Private No Hard Feelings

[Helix]

Tag: Diarch Rellik​

Helix drummed his fingers placidly on the meeting table, masking a flicker of mild concern. He'd been somewhat surprised when the Diarchy reached out, asked him to come say hello. Interactions with the mysterious regime so far had been limited. Helix knew them only in the sense that they'd been shooting at him not long ago.

The singular, fanatical viciousness of their warriors had been a surprise, but a pleasant one. Helix had spent so much time lately putting down criminal gangs, local insurrections, planetary resistance movements, and other trash that he'd almost forgotten what it felt like to fight real, professional killers. The only other taste he'd had of that in recent memory was a skirmish with unknown Clone forces on Dagobah, but they and their shadowy master were a problem for another time.

For now, the Diarchy was more than enough of a challenge. It wasn't often that the Sith's opfor reached out to him after fire had been exchanged. Then again, it was rare that anyone reached out to him at all. Perhaps they were still operating under the delusion that he was a simple mercenary, one whose loyalty could be purchased with something as mundane as credits. Helix Solutions' sellsword reputation had been difficult to shake off, and that branding was beginning to outlive its usefulness.

Or, maybe they simply wanted to talk. Exchange favors, get a feel for the opposition. Most Sith proper would likely not have consented to meet with an enemy of the state, but Helix cared as little for such rules as he did for rules in general. He'd very happily make contacts anywhere, regardless of what flag they flew.

Today's friends were tomorrow's enemies, and it never hurt to have influence outside the Blackwall. Particularly influence in this eager young upstart. They were new, fresh on the galaxy's scene and glutted on the afterglow of victory. Such enthusiasm could be useful.

The invitation had been terse, and largely detail-free. Helix had taken care to avoid any large military showing, arriving in a lone Horla-Class corvette at the agreed-upon coordinates. It could be a trap, of course. Punishment for his involvement in the Serenno debacle. Coming in person was a risk, but the potential reward was well worth it. At worst, he was out one ship, and would have to spend the next few days floating in the vacuum until another one of his ships could pick him up. At best, well...

That could be decided later. For now, he could do naught but sit and wait.

 

[Diarch Rellik]

Arriving at the set coordinates in his personal flagship the DSD -The Vault. Yet opted to take a small shuttle down to meet. He did not want it to be an intimidating factor in the meeting.

The door opened and Rellik entered alone. No guards, droids, but he did have a large case in his hands. He looked across the table at Helix and introduced himself. "I am Diarch Rellik, nice to meet you Helix." There was no viper or distain in his voice. The Diarchy hated the Sith for their religious dogmatic views. "Through victory, my chains are broken. The force shall set me free." What Rellik hated about it the most is that it meant they still relied on the force to set them free. Here, Helix, he did not require the force to be a player in the galaxy. Sith Order commander or otherwise. He lived and fought.

Shortly after placing the case on the table, the Diarch gave a slight bow and took a seat. Opting to sit across from Helix. Not as a challenge but more so on even footing. With his bow it would be clear to see he had his saber underneath his cloak but he did not have the spear he usually kept on his person.

"I can promise there is no bomb ready to destroy us both within my case. It is a gift, one that I intend to give after a few questions." He had a light smirk on his face. Knowing how it might look to Helix.

"Before we truly begin, the first thing I would like to know about you commander... are you a savage animal of the Sith Order or an intelligent warrior who decides not on impulsive whims but tactical acumen."

Without realizing it, an eyebrow raised on the Diarch's face. He was genuinely curious and Helix's answer would set the tone for the remainder of this meeting.

Helix

 

[Helix]

Helix wasn't kept waiting long. Punctuality was apparently a virtue in Diarchy space, and it was only a minute or two before a large vessel snapped out of hyperspace outside his viewscreen. He studied it with a practiced eye, but his ruminations didn't last long before the Diarch himself slid into the small meeting chamber.

Helix was due two surprises at that moment. The first was that Diarch Rellik had come in person. Perhaps not entirely unexpected, in hindsight. They certainly had not shown any hesitation about getting their hands dirty on Serenno. The second was the man's greeting. It was polite, though informal and unconcerned, like he was an old friend who'd had a chance meeting on the street. Humility, then. For all his lofty station, this fellow was not prone, at least at first glance, to arrogance. One less avenue of attack.

Helix reminded himself that he'd been spending entirely too much time around the Sith, and had come to take hubris for granted as something he could manipulate. Not so here.

The truth, then. The Diarch was direct and no-nonsense in his manner, and would likely appreciate directness in turn.

Helix pondered the question for a moment, his three-eyed clustergaze eyeing the case speculatively, then flickering to the man who held it.

"Savagery is a tool." He answered finally, his tone calm and nonthreatening. The machine's voice seemed to radiate from his entire body, rather than from any visible vocabulator. "And a useful one, at times. I can be very savage indeed when the situation demands it. Indeed, I flatter myself that I am something of an expert." The colony folded his claws across the table in a gesture of relaxed composure. "Still. I did not achieve my station, and survive as long as I have by being stupid or impulsive, friend Rellik. Whimsy has little use to me, on or off the battlefield. That is, after all, why this meeting is taking place, is it not?"

He gestured around the room. "Unlike many of my colleagues, you'll find me very happy to listen and discuss in civilized settings. Assuming, of course, that you've something interesting to tell me."

 

[Diarch Rellik]

Rellik gave a concentrated nod at Helix's statements. He agreed with all of it generally. "Savagery is a tool," he said, echoing the droid's words without hesitation. "I've used it when needed. On the battlefield, in backrooms, through orders I gave that I don't care to speak aloud. It wins wars. Ends problems. We share that sentiment."

His expression darkened slightly. "I asked what you were, because I had to know. Whether you were just another Sith Order beast in a mechanical shell. Or a commander, who used the tools he was given or created. Forging his way through the galaxy."

Rellik then reached forward and keyed open the case. Flipping it around for Helix to see. Revealing a moderately spider-like droid with its limbs stretched out laying flat across the case. "A cute little predator, I had it commissioned just for you Helix. - We are leaders, generals upon fields of battle. It is for this reason I had this droid made. You commanded across the field from my friend Varis on the world Serenno. If you had told me you were a mindless droid following Sith orders I would have gotten up and killed you. Both of us be damned. But I know from reports it was not your droids or yourself that killed Varis. So here I am."

The Diarch was straight forward. Honest and explaining exactly his intentions with meeting Helix this day.

"Varis was a hunter. I read the reports of the battle. It was one for the ages it seems. It is in that regard that I come to give you a gift. So that you may know your enemies kindness and respect long before you meet them again on the field of battle."

Helix

 

[Helix]

Helix stared at the man in the chair across from him, fixing Diarch Rellik with an unpleasantly appraising gaze. His stare drifted downward to the droid, rested there for a moment, then returned to meet the Diarch's eyes again. Then he spoke.

"Serenno was a mess." He said carefully. "A stupid, sloppy, wasteful conflict that didn't need to happen. I lost useful droids protecting the property of some noble fop who'd not likely look in my direction if he were paid to. Why we bothered to be there at all is a mystery to me. But I had my orders." He shrugged. "I wish I could elucidate you as to the fate of your comrade. You seem to know more than I do already. I was not the only commander yanked in from Sith space to be there. There are no shortage of madmen and monsters that may be called upon. I am worse than most. The Sith Order does not call upon my services unless it is... disinterested in the delicate approach. Yet for all that, I save such carnage for the battlefield, where it belongs. The privileges of a mind not addled by the Dark as are too many in Sith space."

"I never learned the name of my opposition until now. For what it is worth, he commanded capably and no doubt died nobly. That is all a warrior can ask for. To die well, to be remembered, and if fate allows, to be avenged." He scratched one bladed finger idly on the table, then turned his attention to the droid.

Helix lifted one hand gently, and his metal flesh began to flow and reshape like liquid. A long, thin metal tendril formed, and stretched across the table. When it had reached the case, it split along the end, forming a nest of fine, hair-like manipulators. These plucked the machine from the case, bringing it back across the table where Helix could study it.

Those same liquid nanites rolled across the tiny spider-droid's carapace, seeping into every crack and crevice. Helix studied it, inwardly and outwardly, with infinite care. A fine work of engineering, without question. It was well-made, forged of expensive materials and surprisingly feature-dense. He approved. He set it down carefully on the table at his elbow.

"My compliments to your craftsmen. It seems military talent is not all that you hold in your arsenal. Which begs a question, if you'll extend to me the same courtesy I did to you."

"What sort of man learns the name of his enemy, tracks him down, and gives him a gift? I believe the history books warn about accepting gifts from your enemies. Moreover, what sort of man comes in person, alone, unguarded, with naught but a lightsaber and his own two hands to deliver it?"

The apparition's voice was full of a sort of polite curiosity, more than anything else. It was interesting to see how saner folk than his usual compatriots viewed the universe.

"Were I the graceless monster, the murderer of your friend that you had initially suspected me to be, I fear you may have found me somewhat more difficult prey than you realize. Many have, to their cost. Why take the risk, then?" He stood up, seizing his chair by the back and plunking it down closer to his visitor before sitting down again.

"This tells me a few things. You're no coward. You don't lack for confidence, but don't stumble into arrogance. You believe there are other ways to solve things than throwing lightning from your fingertips or attempting to slice my head off."

"I suppose the point of my query is this, Diarch Rellik. I've told you who I am. Who are you? The galaxy has a thousand strongman rulers, living or dead. What do you, and your man Varis, fight for? Land, resources, and pride? Or something else?"

 

[Diarch Rellik]

Rellik watched the metal flow like water from Helix's hand, and did not flinch. He studied the analysis in silence, fascinated as a man of science; that he possesses such a trait. He had not expected it, then again. You can never assume when it comes to those within the Sith sector. Only once Helix finished speaking did Rellik sit forward slightly. He didn't look away as he spoke either. It was the more serious moment of their meeting.

"I didn't come here for my own sake. I came here because you stood across the field from Varis at his final battle."

There was a pause in his words. A moment to linger on what he was saying. He did not care for Helix. As he said before, if Helix was un-worthy of the honor that came before him. Rellik, in tribute of his friend would kill them both if needed. The story would end there. It was the fact that he was worth giving respect of the hunt for.

"He was my friend. My brother in all but blood. We fought together on every front. Hunted beasts that would make the average man shake, laugh about stories of women and love around the fire. He would only fall if someone worthy of meeting him in challenge was there on the other end of the field. At least that is what he always believed. So according to his wishes, I am here."

His fingers tapped on the table. Not out of anger but an old trick his father taught him to catch his train of thought and re-center himself. The fingers tapped in a pattern. 1-3-4-2 index, ring, pinky, middle. In a practiced repetition.

"In the Diarchy we honor one another. Not only in the field of battle but in every aspect that brings strength to the whole. Our work, our loyalty, our craft. We believe that strength lies not only in victory but in every moment of our lives. Every citizen of the Diarchy has power. It is not fought over like scraps to starving animals. It is given through action, merit, recognition of duty across all sectors. What we build, we build together and I am the spearhead of that idealism. So it is my duty to respect my friend Varis's strength and deliver this with my own hands. A sign of respect to the one who out hunted the hunter."

He let that sit for a moment.

"We, the diarchy; fight for not only ourselves, our own goals. We fight for all of the galaxy. Including you Helix."

A smirk formed on his lips.

"You have earned this meeting due to your actions. As unknown as they might have been to you. Varis's death was to be met with the honor he requested and I obliged. Same for you if you asked. I have no misconceptions that you and I will meet again on the field of battle. This time, when we do. You will know who you face, and know that if you fall I will honor you the same way. That is the Diarchy. Perhaps if you are my killer you will give me the dignity of a pyre, song and dance."

Helix

 

[Helix]

The creature nodded, seemingly satisfied by this answer and explanation. He didn't seem upset by the Diarch's implied scorn of him. Under the circumstances, it was perfectly understandable. He didn't quite buy all that business about fighting for a better future for the galaxy. Helix had heard that sales pitch a thousand times in a thousand years, and yet the galaxy was still the same war-torn, chaotic hellhole as ever.

"I will accept your gift, Diarch." He said after a moment. "It is rare that I receive one, so I would be loathe to not take what is offered."

"Your concern for my funeral arrangements, should you best me, is flattering. So is your estimation of my ability." He studied the man across from him acutely.

"Your Diarchy sounds like a remarkable place. Unfortunate that we find ourselves on opposite sides, but fate is uncaring in that way." He still wasn't quite sure what to make of Diarch Rellik and his intentions. Helix had killed many, many people throughout centuries of near-constant violence over his long life. Occasionally, a disgruntled friend or relative had tracked him down with foolish ideas about taking revenge. That he was still here spoke to his efficacy.

A visit to give him a gift in relative civility was a new experience, and new experiences seldom came around when one was as old as he. That alone made this little interaction enjoyable.

"I do not think, however, that your doom will come by my hand. Call it a feeling. If I'm wrong, I will remember your request for an appropriately elaborate memorial service. I suppose that much dignity can be offered, after all the effort you've gone through."

 

[Diarch Rellik]

The Diarch offered a small bow of the head in return. "Then I am satisfied. May it serve you well. Preferably against the Galactic Alliance over the Diarchy." A short, dry laugh followed, barely more than a breath.

"I have no illusions or intentions of swaying you to our side, but I appreciate the recognition of our efforts. There are many within the Sith Order whom we respect. The hilarity that they are more willing to negotiate and discuss philosophy than the Jedi are has never ceased to make me laugh."

Rising from his seat he stepped forward then, deliberate but unthreatening, crossing the short distance between them.

"So once again, you have been the verification of that idea. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me and for your cordiality."

Rellik extended a hand. "It has been an honor to meet a leader of your caliber." Should the shake be accepted, it was firm. Rellik's eyes locking with Helix's receptors for a brief moment. "May the best man win."

The Diarch gave a final nod, then turned and strode from the chamber. Ready to continue his and the Diarchy's quest to unite the stars.

Helix