Private Just Checking In

[Cato Harth]

As he was thrown into Inanna's room, where the shades were drawn and the walls were soundproofed, Cato had half-expected they were going to skip business altogether. She reminded him of the radical, and the dumb smirk that had begun to grow across his face quickly vanished. It took a few more seconds for him to process everything, "I- Sorry, he's literally just hanging out around here? In your house?"

He followed her to the closet, where the man of the hour had apparently been locked away. Cato simply stared at the alien with a confused look, both out of the bizarre circumstances of their meeting, and the fact that he'd never actually seen a Shi'ido in their true form before.

McGill's voice snapped the knight back into reality. He reared his head back in insult, "Chucklefuck? Hold up buddy, I know you ain't talkin," Cato stepped toward the smaller man, looking him up and down, "You will, though. What have you and your radicals been planning on Nar Shaddaa? Don't bother bullshitting me, I've got the Jedi shtick on lockdown," through the Force he would attempt to inuit the man's sincerity. How successful that was remained to be seen.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“It is a private residence on a remote island,” Inanna replied. “I consider that pretty safe, all things considered.”

But of course, McGill and Cato were immediately at each other’s throats.

“I’m not your buddy, and I don’t have to say a word to you,” McGill retorted. “You think you scare me, bozo? I’ve seen chit you can’t even imagine, let alone have nightmares about.”

Rather than threaten McGill, Inanna tried to keep things relatively civil. “This is Cato,” she said. “He’s a Jedi. We want to ask you a few questions.”

“About the Free Lao-mon Movement, yeah yeah. I haven’t even been a part of that in years, you know. And I dunno if you noticed, but I’m a little bit fucking insane.” He leered at Inanna. “You want answers that badly? Get this thing off of me, and then I’ll talk.”

Reluctantly, Inanna unclasped the straitjacket. McGill shrugged it off, stretching like an infant released from a swaddling cloth, and began to morph and change into… a moth. Well, more of a mothman. He sprouted fuzzy orange wings with brown spots on the tips that looked a little like eyes, and a pair of orange antennae that resembled fall leaves, or gouts of flame.

“Ah, that’s the stuff.” Humming contentedly, McGill turned toward them. “Now, what was that question from the Jedi clown? ‘What have you and your radicals been planning on Nar Shaddaa?’” He did a perfect imitation of Cato’s voice, yet somehow managed to make it sound like a mockery. “Well, I have no idea. I haven’t been to Nar Shaddaa in years. However.”

He proceeded to flop on Inanna’s bed, laying back with his hands behind his head.

“I bet they’re getting spooked now that the Alliance is dividing their attention between the Imperials and the Brotherhood. All they give a damn about is freeing Lao-mon, so obviously any delay in the Reclamation is a worst case scenario. They might even be scared and mad enough to do something drastic, like assassinate a political figure or blow some place up. But to do that, they'll need heavy weapons and bombs and such, which they can easily get through criminal channels on the smuggler’s moon...”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"He's an insane terrorist. You and I have different definitions of 'safe'."

In the next few minutes, McGill and Cato were off to a rocky start. They didn't mesh, that much was clear, despite Inanna's attempts to mediate. The man claimed to have seen horrors he couldn't even comprehend, "Somehow I doubt that," He dismissed with a roll of his eyes.

The Shi'ido even outright admitted to being insane, and might as well have proved as much by turning himself into a moth person as his first act of freedom. The knight stared with a slack jaw, contorting into a scowl as McGill parroted his own words back at him. He flopped onto the bed, and Cato look irritated as if the man had just made himself at home on his own furniture.

Finally, however, they got to what he had been waiting for. In essence, it was a case of black arms dealing. A place where they could get access to high firepower under the radar. It made enough sense to Cato, even if McGill seemed difficult to trust. "So they, what, devise an attack and blame it on the Maw? Force the Alliance to redouble their efforts against them? Or take out a figure that's impeding their progress?"

"Anything in particular that might be on their hit list? People or places that have really pissed them off?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Well…” Inanna flailed a little. “Safe for everyone else besides the people here, yeah?”

McGill seemed to latch on to the somehow I doubt that comment in particular, leaning forward dangerously as Cato rolled his eyes.

“Have you ever had to watch your friends and family melt into piles of fleshy goo, suffocating to death as their lungs can no longer get any air?" he snarled. "Have you witnessed your homeworld being eradicated of all life, either through poison in the atmosphere, or the stripmining of invaders cutting down to the planet’s very core? How about getting captured by a bunch of freaks who can get inside your head, rip things out, rearrange your brain until you don’t even know who you are anymore, only that you belong to them, and what they say you’ll do until you die?”

“That’s enough,” Inanna interrupted. “Answer his question.”

“They’ll blame the Maw, yes, of course. We would go to our deaths leading the Alliance to believe we were Fleshtakers.” Rather than answer Cato’s other questions, he smirked and asked, “Got any food around here?”

“Yes, but you can’t have any,” Inanna replied smoothly.

“Why? Would it draw too much suspicion? Your house is like a brothel, everyone is always coming and going anyway.” He glanced toward Cato. “And some of them too fast.”

“I’ll smuggle you some snacks afterwards if you tell us who they’re targeting,” Inanna said.

“Uh, people or places in particular… I don’t know, maybe the new Chancellor? She seems like a real shrew, and too much concerned with internal affairs… Or how about that Count Organa guy, the one who promised he would build us another refugee city? The boys and girls of Free Lao-mon hated his guts. They thought building a refugee city would make us all complacent, no longer concerned with fighting to reclaim the homeworld.” He gave Inanna a ghastly grin. “I saw what the tabloids had to say about that stunt you pulled at the gala. He really pulled a fast one on you, didn’t he?”

“I made a mistake,” she muttered. “And it doesn’t matter.”

“Oh, but it does. Maybe they’ll blame you for ruining our chances. Maybe you’re their next target.” He smiled. “In which case, this place is not so safe after all.”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato did initially seem taken aback by McGill's recounting of Lao-man's fall. He had no doubts it was painful, but he was resolute if just to put this guy in his place, "Well- my homeworld was a shithole, so I can't say watching it burn to the ground would fill me with much grief. But I fought in the Brynadul Wars, alright? I got at least some understanding of that nightmare. Look I'm sorry for what's happening to your people. Truly. But you helped turn this shit into something worse, so now you're gonna help me fix it." Content that he'd given his case, Cato relented to Inanna's attempts to refocus the conversation.

Not that it was long before McGill had his own distractions, "Dude."

However, his brothel comparison did earn something of a glance from Cato, nearly distracting him in turn. He wasn't going to make any judgements about how Inanna lived her life, but the sudden possibility that he was just some rebound boytoy did hurt a little. He tried not to draw attention to it, instead calling out a separate point, "How long has this guy been living in your house?"

Inanna was, thankfully, doing her best to reign them both in. Cato shook his head and tried to listen. The chancellor was certainly an option, but a rather lofty one given the position. The mention of the Organa got him to interject, "Figures your logic would dictate that one of the few guys actually trying to help would be worth killing." He raised a hand as if to surrender prematurely, rather than risk turning it into another argument. McGill mentioned some gala, and Cato threw his hands up, "What?" Some drama he was unaware of. Yet another distraction, if not for the point McGill made after.

"…You think that could be possible?" Ash was here. Surely she didn't have any darker plans for her own aunt… Hopefully.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna was so absorbed in the discussion that followed, trying to follow each thread the mad McGill threw her way, that it took her a second to register that Cato had asked her a question. “Living in my—what?” She blinked. “I just brought him in this morning, when I heard you were coming. I wouldn’t live anywhere near him, he’s nuts.”

McGill grinned proudly at that, as if she had just read off straight A’s on his report card.

The mention of Alicio had immediately caused Inanna’s shoulders to sink. McGill’s knowledge of the gala only made things worse. Cato was of course bewildered, but she was in no mood to talk about it. At least, not in detail.

“I was… Oh, it was stupid. A lover’s quarrel. He led me on, or I misunderstood him, something like that. I got angry, I caused a scene, and came out of it looking like a fool. Is that enough of a reason to be targeted by terrorists?”

"Well, I don't know about that," McGill replied, still grinning. "But you're the one who's been trying to convince the Alderaanian to build us a city. You've probably been a target for quite some time. The embarrassment of the gala could just be the straw that breaks the bantha's back."

Inanna thought of Ash at around the same time Cato did. It would certainly explain why they had recruited her. Inanna's knees felt weak. She’s my own brother’s daughter. She wouldn’t do a thing like that. I’m all that she has left.

But Inanna wasn't all that Ash had left. Ash's grandmother and two of her uncles were alive to take guardianship in the event of Inanna's death. Even then, perhaps she thought she had found a new family, a new clan, with the radicals.

Sinking into a chair, Inanna cursed. “This can’t be real,” she whispered, clenching her fists. “You’re wrong. They must be planning something else.”

“I could be wrong. But I’m usually right about these things.” McGill tapped the toes of his feet together. “Now, about those snacks…”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Then what is this dude even talking about?" Perhaps he was putting too much thought into every little thing that came out of McGill's mouth. The man was, as they were all well aware now, insane. Cato waved his hand to dismiss it, and move on to the next point.

That point being the Organa. He raised a brow, not quite expecting that their relationship had gone that far. Whatever gala they were even talking about was unfamiliar to him as a whole. Maybe it was time to do a bit more catching up with the galaxy outside of Nar Shaddaa.

The more immediate problem ultimately came back to this movement's central plot. And it's possible targets. Cato stepped behind the chair Inanna had sat down in, resting his hand against the back of it to be a comforting presence. It was hard to imagine that being possible. Ash wouldn't do that to her own family… would she? At the end of the day, Cato didn't know her well enough to make that call. Only his personal experiences, and the thought of him or one of his family members turning on the other seemed unthinkable.

"Why go through all that trouble on Narsh just to get to Inanna, though? No need for big weapons to get close enough to her. There's gotta be something else. Either she's not the target, or… there's something way bigger at play than just a lone assassination." He ignored the man's plea for snacks entirely, stroking his chin in thought over what could possibly be going on. Cato had largely ruled out a successful strike on the Chancellor. Could it really be the Organa? Or as he'd already theorized, could it be more? Something bigger, perhaps even with multiple targets.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Then what is this dude even talking about?"

“Talking about what?” Now Inanna was even more confused, but it at least gave her something else to puzzle over than whether or not her niece was plotting to have her assassinated. She had evidently either already forgotten or disregarded the comment about her house being like a brothel, assuming it was a crack at all the strange characters who came to visit.

Cato’s reasoning made sense, and it assuaged her fears a little. Inanna lifted her chin, her brow furrowing. “Multiple targets,” she muttered. “It could be multiple targets… Me, Alicio… maybe Queen Faith?”

She sighed. “Should we interrogate Ash, then? See what she knows?”

McGill straightened, perhaps sensing that he was about to be straitjacketed and shoved back into the closet without a snack.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Oh lovely," Cato commented at the possibility of a queen being involved, "If these guys wanna help the Shi'ido, all they're going to do is shoot themselves in the foot." Maybe to them it made sense, spurring their people back into action rather than being content with resettling; But nothing was ever as simple as groups like these wanted them to be.

The mention of Ash gave him pause, before he sighed, "It might be worth a shot. She was there, after all." He didn't seem eager to reopen that wound, but they didn't have many other options. And if she really was involved in the plot, better safe than sorry.

McGill seemed to recognize that things were coming to a natural conclusion, and Cato wasted little time sauntering beside the mothman and planting a hand on his back, ready to dole out whatever result was needed, "What about this one?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

So they would have to question Ash. That probably wasn't going to be earning Inanna any points with her niece, but maybe that didn't matter anymore. If Ash really was plotting against her… She shook her head.

"Oh, him?" Inanna hadn't really thought through what to do with McGill after the abduction. "Well, we'll have to take him back to his cell—"

McGill suddenly bolted, making a run for the door. Inanna seized him with telekinesis, holding him in place.

"Fine!" McGill cried. "I'll go. But don't put me back in that closet, please."

Inanna frowned. They would have to wait for a more opportune time to smuggle him out. "I won't. Provided you don't leave this room."

"Okay." McGill brightened. "Don't forget my snack."

Smiling faintly despite it all, Inanna glanced at Cato, then toward the door. "Shall we?"

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

There was a momentary scuffle as McGill made a break for the door. Before Cato could make an effort of his own to stop him, Inanna had a hold of the man through the Force. The knight spared her a look both amused and bemused, as McGill had to beg to not be locked back in the closet. Surely her wardrobe couldn't be that terrifying.

They cut a deal, and a moment later, they were ready for the next step. Cato shrugged, "Sure," Neither were particularly excited about it, but it could prove crucial. He stepped out the door and made his way back to the living room, presumably with Inanna just behind. He stopped at the edge of the room, remembering the somewhat awkward exit they had out of their last conversation with Ash.

Cato cleared his throat, "...Heyyyy. Ash, uh, mind if we ask you something?" He looked back to Inanna with a plea for help written across his face. Provided any intentions of aunt murder were out of the way, maybe she would be more likely to coax something out of the 40 year old teenager. A teenager nearly twice his age. Cato cringed.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Sealing the bedroom door with McGill inside, Inanna actually headed to the kitchen first. She swiftly reappeared beside Cato, peeling open the wrapper of a snack bar… while quietly floating another one under the bedroom door with the Force to keep McGill quiet.

Ash was in her room, which looked like the bedroom of any other teenage girl. The walls were covered in holoposters, mostly of musicians. Sitting at her desk, Ash’s eyes darted between Cato and Inanna. She looked uncertain, and more than a little pale. Did she suspect something?

“We need to ask you about your… friends on Nar Shaddaa,” Inanna added. “Specifically, we want to know what they were planning.”

“Oh.” Ash seemed relieved. “I thought you were going to ask me something else.”

Inanna’s brow furrowed. “Like what?”

She waved all four hands dismissively, and seemed in a hurry to forget the subject. “I didn’t really get the chance to find out what they were planning, because you showed up before I could get it out of them. If you hadn’t, maybe I’d have something to report.”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato raised a brow at Ash's initial dismissal, but let it slide. The second point, however, he jumped on, "We heard you all planning some kind of attack in that abandoned house. Clearly there were at least some stages already laid out given the talk. What were you working on?"

He spoke firmly, though was very conscious to not come across as threatening or antagonistic. She was still Inanna's niece, and if there was any information she could give them, ideally it wouldn't have to be through coercion. "Some sort of attack on the Alliance. A political figure, maybe several. We just want you to tell us who."

Perhaps the more it seemed like they already knew, the more she'd be inclined to spill the beans wholesale. He stood still, glancing briefly over to Inanna to gauge her own reaction, before settling back on Ash expectantly.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Ash rolled her eyes. “All I heard was ‘we’re planning a suicide mission’ and ‘we need bombs’. That was it. They didn’t tell me anything else. That was my first meeting with them in person, so I don’t think they trusted me all that much, even though I had been in contact with them for months on the Holonet.”

Inanna’s brow furrowed. Something about the way Ash talked about it didn’t quite sit right with her. But then a lot of things about all this didn’t sit right with her…

“All right, that’s it,” she said, deciding to put the pressure on her. “Either you tell us everything, or you’re grounded for an extra month.”

“What?!” Ash blurted. “I just told you, I don’t know anything else! And it’s your fault that I don’t! I could’ve helped you, but you wouldn’t listen, and now everything is ruined!”

“I thought you wanted to help them assassinate me.”

“No! I wanted to infiltrate—” Ash broke off, her eyes widening.

“Infiltrate, huh?” Inanna crossed her arms over her chest, her lips curling into a smile. Internally, she felt a huge wave of relief. “You mean you were only pretending to be interested in Free Lao-mon?”

Ash’s face turned a dark grayish color, the Shi’ido equivalent of a blush. “Well, yeah. Those guys are completely crazy. Besides, if I really wanted to join them, I would’ve given them your ship, not left it behind for you to find. I just didn’t expect you to track me down that easily...” She glared at Cato.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato squinted at the girl, suspicious of her answer despite wanting to give her the benefit of the doubt. But he was content to step back as Inanna put her foot down. Though at the threat of grounding, he could help but quip, "For conspiracy to commit terrorism, you're getting off pretty easy."

“No! I wanted to infiltrate—” Ash broke off, her eyes widening.

There was a break where everyone seemed to come to the same realization. Cato smirked. It took moxie to implant oneself a cell of extremists. Ash may not have made much progress, but he was impressed with her determination nonetheless. When she looked over to him, he shrugged innocently, "Sorry, it's kinda my job. Your aunt was eager to get you back." His smirk transitioned over to Inanna, before he stepped forward.

"Not bad, Ash. Dangerous, but, not bad." Cato studied her for a moment before stiffing back into a more serious state of mind, "But you don't have any idea what they might have been working on? Nothing at all they said which might've tipped you off to a plan? If not… we're back at square one." He pursed his lips, dissatisfied by the thought.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Why didn’t you tell me you were infiltrating them?” Inanna asked.

“Because it would’ve ruined the whole thing,” Ash replied. “I knew you wouldn’t have let me do it. You’d have said it was too dangerous.”

“It is too dangerous. Those people you met with were planning a suicide mission, and they were going to take your right along with them. How exactly were you planning on getting out of there in one piece?”

“I would’ve figured it out,” Ash said, rather lamely. “I just needed more time…”

Cato kept things on track, asking about the terrorists’ plans again. Ash hesitated, then heaved a sigh.

“It’s definitely either a Senator or the Chancellor. I sort of inferred that they were going to plant a bomb aboard the person’s ship, but I wasn’t sure. I am sure that you were never the target, Aunt Inanna.”

Inanna bit her lip. “Then it’s most likely Alicio. He just became Senator of Alderaan.”

"Sounds about right. Wasn't he almost killed by a Fleshtaker the first time he visited the camp? They're probably going to make it look like they finally finished the job." Turning back toward her personal computer, Ash began typing with all four of her hands. "Okay, am I off the hook now? I was in the middle of something..."

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Ash's foolhardiness was dangerously like Cato's; Eager to jump into the fray and figure things out as they go rather than wait around. He wasn't sure whether to feel proud, or concerned. Perhaps a bit of both.

It seemed they had their target then. Unless this organization was more well-equipped than he thought, their sights were set squarely on the Organa scion. "Sounds like we've got our lead, then." Cato was already stepping out of the room, "Thanks Ash, have fun with... whatever it is you're doing."

He would beckon Inanna out of the room as well, continuing, "Looks like we might have to make a trip back to Narsh then, if they're still working out of there. Stamp out their op once and for all. Maybe we should notify his security somehow? Get a few extra sets of eyes out." He let the thought continue to run in his head, pausing as he remembered another point, "...So you've got some kinda… history with this guy, right?" Cato asked, trying to hide some of his curiosity.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

One of Ash’s arms waved goodbye as they left her room.

“Yep,” Inanna said with a sigh. “Back to Narsh it is. So much for staying the night…”

She would have to drop McGill off before they left. At Cato’s question about her history with Alicio, she paused before her bedroom door and glanced at him.

“Sort of. It never really amounted to much, and now we have nothing but bad blood between us. Why do you ask?” Studying him more closely, she smirked. “You aren’t jealous, are you?”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Just when I thought I might get some time off," Cato made a pulling gesture with his arms, "I'm right back in the thick of it." That 'bigger problem' he mentioned being worried about earlier? Maybe this was that.

At the implication of jealousy, Cato tugged at his collar and chuckled, "Well, I can't exactly compete with the Organa treasury..." A smirk back at her before they reentered the bedroom.

"Yo, McGill, we're heading out. Get your bug-lookin' ass out here."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“The trip to Narsh should take a few days, at least,” she said, feigning innocence. “If we travel together, we could make a little vacation out of it…”

Her eyebrows shot up. “I don’t need the Organa treasury. But I do need…”

She trailed off as the door opened, revealing McGill—who was in the process of climbing out the bedroom window.

Cato Harth​