Someone who is quite clearly dressed in another Sith's - uniform - approaches the periphery of her group almost expectantly, though giving the Sith Lord and especially the enamelled droid plenty of personal space; they are about as Force-sensitive as a brick, and seem to be unarmed, but they're clearly well-trained in shielding - or simply that unflappable, unfazed as they are by the nature of the people they are approaching.

"Ah, I regret the interruption, but I have a message for Lord Pradnakt?"

At the mention of the Sith's name, her hand goes to the lightsaber at her hip, and in the same moment the battle droid's shoulder cannon rises from its enclosure to point at the messenger.

Hold, she signs to the droid with her free hand, and spends a long moment examining the interloper before speaking. "Yes?"

To the messenger's credit, they do not flinch or quail, even as their heart races.

"I don't know the details, ma'am; I was merely given the missive, and where my Lady expected I'd find she to whom I was to deliver it.  If you wish to know more you would have to read what my Lady has to say.  You are Lord Pradnakt, then?"

"It's a name I answer to, yes."

"Then this is for you, and by your leave I sha'n't intrude further upon your outing."

The messenger produces a wax-sealed letter bearing an imprint that matches the symbol he wears, hand-addressed 'Lord Pradnakt' with no further details, and lays it upon the table, before he bows and moves to depart.  The letter has a feeling in the Force, oddly enough.  It bears her no ill-will, despite that being a thing that a letter cannot itself do.

She watches the letter for a moment, ignoring the messenger as they leave, and then uses telekinesis to pass it to the battle droid, signing to him to read it.

There is a note inside the envelope. as well as a second, smaller, envelope.

I first do wish to apologize for the distress I have caused by this means of reaching out, but I am rather trying to pick from the best of a set of bad options at this point.

My name is Darth Kalbetis, and the Force reliably informs me that there is a dangerous artifact I will soon encounter that Lord Pradnakt is uniquely suited to dealing with - and perhaps even willing to do so, depending upon my success in explaining the matter.

Further details are enclosed in the second letter, but I would advise against opening it in a public place, as while I have tried to maintain circumspection in the explanation thereof, it does rather involve certain private details that the Force was regrettably insistent upon my knowing.

I would swear to the harmlessness and uselessness (well, beyond communication -) of the psychometric impression I have amplified upon the outer envelope, but I have clearly already failed to persuade by that means, and my trustworthiness is inherently suspect because Sith are not usually trustworthy - doubly so any of my station - so it's rather moot.  Do with it as you will.

May the Force be with you.

--Darth Kalbetis

"I think it's safe," the droid reports first, and then at Pradnakt's prompting he reads it aloud, quietly, in the Sith language.

I don't like it, she reports. But if it's a trap they're going to a lot of trouble they don't need to. Thoughts?

   It almost has to be - the servant droid starts.

I know. That's why I don't like it. But if they know - and I bet they do, how did they know my name - this isn't what it would look like if they just wanted to kill me.

    We could just ignore it.

We could. 

    You don't want to.

I don't like any part of this, even that one. 

    Well, it's up to you, of course.

An hour later, back at their ship, Pradnakt teases the second letter out of its envelope with careful telekinesis and holds it up to read.

Let me begin by establishing that you and I have...  Something in common, Lord Pradnakt, in how we interact with the Force.  I am not as prodigious with it as you are - the Force has seen fit to gift or curse me with prophetic insights, but beyond that little else - but my studies of the Force's mysteries have taken me strange places in my relationship therewith and my own philosophical understanding of its purposes.

Mutual, and frankly pro forma, blackmail out of the way:

I am requesting your assistance because you are particularly suited to solving multiple problems that I rather cannot - I am neither a tracker, despite my ability to See, nor gifted in the...  biological, aspects, of Force Alchemy, and to properly resolve this requires that I first find a person who has custody of an artifact that has dangers they are unaware of, and earn the goodwill of its keeper to safely defuse it - safely, because otherwise the harmonic cascade of its powers turned upon itself, as its makers envisioned the final means to protect it from those who would use it for ill, could well rend the galaxy apart at its worst, or at least a goodly portion of a planet - but if you do not wish to help, I cannot - or rather will not - make you.  The Code says that the Force shall free us, after all.  I would be remiss in my dealings if I then turned around to enslave others, which all too many have forgotten, if they ever knew.

...But I digress.

I should, however, mention that this mission will likely involve Jedi.  They are not all as inflexible and unfeeling as the propaganda paints them, mind - I've rather made a study of them; I'd know - but the mission will take us through contested territory to begin with, to say nothing of the origins of the artifact I seek, or that the one who holds it is, despite having fled the Jedi, certainly not Sith.  (Well, not yet, at least, and the future is always in motion.)

 

I hope this suffices to inform you of the details, but if it does not satisfy your curiosity, I can be reached via comm or in person for additional information - or to confirm your interest or disinterest.

(The rest of the letter is contact information.)

They know, Pradnakt reports just a few sentences into the letter. But they're being nice about it.

I'm not sure why they think I can help with that, she muses a few moments later. But this is... reasonable... otherwise.

...on the other hand, Jedi.

I think we should at least go look. She adjusts the letter so the droids can see it, and a few minutes later the servant droid takes the comm while Pradnakt incinerates the letter with a bit of Force-generated fire.

The comm picks up in an instant, revealing a Falleen woman in a dark robe and rather imposing mask, and hints of esoteric devices at the edge of the holo's viewfield.  Despite her fashion sense, she seems to be surprisingly easygoing for a Sith, greeting the droid with an "Ah, hello there.  You would be with - or calling on behalf of - Lord Pradnakt, I presume?  This is Darth Kalbetis."

"Yes ma'am. My name is Daisy, and Lord Pradnakt is listening in."

"A pleasure to meet you, Daisy."  She steeples her hands.  "And the purpose of your call, then, if you would?"

"Lord Pradnakt is... curious," skeptical, "about why you think it would be reasonable for her to choose to interact with Jedi in this case."

"Well.  I don't have the skill necessary to undo some rather twisted alchemy with Force Healing myself, let alone guide others.  So it's not so much a matter of reason as necessity, given that short of that, there's few ways to prove good faith over the potentially world-destroying artifact."

Sufficiently Force-assisted hearing might catch a frustrated hiss in the background of Daisy's transmission as her posture changes to indicate that she's looking at something offscreen.

"She can't Heal anyone if she's dead, she says."

"Quite, and something I am rather keen on preventing.  I have not neglected planning to defuse the volatile tensions in the process of defusing the volatile artifact."

She seems almost a little offended by the idea that she would have left something as important as this to - chance, or something.  The Force helps those who help themselves, as too many seers have failed to learn.

"It's rather a layered defense, beyond my visions being rather convincing in their own right that this works.  Firstly, when the assistance of other Force-users is likely to be necessary, we've already found and failed to harm someone the Jedi rather thought was dead, and they're vouching for our lack of ill intent, as our opening gambit.  Secondly, there is precedent for even Sith and Jedi to cooperate in the face of galactic-scale destruction.  ...Admittedly, that's usually a Sith's fault, but it holds and I can cite to specific examples.  Thirdly, I can demonstrate not just a light-side-seeming Force presence but some actual skill with techniques that only the Light knows - they will get quite distracted by that before I even let them turn their attentions to you.  Fourthly, we would have medical privilege, under the rules of war the Jedi follow - and they cannot treat alchemical folly in the way we can; Healing may be the Light's domain, but alchemy is a Sith skill and best treated, well, Sithily, regardless of Force alignment.  ...Finally, they can't and won't stop us, should it despite all these precautions, and the Force's will, come to a fight.  I may have taken a diplomat's name, but that does not mean that I did not ascend to this position in rather the traditional fashion - and I have not let myself slacken, since.  If I have failed to adequately prepare this, they will nonetheless have to go through me to get to you.  ...If this turns out to be the mistake you fear it will become, that is the least I will owe."

"She says she'll want evidence of all that as we go, ma'am. Are you nearby?"

"I'd expect nothing less.

"As far as where I am, I won't be here long - I can be on Elsul in a week, or I can tell you where I'll be and you can arrange yourselves."

Nine?

    This sounds more important than the weapons museum.

Not that urgent, though.

        Are you sure you want to inconvenience a Darth? Daisy signs, her hands below the camera's view.

This one? Like this? Yeah, actually. If she sucks I want to know.

        Fair enough. "We have a few things to finish up here, ma'am, but if you give us your planned itinerary we can head out to you in a few days."

"Of course.  While this is sensitive, and important, it isn't urgent on the scale of days to weeks.  Perhaps months, though."  She follows up with a list of departure times and arrival places - some of them with strange warnings attached like 'Detour around Jarrus; there's some very annoying pirates'.  It seems that Darth Kalbetis' travels jig up from her current location towards Elsul, perhaps skirting something internal thereby, and then make a relatively straight line towards contested space, with the occasional zig and zag of 'running errands', or so the itinerary notes.

It only takes Daisy a moment to analyze Kalbetis' route once it's sent, so she responds promptly: "We'll meet you at Yaguscin III, ma'am, and I'll send you the details once we're docked there." It's one of the most obvious meeting places if they're optimizing for the least travel time for all involved rather than for meeting up with the Darth as quickly as possible, and a comfortable choice among the planets meeting that description, with a pleasant climate and a mixture of cities and wilderness.

"Very well.  Until then, I suppose, unless you've other questions?"  She rather figured that would be their choice, but far be it from her to not offer options.

"Lord Pradnakt would appreciate any information you feel comfortable sending us, but she has no specific questions at this time."

"Of course.  Expect that in the next few days."