Chapter 26
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"Lord Jabba wishes to purchase 2,000 of your Zaku II. Are they available to leave with us today?"
Jial was shocked. He didn't expect to receive an order for 2,000 droids at once. At most, he was expecting 200.
"That depends. Can you pay the 40 million credits today?" Jial asked. There had been several groups that wanted to get the droids the same day but pay at a later date.
The protocol droid did not respond but passed over a credit chip. Credit chips were cards that carried digital credits on them, backed by the Galactic Bank. Most were registered to users but some could be used as long as the password entered was correct. Jial took it and passed it to HK-47 who plugged it into the console inside of the room.
"Statement: The console shows that this credit chip contains 50 million credits."
"Lord Jabba understands that this large of an order may put a strain on the Yautja's ability to fulfill orders. Because of that, he has added extra funds to cover any loss in revenue," the droid stated. "The code is 93fh8f20j203j"
Jial smiled when he heard what the droid was saying.
'We aren't that low on materials, Jabba. But thanks for the credits,' Jial was laughing mentally while keeping a straight face in front of the droids and henchmen that Jabba had sent
"Understood. We thank Lord Jabba for his kindness. These funds should tide us over during this time and allow us to expand our operations to fulfill any future orders that Lord Jabba may have with our group," Jial responded appropriately. He knew that this would not be the last time that the Hutts ordered from him. Even though they preferred slave labor, they could not look down on droids such as his.
"We will have the droids brought to your ship within the hour," Jial promised with HK-47 already arranging for the delivery of the droids
"Lord Jabba looks forward to seeing how impressive your services will be in the future," the droid said before walking out of the room under the protection of the thugs.
"Zilvarth, have the Eyes of the Jakal watch over them until they leave Lok. We can't afford to take the blame if something happens to them," Jial ordered the Mandalorian by his side
"Understood. I'll also have Suxon prepare a squad of fighters to escort them until they are in hyperspace" Zilvarth also knew that the weight of losing not only 50 million credits but also one of Jabba's personal droids would not be something that the Yautja could bear. Since they were in the Yautja's territory, Jial was responsible for their safety until they left.
"How long until we have the meeting with the Trade Federation?"
"You have another hour. We accounted for negotiations on price and logistics so this meeting was much shorter than we planned," Zilvarth told him. Most people tried to haggle the price and get the droids much cheaper. It was rare that someone was so straightforward.
"Good. I'll be in my room until then," Jial stood up and bid the pair goodbye before walking back to his room.
He was going to practice when he felt something was off. The Telos Holocron was calling to him and telling him to pick it up.
Never having experienced such a feeling before, Jial followed through with it and went over to the Holocron. He picked it up and began trying to find what was wrong with it but didn't see anything. He then connected to it to see if there were any malfunctions but that wasn't it.
That was when he noticed that the Holocron had been updated. Jial opened the latest entry, not sure what the Force was warning him about. But when he read it, he finally understood what was going on.
[The apprentice disappoints me once again. My spies report that he was defeated on Vespaara by a pair of twins who are both force-sensitives. While I have not lost an apprentice, I have gained two prospects.
Untouched by the Jedi and with more potential than the previous one has. The question is simply: which one cares about her sister more? That shall be the one who shall live. I leave for Respaara in 3 days to see my new apprentice in person.]
And this was dated 2 days ago.
Jial threw down the Holocron and rushed down to the meeting room. This had the strongest long-range communications.
"Boxe! Sidon! Twins! Is anyone on the Phantom?!"
"Master, this is Nott. The others are not currently here. What's going on?" Nott asked confused. She had never heard her Master sound panicked before. He always sounded confident.
"Tell them to return to the Phantom immediately and return to Lok. There are to be no delays!" Jial ordered. While he knew that Sidon and Boxe were skilled, neither had experience fighting a Jedi, let alone a Sith attacking from the shadows. Staying on Vespaara was far too dangerous.
"Understood, Master. I will let them know to return to the ship immediately," Nott did not question her Master but followed his orders. The worry in his voice made it evident that this was a serious matter.
"Good. When you get in the air, go cloaked and send me a message," Jial felt relieved when he heard her. He was worried that she may have been stubborn and asked too many questions, delaying their departure. He did not want to risk them getting caught.
With them returning, Jial felt better but then he felt rage in his heart.
"You want to come after my apprentices? Who gave you the courage?" Jial was furious that the Sith had targeted his people. Even if he didn't know it, he still had to pay the price.
Jial opened up his list of contacts before finding the one that he was looking for. Soon, the holographic appearance of a certain elf-like woman with silver markings appeared before Jial.
"Sir Jial. A pleasure to see you again," Master Fay greeted Jial politely. Master Fay was surprised. They exchanged contact information the last time she was on Lok in case the Jedi had any more questions but she did not expect Jial to be the one to contact her.
"Good to see you as well, Master Fay. I have come to you with some reliable information," Jial's plan was simple. If he couldn't go after the Sith, he would send in others that could.
"What information would that be?" the woman asked
"Information about a Sith," Jial told her, erasing the smile from Master Fay's face
"A Sith? What information do you have?"
"I know where he is going to be and I know what his apprentice looks like," Jial then told her about the Twi'lek and that the Sith Lord was going to be on Respaara. He also informed her that he was a human but that he didn't have any other information.
"I see. I will inform the order and send several Jedi to investigate this matter. Please know that we will most likely be in contact with you if this information proves true as the Jedi would like to know about your information network," Master Fay warned him politely. She knew that the Jedi would not just accept the information if it was true. They would want to know how he had found out such detailed information while they were in the dark.
"Understood. They may not like the answers I give them though. Do you mind coming along with them if they do come to question me?" Jial asked. He had looked into Fay through the Great Holocron and realized that while she was a legendary figure among the Jedi, she was also an outcast. She rarely followed the rules of the Jedi, only following the will of the Force.
It was ironic. She may have been the most Jedi amongst the Jedi and because of that, she was an outcast and called less of a Jedi.
"Sure. That will be no issue with me. I want to see how much Lok has changed since I had been there last," Master Fay agreed easily. She also knew that the Jedi could be heavy-handed at times.
After hearing her agree, the pair exchanged a few more words before hanging up the call. Jial did not return to his room but stayed by the communicator, waiting to get word from the Phantom. Just before his meeting with the Trade Federation, Sidon called and informed him that they had just left the atmosphere and engaged their cloak.
Jial couldn't respond but he felt relieved knowing that they had gotten away.