One. Two. Three. Run.

[Kamon's OOC]

Well, getting pistol whipped and punched was better than being dead, I had to admit. Rubbing where she punched me seemed to help a little. After holstering the blaster, I unlocked the door and let her out. The complex we currently called home wasn't the prettiest thing to look at, but it was laid out with all manner of pitfalls and traps. People stayed away from it for good reason. Rane might not be the cold blooded killer that some mercs out there were, but he still didn't like people dropping in unannounced.

A couple of Twi'leks and a Duro were chatting off to the side. They looked up as we exited the speeder, but I wave that it was all clear and they promptly went back to their conversation. Trust was a commodity that they had an abundance of here. I trusted everyone in my crew implicitly, and they trusted me in return. That's what made us so good.

"Welcome to our homestead. Careful if you wander, the place is trapped enough to keep people from even trying to come in. If you need to go out ask someone how to get out. I'd rather you not wind up dead here, else I wasted my time."

I chuckled a little before shaking my head.

"So why are you hanging out here on Corellia? I know it's home, but you aren't here often. Not that I've seen, anyway."

[member="Cora Passek"]

 

[Cora Passek]

Cora seemed a bit happier as she got out of the speeder, but turned to him as they walked into the building. "And my things?" She asked, badly wanting her weapons back. The woman felt rather naked without them.

She nodded at his warning, understanding too well after all there wasn't a thing in her safehouses that wasn't booby-trapped.

"Why Corellia?" She shrugged, "It's been a relatively safe place for me. I ain't pissed off the Protectorate, yet. So, there is a level of protection I have here that I don't elsewhere." Well, there was that one bit, the nerve gas she'd purchased, but the warrants for that seemed to have disappeared for reasons she couldn't explain. Not knowing an old friend managed that little problem for her.

"To be honest, I don't stay anywhere long these days. I'm always on the move, out of necessity, as I'm sure you understand given the bounty on me. Just Corellia has been safer than other places, so I'm here... And it's the closest thing I've got to home these days, so I always return to one of the safehouses I have here, eventually." It was the truth, and really she saw little harm in giving up that information when it didn't exactly lead back to any of the places she had. Though he might have had an idea about the safehouse she'd been using this time, if he'd been watching her closely.

She looked over to him, "And I can assume that you were here looking for me? Or is there some other reason that you are here?"

[member="Rane Bel Iblis"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

I snapped my fingers at a Barabel, and he brought over her things. No reason to keep them from her at this point. She'd had the chance to shoot me in the face and hadn't taken it so I doubted she was going to be much of a threat so long as I didn't try to stab her in the back, which I had no intention of doing. There was too much that we needed to do together. Killing her would be a serious waste of a very valuable resource. More than valuable. The woman had some serious demolitions knowledge.

"That's one reason. The other was that I want one of the bounty hunters that are after you. Most have left by now, following false trails that I set up, but I had a team ready to intercept one of them."

A motion of my hand beckoned her to follow me as I led her inside and out of the garage. Down a hall we went until I stopped at a door.

"Women's bunks. It's not obligatory to separate genders, but I oblige those who wish it. Across the hall are the men's bunks. Two doors down are shared bunks. There are rooms for couples as well. We have a few in Sojourn. Working together for a long time can lead to it."

I shrugged and led her down to another room.

"Mess hall. You hungry?"

[member="Cora Passek"]

 

[Cora Passek]

Cora nodded again to him. It made sense as much as any other reason, and at least he seemed to be telling the truth. Reaching out, she snatched the bag of her things away from the Barbel with little care, glaring between the being and Rane. "Don't suggest ever taking my weapons away again." She growled, still a little angry at that. Quickly she started to fish through the bag, placing all of her weapons back in their appropriate spots. Even twisted up her hair to place the tiny needle like dagger back into her bun.

She glanced to the room where he had said that the women sleep and lofted a brow. "There isn't some place I can sleep alone?" Trust issues, big time. There would be no way she'd get any sleep in a room where others slept along side her in other bunks.

Giving a shrug, she nodded slowly, "A little, I guess you can lead the way."

[member="Rane Bel Iblis"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"I suppose you can use one of the couples quarters yourself if you wish. Just make sure it isn't already taken first."

Yeah, she was going to be hard to please. So snippy. Though I can't say I blame her too much given all the crap she's been through in her life. I'd have to be a real jerk not to be able to give her at least a little bit of space to do what she needed to. Besides, it wasn't like she was asking for too much. Now if she'd asked to have her own facility, that might be stretching things a bit. At least she was willing to stay in the same place as all of us. She didn't have anything to worry about. My people were good people.

"We take turns making meals. Today I think was Marsa's turn. She's one of the Twi'leks that was out in the garage earlier."

I walked over to the fridge and pulled it open. Sure enough there were a whole mess of ready to eat meals in it. Not knowing what she liked, I grabbed one for myself and stuck it in the heater, letting her pick for herself.

"Take your pick. Not sure what you'd like but it's all delicious. Marsa's are best cook. When it's her husband Benod's turn, then you should be wary."

[member="Cora Passek"]

 

[Cora Passek]

"That will be much better." She said firmly, it was just a line she couldn't cross. There seemed to be so many lines these days. So many things Cora couldn't compromise on. It'd all stemmed from the events of her past, people betraying her, trying to kill her, or trying to take her down in order to bring her in for a bounty. These all things that she wasn't willing to share with him just yet. It'd take her a while to build up that trust before she'd let down her walls and allow anyone into her past.

Nodding slowly she followed him over to the fridge. Casually she peered in, looking for something that she might enjoy. Truth be told she wasn't picky, just a little wary more than anything else. "Thanks for the warning." The woman managed a smile, though forced. She still wasn't sure about this place, or him, but she'd at least decided to hear him out more. The idea of being part of a group, an organization took a level of trust and openness that she wasn't sure she had in her these days.

"You said something about a particular bounty hunter, wanting to talk to him or something? Why him?" She sighed, as she pulled a single meal out and set it on the counter waiting for her turn with the heater."Also how exactly do you plan to draw him out?" She wasn't sure if he had some plan to use her as bait or if something else was in mind.

[member="Rane Bel Iblis"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"That's not a problem. He's really just an Imperial that's been sent out to mingle with the bounty hunters. I assume from this new Remnant on the other side of the galaxy, but I haven't been able to figure that out yet."

When my food was done I pulled it out of the heater, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and went over to one of the tables to sit. Of course I forgot the utensils so I had to go back and get those before I could actually eat anything. While she was heating up her food I studied her movements. She was forcing herself to be calm. I couldn't say I blamed her under the circumstances, but she wasn't a prisoner here. She was free to come and go as she pleased.

"Unlike most Imperials, this one is smart. He won't take the bait the others will. He'll stay here on Corellia to make sure you really did leave."

I popped the top off the meal and stirred the contents a bit. There was sauce involved so I wanted to make sure everything was thoroughly doused or I wouldn't get the right flavor that the meal was supposed to have. Marsa's cooking deserved to be enjoyed, after all. Never let a good meal go to waste if you can avoid it. That meant don't let the flavorings get mixed up either.

"I've got people that are very good at infiltration and disguise. They're watching him right now. Eventually he'll come here because, as I said, he's smart. He won't come alone, though, so we might not be staying here too long. We'll be able to take down him and his friends, but this location will be compromised after. I plan to capture him during the fighting and taking him with us when we move. I want to know more about this Remnant."

[member="Cora Passek"]

 

[Cora Passek]

Cora frowned a little bit. "I see. Never been a fan of the Imperial states. The Sith Empire murdered my family. Though that's common knowledge these days that I've no love of anything of the Sithly variety." Probably ironic considering what lay sleeping in her mind.

The part about the guy staying here on Corellia, she found concerning. "So, what do these people have against me these days? Not sure I really merit their attention." She gave a shrug as she pulled her food from the heater, grabbing water and utensils before she walked over to the same table as he, taking a seat nearest the exit out of habit.

She had been mid-sip when Rane said the guy would be coming here. "What?" She managed after choking on the water. The idea of that left her more than a little concerned. "And how exactly do we make sure I stay safe in this process?"

[member="Rane Bel Iblis"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"My great great great, and so on, grandfather was Garm Bel Iblis. He fought the Galactic Empire. You might say it's a family hobby. And yeah, we don't like Sith either."

I scooped up a bite of food, but waited a moment because it was still too warm.

"Not sure what they have against you. They might just be trying to collect on your bounty. Or it could be that they have some connection to what happened to your family. Who knows. You can ask him when we catch him."

The bite of food popped into my mouth and I savored it for a moment as I looked across at her. Everything about her was intriguing, but at the same time it made me feel bad for her. This woman was so broken it was easy for even an untrained eye to see. I found it hard to imagine going through life without having anyone to trust. What was the point of it? Life wasn't meant to be lived alone, that's why I surrounded myself with a trustworthy group of people like myself. We sure as heck weren't going to be the rebellion, but we could make even the biggest government bleed.

"Relax. We've already made preparations for their arrival. As long as you stay out of the firefight, and go down to the vault, you should be fine. I know you don't trust us, and I don't blame you under the circumstances, but the group I've put together here is like my family. I know each and everyone of them by heart. I know their strengths and weaknesses. This group is better than most of the top notch commando units in this galaxy. You will be safer here than anywhere else in the galaxy."

[member="Cora Passek"]

 

[Cora Passek]

"Ah, family connection." She glanced down to the table rather sadly. Every living blood relative that she had were killed when her parents and young sister. There was no one else with the Passek name still drawing breath but her. For whatever reason when she managed to escape their wrath, after a few years of hunting, they had given up on finding the wayward teenager. "Wish I still had some family left. Someone else that shared my name but I don't. They went all scorched galaxy on my family."

Idly she managed a few bites as he further explained things to her. Cora sighed, none of the ideas brought her any comfort. "I really hope, that they were not involved. I mean sure it gives me a good reason to draw them into my personal battles. But, it just hurts, I'm not certain how much more pain I can take with regards to that night." Closing her eyes, she rubbed at her forehead. If they were involved, it would just be one more reason to go after them. To go after them on something more than principle alone.

She scoffed, "No, I don't trust you. I don't know you, so of course I don't trust you." A shrug followed, "And the stars know how many people I did know, and knew well who betrayed me in the end. You learn just how much your life is worth in a situation like this. My life, is worth exactly ninety thousand, nine hunrded and ninety-nine credits. Just one more than that, and so many I knew were happy to turn me in." That was the part that hurt. And the only person she did trust, who never had betrayed her, and never would was dead. He'd been dead a long time. "I can't trust... It's too hard to let the walls down, and let someone close enough to trust. Cause if I do that, I let anyone that close, I always get hurt in the end. And I just, I just can't take another betrayal." She said softly, pushing her food away having only take a few bites. Her stomach, no longer seemed interested in food given the sour subject she'd stumbled upon.

"So I'm just supposed to hide? To hide from a fight that I should be a part of?" Sighing, she really didn't like that idea. But part of her knew she might have to accept it like it or not.

[member="Rane Bel Iblis"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

I nodded. Yes, her family was gone. That was probably the worst pain one could ever imagine, having no relatives at all. She saw that as the end of her galaxy. She was the last of her family. I saw it as she was still alive and that meant that the Passek family hadn't died. Those that had tried to end that line of beings had failed because one slipped through their grasp. No matter how hard they tried, they would never be able to kill Cora as long as she was hanging around me. I wouldn't allow it.

As she continued, I ate. For a while I just left things in silence because this topic of conversation was one which weighed very heavily on the both of us. Undertaking this task of saving this woman was not something that I could very easily do. It was going to take a lot of hard work, and I'd explained all of it to my crew. They were in agreement that her skills would be useful. Like her, many had lost family before or during their stint with Sojourn. Once someone joined them, they joined for life and they never quit. I set my utensils down.

"Look, Cora. I know you want to fight, but in this instance if you do, you're fighting on unfamiliar territory, where a trap could kill you as easily as it could kill them. If I let you fight, and he gets to you while I or my team are cut off, what happens then? I know you're capable, but what if he's better? I can't allow you to fall into their hands because I don't want that to happen. I want you to hurt them, not them hurt you. You've already been hurt enough as it is."

Popping the cap on the water, I took a swig of it and looked across at her.

"You should look at your life as a chance to save your family, just as much as a chance to avenge it. Yes, you are the last Passek. But that doesn't mean you always have to be. Remember that. If you throw your life away in foolish haste, you will be and your family will have died in vein."

[member="Cora Passek"]

 

[Cora Passek]

A bit of a huff came out of her lips, annoyed to no end that she couldn't join this one fight. This one instance where she really wanted to be there. "This isn't fair." She said softly. "I don't want to be holed up somewhere while everyone else does the work." The idea she hated more than anything. It might even border on having to lock her up somewhere she couldn't get out of in order to keep her put, as well as safe. Even if she knew he had a point or two in trying to protect her here. After all it was never smart to fight with the target your opponent is after, being in the same room with you. It was only bound to end with the target captured or dead.

Leaning forward she laid her head in both of her hands, letting a few strands of her hair fall forward around her face, partly obscuring it. "There isn't saving what's already gone. That includes me. I'm already gone." She certainly believed those words as much as she hated it. "The simple fact is, in the end this quest of mine will take my life. I'm not a fool. It's a dangerous business, and in the end someone will be quicker, smarter, better or just vastly outnumber me and my life will come to a close. I've accepted that fact as the reality. It is what it is."

She shrugged, "And don't tell me any crap of starting my own family. No child deserves the legacy I'd bring them. Not to mention, settling down isn't going to happen with me, it just won't. A dull life of a wife and mother, ain't for me. And I won't risk a kid in that either." Sighing softly, she still kept her head down. "And honestly, to start, there is that whole trust thing ... I'd have to let someone in again to do that, and I can't... I can't.. Not after Zak." That brought tears to her eyes but she quickly wiped them away while keeping her head down. She'd lost everything and was certainly going to make sure the ones responsible would pay with everything as well.

[member="Rane Bel Iblis"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

I found myself drumming my fingers slowly on the tabletop, the rhythm of it flitting through my brain as I regarded her. This wasn't a sign of agitation. When I was agitated I clenched and unclenched my fists in series of threes. Finger drumming was a sign of nervousness. I can never stop myself from doing it no matter how hard I try. It's always the same thing. In this instance I wasn't even sure what was making me nervous, because I wasn't afraid of Cora. I didn't really have a reason to be.

"I know it's not fair, but it's practical. I know you know that as well."

I finished off the bottle of water and watched as she leaned her head into her hands. What she said stung, and I didn't believe her for a second. Everyone could be saved. Even Vader had been saved in the end. This nonsense that she was so far gone was just drivel that she'd used to justify her solitude. That and the whole not trusting people thing had driven her to the brink of insanity, though I knew that somewhere inside of that head of hers was a perfectly sane person, and someone who didn't really want to see her life end.

"A legacy is what you make of it. For some people, the worst legacy drives them to be better. Look at Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa Solo. Their father was a madman who assisted in, or personally killed, billions of people. What became of them? Were they shunned because of who their father was? Or did they embrace it and choose to be better. Any child you have would face the same decision.

"Settling down doesn't happen with people in our lifestyle. It just doesn't. Marsa and Benod have children, but they are still here fighting with me. Why? Because they want to make the galaxy a better place. Their children live with Benod's family in a safe location and we make a point of stopping there to visit often. Same for any of the others that have children. Children are the real legacy in this galaxy. They are the ones that will fix this galaxy, and they are the reason that most of my people fight, so don't count out the possibility of keeping your family alive simply because you could never settle down or they might have to deal with your legacy."

She wiped away a few tears. I didn't move to help her. There was no way she was that trusting yet. I'd have a utensil through my hand or something for my troubles.

"There's always a difference between can't and won't, Cora. Remember that. There is never just one. Pain lingers, but it can only go away if you let it. Those we lose, and I have lost loved ones so don't think I'm just a pretty boy who says things because I do have experience in loss, those we lose never want us to wallow in sadness at their death. We dishonor them by doing so. To honor those who have fallen we must press onward. That is how we live."

[member="Cora Passek"]

 

[Cora Passek]

"I don't care if it's practical. I still don't want to do it." She grumbled.

"Right, and I carry the legacy of a traitor, with a group of beings that have continually tried to have me kill for something my father did. I'm not putting an innocent child into that position. That is not right, nor fair. I'm not going to be that person. Ever." She said firmly as she finally looked up.

"And I know what it's like to lose both parents... That is a pain I'm not putting a child through. The Passek line is going to end with me. I'm not putting a child through any of what I have been. Nor will I have a kid that has to be hoarded off and hidden on some distant world to keep them safe. If I can't be there for the kid, what's the point? To simply have an heir to carry on the name of a traitor? No. That's not worth it."

"Zak is dead, because of my actions. Again, I'm not putting someone else in that position that either. He didn't ask for that, but it's what happened." She shrugged, as she held back tears. "Now I'm sorry if you find this rude, but I really don't want to continue this conversion. These are things I've already long settled my mind on." Things that would take something of a miracle to change her mind on at all. "This is the life I have and I'm okay with it."

[member="Rane Bel Iblis"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"Fair enough."

I disagreed with her line of thinking but she was clearly one very hard-headed individual. Pain could do that to you. Considering the fact that she'd spent most of her life in pain, it wasn't hard for me to understand that there wasn't likely going to be any way at all to get her to change her mind. If I ever became interested in trying it was going to take a lot of hard work. That wasn't something I was truly interested in at the moment despite the fact that I was having a hard time peeling my eyes from her.

One. Two. Three.

"Tell me how you're fight against those that killed your family has gone. How can we assist you in that fight? Helping you only further helps our goals, so we're ready and capable. More guns can only help in the long run."

If she didn't want to talk about the fact that he thought she was a bonehead for giving up on herself and her family the way she was, then I figured we might as well discuss something useful.

[member="Cora Passek"]

 

[Cora Passek]

She took in a deep breath and nodded slowly. Broken certainly was the right word. She'd conditioned herself over the years to keep her distance, to keep her heart walled off all in the name of protecting herself from pain. And for the most part it had worked. Though it did leave her with a rather lonely existence.

Cora nodded slowly. "Just a few attacks here and there. I managed an attack on the former Sith Empire's capital world. A few buildings, other than that, I've not managed much. Though I've been building up a significant cache of weapons and explosives. I picked up a planet's worth of FEX-M3 nerve gas a while back. Been keeping that for a rainy day." It wasn't much or at least she didn't think so. "The attack on the Sith was enough to pick up my bounty way back when. Though I think it's been mostly forgotten. Or so I had hoped."

[member="Rane Bel Iblis"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"That's a lot of nerve gas."

I lifted my brow at this revelation. What could she possibly be saving that much nerve gas for? And what, exactly was she going to do with it? I could understand if she said that she was going to drop it on some Sith world somewhere. Wouldn't bother me any if an entire planet got wiped out by the stuff, as long as it was one of their worlds. There were, of course, good people on all of those worlds. There were. I screwed and unscrewed the cap of the empty water bottle as I regarded her.

"Bounties have a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it. I'd just always assume that you have one if I were you."

Finally, I pushed the bottle away.

"Did you have a plan?"

[member="Cora Passek"]

 

[Cora Passek]

"Yes, it is. But it will be more than useful when I'm ready to deploy it all." She said with a smile.

"Unfortunately, I was mistaken about my bounty." She gave a shrug, "Not much I can do about it. I have to live with the consequences of my actions. People want the credits these days and even to an ordinary citizen, that kind of money makes it worth it to try when more main stream hunters have given up."

The blonde then nodded. "I've been saving it for Coruscant or another major Sith world. Kill every last one of the monsters there and be long gone before anyone finds out it was me." That had always been the plan, though getting away alive, she figured was the more difficult part of such an event. "Somehow some way I will get them with it. That is what I purchased it for, and I damn well plan to use it." Oh yes, she could be quite the murderous monster when she wanted to be.

[member="Rane Bel Iblis"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"Coruscant is a very corrupt world."

I couldn't help but not my head in agreement with this. Yes, that was a world that I wouldn't mind seeing wiped clean of all civilization. The problem was that it was also an extremely well defended world. There were ways to smuggle things onto the planet if you were really clever about it. Since this nerve agent was a gas, they could load it into a ships second fuel compartment and transport it that way. Get enough of the ships on the world, and it would be easy to fly around and distribute.

Now I was thinking outside of the box and I found myself rubbing the stubble on my chin. I kept my beard short and neat so that it didn't grate on me too much. If I didn't do that it drove me nuts in the long run. The longer it grew the itchier it got. That and it would get incredibly unruly.

"I can think of a way to get the gas onto Coruscant. We would need to legitimately acquire ships that are known to be legitimate trading vessels, but it would be possible."

[member="Cora Passek"]

 

[Cora Passek]

"That's the understatement of the century. It's always been corrupt, even when the Jedi held the world." She shook her head, annoyed with how they managed to lose it to ancient ships of the Sith when they returned, and only a handful of actual Sith on the ground and somehow ... someway they magically got the planet. "Since the One Sith have it, it's far worse these days."

"We'd have to be super careful about how we get upon the planet, and how we disperse the gas. It doesn't come without serious risks. These are sith we are talking about. They have a way of sensing danger a mile away, like some voodoo radar." She shuddered at the thought. Getting Corusant would be a huge boon to her. And a huge advance in her war against all things Sithly. "It can be done, don't get me wrong. It's just, I always knew I'd need more than just myself to do it, so... I've waited, and bided my time. Waiting for the right people, the right time, the right moment."

[member="Rane Bel Iblis"]