"Canderous, I see you've brought someone with you. Most intriguing, if I do say so myself."
Arias' head was spinning with what had happened within the few short days he met Bastila. After they had their little "discussion" at their apartment, they quickly set out for the cantina. Arias and Carth had their doubts about trying there again, seeing as how their first attempt ended in failure. However, this time was radically different. While they were at the bar, they were approached by a Mandalorian mercenary named Canderous; he worked for the Exchange, his immediate superior being Davik Kang, head of the Exchange on Taris. Davik was an infamous crime lord, and next to the Sith, the Exchange was one of the most powerful forces on Taris. They had connections throughout the planet, especially with the Tarisian underground.
Canderous was getting tired of being Davik's enforcer. Apparently, Kang had originally promised to make Canderous extremely wealthy in exchange for his services. However, the pay was not what Canderous expected; eventually he just stuck around to he could crack some heads, but even that was getting boring. In short: He was sick of being Davik's lap dog. Canderous saw Arias in the swoop race, and figured that he was his ticket off the planet.
Canderous made an offer: If they broke into the Sith military base and obtained the Sith departure codes, Canderous would team up with them and take them to Davik's estate. He'd make the recommendation that Arias become part of the Exchange, and while Davik was running the background check, they'd steal Davik's flagship: The Ebon Hawk. Arias didn't trust his motives, but Bastila insisted that she didn't sense any deception from him; Carth didn't trust Canderous either, but they didn't have much of a choice. Arias agreed to retrieve the departure codes for Canderous.
However, he warned them ahead of time that the task wouldn't be easy. To achieve their goal, they had to buy a custom utility droid from a Twi'lek mechanic named Janice Nall. She was commissioned by Davik to create T3-M4 for the purpose of breaking into the Sith base and stealing the departure codes. Purchasing the droid cost a fortune, but it did its job well.
Carth, Bastila, and Arias stormed the Sith military base, but only killed what was in their way. They retrieved the departure codes with minimal difficulty, and quickly returned to Canderous, who was waiting at Javyar's Cantina in the Lower City. Canderous joined their group, and he quickly took them to Davik's estate. Bastila stayed behind with Mission and Zalbaar, but Carth came with Arias and Canderous; they decided that bringing a Jedi with them would be too risky; however slim the chance might be, it was possible that Davik would turn Bastila in to the Sith, even if he didn't know who she was. Plus, Arias had a feeling that something bad was going to happen very soon, and thought it best if she were there to help Mission and Zalbaar just in case.
"It's not like you to take on partners, Canderous," Calo Nord, a rather short human bounty hunter said. "You're going soft."
Calo Nord was an infamous human bounty hunter; when Arias asked Mission about him, she used the expression "He's killed more people than the Iridian Plague!" From that, Arias knew to steer clear of him. Calo wore a blue overcoat with orange shoulder pads; underneath that, he wore a black and orange shirt. He wore black pants and black boots, along with a white desert cap and goggles.
"Watch yourself Calo," Canderous retorted. "You may be the newest Kath Hound in the pack, but you're not top dog yet."
Canderous and Calo were quite different. While Calo had a very emotionless face, Canderous seemed to have a face that was perpetually frowning, his jaw locked as if he were angry; he basically had a very square head. He had several battle scars on his light skinned face, and he had just the slightest hint of stubble along his jawline and cheeks. He had cropped, graying hair, and black eyes. He had a soldier's physique, as expected, and an intricate tattoo on his shoulder; it could have been a ceremonial Mandalorian tattoo. He wore a black sleeveless short with a red vest over it; his pants were tan, and he wore metallic silver durasteel boots. He carried a heavy Mandalorian repeater, which clearly dealt a lot of damage.
"Enough," Davik, who appeared to be in his fifties due to his gray thinning hair, said. "I won't have my top two men killing each other, that's not good business. I'm sure Canderous has a good reason as to why he's not going solo anymore."
Davik wore a purple battle suit, which appeared to be very flexible. He had several wrinkles, and he had a small tattoo near his right eye. His demeanor was very friendly, but he clearly wasn't the kind of person you'd want to double cross.
"This is a special case Davik," Canderous explained. "I brought you someone you'd be very interested to meet. You might recognize him from the swoop race earlier."
"Ah," Davik nodded in understanding. "Now I recognize your companion. Your runs were impressive, as was the rather heated battle afterwards. Congratulations, by the way. It's not everyday you see a rookie blow away the competition on their first race."
"It was nothing I couldn't handle, I guess," Arias shrugged.
Davik nodded in agreement, then continued. "You know, Canderous was right. The Exchange is always looking for new members. With Canderous' recommendation, and a thorough background check, of course, you could become part of the Exchange. Many would kill to receive such a great honor!"
No kidding. Arias thought.
"Your offer intrigues me, Davik," Arias lied. The last thing he wanted to do was join the Exchange, but he needed to pretend he wanted to.
"I'm glad to hear it," Davik nodded. "But, before you make your final decision, please follow me. I'll give you a tour of my estate, then I'll show you to your quarters where you'll be staying for the next few days.
The first thing they were shown was the Ebon Hawk. Now, Arias wasn't one to fawn when he saw an impressive ship. Carth, on the other hand, being a pilot for the Republic, was quite the opposite.
"Wow," Carth exclaimed. "A Dynamic-class freighter! I haven't seen one of these since the Mandalorian--"
Arias curtly elbowed Carth in the ribs, and impatiently whispered, "Hush! If he thinks we're with the Republic, who knows what will happen!"
"Ah, your friend has a good eye," Davik remarked. "The Ebon Hawk is my pride and joy, fastest ship in the universe!"
The Ebon Hawk was a red and white freighter; looking at it automatically made you think of a hawk...only bigger, and faster. With a laser turret on top. But other than that, it looked a lot like a hawk.
"Note the state of the art security system I've installed to protect her. No one can steal my baby without the proper access codes," He said, almost as if it were a warning. "Unfortunately, as fast as she is, even she isn't fast enough to outrun the advanced auto-targeting turbolasers of the Sith fleet. I am, of course, working on acquiring the Sith departure codes so I can come and go as I please, but progress has been slow.
"But enough of that. Come, we should continue our tour."
-----------------
"You summoned me, Lord Malak?" Admiral Karath asked.
Lord Malak was staring at Taris from the ship the Leviathan. Ever since Bastila crashed on the planet, Malak had decided to take up residence in Karath's ship, in case news of the young Jedi surfaced. Karath didn't mind, of course. It was an honor to have Malak with him! However, his presence was a bit...unsettling; as was his obsession with Bastila's Battle Meditation. The search for this particular Jedi was actually made main priority by Malak! In other words, Galactic domination came second.
The last Admiral that questioned Malak's decision ended up paying with his life. Saul was determined not to repeat history. However, he was in complete control of the Sith fleet, so he could still conquer planets, even if Malak wished otherwise. Malak was a fierce warrior, but he was no tactician. Not like Saul. Not like Revan.
"The search for Bastila is taking too long. I cannot risk her escaping Taris," Malak said, making a wiping motion with his hand as he continued. "Destroy the entire planet."
Not again...
"Th-the entire planet, Lord Malak?" Saul stuttered. A small part of him always regretted bombing Telos, and he had hoped he would never have to do such a thing again. He was wrong. "But, there are millions of people on Taris. We'd be slaughtering countless innocent civilians. Not to mention our own men still on the surface."
It's useless to reason with him, I just know it...
Malak spun around, glaring at Saul with beady black eyes. His skin was pale, and he had two arrow-like tattoos on his bald skull. He wore the same jaw guard back when Revan was still alive, and he still wore a skin tight red battle suit with a black cape draped over his right shoulder. His appearance was not completely corrupted, which was odd. He apparently hadn't completely fallen to the darkside.
"Your predecessor once made the mistake of questioning my orders, Admiral," Malak snapped. "Surely you are not so foolish as to make the same mistake?"
Saul took a step back, lifting his hands slightly in a pleading motion. "Of course not, my lord Malak. I will do as you command," He assured. "But it will take several hours to position our fleet."
Malak's eyes glinted with triumph, then he waved his hand in a dismissive motion. "Then I suggest you begin immediately. You are dismissed, Admiral."
"As you wish, Lord Malak."
Malak turned around and continued observing the planet, then Saul bowed and left to begin making preparations. I'll see you in Hell, Lord Malak.
-----------------------
"These will serve as your quarters for the duration of your stay," Davik said, leading them into one of the guest rooms. "You will stay here while I complete your background check. Once your background check is complete, I will offer you a position in the Exchange.
"I must warn you," Davik added. "You should accept the offer when it comes, because I won't take no for an answer."
"I look forward to working with you, Davik," Arias assured.
"Excellent. Please, feel free to visit the slave quarters during your stay. The entire guest wing is yours to explore," Davik said. "However, if you leave the guest wing at all during your stay, or if you bother my other guests, my security forces will have to deal with you most harshly."
"I understand," Arias nodded.
"Good. We'll be back for you in a couple of days. Come, Calo."
Davik left the guest room, and Calo Nord followed behind him after nodding at the three of them. After they heard the door to the guest wing close, Canderous was the first to speak.
"Okay, we're inside. Now, there's a prisoner in the West wing; he used to be the pilot of Davik's ship. If we free him, he should give us the access codes to the Ebon Hawk."
"Why was he put in prison?" Carth asked, frowning a little bit.
"How the Hell should I know?" Canderous said. "Point is he can help us get off this rock. Now, there's no sense waiting around here, so let's go."
"Right," Arias nodded. "Just show us where to go, Canderous."