So, I'm back with another chapter for you all. And honestly, this has been a chapter I've been wanting to write for a while now. Sorry if it's a bit on the shorter size, but it's more meant for setup than anything.
Also quite note there is some light torture in this chapter as well, hopefully not to an M rating, still you have been warned ahead of time. And if it is an issue regarding this, the best way to let me know is to PM me, so I can change the rating of the story, but it should be in the age rating.
Anyway, with that out of the way, as per usual, all rights go to their owners, and all credit for this idea for this story goes to World, and a big thanks to everyone else that has supported me in this, as I wouldn't have made it this far without you all!
PS: Happy holidays everyone, and see you all next year when we hopefully get into the CW bit of the story.
"-is probably the best deal you're going to get, especially considering what you're asking." The vendor said to the Chief.
As John and Cortana were currently on what Ijaat had called a 'shadow port' or more accurately world, that was pretty much one large black market.
This was convenient for them, as they had needed to start making some contacts in the galaxies' underbelly if they were going to keep certain parts of their operations out of the public eye.
But for the moment they were seeing just what kind of technology they could acquire here, and when they had heard a rumours of a rare weapon for sale, they have gone to investigate only to find that the weapon in question was a lightsaber.
Which had of course peaked both the interest of both the Spartan and his AI companion. As they both wanted to get their hands on the weapon to see how it worked, but at the same time they knew the risks that acquiring such a weapon would bring.
For it would most certainly bring the attention of the Jedi to them, as it was their weapon.
"What do you think?" John asked his faithful companion in the privacy of his helmet.
"Not worth the risk, as he probably got it from a Jedi. Or at least kill one to get it, if it's not a fake." Cortana pointed out these facts to him.
The fact that he didn't want to turn it on made John think that it was the last option.
"We should report him to the authorities," John then said.
"I hate to do so, but considering the risks. It's probably the best choice," Cortana admitted to him.
Because if they did alert the local authorities to this, and a Jedi or Republic representative did show up in the system, then Cortana would hear about it from the local COM network allowing them to avoid crossing paths with that individual during their investigation of the vendor.
"There might be a Jedi here, the last thing we need is for him to come looking for us," John stated simply.
"Agreed, I'll keep scanning the COMs to see if there are reports of Jedi in the system. Just make sure he hangs onto the weapon in the meantime," Cortana said.
Which was something that John could easily achieve with the right incentive.
John then brought out some credits, untraceable ones that Cortana had provided him for this trip.
"I'll think about it," John said as he then placed a couple of credits on the counter, "I'll come back later if I want it."
"I'll make sure to keep it on hand," The vendor assured the Spartan.
Even though John had done this to ensure that he kept the weapon in his possession for long enough for the local authorities to arrest and take the weapon from him.
But if that didn't happen and somehow things played out differently, then John might just have a lightsaber for him and Cortana to look at.
But despite that possibility, John was more than satisfied with this trip, as he had made contact with at least two beings that might be of some use to Roroa in the future once the war started between the Republic and the CIS.
While also John had managed to acquire a couple of weapons for study and for his personal use, such as the parts to put together his own custom Vibroblade and a weapon for his Wookiee companion.
As John only saw this as right after what Wamoshoool had gifted him.
For he had been pleasantly surprised with the Wookiee-modified X1 carbine. For it was both the right size and strength for him to use easily.
So, in response to the gift that Wamoshoool had given him, John and Cortana were already crafting a weapon for him in turn. Thou they expected it to be sometime before it was actually ready for him.
But so far, they had found some of what they needed for this weapon here.
Even so, John felt that it wasn't wise to linger in any area of this world for too long, as the criminal element seemed to be ever restless and staying still simply made you a target.
Knowing this, and knowing that he should move on, John simply nodded in acknowledgement of what he had said and walked off, all the while talking to Cortana in the private of his helmet.
"What else is on the list?" He then asked her.
As the two of them had been hitting up every gun runner and technician they could find.
"We mostly got everything, well not everything but you know what I mean," Cortana said as Chief merged with the crowd outside.
"We can look for other ways to get what we need." Chief assumed her as he made his way past a few escorts trying to get his attention.
"This seems like a place that ONI would love," The sarcasm in Cortana's voice was plain to hear.
As she knew that a planet like this back home would be ONI's worst nightmare. Which was why they had put so much effort into ensuring worlds such as the ones they were on didn't become an issue.
Most often by finding new and creative ways of fermenting a civil war and swooping in to pick up the pieces.
Because a world that was in a conflict couldn't provide services and weapons to the insurrection, as ONI knew that most of what those worlds had managed to acquire was better used against their more immediate problems, such as the opposition in their ongoing civil war.
But despite the successful track record of this strategy employed by ONI, as it had allowed them to both track and infiltrate the black market, operations such as this had mostly ended with the arrival of the Covenant, as most of ONI's resources had been shifted way from this and to the war against the Covenant.
So needless to say, ONI was going to be busy for the coming decades as they tried to reassert their position in the Outer Colonies.
If they actually could, as Cortana knew that ONI now faced the prospect of overstretch, as they had more than just the human sphere of space to worry about.
As both John and Cortana were certain that the Office of Naval Intelligence was already working on ensuring that any Covenant Remnants couldn't pose a threat to humanity until they had recovered enough to stand a chance of beating them back no matter how small that chance might actually be.
Needless to say, John expected to be very busy once he returned home.
"Make a note for them, as they'll want to know everything about this place," John said.
For the criminal community here made any back home look like a small-time gang, as the Hutts held a large swath of space under their control that was pretty much an empire in all but name.
Needless to say, the Spartan suspected that if the UEG were to keep an official presence here, that he would be sent to Hutt space to destabilize the region of space.
As for obvious reasons, John knew that ONI, UNSC and the UEG would like to avoid dealing with the potential for the Hutts to move the business into their sector of space for obvious reasons.
As they had enough on their plate as it was, they didn't need a large criminal empire on top of everything else they were dealing with back in the Milky Way.
"Already doing so, anyway what did you think about those two we met?" Cortana then inquired.
The AI wanted his opinion on the smugglers and pirates they had encountered while making their way through the streets.
"Do you think that they can be trusted?" The Spartan then inquired.
"As far as you can throw them, also making sure they have a steady stream of credits wouldn't hurt." Cortana quipped.
John knew that this was the only way of dealing with this kind of people.
Which made them a little better than mercenaries, but with mercenaries, there was the bonus fact that there was possible deniability with them.
As John could give them the money and once they were done would leave with a bonus to never talk about what they had done.
Which would be backed up with a bounty on their head should they break their contract with him.
"…" John didn't say anything in response to Cortana's comment.
Not that he needed to, as trust mattered a great deal to him. So, to be dealing with being who's only way of ensuring that they didn't backstab him was money didn't sit well with him at all.
As the Spartan knew that even if he did pay them well, they might just betray him to save their own skins.
So, if he was ever going to trust these two, then it would be a very long time before he did so.
"Anyway, we should probably figure out where Ijaat is," Cortana then said changing the subject.
As the two of them had separated earlier, with him saying that he had some business to attend to.
Which John had assumed meant that Ijaat had some unfinished business with some of the criminals on the planet.
Still so long as the Mandalorian wasn't doing anything that would bring the world down on their heads, then John would help him with whatever he was doing at the moment.
"No kidding, let me do a quick search of the local COM traffic… Well, that didn't take long, seems he has a talent like yours for getting into trouble," Cortana commented.
As the local net was already lighting up about their residents guiding to this world, and not in a good way.
"We should get off this moon as soon as possible," John commented.
As he knew with a bounty that large on Ijaat's head, it wouldn't be too long before some of the locals tried to cash in on the prize.
Knowing this, John would prefer that they were already making their way into orbit before all the local bounty hunters and petty criminal gangs got organized enough to start causing them trouble.
"I would agree with that statement because as much I would love to watch you clean house. It would make life for use rather difficult," Cortana commented.
Because she was under no illusions that John could probably kill every scumbag that this world could throw at them.
As unlike the Talons crew, no one here had the advantage of pre-fortified positions and pre-sighed kill zones. That and the fact that her SPARTAN could easily kill anyone on this dump.
As such Cortana was feeling rather good about their odds of getting off world even if they were forced to fight.
"Set a waypoint," John stated simply.
As he then started making his way towards where Ijaat's current whereabouts were being reported. All the while hoping that this situation didn't devolve into a full-on urban warfare.
But if it did John already had a plan as to how to get out alive, as he continued towards one of the largest buildings in this district.
Ijaat was currently looking at the owner of a local front that had caught his attention.
"I'm not going to ask again, where are they being kept?" He asked.
"Get borked!" The scum spat back.
To which Ijaat sighed, as he hadn't planned on doing this, but when he spotted the logo of Zemo the Hutt above the building, he couldn't help himself.
As Ijaat had unfinished business with that oversized slug.
But since he couldn't slot the Hutt now, he would simply have to settle with dismantling his network on the moon instead.
Something that he hoped that he could get the Spartan to help him with once he expected the situation to him. But for the moment Ijaat had to deal with this piece of Hutt slime in his grasp.
"Fine," Ijaat said as he then brought out his vibroblade. "Then we'll do this the hard way," He said as he then plugged the blade into the scum's hand.
The thug then let out a scream that Ijaat knew could be heard outside the building.
'Running out of time," He then thought to himself.
As Ijaat knew that he needed to get the information to make this trip worth it, as he knew that the Chief wasn't going to be happy once he found out what he had been doing.
Still, he could at least get a location on where the local slaves were being kept on this force forsaken moon before they were moved to be sold off world, or perhaps on world if Ijaat was luck.
As maybe then he could convince the Spartan to help him deal with all the blowback that was undoubtedly coming his way because of his current actions.
For Ijaat knew that Zemo would send every enforcer on his payroll to deal with him. As he had already cost Zemo a fortune in credits, the Hutt would undoubtedly use this opportunity to try and rid himself of this major irritant.
This meant that Ijaat had to either get the information and act on it quickly or make a hasty exit from the system before every would-be bounty hunter or crime boss tried to collect on the bounty that Zemo would undoubtedly double on his head.
"Are we going to talk now? If you do, I'll let you leave," Ijaat said, making the offer.
As he knew that if this scum ratted on his boss, then he would be a marked man. As Zemo didn't forgive anyone who betrayed him, even if they managed to kill Ijaat, the fact was that he had betrayed Zemo once, and the Hutt wasn't going to risk him doing so again.
"Get, borked," The small time front man said once again in defiance.
As he obviously feared his boss more than Ijaat, which was something that Ijaat would have to change, as he then planted the vibroblade into his knee and started moving it.
"I suggest that you change your tone, as this will get messy if you don't." The threat was there in Ijaat's voice as continued to move the blade slowly.
But the small timer didn't make even a sound, which made Ijaat wonder just how far he would have to go with this before this sleemo gave him what he wanted.
"Why do you have to make it so hard?" Ijaat asked himself as he then brought the blade clean out of the scum's knee.
This rewarded him with a loud and painful scream. Which hopefully meant progress in Ijaat's eyes, as he then pushed forward with his next threat.
"Now, I suggest that if you want to keep your other kneecaps then you should-!" Ijaat started to threaten this scum when he then felt the muzzle of a blaster press against his head.
Ijaat then mentally cursed himself, as he had gotten so caught up in what he had been trying to get some information from this sleemo. Still, Ijaat was weighing his options to get himself out of this predicament when he then got the shock of his life!
"I thought I told you to say on Mandalore," The all too familiar voice came from behind him.
'It can't be!' Ijaat thought as he then brought up the view from behind him.
As it was him!
For he instantly recognized the blue silver armour of the Mandalorian behind him, as it could only be the Mandalore!
But the obvious question came into Ijaat's mind. Just what in the name of Zemo's grub mother was he doing here?
A question that Ijaat was going to be seemingly able to ask, especially considering the fact that Fett hadn't vapped his head off yet.
Taking a moment to make sure that the middleman simply couldn't run away or even attack him once his back was turned. Ijaat then withdrew the vibroblade back into its sheath and turned to face him.
"It's been a long time, Mand'alor,"
Mando'a dictionary:
Mand'alor - A title meant "sole ruler" for the Mandalorians
That's all she wrote, and I hope that you enjoyed it even if it was on the shorter side of things.
And yes, we finally get to see Jango, Ijatt and Chief together in this upcoming arc.
This is something that I have been wanting to do for a while now, so we get to see how John and the famous Mandalorian meet in the next chapter, and until then, have a good one.