Rising up from a Nobleman to Intergalactic Warlord!!

Calling out to Samus as I approached, the bounty hunter spun on her heels and threw a strong right cross at my abdomen. Unlike the shipping containers she had been wailing on, my armor did not give way, causing her hand to bear the full force of her strike. Hearing several bones snap, she staggered backward and grabbed her wrist tightly.

“FUCK!!”, Samus hissed as blood began dripping out of her gauntlet.

“Calm down, let me patch you up.”, I said, casting a healing spell on her injury. “Now tell me, what has you so- “

“THOSE BLOODY BASTARDS LIED TO ME AND PLAYED ME FOR A FOOL!!”, Samus roared, venomous hate dripping from her voice, “I should have fucking known something was wrong from the get-go, but establishing a connection with them was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. They are going to pay dearly for this!”

“So the Dahl Corporation screwed you over, okay. Can you give me a bit more information on how that happened? Does this pertain to your last job?”, I questioned, wanting to get to the bottom of this right now.

Nodding her head in confirmation, Samus slowly opened and closed her hand to ensure her hand mended properly. Satisfied that it had, she exhaled sharply and began explaining everything to me.  

“The last job I took was for a subsidiary of the Dahl Corporation, Quantum Laboratories. As you will recall, they commissioned me to reclaim an experimental weapon stolen from their secured facility.” Samus began as Ahsoka and Bo-Katan drew closer to hear her better. “Up till now, I have been so fixated on the destruction of my ship and my near-death experience that I had not put much thought into how the weapon got installed on his ship to begin with. Initially I chalked it up to his underground connections helping him out, but the contents of these containers paint a very different story. They are identical to the one that nearly killed me… those bastards used me as a guinea pig to test their weapon!”

Peering into the Dahl containers, every one of them was crammed full of parts for several dozen identical weapons. Scanning the components to understand how they bypassed her shielding, I was shocked to discover that the underlying mechanisms were reverse-engineered Necron technology. Alerting my grandfather and uncles to this, we needed to crack down on it quickly before Dahl inadvertently started a war within our borders. As the Necrons did not trade with other species, aside from Trazyn, they had most likely taken it from one of the many dormant Tomb Worlds or shipwrecks that dotted Imperium space.

“How do you intend to make them pay? The Dahl Corporation is an intergalactic organization with pockets deeper than most galactic countries.”, Bo-Katan questioned, fearing Samus was going to make a rash decision, “They will bankrupt you before the case goes to court, and making an attempt on their leadership will not- “

“I am talking about filing a formal complaint with the Bounty Hunter Association, not killing someone… Jeez!”, Samus laughed, secretly considering that option as well. “Submitting a fake contract is a serious breach of the association’s rules and regulations. Using the evidence we have here, I should be able to recoup my losses and have the failure scrubbed from my record. While I would love to sue them for ruining my flawless track record and sullying my name, that is just not feasible.”

Relieved that she was not going to do something reckless, Ahsoka and Bo-Katan offered to testify on her behalf if it came down to it. Assuring them that it would not be necessary, Samus was confident the evidence present here was more than enough to solidify her claim. Asking me to keep the evidence safe in my inventory, she wanted an extra layer of protection against Dahl’s potential manipulation of the facts. Happily obliging her request, I had Luxion make a 3D rendition of the area to ensure every detail was preserved before stowing the containers away in my inventory.

With their curiosity now satisfied, I requested their assistance in sorting out Jabba’s frozen victims. Helping me take statements from all of them, we sent all of them to Coruscant so the Senate could arrange their transportation back home. Keeping the Asari delegation with us, since their end goal was the empire, they assisted me with inventorying the haul to make the division of assets between Liam and me easier. Showing him the proposed split once we finished, he agreed to it without a fuss as he got his precious metal bars. Ferrying everything back to our flagships, we set out for the nearest port to get something to eat and plan out tomorrow’s hunt.

---Three Days Later, Liam’s Capital World---

Returning to Liam’s home on the day of our duel, the duke proudly showed off the vast amount of gold bars he collected during our expedition. Praising her husband’s success boisterously, even though she still could not understand his fixation with gold, Rosetta asked for a moment of his time before we departed for the arena. Accepting his wife’s request, Liam tasked Brian with adding his spoils to the family treasure vault. Eagerly taking on the duty, the butler began coordinating the household’s fleet of robotic maids and began executing his master’s orders.

“So, how did your shopping spree go?”, I asked, approaching my wives and our friends. “Hopefully you did not get into any trouble while I was away, haha!”

“We had a blast!”, Angelica answered, brimming with excitement. “Rosetta took us to a literal shopping planet, as in the entire planet’s surface was one enormous shopping district. We spent a day and a half browsing a mere fraction of their offerings; Rosetta is already making plans for us to go back again soon. After we returned from that, we spent our time lounging in the spa and visiting local vineyards to sample the wide assortment of wines they produce here.”

“I am glad you ladies had a great time.”, I said, looking at Ilulu and Tohru. “It is ridiculous that I have to say this, but thank you for keeping yourselves in check. If you had pulled something while I was away, I was prepared to ban you from spacefaring ever again.”

“How long are you going to hang that over our heads…?”, Tohru inquired.

“Until I can trust you to follow my instructions properly.”, I answered.

Exhaling sharply, the two dragonesses apologized once again for barging into our lunch meeting with Liam and Rosetta. Accepting their apology, I hoped they understood that I was not doing this to be cruel but to save them from future hardships. Not everyone in the universe was as easygoing as Liam and Rosetta; under normal circumstances, a nobleman could have had them arrested for illegal entry or tried to execute them on the spot. While I would have protected them, when they were out there with my wives, I could not guarantee their safety if they broke the law.

“How about you guys, did anything exciting happen on your end?”, Olivia questioned.

“We found the missing Citadel delegation in one of Jabba’s hidden caches. On our way back here, we dropped them off on the Algrandian capital world so they could coordinate transportation home.”, I said, glancing over at Samus. “In addition to that, Samus discovered the gruesome truth behind her recently failed job. I will let her tell you all about it.”

“Before you do, I… I would like to speak.”, Amallyn remarked, covering Nuelalla’s ears tightly. “Can… can we please have some of your time this evening? We bought a few outfits that we would really like to show you.”

“Of course, you can show me after the duel and party afterward.”, I agreed, looking at them suspiciously. ‘Well now this is interesting. I can understand my wives wanting to show me their outfits, but now Amallyn and Ionica want to as well. Does this mean we are close to taking the next step in our relationship?!’

“Thank… thank you, Vic... Victor!”, Ionica stuttered, fidgeting around nervously.

Giving Samus the floor, she proceeded to update everyone on the association’s ongoing investigation into her last contract. Showing them snapshots of the ship that nearly killed her and the weapons we found in Jabba’s cache, they quickly pieced everything together. Inquiring about how long the investigation would take, she gave them a rough estimate of about five to seven weeks.

“They have copies of all the evidence I collected; they just need to verify details with Quantum Laboratories and the representative that certified the contract. Once that is done, several of the higher-ups will deliberate and give me a response.”, Samus answered with a hopeful smile. “Since it is a relatively new company, my hope is that the Dahl Corporation will pay up to sweep this under the rug. So long as I am reimbursed for lost revenue and ship’s damages, I will be a happy bounty hunter.”

“In my humble opinion, you are being far too soft with them.”, Aela insisted, shaking her head in disappointment. “If someone played me for a fool, I would kick the shit out of them and publicly shame them for their transgression. In your specific case, killing them might be on the table as well.”

“The Dahl Corporation has very deep pockets and state-of-the-art technology; I would be massacred if I tried that.”, Samus remarked, having already given up on that possibility. “That said, I might be able to kick the shit out of the low-level grunts that lied to my face, though. Better than nothing, I guess.”

“If you need help, just let me- “, Serana began to say, as a muffled scream came from the master bedroom.

Turning my attention to the source of the sound, I could make out the sounds of heavy breathing and sexual moans. Cracking a grin, Angelica and Olivia hastily suggested we head over to the arena and wait for them there. Agreeing with them, as I did not want to stand here and listen to them go at it, Brian promised to notify his lord with an embarrassed expression.

‘Lady Rosetta, Lord Liam, why did you have to choose now to do this? You know people can hear private conversations from the master bedroom down here.’, Brian thought, fearing their reaction once he told them we knew why the duel was delayed.

Helping the maids carry in the last of the gold bars, Brian took a seat in the foyer and patiently waited for them to return to the first floor.