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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dr Midnight" data-source="post: 1627888" data-attributes="member: 69">It was determined that yes, the heroes were free. Yash had made a great deal of money but kept his word and released them.The downside to this was that Yet considered their Pheleeni starship his own property, and the Republicans had no ship. They could, however, perform a small service for Yash. In exchange for delivering a parcel to Manaan, they would be allowed to leave with the Pheleeni ship. Yash told them this as if he were doing them a great favor. Jaren bristled at the offer, but Mikau politely said the group would agree to deliver the item. The group were led outside and the ship was waiting. Inside, a large crate was placed in the cargo area. “I’m glad we didn’t have to fight our way free,” Mikau said casually as Jaren primed the ship for liftoff. “Me too,” Magnus agreed. “Pock, you did really well.” Pock grinned. “Thank you, master.”Jaren nodded. “Yeah, Pock, you were wizard out there. You hit that kid fast and merciless, just the way to do it.”Magnus said “I don’t believe merciless is a good word to describe a Jedi’s actions.”Pock added “Yeah… thanks though!”From the loading ramp, a voice called up. “Wait, don’t take off yet, wait!”Jaren hit the Idle switch and got up expectantly. “What is it?”Two of the guards were walking up the ramp, pushing another crate on a repulsorlift dolly. Magnus and Mikau exchanged a look- they were two of the guards that had been making signals with Jaren back in the viewing chamber. “Another parcel,” the guards said breathlessly. “You know what to do.” Jaren nodded and placed the crate beside the other. He then sat back in the pilot’s seat and continued the liftoff sequence as the two guards went back down the corridor. Mikau was suddenly alarmed. His senses were on the alert, and his skin felt tense. Taut. It took him a moment to realize that he was smelling something. He was smelling something aquatic… a predator. His kaminoan ancestry had gifted him with a finely honed sense for knowing when a dangerous sea creature was nearby. He was getting that now. He looked at the second crate and lifted his hand to his chin as he pondered the dripping corner. “Magnus,” he said quietly. “Look.” He pointed out the crate’s bottom. Magnus knelt and examined the crate. “Jaren, want to tell us what this is about?”“Not until we’re off-planet,” Jaren said coolly. The ramp closed and the Pheleeni ship lifted up into Rattatak’s reddish atmosphere. When they’d broken the planet’s orbit, Jaren set a course for Manaan and punched the hyperdrive. The stars melted around them in straight lines as they made the jump to lightspeed. Jaren turned in his pilot’s chair. “That,” Jaren said, “Is something of a side deal I made on Rattatak. Open it.”Magnus paused a moment, then opened the latches holding the crate’s lid closed. He lifted the lid and looked inside. Boba Fett was lying at the bottom of the crate, soaking wet and unconscious. He was covered with bruises and lacerations, but he seemed to be alive, if barely.  Magnus was stunned. “Jaren… what…” “Hold on, hold on. I made a deal with some of the boys from Yash’s guards. Turns out this kid Fett was at Geonosis. He had an insider’s look at the Separatists’ side of things. He’s worth a lot of credits to your Jedi Council, who’ll want to talk to someone with his perspective.” The other two Jedi merely stared at him, so he went on. “The deal was that if the guards get the kid- and me- out, I let them in on the profits from his handover. Seventy-five percent.”Magnus said “The kid- and YOU. Not us?”Jaren rolled his eyes. “Us, yes, of course. You’re missing the big picture here, which is that I made us friends on the inside. If things had gone badly, the guards would have sprung us. They were the ones that suggested we run this parcel mission for Yash and saved us another fight. They’ve done a lot of work for us behind the scenes- did you notice how none of the things in the arena battle attacked me?” The others nodded. “My doing. It was one of the conditions. I don’t know how you convince a bunch of warriors to NOT attack someone in a fight to the death. Maybe my prowess was slightly exaggerated… Hmm…”“And you think the Council will pay for Boba Fett?”“Of course. If they don’t, no big deal, but I promised the boys a great deal of money as a condition of getting us out of there. I’ll pay them one way or another. It was worth it to get their help.”Mikau said “What he says is true for the most part, I overheard him discussing the deal late last night with the guards. He most certainly did not include us in the bargain- but he, Boba and Pock were to be extended certain protections.”Jaren shrugged guiltily, smiling, while Magnus’ face went dark. “Pock? Why Pock?”“He’s a good kid, I hated the thought of him getting hurt.”Mikau was kneeling by the crate. “We can discuss this later. Young master Boba needs to be placed in the bacta unit immediately.”Pock stood over the crate, looking at his fallen enemy impassively. “He shouldn’t have tried to kill me.”The crate was taken belowdeck to the infirmary. Here, Magnus, Pock and Mikau were further surprised to find roughly fifteen of Yet Yash’s guardsmen playing Pazaak in the engine room. One looked up. “Creel. Are we clear of Rattatak?”“Yes. You guys sit tight, we should reach Manaan sometime tomorrow. Then it’s straight to Coruscant to deliver Fett and get your money. Hey, point of interest- what’s this parcel going to Manaan?”The guard shrugged. “Something about a biological weapon. Going to a Selkath named Ekra Tev.”Mikau’s posture stiffened. “Ekra Tev?”“Yeah, you know ‘im?”Mikau exchanged a glance with Magnus. “Yes, I know him. At any rate, we have to take Boba to the infirmary. Can you check on him now and then?”The guards nodded agreeably. “Sure. We’ll be down here if you need us.”The heroes went by quietly and hooked Boba into the bacta system. His vital signs were faint but persistent. “The kid’s hardy,” Jaren observed. “I don’t know many full-grown men that could survive a minute in a dianoga pool.”“Let’s get back upstairs,” Magnus said under his breath. “I don’t want to keep Pock around these scoundrels.” They walked again past the guards and back to the cockpit, where they closed the door. Magnus faced Jaren and gave him a hard glare. “Creel, I’m a little tired of the secrets. You’ve lied to us about a great many things. You’re going to start telling the truth. Right now.”Jaren looked silently from Magnus to Mikau and back to Magnus. He sighed and sat back in his pilot’s seat. “All right.”He told them everything. More to come… </blockquote>

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