A few minutes go by and the commander returns, a tall slender human man with dark hair and a scar on his right temple. With his return the smell of tabac starts to fill the room. "I am Lt. Jerex Durame, we thank you for the much needed supplies. The dock-master and quartermaster will sort out the payment. What have you heard about the imperial's movements? I feel like I am target out here with little support and less information. I keep getting intel from local contacts about an ISB Captain named Thalo Syrus. Me and my team are starting to get concerned." With that he turns to the steward and take a small cup with steam drifting from the top. With a sip he mutters to the steward, or maybe himself, or possible to no one at all. "I wish the specforce guys were still here. "
'...Rebel specforce...good...really good. maybe the only unit in the whole Alliance worth a damn...'
"Where'd they go, Lieutenant?" Kara asks nonchalantly. "the spec-ops guys, that is."
"Ahahahaha! HA! Don't mind my friend here, she just says whatever pops into her head ... you know, random stuff. All the time. Don't pay any attention to it. Really."
It's lame, but it's the best recovery that Djebelle can think of right now.
She glares at Kara - what are you DOING?! You don't think they know you're a former Imp?! You can't just ask questions like that! - before spinning round to see what Aneira is making of all this.
Bad things, probably.
She sighs, inwardly. Former Imps to the left of her, former(?) Rebs to the right - and none with a lick of street-smarts between them. What's a girl to do?
Now would be a real good time to talk about something else.
"So, how 'bout that Thalo Syrus, huh? What do we know about him?"
She tries to remember what's known about the Imperial Captain in the underworld that she used to frequent. Criminals keep close tabs on the Imps that cross their paths, for obvious reasons.
Kara does not look directly at Djebelle, she continues to keep the eye of the Rebel lieutenant. But she is very definitely speaking to her. "There's an ISB agent on the loose in the vicinity - that's what 'local intel' told him. The spec force is no longer here. He feels like he is a target out here. 1+1+1 equals three, and my gut tells me these are related. I always trust my gut. When I want your opinion on military matters - I'll give it to you."
Kara is furious. For someone supposedly streetwise, doesn't she recognize someone working for information? Probably not, this isn't a street thing, it's a military thing - way over Djebelle's head. There are many things Kara is: 'random' is not one of them.
"Well, Durame? You've heard my thoughts, did they just disappear? Or were they reassigned? if it's the former, we should find out what happened. If the latter, then it's none of my - our - business."
Then she turns to Djebelle, her red eyes burning with fury. '...YOU...I will deal with later...' is the silent message.
Aneira laughs then, the expression on her face easy and relaxed, a picture of calm inviting everyone else to relax.
Well that's the thing with those Spec Ops types eh? They might be around but just doing their jobs all sneaky-like!
Her gaze seems to ignore both Djebelle and Kara, her tone purely conversational.
So once we're done trading intel, we're at a bit of a loose end, is there anything you need shipping off world or anything needs a crack team of...
She looks around at the rag tag group
...individuals with certain skills to help you out with?
She beams a pointy-teethed smile
For fair compensation in creds of course!
She grins
Juviest looks greedily at the steaming cup, before surrendering and drawing a flask from his coat. "Top you up, LT?", he suggests after taking a long sip, coughing.
"I've got a decade or three of experience looking for people. And of getting them back alive.", he says, nodding at the ladies. "She's right, we're availavle, if you're hiring." He takes another sip. "Just as long as I get out of this blinding iceball."
Aristi just looks on, not really understanding all of the military talk. But the ISB captain, Thalo Syrus? Had he heard of this guy before? The Bothan rattles his brain trying to remember...but nope. No clue.
"I know nothing about Syrus other than what I am told, which is that he is a relentless investigator. If he catches wind of our new base here...well I cant even think what would happen. Which leads me to the specforce team, they have been ordered to a new mission somewhere where they cant help me."
with that he turns and begins to stare off into the distance, which off course is not very distance inside a small room under a giant ice mountain. His stare lasted an unseemly long time, so long that you find yourself turning to look at the wall to see what he could be looking at.
"I have no funds to hire you per say, but we are all on the same team. Consider this a home if you need someplace to rest or hide and if you can find out anything about Syrus, and divert his gaze away from Hoth, well that would be good for the Alliance, and me of course."
His stare completed, he turns back to you with a smile, "So have you ever tired roasted wampa?"
Djebelle snaps her fingers. "Syrus! Right, yes of course. Greedy pig. He's assigned to the Anoat sector. Loves his food, so he's basically living on Bespin, of course."
She flashes her dimples at Durame. "No problem, if we encounter him we'll make sure to divert him away from here. Now, why don't you go show us this hot, roasted food that sounds so intriguing..."
She nods at Aneira, one professional to another - Nice work - before matching Kara's glare with one that's just as fierce. You may be white hot at kicking down doors and getting information military style, but you've got a LOT to learn about how civilians do things, hon.
So basically, keep shtum, and if opportunity presents, lead that gentleman away from this general direction. Right o.
Aneira sips some soycaf from a mug that seems to have magically appeared in her hands. She meets Djebelle's eyes and there is an almost imperceptible nod.
Roasted wampa surely can't be as bad as all that...
Juviest raises a brow at Djebelle. "You know where all the Imperial bigwigs live, kid?", he quips, smiling. "Information's a hell of a weapon."
He shrugs at Durame's suggestions. "Not that big on roasts, myself. Give me indigestion.", he mentions, completely oblivious to the interaction between the two girls. He scratches his stubble. "Not that big on no pay, but I've lived with worse. If we go and get him, nobody's going to stop us stuffing our pockets. And I haven't been to Bespin in, what, thirty odd-years." He sighs, eyes going blank as Juviest goes down memory lane, accompanied by the occasional smirk.
Juviest raises a brow at Djebelle. "You know where all the Imperial bigwigs live, kid?", he quips, smiling. "Information's a hell of a weapon."
Djebelle cocks a knowing eyebrow in reply. "Information is power, Old-timer; no - better than that... it's currency. Not that I trade with the Imperium much, these days." she adds hastily.
It has the advantage of being true: they're stingy, and they have the bad habit of altering deals as they go along. Plus, as her Force powers became more apparent to her, the Outer Rim suddenly seemed like a really good place to be.
Djebelle cocks a knowing eyebrow in reply. "Information is power, Old-timer; no - better than that... it's currency. Not that I trade with the Imperium much, these days." she adds hastily.It has the advantage of being true: they're stingy, and they have the bad habit of altering deals as they go along. Plus, as her Force powers became more apparent to her, the Outer Rim suddenly seemed like a really good place to be.
Juviest chuckles. I like the kid. Has way more spine than that bony thing on her back.
"Heh. They're not that big on trading, are they now." Mentioning trade seems to be a touchy subject on the old Sullustan, as he pats around his pocket for a cigar half. "Trade's how the Force-damn galaxy works the way it does. Used to be, back in the Republic, the harder you worked, the better you were off. Now, it's too much pan-handling to those in power. Don't really know if it's the same to you humans, but restrictions to trade, speech, travel... It's almost as bad as restricting breathing to our culture. That's why most of our folk join the Alliance."
"Last time I checked the history books," Kara says dryly, "the Republic had its fair share of corrupt officials. Let's not pretend that the Republic - or the Alliance for that matter - is filled with do-gooders and philanthropists that only have the people's welfare at heart. Crooks are crooks where ever they are. They just change skins as necessary to keep hidden."
Kara kicks her boots up on a table, pulling her knife and slicing open another packet of the jerky. "You may not believe this," she says between bites, "but there are many in the Empire that believe the Imperial government is a good thing. Stability, safety, order...these are things the common person values. Those are the people who think the Rebellion is nothing more than a bunch of anarchists and terrorists." She shrugs. "In a way, they are right. I guess it's all in your point of view."
Juviest chuckles. "Sure it had a few of them. One even became Emperor.", he says with a sad smile. "Though specieist segregation and nepotism are growing with every day. Just a matter of time 'til they come for our rights and weapons.", he adds spitefully, gripping his blasters, incidentally just as illegal now as they were during Republic times. "Though points of view are built by information. Free speech lets people build their own. Censoring investigations lets the Imps tilt the people's point in the direction it wants." He chuckles. "Or it tries to. Propaganda's about as reliable a weapon as a lightsaber. You just might hit yourself with it."
Aristi leans back in his chair. "Kara's right. A lot of people, as long as they are making dosh, don't care who's in charge. If Palpatine's order has provided stability and structure, most citizens won't question the fact that they are living under a despotic government." He surprises himself with the vehemence and rancor in his voice. It wasn't long ago that the Bothan was helping his family prosper under the Empire's governance.
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Kara laughs out loud at the old Sullustan. "Rights and weapons? You're joking right? You only have the rights the Empire gives you, old man, or those you make on your own in places like the Outer Rim here. Get into the Interior worlds, and you have no rights save what Imperial Law says you have." She shakes her head. "Rights and weapons..."
"The thing is," Kara says, standing up and pacing, "is that the only reason we're still alive, that the Alliance is still around, is the galaxy is a big place, and the Empire can't be everywhere. But if they want you bad enough, they'll get you. Make a name big enough for yourself, and they'll come for you. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."
She stops pacing to look at Juviest. "And you know what? Your name and face will be splashed across a billion vids, and every one of those loyal citizens will whisper 'good riddance'."
"Even the Outer Rim won't hide you. ImpSec, informants, Imperial military, and if you're big and bad enough, the Emperor sends him..." Her voice trails off to a whisper. Kara's hands shake ever so slightly as she speaks. "I saw him once, years ago. Only a fleeting glimpse before my unit set out on an operation. Just the word he was coming set the brass in a panic. When he came down the gangway of his shuttle into the hangar, it was....I can't describe it..." She falters. "He...filled the room...just his being...you felt it..." Kara turns to Djebelle. "You know what I mean. But you don't. You've never felt anything that powerful...that...dark..."
Djebelle is just about to interject with an arch comment about how she's pretty sure nobody but the Empire has ever blown up an entire planet, killing billions in the process, just to prove a point-
-when Kara changes the tone of the entire conversation, turning Djebelle absolutely white in the process.
"Don't - DON'T - say its name...!" is all she manages to choke out, before she's reduced to silence, retreating beneath the covering folds of her cloak.
She takes deep, gulping breaths, almost like sobs, trying to compose herself. Still hidden within the robes, her voice muffled, she admonishes her companions. "It can hear, you know. Say its name and it will come and find you. And when it does..." She shudders, convulsively.
"Even the Force won't protect you." It's barely a whisper.
Juviest harumphs. "Superstitious bantha fodder, if you ask me. I bet Alliance command talks about him all the time, and he hasn't wiped them out yet.", he grunts. "Never picked up a Jedi contract, myself, since I don't take 'em in dead, and they don't want them any other way. You weren't around in the Clone wars, but I was." He pulls out his canteen, taking a long sip. "Heard of the battle of Geonosis, haven't you? The best of the Jedi, killed by droids, of all things. And after the Empire outlawed the Order? Half the Guild went after Jedi. Highest bounties were over three million credits."
He turns to Djebelle, shaking his head. "I'm not here to tell you that the Force is some hocus-pocus religion. It's got power, and I've seen it for myself. But that power's got nothing on credits." He harumphs again. "Anyway, we're just wagging tongues right now. It's not like they'd send the best for us. Say we grab that wampa and go to Bespin. Nice watering holes, at least."
Kara stares at Djebelle, not really understanding her fears. "You mean Vader?" She asks with some incredulity. "His power doesn't come from his name, I can tell you. But the name Vader does cause a bit of panic, as I said before. No, you could feel him in the room, but I have to agree with Juviest here. If enough money starts talking, I don't care who you are, someone's going to gun you down."
She sits again, back to the old Kara. "We studied Geonosis, old man. It was standard doctrine stuff for battling Force-users. Those Jedi did a lot of damage before the droids them, and the best of them were only killed when the clone troopers turned on 'em. That's a lot of power there, but in the end, they died just like everyone else."
Thrask had been sitting in the back but at this point he was beginning to get annoyed. Had these fools have no sense when it came to how to act in front of someone whom they viewed as a potential client. It's bad enough dragging him to a world that even the Scorekeeper would damn, but to subject him to unprofessional behavior let alone the aggravating annoyance that is bickering...he lips pulled back showing his teeth and he moved forwards putting a clawed hand on each of the women's shoulders.
"This kind of behavior might be best done on the ship when we have nothing to do but get on each others nerves..." he said sneering and looking up at the old Sullustan as well.
He looked towards the Captain and licked his lips "Do you have a job, my friends here are getting heated and in the mood for blood it seems...and I for one am ready to get off this planet." he said as his hands left the shoulders of his comrades in arms.
As the discussion continues, a serving droid appears with a tray of roasted meat and assorted vegetables. The thick smell of spices and juice brings a smile to the LtT, face as he says, "Ah, here it is. Food is all we live for out here on this ice berg. As for a job, as I a stated, I have nothing to offer other than a place to land and support. I can however pay you for supplies and I could use any every weaponry you came across. I have heard the name "Dralin Starwind" bantered about along with the words Bespin and weapons. Maybe he has something we can use." With this he take a bite of the wampa and seems almost happy for the first time since you meet him.
Aneira glances between the other members of the team, before clearing her throat
So you could cut the tension with a lightsaber...
She shrugs, smiling to herself and hoping levity would dissipate the odd atmosphere.
You're right Djebelle, if half the intel reports on him are true then he's a monster, but like any monster he's not invulnerable. I doubt that armor would stand up to sustained blaster fire, or that he'd survive long marooned on a planet with no support.
She looks over
Fear means all you can see is strength, do yourself a favor, look for the weakness and I promise you'll feel better...
She puts the soycaf mug down on the table with a heavy thump.
Well it's been... different... thanks for your hospitality and all, but if there's no work here then we'd best be moving on, though we'll remember your needs if we're back this way.
She moves towards the door
Djebelle, why don't you come with and we'll see if the Folly's been refueled yet? And we can talk about where we might want to head next...
Aristi follows the banter, while also mulling over the bits of information Lieutenant Durame had mentioned. When there's a lull, he makes sure to put in a good word about Proc Shmo of Nar Shaddaa. He'd been a tough negotiator, and the Bothan had said he'd try to drum up some more business from the rebels for him.
From out of nowhere, Aristi snorts and laughs out loud. "Wouldn't it be funny if we could make those ISB officers think the rebels were building a base somewhere else? Would Bespin be too close?"
Juviest shrugs. "Well, it might be, kid. Good plan. Never had a mind for deception, myself. Well, it turns out we're heading to Bespin. Might check with that Starwind character, too. Since I'm going to be going into the big leagues again, it wouldn't hurt to get some extra gear.", he pats his blasters. "Seen those jet-boots?", he asks Kara, picturing her as the most knowledgeable one on weapons and personal equipment.
Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool, than open it and remove all doubt. Djebelle squirms slightly as it becomes clear that the others don't share her superstition - and in fact, openly mock it.
She finds their lack of faith... disturbing.
Still, what can you expect - they've no understanding of the Force, of what it can do.
Speaking of which: "Those co-ordinates the Rodian gave me and Aneira - I'd like to pay a visit to that world, Triton, and see what's waiting for us. Is that on our route to Bespin?"
Right then, someone kick that collection of smoking circuit boards we call a NavComp and let's get off this block of ice!
Aneira shivers despite the fauxfur lined jacket she's somehow managed to acquire.
Kara strides back up the ramp onto the Folly. This run was too easy, things are never this easy. Still, hard to deny that easy wasn't bad every once in a while.
Damn, it's cold...
Juviest smirks at Aneira. "Thought you'd never ask. C'mon, Aristi, might need some help with the small letters...", he says, jumping off of the seat as fast as his creaking joints would allow.
After a short while and a plethora of Huttese, Juviest comes out of the pilot's cabin, sitting down in the kitchen. "Damn. Reckon we can turn on the heater in this rustbucket? Or I should just remove some of the reactor shielding. That'll get us real warm.", he chuckles, lighting up a cigar and pouring himself a mug of Java juice. "So, what are you expecting to find there, kiddo?", he asks Djebelle with a smile. "Old friends? Old enemies?", he inquires, putting his boots on the table.
Djebelle blinks, and tucks a strand of purple hair behind her ear. "Truthfully? I've no idea - the coordinates were given me by a Rodian with some... unusual abilities. I'm pretty sure we're not wandering into a trap, though. Fairly sure."
She holds up a hand to forestall the obvious objections. "I know, ok? Don't trust strangers. Believe me, I KNOW. But this feels... I don't know. Important."
Aneira blinks slowly as she considers Djebelle, before speaking quietly
I find it kind of creepy that they think they know something about us and have handed us mystery coordinates... this could be a wild cosmic goose chase!
She looks slightly perturbed.
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Djebelle shrugs, and nibbles on a strand of her purple hair as she waits for one of the more cynical types to point out that a "wild goose chase" is actually not the worst-case scenario.
The ship lifts from Hoth, seems shakes off the ice and cold and leave the atmosphere. Moments later you jump to hyperspace.
Watching Aniera's doubt of Djebelle, Kara grins.
'...now you know what it feels like with that one...'
In her bunk in her usual position - with her boots up on her helmet, arms behind her head - she throws in casually: "I guess these coords were given on a 'need to know' basis, and we didn't need to know. Won't be the first time I've been dropped into a unknown LZ with minimal intel." She tears a piece of jerky off in her teeth and chews thoughtfully. The Chiss warrior pulls her combat knife and turns in over slowly in her hands, observing the dull play of the light on the blackened blade.
Then, in a blur of motion, she bolts upright and hurls her knife into one of the crates of goods from Nar Shadaa. The blade sinks three inches deep into the plas-wood with an audible thunk!
"We'll just kill anything that wants to harm our little girl..." she growls through a feral grin. Then she leans back again, tearing another chunk of jerky as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Thrask snorts and shakes his head "If it's a trap, it will be fun to turn it on their heads and hunt them all down....every last one of them." he says as he makes his way to the engine room.
He was more then eager to warm up as quickly as possible. He never understood why people tried to live on ice planets, it makes you slow and careless.
Aristi helps Juviest plot the mystery coordinates into the navicomputer. He marvelled at the interesting situations this crew seemed to find themselves in. The Bothan offered to take a turn at the helm as the ship jumped to hyperspace, while the rest of the crew was busy settling in.
Several days later, with a lurch, you exit hyperspace. Inside a ring of asteroids lies the star of Triton with a lone planet in its orbit. As you approach the planet from the night side you see very little light on the sparsely populated surface. A swing to the day side revels the planet is mostly hard pan desert. A quick scan shows the coordinates will bring you to a gaping tear on the surface. The large chasm could fit over 50 of your ship and drops over 600 meters below the surrounding terrain. the bottom is relatively flat and a single structure stands near one of the walls.
Kara looks out of the cockpit window as the Folly descends into the chasm. She gives a low whistle to no one in particular as they continue to drop. Once she spots the structure, she works her way back to the main area, looking for Djebelle.
"Now's the time." She begins casually, pulling on her laminate armor. "What is this all about? Who are we looking for here, and why?"
"Now's the time." She begins casually, pulling on her laminate armor. "What is this all about? Who are we looking for here, and why?"
Djebelle is - unusually - visibly armed: she is checking the power settings of a ridiculously oversized blaster pistol. Satisfied, she clips it to her belt; along with two spare power packs and a set of grenades. She's also slipped into her armoured (but still fashionable) clothing. A holdout pistol is concealed in the small of her back.
Nevertheless, despite the obvious preparations for trouble, she turns to Kara and gives her ditziest, most brainless, smile: "Oh, I don't know, just thought it might be fun to go somewhere new..." before quickly dropping the act.
"Sorry, hon. You bring out the worst in me sometimes. I trust the guy who gave me the co-ordinates, but-" she pats the blaster pistol at her hip "-I don't know anything about him, or what's out there. I don't know if it's a what, or a who, or even why."
She wraps the concealing robes around her, making sure that she can still reach the weapons if needed. "We could be walking into a trap - people like me, who can do the things I can are... valuable bounty, amirite? You don't have to come with me; but I need to know what's here."
Kara frowns. "Not good enough sweetheart." She says sarcastically. "Who gave you the coordinates, and why did he give them to you? Did he just say: 'Hi! I'm a stranger and here is a place you should go! So long!' I want to know: why do you need to know what's here?"
She looks around at the others as they get ready to disembark from the Folly. "I don't like going into a situation blind like this, where you are the only one out of all of us who has any clue what is going on. After our stunt on Shantipole, any of us is a good bounty. You're just the bonus creds on top."
Thrask comes up out of the hangar, a mountain of muscle and blades. Kara nods. "The possibility of violence isn't what worries me. It's not knowing where that violence may come from."
Juviest puts in the coordinates for approach towards the ravine, then joins the other in the kitchen. He sits on a chair, relaxing his legs on the table, then pours himself a surprisingly virgin mug of java juice. Noticing Djebelle's new pistol, he grunts approvingly. "Well that's something. So I guess old friends are out of the question, huh?", he chuckles, pulling out a cigar knife. "I can set a plot for just outside the building, whatever it is. Doubt they got anti-ship defenses, but I don't think anyone who lives here likes visitors that much."
He nods at Djebelle. "Well, talkers are aplenty...", before scratching his stubble. "Wait... You one of them... Jedi folk?", he asks incredulously. "Why the heck am I the last one to learn?", he chuckles, shaking his head. "Ah, heck. If I stay on the ship, I'll be driving myself up the walls for missing out on some mystery."
He takes a long look at the building on screen. "Well, that's looking somewhat familiar... Unless I'm wrong.", he chuckles, before joining the others ready to leave.
Knowledge(Lore) on the building style and whatnot.
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Djebelle is about to lapse into a sullen silence in the face of questions she doesn't want to answer; but resists the urge. Partly this is because her companions deserve to know what they're getting into; but mostly because Kara can outdo her in stubborn (and threatening) silence any day of the week.
"OK." She turns to face Juviest. "First off, no. I'm not a Jedi - they were a buncha losers who were too stupid to work out who their enemy was and got killed for it. But I can do some of what they did - enough that if you hand me in to the Empire, you'll never need to work again. I've always been able to - took me a while to realise other people can't! But that's another story." She waves a hand impatiently.
"Anyway. After Shantipole, I was approached by some Rodian. He can do what I can, some of it, anyway - better than me, maybe. He gave me a disk with these coordinates, told me that his group wants me to come here, that it's some sort of test to see whether I'm worth it, that they'll be in touch afterwards... Do you understand? I've spent a lifetime thinking I was alone, near enough - but that's another story - and now I find there's a bunch of others! I have to know what's here. I to." She scowls, mutinous and defiant - a glare that is somewhat undermined by the unshed tears in her soft brown eyes.
Kara stares for a moment. Turning away from Djebelle, she hefts her Czerka heavy blaster and slaps a clip into it with a loud 'claak!' Then she picks up her helmet in her off hand, and shakes out her short black hair. Tilting her chin up, she pops the helmet over her head and moves to the ramp, waiting for the ship to land.
"Let's roll." She growls over the comm set.