| abstract | - The invitation had come rather unexpectedly to the both of them, delivered by the same person from the Republic's judiciary system. Nass was a special prisoner, one that was accused of causing damage to the Republic itself rather than being just a mere prisoner, the next thing to a traitor. The man was a security officer, he would be escorting them to the prison from the nearest transit station, Myiari and the Senator and his entourage having been told to be there. It is just past noon, but this area is not at all crowded being on the outskirts of New Alderaan. The tall Zabrak wears his uniform, a regular blaster sticking out of his holster. Myiari is not entirely happy to be here, and her expression certainly shows it. Why she had accepted the invitation, she wasn't entirely sure, but she was definitely curious about it. Nass was in jail. Why would he want to speak to her, of all people? Glancing aside, she noticed the Senator's presence as well. "Don't tell me: Nass," she says to the Mon Calamari, her words sounding more like a statement than a question. Prison correspondence from Nass was the very last thing that the Senator had been expecting to see come across his desk once finally able to get back behind it. Why Nass would want to see *him* of all people is beyond the Mon Calamari, but he accepted the invitation nonetheless. If nothing else, it'd give him a reason beyond smugness to see Nass. "Nass." Tokoga answers. "Any theories why?" With the Senator are two guards from the Senate Security Bureau, neither of whom look like they're particularly enthusiastic about this. The Zabrak begins to walk the carefully planned route, he was aware of the security issues that had been caused because of the prisoner. "The prisoner hasn't had any visitors, he had been kept in solitary as per recommendations that were made. It was not known who would want him harm or who might assist him among the general population.", he offers without turning to look back at the group he leads. The road leading to the prison is a gentle slope leading downwards, the prison located at the bottom of one of the hills that make up this area, a sizeable part of it literally under ground level. "I have no idea," the medic replies, fidgeting anxiously with her goggles and adjusting the tangled blonde hair beneath it. "Maybe he wants to barter his way out or something? It's hard to tell with that guy..." Glancing to their Zabrak escort, she asks, "Did he say what he wanted to see us for?" Tokoga would be the last person to make any complaints on Nass' behalf about his new living arrangements. He, for one, likes the idea of Nass being in an underground hole secluded from the rest of the world. "*I* think he's attracted to you," he theorizes, grinning slightly as the medic adjusts her headband. "At least there's a few plausible reasons for wanting to see *me*. He seems to have quite the fixation on you--you were all that he'd talk about at the press conference." Though, for obviously different reasons... "He did not, Miss.", the Zabrak says in response to Myiari's query, "He has not said much since he was incarcerated, but he does not seem to mind his new environments. When he was out in the general population, none seem to bother him.", but precautions were taken, even if most prisoners were scared out of their wits of what might be done should harm befall Nass, what might be allegedly be done anyway. The prison appears them, it seems a castle, steep angles and brutal design creating a foreboding design, thankfully it was nestled away from the sight of anything, and it wasn't supposed to look pretty. Guard towers dot its perimeter and when they approach the gate, it opens with a deafening creaking sound. No questions are asked, the various scans performed of the newcomers confirming who they are. "Your guards may come with us." Myiari had never seen a prison before, let alone been inside of one, and walking into one now made her suddenly uncomfortable. Something about being surrounded by convicts unsettled her despite the large number of guards watching over the place. It might be best to take note of the locations of exits just in case. At Tokoga's comment, she shoots him a glare. "Please don't say that. I really don't like thinking about it." She was aware of the possibility, alright, and she wasn't too happy about it either. "Some creepy old, underwold crime boss being attracted to me." She shudders visibly. "I'm going to have nightmares. But it's better than the Sith." The two guards with the Senator nod and double-check that their weapons are securely attached to their persons at the gate. "Relax," the Mon Calamari says to the medic. "He's nothing but a fallen figurehead now. One in isolation, no less. The number of people who care what he wants has rapidly dimished." The Zabrak leads them deep into the underground prison, the elevator shaft they are on moving fast, although it does come to an abrupt stop not long after it began to move. Even if his cell was at the depths of the prison, the meeting area was not. A large room, a table with a chair on one end and two on the other have been laid out. Nass is already there, the man looking no less diminished for the time spent in prison. He had been released from his shackles, a cigara between his lips, calmly smoked. "Senator, Miss Oerstead, a pleasure as ever.", he says when they enter. "Hi..." Myiari greets dryly. Seeing the man in question only served in souring her mood even more. She sits down in one of the seats opposite Nass, but she attempts to situate herself as far as she physically can from him. "Just what exactly is the nature of this visit supposed to be?" "It's always a pleasure to visit my favorite inmate in the high-security wing, Nass." Tokoga says pleasurably, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Walking all the way around the table and leaning conversationally on Nass' chair, he continues. "How have you been? Cuffs not too tight, I hope? Food's alright? Get enough exercise high-gravity weightlifiting with the other inmates?" Tokoga starts to walk behind Nass'chair, then stops in mock-surprise. "Oh, no, that's right...you're in solitary." he says the last part slowly and with mock-dismay, standing directly behind where Nass is sitting. "Now, what do you want?" "We are friends, or colleagues at least.", Nass says with a smile before he puts out his cigarra into the ashtray built into the table. "The food could certainly be better and these drabs are intolerable, but it will all be rectified once my innocence is proven." Ever the arrogant lord-of-all-he-sees this man, even in jail. "What has been happening, our fellow prosecutor, he is alive? I fear for his life and wish ill on whoever dared attack him." "He was in intensive care for a while after I stabilized him and got him to the hospital after he was shot, and he seems to be doing fine now." Myiari folds her arms and pointedly avoids eye contact. Even in jail and under guard, she could still feel him oozing with that slimy sort of self-confidence, and it unnerved her a little bit. "But why do I get the feeling you didn't call us up here for idle chit chat?" "Be careful what you wish for, Nass. You never know when it might come true." Tokoga leans forward on Nass' chair. "Or how." "I called you here to discuss the terms under which I would not take you to court when I am freed, Senator. Convince me, if you would.", Nass says, his voice losing some of its warmth, if it can be called that, when he addresses the Mon Calamari. But no such thing occurs when he turns his head to face Myiari, "Excellent Miss Oerstead, congratulations. And I wanted to let you know that I have nothing against you. You were merely doing the job you were asked to by your superiors. An excellent job as it turns out." Myiari doesn't seem entirely satisfied with the answer, and she voices just as much. "Yes, thank you. You didn't have to drag me all the way to the prison complex just to tell me that. Just a message would've done well enough. I had to take time off from work just to come here." While not outwardly hostile, it's apparent that the medic really doesn't want to be here; Nass' company makes it even worse. "I'm not interested. Feel free to, if you must." Tokoga answers flatly. "Is that serioiusly what you asked me here to do? If it is, I ought to just leave now." He looks at the two guards that had been sent with him, and they go to the Senator, who looks at Nass expectantly. "And if you are found guilty, do you think you'll be allowed to stand for Senate again?", the man asks with a quick snicker. "Then my apologies, but it does get terribly boring, is it wrong that I would ask for the presence of two friends, well one friend and one erstwhile friend..." His voice trails off as a massive explosion, perhaps a crash, is heard coming frm nearby. And just after, the energy wave associated with whatever caused that sound hits them, the door blown almost off its hinges and the tables and chairs only remaining standing upright because they are fixed to the ground. "What is going on?", Nass asks, panic heard in his voice, although who knows if it is faked. Myiari whirls around in her seat to see what's going on, and she instinctively dives to the floor. Why did things like this ALWAYS happen when Nass was involved? The medic manages to keep her cool despite her pounding heart--she'd been in this kind of situation more than once already. "What was that? Where are the guards?" "Of course not," Tokoga answers Nass' question. "But fortunately, that would be a decision to be made by the courts and the people, not by the like of slime such as you." About to mention something about him being anything *but* Nass' friend, Tokoga braces himself against the wall near the door as the shockwave blows through the room. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's _your_ fault." he quips at Nass. The two guards with the Senator draw their sidearms and move out in the hallway, one looking in either direction. Stun shots, distinguished by their electric-blue colouring, come streaming down the hallway towards the guards. Whether or not they hit their intended targets, the guards, a voice is heard coming down. "We will have Nass dead or alive, we have no wish to cause unnecessary death." To rewind just a bit, one had to explain the gaping hole in the prison. The intruders, whoever they were, had first attacked by getting a starship to fire specially-designed plasma drill, the type used in mining, down onto the prison after pinpointing Nass' exact location. The tight beam cutting through the durasteel of the prison like butter and from there several armed men rapelled down. "We are coming down, the first casualty to us and we're taking the guns off of stun." This is said even as Nass curses, "Can't you people even protect your prisons, damn Maker, are you that sloppy to not consider someone hovering a ship over a prison and cutting down into it with whatever they used." Sarcasm, it has to be, otherwise the ridiculous nature of that statement would have many a one bursting in laughter, Nass' own smile is not far off. There are alarms and lights and all the chaos of a prison in lockdown, but this group was well-prepared and well-trained, they had secured the avenues of approach to where they had cut into this floor, setting up a defensive position outside of it even as some of them rush towards the room where Nass is known to be in. Myiari remains low to the floor in an attempt to avoid notice. It sounded like a raid. With the Senator's entrourage out of commission and the prison guards who knows where, she and the Mon Calamari were left undefended. Although armed, she doesn't draw her own blaster--doing so would mark her as a threat. "This looks bad. Now what?" Tokoga flinches in surprise as one of the guards drops to the ground from the impact of the stun bolt--the other retreats behind the doorframe just in time to get missed and hear the attackers' ultimatum with the rest of them. As much as the 'dead or alive' clause reassures Tokoga that he wouldn't be treated any better with them than he would here, he has no wish to see Nass stripped from Republic control. Nass might not know that, though. Maybe Nass could be ... presuaded ... into giving up the identities of his attackers. "I say we let them take him," he says coldly. "Anyone who would accept him _dead_ is fine with me." "Are you sure you're not behind this?", Nass asks, scrambling forward for a blaster off of the unconscious guard's body. Of course, there is that tersely-worded 'Drop it', a man wearing very familiar armour, commonly associated with the Mandalorians is seen raising his rifle to Nass' head. "Will you be trouble?", the question asked by another who comes closer to the cell, looking as close inside as he can dare to. The guard is observed just as warily as the medic and the Mon Calamari. "Your weapon, remove it and drop it as well.", the same instruction passed to Myiari after he spoke to the Senate guard. Myiari simply does as told and slowly removes her blaster from its holster and drops it on the floor within plain view. She eyes the invaders with an equally wary stare and backs away from her firearm, holding up her hands to indicate that she's unarmed. "If I was behind this, Nass, do you really think that they'd be taking time out of their busy day of bounty hunting to ask that?" he gestures to the man in Mandalorian armor. As he does, he notices a vaguely familiar insignia on the armor. His eyes widen slightly as his mind makes the necessary connections. "You will remain still and not attempt to follow us.", the one who spoke before says, walking over calmly towards Tokoga. "Don't move.", the Senator is told before the man reaches for a spot on his robes just behind his right shoulder blade. A small, minuscule transponder is retrieved before he crushes it between his gauntleted hands. No chance of the signal being traced back this way. "We will leave now.", already Nass was beginning to be dragged away at gunpoint by the other. "And you, think to pick it up and come after us and I won't hesitate to blow this up.", the threat is addressed to Myiari and the guard, a small plastic-like cube tossed their way. The detonator is shown next. "I have no wish to kill you, but a job is a job." The medic stares down at the device, only just realizing what it is when the detonator is brandished. An explosive. These guys were serious. And she wasn't stupid. "Wouldn't dream of it," she replies. Bounty hunters, she reasoned--it'd explain why they didn't care too much about whether they got him dead or alive. "Just take him and go already." Tokoga doesn't deliver any objections, but seems surprised when the Mandalorian removes the transponder from his back--shouldn't something within the prisons have picked up an outgoing signal? This *was* supposed to a maximum security facility...still, if someone's going to go through the trouble of mining it from space to get someone, they could probably manage that. "Just don't let him get too comfortable," Tokoga adds after Myiari, brushing the remnants of the transponder off of his robe. It would have, certainly, had the prison's sensors been properly operating, another thing why the ship went undetected until it could be seen, and even then it was too fast. Take Nass they do, the man going awfully quietly for someone who is essentially being kidnapped, even if it's from a prison. The trio disappear from the hallway and some minutes later, the sound of a ship departing with its ion engines fully activated can be heard, along with the alarms and shouts of guards finally breaking through. "Senator, Miss Oerstead?", the Zabrak calls out from the hallway, approaching carefully just in case an ambush lay ahead. "We're here," the medic shouts in reply, carefully stepping away from the bomb that was still on the floor. "We're alright, but they took Nass." She retrieves her blaster and slides it back into her holster, assuming that the attackers were long gone and it was safe to pick it up. "Yes, yes, we're fine. What happened? How did they get in?" Tokoga looks questioningly at the Zabrak, assuming that he might have some answers. No longer immediately needed, the Sentor's remaining guard attends to his colleague, just starting to regain consciousness. "The prison's defence systems and our sensors were down. Apparently, most of it was on a loop or outright gave false readings. Whoever was at the control fooled us right and good, we're still figuring out who was on duty. The control tower's not accessable right now." The Zabrak answers when he walks in, the rest of his men dispatched to see if there are any remnants or if anyone needs tending to. "They cut down from the roof with some sort of beam, a powerful one. Maybe they use for mines, who knows. The prisoner is gone?", it was the first time he had lost a prisoner in a long time, rather a disappointing thing. "What happened here?" "They stunned one of my guards when they were covering the hallway, then they took Nass," he answers. "They must have somehow attached a transponder to me on my way here," he gestures at the visible remnants of the device on the table. Obviously quite well thought out. "They charged in here, took the prisoner, threatened us with a bomb-" Myiari points to the cube-shaped object on the floor. "And then charged out of here. I have no idea who they were, but if I had to guess: bounty hunters." "Take it away.", the order is given to one of his guards, the fellow hestiating before he picks up the explosive and carries it away, walking very carefully. Its very fall might cause it to activate and that's not going to happen if that fellow has his way. "Did they say something, anything that gave a clue as to who they were, what they would do with him or who sent them?" "No idea," the medic mutters. "They didn't say much of anything." Her belongings recovered, Myiari begins heading towards the door, or rather, what's left of it. "If I'm not needed to more questioning, I'm going to get out of here and go home." "..." Picking up the remains of the transponder, Tokoga turns them over in his hands. For a moment, he debates mentioning the symbology on the Mandalorian armor, but decides against it. He seemed to be quite thorough, so there probably wouldn't be any video records... "No," Tokoga finally answers softly, setting it down and shaking his head. Nass would no doubt get what he deserved from whomever he had gotten mad enough at him to do that. Not precisely the end that he had in mind for Nass, but, all in all, not entirely objectionable. He'd have to speak with Lanze, though. "Very well, we'll provide you an escort. For the time being, please don't mention anything, investigators will want to see you two.", the guards excluded given that they would be debriefed as soon as they reported back to their superiors. The Zabrak turns around before motionning for a few of his men, the escort mentionned arranged. "I apologize about this Senator, Miss OErstead but this is the most inventive escape I can think of in a long while." By now, Myiari is in a foul mood, and seems beyond caring about much of anything. "Fine, whatever. He's gone; I don't care. At least I don't have to see his slimy old face again. He was such a creep." Without even waiting for her escort to catch up, the medic is already striding out of the door. "It's alright. Orbital bombardment via mining drill probably isn't a contingency you usually have to plan for," Tokoga answers, gathering the two SSB guards. "Though, if you don't mind, I must be going..."
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