The Best Snake Strikes First

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka sat quietly in the shadowed corner of a cantina on Nal Hutta, nursing a drink which had a name that he was unable to pronounce without causing his throat to feel scratchy. He was currently waiting, waiting for a man who, like him, thrived in the shadows and amnesty. He had proposed a challenge to a fellow Assassin a while back and the opportunity to follow through with the competition had finally arrived. A Hutt who had his base of operations on Nal Hutta, who's name he had not bothered to remember, all Hutts were the same disgusting slugs to his eye, had put up a bounty on the head of a Twi'lek situated on this foul planet.

Recently a Twi'lek by the name of Johjasi had started to recruit disgruntled citizens of Nal Hutta under his banner with the promise of better living conditions. Humans, Twi'leks, Rodian's and may more species who had been living in the many work camps had all joined Johjasi. Up until recently the Hutt had ignored these activities as work was still being done and profit being secured, however the little group had grown enough that they were now beginning to rise up against the Hutt. Pipe lines were being blocked or destroyed, trade shipments were being sabotaged or stolen and many more situations similar were happening everywhere. In retaliation, the Hutt taken a hit out on Johjasi, a hit Xavka had taken and offered towards Lord Ajihad as the bases of their competition. The first to collect the bounty would win, so long as they were not caught nor discovered by Johjasi's followers.

When confirmation of Ajihad's acceptance had been received by Xavka, he had immediately travelled to Nal Hutta to await the beginning of the competition, arriving ahead of his opponent, so now he sat in the same grungy and filthy cantina everyday waiting. 'That'll teach me not to always rush ahead!' He sighed morosely in annoyance before taking another sip of his drink. 'But still, what's taking him so long?!'

[member="Lord Ajihad"]

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Little did [member="Xavka Duquo"] know, he actually hadn't arrived ahead of Ajihad. The Demon's Fist had arrived an hour before the Zabrak, force presence concealed. He was dressed as a laborer from a work camp, with the assistance of a force ability that allowed him to change how he looked. He had been surveying his opponent for the past several days. He had seen his habits, the way talked, and everything about him. After deciding the information he had was sufficient, he decided to reveal himself. He wouldn't let Xavka know that he'd been spying, of course.

After changing his appearance back to normal, he took a shower. He didn't want to smell like the slave laborer would have, so he washed himself of any unpleasant smells. After dressing into his assassin armor, he headed to the cantina. After locating the ther assassin, he casually sat down next to him. "So, what is challenge of which you speak?"

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka stared at the figure of Ajihad, before shrugging. Sure the man smelt similar to a scent that he had been smelling since he came to the planet, but it was not unusual for two beings to have a scent that was similar to the other's. Xavka slid the datapad that was sitting next to his right elbow across the table so that it would come to rest in front of the man that had just joined him. The datapad currently had a page open, detailing the terms of the contract.

"A Hutt, Ro'tsuba, has placed a bounty on a Twi'lek by the name of Johjasi. Details on the bounty and Johjasi are in that datapad. The competition I propose is that we both accept the contract, but do not complete it. I, to be honest do sypathise with the Twi'lek , so we will be going after the Hutt. It'll be more of a challenge anyway. Accepting the contract would give us a reason to enter the Palace so as to scope it out. Whoever kills the Hutt, without getting caught or identified, wins. Whether they win something from the other or not, I'll leave up to you."

Xavka knocked back the rest of his drink. "What do you think? Any of your own suggestions?"

[member="Lord Ajihad"]

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Vi'kas took a long while to deliberate over the datapad's contents, reading over its contents. He raised an eyebrow as [member="Xavka Duquo"] said they would be going against the contract, killing the Hutt instead. He wasn't exactly a big fan of killing his employers, no matter who they were. He was a man of honor, and dead employers made for bad business. He finally looked up from the screen, and spoke "Hmmm. and why exactly would I want to kill this Hutt? I'd get a rather nice sum for killing the Twi'lek. Would this... alternative option be worth my while?'

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

"Why would this be worth your while? Well, one, the winner gets a, shall we say a ... favour of anything they want from the looser. And two, this particular Hutt as a history of double crossing those that accept any contract from him that do not work for him. They go to get their money and are ambushed by the Hutt's mercenaries. I once fought in the slua's arena as a gladiator and witnessed it happen myself numerous times, even had it happen to me once. If it helps see this as helping a fellow Assassin achieve revenge for his slighted honour."

Xavka leant forwards, a feral glint in his eyes as he did so. "Now, are you in? Or do I need to sweeten the pot a little bit more?"


[member="Lord Ajihad"]

Spoiler

Apologies for the late post and for it being so small.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Lord Ajihad would laugh off the Zabrak's note about an ambush. "Trust me, I can handle a Hutt's mercenary ambush any day of the week. However, if this being enslaved you and made you fight, I feel your pain. I will hunt the slug, and enjoy the kill. Any additional notes?" The assassin thought back, remembering when he himself was a gladiator on Rattatak. It had been a scourge in his childhood, and therefore hated slavers and such. He would fulfill the contract, doing whatever it would take.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka let out a brief chuckle at then end of Ajihad's reply. "Forgive me, my brain was ahead of my mouth and I miss spoke. I did not mean to incinuate that either of us would be felled by the Hutt's mercenaries. They were pathetically easy to kill for myself years ago, I do not believe the result would have changed during that time."

When Ajhad spoke of enjoying the kill a feral smirk crossed Xavka's face. "I too will be enjoying the kill. It is a shame that the Hutt sold me a few month before I achieved my escape, I would have loved it to be its throat that I clawed out."

Shaking his head, Xavka moved on. "With no other notes, I believe we have a challenge. We shall both accept the contract set my Ro'tsube the Hutt on Johjasi the Twi'lek. Using the acceptance of the contract as an explantion we can then scope out the palace without needing to hide. Five days from now, after preparing, after the first fights in the Hutt's arena starts - which is around 9 - we will both move to kill the Hutt. After which we will stay planet side for two more days. The winner is the person who lands the kill. However, if, during those two days, the killer is discovered, the other person is the winner. The winner gains anything they stole from the place plus whatever the looser stole plus a favour from the looser. Are we in agreement? Oh, and during the two days we stay on Hutta, we can continue to steal from the palace."


[member="Lord Ajihad"]

 

[Lord Ajihad]

The Sith Knight nodded, an indication that he accepted the challenge. "Sounds like a good plan. Should be some fun sport hunting. I will see you in five days' time, at the arena." With that, Ajihad stood up, and stretched out his gloved hand for a handshake. On his hand was a thin plastic sheet, which was virtually undetectable. If [member="Xavka Duquo"] accepted the shake, his fingerprints would be left on the sheet. Vi'kas would use these to further his agenda later on, if necessary.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

When Ajihad indicated his acceptance, Xavka's face closed up immediately, showing absolutely no emotion. Ignoring the outstretched hand, Xavka swept past his opponent, murmuring five words as he did so.

"May the best man win."​

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[member="Lord Ajihad"]

 

[Lord Ajihad]

The Demon's Fist frowned as the man brushed past him. A very pissed look spread across his face. Wasn't this Zabrak an Iridonian? Had he no honor? As far as he saw it, Ajihad was helping him reclaim some of his honor, and [member="Xavka Duquo"] had just ignored the gesture. He might as well have just spat in Ajihad's face! If anyone was watching closely, they would have seen a few sparks fly from his hand in anger. Luckily, he was wearing sleeves, or his Grim Reaper dark mark would have flared up. Luckily, he recovered quickly, and strode of towards his room. He wouldn't forget what had just occurred.