Coming to you live from the heart of a military training area is good old me, coming at you with a brand-spanking report on House Ajunta Pall. We're going to cover the usual shinies and going-ons about the House and Brotherhood, and I'm quickly going to do an #AsktheMerc segment. But before we jump into any of that, take a look at some report fiction. This is another piece in our renewal of the Clan Plagueis Run On. Please note: This post is currently a work in progress by myself and Jai’de. Our lovely new Rollmaster can attest I've been quite the nuisance, though in my defense I won't be available for the next three days. Check out the excerpt below:

The Pinnacle, Main Hangar 34 ABY

With a heavy bag nestled onto his back and his gear securely fastened to his body, Laren entered the massive hangar of the Pinnacle. Starfighters of various makes and sizes that survived the attack by the Order of Vader were being eagerly tended to by mechanical droids and their mostly enslaved, sentient counterparts. Until the Dread Lord was able to acquire his new fleet, it was imperative that what assets they had at their disposal be ready and available to meet any potential threat. Luckily, the possibility of that happening was negligible.

The Pantoran had acquisitioned a freighter for his upcoming mission to transport him to Corellia. Though he had had training as a pilot, he had always preferred to let someone else do the driving. A lonesome, rather rusted YT-1000 sat at the far left corner of the hangar, looking out of place and rather worse for wear - which suited his purposes. It was ramshackle to the point that an eager mechanical droid took a brief glimpse at the vehicle before throwing up its hands and skirting away in an eerily sentient frustration. Laren also saw one of the Plagueian pilots enter the craft and bash his head off the bulkhead. It was, it seemed, going to be an interesting ride.

As Laren neared the freighter, he came to a halt. Leaning among some cargo crates in front of the shabby vessel was a gorgeous Zeltron with an intricate lightsaber at her hip, and equally menacing daggers accompanying the more traditional weapon. The woman was clearly trying to hide among the large durasteel boxes, but she also clearly wanted to be found. She was dressed in a dark cloak, though it hung loosely behind her to expose her revealing garb: pieces of finely tailored leather generously embracing her enticing frame. Turquoise eyes reminiscent of a tropical ocean peered out from under equally exciting sapphire hair, searching the bounty hunter with a fierce intensity. If it wasn't for the lightsaber and his naturally suspicious nature, Laren would have found his eyes wandering. Instead, he found himself meeting the Zeltron’s stare head on in a rare show of defiance.

“Do you normally take to casually hiding among the cargo?”

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Promotions, Awards and Clusters

As we wait on Aftermath to be graded, the haul during this report will be small. But fear not! That means you Plagueians really took the time to focus on the event, and that is awesome. :)

• Furios Morega - 9 Clusters of Fire

And a special shout out goes to Knight Xolarin, the new Aedile for House Ajunta Pall! His unique fictional position as a Jedi on the cusp of falling to the Dark Side, as well as being a genuinely awesome lad in real life, made him an excellent choice for the position. Bravo!

Clan and Club Happenings

With our most recent Three-pronged event in final review for grading, it's time now to look outward again at the greater Brotherhood! There are competitions and events a plenty, and the chance to gain shinies at every turn. Just as important, there are also some major news updates in regards to certain systems our club uses. Below, I'm going to list some competition ideas for you lovely folks, and then follow that up with a list of important, and recent, reports.

Competition Highlights

• Cards Against Plagueis, by Arden Karn di Plagia - Speaks for itself, folks. Make him laugh!
• Don’t Panic!, by Knight Xolarin - A unique fiction competition you will not want to miss. Compete among the entire Brotherhood!
• [Flash Game] The Last Duel, by Major Ranarr Kul - Can you defeat Darth Vader in a duel? Give it a shot!

Reports of Note

• Herald Report #18: Path (Forward)
• Clan Plagueis Report: November 2016
• Regent Report: Possessions Open Beta
• Fist Report #2
• Headmaster's Report #6: “I've been doing this for six months?!” Edition

Ask the Merc

You asked, using #AsktheMerc. And I obliged with an answer.

• Xolarin asks: #askthemerc do you have your own core values/morals, and have you ever broken or bent them to get a job done?

The beauty of Laren as a character is that he's malleable. Rather than his past a slave turning him into a vigilante-type antihero, he simply went through a phase of, “Well this galaxy sucks. Might as well do what you got to do to survive.” And it also helps that he gets a bit of a thrill from hunting people, though not directly from killing them.

In essence, his morals and values are this: if you're good at killing people, do it to make sure you aren't killed, and do it to make yourself comfortable (through money, which is not his primary concern).

• Silent asks: #AsktheMerc sex bots do you have one now thanks to the possession system? If not what are your views for the gender equality bots in the service industry?

Not enough money for droids, sadly. Well no that's not true. Just not a droid fan overall. In fact, Laren's opinion of droids is, shall we say, one of slight disdain. They're tools, for whatever purpose and nothing more.

• Blair Augusta Dearg asks: #AsktheMerc If Laren hadn't become a merc what would he be?

Probably dead. Or destitute. Shaking off that slavery train.

• James Roberts-Brannigan asks: #AsktheMerc Have you ever had to sleep with someone you maybe didnt want to, but for the greater cause of completing the mission?

I have to update my wiki, but I remember writing a story for a competition where Laren had to kill his ex-fiancée when he first entered service for the Clan. So yeah, he did. Savage.

• Furios asks: #AsktheMerc How can we trust that you're loyal to the Clan and won't betray us for money?

Money isn't Laren's primary driving force. He's more addicted to the job, the art of the chase, the thrill of battle or subterfuge. Money is the medium that allows him to excel as a mercenary, but he has taken challenging jobs for cheap rates simply to gone his skills or if he finds the situation interesting.

And let's face it, there is no shortage of interesting in the Ascendant Clan.

• Kul'tak asks: #AsktheMerc Does Laren like it when Teylas bats her eyes at him?

Conclusion

Well, it's a day early, but I hope you found this report enlightening and absolutely giftastic. I'm your Quaestor, Laren, and thanks for reading. God I am so tired. I'll leave you with my previous weeks summary: