Leaving Bail's office, the squad lead he had bowled over earlier was escorting him out, and Corvus had an idea.
"Does this building have its own private elevator to the lower levels?" Corvus asked.
The older man had a weather worn face, and gruffly nodded at him.
Corvus couldn't blame the guy for the cold shoulder, as he did kind of bowl him over half an hour ago. In fact, the damages to the building were being taped off as they spoke.
Plenty of guards gave him glum, complicated looks. Sensing them through the Force, Corvus felt fear, self loathing, anger, and respect. It was quite the gambit of emotions.
The guy next to him was more ticked off at himself than anything else.
"Well then, could you direct me to the elevator then, please? I have need of it, and shall be returning for my ship once my business on the lower levels has been concluded."
"Of course. You are an honored guest of the Prince." The man bit out, and started taking Corvus towards another part of the building.
During this brief walk around, Corvus looked out the window to pass the time, and drink the city in before he left. As he did so, he noticed an almost finished brand new building.
On an old world such as Coruscant, this was actually quite stunning. What was even more surprising was the height of the building. It was almost as tall as the Organa building!
On the surface, this was a banal observation, however there was a height limit to buildings on Coruscant. You had to be someone incredibly important and powerful if you wanted to compete with Alderaan.
"Who does that palace belong to?" Corvus questioned.
The guard frowned as he peered out the window, then was quick to respond.
"A property constructed by the scion of House Sizhran. The Falleen, Prince Xizor is reputed to have commissioned the building. He is the youngest trillionaire in the galaxy, a truly influential man." The guard shared, and kept moving forward.
Corvus, however, entered Pause as he absorbed this information.
During his trip today he had four primary targets in mind. The Jedi Temple, the Inspectorate, Galactic Bank, and House Organa. He had initially intended to secure transport via Organa, and with this elevator, was on his way to collect his troupe of Jedi.
Now, however, it seemed as if he now had a fifth location to infiltrate.
Prince Xizor was from the Shadows of the Empire series, and was an incredibly important player in galactic politics.
His influence was no less than that of Bail's. Xizor was a shipping magnet that put Amazon to shame, and was a critical lynchpin in deliveries, and logistics. Right now, he was 'nothing' more than one of the richest people in the galaxy.
However, Xizor was a power hungry man, one driven by ambition. At this moment, he was creating inroads with the Black Sun crime syndicate, one of the largest organized criminal organizations in the galaxy. In the future, he would rise to head this organization, but now, when he was at his 'lowest' so to speak, would be the perfect time for Corvus to introduce himself.
In general, Corvus was against organized crime, but he understood that if such syndicates could exist in 'idyllic' countries like Japan or Switzerland, then in a galaxy teeming with trillions, it would be impossible to eliminate. There would always be some people in search of a quick fix, and trying to stop all of them seemed like a pain in the ass.
Which is why, if he had a man on the inside, he could get the benefits of this organization-its contacts, hideouts, smugglers-and at the same time try and reduce the more horrific aspects that came with the business, such as human trafficking, and slavery.
Allying with Xizor perhaps wasn't the wisest decision, as he was quite cutthroat, and at times was even considered as Palpatine's number 3, just below Vader.
Xizor was machiavellian, but also seemed like the type to play both sides, and think he was oh so smart.
In truth, Corvus decided he would help Xizor rise through the ranks, not out of friendship, like with Bail, but to make the Falleen owe him. Their relationship wouldn't be an alliance, but more like that of associates with benefits.
Furthermore, assuming Darth Maul survived in this universe, the tattooed Sith Assassin was currently the shadow ruler of all the major crime syndicates at the moment. Supplanting Maul was something worth considering.
If Corvus were a true-blooded Jedi, he would never even consider working with a criminal. However, sticking to the Jedi Code 24/7 is what got Windu thrown out a window.
Funnily enough, as important as Xizor became in the criminal underworld, Corvus was actually more interested in his shipping company. As a seasoned arm chair general, Corvus was well aware how valuable logistics were to war. Really, whether he killed Xizor and sabotaged his company, or secured him as an associate, Corvus couldn't ignore the Falleen Prince now that he was aware of him.
'It's decided then. I'll collect everyone else after this last infiltration.' Corvus mentally nodded to himself, and then Un-Paused.
"You don't happen to have a workbench nearby before we reach the elevator, do you?" Corvus questioned the guard.
The older man's cheek twitched, but to his credit, he didn't say anything disagreeable, and took Corvus off to a side room.
Working quickly, Corvus restocked on mines, and other devices by scrapping the clone troopers weapons/gear that he obtained at the Inspectorate. He then modified his Revan mask so that it protected him from gas and notably, pheromones.
Falleen were notorious for secreting hormones that made them appear beautiful. It worked on just about every other race, and Corvus really didn't want to accidentally get horny looking at some reptile alien dude.
When he finished, Corvus looked out the window one more time at the mostly completed skyscraper, and thanks to his Awareness, noticed a few small spots where the building was somewhat exposed.
Turning to the disgruntled guard, Corvus hit him with another request.
"Do you have a parachute?"
The older guard peered past Corvus's shoulder at the unfinished building, shook his head, and grumbled to himself as he left for a supply room.
After all this, Corvus opened a window, and dismissed the guard once he came back with the parachute he had requested.
Placing the backpack over his shoulders, Corvus tried going invisible.
'Ha, it works!'
When he went invisible, the effect would also apply to all his clothes too.
The backpack that the parachute rested in also seemed to follow this logic.
Pleased with this development, Corvus praised his own genius, because if he didn't make this discovery, he would've had to have snuck his way through hundreds of flights of stairs.
Fuck that!
Preparing his parachute, Corvus glanced down at it, and realized he didn't really know how to operate one. However, given how his body went into a 3rd Person POV when he flew a ship, he was hoping a similar case would happen now…otherwise, he'd probably fly face first into Xizor's skyscraper.
Casting Valor and repeating the Jedi Shadow mantra to steady his nerves, Corvus waited for the flying car traffic to clear, and then jumped!
Willing himself to deploy the parachute, Corvus felt himself pull the ripcord, and then the foil was deployed.
His vision shifted, and it felt like he was piloting himself like a character from a video game.
Aiming for the hole in the structure, Corvus used the Force to help pull himself inside. As soon as he landed, he placed the parachute into his inventory, and took stock of his surroundings.
The area he found himself in seemed like a harmless little alcove, perhaps 12ft in front of him was an inocuos sliding door, one that someone would leave if they wanted to get a good look at the city, maybe go for a smoke, or breathe in some fresh air. However, Corvus's senses were absolutely screaming danger at him.
From the safety of Pause, Corvus realized that there were panels on the side of the walls the perfect size for turrets to be hiding in. Furthermore, he noticed a pad just a foot in front of him. If he depressed it, he was sure to trigger some sort of mechanism.
'That clever bastard.' Corvus couldn't help but praise.
The criminal was more inventive than the boring minds that occupied the Inspectorate.
Prince Xizor had seemingly left a chink in his new residences's armor, yet he had transformed it into a trap for would-be assassins!
Considering this spot was only one floor down from the penthouse suite at the top, it was an incredibly ballsy maneuver on the Prince's part.
Corvus respected this line of thinking. It was as Sun Tzu said, appear weak when you are strong.
Glancing all around himself for any other traps, or a way out of this predicament, Corvus didn't immediately have a solution.
But that didn't mean he was hopeless.
He had had quite a bit of practice opening doors as of late, and even if it wasn't a power listed in his system, he felt that his repeated use of basic telekinesis had made him more proficient at the skill.
Even though the door was a little further away then he would like, Corvus knew that he had to eliminate this mental block. The only thing that held a Force Adept were the restrictions one placed upon themselves.
You had to believe that whatever you were trying to achieve was possible. As Yoda said to Luke: 'Do or do not, there is no try.'
Reaching out with his hand, and feeling with his mind, Corvus searched for a button on the other side of the door, and depressed it.
The second the door slid open, Corvus jumped the 12ft distance, making sure not to touch the pads on the floor.
Whooshing into the residence, Corvus saw an incredible amount of art pieces, animal exhibits, instruments, rugs, shiny jewels, and all manner of expensive items. There were even things that tempted him, such as the: kyber crystals, full suits of Mandalorian beskar armor, holocrons, ancient texts, and assorted objects that oozed in the Force.
Heck, there was even an old gaming console where one could play Pazaak, the card game from Kotor 2! In the modern era, everyone played Sabaac, a multiplayer game, but Pazaak was the OG 1v1 card game. It went out of fashion, so it was amusing to see one in this room. Heck, it even appeared to be recently used!
This large room was a thieves wet dream, and in Corvus's opinion, incredibly gauche. When compared to the simplicity of Bail's residence, Xizor seemed like he wanted to clobber visitors with how much wealth he had amassed.
In Corvus's opinion, this room served as another layer of defense, and was quite ingenious.
On one hand, any would-be assassins that made it this far might be tempted to nab something that caught their fancy. Doubtlessly an alarm-or possibly an explosive/gas attack-would be triggered when any item was tampered with.
On the other hand, this outrageous amount of casually displayed wealth was like a wild animal flashing its colors, letting all who saw it know that it was poisonous.
Xizor was clearly a sophisticated man, and had put great thought into this palace. Going into this, Corvus wondered how their meeting would play out. Now he had such high expectations, that despite all these warning signs, there was no way he would back out now.
Moving forward, Corvus saw a grand door festooned with jewels, gold and other flashy items. It was the final barrier separating him from the penthouse suite.
Extending his senses, Corvus felt that there was one lifeform within, a single droid, and a few sources of danger that he couldn't quantify.
The Force was interesting, it seemed as if this lifeform-likely Xizor-was excited. As if he was expecting Corvus.
Corvus wondered if he had been spotted, then thought back to the door he had opened up. Perhaps a silent alarm had been installed, and Xizor was expecting company.
Even though Corvus was invisible, it's not like stealth generators were non-existent. There were other ways to achieve such a level of camouflage.
Now knowing that there could be a trap inside, Corvus could probably slice his way through this door, or the wall, and speed blitz Xizor. But killing the Falleen wasn't the point of this mission. Sure, threatening him, or showcasing his power might provide a convincing show, but it would also needlessly sew conflict.
Xizor was a man who enjoyed the finer things in life, so Corvus would entertain this rich playboy, and play his game.
Searching through the items he had looted from the Jedi Temple, and searched under miscellaneous for anything beginning with Falleen.
Finding an item labeled [Traditional Falleen Mask], and a short blurb describing it as belonging to a date from thousands of years ago, he knew it would hold some value to this avid collector. Corvus spawned it into his hands, and exited Pause.
Then, he did what any courteous guest would do.
He knocked.