The Only Good Hutt...

[Dravis Rosilla]

Tyyni barely perceived Sorel engage the soldiers as he stared down the monstrous foe in front of him. The Herglic bellowed savagely, and swung his vibroaxe, which Tyyni barely ducked under, feeling the breeze pass over his slick skin. Tyyni brought his training saber up into a Soresu position, blade slanted slightly downward. He figured swinging a weapon so large would tire his opponent quickly. Once the whale dropped his guard, Tyyni would strike. Easier said than done.

"I suggest you surrender peacefully." He had to try. Unsurprisingly, the giant man was unfazed as he swung his axe again, which was swiftly blocked by Tyyni's training saber, which was almost wrenched from his stubby fingers from the force.

"No can do, snotball." The black-plated behemoth pulled a blaster pistol from his belt, and began to unload on the Hutt. Tyyni could feel the heat of the bolts as he deflected them around himself, familiarizing himself with the orbits of the blade. Soresu was always his strongest form. His reflexes were fast, all of his instructors at the Voss Temple said so. This, combined with a cool head, kept danger at bay around him, a shell of plasma blocking himself from harm.

A few of the pistol shots were deflected back to their point of origin, striking the Herglic with such force, he had to stumble backwards. Tyyni found his opportunity. Tyyni focused on the Force, using it's connection to pull the vibroaxe from it's owner's hands, and into his own. Tyyni threw the weapon behind himself, and again focused the Force, this time into his own body. He dashed forward, rocketing into the midsection of the big foe, while simultaneously slashing him across the face. With that single, very large stone, Goliath fell.

The Herglic was laid out, completely unconscious from the pain. Tyyni turned his attention to the tank, which was just lining up another shot towards his fellow Jedi. The Hutt shot forward once more, catapulting up and onto it's frame, his weight upsetting the cannon's trajectory, making the blast go wide. He knew he could do little against the tank; the best he could do was distract it.

- [member="Sorel Crieff"] -

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel had total focus on the task in hand. The Force would let her know if she needed to help Tyyni out, she trusted in it and so allowed her mind to deal with the soldiers presently engaged in trying to pepper her with holes.

Perhaps she had the easier of the tasks, it was entirely possible, but multiple foes were always a challenge – there was no room for error or split focus.

So she continued to deflect bolts and first one and then two soldiers fell – killed by their own blaster bolts, redirected back at them. Five was an easier number to deal with, even though they now realised that they presented a greater threat if they tried to flank her, as opposed to remaining in a group in front of her.

She leaped to one side as a bolt neared her spine – the energy continuing unabated until it hit one of the soldiers she had been facing. The problem with flanking is that the soldiers opened themselves up to their own cross-fire.

Three down.

One charged her from behind. One of her blades remained in front of her, deflecting bolts whilst her left hand swung backwards, impaling the unsuspecting soldier as he ran forwards.

Three left, two in front, one behind.

They slowed their attacks now, clearly realising their efforts to date were ineffective. Then all three fired at once. One bolt she redirected back at the shooter. One she danced to the side to avoid. The third – which might easily have missed her – hit her thigh as she moved into its trajectory. She ignored the pain and performed a backward flip, landing behind the man behind her. She slashed down with one blade, instantly killing him before leaping forwards and performing a simple diagonal slash to take care of the remaining adversary.

At least the wound in her leg had cauterised but the pain was going to impact her ability to use the Force. If she had time, she would have used the Force to help repair the wound. But there was a rather large tank to deal with, and Tyyni was presently riding it.

[member="Tyyni Oluja"]

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

Tyyni had a moment of relief as he saw Sorel dispatch the grunts, but this momentary happiness was quickly dissipated as the tank under him began to move.

The hover-tank began to rotate in lazy circles, the pilot desperately trying to shake off the added weight. Tyyni focused the Force within himself, which was quickly beginning to wear his mind out, to maintain his balance. He slid but a few inches to the left in the tank's desperate maneuver. Tyyni ducked quickly as the cannon swiveled towards his fellow Jedi. The tank had seemingly given up on the Hutt, instead opting to try and take out the being not currently on it.

The tank opened fire. One shot. Two. Three. Each bolt of energy would devastate an unprotected target. Tyyni's eyes grew wide, and he cried out. "Watch out!" Using what little energy he had left, the Hutt Force Pushed the cannon away, making a fourth shot go far wide, smashing through a part of the wall, revealing a separate warehouse.

Padawan Oluja immediately felt the effects of his strain take hold, his entire body twitching. Unable to keep his balance any further, Tyyni rolled off the hovertank, bringing his training saber up in a Soresu position. What do I do now?

- [member="Sorel Crieff"] -

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Between the two of them, they’d managed to deal with a whole host of the bad guys – but the tank was going to be a different story.

Tyyni was secure on top of the vehicle as it began to move, no doubt hoping to shake the Hutt off its hull. It was clear he was struggling to remain in situ.

But then Sorel realised the driver had given up trying to dislodge her fellow Padawan and had focused on her. A barrier was pointless and deflecting the energy bolts was going to wear her out too quickly. So she decided to use her speed and balance and leaped from side to side, her pace Force enhanced to allow her to avoid the first three shots. Fortunately, the Hutt ensured the final one went awry.

So she stood and wondered what Plan B they could come up with given Plan A was getting them nowhere.

[member="Tyyni Oluja"]

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

Tyyni looked up at the tank as it recorrected it's cannon, firing off one last shot at his fellow Jedi before hovering backwards. Tyyni had no hopes of chasing after it. He was exhausted; he had never strained himself this much before. The Huttlet could only grasp out his hand in protest as the large weapon got out of his range, and then shot at him.

Tyyni just barely turned his body in time to feel the plasma breeze past his skin, blasting through the area he had been but moments before. One of the benefits of specializing in Soresu from a young age; One didn't have to move too much to dodge. A second shot, however, Tyyni didn't have time to dodge. He tilted his training saber, making the large bolt glance off, behind him. The shot almost knocked the blade away from the Hutt's grubby fingers. Tyyni frowned. How would they overcome this? Suddenly, Tyyni had an idea. One that would most likely end up with him dead, but one never knew.

Tyyni yelled to the more-experienced Jedi, not taking his eyes off the formidable foe. "I will distract our adversary! Perhaps we need to trick his mind!" Tyyni figured it was a good plan. If one couldn't pierce the armor, perhaps they could pierce the brain.

- [member="Sorel Crieff"] -

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel was impressed by her fellow Padawan’s bravery and resourcefulness. And his nimble actions, given his size and weight. The Force was indeed a powerful ally.

She supressed a gasp as a shot from the cannon barely missed the Hutt and was nothing short of overwhelmingly impressed at his blade work as he deflected the next bolt. And she was almost as amazed that he was quick-thinking whilst carrying out these acrobatic actions.

She nodded her approval at his plan and quite literally placed her life in his hands as she closed her eyes and attempted to connect to the driver of the vehicle whilst relying on Tyyni to ensure she did not receive a sizeable hole where her heart currently sat.

Connecting without line of sight was a lot more challenging than a simple application of Mind Trick, but not impossible. Having said that, she was still a Padawan and so she needed her full concentration to complete the task – hence she was at risk or injury whilst she attempted the connection.

She quickly quietened her mind and connected deeply with the Force. Having done so, she reached out for strong emotions. There was a blend of fear and apprehension – but this was as likely to be herself and Tyyni, so she disregarded these feelings. Then she latched on to it – hate. This she was sure was coming from the driver of the tank, so she followed the emotion, in her mind it was like a small current flowing up an electric cable, heading towards the computer and towards its CPU.

And then she sensed the driver’s mind and knew she was close. Fortunately he was preoccupied with Tyyni and so offered virtually no natural resistance to her probing, which she was careful to be as gentle as possible – she was a Jedi after all. And then she was connected and simply ‘uploaded’ the equivalent of a malware virus. The content was very simple – an overwhelming desire to sleep. Every appropriate nerve ending and synapse in the driver’s brain would be targeted until the emotion was translated into action and the driver quite literally fell asleep at the wheel, the tank shuddering to a halt.

[member="Tyyni Oluja"]

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

Tyyni nodded to the Human, showing his assurance. Having gotten a slight breather from the cannon recharging, the Hutt sped forward, slashing his training saber along the edge of the tank. Obviously, the sapphire blade did little to nothing to the hull of the hovertank, but he had successfully gotten the driver's attention.

The large blaster cannon swiveled to follow the Padawan. While that was the intended effect, Tyyni couldn't help but wish it hadn't. As it blasted off it's first shot, Tyyni rolled like a hot-dog to the side, feeling the heat of the blast along his face. The Hutt slashed out again, scouring a shallow burn mark across the tank's armor.

Tyyni heard the cannon begin to charge up again, and gathered the Force within himself again. He remembered his master's words. Be like a leaf.

Be like a leaf? I'm about to be like a smudge.

With a heave, the Hutt used the Force to propel himself straight up in the air, the explosion under him only pushing him further up. The Hutt stayed suspended for a few moments, lightsaber flashing fiercely, body curling below him like a floating snake. Tyyni felt magnificent. He felt unstoppable. Then he felt gravity take hold again, and he fell back to the floor.

Tyyni flinched as his body slapped against the hard ground. Looking up, he noticed the tank's cannon pointed directly at his face. Tyyni knew it was an end. At least he had one moment of freedom before his inevitable death. Then, Tyyni wondered how he had the time to think all of this.

The blaster cannon hadn't charged. The hovertank was idle. The Hutt looked back at his fellow Padawan with a grateful expression.

"Ah, well... That worked better than I anticipated, I must be honest."

- [member="Sorel Crieff"] -

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel burst out laughing. “We planned to succeed and we planned to fail. As any good Jedi does. And we succeeded, which is the whole point of the mission. Never doubt the outcome. Avoid overconfidence of course, but do not assume the worst outcome is the most likely. Doubt will kill you as surely as any Sith. Trust in the Force, it is a powerful ally.”

She continued to smile. “That sounded a bit pompous, sorry. But I meant what I said and it’s kept me in good stead so far. So, what’s next?”

[member="Tyyni Oluja"]

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

Tyyni nodded, laughing along with his fellow Padawan. "I suppose, but I will not lie, and say I didn't fear for my life on multiple occasions."

His gaze turned to the tank, and then to the unconscious Herglic on the ground. "We already know the Hutt who brokered this deal. This 'Dexio'. Perhaps we should pay him a visit next. First, however, we have a few prisoners, and their information may be valuable. Perhaps we can coax more from them."

Tyyni shuddered. He felt drained, but he had to keep going. He had to be strong, if not for speaking to the whale-man, than for himself. The Hutt slid over slowly, regaining his connection to the Force. He stripped the soldier of weapons, as he had quite a few hidden blasters. Tyyni looked to Sorel, to make sure she was ready, as he nudged the massive beast with his tail. With a start, the Herglic awoke, grabbing at his forehead.

"Ah, that's an unpleasant headache I've seemed to acquire."

- [member="Sorel Crieff"] -

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel listened to her fellow Padawan. He possibly underestimated just how much he’d contributed to this mission thus far – and he’d certainly taken the lead in getting them both this far. So she paid heed to his plan and readily accepted his guidance.

Sorel knew that time was pressing, and so they could ill afford to take too long to get the answers they needed. But she was acutely aware they were Jedi and would exercise the minimum of force to attain their goals – this was a criminal after all, but he was also a sentient, and needed to be treated accordingly.

So Sorel started the dialogue, knowing Tyyni would step in where he deemed appropriate. “We are Jedi.” She left the statement to hang for a second or two, before waving at the surrounding area – showing all guards rendered immobile and the tank similarly disabled. “So we don’t need to spend any time telling you what we are capable of. Nor do I have any desire to hurt you to gain information. It is not the Jedi way but moreover we are charged to gain results, but to use the least amount of discomfort to achieve it.”

As the criminal glanced around the room, he would have seen unconscious guards but some with inevitable and unavoidable injuries. It merely reflected what she said. “So to speed things up and minimise your charge sheet, simply tell us what you know we’ll find out eventually. Where is your boss?”

[member="Tyyni Oluja"]

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

The Herglic spit in Sorel's direction, still rubbing his head. "Heh. My charge sheet? You're adorable."

Tyyni felt a stab of unease as the soldier continued. "My employers are far, far away, little Jedi. They're far more powerful than you could imagine. Far more powerful than any backwater Hutt, or Jedi master."

"We know you work for Dexio, whale." Tyyni sped up to the side of the Herglic, training saber flashing out just below their captive's chin. "So tell us where to find him!" It was a desperate gamble to keep the momentum on the side of the Jedi, but it appeared to have failed.

"Ha, that shows how little you know, little worm." The black-plated monster gritted his teeth hard. "I don't work for any Hutt. I work towards a brighter future for the galaxy. A new beginning. A new end." Tyyni felt a shiver up his spine. Flashes of... Something. Something big. Something dangerous. Their prisoner guffawed maniacally.

"A new Alpha..." A false tooth in the Herglic's maw burst, revealing the poison held within. Foam began to form on the being's mouth as the light faded from it's eyes. It could barely push out it's parting words.

"And Omega."​

- [member="Sorel Crieff"] -

 

[Sorel Crieff]

The Force had a way of telling you when things were going badly – and Sorel’s sense told her that this was one of those occasions. And so it transpired.

It wasn’t the fact that their foe was neither weak-willed nor afraid of them. These facts could be overcome with time and patience – which the Jedi had on their side. But the suicide capsule located in his tooth was not something they could deal with in the time allotted. The fact he was prepared to die for his cause suggested it was more than greed or power at stake.

People did many things for riches – but they rarely died. No, it was typically an ideal that forced people to lay down their life. And so Sorel suspected that the Herglic was not working for someone. Instead it was likely he was working for a cause.

As he breathed his last, Sorel turned to Tyyni.

“Alpha and Omega? That means nothing to me, what about you?”

[member="Tyyni Oluja"]

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

Tyyni looked up, a strangely mute expression corrupting his features. He had never watched a man die before. The way the light left his eyes was harrowing, haunting. Tyyni knew he wouldn't soon forget the encounter, including the ominous message.

"Uh..." The Hutt struggled to think, his brain refusing to function. "I... I don't think so. Maybe he was delusional?" Or maybe he knows something we don't.

Tyyni's glassy eyes blinked slowly as he glanced at Padawan Crieff. "I guess it's a lead, but one we should follow later. For now, we have to complete the mission. Dex the Hutt." Tyyni looked away sluggishly, not registering the area around him. "Find him. Yeah, we should do that."

Tyyni slumped, sinking into the folds of his own body. The Herglic sacrificed himself. Why would he do that? Why not choose to live?

Tyyni sighed deeply, his breath catching as he inhaled. He exhaled shakily. Choppy inhale, shaky exhale. He blinked slowly again, the rest of the world falling away as he drew into himself for comfort.

- [member="Sorel Crieff"] -

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel sensed the unease within Tyyni. She remained quiet whilst he spoke and waited for him to calm himself. “The Force,” she finally offered, “Is an excellent ally. We should meditate for a few moments, to clear our minds and refocus our energy.”

She momentarily closed her eyes and did just that – pushing away all thoughts and emotions for a few seconds, before smiling softly and then glancing around the now quiet warehouse.

“Dex the Hutt. Do you suspect he’s in the building?”

[member="Tyyni Oluja"]

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

From his slump, Tyyni perceived Sorel's soft words. With a bit of a frown, he too focused on the Force within him, pushing out his thoughts until his mind was blank. He felt the Force flow through him, a calming breeze wafting through his body.

He was by no means happy, but he was at peace. Perhaps that was the fate of a Jedi, to never feel happy at what they do, but to be at peace with it. The thought darkened his mood. He felt plenty of lingering emotion; Anger and hate from the recent battle. Searching further, he felt a spike of... Fear. Something terrible had happened here, it seemed.

After his meditations, Tyyni considered Padawan Crieff's question. If there were one thing Tyyni had researched intensively, it was Hutts. "No, a Hutt would never risk its life for a drop like this."

Looking around, Tyyni noticed the surprising lack of crates, or boxes, or anything that would signify any trade had gone on here. "I suppose the best place to check for a Hutt would be his palace. Chances are we'd never be able to get any information out of him. We'd be shot dead if we tried to intimidate him. I suppose we could try sneaking around. We could find something useful. Maybe what happened here..."

- [member="Sorel Crieff"] -

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel sensed the emotions flowing around her. She did not go looking for them, it was something she was essentially forced to experience as she connected with the Force. And they were not positive – but overall she sensed Tyyni was at peace, which was often as good as could be expected. Sorel herself accepted emotions but pushed them from her mind to ensure they did not cloud her judgement or offer the dark side an opportunity to gain a foothold in her mind.

And she respected Tyyni’s knowledge of the Hutt, and so listened and assimilated it. “I think that merely ending the mission here would be premature. And although I share your lack of optimism that this crime lord would simply be intimidated enough to share information, we have struck a blow to his enterprise here and who knows what we might uncover at his palace. We need, at the very least, to send him a message that we won’t settle until his reign has ended.”

[member="Tyyni Oluja"]

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

Tyyni nodded, going through various scenarios in his head. His brow scrunched as simulations played in his head, an innumerable amount of data from years of study filtering through his brain. Finally, he frowned, looking to Sorel.

"The odds are stacked against us in a battle, but with the two of us, there's a high probability we could sneak past whatever defenses this Hutt has. It just apparently made a deal, it is probably basking in it's riches, or whatever. The guard might be lax, or tighter. It is difficult to tell. Either way, we should go find this 'Dex'."

With a final look at the dead Herglic on the ground, Tyyni turned his body, and slid out of the warehouse.

-ONE HOUR LATER-

Dusk had fallen on the town of Bilbousa. The Nal Hutta skyline was as gross as ever, but Tyyni couldn't help but enjoy the darkening skies. What he could afford to hate, however, was the gross display sprawled out below the sky.

Dex's Palace was an enormous casino, sending up bright neon signs. The compound had various exits and entrances, and seemed quite busy. Tyyni looked to Padawan Crieff. "Well? How are we going to get in? I have an idea, but... It's a bit... Eh, strange." Tyyni wringed his hands, the same frown present on his features.

- [member="Sorel Crieff"] -

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel listened and nodded. She respected Tyyni’s thoughts and opinions and never more so wen it came to the workings of the Hutt. She had no intention of going head to head with a palace full of his men, but nor was she keen to simply walk away.

“Sneaking I can manage,” she offered, “And I agree, Dex needs to be paid a visit. He needs to understand what is or is not acceptable by our standards. If nothing else, it’s a shot across the bows that might make him think twice before engaging in certain activities.”

“Lead on…”

~~~​

The palace was everything you’d expect it to be. Garish, neon and a den of iniquity. And that was just a first impression from the distance. And it was busy judging by the flow of traffic in and out of the place.

“I’ve liked your plans so far, so please – tell me what you have in mind.”


[member="Tyyni Oluja"]

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

Tyyni looked to Sorel with a guilty expression. "Well, being a Hutt, I'm sure I would be treated fairly in there. On this planet, if you cross a Hutt, you almost always die. So, I could probably go right in without difficulty. You, however, might be searched, and if your lightsaber is found, you will most certainly be executed."

The Huttlet patted his robes, dusting them off slightly. The contention on his face was evident. "The slaves of a Hutt are considered his property; no man in their right mind would detain the slave of a Hutt... Eh, I hope you see where I am going here."

Tyyni was in no way happy with his plan. The idea of even pretending to own a slave disgusted him. But, he figured pretending to be the child of a wealthy Hutt, and bringing along a fake slave, would be their best bet.

- [member="Sorel Crieff"] -

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel was not slow on the uptake but even she was a step behind Tyyni on this one. But a broad grin spread across her face. “I thought you were going to suggest leaving my saber behind, or for you to carry it for me. But your plan works for me – and to be fair, I’d still recommend you carry my sabers, just in case.”

She started to unclip them and then paused, a grave look across her face. “Slaves. Female slaves. Do they all…you know…dress code…Princess Leia…you know…” She waved her hands and pointed at various parts of her body. “I presume that’s not a necessity of the ruse?” There was now pleading in her eyes.

[member="Tyyni Oluja"]