It all started in a little bar in the capital city of the planet Obulette in the Tapani sector. I was there to made a contact, like myself a purveyor of rare items. His trade was in weapons, robots, gadgets and other technological sundries. Some of the things he traded were in the white market. The white market was what, we in the know called legitimate markets. Go into a shop, buy something, this was an example of a white market transaction. The graymarket had two visions, perhaps three. Counterfeit consumer goods, prescription medications sold without prescription, that sort of thing was one division. Another was a goods bought illegally, stolen goods and items that got a little vague in the description of how they wound up in the sellers hands. Utrecht was also a player in the black, and invisible markets. The only point on which we differed in our commercial practices was that he engaged in activity on the white and gray markets. The black market was for goods and services which were illegal. The invisible market was just that, invisible. The invisible market was for extremely illegal goods and services. I dealt in slaves, mostly what one might classify as entertainment slaves. Not just sex slaves but also other forms of entertainment. Gladiatorial slaves, swoopbike racing slaves and other sources of entertainment. There is a lot of money to be made, provided one check their morals at the door. I did that, partly because I really needed a lot of money for my endeavors, partly because the challenge always drew me.

Utrecht was bringing me the location for a dead drop. I was bringing him the location for another dead drop, the one where I had placed a data card to enrich him in ways that would not be traced to him, a certain algorithm that would transfer funds from one of my shell accounts to one of his. His end of the bargain was for some components for one of my droids, a couple of lightfoils and, from one of his contacts, a custom set of algorithms and programs for the droid. A lightfoil was originally a Sith invention. It was on par with the Jedi's lightsaber in terms of quality and workmanship. However, here in the Tapani sector it was common for noblemen to wield them, or at least imitations of true lightfoils. The ones he was bringing me were real, made before The Cleansing of The Nine Houses. That had happened a while ago, and genuine lightfoil's were hard to come by, most having been destroyed by the Jedi. While a non-Force sensitive could use a lightfoil, and even a lightsaber, they couldn't get all the benefits a Force user could. One of the deepest secrets I held was the fact that I was able to use the Force. I don't say that I'm a Jedi, nor a Sith, but there are more than just two factions that can use the Force.

Later on in the evening I had another engagement. I was meeting with a contact I had in House Mecetti. House Mecetti was the ultimate target of my endeavors. House Mecetti is one of the more urban and warlike noble houses of the Tapani sector. The House was a coalition of noble families and serves simply one noble family.

I belong to House Konham, one of the two Rogue Houses supposedly destroyed during The Unification War. To the best of my knowledge the other house was destroyed totally. House Konham was almost totally destroyed. Of the Old House only 1000 survived. I am descended from a middle-class family that escaped The Destruction. I was ranked as a knight banneret in the House, and head of the HSF, House Security Force. In practice that meant I was a spymaster, a spycatcher, head of law enforcement, head of the military forces the House could muster and an instrument of the House' s sworn vengeance. This is why I needed a large and steady stream of credits. Conducting a war is never a cheap endeavor.

Shortly after Utrecht and I exchanged the locations of dead drops I noticed is somewhat out of place middle-aged woman. This bar was mainly patronized middle-class clientele. She was at least a step and a half, or more, above the other patrons in the bar.

Apparently she was looking for me, because she sat down next to me. I knew that she was in the upper ranks of the lower middle tier of House Mecetti's nobility. Our conversation was brief. She had heard from a friend of a friend that I was involved in the black market, and she wanted to contract me to kidnap and enslave her stepdaughter. Since she had no clue as to my true activities, I played the part of the black hearted scoundrel who could be persuaded to step outside his usual field of endeavor for a high enough price. She made it clear she wanted the young woman would suffer. Also she made it clear that I mean needed to make sure that it was never traced back to her. Unfortunately for her, the chronometer I wore on my wrist was actually a camouflaged, and very good, holo-recorder. Like I said I'm a spymaster. If it were possible to use the holo-recording of that evening to further the cause of resurrecting House Konham I would do that, however I cannot conceive that this time of the way I could do that. Then the Lady gave me details as to her stepdaughter's itinerary for the next few weeks, suggested methods for accomplishing the task at hand, and she named the price. We haggled and eventually settled on a figure of 18,000 credits. She wasn't pleased to have to pay so much but it was obvious to me she wanted this done, and done so that it cannot be traced back to her.

As the Lady walked away I started making my plans. I took the datacard should given me and had a look at it. The young woman was beautiful, the holo-image of her showed her in an elegant gown. Looking over her itinerary, I noted that she would be traveling to a remote area with few bodyguards. The data indicated that would be a total of four with her.

On the way back to The Oasis, my scout ship, I made a detour to the location of the dead drop. Once I had returned to the ship I had a meeting with my crew, my four alpha slaves. We planned the escape route for once the abduction had been accomplished. Once we had our plan firm I went to work on S1-TD0. On the outside TD0 appeared to be a standard humanoid protocol droid. It might have seemed odd to any who might've seen him that he was black in color. This was because he had a sinister purpose. The designation stood for Slave Indoctrination and Training Droid mk0. As of that moment the only programming he had was the absolute bare minimum that would allow me to download into him the algorithms and programs I had picked up that night.

I decided that I would make the abduction the night before the girl was to head home. I also decided that I would send a little bit of a message to the Lady with this abduction. I had a few useful contacts among the small circle of assassins. These days most bounty hunters were assassins by every measure possible save only in name. However there were few who dispensed with such technicalities. They referred to themselves as assassins pure and simple. A couple of them owed me favors, for the standard fee they'd help me disappear the young lady and her bodyguards. With this abduction there would be no evidence whatsoever, the two assassins I had in mind had skill in such matters, they both had cleanup crews.

I had two standard weeks to prepare for the abduction and I use the time wisely. For my normal business I had a rather special rifle. While it look like a standard sport blaster rifle, it was in fact a very special projectile weapon. The projectiles it fired were custom-made by one of the best apothecaries, at least that's what she claimed to be, in the galaxy. In truth she was a brewer of poisons, drugs and other concoctions that ran the gamut from being questionably legal to wholly and highly illegal. She also made the delivery systems. For this projectiles she brewed a potion especially to my specifications. She called it The Last Good Nights Sleep, she's a bit quirky that one. She knew what I was, more to the point she knew what I did, and know that this was a tool for my trade. The concoction would safely put the young woman under in a deep sleep that would end a sufficient time had lapsed for me to be in the hyperspace after I made an abduction.

The abduction went exactly the plan, having the two assassins helping me was a great asset. It wasn't until I was looking through the scope of my rifle that I realized just how poorly the holo-recording captured the beauty of the young woman. Once all the bodyguards were taken out I personally shot the young lady with the special rifle. The projectile was special in that it would cut a hole just large enough for the dart pass through almost any window. Once the window was breached the needle would deploy and when it struck the target it would inject them with The Last Good Nights Sleep.

I got the woman on board The Oasis. I gave both the assassins data cards like the one I had given Utrecht. We parted ways amicably is always, and our three ships set off to different sectors of the galaxy. Once we had made the jump to hyperspace I went back to see if my newest acquisition had woken up yet. I was really looking forward to breaking a member of House Mecetti. It was at that point that I began considering the possibility of keeping her as one of my slaves. The more I thought about it the more enticing it was.

While most of House Konham, and the rest of the Tapani Sector, frowned on slavery that had never bothered me. With the House scattered throughout the galaxy and holding no set territory, morals had taken a backseat to reunifying the House and reclaiming our territory. That and the fact that I was most effective Head of House Security Forces in generations helped ensure that the rest of the House left me well enough alone.

I decided, on the way to my slaves "quarters" that I would keep her. Therefore I activated the second of the two holo- vid recordings I had made. I knew it would rock her back considerably. House Mecetti had been instrumental in the near destruction of our House. The message was going to be played as soon as she was fully conscious, I had a mic in the cell so that when she started speaking the ship's computer would activate the concealed holo-projector to play the message. The message was simple. She would see me standing and speaking these words. "Naturally you were wondering where you are, and how it is that you find yourself naked in the cell. Given your House's machinations you're probably guessing that this is some political move within your House. This is both true and on true. It was your lovely stepmother that sold you into slavery. However there is one very important fact I did not disclose to her. That fact is simple, I Am the Head of the House Security Forces for House Konham. If I were ever going to let you go the following advice might prove useful to your House; when setting out to destroy something it is best to ensure the complete destruction of the target. Failing to do so usually proves lethal. We will discuss politics at a much, much later date. Welcome to your new life slave."