Ask Nal Hutta Rancorous Deals

[Vex]

Vex's plans had a lot of moving pieces. And many of those pieces involved the Hutts. She had been working hard lately to forge a relationship with them as Nahri. Anyone who wanted to move their product through Hutt Space had to get their hands somewhat slimey, after all. But now it was time to work on that relationship as Vex. She sat in her office on Belsavis, waiting for a call to come in from Nor'baal the Hutt, leader of the Hutt Council.

She had a job for them. But the job was only one half of the reason for the call. She had just received word from Ranami that her gift for Nor'baal was already in place. With any luck, the gift plus the job would ensure a bountiful friendship. She knew many Sith were averse to working with the Hutts, and it made sense why. But a smart Sith used every resource available to them to get the advantage over their peers. And a smarter Sith knew the value of having the Hutts on your side.

She wore the latest iteration of her Sith gear, taking advantage of its cavernous hood to hide her face from the cameras as Darth Sidious once did when conducting his deals. But just in case, the relic she had made with Darth Andruil hung around her neck, disguising her features so that she did not look like Nahri Nalju. Once the Hutt picked up her call, their business could proceed. @Nor'baal

 

[Nor'baal Desilijic]

"Your grand enormity," a rough prod accompanied the words, as Nor'baal the Hutt was awoken from his slumber by his Majordomo "- the Sith female is waiting for you." Nor'baal squinted at his servant, entirely unsure what the diminutive creature was referring to. "Vix? Vrix? Something like that, one of those daft human names, Master."

"Vex!" he remembered incorrectly, suddenly making sense of what his minion was asking him to do. He remembered the nature of this meeting being quite mysterious, some up-and-coming Sith wanting to broker a deal with the Hutts, no less. He had no more information than that - but fortunately, the Hutt liked the mysterious.

Waving a pudgy hand, and sending his Majordomo off to start the call, a grand hologram of Nor'baal would appear before the Sith, as he brought himself up to his full, and not at all inconsiderable repose <Bu Beh nay katka doth du wiheaye dayan see mah yauma, whao la bakenu doptkee nei hee ahban.> he boomed out by way of a greeting before falling unnervingly silent, as he waited for her to reply.

 

[Vex]

Vex fell fully into her Sith persona as the call began. The dark side itself felt the shift in her and gathered to her like winds to a tightening funnel. Darkness crowded the edge of the hologram as she gave her reply. "I am not here on behalf of the Empire, Nor'baal Desilijic Tiure," Vex boomed. It wasn't strictly true. Her plans would fulfill an order given to her by the recently-departed Empress. "I am here with an agenda all my own. And I can promise you, the opportunity to work together is yours—not mine."

At that exact moment, a door to the Hutt's council chambers would open and a massive bull rancor—heavily sedated and in multiple chains—would be wheeled in for the Hutt crime boss to see. This was the very same bull rancor she had encountered on Rakata Prime. After securing the world, she had needed to dispose of the pestilent rancor herd outside her temple. But killing them would have been a waste when there were other, more productive ways they could serve her.

"There are more outside. One for each member of your council. But the only bull among them is for you alone," she continued explaining. She let the spectacle hang in the air for a long moment before she spoke again. "Consider them a gift. And a reminder that I have decidedly not fallen on hard times. My resources are more vast than you could imagine." An exaggeration, but he would not know it. "Assuming you are content with your gift, I will get straight to business."

"I requested this audience to offer you a job," Vex said after only a mere moment of waiting for a response. Her hologram faded and was instead replaced by a single Mon Cala face. "Before you is Yos Kardo, a brilliant but often overlooked architect on Mon Cala. I require him. You will be paid for capturing him alive and bringing him to me. I will also pay you for your silence."

There would be questions, and the Hutts were notorious for haggling over prices, but Vex kept the steel in her voice. No one who showed weakness ever lasted through a meeting with the Hutts. And she, for one, did not intend to have the wool pulled over her eyes. @Nor'baal

 

[Nor'baal Desilijic]

A rancor! Nor'baal had not seen one of those in quite a considerable amount of time. It would make quite a fine addition to his collection. "His serene magnificence thanks you for this offering." the Hutts Majordomo interjected, his master not having a word in Huttese to express thanks in any form. Nor'baal sneered slightly at the suggestion that working with the Sith was an opportunity - the foolish Female clearly had no idea what she was talking about, the illustrious Nor'baal saw an opportunity in everything, regardless of their bizarre religious practices.

As the Rancor was moved away to another room, Nor'baals mind was already racing with what specific favours he could demand in return for 'his' rancors he would soon be dolling out.

He watched as the Sith continued in her presentation. Yos Kardo. This was not a Mon Cala he was aware of, presumably the architect was a member of the more law-abiding class. <Ba chalanh chamana Vex.> he replied, nodding as she spoke. <Goo katka doth lhoie bai uba, nobata?> Nor'baal continued, waving his right hand to dismiss his Majordomo <Tee beuanka doth lohonka, bu Yih bla kava bai woy yanee. Toupee mi, wonkee wohot tah pantkhee ukawa hee kiuke bai uba?>

 

[Vex]

Vex did not smirk externally, but internally she did. She would be a fool to spill her designs to a Hutt crime lord who would sell them to the highest bidder at the first signs of weakness from her. Nor'baal was probably thinking the same thing. The slug was testing her. Seeing if her ambition outweighed her common sense. But Vex had learned that lesson with Darth Andruil. She would not be making the same mistakes again.

"The builder's importance to me is of no concern," she replied. "I require his skills. You require credits to deal with those upstarts in the Zann Consortium. We can help each other." She considered her next words for a beat. The Hutts were always hard to read, partly because their minds could not be probed with the Force. Still, Vex was the kind of woman who was notorious for taking gambits. This would be no different. "If your bounty hunters do their jobs well enough, it is my hope that this will be the start of a profitable relationship for us both."

A statement. Not a question. Let the Hutt to come to her if he wanted to know what or why. Or let him reject her, if that was also on the table. Vex needed to know now whether this risky venture was worth the time, effort, and, eventually, the credits she intended to put into it. @Nor'baal

 

[Nor'baal Desilijic]

This Sith was holding her Pazaak deck close to her chest, that much was clear to the Hutt. He squinted at her, trying to suss out her angle - but to no avail. Ree koumuaee tah bo doth douasonh ai bu baua. thought Nor'baal, as he weighed up his response to her proposal.

The offer was a good one, new additions to his menagerie, as well as a hefty portion of credits to cement the deal. What was there to dislike?

His mind made up, he broke into a chuckle and smiled. <You make a grand bargain Sith.> he inclined his considerable head ever-so-slightly, the closest to a show of respect to a non-Hutt she would ever get <Jeejee gee wa bargon.>[/abb] the Hutt announced.

 

[Vex]

Vex smiled, the only feature that would be visible from beneath her hood. She knew they would come to an accord. They made natural allies. This was the only result that made sense. "I am pleased to hear it," she said to the Hutt leader. "We will be in touch again when your bounty hunters have my architect. In the meantime, enjoy your rancors and reflect on how productive our relationship could be moving forward."

After that, she shut down the connection between them, her holographic form flickering out of existence. For a long moment, she remained at her desk, fingers steepled in front of her in deep thought. She still had one more business meeting that afternoon, but if that one went as well as the Hutt meeting had, her plans for her powerbase within the Empire were looking stronger by the minute. It wouldn't be long before she could begin planning avenues to getting Darth Raze's approval for her ascension to the Council.

For now, though, she would remain patient. There were more pieces to move into place; and nothing assured her plans would go accordingly. But very soon, she would not need to remain so cautious.

/End Thread