deceit of war ( treasuresniper, tilucki )

tilucki

a sleepy artist
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i'm genuinely super flexible and my muse shifts constantly when it comes to the genres i like to write :'D
Miran had been to many places in the galaxy during her time in the Jedi order, so she was unsure over why this new mission made her so excited. Travelling to Mygeeto, the freezing, crystalline planet that most would hate to be stationed to- but dealing with The Shadow Collective crime syndicate instead of the Separatists was a new change of pace for the Jedi order.

Miran sat in her bunker on the CR90 corvette that her platoon was to use to infiltrate the planet wide blockade. Miran sat in her bunker and explored her many thoughts while her trusted Captain worked on changing their ships code to match that of a Shadow Collective's, hoping to trick the blockade. The order gave little explanation over this siege, only making it clear to Miran's platoon of clones that they had to re-secure this planet in a stealth mission. Perhaps it was because of the kyber crystals located on the planet, the surge of new Padawan's could be making it more hard to find crystals. It wasn't Miran's place to question the decisions made by the Jedi council and the Republic, but she couldn't find any good reasons to be on this mission, risking the clone troopers lives for blindly following orders.

But she couldn't help but feel a little excited over the fact that she was able to deal with a crime syndicate. Very rarely did the Jedi interact with these syndicates unless they were of course, disrupting the peace- but usually the were left to their own devices. Miran knew very well that these crime syndicates dealt with very horrible things, slave trading, spice running, anything considered illegal across the galaxy, so she never fully understood why the Jedi order almost always turned a blind eye to their dealings. She could tell that at the very least, this mission would give her some much needed insight on these organizations, and help her understand the Jedi's view point on them.

"General! We've reached Mygeeto, Captain Lox has successfully coded our signal and we are entering orbit!" A trooper stopped at the door of her bunker and saluted, Miran getting up to do the same. "Thank you, you are dismissed." She smiled, nodding to the clone as they ran off, probably to ready themselves for the mission that was now in full force.

Miran made her way to the cockpit, rather quickly, though she tried not to seem like she was in a rush in front of the clones, not wanting them to think she was in a panic. "Captain Lox, you never disappoint." Miran called out as she stepped into the cockpit, Captian Lox and a few other clones watched over the ships controls, keeping everything in perfect shape. Miran always admired Lox, how he found tech so easy to work with, proving himself even further with the start of this mission. "We should be passing through the blockade any moment now General Miran, once we reach the surface we're headed for a trade port. What should our plan look like from there?" He said, keeping his head turned towards the view of the planet coming into view.

Miran took in a deep breath, nothing could've ever prepared her for the responsibility of these clones, so when they asked for orders, she always felt just a little nervous- not liking putting them in danger. "When we reach the trade port we should secure a blockade of our own. There should be plenty of stuff laying about in the port to use to our vantage to protect our ship. I'll go forward with Captain Lox and try to find where the leader of this syndicate is while scouting for projectiles that could be launched at our ship or enemies. We'll send word back when we find anything of danger to our ship and small groups will go out to disable or take out these threats." Miran said, nodding softly she turned and began walking to the exit of the ship, ready to protect her platoon when they landed.

Captain Lox stood beside her and laughed, shaking his slightly. "You know General Miran, Mygeeto is very cold." He handed her a hooded shawl, making Miran chuckle along with him. "What would I do without you?" She said to him as she put the shawl on, pulling the hood over her head. She was calm, she had to be for this mission to be successful.

It took only a few minutes for the ship to reach the surface, Miran bracing herself as the ship docked, the door opening to a chill of cold wind- they had made it safely to Mygeeto. "Well Captain, keep up." Miran grinned, jumping onto the massive cargo bins sitting where they had docked, Lox following suite with his jetpack. She kept her eyes sharp, looking for any dangers- but for now the best thing to do was to find the leader and find a way to stop any unnecessary bloodshed. She moved swiftly, keeping to the shadows as she searched- Lox using a comlink to communicate back with the ship.
 
Nayr was bored out of his mind up at the core ship, at this point he was almost begging for something to happen. The commandeered core ship was certainly a treasure trove of resources, containing many deactivated droids, weaponry, and interesting information that the Shadow Collective could leverage. When a disturbance was reported in the mining sector, he did not hesitate to see to the matter personally. He entered a Maxillipede shuttle, accompanied by a few of his trusted enforcers and some reactivated battle droids. The craft exited the hangar, escorted by 6 droid gunships. He figured he might as well put these droids to good use.

When he eventually reached the planet's surface, he could clearly see the cause of the commotion from the craft's cockpit and was very disappointed. He exited craft the, flanked by his enforcers and a squad of IG-100 Magnaguards, giving a strong air of intimidation to everyone around him. Some Zygerrian slavers had been caught trying to smuggle the local Lurmen for their slaving operations. The atmosphere was tense enough as is, Nayr had to think very carefully about how to defuse the situation.

"Explain yourselves." he spoke with an eerily calm voice. The two Zygerrian that were responsible were noticeably nervous from the confrontation. While he is a criminal, Nayr tried his best to never associate himself with slavers. The elder of the two Zygerrians finally opened up with a bribe of some sort. "Now now, Mr Geldra, surely we can work something out here. Name your price! Credits? Spice? Or perhaps a few ladies to keep you company? I am sure we can come to an... understanding..Hahaaha" the Zygerrian chuckled nervously. Nayr couldn't help but laugh with him considering how amusing the situation was. The second Zygerrian followed suit, thinking the situation had been diffused until he heard a blaster shot. The elder Zygerrian's body dropped to the ground, his eyes still wide open from shock. "You can't do this! We are protected by the Hutts! You'll.." Nayr interrupted the remaining Zygerrian with a statement of his own. "If the Hutts themselves approved of this operation, then I would have heard something from them. Not you." Nayr saw through his bluff and proceeded to send the younger Zygerrian to the afterlife.

Once the commotion was settled, Nayr ordered his men to dispose of the bodies and scrap their ships. As for the Lurmens, he simply set them free seeing that he himself had no use for them. Besides, if the Shadow Collective wanted to enslave them, they could always catch them again since they won't be leaving the planet. "Alright shows over people. Back to work." Considering that was not much else to do back at the coreship, Nayr chose to stay on the surface to oversee the mining operations, though that proved even more uninteresting. He sat ontop of a modified tri-droid that had an open domed used as an observation post. His forces began patrolling the surrounding area, if a Zyggerian slaving duo can somehow infiltrate the blockade what's stopping a more competent enemy from doing the same? Little did he know, he would soon be confronted by a Jedi-clone duo.
 
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Miran enjoyed the feeling of the cold wind against her face as she jumped and climbed from building to building, the snow added to what would be a peaceful atmosphere if she wasn't on a infiltration mission. She needed to find a decent look out, so she continued to explore until she found what she was looking for. Stopping on the edge of windowsill on a building that was a good distance to the platform it stood on, she saw what she was looking for.

She signaled Lox to pause, who took place beside her, the two of them taking in what they had come across.

There was two dead Zygerrian's, a clear sign of a slave trade reaching Mygeeto. Lurmen's scattered the area in a panic, while droids and groups of men cleaning up the slaver's dead bodies and any trace of them. A distance ahead was a tri-droid and what looked like a mining operation working away at the surface of Mygeeto. She wasn't sure what the Shadow Collective wanted with kyber crystals or any of the other minerals buried in Mygeeto, but was going to find out. "Lox, can you see what's on that tri-droid? I might be able to sneak onto it.." She said softly, her warm breaths visible little clouds in the cold air as she spoke. "A man is, General." He answered with a nod. Miran pursed her lips together, looking at the decent sized groups patrolling around the area they had stumbled into, if they weren't careful they could be spotted.

"Have our men disabled the missile launchers we spotted on the way here? We may have a good advantage if they take out it out and move the cargo bins in a protective circle around the corvette we may have a fighting chance if a shoot out starts." Miran was serious on keeping the clones alive and protected when she didn't even understand why they were sent here in the first place. Captain Lox spoke quietly through his comlink and it only took a few seconds for him to confirm what she asked. "They disabled the missile launcher soon after we notified them. They are now moving the cargo bins and setting up a protective barrier around the ship, even if the Shadow Collective have more missile launchers they wouldn't want to blow up the cargo bay if they're any smart." Lox responded to Miran with a thumbs up, and by the quip in his voice she could tell he was grinning under that helmet.

Miran was feeling much more confident now, keeping her eyes on the tri-droid she had a feeling the person she wanted to talk to was on there. "Right then Lox, I'm going to go to that tri-droid. I want you to circle back to the ship and bring a squad of clones with you back here. Be stealthy and quick, I'll try not to piss anyone off in the mean time."

Lox couldn't even give a decent response as Miran jumped across the building, waiting for a patrol to pass before she jumped down from the building and began sprinting towards the tri-droid. Miran would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the thrill of sneaking around like this, having to be quick enough so that the next patrol to circle by wouldn't spot her before she reached the tri-droid. She kept her hand close to her lightsaber on her belt, always ready for battle just incase- but she had no need as she reached the legs of the tri-droid. She jumped up easily and swiftly, thanks to the force, up a single leg of the tri-droid. She narrowly avoided being seen by another patrol, using the canon to swing herself up into the open dome, landing swiftly in front of the man.

"What business do you have on Mygeeto?" Miran cut straight to the point, pulling down her hood then grabbed her lightsaber from her belt, igniting it to show off blue double blades. The man was human, and looked rather scruffy. She assumed that most crime lords looked as such, but she couldn't help but be enticed by his appearance, he looked normal, if he wasn't sitting in a tri-droid in the middle of a mining operation run by the Shadow Collective.
 
Mygeeto's was actually very relaxing of you look past loud clanking of machines. Nayr took off his helmet and took a moment to relax, thinking back to his past, did he have any regrets about the things he's done up to this point? Perhaps. He drifted off into a dream about distant memory. It was one of his few pleasant memories he had about back home, he was playing with the horned little girl who he use to hangout with.

His dream was abruptly interrupted when he was awakened by the lightsaber of a Jedi who had oddly similar features to the girl in his dream. "My business? Who knows?" Nayr quickly extended his cortosis wrist blade and flicked it at the blue blade, temporarily shorting it out. After putting on his helmet, he proceeded to fire a electrified grappling cable to restrain her. While he's never personally fought a Jedi before, he has heard enough stories about them to come up with some countermeasures. "Boys, sound the alarm." Nayr slammed his hand onto a nearby panic button, causing the men and droids to go into battle stations. Based on his stories, Jedi rarely come alone, if one is found their clone army is surely nearby.

The coreship began launching gunships and vulture droids towards the planet. Pretty soon the mining base was crawling with droids and other mercenaries. The workers quickly fled into their assigned bunkers to protect themselves for whatever attack that may come. "You know, I've heard a lot of things about the Jedi. You guys prefer to settle things peacefully right? Well here is your chance. This planet here is under my protection. Get off this planet and I'll make no move against you or whatever forces you may have here." Based on the Nayr's logic, he believed that whatever forces she had with her would likely be a small one since he did not see any sizeable ships past by. Nayr deactivated his electrified cable as a sign of good faith, hoping that the jedi will reciprocate appropriately.

Meanwhile, the droid patrol had located a strange formation of shipping containers covering a corvette. The commando droids riding on top of the gunship reported this a suspicious activity and descended from the gunships for closer look. The droid begin checking the ship's code once more. While it was definitely a Shadow Collective code, but the ship model was not something the mercenaries were too familiar with. "Open the doors, you are not authorized to move these containers. Surrender yourselves immediately." One of the mercenaries that accompanied the patrol motioned his hand forward, prompting the gunships to open fire on the corvette's radar array and turrets. "That's the only warning shot you're gonna get now come out with your hands up" Nayr's enforcers knew that their boss would rather salvage whatever tech they could find instead of reducing it to spare parts.
 
Miran didn't know what she expected from a crime lord, but it wasn't this. She cried out in pain as the cable wrapped around her, staring at the man with furrowed brows. She collapsed onto her knees, breathing heavily as he slammed the alarm. Miran was immediately flooded with guilt and worry for her platoon of clones. Why did the Jedi council agree to send her here, and what did the Republic want from Mygeeto and the Shadow Collective?

The tiniest bit of hate creeped up on her as he offered her to surrender, her pride wounded. She couldn't trust what he said, so there had to think of something else. "I'll stay here. I don't trust that you won't shoot the ship straight out of the sky." Miran let out a sigh of relief as he deactivated the cable, her muscles relaxing. "Captain Lox, retreat to the corvette and go back. I don't understand why we were sent on this mission, and I will not put you or any of the platoon in danger without any reason. Go straight back to Coruscant, that's an order." She had her comlink in her other hand, pressing down to speak loud enough for Lox to hear on the other side. She had a feeling he didn't want to kill her, and if she had any faith in the Republic she knew she would find backup soon, so she just had to survive until then.

Miran looked up at the sky, watching the gunships and vulture droids fly into the atmosphere, making her stomach twist into knots. The only mistake he made was turning off the electricity that ran through the cable, as Miran's legs were free and she used this chance to get up and swiftly kick his legs, knocking him to the ground then pressing her heel against his neck. "Tell your men to let the ship go without hurting anyone and we have a deal. You ought to have use for a Jedi, so do what I say now and then we'll talk out an actual deal." She pressed her heel into his neck and growled. She knew she might get in trouble for this, but she wanted to see her platoon escape safely, then she could deal with the consequences later.
 
While he always wanted to fight a Jedi, but he didn't quite expect the first one who would face to be so reckless and inexperience. He was always told that the Jedi were one of the deadliest warriors in the galaxy, possessing a blade that can cut through just about anything and powers that make no sense. "Well, lady, you're not exactly in a position negotiate are you?" Nayr responded to her lack of trust with a playful taunt. However, much to his suprise, the girl eventually ordered her men to retreat. So much for those boastful stories about the Jedi. Seconds later, Nayr received his own message on his comlink regarding a suspicious ship. He figured that it must have been the ship she arrived in. "Stand down team, I have their-" his reply was cut short by the Jedi's leg sweep.

He could feel her heel digging into neck and quickly grabbed her leg with one of his hand to electrocute her once more, this time with much greater intensity.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he yelled in anger , he quickly held her in a reverse arm lock, pinning her onto the railing of the tri droid platform. "You Jedi are such hypocrites you know that? Here I am offering a peaceful resolution and you try to pull a fast one on me?" his jetpack extended a droid armature from his back with a blaster pistol. The jedi would feel the cold barrel of a blaster at the back of her head. "I should kill you where you stand." he said in a rather cold tone. "What are you orders sir?" the mercernary asked through the comlink. "But... I am feeling rather generous today. So I'll do this instead." Nayr turned to his comlink and gave the order. "Take them as prisoners. We can use them as bargaining chips if the Republic ever comes back with a larger force. Kill any of them who resist." and with that, the droid began slicing into the corvette's doors.

Nayr turned the lady around so that he can see her eyes, he wanted her to know he wasn't just another bounty hunter she can mess with.
"Listen here, Jedi. I hope you appreciate that whatever happens to your men will be solely on you." he warned her. Back at the corvette, the mercenaries had announce the terms of their imprisonment the troopers inside. Whether or not they comply is solely up to them, but regardless of anything, the droids and mercenaries present were fully prepared to use lethal force on the clones inside if necessary.

The rest of the reinforcement gunships began circling the corvette, blasting their engines making it clear that there was no way out for them. While certainly more civilized than most crime lords in the galaxy, he did not take kindly towards disrespectful behavior, especially coming from those who do not practice the ideals that they preach. "So are you gonna order your men to come in quietly? Or do you want them to die?" he waited for response while still holding her with a tight grip. He won't be tricked a second time.
 
Miran was so painfully naive. For all her intelligence, there was nothing like experience, and she had absolutely zero dealing with crime syndicates. She cried out in pain as he shocked her a second time, the electricity being felt in her bones. Miran collapsed face down on the ground, groaning softly. Feeling the cold barrel of the blaster pressed against her head made her understand her mistake fully.

Hearing his last bargain made her weak in the chest, but she could refuse it- this was her fault completely. “Captain Jox, surrender.. I’m sorry. This is my fault.” She said with a weak voice through the comlink, hoping her platoon weren’t as stubborn as she was, but that was unlikely, they were bred for war after all.

Miran could barely look at him in the eyes, instead she noticed his mandalorian armour. Even if she was able to fight him with her lightsaber he would’ve been a formidable opponent.

“Jox! I cannot tell you what to do, but please know that I am sorry.” Miran said once more to her comlink, this time while staring directly at the man. She tossed her comlink aside and looked away from him. Miran couldn’t bear the shame or guilt she was feeling, wondering why the crime lord didn’t just kill her right here- it would put her out of her misery.

“What will you do with me then?” Miran asked with a weak voice, her whole body sore and tired, the cold wind and the snow falling not as calming and pretty as she first made it out to be.
 
"That would depend on just how useful you are to me." and with that Nayr knock her out with a stunning shock. When she finally awakened she found herself inside an interrogation room aboard the coreship. Both her hands and legs were cuffed to ensure that she wouldn't be able to perform any of her jedi sorcery. She was seated on a chair directly opposite to Nayr. "Good, you're finally awake. Now tell me..." Nayr stood up to walk towards the jedi, lowering her hood so that he can take a much better look at her. "What did you come here for? I am sure the Republic doesn't just send Jedi to any planet. Tell me everything you know about Republic. Military codes, your tactics. you know the works." The door opened, briefly shifting their attention to the individuals entering the room. Based on the armor markings, it looked like one of the clone troopers from her platoon. He too had restraints on him and was flanked by two commando droids.

"I certainly hope you're in cooperative mood today. And just so that we have an understanding..." Nayr pointed his blaster at the trooper chest, causing him to be visibly distressed. "Wait no no-!" and just like that he was silenced with one blaster shot. "Consider your answers very carefully, because If I don't like them, something like that can happen again." Either way, Nayr wanted to get the answers to his questions. Even if it means relying on more underhanded tactics such as this.
 
Miran woke to a cold interrogation room, cuffed to a chair. She felt horrible, the multiple electric shocks making her sore and weak- she truly had no fight left in her.

Looking up she saw the crime lord walking to her from the other side of the table. Miran couldn't help but scowl as he lowered her hood just to simply look at her face, the anger returning to her. "You want codes and tactics? They'd be all on the corvette we were on." She answered him quickly, letting out a sigh. If she was in this situation because of the fact she was sent on this mission with no explanation, perhaps she could work with him to find out just exactly the Republic was planning with a crime syndicate.

"I don't-" Before she could start talking again one of the clones was shoved into the room. Miran's guilt returned to her now, showing all over her face as she looked at the clone. "Please don't..!" She cried out, but the crime lord showed no mercy to her or the clone's pleas. The blaster shot was quick and silenced the room, Miran speechless. The guilt and anger she was feeling was two danger emotions, something she tried to keep under control with a few deep breaths but they returned once she looked back at the crime lord.

"I-I was going to tell you the full truth. That was completely unnecessary!" Miran snapped at him, anger reading all over her face from her scowl to the slight snarl playing across her lips. "I didn't want my platoon to lose their lives because we were sent to infiltrate and remove the Shadow Collective from Mygeeto with little to no reasoning from the Republic." She explained, breathing in deeply once again, trying to keep a cool head, she couldn't afford to lose her temper again.

"I really wish I could tell you more, something that made sense. But I have nothing for you. In fact, I can't help but admit that I myself am also curious over the Republic's reasoning for this mission." Miran looked at the crime lord with a more solemn look, hoping he would believe her despite having no reason to.
 
Nayr found it strange that this apparent Jedi knight of the Republic was so easily broken by such threats or the fact that she didn't seem to know much herself. "And just like that you'll tell me everything? I thought you Jedi were made of sterner stuff than that." The crime lord grabbed her by the chin, inspecting her facial features very closely, but all she would see is his heavily customized helmet, meant to sew fear and dread into his enemies. He couldn't quite point his finger at it, but there was something very familiar about this Zabrak lady. At this point, if I was the other lieutenants I would have sold you off to the some Zygerrian slavers already. But people like me have standards." he snapped his fingers, prompting "dead" clone trooper to stand back up in a very unnatural motion. The "trooper" removed its helmet, revealing itself to be a commando droid who was simply using its voice box to mimic the clone's voice.

Nayr is no stranger to killing people but he figured that bringing more heat to the Shadow Collective or more importantly, himself, is not exactly a sound strategy. He had already extracted whatever information he could find from the corvette and there wasn't much info there that would fetch a high price to the separatist. However, the information he had extracted from the Lurchehulk on the other hand might fare better if it was to be offered to the Republic. Before the interrogation, he had already contacted her master using the information aboard the corvette. He had arranged an exchange of some sorts, he would return the prisoners unharmed along with sensitive separatist information for a very handsome sum of credits. He had also taken the liberty to move all his remaining forces into the coreship as there were reports that a much larger separatist fleet would be arriving in Mygeeto to reclaim the system. The Republic is sure to reciprocate with its own forces soon.

"Remember this day, Jedi, despite holding all the cards, I chose to show you mercy." In light of recent reports regarding Maul's capture, Nayr believed it was necessary to remain in the good graces of the Republic and Jedi. At this moment, the coreship was situated on one of Mygeeto's moon where he was patiently awaiting for the Jedi Master's arrival. In hindsight, Maul would never have agreed to this, but seeing as he was already captured, he shouldn't be a problem to Nayr, or so he thought. "Your master will be arriving shortly to pick you up. Your dedication to your troops is admirable, but it can also be your biggest downfall." Nayr released her cufflings, confident that she wouldn't try anything else on the crime lord. "Don't give me a reason to regret this, Jedi.
 
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Miran was beyond humiliation at this point, she was a disgrace to the order and her master's teachings. If she had held her tongue and not fought back on the tri-droid her troops wouldn't be suffering for her own mistakes. She flinched as he touched her, tilting her chin up towards him. All she could do was look at his well decorated helmet, wondering what expression he had on his face while looking at her so intently.

"I should thank you then." Miran said, letting out a small sigh as she looked away from his helmet. Hearing the snap of his fingers caught her attention immediately, and the clone that she had just watched die brought itself back up- Miran's face filling with a mix of confusion and horror. To see a droid underneath the helmet was a relief, but she couldn't help but feel rather angry for being tricked- she truly grieved for her clones. This crime lord confused her even more, she didn't know why he was being so merciful to her, he had to have something planned.

"My master Yugeth..? Thank you." Miran breathed a sigh of relief at first, but then realized how truly humiliating it was to have to face her old master after ruining a mission and losing her temper so easily. She felt the cuffs release off of her and she rubbed her wrists, then rolled her shoulders, stretching slightly to soothe how sore her muscles were. She looked up at him then stood up, feeling her lightsaber to her side, she was glad, she would've been in even more trouble if she had lost her lightsaber. "For a crime lord you sure are forgiving.. I won't forget the kindness you showed me." She offered a small smile, if it even meant anything after threatening him on Mygeeto. "My name is Miran. I'm in your debt." The least she could take away from this is to understand that being shown mercy shouldn't lead to feelings of humiliation, for it would lead her back into trouble again. As for being in his debt, the Jedi council and the Republic didn't need to know of it, for they had kept her secrecy for this very mission. Being in his debt and knowing she could repay him for his mercy helped her feel a little less immature for her actions today.

Soon after she stood up Yugeth and a small squad of clones entered the room. "The credits have been handed over. Miran, come this way." Her master stood at the door of the interrogation room, looking at the crime lord that stood between them. Miran looked at the man then at her old master and walked towards him, not able to look Yugeth in the eyes. "I failed you Yugeth." She said to him as she reached his side, her old master shaking his head. "No you haven't, I am just glad that you are alive and well." He said to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. He was full of forgiveness, and Miran still wasn't sure if she deserved it.

The two clones by Yugeth's side stepped out of the room, talking to a hooded figure on a comlink. Yugeth and Miran stepped out of the room and began walking off to the ship that would bring them back to Coruscant. It was only when the clones pointed their blasters at their backs did she feel the sudden change of power in the force. Miran turned around only to see that Yugeth had sensed this before her, and moved swiftly in front of her, taking the blaster fire all by himself.

"Master Yugeth!" Miran cried out in pure terror, watching her old master fall to the ground at her feet made her heart wrench in her chest. She looked up at the clones, igniting her lightsaber to deflect the blaster fire back at the two of them in self defense. She didn't want to kill them, but it was like a switch turned on in their head when she felt the sudden shift of the force. Miran ran back down the hallway to the interrogation room where the crime lord was and shut the doors behind her, using her lightsaber to short-circuit the controls to the door before anyone could get in or out.

Miran looked up at the crime lord, her hands shaking intensely. "You have to listen... the clones, they just murdered my old master. They tried to kill me." She told him, her eyes full of fear. Near the entrance of the ship docking area, the clones that handed over the credits open fired on the Shadow Collective's men, the clones storming towards the interrogation room, not letting anyone get in the way of them.
 
"Miran..." the name echoed through his mind. So it was really her, the little girl from his memories. To think after all this time, he would meet her again under such strange circumstances. It was very tempting for him to tell her who he was as she was the only person left from that part of his life. Alas, he could not muster up the courage. How would she react had she found out it was her childhood friend was the one who put her through this entire ordeal. Nayr stood silent at her master's arrival, reflecting on the choices he had made that have lead him to this point. "That day, if our positions were switched, would our fates be different? Would I have your life? And you mine?" he thought to himself in silence. Just before she exited the room, Nayr hesitantly raised his hand, as if to stop her but it was only for brief moment before reluctantly deciding against it. He concluded that it would be best if she were to never find out, and perhaps never meet each other again.

What happened next was something no one could have foreseen, alarms were blaring all throughout the ship. The officer in his comlink reported that the clone have began firing on his men in the hangar. Was he double crossed by the Jedi? Right after he was just given the credits? He had no time to process these thoughts as he could Miran entering the room once more with her lightsabre drawn. Was this revenge? Did she come to kill him? He reflexively pointed his dual pistols at her, along with two additional droid armatures that held a blaster pistol on each hand. The commando droids, still inside the room followed his actions. Despite pointing so many guns at her, he did not know if he had the stomach to pull any of the triggers. "What is the meaning of this? I've held up my end of the bargain? What more do you want?" he questioned with a very confused tone.

His helmet's HUD gave him the live security footage of what's happening in the hangar. Seeing that all his men in the hangar were already dead, with only a few droids present, he ordered the coreship's helm to deactivate the hangar shielding, effectively ejecting all the remaining clones there into the vacuum of space. Destroyer droids could be heard rolling into the connecting hallway of the interrogation room, positioning themselves just in front of the room's entrance. Upon seeing the charging clones, the droideka's opened fire, letting their repeating blasters make quick work of the approaching squad. Some of Nayr's enforcers soon arrive to the interrogation room's entrance, forcing the door open using one of B2 droids. The whole ship began to rumble as they soon realized that 3 Venators outside have began their bombardment on the coreship. "Boss, we need to get out of here, the ship can't handle this much fire power!" the enforcer warned him. "Set a course to Lothal! Get us out of here while I'll handle whatever clones are left in this ship. You come with me. I'll need you to be alive after this whole ordeal so that you can explain to me what the hell is going on!" Nayr along with a few commando droids made their way to the remaining clone squads in the inner hangar. Although, the galactic marines proved much tougher than the usual clone troopers, his forces eventually manage to come out on top.

Although the coreship had safely entered hyperspace, there were still a decent amount of attacking clones remaining on the ship. Nayr and the rest of his squad were pinned down in one of the inner hangars, the clones present were from Miran's platoon and they had multiple repeating blasters laying covering fire onto the Nayr's location. "Lady, this is you last chance, get them stop attacking or I'll have to kill them." he told Miran with a very stern tone.
 
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Miran couldn't blame him for drawing his blasters on her. The clones outside were attacking anyone who got in their way, and she had her lightsaber on and purposefully short-circuited the door so no one could get in. Even with this much fire power against her she had to preserver for her old master, not wanting his sacrifice to be so short lived. "I have no control over the clones, I'm not here to hurt you, but I cannot promise the clones won't." Miran tried explaining, tried to make sense of the situation herself despite still being in shock. As he began to catch on to what was happening, Miran felt an overwhelming sadness wash over her. She could tell many that Jedi were facing the same outcome all across the galaxy, and the pain they shared was almost unbearable.

The dread wavered when the ship rumbled, she had to help the crime lord if they were both going to survive this. "I'll follow you then," She was glad he was thinking the same as her, though Miran wasn't sure if she had the heart to hurt any of the clones. She followed behind the crime lord and his droids, letting them do the dirty work, lowering her eyes each time they encountered a clone. She still couldn't come to terms with what had gone wrong.

Miran had followed them all the way into the inner hangar, deep in thought until they were pinned down by a group of clones who had higher ground. The crime lord's words brought her back to reality. She looked up to see men from her platoon firing down at them, more specifically her. "Lox.." She spotted Lox in the group, ducking back under the cover to take a deep breath. Miran had formed a close bond with all of the clones in her platoon during the war, but Lox was like a brother to her. She wanted desperately to know what was happening, to ask him what was wrong- but she knew if he wouldn't snap out of whatever trance he was under then she'd have to kill him. Miran wasn't sure if she had that in her.

"Lox! Stop it!" Miran moved out of the cover and began deflecting the blaster shots, sending them purposefully away from the clones. "What happened? Why are you firing..?" She called out, trying to stay loud so he could hear her over the blaster fire but her voice weakened once she took another look at him. "Stop firing! Lox! That's an order!" She was desperate, and it showed as she missed deflecting a bullet and Lox managed to shoot her in the shoulder, causing Miran to drop her lightsaber and run back to the cover.

She was silent, the blaster wound was nothing compared to the betrayal she felt. She held her hand to her shoulder, looking over at the crime lord. "I tried to stop them." Miran said, wallowing in the pain and sadness that was the current state of the force. Miran felt tears run down her face, finding herself crying.
 
Part of his heart wanted to comfort her, but now was not the time to be emotional, especially considering what about to happen next. Nayr surveyed the surround area and noticed a dormant vulture droid that was suspended right above the clone squad. With just a few button presses, he was able to deactivate the clamp suspending it, sending it tumbling down onto the squad. The sound of broken armor and bone could be heard as the weight of the deactivated vulture droid crushed a few of the clones. However, the remaining clones did not seem not flinch by their comrades death, simply continuing their relentless assault.

Nayr flew upwards with his jetpack, firing upon the remaining clones with swift efficiency. Once the deed was done, he walked towards the squad's bodies to inspect them. To his surprise, one of the clones had survived, but had their legs crushed by the falling vulture droid. "Stand down, soldier. Your fight is over." he warned preemptively, hoping that the clone would surrender, considering that he had no hopes of winning. To his surprise, not only did the clone refuse to surrender, but he also attempted one last attack by throwing a thermal detonator. Seeing this, he quickly shot the thermal detonator right before it left his hands, causing a large explosion. Fortunately, the hangar itself remained intact. The rest of the crew arrived at the to make repairs and dispose of the dead.

"Lady, come with me." The dirty work was done, all that's left is to find out why things had to go this way. He brought the girl into his make shift quarters and awaited for her explanation. He kept his helmet on the entire time as he was afraid she would recognize him, thus further complicating the situation. Right after the commotion had he received word from the Shadow Collective that Maul had managed to escape and is requesting the members to go into hiding for now. The crew had already begun given strange looks onto the girl, wondering why he even bothered keeping her alive. While most of them were loyal Nayr, there were also those that seek to overthrow him. "I certainly hope you have good explanation for all of this." his tone was very much different from before. It was as if he was subconsciously making himself sound more worried and concerned rather than angry. After finding out her identity, he just couldn't keep up his usual tough and gruff persona.
 
Miran dissociated as the crime lord continued his attack. She couldn't stop her platoon, so he was bound to kill them. She refused to look but she heard and felt the tumble and crash of the vulture droid, the sound of the blasters and the heat of the thermal detonator. His words snapped her back to reality, and the sharp pain in her shoulder from the blaster fire.

She looked up at him and nodded, grabbing her lightsaber before following him to his quarters. The silence was harsh and forced her to process what had just happened, she was safe now, but she was so shaken she couldn't calm down. She was filled with grief, for her master and the clones, and confusion. How was she supposed to explain to him what had happened when she had no explanation herself?

Looking back up at the crime lord, she studied his helmet once again, wondering why he kept it on when she had seen his face before. Miran picked up on his concerned tone right away, and it made her feel even more confused. He had just slaughtered her platoon of clones and now he wanted her to explain the situation? She should be grateful that he didn't just kill her himself, and got rid of the danger, but she couldn't stop thinking of the clones, her thoughts kept returning to why they would do such a thing.

"I wish I had a reasonable explanation for you... Once again I do not," Miran told him, shaking her head. She held her wound tightly, the pain returning each time she inhaled. "Perhaps the Republic might be broadcasting news on this attack? There has to be something that happened to explain this.." She used her spare hand to massage her temple, wracking her thoughts for anything that could explain this mess. "You'd think I'm weird for saying this but, there was a drastic change in the force as they attacked. I can sense that many other Jedi died... this had to be planned.." Miran winced, the pain in her shoulder becoming overwhelming.

Miran looked around the room, taking off her shawl to look down at the blaster wound on her shoulder. She was lucky Lox missed. He had never been a perfect shot, but his expertise with hacking overlooked that fact. She looked around for a medpac, she needed a bacta shot, she felt extremely weak. She turned to him, her face pale. "You don't happen to have a medical droid on board.. do you?" Miran asked, dizziness creeping up on her.
 
Nayr had completely forgotten about the blaster wound and instinctively grabbed her in his arms to stop her from falling. He quickly grabbed a bacta spray from his utility belt. "Hold still, this may sting a little." he began spraying injured area of her body with bacta, which should be able to stop any further damage. "You're going to be fine, Miran. You're going to be just fine..." he spoke with a very reassuring voice placing her on top of a seat. It was then he decided the he might as well tell her since she would be utterly confused by his actions otherwise. He took his helmet off and starred at the girl for long while before uttering "You really don't remember me do you?" Nayr turned his attention to the interstellar holonet to listen in on anything significant news.

Based on the news being brocasted it seems that all Jedi have been declared enemies of the Republic and are to be executed on sight. However, more importantly, Miran's communicator had also received a transmission, directly from Coruscant from a certain Jedi Master. From what he has heard so far, the Jedi basically had no where to go, as they would likely be hunted down by Republic forces as well as some bounty hunters. "So then, Miran, What are you going to do now?" he asked solemnly. Part of him really wanted to help but he just didn't know how. In a way, she was just the same as he is now, a criminal who is on the run. The only difference being he knew a lot more people then she did. He didn't have many options, what would the Shadow Collective think of him if he were to bring a Jedi of all people into their fold. He sat there quietly, awaiting for her reply.
 
Miran wasn't happy showing off such a weak side of her, but she didn't fight his touch. "I'm fine." She said quietly, though they both knew she was in rough shape, not just from her blaster wound. She was still finding things to question, like why this crime lord was treating her so gently, setting her down a seat. Hearing him use her name made her realize she had no clue what his name was. Miran eye's studied him as he took off his helmet, there was something nostalgic and familiar about him. He looked back at her with the same curious intent, and they sat in silence. Miran didn't find it awkward, instead wondering why she recognized him, his face familiar. She hadn't noticed the first time they met since she was so focused on the mission at hand.

She furrowed her brows as he asked her if she remembered him. Was she supposed to? "I don't know your name.. I'm sorry." Miran told him with a shake of her head. Before she could say anything else the holonet went off, broadcasting the recent news. Miran sat there in shock once she heard the news, refusing to believe what she had heard. The Jedi were just fighting for the Republic, what had happened since she left Coruscant to be declared enemies of the Republic? It was an answer to their questions, but it made no sense. Her comlink beeped soon after the broadcast finished, and another messaged was relayed on, this time from Jedi Master Obi-Wan himself. It confirmed the worst. Miran sighed, shaking her head softly.

When the crime lord asked what she was going to do, she had no reasonable answer. She was usually quick on her feet and good at coming up with stuff on the spot but this situation was hard to battle. "I guess I'll disappear. I can no longer survive in the galaxy as a Jedi, so I have to build a new life for myself." Miran responded after a few minutes of silence. "Are you willing to help me erase my past? I'll be in your debt for real this time.."
 
"I guess that settles it then. For now at least, you can stay with my crew. Well, if you're gonna stay here you might as well know my name. Its Nayr. Nayr Geldra, the Spider of Lothal." He introduced himself properly to girl hoping that his name would jog her memory. Their ship has just exited hyperspace near one of the moons of Lothal. They would have to make some repairs and resupply before they can make the next jump. Thankfully they had plenty of credits to spare from their recent exchange. A few hours passed, the crew had just finished cleaning up all the dead bodies. Nayr had personally ordered his men to wrap her master's remains in cloth so they she may give him a proper burial.

"We're going to Lothal to resupply but we can't bring the lurchehulk or any separatist ship down there. So we'll have to take a smaller ship." Nayr invited the girl into his personal ship, a Mandalorian gauntlet ship decorated with red markings. He knew full well that she couldn't go down looking like that lest she be recognized as a Jedi so he had prepared a disguise for her. "Here, put these on and stay close. And don't spend too much or you'll draw attention." he warned her, giving her a poncho, a funny smelling bounty hunter helmet and a pouch of credits. "We're gonna spend a lot of time hiding and running so make whatever you're buying count." The other mercenaries had already departed much earlier to purchase their own supplies so it was just the two of them inside the ship.


Once his ship had entered the atmosphere, he made his way to an area far for from town to allow her to conduct the proper burial ceremonies for her master. After that was taken care of, they entered the town market where both of them used to run around as children. Although a lot has changed, most of the route and paths they used to take were still there.
 

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His name struck the same nostalgic feeling she experienced when she studied his face. Did she used to know him? His name was so familiar... Lothal was where she was born. She didn’t remember much from her time there, barely remembering her parents, but the fields of Lothal and the childish joy the memories brought her was a welcomed warmth after the grief she had just went though. “Good to meet you Nayr, I’m sorry I don’t recognize you.. maybe you mistake me for someone else.” Miran said softly, leaning back into the chair she sat in.

As they took a pit stop Miran fell asleep in the chair. The exhaustion caught up to her and she was finally able to let her guard down, if only for a little bit. She dreamt of her master, which stung, losing him was going to take quite awhile to heal from. But she found comfort that she could visit him in her dreams, holding onto the fact that as long as she never forgot about him, he would never truly be gone. She woke to Nayr entering the room, feeling healed up, she followed him to his personal ship and changed into the gear he gave her.

“Thank you.. I’ll follow your lead,” Miran didn’t have much to say, but she was rather excited to visit Lothal.

Nayr had surprised her to see her master’s remains carried from the ship, realizing he went out of his way to let her give him a proper send off. She spent a few minutes with his body before setting fire to it, watching the smoke trail up into the sky before she set off with Nayr. She followed him to a town market, the same nostalgic feeling washing over her again.

“It is funny... I spent a few years on Lothal before being brought to Coruscant to train.” Miran said, wanting to take off her helmet just to breathe in the air and feel the wind against her skin, but she knew she had to be careful now. “I don’t remember much from living here but.. I do remember being happy during my childhood.” She smiled underneath the helmet.

Miran looked around at the town market. She needed something else to fight with that wasn’t a lightsaber.
 
Nayr was somewhat disappointed that she could not remember him, but perhaps it was for the best. The less she knows about him the better, at least for now. "Funny you should say that I used to live here as well." Nayr had brought a small landspeeder to help carry whatever they bought. He bought his usual supply of dried meat, ration packs and blue milk. "I'd recommend you to get food that will last long. Also here." He handed her one his blasters knowing that she won't be able to use her laser swords anymore. "You know how to use one of those right?" he questioned. He's heard that jedi considered a blaster to be an uncivilized weapon. Unfortunately, times have changed.

"Well well well, if it isn't the spider of Lothal!" a Jovial and friendly voice greeted Nayr from behind. He'd recognized that voice from anywhere.
"Its been awhile, hasn't... Hondo." The WeeQuay greeted Nayr with a chuckle, putting his arm around his shoulder. "Yes yes it certainly has been! What are you up to these days huh? Oh and who is this acquaintance of yours?" Hondo turned his attention to Miran, quickly noticing that she is not part of the group he usually hung out with. "She's....new blood." Hondo turned towards Miran putting his arm around her as well. "Ah yes of course, your organization always needs new people to keep it going. Say I got the perfect job for new people like you! An easy delivery job." Hondo was an odd fella but he has proven to be very useful at times which is why Nayr likes to stay on his good side. "Perhaps some other time, she... has already been through a lot today." Nayr reluctantly declined. He felt that Miran had experienced enough life-changing events for the day and could use some time to adapt to her new life circumstances.

Right before they left a thief ran past them, knocking Miran's helmet off her head. His victim could be heard close behind chasing after him, yelling the word "thief" repeatedly. Nayr wasted no time in apprehending him using his cable launcher. Hondo, being the gentlemen he was, picked up the helmet for the girl and handed it back to her but not before getting a much closer on her face. He starred a her for few seconds before finally making quick joke. "Nayr, I have a feeling you chose this one not just because of skill." He gave them both a playful wink implying that the girl had... an alternative purpose. "Honestly, I never took you for that type of person." Hondo chuckled once more. Nayr, on the other hand, was more concerned on how many people have seen her face, fortunately, no one else seemed to have noticed anything odd about her.
"I'm not." he gave a deadpan reply. It's probably going to take a few more days for the ship to be fully repaired, so they might have to stay here for the time being.