Ask Derailed

[Jonathen Baize]

Jonathen's platoon piled out of transport. When he had heard the news of the prison train derailment and who they had been transporting, he had requested to be assigned to the event.

"Secure the perimeter," he ordered as his men fell out. He took off his helmet and scanned the scene. He had heard Van Gibbons had been taken in months ago after the ISB had drugged him and left him out in the cold. When he had tried to find the ISB agent, the name she had given him, of course, went nowhere. This is why people hated the ISB. He had largely forgotten about the incident, but when news of the transport crash broke, it had drudged up those angry memories.

He could listen to the briefing given to the command staff. The Prison Transport's comms had gone dark about five minutes before it had been derailed entirely. The guards had all been killed along with most of the prisoners; one name stood out. Van Gibbons. His body had not been discovered in the wreckage.

He had been the key to a larger group of rebels in the Empire. With the theft of the Imperial Garrison and the aid of slicers, the group had become powerful. Gibbons was their best shot at unraveling all of it, and now he was in the wind.

After the meeting, he turned and saw her. Of course, she would be here. The ISB would be the ones wanting to get Gibbons back the most. "Hey, Fuck you!" he said to the ISB Agent. "Where do you get off drugging me?!" he added. "And then icing me out of the investigation..." he spat.

Yes, he was completely over what had happened

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

If you want it done, see it through yourself. Six gritted her teeth, angry at herself for not personally escorting Gibbons. However, if she had, she would be just another dead body. Whoever aided in this extraction was organized and had insight. This wasn’t surprising considering the internal network she and Baize cracked open. There were several loose ends that she was working diligently to close up.

Today was one of the few instances where she was actually dressed in uniform. Six had a cigarra hanging from the corner of her lips as she surveyed the scene, spotting that Imperials were already there. While it had been handed off to a different group for transport, this was still her mission.

An angry face seemingly popped out of the bushes and she recognized it as Baize. Her brows rose slightly at his tirade. She quietly drew in smoke and exhaled in a different direction before looking down at the spot where he spat for a moment. Classy.

“Drugging you?” She asked calmly as she looked at him again, “I gave you over the counter BactaNite, sweetie. You were just in desperate need of a nap.”

Six blew smoke through her nose as she gave him a half smile, “You miss me enough to get yourself assigned to this again?” She flashed a wink before walking past him and towards the scene of the crime.

“I wasn’t able to get a trace on the accomplice even when I reviewed Gibbons’ comlink,” Six explained as she crouched and entered the transport, “It was a burner phone. However, I’m guessing that’s who extracted him.”

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

Her response made him even more angry. "Sure, I just needed a 13-hour nap..." he responded. "Over the counter, my ass..." he muttered.

He rolled his eyes. "Please..." he paused. "Imperial Command wanted a unit assigned to this to ensure the ISB doesn't just sweep it under the rug," he said. It was mostly true that he wasn't about to admit actually requesting to be assigned.

Jonathen let out a breath, putting his anger aside for the moment. "There is no sign of an armed struggle. He wasn't broken in the traditional sense. Maybe this slicer friend of yours?" he asked. "or maybe something entirely different.." he said to himself.

"I'm going to go see if I can't find the camera in the car that contained our friend's cell. Maybe there is something recoverable there." he said. He made his way to the crash site and began searching the crashed train car. He found the camera easily enough, but it had been stomped into the ground. It was clear this wasn't tied to the crash. Someone had broken the camera. The footage would be stored somewhere, but if they had a skilled slicer, it was unlikely they would ever see that footage.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six was skeptical they would find anything, though she didn’t voice that opinion to Baize when he mentioned the camera. She looked around the train car, surveying the bodies, “Blaster patterns are illegal in civilized space,” She observed, “This almost looks like it’s…. “ She stood up, frowning, “I’ve seen similar ballistics when we ran operations in Hutt space.”

Why would the syndicates be involved in this? She hoped she was wrong, but the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. There was no shortage of slicers and an armory black market in Hutt space. Gibbons was likely paid handsomely for siphoning Imperial resources across the galaxy. However, this also meant that catching him was that much tougher.

“Do you recall how the accomplice had our descriptions?” She asked him suddenly, “They were hunting us.”

Six thought for a moment, “I think we should let them,” This was how several agents had died in similar operations, but she saw no other option, “I’ll be the bait.”

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

Could they even chase people into Hutt Space? It certainly became much more difficult if they had fled outside of Imperial Space.

"Yeah.." he responded "Okay..." he continued listening.

He let out a laugh as she suggested her plan. "Oh wait?" he paused, giving her a look. "You're serious?!" he asked, surprised. "What? We just go sit in a public place and wait to get killed?" he asked. The look on his face didn't match the tone of his voice as he seriously considered the plan.

In reality, he kind of liked it. Sometimes triggering an ambush you knew was coming was better than stumbling into one you didn't know was coming.

"...We would need a relatively low populated area with places to provide cover from..." he said, starting to piece it together in his mind. "I think I know a place," he said as they continued to plan. "I'm not letting you go alone, and before you say it..This ain't some hero shit. I still don't trust that you won't dip."

Later that day, they had set up outside an old coffee shop with a lot of outdoor seating. It was in an older part of the city, and much of the foot traffic was directed to newer parts, leaving it much less populated. The coffee shop was on the side of a fairly open square with buildings on either side. Two snipers from his platoon were tucked away in windows to provide overwatch.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Before Six could even object, Baize started rambling on about a plan. She decided to bite her tongue for the most part, though she did give an amused smirk at the end, “If I’m the only one going in, what does it matter if I ‘dip’?” She asked, knowing he would fumble over a response.

Later that day, she changed into wearing a form fitting, stylish coat over her attire. It was filled with various kinds of weapons, and of course she had her favorite cufflinks and poison tipped stilettos. Outwardly, she looked as if she was just a casual civilian out for caf.

Six sat down across Baize, “I started using that refreshed datapad again so they’ll definitely try to track us,” She explained. It always felt odd to be sitting ducks, but she had clearly done this before. Though she was very aware of her surroundings, she was relaxed in her seat. She ordered a customized latte, treating herself.

“Oh stop looking so stiff, Baize,” She said as she stirred the foam into her caf.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

Joanthen wore his usual shirt with a jacket. A Blaster pistol was tucked under his arm under the jacket.

He leaned forward in his chair, unknowingly bouncing his leg. He looked over at her. "I don't look stiff....This is natural," he said, forcing himself to lean back in his chair. The reality was he was extremely uncomfortable sitting out here. This kind of stuff just wasn't done as a soldier. You dug in and made your position defensible, but they were completely exposed here.

In an attempt to look "less stiff" he pulled out his phone and took a drink from his coffee. Jonathen was a simple man; black coffee was his drink. The barista had almost looked offended at such a simple drink. He flipped through his fantasy Huttball team and finalized his roster for the next week. He noticed that one of the players had been killed the previous week. "Damn.." he muttered to himself, quickly discarding the dead player and picking someone new.

The speeder van came around the corner, doors sliding open as blasters started firing across the open area. Jonathen threw himself out of the chair onto the ground as he scrambled for cover. He reached for his weapon, which had fallen from its arm holster near the table.

One of the snipers opened fire on the van, having a shot at the driver. The shot hit the window, but it had been reinforced. The bolt barely scratched the glass.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

The moment the sniper shot failed was when Six realized that they were about to lose their window. The speeder van knew there was an ambush and their primary goal changed to making a getaway. Six drew out her pistol, firing a shot where she saw the side doors open. While she found purchase in the man’s shoulder, it wasn’t enough to drop him out of the van.

Six cursed to herself, having to quickly think on her feet. She couldn’t let that speeder get away. Without warning or sharing her plan with Baize, which was her MO at this point, she bolted towards the speeder as it passed. He would see her leap head first right into the speeder as it whizzed away full speed.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

Sniper shots broke out from both positions, but nothing would piece the armored vehicle. Six charged towards the vehicle, and Jonathen followed, stopping to grab his dropped blaster.

He would be too slow to catch the van, so instead, he jumped in a speeder parked alongside the road and threw the thruster to max speed. He raced to catch up to vehicle.

The driver swerved, trying to throw off the ISB agent attached to the front of the speeder. If that didn't work, he would try and awkwardly shoot a blaster out the driver's widow at the woman.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Up until now, Baize had been the one to do go in guns blazing or engaging in combat. He hadn’t really seen Six in action. If he watched now, the entire scene would play out like an action sequence in a Holomovie. The agent was clinging to the speeder, spotting the driver edge out to try and shoot her. She used that opportunity to whirl in with her feet, slamming her stiletto in the side of the man’s neck. He sputtered and coughed blood, the speeder veering off to the side.

Six didn’t stop there, using that as an opening to slip in through the window and climb to the back. The speeder was veering out of control, charging at full speed towards a building. Before it could impact, Baize would see Six entangled with another man. They both darted out of the speeder and rolled along the street.

There was a thunderous boom as the speeder drove right through the building, exploding into flames and debris. Six managed to get a hold of the passenger’s blaster, using it to pistol whip him and knock him out. She shakily stood up to stand, fixing up her hair and tugging down the skirt where it rode up a bit from jumping out of a speeder. Of course, while there was an explosion behind her. All she was missing were sunglasses.

While the driver and others were dead, the man she yanked out would serve them with necessary intel.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He sped through the streets following the van, watching the scene play out but not really able to aid in any way without causing more harm to the public.

He swerved out of the way as the agent lept out of the van right before it exploded. She quickly secured one prisoner. Jonathen jumped out of the speeder, his weapon drawn on the unconscious prisoner. He called a containment team to the area to sweep for any additional evidence or clues.

For now, the man in front of them was their best bet in intel.

"Pretty impressive." he admitted. "Pretty stupid, but pretty impressive." he added. In reality, he had loved it but wasn't quite ready to let go of the earlier frustration.

He picked up the unconscious thug and threw him in the trunk of the speeder. "We can take this guy in, but I'm not sure we want him anywhere where someone in Imperial Systems can track us down," he said.

"My off-base apartment is not far from here. We could chat with our new friend there and then take him in?" he asked the agent.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six checked over her elbows, noticing that she was bleeding in a few places. However, thanks to her Firrerreo biology, she knew it would all heal up soon enough. Her brows rose at Baize’s critique of what he witnessed. She reached into the folds of her coat and drew out a bag of W & W's, shoving the little candy baggie into his hand, “Have a snack,” She said abruptly, “You are far too crabby,” She remarked coolly, beginning to lose her patience with his salty attitude. It really was over the counter medicine!

Six was wary about delaying taking him in, but doing the interrogation beforehand offered their best shot at getting some answers without filters. She nodded at his suggestion, getting into a speeder to make for his base. Her entire body was sore, and she paused to dab where she was bleeding with some bacta. Already her skin was beginning to heal, the scratches visibly fading.

When the man woke up, he was tied to a chair and Six was standing in front of him. She ran facial recognition on him and it pulled up nothing. This meant they would have to rely almost entirely on just this interrogation.

“We pulled your friends from the crash. They’re starting to talk,” She bluffed as she talked to him, her delivery flawless, “Turn them over and we can pretend this whole thing didn’t happen.”

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

They were at his apartment in minutes, and he hauled their groggy captive up the stairs to the second floor, where his apartment was.

Jonathen's apartment was in order, but it wasn't anything special. He was hardly ever here, but it was nice to get away from the base occasionally. He guessed he could also add "prisoner interrogation" to the list.

The Lieutenant tied the man to one of his two dining room chairs, and they waited for him to wake up.

---

Telsen blinked his eyes open.

Everything hurt.

He felt like a speeder had run over him, and then he remembered being thrown out of a speeder. He groaned slightly as he came to. "W..what?" he asked, still confused. "I.." he started but then stopped As his mind came back to him, he regained a bit of composure.

"I ain't talking to no Imp scum," he said, spitting in her direction.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Imp scum.

Six thought for a moment and decided to try something. She glanced over at Baize, “Could you excuse us?” She asked, “Please?” She threw in in case he decided to be a pain in the rear about it. She had a card to pull and she needed him out of earshot for that. Once she was sure Baize wasn’t listening, she turned back to the thug.

“Listen,” She said quietly, “You’ve all got this backwards. You remember the riot in the Sixth Garrison?”

“Yeah..” He muttered quietly, eyeing her suspiciously.

“I’m the one that iced Karn,” She said, “I’ve been trying to get out of Imperial space. That’s why I’ve been trying to get in touch with Gibbons. The other guy-” She jutted her chin towards the door where Baize left, “I have to play the long game because I can’t let him catch on.”

“I don’t..believe you..” His eyes were wide. He was definitely starting to question things.

“Tag number A78282, Captain Talis was the one that escaped with me and shut the doors after it happened.”

That did the trick. The man gasped.

“Get me out. Tell me where to go,” She said quickly, “I will come back with the cavalry and get you out. For now, sit tight and play along with that imbecile,” She looked to the door again.

Almost thirty minutes later, Six emerged out of the room, meeting up with Baize again, “We have everything we need to go after the brains of this operation. Cathar named Rox that we actually have been tracking for other incidents. She oversees a weapons trade out of Toydaria. This explains all the imported blasters. Her last known location was in Felucia, so I’m betting that’s the base of operations of this entire insurgency.”

She drew out a cigarra,"You can probably take him in. We don't need anything from him."

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He was about to push back on being asked to leave but finally sighed, pulling her close and whispering. "Don't fuck up my apartment...." he said "....Please..." he added, actual pleading in his voice.

He stepped outside a lit a cigarette. He leaned against the rail overlooking the courtyard below. There would have been a time in the not-so-distant past when this would have freaked him out. He was still worried she would cut a finger off or something and cause the guy to bleed over the carpet, but he wasn't freaking out anymore.

He had slipped the bag of candy from his pocket, torn between really wanting to eat it and being somewhat paranoid he was about to get drugged again. Finally, his hunger, mixed with boredom, won out.

After opening the bag, several pieces of candy spilled into his hand. He popped them into his mouth, waiting to see if he passed out or not; when he didn't, he continued. For what it was worth, he did feel less grouchy.

Six stepped out a few minutes after that. "You didn't kill him or anything, did you? I have this weird thing about ghosts.." he said. He listened to her report, legitimately impressed with her. "Pretty talkative guy who was spitting in your face a few minutes ago," he said. He offered some of the candy she had given him earlier. "Did he say anything about how Gibbons got wrapped up in this shit?" he asked.

"Once again, pretty impressive," he said, less venom in his voice than earlier. He drew out another cigarette of his own a lit it. He would call in transport for the guy, his platoon could detain him for a time, so it didn't hit Imperial Systems until they could act.

"So where the hell do you learn how to do all of.." he paused, gesturing with his head back towards his apartment. "..that?" he asked. "Can't imagine you learned all of it in the Academy.." he said, popping more of the candy into his mouth.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six was surprised by the word vomit that came out. Clearly the snacks worked wonders on him. It didn’t occur to her until then how out of his element he was. To her, this was just another Tuesday. To him, this was operating on a whole new level. Every moment meant someone was watching him or had him in their crosshairs. The worst part of it was how much she had to actively keep from him. Normally it was standard procedure, but he had risked his life countless times for a mission he wasn’t even clued in on.

“What weird thing about ghosts?” She asked abruptly, that single comment standing out to her far more than his barrage of questions. Her face looked surprisingly serious for the question she asked. In fact, she suddenly looked mildly uncomfortable, probably for the first time since they met.

Six looked away when he asked how she knew about it all. For a moment, she wasn’t next to him and somewhere across the galaxy. She ashed her cigarra before taking another drag, “We have special training if you make the cut. Most of it I learned on the job..for some things, I guess I never really had a choice."

She glanced over at him, her elbows resting on the railing, “Why are you still chasing this? You almost died several times over. You know you can’t have all the details of this case, so why risk it?”

Six couldn’t even tell him that the prisoner would die at some point during the transport. It would look like some abrupt, but natural cause, but it was because she had already discreetly injected him during the interrogation. She couldn’t risk the man babbling about her cover. And she couldn’t risk Imperials knowing she murdered a prisoner.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

Of all the things he said, he didn't expect her to latch on to the thing about ghosts. He gave her a puzzled look. "In the summers growing up, I used to visit my grandparent's house, and they lived in a house that was 100% haunted. Spooky shit was constantly happening. I hated it. I always dreaded going, but parents forced me..." he explained, giving the very quick version. "I am pretty sure icing someone in cold blood is a surefire way to get ghosts.." he joked..mostly.

He scratched at his beard as she spoke about her training. "Always wondered what the ISB did to recruits. People I knew back in the Academy days would just up and disappear one day without a trace. We were told they had been transferred to ISB, but we never heard from them again. I'm sure it wasn't easy..." he said, glancing back at her.

Why was he chasing this? This sort of thing certainly wasn't in his wheelhouse. He paused for a long moment in thought, blowing a stream of smoke out before speaking. "The Army was...is..supposed to be better." he started, looking back down over the courtyard. "It was the Sith that were supposed to have made us stray from the path. We couldn't help it. Who do we blame now when someone abuses their power, puts themselves over the Empire, or betrays the people? How are we any better?" he asked. "The people deserve better, and I won't stand by while people I considered brothers and sisters betray the people. We have come too far..." he said.

He chuckled as he looked down. He didn't know much about this woman but figured she wouldn't have much room for idealism. "I'm sure that sounds a little naive to you, doesn't it?" he asked, finally looking back to her.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six said nothing for a few seconds, “I like looking for ghosts,” She said abruptly, realizing how silly it sounded to say out loud. But nothing gave her a rush like packing some EMF readers and walking through creepy, abandoned asylums. It was one of her few strange hobbies.

She heard him speak about his reasons, and she had to smile. She quietly smoked while he spoke, glancing at him when he asked his question, “It is naive,” She confirmed, “We may be the Empire, but we’re still not exactly the good guys. We do what we can for our people, but we do take shortcuts.”

She wasn’t going to paint an idealistic image of the Empire. There were countless optimistic souls out there that came out from the shadows since the split, but at the end of the day, this was still the Empire. This was not the Alliance or New Republic, and many unpleasant choices would be made to advance the growth of this new Empire. She knew first hand from all the dirty operations she conducted to bring in resources to the Empire. Things she hoped this solider would never have to face.

“Being the good guy and always doing the right thing gets you killed, Baize,” She said almost bitterly, looking away. Clearly there was more to her pessimistic view than she was letting on. It was always easier to keep the walls up.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

"Fuck. That."

he replied when she mentioned looking for ghosts. "You should go to my grandparent's old house one day. Its haunted as hell." he chuckled. Jonathen would constantly charge into near-death situations, but he didn't even like watching scary movies because they made him uneasy.

"I have seen what happens to planets that fall into disorder. What we do...its a good thing. The alternative is anarchy. Corporations own the rest of the Galaxy and bleed their people dry." he said. He wasn't about to say the Empire was perfect, but he did believe this was the best solution. At the same time, the rest of the galaxy pretended in democracy with one hand and sold their soul with the other. No, they were the good guys. Maybe people like Six had to blur that line sometimes, but in the end there was a net positive. He truly believed that.

"And you don't think the Empire is worth dying for?" he asked. They had all taken oaths to the Empire, even ISB agents. Maybe Jonathen just took his more seriously.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six scoffed, “I highly doubt that. Most ‘haunted’ places have electrical problems. You probably heard your parents getting cozy and thought it was a Clone Wars era spirit out for revenge,” She said with amusement coloring her tone.

She was silent for a long time after his question lingered in the air. She finished up her cigarra and there was nothing but the soft brush of wind and the distant sound of speeders. Her family had lived and died for the Empire many times over, and most of the time it had been at the whims of a Sith’s command.

Whatever this new Empire was, she knew it focused on its people. Every shady operation she conducted, every fight she fought, it was ultimately for the citizens. Exactly how it should have been all along. The wounds of the past threatened to open up, but she knew she couldn’t bring that baggage into this new regime.

“It is worth dying for,” She said at last.

Six straightened up and glanced over her shoulder, “Let’s get back to it. I hope that guy didn’t ruin your carpet by now.”

@Raydo