Hoth: Blood and Ice

The first stop once they got back to base and past the debris was the kitchens. Breela made sure that Zan'ja had had enough to eat, but not too much to hurt herself. She wasn't unaware of the dangers of malnourishment. Soon she would need to get her a full health checkup, but not now. Now they had some time to talk.

"This... is the barracks, I can find you a room by yourself if you want. Or you can stay with me tonight. Remmi, the Sith I was with earlier is my roommate. Things are weird right now with the two factions. There's nothing between us, errm- Remmi and I! It was a calculated decision to room together. Lead by example, that sort of thing." She rubs her neck awkwardly.

Scattered about are her pictures, a few trophies, a datapad. Otherwise her side of the room is as spartan as the others.

There was a knock on the door

Baesal Zyn wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 27, 2022 9:12 am

There was a knock on the door

"Please come in," Zan'ja opens the door, eager to change the subject.

She'd come home with Skivulker and a corpse. The former had been sent to Thy. The latter was waiting somewhere out of the way, covered up to avoid any gawkers or what not. She certainly wasn't just going to drag it with her here, for this conversation.

A conversation she really didn't want to have.

But she supposed there was no alternative.

When she showed up though... Baesal was there.

"Oh..." she looked up and frowned "...I can come back."

Breela pokes her head out, "Baes- ohh and LAYNE!" She waves her hand. "Both of you get in here! I've got someone to introduce you to." She clears her throat happily. "Baes, Layne. Allow me to introduce my daughter Zan'ja Po, Zan'ja these are my friends and fellow Jedi. Masters Baesal Zyn, and Layne Hoshin."


"Hi, nice to meet you both."

She didn't want another fight with Baesal, but she needed to tell Breela... and she was basically put into a position where she couldn't just back off now anyway, so inside she stepped. Taking a good look at the kid and listening to the introduction...

"Wait..." she said, "...you had a daughter and a son, right?"

Please let that be right.

That took Breela by surprise. "Ummm, yeah. Tor, why?" Her blood froze. "Please... please if you know something." She looked over at Z who was clutching her chest. "Just- just say it."

Baesal had stumble upon more then she expected...but she might be needed either way

She stood silent, waiting for the shoe to drop

Visible relief washed over Layne's face.

"I... was worried I had some very bad news for you. But it seems not."

She sighed. "I'm sorry I left you to go off on my own. I had a... feeling... I had to be somewhere else. I ended up at this..." she glanced briefly toward Baesal, "...fighting pit. Some, pirate queen threw in this slave girl to die. I thought she was your kid..."

The more she explained, the less strain there was in her voice; a bit of the old Layne coming back.

"...ended up having to fight the pilot I'd left for dead the day we got here who turned into the pit champion. She can shoot lightning now, by the way. I fought her to a stand-still, saying I was taking her home. Queen didn't like that. Told me to get out. I negotiated. Got the kid. Wanted my pilot too. She didn't like my slave-swap idea. I insisted. She finally agreed. Kid goes up first..."

This part had some strain in it again.

"...ends up getting shot as petty revenge. I thought I'd failed you."

Both Z and Breela felt relief wash over them as the story progressed. Once Layne had finished telling it, "Well... I'm not surprised given what Z and my own network has told me. I also knew that Tor was with them at the big house. Z told me earlier-"


"She's insane! Kills innocent people on a whim, and her cronies respect and fear her. When are you going to get Tor mom?"

"Ohh baby, as soon as I can. Now that you're safe, I can devote all my attention to this problem. To start with I've got a rodian to kidnap. That's tomorrow's problem." She clenches her fists, "Did your pilot have any useful intel regarding the make up of the queen's honor guard? Or perhaps she's seen something that could be of benefit, heard something about Tor?"

Baesal breathed. No bad new was...erm...good news?

She let the discussion between the other three progress for now

"No... I just sent her to Thy. She did... mention the rest of my crew had been captured and enslaved though. You wouldn't have happened to free them as well?"

"Truth be told I'm not sure," she shrugs, "I know that everyone in the slave camps have been processed by the quartermasters. It was something like two hundred people all told."

She loses herself momentarily in thought. "I may need to speak with her. Your pilot." 'Which means I've got to go through Thy. Great...'

She changes the subject. "Well... I'm just glad you made it back safe and sound." She turns to Baes, "What's up? I wasn't expecting you?"

''I had heard of the successful operation so I came to check on you to see how you were doing and what was coming next'' she replied

She debated telling Baes the truth. Turned it over in her mind for a few moments before, "Next I get my son from the lion's den." She thinks some more, turns it over a few more times. "I'm not going to be gentle about it. So I doubt you'll want to know what comes next."

Baesal raised an eyebrow

''What do you mean?''

She sighs. "The Queen is insane. I need to unhinge her, get under her skin. Get her to make mistakes. To do this I intend to kidnap her right hand man."

"I can attest to the fact she is needlessly cruel. I don't know if unhinging her even further is smart, though. She still has your son, right? If she finds out that's what this is about..."

She left the possible consequences unspoken. They were obvious.

''Layne is correct. An unhinged mad woman can easily become reckless and unpredictable. This might cause serious collateral and might prove to make things harder''

She briefly massaged her left shoulder

''Who is her right hand man?''

"Beezlediz, he's a Rodian bastard. Rarely is he far from her apparently."

''I heard of him, stole from the Hutts apparently. There was an assassin sent after him but I have not seen her since landing''

"What? Kriff, you'd have to be stupid or good to pull that off. Know anything else? Anything about this assassin?"

''I have not seen her in a long while. I'll keep an eye out though.'' she frowned ''I will try to contact someone tonight, we had our issues but I hope I can reach out with an olive branch. If it's successful she can be a great asset to play the game with finesse rather then chaos''

"I see, well I'm open to..." Breela considered for a moment, "... different perspectives."

"Who'se this you're contacting?"