Money is my Religion

[Darth Abyss]

Nar Shaddaa

As much as he disliked the fact, Abyss had to accept that the smuggler moon had become his home. It had nothing of the glory of the empire he once severed, nor had it anything in common with the way he had pictured his future. Still he wasn't one to fall for his pride, and not even the dirt that lived in every corner of the moon could hide that this was the perfect place for him and his children of korriban. No one on the moon cared for a stranger, at least not when there was no money to make, and laws only existed on paper. People got killed, disappeared or worse and no one would give them a second thought, it simply was the way how Nar Shaddaa worked. These traits had drawn the most exceptional criminal elements to it for millennia, as it had Abyss and the man he was planning on meeting today.

The underworld was a alliance between the different groups of criminals that roamed and ruled the galaxy, but for the most part it mainly stopped them from killing each other. Working together was something that needed more trust, and better relationships than most of them had between each other. So it was key to gain allies under them, people that shared his vision.

The bar was rundown, and nothing marked the entrance besides the small, digital closed sign on the front door. It was a hole in the wall, only offering place for a roughly a dozen guests, but besides the sith the room was completely empty. The barkeeper stood behind the counter, mindlessly polishing his cups and bottles. Paying him of most likely would've worked to make the man to keep silent about this, but Abyss wouldn't take any chances. Not only had he positioned men keeping a constant eye on the area outside, he also had a sharpshooter ready to kill anyone who would interfere with the meeting and he had kidnapped the barkeeper the night before to brainwash him in yet another child of korriban. That way he couldn't talk about the things that would be discussed even if he wanted to.

Abyss sat on a table in the edge of the room, in front of him a bottle of corellian whisky and two cups. The robe that shrouded his body was ragged and tattered, and his mask only revealed the lower half of his face, giving him a demonic and inhuman appearance. His own cup was already filled with a small amount of the hard liquor, as he waited for the meeting to begin.

[member="Herr Vanderhing"]

 

[Herr Vanderhing]

The tapping of Herr Vanderhing's cane could be heard from several feet away as he limped closer and closer towards the bar *clink* *clink* *clink*. He reached the entrance to the bar and one of his thugs held the door open for him. He limped inside, his walk was a clearly distinct able waddle like limp. He wore his usual long red robes and miter and held a particularly sour expression on his face. Following the Neimoidian was another Neimoidian. Vanderhing's right hand and advisor Genf Orkay. Vanderhing limped up to the table and let out an uneasy and somewhat disturbing smile. It was the kind of smile that would leave most with nightmares.

"Hello, hello!" He said his voice shakey and sounded not at all Neimoidian. "It is so nice to f-finally meet you!" One of his thugs pulled out the chair for him to sit in and he sat in front of the robed figure

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"[member="Herr Vanderhing"], I suppose? I agree, this meeting was long overdue."

Abyss eyes scanned over the two neimodians, observing their body language, their expression and their clothes. The man reeked of fear, and around him was an aura of constant paranoia. Or in oth words, he seemed perfect as leader of an cartel, as the animalistic desire to survive no matter the cost was the one thing that set people like Abyss and the neimodian above the rest of the galaxy.

Over the table, his unnatural pale right hand extended, offering the man a handshake. His left moved in the air to get the barkeepers attention. As soon as the brainwashed mans eyes meet the gesture made by his master, he instantly stopped all he was doing, walking towards the table with fast steps.

In front of the table, the man kneeled to ground, keeping his head done, and his eyes never meeting those of the three that had taken place there.

"Oh prophet of the darkness, what is it that you desire from me?"

Abyss looked down on the man, slightly surprised over how theatralic the man behaved. The brainwashing broken the will, not the personality. Still it at least made him appear even more powerful and mighty, what was a good thing after all.

"I advise you to bring those fine gentleman whatever food or drink they request."

 

[Herr Vanderhing]

Vanderhing inspected the hand for poisoned needles then shook it.

"Now, you..... Must be Darth Abyss? True?....." Vanderhing then looked on as the bartender collapsed unto his knees "What a truly fantastic trick that was, though call me old fashioned but I do prefer intimidation over force persuasion....." He looked down at the man then said assertively "I want your finest wine and fish!.... Genf what would you like?" Genf shuddered slightly at the though of alcohol "I'll have a water sir..."

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

The barkeeper rose to his feet and made a quick bow before disappearing in the small kitchen of the bar. Abyss answered the mans question about his identity with a simple nod before he began to speak.

"I agree. This man is not simply influenced by the force, actually he is not influenced by it at all. Me and my men have worked out a process that forms the simple minded, in slaves loyal till death. The force only is needed to open their minds, the rest is achieved by a combination of psychological, neurological and pharmaceutical methods. But I do not mean to bore you with the technical details."

From the kitchen the barkeeper reappeared, setting a bottle of wine and plate of fish in front of the neimodian. With his yellow eyes, Abyss observed his obedient slave with a bit of fascination before they returned to [member="Herr Vanderhing"].

"But what are words against a demonstration. Simply say this phrase, and then give him a command, any command you could think of. I promise you there will be no resistance."

From his robe a small piece of paper appeared, and Abyss let it rest on the table for the neimodian. Written on it was the sentence: "lojafiee kaza mirtis" meaning "loyalty till death" in the old tongue of the sith.

 

[Herr Vanderhing]

Vanderhing grabbed the paper then thought aloud "No resistance to any command I give him? Hmmm, so be it..... *ahem* 'lojafiee kaza mirtis'......." Vanderhing gave a sinister smile "kill yourself" he awaited eagerly for whatever the the bartender was about to

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

The barkeeper simply nodded at the neimodian before following the command given to him. The one thing Abyss hadn't planned for in advance was the fact the the man had no weapon or tool to the job quick and clean, so the brainwashed creature simply began to hammer his head against the wall, but due to his lack of physical strength wasn't able to break his own skull.
Under his mask Abyss rolled his eyes in annoyance, before wordlessly handing the man his gun. The barkeeper looked at the small metal device for a second before holding it to his head.

Blood and brain splashed at the wall, as the almost soundless weapon was fired. The face of the man showed a mix of confusion and complete emotional emptiness as the bullet pierced his skull. A second later the lifeless body dropped to the ground. Abyss turned back at [member="Herr Vanderhing"] after the show was over.

"Remind me to get a clean up team in here. So, now to business. You have just witnessed what I have to offer, slaves in a quality far above anyone else on the market. Yet I lack the contacts and structures needed for distribution and transportation. That would be your part, if you are interested."

 

[Herr Vanderhing]

Vanderhing clapped and giggled "Excellent!! Ehehehehe!! What fun! I am very interested actually!" He then stared at his food and snapped his finger, one of his thugs walked up and Vanderhing pointed at the food and drink. The thug pulled a fork from his suit as well as a cup and tested the food, the thug didn't immediately die so Vanderhing began to cut the fish and eat it. He took a sip of the wine then immediately spat it out "Oh, lord!!" He said with a sour expression wiping his mouth "That wine was dreadful" he threw the glass at the bartender's corpse "Maybe in the afterlife you'll have better taste!.... Scum"

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

Abyss watched the mans erratic behaviour, and came to the conclusion that this neimodian was probably even less sane than himself, what was surprising but no unsettling. His species was known for being calm and collected, not as mucb as the Muun or Givin, but still above humans and near humans. Well after all it simply meant that he was an exception to his own species, that could also be good thing. In the end Abyss never really cared about the sanity of his allies.

"I assume you have the resources to make it happen then? But there is more for you ro gain, a simpler but also more dreadful task. In small numbers is rather easy for me and my men to collect some street rats and break their minds, but in higher numbers I would need a way to create a steady supply."

In the beginning he never had thought that he would one day become a slaver, his cult was simply meant as a way to scam money out of people and gain loyal slaves to extend his influence. His operations had showed to devour more money that he initially planned, and so he had to think unorthodox. He had a product of unbeatable quality, so making money with couldn't be hard.

"Depending on how much time and money you have to spend to make this happen, I would offer up to 30 percent of the profits."

[member="Herr Vanderhing"]

 

[Herr Vanderhing]

Vanderhing padded his face with his hanker chief then calmly folded his fingers and hands together on the table leaned forward, gave a sarcastic smile, tilted his head slightly and said "Well...... I most certainly do have the resources but..... Thirty percent, that's not going, to, work, out....... I'm going to need a little more than that!...."

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"That is ... unfortunate."

Theatrically Abyss rose from the table, a tall black shadow that filled the room with his presence. He gave the neimodians a faked apologetic smile, as he very slowly moved away from the table.

"Surely the Hutts will be interested in such a unique product, one that can be sold for such horrendous amounts of money. Still I wish I could have someone less ... established. After all I would rather be large part of something small, than a small part of something big. Power for those that deserve it so to speak. Well it was a pleasure meeting you."

His movement to the door was slow, yet still at the fringe of were it seemed naturally. He wanted to give them a chance to make an offer, one that would be acceptable for both sides. After all he had full control over his product, and no one in the galaxy he had heard of could offer something comparable.

[member="Herr Vanderhing"]

 

[Herr Vanderhing]

Vanderhing quickly shouted "NO, NOOO!!! Fourty percent that's what I ask!! That is all!! I could use the supply..... Are we in agreement!?......." Vanderhing stood up in annoyance at the cloaked figure

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"That sounds reasonable."

With a long, theatrical turn, Abyss returned to his seat, giving the two neimodians a small grin before taking another sip from his whisky. It was good to know that in all his time as a sith he hadn't lost his sense for business.

"Now that an agreement is found, I have a present for you, one I prepared in the good faith that this discussion would bring us an acceptable solution."

From the kitchen two hooded figures appeared, in their middle a young twilek woman. She had the grace of a dancer, and while not exceptionally beautiful, she still was what would be considered beautiful to a majority of the galaxy.

"I have programmed her with the same phrase as the barkeeper. She is yours now."

[member="Herr Vanderhing"]

 

[Herr Vanderhing]

Herr Vanderhing frowned as the Sith returned to his seat, he raised an eye when told of a gift being given to him. Then he saw the two cloaked figures come out through the kitchen with the young twilek woman. A look of slight confusion still ran across his face he stood awkwardly silent then said "Oh........... Thank you... I will except your most gracious gift and I have one in return, but, um............... W-What am I supposed to do with it?......."

[member="Darth Abyss"]