appropriate title she went by? If not, he was sure she would correct him shortly.

Pyrrhus nodded slightly to her description of the ship. He did not break her gaze while she spoke. When she gestured for him to follow, he did so and would walk up beside her. "And which is it you carry? TIE Defenders? Or a full-sized harem?" There was no doubt which of the two would make for a more interesting answer. His tone was calm and cordial, like two business-people exchanging pleasantries before getting down to what it was they truly wanted.

OOC Note: Woops, tag was broken. Didn't realize before now. Fixed...

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

"Harem. No question. And call me Alec. I'm downright approachable for a trust fund kid." She grinned and glanced at a nearby security holocam -- a private joke with someone at the other end.

"Now, I don't actually have a harem at the moment, more's the pity, so I've turned the main chamber into a meeting room." A Hutt-scale bulkhead door hissed open, revealing a large room full of reclining couches and benches and so forth, all upholstered in purple zeyd-cloth. Alec sauntered in and took a seat on one of them, elbows resting on knees like some kind of monarch. Her blood was up, she realized. The gold suit felt hot. She slipped off the suit coat and hung it on the raised end of the reclining couch. That left her in shirtsleeves, which she unbuttoned and rolled up as the Sith Lord made himself comfortable.

A droid-mounted drinks tray rolled by, and Alec took a glass of R'alla sparkling mineral water. As she sipped seltzer, she considered the lunacy of what she was about to do. Didn't especially care, but considered it duly.

"I have a modest proposition for you," she said.