Ask Takes 2 To Tango

[Orenth]

Mission pack​

There was a sense of prevailing deja vu that came of Byron as he set eyes on Jalath. The town had once been visited by the Jedi when he was a padawan. The trip had been to secure a gozanti bulk transport and bring it back to the Order. He wondered if there was going to be as much waiting.

The Senator of Lothal of all people was joining him. The Mining Guild had thugs on their payroll that were, for all intents and purposes, legally securing the town via corporate espionage and general thuggery. Naturally it was appropriate for Byron to first reach out to the leading authority in the area. Contacting the Cal, Byron hoped to hear some good news on what could be used to help. The liberation of the town should be an interest to the man.

"So how should we approach this Senator. You represent these people. What kind of options do we have?" The Jedi Order understood when there were times for action. The Outer Rim bred a mentality out of necessity to survive and sometimes depending on who you asked, walked the line between what was civilized and what was not. Stealing two capital ships might be something the Senator did not even want to hear about. If that were the case, he had better think of ways to get P1 and P3 back and restored to their former status.

There was just going to be a few hitches in that plan. Now that Byron was in view of the town, albiet at a distance, he could see the Mining Guild had corporate backing and were going to be harder to remove. If the Senator wanted them removed forcefully then he had better call in any planetary defense forces he had. A third Sphyrna class Hammerhead sat settling along with the two original vessels belonging to the historical Phoenix Cell. What's more, there were guards in Mining Guild livery wearing trooper armor on patrol. The screams of two separate patrols of twin TIE fighters could be heard echoing in the distance before coming to park along with the corvettes. Under closer inspection they were also modified super TIE fighters. Hyperdrives, light shields and weapons to flinch at, it was not looking good. But that was why they were here. They need to keep it from getting worse.

"The good news is the crews have recently arrived and are settling in. They'll be eager to kick back." A pair of macrobinoculars were raised to his eyes and zoomed in on the three dimensional view of the service droids being harrassed as the pilots left their starfighters in search of drinks. Lowering the viewing tools he would let his companions take a look.

@Nor'baal @Cal Starros dice role: heavy opposition​

​

 

[Cal Starros]

His commlink beeped.

Senator Starros swept the device off of his belt and took the call. "Master Jedi, a pleasure as ever to hear from you. I think in this instance we need to be open with our intentions. Lothal is a proud planet, one able and willing to stand up for itself. Let's not forget these Mining Guild thugs are Lothalit..."

"Senator they're not."

"Please hold." Cal pressed the hold button and turned to his aid as his ship headed to the landing zone "Go on..."

"The workers are Lothalites Senator, but the guards are mostly offworlders, Tatooine and the surrounding worlds, according to their documentation."

Well that's helpful.

He turned the call back on and reopened the line "Offworlders. Tatooine thugs, most of whom have a dodgy work history and active criminal record. So urm, change of plan."

Cal quickly looked up the heavens and muttered something to himself.

"I'm going to get arrested, just - make sure you tell the planetary defence forces."

Signalling for the ship to be taken down, Cal was banking on getting detained, and the ensuing diplomatic incident, enabling them to seize the materials - by force.

 

[Orenth]

Byron heard the connection-pending end and Cal Starros's voice come through. A moment of hesitation and the Jedi was put on hold. Bryon's brow furrowed in a confused expression and looked around idly waiting. But the Senator's voice returned after a few seconds had passed.

The Jedi also heard the prayer to some deity the man believed in he thought. "You want me to tell them?" The Jedi tensed up as he was getting the sense that something was going to go wild sooner than he expected and out of no fault of his own making. "Are you sure, Senator?" The Jedi wanted to make sure he meant him and not his aid or someone else. The knight looked over his shoulders too just to be sure there was nobody there.

@Nor'baal

 

[Cal Starros]

"Trust me -" he replied back over the commlink "- I'm a Senator."[/colo] as if that was somehow meant to be a reassurance to the man. He was committed to his plan, a risky one, yet one that he thought would get the job done. "Yes, I do mean you." he confirmed, as the ship swept down into landing.

Cal wasted no time, walking down the exit ramp and directly into the nest of thugs.

"Hello there."

There was a hushes silence which fell over the gathered mercenaries and thugs, who looks shocked to have seen a ship, and the planets Senator drop in on them. "I have come for a mee -" he was cut off as one of the men, presumably the guard leader for the landing area, stepped forwad "You're not coming in. Period. I don't care who you are, now back off." the man shoved the Senator, who fell backwards into the dirt.

@Darasuum

 

[Orenth]

Byron was a bit surprised by the boldness of the Senator's actions. Maybe he was trying to arbitrarily put his life on the line for the sake of the planet. If this was how Cal felt he could contribute, Byron wasn't about to stop him. Doing as the Senator requested, he relayed a message to the planetary defense force. "This is Jedi Knight Byron Ryker. I am at Jalath and the wanted to alert you to Senator Starros's kidnapping. I'm going to try and keep anyone from getting hurt. Please come quick. They have three sypherna class corvettes and a lot of big guts with big blasters." He then sent the specific coordinates to also any Jedi that may be listening on the encrypted channels. There of course could be other friendlies in the area.

Whether or not anybody replied or answered the call the Knight would proceed to leave the ship after the senator. Maybe telling them about the capital ships had detered some of the planetary defense forces. Maybe it was because it was just a jedi talking to the malitia with limited resources. Even in the best of circumstances it would take them a bit to arrive but Byron had a feeling that what help may be coming, was going to be arriving later than ideal.

@Nor'baal dice: major fail

 

[Cal Starros]

Things were certainly heating up, and Senator Starros was beginning to feel as if maybe, he had bitten off a little more than he could chew. In times like this, he wished he was one of those Core World politicians, like the Kuats - how easy it must be to rule a world when you can galavant around with a war fleet at your fingertips? Must totally remove the need for long waits for the planetary defence force to arrive.

”Well, that was rude.” he remarked, standing from the dusty ground as he brushed off his robe. ”Is that any way to treat a guest?” Starrosw rolled his eyes with an exaggerated gesture as he looked at the man who had pushed him, up and down. ”Senator Cal Starros,” there was a brief silence as he looked at the assembled thugs ”Yes, that Starros.”

There was little doubt that they had heard of him. A man with Starros’ prestigious media profile, and high degree of personal popularity on Lothal, would be hard to have ignored. ”You may have noticed that there is a war om. Yes? Now, if you don’t mind, I am here to speak to whoever is in charge, and I am guessing, that it is not you.”

The thugs looked at him blankly.

”And there really is no need to get violent again, Sir….” he smiled warmly, as Starros played the next card in his hand. For months he had been working closely with military providers and companies to get his planet ready for a war he knew was coming. A fleet, defences, orbital stations and more, all had been readied. So to had the rapid reaction force on Lothal, and even better - with his own funds, so to had the two large, well-armed men who thumped down the ramp of the ship behind him. Dark uniforms, with a stylised ‘S’ for his familial name on their lapels.

He was famous, after all.

”Well, I suppose - take me to your leader?”[/justify]

 

[Orenth]

Arriving behind the Senator's guards, Byron would seemlessly try to appear like another member of the man's entourage. He wasn't wearing the same uniform and looked rather burly for an aid as far as humans go. But the Jedi knew of a few tricks that could help keep others blissfully unaware of his presence. Otherwise they might get funny ideas about him having a lightsaber.

The senator was led to nearby building that looked to be one of, if not the only, town cantina. Inside a hairless but heavily tattoo cathar sat reclined in the chair smoking a cigara. A feline smile and chuckle eminated from the individual who gazed as the group entered. "What's a Senator doing here?" A look of surprise, flashing with suspicion towards the guard who had led the Senator in to get some nuanced context. The guard held a hand for the Senator to not approach further and went closer to whisper in the boss's ear. "Send a patrol out to look around." He whispered audibly back to the henchman. The thug who had led the group stepped off to one side and began to fish out a commlink.

Byron would simply stand nearby as he tried to get a read on the mind of the man in the cantina both. "Please...sit. Let me buy you and your...men a drink. How's the weather today?" The confidence in the criminal seemed to return to the surface. The Jedi felt like it was because no real forces of military strength were present. The Boss felt like they could just hog tie and probably hold the senator hostage for a ransom. Then there was just outright manipulating the man. Malicious and devious thoughts burbled to the surface of the duplicitous criminal.

@Nor'baal