"What are you getting ready for?" Kiana asked, her arms folded. She was standing between Locke and the door to his office in Kel Rasha. It wasn't even as if he were about to leave, he still had to make sure he had everything.

"A mission," he said. "You can come." As if she would give him a choice. Kiana was hellbent on not letting him out of her sight, especially after she had learned that he had flown a TIE Bomber at San Korinar. Locke was still trying to figure out how Kiana learned that particular detail.

"To where?" she asked. He could sense a slight bit of mirth in their sibling bond - apparently, she also knew that he wouldn't be able to stop her if he had wanted to.

"The Clan needs guns, so I'm going to go...procure some."

Kiana's mouth twisted in distaste. "You mean steal them."

Locke paused for a second, but he was well past trying to sugar coat the Clan's activities for his sister. She had her beliefs about what was right and wrong, and they had theirs. That wasn't going to change. In reality, he somewhat disagreed with this mission, but the Clan did need the equipment to outfit the Warhost. It seemed in their recent campaigns logistics had been given something of a back seat. "Yeah, pretty much," he said finally.

"Where is it?" she continued. Was that irritation he sensed? Kiana was quite good at hiding her emotions. He still had no sense of what had really happened to her at the hands of the One Sith.

"Coruscant."

"Well, there's no way this could go wrong. Lightsabers and Force powers on the same world as the Jedi Council. At least there's billions of beings to lessen the chance they'll recognize me before they sense you channeling the dark side."

"I won't be using the dark side," Locke said," or my lightsaber, and you shouldn't either."

Kiana's voice lost all emotion for a moment as she replied. "I don't have one, remember? The One Sith have it."

"It's just a tool, I can procure an armory saber." He regretted the words almost before they were out of his mouth. He tried to make his voice softer. "I'm sorry, I know how you feel." Please don't give me another lecture on 'a Jedi's lightsaber is his life.' he thought.

"I can be of use without a 'saber anyway," Kiana said. She flashed a smile at him, but it wasn't one of her usual warm ones. This was just teeth. He caught the glint of a blade in her hand and then it disappeared."

"Surely the pure Jedi Knight would not sully her hands with blood," he intoned, trying not to sound surprised. When had she begun carrying those? Now I have to worry about that too

Suddenly he heard Amelia's voice, though she was not visible. "Don't be silly, she loves you as only a sibling can. Kiana won't try to hurt you."

"Perhaps not," he mumbled. But what happens when she discovers just how far I would go to support the Clan?

"What was that?" Kiana asked.

"Nothing," Locke said. "We should go."

Kiana frowned, but said nothing.

---

Shuttle
Coruscant System
Five Minutes Before Touch Down

"Stop doing that," Locke said, piloting the shuttle toward one of Coruscant's many starports. Behind him, Kiana was tossing a data chip up and down in her hand.

She ignored his command, of course. "So this will reroute standard shipment routines to an area near Orian, so your allies can ambush them and take their stuff? I'm mentally adding 'piracy' to the list of things to let mom know you've been up to when we see her again."

"Whatever," Locke muttered, crushing the ball of ice that had arisen in his stomach. Kiana occasionally mentioned their mother, but Locke wasn't looking forward to meeting her again. He wanted to see his mother, but he didn't want her to know what he had become.

"Yes, that's what the datachip does. I'm going to sneak in. According to my contacts, all I have to do is find their central data terminal and put it in the drive." At least, that's what Methyas had said, and Locke trusted the old man and whatever SHADOW remnants he commanded.

"I'll let you down near their facility. Whose is it?"

For a moment, Locke was a little shocked. Kiana was going to let him go in on his own, after her usual insistence to accompany him? "Blastech," he said, recovering.

"Oh," Kiana said.

That's right, sister, Locke thought. There really is no way to justify this in any lawful kind of way. It's theft, it's piracy. Still, the Clan did need the resources.

She dropped him off at a civilian landing pad some distance from the facility. Locke wasted no time slipping through the city until he found the alley he wanted. It was a dead end, but above that was a ventilation duct some distance up. It was probably too high for most people to reach, but Locke wasn't most people. He summoned the Force, thinking that small usage such as this shouldn't alert the Jedi, and leaped to the grate, ducking inside it's slowly moving fan blades.

"I'm in," he whispered, pulling his comlink headset up to his ear. "Heading for central databank."

Locke tried to be quiet, managing to pass by multiple guards. His cloaking ability made it easy, but after awhile, the Krath heard the distinct whine of a stun blaster charging up behind him.

"Turn around," a female voice said with an air of command.

Putting his hands over his head, Locke slowly turned, regarding the being before him. She was a human woman, with short, dark hair, and a long, green-trimmed longcoat of some sort. Locke could see at least one sheathed knife-like weapon at her waist, as well as a few thermal detonators.

"Bounty hunter?" he asked.

"I'll ask the questions," she said. "Why are you here? Give me the truth; you're obviously not a tourist."

"Right," Locke said. He hadn't really thought of a cover story. The Krath had never assumed he might be caught. His mind raced as the thought of what to say. "I'm exploring...I'm a hunter myself, thought I could find some useful weapons here."

The Bakuran flinched as a knife stuck itself in the floor at his feet in the blink of an eye. The woman already had the blaster steady again. Who was she, that she could move so quickly that one such as Locke wouldn't be able to anticipate it? Did she use the Force?

"Speak truth or the next is through your heart, Sadowan scum." The emphasis on the word 'Sadowan' was the only part that changed in her icy voice.

Locke froze. How did she know? Still, he wouldn't release everything. "I'm on a mission to procure weapons for...the people I work for. Who you apparently know of. Who are you?"

She ignored his question. "You have a data chip. You're intending to use it to change the directives in the BlasTech mainframe. Your goal is to provide your Warhost with weapons."

Tensing, Locke's mind raced. How much did she know? Who did she work for? What in the bloody nine hells of Corellia was she doing on Coruscant with that knowledge?

"Yes," he said.

She nodded. "Marc said you weren't brainless. Since you will likely run, fight, and die if I simply make my demands, I will tell you something. I work for Hazard. Our mission is simple: to ensure the Orian System's safety from the likes of the Dark Jedi who follow in Naga Sadow's footsteps. You most of all should be aware of what chaos your presence has caused in the system."

Hazard...Marc….yes, Locke knew that name. Marc was an agent who had caught up with him the last time the Clan had visited Nar Shadaa and charged Locke with ensuring the mission didn't go haywire. His story had been similar.

"Hazard?" Locke asked. "What a strange name."

"It emphasizes the situations we face. High Active Zone, Aggressive Recon Division."

"Division of what?" Locke asked.

"We were members of Shadow," the woman said," but now we operate on our own."

"Shadow...so that's how you knew about this." Did Methyas' people have a leak? He would have to ask when he got back.

"Perhaps, I'm sure you'll question your sources when you get back. That doesn't matter. What does matter is that you let me finish this mission and return to your Clan and report your success. Don't worry, you will still get your supplies, but some will go directly to the civilian police forces of the Assembly."

Locke nodded slowly, but he didn't like this plan at all. How could he trust them? But then again, Marc had not done anything to show he was not honest about his intent.

"We already manage the Assembly's police forces," he said. At least, as far as Locke knew that was being handled. He had not been privy to the specifics in some time.

"Not as we do," she said. "We will ensure they have the means to keep their system secure when their secret overlords are too preoccupied with their own quests for power to take care of them."

"I see," Locke said. "But why even tell me this, then? Why not just kill me?"

"Because there are those that see something in you. You were Consul when catastrophic disaster after disaster wreaked chaos on the Orian System, but you do not seem to crave power as the others do, and we are not fools, so we believe you may care more about the people who live under your rule than it seemed."

Locke chose his words carefully. This was straying far from being about supplying weapons, but still, he had no choice but to have this conversation. It might be useful as well. The Orian System's stability was always important, and probably something Malik would care about beyond just procuring weapons, but how could he tell the Consul about this alteration?

It was difficult to let his feelings surface, but once he did, the words came out quickly. Locke knew he spoke honestly, despite having to pull each word from the depths of his heart. "It's true. I wanted to be a good leader, to serve those who were my responsibility, but...a Clan of Dark Jedi is no easy group to manage. I don't like things that sound like excuses, and I do feel responsible, but what can I do now besides support those who followed my rule? I never wanted power before, but Macron could not be allowed to stay in his position as Consul, the chaos that would have followed…" would not have been as bad as what happened when I became Consul.

There it was. He had always wondered, what would have happened if he had not betrayed Macron. Would things have gone any better? No, Macron was a warmonger, he would have never brokered the uneasy peace with Scholae Palatinae that had allowed the Clan to rebuild with relative ease after the Orian Incursion. The following Crusade was outside their control, Macron would have taken the entire army, and likely thrown all of their exhausted forces into a campaign to reconquer the system immediately upon their return. It would have been a worse disaster, rather than rebuilding from the safety of shadow, the Clan would have been weakened so far that any of their rivals could have obliterated them.

The woman spoke again, thoughtfully. "You did what you could with your resources at the time, yet there is still so much blood on your hands. If you want to atone for it so badly, work with us. We can help you, and you can help us. We have the same goal. For the people of the Orian System."

"For the people…" Locke agreed. "Very well, what would you have me do?"
The woman smiled slightly. "Let me finish your mission and report your success to your superiors. You will still receive your weapon shipments, and a relatively small amount will be diverted to the Assemby's civilian authorities."

Authorities...that reminded Locke. "But the Proconsul appointed Dark Jedi to establish that force. Won't you be putting weapons back in their hands?"

"They don't know about everything that goes on there," the woman said. "We have contacts who, well, I'll tell you more as our relations deepen. For now, this meeting is at an end. Until we meet again, Locke Sonjie."

He turned as if to leave, but stopped. "I didn't get your name."

"I didn't give it, but you may call me Lily for now."

"Right, Lily, you don't remind me of the plant at all, even with the green trim."

Lily didn't even blush a bit. Locke doubted that was her real name. She just gestured with her blaster. "Get out of here before I decide to shoot you anyway."

Locke nodded and made himself scarce, his mind in turmoil. What could he do? He wanted to laugh at the possibilities. His mission would be a success, he had prospective allies his superiors didn't know about. He might actually have help in redeeming himself one day!

When he was back onboard with Kiana, Locke was a lot more positive about the future than he had been in a long time...despite the political quagmire if intrigue he had just landed in the middle of.

Fin

With the city of Seng Karash on Aeotheran finally under The Orian Assembly’s control and the Orian Authority in place to keep the peace, we are looking to regroup and resupply our near depleted supplies. To this end, the Orian Assembly had tasked me with making use of my contacts within Merr-Sonn to acquire new munitions. I saw this as a decent idea as, I company that I am currently the CEO of, is the main security company for many of the upper levels of Umbaran society.
After delivering OP Roxas to the medical facility that was set up in Seng Karash, the Assembly informed me of my mission and that it would be prudent to leave immediately, before anymore skirmishes started with our already low supplies. Not wanting to incur the ire of the Assembly, I left on the first transport up to the “Covenant” where I got myself cleaned up and made arrangements to meet with my supplier at their closest manufacturing facilities. Donning my formal attire, complete with my DD6 blaster pistol and my Fire Whip, I acquired the first readily available ship that would suit my needs for this mission.
Making a fairly smooth landing at the manufacturing plant, I was greeted by my suppliers aide, Criax Strax, who escorted me to Garala Horain’s office. Enroute to her office, I subtly influenced the aide to lead me through several of the delivery staging areas before he took me to his bosses office. Entering into the outer office, the aide moved to his desk before checking his console, I saw him press a button underneath his side of the desk, presumably to announce to her that there was someone out here to see her. About a minute later, while Criax was looking over a couple of datapads, I heard a click at the doors to Garala’s office, Criax moved over to the doors, and opened them motioning for me to enter. Nodding to him as I pass, I cross the office, stopping in front of her desk. Looking back behind me at the closed doors, I ask Garala, “Another new one?”, turning back to look at her skeptically. She waved my comment away, and gestures for me to sit.
“Rosh, was caught talking to my competitors, he had to go. Loyal aides are hard to come by.” Garala stated as she sat down in her oversized plush chair.
Smirking and holding my hands out to the in front of me in a giving gesture, I say, “If you would just take me up on my offer to send you someone from my company, you wouldn’t have any loyalty issues.”
“Bah, whose loyalty would that person have? Mine? Yours?” She scoffed at me smiling. “You just want someone on my staff that can give you some inside leverage. I know you corporate types, always looking for an edge.” I feign ignorance to what she says, but smile because it is partially true. “Now, lets get down to what you are needing? Your message said something about needing supplies for a different company?” She said while looking at her datapad, then looking up at me quizzically.
“Yes, the Orian Authority. A newly formed law enforcement agency in the Orian System. I have been contracted to get a munitions and armor supply line set up for this new force. As of right now, the order that we are looking at is fairly small for this new agency, but I and they are certain that those numbers will increase as time goes.”
“I see.” Garala says with a frown forming. “I know who controls this Orian Authority.” She pauses, looking me over with far more scrutiny than I like. “Are you of those that control this Authority?” She asks, I don’t see her hands, no doubt that they are on a panic button under her desk.
“Me? A Sith? No, no, I’m just the head of the company that they’ve used dealt with before and knew that I could help them get what they want. Plus they are paying me handsomely for this.” I reply calmly so I don’t reveal anything to her of who I truly am, let her think that I’m just the middleman on this. I met her scrutinous gaze evenly, forcing the urge to us the Force to influence her that I’m not who she thinks I am. Even going so far as to suppress my Force presence just in case.
“You know, I would normally push this further, but I’ve been dealing with you for a while, and you shown nothing that would make me question you now.” Her hands come back up from under the table and grab her datapad to take notes or receive a file. “What supplies are they needing?”
“Anti-Riot Tangle Gun’s, Merr-Sonn Stun Batons, KZZ Riot Armor, G-20 Glop Grenades, and SG-4 Blaster Rifles. 200 each for starters, except the Glop Grenades, they are wanting 400.” I recited from memory. With each product name she was making notations on her datapad with a straight face, but when I told her the numbers, her eyebrows raised in shock disbelief.
“That’s a lot for a police force? And you said this was just the first shipment?” I nodded yes. Wow, I saw her mouth. “How are we setting up payment and delivery?”
“They’ve assured me that the funds would be transferred to one of my companies accounts that I’ve set up specifically for this on Umbara. As for the delivery of the equipment, we are having it shipped to my companies training grounds and they will send someone to pick it up.” She made a few more notes on her datapad before setting it down.
“Done, now that we’ve got that done. Is there anything else that you need. I was informed that you made your way through some of our staging areas before coming here. That’s not the way that Criax was supposed to take you. Anything you would like to tell me?”
Not missing a beat after she finished, and before her hand made it under that desk to her panic button. “Nah, you know us Umbarans, we’re able to influence those around us, though sadly it’s never worked with you. I was just curious about your operations here, nothing more.” I said giving her a small smile.
“Good, if there is nothing else, Criax will show you back to you ship.” At that moment, the doors to her office opened and Criax was standing there waiting to escort me to my transport. Thanking Garala, we left her office and made the normal way back to my ship in silence. At my ship, Criax said his little company pitch to leaving customers, said his farewells as I walked up the ramp. Once the ramp was closed, we took off, and just before we entered hyperspace back to the Covenant, I sent the Assembly a short message. It is done.

Mandeo meditated as he felt his ship coming close to the landing yard of BlasTech, He stood up and went over to his droid. " Prepare for the jump to hyperspace in 5 hours. " , Mandeo lifted his hood and stepped down on the platform. Their stood 2 guards who were dressed in elegant armor but with what, Master Sadow has taught him he'd get through it easily. “I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse", that was his motto.

"Hello I assume your here to negotiate with my boss" Mandeo shook his head in agreement as the guard led him to the entrance.

"Is their anything specific I should know about your boss" Mandeo spoke with a cold tone that brought a cold presence to his already mysterious demeanor, wouldn't they expect this from a Dark Jedi of his caliber.

Mandeo proceeded into the facility and instantly felt the Force presence in the facility. A man by the name of Zole stood their a air of importance surrounded this individual. He looked Mandeo over and sneered. "Hello Mandeo I presume you are hear to carry out the deal" Mandeo nodded
and the guard led them to the room of the boss.

The guards opened the door and Mandeo walked into the room, a man in his early 40s sat down and was looking over papers, Mandeo sat down as the guards stood in the corner. "Welcome Master Pyxis.....Shall we begin the dealings" Mandeo shook his head in agreement and than looked around.

"We need a new group for major arms and come to BlasTech because we believe you have excellent equipment " Mandeo opened his comlink and whispered a few words, a document appeared.
"I see you came prepared Dark Jedi so all I am asking of your clan is 10,000,000 credits as it well cover up some other things" Mandeo's face contorted and he stood up quickly, The guards pointed their guns his way and the Force user became attentive.

"No...let's say 50,000 credits " Mandeo reached into his robes and would prepare for battle as he came ready.

"No now you will either accept my deal or live or you will accept my other death!" He grinned like a madman than spun around looking outside. Mandeo lifted his hand and brought each one down slowly as the door closed and the shades were closed. He lifted his head in acknowledgement as the guards lifted their guns.
"You'd all be wise not to shoot" Mandeo moved like a blur, he jumped toward the Force user, who brought out a blade. Mandeo laughed mockingly and knocked it away with his left foot, he used his right fist to punch the man straight in the throat, losing his breath for a moment. Mandeo took out his blade burying it in the man's chest.

Without a second thought he reached into his robe and ignited his lightsaber spinning around while barely dodging the blasts from the guards pistol. He pulled his hand back and pushed forward as a wall of power pushed the guards into the wall. A larger one recovered and Mandeo put away his lightsaber and began battling him hand to hand. The guard took a swing to Mandeo's face and Mandeo spun in a circle burying his elbow into the guards back.

He pulled out his 10 inch blade and buried it into the back of the guard killing him. A groan escaped the guard who dropped to the ground as his comrades got up. Mandeo moved forward with his blade and got the jump on the dazed guards, he sliced the first one across the chest and did the same for the other 2. "He---y don't you do that" The boss was cowering in fear and hiding in his private corner.

"Now how about zero credits and we simply sign this deal forget all of this happened agreed?" Mandeo walked over with darkness covering his face. The boss nodded in agreement and went over to transfer the data to Mandeo's device. "Wise you are and let's keep this arrangement between us 'kay.....K3-54 prepare the ship for takeoff and the jump into hyperspace" He spoke loudly into his comlink.

He smiled as the deal finalized and the information would be forwarded to his Master and clan. My first mission to prove myself was somewhat of a success. He walked out of the facility and boarded his ship heading back home.