Wrench in the Plans

[Abelain Narv'uk]

[member="Thresco Jorr"]

The Paladin floated eerily through space, easily distinguishable from the minor ships that seemed to be docking with the rather pitiful station. The station itself was rather small, and only really discernible from a distance by the flock of smaller ships buzzing around it like flies to a carcass. Several of these smaller vessels departed from their approaches at the sight of the One Sith warship, entering hyperspace in an attempt to flee what they perceived to be a threatening presence. It was to be expected that some would flee, but the Paladin had not arrived with the goal of randomly murdering civilians, or even of inconveniencing most of the station's customers.

There had been reports that a locally known smuggler was to be delivering artifacts of a mechanical manner to the station in hopes of parting with them for profit. There had also been rumors that the smuggler was being pursued by rival gangs who were looking to off him, and retrieve the valuables without paying a credit for them. Abelain had heard of these rumors, as he commonly did when exploring planets, and had decided that there was no use wasting an opportunity to learn more of the greater galaxy, and perhaps even to discover a new piece of technology, or even a weapon.

The Paladin released a small shuttle, dwarfing it with it's astounding size. Abelain sat in the back of the vehicle, allowing it's designated pilot to communicate with station security. The conversation seemed to have gone rather quickly, and the parts that he heard seemed to indicate that the small station was fairly terrified of the warship, and had managed to secure VIP landing for their shuttle. The pilot had only chuckled slightly before turning and reporting the news to his commander, "They say that they're frightened by the Paladin, and are asking us to remove it from visible range of the station if at all possible." It was intriguing to see that the reputation of the One Sith as warmongers had spread even to neutral worlds, but in a moment he sent an order to his vessel, "Remove the Paladin from view of the station, we shall contact you when we are ready to depart."

The shuttle's door opened with it's easily recognizable hydraulic hiss. Out of the vehicle stepped the Arue'tii, red cape fluttering gently against the ground behind him and adding to his frightening demeanor. Adding an even greater effect to the general tension were the four soldiers that stepped out behind him. Each appeared to have been grown in a laboratory based on their general size and stature, and they clutched at weapons as though they were their normal attire. Their armor seemed to have been fit to their rather large sizes, and they seemed to stare off into walls, almost as if listening to conversations in other rooms. These were the soldiers of the Hammer, specially made using a chemical formula that had been used up in the process.

The Arue'tii approached an attendant, towering over him and leaning towards the ground in a general indication of his particular disdain for the inferior species, "Direct us towards the smuggler's items, shall you?" He hissed, the words spewing warmly from behind the 'smile' gradually growing across his face.

 

[PersonMan]

"I assure you, there is nothing on my ship that would need any kind of "Clearance" from your boss. It is exactly like I showed you, the durasteel plating and synthmesh is all I am carrying, though you may feel free to report in with your master and bring him on board, i'll have the cook prepare us some of his finest Kommerken Steak. Send the good man my regards, and tell him he can check for any "Unauthorized" merchandise after dinner.".

Placing a hand on the Mercenary's shoulder, the Mandalorian smuggler gave the man his kindest smile as he escorted him back to the small vessel that had docked with the Jiriad Kadiilir. Usually, Thresco and Torgost managed to get into most space stations without anyone boarding his ship to look for anything out of the ordinary. At least that was the case up until today when a large freighter sent out a small one-man fighter after the Mandalorian Gauntlet-class ship and demanded he be let in. Judging by the marks on the ship, Thresco had already figured out that the people boarding his ship were Trandoshan pirates that most likely had a relatively tight grip on the import and export on this particular space station. After all, Trandoshans were among the only races stupid enough to piss of a Mandalorian and could get away with it. Once Thresco had sent the greeter on his way back to the large freighter, he knew that it was only a matter of time before the large vessel would pull up close to him and attach itself to his ship. Once it did, a large party of Trandoshan pirates would board the Jiriad, taking anything that was not on Thresco's list of commodities. The moment they found the more expensive stuff he was smuggling onto the space station for quite the sum of money, they would either try to kill him and take his stuff, or just take it, knowing there was nothing he could do about it.

Luckily for him, he was not born yesterday, and the kind smile had not been the only thing he had given the Trandoshan. Watching from the cockpit of the Jiriad as the small fighter docked with the freighter, he counted to ten before pressing a small button on the equally small mainframe on his left wrist. As soon as he did, all of the lights on the freighter went dark as the engines shut down. Having planted an EMP grenade on the pirate that had entered his ship, he had more or less imagined that the reptile would be far too stupid to check the pockets on his coat before heading back into his fighter and leaving the Mandalorian vessel behind. As soon as the lights went out on the freighter, Thresco had a good laugh at the expense of the Trandoshans, at which point Torgost fired up the engine and made it towards the space station. Frying every system inside of the freighter would give him enough time to finish up his business there. Hell, he might even make it all the way back to Mandalore and die of old age before the leather-hides managed to fix their ship back up. There was a reason why they flew such a large and rusty bucket of bolts, and that was because the average Trandoshan was quite tribal in nature. While they knew their way around a weapon and could easily kill a man in single combat, they were not exactly the most potent engineers and slicers.

Flying by a large ship that seemed like the kind of thing used during the many wars that popped up in various parts of the galaxy, it looked particularly like the sort of ship he would avoid entirely when encountered in the vacuum of space. He was but a smuggler, a fine engineer and a decent gunslinger, meaning he was not exactly the kind of person that wanted to get involved in any wars or get into a firefight with a superior vessel. As he passed it by, Torgost docked on the station without any trouble whatsoever, allowing Thresco to deliver the package to a rather shady butcher, which was undoubtedly a front for something more dubious. Whatever the case, he was not getting paid enough to care, not had he been interested enough to see what was even inside of said package. All he cared about at this point was to make the most out of his time on the station, to find any promising merchants and traders and head on out. Placing his newly earned pouch of currency inside of his cloak, the heavily armored man made his way back to his ship at the docking bay. Never leaving his ship without putting on his gear, the Mandalorian made sure that no one would be able to just pick him off. The only way he'd be in any immediate trouble was if someone used a massive magnet against him.

Aside from the now haunting thought of a giant magnet, Thresco was feeling quite good for the moment. It was not until one of the human attendants yelled something into his direction that the young man turned his gaze towards a species he had never seen before. Still, he could tell by the way in which it presented itself and was dressed up that he belonged to the massive vessel he had passed by earlier. As such, it was also made clear in his mind that the... whatever it was, was a Sith. After everything that happened to his clan years ago, he had been quite cautious around those people, avoiding them whenever he could. With the way things were right now in the galaxy, the Jedi and the Sith were among the people he chose not to become too familiar with if he could help it. Still, if he turned and went back to his ship after meeting the attendant and the alien with his gaze, they would surely think something was wrong. Even though he was entirely not in the mood for any trouble, he knew that there was nothing he could do about it now if the Sith turned out to be a threat to his well-being. For now, he would entertain the new arrival with a conversation, at least until things took a turn for the worst which he hoped they would not.

"Hello there, Thresco Jorr's the name, engineer and merchant by trade. What may I do you for?".

 

[Abelain Narv'uk]

[member="Thresco Jorr"]

It took only a moment for the attendant to call for a nearby individual. Abelain cast his eyes upon him, examining the various details of him for several moments, taking especial notice of the type of armor he wore. He had seen similarities between the armor worn by the man, and that worn by others in the past, and made a mental note to check the histories of the equipment at a later date. The visual observation finished rapidly, and the Arue'tii took a whiff of the air, scenting the iron smell of the man's blood, and rapidly identifying it to the common and familiar race of human. They were easily the most common species throughout the greater galaxy, and it came as no surprise that the smuggler would prove to be one of their inferior ilk. At least, he assumed that the man was the smuggler, or else that he had contact with the smuggler and could thus lead them to their objective.

He waited several seconds for the man to approach, and introduce himself as Thresco Jorr, engineer and 'merchant'. It was reasonable enough to believe that the man held engineering expertise, especially with the varying modifications that would be necessary aboard a smuggling vessel, but the type of merchandising that he likely engaged in would be of ill report. The Arue'tii had not expected for the man to be so easily found, and was somewhat taken aback by the procedures that the station's staff had partaken in, especially ratting on the poor fellow almost instantly. It was in poor taste for any criminal enterprises that would occur within the area, but perhaps that was the point; to weed out corruption.

"I am Abelain Narv'uk." He spoke softly, the hissing gone from his voice and replaced with a deep and rumbling expression of words emerging from behind the 'smile' upon his face. "You are the smuggler that the rumors speak of, are you not? I have come to examine the supposed artifacts that are being brought here, and would like to inquire of them." He spoke with an inquisitive tone, not nearly as threatening as he had been with the attendant, whom he dismissed with an arbitrary flicker of his hand. It was unlikely that they would simply be able to remove the items by force, and the Arue'tii was genuinely curious about what sorts of ancient manufacturing had been put up for sale. Therefore, it was the wisest course of action to simply pursue normal conversation.

Meanwhile, the Hammer units guarding their Sith master began to spread out, casually securing a perimeter around the vessel and scanning around for any signs of hostile intent. They remained ever vigilant in their watch for criminal assassins bent on eliminating their competition, and Abelain had no doubt in his mind that any intruders would be melted into slag the moment they presented weapons.

 

[PersonMan]

"A Smuggler? Me? Oh heavens no, you must be talking about the Pyke further down the lane. He claims he's just selling hand-made pottery and other ceramics, but if you ask me, that is nothing more than a front for his illegal enterprises. I tell you, he spends about as much time crafting pottery as he spends time in the back at the local butcher while "not playing cards". That said, if you're interested in buying... ahem.. Durasteel plating or Synthmesh, we just might be able to work out a thing or two, just step into the cargo hold if you would.".

Taking a quick but barely noticeable look around for any of the barely present men and women of the law, he led the large alien to his ship. With the push of a button on his wrist frame, the back of the Jiriad Kadiilir opened up, showing several crates of Synthmesh and Durasteel plating, especially as Thresco had mentioned before, as well as a built-in cage with a small shriek-hawk that awoke when the light from the outside world entered into the cargo hold. While his ship was only twenty meters in length and had only two floors, the vast majority of the lower floor was one big space reserved for merchandise, fuel, target practice and acted as an enclosure for his pets. Speaking of pets, the moment Thresco entered the cargo hold in an attempt at leading in his guest, for lack of a better word, Chakaar hissed as the tall alien entered his visual range. Not being overly fond of visitors, the oversized Strill would not hesitate to attack if Thresco ordered it to. But seeing as there was no point in any violent of protective behavior at this point, the Mandalorian turned his attention to a nearby crate. Reaching in with his armored gauntlet, he took out a piece of quality steak and tossed it at the highly intelligent mammal, which eagerly worked it down almost as soon as it could sink its fangs into it.

"Down boy, go and take a nap.".

While it was always unclear just how much the creature understood about what Thresco told it, there were times when it did exactly as he asked it to and times where it seemed to not understand a word he said. Thanks to several books dedicated to the hunting animal, he had learned that it understood short commands rather well, though the longer and more wordy a sentence became, the less they could make sense out of it. They were intelligent, great at hunting too, that much was as clear as a rock above the water, though in the end, they were still but animals. This time however, Chakaar licked its lips, turned around and disappeared behind the crates, seeking the darkness in the back of the hold in order to resume his nap. Turning his attention back to the Sith going by the name of Abelain, he started looking through some of the crates hidden behind and beneath the Durasteel and Synthmesh, showing more crates that were merely topped off by the previously stated materials. Carbonite nanofiber, Fleuréline weave, Chameleon cloth, Obsidian, Qashmel and Memory plastic were among the things he had on board. Because most of these materials were either expensive or illegal in certain parts of the galaxy, he made sure to hide them from the average lawmen.

"As you can see, I can help you to a decent shipment of the following materials. First grade Qashmel, in case you wanted to create a.. less crude cloak. Obsidian to craft bullets, daggers, blades or whatever you Sith use these days. Oh, here I have some memory-plastic, in case you or your no-doubt loyal soldiers get wounded in battle and can't reach a medic. Trust me, it will keep most wounds clean and free of germs, unless you start picking at it. If none of that is to your liking, I also have a crate of experimental Proton torpedoes laying around here somewhere, pristine condition. The guy I got them from said that they could move for at least a hundred meters further than your average MG7-A torpedoes. Might be something your fighters pilots would take an interest in as it might keep them out of harms way long enough to destroy their targets with.".

With that, he had pretty much shown everything he was currently transporting along with him. So far, he had already had a hand at some of the materials to see if they were of a fine quality. This was because he had no intention of selling someone faulty stuff that would end up getting even more people being after his ass. Aside from that, there was the fact that he occasionally used his own wares when working out possible solutions to flaws in his armor, his weapons or his ship. As an engineer that pretty much spent the majority of his life on his ship, he could not risk fixing any damage with parts that were simply no good. From that point on, the only thing he could really do was wait for the Sith to finish looking through his wares to see if there was something in it that was worth anything to him. While thinking about what the Sith told him about how people believed that he was smuggling certain artifacts, he could not seem to figure out what Abelain was talking about. Sitting down on top of one of his crates, he pondered on the subject, all the while keeping his eyes on the Sith. Just because he was not the kind of man that blamed every single Sith for the actions of a few, that did not mean he was naive enough to just let them out of his sight, especially when they were aboard his very own vessel.

 

[Abelain Narv'uk]

There was a very brief moment when the man first responded that Abelain believed he had been directed towards the wrong individual, and was instead supposed to be investigating into a potter. That idea was quickly brushed aside when the next sentence seemed to suggest at ulterior goods hidden within the belly of the vessel. He decided that there was little harm that would come from perusing the items, and hoped that he had beaten out any other consumer competition in the task of locating artifacts. The Sith followed after the man, stepping into a cargo hold from a nearby ship. It's back opened up, revealing the wares of the 'merchant' and the Arue'tii took immediate notice of a small bird entrapped within a cage that seemed to awaken after it's slumber was interrupted by the piercing lights of the station. Several large crates were strewn about the hold, and each seemed to contain common materials that would held no interest for the explorer.

His olfactory senses flickered suddenly at the presence of a creature off to the side of the crates. He cast his vision upon it, suddenly taking in the sight of the large six-legged abomination glaring at him. It's skin seemed to be leathery upon first appearance, and it's eyes seemed to bore into him in a fashion denoting predatory ability. He had not yet encountered one of it's kind, and a moment later he picked up on a repulsive odor seeming to emanate from the animal. There was a chance that it had broken loose from one of the cages aboard Jorr's transport, but there seemed to be no indication that it had shattered any restrictive constructs of that kind. Thresco simply stepped over to a nearby and open crate, taking hold of a piece of raw steak and tossing it towards the animal, ordering it to conclude it's sleep.

The animal stalked away, apparently off to enjoy it's meal and then to rest, though Abelain had an inkling in his mind that if he made any sudden moves against it's owner, it would suddenly spring from the corners of the ship fully awake and ready to assail. The smuggler returned his attention to the Arue'tii, beginning to sieve through various supplies and to remove materials that seemed to be of rarer quality and fashion. A rapid examination of the various items indicated that none were mechanical in the manner of lost artifacts, nor did they appear to be particularly old, but he decided to hold his questions until after the goods had been presented properly by their owner. The items were each good for different goals; one for constructing clothing, another for weapons and armaments, and another to staunch and heal wounds. They were unique to the Arue'tii in that he had not viewed any of them previously, but despite his interest in their uses, they were not what he had intended to locate. There was also an offer of a shipment of proton torpedoes for any of the Paladin's fighters, but Abelain was fairly certain that the Paladin did not even possess any fighter-class ships, and instead relied on other weaponry to fend off bombers. He made a mental note to work towards gaining a fighter wing in case of future incident.

"Your items are of interest to me, and I would very much like to better understand their applications and how they may be used to further my goals, or to assist those under my command." He offered with surprising graciousness for the showing of goods, but he quickly proceeded with the one question that truly burned within his mind, "However, are you not transporting archaic devices with you? There was word that had traveled upon the planet that they would be arriving today upon this station, carried by a hunted smuggler seeking to part with them. I was under the impression that the smuggler was yourself, but you are not actively trying to sell the devices to me, and therefore I must conclude either that you never owned them, or that you have already relieved yourself of them." His eyes glared into the man, curious for his response, "Which is it?"

 

[Thresco]

"If you are interested in these materials and want to further your understanding of their application in such a manner, I suggest letting your own engineers and craftsmen inform you on the matter. I am but a simple merchant, I am required to understand the workings of my merchandise so that I can explain the basics to a customer, nothing more, nothing less.".

That said, he turned his attention away from the browsing Sith. Thresco knew more about the materials when it came down to his own personal uses, though he saw no point in educating a Sith that most likely had people on board of his own ship that were paid to do just that. Remaining seated, he kept his gaze locked on the Sith from behind his visor. When the Sith changed the subject when he started asking more about something he had heard from rumors, the Mandalorian rose a brow under the cover of his helmet. If even the Sith knew about the exploits of a smuggler, it made him think about who else might have figured out about the contraband he was carrying. Perhaps it was his suit of armor that gave people the idea that he was the "hunted smuggler" instead of a ceramic selling Pyke that was into even more shady stuff than him. It was only when the term Archaic was used that Thresco figured out exactly what Abelain was after. It reminded him of the Bartokk ship that had attached itself to the Jiriad Kadiilir moments before two dozen mercenaries swarmed on in. Thanks to his Strill guardian and some well placed blaster fire, he had taken down the ones that had boarded his vessel. After entering the Bartokk ship and murdering every last one of the space bugs to keep the hive-minded cretins from coming after him again, he took every bit of food and materials he could get, stripping the ship for parts and emptying their cargo hold into his own. It was more or less his way to "make the best out of a bad situation".

"Now that you mention it, there is a single crate I took from a small group of Bartokk mercenaries. While I wouldn't have any idea as to why they would come after me, they attacked me shortly after I left Mandalore. When they boarded my ship, they had no idea that I was quite... capable of defending myself. You should have heard Chakaar crunch through their ugly bug faces, it was absolutely hilarious. Regardless, I found a box on their ship that seemed to radiate some seriously bad mojo. So, I did what everyone would have done, I took it on board and started going through it to see if there was anything that might sell. I've gone by several of the outer rim planets, though no one seemed to want something that so antiquated. Can't say that I blame them.".

For as long as the box had been on board of his ship, he felt like there might have been more to the artifacts, though he himself had no idea what to make out of it. Aside from a creepy mask that he kept for himself, he had Torgost document every last piece of junk coming out of the crate before tossing it into the back of the hold, covered by a blanket of Chameleon cloth to hide it from Chakaar and Stanil alike. They seemed to be able to feel that something was off about the content of the crate, something Thresco too had been able to sense. Perhaps it was because of the crate that he had been sleeping a lot less soundly at night, something that started roughly around the same time as the crate making its way onto his vessel. If the Sith was interested in such items, it would explain a lot to him, one of these being the fact that he would be able to make a decent bit of money off of these items. When it came down to earning money and reading people, Thresco was among the most observant and intelligent people one might find this far out in the galaxy. Wandering into the back, he pulled the chameleon cloth off of the crate and hauled it back into the open. As he did, Chakaar started growling from behind the boxes, almost as if being triggered by the sense of dread radiating from inside of it. Setting it down in front of the Sith, he would give him a moment to go through the content and see if there was something inside that he really wanted. After all, he had come looking for Thresco for this particular reason, so it would only be fair to grant him the time to take a quick peek.

"I no longer made any attempt at selling this stuff because most people had no idea what to do with it, while some religious fanatics were so afraid of them that they almost attacked me for taking that stuff to their space port. I tell ya, some people are really screwed up in the clunker.".

 

[Abelain Narv'uk]

The smuggler merchant quickly denied the opportunity to further explain the materials, but recommended that the Sith check with his own engineers on the properties of each resource, which would likely suffice in better understanding their most efficient uses. That would mean that the Arue'tii would likely need to wait until he decided to purchase any of the items, but time was inconsequential for the moment, and would cause no difficulty for him as he was in no hurry to reach any other destinations. Jorr turned away from his potential customer at the mention of items of archaic origin, and began to sift through his merchandise once more, turning up with a box that seemed to reek of Dark Side energy that Abelain had missed only moments earlier. There was no doubt within his mind that these were the artifacts that he seeked.

Thresco Jorr spoke of how he had acquired the items, mentioning that they had been taken from a small group of Bartokk mercenaries; likely on the hunt for his other illegal contraband, and had been met with stern resistance. The description of the hideous animal slumbering elsewhere within the ship devouring the face of another sentient life would have been disturbing to most, but Abelain accepted that it was simply another potential path to the One Escalation, and therefore did not find anything ill in the subject. The man continued, stating that he had traveled through several outer rim planets, but that he had been unable to find a buyer for the presumed evil items. There was no wonder that the inferior species would ignore the prospect of learning about their own past, and it matched perfectly with the Sith's assumption that the greater population were inherently ignorant and foolish in their faculties.

The man transported the container to the Arue'tii, setting it down in front of him. The movement was accompanied by the growling and snarling of the hidden animal, apparently disturbed by the mere act of transporting the malign set of items. The container was opened for Abelain, and he immediately felt a sweltering wave of dark energy pound off of the items, surprising strong for their age. His hand gently rifled through the contents, examining each piece of equipment with the eye of a collector, and taking heed of the likelihood that he would be overcharged for the purchase of any of the items. His hand found a long piece of papyrus formed in the shape of a scroll, and upon it lay symbols of ancient origin and impossible understanding. The shape of a skull adorned the foremost piece of the papyrus, and a lone ruby dimly shone within the forehead of the drawn effigy, apparently placed to adorn the item with further significance.

He could not read what the symbols spoke, but a couple of them seemed familiar in a strange sense, and his oft-hand grasped gently upon the similarly aged vibrosword upon his side. It's hind was removed slowly and non-threateningly from it's prison, and examined in comparison with the shapes. Several of the figures seemed to match enough that the Arue'tii rapidly discerned that the writing was in the dialect of High Sith, likely some form of religious document, or a ceremonial writing. It was difficult to date when the item would have been created, but Abelain took care to wrap the scroll once more, preserving it for further use. It was a fairly benign item, seeming without much taint as many of the other items had been. He laid the scroll to the side of the container, continuing his search and removing a ceremonial dagger that seemed jagged and crooked in it's appearance. This item was filled with the Dark Side, and a sense of uneasiness passed over Abelain upon contacting it, but he quickly regained composure and removed it as well from it's hold.

The same skull shape seemed to have been embedded upon the hilt of the blade, and Abelain made a note to himself to examine the connection between the two items after purchasing them. "These pair of artifacts intrigue me. What is your asking price for them?" He spoke softly, apparently satisfied in his locating his goals. Another thought popped into his mind for a brief moment, suddenly ignited by a desire to know more about the smuggler selling his merchandise. "You said earlier that the items radiated a sense of badness that you felt?" If that were true, it would likely indicate a curious factoid that had escaped his previous notice: Thresco Jorr would be Force Sensitive.

 

[Thresco]

"The real question would be, what are they worth to you? I'll let you in on a little sales trick here, one you might be able to use in the future, just in case being a Sith doesn't turn out as profitable as you might have hoped. See, you let the buyer go through your stuff so they can have a look and pick what they want. When they find something that stands out over the rest, that means it has some kind of greater value to them, which is when you know your merchandise is worth something. I never would have sold it to a regular civilian, hell, they'd probably have no idea what to do with it either. But to a Jedi or a Sith, they just might be worth a few, as these relics often are.".

Hiding a rather smug expression behind his heavy metal helmet, he crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for the Sith to respond to his little sales plan. Even if Abelain would not buy the artifacts and relics from him, there would most likely be another Jedi or Sith just as interested in them, if not even more. While his understanding of the Jedi and Sith was slim to none, he did know quite a bit about the old Sith Empire that had been around for thousands of years, an ancient race of warriors that had a strong connection to the dark side. Though he believed them to have gone extinct somewhere down the line, their stuff, which was incredibly hard to get by, was of great value to museums, temples and private collectors. The one thing he needed was to make sure the items were legitimate, something Abelain had just done for him. As a smuggler and merchant by trade, he knew quite a few ways to get people to do things for him while believing they were in their own best interests, even though they just served the purpose of adding some weight to his wallet. That said, he was not exactly interested in finding the highest bidder for the two particular artifacts the Sith had picked from the crate. If he was willing to part with the right sum of money, items and or equipment, which he knew the One Sith had plenty of, he would gift-wrap them and send them on their way without a second thought.

"I know that the One Sith is an organization that is quite well known for their warmongering, for lack of a better word, and I have seen the ship you've flown in on. Had it not been for that, the soldiers you brought with you were plenty of indication that your organization is not exactly of the poor kind. I can only imagine the amount of wealth you people collect when you take over a space station or a planet. So, lets talk business. What are these items worth to you and what do you have of worth aside from basic credits?".

Ever the salesman, he knew that it could not hurt to inquire a bit on what the man might have that could be of use to him. He also made sure that Abelain would not take him for a fool by sending a low budget story his way or making a bid on the items that was far below the acceptable threshold. Thresco would not pretend to know how much money a single member of the Sith might have, though he knew that one would not come with a small amount of money when they knew beforehand that they were visiting a smuggler that was in possession of the thing they sought. As he thought about it some more, he wondered how they had managed to figure out that he was the man the Sith were looking for. And while on that topic, how had they figured out that he had come to possess the artifacts in the first place. Undoubtedly through some sort of Force magic or whatever they called it, thinking about the subject made him all the more defensive. It was at that point that an unrelated question came to him, asking him about the sense of dread he had experienced radiating from the crate. A part of him wanted to say that it was most likely something along the lines of a curse or something related to the Force, though for all he knew, it might as well have been the spirit of the previous owner that still lingered around them. It was not like he believed in such things as spirits, demons or gods, though he believed in anything he could feel or see, and the aura around the crate was something he could most certainly feel.

"You are correct sir. I don't know how to explain it, but if I were to make an attempt at it, imagine walking past a graveyard at night when you were still a kid. You'd experience a feeling that someone, or several someones were watching you from the darkness, standing behind you and breathing down your neck, yet when you'd turn around, there would not be anyone there. It is exactly that same feeling, except ten times worse, and i'm a man now. I've been boarded by a Bartokk swarm, been hunted by Strill, almost got devoured by a Mythosaur, got into trouble with Trandoshans and worse, yet there is still something about those items that tells me that I should not take them lightly. Even though you are not human, I could tell the exact moment when that same feeling came over you.".

 

[Abelain Narv'uk]

The merchant seemed to have been shrewd in his dealings with Force users previously, and it seemed logical to the Arue'tii how he had based his economic and business strategy. It was true that most individuals would not have known what the items being presented were, or what their true value was in terms of historical relevance. It was also likely true that a Jedi or Sith would be willing to pay a higher price for the goods than would otherwise have been paid by someone without a drawing to the Dark side artifacts. There was no doubt in Abelain's mind that he was going to need to barter and trade expertly in order to acquire his goal items without losing very much of his own limited supply of resources in the process, especially without the loss of something vitally important.

Thresco crossed his arms, apparently waiting for an opening bid by the Arue'tii. The explorer in turn returned to examining the items, more thoroughly looking at them in an attempt to judge what they were worth to him. The scroll seemed to be of higher value in his mind than the measly dagger, but there was no doubt in his mind that they were connected in some manner, and he might have missed out on a powerful weapon or tool if he were to simply leave the dagger. On top of that, it was clear that the radiant Dark side energy seemed to flow more strongly from the blade than from the scroll, hinting at its purpose likely as a sacrificial or ecclesiastic armament. He began to search through a mental list of items to trade with the smuggler, as well as his financial funds as he concluded his secondary examination.

The armored man spoke once more, mentioning the most popular activity of the One Sith organization; warmongering. It was fairly accurate to assume that most Sith had plundered bountiful resources and wealth from their many missions as conquerors and warriors, but Abelain had not partaken in any event involving the looting of any civilization, and therefore had not had time to amass the same wealth that others had been known for stocking. He finally spoke, his voice rumbling out from behind the alien 'smile' upon his face, "I shall make you an initial offer of ten-thousand credits." He recognized in his mind that the number was essentially all of his liquid funds, but it seemed worth it to acquire the knowledge he seeked.

Despite that, it seemed incredibly unlikely that the smuggler would make a deal for the measly amount of credits, and Abelain was not willing to part with most military equipment aboard his vessel as that could be used in future engagements against him. The smuggler spoke once more, describing the feeling he had gotten upon receiving the items, and speaking about how he could tell when his client had felt the same energy. That allowed for Abelain to make a further offer that had previously been withheld from the table: "In addition, I will teach you something of the Force."

 

[Thresco]

For a moment, he was unsure as to whether the Sith took him for a fool or if he actually hoped to call to Thresco's more sympathetic side, allowing the man to take the artifacts for a mere ten-thousand credits. He knew of historians that would eagerly pay double for but a single artifact, though that would require a trip to Coruscant, passing much heavier security than the one found on most space stations and not to mention crossing a large distance just to get to the galactic core. The trip alone would be relatively expensive, not to mention potentially losing all of his less legal cargo costing him a lot more than he would get to earn. Bringing his hand to the tip of his chin, he thought deeply on what the best possible course of action would be at this point. Thresco saw no point in simply declining the offer, as he could potentially sell one of the items for such a price. Getting up from his seat, he intended to broker a deal for just the dagger or the scroll he couldn't read, until something the Sith said stilled his tongue. Apparently, the Sith would teach him something about the Force, a very vague offer that seemed like it was not going to be worth nearly as much as what the artifacts were worth. The amount of stories he had heard about it that just amounted to nothing throughout his life had been far more than he could count on his fingers, making him somewhat pessimistic regarding the subject.

"Teach me something about the Force for an expensive artifact. Sounds like a no-brainer on my end of the deal. A history lesson or a story about the Force won't cut it, not for something as expensive as what is in that crate. So it had better be something that is actually worth it, otherwise it will not be the kind of deal I intend to involve myself with.".

During his life, the only times he had actually been able to use the Force had been when he accidentily swayed the mind of an attacking Strill so that he could kill it before it could kill him, as well as to soften the blow when he fell out of a tree. Aside from the more literal uses of the Force, he had also seen things in his dreams that later came to pass somewhere down the line of his life. Whether they were things that happened merely by accident, or if they happened because the Force had willed it to be so was something he might never know. Still, there was a recurring dream of a man controlling fire, followed by him doing the exact same thing before the flames consumed him that would not leave his mind. It was a dream that scared him and kept him awake at night, often causing him to make a mistake or two in some very serious and potentially life-threatening situations. Perhaps it was a result of the potentially treacherous nature of the Force that his former master had refrained from teaching him anything other than hand to hand combat and lightsaber technique. Maybe he knew what might happen if Thresco learned more of the Force than he had to, a thought that only made the Mandalorian that much more intent on learning. So, if this Sith had something Thresco could learn from him in regards to the Force, he might actually be interested. If they were just empty words and teachings about the Force, however, he would turn the other cheek and go with his original plan of selling either the dagger or the scroll for the sum of ten-thousand credits, which was still a very reasonable offer.

"If what you have to offer me is worth it, I will allow you to take both artifacts for ten-thousand credits. If it is not, I will allow you to take the dagger for that sum, as it is still well beneath what I could get for it if I were to take it to Coruscant. Now, I don't aim to be pushy, but there are still other jobs I need to complete and people that would rather I didn't. So if you have something to pass on, I suggest you do it now.".

 

[Abelain Narv'uk]

[member="Thresco"]

Abelain patiently awaited the response of the smuggler who appeared to be considering his options. There was no doubt in his mind that teaching the smuggler a minor Force ability would guarantee a lowered price upon his items, and he had far fewer reservations with that course of action as opposed to selling the man armaments. His mind flickered through it's available repertoire of Force abilities, attempting to discern which one would be best suited for Thresco. Jorr responded, stating that a story or history lesson on the Force would not be acceptable, and that whatever was being taught had to be worth it. The Arue'tii smirked behind it's 'smile', speaking softly, "I do not have enough knowledge of the legacy of the Force to teach you it's history, or another scam for the items. Be assured, I shall hold my end of the bargain." It was true that he would keep his word, even if it was only to an inferior species.

Jorr finished his speech by telling the Arue'tii that if the information was good enough, he would allow for the purchase of the two linked artifacts for the price of ten-thousand credits. If it was not valuable knowledge, then he would only be allowed to purchase the dagger which seemed to radiate Dark side energy. The smuggler seemed to be in a hurry, mentioning that there were individuals who would attempt to stop his work, and that he had other customers that needed servicing. It would be extremely difficult to teach an ability within a short span of time, and he wondered if he might ask for further time. "You must understand that anything that would be taught of value will take time, and if you are truly in such a rush, it may be better to simply complete your objectives, and then meet me afterwards."

What the explorer did not want to happen was the scenario where the smuggler refused, and attempted to force him to teach the lesson in the span of a few minutes. That would be intensely counterproductive to the learning process. There was always the possibility that he could secure the cargo for the smuggler using the Hammer, and thus ensure that any hostile factions seeking his blood would be deterred and preferably eliminated or detained for further questioning. A quick examination of Thresco Jorr seemed to tell the Arue'tii that he was a loner, and that it was unlikely he would take kindly to the offer for assistance, even if it was purely based in pragmatism. Abelain would simply need to make do with the resources at his disposal, and attempt to secure the items the best he could.

Of course, the thought flicked into his mind that he could always just kill the smuggler. He could always just murder him in the cold darkness of his vessel, and could probably even rend the beast he kept around into ribbons. There was no doubt in his mind that he could commit the act, but as of yet he had no true reason to extinguish their lives, and they had not acted harshly towards him. He would stay his hand unless the circumstances became dire.

 

[Thresco]

"If such a thing can't be rushed, the only other course of action is to continue this meeting somewhere else. For the time being, I will sell you the dagger for the sum that was agreed upon while I keep the scroll with me. It will stay inside of the crate until we meet again, and if you can provide me with something that is even remotely worth it, you will get the scroll as well. That is the only deal I am willing to make at this point.".

With that much out there for the Sith to digest, he sat himself down again. With his hands resting on his upper legs, the only thing he could do was to wait for a response and move on from there. Now that he had made his intentions perfectly clear, he made sure that there was no mistaking that the Mandalorian was not going to leave both objects in the hands of the Sith before payment had been exacted. He understood that anything worth while could not be taught over the course of a few minutes, so there was no chance at getting what was promised to him right away. But as he understood what Abelain meant, he figured that the man would also understand his predicament. As a smuggler and merchant by trade, he could not just let go of his cargo and believe in the goodness of Abelain's heart. No, letting go of his artifacts with nothing to go on but the man's word was not going to cut it, not when the vastness of the galaxy might make it utterly impossible for Thresco to find the Sith again if he chose to not honor his word. It was common among merchants to not trust anybody for their word alone, but for the amount of coin they had received. Making promises meant nothing in the financial world, so trusting someone to do the right thing or simply the thing they had promised to do was just not going to happen. Getting up from his seat, he started rummaging through his stuff in the back. While he did so, Chakaar started prowling again now that he had finished up his food.

Taking a device from his back that he used to remotely receive payment without having to carry around a large bag of money, he placed it on the crate next to the Sith. All he had to do was enter his personal account number, the amount of credits he was parting with and pressing on the green button to finalize the transaction. Noticing that Chakaar had started to move, he released a sharp whistle from his lips, causing the large animal to flinch and sink through its knees, making contact with the floor and laying dead still on top of the cold steel floors. It was quite well aware that Thresco did not want it prowling around and scaring potential buyers, which was why he had been training it to respond to a specific whistle that would let it know not to move any closer. Intelligent as the animal was, it knew that it would not get fed any of the good stuff if he disobeyed his master, and would need to eat the older meat that was usually going to Stanil as it liked the more aged meat. Taking his eye off of Chakaar, he turned it back to the Sith, making sure there would not be any complications. The Sith were known to take what they could not get, and if such a thing was the case, he was not going to be taken off guard by it. Whenever he was about to seal a transaction, he got a bit less carefree, not letting his usual attitude get in the way of business.

"Sir, you have an incoming call from Duro, they went to know when you'll be bringing them the Durasteel shipment.".

"Tell them i'll call them back as soon as i've finalized this transaction. Oh, and stay on the line, I might have need of you soon.".

And again, he was further pressurized to finish up what he was doing by an impatient client. While the Hyperdrive would get him to Duro in a matter of minutes, it still annoyed him when contractors got pissed over a few minute delay. The space station he was at right now was located on the Corellian Trade Spine, meaning Duro was actually really close. Close as they were, they were not the kind of people to upset. Knowing how much they enjoyed flying and exploring, they seemed like the kind of people that would hunt him down to the far end of the galaxy if he chose to double-cross them. Had the Sith been a bit faster in picking the things he wanted, the Mandalorian would have been on his way a long time ago. He however could not blame it all on Abelain, as he had allowed him entry into his vessel of his own free will. Now that he was running out of time, he would not sit down again, remaining upright to show that he was no longer messing around or waiting for things to get dragged out any further.

"If you are still interested in the artifacts, I suggest you start moving around some of that coin. I don't intend to piss off the Durosians over a sum as small as ten thousand credits, the durasteel shipments make me twice that much while the hidden materials are worth even more to them. You'd expect one of the first races to have mastered hyperdrive ship building to come and get their own materials, though I guess they would rather get one of the best smugglers to do it because I am disposable. Now, not to sound rude, but you're going to have to pay up and move within two minutes. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.".

 

[Abelain Narv'uk]

[member="Thresco"]

Thresco Jorr had agreed to meet at an alternative time and location for the promised Force training which made Abelain's attempts at purchasing the artifacts much simpler. The smuggler removed a device covered in buttons and with an especially large green button, and placed it ahead of the Arue'tii. He had seen devices similar to these upon his home-world of Ghul, but they were far less advanced. Thankfully, that previous experience meant that he actually understood how this piece of technology worked, and after a quick recollection of what his account number was, he entered it into the machine, and transferred funds amounting to ten-thousand credits.

He would be allowed to take the dagger with him, and after they had trained it would be decided whether he might earn possession of the strange scripture upon the scroll. His olfactory senses picked up the scent of the beast's blood as it lumbered throughout the ship before dropping to a stand-still somewhere outside of his view; a likely response to it's master's whistle. The creature reminded him vaguely of the Skaxen upon Ghul, and he wondered whether there was any form of genetic similarities between the two animals, but that thought was quickly dismissed due to the time constraints placed upon the business meeting.

Jorr stated that another of his business contracts; this one apparently located upon Duros, was growing impatient and that he would require Abelain to leave the vessel. That was to be expected, and the Arue'tii grasped at the dagger, examining it for a moment more as it's Dark side energy grasped at him, and shook him with a tremor. He stilled himself, locking the dagger away at his side as though it were a common weapon, though being careful not to allow it to snag at any of his other equipment. His eyes locked upon the upright form of Thresco Jorr, acknowledging his own impatient stance as another sign that he needed to leave.

He spoke, his voice tainted with satisfaction at his purchase, though his eyes still yearned for the information hidden upon the scroll: "Duros is not far. We shall await your return within the system. After you have arrived once more, contact the Paladin and I shall meet you at a place of your choosing." The Arue'tii offered the choice of location to the merchant, noting that his profession was one with inherent danger, and that the man would likely be uncomfortable meeting him at a locality where he held little sway, such as upon the warship. It was better to allow the smuggler to believe himself in control of the situation, and the additional self confidence would not hurt for the coming teachings.

His instructions for future meeting dispensed, Abelain promptly removed himself from the hold of the ship, glancing around for a brief moment for his Hammer guard before moving gradually towards the shuttle he had used to arrive at the station. His red cape scraped against the ground gently behind him, marking his presence with a light rustling noise when it came into contact with the floor. The denizens of the station continued their work, unaware or uncaring of him, each one consumed in their work and their own hopes and aspirations.

Abelain could respect that.
Even if they were all inferior.

 

[Thresco]

[End of Thread]​