Private The Hapes Conspiracy

[Cadere]

En route to Hapes

​

As the passenger freighter flew through the dark void of space, Cas' sleeve was rolled up as he fiddled in his seat working on his cybernetic arm with a screwdriver. His expression was focused and his tongue stuck out slightly, concentrating on his arm's maintenance - eyes locked onto the wires and motors of his exposed metallic arm, he spoke up "So, you're from Hapes right? Anything I gotta know before we land?" he asked. Cas wasn't all too familiar with the planet, having no knowledge of the matriarchal society and the treatment of male Hapan on the planet.

Finally finished with his arm's maintenance, Cas placed the metal casing back over its wires, and leaned back in his seat. He began to reflect as he glanced out of the window, as space shifted into the clouds of Hapes - the mission was basic on paper, something called a "Queen Mother" which the Knight could only assume was the planet's ruler was under threat of a conspiracy to assassinate her. The goal was to, obviously, keep the Queen Mother safe but also quietly investigate the conspirators involved with the plot to assassinate the Queen Mother.

This would be his first assignment with the Jedi Knight Zemira Zvezda - his first impressions of her was her undeniable beauty, beautiful enough to make Cas steal a few quick glances because of it, the second impression was that she had a lot of Zs in her name. Despite her reputation as being exasperated, she seemed... fine? Well, it was possible that he hadn't seen that side of her yet and was certain that his nature would bring it out of her.

Zemira

 

[Zemira]

While she had no reason not to talk to the Knight who accompanied her, it seemed both were content doing their own thing on the journey to Hapes. Cas was fiddling with his cybernetic arm while Zemira was reading on her datapad, gathering information on the current political climate of Hapes, which always seemed to be volatile, while simultaneously refreshing her knowledge of the language she hadn't used frequently for over a decade.

When Cas addressed her, she looked up from the datapad and offered a friendly smile and a nod. "More than I could tell you in the next ten minutes." She replied as she turned the datapad off and placed it away, expecting a rather lengthy conversation to ensue. "They don't think of men too fondly." She told him, using they to distance herself from the other Hapans as she was raised off-world by her father and was not exposed to the planet's biased customs. "I learned about it from my father. I wasn't actually raised here." She explained. "They aren't fond of outsiders or Jedi either so don't expect much respect there." She warned him. It was easy to get angry about the matriarchal society but she had soon learned there was no point in getting angry about something that couldn't be changed.

"Oh and this kind of power struggle isn't uncommon. Some people will stop at nothing to achieve power there." She added. "They usually handle it internally but perhaps there are other forces at work this time..." She pondered. Before she could get another word in, a voice over the intercom system informed them of their arrival, prompting her to head towards the exit once the whirring of the engines stopped.

Although she didn't know Cas, she was grateful for the opportunity to work with someone who would likely be more sensible on the mission than her own Padawan who would sometimes let his mouth run wild and this was not the place for it. The planet may be a shock to Cas but she hoped he would at least handle it better than she expected her Padawan would have.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

"Oh." Cas uttered surprisingly at the revelation of Hapan women's opinions on men and even more so on Jedi - Cas was practically a double whammy. He went silent for a moment, as he small smirk crept on his face "This'll be a fun planet to visit - said no Jedi male ever." he quipped snorting slightly. Although, it was interesting to hear she wasn't raised on the planet but it would make sense that she'd know so much about Hapes despite being removed from it.

The Kiffar pondered on Zemira's words, hooking his thumb and index finger to his chin he let out a contemplative hum "I guess I should re-evaluate my biases. I thought the Hapan people would be relaxed and unproblematic, guess not." he thought aloud, he assumed that with the planet being ruled by women it would be less problematic than a male dominated one, but with the assassinations and quiet power struggles, women were just more covert about it.

Soon enough, the passenger freighter docked below in Hapes' capital city on the surface below. As soon as Cas stepped off the loading ramp, he extended his arms outward and released a satisfying stretch "Man, you don't know how good this feels. Being cooped up on that freighter for all those hours, barely being able to move. Damn." he declared "Although, the company wasn't so bad." the Kiffar added, sending her a playful wink although he quickly shook his head at himself how corny that was. It didn't take long for Cas to notice he was getting a few looks by the Hapan citizens which ranged from bewilderment, disgust and curiosity - but mostly disgust prompting the young Knight to scowl back at any onlookers.

The pair of Jedi were greeted by a chauffeur standing by an expensive looking airspeeder, she appeared to recognise Zemira as a Hapan by her beautiful features or at the very least was respectable towards her because she was a female. Completely ignoring Cas, she greeted Zemira with a smile "Welcome, Master Jedi. Your presence has been most anticipated." prompting Cas to roll his eyes and let out a obvious sigh, the chauffeur glanced at Cas with a disapproving look "Is this... your Padawan, Master Jedi?" she said, almost sounding as if she was in disbelief.

"No, I'm not. I'm her servant actually." Cas corrected her in deadpan sarcasm "Oh, my mistake." she addressed Zemira apologetically, completely unaware of Cas' sarcasm. Without any more words, she chauffeur led Zemira into the backseat of the speeder with Cas following behind. After the doors closed, they were well on their way to the Fountain Palace. Needless to say, Cas was already over this.

Zemira

 

[Zemira]

The Hapan could appreciate how odd the concept to non-Hapans and while she didn't approve of it herself, nonetheless it was the culture here and they ought to respect it for their own sake and for the sake of the Jedi who they represented. Still, Cas seemed in rather good spirits about it considering he was about to be thrown into a world where he would be treated like a second-class citizen, or worse depending on the contemporary views of the society on outsiders who had in the past posed a threat to the planet's inhabitants and Jedi who had an even worse history with Hapes but she remained hopeful that the citizens would have an ounce of decorum and wouldn't be overtly disrespectful.

"Most of the male population were wiped out by the Jedi centuries ago and the women were forced to adapt but despite the balance now... They still haven't changed their ways." She explained, trying to give a more rounded view of the culture. It was easy to become disdainful towards the women for how they treated the men but it wasn't entirely their fault. They adapted to a situation they had no control over but as a result they initiated a contempt for men that ran deep in their culture. Because of this, the disdain towards the Jedi that some displayed was understandable as their actions had indirectly shaped the culture of Hapes.

The Knight followed Cas off of the freighter and gave a small chuckle at his comment about being cooped up. "You say that like I wasn't just with you the whole time." She told him before raising an eyebrow at his following comment, though saying nothing more. The looks Cas received were expected but his reaction was not. Zemira gave him a subtle shake of the head when she managed to catch his eye, warning him against acting out of place.

Zemira returned the smile and gave a small bow of the head as a sign of respect. "Thank you. I'm glad to be here." She replied, shooting Cas a look as she did. Before she could answer the woman, Cas did so for her, instead prompting her to sigh. Once they were seated in the back of the speeder, she kept her voice low to speak to Cas as she was unsure how soundproof the divider between them was. "I know it's uncomfortable but this is their culture and you're not going to change anything by acting out. All you'll do is make it more difficult for us." She warned, though not harshly as she couldn't be mad at him for feeling angry at facing such disrespect, though she hoped he would see her point and try to make more of an effort to keep his anger internal.

"Whatever you do, do not disrespect the Queen." She told Cas with a look of concern. While it was ideal that he didn't anger anyone, it was imperative that he didn't anger the Queen as the relationship between Hapes and the Jedi depended on it. Upon arriving, the chauffeur opened the door on Zemira's side but didn't offer the same luxury for Cas. Zemira stepped outside and lingered for a moment as she looked up at the wonderous building in awe before being gently urged along by the chauffeur who led them inside which was just as magnificent as the outside.

They were led into a large atrium where the Queen was seated, looking as regal as ever. "<Queen Mother, the Jedi.>" The chauffeur told her in their native tongue, prompting Zemira to get on one knee and bow her head in respect, hoping Cas would follow suit. There was nothing worse to be done on Hapes than disrespecting the Queen. "Please, rise." The Queen, to which the Knight complied and got back to her feet. "It's an honour to meet you." Zemira told her but the Queen shook her head and seemingly waved it off. "Please, the honour is all mine." She contested, though Zemira expected it to be more of a formality than a sincere gesture.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Apparently his outspoken nature was displeasing to Zemira judging by the glances and looks she gave him whenever he spoke up. As a result, Cas raised his arms in surrender "Alright, alright." he whispered to her. For some reason, the young Jedi wanted to impress the Hapan Knight... or at the very least he wanted to make a good impression on her, although, for the life of him he couldn't figure out why.

In the back of the speeder, Cas leaned back with his arms folded while glancing out the window, his face was pressed into a scowl. He was waiting for it and it finally came, a lecture from his fellow Knight which prompted him to let out an annoyed sigh "I got it." he said snappily "I know how to play nice." Cas would elaborate. Going silent for a moment, his head hung low and he sighed again "Sorry, I just... I'm just irritable lately." he apologised, his wounds from Voss were still healing and the thoughts of the battle made both of his scars itch. Although what he said wasn't an excuse, it was his reasoning.

Following their arrival outside the palace, Cas observed his surroundings from the window in awe. Unsurprisingly, the chauffeur opened the door for Zemira but not for Cas which prompted the Kiffar to roll his eyes and mutter quietly "Unbelievable." to himself. Opening the door, he stepped outside and followed the two inside, glancing around and scanning the vicinity - to him it looked like Royalty was the same on Hapes as it was anywhere, a bunch of people with way too much money and heads stuck too far up their asses.

Arriving inside the atrium, Cas stood wide-eyed with his mouth agape when he caught a glimpse of the Queen Mother... she was... gorgeous. What was it with Hapan women and being beautiful as all hell, the young Knight was so mesmerised by the Queen's looks he didn't noticed that he was supposed to bow "Crap." he whispered before promptly getting onto one knee beside Zemira. His senses returned back to him following that, as he was reminded how much he detested authority of this calibre. Upon being told to rise, he stood up shortly after Zemira and watched the exchange between the two.

Staying silent, he listened as the Queen Mother began to explain the situation to them "I am aware of the relationship between my people and your Order, Master Jedi. But, regardless of that, I request your aid because as you know, their is a plot on my life." she explained. Cas' brown eyes focused on her as she continued "I believe individuals of your skill and expertise can prevent this conspiracy as well as discover those that are behind it." even though this probably wasn't the best thing to do in hindsight Cas accidentally spoke up without indication "Any idea on where you'd have us start?" although he quickly went silent upon realising what had just happened.

The Queen shot him a quick look, although it was for a split second, disapproval was on her face but she quickly returned it to her default stoic expression. Continuing, she went on to say "For now, I have no leads but some suspects - although I dare not risk an investigation just yet... as an assassination attempt could occur at anytime. I'd much prefer if the two of you stayed in the Palace and aid security for the time being."

Zemira

 

[Zemira]

The Knight was grateful for Cas' willingness to act in accordance of what was expected of him, though she did display some sympathy for having to ask him to do so. She was keen for him to know that she didn't condone the way men were treated there but rather that there was nothing they could do about it at present so tolerance was the only appropriate response for now. "There's no need to apologise. I know it's hard to stand by while people treat you so badly but we have to try and put the mission first." She expressed.

It was almost certain that Cas didn't fully understand the history surrounding the planet which had led the Hapans to develop such a narrow-minded society which had arisen out of the Jedi's interference centuries ago. She knew that while it was wrong to persecute one group over another, her beliefs had been shaped by her upbringing and had she stayed on Hapes then she likely would've shared the same beliefs. It was no doubt the culture needed adapting from its sexist ways but how far could individuals be blamed for the culture they were raised in?

In hindsight, it would've been wise to warn Cas about appropriate protocol when meeting the Queen Mother, information which she had neglected to give him, though if it was pointed out she would take the blame as the one among them who knew better. Zemira stayed silent while the Queen addressed them and simply nodded in response when required to do so. She was surprised by Cas' interjection but didn't show it in her expression, instead remaining calm and collected, seemingly ignoring it.

"Of course. We will find the assassin." Zemira concluded with a small bow of the head. "I think it's best we split up." She told Cas in a quiet voice. "I'll stay with the Queen." She told him. Although they were Jedi of equal status so she had no authority over him, she thought it most wise that she would have the most contact with the Queen instead of Cas for obvious reasons.

Although the Queen had the royal guards, they didn't receive the same benefits that Force users did in sensing danger and although they were good at dealing with immediate threats, they were less capable of predicting and tracing such threats which is where the Jedi became more useful. Hopefully their presence on this endeavour could help to increase public opinion of the Jedi. For the moment, she sensed the area to be relatively calm and unnoteworthy but it could all change in an instant if someone decided to attack and she expected an attack of a sophisticated nature rather than a sloppy assassin so they may have their work cut out for them.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas flashed Zemira a warm smile at her reassurance, he appreciated her kindness when she didn't have to be. However, it wasn't just his own treatment by the Hapan women that bothered him, it was the knowledge that other people that lived on Hapes suffer it everyday and have been their whole lives - as a free-spirited person, knowing others are unable to live their best lives bothered him.

At the Palace and following their audience with the Queen, Cas turned his attention to Zemira as she divulged a plan. He responded with a shrug followed by a complacent "'Kay." before making his way out of the atrium, the plan was solid as splitting up covered more ground. Just before exiting the large doors though, he turned to her and raised his wrist comm tapping at it with his other finger "If you need me just holler." Cas informed her with a smile.

Upon exiting the atrium, Cas spent the next few hours making rounds around the palace and, naturally, not without receiving looks from the servants, nobles and other individuals that lived or worked in the palace. Although, at the sight of his lightsaber, they kept their thoughts to themselves. Cas was beginning to get used to the odd looks though but he couldn't tell if that was either a good or a bad thing. He was unsure how much public knowledge it was the Jedi were here to protect the Queen Mother but he certainly he hoped it was kept low-key, enough where the assassin has no idea they had Jedi to get through to get to the Queen.

On his third or fourth round around the palace, he let out a deep sigh as he was beginning to grow bored. Just about to pass the Queen Mother's quarters, he stopped and saw Zemira standing guard outside - turning to her, he smiled and sent her a comedically lazy salute before taking another step to pass. As soon as his foot hit the ground however, he sensed something, something coming from the Queen's quarters. Without hesitation, he turned his body to face Zemira and the Queen's quarters before darting toward it.

Assuming Zemira entered first, they would find the assassin clad in back with their face covered by a fukumen stood at the edge of the Queen's bed with a knife hovering over her. At the sight of the two Jedi, the assassin rushed toward the window before leaping through it and shattering the glass. Without glancing at his fellow Jedi, his eyes were focused on the window as he dashed toward it "Keep the Queen safe!" Cas urged her before promptly diving out of the window, transitioning into a forward flip. Luckily the exterior wall outside the Queen's bedroom window was sloped, allowing for both Cas and the assassin to wall slide down the sloped palace walls.

With a smaller building just opposite, the assassin propelled himself off of the palace exterior's sloping wall before landing on the roof opposite. Following suit, Cas, with the aid of the Force, transitioned his slide into a somersault and landed on the roof opposite the palace before giving chase to the assassin.

Zemira

 

[Zemira]

"Okay, back at you." She returned the smile before turning her attention back to the Queen. "I'll accompany you until we can be certain of what is going on, your Grace." She told the Queen who smiled pleasantly before replying. "Thank you. I'll be retiring after I settle a few things first." She informed the Knight who nodded in response but otherwise kept out of the way as the Queen finished up with her business for the evening which Zemira tried not to pay much attention to, though she couldn't help but listen in. Once finished, the Queen beckoned for her to follow her up to her quarters where the Knight expected to be positioned for much of the night.

While unoccupied, her mind wandered as she considered all the potential suspects involved in the assassination. Usually it was someone who wanted to claim the Queen's power, one of her female relatives, but it felt like the current scheme was something more than that as the Jedi were involved with what was normally an internal affair, suggesting that the movement behind this assassination was bigger than the Hapes government had anticipated.

When she finally saw Cas again after a while, she chuckled at his salute but any comedic relief was soon cut short as the pangs of danger through the Force quickly became apparent and both launched into the Queen's quarters, Zemira with her lightsaber already in-hand. The blue glow cast a dim light in the otherwise dark room before a handful of royal guards entered and turned on the light. She frowned at Cas' instructions and without a second thought immediately ran out of the room and down the stairs to the courtyard outside. She wasn't about to let the assassin get away regardness of what Cas thought she ought to do.

Once outside, her eyes scanned the grounds for a speeder and quickly commandeered one that a chauffeur was getting out of, hastily apologising while doing so before speeding off in the direction of Cas and the assassin, following alongside them as closely as she could on the streets below. Soon, she took advantage of the speeder and used it to get ahead, dangerously avoiding traffic at the same time and once satisfied that she was ahead, or at least close enough to meet them, she climbed up a ladder at the side of a building, in an alley, and quickly turned and ignited her lightsaber in the direction of the assassin who was running towards her.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Well, if there was one thing he had to admit - it was that this assassin was athletic and had the freerunning skills to back that up. Remaining hot on their tail, the two individuals leapt across a variety of buildings each one getting smaller and smaller as they travelled away from the city and more into the urban areas of the capital. There was one thing Cas noticed during the chase however, the assassin's physique - their shoulders were broad and had the general body type of a male.

The assassin came to a halt once they saw Zemira waiting ahead of them with her lightsaber ignited, Cas stopped behind him before igniting his own. "Uh oh, nowhere to run now." Cas said mockingly but the assassin stayed silent, glancing around at the two Jedi for a few moments before quickly reaching into their belt and throwing a smoke grenade under their feet, enveloping them in a cloud of smoke. With his free hand, Cas waved away the smoke "Kark's sake!" he exclaimed and once it dissipated it was just him and Zemira. Shooting her a puzzled look, he just realised something "Waitaminute, you're supposed to be with the Queen Mother!" the Knight declared, extinguishing his lightsaber and clipping it to his belt.

"Come on, there's no way they could've gotten far." he stated before walking towards the edge of the roof and dropping himself into the alleyway below, when Zemira was with by his side he would decide to reveal the possible information he discovered during the chase "I think the assassin could be male." Cas proposed in a low tone. Walking out of the alley way, the Jedi glanced at the male passer-bys and was surprised to see as such - they must have been in some sort of male district. Glancing around he noticed that this area was massively different compared to the main city district, it seemed more worn down and neglected compared to everything else. If this were a male district, it made sense in hindsight.

Feeling comfortable to speak out in an area full of men, Cas covered his lightsaber and raised his voice "Hey! Anyone see a person clad in black pass by recently?" he called out to anyone who'd listen. Although everyone ignored him, no snitching rule he guessed, their body language gave it away - amongst the crowd of people passing him, Cas noticed the eyes of some men glance toward a cantina across the street before quickly retreating back. Looking back at Zemira, he shrugged at her "Seems obvious in hindsight now, huh?" he joked before making his way toward the cantina.

Zemira

 

[Zemira]

Intially, it seemed the Jedi had surrounded the assassin but Zemira didn't doubt that they would have a trick up their sleeve as not just anyone would have the audacity to attempt to assassinate the Queen - a high degree of skill was to be expected. Seeing it likely that the assassin would try and evade them, Zemira began running towards the assassin but before she could get close enough her view was obscured by smoke and once it cleared she was face-to-face with Cas. "The assassin is here! What does she need protecting from?!" She replied before following suit and extinguishing her blade.

Agreeing with Cas, she quickly followed suit and dropped into the alley below, both aware that time was of the essence while the assassin was still within reach. "That's... unusual. Still, he could've been hired by a woman who didn't want to get her hands dirty." She suggested alternatively as they couldn't exclude any possibilities so early on. Typically, however, this was not the case, which meant the information could be a cause for concern. The power struggle tended to be between women as men had few rights and hardly any men were in positions of power so she wondered about the motives of the attack but couldn't pinpoint what they may be.

After exiting the alley, Zemira was surprised to see such a high ratio of men in the streets but soon came to realise that all of the passers-by were men and that now she was the one who was out of place. The level of division on Hapes was remarkable and yet it was so rooted into the culture that she wasn't sure if the planet would ever recover from it. She was uncomfortable with the situation as she was unsure to what extent her presence could cause unrest so she pulled her hood up to try and draw any attention away from herself. While some men accepted and internalised their role in society but others were full of contempt for those who treated them as second-class citizens but she hoped her appearance as a Jedi would separate her from the oppressive Hapan women.

Zemira looked at the cantina and then back at Cas and replied. "I could do with one after this." She half-joked, briskly walked towards the cantina, careful to avoid knocking into anyone and pushed the door open quietly enough for those inside not to pay attention to the pair who had just entered at first until a couple of people glanced in their direction and elbowed their buddies to point them out. A cantina full of drunk and semi-drunk men with a reason to be angry meant the situation could become volatile but hopefully they would respect the presence of the Jedi.

The Knight glanced around the room for the assassin but unable to find him, she continued further into the bar, at which point she felt a hand on her shoulder so she turned around, expecting it to be Cas but instead she was faced with an attractive young man with dishevelled brown hair and chocolate eyes, his eyelids heavy from alcohol. "You shouldn't be here." He told her but Zemira rolled her shoulder to remove his hand before responding. "I'm a Jedi." She told him, though she wasn't sure how far reasoning with someone that intoxicated would get her. "Are you Hapan?" He asked and after a moment's hesitation, Zemira shook her head and replied. "No."

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Zemira's justification was sound, glancing at her he simply blinked repeatedly for a few moments "Alright, fair enough." he relented with a shrug before pressing on.

His fellow Jedi proposed a theory about their assassin, it was certainly possible but... as she probably knew, this seemed bigger than a simple aristocratic power struggle. He wondered why they would hire a man however, if men were truly treated as second class, why would a high ranking aristocrat higher a man for the job when they could easily hire a "reliable" woman instead, maybe a male would be a scapegoat? Or... maybe he was just overthinking things, as he tended to do. As they approached the cantina, Cas couldn't help but chuckle at Zemira's joke "I never took you for the drinking type, Zemira. You have this innocent quality." he claimed, flashing her a jovial wink.

Entering the cantina, their presence was noted almost immediately prompting Cas to let out a quiet huff. This wasn't going to be easy. With Zemira being a female and the both of them being Jedi Knights, they were liable to be treated coldly here. Splitting off from Zemira in order to cover more ground, he approached a table where a lonesome man was sitting, drinking a beer and playing dejarik. Cautiously, Cas approached the table and sat opposite him "How you doin'?" Cas asked in the most faux macho voice ever, the man, who was equally as handsome as the women on Hapes (what the hell), didn't look up and remained on the dejarik board.

Rolling his eyes, he pressed on "I need information. See a guy come in here? Clad in black? Looks very assassin-y." he asked with no hints of subtly. The Hapan finally looked at Cas before glancing around the bar "Maybe. You want information? You gotta beat me." the man stated as he gestured to the dejarik board. The Jedi silently glared at him with annoyance before relenting - after a short while, Cas, through the use of some subtle mind probing began to beat him and it was obvious he was growing frustrated before essentially, he "rage quit" and threw his drink in Cas' face.

Trying desperately to remain calm, he wiped his face with his sleeve but what ticked him off the most was when he heard the male Hapan say "You're a damn cheat, I won't tell you kriff!" he exclaimed, gathering the attention of the whole cantina. Beginning to see red "Fine!" he exclamed, swiftly standing up to his feet, picking up the dejarik board and shoving its edge into his face before slamming the board face across the Hapan's own face, knocking him out of his seat and onto the floor, unconscious.

A large group of Hapans got out of their respective seats and raised their fists, ready to brawl. "Get him." one with a grouchy voice ordered, wordlessly Cas raised his own fists.

Zemira

 

[Zemira]

"You don't know me, Cas." She replied playfully with a smile. Although she was firm believer in what the Jedi stood for, she wasn't the ultra-zealous type and allowed herself a few cut corners here and there. As long as no one got hurt then how bad could it be? While she tended to be somewhat more serious around her Padawan, careful not to set a bad example, she felt more free with another Knight as both were capable of working independently and she was not responsible for Cas.

The man seemed sceptical but content with her answer, too drunk to realise otherwise, and turned to continue his drink so Zemira took the opportunity to talk to the bartender who had overheard the brief conversation, though she was unsure how forthcoming he would be. "Excuse me." She called to get his attention and he turned around to face her after handing a drink to a person beside her. He learned against the bar and upon realising who was speaking to him, he looked intrigued. "What can I get for you?" He asked. "Information." Zemira replied but was met with a negative response, as expected.

"Sorry, we're fresh out of information." He replied before swiftly moving on to take someone else's order. Zemira sighed and leaned with her elbow against the bar, glancing around the room. It seemed pretty clear that no one would want to surrender any information on one of their own, especially not to her, so she hoped Cas was having better luck and she soon saw him playing dejarik with one of the men and hoped it was relevant to the mission. Rather than getting involved, she watched from afar and waited to see the outcome of the challenge.

Soon, the situation escalated beyond repair and before Zemira could say anything, everyone was prepared for a brawl. She sighed and turned back to the bartender who was watching in awe and threw a few credits on the bar. "I'll take something strong." She told him. He seemed surprised but complied and placed a small but potent drink beside her which she downed before walking in Cas' direction. She didn't know Cas well enough to know he was so hot-headed but now it would be something she would take into account.

The Knight placed her hand on the shoulder of one of the men approaching Cas to try and reason with him but he immediately swung his fist round towards her before she got a chance to speak which she narrowly avoided. She grabbed him by the wrist and twisted his arm behind his back, using the Force to enhance her strength. "You'll only make things worse for yourself if you do this. The Queen will know about what you've done so protect yourselves and let him go." She spoke to anyone close enough to hear but the mixture of alcohol and anger seemed to negate any effects her words would have and the mention of the Queen only seemed to spur them on more.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

So things had really escalated, but this was something Cas would reflect upon later because as of right now... the Jedi Knight was too caught up in the moment to be thinking of anything, the jovial yelling from the other cantina patrons wasn't helping right now either. From the corner of his eye, he noticed one of the Hapans try and deliver a sneak attack on him but Cas quickly retaliated by spinning his body in the direction of his attacker, delivering a push kick which forced the Hapan a few metres away from him before the Kiffar promptly grabbed the chair he was sat on behind him with his cybernetic arm. Using it's strength he hurled the chair at the Hapan, breaking on impact as it collided with his face.

Two others came rushing at him, one slightly a head of the other and when he was close enough, Cas grabbed the Hapan's pretty head and used his momentum to drag him 190 degrees and pushing him into the other Hapan as both fell to the ground. The Jedi Knight quickly rushed over to them and stomped on one before kicking the other, hitting them both in vital points in their leg to stop them from getting up.

A taller, slightly broader Hapan, surprised Cas with a right hook before push kicking the Kiffar into a nearby wall. Smacking his back into a wall, the Jedi quickly recovered by running up to the taller Hapan and clapped his hands in between the larger man's ears, disorientating him, Cas swiftly crouched slightly and sent his metallic fist into the Hapan's groin. Naturally, he bent over in pain which gave Cas the opportunity to wrap his cybernetic hand around his throat, use the strength his metallic arm granted, lift the Hapan up and choke slam him into a table.

And with that, the overlapping hollering of the Hapan patrons ceased. Panting, Cas glanced around the cantina and his face fell into a shameful expression. The young Jedi Knight sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose "Kriff..." he muttered, embarrassed at how he let his temper get the better of him over something so trivial. He rubbed his nose nervously and turned his attention to Zemira "Uh... you find anything?" he called out to her smiling at her nervously, as if a child had spilled food all over the kitchen floor. With luck, the handling of the cantina patrons might have scared the others into revealing where the assassin could have gone.

Zemira

 

[Zemira]

It was a lot to ask since Cas was the initiator so it wasn't unexpected that she was met with a fiercely negative response as the man broke free from her grasp and turned to swing at her again which she avoided. Zemira wasn't keen on exchanging blows with the bar-goers but with little control over the situation and no choice but to defend herself, she was forced to return the occasional blow in defence, though for the most part she managed to evade the strikes from the sluggish drunk.

It didn't take a lot of effort to use the Force to topple the man over, rendering him fighting to get back to his feet among the confusion and intoxication. By now, chaos had consumed the bar and her accompanying Cas had not gone unnoticed as she turned around to face two men who had their eyes set on her. She let out a frustrated sigh, feeling more irritated with Cas than anything as these men were angry victims of a systematic oppression who she could sympathise with to some degree but Cas just seemed like someone who couldn't control his temper.

Nonchalantly, with the wave of a hand, she sent the two men facing her backwards using the Force, pinning them momentarily against the wall before they dropped to the ground. She turned back towards Cas, who had received most of the attention and watched with wide eyes as he picked up a man by the throat. Immediately, she marched over and placed both hands firmly on his chest to shove him backwards. "Are you completely out of your mind?!" She asked, bewildered, completely at a loss for what reasoning Cas could possibly have to explain himself.

Admittedly, her reaction didn't allow for much time to consider the implications before-hand but by the time she had considered that she was already staring Cas down with an irritated expression. They needed all the help they could get with such unwilling locals and he was only making the situation worse. The tables around them had fallen silent, prompting Zemira to glance between the eyes that gazed upon them so she became more composed to try and prevent another volatile situation but she was far from finished with what she had to say.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Seeing the look on Zemira's face, Cas released a defeated sigh as she marched over, after kicking half the bar's ass he was about to be berated by Zemira. Her shove caught him off guard, forcing him back slightly "Watch it!" he exclaimed but she quickly voiced her distaste for his actions. Cas' eyebrows furrowed and his lips formed into a pout, the Hapan asked him if he was out of his mind. Petty and stubborn, Cas simply responded with "Yes." in defiance.

Gazing at her irritated expression, his own softened and a small smile crept on his face unbeknownst to him. "You're cute when you're mad too?" Cas stated, albeit quiet enough where no one else could hear - if Hapans were able to make any expression attractive, he'd wish he was born to them instead of to Kiffar...

Back to the matter at hand, he too noticed that everyone had fell silent. Brushing passed Zemira, Cas moved to place himself in the centre of the cantina now that all eyes were on him and Zemira, he rubbed the back of his neck and avoided eye contact with anyone "That was my bad guys, but you all saw that - he threw his beer in my face, that's just disrespectful right?" Cas defended himself, raising his head slightly to begin making eye contact with some of the men. The Hapans shot each other looks, murmuring as they did so as they seemed to understand the outburst but they also held a loyalty to their own.

He raised his hands in surrender "Listen, we just need information and we'll be on our--" Cas stopped himself when he noticed a young looking man, no older than 18 begin to approach him "Let me show you out." he said as he made his way over to Cas, but when he was close enough he leaned into whisper to the Knight "We'll talk outside." Cas shot a look at Zemira and motioned for her to follow with a jerk of his head.

They were led outside by the young man and were directed into an alley way, he seemed nervous as his eyes darted around the area to make sure no one was listening, Cas and Zemira would also be able to sense his anxiety through the Force. Folding his arms, he looked at the young Hapan expectantly "Well?" he asked "I know who you're looking for... the man clad in black - we aren't with him but the others refused to give him up... it's a loyalty thing..." the kid explained which Cas promptly acknowledged "I get it." he said hurriedly.

Reading the context clues, the kid nodded his head and took a deep breath "The guy, who escaped through the cantina, I know where he's going. Its a place where his group meetup, in an abandoned warehouse in this district. It's a few blocks from here, you can't miss it." the kid revealed in a whispered tone before turning to leave, Cas quickly grabbed his arm "Wait. Why are you helping us?" Cas wondered. The kid gave Cas and Zemira a look down before an expression of sadness befell his face "My older brother... he's part of the group... he won't admit but I know he is. He's all I have left and I don't want him to get into some kind of trouble where he's taken from me." he confessed, Cas promptly released him and returned to the cantina.

Zemira

 

[Zemira]

Zemira frowned at his response, clearly not finding his remark funny this time. Although his previous humour had been appreciated, after what had just happened Zemira was not in the mood to jest. His joke suggested he wasn't taking the situation seriously which was further shown by his following comment but for some inexplicable reason she found her expression softening too and though she was far from finished scolding him, she was willing to let it go for now for the sake of the mission.

The Knight stood by and watched, her arms folded as she watched Cas expectantly as she waited for him to solve the situation on his own as he had gotten them into it. The situation didn't look good as they were shown out so she followed when Cas indicated for her to, preparing to talk to Cas about the situation when they were alone. However, once outside, she immediately became concerned after feeling the anxiety of the young man ripple through the Force. She thought it would be wise not to say anything as she didn't know the young man's opinion on women so she let Cas lead lest she inhibit them.

She listened to his story and felt sympathy towards him upon conclusion, feeling the need to place her hand on his shoulder to reassure him but she decided against it given the situation so instead nodded understandingly and thanked him. Once she was alone with Cas, she turned towards him, looking irritated. "Why would you do that? So what if someone disrespects you? You're a Jedi. You're part of something much bigger than yourself." She told him before walking past him and in the direction they were given. She didn't have a sense of urgency as the people they were searching for appeared to be sitting ducks.

The walk was silent on Zemira's end as she didn't particularly want to talk with Cas since she was still irked by his earlier behaviour. Although the directions were vague, it was true that the warehouse couldn't be missed with its strikingly out-of-place appearance which she stopped outside of. "We need to be careful. They're no doubt going to be hostile." She thought aloud. While looking for an entrance that wouldn't cause a scene at first so they could get a grip of the situation, she heard a door open at the side and peered around the building to watch someone leave.

Zemira signalled to Cas to follow her and led him around the side to the door. She could sense the people inside the building but no one nearby so she led the way into the building as quietly as possible and followed the sound of voices until they were as close as they could comfortably get. "How do you want to do this?" She asked, whispering.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas looked on, completely unaware Zemira turned to face him - with an irritated look no less, until she had spoken up. When she did, he turned to face her as well and quickly rolled his eyes at her and folded his arms but... he eventually relented and his standoffish nature disappeared, raising his arms in surrender Cas responded "Alright, I slipped up. My bad. I've still, clearly, got some stuff to work on." smirking when his last sentence concluded.

She still seemed pretty pissed, rightfully so, so as she walked passed him he followed suit before eventually matching her speed beside her. Although quite the motor mouth, he elected to stay quiet for the duration of the walk as to not bother Zemira and simply filled the awkward silence with melancholic whistling. Thankfully, the journey to the warehouse wasn't that long as the young Knight wasn't so sure how long he'd be able to keep up without running out of air, or drying up his lips. Glancing up at the worn down warehouse, Cas smirked and made a light joke aloud "'Can't miss it' huh? Understatement of the decade." before snickering quietly at himself.

The Kiffar discreetly followed the Hapan inside of the warehouse, trying to remain as stealthy as possible. When they reached a certain point inside, his fellow Knight asked him for his input and without missing a beat, Cas cast her a sideways glance before giving her a smug but charming smile "Oh? You want my input? Even after that fiasco back at the cantina?" he teased in a whisper before raising his gloved hand to stop her from retaliating "Easy, I'm just messing with you." the Kiffar ceded before his expression switched to that of a focused one "As much as I hate to say this--" he sighed "We should eavesdrop on this meetup, we're more liable to get information through that than going in there, kicking ass and demanding answers." Cas proposed.

Currently, the two Jedi Knights were inside a tight but long stretching hallway and at the two ends of it was the door that entered the warehouse and the other was a door that, he assumed, led into the warehouse's large storage base. To their right was a staircase leading upward and Cas believed it had to lead them to a second floor of the warehouse's storage space and so, motioning for Zemira to follow, he quietly made his way up the stairs before turning left and entered through a small doorway. Through the small doorway were walkways overlooking the storage space and... much to Cas' surprise, the warehouse's interior told a different story to its exterior.

It was completely renovated, filled with electronic equipment, a meeting table, storage crates, weaponry and more. These male Hapan must have been planning something big. Fortunately for Cas and Zemira, everyone was sat at the meeting table and their attention was focused solely on a man with blonde hair and green eyes who had a very commanding presence - obviously he was the leader.

Overlooking his subordinates, he began to speak with a clenched fist "Thank you for being here today, brothers. The time is almost here, the time for us to take back our rights from those upper class schuttas that have oppressed us for generations!" following that, the Hapan men roared jovially in unison before being subsequently silence when the blonde Hapan raised his hands "Our assassination attempt tonight was foiled by the Jedi, but it doesn't matter for we have contingencies. Tomorrow, we all know the Queen Mother will be hosting a gala tomorrow evening at the Fountain Palace and we will strike again then. Jakob, Arno, Kiks and Bon will pose as servants at the gala while the rest of us will sneak inside with the palace being opened by Arno and Bon - Zett, you will smuggle in the weapons for Jakob, Arno, Kiks and Bon. Once we're all inside, it will be time to act." the blonde Hapan revealed, explaining the plan to his subordinates. Now would probably be the best time to strike.

Zemira

 

[Zemira]

Cas accepting defeat seemingly satisfied her as she also relented in reprimanding him, though clearly hadn't expected for him to do so as easily as he did as she replied with an irritated, almost, unsure "Ok... Good." Before they would progress with the mission as if nothing happened. She was quick to let the matter go, content that Cas had seen the error of his ways and was willing to attempt to rectify that so she reverted back to her stoic nature and didn't hold his actions against him from there on.

Zemira had been scanning the area for signs of anyone approaching them but her gaze was drawn towards Cas when she heard his reply and she began to frown, opening her mouth to speak but was soon silenced by Cas who informed her of his jesting so she relaxed into a neutral expression. "Yeah, you're right." She nodded in agreement, allowing him to lead the way. Since having her own Padawan, she had grown more relaxed working with others, though it was still a struggle sometimes as she was used to working alone and acting on her own accord - she preferred it that way, or so she thought. After the death of her Master, she hadn't wanted to work with others again, not wanting to be responsible for anyone but herself but having a Padawan put an end to that.

The Knight followed her companion upstairs and lingered near the doorway while they listened. The information they heard from below made her heart sink. It confirmed her fears that the assassination was more than that and that these men were looking to initiate some kind of revolution. She felt conflicted on how to feel. While the men were justified in their anger, she didn't condone murder, though at the same time the men were powerless to do anything else. She wasn't sure what they could do to help as they needed to save the Queen but these men could get executed for their crimes. It was ultimately such a complex situation that thinking about it too deeply would only cause despair so after a few moments she ran towards the railing and front-flipped over it, landing on the table below with her lightsaber ignited.

Several weapons were trained on her but she held her lightsaber across her body in defence. No one moved for a moment, seemingly waiting for something which was soon revealed by the man who commanded the most attention in the room. "Kill her." He told them after a moment and as he did, a flurry of blaster bolts flew her way which she deflected with relative ease. These men couldn't have had any formal combat training as men were scarcely allowed in the military or the police so she couldn't imagine they would be much to contend with but she had to be careful not to deflect a bolt back to its shooter as she was reluctant to allow any loss of life.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas leaned slightly over the railing, trying to listen to as much as he could during the meeting and watched in disbelief as it progressed. Rebellion? Things were so bad for the males that they had to band together and depose the matriarchy? This was... difficult for Cas as the Kiffar was a huge believer in freedom and marginally against oppression due to his own upbringing, despite it being nowhere near as terrible as what the Hapan men had to go through.

However, they couldn't just let them kill the Queen Mother either as it wasn't the right way to earn their freedom - the Jedi wished there could be another way, some sort of compromise, but he wasn't naïve enough to believe it were possible. Not anymore. As he wrestled with his conscience, his duty and his own personal beliefs, Zemira completely caught him off guard when she flipped over the railing and landed in the middle of a meeting. That... that was his thing to leap into danger without warning, although it brought a smirk to his face. He was starting to like this woman.

Following after her, Cas dived over the railing and transitioned into a somersault before landing on the table beside her - "Kill her? We just wanted to know where the restroom was!" he quipped as he deflected a blaster bolt. The Hapans had fanned out, splitting off from the table which prompted the Jedi to perform an agile backflip and plant his feet on the table's edge, enhancing his strength with the Force, Cas managed to use his weight to tip the long table before extending his right arm forward and blasting the table forward with a powerful Force push - knocking out at least three of the Hapans.

Deflecting more blaster bolts coming his way from two more hostiles, Cas darted his way over "I get it, you outnumber us - you think you have a chance. It's almost cute!" Cas quipped again, prompting one of the men shooting at him to howl in annoyance, increasing the intensity of his fire. It was futile. Cas made his way over to the men through dodging the blaster bolts through speedy acrobatics and the use of his lightsaber to block any he missed. Finally in close enough range to the two Hapan men, Cas slide between them before spinning himself round and swiping at one of the hostile's legs, knocking him over. The Kiffar blocked a point-blank shot from the remaining Hapan and swiftly stood up to cut his blaster rifled in half with a vertical slice and finishing him off with a Force push.

"How're ya doin' Zemira? My count's at five!" he called out, making a competition out of this skirmish.

Zemira

 

[Zemira]

Had they not been in such a serious situation which commanded that she act professionally, Zemira may have smiled at Cas' quip but she was thinking of the role she was in now: She was a Jedi, something bigger than herself, so she acted accordingly. As the Hapans dispersed, Zemira jumped off of the table to avoid having her back exposed to blaster fire which allowed her to deflect their bolts while still allowing regard for their safety as she didn't have to worry about her own as much. Still, the battle would go on forever if it continued as it was so she needed to use a non-lethal method of taking them out.

While part of her wanted to scold Cas for goading the men, she realised perhaps it could be a useful tactic as people who acted on emotions tended to make more rash judgements and thus more mistakes so she said nothing, though she hoped it wouldn't be the same case for Cas and that his confidence wouldn't allow him to get ahead of himself.

When a man approached her from behind in attempt to tackle her, she took the opportunity to spin around to face him and Force push him into the man behind him, sending the pair into the wall and knocking them out before quickly turning back to face the oncoming slew of blaster bolts. With her now free hand she pulled the weapons out of the hands of those firing at her who then began to scramble for them. Ahead, her eyes set on the blonde man who had been leading the meeting who was running away from the commotion so Zemira immediately leapt into action, deactivated her lightsaber, and pursued him, pushing past the men she had unarmed. "It's not a game, Cas!" She shouted in response before leaving his sight.

The Knight followed the Hapan through a corridor and then past some doors until they were in an alleyway behind the warehouse which connected back to the main street. She was slightly behind but could sense his presence in the Force so kept hot on his tail and used the Force to enhance her speed. When the man glanced back and realised he couldn't outrun the Jedi, he rather commendably turned around to take her on in a fight, even throwing the first first which the Jedi dodged and returned, hitting the mark of his abdomen.

The man stumbled back a few steps but recovered quickly to regain his footing in the fist fight. However, the man realised that whatever training he had barely scratched the surface of the training the Jedi were given so he resorted to unfair means to gain an advantage and pulled out a blaster at close range so Zemira froze. "You don't want to do this." She began trying to reason with the man who was likely hot on emotions. "I understand your pain but killing the Queen Mother or a Jedi isn't the way to get your voice heard." She told him. "What would you know?" He asked bitterly, his voice trembling with anger.

"My father took me from Hapes when I was young. He is the best thing in my life. I know you aren't citizens any less worthy than women but killing the Queen is not the way to get your message across. You can facilitate change through peace. I know it seems like the world is against you but it isn't. There are plenty of women who sympathise with your plight but don't outright say it because of the stigma. Don't make those women your enemies too." She spoke calmly, hoping the man had an ounce of reason within him and judging by his hesitance to pull the trigger, it seemed like he did.

Cadere