Searching For Brotherhood

[Jacques]

Glory in Pride strutted its way through the galaxy, through its infinite, or finite depending on whether the one looking at it was a pessimist or optimist, space. Every star that flew by he wanted to name, to remember its existence. To remember how little he mattered in the way of the galaxy as a living, sentient being. Nicolo lowered his head then, staring at the console board and then at his hands, which maneuvered the yoke of the ship in steady, easy flight. He was approaching Taris, finally.

It had been a long time coming, but Nicolo Salvatorelli had finally discovered the soon-to-be whereabouts of Johann Dontoras. It had been close to a year in searching for his target, his thirty-third birthday so close to the horizon that he could hit it with a throwing knife.

The big luxury cruiser landed down on the planet where he'd finally find the man he already knew so much about. His father, his grandfather, they had spoke of the man as the man who had finally realized their dreams, and was strong enough and smart enough to pull them off. Nicolo, however, was doubtful that Johann was as messiah-esque as the two had painted him out to be. But he was hard to find, the trained assassin gave the man that. From Talus to Zeltros all the way back to Corellia and Kamino. On Tatooine he had been close, very, very close. On Apatros, not so much. But finally, finally he had him.

As Nicolo navigated his way through the upper levels of Taris, he took in his surroundings. Tall buildings like none he had seen before. Corellia had been impressive, but Coronet was not a planet-wide city. An appropriate setting for his meeting with the assassin extraordinaire, the savior of the people as his father Antonio and his grandfather Milan had so hoped.

The man's shuttle touched down on the surface, and he took in the man's style of dress. It was the first time Nicolo had seen him in person, finally giving him the chance to take in the dress that was so similar to his own. If a bit more...humble. Some would say even a tad more intimidating.

From the touchdown of Johann's shuttle, Nicolo was on his tail.

 

[Black Noise]

Johann stepped out of the shuttle on Taris. He was being hunted by Nicolo Salvatorelli, son of one of Johann's colleagues and fellow believer in his way. Nicolo had learned the ways of the Botherhood and, being the son of a member, had a natural affinity for their work. Johann first discovered signs of being hunted on Corellia, he didn't know who was hunting him back then.

Johann slowly found out more and more about the son of Antonio Salvatorelli the more that he hunted him. Johann played the prey, moving about from planet to planet, narrowly avoiding being caught my Nicolo. Sometimes he allowed himself to almost be caught, sometime he actually had a difficult time escaping the trained killer.

Throughout that time, Johann began to see the skill of Nicolo, he saw, from afar, the man's instincts. His tenacity, his drive for the hunt. It impressed him. However, Johann's work would not cease for him to play his games anymore with the the man. He had an assassination to make. A well known corrupt politician was visiting Taris, Johann would make sure that it would be his last visit.

Normally, Johann would not take on an assassination job for himself, especially under such high stakes. Rather, he would give it to another one of his assassin's as a test of their strength. The politician was a known supporter of piracy, the slave trade, and multiple other crimes, but covered his tracks well, and was heavily guarded at all times. After many months of tracking him, Johann finally found a time when he allowed himself to be most vulnerable.

The politician stood outside of a small apartment building, a Death Stick in his hand. He had one guard stand not too far off while he smoked. The politician had an addiction to those wicked things, and his addiction was finally going to be the death of him. The Death Stick he was smoking was his last that he owned, and Johann had offered himself as a safe, cheap provider of more high quality Death Sticks.

Approaching the guard, Johann nodded respectfully and held out a few Death Sticks in his right hand. As the guard moved to take them, Johann drove the assassin's blade on his left arm through him heart. Before the guard's body even hit the floor, Johann had charged the Politician and stabbed him through the neck.

Sighing, Johann let the man's body drop to the floor.

 

[Jacques]

Nicolo watched as the politician's body slid to the floor, noting how simple the job had been for the leader of the Brotherhood to have taken on the job. Perhaps it had just been something personal to the man, or he was in need of something to do. He didn't blame the head assassin though, as he would probably do the same thing in that position.

Leaping from his position a story up, from a simple two floor apartment complex that reeked of sickness and low standard. But that didn't surprise him, seeing the area of the Upper City they were in still wasn't too...Upper. It was across the way from the four story complex that the politician had just been killed by.

"Johann Dontoras...I've finally found you." His left hand rested lazily on the sword sheathed in his belt. He doubted the assassin would strike, "It's been too long for my liking, but it doesn't matter now that I finally have you within reach."

 

[Black Noise]

Johann froze, not looking behind him, he didn't need to look to know who was speaking. Only one person could possibly track him here, Nicolo.
"Nicolo Salvatorelli, I presume? I expected your coming, though, I must say I did not expect it at this specific time."

Turning, Johann looked over the younger man. His garb carried an air of elegance that Johann had only ever seen once before, they looked highly similar to the robes of one of his current assassins, Antonio Salvatorelli. However, Johann already knew that Nicolo was Antonio's son, Antonio had not kept that a secret from him.

Walking towards the assassin, Johann stood a good sixteen feet away and smiled from under his hood.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

 

[Jacques]

The younger assassin too stepped a bit forward, and gestured out with his hand, bent at the elbow, while he spoke, "So you did know that I was tailing you?" Nicolo asked, confirming some suspicions he had held onto earlier. He had to give the older man credit on his skills. Pulling down his hood, he looked Johann in the face. Of course the view was a bit shrouded due to the eagle's peak in his hood, just like his own hood. It was enough for him though.

"So then you do know my father, Antonio? Or my grandfather Milan even?" His hand fell from the hilt of his vibroblade to become a loose attachment at his side. The answer was obvious to the Naboo native, the man who once had the chance to be a famous and loved Senator. Nicolo almost laughed every time he reminded himself of that.

Scratching the top of his head with a gloved hand, he felt the hidden blade on his hand. Remembering the original design of the weapon causing for one to remove their own ring finger, Nicolo eyed up the original assassin's hand. "I want to know the real goals of the Brotherhood. Beyond assassinations."

 

[Black Noise]

"Yes, I knew you were tailing me, though it was hard to tell for the first few planets. Your father I knew better than your grandfather, who is currently in 'retirement.' Goals beyond assassinations. Well, first, assassination is not a goal of the Brotherhood at all, it is an efficient means to further our true goals. I don't need to tell you that the Jedi are too few and too spread. However, we don't fill their void, nor do we serve them in any way."
Johann began pacing slowly, a common sign to show he was thinking.

"The Brotherhood serves to provide justice where no others can. We serve those who could never serve themselves. We provide a family for those who have either never had one, or had a family that never was one. And that, Nicolo, is it. First of all, Brothers. Death to the unjust. I understand that those who bring death upon the innocent only deserve death themselves. I am not naive, this is impossible to do alone. Your father and grandfather agreed with me and joined my Brotherhood. What do you think? Will you follow in their footsteps?"
Johann's goals, his people's goals, were not hard to say. However, to carry out, impossible for any one man. He had simple ideals coupled with impossible dreams, the perfect combination.*

 

[Jacques]

Nicolo paced with the older man, listening to his every word as he followed his every step. The idea was simple, and the goal was unreachable. But that didn't bother the young fighter, he had known the goal from the very beginning. It was the execution of that goal that got him wanting to come in contact with Johann before just throwing his hat in the ring and joining. But he was also struck weirdly by the way the head assassin recalled his grandfather's retirement. As if he had made air quotes with his fingers, only less subtle.

"Not yet, brother, only a fool asks one question and is persuaded by the answer. Please, tell me how free one member is to do what they want? I do not want to be constricted to a group of people to undergo any initiation training, I need none. I do not want to be constricted to a group of people in general, I work by myself and that's the way it should be for everybody. Even two people can get messy at times where one person could have done something easy.

"Especially if the two people don't know each other all so well." Nicolo recalled several assassin hopefuls in his journey to find the ever elusive Dontoras. Things...hadn't gone very well.

 

[Black Noise]

Johann nodded, he presented good questions, but they were questions Johann not only had the answers to, but had established among his people.
"Each member is virtually a lone operative, free to take on any mission they wish, or the missions I offer them. Excluding Initiates, members of the Brotherhood, if they do not accept a mission I give them, often give themselves missions. Only if it is absolutely necessary will two people ever work together on anything."

Continuing to pace, Johann continued.
"Initiation training is for Initiates, the unskilled, and those who are not accustomed to our ways. You were raised to think like us, whether you knew it or not, and you obviously have above Initiate skill. Training for you would be an unnecessary burden that would hinder your use more than further it. In short, you would be required to undergo no training.

However, should you choose to, there is a place where you may take on an Initiate as a parent takes on a child. I do not require this of anyone, but it is an option that I offer."

 

[Jacques]

Nicolo nodded, though the nobleman had no intentions of taking on a child with him in his endeavors, all of his questions had been answered.

"Thank you, Mr. Dontoras. I already knew the answers to these questions, my father told me personally, but without meeting you personally I could not really know your truest intentions. I would most definitely be interested in joining the Brotherhood, for like you have said it is the only life I have and will ever know. And it is an entertaining one at that, definitely much better than being stuck on Coruscant listening to corrupt people dribble on about useless matters. Now I finally get to kill them." The assassin laughed, and waved it off to signify a joke.

"However I would like to get to know you over a drink. Taris has some fine cantinas I'm sure...upper levels or lower?"

 

[Black Noise]

Johann smiled, laughed a bit even when Nicolo mentioned killing the politicians. How could he not? After all, Johann had just killed one himself. Nodding and beginning to walk closer, he answered.
"A drink would be nice. I hear there are a few drinks unique to Taris as well. No harm in trying them while we get to know each other better. Besides, I have a few things I wish to speak with you about. Also, you should know enough about me to know where we'd best fit."
In his last sentence, Johann was directly referring to the Lower levels, where security was low and shady people were never questioned.

 

[Jacques]

Nicolo nodded, "Do not be afraid to ask me any questions brother..." He said as they began a briskly paced walk for a nearby cantina. On a planet solely comprised of one city, and that city was a big fan of liquor, one was going to find a drinking establishment very easy. The two walked a ways in silence, Johann wanting to save the questions for when they each had a nice glass of whatever it was they wanted in their hands. Finding an elevator to the Lower Levels only took several minutes, and the ride down even shorter. Less than another five minutes of walking brought them to a cantina as shady as Nicolo had ever seen. Smiling, he let the elder man walk in first.

They sat at a booth, where no person could come up to them silently, without being seen...just the way he had been taught. The two assassins ordered drinks, and when they arrived the Naboo nobleman nodded, "You said you had questions for me?"

 

[Black Noise]

Smiling, Johann sat down at the table with Nicolo. The man was like Johann in many ways, going through precautionary motions with such ease. Everything they did, although almost unnoticeable, had great effects if someone attempted to attack them. Looking from under the hood at the man, Johann began.
"Yes, I do. As mentioned before, you would obviously not start out as an Initiate. But I do not believe someone of your skill level should begin in the level of Servus, the untrusted assassin. If you would like it, I want you to become one of my Centurions. You would have certain 'clearances' to things that many do not even know exist. Such as the security codes to where we keep our weapons and armors."

 

[Jacques]

The nobleman sipped at his drink and rolled over the term several times in his head. Centurion...centurion...centurion. Though the offer of special weapons and armor didn't interest him so much. Nicolo turned both palms up and shrugged slightly as he began to reply:

"The offer for Centurion is enticing indeed, there's no denying that...but I've no need for special armors or weapons." The Naboo-born man rapped twice on his chest, under his assassin's robes, metal dinging in reply. "The finest phrik armor a spoiled, rich boy's parents can afford."

"But tell me more of the role of a Centurion..."

 

[Black Noise]

Laughing a bit, Johann tapped his own chest, a simple shirt behind it.
"I don't wear any armor at all. But, on to the Centurion. The Centurion is the highest, public, rank that I assign among my assassins. The position demands respect wherever you walk among our members, but also comes with great power. The Servus are commanded to obey your orders, though you would need to treat the rank with the responsibility that I know you have. Also, not only are Centurions the only members qualified to take on apprentices, but Centurions are required to organize the more, group, assassinations. I cannot organize and plan everything that requires more than on assassin, that is where the Centurion comes in.

Lastly, Centurions are also the ones sent on the most sensitive undercover missions. Between you and I, I already have a Centurion among the Mandalorians."

Johann, asking a question off topic, added.
"Oh, and have you ever fired a Civilian's Crossbow?"

 

[Jacques]

Nicolo leaned back in his seat, and threw both feet onto the table in an incredibly lax way. He was still on guard of course but that didn't mean he couldn't be comfortable at the same time. Sipping at his drink, the native of Naboo thought about being Centurion Salvatorelli and thought it had quite the ring to it. Swallowing everything down, drink and new title and all, he restrained against cocking his head at the man explaining he already had an agent within the Mandalorians.

"And why would you need someone to infiltrate the Mandalorians?" Nicolo asked sincerely, unsure what the move would gain Johann and the Brotherhood.

 

[Black Noise]

"The Brotherhood is growing, quickly in fact. I know what you're thinking, I can see it in your expression. No, I have no intention of having anyone killer in the Mandos. Actually, I want to establish a good, lasting relationship with them. However, for the moment, the Mandalorians seem a bit unstable. Once they clear up their problems, we'll move in to offer them assistance. In return, they would give assistance in areas where assassins are not the best. After all, we aren't soldiers, we don't fight wars."

Johann leaned back in his chair as he spoke, a light smile on his face. What he spoke of was the truth. He had no intentions of starting any problems with the Mandalorians. Truthfully, they were some of the only people he respected.

 

[Jacques]

"Who do you plan on fighting then?" Nicolo asked, not entirely sure why a Brotherhood of assassins would need an army. "Are we helping those who cannot help themselves by raising an army?"

The once Senate-hopeful finished off his drink and stroked his beard. "Would we be taking on everybody? The Alliance, the Empire, the Jedi and Sith?" He frowned for a moment, just hoping he would get a good answer. Would the Jedi or Sith be coming after them? He wasn't too keen on fighting a Sith Lord.

 

[Black Noise]

Johann nodded, he had thought of this.
"The Jedi, the Alliance, the Sith, the Imperium, none of them even know we exist. We will be fighting the Sith, yes. They target those not strong enough to resist and kill them simply for being weak. That is why using the Mandalorians, who already hate the Sith, as an army would benefit us. The Sith have an army, we won't be fighting it, we can't.

The Jedi and Alliance will stay out of our way, 'an enemy of my enemy is my friend,' yes? They fight for the same things we do, but they restrict themselves by being public, by following a set of rules on how to stop the Sith and injustices as a whole. Ask any Jedi what they would do with a captured Sith Lord and they will give you a blank stare.

Think of it this way, you and I can disappear, strike from the shadows. We can attack anywhere in the entire Imperium. We could raise a hundred people to be just as powerful as us. However, we would never defeat them, we would never win. Without someone to establish just governments and defeat the armies of the Imperium, we would forever be just gnats to them."
Johann had no intention of running a planet. He needed others for that. In fact, he had been hesitant in even establishing a home base for his people. However, that was a necessity that overcame his paranoia.

 

[Jacques]

"Then why the Mandalorians?" Nicolo never had enough answers to satisfy him. He had to keep asking until he was satisfied, he had to make sure that what he was getting into wasn't going to be the worst decision of his life. Why would he be doing this without good reason when he could be living a peaceful, rich life as a Senator? The assassin finished off his drink and waved for another. "The Mandalorians are weak, they have no future in this galaxy and will be back to bounty hunting and killing across the galaxy in no time."

The nobleman had been doing his research, and while he was a big fan of the Mandalorian culture and had never met a Mando he didn't like, they were having too many problems within to be a factor in any secret war. "They're too busy fighting themselves to fight the Empire for us."