Taris, the Resistance HQ, The Lower City, Thursday evening
"Shel! Shel! I've been trying to get your attention all day!" Zayne said, finally cutting to the chase and being direct. He was still a little weak from the concussion Shel gave him yesterday, but he'd been trying to use the Force to speed his recovery. That did mean, unfortunately, that he had to wait for Shel to be in shouting distance since he wasn't moving too much or too quickly right now.
"I'm working," Shel said, grabbing more munitions for the resistance troops. Something was starting to go down. "Leave me alone."
"Shel, please. Where's your little brother?" Zayne asked. "Where's Shay?"
"Why, do you want to kill him, too?" Shel asked. "He's someplace safe. Someplace ELSE. Someone sent me some money. A lot. I assumed it came from the Jedi Order. It was enough to pay for the family we've been staying with to take Shay to our grandparents' place on Ord Mantell."
"But why didn't you go with them?" Zayne asked as he struggled to get up from his seated position. "There was enough for both of you."
"I needed the money to put a bounty on your head!" Shel answered, dropping the weapons she had been gathering.
"On my... Shel, I sent you that money!" Zayne said. "My dad forwarded it to you from Telerath!"
"Liar! Where would you get that kind of money?" Shel demanded.
"I earned it... sort of. I..." It had taken Zayne a moment to process the most important piece of information he had just heard. "Wait, you put a bounty on me? You?"
Shel looked away. "I tried. But before I could set it up, the Mandalorians started landing in force. I've been with the resistance ever since."
"A bounty," Zayne repeated. "On me. I thought... I thought we had something."
"We had something?" Shel asked. "YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" Gryph had the unfortunate timing to walk in just at that moment, giving Shel an excuse to turn and point a finger at him. "And you helped!"
Gryph shrugged it off quickly, though. "Nice to meet you, too. You've got me wrong, lady. The Gryph doesn't do murder."
"What about that business back there with the Senator?" Shel accused. "He and Raana told me about that!"
"I didn't say I don't deal with murderers. Or people who want to murder people," Gryph explained calmly as he offered Zayne a shoulder to lean on. "Killing's just not what I do. A matter of taste, really. I've never killed anyone in my life. And as far as I know, Zayne's never killed anyone either. At least he hasn't in our travels. Pretty sorry excuse for an enforcer, I know, and I doubt he'd go too far in the Jedi Order with a record like that, either."
"Then who killed my brother?" Shel asked, clearly unconvinced.
"I did," Raana said, entering the room. "At least, that's what he's told himself. But you know the truth, Shel. I couldn't have killed your brother."
"That's true," Zayne said, standing up straight. "She wasn't standing close enough to him." Shel was between them, but this still felt like round one. "I saw where you were standing. You killed Kamlin. Q'Anilia killed Shad. Everyone to their own students, I guess."
"The Dark Side of the Force has clouded his mind, Shel," Raana claimed. "He's using it to try to persuade you now."
"Fine, Raana. Whatever gets you through the night," Zayne said. Fortunately, he had some information from his old teacher to help him out here. "Oh, wait, you can't get through the night any more, can you? A guilty conscience will do that to you. I guess we should be glad to know she has one."
Raana's face showed her shock only for a second. She turned to Shel quickly. "You see? You see? Anger. Defiance. He hates me. Look at him now."
"I hate what you've done," Zayne clarified. "You believe me, don't you, Shel?"
"I WISH I'D NEVER MET ANY OF YOU!" Shel said, starting to stomp off in defiance to everyone playing with her emotions right now... except that the Senator, constable, and Gadon Thek were entering the room just then.
Goravvus put a hand on Shel's shoulder to act as a calming influence. "Sorry to interrupt, but before we all kill each other, maybe we should look for another target. We've just learned that Cassus Fett himself has come to review the operations from Highport." He gave a nod to Ranna and continued, "He's using your Jedi Tower as his command center."
"Should that mean something to me?" Raana asked. "I don't know what you've heard, Senator, but the Jedi are not involved in military actions. And you don't have enough people to storm it."
"Maybe," Gadon said. "But maybe we don't have to storm it."
The statement hung in silence for several moments until Del Moomo walked into the room with the bomb case that had been used in the assassination attempt earlier. "Hey, you guys mind if I keep this bomb? My brother keeps stealing mine."
*****
The entire resistance had gathered to go over the battle plan. Del Moomo would get the bomb working again. The Hidden Beks would get the bomb into the Jedi Tower. The bomb would go off, bringing the Tower down with Cassus Fett inside it, crippling Mandalorian operations on Taris. There was just one problem.
"Senator, are you sure you want to do this? What about the people who live near the Tower?" Zayne asked.
Constable Sowrs answered, "Apart from a skybridge, it's set off from the residential blocks. That's why the Order bought the building. Most of the areas around are already evacuated. And the resistance ought to be able to clear the Lower City foundation beforehand."
"But you don't know," Zayne clarified. "What if they've got prisoners up there?"
"It's a war, kid!" one of the Civil Authority officers pointed out.
"Then what if Cassus isn't there?" Zayne coutnered. "You've wasted your munitions."
"I agree," Goravvus said. "We need a same-day recon, then. Raana Tey, is there a way from the foundation into the Jedi Tower proper?"
"There's a single ventilation shaft going from the foundation up the spine of the building," Raana answered. "But it exits on the storage floor, and the opening's been sealed. Someone would need to be inside the Jedi Tower to unlock it."
"A two-person job, then," Goravvus said. "Do your rules prevent you from showing us the way in?"
"Senator, I've told you--" Raana started.
"I'll do it," Zayne said. "I've gotten out of the place enough times. I can get back in. And I guess it was kind of my idea."
"But you're not one of us, Carrick," Constable Sowrs noted.
"I am," Shel chimed in. "I'll go."
"Shel, I appreciate your enthusiasm, and you've been a marvelous help to us," Senator Goravvus started to say.
"I've visited there, Senator. Have any of you?" Shel asked. "And there's some bad memories there I'd like to put to rest."
"Then I will go as well, Raana said. "Shel will need protection. From the Mandalorians... and from the boy."
"What?" Zayne asked, anger rising again.
"If you have fallen to the Dark Side, she needs protection," Raana said. "And if you haven't, you're still incompetent."
"Well, she's got you there," Gryph said cheerfully. "Enjoy yourselves! I'll have a pot of food paste waiting for you when you get back."
"Oh, no," Gadon said. "I'll need you with us in the foundation, helping us to stay in touch with the team in the Jedi Tower."
"Me?" Gryph asked.
"Yes, rodent, you!" Gadon answered. "My riders will be busy. And you're the one who likes to play spy on the comlink."
"It's settled then," Goravvus said. "Tomorrow, with the Hidden Beks, the resistance strikes back!"
[OOC: Whew. Okay, all that is from Knights of Suffering Part 2. Tomorrow? The conclusion to the Days/Knights saga.]
"I'm working," Shel said, grabbing more munitions for the resistance troops. Something was starting to go down. "Leave me alone."
"Shel, please. Where's your little brother?" Zayne asked. "Where's Shay?"
"Why, do you want to kill him, too?" Shel asked. "He's someplace safe. Someplace ELSE. Someone sent me some money. A lot. I assumed it came from the Jedi Order. It was enough to pay for the family we've been staying with to take Shay to our grandparents' place on Ord Mantell."
"But why didn't you go with them?" Zayne asked as he struggled to get up from his seated position. "There was enough for both of you."
"I needed the money to put a bounty on your head!" Shel answered, dropping the weapons she had been gathering.
"On my... Shel, I sent you that money!" Zayne said. "My dad forwarded it to you from Telerath!"
"Liar! Where would you get that kind of money?" Shel demanded.
"I earned it... sort of. I..." It had taken Zayne a moment to process the most important piece of information he had just heard. "Wait, you put a bounty on me? You?"
Shel looked away. "I tried. But before I could set it up, the Mandalorians started landing in force. I've been with the resistance ever since."
"A bounty," Zayne repeated. "On me. I thought... I thought we had something."
"We had something?" Shel asked. "YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" Gryph had the unfortunate timing to walk in just at that moment, giving Shel an excuse to turn and point a finger at him. "And you helped!"
Gryph shrugged it off quickly, though. "Nice to meet you, too. You've got me wrong, lady. The Gryph doesn't do murder."
"What about that business back there with the Senator?" Shel accused. "He and Raana told me about that!"
"I didn't say I don't deal with murderers. Or people who want to murder people," Gryph explained calmly as he offered Zayne a shoulder to lean on. "Killing's just not what I do. A matter of taste, really. I've never killed anyone in my life. And as far as I know, Zayne's never killed anyone either. At least he hasn't in our travels. Pretty sorry excuse for an enforcer, I know, and I doubt he'd go too far in the Jedi Order with a record like that, either."
"Then who killed my brother?" Shel asked, clearly unconvinced.
"I did," Raana said, entering the room. "At least, that's what he's told himself. But you know the truth, Shel. I couldn't have killed your brother."
"That's true," Zayne said, standing up straight. "She wasn't standing close enough to him." Shel was between them, but this still felt like round one. "I saw where you were standing. You killed Kamlin. Q'Anilia killed Shad. Everyone to their own students, I guess."
"The Dark Side of the Force has clouded his mind, Shel," Raana claimed. "He's using it to try to persuade you now."
"Fine, Raana. Whatever gets you through the night," Zayne said. Fortunately, he had some information from his old teacher to help him out here. "Oh, wait, you can't get through the night any more, can you? A guilty conscience will do that to you. I guess we should be glad to know she has one."
Raana's face showed her shock only for a second. She turned to Shel quickly. "You see? You see? Anger. Defiance. He hates me. Look at him now."
"I hate what you've done," Zayne clarified. "You believe me, don't you, Shel?"
"I WISH I'D NEVER MET ANY OF YOU!" Shel said, starting to stomp off in defiance to everyone playing with her emotions right now... except that the Senator, constable, and Gadon Thek were entering the room just then.
Goravvus put a hand on Shel's shoulder to act as a calming influence. "Sorry to interrupt, but before we all kill each other, maybe we should look for another target. We've just learned that Cassus Fett himself has come to review the operations from Highport." He gave a nod to Ranna and continued, "He's using your Jedi Tower as his command center."
"Should that mean something to me?" Raana asked. "I don't know what you've heard, Senator, but the Jedi are not involved in military actions. And you don't have enough people to storm it."
"Maybe," Gadon said. "But maybe we don't have to storm it."
The statement hung in silence for several moments until Del Moomo walked into the room with the bomb case that had been used in the assassination attempt earlier. "Hey, you guys mind if I keep this bomb? My brother keeps stealing mine."
*****
The entire resistance had gathered to go over the battle plan. Del Moomo would get the bomb working again. The Hidden Beks would get the bomb into the Jedi Tower. The bomb would go off, bringing the Tower down with Cassus Fett inside it, crippling Mandalorian operations on Taris. There was just one problem.
"Senator, are you sure you want to do this? What about the people who live near the Tower?" Zayne asked.
Constable Sowrs answered, "Apart from a skybridge, it's set off from the residential blocks. That's why the Order bought the building. Most of the areas around are already evacuated. And the resistance ought to be able to clear the Lower City foundation beforehand."
"But you don't know," Zayne clarified. "What if they've got prisoners up there?"
"It's a war, kid!" one of the Civil Authority officers pointed out.
"Then what if Cassus isn't there?" Zayne coutnered. "You've wasted your munitions."
"I agree," Goravvus said. "We need a same-day recon, then. Raana Tey, is there a way from the foundation into the Jedi Tower proper?"
"There's a single ventilation shaft going from the foundation up the spine of the building," Raana answered. "But it exits on the storage floor, and the opening's been sealed. Someone would need to be inside the Jedi Tower to unlock it."
"A two-person job, then," Goravvus said. "Do your rules prevent you from showing us the way in?"
"Senator, I've told you--" Raana started.
"I'll do it," Zayne said. "I've gotten out of the place enough times. I can get back in. And I guess it was kind of my idea."
"But you're not one of us, Carrick," Constable Sowrs noted.
"I am," Shel chimed in. "I'll go."
"Shel, I appreciate your enthusiasm, and you've been a marvelous help to us," Senator Goravvus started to say.
"I've visited there, Senator. Have any of you?" Shel asked. "And there's some bad memories there I'd like to put to rest."
"Then I will go as well, Raana said. "Shel will need protection. From the Mandalorians... and from the boy."
"What?" Zayne asked, anger rising again.
"If you have fallen to the Dark Side, she needs protection," Raana said. "And if you haven't, you're still incompetent."
"Well, she's got you there," Gryph said cheerfully. "Enjoy yourselves! I'll have a pot of food paste waiting for you when you get back."
"Oh, no," Gadon said. "I'll need you with us in the foundation, helping us to stay in touch with the team in the Jedi Tower."
"Me?" Gryph asked.
"Yes, rodent, you!" Gadon answered. "My riders will be busy. And you're the one who likes to play spy on the comlink."
"It's settled then," Goravvus said. "Tomorrow, with the Hidden Beks, the resistance strikes back!"
[OOC: Whew. Okay, all that is from Knights of Suffering Part 2. Tomorrow? The conclusion to the Days/Knights saga.]