"The Trandoshian. He will know less but we can use the info to learn which questions to ask the imperials." Karval growls. He is getting in character, knowing the man will be hard to interview.
"Well you probably don't know, the Emperor is dead. Killed by a trusted lieutenant, we are here to right the wrongs done in his name. And bring stability to the galaxy." The man's words hold belief and certainty in the cause.
"I agree, Karval. The fact he found the location of our home troubles me greatly. We need to determine who else knows this camp's location."
"Since they work for the Hutt, if they passed the info to their boss off-planet. We need to make this war financially costly for the Hutt, and he will pull out leaving the Imperials alone."
You all arrive at the pens. There are two animal cages. The officer is in one and the Trandoshan is in the other.
Do any of you understand Dosh? If you don't you won't be able to get anything out of the trandoshan, not anything you can understand anyways.
"I wouldn't be able to communicate with the lizardman, plus he may still be a little put out by my almost cutting its throat out" Arana says with just a little bit of pride.
"I can speak Hutt, from my dealings with them." He says mysteriously. "However, I doubt that he speaks directly to them. So we might only have to talk to the Imperial man."
...
As the words drop from Karval's mouth, you hear, and possibly see, something on the edge of the clearing. Looking over, there's a form moving, a black humanoid.
As it gets closer, you see that it's definitely humanoid, and wearing the armor of an Imperial Dark Trooper. Yet this armor is incredibly damaged, with large, raking claw marks across the chestplate and armpieces, gouging deeply into the plastoid material, even going right through in some places.
As it comes up within a few dozen feet, you already have a good feeling of who it may be, but he removes all doubt when he takes off his helmet, revealing new scars across his face and fading bruises.
"Damn jungle," Janitor says, moving up to join you. "What have you lot been up to in my absence?"
"Can't say that I can speak with either particularly effectively, though I will probably at least understand the imperial. As for the emperor, it sounds like there has been some changes in the universe since last I traversed it. Suppose I'll have to do some reading when I get a chance; hate politics, but it won't due to be completely ignorant of the current state of affairs."
Since none of you can understand Dosh and Trandoshans have a hard time speaking in any other language, you turn your attention to the officer.
He glares at you. "I don't know who you are but I can only guess you are rebel scum. Our lord has use for these Malaki and you cannot save them from his wrath so don't even try."
At this moment Janitor returns. The officers eyes widen "A clone? I thought they were all dead?"
Karval exclaims with emotion, then moves over to his fellow Mandolore and gives him a vigorous hug. "I thought we had lost you. Thank the force we haven't."
Even his lips quirk into the merest shadow of a smile, for his lost brethren.
"Janitor, I am glad to see you have made it back to us." Zaelos replies warmly.
As he faces the Imperial officer, he keeps his voice neutral as he replies to the Imperial officer. "Your Lord? And who would have the honor of holding that title among the faded remnants of the Empire?"
Arana runs over to Janitor and gives him a hug, well at least as much of a hug she can with him wearing that armor "It is good to see you, Janitor. "
Na'soth simply comments, "You look rather beat up. I take it your trial proved to be a bit challenging."
Letting go from the fellow Mandolore, the pale haired gladiator flicks his silken locks across his face and looks to the Imperial with a sneer at the rebel implication. "Rebels, really? Bunch of poseurs."
Janitor gives a small grin as Karval and Arana greet him emphatically, and also nods to Zaleos. "Good to finally be back."
To the newer member of the team--one he doesn't know--Janitor also nods. "Challenging isn't the half of it. Jungles..." The trooper shakes his head. "Last time I dealt with one was back in the Wars--and I don't mean the Rebellion, I mean the Clone Wars, and that was with a team. This was something else."
Finally, he moves up to the officer in the cage. "And as for my brothers and I being dead, looks like some of us still don't know how... The worse for you, if you aren't helpful here."
To the imperial officer, "I'm no expert on your lord, or this rebellion you speak of, but he must be ambitious indeed to think that he can take over a planet and people such as this through force alone; I have been here several years now, and have to say that your lord is either very gutsy or very stupid, and either way is borderline crazy. I am curious what makes you think he will be even remotely successful." Na'soth speaks candidly as he addresses the prisoner.
Zaleos, even with the assistance of the others, seems unable to convince the officer to cooperate. He scoffs at you. "Then your nothing less than mercenaries or pretenders, either way, a rebellious act against our lord tags you as a rebel and if you are allied with the Malaki then you are a rebel. I needn't tell you anything of my lord or his methods as you will learn soon enough his plans and intentions." He grins maliciously. "You will learn very soon"
Because you failed the diplomacy those who rolled cannot make another attempt. Arana and Janitor can attempt diplomacy. Otherwise you are still permitted to attempt intimidate and bluff to try and get information out of the man.
Na'soth simply shrugs, pulls out his pistol, and puts the barrel to the man's head, "Well, then, it would appear that you are no further use to us, and even less use to your lord, who you clearly failed." Turning to the others, "Unless anyone feels like trying to convince this man of his stupidity, we have more important things to be doing than talking to a madman, and I doubt I would get any opposition from his precious lord, either, if I were to simply rid the universe of this failure and waste of air."
Karval smiles wickedly and draws his vibro-knife; for a second he thinks about turning it on. Then realises it'd hurt more if he didn't. Knuckles white around the hilt, he looks to Na'Soth and Zaleos.
Janitor also moves up to stand before the officer, and pulls one of the pistols from his hip. It's an old-looking one: rather than plastoids, it looks to be actual metal, with a wooden grip.
"Ever seen one of these?" the clone asks the Imperial officer, holding the gun close to the cage, barrel forward. "Probably not, most haven't. They're not common on your civilized worlds." Janitor spits out the word as if in contempt of it, and the nice little officer who stands before him. "It's called a slugthrower. Doesn't use energy cells or power packs, doesn't fire a blaster bolt. No, this is much better--it pumps a lump of metal into your body. Usually lead. Maybe not as lethal as your blaster, but it hurts a hell of a lot more, and it bleeds. Not to mention disease..." Janitor shakes his head and gives a little smile, evil and dangerous. "But the best is its reliability. Blasters might not work all the time--they might be affected by something in the air. But this baby has never failed on me. Still, I guess it could jam..."
Finally, the trooper places the pistol against the other temple of the officer, across from Na'Soth. "So, the question you have to ask yourself is--do you feel lucky? Well, do you?"
Zaelos nods imperceptibly in response to the Mandalorians unspoken request and replies in a cold emotionless voice, "Do what needs to be done."
Arana steps up in front of the Imperial Officer with a coy smile upon her face.
She draws upon the Force, drawing her vibrodagger from its sheath at her hip, it floats up until its vibrating blade points at the officers eye from a distance of one meter.
Move Object Take 10
"You should realize that we're all on the same side here..."
Affect Mind
The officer buckles under such force of persuasion. "I work for the Dark Lord assassin Darth Nite. His chief agent Makabe is here overseeing the removal of the planets primary resource." He pauses for a moment. "The Malaki people. He is working with the slave driver Zedora to turn them into Dark force soldiers to use in an army. The idea was originally concieved by emperor Palpetine over three years ago when he first occupied this planet. When the emperor died, rebels appeared everywhere but the methods of creating soldiers remained in Night's hands. Now he works in the background raising an army of Sith warriors out of any force sensitive people we can find. Once the army is strong enough, we will take to the galaxy and take on whatever government or pretend ruler sits on the galactic throne and restore the authority and the rule of the Sith." He is trembling, not from fear but a bizarre excitement and anticipation.
Na'soth just shakes his head at the scheme, "And you honestly think that this plan will actually work? That somehow you'll manage to get all the egos that must be involved to stay focused on that goal without turning on each other? I was wrong before, your lord isn't borderline crazy; he's a certified nutcase. A dangerous nutcase, to be certain, but still a nutcase. What on earth makes you think this plan could actually work on the scale your foolish lord is dreaming of?"
The officer gets an almost manic smile on his face. "I follow two things. Success and power. He has both of these and will have so much more when the time is right. You have not seen what he and Zedora have done to the minds of slaves. I have seen Zedora break even the strongest men. We are not reforging the empire, we are creating a whole knew one." He is sweating a bit but smiling with a wide eyed expression.
There seems to be something more at work with this officer. While he is opening up to you, he is doing so with strange unreal and almost strained pride. Almost like someone is influencing him. Is it one of you?
You can't tell what is up but there is an unusual feeling you are getting.
Zaelos steps back slowly from the officer and finds his hand straying to the lightsaber hidden from sight on his belt. Pulling his hand away from the Jedi weapon he instead grips the hilt of his blaster.
Not moving his face, he sends his Force Sight out to determine where the influencing Force is originating from. A thought occurred to him and he softly asked "Arana, do you feel that?"
As Zaelos slips into his trance, the rest of you see the color drain from his face. He then pulls out his blaster and fires it point blank at the Imperial officer, stunning him into unconsciousness.
"We have seen Darth Taintus' Dark Force Soldiers, your Sith Lord is no different." Karval says although a chill ripples down his spine. 'The Malakai pushed to the extreme would be horrific, they could rain terror upon the galaxy.' then he pauses; 'Interesting though, Darth Night seeks out Force Users. Thus where we find him, we'll find them - potential allies. And where we know they are, we find him.... Didn't Arana say her planet was full of Shaman under Taintus' tyranny. This adds fuel to the possibility that Taintus=Night.'
Karval sees Zaleos draw his weapon and knows he could stop him. However, he trusts the Noble to do the right thing. 'I would not torture an unarmed man; nor believe my charge would.'
"Now what? We have a bunch of religious fanatical freaks that have technology to boot? Is anyone else terrified out of their mind about this? As for this fool, we should probably just kill him and put him out of his misery; I doubt we'll get anything more from him, and he's a liability, not an asset, at this point."
Zaelos holsters his weapon and turns to face the others. The look on his face is troubled. "As Karval has said we have seen these soldiers in action." He points to the unconscious prisoner. "This one had the Force fused to him in a way I have never felt before. It was not always a part of him. Like Na'Soth says, he is extremely dangerous to keep alive, but we need answers...which cannot be gathered from a corpse."
"So who gets to guard him while we fight his buddies? I'm all for answers, but there's a battle coming up, and he's a major liability to have at our back."
"I can watch him, if need be," Janitor says, a little surprised at Zaleos' quick stun blast, but trusting of the apparent CO. "But I'd also be good in a fight... And as for answers, well." The trooper holsters his pistol and shifts his weight, looking almost uncomfortable for a moment before resuming the hard, emotionless countenance typical of clones. "My time in the field, on more... clandestine operations has given me some knowledge of interrogation techniques."
'People do what they must.' Karval thinks, he softly says. "I will not torture a man, but will do what's necessary." His words are low and grave, not being able to meet Arana's gaze. And looking away from Zaleos, fearful what the man would think.
'The mechanic is practical as is their wont.'
"Unless you think you can get relevant info about the immediate threat, I would say get one of the Malaki to guard him if we must keep him alive. Our knowledges and talents are going to be needed in the here and now, not lost in the realm of the might never happen future."
Not possessing Zaleos' talent in sensing the force, Arana nonetheless pales at the twisting of the Force she senses in the imperial officer. She sighs in relief when Zaleos acts to silence the officer.
"I could not sense the entirety of what you did Zaleos, just a wrongness. "
Zaelos sighs, "Yes Arana the force presence I sensed in the officer ...and yet is apart of the officer. It...it is in him, but it wasn't always there. One thing I can say is it is wrong! It felt twisted and unnatural."
The officer is unconscious and the Trandoshan hisses menacingly and says something in Dosh.
There are Malaki guards station nearby. Looks like the gathering of information is done, what do you guys do next?
"We need to break camp now. Set snares, ambushes and traps for when the invaders arrive." Karval states, thinking of the future. "Taggard hopefully has picked another place, or we keep on moving trying to whittle our foes away. One can only hope they are not upon an assignment of extermination, but rather a military engagement."
"I agree, a guerrilla warfare strategy sounds like the best option for now. Would we have time to attempt to contact the Station using the shuttle's communications gear?"
"We have to be careful not to give our position away. Of course, this tribe needs to be an example to the others of the world that we can throw off the yoke of the Trandoshian Overlords." He states calmly.
Janitor nods as his fellow Mandalorean speaks. "And with our help, they will be that example and more."
With that, Janitor begins scanning the terrain in the area, looking for good spots to set up killzones, ambushes, and other ways to make the fight easier for the Malakai.
A Malaki messenger runs up to you. "Taggard has done meeting with the base chieftains and have established plan of attack. But he needs to speak with you to plan most important part of his initiative. Please come."
The messenger leads you to where Taggard is waiting. Taggard is with a couple other Malaki leaders in a map room. The tech in here is primitive to the galactic standard but more advanced than you'd expect to see in a tribe of savages.
The Malaki show signs of extreme advancement beyond what the Jedi records said they were once like. It is impressive. Taggard looks at you as you approach. "Good you are here. First of all, I'd like to know, did you learn anything from the prisoners?"
"Nothing solid, yet," Janitor admits, but he turns to look at Zaleos and Arana. "But I think our Force-sensing companions noticed something odd about him."