Grapes of Wrath [LN9]

[Durasay Mixo]

"A combination of things. Two power bases colliding. And then our mandalorian friends altering the deal." He chuckled, looking down at the damaged officer's jacket. "Speaking of... Zanebry, who organized things, tried to get out of me who I was working with."

Taking a long drawn drink from the whiskey again.

"Of course I lied and said it was all me. But the closeness to SIS, I'd be careful, especially with regards to the good Colonel and Lord Rath. He also mentioned you, Wraith." His eyes flicked to her mask.

The Identity he knew.

"He then dropped a name he believed to be Wraiths. Who is Moyr Ahaya?"

[Moyr Ahaya]

"A pity Corso didn't take operational command of this, it would have made the difference. Those ex-Kelborns were too unreliable." She sighed, then reached out to the rim of her mask and... removed it. The golden orbs looked straight at him, and a small smile was invited onto her lips.

"It is I. It looks like SIS has not been idle in trying to track my activities. I can't really blame them, after all peace is a lie. It is good to know the extent of how close they've got." She observed his reactions carefully.

[Durasay Mixo]

He didn't say anything for a long moment. But he couldn't hide the curl in his lips, or looking directly into her eyes. "You didn't have to reveal yourself to me, if you didn't want to." He raised his glass to her.

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Moyr Ahaya." He had to stop himself from staring. Or letting his jaw hang open.

"The Mandos. They were without honor. I think had Corso been there, they might have tried to over throw him."

[Moyr Ahaya]

"Either way, it's not a big loss for the Mando'ade. Who, as you probably have deduced, I am very supportive of. I have friends among the Vizsla, and now I've also been anointed a honorary Fett. I even got the armour." She chuckled, but there was something scrutinising in her gaze. She was a woman who didn't turn her gaze away when a man was looking, she used it rather to establish a perimeter with a gate she was the gatekeeper of.

"It is those friends who recommended Craw to me and I worked with him throughout my stay on Nar Shaddaa, paying your ship's fees. But since you haven't come here on the Tortoise I assume things went awry."

And when it looked like she wouldn't address his first comment, she arched one brow.

"I rarely do what I don't want to."

[Durasay Mixo]

He was a perceptive man. He knew when to push those boundaries. And when to not. He smiled, speaking in accented Mando'a. "Congratulations then. Fett will be most honored to have you amongst their clan." He leaned forwards in the chair, keeping his eyes on hers.

"With how things went down, and my ploy compromised, I thought it best to find my own way off the rock." He sighed, shaking his head. "It'll be a very interesting day tomorrow when I finally talk to them." There was a bit of resignation in his voice, before he caught her answer.

"You honor me, then."

[Moyr Ahaya]

She smiled faintly at his comments and raised a silent toast before a sip.

"I will be interested in how those talks with the Tortoise crew go. I have a stake in knowing. If they unravel, you can count on a place on my ship for the time being. Either way, learning from this experience, you should probably look for a more reliable power base. Perhaps among your own, back on Pantora. You were a military officer once, weren't you?"

She nodded, the mid-sections of her lekku pulling back onto shoulders, letting the tips have more freedom.

"Did Baesal Zyn secure the research data from the station?"

[Durasay Mixo]

"I was. That's not a bad place to go. A bit... insular, however. While nominally a part of the Republic, Pantora strives to maintain a... homeworld first attitude before any dealings with the Senate."

Durasay's smile turned slightly, framing his features in disappointment. "She did. And the Jedi confiscated the data." He had been shut out of handling the data.

Apparent conflicts of interest.

"Hopefully they won't turn it over to SIS."

[Moyr Ahaya]

"By the Jedi, you mean someone above Zyn?" She mused, her fingers rolling on the glass in thought, her lekku tips vibrating slightly. "I think there may be more Pantorans that find the insularity itching, maybe some of your former soldiers among them. In addition, if you maintain good relations with your Chiss pilot at the very least, this is something that you may find to be to our long-term benefit as I have some potential inroads into the affairs of the Ascendancy. If the volatile peace happens, and it looks like it just might, we'll have some time to get ready before someone calls the bluff."

"The game around Project Evolution might not be over yet." She added after some thought.

[Durasay Mixo]

"There were several through out the three teams during the attack. From what I understand, in the chaos, one of them died. They took a vested interest in the project." His mind thought back to the actions in the lab. Closing his eyes for a moment, he shook his head.

"Of the two, Craw would be the one who the relationship will be strained. I can count on Nudimsu's logic to maintain our friendship after that. Craw... will be complicated. But I would be very interested in seeing what the Ascendency has to say."

He knew she was right. Would the offsite facilities be taken care of? Would all the research be purged?

Or would some other monster rise up to continue rhe research.

"No. But this round is. We'll just have to be ready for the next one, Red." He smiled, looking back to her, noting the way her lekku moved. It must be subliminal.

[Moyr Ahaya]

"Craw is likely too beholden to his Cadera beau to remain among those Mandalorians who support Corso. This may have just hastened his drift."

Moyr digested the facts. It looked like her lekku took part in the thinking process, contracting and stretching gently.

"There are no rounds, Dursay. This game is ever on and if we're not satisfied with the rules it is played by, we have to change them. And I have my reasons to ask about Baesal. She is a Sith-trained Jedi and we go way back. However, I am still puzzled who Zanebry Varliss is in all this, what are his connections to the SIS. Any insights on that? Because I agree this going to SIS is one of the worst outcomes."

She paused to take a sip.

"What new have you learned about the project itself?"

[Durasay Mixo]

"They have developed a new type of Rakghoul. Nekghouls. The idea is to keep sapience and their memories in tact. At the moment, they have found the... upgrade needs sensitivity to the Force to take gold." The thoughts of the children in those pods flashed before his vision, his grip tightening on the glass.

"He's the one I know the least about. When my... meddling... was discovered, he all but froze me out. The only reason I believe he just didn't shoot me at the time was because I threw him out of the way of heavy repeater fire, and took the shot instead." He chuckled, looking to Wraith.

"An experience I likely will not repeat."

[Moyr Ahaya]

"Rakghouls were creations of one of the Dark Jedi, Karness Muur. So at some stage the project had to involve someone capable of ancient alchemy. This may mean one of the Sith Lords was involved in the process, and the game is wider than we may think. I pity this was not claimed by Corso. He likely would neither use it nor share it but keep it as a last-resort deterrent. Right now, the potential of escalation is uncontained, once the Empire learns the Republic has it. I have a hunch we have an ugly shadow war ahead of this galaxy, Durasay."

Moyr frowned deeply.

"That information on Varliss at least tells me he's not completely ruthless and holds onto some beliefs. You were able to leverage him with a show of personal sacrifice. But if he let the Jedi have it, his affiliations or at least sympathies are clear enough."

[Durasay Mixo]

"Kriff." Durasau worded out breathlessly, drinking in the whiskey deeply. "I need to find all those connections. What that plague did to those children. I'll never forget it." Anger laced through his words.

"Then I will have my work cut out for me in the coming years. Keep things at a delicate detante, while undermining those who would seek to use that virus."

And eliminate it at the source.

"He seemed to have some history with at least one of the SIS agents we ran into. I think you're right about the affiliations. We'll keep our eyes open."

[Moyr Ahaya]

"But will you have the power to make it more than a futile personal crusade?"

An idea formed in Moyr's mind as a result of a long thinking process. She smiled deviously.

"You might need to position yourself in a place of power, preferably at a nexus which you could connect to this agenda the way you channel fuel to the hyperdrive. Being the ambitious man that you are surely you can imagine yourself in such a position."

He might not yet realise the extent of her idea but he would be able to connect the dots soon enough.

[Durasay Mixo]

As she spoke, Durasay's own smile widened. Steepling his fingers, he tilted his head upwards. "I think I get where you are coming from, Red." He began thinking deeply.

"Pantora holds its elections in about two years. I could always start sooner at a local level. See what happens." His gaze locked with hers.

"Senator Mixo has a nice ring, don't you think?"

[Moyr Ahaya]

So he got it. Her smile widened.

"With your background, campaigning against warmongering, corruption and lack of oversight over secret services could be a breath of fresh air in the Senate. Media love young senators who don't cower behind the consular robes of the old incumbents. And Pantora has unique credentials to give the Republic a senator advocating greater transparency and targeting oligarchic cliques that have their pockets lined up by military-industrial complex. After all, we shall have peace?"

[Durasay Mixo]

"The Galaxy tires of war. Especially given the turbulent nature of these peace talks. Any posturing for an increase in the military could jeopardize that peace which has been so hard fought for."

Leaning back in the seat, he watched her reactions, her subtle movements. Just her.

"And you get valuable insight and information, but that can't be all for you, can it, Moyr..." Her name rolled off his tongue easily.

[Moyr Ahaya]

"There might be some favours I could call in time, but nothing compromising or truly discomforting. If you think seeing you in the Senate advancing your agendas wouldn't be already a boon for me, think again." She laughed, apparently not minding the use of her name. "I like to cultivate powerful allies. The more I have them, the more I can coordinate outcomes while being the only one that sees the full picture."

[Durasay Mixo]

There was a small, almost inperceptible shift in Durasay's face. A slight pang of anger and jealousy running down the back of his skull. Most wouldn't catch it.

Most weren't sitting two feet away from him, though.

"I can see the benefit of powerful allies. I can also see the benefit of an extremely strong partnership." He tried to mask that edge with an icy smile, before taking a longer drink.

[Moyr Ahaya]

"So can I. Those are hard to maintain though, and require tremendous amount of loyalty people with newly required power are less keen on offering. You've shown yourself capable of prioritising your agenda over partnerships." She mused, sending a wry smile back at him. "Though if you have assumed so far that there is more to my guidance of you than cultivating an ally you haven't been grossly wrong."

[Durasay Mixo]

"I certainly didn't assume that." He looked back up to her, the smile slightly returning. "I may have shown that, Moyr. But maybe a partnership is in my agenda." His own yellow eyes went to hers, before flicking away slightly.

"Maybe they're hard to maintain because they are so very valuable to both, and one can't be a passive participant as one can with allies."

[Moyr Ahaya]

"That may well be the case. Though I don't think there are many things I am passive about, Durasay." She chuckled lightly "Being ahead of most by a step or two is much more the way I prefer it to be, and that involves a lot of effort."

[Durasay Mixo]

"I didn't mean to imply you were passive. I don't think you and I would be in this position if you weren't as... dynamic, as you are." He raised his glass to her, before finishing it. Setting it down on the console, he turned away for a moment, looking out to the void of space.

"I like to plan. To have contingencies on contingencies. I'm a leader of beings, able to alter tactics on the fly as situations require. And I want to get to that level of being ahead of most." He looked back to her.

"Maybe even ahead of you."

[Moyr Ahaya]

"I know that, Durasay. Hence I am no interested in being naive about what our relationship may entail once you're in a better place than you are now. Nor would I overestimate any sense of oath or gratitude you may have in the future. That I am willing to nurture your advancement nonetheless should thus be telling." She mused, looking into the space as well.

[Durasay Mixo]

"Do the Sith have strictures on the age of the student, as the Jedi do?" He watched her as she looked into the void. Satele and Alysele had both mentioned it. Was he simply too old to be trained?

Was there something more than just raw talent?

"It is, Moyr. You mentioned the delicate balance of apprentices and their masters, and the deadly meritocracy. I don't know if I'd want to be in a position where I threaten you."

Or you me...

He turned to look back out into the shining lights of the Y'toub system. "But I also don't want what comes to be stagnant, either. Maybe that edge of threat always has to be there."