Halthor, Very early Tuesday morning [FHT]
Lucky breaks made Zayne nervous. So did the entirety of his plan. But if Kra'ake was going to take plenty of time with the real Mandalorians at their meeting and give Zayne ample opportunity to sneak his fake Mandalorians out of the camp. That said, Zayne had never run a scheme this big. Organizing a hundred troops? He wasn't sure he could manage that.
The view he got when he made his way back to the clearing just off from where Mandalorian forces were gathering reinforced that idea.
"Stand ready, Reciprocity crew!" Morvis commanded the men. "You may yet have to fight your way to a ship!"
"Morvis, what are you doing? The Mandos are turning out to board the troop shuttles!" Zayne questioned as he hurried over.
"That's what we're doing, Carrick," Morvis answered. "You said to assemble."
"Listen, I told you guys, the last the Mandalorians look is orderly! At ease!" Zayne pleaded. "Mill about! Imagine you're at a bar. Or better yet, a bar fight!"
Zayne looked up to see shuttles starting to land from the Dreadnought and motioned for the troops to put on their helmets. "The Dreadnoughts are sending down Shaadlar troopships like I figured. Make for the nearest one and make sure we all wind up on the same ship."
Zayne led his troops to the ship and made a point to cut off another couple groups of Mandos so he could have free reign of one of the ships. Once he was confident it was theirs and they were alone, he gave one last set of instructions. "Remember what I said, crew! Keep to yourselves! If the pilots suspect anything, lock them up. But no disintegrations! You start shooting and the game is up."
"Yes, sir!" one of the troops responded as they made their way into the ship.
Still standing next to Zayne outside, Morvis was livid. "'Yes sir?' 'Yes sir?' That's it. I'm through! This plan can't work!" He spiked his helmet on the ground for emphasis. "Mandos everywhere and we can't shoot them? What kind of war is this? I shouldn't even be here! It's all your fault, Carrick! You're a jinx! Serroco! Coruscant! And now this! Every time you've been within a parsec of me, I've gotten the worst of it!"
Annoyance, frustration, and sheer dislike of Morvis finally bubbled over for Zayne. "That's because you were the worst of it, Morvis! You've been playing at war. You blast away because you never see the consequences and you never suffer any because you had your family name to get you out of jams! I can't tell you how much I hate that. I had a Master like that, and he nearly ruined my life!"
"But you're almost worse, Morvis. These people here don't follow you because they believe in you or your cause, or because your mother's a senator, or your father's a zillionaire," Zayne rattled off. "They follow you because they don't have any choice! That would make me stop and think. But not you! You still line them up and throw them into the furnace! Look at them! They're tired, and scared, and hungry. And they need a leader! Well, it's too bad for them, because Dallan Morvis only plays a leader."
Seeing that everyone else was already aboard, Zayne turned and started heading up the ramp.
He was almost inside before Morvis spoke up, stopping him in his tracks. "Carrick. Wait. This command," Morvis said before pausing for a sigh. "It's my last chance. After Coruscant, I'm lucky I'm not polishing loader droids. Admiral Karath got me Reciprocity, his old command. But that's the last favor I could call in. He's quits with me now."
Morvis looked defeated without even truly being in the fight. "Everyone in my family has done something big for the Republic. That's why I joined the Navy," he confessed. "But I haven't done anything. Anything good, anyway. And now I'm out of time."
"Morvis," Zayne said. "Captain. You don't set out to be a hero. You just do what you have to do, when you have to do it. I know what it's like to be down to one last chance. But to take the chance, you've got to stay in the game."
"So I just play along with you and things will even out?" Morvis asked, grabbing his helmet and starting up the ramp.
"You'll see," Zayne said, turning to lead the Captain the rest of the way in. "It's almost scary."
[OOC: Adapted from KOTOR - War #4 by Miller & Mutti. Prologue for the final stretch.]
The view he got when he made his way back to the clearing just off from where Mandalorian forces were gathering reinforced that idea.
"Stand ready, Reciprocity crew!" Morvis commanded the men. "You may yet have to fight your way to a ship!"
"Morvis, what are you doing? The Mandos are turning out to board the troop shuttles!" Zayne questioned as he hurried over.
"That's what we're doing, Carrick," Morvis answered. "You said to assemble."
"Listen, I told you guys, the last the Mandalorians look is orderly! At ease!" Zayne pleaded. "Mill about! Imagine you're at a bar. Or better yet, a bar fight!"
Zayne looked up to see shuttles starting to land from the Dreadnought and motioned for the troops to put on their helmets. "The Dreadnoughts are sending down Shaadlar troopships like I figured. Make for the nearest one and make sure we all wind up on the same ship."
Zayne led his troops to the ship and made a point to cut off another couple groups of Mandos so he could have free reign of one of the ships. Once he was confident it was theirs and they were alone, he gave one last set of instructions. "Remember what I said, crew! Keep to yourselves! If the pilots suspect anything, lock them up. But no disintegrations! You start shooting and the game is up."
"Yes, sir!" one of the troops responded as they made their way into the ship.
Still standing next to Zayne outside, Morvis was livid. "'Yes sir?' 'Yes sir?' That's it. I'm through! This plan can't work!" He spiked his helmet on the ground for emphasis. "Mandos everywhere and we can't shoot them? What kind of war is this? I shouldn't even be here! It's all your fault, Carrick! You're a jinx! Serroco! Coruscant! And now this! Every time you've been within a parsec of me, I've gotten the worst of it!"
Annoyance, frustration, and sheer dislike of Morvis finally bubbled over for Zayne. "That's because you were the worst of it, Morvis! You've been playing at war. You blast away because you never see the consequences and you never suffer any because you had your family name to get you out of jams! I can't tell you how much I hate that. I had a Master like that, and he nearly ruined my life!"
"But you're almost worse, Morvis. These people here don't follow you because they believe in you or your cause, or because your mother's a senator, or your father's a zillionaire," Zayne rattled off. "They follow you because they don't have any choice! That would make me stop and think. But not you! You still line them up and throw them into the furnace! Look at them! They're tired, and scared, and hungry. And they need a leader! Well, it's too bad for them, because Dallan Morvis only plays a leader."
Seeing that everyone else was already aboard, Zayne turned and started heading up the ramp.
He was almost inside before Morvis spoke up, stopping him in his tracks. "Carrick. Wait. This command," Morvis said before pausing for a sigh. "It's my last chance. After Coruscant, I'm lucky I'm not polishing loader droids. Admiral Karath got me Reciprocity, his old command. But that's the last favor I could call in. He's quits with me now."
Morvis looked defeated without even truly being in the fight. "Everyone in my family has done something big for the Republic. That's why I joined the Navy," he confessed. "But I haven't done anything. Anything good, anyway. And now I'm out of time."
"Morvis," Zayne said. "Captain. You don't set out to be a hero. You just do what you have to do, when you have to do it. I know what it's like to be down to one last chance. But to take the chance, you've got to stay in the game."
"So I just play along with you and things will even out?" Morvis asked, grabbing his helmet and starting up the ramp.
"You'll see," Zayne said, turning to lead the Captain the rest of the way in. "It's almost scary."
[OOC: Adapted from KOTOR - War #4 by Miller & Mutti. Prologue for the final stretch.]