First Reply Gone Guerrilla

[Davik Haize]

Cantina The Paradise, Trader's Belt
Taleuceuma, Saleucami​

With boots crossed on the table, Davik Haize lounged back in the soft booth, idly twirling a pendant with a blue gem between his fingers, lost in thought. The pendant itself emitted a distress call across every friendly frequency the Outer Rim's patchwork comm relays could reach.

It belonged to Tannis Courte. An old friend to both Haize and his late mentor; a man they'd run into from time to time in the Outer Rim.

But more importantly — Tannis was a rebel, a revolutionary, a lifelong fighter against injustice. Last Haize had heard, Tannis was building a resistance network in the Kuthic Worlds, just down the Talcene Transit from here, against the Imperial Confederation. And now he was gone. All that remained was this tracker pendant, and little else to follow.

CorSec detectives would call it a cold case, and, truly, the longer Haize sat turning it over in his mind, the colder his mind's cogs became. But he owed the man, and so did his mentor.

He had to find out what happened.​

--

OOC: Maybe you’re a friend of Tannis, maybe you’re most definitely not. I don’t know, just cook.

 

[T'zarna Khab]

Location: Saleucami, Imperial Territory
Objective: Root out dissenters
Tags: Davik Haize

The doors to the cantina swung open as a pair of silver-colored boots kicked them in. Purge troopers had been dispatched to the area in order to subjugate the resistance in the city. That was the cover story anyway, but many among the civilian populace had their doubts about that. The simple fact of it was, Purge Troopers didn't sweep through cities unless they were looking for something, or someone...

Saleucami had become a very useful world to The Confederation, its resources and people feeding their ever hungering war machine. With that in mind, Imperial Command had dispatched someone to oversee the planet's incorporation into the greater Empire. That person was one of the last remaining inquisitors among the Confederation. A tall figure covered in a golden chitin, she was T'zarna Khab, The Empire's sword.

T'zarna walked through the drunken crowd, people parting out of a combination of fear and disdain. Her compound eyes gazed at the bar patrons with an unblinking gaze, able to see myriad faces at once. Once at the bar, she placed a hand in a pouch upon her waist, retrieving a holopuck. Once placed on the counter, it showed a small figure speaking the orders of her commander.

The orders were simple, find the leader of the local resistance, and make an example of them.

"I will be offering a reward to anyone in this bar with actionable intelligence on the leader of the resistance on Saleucami. I will start the offerings at 15,000 credits. And additional reward will be given to any who bring me the heads of his lieutenants. The cell leader is meant to be captured alive..."
Her voice was a buzz that dripped with venom and ire, as if these were no more than animals. She believed any who harmed the hive needed to be destroyed.

By now, the bar had become silent, and the crowd shifted to look at T'zarna. She had a look of disgust on her face, her arms crossed over her chest. She waited, not letting any cracks show in her cold outer looks

 

[Davik Haize]

That checked off one suspect. But if it wasn't the Imperials behind Courte's disappearance, then who? This whole mystery just took on a new turn, and Davik was nowhere near any closer than he'd started. Don't overcomplicate it, Waylon would often say to justify in his own way the philosophy and goals of the Wardens of the Sky. Grand machinations and visions, the likes the Jedi Order undertook, often lead to outcomes worse than the intentions behind them, Waylon would say.

There's that doubt again, came a voice from his right. A voice only Davik could hear. Sitting right next to him, with that arrogant, gloating smirk on his face. A face only Davik could see. He went by many names, but Davik had settled on Judge.

I shouldn't be here, Davik said.

You brought us here, don't try blaming this on me, Judge said, and even if it was me, it'd still be you!

You're not me.

We've had this talk before. Search your feelings, Davik, you want to be here. Playing space patrol's just a waste of your potential, kid. Smashing an inquisitor's face? Now that's something I can get behind.

Davik was watching her since she burst in. She sucked the sound right out of the whole cantina, and even the sickest gamblers were paying attention. He felt their fear tremble in the Force. But just as all feared the Empire's brand of justice, many feared its discriminatory retribution more. If they talked, would they too be branded a collaborator just so some commissar can rack up promotion points? And then there were others -- the ones ready to do anything for a few credits more.

Davik watched one of those rise from his seat and edge closer to the Inquisitor and tell her what he knew of the resistance leader's last whereabouts, and his hands trembled, itching, asking when he could get his pay.

Don't even think about asking this guy when she leaves, he'll yap as soon as you're gone, Judge said, just follow her.

T'zarna Khab ​

 

[T'zarna Khab]

Location: Saleucami, Imperial Territory
Objective: Root out dissenters
Tags: Davik Haize

A single voice finally rose up among the throng of people that cowered before T'zarna. He practically fell over himself to give her what she wanted, admitting to being a former supplier for the rebellion on Saleucami. One of her hands shot out to place a finger upon the man's lips. She hushed him, sadistically lowering her lidless eyes as she took in the palpable fear running through the man.

"You know the punishment for colluding with a rebellion is severe, and yet your love of credits brought you right to me. I could have you shot, but your greed is clearly the stronger of your emotions," T'zarna buzzed, quickly scanning the room. Making an example of him would be easier, but might stop others from assisting her.

"You shall have a stay of execution, and in fact, your reward will be along soon. You may have your credits, but just know, you are never beyond the grip of the inquisition."

"Thank you inquisitor! Thank you so much!"

Pathetic, truly pathetic.

T'zarna cackled once, but her mirth was short lived. Much was yet to be done, there was a resistance to be stopped. She made her way out of the cantina, the troopers taking over the mission in the watering hole. If the intelligence was she'd gained was correct, the resistance cell was headquartered out of an old cannery building.

It was a long walk, longer still if she wanted to remain hidden from any sentries they had on patrol. Backstreets and old roads would be her greatest ally. Little did she know, the sentries and rebels were the least of her worries...

 

[Davik Haize]

Tracking the inquisitor was harder than Davik thought. The mizzle helped obscure him further, but the swarm of Purge Troopers on patrols and excessive Imperial checkpoints that came with her arrival meant he had to take the long way around often to keep up with the Inquisitor.

When she was deep into yet another empty backstreet, the Force tingled down his whole spine like a shower of needles and Davik abruptly stopped. Danger. He felt short of breath and frantically looked around the darkness of the buildings for the threat, finding nothing.

Yet the threat of death still flared in his ethereal psyche. Something was going to happen.

Now.​

T'zarna Khab