Last time: Kyr and Cien got a mission from Sulam and decided to take it instead.
Now: The Trio arrives to Caranas... again.
Part 2 Chapter 1- Deputy Marshall
Hand shaking over the lever to pull the ship out of hyperspace, Viran stared uneasily at the chronometer that was slowly counting down to their arrival to Caranas. The events of last time were flying through his mind as he watched each second tick by. The ship getting shot at, the crash, the feeling of the hull tearing apart, the feeling of that durasteel cutting him open, and the fear the entire time he was in the cage. A shudder passed through as each moment flashed before him just as the alert went off, signaling their arrival. As he thought of all that, the scar on his right side that had healed to nothing but a thin line throbbed as he tightened his grip around the lever and pulled the Forerunner out of hyperspace.
Glancing out the viewport, Viran took a shaky breath as he stared at the planet before him. It had felt like years since they were last here, but it also felt like it had been mere days ago too. When in reality it had only been several months. But the wounds were still too fresh for his liking. And as he stared at it, he didn't realize that he was trembling slightly until he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder that helped slowly end his shaking. Without looking up, he knew it was Sasha. He placed his hand over hers and gave it a tight squeeze.
"Thanks," He said, glancing up at her.
"You okay?" Sasha asked, worriedly. "I could sense your unease from the back."
"I'm alright. Just… well you know," Viran said, struggling slightly to put his thoughts to words. But he also didn't need to as everyone in their family knew how much of a scar this place left on Oppie, Kyr and himself.
"I know," Sasha said, squeezing his shoulder. "It'll be okay. Just focus on getting us down there. You've landed this baby a thousand times."
Viran smirked at that as he felt himself relax a bit more. "Aye aye."
Sasha placed a kiss on his forehead before taking a seat in the co-pilot's chair just as Oppie came from the back and slipped into the navigator's seat. He also had an air of unease about him, for the same reasons as he sat silently looking at the planet they were headed towards. Viran piloted them down to the surface below, keeping an eye on every sensor and the Force for anything out of the ordinary. Thankfully, it was a rather peaceful ride as they managed to make it to the spaceport that Sasha directed him to land at without any incident. As soon as the landing gear touched down, Viran let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Made it," He said as a smirk came to his face.
"Yeah." Oppie said, letting out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "So how do we make contact with the local marshal's office?" He asked, getting out of the seat.
"I'm not entirely sure, but if I had to take a guess they might be at the local militia office," Sasha said as she turned to face them in her seat. "Maybe we should start there?"
"Sounds good to me," Viran said as he started the shut down sequence.
"Kyr did say he had sent a message we were coming, right?" Oppie asked, hefting his pack over his shoulder as they stepped back into the living space where the ramp was.
"That's what he said," Sasha said as she followed him, grabbing her bag too.
"Maybe they sent someone to meet us, if that's the case," Viran said.
"I hope they have a sign or something." Oppie said, opening the ramp and taking a step down and glancing back at them. "Not sure how we'll recognize the-" He stopped as he looked back forward and saw who was leaning against a large enclosed speeder truck.
"Hey guys." She said, waving at them. "Welcome to Caranas."
Sasha raised an eyebrow at the woman waiting for them, not recognizing her. Viran, however, did and flashed a smile at her.
"Hey, Captain Messan, right?" Viran said as he approached her. "It's been a while."
"Deputy Marshal, now, but yeah, good to see you." She said, looking between the three, and a slightly longer glance at Op as he looked back, not quite sure what to say. She was wearing dark sunglasses over her eyes to block out the bright midday sun.
"Hello." Oppie finally said.
"Hey, good to see you." She said, then she looked at Sasha, "I don't think we've met, Sasha, right?"
"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you," Sasha said with a slight formalness about her. Different from her usual upbeat nature when meeting new people.
Viran glanced back with a slight raise of his brow as he noticed that before turning back to Messan.
"Well congrats on the promotion," Viran said, bringing the smile back to his face.
"Thanks." Messan said, "nice to meet you." She said with a nod towards Sasha. "And you guys can call me Kait." She added, looking between them. She was dressed in a long sleeve button up rugged earth tone shirt with several pockets down the front and simple cargo pants, with her brunette hair pulled back in a ponytail. "We're based out of the Republic embassy, but we're mostly working out of the militia headquarters. Do you want to go get settled at the embassy before diving into this or just go to the headquarters?" She asked.
"I'm fine either way." Oppie said, glancing between Viran and Sasha.
"Yeah, I'm good with whatever," Viran agreed, not really helping them come to a decision.
"I say let's head to the militia headquarters," Sasha said. "I'd like to get a good idea of what we are walking into."
"Sure thing." Kait said, stepping over to the driver's door. Oppie stepped forward, walking around the truck to the passenger side rear door. Sasha climbed in the rear driver's side door while Viran hustled around to take shotgun.
"This is a nice ride," Viran complimented as he buckled into the front seat. "I didn't know the New Republic had vehicles like this."
Sasha rolled her eyes with a smirk from the back seat, not surprised by her husband's appreciation of the truck.
"Yeah, the Embassy has a pool of them, I'm not sure what the deal is." She said, starting to pull away. "The cartel knows not to mess with us too much, otherwise they get a lot more attention back here, so it kind of works."
"How did you get assigned here?" Oppie asked from the back.
"I got recruited a couple of months ago to the marshal's program." She said, glancing at him in the rearview mirror as they moved away from the space port and into the light traffic of the city. "After going through the training course I was up for a deputy position and I was requested here." She said, scanning the traffic around them for anything suspicious.
"Requested? By who?" Viran asked curiously. "I just assumed the marshal program usually assigned people to missions and jobs. I mean not that it's not a high honor and all, but definitely interesting. We're the ones who usually get requested because well… Jedi."
She shrugged as she took a left turn through an intersection. "I don't know about that. I and the rest of my... class, I guess, just got into a pool of available deputies for our first assignment, and the marshal that was liaising with the local government and militia pulled me in. J'onz is his name, he's a hard ass so don't expect a warm welcome when you arrive." She said with a smirk.
"How long have you been here?" Oppie asked.
"About a month." She answered.
"Have you guys had any word on Cordova?" Viran asked. Sasha perked up at that, but didn't say anything.
"No, not really." She said. "He's our number one target at the top of the board, now, since he seems like he's the head of the cartel. But he operates differently than the other heads did." She paused, "well the obvious heads. He doesn't have villas or palaces, he stays pretty mobile and in low profile areas. He's definitely acting more like an ISB agent than a thug who suddenly came into money." She observed. "He's why you guys are here, right? To track him down?"
"Yes. Aside from him taking part in what happened to us the last time we were here. We think he might be the one responsible for placing the bounty on Sasha," Viran explained.
Sasha looked away at that, staring out the window. "We are hoping we can find him and get answers as well as stop the cartel," she said softly.
"Join the club, then." She said, glancing at her in the rearview mirror after she finally spoke. "It will be great to have the help on this." She said. "I read the file on what happened last time you guys were here, so I understand. Answers to what?" She asked.
"To why he put the bounty on me," Sasha said with a tiniest hint of an edge to her voice.
Viran glanced back at her, a frown evident on his face. Oppie did the same.
"You guys think he was the one that was responsible for what happened in Nivon?" Kait asked, throwing a glance between the three of them as they stopped at an intersection.
"Yeah, we do," Viran said, looking at her. "So we would like to help anyway we can, for both our sakes."
"Definitely makes it a lot more interesting for me as well." Kait replied, pulling into a side road that led to the heavily fortified headquarters. She came to a stop at a checkpoint that had at least six soldiers at it in heavy gear, and a heavy repeating blaster at the gate covering the entrance. She opened the window and flashed a badge, and they waved her through. She took them into the motor pool area of the same compound Cien and Sasha had originally met with Colonel Ceros.
"Welcome to the office." She said, tucking her glasses into one of the many pockets on her shirt and opening the door.
"I see you guys have made some upgrades," Sasha commented as she climbed out the back, impressed by the security.
"I guess, it was like this when I got here." She said, glancing at Sasha. "You met with Colonel Ceros last time you were here, right?" She asked Sasha.
"Yes, he was very helpful to us the last time we were here," Sasha said.
Oppie glanced at Sasha, surprised by how subdued she was.
"After the Cartel imploded, he ended up pretty much in charge of everything." Kait said, trying to give them as much information as possible as they made their way to the main office where Marshal J'onz was. "From what I've read he did a lot of house cleaning. The militia is smaller, but they've been pretty trustworthy while I've been here. I know that might not have been the case last time."
"No, it wasn't," Sasha said, distantly.
Viran frowned at her and grabbed her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze, as they followed Kait. Sasha looked at him and gave him a reassuring smile, but he could see right through it. But he returned the smile anyway.
Oppie brushed his hand past the two sabers clipped to his belt as well as the blaster holstered at his hip. "How much support do we have access to here?" He asked her.
"I'm not sure." Kait said, not knowing how to answer. She had gotten an earful from Jon'z about the three Jedi butting into the investigation so she expected they would have access to very little. She came to a stop as she approached his desk, where he was looking over papers without looking up at them. She waited for his attention.
A man with light brown hair that was greying with a bulldog face and dressed in a long sleeved tunic that was neatly pressed and buttoned all the way to the top, glanced up from his work with a very enthusiastic brow raising. He then looked back down at his work as if ignoring the people before him. "Deputy Messan, I see you have returned. Did you do as I requested?" He asked in an authoritative sounding tone. Very fitting for a man of his age and most likely his experience.
"Yes sir." She responded, "Deputies Sasha Monroe-Zeb, Viran Zeb and Oppie Xiv to see you. I gave them some information on the way over."
He looked up at that and looked over the three Jedi. Sasha felt a slight shudder pass through her spine as this guy was exactly what Kait had described. She just forgot to mention the cold look his eyes gave when one stares into them.
"Jedi," He groused before standing up from the desk. J'onz was taller than all of them, including Oppie but only by a centimeter or so. "What information have you given them?" He asked.
"A basic run down of the situation here in the city and with the cartel," Kait answered, as the others regarded J'onz to varying degrees. "And a brief overview of what is going on with Cordova. It was a short ride so there wasn't enough time for a full briefing." She stated professionally.
"Alright, let's get this over with," J'onz said, irritation evident in his voice. "I want to make one thing clear now. You might have the status of marshal and you may be Jedi, but here you are working for me. Do as I say and we will have no issues, is that clear?"
Oppie glanced at the others. "Sure." He said flatly.
"Excellent," J'onz said, the hint of a smirk trying to appear on his face. "Let's go talk with Colonel Ceros and get this briefing started." He grabbed his dark brown jacket off the back of his chair and pulled it on. His marshal badge was visible on the lapel of the jacket.
Oppie glanced at the other three with a raised eyebrow, and Kait also caught that. Viran just rolled his eyes as he gave them an unenthusiastic shrug. Sasha made a face that told them she was really unsure about this guy before following after him. J'onz led them to Ceros office where he placed a hard knock upon the door when they arrived.
"Come." A voice called from inside.
J'onz opened the door and led them inside. He stood before Ceros's desk as he folded his arms across his chest. "The Jedi have arrived, Colonel. I believe we are ready to start our briefing," he said in a cordial way to Ceros.
"Colonel Ceros, good to see you again," Sasha greeted with a gentle smile.
The Colonel froze a little, looking at Oppie.
Oppie stepped forward. "I'm Oppie, Kyr's twin brother." He filled in.
"Ah, of course." He said, nodding, "it is a pleasure to meet you both, and to see you again." He said, nodding to Sasha. "I do not think I had the pleasure of your name last time?" He asked in a very gentlemanly fashion.
"Yes, of course," Sasha said. "I apologize for us for being a little over cautious last time. I'm Sasha and this is my husband Viran."
"Pleasure, sir," Viran greeted.
"Likewise." He said, nodding to Viran. "Kyr spoke with me a few weeks back, I was happy to see him safe, and hear of his marriage. I presume to the other young lady I met last time?" He asked with a slight grin.
Sasha smiled at that. "Yes, that's correct. They were supposed to join us, but got pulled into another job with the 19th."
"Ah, yes I was expecting to see them." He said, nodding, and almost seeming a little disappointed. "No matter, I am glad to meet the three of you properly, and graciously welcome your help." He directed them over to a small conference table that took up the majority of his office that was absolutely covered in folders and flimsies and datapads. And a board that had the fullest known extent of the cartel on display on the adjacent wall. It had many more faces crossed out than the last time Sasha had seen the board, and had been reworked as better information had developed.
"Wow, you guys have been busy," Viran commented as he stared at the board.
"So what's the current status of the cartel?" Sasha asked as she eyed the board. She tensed at the sight of seeing Selina and Havarea's pictures crossed out.
"Disarray." Ceros said as they took seats around the table. "But our friend Cordova seems to have reorganized them into something more lean and efficient. There is still some infighting, but as things like this go, chop off the head and it comes back sooner or later as some new leader rises to the top, learning from the mistakes of the last. When the Republic's support came, we were able to use it to reorganize the militia, and new politicians were elected that were less corrupt than those past, so we have been able to make significant progress. The cartel is still here, however, their cash flow is greater than ours, and where there are such riches, they will find a way to keep them flowing." He said with a grimace.
"Have you been able to find their base of operations?" Viran asked as he scratched at his chin. "Or anywhere they might be hiding?"
"Small operations here in the city. Otherwise we suspect they have enormous factories in the vast forests to the North, but have made them all but invisible to us, we've not been able to find them. That is where their main base of operations are, but combing through millions of square kilometers of forest, dangerous forest at that, is more than we are capable of at this time." Ceros answered. "The city is relatively safe, they still have a presence here but the populous has turned against them, so they are now up there. And the forests are an area of open war against us."
"But our main goal is to find Cordova," J'onz added on. "Right now, he is far enough underground that we can't pinpoint his location. So while we are searching for him, we need to take out cells of his operation as we go." He paused for an unneeded amount of time. "That's where you come in." He glanced at the Jedi before looking back to Ceros.
"And what does that mean exactly?" Sasha asked, trying to not sound insulted by his comment.
"Since you are Jedi and all, and you apparently have dealt with him in the past," J'onz said, glancing specifically at Sasha on that. "We need you to help snuff out his hidden bases. Do you think you can handle that?"
Op raised a slightly perturbed eyebrow at him for the way he was talking to Sasha at that. "Yes." He started, perhaps with a hint of hostility in his voice, "that is specifically why we came here."
"Good, then this job should be easy for you," J'onz said, meeting Oppie's gaze. "Any other questions?"
"Yes," Sasha said, shooting a glare at him then looking at Ceros. "Where should we start?"
"You will be getting all of your assignments through me," J'onz pointed out, coldly. "Right now, you will start by going to the embassy and looking over the files we have on Cordova and the cartel. We can't have you going into this like a wild rancor and causing a bigger problem than there already is. I read the file on what happened last time." He shot another look at Sasha on that.
Sasha flared her nostrils at that, actually getting rather pissed off at this guy. Viran shared the same thought, but placed a hand on her knee to try and calm her down.
"That does seem like a good place to start." Oppie said, agreeing with him. "And I would be very interested in the file to see what exactly happened to save us from the cartel in such a short amount of time." Oppie said.
Colonel Ceros nodded, trying to hide a bit of a smirk at the interplay here. "Unless there are any other questions we can leave you to that, then."
"No, I think we are done here," Sasha said as she stood from her chair, ready to leave.
"Deputy Messan, take them back to the embassy and give them the files," J'onz ordered in a rather harsh tone as he rose from his seat. "And when you are finished with that, come back here. I'll have another assignment for you." With that, he left the room to return to his work at his desk as it was more important than seeing them out.
She just nodded as she stood up with everyone else.
"Thank you for coming, your help is truly appreciated." Ceros said, looking between the three of them.
"Of course," Viran said. "Thank you for allowing us to help."
Sasha just gave a nod at that and headed for the door.
"We're happy to be of assistance." Oppie said to the Colonel with one last nod at him, before following the others out.
Kait led them directly back toward the motorpool. Once they were out of earshot, she glanced over her shoulder at them. "Don't let his pleasant demeanor fool you, he's really an ass underneath." She said with a smirk.
"Yeah he's a real ray of sunshine," Sasha said sarcastically. "Muun'shebs." She mumbled under her breath.
Viran looked at her, shocked. He had never heard her curse in Mando'a before. He then looked back to Kait. "How do you put up with him?"
"Mostly by doing my job. If you do what you're supposed to, he's fine for the most part." She answered, "and he mentioned it's probably not going to be that long of an assignment for me anyway." She said dismissively.
Viran glanced at Oppie on that, a slightly uneasy glance.
Sasha just remained silent, but looked at Kait with a small frown.
"Well I'm glad we've got you here to help us," Viran commented, genuinely. "I don't know how we would have fared if it was just us and him." He chuckled at that, trying to make light of the moment.
"Yeah, you guys are the first familiar faces I've seen since I left Nivon, and the extra help on this case will be great." Messan responded as they stepped outside towards the truck. "J'onz keeps mentioning you're Jedi, I know that it was a religious order of some kind, but how does that help you guys with investigations?" She asked as they got into the truck.
"We have heightened sense and agility," Viran started. "Thanks to the Force that is. So when it comes to investigations we are able to pick up more clues, secrets… things than other investigators can. But that's not the only thing the Force helps with. It's pretty handy when it comes to flying or piloting." He added with a smirk.
Oppie spoke up as well, "yeah, with the investigations it helps in terms of mental focus, and gaining insights."
Messan glanced up at him in the rearview mirror. "So does that mean you were cheating back at the precinct in some way?" She asked in an almost amused tone.
Oppie blinked at that, "well I wouldn't call it cheating." He said a little uncomfortably.
Sasha glanced over at him with a slightest hint of a smirk on her face, remembering their conversation on Myrkr. He noticed and shot her the smallest of glares.
"It's only cheating if you use it for games or gambling," Viran answered with a chuckle. "But no, Op's right. It's not cheating for us to use it in this manner. Just consider it like using an extra helpful tool to get the job done."
Kait nodded as she made a turn through an intersection. "Cien was able to get some very insightful information from those remnant forces very quickly. I figured that was a… Force thing?" She asked.
"Yeah it was," Viran said, remembering that. "Cien and Sasha both have a strong connection with the Force that allows them to read people better than most. So she was just using that ability to get information."
Kait glanced at him, then up in the mirror at Sasha. "So you can do that same thing as Cien? That was what broke that bombing case open for us." She asked her in a slightly impressed tone, trying to get her involved in the conversation.
"Sort of," Sasha said, rubbing absently at her scarred right hand. "I have never used it to get information. I'm actually still training with it. But I can use to it to connect with Cien through a unique bond in the Force."
Kait glanced up at her, not quite understanding what she meant by that, and not sure what to ask to better understand, either. "That sounds pretty handy." She settled on.
"It can be. Yes," Sasha agreed, turning her gaze out the window.
Kait nodded but kept silent as she continued to drive.
"So," Oppie started, "what information are we going through at the embassy?" Oppie asked.
"Everything." Kait said with a slight roll of her eyes. "J'onz had me get all the data we had on Cordova and the cartel for you guys so you can start your end of the investigation."
"Everything?" Viran asked, incredulously. "I mean I get having the basic bullet points for some it, but do we really need to look through everything? That's probably over ten years worth of information."
"More like twenty." Kait grumped a little.
"Twenty?" Viran exasperated. He groaned as he sunk down into his seat. "This is why I stick to ships."
Oppie smirked at that. "Sounds like a good starting point at least."
Viran turned in his seat and shot a brief glare at Oppie. "I guess," he grumbled.
"We can split the work evenly between us and knock it out in no time," Sasha assured him.
Kait smirked a little at that, and kind of wanted to see their reactions to the pile of work waiting for them in the conference room room that had been reserved for their work here at the Embassy. "Oh, if you guys feel like it, that bar is where a lot of the embassy staff goes to hang out after work. It's safe and has an okay selection." She said, pointing it out as she drove up to the well fortified gate where some New Republic Marines were on guard.
"That sounds good to me," Viran said, glancing over to the bar.
Sasha grimaced slightly at the thought of it, but kept her gaze out the window.
Kait noticed the grimace and presumed she wasn't one for drinking. She pulled to a stop and opened the window, flashing her badge to the guard, who waved them through. She pulled into the motorpool and came to a stop. All of them got out of the truck as she started leading them in. "We'll get you your security badges, and I'll show you to your work room." She said, guiding them into the large building. It looked like in a former life it might have been a hotel or inn of some kind, now retrofitted into a fortified embassy. The large lobby space opened before them as she led them past a reception desk, and into another room in the back, where a gruff looking marine was stationed.
"Oppie Xiv, Sasha Monroe-Zeb, and Viran Zeb for badges." She informed him.
He looked them over, then reached down into a secure drawer and passed them over. "Welcome to Caranas." He stated gruffly as he did so.
"Thanks," Viran said as he grabbed his badge. He turned it over his hand before looking to the others. "Fancy."
Sasha chuckled at that as she grabbed hers and attached it to the hem of her jacket. Oppie did the same and smirked a little at Viran's comment.
"Thanks Gus." Kait said as she led them away. "If you need ground transport, talk to the guy at the front desk, they can give you something from the motor pool if something is available. And Gus can help you with weapons or gear, if you need it." She said, glancing back at them.
"Thanks, but I think we are good in the weapons department," Viran said as he patted his hip where his blaster was holstered, but also brushed past his lightsaber hanging from his belt. "But I might go check out the motor pool later and see what they've got."
"Nothing too sporty unfortunately." Kait said dismissively.
Oppie did a bad job of suppressing a chuckle at that. Sasha smiled slightly at that.
Viran sighed. "Damn. Well, I'll still look anyway."
Kait pressed a control panel next to a door and it slid open, revealing a stark room with no windows, and a small conference table piled high with datapads and boxes full of flimsies, and there was a databoard on the opposite wall. "Well, here you are." She said, inviting them into the room.
Viran and Sasha's eyes widened at the sight of it all.
"I was really hoping you were joking about the twenty years of information," Viran said in a shocked tone. "But I guess I was too hopeful."
"Are we supposed to go through all of this by tomorrow?" Sasha asked, incredulous.
Oppie looked at the pile of data and was actually surprised at how much there was. The investigative side of him was more intrigued by it than anything.
Kait shrugged. "However long it takes you guys to get through it." She said, assuming J'onz had sent them this pile of data to keep them busy for as long as possible. "When you guys need to get to your rooms go see the front desk." She said, turning to get ready to leave.
"Thanks, Kait." Oppie said.
She glanced at him and nodded. "Have fun." She said, seeing the other two just staring dismayed at the pile as she left the room.
Sasha walked over to the table, dropping her bag on the floor at her feet, and grabbed the nearest datapad. "I guess we better get started then," she said, sounding less than enthusiastic about it.
"We are going to be here all night," Viran groaned as he sank into the nearest chair before a box of flimsies.
"Should I go up to the front desk and see if there's some place we can get snacks or a late lunch delivered from nearby?" Oppie suggested.
"That might not be a bad idea," Sasha said as she removed her jacket and slung it over the back of the chair nearest to her. "And see if they have caf too. Cause we might need it." She started going through and sorting the datapads.
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