Niil, Trax and Nim: Convalescing on board the Rogue Shadow

[Trax]

"Hard to move through security check points with sonic or neural weapons.  Don't have much experience using them either.

You say Jedi can detect danger?"

[Niil Spaar]

Niil nodded.  "If they learned how or were taught, yes, but the Jedi has to be actively using the Force to try and sense a threat.  The more powerful the Jedi is in the Force, the easier it is for him to detect a hidden danger."

[Trax]

"Is there a limit to the range of that ability?"

[Niil Spaar]

Niil shrugged.  "I'm not sure.  Again, I guess it all depends on how powerful the Jedi is, and how many augmenting powers he has going."

[Trax]

"Wrist mounted rocket launcher is an option then." he said thinking out loud.

The man clenched his left hand into a fist.  It was obvious jedi were a serious threat.  And from Collan shouting out at the barrier that Ch'lana was going to a dark place, obviously even a seemingly good jedi could become a threat.  No one should be able to wield the power he'd seen over the last few weeks.  No one.  That Niil and Collan were going down this path made the man very uneasy.  But at least between his current discussion with Niil, and the discussions he'd had and would continue to have with PROXY, he was learning how to deal with this new threat to himself, and those he cared about.

"Still pretty damned illegal mind you so permits need to be forged.  Not an insurmountable problem." he said, suddenly noticing he'd been quiet for a few seconds.

[Niil Spaar]

A ghost of a smile played upon Niil's face as he waited a few moments before replying.  "Illegal as hell, but you might also be able to disguise them as something else and mask their power signatures.  Hmm . . . Keshani's pretty sharp.  She might be able to design something . . . if she decides to stay with us, that is."

[Trax]

"She turned two droid power cores into explosives in under a minute, I'd say pretty sharp doesn't begin to describe it.

But I'm not sure staying with us is the best thing for her, as much as I'd want her to.  She needs a safe, low stress place to hang out until she can heal, physically and mentally."

[Niil Spaar]

Niil nodded his agreement, but then chuckled.  "She should find plenty of places like that on Kashyyk.  Or knowing her, a fully stocked tech shop."  Niil thought for a moment, then came to a decision.  "I was, ahh, thinking of trying to repair Buzz while we were in transit, but my tech skills are laughable at best.  Maybe when we reach Kashyyk we can let Keshani try and fix him if she wants.  That little floating bugger was a big help to us, and he sure seems to like Nim."

[Trax]

"We could ask, but that should really be Nim's decision. I know she'll want him fixed up, we both do, but how that's done is her call."

Trax's tone was pretty clear, the droid carried some sentimental value to the man.

[Niil Spaar]

"True enough.  I wouldn't turn it over to Keshani without Nim's green light anyway."

Niil hesitated for a moment, then decided to get it over with.  "Look, Trax . . . with all the drek that's happened to us in the past couple of weeks things have gotten hairy as hell, but please, bear with me here.  Back when those bastards cornered us on the station and captured us . . . you know Collan was trying to feed that guard captain the mother of all snow jobs, right?  It was a desperation move, and it conned that guard captain . . . and a lot of us, too."  He snorted, "Well, Nim probably saw through it.  She's a Lorrdian, after all.  Unfortunately for Collan, that captain stuck to procedure and took him right to the Emperor." 

Niil winced.  "Palpatine saw right through the bogus story, and gave Collan over to a torture team.  I could actually feel a small part of the torture they were putting him through, and even that felt like I was getting worked over with electrical cables.  He was in pretty bad shape when we sprung him."  He shook his head.  "Collan's no Imperial plant, and he's not a Dark Sider."

[Trax]

"You so sure about that?

One of the best ways to sell a con is get the mark to empathize or sympathize with you.  Especially when the mark is prone to wanting to help people.  Enduring pain, even if it's enough to knock you down for a while is a great way to get that empathy.  You say Palpatine gave him over to be tortured, but how do you know it's just not another part of the script he's following?"

[Niil Spaar]

Niil's eyes hardened for a moment, but he visibly relented.  "Yes, Trax, I'm sure of it.  Yeah, he managed to sell most of us on the con job, but when I was sitting in my own little fun cell, I got to thinking about what Collan had said, and a lot of it didn't add up.  Collan didn't even know who the hell his father was until Demaia used the Force to try and get past all of his mental trauma blocks.  And if Collan was working for his father, you can bet that he'd be a crap-load more powerful in the Force than he is now.  Demaia and Ch'lana would've made him right away.  And like I said before, Nim probably saw Collan's con for the bantha crap it was right on the spot."

He shrugged.  "And if that isn't enough, think on this . . . Collan's had countless opportunities to do a hell of a lot of damage to us back on Karvis, or on any of our missions.  The prison ship?  One shot or two in the back and the Imps could've had all of us frakked there, including Demaia and Ch'lana.  And why spring Demaia if she was already captured and on her way to the Emperor?  Hell, what about that last mission?  If it was a trap and the Imps knew we were coming, all they needed to do was station a few Interdictors to yank us out of hyperspace, and blow us to hell with a Star Destroyer and its TIEs.  Setting the trap up on board the battle station - especially with someone as powerful as Galen Marek with us?  That just defines the word 'stupid'.  Your average Imperial trooper might not be the brightest being, but Imperial intel operatives are far from dumb."

[Trax]

"He says he didn't know his father.  You've got nothing but his word to go on.

And hey, maybe he didn't, maybe the mental blocks were necessary to make sure he got past any test thrown at him.  Assuming the blocks were there, releasing them activated him, something of a sleeper agent if you will.

Collan said you guys watched the mountain get bombarded when you were in orbit.  Awfully convenient that happened when he wasn't there and he'd just happen to be with you, who's actively being hunted by the Empire, and a jedi knight.  Hell of a feather in his cap delivering you both.  He would have had no idea when you finally reached the station he'd have connected with Galen first.  As for him being more powerful, maybe he is, maybe he isn't.  Maybe he has to prove his worth before they'll train him further.  He pulled some pretty neat tricks on the station, did you know he could do all that?

As for his little stint in the torture room, for all you know his chat with Palpatine changed the end game and he needed to be, let's say reprogrammed a little, for lack of a better term.  Or Palpatine was pissed at him for something, or he was being prepped for another infiltration entirely which got interrupted."

[Niil Spaar]

Niil shook his head and sighed with equal parts exasperation and regret.  "Trax . . . I don't know what else I can say to try and convince you, because I'm getting the feeling that you don't trust me anymore.  Or anyone that uses the Force, for that matter.  Collan lied about being an Imperial, and he used the Force to augment his con - so yeah, of course most of us believed it, too, because we overheard it.  Ask Nim when she's better on how she read his body language.  Just . . . do me a favor and at least give Collan the benefit of the doubt." 

[Trax]

"There is nothing you can say that'll make me trust him, he's shown himself to be a con man.  So no, he's not going to get any benefit of the doubt from me."

Trax paused for a moment.

"As for you, I'm not sure it's a matter of trust.

No one, no...one..., forces their sense of morality on me, or gets to preach to me about their perceived sense of moral superiority."