Lsst time: Sasha and Oppie talked about the situation as they made camp. And she teased him about his drink with Messan.
Now: The rest of the family arrive to Nivon V.
Chapter 8- We'll Get Them Back
Kyr was in full combat load, as was Cien walking down the street next to him. Albeit her full combat load was simply the blaster at her hip and her saber in its hidden sheath rather than the blasters that Kyr carried and the rifle that was slung in front of his chest that he casually rested his hands the buttstock on as they strolled down the street, garnering a lot of attention as they walked. Viran followed behind them, dressed in his usual flak jacket look, as he looked around at the busy streets of Nivon 5, remembering the last time he was here.
Cien kept an eye on him through the surround view on her buy'ce, she was mostly wearing it to cut the glare from the sunlight since she was still dealing a horrible headache after they had been in mindspace. She slowed slightly so she could step to his side. "So you were an arsonist last time you were here?" She asked casually.
Viran looked at her with a slight glare. "No, I was not. They just have faulty wiring that didn't like it when I tried to fix it," he explained. "I'm just glad we didn't run into my old boss back at the spaceport or I'd never hear the end of it."
"Don't worry Sport." Kyr piped up from in front of them, "I'm sure one look at your saber and he would have shut right up."
"I seriously doubt that," Viran said with a snort. "The man was afraid of nothing. I swear."
"Well if it was faulty wiring, I'm sure that he found out the truth of the matter soon enough." Cien said assuringly.
"Hopefully, it's been almost a dozen years since then," Viran commented.
"The spaceport did look fairly new, maybe he burned it down." Kyr quipped over his shoulder.
Viran laughed at that. "Oh that would be ironic," he said as his laughter died down.
Kyr stopped short at the entrance to the medical center where Kelce said he and the others would meet them. Looking up at the entrance, he glanced around out of reflex doing a perimeter check, as did Cien and Viran. A moment later, Kelce exited the medical center followed by Nova and Scamp.
"Hey Colonel, it's good to see you again," Kelce greeted as they approached. He then looked to Cien and Viran. "Hey Cien. Hey Viran."
"Hey, Kelce," Viran said back with a slight wave.
"Hey vod." Kyr greeted him.
"Hi Kelce." Cien replied with a small smile, seeing that Nova was here as well.
"I'm glad you guys were able to make it," Kelce said. "Kitsu and Illara were here earlier."
"Yeah, they called us and told us they had a lead they were following up on." Kyr replied, "anything new here?"
"Nothing from what we've been told," Scamp said as he folded his arms across his armored chest. "The Captain informed us that she would contact us the moment she found something new. We've just been waiting for you guys to arrive."
"I could go follow up with them." Cien volunteered. Disappearing indoors for a little while sounded good with her headache.
"We wanted to go look at the site where the… uh incident happened." Kyr suggested. "You want in on that cyar'ika?" He said, looking over to Cien.
"I think you guys can handle it." Cien said. "If there's anything interesting in the Force I can come take a look after I visit the security office." She suggested looking to Viran.
"I'd like to see it," Viran said.
"Here, I can show you guys the place," Kelce offered.
"I've already seen it," Nova said. "I can go with Cien until you guys get back."
Cien nodded at that, "good, I didn't even know where the security office was." She said half jokingly.
"Then allow me to lead the way," Nova beamed before turning to the guys. "See ya later." She flashed a wink towards Kelce as she led Cien away.
"Be safe." Kyr said as they started walking off.
"Ratiin cyar'riduur." Cien called over her shoulder. After a moment and some distance, Cien spoke up again. "What was that?" She asked Nova.
"What was what?" Nova answered innocently with a smirk.
Cien just gave her a wry look that she was sure made it through the beskar and transparasteel of her buy'ce.
"Okay, so things may have happened since the last time you guys have seen us," Nova said, kind of vaguely.
"Oh?" Cien asked with a smirk.
"I told Kelce how I felt about him, and he told me how he felt about me. And now we're together," Nova explained as she avoided Cien's gaze and blushed heavily.
"I'm glad." Cien said with a slight smile. "I'm sorry I teased you so much."
"It's fine. You're not the first person to do it," Nova said, smiling. "I'm just glad it can finally stop and we can be happy together."
Cien snorted a little. "It won't stop, they'll just tease you in a different way." She said from experience.
Nova made a face at that. "Ah man," she groaned.
"It's just because you two are so cute, I'm sure." Cien said, walking up to the door as she stepped ahead of Nova.
"Says the woman who is a part of the cutest Mando couple ever," Nova teased back. "Kitsu and Illara definitely take second place on that." She added with a chuckle.
"Why thank you, I'll tell Kyr you said he was cute." She over her shoulder with a smirk under her bucket. Nova just chuckled at that. She walked to the front desk, "I would like to see the Captain. Xiv family following up on the investigation of my missing brother and sister." She stated in a much more business-like manner to the clerk at the desk.
"Do you have an appointment?" The person at the desk asked.
"No." She replied brusquely.
"I'll let the captain know you're here, it may be a while." The clerk said, turning back to their terminal.
Cien stood there a moment glowering at him but didn't feel like arguing through her headache, so she just stepped away. The lights were sufficiently dim that she took her buy'ce off as she walked back over to Nova, though she still winced a little at no longer cutting the glare with the darkened transparisteel and polarized visor.
"So what did they say?" Nova asked as she folded her arms across her chest.
"No appointment so it might be a whil-" Cien started.
"The Captain said she'll see you." The clerk spoke up from behind their desk.
Cien and Nova turned and walked back to the clerk.
"Through the door, straight down the hall between the desks, and on the other side of the room." The clerk said, turning back to their terminal.
"Thank you." Cien said and turned to follow the directions.
Nova followed after Cien as they moved through the slightly run down office space. There was a farm of desks, and side rooms that were probably for interrogations or private meetings. Cien walked to the office that was marked for the Captain on the door's labeling, and she turned the door handle and entered without knocking. The Captain looked up as she entered with a slightly bemused, if annoyed look.
"Captain Messan?" Cien asked, having read the label at the door.
"Yes. You are Miss Monroe and D- Mister Xiv's family?" She said, looking between them.
Cien made a slight note of the slip of Op's name. "Yes, well, I am." She said as she tried to talk around her headache. "I'm here with her husband and their brother, and I'm his wife."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, "Mister Xiv's wife?"
"Yes." Cien thought for a second and realized what it sounded like, she was still getting used to having to introduce herself differently. "I'm married to their brother, Sasha's my sister, and Op is my brother in law." She said to clarify.
"Ah." The Captain said, still looking a little confused by it. And Cien was annoyed with herself that the headache was so distracting she couldn't put together a coherent sentence.
"We wanted to stop by and see if you had any updated information, we just arrived." Cien pressed forward.
"No, unfortunately." The Captain responded, "nothing new has come to light. Your…" She paused, "cousins...? Were here before and they seemed to have some kind of lead based on the cheroot stub we found and the way the footprints were arranged at the site, as well as the protocol droid. I presume they would have filled you in."
"Yes." Cien answered, "though whoever took them had to know they were here somehow, so that might indicate an agent in place here. Do you have any leads on that?"
"Nothing we can share." Messan replied.
Cien quirked her head to the side and looked at her. "Do you mean you have nothing, or do you mean you have nothing you want to share with us?" She asked in a demanding tone.
Nova glanced at her on that, before looking back to the Captain.
The Captain raised an eyebrow at that. "It means we have no leads." She said, "we are still investigating."
Cien looked at her for a quiet second. "Very well, we will be conducting our own investigation as well. So if there is anything you find, please share it with us as soon as possible."
The Captain leaned back in her chair, playing with a datapad stylus in one hand. "We will, of course.
"Very well, then." Cien said, taking that as an end to the conversation before she started to turn to head back out the door.
"What's your name?" Messan asked as she turned.
Cien stopped and turned, "Cien." She answered.
Messan was a little surprised from the way she was acting that she didn't have a title or three in front of it, and something far longer and more regal. "Your brother in law, Oppie?" She said in an asking tone, and Cien just nodded. "He was here during my rookie year as an investigator. I kind of looked up to him then along with the other more senior investigators, and he gave me some good advice that helped me early on in my career that stuck with me. The results of this investigation matter to me as well, so whatever you find, please let me know too."
Cien looked at her for a moment a little more appraisingly. "I will make sure we do." She replied in a slightly softer tone.
"Thank you." The Captain said as she turned back to a report that was on the datapad in front of her.
Cien turned and left the room, going back out through the desks to leave the building.
Nova leaned in closer once they were outside. "Was it just me or does the captain have a crush on Oppie?" She asked incredulously.
Cien took a moment to respond. "I'm… not sure." She replied in the same tone.
Nova smirked and glanced back at the building. "Something to keep an eye on, maybe?" She teased slightly.
"Definitely." Cien said with a slight smirk. She grimaced under the afternoon light and put her buy'ce back on to block the sun out.
"You okay?" Nova asked, having noticed the grimace.
"Yeah, just had a bad migraine earlier and I'm still feeling the after effects." She said, a part of her old self still there to be annoyed that someone would notice a weakness. And that she had let down her guard enough to let it show.
"It may not hurt, but talk with Kelce. He might have something that could help," Nova suggested.
"Yeah," Cien replied after a moment, "I will. Thanks." She said.
"Come on, we should go find the guys," Nova said as she started walking away.
Cien couldn't help a malicious smirk coming to her face. "Yes, I'm sure Kelce is waiting."
Nova chuckled. "Oh and I'm sure the Colonel is waiting too." She said. "Two can play this game." She teased.
Kelce led them down the road to an alleyway. When they rounded the corner, Kelce led them over to a part of the alley that was still blocked off. Kelce came to a stop at the line and looked to the others.
"This is where the kidnapping happened," Kelce explained as he gestured to the area before them.
Viran approached the line and looked around at everything with furrowed brows. He stood there in silence as he took it all in.
Kyr patted him gently on the shoulder before stepping forward, ignoring the cordon line. He used his buy'ce to scan the area with its enhanced modes, but nothing in particular stood out. Nothing more than what Kitsu and Illara had reported.
"None of this makes sense," Viran said after a moment as he looked around.
"Not to us, but it makes sense to someone. We just need to figure out who that is." Kyr said quietly.
"The thing that gets me about this is who was this guy after?" Scamp questioned. "Because according to all of the evidence it plays out like either Sasha was the target and Op just got caught at the wrong place, wrong time. Or it was intended for Op and Sasha was the bait." He paused for a second. "Now it could be for both of them and the pieces just fell into place for them both to get caught. It just… doesn't sit right with me."
Viran shot a glance at the old clone and slowly nodded his head in agreement. He then looked to Kyr. "Hey Kyr, I know you're not a bounty hunter, but could this really be connected to a bounty in some way?"
"Could be." Kyr replied, "but the Remnant has more to deal with than trying to keep up that old bounty. And I can't think of anyone who would target Sasha or Op." He paused for a second. "Except for that Master Hill guy." He said, thoughtfully.
"Who?" Kelce and Scamp asked at the same time.
Viran just stared at Kyr incredulously. "That guy wouldn't know how to order a bounty even if it was a menu item at a canteen," he said harshly. He then looked to Scamp and Kelce. "And to answer your question, he is just some actor who pretends to be a Jedi. Sasha's run into him a couple of times, but Op has never met the guy. And that's probably for the best. The guy is nuts."
"We'll see if we can get a group discount on tickets and take the 19th out with us once Sasha and Op are back." Kyr added, looking around. "Kitsu and Illara sent some notes. They said that the guy, his footprints seemed like he was a little startled by Op when he arrived. So Sasha was probably the target. Which makes no sense to me." Kyr said, looking at the spot where the speeder had been. "Of all of us she's the least offensive. She even showers more regularly than the rest of us." He said, dejectedly.
Kelce made a scrunched up face at that last comment.
Viran just ignored the last comment and frowned as his heart thudded at the thought. "Who would target Sasha?" He asked, a slight shake to his voice.
"Do you know of any likely people that would want to threaten her?" Scamp asked as he placed a hand on Viran's shoulder.
"Not that I know of," Viran answered as he tried to think of anyone. But his mind came up with nothing. "Kyr? Can you think of anybody?"
"No." Kyr replied.
"If Sasha was the target, why would they take Oppie? Why wouldn't they just leave him behind or kill him?" Kelce asked carefully. "What are they hoping to gain by having Oppie too?"
"Maybe it's a general Jedi thing?" Kyr thought out loud. "Hell, we don't know enough to even make a guess." Kyr groused.
"Right, sorry," Kelce said.
"It's okay, Kelce. You're worried about them too," Scamp assured him. "We all are." He then looked down to Viran. "And we will help you get them back. Nadiera has allowed us to help you find them as part of our 'vacation'. She also said that if we need to use any of the 19ths assets, we have access to them for this mission."
"Thanks, Scamp," Viran said as he looked up at the Clone. "That means a lot."
Scamp simply nodded at him while giving him a reassuring smile.
Kyr looked back at Scamp and Kelce. "Did Sasha or Op mention anything weird going on? Like anyone watching them while they were here or something?"
Kelce thought for a moment. "You know what, yeah they did mention something. A couple of nights before they went missing, we grabbed food together at a local pub. While we were eating they said there was this guy watching our table. It was some creepy guy in a hood. They explained all this to me later once we were safely away from anyone else listening," he answered. "They thought the guy to be an Imperial sympathizer. Like the ones who initially attacked the medical center trying to go after a New Republic officer."
"Did you tell the local cops?" Kyr asked, "did they follow up on that?"
"No, I hadn't even considered it at the time," Kelce admitted. "I was just too in shock to remember."
"Kelce, it's okay," Scamp said, turning to face the doctor. "But we need to get this to the authorities now."
"I completely agree," Kelce said as he nodded.
"Then we should go now," Viran suggested with an eagerness to his tone.
"What pub?" Kyr asked Kelce.
"It's just a few blocks from the medical center," Kelce said. "I can't recall the name, but I can show you where it is. The place is a pretty popular location here in town."
"I know exactly which place you are talking about," Viran said as he snapped his fingers, remembering. "Sasha almost worked there when we lived here."
"I'll comm Cien and see if they want to meet us for dinner there. We can also see if they'll give us their security footage." Kyr said, already putting his fingers to the side of his buy'ce to make the call.
"Should we inform the Captain as well?" Kelce asked.
"Yes, we can place a call to her too," Scamp said. "Come on."
"Wait, what captain?" Kyr spoke up. Then he spoke a little more quietly. "No, I was speaking to Doc and Scamp."
"Captain Messan, she's in charge of local security around here," Scamp explained. "She's the one heading the investigation."
"Oh, okay." Kyr said, turning back to his call.
"Come on, let's give her a call," Scamp said to Kelce as they stepped away for a moment.
That left Viran alone to stand there and look at the scene around him.
Kyr came over and patted him on the shoulder. "We'll get 'em back Vir."
"I know we will," Viran said as he looked up at him. "I'm just worried about them."
"Me too." Kyr replied, looking at the site again.
Scamp and Kelce came back over a moment later.
"Okay, we've informed the Captain. She's agreed to meet us at the bar and stake out the place for that potential Imperial," Scamp said as they walked back up. "What did Cien have to say?"
"That she hopes the place has good desserts." He said with a smirk in his voice. He looked at Kelce. "And Doc..."
"Yeah?" Kelce asked, confused.
"You apparently have some explaining to do." He said as he started walking off.
Kelce paled. "What are you talking about? Wait, did Cien..." He trailed off as he realized what Kyr was referring to.
Viran looked between them confused as to what they were talking about as they all walked away.
"Oh yeah, you do have some explaining to do," Scamp agreed with a smirk as he patted Kelce's shoulder.
"Explain what?" Viran asked in confusion.
"Nova and I are together," Kelce said, looking away with a heavy blush.
Viran gaped at him. "That's awesome! Congrats!"
"Thanks," Kelce said, flashing a smile at him.
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