Private Just Checking In

[Cato Harth]

"Ah yes, helping you into and out of clothes. Now that's what I signed up for."

Cato snorted, "Are you sure you don't need any help with yours?" Once the armor was on, he gave a bit of a pose, only for her comment to earn a jokingly unamused look.

"There. Looks good on you. Especially because it hides your face."

“Mmhmmm.” He hummed with a raised brow.

"So I won't be distracted by your roguish good looks in the middle of battle, and get shot again. Speaking of which, could you hand me back my necklace? Unless your ass is still hurting."

“Mmmhmmmmmm.” Cato gave a final smirk before sealing the faceplate to complete the look. He then pulled the necklace out from under the chestpiece and over his head, proffering it to his fellow faux-Gank, “Ass is doing great, thanks.”

“Alright, ready?” He gestured ahead down the tunnel and began walking, “Shouldn’t be too far to the cistern. That guy notify you of any bigwigs to keep an eye out for? Someone in charge?”

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Are you sure you don't need any help with yours?"

“Ha ha, Inanna is technically naked every time she shapeshifts, what an exhibitionist, very funny.” She waved her hands for emphasis. “I’m just saying, I prefer helping you out of your clothes.”

She took back the pendant, put it on… and proceeded to absorb it into her flesh to hide it from view. “Glad to hear it. Your ass is like… my sixth favorite body part of yours. Definitely in the top ten.”

As they headed out, Cato asked about bigwigs. Inanna shrugged.

“Mara Darzu seems to be the top dog, so to speak. She’s the one they answer to.” She sighed. “She started out as a rebel, part of the Lao-mon Planetary Defense Forces, and fought at Goshen, the battle that cost us the whole planet. It was also where the Maw first used the Wretchedness on us. It was… bad.

“She survived that, and has never stopped fighting for Lao-mon since. Or at least, she thinks she’s fighting for Lao-mon. The Wretchedness attacks the nervous system, so I suppose it’s just as likely it screwed her brain up. Drove her mad. You’d have to be a little bit insane to think that targeting the people trying to help refugees will get us our homeworld back.”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato clicked his tongue, “Only sixth? Now I’m a little curious.”

They continued down their chosen path, and he listened intently, frowning when her story recounted the first use of the Wretchedness. It was neurological in nature, so perhaps it wasn’t as much of a surprise that some people were particularly out of line with their reactions. Either way, their intentions did not match the outcome they would likely get.

“That’s what I’ve been sayin’. All the more reason to stop them.”

It wasn’t long before they were at the entrance, and he gave her a slight tap on the shoulder to indicate as much. Standing a little more rigidly, he approached, where a pair of guards were hanging outside the cistern entryway. They quickly posted up at seeing new arrivals, and one of them nodded his head, “Back already?”

Cato looked at Inanna, before returning to face the Shi’ido, “Boss had something come up. Needs us to deliver a message to Darzu. Her ears only.”

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Your eyes are number one. They remind me of the luminous amber produced by shikhaar trees.” She giggled. “I’ll let you figure out the rest.”

They approached the entrance to the compound, encountering a pair of guards at the door. Cato spoke first, claiming they had a message to deliver, and Inanna winced internally. Not like she could’ve thought of something better, but she knew what was coming.

“Why is Garbo using you two as messengers?” one of the guards asked.

Inanna spoke—and the voice she used was entirely different from her normal speaking voice. “I don’t mind delivering a message. But I do mind the insinuation in your tone, you amorphous sack of flesh and nerves.”

She took a threatening step toward the guard, gambling on a bit of reverse psychology… and it worked. The guard didn’t want to risk picking a fight with a member of another gang, and promptly backed down.

“Alright, alright. Go on in,” he said, stepping aside to give them access.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

The knight's attention was arguably too split between the mission, and finding out the numerical order of Inanna's favorite Cato body parts, but once they had approached, he was able to at least keep a consistent enough focus on not getting them immediately ousted.

Cato was initially nervous about Inanna's intense reply, but it paid off. At the end of the day these Shi'ido extremists were still fresh blood on Narsh, effectively relying on the tolerance of those more powerful to continue their operation. It would be suicide to pick a fight with the Hutts. They were permitted access, and he gave her a brief nod in acknowledgement once they were past.

<Alright, what's Darzu… look like?> He shot her a brief, telepathic message, presuming she wouldn't be able to respond in kind but understandably wanting to minimize external communication. Whether she wanted to try a whisper or some old fashioned charades was up to her. Shi'ido could, obviously, look like anything. But if Darzu had a more archetypal form they could locate, then starting with the woman in charge would be a good move.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna was thinking more along the lines of the Shi’ido tendency to keep to themselves and avoid conflict, though even that part of their psychology wasn’t universal. But yes, it would be suicide to pick a fight with the Hutts on their own territory.

She strolled into the compound with total confidence, walking in like she owned the place. There weren’t all that many people inside, but the ones that were there seemed to come from a variety of different species, some of them totally unfamiliar in appearance. Of course, all of them were Shi’ido, merely taking the forms of other species and creatures.

At Cato’s telepathic message, Inanna stopped dead in her tracks, reacting similarly to how she would have if she’d been suddenly struck in the head. She turned toward him, then quietly whispered, “Please don’t do that again.”

It was clear by her tone that she had some qualms against telepathy, though now was not the time to explain why. Telepathy would’ve made things a lot easier, given the circumstances…

In answer to his question, she shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t know what Darzu looked like. After all, technically speaking she could look like anyone or anything.

“Excuse me.” She swaggered up to the nearest Shi’ido. “Where’s Mara Darzu?”

The Shi’ido, who resembled an octopus, pointed a tentacle toward a door. Inanna headed toward it, and without bothering to knock, she palmed the controls. The door slid open, revealing a well-furnished room that in some ways resembled a lounge more than an office. A leather couch at the center of the room held three individuals in a state of undress, the table in front of them covered in drug paraphernalia. They all looked up in surprise when Inanna entered.

Well. She hadn’t been expecting this. But she knew an opportunity when she saw one.

“Bitches leave,” she barked.

Two of the Shi’ido promptly skedaddled. The one left behind looked like a human woman with red hair. A scar—fake, of course—artfully cleaved through her right eye from brow to cheekbone.

She hummed at the sight of the two “Ganks” who had entered. “Evening fellas. Can I interest you in some spice?”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Inanna's sudden reaction to his telepathic message caught Cato completely off-guard. He blinked a few times underneath his mask, suddenly curiously as to what was behind it, but just offered a meager nod of his head, "S-sorry."

He decided it best to follow her lead to Darzu, which was handled rather efficiently, leading them right to the figure in question. Better yet, alone with her. Cato idly scanned the lounge, before settling his gaze back on the fire-haired Shi'ido, "Not exactly."

The knight's saber hilt flew into his hand, the white beam igniting with a pair of crossguards. "You're under arrest for your conspiracy against the Senator of Alderaan. You and your co-conspirators can come in quietly… or face the consequences. I'm giving you this one chance." If they could avoid the fight altogether, all the easier for them. Then again, things almost never went that way…

Can't say he didn't try.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“You’re fine,” she whispered back.

Inanna sealed off the door behind them, ensuring there would be no witnesses, and Cato whipped out his lightsaber. Huh. Well then. They were jumping straight into it.

She unclasped her own hilt, igniting the yellow blade. “What he said.”

Darzu pursed her lips. “Mmm. Nah.”

A switch activated somewhere, and a quartet of laser turrets lowered from the ceiling. Pointing straight at Inanna and Cato, they began to fire simultaneously.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

No reason to waste time. They were here to dismantle the operation, so that’s what he was going to do. To some extent, he appreciated that Darzu was just as straightforward about it. Though he was less fond of the laser turrets that came with it.

Right away, Cato threw his saber up and chopped down two of the turrets, which hit the ground with a heavy thunk. With his other hand he shoved Inanna forward, both to close the distance with Darzu and get her out of the turrets’ cone of fire. He rolled to catch his saber as it returned, and focused heavily on dodging and deflecting the remaining turrets.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

After Cato dispatched two of the turrets, Inanna found herself flung toward Darzu by his hand. Ah, so he would deal with the turrets, and she would deal with the terrorist group leader. Was that the plan?

Works for me. Inanna leaped into action, starting after Darzu, who was using the couch as cover. The redhead had a blaster pistol. She fired, and Inanna managed to deflect the bolts, scorching Darzu before slashing through the barrel of the weapon, rendering it useless.

“You’re screwed,” Darzu sneered. “My men will be here in seconds. You won’t be getting out of here alive, Jedi.”

“That’s part of the problem with you and your friends,” Inanna growled. “You make too many assumptions. Who says I’m a Jedi?”

Though the other Shi’ido were banging on the door, trying to get inside the room, Inanna’s telekinesis held it closed.

“Deactivate the turrets and call off your men,” she ordered. “Now.”

Darzu just smirked. Inanna’s aura in the Force took on a murderous shade.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"No Jedi here!" Cato quipped between bursts of blaster fire, managing to deflect a shot back at the third turret, which disabled it. "Just two Ganks trying to make a difference!" As he said that, the final turret shot the saber out of his hand, coming close with another shot, leading Cato to simply rip the turret from its hinge with the Force.

"Why doesn't anyone ever just want to take the easy route?" Once the door flung open, he hurled the turret at the influx of thugs that tried to pour through. The few that managed to avoid it were still trying to come in, forcing Cato to draw his blaster and call the saber back to his side, "This little op is over, Darzu. It won't bring your home back."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

With a cry of “Parry this, you filthy wizard!” one of the thugs unleashed a modified flamethrower toward Cato.

The sudden blast of fiery heat was enough to alarm Inanna, who promptly seized Darzu with telekinesis and flung her toward the flames, using her as a not-so-human shield in front of Cato.

Another one of the terrorists fired a beamer at Inanna. It struck her in the leg, causing her knees to buckle. Despite her paralysis, Inanna only seemed to get angrier and more aggressive. With a snarl she threw Darzu at the flamethower-wielding thug, then started to press down with the Force upon the surviving terrorists, as if to crush them outright with telekinesis.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato sprang away from the gout of licking flames, throwing off and stamping his jacket into the ground as it became scorched. He hardly had any more time to react as Inanna abruptly threw the ringleader towards the fire. Then she was struck herself, which immediately frightened him, "Inanna!" He fired a shot at the culprit, knocking him down in short order.

Thankfully it had only seemed to paralyze her, and before much longer they were left with just a pile of compressing Shi'ido terrorists. Cato's initial relief turned to concern, and he placed a hand on Inanna's shoulder, "Hey- Hey! It's over." The pressure was enough to take most all of them out of the fight. Besides, he'd rather not see her succumb to some darker impulse, and turn them into a pile of jelly on the ground. "I don't think they'll be getting up from that any time soon."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna was all set to liquify the terrorists’ assets—and the terrorists themselves. As Cato’s arm clutched her shoulder, there was a momentary delay before she snapped out of her homicidal rage and came back to reality.

Several of their foes were dead. The survivors were now either fleeing the compound, or too wounded to move. Darzu was deceased—hopefully. At the very least, she was extra crispy.

Inanna’s only serious injury was the numbing of her leg, and yet something about this situation had been enough to drive her to the brink.

“Did we win?” she asked.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato cringed a bit at the sight of their defeated foes. Particularly Darzu, whose charred flesh made for an unpleasant smell and punctuated the extent of Inanna’s anger. He reached to try and help Inanna up, offered a single, solemn nod to her question, “...Yeah. I guess.”

They’d have to get some kind of law enforcement down here to tidy things up. Hutts weren’t likely, but perhaps if the Shi’ido could spare some kind of recovery team. Not that he had any understanding of their functions, but if Inanna herself had spies here…

“You’re not hurt are you?” Cato looked down at her numbed leg for some sign of injury.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna slumped. “They got my leg with a beamer,” she replied. “I can’t walk on it now, but after the numbing wears off…”

Taking Cato’s offered hand, she hobbled to her feet, refusing to look at the chaos around them. Someone else would have to handle it.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Yeah. Here-" Cato then reached down, swinging her legs up to carry her in front of him, "This'll be faster," He added with a smirk, though it was a bit more tired, and forced, than his usual antics.

The knight began to amble out, taking particular care to step over the various bodies and frowning all the while. Once they were out in the main cistern, with only the sound of his boots hitting water to fill the silence, he added, "What was that back there?"

A beat, "You got… pretty angry, is all."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

She allowed Cato to carry her out without protest, though she felt guilty. He was obviously tired.

The last thing she wanted to do right then was talk about it, but he inevitably asked. Inanna lowered her head and sighed.

“I told you I failed at being a Jedi,” she replied. “I never said I failed at being a Sith.”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing. She hadn't said as much outright before, but when she mentioned working under a Moff, it wasn't hard to fathom what that might entail. "...Right." He finally said.

"That... intensity can lead down a dark path," Inanna would know. She had been down it, "I just don't want to see it backfire on you." Jedi were supposed to be bastions of redemption. Cato had always believed in that steadfastly, "But you're not Sith anymore. That's what matters."

Before long they found a lone source of daylight pouring down in a beam. The manhole opening from before, and the affixed ladder, "Here, can you climb? I'll help you up."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

She held her breath, not sure what to expect… and felt a rush of relief. It had been hard enough to tell him the truth; the last thing she wanted was for him to reject her upon hearing it.

“I know,” she muttered. “But it’s easier to give in to.”

He was adamant that she wasn’t a Sith anymore, and that was all that mattered. Once, she had been just as steadfast as him. But after what had just occurred, she wasn’t so certain.

“I don’t want to go back to that life, that’s for sure. But if being mad enough to kill a bunch of slimy, psychotic terrorists makes me a Sith, I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Yeah, I can climb.” Cato would be treated to the sight of Inanna climbing up the ladder using only her arms. When she pushed open the manhole cover, she quickly climbed out, breathing the slightly less disgusting air of Nar Shaddaa.

She helped Cato out after her, then just sat on the ground, resting. “Now what?”

Cato Harth​