"So you successfully managed to hijack the shuttle full of aurodium, and then have it hijacked from you and lived to tell about it," Trychon stated, summing up the Zabrak's tale. "The obvious conclusion is that you blew off the fact we saved your life, double-crossed us and dishonored the deal we had, took the aurodium and are now here lying to us, trying to convince us of your innocence."
"By all rights, I should cut you down where you stand," Raezyr added with a sneer.
Dagus went rigid, not with fear but anger. The Zabrak were a proud race, and one that held honor in high regard and Trychon had just accused this one of being completely without honor. "I came here to accept my punishment for failure. It is enough of a blow to my dignity to have failed in my mission after already owing my life to you, but I am here as honor prescribes, owning to my shortcoming and ready to accept whatever consequences you deem appropriate," the mercenary said through clenched teeth. It was all he could do to keep from reaching for a weapon.
"That, Mr. Kolant, is one of the reasons my brother won't be removing your head from your shoulders... at this time," Trychon informed him, relieving the mercenary of his stress yet keeping the threat ominous and looming.
"The other reason is that you may still be of some use to us. At the moment, we accept your explanation, but you're going to have to prove that we can trust you," the older Sith said. "How can we be sure that you won't betray us?"
"I failed you once, and that can never be forgiven," Dagus began, "but I swear it will never happen again. You saved my life once, and now you give it back to me a second time. I swear my allegiance to you."
"Not good enough," Raezyr snapped.
Trychon eyed him suspiciously and wondered if he should step in. The Zabrak had already sworn his allegiance. It was what they had been hoping for. Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to let his younger brother continue and see what happened.
Raezyr lowered his voice to barely above a whisper. "We want the Zabrak Blood Oath."
Dagus Kolant's eyes shot wide open and he nearly came out of his seat. "How do you know about that?" he said in a furious whisper.
Raezyr looked the Zabrak in the eye as well as one could wearing a helmet with a full face shield. "You are not the first Zabrak I've dealt with."
"Never. The Blood Oath has never been sworn to anyone not of Zabrak blood. I will not do it now."
"Then you have just broken another promise. We now have no use for you, and I will make sure that all who hear of the name Kolant will know he was an oath-breaker and lived without dignity or honor," Raezyr said matter of factly and began to stand up. "Our conversation is at an end."
"No!" the Zabrak said forcefully. "Fine. If that is what it takes, then that is what I will do, but on one condition: No one besides you can ever be told of the Blood Oath."
"Agreed," Trychon spoke up, giving his younger brother a look of appreciation.
"Put your hands out," the mercenary told them, indicating they should mimic his own hand stretched out before him, palm up. When they had done so, Kolant pulled a vibro-knife from it's scabbard on his belt and cut a deep laceration in each of their hands, then held his up and motioned for the two Sith to do the same. They did so, and the blood of the two humans and the Zabrak mingled together, dripping down their wrists, into their sleeves and onto the table. No one around them seemed to even care what they were doing.
Kolant then spoke. "Blood to blood. Honor to honor. Until the day the final sun sets, forever shall my life and loyalty be bound to those with whom my blood now mingles." He pulled his hand down and then wrapped it quickly and deftly with a strip of cloth he pulled from a pouch at his waist. "Satisfied?"
"Yes, that will do," Trychon said, grabbing a kolto patch from a pocket on his fatigues. Somewhere in the back of his head he wondered if he'd become ill from Zabrak blood getting into his system, and was sure there as a joke there to be made, but decided now wasn't the time for it.
"We have a mission for you," the older Sith continued. "As we told you before, we still may have a use for you, and it's the reason we had you meet us here on Tatooine." He nodded to Raezyr to continue.
"There is a Hutt who runs a small operation here on Tatooine. His base is located a hundred klicks north east of here in an old mining facility. His name is Jama'Ruckus Russ'El. He's a bust pretty much as Hutts go. Big, fat, and only concerned about himself, but he employs a lot of mercenaries. One in particular that we are concerned about: a Zeltron named Lexa Teal," Raezyr said, pausing at the look of recognition on Kolant's face. "So you've heard of her?"
"Yes, although I don't know much about her, other than she's quickly making a name for herself among bounty hunters and mercenaries around the Galaxy," Dagus informed them.
"Excellent," Trychon said, picking up where his brother left off. "We want you to join Jama's operation and keep tabs on both Lexa Teal and Jama. Send text reports using the encrypted frequency we gave you earlier. Jama rarely leaves Tatooine, but Lexa often goes on missions. Use your best judgment, but try to maintain tabs on both at all times."
"Questions?" Raezyr asked.
"No."
"Then get to it."
"Yes, my lords."
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