Cad Bane - The Concept of Trust

Ghosts from the past: Part II

It was a mission to get a group of Neimoidians connected to the Trade Federation to safety. They had been unfortunate enough to be stuck on the planet in the Outer Rim that was in the middle of a civil war, and had sent a duress signal from the compound in the city district. They weren't told why it was important to get this group out, nor did they ask. It was just another mission. The situation was extremely heated up, and the blaster fire around them was heavy, but they were able to fight their way to the compound, and found Neimoidians they were looking for. As they started to head out from the back of the building all hell broke loose. There was an explosion nearby, and then they saw that they had been cornered and outnumbered. Thelon ordered the squad to spread to the best positions, and they started to clear out the way, but suddenly noticed that the bounty hunters weren't there anymore, and the Neimoidians were gone too. It went to hell from there as they were only half the force they should have been. She saw Andan taking a shot to the chest, colouring the wall behind her with her blood, eyes already staring blankly to nothingness even before she hit the ground. She felt her heart wrench. The siblings saw Andan fall, and Nex turned his fire towards where the shots had come from, yelling enraged as the troops were closing in. Thelon and Den kept their positions, as Thelon shouted at her to find out where the bounty hunters and rescuees had gone. She nodded, and retreated back to the building, still haunted by the blank stare in Andan's dead eyes.

Nemdat and the others were there, obviously heading in another direction.

"Where the hell are you going? Why did you leave your positions!?" Her tone was outright enraged.

"Can't you see it's a lost cause? Your precious sarge has no idea what he is doing," Nemdat answered coldly.

Before she could argue that it was because they had not followed the plan, the fire outside intensified, and she looked through the open door. The troops were drawing closer, and the siblings were covering each other's back in a desperate attempt to hold their ground, when a detonator landed on their feet, the explosion ripping them apart, leaving only two bloodied heaps huddled together lying on where they had just stood. No. Nononono! She saw Thelon looking back, the pain on his face raw, and starting to retreat to the door with the troops on his tail. His face was enraged as he shouted the Devaronian's name, clearly, and rightfully holding him responsible, and was going to make him pay for it. When she saw Thelon raising his gun towards Nemdat, two sides in her fought for a second, but she ended up yanking the Devaronian from the line of fire to save him, hoping she could calm Thelon down, so they could stand a chance against the attackers as a group. She did not want Nemdat to get hurt, though her mind was torn between that it was all his fault her team was almost wiped out, but it wouldn't help if Thelon was to kill him too, would it? It would not bring them back. And, they needed everybody to get out of this mess.

Thelon's face was a mix of surprise and betrayal when she pushed the Devaronian to safety. He stared at her for a second, a very familiar look of unforgiveness in his eyes, and she was just about to explain herself when the shouts from behind got everybody's attention. The forces were coming in. She was still standing between Nemdat and the door, as one attacker came in, holding a grenade in his hand. She felt the Devaronian grabbing her, his face only inches of hers as he raised her off ground, staring her that smug grin on his face.

"Sorry dear, better you than me," flinging her towards the soldier holding the grenade like she was nothing. She bashed at the soldier, the impact throwing them both outside. She saw the Devaronian turning his back on her, ordering his group to retreat, and from the corner of her eye Thelon fighting for his life. She ended up in a heap with the soldier and tried to crawl away in panic. Then, a deafening blast, and searing pain filled her world, and she screamed in pain as she felt the shrapnel searing her flesh, the heat of the blast burning her gear and skin. Then came the blissful darkness.

Next time she was woken by her own scream of pain, but she did not recognize her surroundings. The lights were dim, and she saw several Biths in the room. She was laying on her stomach, and the pain was everywhere, not giving her a moment's rest, continuing from day to day even though Biths did all they could to soothe it. But, the damage was so extensive, and there were painkillers only occasionally in the midst of the conflict that at some points they came, and either used the rare sedatives to knock her out, or just muffled her voice with a pillow, telling that there were troops looking for survivors.

She shrugged her head to get rid of the memories, looking at Bane.

"They had found me from the field after the troops had left. Biths saw that war as stupidity and regression, and didn't want to take sides. They just came to see if there was someone they could help and found me... I was pretty much a goner then, but they were persistent. There was just a very modest amount of bacta that was used to save my hearing and fix my cracked skull, but not enough to fix the burns and other traumas. So, they used more traditional methods to sew me back together. Took months before I was back up on my feet."

Bane looked back at her. More than a third of the bottle was gone, though the Duros did not show any signs of intoxication. Never did. His face was unreadable.

"Thought you'd have gotten enough credits to use the bacta tank during the years to fix those."

"I did, but even bacta can do only so much when everything is healed... Also, after I was able to get myself in the shape to be able to do my work I thought to keep the scars as a reminder not to trust any asshole again."

Bane sneered. "So did it work?"

"For a very long time just fine." She smirked back at Bane.

"How about that Thelon fellow?"

For a moment it seemed she would shut herself in again, but after a deep silence she continued.

"I did not know he had survived... Did not find any info about him." She exhaled, and gathered herself for a moment. "I am just ...sorry I did not have a chance to explain myself. That he thought to the end I betrayed his trust."

Bane shrugged his shoulders. "He should have not raised that gun then, but listened you out. You gave him more of a chance than I would have." Bane's matter-of-fact tone was blatant.

She winced, though there was logic in Bane's words, and she knew from Thelon's eyes, that he would have shot her. But still... Ok, that's enough. Shrug it off for now, she thought, and changed the subject.

"We both worked for separatist side that is now the Empire. Him being there explains the droids. I am just worried about how much connections that gun trader had to the Empire. It may come back to bite us."

Bane fell silent for a moment. "Well, we have to see about that. ...But I would not mind if you were to dig into that a bit more."

Then the Duros snapped out of the issue, and his eyes showed a hint of curiosity.

"So your precious team got killed because that piece of druk deserted you to get away... Did it work..? And don't try to tell me you didn't find out."

She smiled dryly. "Of course I did. All the rescuees, and his team got killed too, he alone escaped. I think he used them too just to save his own skin."

"You said once that you killed the bastard."

"Yeah, I found him several years later."

"That's the story I want to hear to get the foul taste out of my mouth the previous one left there."

She chuckled. "Maybe later."