LordDarthYoda- The Ubrorans are going to have to step up for their planet, and we're going to see them do just that in this upcoming chapter. While its fun to watch Nara and Sascha cut up some droids, it does get a bit repetitive. It's going to allow the Jedi some character development, but it will bring the Ubrorans into the spotlight as well.

SpeechBubbleMe- As long as you were worried about Sascha and Nara than that chapter did its job! It's hard to write legitimate danger for characters when they have huge plot armor, but sometimes you gotta remind people that he's not invincible!

A/N - I have nothing.

Anyways, all reviews, follows, and favourites are deeply appreciated as always.

Please enjoy the next chapter.

Chapter 33: Broadcasts

"The war is reaching its endpoint. Our army continues to make headway, though slowly, through the Napier Valley. The resistance forces have been dealt a major blow by the loss of the two Jedi apprentices, which no longer seem to have the ability to contest control of Bontha. In a few days the Ubroran army will have no choice but to engage our main force. That is a battle I am confident in winning."

-From the Journal of Pravin Ecalt, Fourteen days in to the Invasion of Ubrora

The next day, Arslan prepared his house for a meeting of the most 'important' people in the resistance. Lirri was the leader, obviously, but Ubrorans like Sekac and Ovans were important leaders in their own way. The four of them were essentially the backbone of the resistance at this point, with the Jedi incapacitated for the foreseeable future. Arslan had checked in on them today, but both Sascha and Nara had been asleep. While Harstem believed that the Jedi would make a full recovery, he had also warned him that their recovery would be quite slow.

Arslan looked up from his busywork as his guests started arriving. Lirri arrived first, looking energized and ready to take the fight to their enemy. Her blue and purple hair was tied into a surprisingly martial-looking ponytail, and she wore robes that made her look like a Jedi, they were tan and brown, surprisingly dour clothes for someone her age. Sekac arrived next. In his mid-twenties and cold-eyed, the former hunter wasn't a big talker, but when he did speak, his words carried weight. Ovans was the last to arrive, he was older, in his early thirties, and dressed with his usual flair. Arslan had his doubts about Ovans, he'd generally considered the man too concerned about himself to be of use to the resistance. That was until he personally recruited twenty members to the resistance. If anything, that got him a seat at this table – his kitchen table to be exact. Good looking and outgoing, Ovans continued to dress with flair, wearing a bright orange shirt that was more suited for a night at the cantina than a war council.

The four Ubrorans sat around his table upon which he had set up a platter of treats as well as pitchers of juice and tea. It was probably wasted effort on the current company, but he knew that his extremely fastidious mother would have approved. Arslan was just glad that she wasn't around to see what had become of her planet.

Before he could start the meeting, Ovans smiled sarcastically at Lirri, "Dressing like a Jedi, Lirri? Well someone has to replace them, why not you?"

"I am a Jedi, Ovans."

Arslan blinked rapidly, something had definitely changed in Lirri a few days ago, almost exactly when she had started wearing those robes that were patterned after what the Jedi had worn. He had assumed that Lirri was just trying to start a fashion trend or dress in clothes that were more suited for combat, but was she really asserting that she was in any way like a Jedi?

Lirri stood from her chair, "I know what you all must be thinking, you must think that I've lost my mind."

"We didn't think that," he said.

"Quiet, Arslan."

Chastised, he made himself look busy by stirring the teapot and getting the cups from the kitchen.

Lirri continued, "Nara and Sascha pulled me aside a few days ago and told me that like them, I possessed the power to manipulate the Force. I don't want to make you believe that I can fight like them or even levitate things like they can, but I have…some of what they can do."

The three other Ubrorans looked at each other in confusion. Ovans broke the confused silence with a derisive snort, "Well that's convenient, I guess. 'Hey look, I'm a Jedi, but I can't do any of their super-powered stuff, so you'll just have to believe me until they wake up.' Is this some sort of power play, Lirri? Are you threatened by me? I can form my own resistance, I'm sure it won't be…"

"That's quite enough, Ovans," he said, trying to head off what was clearly going to be a fight between Ovans and Lirri.

Ovans was not done though, "I don't think it is enough, I didn't sign up to be led by some crazy lady who decided that after her Jedi friends got hurt, that their powers transferred to her somehow."

Lirri was out of her seat in a flash and was halfway to Ovans, probably to smack him upside the head, when Sekac spoke, "Does it really matter?" said Sekac quietly, "does it matter if she wears a robe and thinks she's a Jedi or not? The enemy is the droids. Not each other."

"No," he agreed, "It doesn't matter. Perhaps we should get down to business. Or maybe your petty feud is more important than the planet?"

Lirri had a last glare for Ovans, but she settled back into her seat, "Ubrora comes first."

Happy that things had settled down for now, Arslan began the briefing that he had laboriously prepared this morning, "Based on the surveillance that I have been doing, along with subcontracting it to some of my other friends, I've found that the droids seem to have set up a perimeter that they are guarding." He pulled out a map of Bontha, it was one that tourists got to see all the sights of the city on a vacation so all the landmarks were laid out in exaggerated fashion across the city. He'd tried to have found a better map, but he hadn't been able to. All maps these days were for datapads, no one wanted to use a physical map anymore.

Ovans snickered when he saw the map that was being laid on the table, and even Sekac smiled slightly. Lirri remained impassive and as soon as she understood his markings, she began analyzing the map in detail. He spoke, striving for a dignified, academic tone, "The droids seemed to have carved out an area that they are patrolling, but leaving the rest of the city free from their presence. The droids have focused on controlling the downtown area, which makes sense as it contains most of our banks, food processing plants, and of course the spaceport and the capital building."

"The droid patrols are unpredictable, they vary in size and their exact route, but they stay within the perimeter which I've indicated. That means to my mind, the droids are somewhat predictable in their unpredictability." He closed his eyes briefly, "I'm not a tactician, I don't know anything about war, so I leave it up to you three to decide what we should do." The honest truth was that none of them were tacticians. But the last time Arslan had provided someone with advice regarding this conflict, two Jedi had nearly died, so he was not going to be offering his opinion on things, unless asked specifically.

Sekac spoke first, "I suppose its a problem that the droids control a huge section of the city. Do we want access to anything in that area controlled by the droids? It contains our most important buildings, true, but nothing we can't do without."

Lirri shook her head in disagreement, "By letting the droids have access to the main part of Bontha, they are projecting strength. If we sit back and do nothing, the perception will be that the droid army is in control. Even our little raids will not be enough to sway public opinion on that front."

Ovans leaned back in his chair, "So are you suggesting we do something dramatic to change that perception?"

Lirri smiled, "Very dramatic. Arslan, what news network has been the most vocal in denouncing the resistance?"

"Uh, EUN, they've aired several interviews with your father, who as…uh, I'm sure you know is perhaps the most notable person that is opposing what we are doing. As the mayor, he holds a fair amount of sway on public opinion. I've been getting my colleagues at UNN to run pro-resistance stories, but they don't appear to be moving public opinion in any meaningful way."

Lirri grinned, a savage grin on her face, "Perhaps it might be time for EUN to see what the cost of helping the invaders is. Arslan, is the EUN broadcast center inside or outside the droid perimeter?"

"Just outside," he answered, looking at the map just to confirm.

Grin unabated, Lirri looked around at the other Ubrorans at the table, "is everyone thinking what I'm thinking?"

Sekac nodded slowly and Ovans returned Lirri's grin, "I think we are. Let's make some preliminary plans."

Arslan held his hand up, "Will someone please tell me what you all are talking about?"

"We are going to make a statement," said Lirri.

There were some downsides to being appreciated, Arslan Ivalice was learning. Again, somehow he had been roped into being on one of these raids. It wasn't because he was a good fighter, because he wasn't, it was because he had experience working with broadcasting. Simply put, they expected that whoever was in charge of EUN when they were attacked wouldn't take it kindly to being temporarily taken over by the resistance. Thus, they needed him to ensure that the risk that they were taking would at least allow them to release their message to the rest of Ubrora.

Their plan seeed solid, and in Arslan's mind there was little that could go wrong. This, he knew, meant that something was definitely going to go wrong.

Their plan was to let the populace and the droids know that the resistance was fighting for the soul of Bontha. To do that, they were going to take over EUN's broadcast centre just before it's most popular program hit the air, the Manor Yoshara hour. Manor Yoshara was a broadcast anchor that seemed to delight in stretching the truth and taking on the most absurd of arguments. Arslan thought that she was a disgrace. Unfortunately, he was in the minority opinion, as Manor Yoshara was extremely popular.

Manor had two things that made her a perfect target. One was that she had a huge audience, and thus the resistance would get their message out to the maximum number of people. Two was that Manor Yoshara had been pro-invasion from the start and it seemed that it wasn't just because she loved taking contrarian viewpoints. No, a little sleuthing had determined that Manor Yoshara's bank accounts had gotten surprisingly larger in the days since the invasion had begun. And it didn't take a genius to figure out why that might be. Getting their message out was still the priority, but crushing Manor Yoshara's reputation was going to be a nice bonus.

He, Lirri, Sekac, Ovans and a pair of their best resistance fighters were the entirety of the team they were taking on this mission, and he thought that should be more than enough people to take to overwhelm the meager security of EUN. Though they had more fighters, everyone agreed that a small team was more suited for this smaller raid. Hopefully they'd be able to get in and out before the droids could react.

The six Ubrorans quickly hustled into the main lobby of the EUN building, their weapons concealed by their clothing. A couple of Ubrorans in EUN clothing gave them odd looks as they entered, but no one said anything. The group made their way at a leisurely, but determined pace towards the main control room of the news station. Just outside the control room, a single security guard looked up from his datapad, "Sorry all, tours of the building aren't being offered..."

Lirri simply waltzed up to the guard and dropped him with an open-handed palm strike. The elderly security guard dropped without a sound. Before a startled secretary could summon more reinforcements, for what little good it would have done them, the sextet marched into the main control room of EUN.

The workers inside mostly stared at them oddly, totally confused as to why six people had walked in on their broadcast room. Then the smarter ones, recognizing that both he and Lirri were prominent members of the resistance and that their network had been anti-resistance since the invasion quietly and surreptitiously got behind cover. Several glanced surreptitiously towards the emergency exit at the back of the room, wondering if they should make a break for it.

He, Ovans and Sekac fanned out towards the edges of the room, while Lirri stepped into the middle of the room and showed that she was unarmed. "We just want to speak with Manor Yoshara. I know she is in the middle of her show, but considering the…hurtful words she has had for the resistance, I think it's best she met the face of the resistance one on one." No one in the control room seemed to move. Lirri sighed dramatically, "Look, this will go easier if you tell me what room she's recording her broadcast in, and if you tell her that I'm coming. Otherwise my associates and I will barge in and have to create a scene."

Again, no one seemed to want to answer to Lirri. Arslan spared a look at his chrono, while he didn't think that the droids would be coming, the police still functioned in Bontha, and though they had the police outgunned, if they engaged them in a fight, they would have lost the moral high ground. And that was something that they wanted to maintain.

One of the older members of the crew stood, "She's in room four. I'll tell her that you are coming. Please be quick about it, I know that you have your disagreements and that is your business, but many of us put hard work into this broadcast and we do not want to see it go to waste."

Lirri bowed politely, "I will be in and out as quick as possible."

Arslan concealed a little smile, they were right on schedule, all they had to do now was have Lirri confront quote unquote respected journalist Manor Yoshara, show the audience the evidence that they had collected where millions of credits just 'happened' to appear in her bank account on the day of the invasion and let the audience figure it out. Simple, clean, effective.

He was beginning to congratulate himself on a quality plan when everything went to hell.

A squad of spindly battle droids marched the room. Stunned, he didn't move even as he saw several of them pointing blasters in his direction. The droids picked their targets and fired. Ovans launched himself at him and tackled him to the ground. The air wooshed out of Arlan's lungs, but it was a sweet pain, because it confirmed that he was still alive, "Thanks," he wheezed.

Ovans didn't reply, he just opened fire with his concealed weapon, dropping a pair of droids. He then had to dive back into cover beside him. "This has all gone to hell! We need a plan!"

"We need to get to the emergency exit!" he yelled, "It's at the back of the room."

"Mind telling us how we get there without being blasted by those droids?"

A good question. He looked around and yelped when another shot came in his direction. He ducked back into cover. The situation was deteriorating rapidly, the droids were circling around them and soon what meager cover they had would be compromised. Perhaps, he thought, they might consider surrendering. At least they'd be alive.

He peeked his head out again, and this time he saw an Ubroran behind the droids in rich dress. His name flashed to his mind, Murgo Boikana, Lirri's father. Risking another peek out of his cover, he saw Murgo shouting orders to the droids, "I want my daughter alive! Stop firing wildly you tin cans!"

"Roger, roger," replied the droids.

A plan began to form in Arslan's head, it was risky, but they were going to all be dead in a matter of seconds if they didn't do something drastic. "We surrender!" he shouted.

Ovans looked at him in disgust, but he mouthed 'I have a plan.'

Ovans hesitated for a moment, before throwing down his weapon, "We surrender," yelled Ovans.

All around them, the other resistance members were tossing their weapons on the ground and raising their hands in surrender.

"Cease fire," said mayor Boikana to the droids. Removing any doubt as to who was in charge, the beige battle droids stopped firing, though they kept their blasters pointed at the six Ubroran fighters. "Come out with your arms raised and you will not be hurt," the mayor continued.

The six Ubroran resistance fighters emerged from hiding. Sekac's arm was limp at his side and Lirri had a cut just above her right eye, but otherwise the resistance fighters were all in good shape. "The rest of you, out," said Murgo Boikana.

The terrified staff of EUN ran past them and the droids into the lobby of the EUN building, leaving only the six resistance fighters and the droids in the control room. It was eerily quiet now as the resistance fighter stood awkwardly in a line waiting for what was going to happen next.

Murgo walked up to inspect the rebels, no one offered a word, they just stared at their mayor, all of them hoping that somehow their eyes would emit lasers that would burn the mayor into char. Finally Murgo came to stand in front his daughter, "Lirri what are you wearing?" he asked, his clawed hand brushing against the tan and brown robe.

"The clothes of someone I could have been," she answered defiantly.

Murgo's eyebrows raised in amusement, "A Jedi?"

"Yes."

Murgo laughed, "Oh sweet daughter, you always were a dreamer with delusions of grandeur. But now those dreams are over, you'll come home with me and we'll forget this whole 'resistance' thing ever happened."

Lirri's features curled into a snarl, "I'll never join you. I fight for freedom for my planet. What are you fighting for?"

The mayor of Bontha sighed, "You are young and naïve Lirri. It is time you learned that." Murgo began to pace, "You see daughter, I've been talking to Admiral Varless, and he's told me some things about the Jedi that I think you'd find interesting. Did you know that the Jedi are well known for what is called the 'Jedi mind trick?' No? Well a Jedi can…lets say, persuade you to think a certain way about something. I think that is what they have done to you, daughter. They've fooled you into thinking that you are a Jedi."

"No, they haven't," she spat, "The only one that is being fooled is you! You're helping that crazy Admiral conquer our planet!"

"I'm helping Admiral Varless, yes," said Murgo. "But I'm helping him because he has a vision for Ubrora, one that I happen to agree with. The Republic is corrupt and failing. Why attach ourselves to it? We can be free and strong. With Admiral Varless' military might and our economic power, we can be a planet that many will envy."

"As soon as Admiral Varless gets what he wants from you, he'll kill you," said Sekac in his usual quiet tone.

Murgo turned to face Sekac, wagging a finger directly in his face, "I doubt that. See, he needs a public face that will rule Ubrora, and who better than a mayor of our capital city? Once the invasion is complete, he's promised me that he'll name me the new President of Ubrora."

Lirri curtsied sardonically, "I'll remember to blow up your inauguration, father."

Murgo slapped his daughter, hard. Ovans tensed beside him, but Arslan grabbed Ovans' hand with a silent warning. There were still droids pointing blasters at them, this was not the time to come rushing to Lirri's aid. Besides, it didn't look like she needed it.

Murgo stood tall over his daughter, who defiantly stared back at him, "I should have done that a long time ago. But I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do now. You'll come with me. Your compatriots here, I'll throw in jail. Next, I'll find your little Jedi friends, wherever they are hiding, and then I'll have them killed. Then I'll string up their bodies from the capital building, so that all of Bontha can see what the price of resistance is."

"You MONSTER!" Lirri launched herself at her father, cracking him in the head with a kick that seemed more instinctual then practiced. Murgo Boikana, self-appointed President of Ubrora, hit the ground with a thud and did not rise. Arslan stared at Murgo's body in disbelief. Had Lirri just knocked out her father with one kick?

Arslan stared at the droids, who were comically looking at each other, obviously seeking instructions. Arslan remembered that the last instruction that they had been given was to cease fire. So they were. And now that Murgo was down...

"Run!" he said. The six resistance members bolted for the back emergency exit. Lirri looked regretful that she was leaving her father behind, whether that was because she regretted her actions or that she wanted to continue beating on him, Arslan couldn't tell.

The droids should have turned their blasters on them and killed them all in a few short moments, except that they had been given an order by their commanding officer to cease fire. And the droids were too stupid to think for themselves. "What do we do?" asked one of them.

Stupid droids.

Unfortunately for Arslan, the droids turned out to be as stupid as he had hoped. "Blast them!" one commanded.

Needing no further encouragement, his fellow droids opened up with their blaster rifles. Laser fire pinged all around him and he heard screams from somewhere near him. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, out through the back exit and into the Ubroran twilight. He didn't stop running until they reached Sekac's house, which was the closest resistance house to the EUN building.

Chest heaving, Arslan counted those who had made it back to Sekac's house. It was just him, Lirri, Ovans and Sekac. The two other resistance members, Calaj and Demeter, hadn't made it back with them. Whether they were dead, captured or wounded was unknown and Arslan didn't really feel like asking. Another bitter loss for the resistance. First the Jedi, now two more casualties.

Damn.

"Looks like our sweet mayor just became enemy number one," said Ovans. Ovans' shirt had been ripped and torn during their escape, but seemed to have come off unharmed.

"I voted for him too," said Sekac, grabbing some painkillers from a medkit, "That hurts more than my arm."

"Are you okay, Sekac?"

The hunter waved away his concern, "Yeah. I'm fine."

"We should go back and look for Calaj and Demeter," said Lirri as she headed for the door.

All three male Ubrorans stepped into her path. "Now isn't the time for that Lirri," said Ovans. "We can't afford to rush into anything right now. That's what we did just now. We thought it would be easy. But it wasn't. We need to settle down and plan. Otherwise this will happen again."

Sekac grunted, "But what do we do about Mayor Boikana?"

"What do you want to do Lirri?" he asked quietly.

Lirri paused for a moment, "We treat him like any other combatant. He's chosen his side and I've chosen mine. There is no room for family now."

Arslan realized that the fight for Bontha had gotten very personal.