| abstract
| - The police were to be sent in not too long after noon, Nass known to frequent a particular restaurant in one of the districts of the cit. The man's schedule, at least during most days, was not something kept secret by his company and so it was not hard to keep tabs on his public movements. A small task force had been assembled a block away, hidden from view by the emptied office that was commandeered to serve as a headquarters, of sorts, and a location for the press conference that would follow should nothing go wrong. Lathan Vel, a Human, was the public attorney assigned this task and he stood before a small bank of screens in the back area, looking at Nass, the images displayed coming from small cam (sic) One of the men who accompanies the New Republic task force is the pilot and Jedi Leo. He is no clothed in his usual military uniform, but that of a simple tunic and pants resembling the look of the other Jedi on the planet. His sapphire eyes jump from screen to screen as he analyzes the current movements of the target. Taking deep breaths, he begins to prepare himself for the upcoming engagement with the Force flowing strongly through him. His arms crossed, Tokoga stands behind Vel, observing the screens showing Nass' activity with no small amount of interest. "Poor man doesn't know what he's got coming to him," he says, a look of mild amusement on his face. "Poor man, is that pity that I hear in your voice, after all that he's done and to you most of all?", Lathan says with a quick snicker before nodding to one of his assistants. "Thank you for coming along, Colonel. I don't know just what this fellow can do, but he might just be crafty enough to have a ship on standby to whisk him away before he can be arrested.", a bit paranoid, but his time in law enforcement had cultivated a healthy respect for the likeliness of unlikely events. A nod is given to one of his assistants, a Twi'lek, the woman having asked if the press should be notified now. "His escape in a ship would not be the first to happen on this planet," replies Leo as his eyes turn toward Lathan. As his gaze returns to the screen, the Jedi asks, "So what is your plan? I can imagine that he has his minions all around, people we may least expect. "His escape in a ship would not be the first to happen on this planet," replies Leo as his eyes turn toward Lathan. As his gaze returns to the screen, the Jedi asks, "So what is your plan? I can imagine that he has his minions all around, people we may least expect." The man then goes silent as he ponders his own words. "I assure you, pity is the farthest thing from my mind," the Mon Calamari grins, then goes silent as Vel and Leo discuss the particulars of the operation--that sort of thing certainly isn't the Senator's forte. "We've people posted at the major roads in the neighbourhood, along with that, the bridges, underground tunnels are being watched. We'll keep the outer cordon in place and just have a few police officers approach him with the rest held back in case something goes wrong. He may be a criminal mastermind, but we're not going to go in guns blazing. We'll show them that we have enough numbers to crush whatever they try and keep it civil.", Lathan says before looking around, "We should go ahead now, he won't be staying there for the whole day after all. I understand that you two might be interested in coming along?" Leo nods as the man inquires of his intentions in the mission before saying, "I will hopefully be able to tell if something that we have not planned for happens. I have yet to hear though if Nass has his own Force sensitives." Taking another deep breath, he remarks to Lathan, "Lead on." Myiari sits nearer to the back of the room, checking and double-checking her medical equipment. At the team's request, the hospital had dispatched one medic to tag along in case things got ugly. Somehow it came as no surprise when they selected her for the job--at least she was getting paid for it. "Should I hang back, or should I come along?" "Nothing would give me greater pleasure, Mr. Vel." Tokoga smirks. "Even a fake death can build up quite the vendetta." Of course, he'd make sure to stay far enough behind everyone to not get himself hurt. Letting Nass get to him *now* would be ... quite anti-climatic, really. "Yes, that would be appreciated Miss Oerstead. We'll give you a bodyguard, but if something goes wrong, we might need a medic right there rather than a few minutes away.", and as for Leo, the man's words draw out of a frown from the prosecutor. "Well, let's hope his influence isn't such that he can keep rogue Jedis or whatever you call them in his payroll." One final look about and Lathan begins to walk towards the room's exit, the door held open for him, and all others that would follow, by an uniformed police officer. "Did you practice what you'd say to him, Senator?" Leo gives one last glance at the various screens in the room before he follows Lathan through the exit and toward the location of Nass. In the Force, he gains an understanding of the area around him including those who walk by unaware of what is happening. His eyes also search the area taking note of anything that may seem out of the ordinary for the capital of the New Republic. The medic nods her head at the team leader and makes sure to keep her supplies and her blaster within easy access. Not being part of the main force, she is the only one, aside from her bodyguard to remain behind. Simply watching the surveilance screen for any sign of trouble. "Good luck," she utters. "I think that my smirking visage nearby when you put him in cuffs will say everything that needs to be said to him," Tokoga answers, taking another look at the screens before following behind Leo, giving a nod of thanks to Myiari before doing so. The walk to the small plaza, of sorts, does not take long, Lathan setting a brisk pace though even he is not at the front, the honour belonging to two officers. Eventually, Nass is sighted, some of the procession accompanying them peeling off to move to likely avenues of escape. The crime lord, allegedly so far anyway, sits facing away from the approaching group, although the looks of those seated on the patio looking behind him is enough to cause him to turn around. A frown coming to settle on his features once everyone is spotted. While Leo remains at pace behind Lathan and the officers, his gaze jumps toward to focus on the crime lord. The Jedi reaches out in the Force to sense the man whom has caused so much trouble for the planet. He tries his best to understand the feelings that are relayed back to him since they will most likely betray the man first. Myiari maintains a vigil at the surveilance post, watching the monitors intently and ready to spring into action if need be. With so many holocams, though, and her lack of expertise, keeping an eye on all of the video feeds proves to be too much of a task, so she instead focuses her attention on wherever the task force is at the expense of monitoring other locations. There is a sharp spike of anger in the man, and while it is most evident to those with the Force, his lips twisting into a grimace make it clear enough to the observant. "Miss Oerstead, Senator, Prosecutor. To what do I owe this pleasure? You haven't heard news that there is a threat on my life is there? And Senator, a good thing that you're back among the living. I take it the whole thing was a ruse?", the man asks when he rises, control over himself having been regained quickly enough and a smile flashed. He even takes the routine so far as to look around worriedly, or pretend to at the appropriate time. Leo continues to analyze the man, his true emotions ringing clear in the Force. Yet, as Nass addresses those approaching him, he does not speak but instead glances for a moment to Tokoga whom the man seems most interested in. "I really don't think anyone here cares about _your_ life, Nass." Tokoga answers, not seeming particularly interested in the man's problems. "But if you're worried about your well-being, there's a nice five by five forcefielded room with your name on it that you could hide in for...oh, I'd say at least 30 years." "And what am I accused of?", Nass replies, the man not losing his jovual tone, though there is a narrowing of his eyes for just the quickest of moments. "And is Miss Oerstead somewhere around? That young lady has a talent for getting involved in the worst of situations", and this is a rather bad situation, at least for Nass, particularly when Lathan begins stating the offenses he's charged for, the cuffs being put on him. But throughout it all, Nass remains non-plussed. "I'm sorry, but have we met before?", Leo the intended target of the question. "We have not and I don't think we will be meeting each other again," replies Leo politely as he keeps his sapphire eyes on the man. He then goes silent as he awaits the escorting of the prisoner to the jail. "Here on Ord Mantell, placing a bounty on a public official is quite a serious offense," the Mon Calamari says. "You should be more careful next time." Not that there'd be a next time. The Mon Calamari frowns and suppresses the urge to look back in the direction that they had come from when Nass mentions . "I'm not sure where she is," he lies, "But you've got more important things to worry about." Nass smirks, at last the facade dropped as he turns to look at Tokoga. "And what proof do you have? I understand that you went to great length to convince everyone, your own people, that you were dead. A jury would be hard-pressed to ignore that in your zealous prosecution of an innocent citizen, faking evidence is not outside the realm of what a Senator can do." Although at that point, Lathan begins to lead them away, heading back to the offce they just vacateed. Myiari lets out a brief sigh of relief as she observes the others begin their return with Nass over the video feed. The arrest seemed to have gone off without incident. "Looks like I wasn't needed after all," she mutters to herself. Although somewhat relieved that her services hadn't been required, she had been expecting something far more climactic given the problems the underlord had caused in the past. "That's why you'll be on trial for placing a bounty rather than conspiracy to murder," Tokoga answers shortly. He had put far too much thought into the plan to overlook something that simple. Before leaving, the Senator grabs Nass' meal when brought out by a confused-looking Duros waiter, tossing him a credit chip and nabbing a fork from the table to eat it on their way back. "Let's head back.", her bodyguard says, the surveillance post beginning to be cleared of most of its personnel. "Well, we'll see if I'm ever on trial for anything. But please understand that I will take great care that everyone understands just how far you're willing to go, Senator. People need to know when their elected officials break the law.", again he smirks, though that is to be the extent of what he says for now as they make their way back. It did not take very long for the press conference to be set up, the news of the Senator's miraculous revival and the arrest of someone as prominent as Nass enough to cause a frenzy. And certainly more than a few bruises were received as the various reporters and journalists jostled for prominent placing in the front ranks. The conference itself was to be held before the office itself, the area inside small enough to make anything else unacceptable for the publicity-conscious Lathan. "Is Miss Oerstead here, however?", Nass asks again, the handcuffed man standing beside a heavy guard and Tokoga not far enough away that he can speak normally while Lathan answers a few question for the reporters. By now Myiari has left the room of video monitors and wanders into the office where the press conference is being held. Not wanting to get crushed, she stands at the edge of the throng of reporters and simply watches. Might as well stick around and witness the fallout while she was here. Tokoga doesn't bother giving Nass the satisfaction of a response to the threat, instead occupying himself eating Nass' food until they get back. "You really should get your priorities reorganized," the Mon Calamari again evades Nass' question, setting aside the plate and waiting the the prosecutor to say something to introduce him. "I merely wanted to make sure that all precautions were taken.", Nass says, a cold look given Tokoga, though suddenly there is a change in how the man stands. The cameras were back on him, or focused on him rather, Lathan having turned his body slightly to point back at the handcuffed man. And almost with a regal air, he offers the prosecutor a nod, as if he just presented him to a room full of dignitaries or other high ups. Lathan turns back to look at the media people before him, opening his mouth as if to speak. The only sound that does come out is a gurgle, followed by a cough, or as much of it as he can manages with the amount of blood that begins to leak from his throat. But before all that, a split second, if even that, was a very muted bang, a bullet striking flesh, tearing its way through the public attorney's throat and coming out the back. Another shot is heard, a slug, it had to be with the lack of an energy bolt, landing in the front wall of the office behind the second row of people were. The target, unexpectedly, was Nass himself, or would have been had it not so sloppily been fired that it missed by quite a bit. If it was sloppily fired. Bavon Nass was known to be a calm person, and he remains so in this situation, ignoring the fact that he was nearly shot. Or so the cameras show. Instead, he turns to the Senator not far from him. "Maybe it is time to call for her or for one of her colleagues." Myiari doesn't need to be called for, having witnessed the entire thing. For a moment she does absolutely nothing, standing there in shock as if not believing what had just occurred. Once she regains hold of her senses, she snatches up her medkit and forcefully ploughs her way through the fleeing crowd to the injured attorney. If only she'd make it in time. The Senator's first reaction, however strange it may seem to those in the immediate vicinity, is to trip Nass and hit him squarely in the chest in an effort to knock him to the ground--he doesn't particularly care whether Nass has anything to do with this or not, nor does he have the time to dwell on it. He's put far too much energy into this to see Nass get out of this in any way other than in handcuffs. Nass simply falls down, though he does so in a dramatic fashion, playing it up for what cameras might be on the two of them. "Bit over top, isn't it, Senator?", he says quietly once he's on the ground and regains his breath after the fall. But the person to draw much of the attention, rightfully so, is the public prosecutor, the man raising a hand to touch gingerly at the sudden hole, small as it is, in his neck before he simply falls down on the ground. He tries to breath in, a wheeze all that he can manage, but already the top of his body and the bottom of his face is coated in the blood escaping out of him. The law enforcement people, meanwhile, get to attention, the seniormost of the police officers present taking charge and setting some of his colleagues to move back the throng of reporters, jostling transformed into outright shoving and tackling. Most normal people would be running away from the podium, instead, they try to get even closer, the better to get a better shot for the journals or to get a better angle for their cambots. Myiari, however, is almost dragged towards the fallen man, one of the police officers ready to clear a way for her if she is impeded by the media vultures. Myiari manages to squeeze through the crowd and kneels next to Lathan, a few bandages and a few hypodermic needles already withdrawn and at her disposal for use. "C'mon, stay with me here," she mutters, attempting to coax the man into remaining conscious -- anything less than that was usually a bad sign. The amount of blood was distressing; if she didn't stop it soon, the chances of survival were extremely low. Ignoring the chaos and panic, the medic sets to work at trying to stop the bleeding. Myiari rolls a 18 for her MEDICAL skill. A Good roll! "If you've any inkling of what's good for you, you'll stay down, Nass," Tokoga growls under his breath and places his foot squarely on Nass' wrist. His eyes dart around the surrounding area, looking for where the rounds may have come from, but he quickly abandons figuring out where the shooter was in favor of keeping his attention on Nass. At last, the journalists are pushed back until a large space is created between them and where the body is along with others around and near it. While the medic is successful in giving Lathan a few more minutes, he is still losing blood at an alarmin rate, the man's growing more pale and his chest rising much less now, his breathing almost stilling. He remains conscious, but already he's beginning to slip away. "I will, but remember something, Senator. The question isn't whether or not I'll beat these charges, it is what will happen after I do so.", an empty threath it would be coming from plenty of other people, but Nass is not like a lot of people. Though outwardly calm, Myiari is beginning to panic a little, but she manages to keep her head well enough to focus on what she's doing. Losing it now meant losing her patient. The blood flow is slowed but not stopped, but that's hardly good enough for the medic or her charge. Cursing loudly under her breath, she continues working desperately to save the man's life. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..." Myiari rolls a 21 for her MEDICAL skill. Myiari boosts this roll with a Character Point for 10, for a total of 31. A Heroic roll! Tokoga would normally have something witty to say to Nass--saying something about it being a question between two boring, monotonous prison activities, perhaps, but the stress of the moment is a little more than allows for that kind of thing. Instead, the Mon Calamari presses down a little more with his foot to silence the criminal and watches from his vantage point as Myiari works, hoping that she can make the prosecutor pull through--it wasn't easy finding someone who was willing to take on the case. 'If at first you don't succeed, try again' proves to be an adequate proverb in this case as while the Medic's first efforts were not up to par, the woman was still able to stabilize Lathan. The blood flow gradually lessened to a trickle until it stopped entirely, the medic's tools seeing to that. still, the prosecutor was very pale and looked on the brink of death, but at least he didn't seem to get any worse. With the situation in hand, somewhat, Nass is lifted to his feet, though not before Tokoga is seen to, just in case. "A hand for Miss Oerstead, ladies and gentlemen. The heroine of the hour.", Nass' words those, clapping as much as his cuffs allow. Already the lights of an ambulance hurrying to the area can be seen, the wagon meant to carry Nass to his cell having already been here. Myiari breathes a genuine sigh of relief, the words of praise sounding muffled and distant--at least to her. It was rare that she ever had to deal with anything this severe. Her work was far from done, however. With the prosecutor stabilized, she begins prepping him for transport. The Mon Calamari rolls his eyes at Nass; this wasn't off to a good start, but at least it seemed like Vel was going to be alright--hopefully he'd be well enough to prosecute the case. However much they are vultures, to Nass, the press do recognize a good story when they see them. And nothing sells papers(their equivalents, anyway) or bring in more advertiser money then a good heroic act. Myiari is suddenly surrounded by cambots, plenty of questions directed her way although Tokoga does receive an equal if not great share of the journalists' attention. "What's going on Senator, what explanations do you have?" "What do you have to say, Miss Oerstead, were you expecting something like this to occur?" "Are you connected to either the Senator or Prosecutor Vel, Miss?" "Senator, what proof is there that Mr. Nass placed a bounty on your life?" "Was it really necessary to fake your death?" Unused to this much attention, the young medic initially finds herself at a loss for what to do, though she eventually resigns herself to attempting to answer as many questions as possible without divulging too much information. "I'm simply doing my job. The Senator is an accquaintance of mine, but my assignment to this task force was purely coincidental. They required a medic as a precautionary measure, and I was selected for it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an injured man to see to." With that said, she ignores all further questions and aids the paramedics in evacuating Vel. She couldn't help but smile, though. If she got on the evening news and the higher-ups heard about it, her chances of promotion suddenly improved.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)