I don't answer because he's not lecturing me. He's reminding me. I'm in it for the credits. We all are.
I'm heading back to talk to Jasp'ah. I pull him aside. "Listen, Jasp'ah. I just talked to Qorbin. His corp isn't sending medical supplies. They're sending a full replacement crew, and they consider you guys liabilities. Without any med supplies, we both know Tikk Rendar will be gone in a couple hours. That leaves five of you."
"I'm offering you a choice. You five can stow away on my shuttle to the next rock. I'll drop you off at a spaceport, and we part ways. Or, we just finish it here." I don't like it much, but he surrendered. I'm still honorable, I don't care what they say on Mandalore. I am.
Your harsh, but apt, recap of the situation has pretty much the effect you might expect on Jasp'ah. First you took his friends, then you took his freedom, and now you're threatening to take his life if he doesn't comply. He looks you square in the eyes, "we've already surrendered, Kelborn... We don't want to die. Life without work isn't much, but at least it's life."
He hangs his head, "Can you at least put Tikk out of his misery while he's on Chillstabs? The kid's suffered enough, don't you think?"
Yeah, I really did offer a stupid choice. Why did I do that, to make myself feel better about it? C'mon Kelborn, get it together!
"Yeah, I'll take care of it. Get your guys ready to move. The corp will be here in less than a day, and I don't want them to see you. Got it?" It comes out angry, and it shouldn't. I should stay professional, keep my cool. I am offering them much more than any other merc team would.
It still feels pretty awful. I just want this job done.
Speaking of done, I'll clear these folks out and put Tikk Rendar down. Blaster to the head, in his sleep. He'll never feel it.
He won't say anything. Not in front of them, at least. He'll roll his eyes, he may make a snide comment or two along the way. Once the mission is done, and we're alone, he will let me have it.
I can already tell you that he's mad that I asked for his advice, then ignored it. If he finds out that I talked to Pem, who said the same thing he did, and also ignored him, he'll be upset about that, too. "It only compounds the issue," he'll say. He's pissed because we ignored orders from our client, and there will be five living souls who could come back to haunt us later, give us a bad rep. Lastly, he will accuse me of losing my edge, being soft, flinching away when the hard decision had to be made. That I'm on the slippery slope to making a bad call when it really counts.
Its the same speech I gave him once. It's going to suck hearing it back at me. He won't deliver it because he enjoys giving me a hard time. He cares, and he knows we have the kind of job where this is a bad idea. Where giving five men a second chance at life is a bad idea.
The corp takes a little bit longer to get here than you'd expect, but you've organized the group into the shuttle. Pem is blissed out, so he's not really commenting much, and Burr and Squall don't seem to mind — but Jazz is having a hard time looking you in the eye. You catch sidelong glances from time to time, and head-shakes... There's not much I can say that you don't already know... Tikk went quietly — for whatever that's worth.
When the corp arrives, you're greeted by a Bothan named Rytok. Most of the other people on the ship refer to him as "boss" — a title he wears quite well. "Kelborn, right?" He asks, offering you his hand, "sorry for the hold-up, we needed to secure a few things at Kestic before moving out. Qorbin says you can reach him on the usual channel for your payment."
I'm not mad at Jazz for being upset. I know he's right. It really bothers me that he's angry. I'm pacing, I'm cursing myself for being so weak. At one point, I consider just walking into the hold and gunning them all down.
But I didn't. I won't. I took their surrender. Because I was scared that Jazz was going to get hurt, that Pem would die in that control room. Maybe I am losing my edge.
When the corp arrives, I run indents, then hand over the mine to them. I shake Rytok's hand, give him a nod of respect, "Alright. The mine is yours. It's been nice doing business with your company. I hope we can work together again."
Then, I'll head into the shuttle to take off. If he's done, so am I.
Comments
I'm heading back to talk to Jasp'ah. I pull him aside. "Listen, Jasp'ah. I just talked to Qorbin. His corp isn't sending medical supplies. They're sending a full replacement crew, and they consider you guys liabilities. Without any med supplies, we both know Tikk Rendar will be gone in a couple hours. That leaves five of you."
"I'm offering you a choice. You five can stow away on my shuttle to the next rock. I'll drop you off at a spaceport, and we part ways. Or, we just finish it here." I don't like it much, but he surrendered. I'm still honorable, I don't care what they say on Mandalore. I am.
He hangs his head, "Can you at least put Tikk out of his misery while he's on Chillstabs? The kid's suffered enough, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I'll take care of it. Get your guys ready to move. The corp will be here in less than a day, and I don't want them to see you. Got it?" It comes out angry, and it shouldn't. I should stay professional, keep my cool. I am offering them much more than any other merc team would.
It still feels pretty awful. I just want this job done.
Speaking of done, I'll clear these folks out and put Tikk Rendar down. Blaster to the head, in his sleep. He'll never feel it.
I can already tell you that he's mad that I asked for his advice, then ignored it. If he finds out that I talked to Pem, who said the same thing he did, and also ignored him, he'll be upset about that, too. "It only compounds the issue," he'll say. He's pissed because we ignored orders from our client, and there will be five living souls who could come back to haunt us later, give us a bad rep. Lastly, he will accuse me of losing my edge, being soft, flinching away when the hard decision had to be made. That I'm on the slippery slope to making a bad call when it really counts.
Its the same speech I gave him once. It's going to suck hearing it back at me. He won't deliver it because he enjoys giving me a hard time. He cares, and he knows we have the kind of job where this is a bad idea. Where giving five men a second chance at life is a bad idea.
When the corp arrives, you're greeted by a Bothan named Rytok. Most of the other people on the ship refer to him as "boss" — a title he wears quite well. "Kelborn, right?" He asks, offering you his hand, "sorry for the hold-up, we needed to secure a few things at Kestic before moving out. Qorbin says you can reach him on the usual channel for your payment."
What do you do?
But I didn't. I won't. I took their surrender. Because I was scared that Jazz was going to get hurt, that Pem would die in that control room. Maybe I am losing my edge.
When the corp arrives, I run indents, then hand over the mine to them. I shake Rytok's hand, give him a nod of respect, "Alright. The mine is yours. It's been nice doing business with your company. I hope we can work together again."
Then, I'll head into the shuttle to take off. If he's done, so am I.