jedimara77 | X-Wing: Knights of Plooma Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

“Hey Hobbie, you want to get something to eat?” Luke asked cautiously, peeking his head into the living area. Hobbie was propped on the couch, studying some datapads that Karrde had brought over.

Since his blow-up several nights prior, Hobbie had avoided the rest of the delegation as much as possible. Luke, of course, was doing his best to make up for his behavior. Mara had been acting unusually quiet and polite. Even Corran had stopped acting out in front of Hobbie, although Hobbie had heard the Corellian antagonizing the unhappy couple when he thought Hobbie wasn’t paying attention. Part of Hobbie felt bad for exploding at them the way he had, but the other part was happy that he hadn’t been subject to their bickering for the past few days. Especially since the atmosphere between the two delegations had grown frigid. Hobbie wanted to be free of distractions if he was to be called to action.

Still, he felt bad saying no to Luke. He had fallen back into his eager-to-please farmboy persona, with both Hobbie and Mara. Hobbie wondered if he was just embarrassed for acting in a decidedly non-Jedi Master fashion.

He shook his head anyway. “Thanks, but no thanks. I want to look over these reports from Karrde.”

Luke nodded. “Is there anything interesting?”

“Just some stuff about Ploomian Security. Same old stuff.”

“Okay, well, if you change your mind, we’ll be downstairs.”

“Sure thing.”

“Hey Hobbie? Sorry again for making things so uncomfortable. It’s just…whenever Mara’s around…I don’t know…I get so frustrated!”

“It’s okay, Luke. You don’t have to explain yourself.” Hobbie waved his hand. “I understand.”

“Oh, no! It’s not like that! We just have a, um, very complicated relationship.”

Corran, who had just entered the room, patted Luke on the arm. “You’re telling us!”

Luke rolled his eyes and grabbed the other man’s arm. “Come on, CorSec.”

Hobbie said farewell and then, thankfully, was left alone. He said a short prayer of gratitude and got back to work.

On the one hand, being summoned by Karrde was a relief. It meant he had found something.

On the other, being summoned by Karrde filled Wedge with a certain sense of dread. It meant he had found something.

"What do you have for me?" Wedge asked as he walked into the makeshift briefing room.

"Well," Karrde replied from his seat, leaning back and propping his boots on the table in front of him. "That depends on how much you've convinced your superiors to pay me."

"Always business with you, isn't it?"

"Yes, but you knew that already."

Rolling his eyes, Wedge settled into a chair and slide a datapad across the table towards the information broker. Karrde picked it up and offered an impressed whistle. "I'm not sure how you talked Cracken into this figure, but let me just say that if you're looking for a new line of work anytime soon, don't hesitate to give me a call."

"I'll keep that in mind," Wedge responded with a half-grin. "Now what did you and your collection of scoundrels manage to dig up?"

The information broker offered a tight smile. "Well, you were right to suspect a Remnant presence on-world."

Wedge felt his stomach drop. Of course, he knew that this was coming, but that didn't stop him from clinging to a bit of hope that he was just being paranoid, that there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for the TIE starfighters, the shuttle, the ion engine traces, the strange credit fluctuations, all the weird behavior. Well, perhaps not a reasonable explanation. And perhaps that bit of hope was more of a long-shot dream that involved him leaving Plooma without being shot at again. Idly he realized Hobbie might be on to something by never raising his expectations.

"I had Aves run the credit trace on Director Lissiri and he found some..." Karrde paused for a moment. "Interesting transactions. Once a week she's receiving about five thousand credits from a bank headquartered on Nal Hutta."

"The Hutts are behind this? I thought you said it was the Remnant."

Karrde shook his head. "Aves and I thought it was the Hutts at first, but I asked him to run the trace a bit deeper. We followed those credits through a half-dozen other banks and worlds before we finally managed to trace the origin."

"Let me guess," Wedge said dryly. "Bastion?"

"See, you are cut out for the intelligence and information gathering business," Karrde replied. "You ever considered putting in for a transfer to Starfighter Command administration or NRI?"

Wedge shuddered. "Absolutely not. I'd sooner move to Agamar and tend to a farm every day than become a military desk jockey."

"Hey, that's just my opinion," Karrde replied, holding up his hands defensively. "But there you have it: Lissiri is receiving credits from the Remnant. We've also intercepted some encrypted communications outbound from her office, but my people haven't had time to decipher them yet. I handed a copy over to your people to see if they could do anything with it. Still, I do believe that should give you enough to bring her in for a thorough...debriefing."

"Indeed," Wedge replied, fishing his comlink out of his pocket. "Pash, are you still monitoring the holocam feeds?"

"I was just about to comm you myself," Pash responded over the comlink. "Lissiri's on the move. It looks like she's heading to the delegation's suite."

"Is anyone with her?"

"Negative. She's by herself."

Wedge swore to himself. Director Lissiri never travelled alone; usually she had her assistant with her. If she was on foot by herself, that could only mean...

"Where's the delegation right now?" Wedge asked.

"Skywalker, Jade, and Horn said they were heading out to get something to eat, but..." Pash trailed off. "Oh, sithspit! Wedge, that message Karrde gave us to look over—it was sent from a holonet terminal in a nearby village and Forge just managed to decrypt it."

"What does it say?"

"It's pretty brief," Pash responded. "Message reads 'I have Skywalker and Rogue Squadron.'"

"She must be trying to lure Luke into a trap right now," Wedge mused aloud. "But that means she doesn't know he's gone." Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a thought flashed through his mind. "Pash...where's Hobbie?"

"He's..." Pash started. "Uh oh."

Karrde looked up from his datapad. "Uh oh?"

"Hobbie's in trouble." Wedge winced. "Well, we all will be before long."

Hobbie was in the middle of studying the second datapad when it suddenly dropped from his hands and he leaned forward, stunned. How had nobody noticed this information before? It was a very weak link, but it was the first item of proof that they needed, in the form of a comm record from a public HoloNet provider in one of Plooma’s villages:

Valara had been in contact with the Remnant, and it had been very recent—right before the New Republic delegation had arrived.

Hobbie jumped up and ran to the door, eager to tell the others what he’d learned—

And as he opened the door, he was confronted with Valara Lissiri, who looked very, very angry.

Corran had been feeling uneasy all evening. Perhaps it was his conscience finally getting the best of him for his behavior on this trip. He had to admit that he had been unusually obnoxious, but it was with good intentions! Luke and Mara were his friends. He had trained with Mara for a time and Luke had been his Jedi master. It was obvious to everyone in the galaxy that they were made for each other. He had felt the same way about Wedge and Iella and hadn’t done anything about it, and then Wedge had ended up with the blue chick for two years, and Iella had been miserable. He had always regretted not knocking sense into Wedge earlier, and now he vowed not to make the same mistake with Luke and Mara.

Again, he had probably not gone about it in the best of ways. Perhaps he could have sat down and had a serious conversation with Luke about the nature of his relationship with Mara. He could have confronted Mara about her feelings for Luke, and why she refused to come clean with him about her displeasure with how he was running the Jedi Order. That would have been the smart thing to do.

Well, Mirax had always told him that he could be a prize idiot.

His uneasiness continued throughout the meal, and just as he finally began to wonder if something was actually wrong, Murray Dyartes came rushing into the cantina. He stood in the lobby for a few moments until he noticed the delegation. Then he ran over and began to ramble something very excitedly. Corran couldn’t make out his words, the boy was so keyed up. Finally, Mara held out her arm to stop him.

“Murray, calm down. Here, have a drink.” Mara handed over her glass and Murray accepted it greedily. He gulped down the rest of the beverage and slammed the glass on the table. Corran raised his eyebrows in disbelief. Something was very wrong…

“Captain Jade, Master Skywalker, Jedi Horn. I have the information you seek!” Murray held out a datapad. Luke took it and began to read through the pages, his eyes widening with each new file.

“Director Lissiri has been talking to the Imperial Remnant! I found the records; she was speaking to them from public HoloNet stations, using an assumed name. I followed her the other day and got a copy of her conversation. She was speaking with a general—they are going to attack!”

“Holy crap,” Corran murmured.

“Blue milk run, my ass,” Mara muttered.

“Murray, did you uncover any reasons why she was doing this?” Luke said.

The intern nodded. “It seems that she was offered credits and a commission in their military if she convinced the Ploomian government to join the Remnant.”

“…That’s why she’s been so hostile!” Corran exclaimed. The others looked at him curiously, and he began to explain his theory with vigor. “At the ball, Gemar explained that Lissiri was the person who first encouraged Plooma to contact the New Republic. She thought that she could undermine the negotiations, point out that Plooma would be safer joining the Remnant, and then they could join the Remnant without any suspicions. She’d get her credits and commission and nobody would be the wiser. But when she found out that Jedi were coming, Gemar said she grew hostile. She knew that the Ploomians would support an alliance with the Republic if the Jedi were involved, and her plan was compromised. So instead she decided to offer the Remnant something they couldn’t resist: Luke Skywalker and Rogue Squadron.”

Mara patted Corran on the back. “I guess you still have it in you, CorSec.”

Luke shook his head in disbelief. “This…this is bad.”

“It’s even worse. She was coming here to confront you!" Murray said. "I tried to get here before her and warn you, and thank the gods I was successful.”

“Yes, we can’t thank you enough…” Luke trailed off, and then he, Corran, and Mara gasped in unison.

“Hobbie!”

Hobbie had two options.

The first was to take immediate action, grab his sidearm, set it to stun, and blast Lissiri before she could react. It didn't take a thermofusial engineer to figure out that she was here with hostile intent. Her eyes seemed to be a touch more icy than usual. Blasting her on the spot would be the quick option, but there would be so much paperwork to fill out later. Wedge would probably scold him, too. Then there would be Skywalker and Horn, who would chastise him for not calling for help. Jade would probably approve, though.

Option the second was to try and converse with her, ascertain why she was there and try to keep the situation from escalating to the point where she would be pointing a blaster at him. The diplomatic approach was difficult, but if he played things correctly there was a decent chance he wouldn't find himself floating in a bacta bath when all was said and done. As a bonus, Wedge would probably leave him alone.

Option number two it was.

"Director Lissiri," Hobbie said, forcing a smile. "What an unexpected surprise. What can I do for you?"

"Where's Skywalker?" she demanded tersely.

"Out, doing Jedi stuff most likely. Now, I am more than equipped to handle any questions you may have, so how may I be of service?"

Lissiri responded by drawing her blaster and aiming it at his face. Should have gone with the first option, Hobbie said to himself dourly.

"I think you and your Rogue friends have done enough to 'help' me," Lissiri said sourly. "If Skywalker isn't here, I suppose I will have to use you as bait to fetch him."

Raising his hands, Hobbie slowly backed away from the door and allowed the Director to enter the living quarters. "If you're looking for bait, might I suggest Jade? That man is rather protective of his wife."

"I know they're not married; it's just another lie you've spread to undermine me," Lissiri snapped.

"Has anyone ever told you that this inferiority complex you have isn't very attractive?"

He saw her finger tense against the trigger. Best not to try that line again. "Just how have we been undermining you, Lissiri?"

"It would have been easy enough to keep the Jedi occupied," she spat, her fingers flexing around the handle of the blaster. "But their damn Rogue bodyguards kept getting in my way, digging in places they shouldn't have been."

Hobbie's eyes narrowed. "If you think Luke wouldn't have found out what you were up to without us, you're sadly mistaken. Though, I'm happy to hear that you've finally come around and are respecting what my squadron is capable of. Tell me, Valara, just who is it that paid you off to sabotage negotiations between your planet and the Republic? I have my guesses."

"Who am I to say no to ten lifetimes worth of credits and an officer's commission in the Imperial Navy?" Lissiri said with a tight smile. Her grip on the blaster seemed to relax somewhat.

"Being an Imperial officer is highly overrated, trust me on this one sweetie," Hobbie said. "So, where are you going to be taking me? I do hope there's a mini-bar there."

"One of our high security cells should suffice. I think I've learned to not give your people any sort of leeway."

"So no mini-bar?" Hobbie asked. "That's too bad."

Before Lissiri had the chance to even blink, Hobbie lunged forward and grabbed her arm, wrenching the blaster from her hand and throwing her to the ground. Just as he was about to pat himself on the back for his quick reflexes, the Security Director recovered and kicked his legs out from under him. In a flash, she was on her hands and knees, scrambling for her blaster. Hobbie quickly followed suit, throwing his hand out and grasping for the weapon just before she could reach it. He scrambled to his feet, but Lissiri was already upright and racing towards him.

He could have used the blaster and shot her, but what if it wasn't set to stun? Hobbie didn't want to kill her. This time there was only option.

Spinning the weapon in his hand and grasping the nozzle, Hobbie sidestepped Lissiri's charge and swung, clubbing her behind the neck with the handle. She collapsed to the floor in an unconscious heap.

"Well," Hobbie said to himself as he tried to catch his breath, "you've almost got enough respect for us."

“Run faster, Horn!” Mara yelled, practically running him over as they hurried up the stairs. Luke was several steps in front of them, using the Force to augment his speed. Their lightsabers were out and ignited. Corran could sense that Hobbie was in very big trouble.

Finally they burst onto their floor and rushed down the hallway. The hotel room door was locked, but Luke used the Force to blow it in, and the three of them barreled inside, lightsabers blazing, ready to rescue their friend.

Hobbie was sitting on the couch when the door to his hotel room slammed open. He looked up from his datapad.

Luke, Mara, and Corran stood incredulously in the living area, staring at him in disbelief.

“Hey guys,” he said casually. “What’s going on?”

Luke stepped forward, staring at Valara Lissiri, who was lying bound, gagged, and unconscious on the floor. “Hobbie! You…you’re safe!”

“Of course I am. What, you think I couldn’t take care of myself?” Hobbie twisted his blaster and blew on the handle. “Come on, Luke—you should know that the Rogues can take care of themselves.”

Mara stepped forward and patted Luke on the shoulder, reaching around to deactivate his lightsaber. “Yeah, you should know that, Rogue Leader.”

“Hey, you were worried, too!” Luke countered.

“Yeah, but not because Hobbie can’t use the Force! I was just showing concern for a friend.”

“Sure, whatever, Mara—”

“Hey! I appreciate the concern, but I think we have bigger worries right now.” Hobbie took a deep breath and stood up. "The Empire’s on its way.”

Luke nodded. “Yes, we know, Murray told us.”

At that moment, Corran’s comlink began to buzz.

Hobbie couldn't help himself. He placed his head in his hands and muttered, "Oh, I have a bad feeling about this."