Desperate Times

[Keira Zale]

Keira was the acting Chancellor of the newly formed Republic for now until final changes were made. None of it was official just yet, so she was still the Senator of Tirahnn. Seeing her face and voice appear on Holonet everywhere was unnerving, and she felt way out of her element. She suddenly had to maintain a stronger social media presence and wipe anything questionable from when she was younger. Thankfully, the media hadn’t been able to dig up anything scandalous on her yet.

The Republic was barely beginning to be formed, and there were already several issues within what would be its jurisdiction. Ambria was a planet that was formerly Mandalorian, but the Senate and the people decided to move into the Republic. This also meant that the Republic inherited all the problems that the planet had before, and she was more obligated to get involved.

The Senator had been worried about a high profile terrorist for some time now, and there was a hostage situation now that was being reported across the planet. The Senator felt helpless in how to manage the problem and had called Keira for assistance.

That’s how she found herself on the desert planet in an office building next to a sweating and nervous Senator. She tried to reassure him that everything was going to be okay, but he looked more than a little rattled.

“I called the Mandalorians for help,” He finally admitted. Keira’s eyebrows rose in surprise and alarm.

“This man is a suspected rogue Mandalorian, Chan-..Senator!” He sputtered, “Our people are not equipped to handle anyone that can fight like a Mandalorian and we can't afford civilian losses!” He was avoiding eye contact with her, “A War Councilor is arriving within the hour. It is in our best interest to try and maintain peace with them. They are probably not too thrilled I had Ambria secede.”

Keira remained silent for a long time, biting on the inside of her lip. After a moment, she simply nodded, “Very well, we will see where this goes.”


@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

The ship cycled down its engines letting the components audibly cool. The loading ramp descended and with it came several sets of boots. Half a dozen beings walked in from the landing space towards the control center for the hostage situation. Each of them was clad in black. At the front was a warrior with a grey hand print painted on his chest piece and jaig eyes atop his helm.

Some of the people stiffened at seeing them. Not only were times tense since Mand'alor the Crusader had outright declared war on the Jedi but this planet in particular had some conflict with the Mandalorian people. That was not why Koil was here. There was a hostage situation that had brought him to the planet to meet with the representatives of the Republic. The fact that there was also a hostage situation involving dar'manda probably added to the stress of the situation.

The Silent Badger was not the type of person to worry greatly about politics. His retinue accompanied him into the room where the resolution to this issue was being planned. "Ah, they're here." The Senator of Ambria said with a hint of relief on his face. Koil of course just stared back at him even as the Senator approached.

The Echani was in his full beskar'gam and war fighting equipment as was his team. They were here prepared to fight a fearsome enemy after all. People that had used to be their own kind. "Have they made contact yet, demands?" He got straight to the point. He wanted to know the tactical situation before anything else.

Beyond the senator, he saw Keira. Koil's expression underneath his helmet turned into one of curiosity and then to surprise as he recognized the woman. Her face had been on plenty of Holo-net broadcasts since he had last seen her in person on Vatol. "Keir-..." He stopped himself knowing that first names might not be appropriate. "Senator Zale. I didn't know you would be here." The senator of Ambria looked behind himself towards Keira and then back at Koil. "Do you two know each other?"

Koil did not respond to the question. It was because he did not know how to appropriately answer it mostly. "The demands, Senator." He was trying to stay on task. They had a hostage situation on their hands. One of the local law enforcement officers that had been in charge up until now answered Koil. "Nothing yet. All commlink connections are diverted towards us so once they want to talk we'll hear them." Koil nodded and entered the room completely to approach the planning table with holo-projector. "Make airspace restricted for the next twenty kilometers. Monitor scanners and let me know if any ships start heading towards this sector. Do we have a visual on him right now?" The other mandalorians in his retinue knew where to move and would begin delegating responsibilities to some of the republic associates. Koil's helmet turned to look towards Keira wondering if she had known he was going to be here or if she had been ignorant like he had.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

As soon as the War Councilor entered, Keira knew who it was. She froze, her demeanor slightly stiff as she recognized him. She hated how they parted last, the guilt having weighed on her for some time. Keira hadn’t expected to run into him, but that was foolish. He was quite possibly the most decorate and high profile Mandalorian next to the Mand’alor himself. With her being the new Chancellor, it was very likely their paths would cross again.

Keira looked at him while trying to keep her face expressionless. In the end, she gave up and gave him a small smile, “War Councilor Solus,” She said in turn, not missing him almost slipping and mentioning her name. Keira felt the guilt return all over again, weighing on her chest as she gazed upon him. He hadn’t done anything wrong in that particular setting and she hadn’t even bothered with a goodbye.

Thankfully, he cut to the chase when the Senator curiously asked about how they knew one another. The man still looked between Keira and Koil, suspicion clear on his face. However, he quickly focused back on the task at hand, grimacing as the officer answered.

He shook his head as Koil asked if they had visual, “We have officers on the scene. It’s a shop packed full of people so we’re unable to do anything just yet. We don’t have visual on him in specific but we estimate there are at least 30 hostages. There are children in there.”

Keira sighed, thinking about how terrified everyone must have been. She had been on the receiving end of a hostage situation, and she shot a quick glance up at Koil. She had to put that behind her - he had called off the attacks and she couldn’t hold it against him forever.

Suddenly the open comms line began to crackle as a voice came through, “I need a ship off this planet,” It cut in and out, the voice gruff and angry, “With no one following me as I leave. Provide this for me or I start killing someone every hour. These are my demands.”

@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

At least she acknowledged him. It could be worse. Though I don't know why. Koil was still unsure of why she had bolted when they had last seen each other. But he got the vibe that asking might get some answers that he might not want to hear. Then again, Koil partially wanted answers regardless of the truth. The truth was important either way and whether or not it was said outloud it was still the truth.

Koil was a professional man and valued his reputation along with integrity. So for the time being he tried to seem like his mind was completely on the situation. Getting answers from the local senator made the War Councilor turn to a supercommando. <"I was surveillance drones watching every direction of the building. Don't get too close with them. I don't want him to get spooked."> They had brought some of their own equipment along just in case the locals were lacking in hardware.

Seeming non-threatening while entirely intended to cause harm to another was no an easy thing to do. If someone had asked him to be a hostage negotiator he would have first suggested someone else. His eyes looked toward Keira. She had a more delicate and diplomatic touch than he did. Then again, this was a dar'manda they were dealing with. "Is it just the dar'manda or are there more with him? Any idea of what kind of weaponry they have?" One of the marauders shouldered one of the local law enforcement officers aside and began pulling up the three dimensional blueprints of the area and marking points where local law enforcement were set up and covering. This was probably less of a gentle hand off to the Mandalorians than Ambria's senator had intended.

When he heard the communication pick up Koil looked towards it. His helmet purposefully turned to center on Keira to see if she wanted to answer, but seeing as she made no move he picked up the connection. "We can certainly do that. To get you what you want though I need to know what kind of ship you want. Also do you mind if I ask who I am speaking to?" Koil wanted to know if the man planned on taking all the hostages or just a few. The way he spoke he also intended for the Dar'manda to think he was the one in control. That was key. Asking who he was, not knowing what kind of ship he had. All those details were the kind of truth he was about to unveil without the criminal even knowing.

Disconnecting the link with the hostage taker he turned to the local law enforcement officer who he had talked to earlier. "Get me a list of local impounded vehicles. Find me something with smuggling compartments. I don't want any wireless communications with your officers. Try to keep radio silence. If they have a bomb I don't want it getting triggered by someone calling for donuts." He was beginning to think of contingencies. The man nodded and headed off to get the information from the database. While he waited for a response his head turned to look at the shop holo-projected in front of all of them.

How would I take hostages? Well I'd do a lot better job than this. But what is he after? Why take hostages? For Ambria to return to mandalorian territory? That's not going to happen. Technically the Silent had taken hostages

Sighing while he waited for the criminal to reply he was probably taking his time as a power move. Koil looked towards Keira."All things considered Senator Zale, you look like you're doing well. Er, should I call you Chancellor?" It was a stressful time and with her busy schedule she already had plenty going on. But that did not mean he could not try to be civil. I've had bomb disposals go easier than trying to figure out what a woman was thinking. Maybe after all this he would ask his sister what to do. She usually had good advice, usually.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

Keira watched, more than a little impressed, as Koil took command of the situation. He was entirely unfazed by the senator that was profusely sweating and having a panic attack. She didn’t intervene just yet, watching the scene play out as Koil gave orders and directions and asked questioned.

“He has a following of people,” The Senator practically squeaked, “They are terrorists that have been causing problems on Ambria for years. They were able to get away with a lot because um..” He paused and cleared his throat, dabbing some sweat away with a handkerchief, “Because they felt safe under Mandalorian rule. It was a while before his crimes went up to your folks and he was labeled...dar...something.”

Keira’s eyebrows rose, “So he is doing this to get him and his comrades off so he can avoid coming under the Republic’s law?”

“That’s exactly why I think he’s striking now,” He avoided looking at Koil, knowing he was disparaging people that once associated with being Mandalorian.

Keira looked up when Koil addressed her. She looked surprised at his quick shifting of gears of going from commanding the situation to casual small talk. She couldn’t help but chuckle softly, “That’s good, because I feel like I’m underwater a lot,” She smiled at him, “It’s...it’s good to see you again,” She said softly, meeting his gaze where she guessed his eyes to be. If given the chance, she decided she would come clean about her reason for running off.

“I don’t give a shit what kind of ship as long as it’s mine from here on out and can accommodate at least twenty others,” The man responded gruffly, interrupting the smalltalk, “And you don’t need to know who I am. Give me what I want and nobody gets hurt.”

“Twenty?!” The Senator squealed out of earshot of the terrorist, “He has twenty people?!”

 

[Koil Solus]

"-manda." He finished the senators sentence. "He is a dar'manda." Koil practically growled the term considering it was used to associate the worst kinds of Mandalorians. They were no longer members of the community. Shunning and living a life of honorless isolation among aruetiise was usually the best a dar'manda could get. Some considered it worse than death.

Koil was not sure if he agreed with their guess at the man's motivation. His mind was not considering any unintentional insults. The War Councilor had been called plenty in his time and as far as Mandalorians went he did not let people's opinions get the best of him. Instead he found it better to solve the problem at hand. "Why not just get a ship to smuggle his crew off? They could steal a ship and fly to some place distant, away from Republic jurisdiction. There's no need for all this risk. Is there any history or records on the rest of his associates. Bomb making, slicing, past offenses, that kind of thing?" Either there was something else going on or the dar'manda was a di'kut along with the rest of his crew.

When Keira responded with a sense of warmth that eased him further from stress. A smile came across his hidden face for a moment. Unfortunatly it did not last thanks to the Dar'manda's voice coming over the communication link again. Koil ignored the worried senator. It was no surprise to Koil. He doubted there were twenty of these terrorists. "Alright. We can get that for you but most ships we can get for you can only hold half that or less. We have a ship coming and it will take some time." The law enforcement officer was still working on getting him a list of the ships available. Muting himself he addressed the man. "Smuggling compartments, enough space for twenty people. That should narrow down the list quite a bit." The man went to do one final check.

The Echani's body turned back to face the holographic blueprint and address the senators along with everyone else present at the projector. "I doubt he means twenty of his buddies. They'll want to take hostages with them when they go off planet, just in case we follow." They would probably kill them afterwards too. Death by airlock ejection. But he did not mention the gruesome possibilities to the more squeamish audience. Koil wanted more than just the hostages and the Dar'manda to stay calm. He needed those present to keep a cool head too.

"There's a chance they won't be taking twenty people. They might have some other cargo they are moving. Something they can only take with a ship capable of carrying large cargo." After a pause he took a deep breath and sighed, still frustrated of how many unknown factors there were. <"Where's my visual?"> He asked the supercommando in charge of getting the survelience drones into place. <"Ready in ten Alor."> Koil murmured approval, glad they would have more answers soon. He had a lot of patience compared to most. But that did not mean he liked it any more than the next person.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

Keira didn’t know how ‘dar’manda’ operated. Actually she wasn’t sure how big time terrorists like this operated. She was way out of her element here, especially since she just came into a role that had to deal with such things. Koil, on the other hand, seemed like this was all a walk in the park for him. How many times had he faced situations like these?

When Koil began to theorize about the man’s real intent and taking hostages, the Senator began to wheeze and cough, “WHAT?” He screamed at the top of his lungs, “Why are you meeting his demands then? Why are we getting him a ship?!”

Keira’s eyes went wide as she watched the Senator lose it, “I brought you here so you’d go out there and smoke him out! You’re trained soldiers and you can vaporize him with your weapons and jetpacks and rockets and biscuit'gum or whatever you people wear!” He screamed hysterically, “He is going to start-”

“It can’t take some time,” The voice of the terrorist came through, “I will start offing people one by one so you comprehend the sense of urgency,” The line cut off again.

“SEE?!” The Senator shrieked, throwing his arms up and coming close to Koil so he was only a few inches away, “I need aggressive pushback, War Councilor! I need to see actions! We don’t deal with terrorists! We have to go save those hostages now! Do something!”

Keira knew the man was getting into dangerous territory. She couldn’t imagine a positive outcome from being up close and personal in Koil’s personal bubble, “Senator, I think we should take a step back and-”

“I DON’T HAVE TIME TO LISTEN TO A CHILD RIGHT NOW!” He exploded, turning to look at her, “No offense, but you only became our Chancellor because you were the first to come up with the bright idea of a Republic, and I’m happy to support you, but you have no idea how to deal with this, which is why I asked HIM,” He jabbed a finger into Koil’s chest, “TO COME HERE!”

Keira remained silent, knowing this wasn’t going to end well.

 

[Koil Solus]

Even as the Senator spoke Koil had still carried on. Even when he got close the War Councilor practically treated him like he was on mute and invisible. The Dar'manda's threat got more acknowledgement than the senator's hysterics. It was not good when the hostage taker said that. The criminal did not even wait for a response before the link was cut.

The senator got very close and in response Koil slowly rose from his hunch position in front of the projector. His body turned to face the senator, silently watching him even as the Silent Badger could have sworn some of his panicked spittle hit his armor. The Echani listened to it all. Even his Supercommando looked towards Keira when she began to protest but was interrupted.

When Koil finally spoke it calm and even in tone as if this were a smooth business meeting where he had to explain an algorithm to some department head. "Senator, I have something to say and I advise you listen to me without saying a word so I can be confident you hear me." The voice was not aggressive but he fully intended the context of his words to convey his meaning.

"The reason we are here is because you couldn't hack it. If you think you can do a better job we'll leave right now. In fact we won't even charge you or ask for anything in return." This was his job and the senator was getting in the way. The sooner he realized he was back seat driving the better. "I like to keep things professional when on the job. Right now I don't feel like you are being very professional to me or to any of my associates. I'm trying to... His helmet turned towards his supercommando. <"what's the phrase in basic?"> In mando'a there was a phrase cin vehtin that meant white snow and fresh beginnings. But the senator probably would not get it if Koil used the literal translation. "...turn over a new leaf. So, in spirit of that I'll give you a second chance."

Koil reached up and brushed the part of his armor that the man had touched with his finger as if it had dirtied the ash colored hand print. "The way that we get these hostages out safe is for all of us to remain calm. We remain calm, we remain in control. If you want me to give you aggressive action...I'll show you aggressive action. I can start by showing you how many bones you have in your hand and just how easily they break. That's what I'll do the next time you lay a hand on me." A pause was left to let that sink in as well as give the senator a chance to dig himself a deeper hole by protesting.

"Unless you have anything else to add I believe you should allow my people and I to do what we came here to do, at your request.... His head turned slightly to look over his shoulder at Keira. "I also think you should give the Chancellor an apology. Though we can always continue saving your constituents without you present. I'm sure they won't blame your absence from the emergency room." The Silent Badger had given the Senator a chance to rethink his actions. Koil tended to not give people second chances, not without consequences first. There was tension in the air and it seemed everyone was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

Keira almost wanted to close her eyes to avoid seeing Koil deck the Senator in the face. However, when he began to speak, he had her attention once more. Despite the Senator losing his cool and jabbing him in the chest, the Mandalorian kept his composure. She mentally chided herself for once again thinking all Mandalorians operated a certain way. With the recent declarations and the rough actions she had seen before, Koil continued to surprise her.

By the time he began to describe in detail what he can do to the Senator, Keira had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. The delivery was flawless, and it had the intended effect of making the man go extremely silent. He stepped back and even reached up to wipe off the spittle from Koil’s armor. He looked ashamed, defeated and above all - terrified. Keira was worried he would soil himself.

When Koil reminded him to apologize to her, she was about to say something, but stepped back from it. She had her eyes on him the entire time, not bothering to hide the respect and admiration silently there. He was truly his own person and didn’t fit any kind of mold or stereotype she had been trying to plug him into.

There was nothing but silence in the room after he finished speaking. The Senator shifted uncomfortably and whimpered and said some unintelligible things that sounded like an apology. Keira cleared her throat and looked back at Koil.

“The terrorist won’t negotiate on the time,” She said to break the silence, concerned about the deaths of hostiles, “Is there any way we can try to get the hostages out safely?”

“We have visual, Alor,” A voice came in - though Keira wouldn’t understand the Mando’a. Within moments, he would have the desired feed - a panoramic shot of the complex and the glass windows. Once one got close, he would be able to see a man inside that was wearing beskar’gam that was rather old and broken in places. He had blasters in each hand, along with hostages all on the ground around him. He had about five others patrolling around him, though curiously they looked more like hired mercenaries than Mandalorians.

Did this mean his people were elsewhere doing something far more sinister?

 

[Koil Solus]

Pleased that the man seemed to still have the sensibilities to see reason, to a degree, Koil left the senator alone after he back down. He returned to thinking about the Dar'manda and the hostage situation. It took him a moment to stop thinking about bruising the Senator's ego on principle. What a piece of-

Keira's words brought his mind into focus again. Koil nodded knowing she was right. Anything less than a ship soon risked the hostages lives. "I want each of the terrorists kept tabs on. If you lose visual on any of them I want to know. They might have some of the criminals in with the hostages." Whether they had slipped them in after the initial lock down or had been masquerading as civilians from the get go was not for certain.

"um..Mister...War Councilor sir..." The law enforcement officer who had been in charge of getting the list of ships together came forward. The threats from Koil had probably made him a little hesitant to approach even though the armored man had not made spoken them towards the police officer. "Here's the list of ships." Koil took them and scrolled through the vehicles. Just like had asked there were several ships with smuggling compartments and able to carry twenty people. He tried looking at them from the eye of the Dar'manda to see which would make him less prone to killing off a hostage. Finally Koil selected a ED 3 stargull . "This will do. Let's get that ship here as soon as possible."

Turning back to the rest present he would explain why he had asked for that ship. "Right now they have thirty hostages, give or take. Some of the hostages might even be terrorists in disguise. They'll board the ship but my people and I will be in the smuggling compartments. Our scatterweave will also keep us hidden from scans. Once they take off we'll leave the compartments and take out the terrorists." It was skipping over a lot of the details but there was not exactly a lot of time to go over everything.

"We can do that...or..." His helmet turned towards Keira as he left his sentence open with a pause. "We can breach their current location and try to take them out before they get to the ship." The dar'manda and his terrorists were dug in and had the home field advantage. Not seeing all twenty alleged terrorists was a concern for the War Councilor. That number could be a total lie in the first place. They could have more or less. It was a gamble but doing nothing was even worse. This was not a Mandalorian planet and these were not innocent Mand'ade lives at steak. "It's your call, Chancellor." If she was really going to be the leader of this new Republic then Keira would have to get used to making tough calls. Koil knew all too well how heavy this kind of responsibility weighed.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

Keira was more than shocked when he put the decision on her. The Senator in the room was completely forgotten, and he whimpered silently in the background. He was feeling left out, but he wasn’t about to question the Mandalorian that was close to tearing him apart. Koil turned towards her, and she could just imagine those red eyes looking her way. She had only seen one of them, but it was enough to let her guess at what he must have looked like.

She was silent for a moment, thinking over the different options. After a while, she sighed and met his gaze again, “Breaching their current location risks the terrorists shooting abruptly to kill the hostages. The first option risks you and your people while you have an aircraft in mid-air.”

Neither of the options sounded ideal, but she knew Koil knew what he was doing. Out of everyone here, he was the only person that was completely sure of what he was and his capabilities. Keira had more faith in him than she had in herself at this point, and that was a tough pill to swallow.

“I think the correct course of action is to board the ship,” Keira said at last. She didn’t like the answer, and the reasons were surprising even to her. She was chewing lightly on her lip and she gazed at him, allowing it to linger for a moment, “Please….please be careful,” There was a genuine hint of pleading in her voice.

@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

She did not answer him immediately. To Koil that was a good sign. It meant she knew what she was deciding on. The fact that she mention his Mandalorians along with himself made him raise his eyebrows a little. The Echani should not be surprised though. Keira had shown concern for his people before. That was why she had first come to Mandalore after the the Empire had wrought devastation. It was also why he was so intrigued by her.

When she decided the man nodded simply. Keira had to know that he had confidence in her decision. Koil had not asked her as some test or with the intent of deciding regardless of her choice. What did strike him as a surprise was the way she specifically asked for him to be cautious. It sounded like it was more personal towards him and him alone. Don't make promises you can't keep. Things could still go sideways. That was the uncertainty he had every day.

Will today be my last? It was a thought the man had every morning and sometimes, though he would not admit it, he would not be all that unhappy with death. But today, on this mission, he was going to do everything in his power to come back alive and return victorious. A sense of motivation that the War Councilor had not felt for a long time returned to him. For now he could only come up with the his best attempt at reassurance. "Of course. You owe me for last time after all. Just make sure we don't get blown out of the sky." If he had his helmet off he would have probably winked.

Turning to his subordinates the supercommando would remain. His second in command for this operation had to keep an eye on the overall operation and keep them updated from the outside just in case. Keira would keep control over the situation though and be responsible for updating them of any new developments.

The ship came in outside of the control center. Koil and five others were all that would be able to fit into the small smuggling compartments of the ship with their gear. The Mandalorian left his carbine and sword since the tight confines of the ship would make them less than ideal. In addition he even stripped himself of some additional munitions to the point that he only had a single reload for each of his weapons. If he had to the Echani would fight in hand to hand or scavenge weapons from the terrorists. But he doubted it would come to that. If everything went as planned then the ship would be touching down safe and sound.

A single pilot droid was in charge of taking the ship to the actual shop. It would not know that it had stowaways in the smuggling compartment though. Chances were the Dar'manda and his terrorist troupe would blast it anyways. It felt like he was in a coffin as he waited inside the smuggling compartment. Now, he just had to wait. Koil did not turn on a light in the enclosed space. His hand held onto a single throwing knife while the other gripped one of his quickdraws. In the event they found the smuggling compartment, or if he needed to jump out, he wanted to be ready. If I get through this it will be a pretty decent story.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

As he mentioned the last time they had met, it was the first time it was addressed. Keira felt her face warm up instantly, and she couldn’t stop the red from tinging her cheeks. Guilt rushed through her, and she was frozen in place. She could practically hear the smile in his voice as he spoke before turning to leave. Keira was left staring after him, feeling like an ass.

It took her a moment to snap back to reality, thinking about the gravity of the situation. He was effectively placing the lives of his comrades and himself in her hands. She had to rapidly act on the situation, and she walked towards the comms line.

The Senator shifted and moved to block her path, “Look, as the Senator of this planet, I believe that I am far more qua-”

“Senator,” Keira said quietly without looking at him, “After what transpired in here, do you think it’s your voice or mine that he wants to hear and know is overseeing this operation?”

“I-”

The Supercommando in the room casually adjusted his weapon audibly. The Senator squeaked and piped down. Keira said nothing more, looking to the visual feed they had with the drones. She stepped forth as she saw the ship arrive on sight.

“The ship is on the scene,” She spoke into the comms, “The officers have been told to stand down. You are free to board with your party.”

“Who the hell are you?” The voice crackled on the other line. Keira didn’t respond, and the drones picked up one of the henchmen coming towards the window to confirm the ship. She observed the feed, the drones discreetly positioned so the people inside weren’t aware that they were being watched. From the feed, it looked like they picked up a man in a suit and hastily began to put some armor on him.

Keira switched to the line directly to Koil, “They’re disguising a hostage as one of their own. They’re going to walk out as if they’re not taking anyone and then use the hostage as a bargaining chip once in air.”

She began to worry about the situation as the mercenaries boarded the ship. The hostage in disguise was clearly told what would happen if they were obvious, and he marched in line with the rest of them. Keira didn’t react, playing along as if she hadn’t seen anything. After everyone was onboard, the ramp closed.

Inside the ship, Koil would hear the hostage beginning to plead and bargain, followed with a quick thwack as he was hit over the head. This was followed by footsteps towards the cockpit where the pilot droid was shot in the head. One of their own quickly took command, punching in coordinates to leave at once.

“Be safe, Koi- War Councilor,” She said quietly, barely above a whisper as she watched the ship beginning to rise off the ground.

 

[Koil Solus]

The sound of his commlink going from silent to active made his eyes shift in the darkness. There was nothing to look at. Koil could not even see his hand in front of his face if he wanted to. All he could do was feel. Hearing Keira's voice come over the channel eased his tension for the moment.

He did not reply immediately. Koil's mind still was thinking about the different possabilties. The possible hostage could be a double bluff. But it was the kind of play that was one he did not want to risk calling. Either his supercommando or Keira would have updated him if there had been twenty actual terrorists. It had probably been a lie from the Dar'manda to keep him and the local law enforcement paranoid, wasting efforts looking for an enemy that was not there.

Without sight all he could do was feel and listen. The motion of the ship as it had settled, the gentle thrum of the engines when they had been active, the subtle foot steps on the few centimeters of floor that separated him and the terrorists. His warriors knew not to move until either their hand was forced or he gave the signal. "See you soon." He replied and cut the feed.

He felt his equilibrium change as the vessel lifted off. <"One possible civilian on board. Move on my signal"> His voice a whisper even as he heard the brutalizing of the civilian. <"Three"> A few broken bones and some stitches were a small price to pay for the man's life. <"Two"> his fingers opened around the grips of his weapons before coming back around and tightening. <"One">

Simultaneously all of the smuggling compartments built into the floor of the ship lifted. The dark, light absorbing armor of the half dozen Mandalorians rose like the shadows of monsters. The ship was large and the voices of the terrorists could be heard. No enemies in sight, yet.

Each of them set the floor boards to the side quietly while covering their sectors. The War Councilor had trained them specifically to work in silence. He wanted them to know one another so that each of them were a finger and together they made the fist that would strike their enemies without a word.

Two teams of three covering each end of the hall moved. Koil's knife hand moved to steady his blaster, the blade edge pointed forward. One of the terrorists came around the corner. "This time tomorrow I'll have one in each hand. Hahaha." His cocky tone not realizing there was one of the galaxy's deadliest men a few meters away. Koil grabbed him from, wrapping his blaster arm around his neck in a strangle hold to keep him from crying out as his left rammed his blade inbetween his ribs, piercing his heart. The Silent Badger kept a tight grip, not to keep him from being crying out. The dying terrorist's body had suddenly lost the strength to stand and his body falling would have caused too much noise for the War Councilor's liking.

One by one, each of the terrorists were eliminated. "Secured the hostage." came the voice of one of his commandos. They were using only short range helmet to helmet communications. Anything larger and the man knew they risked some kind of detection. It would take a minute or two for the ship to exit the planet's atmosphere. It was not a lot of time.

They had yet to take the cockpit. Ahead of him one of his men advanced. There were still two terrorists and the dar'manda unaccounted for but he knew where they were by process of elimination. From the cockpit, facing them, was one of the criminals. "What the hell hap-" Scatterweave did not do much when standing directly in front of an enemy. The terrorist muttered a curse and raised his rifle. A blaster shot flew through the air, hitting the marauder in front of Koil. No The marauder fell back from the impact. The struck manadalorian still managed to get a shot off taking the terrorist down too.

Koil moved as fast as he could to get a clear shot. There was still one terrorist and the Dar'manda. His finger pulled the trigger sending two bolts into the criminal behind the first one. But he did not fall. His body was limp but he remained upright. Behind him Koil saw the dar'manda standing. He's using the corpse as a shield! The War Councilor had a shield of his own. His left forearm coming up in time to catch the first and second blaster bolt from the ring leader of this whole thing. Boots moved in front of one another. The only way was forward.

The mass of the mandalorian slammed into the corpse and in turn the Dar'manda. He probably was cursing at Koil but he was not listening for insults. The vibro-blade slammed into the arm of the dar'manda and exited the other side, pinning it to the wall beside him. The corpse of the terrorist he had been holding dropped now that the criminal. Koil realized the once-mandalorian had probably a dozen or more pounds of natural weight on him but he did not care. He stuck the muzzle of his blaster into his stomach and pulled the trigger three times. It was overkill. But he was happy to give the man a death three times over.

The body slumped, its right arm still pinned to the wall. In the following moments Koil stopped the ship. One of his marauders moving past him and taking over. Another was taking care of the wounded comrade. The War Councilor finally reestablished connection with Keira and the command center, he did not even try to mask his panting breath. "Vessel secure. We're heading back." After that he would make sure his people were fine. Hopefully there were no other surprises.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

Keira waited with bated breath as Koil and his team got to work. The comms went radio silent for a while, and she watched the ship disappear into the sky. She began to pace back and forth, wondering exactly what was happening aboard the ship. She was yanked from her thoughts when the Senator spoke again.

“This was a dumb idea!” He yelled, “Look at what happened! That ship disappeared up there! That War Councilor was probably in league with the terrorist! And now we let them all go! And they had a hostage with them! Look what you did!”

Keira did not respond, clutching the comlink in her hands till her knuckles were white. As the Senator kept screaming, she exhaled and rose to stand. She didn’t hesitate as she closed the distance between them, reached her hand out and slapped him directly across the face. He looked stunned, reaching up to touch his face.

“You need to shut the hell up, Senator,” Keira said sternly, “You have shown your incompetence time and time again, and after this is resolved I will see to it that you are removed. And go ahead and threaten to stay Mandalorian, because I assure you they will opt for the same. If I were you, I’d keep my mouth shut and sit down.”

The Supercommando had been inching closer, but he came to a dead stop when he saw Keira speak up. The Senator’s eyes were wide enough to almost pop out of their sockets, and he meekly stepped back and took a seat, still with a hand on his cheek.

Keira jerked up as Koil’s voice came through. She heard him, and she could hear his voice was grim, “Okay, see you soon,” Was all she said, but she was more than worried. Keira quickly left the room and made her way with the Supercommando towards the landing bay where the ship was returning.

She spotted the ship after it landed, walking towards it as the exit ramp lowered. She saw a few Mandalorians come out, and she saw one of them sporting an injury. Keira’s eyes widened in fear, though she saw the hostage coming out alive and afraid. Koil was the last to emerge, and she rushed towards him.

“You’re all right,” She said, looking behind him, “I’m assuming you had to kill him,” She said quietly. She despised bloodshed, but sometimes it was necessary. This also meant they wouldn’t be able to question him. Keira looked back at Koil, “Thank you..” The words were so hollow for someone having risked their life, “I-I’m glad you’re okay.”

 

[Koil Solus]

Bit by bit the man's heart beat had returned to normal. The exhilartion had past and stench of death seemed to permeat the interior of the ship. After he had made sure his squad members were safe he had sat down in one of the passenger seats of the ship. A meter away he stared at the body of the dar'manda. The top few centimeters of the compartment held hints of smoke from the blaster discharges.

Koil only noticed the ship landed because of the jolt it sent through the frame of the vessel. He got up, pulling the knife from the bulkhead where it had been lodged. Afterwards he followed the others out of the ship. Wiping the blood from his blade like some dirt had collected on the weapon he resheathed it among the rest of his weaponry.

This was the first time he had killed a dar'manda he had actually exchanged words with. Koil looked over his shoulder, wondering if he should look at the face of the dead man in the cockpit of the ship. The man stopped contemplating the act when he heard Keira's voice. His head turned to look at her. "Yeah." He confirmed his violent actions. While Koil wished it could have happened differently he also knew that if he had been put in the same situation the result would have been the same. Perhaps the only change would be that he would have been killed, or worse, one of his people.

What surprised him next was the fact that she thanked him. Only the most brutal of clients had thanked him for killing someone before and even then it was usually said with a sense of irony. But for Keira he doubted she was thanking for ending another person's life. Instead she probably meant to thank him for rescuing the hostage.

When he got close he brought his left hand up and gripped her upper right arm. Koil was not sure why he did it at first. Perhaps he wanted to make sure she did not enter the ship and see the kind of violence that had been perpetrated. Another part of him just wanted to pull himself from his own combative mind. "The other hostages, they're alright?" His gloved hand eased up and released her arm knowing it was unwarranted physical contact. "Sorry. How are you?" For some reason it felt like they had not talked for hours. The War Councilor knew how agonizing waiting could be. They had both probably felt every second tick past until this moment. Koil's mind was tired but that was just from coming down on the adrenaline rush. In a few hours he would be back to normal.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

Keira was indeed about to go towards the ship, but Koil put a hand on her shoulder to stop what she was doing. She stopped in her tracks, gazing up at him curiously. She was closer to him now, and found it a little unnerving. He always cut an imposing figure, and that was even more pronounced when he was this close. He pulled back shortly after, and she didn’t move from where she was.

“Yes, the hostages are shaken, but they are okay,” Keira said to finally break the silence. She glanced back and saw that they had all been escorted out and were going to be taken to counseling for those that needed it. She turned back to look at Koil, thinking about the soldier that was injured. From the looks of it, he would make a recovery, but it was still unfortunate to see an injury.

Keira stepped away from the ship, expecting Koil to walk with her as locals began to clear up the scene, “We don’t know how big his ring is,” She said quietly, “I fear he may have several different operations across the planet. We’ll have to keep an eye on things,” Keira looked at him again, “Would it….be possible for some of your people to be stationed here at least temporarily?”

For all she knew, he could tell her to kriff off. This was going to be a Republic planet, and he had no obligation to help whatsoever. Keira looked down at her feet as she walked, “I know it’s asking a lot and you certainly don’t owe me anything...in fact, I’m the one indebted to you now for helping us handle this.”

 

[Koil Solus]

It had probably sounded like an afterthought, Koil asking how Keira was doing. She did not even answer but then again she was more focused on the others. The man did not press her, though it had not gone unnoticed. Koil nodded hearing that all the hostages were taken care of. No other surprises had come which confirmed that the mandalorians had taken care of the immediate group of criminals.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the dar'manda was just using them for his own ends. With him gone they'll fracture." Though that did not mean they were not a threat still. They just would not have direction. "Will I have to deal with him?" His chin jutted in the direction of the Senator that had learned his place recently.He had come out from the command center to see the hostages were more or less alright despite everything. The politician looked a little bit better though that was probably the relief from seeing nobody had been killed. His eyes looked toward Koil who's visor was centered on him. The senator quickly realized he was staring back at the man that had been right from the get go and he was even more certain that his earlier actions had been more foolish than he had even realized.

Keira mentioned the formerly hysterical politician being removed but Koil had not been there for that. The War Councilor was less inclined to put his people on a planet with such a bothersome individual especially after his embarrassing performance so far. "I'll see what I can do." There was a meeting with the rest of the War Council soon. He would bring it up then to see how the Mand'alor felt about it along with Narir and Drace.

Taking a deep breath he felt his head clearing with every passing moment. "I could really use some food or a drink. Mostly a drink." He had a flask of alcohol but it was not exactly what he had in mind. Koil just wanted to sit down and relax after all that had happened. "Buy me a drink and we can talk about whatever you want." If it was business she wanted to talk about that was fine. So was something more casual. Even silence was fine. At that moment he just knew he wanted to have a seat, a drink in hand, and the company of Keira. Still, he would not be surprised if she turned him down. Koil could not blame her considering they had just avoided a tragedy.

@Sreeya

 

[Keira Zale]

Keira followed his line of sight as they both looked at the Senator. The man looked down immediately, his face turning a deep shade of purple. Keira couldn’t help but smile, “No, I don’t think he’ll be any problem for you. I’m surprised he didn’t have an accident when you were talking to him,” She couldn’t help but chuckle, looking back at Koil and quirking an eyebrow, “You can be pretty scary when you want, you know. I wish I knew that trick.”

As Chancellor, she could think of a few cases where she needed to be more stern, but it often didn’t come across. She had an uphill battle when it came to having people take her seriously, but she was slowly taking steps towards it. As he made his suggestion, Keira didn’t shy away from it, but she actually smiled in return.

“I owe you that at the bare minimum,” She agreed, recalling especially the abruptly way she had left last time. Keira called up her driver, and a speeder pulled up shortly after. She motioned for Koil to join her, and she suggested a place to go. Like him, she was wanting to put the terrifying events behind her, especially as no hostage lives were lost.

The speeder pulled up next to a rather small and cozy bistro that was locally operated. Keira got out of the speeder and led the way in, greeted by the owners that were an old couple that ran the place for decades. They smiled at her and looked at Koil with curiosity. The Chancellor and a War Councilor were probably the two most important figures the little restaurant ever had.

They were led to a table near the back, and Keira took a seat across from Koil. Right away, she ordered herself a cocktail, looking over at Koil, “This place is a ma and pa shop that serves about four dishes total. Anything you find here is fantastic,” Keira offered a smile, “You offered me home cooked food, and I think this is the closest I can get. My cooking skills are pretty abysmal,” She admitted.

Her demeanor was a lot more relaxed than the last time they were around one another. Keira began to realize it was because she saw him in action enough to judge that he was truly not a bad man. She didn’t know what media or tabloids would make of them meeting like this, but she pushed the thought from her mind.

Keira’s immediate thought was to talk about Republic and Mandalorians and how she planned to work towards an agreeable coexistence. However, as she looked at him, she decided she didn’t want to talk about anything remotely work related, “I didn’t know you’d be here when I arrived,” She paused for a moment, “But I’m….happy to see you again.”

@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

Part of me did want him to have and 'accident' Koil thought to himself after what Keira said about him. Koil thought that while he heard a tone of amusement in Keira's voice he also thought he detected some embaressment when she admitted he was right. Maybe guilt? She doesn't seem like the type who would be guilty of much. Guilt did not suit the woman, not in Koil's eyes.

A speeder came and the two of them took a short ride. It was weird for the Echani being driven by a civilian in a non-combat vehicle. The War Councilor enjoyed flying around on a swoop bike for fun or cruising on in his custom bident air speeder on Concord Dawn. But just riding in a small space while he was still armed to the teeth next to the elegant woman beside him felt strange.

When they came to a stop he looked around in a different manner. Koil had just not expected to be taken to a ma and pa's shop. It caused him to quirk a smile and give a few chuckles from the quaint surprise. When they sat down he took a moment his eyes lingered on a milkshake. It looked pretty tasty and certainly would be delicious but having an adult beverage was priority all things considered. The Silent Badger chose to get the same as Keira since he did not feel confident they would be able to serve nine out of ten things he would probably ask for. Most of their selection looked like it was local which actually made him curious about the cuisine. "...and a straw...please." He added, unsure if what his company had ordered came with one or not.

"Considering my cooking is alright at best I think we can call this even." He said dismissing her concern that he might be disappointing. That was far from the case. He had even remembered calling his own cooking just a little bit better than ration sticks anyways.

When Keira mentioned being surprised but still pleased by his arriving Koil could relate to it. He had not expected to see the Chancellor there. "Right back at you. I figured I had scared you off with my trick. Grrr" He jested, referencing her earlier comment in a lighter tone than normal.

Koil could would just sit there for another moment across from the woman. Think of something else to say. She must like some kind of sport or holonet show. Talk about that. Anything but work, or fighting, or anything like that. But as he tried to think of something to say the armored Echani just say there quietly, unintentionally reinforcing his reputation. "Sooo...have any siblings?"

@Sreeya