Jorick

[Approved] Zaek Saxon, Mandalorian mercenary

Awesome, thanks. I'll go ahead and edit the title to say Approved since that hasn't been done yet. :D

[ASOIAF]: Before the Dragons Danced

Lord Emmon Arryn

As the dinner party unfolded, and with it the carefully coordinated intrigue planned out by Lady Alyssa, Lord Emmon suffered in silence. He had no major part to play this evening beyond his usual role: the figurehead meant to keep the lords and ladies content and believing that they were not in fact being led entirely by the whims of a maid who by their reckoning ought to have been married and whelping a litter of offspring for some lord by now. Even Emmon was pleasantly surprised by just how competent the young woman was, and he was the one who had fought to protect her right of inheritance. He had his own reasons for that, of course, but her sharp wit made it easy to avoid any sense of guilt or regret over refusing to become the Lord Arryn rather than the pretend puppet master of Lady Arryn. Many of the more traditional nobles of the Vale would bluntly refuse to consider her worthiness for the position, so Emmon played at being the true power in the Eyrie in order to allow Alyssa the freedom to rule as she saw fit without a horde of concerned lords and ladies second guessing her every move.

Though he wished he had more to do than sit at the table and look lordly, Emmon had to admit to himself that the plan for this evening's work had no place for him. Lady Alyssa and the young ladies who were so often her co-conspirators would be able to manipulate Larys Strong without any need for his input. While he kept an eye and ear on the lot of them, just in case something went wrong, Emmon plied Lady Myriah Waxley with the other half of his attention. By the Seven, she was a dull woman. The only reason he tolerated her fawning and insipid questions was the certain knowledge that before the evening was through she would be warming his bed and, more importantly, his cock. She was just the sort of lady that many a lord would lust after, pretty and pleasant and oh so willing to please, but they were far too easy to coax into bed with a few honeyed words. Emmon of course still took the time to dribble that seductive honey into their ears, and he thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of his labors, but there was no challenge to it. He'd grown fond of pursuing more challenging prey, like devoutly chaste women who guarded their virtue like the Iron Bank guards gold or ladies who seemed like they'd just as soon behead him as bed him, but this evening he was left with few options. Lady Myriah would suffice as this evening's entertainment, as she already had done more than once in the past.

Tension drained from Emmon as Alyssa quickly whispered word of her success into his ear before slipping away. With her plan executed successfully, all that was left for him to do was see to the end of the dinner party. As Lady Arryn and her companions departed, Lady Myriah began hinting in a not at all subtle fashion that the evening was getting late and perhaps she ought to go lay down. Emmon kept her content with lascivious remarks about how she'd be busy with things far more interesting than merely laying in bed, but he remained at the head table as some of the lords and ladies present saw fit to come up and discuss important matters with him only after Alyssa had left, as expected. He gave them noncommittal answers to their inquiries and requests, making excuses about the hour being too late and his cup having seen too much wine to give any firm response, but in truth he was simply memorizing their issues in order to pass them along to Lady Arryn to deal with as she pleased. As the number of people furtively looking for an opportunity to approach Emmon started to reach its end, he passed a key to Lady Myriah under the table and murmured a few instructions to her. The sudden flush that spread across her cheeks was quite gratifying, as was the fact that she down the remaining half glass of wine before her and immediately stood to go and do as she was told.

When Emmon himself finally left, after standing to thank all those who had attended and wishing them all a good night, he took his time and a winding route to reach his room. They were set to leave in the morning, and their planned destination had him feeling both excited and trepidatious. It was both the culmination of a lot of work and the start of something new. It would likely be the defining act of Lady Alyssa Arryn's reign, and if things went well it would also be the act that forced the lords and ladies of the Vale to view her as the true ruler she was. Only time would tell, and Emmon could only contemplate it for so long before going in mental circles got tiresome. By the time he got to his room, he was more than ready to toss aside tomorrow's worries and focus on enjoying the here and now. The future would sort itself out, one way or another.

A thought about the two writing competitions.

And to add to the above, if the overlapping contests end up seeing depressed turnout then we can always change course and do something different. This first couple months is going to be a trial period, nothing is set in stone.

[Approved] Darth Embrus

I made a hefty addition to the sheet in order to add Almalthia's Tishombra Ferro as one of Darth Embrus's Apprentices (a little preemptively since she's not approved yet, I know) and to give a little detail to the others mentioned as being part of his favored circle of underlings. The newly updated section of the sheet is in the hider below for GM convenience, lemme know if anything needs tweaking and I'll get to it ASAP.

Updated list of underlings

_{List and description of other known associates, including underlings.}

The subject has many underlings, but among them he favors a select few. While these eight are subjected to rigorous training and more harrowing tasks, the rest seem to be left largely to do as they please. It is impossible to ascertain just how much these far-flung underlings view the subject as their true master, or if they see their arrangement simply as a convenience that allows them more latitude than another master might offer, but they are of little consequence either way. The favored eight, however, are noteworthy.

Sith Lord Zisna Alesh: A female Sith Pureblood of roughly 90% purity. She has respectable influence in the spheres of Defense of the Empire and Laws and Justice, and lesser pull within the realm of Imperial Intelligence. She is noted by her peers as being vicious to the point of being considered a danger even to her allies, but her admirable combat skills brought her under the subject's protection when other Sith Lords were apparently plotting an unfortunate accident for her.

Sith Lord Neyo Sypher: A Mirialan male, one of the few survivors from the first group of force-sensitives the subject brought to Korriban after bringing his homeworld under the auspices of the Empire. His influence is concentrated largely in the areas of Military Strategy and Military Offense, with some minor interests in the areas of Expansion and Diplomacy. He appears to be a fanatical follower of the subject. Such loyalty is unusual and worrisome, but thus far it has not conflicted with the needs of the Empire.

Apprentice Tishombra Ferro: A Sith Pureblood woman with about 75% purity of blood. While she is the most recent addition to the subject's group of favored underlings, she appears to have already fallen into line with the gruelling training regimen. During the writing of this report, subject was overheard regaling another Darth with the story of Tishombra Ferro slaying a fellow Apprentice during a training exercise performed with true lightsabers rather than practice blades, and it did seem to be told in a tone of glowing positivity. Her interests and limited influences seem to lie in the realms of Defense of the Empire, the Mysteries, and Sith Philosophy.

Apprentice Shiyqo Seknos: A male Sith Pureblood with an almost immaculately pure lineage. He has some influence in the sphere of Production and Logistics thanks to his family's deep ties to that sector, and more minor sway in the realms of Military Offense and Defense of the Empire. He is a hedonistic creature that has been forcibly made to fit the mold of a ruthless warrior, and it shows in his tendencies for laziness and getting distracted from his studies by simple pleasures.

Apprentice Amogeva Garr: A Miralian female, from a later batch of force-sensitives sent years after the subject finished his work on his homeworld. She has such an abysmal lack of influence in the Empire that it is doubtful she will ever rise above the rank of Apprentice, but her relentless dedication to learning the nuances of lightsaber combat seems to have been plenty to catch the subject's eye. She had been assigned as an Apprentice to a Sith Lord, but reports indicate he gladly gave her up in exchange for a small sum of credits.

Apprentice Hanna Durunen: An Arkanian woman, and by all accounts an absolutely insufferable person to be around. During the creation of this report she insisted on being interviewed so that her information was recorded accurately. The holotape managed to get lost in transit. Her obsessive pursuit of self-improvement by way of genetic modifications and cybernetic enhancements naturally led her to develop ties with elements of the spheres of Biotic Science and Technology.

Apprentice Coriss Scelax: A Sluissi male. His limited political influence lies entirely in the spheres of Technology and Military Offense, both predominantly in areas related to starship manufacture and repear, but that comes as no surprise from a Sluissi. Even a layman observer would understand why the subject pursued this particular Apprentice: his technical skill with a lightsaber is beyond impressive. While he has a habit of falling into rote patterns of the forms, he has the potential to become a master with time, experience, and a teacher willing to break him out of those predictable behaviors.

Apprentice Raevys Lanell: A Vahla woman whose presence among this core group of warrior underlings is somewhat unusual. Where the rest are all greatly skilled in the use of a lightsaber, her talents appear to lie largely in the use of the Force, including the use of her telekinetic abilities to wield up to three lightsabers at once. She has made connections within the realms of Ancient Knowledge and Sith Philosophy, but reports indicate she has declined multiple offers from Sith more deeply ensconced in those spheres to leave the subject and become their underling instead.

[Approved] Zaek Saxon, Mandalorian mercenary

Not sure about 2.0 hyperspace for the Dauntless. Speed is a precious premium in this era. But it's possible.

He wouldn't know where Tython was. Satele rediscovered it after millennia. Selene bought the location at an incredibly steep price and the Jedi will have dealt with the source, not that Selene didn't on Nar Shaddaa.

@Ruby

Whoops, yeah, didn't realize that about Tython. Tweaked it to have Zaek instead sent to Coruscant to spy on the Galactic Senate for that mission, still found out by a Jedi who happened to be around though.

I used the "Unidentified consumer model corvette" under the Civilian Craft section of the starship guide as the basis for the Dauntless. The guide says 2.0 hyperdrive, so that's what I went with. My idea on the matter was that Zaek acquired and spent a stupid amount of money to get essentially the top of the line civilian corvette, so whatever that would actually include for hyperdrive is fine by me. Any specific suggestion what class of hyperdrive such a starship ought to have in this era?

MASC #1: Throwback - Prompt and Discussion

Mummy

Written
By

Timothy Rhymer


Chapter One

Ancient Egypt
391 B.C.

Long ago, there was a Pharaoh by the name Ammu Calotep who had a daughter, Princess Nabul-tepites, and her father had once told her that she was going to
rule Egypt. But the Pharaoh fell in love with his brother/ bodyguard Nabmu Calotep's girlfriend Elonu-pheties.

Then one day Elonu-pheties gave birth to the Pharaoh's son. So now the Pharaoh's son will inherit Nabul-tepites's destiny. Out for revenge, Nabul broke the most worst of ancient laws, she made a pact to embrace evil...She made a pact with Set the Egyptian God Of Death and to seal the pact, she had to turn someone against mankind and over to evil. So, Set gave her the worst of the worst gifts, he gave her his dagger "The Dagger Of Eternal Evil". But before she could seal the pact, Pharaoh's guards stopped her and mummified her alive and put her in a sarcophagus and took her far from Egypt and sealed her in a tomb where she'll spend all of eternity in darkness.

@Asmundus 24

Uhh, not sure what's going on here my dude, but if you want to enter the contest then you need to read and follow the submission rules. Entries aren't supposed to be posted into this thread.

@Jorick So, I wanted to double check something that's probably unnecessary. So the topic is about mythology, but most of the rules are about a myth. Both make me imagine rather different things. So what scale does this story need to be? If the story simply *includes* some kind of mythological creature. Would that fit the rule? Would a modern myth fit the prompt? (Like Santa Claus or Urban Legends?) Is folklore separate from mythology? (It's usually done so in scale.)

@SleepingSilence

The title intentionally went for the big boy overarching term as an attempt (possibly made in vain) to note the vast array of things that the term "myth" can cover. I was going more for the "study of myths" meaning than the "collection of myths pertaining to one religion/culture" meaning. The scale of this contest requires only the use of a singular myth, but more than one is fine too if you can fit it all in there.

That said, modern myths, folklore, and urban legends would all qualify as myths under that broad umbrella. However, just including some creature from a myth wouldn't quite count unless the myth is also discussed/explained/mentioned in the entry, though honestly even a line or two can cover your bases there.

MASC #1: Throwback - Prompt and Discussion

Are we allowed to do re-tellings of real world myths should they fit the brief?

@Kassarock

Sure.

MASC #1: Throwback - Prompt and Discussion

<Snipped quote>

So just to be clear: the story does not have to be the myth in itself. It can be any prose story at all as long as the myth affects the narrative in a significant way?

@pugbutter

Yep, a myth just needs to be an important element, not the entirety of the story. An entry that is the telling of a myth in and of itself would definitely count though.

MASC #1: Throwback - Prompt and Discussion

Welcome one and all to the very first edition of the Monthly Adaptive Storytelling Contest! Check out the Rules and Info thread for a general overview of how the contest works and to see all the rules and prizes. Without further ado, let's get right to the prompt. The prompt for the inaugural run of MASC is...

WOTM Throwback

Is it weird to do a nostalgic tribute to an old contest for the very first run of a new contest? Yeah, probably, but sometimes life is strange like that. This prompt is in the exact same format as the old Writer of the Month contest that I used to help run in years past on the Guild. All you've got to do is write a story that fits the overarching theme and uses at least two of the listed components. You can take on the extra challenges listed below the components, but those are completely optional. Send your entries in via a PM to @Jorick before 2 AM Eastern Time on August 9th. See the Submission Rules below for full details, and ask questions in this thread or via PM if you have any.

Theme: Mythology

Write a story involving a myth. Myths cover a WIDE variety of things, usually explaining traditions, historical events, or natural phenomenon. Check out Greek, Norse, Egyptian, etc. myths if you aren't familiar with what sorts of topics myths cover.

Components: Use at least two of these in your story.

• The protagonist of the story is a villain.
• The story involves one character trying to trick or deceive another character.
• The myth does not involve gods.
• The myth explains a technological advancement as the result of supernatural events rather than mortal ingenuity. (Note: things like the invention of the wheel to the creation of the first spaceship both count as technological advancements.)
• The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting.

Extra Challenges: These are optional. The entry that best fulfills each extra challenge (as decided by @Jorick) will be highlighted after the voting period ends.

• Overachiever: Use all five components in your entry.
• Mic Drop: Have a character deliver a devastating insult to another character.
• Artist: Use your words to paint a mental picture of a vividly detailed setting.

---

Submission Rules:

1. Send your entry in a PM to @Jorick before the deadline: 2 AM on August 9th in the Eastern Time Zone.
2. Submissions may have no more than 5000 words.
3. One entry per person. Entries are gathered for posting after the deadline, so feel free to edit, tweak, or entirely replace your entry with something new in the PM before the deadline arrives.
4. Submissions will be posted anonymously in the voting thread.
5. No poetry entries allowed.
6. Characters and settings used for this contest must be original works. No fanfiction or non-fiction entries allowed.
7. All site and contest moderation rules are of course in effect.
8. I can and will disqualify entries that violate the above rules or fail to fulfill the prompt. The extra challenges are not required, they're just there for fun.

[Approved] Zaek Saxon, Mandalorian mercenary

OoC

How long do you usually write? Several paragraphs.
Do you enjoy writing collaborative posts for things like conversations, combat, etc.? Yep.
Is grammar and depth of writing important to you? Yes.
Are there any writing subjects you particularly enjoy exploring? Breaking people and/or rebuilding broken people.
Is there anything you really dislike and want to avoid like the plague? Slice of life and romance stuff that doesn't serve a purpose to a larger plot.
Is there something you are uncomfortable with happening to your character? Nah.
Do you have any short-term or long-term goals with this character? Glorious battles and a warrior's death.

Mandalorian Tribal Record

Name: Zaek Saxon
Species: Human
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Clan: Saxon
Specialisation: Blaster combat (rifles and pistols), tracking
Planet of origin: Mandalore
Current area of operation: Uncertain, likely Imperial space.

Mandalorian Clan Record

_{Detailed description of the warrior.}

Image

Image created by Gus Mendonca on ArtStation.

Zaek is a human of above average height, slightly over 6 feet. He is rarely ever seen without his full armor, though sometimes he will remove his helmet. His face is nothing unusual for a human, though his strong and angular jawline may merit some remarks. He has brown hair and green eyes and keeps his face clean-shaven. There are two scars on his face: one crossing his left cheek vertically just above the mouth, and another carving through his right eyebrow and down along the outer rim of his orbital socket. He has a variety of other scars across his body, usually hidden by his armor. His left leg below the knee is a prosthetic, also generally unseen due to the armor.

_{Report on all relevant skills and talents, including level of skill.}

Very highly skilled in tracking people, animals, and even objects to a degree. His tracking skills when following someone or something through any sort of environment are very highly trained and developed. Finding someone or something that is in an unknown location throughout the galaxy, however, is a little more tricky but still often doable.

Very highly skilled in slicing, which is his main method used to find targets when they manage to evade him or are in an unknown location to begin with.

Highly skilled in first aid techniques.

Moderately skilled in intimidation and inflicting pain to get information. Also moderately skilled in resisting giving information to forceful questioners.

Fluent in Mando'a, Basic, Huttese, and Twi'leki.

_{Report on known combat experience, training and weapons training.}

Very highly skilled in the use of blaster weapons, both rifles and pistols. He generally prefers rifles at intermediate to long range and switches to a pistol only at short ranges or when he only has one hand available. His combat training throughout his years on Mandalore focused primarily on these skills. These skills have been heavily used in his time as a mercenary/

Highly skilled melee combatant in the use of a knife or bare hands. Adequate skill using other weaponry. Training acquired in his time on Mandalore and skills used regularly as a mercenary.

Moderately skilled in the use of explosives. No training on Mandalore, all experience acquired as a mercenary.

Adequate starship combat skills. Limited training from early years as a mercenary, not often used.

_{Opinion on the Neo Crusader movement vs traditional Crusader?}

Zaek leans toward the traditional Crusader point of view, but he is not a zealous adherent of either side. Clan Saxon generally favors the Neo-Crusader movement, so he is an outlier among his clan. Zaek believes that in the current age Mandalorians must decide for themselves how best to live by the Resol'nare, and that the rigid order imposed by Neo-Crusaders does not allow this.

_{Detailed notes on common/favored employers and any noteworthy contacts.}

Has been employed by Darth Embrus for the past five years.

_{Detailed notes on known rivals and enemies.}

Naret Saxon, his younger brother and only blood sibling, who declared his intent to kill Zaek for defying their clan's wishes and becoming a mercenary.

_{List and description of other known associates outside the Clan.}

Darth Embrus

_{List of known belongings, including but not limited to planetary surface property, civilian and military vessels, vehicles, weapons, tools.}

A set of Mandalorian armor made of beskar, handed down through Clan Saxon for many generations. It survived destruction at the end of the Mandalorian Wars only because its wearer had been severely injured in a fight two months before Revan defeated Mandalore the Ultimate and was not present when others had their armor taken and destroyed.

One large knife made of beskar.

One blaster rifle and one blaster pistol, also of Mandalorian make but made with durasteel.

One prosthetic leg, replacing left leg below the knee. Allows almost normal mobility. Possesses no advanced functions, but does have a hidden compartment on the back of the calf area that contains a plain durasteel knife.

Dauntless, a consumer-model corvette with two sets of laser cannons (forward- and rear-mounted) and a 2.0 class hyperdrive. Able to be piloted by a single user, though difficult to utilize both sets of laser cannons without a co-pilot.

A variety of grenades and explosives stored in a special munitions compartment in the Dauntless. Generally he carries a couple sonic concussion grenades on his person and only brings out other explosives for specific jobs.

_{Psychological evaluation of warrior.}

Zaek is prideful and strongly independent in his actions. He has a highly active sense of humor that tends to be very morbid. While he is capable of working with others, he prefers to split off to work by himself. He views strength as the only thing that matters in life, and he has no mercy for those who are too weak to defend themselves, no matter what cruelties might be visited upon the weaklings. However, he does not personally tend to commit unnecessarily cruel acts and prefers instead to simply kill those who cross him.

_{List and description of known and suspected flaws. To be put into restricted database.}

Zaek has never been particularly skilled at stealthy approaches to situations and tends to approach everything openly and aggressively despite the danger involved. His solitary nature makes him significantly more vulnerable in many ways than he would be if he operated with a group. He is overly fond of gambling and has been known to rack up large debts. He has displayed reluctance to kill women he finds attractive even when they are actively fighting him, and has been known to reject jobs that require him to kill a woman.

_{Known interests of the warrior.}

Zaek has a passion for slicing and is known to test his skills against highly protected devices and networks for the sheer challenge of it in his down time. He also enjoys watching gladiatorial combat and various sporting events. Gambling is a favored vice of Zaek's, and he very often pairs it with watching fights and sporting events.

_{Major achievements on record.}

Discovered a large vein of kyber crystal on Mygeeto while tracking an escaped criminal wanted by the Republic. After turning the criminal in, he sold the precise location of the crystal vein to the Jedi Order.

Participated in a gladiatorial festival on Geonosis and emerged the victor in a thirty warrior free-for-all.

Successfully tracked a rogue Sith Apprentice to Kashyyyk, subdued him, and returned him to Korriban for interrogation and execution.

Assassinated Tindo Shaar, a wealthy investor in the tech sector, known for his large stake in Czerka Corporation and other weapons manufacturers. Killed three bodyguards, destroyed four security droids, and disabled an advanced security system in order to accomplish this task.

_{Major failures on record. Confidential.}

Unwisely attacked a small pack of strill on Mandalore in his early teen years, was severely wounded and lost his left leg below the knee to a severe infection that required amputation.

Defied his clan's wishes for him to remain on Mandalore rather than taking up the life of a mercenary, refused to fight his younger brother Naret when challenged to a duel to determine whether or not he should be allowed to go.

Fled from battle with a Twi'lek bounty hunter, allowing her to claim the bounty on a wanted criminal.

Lost a fight with a Jedi on Coruscant while on a job for Darth Embrus, failed to acquire any useful information from his attempts to spy on Coruscant, fled without major injury.

Interview

_{Personal biography, as detailed by the subject for use in Mandalorian archives. Acquired shortly after last achievement of note.}

Biography transcript taken from a holodisc sent to Clan Saxon on Mandalore, five years after the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant.

This is Zaek Saxon sending in a biographic update. Not sure if anyone will bother to watch this. It's been... eight years? Yeah, eight years since the last one. The broken shards of that last disc made their way back to me, and I read the message clearly, but I felt the urge to try again. I don't know if the credits were returned or if the courier stole them, but I never hear anything back when I just send credits so I assume you're at least willing to accept my contribution to the clan's welfare. I am grateful for that, more than any of you will likely ever know.

Bah, enough of that. I was born to Clan Saxon on Mandalore. I was trained in the arts of combat and tracking, and I learned to slice as a hobby. I was not the best of my generation, but I did well enough to earn the right to wear our clan's ancestral armor. At least, I did well when I wasn't picking stupid fights. I still remember deciding it would be a good idea to test out my new blaster pistol on some strill. This metal prosthetic still reminds me every day to not be a fool, but it was a lesson learned a bit late. After I recovered, I resumed my training despite the injury. There was nothing else I could do without losing all honor

Ah, and speaking of losing honor, I abandoned my clan when I was nineteen years old. I joke, but I'm sure if anyone from Clan Saxon watches this they will not find any humor in the statement. I felt myself stagnating on Mandalore, unable to do anything but hunt beasts and scrape out a meager life. I had to leave, or else I truly would have dishonored myself and betrayed the Resol'nare. You were all so angry with me when I said I was going to seek work as a mercenary off-world. I tried to explain how I could better serve the clan by making a lucrative living out on my own, but... Well, obviously I was unable to convince any of you. Naret was livid. I can still see his face screwed up in a rage like it was yesterday. He demanded a duel, with the winner deciding whether or not I could leave. I refused. I was leaving to do the right thing for the clan, and beating my own brother bloody would be counter to that goal. As I walked away Naret said I would become dar'manda if I abandoned the clan, and that if I did so and he saw me again he would kill me on the spot. I do not agree with his interpretation of the Resol'nare, but I stay far away from Mandalore anyway to avoid that confrontation. One of us dying would only harm the clan.

After leaving Mandalore, I went looking for work in Republic space. The war was still raging, and at the time the Republic looked to be in good shape. I did a lot of work out of Coruscant, a couple for the Jedi there. About a year after I left, I finally made enough money to replace the rusted old fighter I took when I left Mandalore. I chased a Bothan all the way to Mygeeto, and he went down into a cave system to hide. I caught the little bastard, and down in the caves I found a vein of kyber crystal. On the way out I took a sample, and after dropping the fugitive off and collecting my pay I stopped by the Jedi Temple. They were very interested in the crystal, and I got them to pay handsomely for its location, and that was enough to buy a corvette of my own. It's called the Dauntless. Poor Jedi bastards probably never got to make use of the information before getting wiped out though, because the Empire took control of Mygeeto not too long afterward, but that's their fault for being weak.

Once I had the Dauntless, I went looking for work outside of the Republic. The Huttese were happy to hire a Mandalorian for all kinds of jobs, but they were honorless bastards. One of them sent me off on a bounty that they said they'd only given to me, but I found out he was feeding that line of shit to every merc and hunter who came their way. I found the mark at the same time a Twi'lek woman, a bounty hunter, found him. She was... I don't know how to describe it, but she was something else. Fought almost as well as a Mandalorian. I let her have the bounty because it would've been a shame to kill such a beauty. I even went and learn out how to speak Twi'leki later to be able to find her and speak to her, but she died a year later. I should've been the one to kill her. Ah well, no use regretting lost opportunities.

I made good money from the Huttese, and after I left them I traveled around some of the better gladiator pits around the galaxy. Coruscant got sacked while I was on one of my last jobs in Hutt space, else I would have looked for something to do on either side of the war. The gladiator pits were great fun, though I lost a lot of money there. Gambling is... addictive, I suppose. Had to work off some debts by forcing other gamblers to pay their debts, whether they liked it or not, but I made it through. I was on Geonosis when they were having some kind of festival, a whole series of battles with dozens of fighters all thrown into one pit at the same time. I joined one of them and won, and that was how I met Vihl Raszac. If you've heard of him though, it's probably been under his fancy new title: Darth Embrus. He was there for the festival, about a year after the treaty ended the war, and after he saw me fight he apparently asked around and heard I was a mercenary. He found me after I was done celebrating my victory and offered me a job, with the promise of more to come. I'd heard some stories about him, heard he fought with the best of them, so I told him I'd only work for him if he proved he was stronger than me. He did, without even drawing his weapon. Damned Force users are a pain if you don't get the drop on them.

Working for the Empire turned out to be more lucrative than anything I'd done before, except for selling that kyber crystal information to the Jedi. Never did tell my new boss about that one though, now that I think about it. Maybe after I finish this recording I'll see if he's interested in paying me for the location. If this holodisc comes with a sickening amount of credits attached, that'll be why. It's not a bribe to get you to actually listen to this message, just so we're clear, I just send a percentage of everything I make. Anyway, working for Embrus and the Empire isn't half bad. Lots of challenges, good pay, and they treat you like worthless scum when you fail. It's a true Mandalorian's paradise, heh.

One of the early jobs I did for him was a real pain in the ass. Some Apprentice of his had gone rogue, something about being corrupted by the light side. The little shit stole a ship and took off in the dead of night. He did a good job of hiding where he was going, and it took me about two weeks of jumping from planet to planet and slicing into security networks to find the ship's last known whereabouts: landed on Kashyyyk just inside the range of an Imperial patrol ship's sensors. A few days of tracking on foot later, and I surprised the rogue Apprentice. If not for the blessing of beskar he might have killed me, but he was so shocked by his lightsaber doing nothing to my armor that I was able to drop him with a stiff punch to the jaw. After that I kept him sedated and brought him to Korriban to be interrogated and executed. It paid well, so I went out looking for some new blasters. The ones I took with me from Mandalore were long broken, and the ones I'd picked up since then didn't feel right. Took a while to find real Mandalorian-made weapons without going home, but I managed it. They were well worth the cost, even though the Pau'an bastard charged a small fortune for them.

About a year ago, so five years after the Treaty of Coruscant was signed, I took on a job that was a little too much for me to handle. Darth Embrus, he'd actually earned the title by then, sent me to Coruscant to spy on the Galactic Senate there. He said normally he'd send one of his Apprentices, but any Jedi lurking around would be able to sense them easily. But me, not even sensitive to the Force, that was a different story. Problem is, stealth has never been my strong suit. They didn't need to be able to sense me with their Force bullshit, they just found me out the way any normal person would notice someone trying and failing to be inconspicuous. The Jedi who found me out attacked me immediately. Maybe he was one of their Guardian types. Whatever his job was, he fought well, but he didn't go for the kill. I had to pull out my beskar knife to keep him from cutting me to pieces despite the armor, but I probably would have lost anyway if I hadn't tricked him. I'd picked up some adhesive grenades before heading to Coruscant, and they were meant for exactly that kind of scenario, but the casing looked a lot like a sonic grenade. I leapt back and tossed a primed grenade right at the Jedi's face, and he sliced it in half with his lightsaber. Makes sense for a sonic grenade since it just won't do anything after that, but enough of the adhesive was left to splatter all over his face and arms. I left rather than continuing the fight, because I figured it was only a matter of time until more Jedi showed up. Embrus wasn't too happy about that one, but he didn't fire me, and good thing for him that he didn't.

I did some other work for him between then and now, but I just finished my biggest job yet. Darth Embrus has been trying to take over Czerka Corporation, but he's been having trouble with it. One of the main problems was Tindo Shaar, a human who was working behind the scenes to influence other shareholders to not sell anything to Embrus. He had a nice little estate on Burnin Konn to oversee some of the mines he owned, pretty good security system and some guards and droids for good measure. I took care of all of that, but I almost spared Tindo Shaar. The pathetic man wept and begged for mercy. He was no warrior, but as I was considering what to do he tried to lunge and hit some kind of alarm, so I shot him. He tried as best he could to cling to his soft and comfortable life instead of just cowering, and that was enough of a gesture toward a warrior's spirit for me to strike him down without dishonoring myself.

I think that covers everything important. If you want to send me any messages, or return the shards of this holodisc to me, sending it to Korriban is the best way to see it done. It's been my base of operations for a while now, and I don't think that'll be changing any time soon. If I don't hear anything back, I supposed I'll just have to send another one of these out in another decade or so, assuming I'm not dead by then. I'm just about to jump out of hyperspace near Korriban, so I guess that'll have to be the end of this message.