Never, in his life, did he expect something like this to happen. Leon is at the very most surprised. And embarrassed. For he has just been captured by a couple of bandits posing as the friendly type of guys. He wants to take out his saber and have a go at them. But to do that will endanger the others. As well as get him killed by the blaster shotgun in their faces.
The other bounty hunter didn't seem to be using evasive maneuvers, so that meant no one is following them. Or they both are just too stupid to notice a speeder or shuttle following us. Piloted by Stormtroopers, although even if they did follow, it may be a bit hard to see the pilots anyway. No TIE fighters or Imperial shuttles is a good sign. Yet, they are still in trouble with the bounty hunters that had captured them. If only one of them had a plan. Then they could be out of this mess.
Luckily, one of them does. It seems to Leon that Jan is full of surprises. First, she's Kyle's handler. Then, his pilot. And a skilled fighter. As well as a good questioner. And now, a negotiator. One could say she is a jack-of-all-trades.
She leans forward with an arm holding the senator back, against the wishes of the menacing Rodian as he prods the weapon at her, motioning her back. She does so, though only halfway back. "I have a proposition. As I'm sure you two know, we have very powerful friends." The human bounty hunter goes to speak, but is cut off by more of her words. "And very rich friends." Instantly, he clamps his mouth shut. Casting a sideways glance from the corner of his eye to his partner. His partner shrugs, still having his weapon aimed at them, ready to fire if need be.
"And why should we trust ya?" the human merc finally asks. Leon senses agitation in his voice. Obviously, this isn't the first time he's done something like this, and had the same issue with his captors constant pleas.
"You can't." What a way to ruin the reasoning. Why state the truth, that could easily get them all killed? And Leon thought she was smart. Well, she is smart. "But don't you think that people like us wouldn't carry a substantial amount of credits on them?" The driver gives half of his attention to her, half-turning his head.
Then he shakes it in disappointment. "Ya gonna have ta do better than that, deary. I've dealt with the richest scum of the known galaxy. And trust me, you ain't no where near what they had to offer."
"Let me guess. Moons? Or maybe planets? Entire star systems? I'd rather stick to the more simple things...You don't even know who I am, do you?" she asks with a sassy attitude. Something Leon has not seen yet. The man remains quiet, but gives a slow shake of his head. "Then why doesn't your buddy here tell you?" The Rodian quirks an eye-ridge questionably to his superior. The man gives him a nod. The Rodian brings out his data pad in one hand, still holding the blaster in the other. After a quick face scan, and some loading, he gets a file. One that brings a worrying look to his face.
"Uh, I think you should listen to her. For a small bit." Before the man can question why, his partner puts the holographic screen near his head. With a quick read through, the man's face freezes. Then, a smug smirk spreads from cheek to cheek.
"Well, well, well. A New Republic commander. Ain't this somethin, two pay checks from one job. How bout that, Teevo?" The Rodian shrugged his shoulders in a non-caring way. But his feelings tell the padawan otherwise. He is nervous about keeping two, no three respected members of the new Republic. To anyone, that is a near death wish. And for these two, it is the signature for their death warrant.
"I wouldn't be so happy about that" Katarn states, his arms crossed in an annoyed fashion. Why didn't he just mind trick them? That gave the padawan the very idea of doing so. He holds up one hand, and waves it before him while speaking in a mystical sense.
"You will take us back." Both mercenaries sit still, and Leon has a sense of hope. Until they both turn and look accusingly at him. The pilot narrows his eyes at the young padawan.
"Did ya just try that Jedi magic? On me?" The pilot asks with a hiss to his voice. The young boy says nothing. Which gives them the answer, and the pilot goes roaring with laughter. Earning a scowl. How he wants to wipe that smirk off his face, especially with his two sabers. That would definitely stop his laughter, as well as stop him from smiling ever again.
The man's chortling goes on for some time, but when another speeder comes he throws their speeder to the side, making everyone in the back squish together. And with Kyle being on the very side, he is the most uncomfortable. But Leon doesn't care about him, since he has a wounded Shistavenen on him.
The merc corrects the small transport, and everyone tumbles off each other. A grunt of pain is heard, and the senator earns a worried glance from the Rodian. "Hey, this guy is hurt bad." The speeder slows to a stop. Then, the driver turns his head around, and begins scanning over the ambassador. His hands clamp down on the throttle, and after seeing his partners expression towards the senator, he lets out a sigh, then he directs the speeder in another direction.
"Ya better pay up once we are done" he mutters without batting an eye. Jan nods, her body relaxing. Out of her pocket, she pulls out a handful of credits before putting them before the Rodian. He takes them in the hand that held the front of his blaster, putting them away into a compartment in front of his seat.
The speeder continues to the outlying structures along the border of the city. Now that Leon sees the outside of the city, it isn't surprising how the rest of the planet knows nothing about the Imperial's arrival. There is nothing but plains and forests as far as the eye can see. But, then again, why not call for help? In time, the senator would have to answer. After his wounds were healed. Ahead, just inside the borderline of the city is a shabby-looking shack. Leon couldn't help but wonder what good it would be gong there. No defenses seen, and all it would take is a single TIE fighter run to pulverize a building that small. But the mercs have their plan well thought out. Another speeder waits nearby, with no damage done to the hull. Unlike theirs.
The pilot lowers the speeder down to land next to the other, one with a dull shade of red. Their black speeder shines compared to the other one, even though it looks like one of the oldest speeders the young padawan has ever seen. The ship rumbles ever so slightly when the ground touches, the repulsors shutting off with a dying hum.
As they exit the speeder, Kyle examines the other speeder cautiously. "Is someone else here?" The human merc looks over, a brow raised.
"Huh. Did not see that there. Did you, Teevo?" The Rodian shakes his head. A sudden sense of alert appears on their faces and the pilot races to the old, shabby building with weapons drawn. Looking through the front window, Leon examines the small structure. The door is a rusted sliding door, patches uncolored from lots of wear over time. The walls are discolored, and some windows have sheets of metal over them. The roof is in the same condition as the rusty door, it's metallic color gone and replaced by a reddish-yellow coating. In other words, the building needs work done to look appeasing, at least. The Rodian exits the speeder, goes around and opens the door on the opposite side of Kyle and Leon, letting Jan and the Shistavenen's out first. The younger one rushed out, almost knocking over Teevo. How ungrateful could she be?
He holds a hand out to the wounded senator, who gladly accepts as he pulls her out, slowly with ease. Jan follows, pushing him up from his lower back. They go ahead with each taking an arm. Leon is next, following along without looking back to see if his master needed help to get out, or anything like that. Instead, he keeps his eye on the young..girl. She looks young enough to be one. And he doesn't know enough of their culture to know if this is how a girl Shistavenen acts. But still, there is something off about her. His master might not be able to sense it, but he can. She is hiding something. He will go to many lengths to find out what that thing is that she hides, for it could mean their end.
Kyle has to admit it. The kid is stubborn. He almost got himself killed back on the platform, and if Kyle had not intervened, that would have been one more Jedi padawan to add to the Killed In Action list. If there even is one. Then, someone comes to their rescue. Only, that only got them into a worse situation. But, that is what happens to Kyle and Jan, more than he wishes. Always go from one bad situation to another.
Now, they are at some run down shack on the outskirts of the city...Definitely a great place to hide out for the New Republic to send reinforcements after hearing no word from them. Not one Stormtrooper would ever think of searching here. Not until the main districts have been thoroughly searched, top to bottom.
Inside, they all find who came before them in the speeder outside. Two men, a Weequay and a human. The Weequay has a bowcaster with a scope, heavy upper torso and leg armor and leather his arms and lower torso, and a head bandana with a tail of hair at the back of his head. The human has no hair, and painted-over stormtrooper armor, being red instead of white, and some parts having been replaced by heavy Mandalorian armor, such as a shoulder, a kneecap and a few other parts. He is equipped with an Imperial heavy repeater, modified with a scope. They both turn their heads to the newcomers, and the mercs lower their weapons.
The captain mercenary signals the Rodian into one of the back rooms to attend to the senator, then turns to the other two seated mercenaries.
"Are the others here?" the captain asks with a surprised grin, going over to the two new faces. Obviously, the two mercs know these two. Possibly part of a crew, which would make sense. The other human shakes his head.
"Captured. Or dead." The captain's grin is gone in a second.
"Oh...Who is dead?"
"Delvon, Kal, Maria." The mercs expressions change to grim and mournful. Even though they are hostages now, Kyle can't help but feel some sympathy for them. He can feel their pain. Then, the captain turns to face them.
He looks them up and down, his arms crossed across his chest. "Ya want that bounty gone? I can do that...But, you do gotta do somethin' for us. You help us get back at them for this, and we let ya go." Kyle hesitates, thinking of any ways the mercenary can get around the deal. Yet, Jan beats him to it.
She takes his hand and shakes it, sealing the deal. Only to have the captain add one more thing. "But he stays" he says, flicking his head in Leon's direction. "And the Shistavenens. Just in case ya try to back out. I will stick with ya, as well as Teevo." Jan this time is more hesitant in shaking again. If it were Kyle doing the deal, he would have done it right away. Might teach the boy some discipline. "Good. So, ya got a plan?"
"Yes. We need to warn the city. They don't know of the occupation here, and they need to be told" Jan began. "I think they might have a jamming beacon that has cut the city off from the rest of the planet, or else someone would have warned the government about the Star Destroyer that came by a couple of weeks ago."
"Fine. Teevo!" He waits a couple of seconds, then the Rodian comes walking out. "Can ya piece together somethin' to scan for this-" he turns his head to Jan, somehow forgetting what the thing is called. She rolls her eyes, and finishes for the forgetful merc. Even Kyle is surprised.
"Jamming beacon." The Rodian wordlessly nods, then returns to the senator. Jan follows him, as does Kyle. The woman kneels down beside the wolf-man, resting a hand on his furred arm. "Senator. Back at your home, you were about to tell us something. What was it?" The senator attempts to answer, his eyes barely open and his chest heaving. His breaths were shallow and slow.
"One of them...wields...the Force..."he breathes his last breath with the final word. And that was it for the senator of Uvena. Kyle rubs his beard with his thumb while holding his chin.
"Oh, sith spit." He whirls around to see the captain standing there, armed to the teeth.
"So, I think it's time for introductions. I know ya already. But ya don't know me...My name is Connor Slazor, and that's Teevo, my bodyguard-of-sorts, and those two out there are Arton and Ya Trig. Should be easy to see who is who."
Kyle nods. "Right. So, first plan of action? Because, you did make the deal, so you should be the one to make the plan." Connor shrugs, looking to Jan or Teevo. Neither answer. "Then, let's sit down and make one." He quickly glances to the now-dead senator, feeling a ping of guilt. Maybe if he had been more careful, he could have saved him. But it is too late to look back. Although, they have to do something. "We need to bury him." Jan and Teevo nod, while Connor shrugs. Already, this guy was slightly getting on the sort-of-Jedi's nerves. One day, he would get back at him for this humiliating situation.
Terribly sorry for the wait. My family likes the holidays a lot. And also, I got stuck a bit, as I am working on a big personal project of mine. Then next chapter may take some time.