Private Settle

[Inanna Harth]

"I don't know," Inanna replied, chewing on her lower lip. "Some of these gang leaders aren't what they seem, and before you know it..."

But Cato had already run over and inserted himself into the game. She hurried after him.

The air above the table was cloudy with cigarra smoke. Only one person bothered to look up when Cato arrived. Sitting almost directly across the table was perhaps the best-looking man Inanna had ever seen. He was not merely handsome, he was the handsome. Of course, he had to be Moloch. The rest of his entourage was more thuggish in appearance, their faces bland and easy to forget. Lackeys and bodyguards, no doubt.

After giving Cato a brief once-over, Moloch shrugged. “Pull up a chair.”

Inanna’s golden eyes flicked over the cards as he dealt Cato in. Much to her relief, it was just pazaak. Shi’ido games tended to be notoriously difficult.

She felt Moloch’s gaze on her before he spoke. “What about you?”

“I just want to watch,” she said, giving Cato's shoulder a squeeze. He was the one who had decided to jump in like this, so she would leave much of the proceedings to him while she focused on hiding how nervous she was.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Thank you kindly," The knight dipped his head in gratitude, pulling up a chair just as asked. He didn't show it, but Cato was also quite relieved to see the game was one he was familiar with. Pazaak was simple, and relied on chance more than strategy. Perhaps even, there was a chance to use his Force powers to intuit a preferable outcome. He wasn't exactly a master of clairvoyant powers, but for mere card game, it would hopefully be enough.

Either way, there was no backing out now, and Cato committed himself to the table. The first round, he lost, intentionally having hit on a fairly high number, "Damn. Guess no beginner's luck this time," He smirked, idly shuffling the cards in his hand, "Seems you've got this little spot all carved out for yourself. Must be popular." The knight then spared a glance back at Inanna, his look uncertain.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna watched the game, one arm draped around Cato. She could play it cool, if necessary, though she couldn’t fool a Force User. Her mind was too open, her thoughts too easy to read.

"Seems you've got this little spot all carved out for yourself. Must be popular."

Moloch snorted. “You could say that.” He put a green card down. “I just have an arrangement with the owner. A table all to ourselves in a quiet corner.”

He watched them both with slightly narrowed eyes. Surely they hadn’t come over just to play, not when there were a dozen other games open at other tables. They wouldn’t pick his by coincidence. So what did they want?

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"That is a nice arrangement," Cato said, playing a blue card that set his score right at 20, "Something of a professional courtesy, or…?"

He looked back at Moloch with a similar narrow stare, testing the waters for how much he could pry. He then turned to idly scan the room around them, before adding, "If you don't mind my curiosity, that is. Just wanted a chance to talk with ya, Mr…?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Personal,” Moloch replied. “He owes me a favor.”

The lackey on his left glared down at Cato’s score and blew cigarra smoke from his nostrils like a dragon disturbed from sleep. “What’s a human doing in here?” he muttered in Shi’idese. “Another Alderaanian come to meddle in our business?”

“A human come to do business with you,” Inanna cut in. Her response was instinctive, trying to protect Cato. “From Nar Shaddaa.”

Moloch leaned forward a little, his interest piqued. “Vandolae,” he answered Cato. “Moloch Vandolae. Well, what does the smuggler’s moon want with a small-time operation like mine? Don’t tell me you’re working for the Hutts, because I’m not interested in dealing with those slugs.”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato's gaze rolled over to the man beside him, snorting away some of the smoke with a flare of his nostrils. The Jedi's fluency in Shi'idese was restricted to little more than whatever expletives or exclamations his girlfriend uttered around him, but he had been called enough mean things in enough languages to know when someone was unhappy with his presence.

Inanna, however, was quick to fire back, and cut to the chase. Cato swung back to look at her, and offered a flat, appreciative smile, before returning his focus to Moloch. He was glad to take the more straightforward approach instead, especially considering it was seemingly working in their favor.

"Nah, no Hutts," Cato chuckled, "A bit of a smaller op, myself. I've got some Shi'ido ties that I was hoping to expand upon. What better opportunity than here?" He collected his earnings from the round, then continued, "I'd love to talk details if you're interested. Maybe somewhere a little less-" A gesture to the public setting around them, "Y'know?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Moloch laid out his cards for the next round, but his gaze seemed fixed upon Cato. At the mention of Shi’ido ties, his eyes flicked up to Inanna briefly, as though he thought he had put all the pieces of a puzzle together. Oh, he thought he had it all figured out now.

Or mostly, at least.

“Where do you suggest we go to talk?” he asked.

Since Inanna knew Maranatha better than Cato, she took that as her cue to speak up. “How about your place?”

Vandolae territory. Moloch and his crew would feel safe there, and it would put Inanna and Cato right in the middle of the hornet’s nest.

Moloch shrugged. Inanna glanced at Cato for confirmation.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato was about to answer, when Inanna spoke up in his stead. For the best, given his lack of understanding about the area as a whole. Moloch didn’t immediately dismiss the idea, which was a good sign. Right in the heart of their operation.

The knight looked at Inanna, then back to the Vandolae, “Absolutely. If that’s agreeable to you, of course. No better place.” He laid down his final hand, scoring a luckier perfect twenty through the main deck alone.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Tonight, then.” Moloch threw down his cards, leaving the game. Cato had just scored quite a lot of credits, much to the annoyance of the mobster’s henchmen, who begrudgingly handed over the money they had bet on chance.

“You’ll ride with us?” It was phrased as a question, but something in Moloch’s manner made it clear there was no other option. He was playing things safe.

Inanna let Cato answer. She had lowered her head to rest against Cato's shoulder, hiding her face against his neck, pretending to kiss and caress him in celebration of his winnings. In reality, the tension of the situation was beginning to get to her, the sense of rising danger too potent for her to risk it showing in her expression or her trembling hands.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Tonight." Cato echoed, raking in his winnings. The knight subdued his smirk, not interested in provoking the henchmen any further. But if he was going to use the Force to swindle anybody, they might as well be slimy mobsters, right?

Moloch's 'question' was met with a blink, and Cato raised a hand to rub Inanna's arm as a show of comfort for her, "Of course. Whenever you're ready." Not that there was any other choice but to play along. Thankfully his lightsaber was already stowed away in a hidden compartment of his jacket, in the event of a frisking. He learned the merits of that strategy the hard way. Confiscating his pistol would be show of good faith, instead.

There was some undeniable amount of nervousness that came with any mission like this, arguably compounded by Inanna's own; But Cato did his best to counter it by projecting a veneer of confidence. They weren't the first mobsters he ever dealt with. And chances are, they wouldn't be the last, "…Good game, all." He couldn't help himself from that comment.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

One or two of the henchmen snorted at Cato’s remark, while the rest ignored him.

Inanna took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. She had a bad feeling about this. But it couldn’t be helped. They were already going all in.

Her skills as an actress hadn’t atrophied, at least. The mobsters didn’t seem to suspect anything. They didn’t bother to frisk Cato or Inanna before leading them out to their speeder. The windows were blacked out, preventing them from seeing where they were going.

Moloch’s place was one of the nicer new buildings in Maranatha, though it still bore many of the trappings of temporary housing. There was still some scaffolding along the sides, and much of it was unpainted. By now night had fallen, and there were no lights installed to dispel the darkness leading up to the door. The eyes of the Shi’ido gleamed with shimmering tapetum, giving themselves night vision.

Inanna stuck very close to Cato, ostensibly to guide his way. The bad feeling had gotten worse. She didn’t know what exactly Cato planned to do, but she hoped he did it sooner rather than later.

Moloch unlocked the door and went inside. His lackeys followed suit, with some staying behind to make sure their guests didn’t stab them in the back.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Something about the Vandolae's relaxed proceedings as they took off for the meeting place actually made Cato more nervous. No frisking, no checking. Just a blacked-out speeder and an unfinished building. It certainly made it feel like they had something up their sleeve, whether or not that was anything more than bravado.

As they entered the building, he gave Inanna an indiscernible look, and a nod. Cato himself was getting a little more antsy, but he made no moves quite yet, "You the head of this operation, Mr. Vandolae?" More of an attempt to squeeze information, and stall until they found an opportune time to do... well, something.

Admittedly, Cato was more or less flying by the seat of his pants right now.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

The interior of the house was lit, but barely furnished, like they were still in the process of moving in. Some of the rooms were unpainted and had plastic coverings on the floor to prevent stains.

“Something like that,” Moloch replied. His gaze wandering from face to face, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and smiled. “Well, we’re here. Nice and private. Let’s talk business.”

His demeanor had shifted, as if he found something amusing. What was so funny, Inanna didn’t know. She turned to Cato, wondering if they should forget the charade and just start blasting.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato blinked and slowed down, "Really?" When Enkidu had told him this guy was of high status, he wasn't expecting that to mean he was the guy actually in charge. Then again, Moloch could very well be lying. Either way, they were running out of time to waste.

He looked at Inanna and shrugged, an actionable glint striking his eye, "Kinda wish I'd just started with that question," He then swiveled his head back around to Moloch, and smiled flatly, "Let's." The knight then immediately whipped out his pistol and fired at several of the guards, before rolling to the side and pulling out his lightsaber, immediately turning this 'chat' into chaos.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Really?"

"Only since recently," Moloch said. "Very, very recently."

The bad feeling became a spike of danger sense. Even before Cato jumped into action, she felt a splitting pain in her skull. Then an arm looped around her throat from behind, turning snakelike as it coiled all the way around her throat. One of the guards standing behind her had changed shape, wrapping himself around her body in an effort to restrain her.

While his guards morphed their bodies into more defensive forms, taking on animalistic characteristics for battle, Moloch simply pulled his blaster and fired back at Cato as he was rolling across the floor.

Struggling to breathe, Inanna maneuvered her lightsaber across her body until the emitter was pressed against her captor. She ignited it, burning a hole through flesh, slicing her way to freedom. The guard who had grabbed her howled and went limp. The stench of charred flesh was foul.

For her efforts she was rewarded with even greater agony. Inanna fell to the floor, where she felt something press against her head. It took her a moment to realize it was the barrel of Moloch's blaster. Her lightsaber was still in her hand, but she couldn't move.

"I'll give you credit, Jedi," Moloch said, his tone unnervingly calm. "Your mind is a tough one to crack. But your girlfriend really needs to learn how to keep her thoughts to herself."

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato leapt so quickly into his battle focus so quickly, he hardly had time to register that Inanna had been attacked at the very start. The Jedi's movements would be near blinding to a non-sensitive, firing his blaster with Force-assisted precision and cutting away at whatever defensive measures the nearby thugs tried to mount.

But when he caught sight of her on the ground, with Moloch over her, Cato came to an abrupt stop, "...Guess I have a lot of practice," He quipped, but there was a distinct lack of humor in his tone. It was dry, and unamused, "You're going to need to make your next decision very carefully now…" A threat, and a choice. At least on the surface. But Cato wasn't taking any chances. He hand subtly tightened around his saber, but the Force itself was coalescing around the blaster in Moloch's hand, to rip the entire thing apart from the inside, disassembling it before he could get a shot off.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Even through the pain, Inanna began to put some of the pieces together. Members of the Benandanti Order usually had greater ambitions than working their way through the ranks of a criminal gang, but given the state of things for the Shi’ido, perhaps there were few other avenues of power and control left open. That was the only explanation Inanna could think of for why Moloch Vandolae had telepathic abilities on par with a Jedi mentalist.

The blaster flew apart, pieces of it skidding across the floor. Moloch jerked his hand away, eyes on Cato as his focus shifted to the Jedi, inflicting psychic torture in an attempt to subdue him.

He clearly didn’t consider Inanna much of a threat. Her mind had no defense against telepathic assault, and she had folded like a deck of cards, crumpling on the floor within seconds. Hopefully Cato would fare better, at least until she could recover enough to do something…

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Thank you for your cooperation," Cato grinned smugly, raising his blaster to fire, when he suddenly went rigid. He grimaced, recognizing the forceful incursion into his mind that was taking place. No subtleties about it now, Moloch was more or less battering his way through, which made for much more of a struggle for the knight.

"Would you…" Cato tried to quip, but found the words lacking. It was as if there was a block, as if he were on the verge of a full mental overload, keeping him from any meaningful movement, "Knock… it… off…?" He managed to squeeze the trigger of his blaster, firing it, albeit inaccurately. A few more shots then rang out, all sporadic, but maybe enough to at least keep Moloch on his toes.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

While Cato began to feel the effects of Moloch’s telepathic assault, two of the gangster’s surviving lackeys moved in to disarm the Jedi. One struck the hand holding his lightsaber, while another reached for the blaster.

“Aren’t you supposed to be some kind of legendary guardian of peace and justice?” Moloch snorted, ducking slightly to avoid a shot. But he hardly moved from his spot near where Inanna lay. Mainly because he knew it was a strategic place to be. Cato’s aim was suffering, and he presumably didn’t want to risk friendly fire by accident. “But you can’t even handle a little headache. Maybe you’re just a sorry excuse for a Jedi.”

Struck with a sudden sadistic urge, he reached inside the hole he had fashioned in Cato’s mind and rummaged around, hoping to tap into his worst memories.

Inanna’s vision swam, a dull throb settling in her nerves. She braced herself against the floor with her arms, struggling to snap out of it. One hand reached up, fingers grasping blindly at something, anything, and closed around fabric.

Actual fabric. Not flesh molded to resemble cloth. Moloch was wearing real (and expensive, judging by the luxurious feel of it) clothing, probably as yet another way of flaunting his status.

How very vain of you, Inanna thought dryly. But it was something she could work with.

She grabbed the back of Moloch’s collar and pulled it taut. So intently focused on Cato was he, the sudden yank came as a surprise—and disrupted his concentration. Inanna felt something crunch as Moloch's fist collided with her face. But if it could at least give Cato a few seconds' reprieve…

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"You said it… Not me…" Cato muttered, even managing a smirk as he was fighting the mental attack. But he couldn't help having his weapons pulled away, "…Maybe…"

Soon the mental attack began to pry at his very memories, resurfacing the worst of the past. The death of friends. Too many friends. People that had come to mean as much to him as his family. Disappointment, failure, embarrassment, guilt, regret. Things he wished could have been different, things he had done wrong. His life as a criminal, then a Jedi, then a vigilante. Each had their own weights, all piling up on his shoulders and crushing him underneath. Things he carried everyday, and things he had kept buried. Cato felt like he was sinking into the floor.

Then, suddenly, it snapped away. He blinked, and looked up to see Moloch strike Inanna in the face. Immediately he flared with anger, raising a hand and activating his lightsaber, making it stab through the thug that had grabbed it. He pulled it back into his hand, only to turn and stab the other guard. "You types are all the same…" Cato said coldly, the typical lightness of his tone disappearing again, "Think you're better than the rest. Too big to fail. Whatever."

The knight put away his saber, instead lowering a fist to swing into Moloch's face, "You'd think you'd have figured it out by now. But you're always surprised when the rug is suddenly pulled out from under you." He kept swinging, hoping to just beat in the crime lord's face, "You really think you'll be the one to stop me?" His face was near expressionless, a far cry from his usual self. But Moloch had given him quite a lot to be unhappy about in just the last few moments. He was done with it.

Inanna Harth​