Ask Inquisition

[Jonathen Baize]

"Yeah, its just my kriffing leg!" he said. The Turret was still firing in his direction, sparks flying as it slagged the metal table, and then it turned directions.

"I want to get whoever did that!" he yelled over the continuing blaster fire. He accepted her hand, and they made their way to the exit door. "No complaints here," he said at the mention of a medbay. "How screwed am I?" he asked in reference to his leg. He put some weight on it, even though doing so hurt all hell. That had to be a good sign. Right? Maybe? Hopefully.

It will not take long to get to a medbay, where they started patching him up. The wound was bad but not terrible. Some bacta, and he would be just fine.

---

"NOOOO!" the Cathar whined as she slammed a fist down on her desk. She had been locked out of the turret as he fired into the far wall. It had injured one of them, but from the looks of it, it wasn't the brains of the operation.

She zoomed into an image of Alita's face as she played the recording and saved it. "I am going to get this bitch..." she spat, picking up her phone and dialing a number.

"Hey Crete, I got a job for you and your boys. I am going to send over two images; both are Imperial trash that needs to be taken out. They should be heading to a hospital now. They may go back to the garrison but ill keep an eye on the records there." she said setting up the necessary alerts. If they stepped near the Imperial base, she would know.

"Look....I need this done. I'll throw another 5,000 credits on top if you do it in the next couple of hours." she said before hanging up.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Alita allowed him to lean against her as they made their way out. She didn’t want to risk them getting blown up by lingering in the corridors, “Don’t be dramatic, you’ll live,” She quipped back, rushing them both towards the exit. She pulled up her comlink and reported that this safehouse had been breached, though she didn’t give further details for now. If the alarms were raised before they chased their leads, the entire thing would collapse.

The agent waited while Baize got patched up, smoking a cigarra. She paced back and forth, rapidly typing on her datapad and making comm calls to her personal contacts. Alita exhaled a few smoke rings as she stared at her screen. After a moment, she made a few tweaks and reported both her and Baize as checking back into the garrison via their badge IDs. If anyone was looking for them, they would search there with both of them long gone.

Fortunately, Baize’s wound wasn’t too horrible, and within a few hours he was at least mobile. She tried to tell him to stay behind, but again that was shot down. They were on their way to Raxus in no time, finding themselves at the landing bay at HQ.

“I feel like you’re fueled by nothing but spite at this point,” She gave him a grin that revealed pointed fangs as she waited at the bottom of the ship ramp. He would hobble down and they would begin moving to find this Barlo Togga guy.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

They got him patched up, gave him some pills, and set him on his way. He crashed as soon as they hit the transport. He woke with a start when they reached Raxus and made his way down the ramp. He could put weight on his leg, but his injury definitely slowed him.

"I have been told I was too stupid to give up before," he said, determined to push through. This place had basically been home since he graduated boot camp, but it felt different now. Now, it felt like everyone was watching them, or at least they could be. How deep did this thing go? This was the center of it all; if it was here, it could be anywhere.

"You do this shit all the time?" he asked as they made their way inside. "Don't get me wrong, I like excitement as much as the next guy, but damn..." he commented.

"Guess we are heading down to the basement; that's where the tech department is. Unless you want to take me to any more of your death labs," he said, jabbing at the end.

 

[Cipher Six]

Alita looked amused at his question, “It has gotten more exciting lately,” She said as she led the way. She had to hand it to him - the resilience was to be admired. Most soldiers would have thrown in the towel by now.

At the second quip about the lab, Alita couldn’t help the soft chuckle, “Please, darling, that lab was probably the most action you’ve seen in a while,” It wasn’t until the split that there was a sudden call for all hands on deck when it came to the war. Before that the Sith did all the heavy lifting and the Imperials were tagalongs.

Of course they were headed down to the basement, why wouldn’t they? It was dark and dreary. As she stepped into the tech department, she scrunched up her nose at the strong smell of BO. Alita shook her head, “Some things never change..” She whispered under her breath as she walked in.

It didn’t take too long to find Barlo, a Bith that was in the middle of his lunch break. He started to promptly choke at the sight of her. She grimaced and checked her chrono, waiting for his theatrics to end before he looked at them again.

“How can I help you?” He wheezed, clearly not used to visitors. He quickly cleared his desk of all the fast food wrappers and Earth Wars action figures.

“Barlo Togga,” She began impatiently, “Four months ago you were given the directive to do a hardware refresh. Can you let me know which groups were refreshed and who authorized it?” She asked.

“Oh-Oh I’m sorry I can’t share that detail.”

Alita bristled, reaching down to flash her badge, “I assure you that you can.”

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

True, he hadn't seen much in the way of actual action, but that was a good thing, right? They were building something different, something better. He was about to quip back when the elevator doors opened to the basement.

One thing you quickly learn to live with as soldiers are smells. Even so, the air seemed thick with the odor of stale sweat. He stifled a grin at her comment as they entered the tech department.

It didn't take long for them to find Barlo, who met all expectations. To his credit, he actually pushed back against the agent. Jonathen stood by in the room before someone bumped into the back of him.

"...Hey Bars, did you read the new Space Guy comic that came out yesterday! It. Is. Epic." the guy said as he ran into the back of Jonathen, still looking down at his comic.

"Oh...S..Sorry!" he said, looking up at the soldier and then over to the Agent. He tipped his fedora. "M'Lady" he said with a creepy grin.

"Get out of here, Kirt!" Barlo said, voice squeaking slightly.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

She was losing her patience.

“Look, Bars,” She hissed, planting her hand on his desk. The surface was sticky. She didn’t break eye contact, “I don’t have time for nonsense,” She said as she wiped her hand off on the front of Barlo’s shirt without a second thought. He looked to be on the verge of tears.

“Okay okay okay,” He blubbered before he quickly began to type away on his terminal.

“And we will need two datapads that don’t have the refreshes on them,” She stated firmly. If Jonathen was observing his surroundings, he would see that a few of the IT guys were leaning back in their seats to gawk at Alita. She remained oblivious, glaring at the Bith that was practically oozing into his seat. After a moment, he uploaded the information into a datastick and handed it over, along with the two clean datapads.

“This is a very serious investigation,” She said to Barlo very quietly, “Keep this exchange to yourself. Lives are at risk,” Barlo blinked at her stupidly. She hoped he got the point.

Shaking her head, she turned and walked out of the center, exhaling as if for the first time. The air was suddenly clean again. Finding a private spot, she plugged the stick into the datapad, reviewing the intel quickly, “Captain Van Gibbins,” She read from the logs of who asked for the refreshes, “Do you know him?” She asked Baize.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

"I'd probably just come back later." he whispered to Kirt. "She's likely to turn on someone else when she's finished with him," he added. "I believe you are right, good sir." the guy responded before taking his comic and going to hide in his office.

He noticed other onlookers, but none seemed suspicious to him. He turned back to her, wiping a hand on his shirt, unsure if that was going to get it cleaner or even dirtier; he had a feeling it was the latter.

Thoroughly frightened, they were quickly given the equipment and exited the department. "Well, that was...certainly something," he said. She ducked into a private alcove and began working on the new tablet.

"Yeah, I know I him. I was in his company before being transferred after my promotion. As far as I know, he is still stationed here. He was a good enough Captain, but..." he paused. So far, he had been a fairly passive participant in this; going further, things changed. Peoples's lives would be ruined. There was a bond between soldiers, a brotherhood you didn't just betray. That's what they said, at least.

He had to betray that bond to ensure the security of the Empire. "...he had the reputation of being a bit of drunk and excessive gambler. He has some connections, which is likely why he still holds his rank," he spoke quietly.

"I can take you to their company offices?" he offered

It wasn't a far walk.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

She noticed his hesitation, but she didn’t coax it either way. Instead, she lowered her gaze to the datapad, minding her own business to let him decide what he wanted to share. She knew it was always best to create a safe space to allow someone to divulge information on their own instead of nudging it. That way it was their idea…mostly. She looked up when he spoke, nodding.

“You may have to do the talking this time,” She mentioned as they walked towards the offices, “We ISB make people uncomfortable,” She said with a wink.

Van Gibbins and a few of his subordinates were in the offices. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary initially. She looked at Baize, “Remember, we have the element of surprise. The hackers and the perps don’t yet know we chased this lead down to Gibbins just yet.”

Before they could move further, she placed a hand on Baize's shoulder to stop him, "Look," She said, pointing to a flyer on the wall. It was for a live music and drinks night that the Imperials on this floor were invited to. She could overhear people chatting about it inside the offices,"Looks like we're going to happy hour," Nothing got people talking better than a few drinks. Especially people that were already looking for an excuse to drink.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

If they were going to confront the Captain, it seemed better to do it away from the base. If they started making too much noise here, they might draw whatever attacked them on Spintir. "I do love that band..." he said with a smirk as they headed to the Rusty Rifle.

The bar was a hot spot for soldiers, which is the only reason such a dingy place would have stayed open for so long. They had taken the time to change into more casual clothes to blend in.

As they entered, he led them to the bar as they waited for the Captain to arrive. It wasn't long before the officer arrived. The man looked troubled, ready to drink the trouble under the table for the evening. Jonathen got his attention. "Hey, Captain! Long time no see!" he said, sounding genuine. The bartender Marge came over, and Jonathen pointed to the Captian. "Get this man a drink on me!" he said. "This is Captain Gibbons." he introduced "The best damn Platoon leader the Empire had." he added. "This is Ava." he introduced the agent, using a fake name. He immediately felt several times cooler by doing it.

"Been a while since the 1st company days!" he said, taking a drink of beer and looking away. "Those were the good ol' days, huh?" he added. Soldiers couldn't resist a good opportunity to talk about the good ol' days.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Dressing casual was something she considered a terrible weakness. She simply couldn’t bring herself to do it. She changed into something more low key, yet classy. She still looked like a million credits next to the general grime of the usual patrons. However, Six could slip into any situation, and she showed up with Baize as he….went right up to Gibbons. They hadn’t exactly talked about their roles, so she was put on the spot as he introduced her. She gave him a look, but found it adorable how pleased he looked with himself.

“Pleasure to meet you, Captain,” She said as she shook the man’s hand, her clipped accent coming through.

In truth, Gibbins likely didn’t remember Baize. He worked with many lieutenants, and he wasn’t going to remember individuals.

“Good to meet you Ava,” He said, staring at her a bit more than was healthy. However, he looked over at Baize, “I’m trying to cut back on drink-” He paused then, “You said 1st Company?” His eyes widened, “You were the one that did that crazy hail Mary to get your men out from that Alliance ambush, aren't’ you?” He eagerly took the drink, throwing it back, “Always thought you shoulda gotten a medal for that.”

Six’s brow rose slightly, her gaze falling back on Baize. He was certainly more impressive than he let on. They needed to pull on this more. She sipped from her drink, “Ah yes, Jon wouldn’t shut up about you,” She sighed wistfully, “Things seemed easier back then..”

“Tell me about it,” Gibbins said grumpily, ordering another drink, “This whole split is…” He trailed off, looking around as if he realized what he was saying. He grunted and moved onto his next drink, “So how’d you score a beauty way outta your league like this?” He guffawed as he looked between them. Six had to fight the urge to roll her eyes These covers were always hit or miss and sometimes backfired. They may have to take the scenic route to get to their intel.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

Jonathen slid the drink towards him anyways. Giving him a knowing look. "Guilty as charged!" he said, face growing more excited. He waved off the comment about getting a medal. "Ahh those aren't for me. Besides, medals are how you end up being a Captain, stuck behind some desk." he swatted at his shoulder. "No thanks!" he joked

"Damn right, things were easier." Jonathen agreed. "Things have gone to shit these days with the Empire." he spoke. The captain gave him an appraising look. Was this a man he could get on his side? For now, the Captain moved the topic back to more casual subjects.

"Hey now! I am a man of depth and....mystery." he joked, looking to the agent. The captain burst out laughing "..and full of bullshit.." the Captain joked.

"Alright, we need some shots." Jonathen spoke up. "A round of Death Stars." he ordered. A few seconds later, the round was brought to them. The Captain might have said he was trying to cut back, but getting him to partake didn't take much pushing.

"Long Live the Empire." Joanthen toasted and threw the shot back.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

This was so not her scene. She was far too classy for this. However, she was genuinely impressed by how well Baize slipped into the role. Was he even playing a role? Or did he forget they were on the job? At the end of the day, it was perfect for what she needed. She smiled and nodded along, laughing at whatever stupid joke Baize made that would otherwise draw out eye-rolling. At some point he ordered a round of Death Stars. That would knock out most people, and she watched the shots get distributed.

By now, she was standing a lot closer to the two men. She smiled and nodded, her hand slipping close to the Captain’s hip to casually swipe his keycard between two of her fingers. After taking a sip from her drink, she smiled and turned to Baize, “Baby, I’ve got to go meet my little brother. He wants to tell me all about the new Space Guy comic,” She said with an apologetic sigh. She hoped against hope Baize would catch the hidden meaning that she intended to head back into the HQ office while it was empty. Which meant he had to stall Gibbins before he noticed his badge was missing, “I’ll let you two catch up.”

She playfully blew a kiss towards Baize and walked off, the keycard in hand to get her all the access she needed.

It would take her little time to find her way back to the office, the corridors empty with a lot of people having gone to the Happy Hour. She entered Gibbins' office, using the keycard to get into his terminal. As she began to rummage through data, she realized that his comlink was connected to the terminal. A message cropped up telling Gibbin to watch out for her and Baize via physical descriptors. Alarmed, Six quickly grabbed her own comlink, rapidly texting Baize to find a way to make Gibbins avoid looking at his comlink at all costs.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

They downed the shot; the Captain looked like he was relaxing but still was somewhat uneasy. He didn't even notice Six's move on the key card. He was confused as all hell when she abruptly left. "Uhhh.." he stammered. "Yeah, Space guy.." he said. "Yeah! I'll text you later," he said as she was leaving.

"Damn." the Captain said, perceiving him as getting bailed on. "I have seen people get limbs blown off that looked less painful than that..." he said. "Another round." the Captain announced, and they did another round of shots.

The next while, Jonathen spent trying to keep this guy's attention, but the two soldiers hadn't been all that close. So they kept drinking, and Jonathen was starting to feel it a little bit. He didn't know exactly what he was supposed to do.

"Well, I should get going.." the Captain said. "Need to get some things done." he said, standing to leave and pulling out his comm. Finally, the agent texted Jonathen. He panicked, already seeing the Captain's eyes moving towards his comm.

What was he going to do? He wasn't cut out for this shit.

"Uh...hey...uhh...Look.." he said, panicking for words. He settled on the worst choice. "...Look...back in the day...I fucked your wife." Jonathen said. Gibbons looked at him, stunned for several seconds, dropping his comm. The stunned expression turned to fury as he looked down.

"YOU WHAT?!" he said.

He punched Jonathen, sending the Lieutenant stumbling backward from the bar stool.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six wasn’t entirely convinced Baize caught the hint, but the window was too perfect to waste. Besides, she didn’t see any new messages from either Baize or Gibbons which meant the two guys were probably laughing and sharing crude war stories. The agent rapidly uploaded whatever data she could, already spotting several paper trails to checking in on the inventory at the garrison.

Six tore up the office, pulling open a drawer. She shuffled a few files around and spotted the corner of an ID badge. Her face lit up at the sight. Linus Tarn.

“Got you, bastard,” She whispered quietly to herself, putting the badge in an evidence bag. This unquestionably connected Gibbons to the scene of the crime, along with all the intel on the terminal that showed connection to Kelta. She was almost convinced that checking in with some of the shipping speeders would lead her to the carts that had the treadmarks that Baize noticed.

Six sent in the information to obtain a warrant for Gibbons’ arrest. All she had to do was go back to the bar and find him again.

At some point during the scuffle, the bartender threw the men out and Gibbons stormed away with his men. Six arrived to find the bar in complete disarray, furniture tossed around and a bloody Baize sitting on the curb. Her grip on the datapad that had the warrant loosened as she looked at the Imperial.

“What the fuck?”

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

If the Rusty Rifle was known for anything, it was bar fights.

Joanthen stumbled backward, trying to catch himself but pulling a random beer on top of him before he crashed to the floor. "I'm going to kill you!" the Captain roared, trying to slam a stool down on him. Jonathen rolled and pushed himself up to his feet.

The Captian went to swing at him again, but Jonathen ducked the punch and charged into him, slamming the Captain into the bar.

At this point, others had found reasons to be in their own fights, and the bar had decayed into a full bar brawl. Joanthen punched the other man in the sides before he was pushed backward.

He was probably a terrible spy, but Jonathen could fight. For the next minute, they exchanged blows, Jonathen clearly gaining the upper hand. Finally, he ended the fight by breaking a bottle over the Captain's head.

Marge, the bar owner, finally had enough of the brawl and shut it down. They were kicked out. Jonathen looked rough, but the Captain had been carried out.

He slowly lowered himself to the curb. His head pounded. He would definitely need an ice pack, as he was already feeling an eye swelling.

"Oh hey." he said as the Agent reappeared. "So, you find anything?" he asked, trying to play off him looking like shit. "You know.. Things went pretty great here too.." he added.

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Six sighed and sat down on the curb beside him. She pulled out a cigarra, offering him one if he chose to take it. She turned away and blew out a cloud of smoke.

“Gibbons was the one posing as Linus Tarn. I have a warrant for his arrest,” She said in between smoking. She glanced over at Baize, her eyes flicking up and down, “Let me guess..” She cleared her throat and did an impression of a masculine voice, “You should see the other guy!”

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. She could hear the speeders zooming by in the distance and the faraway chatter of people walking by. Six finished up her cigarra and stood up, offering a hand to help Baize up.

“Come on, there’s a safe house I can take you to,” She explained, “Gibbons has an accomplice that knows about us.”

If he agreed, she would lead him to what appeared to be an unassuming apartment complex. They couldn’t risk going to an obvious medbay here on Raxus when they weren’t sure who they could trust. The interior was neat and immaculate, as one would likely expect from Six. Curiously, there was a guitar propped up against the wall in the corner.

Six checked her chrono before walking over to get medkits and ice. She motioned for Baize to sit on the couch and she drew out bacta patches and bandages, “May I?” She asked before she tended to any wounds.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He took the cigarra and lit it. "What the hell..." he said, trailing off. "Always seemed like a good enough soldier," he admitted. Jonethen trusted soldiers, and to see one of his own betray the Empire like this messed with his head.

Jonathen let out a chuckle. "You got the basic gist of it," he said, wincing at the pain of grinning. He accepted her help. "How many of those damn things do you have?" he asked about the safe house. "...Let me guess," he said, his voice sounding as mysterious as possible. "If I told you, id have to kill you," he said as they made their way to the safe house.

"You think that's who compromised your lab?" he asked on the way.

He let out a whistle as they stepped inside the nondescript apartment. The inside was certainly nicer than the outside. "Not too shabby.." he said, sitting on the couch.

Jonethen accepted help with his face. "So," he said, wincing slightly when the ice pack was applied. "You going to arrest him, or do you have a team to do that? I'd love to be there when you take that bastard down.." he said.

Even as they were speaking, his accomplices would be seeing the warrant being processed in the system. Gibbons would know they were coming to arrest him. He would have time to prepare a last stand if he wanted to..

@Sreeya

 

[Cipher Six]

Likely to both their surprise, his cliche spy line actually got a chuckle out of her. She never thought about it, but she really did fit the profile of a quintessential spy in a lot of ways. Six made no remark about his assessment of the apartment. It was one of several crash pads when she needed to lie low.

She dabbed his face with the bacta, dressing his wounds calmly while he spoke. She initially remained quiet even as he asked about how to take Gibbons down, “We can lie low here for a while. Your leg needs a break too,” She pointed out where even that injury was irritated, “Use whatever amenities you need here. We’ll head out when you feel better.”

Six didn’t say much after that, patching up his wounds. She offered him some meds that would ease the pain, but they definitely caused some drowsiness. Within moments, he would be knocked out. When he woke up later, he would be alone. There was a note with neat handwriting. It was the title of a cliche spy Holomovie and a subtle message to stay back.

Die Another Day.

@Raydo