A Deal for the RedBook

The central terminal in the Command Center flashes a soft steady green light, signalling a waiting message. Nate motioned to the others and they stepped forward. It had been a few hours since they'd displayed their offer to the benefactor on the secure and heavily encrypted frequency they had been provided and they all waited nervously for a response.

A woman flickered onto the holo-emitter. Nate recognized her as Ainax. The female who had hired him to begin with and gotten him into all this mess. She was certainly easy on the eyes but when he met her he couldn't help get the sense that she was a very dangerous person. She smiled cordially, nodding her head to them. Nate looked down at the console and saw that this was a pre-recorded message.
"No two-way communication for us I guess," he said and pointed it out to the rest of the group.
"Good Day," she said, her voice was smooth and rich; easy on the ears too, Nate thought.
"For those who have not met me, I am Ainax and I represent the Benefactor in all matters. Given the gravity of these negotiations, the Benefactor has elected to relay his terms to you personally" she said smiling. The image of her flickered away and Nate sighed. It was replaced by the shrouded figure of a man. Unlike the man times they had spoken to the Benefactor the image did not change to various figures. It persisted as the featureless shadow of a man. Nate found it unnerving and realized he had shivered slightly. He played it off as flexing his shoulders - appearances were important you know.
"I am guessing that congratulations are in order. You've hit the Jiramma's hard and they will most definitely be reeling from that. Marrick Quinn and Isar Kinnal in one swoop. Giarda's organization will be entrenched in a power struggle for the next few months at least and it will be vulnerable to manipulation. But that's no concern of yours right? You're not criminals. Just noble avengers seeking to rid the galaxy of some gangsters," he said in a wry voice. "I was disappointed when you failed to provide my counterpart with the Redbook, such a shame we couldn't of sorted that then and avoided this part of the business all together; however, you all seem to have an interest in my line of work now. So lets' negotiate," he said, enunciating the final word. The figure looks down as if consulting something unseen.
"Your demands were bold but childish. I'm sure you'll come around in time. Everyone does in this line of work. It reminds me of when I just started hustling all those years ago. I don't even have to see you to know that you're frowning right now. Don't lie to yourselves. You're becoming just like me. Everyone has the same struggle on the slope but eventually they all learn to embrace what we truly are," he says prophetically with his hands outstretched.
"Fifty thousand sounds reasonable but I am not without generosity. I will make it sixty thousand as your next two demands are untenable. The Gank Warchief which you so eloquently offended is neither owned by me nor subservient to me. As I did not pay him for his failed services he took the gold and weapons as his own prices for "time lost against the hunt". From what he heard he has sold your weapons and likely the gold as well. As for calling him off, I wouldn't be too worried about him unless you find yourself involved in a particularly cultish Cabal which he loves to hunt so much," he said dismissively and then raised a finger. "Ah yes, if you do run into him again I would advise more caution next time. Also perhaps don't call him by his name as you have not yet earned the right. Ganks are particular about such nuances that I wouldn't want to see you hurt." he finished and looked down again.
"And your final demand, this has to be the most comical. I'm sorry but missed the part where I became Kuat Drive Yards and provided vessels to the war efforts of the galaxy. I understand that you have your little Squadron now of old Corellians but you must understand that I can't just move starfighters across the galaxy without anyone noticing; well actually I can but I don't care for the effort. That being said, I am again a generous man. In my earlier years I possessed a facility near Ord Mantell. It was built into an Asteroid and I believe I left a few snubfighters there which you are free to take. Whatever is left in the facility is yours as well. I haven't been there in a few years now but I believe it'll be fitting for you," he said. He looked down again and then the figure shook as if chuckling. A dry laugh came through the holo-emitter.
"And your final demand. To "cut all ties". Let me tell you this. On the casinos of Nar Shaddaa there is a saying. 'The House Always Comes Out on Top'. It's no more than a petty gamblers excuse for when he dices away his final credit but I believe there's some truth in the saying. In our circumstance, I am the house and you are the gambler. You can go do whatever you like and whatever makes you feel that you're not a criminal like the rest of us but at the end of the day I will be there," he said with surprising levity and casualness given the ferocity of his words.

The image flickered back to that of Ainax. She nodded cordially again.
"Thank you for your time. This will be the final offer. Please contact us through the secure channels to make a deal. The exchange will be conducted by a broker of our choice. Please note, any attempt to copy, alter, or affect the data will nullify the terms of our arrangement. The deal is contingent on the Redbook being received by the broker uncompromised. We will have Slicers onsite to verify the validity. You have 48 hours to respond." she said and the image flickered out.