Jedi Insurgency 172

Sitting in the lounge area of the Falcon, a tunnel of blue light passed Corvus by. After finishing up his speech, he had done some quick work at Jabba, now Boba's palace, jumped to hyperspace, and was now on his way to Nar Shaddaa. 

Although he could have stayed behind, and probably directly recruited some of Tatooine's inhabitants, it didn't seem worth the effort, given the gathering that was happening on the Hutt capital. So far, his trip this time would take five days, and he really didn't have a moment to spare. The silver lining about this trip, was that he should be able to grind up to level 26 using the mine exploit. But before that, he had a few calls to make. 

After scheduling the meeting via text, he only had a minute or two of waiting. Three familiar holographic images appeared on the table in front of him. They were Prince Xizor, Hondo Ohnaka, and Boba Fett, his criminal subordinates. 

“Greetings.” Corvus inclined his head at them. “I have hosted this call, so that you three may become acquainted, and become future collaborators.” 

Xizor scoffed, Hondo wore an overly wide grin, and Boba's visor was stone cold. 

“Ah, friends of the Jedi, are friends of Hondo! A pleasure to meet you good sirs!” Hondo rolled his cap down his arm, tossed it into the air, and then bowed in one smooth motion as he caught it with the other hand. 

A beat of silence passed, and Xizor’s scoff transformed into a scowl. “You waste my time with these no-name cretins, Revan.” 

Boba seemed to take exception to that, but merely grunted in response. Hondo, however, was quick to laugh. 

“Jedi Master Revan has heard of the great Hondo Ohnaka! He stole my breath away in a captivating duel of both wits, and guile. I wonder, lizard-boy, how did our illustrious leader humble the tenth richest man in the galaxy, hrm?” Hondo playfully jested as he took a coin out of who knows where, and began to play with it, as if the conversation held no interest to him. 

The Falleen Prince did not rise to the bait-as his race was notorious for concealing their emotions when they wanted to-and he silently stared at the pirate. Corvus, meanwhile, was all smiles, sensing Xizor’s internal rage was like meeting a soothing balm. 

‘Go Hondo! Humble this arrogant POS!’ He internally laughed. 

“Seems like we've all got a story.” Boba said in a flat, modulated tone, whilst crossing his arms. “Why don't you tell us why we're really here, Jedi.” 

Corvus was slightly disappointed that the tit-for-tat didn't continue, but that was fine, he was a busy man afterall. 

“Oh very well. I truly do wish for you three to become acquainted with one another. Each one of you possesses certain qualities that complement your weaknesses.” Corvus replied, finding some time to casually drink some tea between sentences. 

“These two can't be worth more than a Gamorrean's armpit hair. Just how exactly would they cover my supposed weaknesses?” Xizor said in a sibilant tone, the type that said ‘I'm superior to you mud people.’ 

Corvus nodded, and then pointed at Boba. 

“Fett here is now the sole ruler of Tatooine. He controls a safe harbor for all the criminal scum in the galaxy.” Corvus gestured towards Hondo. “And he also has the stores of Spice necessary to keep this criminal network afloat.” 

The Spice he was referring to, was the System created stimulants. Before he had left for the Force Nexus, he had instructed Boba to gather all of the junk armor, weapons, and other small miscellaneous objects he could find. After the time spent in the Tho Yor, the young Bounty Hunter had directed him to a massive junkyard. There, he had broken down a few million items, converted them into materials, and made millions of stimulants. He then instructed Boba to lower the dosage with water, turning millions of drugs into hundreds of millions. By keeping the supply in Boba's hands, he would be tying Xizor down with one more chain. 

Xizor's nostrils flared, and he stared at Corvus's hologram, as he didn’t receive a satisfactory response. 

‘Keep malding.’ Corvus thought to himself, and rolled his eyes. 

“This Mandalorian shall also act as the muscle for this outfit. Do not discredit him due to his youth. Trained by Jango Fett, Boba is his son and heir. There are few people in this galaxy who can contend with a skilled Mandalorian.” 

Xizor uncrossed his arms, and slightly leaned forward, finally taking interest. “I suppose he shall suffice. There are so many problems in the galaxy, an elite blaster is worth a few credits.” 

“See?! We are all friends here! Xizor, Boba, Hondo! Galaxy's ‘Most Wanted’ it has a certain appeal to it, no?” Hondo laughed, and slapped his knee. 

“I didn't agree to be muscle for a half-wit, or a clown with delusions of grandeur.” Boba flatly denied, looking as if he was about to cut the call. 

“Ah, ah! But you Mandalorian, you must be honor bound to obey the Jedi, yes? Then working with Hondo should be no problem!” 

The Weequay pirate's words stabbed at Boba's sore spot, and when the teen remained silent, Hondo uncorked a bottle of lum, and took a long, satisfying gulp. 

“Ahh~ nothing like making new friends, no?” Hondo gasped in pleasure, and had a dazed look in his eye. 

By this point, both Xizor, and Boba were absolutely silent, and stone-faced. Yet both were internally seething. 

Corvus wanted to laugh out loud at Hondo's performance. The brown skinned alien was a jester, but that glimmer of intelligence in his eye wasn't false, he knew what he was doing. 

“And what, pray tell, shall this pirate be doing that covers our weaknesses.” Xizor spoke condescendingly, and ever so slightly aligned with Boba in order to push against the Weequay'an male. 

Before Corvus could reply, Hondo belched, and ‘drunkenly’ waved the bottle in front of the camera. 

“You are speaking to the great Hondo Ohkana! The man who captured Kenobi, Skywalker, and Dooku all in the same day!” Hondo declared, taking a tipsy chug. “A man who has outwitted General Grievous, survived a beating from the beautiful Ahsoka Tano, and came closer to defeating our dear Jedi friend than either of you two! Put some respect on Hondo's name!” Upon finishing his declaration, he heavily smashed his jug down, and the sound of glass shattering echoed through the call. 

Corvus began to clap, fully engaged by his performance. 

“Well said, Hondo, well said. Whilst you, Xizor, plot in the shadows, and you, Boba, have been taking on petty tasks, this pirate, nay, privateer, has been taking on both the Sith & Jedi, and lived. He has something that you two possess, but in a much higher quantity.” Corvus said, leaning forward with an infectious grin. 

“This pauper?” Xizor raised a non-existent eyebrow, the skin flaps on his green skin folded in distrust. 

Boba merely folded his arms. Although he was still somewhat dissatisfied, a begrudging respect sang through the Force. 

“Oh yes. Although your new friend has a flair for the dramatic, everything he said is absolutely true. What he possesses is not some inherited fortune, or martial skills passed down from generations. No, what Hondo Ohnaka has in spades, is luck.” Corvus said in an overly serious tone. 

“Luck.” Xizor slowly said the word, as if it were a distasteful mouthful of moldy food. 

Boba seemed to almost fall over, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. 

“Yes, luck!” Hondo proudly declared. “I imagine a cold reptile such as yourself was put to the sword, otherwise, what could move such a coward? And you, Mandalorian, your own father was murdered by these robe wearing two faced hypocrites, how could you possibly follow one without having your teeth knocked in? But as for Hondo Ohnaka? Heh heh, my fate was decided by a card game!” Hondo went on to equally disparage the men who had called him into question, and accurately guessed how they had fallen into Corvus’s clutches. 

‘Hondo wants all the smoke!’ Corvus shook his head, and saw the Weequay'an wink at him out of the corner of his eye. 

“Besides luck, our local debonair is a skilled negotiator, and can survive the most treacherous waters. I recommend sending him on missions that have low odds of survival.” Corvus said with a straight face. 

Hondo's confident smile suddenly vanished, and his face turned milk white. 

“Uhh, Hondo thinks he is sick, maybe he calls it quit-” As he spoke, one of the droids that had been left aboard his ship came into view behind him, its blaster ready. “On second thought, Hondo agrees!” 

“Seconded.” Boba said, a hint of amusement coloring his voice. 

“Oh, very well. A pirate who never dies should be of some use.” Xizor said, whilst looking at his fingernails in seeming disinterest. 

However, Corvus could sense that the Falleen Prince was in fact, extremely interested. A man who could spit in the face of Dooku, Grievous, & Skywalker and live was a miracle maker. Even if he appeared sloppy, and lackadaisical, none could deny the feats that Hondo had accomplished. 

“Very good. Then, as you Boba, and Hondo are aware, Xizor here is the largest shipping magnet in the galaxy. He can smuggle you weapons, ships, anything you can imagine. I expect him to be fair, and prompt with his dealings.” Corvus opened up with a friendly tone, but was quick to become stern, and glared at Xizor at the end. 

“Oh very well, I shall work with the bantha fodder, but until I have what you promised, do not expect me to be capable of all that you desire from me.” Xizor ever so slightly bowed his head in supplication. 

“Oh? What juicy gossip is this? Tell me, my Jedi friend, what did it take to secure such a wealthy man? What was the price, Prince that one as proud as you would bow your head even a centimeter?” Hondo asked in a light, conspiratorial tone, as if he were a school girl discovering someone else's crush. 

Xizor glared at Corvus, silently saying something along the lines of ‘don't you dare!’ 

“I shall not air my subordinate's dirty laundry.” Corvus raised a hand, and denied. 

The Prince bristled at being called a ‘subordinate’ but he had no choice but to swallow his pride. 

“However, it is my intention to elevate him to the position of Dark Prince in the Black Sun syndicate.” Corvus said, revealing his plan. 

“Oh, naughty naughty. Hondo has heard that a Sith killed their leadership, and placed his own plant in place. You wish to copy his methods?” Hondo gleefully probed for information, stroking his chin in thought. 

“Something like that.” Corvus replied, refusing to give any specific details. 

“So we've met one another. Do you have any other orders?” Boba asked in his slow, professional tone. He all but screamed ‘Stop wasting my time.’ 

“Work together to destabilize the Empire to the best of your abilities. Avoid civilian casualties as much as possible, and do not traffic sentients. I will check in with you three periodically. Do not disappoint me.” 

After that last sentence, Corvus terminated the call, and leaned back with a sigh. Networking was annoying, but it was a necessary evil. Now that he had his criminal elements united under one banner, it was time to call his people. 

Hopefully everything had gone according to plan.