Kanis paced back and forth, just half an hour before he had read his mission details, but one specific thing bothered him. His target was last seen boarding a Cargo Ship that was docked on Selen. By now the ship was either gone, or would be gone by the time he could get there. “Kark!” he shouted.
“What’s the matter, flyboy?” Maa’ka asked, now leaning against a nearby door frame.
“Can’t really say…. one of those ‘if I told you I’d probably have to kill you’ things.” he muttered, still frustrated by his current situation.
The Mando slowly walked up to him and gently kissed his cheek as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked up staring deeply into his eyes. “Then don’t tell me.” she said giggling.
“You aren’t making this easy for me you know…” he groaned placing his hands on her hips.
“I’m supposed to make it easy?” she asked, still smiling.
“Well you definitely aren’t supposed to be an ass about it.” he said knitting his eyebrows.
“The look on your face says it’s something big, and your mood says that you can’t get there without my help… So you’re going to need my help…” she said as she released him and returned to her normal posture.
“Got an assassination mission from the higher ups… Talvish Kintro just boarded a cargo freighter that was recently docked on Selen. If I read it right the term recently means it’s not there anymore, now things get more fun. We’ll need to take your ship; and if possible, sneak onto the cargo freighter. Now, this can be done one of two ways: we can hack their sensor array so that we won’t come up on radar, and then land on top and find some way into the ship-” he stopped after being interrupted by the Mandalorian.
“Look. I’ll tell you now, I don’t think I really have the tech to be able to slice at that distance. I know I’m good at a terminal, but there are just somethings that can’t be done with limited hardware. And for me slicing isn’t a full time job; it’s just a favoured pastime that I just happen to be good at. Time to throw out a different plan.” she said, folding her arms across her chest.
“We find out where the ship is going to dock next and we board it there, before our target can escape.” he suggested.
“Sounds like a plan, I’ll scour the holonet and see what I can pull up. What is the name of the ship?” she asked sweetly.
“Lindrin.” he replied almost immediately.
“Great, I’ll check Selen’s records, find out what ships were there, and what company owns what. From there, I’ll work a little magic and nab the docking schedule for the Lindrin, and get back to you. Check your datapad for updates.” she said confidently.
“I can’t thank you enough Maa’ka.” Kanis started to say before she shushed him.
“By the time you’re done needing my help… You will owe me your existence, flyboy; that is, if you don’t already. Now go.” she teased.
Kanis nodded and slowly made his way out of the apartment, he stretched and looked around before slowly proceeding down the street towards his usual meetup, the Sarlacc. The Templar slowly donned his hood as he rounded a corner, the Pride of Corellia was not a necessarily beautiful place and Kanis couldn’t wait until he moved onto Apex’s new base of operations. Although, he would miss the Sarlacc and all its drinks; however, he wouldn’t have to deal with the bartender bugging him about his excessive tab.
The scene changed from an ominous, murky scene to a somewhat well-kempt tourist exchange full of figures hurrying around. Jerem Plaza: the busiest place of the Entirety of Port Ol’Val. Kanis shoved through groups of tourists who either shoved at him or shouted hollow threats. The Templar’s temper boiled; however, he kept his mouth shut as he made his way to the Cantina. It had been a year since he’d walked in alone. In fact it took him back to the old days, when he was of low prestige in the Brotherhood, granted he was still low on the chain. So all in all nothing had really changed since then.
The Dark Jedi slowly walked into the cantina, he took in a deep breath as he breached the smoke filled air. “Ah… Good to be back!” he said stretching his arms out as he proceeded deeper within the establishment.
“You were just here yesterday, Kanis!” The barkeep shouted over to him. “And I’m still waiting on that tab!”
“Yeah, yeah.” Kanis said waving dismissively as he tossed a chip to the bartender.
“‘Bout time.” the barkeep grumbled as he caught the chip.
“Oh… and next time you send some thugs after me…” Kanis whispered. “Be sure they get job done, or at least don’t tell me who sent them and why, because if I find out you have the balls to send men after me.” he said slowly approached the bar. “I’ll go far out of my way to make sure you don’t have any balls at all… got it?” he announced as he unsheathed the fang and pointed the blade towards the Barkeeps groin.
“Y-yeah…whatever you say, chief.” the bartender muttered, stuttering only lightly.
“Good, good… Then we should have no problem.” Kanis said chuckling as he slowly turned around and walked to his usual table. He then waved one of the waitresses over.
A young looking Corellian woman scurried over to his table, she stared down at the Coruscanti and raised an eyebrow. “What’ll it be?” she asked, pulling out a small datapad.
“Bring me a bottle of the best local rum you’ve got.” Kanis said as he leaned back in his chair, the waitress nodded and turned around as she scurried away, The Dark Jedi figured he’d close his eyes for a few minutes as he waited on his beverage. As he closed his eyes, he thought back to the Crusade. He thought about a lot of things, and it wasn’t long before a loud clank jarred him. The waitress had sat the bottle down on the table and had since sat across from him, resting her elbows on the table as she laid her chin atop her hands.
Kanis leaned forward and grabbed his bottle of rum. “What?” he asked, glaring at the woman as he put the rim of the bottle to his lips, knocking his head back as he began to chug the hot liquid.
“Oh nothing, it’s just I have seen you and your group around here a lot. You… interest me.” she started, but was quickly cut off by Kanis.
“Oh no you don’t, last time a woman told me that I got stuck with a bipolar Mandalorian…” he said, trailing off.
“Is that so?” she asked removing her chin from atop her hands.
“Yes… Look, I know what you’re trying to do, what you’re looking for, and I will warn you now: you won’t find it here.” he said raising an eyebrow.
“Well, whenever you change your mind… I’ll be here.” she said, slowly standing up. She turned around and began walking away. Kanis shook his head and took another chug from his bottle. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. The Dark Jedi sat there, just staring for what felt like hours, and he wasn’t quite sure he hadn’t dozed off every now and then. Kanis was roused by the sound of his datapad beeping something fierce; the Templar grabbed for the pad and quickly unlocked it, and to his surprise it was yet another encrypted file, and he set the program to decrypt.
Encrypted File
Applying Decryption
Sound File Play = True
“Hey flyboy, was able to dig something up, you may want to see this. It’ll definitely make you happy.”
Sound File End = True
Unlock Data File = True
Kanis tapped the icon on his screen labeled, Display Data File. Upon doing so, he was greeted by a group of handy information. The first thing he saw was a picture of the Lindrin, followed by a report which read:
Okay so here’s what I dug up, the Lindrin recently disembarked from Selen. Now I know that you already know that; however I now know something you don’t… The Freighter is scheduled to dock on Eldar, a planet rich with resources. If it’s headed there, that means it’s getting ready for a pick up. The planet’s terrain is mainly forests and plains so we have good grounds for ambush if your target tries to run, which they always do. If he does run he won’t get too far. Now here’s where it gets tricky; if my information is correct Eldar isn’t a non-inhabited planet, something about the Shogunate of Tao Feng keeps coming up, they may be an issue in direct conflict should any such thing arise, mass murder is never really a good thing when it comes to these kinds of jobs. It’s usually best to get in and get the hell out as fast as you can.
Now I have discovered that the Freighter will be docking outside of a city, so we have that to our advantage, I suggest using the forest for any open conflict between you and your target, now these are just suggestions… something to think about. We’ll be following your plan to the end. I’ll have the Star prepped and ready to go when you’re ready to embark on this mission.
-End of Message
Kanis locked his datapad and slipped it away, he stretched and slowly stood up. He began to walk out of the cantina. His target destination was the Ducts; it had been a short while since he’d ventured through the somewhat vast network of tunnels that connected the Jerem Plaza to the Docks. Almost each time he’d ventured said tunnels he’d had confrontation with the homeless citizens of the port.
The Dark Jedi slowly proceeded into the network. He passed many barrel based bonfires that sat in the nooks of the tunnels. He was approached on multiple occasions, but each time he would shove the beggars away. Only on one occasion did one of them pull a knife on him, but the situation was quickly defused when Kanis drew and ignited his lightsaber spinning the hilt in a loose grip. The trip didn’t take far too long, and before Kanis knew it, he was standing before the Black Star. Maa’ka had taken up post next to the ship with her datapad, she seemed to be talking to someone.
“Rose, you’re sure that we’re running on a full tank.” she asked as she scrolled through multiple instances of information about the ship’s status.
“Yes, Captain. I have checked the fuel levels at least fifty times, though I will gladly check fifty more if you so request.” spoke a voice from her datapad.
Maa’ka sighed. “No, Rose, I think fifty times is enough thank you.”
Kanis stretched. “You sure we have enough fuel?” he taunted.
Maa’ka didn’t look up from her datapad, but she smiled, “Well, well… Look who decided to show up.” she said in return fire.
“So, are the rumors true… Is she ready to fly?” he asked sarcastically.
Maa’ka glanced up from her datapad. “Just about…” she said almost proudly.
After running her last few scans, Maa’ka nodded to Kanis, “She’s ready.” The Mandalorian then dropped the ship’s cargo loading ramp, and the two quietly proceeded up it and into the medium sized starship. The ramp slowly pulled up behind them, and a soft clank sounded as the ramp battened down to seal them in.
The lights in the ship’s cargo bay flickered to life, neatly stacked crates were pushed up against the walls and into corners. Kanis and Maa’ka slowly strode across the cargo bay and out the door into an almost narrow hallway which branched off into different rooms on their way to the front of the ship. “Wow!” Kanis exclaimed, “You’ve really fixed this place up, well not that it really needed any fixing to begin with.”
“Yes, I had cleaned this place up just a little… It was starting to bother me.” she admitted.
“How good is your Hyperdrive?” Kanis asked after a moment’s pause.
“Hopefully good enough to get us there before the Cargo Freighter leaves….” she said, pausing in front of a sealed Bulkhead. She looked up. “Uhm Rose… Care to let us in?” she asked.
“My apologies Captain.” a female’s voice said in an apologetic tone. Not too soon after that, the bulkhead slid open and the pair proceeded down yet another narrow hallway and up a set of stairs. Soon enough they were in the ship’s cockpit.
“It’s been a while since I have seen the inside of the Star.” Kanis admitted as he looked around the room, he slowly walked passed Maa’ka and took his seat in the Co-pilot’s chair. Maa’ka soon took her seat in the Pilot’s chair and began messing with the flight controls before her. “Alright Rose, fire up the main engines.” she commanded.
“Igniting afterburners by your command Captain.” Rose stated.
The ship rattled slightly as the afterburners came to life, a hot blue flame flickered and the ship slowly began to rise up blowing asteroid dust off of the shelf, Maa’ka slowly rotated the ship. The Black Star’s nose was now pointed to the mouth of the Kas Tunnel. “Fingers crossed everybody, let’s hope we make it through.” she said with a determined smile.
Kanis folded his arms across his chest. “It’s like a death sentence when you want to enter the shadow port.” he said shrugging.
“But being the wonderful Pilot I am-” Maa’ka stated, before being cut off by Kanis.
“There goes that ego again.” he teased.
“Hush… Entering Kas Tunnel.” She announced.
The ride from there was quiet, gut wrenching almost. The winding tunnels were filled with the wreckages of ships, some seemed more fresh than others. After a successful navigation, the Star pulled out of the Kas Tunnel. The vast frontier unfolded before them, stars burned against the blackness of the void which they inhabited. “Setting course for Eldar.” Maa’ka stated, “Sit back, it will be a good minute before we get to our target location.
Eldar, Just outside the mining Facility.
The star slowly lowered to Eldar’s surface, the afterburners lightly scorching the grass. The mining Facility was less than a mile away, and to make things better, the Lindrin had just landed. Kanis got up from the Co-Pilot’s seat and stretched, “Alright, we have one shot at this, let’s try not to fuck it up.” he stated almost matter-of-factly.
“Tch!” Maa’ka exclaimed as she made her way to the makeshift armory in the cargo bay, it was there that she retrieved her Mk. 382 Barracuda, a custom, high-focused blaster rifle. She rummaged around some more and pulled out a flechette launcher; Kanis began checking his gear. It had been a good little while since he’d had to properly prepare himself, seeing as this was his first mission since the ending of the last phase of the Dark Crusade.
“Ready to roll.” Maa’ka said turning to the Dark Jedi.
Kanis nodded as he clipped his lightsaber hilt back onto his belt, the Mandalorian slowly proceeded over to the door controls and keyed the release, Light filled the cargo bay as the door slowly lowered turning into a ramp. The sunlight was near blinding, Kanis shielded his eyes placing his forearm just above his eyes. Maa’ka squinted and slowly dropped her helmet over her head, at first there was only blackness, but like a terminal screen the image of what lay before her came in slowly. Her HUD flickered to life and she turned to Kanis. “Let’s try to be out of here within an hour, anything longer and it may seem suspicious…” she muttered before slowly proceeding down the ramp.
Kanis sighed and donned his hood, the black material drew the sun away from his eyes, as he proceeded down the ramp and across the grassy plain, Maa’ka fell in behind him giving the motif of an escort. Within minutes, both the Lindrin and the Mining Facility were in view. The duo stopped as a figure appeared from around a storage container, he leaned up against it and began fishing around in his pocket. Kanis stared long and hard for a moment, but he was too far away to make anything of him. “Maa’ka, scope him out… What do you see?” he asked.
The Mando drew her sniper and gently rested the cheek of her helmet on the cheek pad of the rifle, she stared down range for a good moment before she began barking details.
“Looks to be thirty years of age… White… pretty sure he has a light tan, Brown hair, green eyes…looks like he’s got a thick black line tattooed horizontally across his face from the bottom of his ear lobes and across the bridge of his nose…” Kanis had heard enough by this point.
“Talvish…” he hissed.
“I’ve got a clear shot…” Maa’ka announced.
“No… He’s mine.” Kanis muttered, he then broke away from the Mandalorian.
Talvish slowly pulled out a small pack of cigarettes, he then fished around for his lighter. He slowly looked up as a shadow was cast upon him, that’s when he spotted the slim, armor clad figure standing before him.
“Talvish Kintro?” Kanis asked.
“Depends on who’s asking…” he replied, still fishing for his lighter.
“A friend…” Kanis muttered, trying to play it cool.
Talvish began laughing, “Funny kid… I don’t have any friends… Try again…”
The right corner of Kanis’ mouth turned up as a smug grin crossed his face, “Alright… The Jedi Order sent me…” he admitted, but Talvish didn’t seem to be buying any of it.
“Look kid, we could be going back and forth all day, or you could just get to the point.” He said, having given up on finding his lighter.
Maa’ka continued to watch the events through the scope of her Barracuda. Her finger would often grace the trigger; however, she would always return it to the outside of the trigger guard.
Kanis swiftly unsheathed the Fang, he drove it towards Talvish’s stomach, the male spun away from the attack and quickly drew his lightsaber. The Obelisk cursed, “Let’s do this Talvish, for today you die by my hand!” Kanis shouted.
Talvish laughed, “Me… die by your hand? Kid I’m going to feel sorry for killing you, reason being you are the only person that has been able to make me laugh this hard in a very long time…”
Kanis drew his lightsaber and spun the hilt as he activated his saber, Talvish and Kanis leapt at each other at around the same time, a loud crack sounded as the two blades collided. The Templar hissed, “Just lay down and die! It’ll be less painful that way.”
“What ever you say, kid.” Talvish quickly dropped his left hand down and sent a blast of force energy at Kanis’ mid-section, the blast threw Kanis back giving his opponent some breathing room.
The two began to circle each other like wild beasts, Kanis spun his saber as he locked his eyes on Kintro.
The Templar charged at Kintro and slashed his saber down at the man’s left shoulder, naturally Kintro slashed his saber to intercept; however Kanis thrust his left palm out and sent a blast of force energy that knocked Kintro’s hand back. The human used the momentum of the force energy to throw himself into a spin dodging the azure blade belonging to the Obelisk. Kanis cursed himself for almost throwing the mission by leaving lightsaber burns on his opponent, he threw himself into a defensive stance and spat at the ground as he looked at Talvish.
“I may have underestimated your talent child, but now it’s time we end this little game.” he said as he reinforced his hold on his hilt.
Kanis spun the fang in his left hand, he sighed and ran multiple scenarios through his head, but he didn’t have enough time, Kintro launched at him like a rocket. Loud cracks and zaps sounded each time their blades met, Kanis dropped his right arm and bent his knees and spun around as Talvish lunged again, to the human’s surprise the Templar threw his back into his chest reaching around with his left arm he placed the fang to Kintro’s back and pulled it swiftly, cutting through both synthweave and skin. Kintro howled in pain and Kanis used the opening he was granted, deactivated his lightsaber clipping it back to his belt and punched his opponent in the throat. Blood squirted from just above Kintro’s kidney’s as he gasped for air. “Yes… Let us end this…” Kanis said as he dodged his opponent’s frantic swipes, during the last swipe Kanis stabbed the fang into the pressure point atop his opponents hand causing him to release his lightsaber, the now deactivated hilt dropped to the ground and Kanis ripped the blade from within Talvish’s hand. He smirked and thrust his palm out impacting Kintro’s chest, as he did so a small spark of force energy emitted from his hand traveling on a direct circuit to Kintro’s heart, which stopped beating soon after. Kanis wasted not a moment, he began the slow and tedious process of skinning his target, making sure to leave all the skin and hair on his target’s head after the painstaking process. Kanis cut off Talvish’s head with his knife and bagged it.
Antei Contract Bureau, Main office.
1800 hours
38 ABY
Kanis slowly proceeded into the main office as a rancid stench followed. This of course began turning heads, the look that the Dark Jedi wore was one of triumph, he held his head high as he approached Sight.
The Pontifex stared at Kanis then at the bag, “What is that stench?” he asked.
“That would be Talvish.” Kanis replied coolly, “Which leads me to my next question… Who do I give this to?” he asked pulling Kintro’s head out of the bag by it’s hair. The stench intensified.
Sight sighed, “I’ll take it from here.”
Kanis nodded and put the head back in the bag tying it off, he then passed it to the Krath Pontifex.
The Obelisk turned around and quietly left the room after the hand-off, he then smiled as he disappeared around a corner, his work was done.
