Shortage

[Darth Prazutis]

Sith Empire Territory, War Fleet Leviathan
Goliath Command

Two Weeks Ago....

"It's happened again."

"Are you certain? AQUILA calculate."

"The number has been run over one thousand times the result is the same, Supreme Majesty?"

"Shortage."

The Shadow Hand leaned forward in the massive black iron throne, peering down at the visage of Director Arkoh Grevane of the Imperial Detention Force who appeared alongside Sakarbaal the Minister of Industry, while the voice of his artificial intelligence AQUILA boomed. The air was filled with a certain edge to it as they presented their case to him. In the realm of the Sith Empire there were channels that the imperial rulers could use to solve problems, proper channels and agencies they could go to for assistance. When it was first discovered on the ground level by a smart, loyal worker that noticed irregular inventory numbers for war armaments in the Kol Huro factory yards, he passed it to his superior, who after their own investigation passed it up the chain. Eventually the leaders of two separate agencies were brought into the mix when word of inventory padding and armament crate going missing reached their desks. The Inquisitors were brought in....and when their investigation yielded less than satisfying results?

They came to him.

"It shouldn't have come to this. Inventory padding, deception, cover up. There is much at work here. I will take care of this problem. Get your houses in order."

Present Day...

Things were not going well.

Every step of the way his enemy seemed to be just one step ahead of him, every discovery, every ship. Even for one as careful as the Shadow Hand it was uncanny at how they evaded him. It became painfully clear that this arms smuggling ring whoever ran it had informants, and officials in all of the right agencies. They knew that War Fleet Leviathan was on its way before it even arrived, and were long gone when the Goliath II exited hyperspace.

Imperial assets were a liability.

So he reached out through his network of contacts into the underworld, the contracting circuit. If he was going to achieve any successful breakthrough, it wasn't going to be leading imperial assets. He needed discretion, reliability, efficiency. When the criteria he sent was put in one name was spit back out at him...one Dark Side Ronin.

"Your majesty. The Knot is hailing us and will be arriving shortly." AQUILA said.

"Excellent. Clear a private hangar for him and send him to me immediately."

[member="Hakai Shizukana"]

 

[Hakai Shizukana]

Aboard the Knot | Personal Luxury Yacht 3000​

-​

我田引水​

-​

​

The crimson hull of the luxury vessel slipped into the system quietly, its presence not concealed but far from flashy. It was an old vessel to be sure, but a well maintained one. Smooth and sleek, it continued on course, several encrypted transmissions sent and received. For Hakai, there was no greater good, no selfless motivation to pursue contracts - in fact it was entirely selfish. Despite his high standard of living it wasn't gaudy, or even particularly based on securing riches but something else entirely. He found in himself a drive to discover more, to understand his existence not merely exist within the construct of the self. To do that however, he needed money. As his mentor had once said, "If you're good at something, never do it for free." Free he wasn't, but it was ne'er often that one was requested by name. By a Sith Lord no less. The wandering mercenary had already considered the contract and would likely be amenable to a slashed rate.

Unerringly the man piloted the star yacht, expertly guiding it towards the indicated hangar. Soon he was to meet with his new employer, no doubt the details of the work would be better expounded upon there - the original transmission had been somewhat vague. Punching in the last few commands into the console, Kai drew himself up with a breath and let the automated system take over. "Ataedis!" he commanded before turning on his own heel and heading towards his personal quarters. Behind him in the corridor, two of his retainers stood tall, following in his wake. Armored, cloaked, with electrostaves in hand they stood an intimidating presence to lesser beings - to a Lord of the Sith they would no doubt be little more than window dressing.

-​

​

With the vessel firmly secured in the hangar, Hakai had awaited clearance to disembark. To his approval, it hadn't taken them long. Before the ramp had even descended to the deck his feet were upon it, taking him from the Knot into some other space. Hakai had chosen his attire accordingly, a modest trim fitting robe resting firmly on his shoulders, sash at his waist retaining only the smaller imbued blade of the pair - his wakazashi. To go into the belly of a beast unarmed was folly, but to make attempt at showing power was also a mistake he did not care to give thought towards. He would go as he was, a subtle show of confidence and deference.

"Nuyak Ari" he spoke, the language of the Sith preceding his respectful bow as Hakai stood still at the bottom of the ramp. Behind, still resting on the edge of the ramp were his retainers. "I was requested?"

​

[member="Darth Prazutis"]​

 

[Darth Prazutis]

The ship was big

The first thing the Dark Side Ronin and his retainers would notice is just how massive the Super Star Dreadnought truly was, their yacht was guided past the main hangars to one private hangar a ways down. As soon as they departed their vessel they would find a pair of Crownguard waiting for them, bidding them to follow. One warrior led while the other followed behind the group as they made their way through the halls of the secluded wing, deep inside the Goliath II. They were led not to a throne room of impressive size but to another chamber somewhere in the impressive maze. It was a rather long conference room dominated by a massive, sleek, black table outfitted with a holoprojector in the center. A massive chair fit for a king, heavily reinforced sat at the head of the table and on it was the Shadow Hand himself. A set of dark robes covered his person, lined with runes.

"Zhelosa, Hakai Shizukana" The Shadow Hand greeted in Sith as he gestured to one of the chairs which slid out from under the table. "Have a seat. My connections have spoken very highly of you and your efficiency, reliability, and of your discretion. You will be well compensated for your assistance on a sensitive matter." Darth Prazutis said as he punched several buttons on a control panel. The holoprojector hummed to life projecting the image of a planet, several locations on it held bright red dots, while what looked to be a manifest appeared on one of the screens. "Several weeks ago a concerned supervisor discovered some irregular numbers at some of our armament storage facilities in the industrial system of Kol Huro. To put it simply a ring is at work stealing war material from us. It was a well hidden operation with help from the inside. The breaking of this ring now falls to me, but our enemy is careful. It seems their informants alert them when my forces near giving them time to narrowly escape my grasp. I cannot rely on imperial assets if I am going to get close. That is where you come in." He said pressing some more keys and the screens shifted once again.

"A stolen shipment has just left Kol Huro. We know where their next stolen shipment is going to be temporarily before it is transferred to a different ship. I need to access this ships hyperdrive data, with it we can find the location of their primary base." He said.

[member="Hakai Shizukana"]

 

[Hakai Shizukana]

"You do me great honor." Hakai lowered his head in a nod before his eyes darted to the newly activated projection. It took him a few moments to grasp what had been splayed out in front of the two but as the man spoke it became apparent. As the Sith Lord laid out what he expected to be done Hakai took mental note. *He was not joking about discretion.* This was far more than a simple smash and grab, or even a task to eliminate the traitorous thieves. He wanted the hyperdrive data. That would require a subtle touch, one that wouldn't set off any red flags. A touch that went unnoticed. A narrow grin played at the corner of the Ronin's lips.

"All is achievable. How long till the vessel rests in berth, and in which system will its hold over take place?" Hakai wanted to know what kind of a time table he was working with. Ideally, these sorts of operations had a much higher rate of success given time to scout ahead and gain some bearing. Not that he was concerned, but it would help to know what he was working with - and how much time he had to prepare. Depending on that, it could radically change his approach.

Hakai would need to be swift, silent. He couldn't afford to be seen nor could he dispatch any of the vessel's occupants - that would ensure they'd know something was amiss and likely ditch the vessel. Their opportunity wasted. Already plans began to form in the Dark Sider's mind. If he could somehow retrieve the hyperdrive data from the first ship and place a subspace tracker on the second.. perhaps he could wring just a little more compensation from the Sith Lord. Time would undoubtedly tell what was possible and what was not but first, he needed to know more details. "I can depart immediately." Hakai added.

[member="Darth Prazutis"]​

 

[Darth Prazutis]

"The vessel will be in the Lord System in two days time." The Shadow Hand said using the force to slide two small objects across the table. One was a chip that held coordinate data for the jump, the other was a credit chit that held a substantial amount of money, a payment advance on the job. They truly had no time to waste if they were going to attack the transportation ship. Their enemy had waste enough time, gotten the better of the Sith Empire for truly the last time. If Darth Prazutis was anything he was a relentless, determined hunter. One method of the hunt was no longer applicable, their enemy had been allowed to lurk unchecked in the darkness and siphon off valuable resources from the Sith-Imperial Military, valuable resources that could've been utilized on the front lines.

"Let us depart. If there is any resource you need simply speak it and it shall be yours." Darth Prazutis said as he rounded the table.

[member="Hakai Shizukana"]​