Old Friends

[Kurt Meyer]

Kiran moved quickly through the halls of the Sith Temple.

Since his last visit here he couldn't deny the slight prickle of hairs standing up on the back of his neck. This place made him feel uneasy, though the blaster on his thigh and the new armor that wrapped around him put him more at ease. It helped to be calm in such a place when you knew you were well armed against the threats that so often roamed those halls.

Not that he was worried about getting attacked here, it was after all they who had summoned him. In the back of his head he could already guess what this entire thing was about, there had really only been one thing on the news as of late, Titan Industries splitting off from the One Sith.

His previous contract with the Sith had been about the upcoming assault on Telti.

Saeva was to assist in the attack on the planet, coordinating with One Sith military to conduct cover strikes against the surface of the world. He doubted there was much else to discuss in terms of military endeavors until after the invasion had come about. Which left only one other things that this little meeting could be about.

He smiled behind his mask.

It didn't matter, as long as the money was there.

[member="Darth Carach"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Kiran Vess"]

Darth Carach would be found in the general study of the Sith Temple, as the protector of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge it was his opinion that it was his responsibility to train the future of the Sith by participating directly in the training of the apprentices, but today wasn’t about that. Today was about one of the few things that was on the Sith Lord’s mind these days.

Titan.

Again, in truth Titan’s split wasn’t really all that important in the grand scheme of things. The war with the Republic would carry on, their war material already bought, the shipyard and facilities that mattered under their direct control.

But this wasn’t about what mattered, this was just as much about appearances as it was about the effectuality of the situation. Kiran would pass Royal Guards stationed at intervals, who didn’t give him much of a look.

They weren’t there for intimidation, the meeting wasn’t about that either. It was about the hiring of a competent soldier of fortune, to do the things that needed to be done, while they were busy targeting other objectives.

A man can’t be found on multiple locations at once, at least… Ovmar had never revealed that one trick to his mind.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Darth Carach"]

Kiran stepped into the room, some kind of intelligence center. There was no salute, no bow, no formal greeting of any sort. He was not above that, it simply did not occur to him. Her was a soldier, but one that worked for himself.

“Copero.” Kiran said quite simply as soon as he saw the holographic display in the center of the room.

He knew Copero intensely well, probably better than anyone else in the galaxy. Kiran had helped Alric set up the defenses for the shipyards, and had even designed some of the inner workings of the later ship-wombs that had been constructed for the Yuuzhan Vong starships. Though of course Copero's main function had been the creation of the Immortals.

Kiran immediately assumed that's why he was here.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Kiran Vess"]

‘Yes.’ the Sith Lord simply replied, while sizing up the mercenary in front of him. They didn’t really have a lot on this Kiran, Titan had always been bathed in secrecy, even for their Sith benefactors; one of the things that Carach had never really appreciated about the organization. But he had always been overruled in those matters, their technology is superior, their ships are superb, they have always supported us and why would that change? Is Kuhn not getting just as much out of this relationship as us, Carach?

And yet… today they were here, sitting and staring at that shipyards. He would love to put up a smug smile and say something along the lines of I told you so, but that wouldn’t solve the situation and Carach wasn’t some twelve year-old Jedi Councilor.

‘How much?’

There wasn’t much to say otherwise, Kiran knew the job, he knew the risks and so he would know what price to ask.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Darth Carach"]

“Five million.” Kiran said almost instantly.

It was a hefty sum for only one job, but it was well deserved. The Zeltron knew exactly where, how, and when to strike that particular facility. He new the serial number of every droid and the name of every security officer. It would be simple, easy to do, but it would be costly.

“And I'll need some equipment.” He didn't really, but the Sith were well connected and it didn't hurt to fish for more. “Weapons. The A3's that Hegemonic Automaton designed for Titan are no joke.”

Those droids were nasty, and although Kiran could very likely take them down without much trouble, it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra firepower when he went in.

Briefly he wondered if he could contact Hegemonic Automaton. It wasn't uncommon for manufacturers to code some sort of kill switch into the machines they built for potential enemies, and although he hadn't noticed anything like that in the A3's, it wouldn't hurt to check. He frowned slightly, then shook his head. It wasn't very likely HA would just give him that code, better not to ask.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Kiran Vess"]

He didn’t even flinch.

‘Done.’

In truth? Carach was reasonably sure he could have negotiated down the price a little bit, cut down on the arms and all that crap. But really, there was no point in that, they weren’t here to play cheap and nickledime on every single digit of it. This wasn’t his company hiring out, this was the Sith Empire hiring a man who knew exactly what Copero was.

The fact that he was here? The fact that he was willing to take the job, told him that it was possible and plausible. In that regards, the capture of one of the biggest shipyards of Titan? That was worth more than five million.

But both of them also knew one simple truth.

If Kiran was successful in this endeavor? There would be a lot more contracts where that came from.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

Kiran smiled.

“Good.” That was that. He had dictated terms and they had been accepted. “I'm sure you'll contact me with details soon.”

The Mercenary turned about and simply left the Sith Lord standing. No bow, no salute. He didn't do that anymore. He was independent and alone, with a thousand soldiers and enough weapons and arms to do what needed to be done. In the back of his head he already formulated a plan on how to take Copero.

He would have to call Rebecca.

The Human Replica Droid was still running Astraeus Industrial, and she would supply Kiran with whatever he needed from their product listing, provided that he 'stole' it from Astraeus. A smirk crawled across his lips as he left the Sith Temple.

Yes, this would be easy.