Log:Change of Heart
Change of Heart
OOC Date: December 2, 2019
Location: FO Base, Hutt Sector, Nar Shaddaa
Participants: Kylo Ren, Oran Arcantael, Sumi Kora
Sumi Kora took it upon herself to ensure that Lord Oran made it back to friendly lines. She had his arm over her shoulders, her own arm around his torso so that she might be the crutch he needed to walk. A stun bolt to the spine would make anyone wary to walking and it may have been the case with this Coruscanti scion.
Stormtroopers escorted the Mandalorian and Knight of Ren to the same location Sumi had once turned over the wanted fugitive, Angouri Dros. It's here that Sumi sets the black robed Knight upon a chair, sustaining his dignity despite the obvious betrayal that had taken place. She kneels down in front of him, surveying the color of his face quietly, ensuring he's at least healthy enough to sit up right.
Stun bolts from your enemies are bad. Stun bolts from your allies are several degrees worse. Stun bolts to varying body parts are bad... stun bolts to the SPINE, from your ALLIES, is just not a good day. Just so completely not a good day. Oran has had a terrible no good very bad day.
Which means that when he wakes up he's likely going to be /pissed/.
Between Sumi and the troopers, however, he's made it back to home base, perhaps somewhat less dignified than he'd like, but all in one piece, anyway. He is parked quietly in the chair in peaceful repose for several moments when he suddenly draws in a sharp breath, his eyes open, and all at once, an unseen force reaches out to snag Sumi, thump her up against the wall, and the air in her throat seems closed off, choking, starting to --
No -- the force drops again as Gor Bullet's unexpected victim realizes /who/ he has. Wrong target. Sumi is released, though Oran is somewhat less than apologetic as his greeting to her and the rest of the waking world, is, "He SHOT me! HE BLOODY SHOT ME!"
Through one of the viewports offering a view of the distant sky above, an enormous black wedge can be seen cutting into the starfield, lurching out of hyperspace with the characteristic expansion from seeming nothingness. From the belly of the beast screams a distinctive black starfighter, streaking across the space from the destroyer to the planet below at breakneck speed before vanishing from sight.
Word travels fast among the First Order, and when the turbolift doors shoot open, a man in a black tunic with a heavy cape around his shoulders comes striding forth, the scar on his face an angry red against his pale skin. He angles directly for the spot that Sumi has chosen to deposit Oran, face set in a dour expression.
"Who?" The syllable is pushed out, while a tendril of the Force runs over Sumi, recognizing the woman's presence from their previous encounter and dismissing her as the culprit.
Full armored body slams against the nearby wall, forcing it to give way to her weight. The sheer force of colliding with an immovable surface has Sumi's head cracking back hard. She sees stars, but thankfully her her voice emitter has switched off because she struggles to breath despite having no air remaining in her lungs to sustain her.
So when she falls to the ground in a heap of armored mess, her jetpack sparking with components displaced, she stays there. Her eyes, half lidded, stare at a HUD feed that's turned to static, and she looks down at the floor, shoulders rising with deep purchase to draw air back into her raw throat.
Oran seems to be having some trouble standing and operating all of his limbs in correctly functioning order, owing to the fact that important parts of his nervous system are presently a little fried. He stumbles and knocks over the chair with a clatter, ending up grimly clinging to the fortress of the 'reception' counter as though it's a piece of shipwreck-debris in unfriendly seas.
"Gor Bullet!" he answers Kylo's question. "/Leia Organa/ of all the damn fool people was seen trotting around in front of the Bounty Hunter Guild for no readily apparent reason, and this one," he frees a hand to wave at Sumi, "Rightly called in the mark. Somehow I made the foolish mistake of thinking that with two of the galaxy's top bounty hunters present, as well as myself, and with reinforcements on the way, that we might apprehend the target? But we DIDN'T because HE SHOT ME. Me! Instead of /her/!"
Oran Arcantael looks like a cat waking up from anesthesia, slightly pathetic uncoordinated tiny rage.
The frown deepens as the story is told, the man in black standing there quietly for a few moments after it's finished, inscrutable other than his general displeasure. His eyes wander, a certain tightness gathering at their corners, before his gaze turns to the gasping Sumi. "Gor Bullet is the leader of your Guild. Perhaps you have some explanation for why he would assist the escape of one of the most wanted individuals in the galaxy. Perhaps you can explain why he attacked one of my best agents."
He watches as Oran struggles to remain upright but makes no moves to assist the other man. "If she was seen, she wanted to be. She is many things. Careless isn't one of them. Her motives aren't the ones I'm interested in." His glance turns back to Sumi, expression hard. "Explain. If you can."
Sumi pushes herself back up, sparks still shocking out from the exposed components of her jetpack. She can taste blood and has the urge to spit, but doesn't. Rather than fall or stumble, she reaches her full height and stands there, like a dutiful soldier.
<"When Lord Oran was shot, Gor intended to allow the Princess to leave. I attempted to apprehend her despite this unexpected betrayal, but she was too agile and avoided my harpoon.">
Sumi shifts painfully. <"Afterward, when I secured Lord Oran within the Guild's building, Gor explained himself. Said there was something afoot, that her presence in front of the guild had to be a ruse for something else entirely. She wouldn't foolishly plant herself somewhere without some sort of plan. He elected to allow her escape to see what that plan might be.">
Sumi coughs then looks back. <"He suspected it was some sort of secret attack. This I do not believe. I think her target was the guild, and through some sort of divinity, thought she could muddy the relationship our organizations have had. I shared this notion with Mr. Bullet, yet he dismissed me and said he intended to 'handle' this misunderstanding. The Princess should not have slipped away from us. I had set her capture in motion and had all the right elements at the table. This momentary lapse in judgment should not have occured yet.."> More coughing. <"Here we are..">
Like Kylo, Oran seems interested to know what the hell happened there, though he's slightly less imposing in his demeanor. At the best of times. And also now. After hearing Gor's explanation through Sumi, he sighs, head dropping onto his folded arms for a moment before he looks back up. "Unbelievable," the annoyed Coruscanti Knight complains. "In order to prevent Organa from doing 'something' we don't know or couldn't guess, he took it upon himself to do something that was in fact /objectively worse/? It is not his bloody business to decide whether the Order or the Knights should or should not attempt to subdue and capture the persons of their interest, and since he apparently feels thus, he should have divested the Guild from that particular bounty ahead of time. Not just plant a pistol against my spine in the middle of an operation wherein I assumed him to be an ally. Complete shikshow."
A pause lingers, then he informs Sumi, "You did nothing wrong." It might be the closest thing to an apology.
An eyebrow raises at the talk of 'lord' and 'princess'. Kylo listens to the story, crossing thick arms over his chest when she reaches the end, the cape following the motion, draping down over his elbows. "I believed the Guild was loyal to our cause. They've been content to take our credits. /You/ have been content to take our credits." He gives Sumi a long look before turning his attention to Oran. "I won't let this slide. It seems a change of heart is needed, one way or another. And Gor Bullet is going to give it to me."
<"Gor made this choice without the backing of the guild. He may be its director, but he did not represent the Guild when he shot your agent. He represented himself."> Sumi clarifies if only to save the Guild some face in this debacle. Her hands lower to her hips now, hooking upon the worn leather of an old gun belt. Everything hurt beneath that plated armor, yet Sumi stood as straight as an arrow when regarding the two.
Oran tests a step away from the support of the counter, so far so good, then dips a hand into one of the sleeves of his robes and withdraws a high denomination credit chip. He inspects it briefly, then arcs it toward Sumi. "Thank you for not at any point shooting me in the back; I appreciate and rely upon your continued professionalism and loyalty," Oran notes. "And I have noted and appreciated that you did not allow vultures to pick me apart in the street." He seems likewise pleased that Kylo is going to speak about a 'change of heart' to the Guild leader in question, and notes dryly, "If ever there was a plot to sour relations between the Order and the Guild, Bullet accomplished it more effectively than Organa ever could have. I'm powerfully disinclined to allow the Guild to watc my back /ever/ again." He hasn't collapsed in a heap yet, so he adds as a farewell, "I am going to medbay," and then turns and walks off toward the lift. Straight, but slowly. They can fix his wounds. They can't fix his dignity!
Kylo doesn't really answer Oran as the other man heads off, neither commenting on his lack of dignity nor attempting to help him regain any. His trials are his own. He does watch him go for a moment, perhaps to see if he will make it all the way to the lift, and when he does, he turns back to Sumi. "I believe you. The Order has no complaint with your actions, but you do not lead the Guild. Bullet does. And he will soon understand what it means to lead."
Sumi watches Oran and listens as he makes his exit. Oran's bestowing credits upon Sumi is caught with one hand and deposited within her bandolier. Her attention shifts to the Supreme Leader, which she has to look up to see his face. <"I apologize for this. Hopefully, the next Bounty I act upon, will go more smoothly than this. I appreciate you both taking the time to listen."> The rest is not said, but doesn't require her to say it. She appreciated walking out of there with her life. <"If you've nothing further, sir, then by your leave."> Sumi bows slightly and takes her first step, which is backward, though she's not going to turn her back on Kylo Ren, yet.
"Leave," Kylo replies simply, head tilting upward toward the door, dropping his arms to his sides again and already moving towards the reception desk to speak with the officer there. "See to my ship. I want it fueled and ready when I return."
The officer, a gaunt woman with a tight, shiny bun on the back of her head, nods sharply. "Yes, Supreme Leader. I will see to it personally."
