Ask Old Enemies

[Grace Zann]

Hypori | 1600 Hours
​

The planet of Hypori was proving to be a good staging ground for the Zann Consortium's return to power. Paradise City was under construction there, and there were very few people around to contest the faction's domination of the planet. Not long ago, her close friend and mercenary Havvs told Grace about an old Zann Consortium droid factory on the planet. It would probably have a number of useful droids to repair and resell, or perhaps even use. they needed every credit they could get after all.

Of course, there would be opposition to this scavenging expedition. Grace expected pirates would be there without a doubt. There were also rumors about a mandalorian by the name @Kotii Solus. He hunted their organization to near extinction while Grace's father gambled the consortiums wealth away. It was said he had come to Hypori in the past to pick from the Consortium's old scraps... If only he could see them now. In a short five months, the Zann Consortium went from a small-time gang to a feared syndicate in the outer rim. Soon, they would once again be feared throughout the galaxy.

An old Skipray Blastboat would soar through the sky as it approached what looked to be an abandoned droid factory. This was the place. Hopefully there would be something of value left.

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

Spoiler: Music

Kotii had returned to full form in the wake of his time in the fighting pits on Subterrel. The Alor in exile had been able to reach out to other members of the Mandalorian resistance, or as Kotii called them, the Tor'la Akaan'ade. They had long since left Hypori behind and what was left of the factory. Arthos Vizsla and likely other members of the Mandalorian community that had accepted Fenyang as Mand'alor would know about it in time. Thus, the Solus had told his battlegroup to leave the system with new directives.

The Mandalorians were still operating around the area and after the accomplishments of the Zann Consortium in recent months, the Tor'la Akaan'ade took note. Recently Kotii had been indisposed but now was back and more focused than ever. Kowak had been scouted as a possible route by the man and reports of a lack of a Devil Fleet there and in neighboring systems was the first clue. The second was the elimination of Zyggerian slavers. Both targets were enemies of the Mandalorians so it was only natural for them to note their elimination.

Still, no engagements had been mentioned to him thus far with these new space bound brigands. The droid factory on Hypori had some capable defenses the last time he had been there with Arthos. That mission had earned them a hardcell transport, a hundred hailfire tank droids, a T2 tactical droid with a databank that Kotii had yet to crack and then some. But now those things were not here with them. Adin and Atin Solus had been there as well and now rode with Kotii in the Werda Kom'rk. The man was wearing his scatterweave clad beskar'gam and accompanying jetpack rather than his bounty hunting loadout.

Kotii Solus had returned to Hypori to scout the planet out a bit further. If there turned out to be nothing then the worst case was he set up perimeter defenses around the factory. If anyone tried to hunt him down they would be fighting on Kotii's terms. Making it a forward operating base that doubled as an observation post could also be useful. But what purpose it served was yet to be seen.

The arid and blasted surface of Hypori drew closer as the man's ship descended from high orbit. One contact pinged along the holographic display beside the cockpit's targeting controls. His ship began to scan the contact as it neared his own destination.

The multi-role starfighter was manned with the aid of the two other clan members. They knew the Sith were the enemy and still recognize him as their leader. With Aden at the controls of the ship, Kotii sat beside his friend. Atin sat further back in the ship and was taking a nap. That would end when Kotii called out to him. <"Vod! We're here.">

Atin awoke from his crossed arm position and stretched. They had been sleeping in their armor, traveling and had been generally stressed out. Catching a wink of sleep where one could was understandable. Atin rapped both knuckles against the top of his helmed head before shaking sleep from his mind. <"We may have company."

@Where

 

[Grace Zann]

The scanners of her skippray hadn't picked up on the presence of other ships in the area, as it had already begun to land roughly forty meters outside the factory in question. Grace did little to hide her organizations markings on this particular ship. In the last few weeks they had made big moves on Hypori, clearing out multiple Kowakan Devil holdouts and finding several wealthy investors to help them successfully colonize the planet. Soon, this place would become an economy which could rival Nar Shaddaa. The symbol of their organization commanded the respect of the locals, so leaving it on their transports was in their best interest.

A door from the side of the landing bomber would hiss open with a bit of smoke. From inside the vehicle, Grace Zann herself and her old nikto bodyguard would walk out. Havvs was an old friend of the woman's, and had watched her rise to power for some time. he would give the old factory a look up and down before whistling, "Looks like a real beauty. She'll need some work to become functional again..."

"Functional? I thought we were just coming to scavenge." The woman would reply. The pair would start walking toward the entrance of the facility. The mercenary would continue, "I say a lot of things, plus I know how you operate. You don't see immediate cash Grace. You look at long-term goals. Restoring this place would be more your MO than taking a few scraps."

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

The Werda Kom'rk drew closer to the defunct droid factory. It banked momentarily and from the cockpit, the Mandalorians inside could see the markings on the parked Skyspray blastboat. <"Zann Consortium."> The badger growled to himself from the slightly muffled confines of his black helm. His hunch was correct it would seem but it was only one ship. Standing outside of it and a few paces away were a pair of figures. Aden's gloved fingers had flicked away the safety controls for the forward mounted laser cannons. <"Hold your fire."> Kotii commanded to which Aden complied.

The rotating blade wings of the multi-role starfighter steadied and leveled out on either side of the main body for what came next. <"Blow up their ship if they try anything. Give me cover."> The man added and about faced before heading to the middle of the ship while it was in flight. <"Don't touch down unless I change my mind."> He added from over his shoulder and slammed the troop debarkation hatch. The central opening in the belly of the ship allowed for Mandalorians with flying capabilities to fly towards their target without risking a dangerous landing and maintaining altitude. A dozen warriors could leave simultaniously but this time it was just Black Hand.

The rushing wind entered the compartment and some modicum of dust which just pinged off the scatterweave coated plates. Without any further delay, he dropped out of the flying vehicle and for a moment was free falling until he ignited his jetpack. A burst of thrust and he was flying at fifty kilometers per hour towards the 'roof' of the Consortium vessel.

The man would descend, drawing his micro-missile pistol which he held with both hands. It was more of a rifle than a pistol considering its size. But the weapon was silent, and his Heads Up Display flipped over to infrared, noting the temperature of the blast boat and the lack of any other organic signatures as he drew closer with his bird's eye view. But just as he had found it, this place was lacking in activity, save for its most recent arrivals. He switched back as he dropped further in altitude, returning to normal.

If the two strangers looked up or back towards their ship, the duo would likely see the Mandalorian as he came in for a landing. The tread on the bottom of his boots made soft contact with the dorsal hull of the Zann Consortium ship. What's more, Kotii had the high ground. The weapon in his hands was drawn and aimed between both the Nikto and the human woman. "Your ship has an interesting paint job." He uttered with a hint of warning in his tone. How they responded would decide how gentle Kotii would be. He had no reservations about killing members of the Zann Consortium. Hell, it might help him sleep better tonight.

@Where

 

[Grace Zann]

Grace would continue to eye the building for a moment, wondering what exactly they could do with it. Maybe the consortium could finder a tinkerer or two to work for them. If so, then perhaps they could gain a sizable force of droids. The woman wasn't very fond of droids, but knew they could be quite capable in combat. "Ya know Havvs, I think you might be on to something here..."

It would be around then that the woman had an all too familiar chill run down her spine. It was something dangerous, and it would be coming for them soon. She would shift her eyes toward her old friend and mention, "I sense a disturbance in the force..." In exchange, the nikto would just give her a confused look. To him, the force was just space magic, mumbo jumbo. He would start to turn around, but Grace would grab his shoulder with one arm. "Don't look back. We wait. Prepare to send a distress signal if things get serious. We can have the corvettes here in less than a tic if we need... "

Grace had come in the proper gear to explore or fight if the need should arise. She would use the force briefly, telekinetically grabbing hold of her double-bladed lightsaber in her left hand. She had yet to ignite the blade. It was then that she would wait, still facing the droid factory, but expecting company from behind.

Though she did not recognize his voice, she would sarcastically respond, "I just love the color. It matches my lightsaber..."

Tthe woman would turn around to face the man who landed on top of her ship. The voice belonged to a man in a suit of armor, a suit she had seen so many times in holovids. This was him, the living legend who crippled her father's criminal empire. Though she had far more skills than her father.

"Kotii Solus, I presume. I recognize that armor, but do you recognize my face?"

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

Spoiler: Music

Before the duo had his attention but now they certainly had his curiosity. As far as he knew, usually Sith carried red lightsabers. But that did not make her a friend. The Jedi were no friends of his. In fact he was very glad he had opted to come with his chosen weaponry as it could prove usefully against a saber jockey, regardless of association.

She turned and he saw in her hands what he expected after such words. The weapon looked longer than a normal lightsaber which he could expect to mean any number of things. For the time being the Mandalorian would remain atop the blastboat, looking down on Grace with intent judgement.

Behind the emotionless T-Visor his white haired eyebrow twitched at hearing his own name spoken so swiftly. The man only had two true 'second skin' that he called his own. One he used for bounty hunting and the other he presently wore. The beskar'gam had been used publicly and captured on holobroadcasts, specifically when threatening those in the slave trade. So it wasn't a total surprise, but still the man was not quite used to being recognized outside of the Mandalorian or Bounty Hunting community. Half of the people he 'knew' would still call him 'mando' without a second thought.

Kotii tilted his helmet to the side as he replied, letting her know he was regarding her. "I've recently become familiar, Grace Zann." Now fully aware of the dynamic between them as they were squared off. A pause hung in the air as he became very tuned into the position of his trigger finger outside of his weapon's trigger guard. She didn't activate her supposed lightsaber and her Nikto friend didn't move for a blaster, yet. He already had the draw on her and was a fast marksman to begin with. He would place an explosive round into either one of them if they made a hostile move against him.

"Why are you here?" He finally spoke, breaking the tense moment if only temporarily. Why shouldn't I kill you? It was taking everything in his being not to eviscerate the two of them with a few pulls of his weapon as his famous badger temper rose to boil his blood, serving to focus his rage. Thoughts about all the atrocities the Zann Consortium had done to those he called brother and sister rose to the surface. His patience was limited, despite any reputation that may precede him that would indicate the contrary.

@Where

 

[Grace Zann]

Grace remained perfectly still for a moment, waiting for the mandalorian to speak. As he did, her suspicions were confirmed, the armor matched the one she had seen so many times before. He was ask after her business, and then would threaten her? How quaint.

"The reason I'm here is simple. This factory was once Zann Consortium property, owned by our subsidiary, Zann Remanufacturing. I was looking to salvage the place..." As she spoke Havvs had would move away from his blaster at the hip, opting to cross his arms instead. As the mando threatened the pair with death, her old friend would only smirk.

Grace herself would respond. "You can try something if you're feeling lucky, but you'll probably fail. After that, my mercenaries would hunt you down like a dog and probably have you gunned down with disruptor tech... Of course, that doesn't have to happen... See. You're not actually my enemy. You were my father's enemy, Tyser Zann. The damn fool who gambled away all the consortium's money... It took me to fix the organization up, and get everything back to the way Tyber Zann wanted it."

She would look over to Havvs, who seemed to give her a concerned look. Would playing that card actually work, however true it may be?

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

Grace's answer was obvious and probably true. But Kotii did not accept it as the whole truth. The Zann Consortium had made its mark on the galaxy long ago during the Galactic Civil War. The criminal organization had capitalized on the Empire and Rebellion's weaknesses and profited greatly. It was also why he was not entirely surprised when she suggested disruptor tech.

"If you're trying to convince me not to shoot you...you're doing a terrible job." As a Mandalorian he knew his weapons, but the Alor in exile also knew his history. The dangers such weapons posed against even beskar clad warriors was horrendous which was why it was technology widely outlawed across the galaxy. Furthermore he knew it was very much a possibility that members of her organization were equipped with such weapons. Even so, the man was not phased by the threat.

She seemed to think that the Zann Consortium ceased being an enemy just because it had new leadership. "I'll remind you the Zann Consortium has been an enemy to my people long before your father existed." The Echani warned. This was nothing knew. "...as for the crack about disruptor tech, your mercs will have to get in line." The Sith Empire and of course half of his own House was out to get him on top of what he normally faced as a beskar clad bounty hunter. It was nothing new to the jaded fighter.

The Zann Consortium under Grace had yet to 'take' anything from his people. There were plenty of reasons why he could pull the trigger. But his hand stayed still. "Where does your Consortium stand on sentient trafficking and slavery?" The judging gaze continued to focus unflinchingly on the crime lord. She probably had a smuggling operation and plenty of the Syndicates utilized slave labor.

@Where

 

[Grace Zann]

Grace would almost smirk as the mando responded to her threats. She could tell he wasn't her fan, regardless of what her father may have done in the past. Or what he made others do. Havvs seemed more worried than usual, tapping his foot in anxiety. the old man was probably just worried a fire fight would start. Meanwhile, Grace would remain calm, but ready for conflict.

It wouldn't take the man long point out his history with the consortium, and the woman could understand previous rivalries. A group of exiled mandalorians were going to be a real problem if they hunted her down however. The Zann Consortium needed to grow strong, and more allies than enemies.

It would be then that he would ask an interesting question. Where did they stand on slavery? Grace would speak up, "My Zann Consortium doesn't deal in slaves. We're arms dealers. We get protection money. Slaves are basically useless when one could have a droid. Not to mention, my people took out an entire army of Zygerrian slavers not long ago. Not only did we free their slaves, we even gave some of them jobs." Maybe slavery was something the Zann Consortium use to practice, but that was a business already capitalized on by the Hutts and Pykes. Far too much competition to get into. Besides, not dealing in slaves tended to make the Zann Consortium seem more humane all around.

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

The Mandalorian remained silent atop the Zann Consortium ship. His visor stared down at the woman as she replied and in the moments after. The badger noted how she spoke, as he was also aware of the organizations history. "That's good to hear. It had better stay that way." He warned. If the Solus found out she was associated with such activities then Black Hand would come after them.

Letting the pause hang in the air for a moment, Kotii would continue. "You're a business woman aren't you, Mrs Zann? Let's make a deal." He cocked his helmet to the side slightly. "What is it you want?" Maybe in another time he would have felt bad about asking such questions in this manner. But too often things were done at the end of a blaster rather than over dinner.

@Where