Runabout

[Bretak]

Bretak's voice came through the comm in Aang's ear. "I will meet with her since you pledged your honor, Aang, but she will be searched before boarding."

Aang nodded to Tiktik, who stepped between Nelaa and the airlock.

"I will have to search you," she said. "Trust is earned."

[Nelaa Kyris]

Nelaa gave a curt nod.

"Certainly. I am armed."

She made her statement matter of factly, with no suggestion of protest or worry. She started to remove her jacket before Aang held up his hand. She couldn't see his face, but his body language almost suggested some discomfort. Not fear, shyness perhaps? Embarrassment?. His words were quick, almost clipped off.

"Tiktik will search you..."

Nelaa turned and found herself face to face with Tiktik, who wasted no time relieving her of her weapons. She pulled a blaster from Nelaa's coat and handed it off. Her hands moved under Nelaa's shirt and pressed around her stomach, feeling the texture of the suit underneath. Tiktik glanced at Aang for a second then back to Nelaa.

"What is this underneath?"

Nelaa pulled off her jacket and dropped it to the floor before pulling off her shirt. With the exception of Tiktik, she found the Mandalorians glancing away. She removed the rest of her outer clothing until she was in only her combat suit. It was form-fitting, but with it's unlinked light armor plating, was not at all revealing.

"This is combat armor. I can remove it if you would like, but I fear I'm not wearing much underneath..."

"That will not be necessary" Aang croaked.

Tiktik went back to work, removing a vibroblade from Nelaa's hip, and her utility belt. She looked over at Aang.

"That is all."

Nelaa spoke up.

"Hold on..."

She held her right arm up to give Aang a better look.

"The bracer's on this armor have a dart launcher hidden inside. It's built into the suit so I can't remove it, but I can unload the darts. Is this acceptable?"

[Bretak]

“Acceptable,” nodded Aang, stepping closer to examine how she unloaded the dart launcher. Tiktik confiscates the darts, and he took ahold of Nelaa’s forearm, looking over the cleverly concealed launcher. It was very similar to the dart launcher in his own gauntlet, but more compact and sleek.

After a moment he released her and walked through the hatch to the airlock and the Aranar​. “Come.”

[Nelaa Kyris]

She fell in step behind Aang, and the other Mandalorians fell in behind her. She strode with a confidence that she didn't completely feel. I'm committed now. Her job always carried the threat of capture or death, and it was normally up to her ability to lie to avoid it. Now she found herself being open and honest, and literally allowing herself to be captured. She knew it was the correct play, but it went against years of developed instincts. They walked in silence into a lift, and when the doors opened, she found herself stepping into a conference room of some sort.

Aang escorted her to a table and gestured for her to have a seat. She thanked him and sat down. A million scenarios started running through her mind and she had to exert some mental effort to shut it down. Something I did not anticipate will happen. I must be ready to act.

[Bretak]

Bretak walked into the conference room, armored and wearing his helmet. He nodded to Aang and Tiktik, the two escorts for their unusual visitor from Imperial Intelligence. He stood across from her, then pulled out a chair and sat.

After a moment he unbuckled his helmet and removed it, setting it on the table to his right. Bretak was a man of nearly fifty cycles, his dark blond hair lightening to white at the temples. Intelligent blue eyes stared out of a sun browned face at Nelaa Kyris.

”I am Bretak, second to Mand’alor.” He paused. “Why are you here?”

[Nelaa Kyris]

This one has a similar accent to Aang. If they're an offshoot clan of Mandalorian, they've been separated for awhile. She pushed the thought to the side. It could be useful at some point, but Betak was here now and didn't seem like he would be too interested in giving her a history lesson. He was direct, with an edge to his voice that suggested that he was just ticking off a few boxes before he slapped her in shackles or worse. She couldn't afford to show weakness now though, not after the performance she'd put on earlier. Her body language was loose, almost casual. She leaned forward in her chair, resting her right arm on the table in front of her and smiled almost warmly before she spoke.

"Bretak, I need to speak with your Mandalore about the Ord Trasi shipyards."

She watched, curious to see how he would react.

[Bretak]

Bretak’s sabbac face was impassive. “A strange request. Does the Empire require mercenaries at the shipyards? I fail to see how this would interest Mand’alor.”

How does this one know...and how did she find us? Whatever the answer was, Agent Kyris had sealed her fate. She would not be released.

[Nelaa Kyris]

Oh how coy...

"Bretak, do you think I would have come all this way and gone through all of this if I wasn't certain your crew were responsible for the attack at Ord Trasi? Do you think I would do all of this on a hunch? Is that the impression I've given you so far?"

She had the sense Bretak was going to try to get her to lay every card on the table without showing his hand at all. She wasn't in the strongest position to negotiate - he could literally kill her at any time - but the last thing she was going to do was be played for a fool.

[Bretak]

He did not change his expression, but he leaned ever so slightly forward. “Did your search for us, whoever you think we are, lead you to believe this was going to be simple? Or easy?”

Bretak raised an eyebrow. “Or safe?”

He turned to Aang, who was standing off to the side like a statue, and spoke to him in mando’a. “Did this one try to bring weapons on board?”

“No. Yes - but when we searched her she gave up them all, including one Tiktik did not find.”

Tiktik made a noise in her throat, but said nothing. That would come later, when the Imperial agent was not present.

“So she had you dead to rights, and yet you live and she relinquished her weapons.” Bretak turned back to Agent Kyris, speaking in Basic once more.

”If we are the ones you seek, why have you come alone?”

[Nelaa Kyris]

"Nothing I've done up to this point has been easy or safe, I don't expect different from you."

She almost decided to reply to him in Mandalorian, but her grasp on the language wasn't that great. Best keep that card in the deck for now.

"The reason I come alone is that I believe there may be a solution here that doesn't involve bringing the Imperial Navy down on your head."

[Bretak]

Bretak sat back a bit, studying the woman. She was relatively young, but was showing no signs of fear at her situation. If she was a Force user, such as those that Mand'alor had been bringing among them, then that could account for her self-assurance.

If she was not, then she was either very smart ...or very dumb.

He did not think it was the latter. As an agent of Imperial Intelligence she could simply be very highly trained.

He was not sure how to prove whether she was an adept or not. If she was, then pushing her to reveal herself could be very bad for his vod. Mand'alor would be able to handle her, so the solution was to give Agent Kyris what she wanted. An audience.

"Very well. I will take you to Mand'alor." He sat forward, resting his forearms on the table. "You will be our guest for the journey. Your freighter will be left here. If Mand'alor deems it wise, you will be returned to it after your meeting."

[Nelaa Kyris]

Nelaa smiled and tilted her head in a slight bow.

"Thank you for your courtesy, Bretak. It is an honor."

There was no hint of mocking in her tone at all, even if the word courtesy was a bit of a stretch.

[Bretak]

****

After a full day of travel, the Agent confined to quarters with a guard outside the door and trusted warriors in the rooms adjacent in case she tried anything tricky, the Aranar arrived at Dantooine.

Aang hooded the Imperial agent after escorting her to a shuttle, sitting her down and making sure she was strapped in for the ride to the planet's surface. The woman did not speak much, beyond a question about their destination.

"You will meet Mand'alor," said Aang, before placing the hood. "Just as you wished."

Under the claustrophobic darkness of the hood, Kyris could not tell what planet they were at, or even if they had arrived at a planet. They could have been taking her to another ship, or even out and around and back to the one they'd left from. But once the shuttle landed Aang carefully removed the hood.

"We are here. Follow me."

They were obviously expected. Armed and armored Acolytes stood outside the shuttle as they exited, walking along behind them as they passed through the village. The planet was non-descript - grasses and trees that might be found on any number of habitable worlds.

The village was unique. Cobbled together from pre-fabs and old masonry, there were living areas and open fires, and children running around playing games. One small group of youngsters, including a young Wookiee, was being herded into a pre-fab hut by a grizzled looking old woman in armor. The old woman glared at Kyris when she caught her looking, and closed the door.

Aang walked through confidently, greeting friends in Mando'a loudly as he led the way to Mand'alor's dwelling. The longhouse was larger than the others, not because Mand'alor wished it so, but because it was proper.

Outside the building he saluted Hel and Jeng, of Mand'alor's honor guard, with a fist over his heart. "The agent."

Hel sniffed. "She does not look like much. And she got the upper hand on you, Aang?" She was not speaking Mando'a, letting the visitor hear their conversation on purpose.

Aang grimaced, non-plussed. "She's quicker than she looks. But she has given her word and kept it." He gestured past them. "Shall we enter?"

"She goes in alone, Mand'alor's orders."

All three Mando'ade turned and looked at Kyris as she faced the open door.

[Nelaa Kyris]

Nelaa from slight sensory deprivation with the hood over her head to a full on assault on her senses once it was removed, which she guessed was probably the desired effect. Taking in her surroundings, it was interesting how the very primitive met with high tech with little buffer in between. In the back of her mind, she knew this was another clue to the origin of these people, but she dare not lose focus trying to figure that out just this moment. A longhouse was the center of everything, and it was most certainly where Nelaa would be meeting this Mand'alor. The accent they spoke with still picked at her mind. It was almost as if she'd heard it at some point, but just couldn't place it.

Upon reaching the longhouse, a small pang of guilt hit her stomach as Aang took some abuse from the honor guard at the door. She brushed it to the side during her assessment of Hel and Jeng. These two are quite the pair... she thought to herself. The man was tall and broad and Nelaa found her eyes lingering on him perhaps a bit longer than they should have. The woman giving Aang grief was probably the more interesting of the pair. With her battle armor and scarred face, she seemed to be almost a monster, even though a more detailed assessment revealed that she wasn't much bigger than Nelaa. She guessed that the woman was probably the more dangerous of the two.

As they directed her inside she glanced back and gave Aang a respectful nod before stepping inside. As she stepped in, she found herself in a large audience chamber. On the other side of the room sat a figure dressed in red, white, and black armor. It only took a few seconds to realize the figure sitting across the room was a woman. Nelaa found that very interesting. She also found it interesting that she was going in alone. Even though she'd been thoroughly searched for weapons, and the Mandalore was supposed to be strongest among them, it still seemed strange that she would meet with Nelaa without some guards present, even if for looks.

Unless she doesn't want them to hear what we discuss...

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena watched the woman, this Imperial agent, as she walked into the room. Nelaa Kyris, if that was her true name, was calm as she entered the audience chamber, her heartbeat steady as she walked to a respectful distance and stopped, holding her arms behind her back like a soldier at ease.

Behind her helmet Lilaena sat silently, letting the silence drag for a moment longer than was comfortable.

"You laid a trap for my mando'ade and came alone to beg audience with me," she said at last, her voice filtered through the helmet's vocoder. "You have been scanned for trackers and none were found. You are alone, Agent Kyris."

Lilaena did not move, only turned her head to look at the agent fully. "I assume you were not so unwise as to leave your safety entirely to chance. You told Bretak that you had a solution that did not involve the entire Imperial Navy. But I think that the Navy is your plan B."

She stood up, her red-lined black cape draping elegantly behind her from her shoulders to her knees. "We have no love for the Empire here, Agent. Tell me what it is you wish to say, but make it quick."

[Nelaa Kyris]

Nelaa seemed almost amused.

"Mandalore, as I told your man Aang back on my ship, negotiation at gunpoint is no negotiation. I won't sit here and tell you that the Empire will erase your entire existence from this galaxy if you kill me because it isn't true."

She found herself looking around the room, taking in the small details as she spoke.

"Truth be told their will be very little consequence for my untimely death."

Her words were directed at the room almost as much as they were at this Mand'alor. She accepted her death every time she set out on a mission. The ironic part is that acceptance is what had kept her alive all these years. It gave her a boldness to act where pure fear would have frozen her. She brought her gaze back to the Mand'alor.

"What I'm offering you is the choice between two universes. One where you're an enemy of the Empire, and one where you are not."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena stood still, staring, gauging Agent Kyris with the Force. She seemed to be telling the truth, but skilled intelligence agents would know how to mask their physical reactions to hide a lie. The emotion coming off do her was honest, however.

She reached up and removed her helmet, setting it on the metallic bench she had been seated on. Shaking out her hair, she looked flatly at the other woman. She had painted on the black mark she customarily wore over her left eye, covering a scar that she had earned years ago.

Lilaena smiled grimly. “I am interested in hearing your proposal, but I am also sure there is no scenario where the Empire and I will not be enemies.”

[Nelaa Kyris]

Nelaa's heart skipped a beat the moment that the mark on De'Ville's face became visible. It only took a brief moment to pull herself together, but during that time it was obvious that she had been taken completely by surprise. She sat quietly for some time, making no effort to hide the fact that the wheels were turning in her mind. Then, in an instant, her mind seemed to finally gain traction.

"I won't pretend that I don't recognize you, it would be too late for that even if I cared to. This will complicate some matters and simplify others."

It occurred to her that De'Ville had advantages that Nelaa had not accounted for, but the situation was still tenable. Lying was a riskier option now, but that was a tool that she had already planned not to use. De'Ville was physically more of a threat than anticipated, but killing her would have been counterproductive anyways. They were further apart than Nelaa had originally thought they would be, but she could still sense that a middle ground could be located.

"I must ask. These people..." she gestured back toward the door, "...are they now your people or are they a means to an end for you?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The shock that Nelaa Kyris felt was quickly brought under control, but not before Lilaena picked up on an undercurrent of panic. She did not smile at the revelation, however, keeping her own face impassively neutral.

”They are my people. Any threat to them is a threat to me, and I will protect them to my fullest ability.”

She did smile then, just a quirk of the left side of her lips.

”It is a strange twist of fate bringing an Imperial agent to my door requesting a parley. What was your offer going to be, before you knew who I was?”

[Nelaa Kyris]

Either she means that, or I'm completely out of my league...

Nelaa narrowed her eyes and tilted her head ever so slightly. Her expression picked up a tinge of intensity, reservation mixed with realization as she locked eyes with De'Ville. She spoke quietly, loud enough for De'Ville to hear, but almost to herself, as if her own words were surprising her.

"The same offer I'm making now. Cease all hostile activities toward the Empire and I'll help keep you off their radar."

It did occur to her that her statement was treason, but she pushed the thought to the side.