Open A Call With A New Pal

[Drow Venn]

The Sphyrna class corvette Chainbreaker floated dutifully over Yavin IV, yet another entry in the long list of security upgrades that Jedi Master Drow Venn had secured for the Order's main temple. Although not running with a maximum crew, the Pamarthen pilots and Temple Security Force guards that had been pulled to this duty were doing a fine job keeping it running in ship-shape form, which was exactly what Drow wanted to see since he'd come here to inspect the crew's readiness. He nodded politely to two familiar Gammorrean guards as he made his way to the cockpit.

But while he was here, he also figured he'd make use of the craft's long range communication equipment to send a message to a new drinking buddy he'd found during the celebrations on Byblos. Hopefully, this man would become more than a drinking buddy as Drow had big plans for the two of them and sincerely hoped the man would be along for the ride. He input in Zad's communications information and sat back in the unoccupied pilot's seat and waited. With the ship in orbit and no attackers nearby, there was no need for constant manning of the helm and Drow was content to clear the bridge to speak freely with this Sector Ranger. Wherever a certain Zad Rused was in the galaxy, he'd be hearing a ping on his nearest communication device.

"Zad? It's Drow. I hope you finally managed to get over that hangover. I was hoping to bend your ear about a proposition if you have the time." Drow would ask when the man picked up.

@Die Shize

 

[Zad Ruzed]

Spoiler: Music OOC

The Iron Justice was adrift between the stars, floating upon nothing without a string to tether the ship from one edge of the universe to the other. What does any of it even mean? Zad Ruzed pondered as he strolled into the cockpit, shirtless and with a beer in hand.

His contemporaries would warn him about bringing food and drink into the very place that piloted his very ship and controlled its systems but, then again, you would have to be an idiot to spill food and drink in such a place, right?

A swig from the can and the Ranger collected his thoughts. They were in a tumble and a jumble. Dead people, destroyed things, death and destruction, and all around them he could hear the waves of a sea like the edge of the universe was just one giant ocean yearning for him to take a swim. Swim, Zad…

Another swig. Then a ping. The Ranger blinked himself out of a daze as he opened up the comlink on his console. Whoever it was knew his name and “Drow” was a name that Zad smiled at. It was his old drinking buddy, the Ishi Tib, the Jedi Master, Drow Venn.

“Good to hear from you, partner,” Zad answered a moment after. “Eh, I slept it off. Looking out for Byblos had its perks of setting my own schedule. Anyway, I’m all ears.” Another swig. “What do you got for me, Mister Venn?” Cleared his throat. “Master Venn?”

@Fantasy Liver

 

[Drow Venn]

"Just Drow's good with me." the Ishi Tib said, chuckling, still unable to believe himself that he attained the rank of Master. "I take it you're still interested in putting the hurting on some Sith and Syndicate scum?"

"Obviously this stays between us but I've come into possession of something that could be helpful." Drow said, withdrawing the Sith lightsaber that he'd won on Sullust, trusting the Sector Ranger not to say anything, regardless if he went with the plan or not.

"As you can see from the red blade, this is a Sith lightsaber. I won't go into the details of how I acquired it but I think it can serve both of the factions we serve."

"I know of a Five Syndicates slave freighter that will be disembarking from the Sullust moon soon and I want to stop them. I'm proposing we team up to stop them. I'll be using this red saber and black clothes to attack them. This will make the survivors talk and tell others in the Syndicates that a Sith attacked them, making the two factions distrust each other. I think repeating this across other Syndicate operations could do a lot of good in the galaxy by turning these two enemies against each other. Plus, you get a whole bunch of slavers to bring to justice and advance your career with What do you think?"

@Die Shize

 

[Zad Ruzed]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Zad realized he could not be seen (for the best, given lack of shirt) but nodded toward the com all the same. “Always ready,” the Ranger relayed. Sith scum, Syndicate scum—any kind of scum was Zad’s kind of scum. They belonged behind barriers and he would put them there. Or in the ground if they don’t go quietly.

As Drow opted for visuals, Zad thought better than to return the favor but glued his gaze to his partner’s transmission all the same. Sith lightsaber. No shit. He sucked breath between his teeth, tried to defy the moment, but here it was then and there, and this was one opportunity that the Ranger would not miss. By the stars...is this the Force at work?

Zad steadied himself as he reached beside the console, even more glad that he was not exchanging holoimages of himself in that very moment, for in that very moment his free fingers curled around a silver hilt and dared to ignite it. He did not.

“I think I’m less interested in advancing my career, partner…” Zad squinted between both hilts, knowing the color that one produced while never having dared to witness the other. Not yet. “I’m a simple Ranger, always have been, and don’t much care for promotions.”

With that, he set the hilt aside and sat back in his chair with his can of beer. “But I do care about promoting distrust between our enemies. My hiccup here is...where do I fit in? I’m just a Ranger like I said. I got black clothes but no lightsaber.” He glanced toward the thing he had just tucked away.

“For that matter, what’s your plan? ‘Attack them’? You’re a Jedi, Drow—A Master Jedi. What kind of attack are you considering?”

@Fantasy Liver

 

[Drow Venn]

Drow was pleased. The hard part, he'd figured, was actually convincing Zad to go along with this idea. He knew of even some Jedi that would be hesitant to take part or endorse this scheme and it was good to have an ally. He turned off the saber and tucked it away as he replied to the Ranger.

"Here's the beauty part. I helped liberate Sullust and from what I remember, there's quite a few Sith troopers down there who don't really have need of their armor since the Sullustans captured them. You're a blaster wielder I take it? We borrow some armor for you to act as a Sith trooper acting as my bodyguard."

"I'm thinking that we attack the ship as it's docking for refueling on the moon of Sullust. They're going to be caught unawares and I'm thinking a Jedi and a Sector Ranger with the element of surprise and fear on our side should be able to make quick work of the slaver crew. I've dealt with more than my fair share of slavers; they're cowards for the most part. They tend to run with a small security crew but use intimidation and shock collars to keep order."

"I'll leave you any of the slaver crew, their weapons, and their ship to you to do with as you please. The only thing I ask is that I get to strip the ship's armaments and shield generator for my own purposes." Drow said, keeping his reasoning for wanting those items to himself for now. He trusted Zad but if he were to tell him that he wanted to use them to upgrade the security on Yavin IV, he'd also have to tell him the existence of the Temple. And he'd already gotten in enough trouble with the Council for that already.

@Die Shize

 

[Zad Ruzed]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Zad ran a finger back and forth along his chin as he listened to Drow’s plan. It did strike the Ranger odd that a Ranger had been chosen for this particular operation and not a fellow Jedi. After all, said Jedi had much more skill with the Force, more skill with a lightsaber and had a lightsaber. You too, Zad, just...no you don’t.

When all was said and done, Sith Trooper fit the bill better than nothing. It was pretty clear that Drow was not willing to risk bringing in a fellow Jedi for this shady business, and that had been clear since the moment the Ranger and the Jedi had shared drinks and stories back in a bar on Byblos.

“I hate slavers… Dealt with my fair share of them.” Zad sighed over the two-way com channel. “But I love my gun. I even named it. The Proposition.” Instead of a lightsaber hilt it was the handle of a TM-357 pistol that was next introduced into the Ranger’s hand.
“Walk tall and carry a big gun. That’s my motto in life.” He kept the gun in one hand and his beer in the other, though Drow would see only the gun soon enough. Right now a shirtless Ranger was probably not the Jedi’s priority.

“Your own proposition is one I can get behind, partner. This is the kind of cooperation that both our factions need. Might be two ex-mercs taking on this one but all the better, I say. Even better when it comes to driving a wedge between Sith and Syndicate.”

Zad couldn’t help but take a drink to that one. “Only one question…” By the stars he hoped that his friend could answer it. It had been punishing the Ranger’s mind ever since it had been brought up.

“These Sith trooper uniforms… They’re not too tight, are they?” Zad shifted in his seat as though already suffernig, naked nipples and all. “I got a pair of pecs on me that don’t take well too well to constriction...”

@Fantasy Liver

 

[Drow Venn]

Drow tensed as Zad said that he had a question. There were so many ways this operation could go south that Zad could be asking about literally anything? Was he worried about possible collateral damage? Whether the Council had okayed this mission? Whether the two of them could successfully overcome a slaving ship without harming any of the slaves themselves?

Turned out, he needn't have worried because he was just asking about the uniform sizes. It actually caused Drow to laugh out loud for a good few seconds once Zad had relayed his concerns.

"Don't worry about that, my friend. The Sith like their troopers big and dumb. I'm sure we can find something to accomodate all those gains." Drow said jokingly.

"I'll send you some coordinates on Sullust where we can meet and gather up materials and information to launch our strike. Just remember, we'll need at least some of them alive by the end of this to spread the word to their Syndicate buddies that the Sith attacked them." Drow said before indeed transferring those coordinates over to Zad. This was no doubt going to be a dangerous undertaking but the Ishi Tib felt good about it. He waited to see if Zad had any more questions before he'd switch off his comm.

/ExitThread Attempt

@Die Shize