Ask Into The Viper's Nest

[Nico Vandron]

THE GRAND BALAZAMO, HPAQ CITY, VULPTER
1742hrs local time​

Nico stood by the penthouse window, folding his arms and staring out sulkily into the gloom. Vulter was a toxic world, a uninspiring mass of grey buildings squatting among foul-smelling air. Fewer and fewer people lived here, as the corporations that ruled relied increasingly on droids. The young acolyte could certainly see why.

He hated this place and hated being here. Nico had never enjoyed partnering with other Sith, even though it was a necessity if he was to advance his own interests. Working together relied on too much trust, too much interdependence. He would bear it as long as must, then he would get back to his own designs on Askaj.

Several floors below, a corporate mixer was taking place in the lobby. Arakyd Industries' best and brightest were apparently all there, directors and vice presidents, senior executives and their hangers on. They had come together to network and plot ahead of the corporation's board meeting later this evening, to be held in the Balazamo's main conference room. It would apparently be up Nico and his fellow Sith to ensure their man made it onto the Board.

Their man was one Alaric Namos. Nico had read little about him. Not a Sith himself it seemed, but Namos had family connections with the Order going back generations. He was one of the zealous worshiper types, strictly in private of course, which made him tolerable to Nico at least. The Sennexian was all but convinced the Sith were as close to gods as it came. Why should not all rational men and women do anything to earn their favour?

Namos had not arrived yet and no doubt he would only make an appearance once he got word Nico's brethren had arrived. The young Sith waited impatiently for them to turn up, fiddling with the sleeve of his elegant attire. The hotel hosted other guests tonight, as well as the corporate types, and he was leaning into his heritage as a Sennexian noble.

@DMCK @theaveragejedishadow

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

It was shortly after, that Cremek himself had entered, no he did not bother to knock, as he knew he was expected, the sith historian with a Mandalorian mask made his way inside, wondering how people could live in such comfort.. bah, it didn't matter, he had a mission, and he intended to do it to the best of his abilities, or die trying.

"ahem."

the sith champion finally made himself known, sitting down at a chair.

@Alhon

 

[Thel Xeros]

Vulpter. An unpleasant place. Thel had visited the planet before and he didn’t relish the idea of returning. However, given the advantages that could be gained from establishing a connection with Arakyd, he accepted a place on the mission.

A penthouse had been arranged for the Sith involved. Thel wasn’t familiar with the Sith he would be working with. His recent experiences of working with other Sith hadn’t been too bad, so he remained slightly optimistic.

Reaching the penthouse, he used the force to slide the door open. Stepping inside, he allowed the door to close behind him. He was wearing his black robes, cloak and leather boots. For the first time, he got a proper look at the two Sith he would be working with. One was sat down. Clad in armour and masked. The other was stood by the window. Fairly tall. Slim. Dark hair. He was dressed quite smartly.

@Alhon @theaveragejedishadow

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

Cremek candorus lifted his mask slightly to drink his signature rancor fury, before giving a small wave, it was always nice to see his kin, especially during these troublesome times, in his mind, the power struggles could wait, insuring the survival of their order was paramount, today, these men were his brothers in arms.

"Greetings, I see you have been directed here as well? And if I may ask who I will be working with?"


@DMCK @Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Nico glowered at the two Sith who joined him. They could have been straight out of a A Jedi's Guide to Fighting Bad Guys.

The first actually walked in to the penthouse in a mask and armor, looking ready for a battle rather than a corporate takeover. He sat himself down without a word and started drinking something, making a noise that could have been a burp or an attempt to speak. The Sennexian barely contained his sigh.

The second seemed a little more refined, tall and pale, but he had evidently been to the same black cloak and robe shop. If there was any intrigue to be done in the lobby bar, it would seemingly fall to Nico. These two looked like Sith from a mile off.

"Nico Vandros" he said, pronouncing his name with pride, as if it alone should command respect. "You must be Mask and Vamps?". He could not help demeaning his co-conspiritors even though he knew it was a bad way to start.

"Namos should be here soon too" he added, expecting the Arakyd executive would likely get word they were all assembled. "I gather he is competing with several others for his spot on the Board tonight. Perhaps there will be a target to suit each of our talents". He looked from Mask's armour to Vamps' poise. "...whatever those might be".

@theaveragejedishadow @DMCK

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

"my name is not mask, it is Cremek, and it is nice to meet you."


The sith historian, in typical mandalorian density, was confused, why would he call him mask? His voice, though slightly monotone due to the modulator, has a refined sheen to it, he brushed off his breastplate, the only real piece of armor he had, while it was recognizable, cremek had a talent for passing off for a normal mandalorian warrior, especially when he decided to suppress himself from the force. Cremek would look about, how could someone live in such comfort?.. disregarding it, cremek shook his head once more.

"Then we have little time to waste?"


@DMCK @Alhon

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel gave a slight bow of his head to his fellow Sith.

“You must be Mask and Vamps?” Thel smirked at the comment. Similar remarks had been made before and he did find it quite amusing. Fortunately, his black robes and cloak could be passed off as being fairly simple old-fashioned formal wear. The masked Sith was slightly less subtle.

“…whatever those might be.” Vandron seemed to have a dry sense of humour, which Thel didn’t mind. He hoped the other Sith wasn’t too hot-tempered.

“A pleasure to meet you Mr. Vandron. And you, Cremek. My name is Thel.” He moved over to the window. Namos could give them a clearer outline of the situation when he arrived. Hopefully this mission is quick and painless.

@Alhon @theaveragejedishadow

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

"yes, yes, let us not waste time, I am quite excited to prove I am more than a simple historian."

cremek had been trusted to get the work done, a humble man, he was not angered easily, but excited, he wanted to see what he could to help vanguard his orders rise to power once more. If only his comrades shared his enthusiasm.. oh well, that's fate, he guessed. A soft fool used to comfort and privilege.. and a fellow sith, at least there was one apparently hardened member here besides him.

@DMCK @Alhon

 

[Nico Vandron]

Mask either had little sense of humor or few brain cells. Only time would tell which. "Cremek" Nico repeated, testing the name out audibly. It was certainly not one he had heard before. Maybe he was from a planet real far out on the Rim; Nico had certainly never heard of any 'historians' who looked remotely like Cremek.

The Sennexian saw a smirk on Thel's pale face, he at least got the joke. Whether he appreciated it or was secretly planning to murder Nico in return remained to be seen. "Pleasure" he replied, doing his best to sound sincere. They could ill afford to be at each other's throats before Namos even got here and he reminded himself that one or both of them may be more experienced, whatever their flaws.

The penthouse door slid open and a man fitting Namos' description strode in. Seasoned and suited, Alaric Namos had evidently served his time and looked like a man who really ought to be at the top by now. More than that, he was a Sith supporter in his blood.

"Good Evening gentleman, thank you for coming". Namos had a slightly scatterbrained style, but word was he knew his stuff. "So risque meeting up here, all our enemies only a few floors below..." he glanced from one of them to the other, seemingly weighing them up.

"It seems fate is with us. I have three competitors for my spot on the Board of Directors this evening" he gestured to the three Sith. "So my Sith overlords send me three of their number. Guardian angels, truly" she smiled at all of them.

"Chief among my rivals is the CEO's son, Blaine. He barely even works at the company, even now he and his men are hanging out up top, on the rooftop terrace. He won't even make an appearance before the vote. I need him not to show".

It was clear Namos was enjoying this plotting, but was still jittery with nerves. "Second is our head of R&D, Amelia Vance. Mid-40s and has little time for youngsters" he flashed a glance at Nico "she develops so much of what we have, but I'm sure she could be rewarded in other ways. I just can't get past her droids to discuss it".

Namos shrugged nonchantly. "Lastly is Kylos, the young upstart. Far, far too young, but plenty of credits and favours behind him. Bit of a silvertongue I have to say, he'll be chatting to my colleagues downstairs even now. He needs knocking off course before he ruins everything".

Namos steepled his hands. "I leave it to you who deals with who. But these three must be removed from play by 2100 hours, by force, wit, or whatever cunning you Lords have". It was clear he worshipped the ground they walked on.

The executive turned to leave and Nico weighed his options. "I will go down and find this Kylos" he suggested, feeling he could sypathise with a young upstart after all. "Can you two deal with the armed son, and the techno mistress?".

@theaveragejedishadow @DMCK

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

"I can deal with the son, I just need to know if I need to do this silently or forcefully.."

while cremek was not like most sith, thus, did not crave combat constantly, he figured this would be best sorted to his talents.. he looks around to see if the others had approved of this.

"he most likely has guards, and no one here knows who I am, for all they know, I could be a rival companies bounty hunter.."

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel watched as Namos entered. He was slightly overweight, short-haired and well dressed. He seemed ill at ease.

Namos began to speak, outlining the situation to Thel and the two other Sith. His hands fidgeted and his eyes darted around as he spoke hurriedly. As quickly as he started, he finished his assessment of the situation and speedily left the room. He hadn’t given them much time to deal with his competition.

The two others selected their targets.

“I’ll speak to Vance. See if I can talk her around.”

@Alhon @theaveragejedishadow

 

[Nico Vandron]

Nico gave Cremek a sideways look. He had a point and the suggested bounty hunter cover was a good angle. Perhaps he should not judge the warrior just yet. "Agreed, if he's the CEO's son he'll have guards but the rooftop terrace will be exclusive to him and his men. I imagine you could make quite a bit of noise up there without any one down here hearing" he mused.

Thel was up for dealing with the R&D woman it seemed. "Maybe try the data suite down on level 3" Nico suggested "a tech nut is bound to be drawn there and if she's is keeping away until the vote it's a good place for her and her droids to hang on their own". It was not clear how strongly Vance wanted to be a director and how difficult it would be for Thel to change her mind or eliminate her. Vamps would have to find out himself.

"Let's meet up on the terrace when this is done?". Once Cremek had cleared it, the rooftop would be ideal to call extraction by shuttle.

__________​

Nico took the elevator down to the lobby and soon found himself in the middle of the corporate mixer. Groups of suited men and power-dressing women stood trading jibes, or ensconced on luxury furniture swapping work tips. The atmosphere was merry, but most of them were no doubt keeping themselves in check until after the business was all done at the meeting.

Kylos was surprisingly easy to find. Nico had only been stalking around the room for a few minutes when he heard the name called over by the bar and noticed a flash young man trying to buy others drinks.

"Someone's enjoying themselves" Nico commented, sidling up to the bar and doing his best to ingratiate himself with the man. "I'm Eli, stuck in this place overnight but the entertainment is lacking. You seem to be where all the fun is at".

"Damn right" Kylos said, handing Nico a drink and chinking glasses. "The name's Kylos. I scored a big work thing tonight" he volunteered "so I'm treating myself. Fancy joining me Eli? These lot are being boring!".

It was clear Kylos thought his Board nomination was already in the bag and he was celebrating early. Nico considered, realising he could use the man's exuberance against him. "Sure, why not. How about we make it doubles?"

In response, Kylos clapped him on the shoulder and ordered two double drinks. Nico would be careful to make sure his new friend had plenty; if he could get him drunk enough, it would be easy to ensure he never made it to the vote.

@theaveragejedishadow @DMCK

Rolled 17/20 for approach success

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel left the room and made his way to the elevator. He had no desire to harm Vance. Especially given her importance to Arakyd. Hopefully, she could be talked around.

The elevator descended towards the floor that Vandron suggested she would be on. Thel took a moment to check his clothing looked presentable. Perhaps pretending to be a representative of another company could give him access to her.

The doors opened. To Thel’s surprise, two KX droids stood waiting. They stood motionlessly. He stepped out of the elevator.

“State your business,” one of the droids said bluntly.

“I’m here to speak to Ms. Vance.”

“She is not accepting visitors at the moment. I must ask that you leave.”

“I am a representative…”

“That is irrelevant. Leave. You have five seconds to comply,” the droid said, interrupting Thel.

“Of course. Thank you.” Thel stepped back into the elevator and pressed the button for the floor above. He would need to find an alternative way to reach Vance.

(OOC: Dice roll was unsuccessful.)

@Alhon @theaveragejedishadow

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

Cremek made his way to the his share of the target, a little exited that he could be.. loud... maybe it was his chance to let off some steam, and damn the traitorous empire as well..

tightening the bracer on his wrist, he was not as... Delicate as the other two, not even bothering to make an attempt to approach the fool, he looks..


Cameras.. perfect. This would work out in Cremeks favor, he gave a shout.


"For the empire!"

He knew very few people nowadays could tell force users apart, especially sith and imperials. If he managed to sell the fact he was of the empire. He would damn their efforts here, or anywhere this company held sway, the first guard was cuaght by surprise, as a howl sounded from the "imperials" blade, cutting him down, the dancers who were... Entertaining the lads here were gave a scream, one guard gave a shot of his flash pistol, but cremek deflected the bolt back into him with grace, he bursted through the door, the poor boy cowering under a desk.

"P-please, I can pay you!"

Cremek flipped the desk over with his foot.

"I'm already being paid by the grand empire. And you've snuffed your cup one too many times in front of us, worm."

@Alhon @DMCK

 

[Nico Vandron]

It was going well. Kylos was getting progressively drunker, sinking into the various spirits the two of them were throwing back. Nico was careful to take small sips, masking his slowness with careful sleights of hand and misdirection. Kylos was well on his way to being too inebriated to make the vote, Nico was beginning to think it was child’s play.

They hunkered down at the edge of the bar, quietly driving away the other corporate types with their increasingly raucous behaviour. It was mainly Kylos, slamming his glass and shouting about how great he was, but Nico had little choice but to play along at times, bigging up his fictional credentials as an Outer Rim noble.

Nico was trying to work out how he was going to maybe encourage Kylos out of way of the meeting when the guy started pointedly jabbing him in the chest. “You see you’re like me” Kylos said “you’re a great guy, you get it. You and me, we’re peas in a pod”. The corporate upstart was leaning real close now and Nico realised too late what was happening. Kylos went to kiss him, a drunken smooch that barely connected, but it was so totally unexpected it was enough to knock the Sennexian’s composure.

”Woah, what the hell?!” Nico stammered, stepping backwards off the bar stool. “Who do you think you are?!”. It was the real him talking now, not his cover. He had kissed few people in his life, though admittedly of every sex. But this had caught him totally off guard.

”Fine then” Kylos hissed, clearly bruised “fuck off Nik Nak or whatever, I’m fine on my own“. Kylos picked up his glass and went wandering off in precisely the wrong direction, right towards the conference room where the meeting would be held.

@DMCK @theaveragejedishadow

4/20 for progression success

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel pressed the emergency stop button on the elevator, causing the elevator’s ascent to come to an abrupt halt. Looking up, he spotted the hatch on the ceiling. Using the force, he bent and buckled the hatch until he was able to push it open. Leaping up, he gently landed on the roof of the elevator. Just above him was a vent grate. Without hesitation he tore it from the wall, allowing the grate to drop onto the elevator roof. He made the small jump up to the vent, holding onto the edge with both hands. He then pulled himself up into the vent. It was a tight fit, but at least he was able to get in. He slowly began to crawl through the narrow space.

After a long slog, he was able to find another grate, overlooking a room. He couldn’t feel a presence in the room. Once he was down, he could try to stealthily work his way towards Vance. After slowly disconnecting the grate, through use of the force, he gently lowered it to the ground and slid it to one side. He then manoeuvred himself through the gap and dropped to the floor below. Landing on his hands, he rolled over and onto all fours. Taking a few seconds to compose himself, he then rose to his feet. Time to move.

Heading over to the door, he hoped to deal with things quickly. The door opened to reveal a lone KX droid. You must be joking.

“Identify yourself.” The droid reached out to grab him. He stepped back, avoiding its grip. He realised he didn’t have much choice but to destroy it. As the droid reached out again, Thel unclipped his saber and ignited it. Slashing at the droid’s arm, he sliced it off. A horizontal swipe from his blade bisected the droid. The two halves of the droid collapsed to the ground. Unknown to Thel, the droid’s destruction triggered a signal to be sent to the other KX droids. They immediately moved to investigate.

(OOC: Another failed dice roll. Failed dice roll to avoid KX droids.)

@Alhon @theaveragejedishadow

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

cremek had.. cleaned up the scene, having destroyed the cameras, and the fool boy, who was out the window by now, he had used dominate mind and had the poor child jump out the window, falling to his death, he let the dancers leave, so they could spread the word it was an "imperial knight" who had murdered his way through the corporate structure, that would complicate things for them.. and hurt the empire's efforts.

"now... what next.."

---

ooc: apologies for the late haha!

@Alhon @DMCK

 

[Nico Vandron]

Nico tried to rally himself, still sober enough to realise his target was walking right towards the meeting room, exactly the wrong place right now.

He jumped up, trying to think fast. He had let his emotions get the better of him and broken his cover. How could he play that to get things back on track, and fast?

He hurried after Kylos, grabbing the upstart's arm before he slipped between two groups of networkers. "Look I'm sorry" Nico lied "you, you caught me off guard" that part was true and not hard to feign surprise. "But you're right, we're peas in a pod. Can we talk about that some more?".

He tried to motion back towards the bar, but Kylos looked in two minds. "I tried, you were getting all high and mighty" he replied, screwing up his face in a drunken stupour.

"I was" Nico said, glad that no one in the world could hear him admit a fault, lie or not. "How about another drink?".

"Screw that" Kylos said, shaking his head "but i'll give you thirty seconds to change my mind". He jutted his chin through some side doors to an outside terrace. Nico had little choice but to smile in agreement and follow him out. If he could not get the idiot to drink any more, he would have to find some other way of making sure he never made the vote.

@DMCK @theaveragejedishadow

11/20 for progression success

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel exited the room. He kept his lightsaber ignited, prepared for another attack. Moving quickly, he soon encountered two more droids; these ones armed with blasters. Holding his blade in front of himself, he moved it quickly to deflect the droids’ blaster fire. The blaster bolts were sent flying back at the droids, slamming into them. The two droids dropped to the floor.

Aside from himself, he could only sense one other living presence nearby. Probably Vance. He continued on, trying his best to reach her. Turning a corner, he spotted a woman flanked by two droids. Small and dark-haired. Fair-skinned. She was carrying a small case. “Vance,” he stated calmly. Her head snapped in his direction, before she turned back and tried to run. Thrusting out his arm, he used the force to push the woman and the two droids to the ground. Moving closer, he beheaded one droid as it tried to stand up. Clenching his fist in the direction of the other droid, it began to buckle and crumple as the force constricted around it. It was soon crushed. Thel approached Vance, who was still on the floor. “Follow my instructions and this can be resolved quickly.”

(OOC: Successful dice roll to approach Vance)

@Alhon @theaveragejedishadow

 

[Nico Vandron]

Nico followed Kylos out onto the terrace, realising he would have to move quickly if he was to keep the guy‘s attention.

”I‘ve got this big meeting pretty soon you know“ Kylos stammered “so we mustn’t be long out here…”.

Nico grabbed the hotshot’s waist, pushing him back across the terrace and up against the balustrade. It was not hard to entertain the notion, Kylos was attractive enough, but it was out of character for Nico to be so forward. He was running on adrenaline here.

”Ssssh“ Nico said, making himself lay a finger on Kylos’ lips, shutting him up. He was not quite sure what to do next though, to keep the guy out here and far away from the vote.

Kylos’ eyes flashed with mischief all of a sudden, as if he was reassessing the Sennexian. All of a sudden, he was lowering himself down, reaching for Nico’s waist.

Nico panicked, too worried he was losing control of the situation. He lashed out instinctively with the Force, knocking the crouched Kylos aside so his head cracked against a table. He went down in seconds, out cold.

The Acolyte stood there for a long moment, calming himself in the quiet open air. Knocking Kylos out had not been the plan, but it would certainly achieve the aim. Nico almost felt sorry for the guy.

@DMCK @theaveragejedishadow

15/20 for progress success