Halthor, Late Monday night [FHT]
Before he could go to Dantooine, Zayne needed to hitch a ride on a shuttle back to Halthor. Kace had three Dreadnoughts waiting there to go to Dantooine, but there was someone else waiting for Zayne. Someone he gave his word to earlier, before he swore an oath to Sornell. He had to keep that promise, too.
Cassus Fett once flew a Dreadnought halfway across the galaxy to keep his word to Zayne, and he was a crazy mass murderer. If someone as nasty as Fett could keep his word to Zayne, Zayne could keep his word to someone else who was pretty nasty.
Back in his Mandalorian armor, it wasn't tough for Zayne to sneak and ake his way into the prisoner camp. He had plenty of practice hiding in plain sight, after all. From the sounds down the hall, Zayne could guess that the Republic troops were making an attempt to dismantle the quickly-assembled panel wall to their prison, just like Morvis had seen Zayne manage once, a lifetime ago. Really, they were fortunate it was Zayne who was bringing them a very special dinner tonight.
Carrying a large tub of bile rat stew, Zayne deactivated the force field door and asked, "Who's looking for seconds on the stew?"
"You!" Morvis accused. "You left me to rot here while you went off with your friends! Are you switching sides again?"
"I never picked a side, Morvis," Zayne said, his annoyance clear in his voice. "Until now. Just because I don't know whether we should be killing Mandalorians doesn't mean I'm going to let Mandalorians hurt people."
"Whatever. We're busting out of here," Morvis dismissed. "We've got to get back to the Republic!"
"There's no time for that, Captain. The situation has changed," Zayne said. "You want my help? I need yours. We're going to steal a Dreadnought."
*****
After giving Morvis and the Phaeda captives the breakdown of his plan, Zayne just had to mind-trick an unlucky armorer to get some more armor and - crucially - helmets for all of his men. He arrived back at the brig just before Morvis managed to convince everyone to just escape. Fortunately, Zayne didn't know that the timing was that close.
Sneaking in through the panel opening, Zayne said, "Ground floor, wardrobe department! We deliver all sizes, no waiting! Step right up for your fitting!"
Crawling back out, Zayne waved to the hovercarts full of armor he highjacked and brought out. "Most of the camp's in a meeting. We've got just enough time to do this before everyone gets out. I got helmets, too, Captain. We'll need them!"
As the troops filed out and started to suit up, Morvis snarled, "I see you couldn't be bothered to bring blasters, Carrick. But never mind. Some of the uniforms have weapons built in. See that our remaining security officers get them. We'll put them in the lead and fight our way off this rock!"
"No!" Zayne argued. "Captain, I told you. Kace plans to kidnap the Jedi students on Dantooine and we're the only ones who can do it! We can't warn them, and by the time we get a message to the Republic, it'll be too late. The only ships that can get there in time are the ones Kace is expecting... those Dreadnoughts up there. He stole your ship? Fine. We're going to steal one of his!"
"You're insane!" Morvis shot back. "Dreadnoughts have crews of TEN THOUSAND. We have barely a hundred here! We should steal a shuttle--"
"Then we'd have the Dreadnoughts after us, Captain!" Zayne countered. "We'd never reach Dantooine. No, my way's best." Zayne grabbed the dinner vat he brought earlier and handed it to Morvis. "Fooling a Mandalorian isn't as easy as putting on a hat. But half the warriors here are new, and Kra'ake will have them all jumping. So, everyone, suit up. And don't forget this!"
Scrope finished putting on his armor as he turned and gaped at what Morvis was holding. "Don't forget the bile rat stew?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Ship-Master," Morvis said.
[OOC: Adapted from KOTOR - War #3 and 4 by John Jackson Miller and Andrea Mutti.]
Cassus Fett once flew a Dreadnought halfway across the galaxy to keep his word to Zayne, and he was a crazy mass murderer. If someone as nasty as Fett could keep his word to Zayne, Zayne could keep his word to someone else who was pretty nasty.
Back in his Mandalorian armor, it wasn't tough for Zayne to sneak and ake his way into the prisoner camp. He had plenty of practice hiding in plain sight, after all. From the sounds down the hall, Zayne could guess that the Republic troops were making an attempt to dismantle the quickly-assembled panel wall to their prison, just like Morvis had seen Zayne manage once, a lifetime ago. Really, they were fortunate it was Zayne who was bringing them a very special dinner tonight.
Carrying a large tub of bile rat stew, Zayne deactivated the force field door and asked, "Who's looking for seconds on the stew?"
"You!" Morvis accused. "You left me to rot here while you went off with your friends! Are you switching sides again?"
"I never picked a side, Morvis," Zayne said, his annoyance clear in his voice. "Until now. Just because I don't know whether we should be killing Mandalorians doesn't mean I'm going to let Mandalorians hurt people."
"Whatever. We're busting out of here," Morvis dismissed. "We've got to get back to the Republic!"
"There's no time for that, Captain. The situation has changed," Zayne said. "You want my help? I need yours. We're going to steal a Dreadnought."
*****
After giving Morvis and the Phaeda captives the breakdown of his plan, Zayne just had to mind-trick an unlucky armorer to get some more armor and - crucially - helmets for all of his men. He arrived back at the brig just before Morvis managed to convince everyone to just escape. Fortunately, Zayne didn't know that the timing was that close.
Sneaking in through the panel opening, Zayne said, "Ground floor, wardrobe department! We deliver all sizes, no waiting! Step right up for your fitting!"
Crawling back out, Zayne waved to the hovercarts full of armor he highjacked and brought out. "Most of the camp's in a meeting. We've got just enough time to do this before everyone gets out. I got helmets, too, Captain. We'll need them!"
As the troops filed out and started to suit up, Morvis snarled, "I see you couldn't be bothered to bring blasters, Carrick. But never mind. Some of the uniforms have weapons built in. See that our remaining security officers get them. We'll put them in the lead and fight our way off this rock!"
"No!" Zayne argued. "Captain, I told you. Kace plans to kidnap the Jedi students on Dantooine and we're the only ones who can do it! We can't warn them, and by the time we get a message to the Republic, it'll be too late. The only ships that can get there in time are the ones Kace is expecting... those Dreadnoughts up there. He stole your ship? Fine. We're going to steal one of his!"
"You're insane!" Morvis shot back. "Dreadnoughts have crews of TEN THOUSAND. We have barely a hundred here! We should steal a shuttle--"
"Then we'd have the Dreadnoughts after us, Captain!" Zayne countered. "We'd never reach Dantooine. No, my way's best." Zayne grabbed the dinner vat he brought earlier and handed it to Morvis. "Fooling a Mandalorian isn't as easy as putting on a hat. But half the warriors here are new, and Kra'ake will have them all jumping. So, everyone, suit up. And don't forget this!"
Scrope finished putting on his armor as he turned and gaped at what Morvis was holding. "Don't forget the bile rat stew?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Ship-Master," Morvis said.
[OOC: Adapted from KOTOR - War #3 and 4 by John Jackson Miller and Andrea Mutti.]