Ask Chariot of Gods

[Nico Vandron]

ELROOD BAZAAR, ELROOD, OUTER RIM
1017hrs local time​

"A portrait sir?"

Nico turned, irritated by the disturbance. "Excuse me?" He was leaning against a pillar, taking in the size and scale of the bazaar and had little desire for small talk with the locals.

"A portrait?" the man repeated, gesturing to a rather impressive frontage off to the left. It seemed he belonged to something called the Professiona Artists Guild. "You have a fine look about you sir, we can immortalise it in the colors for you?".

Nico snorted, unconvinced. "You want to paint me?". He had no time for such fancies, but his ego could not completely reject the idea. "I doubt you could do it justice".

The man looked wounded. "Our Guild is most famous, sir" he said, in a sudden haughty tone "we can capture your likeness perfectly, however sharp it may be...".

Nico was about to respond but his comlink beeped inside his robes. His accomplice was close. "Another time perhaps" he said, striding away. Art could indeed be a means of aggrandising oneself. He would think on it some more.

The young Sith had not come to Elrood for a portrait, but ships, or at the very least access to them. His burgeoning plans on nearby Askaj would hopefully lead him to dominance over an entire world in the coming months. Such power would be limited without the ability to travel and defend his realm. Ships were a necessity and this bazaar may hold the key.

He made his way across the area and stood impatiently outside the Ganrite Yards. Prominent ship manufacturers out here in the Rim, they could be invaluable if convinced to supply ships to the Sith, and by extension Nico himself.

Once again, it pained him to call on other Sith for support, but he could not yet make big moves on his own. He only hoped she showed up soon and proved no trouble. He had a destiny to fulfill and she was already slowing him down.

@LadyRen

 

[Ciri]

When an acolyte contacted her for help, the message had actually drawn more than a mild scoff. A smirk had tugged at her lips then. Why? Firstly, it was peculiar that an acolyte pursued goals of his own instead of playing the mere lapdog, but what was indeed more interesting and promising was the goal he apperently pursued.

Elrood was a planet with quite some history of its own, but there was no need to dwell on that. Instead, what mattered was the ship yard that conveniently lay on the planet and how they could turn things into their favor if they were clever about this and ships were surely of personal interest for her as well.

Ciri didn't know anything about this acolyte and she hadn't bothered doing research either. She decided she'd see whether he was even worthy of this title during the course of their shared quest, but for now she approached him with mild interest after having followed the coordinates he had supplied.

"Acolyte", she greeted him with nothing else as the mysterious woman suddenly popped up next one him. She was used to masking her presence within the Force, and if he hadn't closely looked around, he would only notice her when she was already next to him. Now that she was there, she revealed her presence within the Force and he'd notice it was as if there was a constant, looming sense of dread in the air.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Despite Nico's best efforts to keep alert, sharp brown eyes scanning the vicinity, the woman seemed to materialise from nowhere.

He might have thought her a random woman who got lucky, if not for the strange sensation in his midriff when he became aware of her. She had a rather unmanning aura, though if he could feel it presumably others could. As much as the Sennexian so loved public displays of their power, such may not be that helpful to this particular venture.

"Sith Chirikyât?" he said uncertainly, half question half statement. "I am pleased we can assist one another". It was the closest Nico could come to a friendly greeting, but he could accept the realities.

His gaze flicked up the offices of the Ganrite Yards above them. "I believe we both recognise the value of these shipbuilders. Their CEO is inside and they are holding a board meeting within the hour. I propose we persuade them of our Order's worth, by word or force". Nico thoroughly believed the small minded leaders of the Yards could be brought to heel without violence, but he simply could not dictate the agenda here. Not yet.

@LadyRen

 

[Ciri]

She offered nothing as a reply. He had a unique way of adressing the other Sith, but she accepted it for now. His pronunciation of ur-Kittât surely needed improvement but alas, he was still young.

She didn't ponder on his words for long as she only saw this go one way. "Violence might not be needed. At least no direct force", she replied, her voice cold and emotionless as she met his gaze. "Before their meeting starts, we'll arrange a private meeting with the CEO or his vice", she stated, her gaze drifting towards the building again.

"If things go South and we have to bring them under our heels forcefully, I don't want you to hesitate", she warned him calmly before her gaze flicked over one last time. "We'll see whether we can separate their leader and then I'll make him docile like we need him to do the work for us. Any questions?". If not, she'd set herself into motion and move towards the entrance gate.

Their were two guards posted outside, but before any of them could even say a word, she knocked the left one unconscious with a simple flick of her finger as her eyes narrowed on the other. Her other hand was reaching out with the Force and taking hold of him through the Force, stirring up all the dread and fear that was laid dormant in his unconscious within a few seconds.

"Your friend didn't feel good. You'll leave us in", she commanded, and silently, he obeyed. She let him go for him to let them in as though they had business in being there, so that they could simply walk in and choose a subtle way into their headquarters.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Ciri - for want of a better short form - did not waste her time on pleasantries. Nico could weather it, he generally valued directness in any case. Her plan seemed sensible enough and he had little choice but to accept it in the circumstances.

”A negotiation then” he agreed, wishing he had taken the time to research the CEO more. Still, if they did fail perhaps he could blame it on Ciri. He followed her towards the entrance, still making his mind up if she had any idea what she was doing.

Ciri did at least manage to get them past security, bending the will of the men flanking the door and gaining them access to the lobby, “What do you know of the CEO? What do you intend to offer them?” Nico asked, wondering just how they would secure the loyalty of a shipyard which surely functioned on profit alone.

@LadyRen

 

[Ciri]

"Sure, call it a negotiation", she remarked, the faintest smirk tugging at her lips. Sure, they'd think they'd be negotiating while it would be them pulling the strings like puppeteers. If everything went well, this would be rather easy going. At least they weren't trying to sway a whole government, but to cut a deal with a shipyard.

Chirikyât had obviously done her research and so she had gathered quite a bit. Admittedly, there wasn't much public knowledge around about him, but she had found enough people to squeeze out for Intel. "He's relatively young. An heir. Didn't know what to do when his father died at first and he's still lacking a bit off direcion", this part she disclosed, but it seemed like he hadn't fully understood what she intended to do.

"We aren't really offering anything", they didn't have actual assets, which he obviously knew. "He'll believe his rival company might intend to remove him and we'll ensure they won't. It will be paranoia that will seal the deal", she could implant whatever in his mind to make him docile, so there were countless options.

As they got closer to the building, they'd be met with a well armed guard who immediately raised a brow at them, seemingly confused about how they were just casually walking in. They'd have to get past him to reach the insides and thus gain the chance to track the CEO.

"You have a pretty face. Why don't you go introduce ourselves?", if he could get them to let them further inside to locate the CEO without any help of the Force, it would be even better as they could save their strengths for any cases and she was convinced he was at least good at acting polite.

@Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Nico listened as they walked deeper inside. Listening was not among his chief skills, but when the information was important to him he could be alert as any viper. There was nothing more vital than what he needed to know to stay alive.

A young, naive CEO who had inherited before time. The scenario or one like it was proving far too common; much like that with Arakyd Industries or the Tibanna plant on Krill'dor. Were there any young men in the galaxy who knew what they were doing, apart from Nico?

"So we offer him protection..." Nico mused, uncertain. "Seems a waste if he is so lacklustre, but I suppose that makes him a malleable puppet for the Order". He could see the logic in earning the young man's trust, enabling the Sith to direct his decisions thereafter.

Nico was still weighing the strategy when Ciri demanded he go and speak to the security guards. As always, his first instinct was to refuse, then he remembered who she was and where they were. He could ill afford to outright disobey the more senior Sith and the mission had to take priority over his own impulses.

"A pretty face?". Nico was not quite sure what to make of that, but he was terribly prideful about his appearance and decided to treat it as a compliment. With his exotic looks and the smart robes he had chosen, he was certainly less intimidating than the ashen Ciri, practically witch-like in every way. He walked over to the security booth, clasping his hands and forcing a smile.

"Good Morning" he said, doing his best to affect warmth. "My colleague and I represent a shipping Consortium buying up land, here on Elrood. We would like to meet with your Chief Executive?". Too late, he realised he did not have the target's name and his pitch fell slightly flat.

"Chief Exec has a board meeting this morning" the head guard scoffed "and you've not much chance without an appointment. This is a multi trillion credit Yard you know?!". The man looked bemused, but not yet suspicious. Nico held his smile, but was otherwise unsure what to do to get through.

@LadyRen

7/20 persuade success

 

[Ciri]

She doubted he understood that they did neither need him to be very capable nor in his right mind in general. His status and company, yes. Him actually trusting them? No, of course not. "He'll obey, yes", she plainly stated as all they needed was to shape his mind. She hoped he would prove himself useful in this.

She kept in the background as he started the talking, her features hard to decipher. The guard plainly refused hiz request and Ciri slightly lifted a finger. Well, no. Subtlety was required, she reminded herself and they couldn't leave any traces, also she couldn't turn all of them into will-less minions, so all that followed was a soft smile. Turning some still worked and they needed to be quick.

The Force would slightly tug at Nico, signaling him to step back as she approached from behind, her eyes piercing right into the man's. "What my associate meant to say was that this was no request. We have a pressing matter and you'll bring us to him because you are aware of our appointment". Of course her words alone weren't persuasive enough, but so intimidating and abrupt that with the help of the Force, the guard bowed and motioned for them to follow.

The acolyte had been too sloppy, but she wasn't fully giving up on him yet, but as they entered the vast entrance hall, they'd already realize that their endeavor would be worth it if successful. 'Your turn. Ask him where Gulland Manstakis is right now. Convince him to give you the information', she telepathically told him.

She wanted to see whether he would be able to do it, thus testing him just like that. Surely, the head guard was already under her influence, but not fully docile, so that he'd have to be smart about this.
@Alhon