Jedi Insurgency 137

After the party had ended, Corvus had suggested Omega take Triss to the zoo. Meanwhile, he and the boys had convened within the diplomatic chambers set aside for surface dweller delegations. 

The room was built similarly to a western saloon. Lamps cast a soft yellow-orange glow into the room, breathing a welcome feeling to prospective visitors. The air smelled of dust, whiskey, and old wood. Privately, Corvus was impressed. To transport such materials down here could not be cheap. Furthermore, it was so tasteful. Either Nass was a genius, or, more likely, the negotiators from Naboo had created a more homey refuge from the long-tongued frog people. 

Sitting at a circular card table made of lightning scarred oak, his gloved hands shuffling a worn deck of Sabacc cards that glowed faintly in the room's dimness.

Across from him sat Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair. Meanwhile, Jax stood behind him with his arms crossed, and the girls had been sent to the zoo. What was about to be discussed was not for children to hear. 

Hunter leaned back in his chair, the edge of his vibroknife glinted as he rolled it between his fingers, it was a lazy action, but his dexterity, and the ease with which he wielded the weapon spoke volumes about his skill. Beside him, Wrecker grinned around a thick cigar, the tip flared bright as he took a long drag and sent another plume of smoke rolling towards a ceiling fan that barely stirred the room's air. Crosshair said nothing. He sat half in shadow, half in the light, a toothpick moved slightly between his lips as his eyes tracked every flick of the deck with hawk-like precision.

As a long time MTG player, it felt good to hold cards in his hands. Despite the heavy atmosphere, he couldn't help but grin as he dealt everyone's hands. Sabacc was a simple game where a player tried to reach 0. A card could be +1 through 10, or -1 through -10, etc, and each player starts the game with two cards. Different from other card games, it featured ‘spike dice’ which other players could roll, changing the cards in an opponents-or their own-hand. 

“You mind tellin’ us why you brought us all the way out here, General? Sent the kid off too. Doesn’t sound like a social call.” Hunter broke the peaceful silence, his voice was low, and rough. 

Corvus didn’t answer immediately, yet he inclined his head in appreciation. Hunter may act like a bloodthirsty Space New Zealander, but he wasn't the Captain of the Bad Batch for nothing. The man wasn't stupid. 

Leaning back into his chair, causing it to creak, his shadow shifted like smoke appearing slightly blurry on the edges. Without a word, he gestured for them to play. Cards slid, chips clicked as bets were placed, and a nearby machine began to play music. 

“Call.” He said softly, and tapped the table. 

Hunter’s knife froze mid-spin, and Crosshair’s eyes narrowed.

Corvus reached for his glass, the ice within clinking against the sides as he swirled the amber liquid, watching the way the light fractured through it as if he was bored. He took a slow sip, then set the drink down with deliberate care.

Only then did he meet Hunter’s eyes from across the table. The dim lighting somewhat hid both of their expressions, and Hunter furrowed his brow as he sensed the seriousness of this conversation. When everyone had finished the first round, Corvus threw in a few chips, and eventually spoke up whilst he watched the pot slowly grow. 

“What do you know…of Senator Binks?”

For a moment, no one spoke. Even Wrecker’s grin faltered. Crosshair’s toothpick paused. And Hunter’s brows drew together even tighter.

“That buffoon?! Watcha interested in ‘im for?!” Wrecker guffawed. 

Raising an eyebrow behind the mask, Corvus briefly glanced at the big man, and held his tongue. 

Hunter facepalmed, and sighed. 

“See, even Hunter agrees!” Wrecker exclaimed. 

“Famously clumsy, and the one to start the vote for Palpatine's rise to power. Beyond that, nothing I'm afraid.” Hunter replied in a professional tone, ignoring what Wrecker had said. 

Whilst he spoke, Hunter glanced at his hand, and the side of his lip quivered. Wrecker openly chuckled under his breath. Meanwhile, Crosshair didn’t even move; his cards remained untouched before him, and his expression was unreadable.

“Ante’s ten credits.” Corvus smoothly intoned, and then added his chips to the pot. 

Hunter flicked his knife into the tabletop, and the blade sank halfway into the wood. “We play your way, old man. But I still want answers.”

“You’ll get them.” Corvus murmured, and rolled the spike dice.

The dice clattered across the table, one landing on the Sabacc symbol, the other on Null, creating a shift in the cards. 

Every card face shimmered briefly, and a 3 became a -6 for Wrecker, much to his confusion.

“Aw, kriffin’ thing changed again!” Wrecker barked, taking a defiant puff on his cigar.

“Draw or stand.” Corvus prompted.

Hunter eyed his cards, they were a -4 and a +3. “Draw.” He pulled a new card: a +1. His eyes narrowed. “Zero.”

Crosshair drew one card, no expression changing. Wrecker grabbed two, then laughed, slapping them down. “Closest to zero wins, right? I got a +2 and a -2! That’s zero!”

“Check again.” Crosshair muttered. He laid down his cards, they were a pair of  -5, +5, and a 0. “The spiked dice shifted your original cards. You’re off by two.”

Corvus turned his cards with quiet grace: +2, -1, -1. “Zero. Mine takes precedence I'm afraid.” Corvus smugly spoke, as his initial numbers were lower than everyone elses. 

“The helmet's cheating, must've used his space magic.” Crosshair quietly complained. 

Wrecker leaned back, puffing smoke toward the ceiling. “Guess that’s why they call you a Master.”

Hunter picked up his knife from the wood and began to twirl it again. “You didn’t bring us here to gamble. Partying isn't your strong suite, though you are a damn fine schmoozer. You brought the boys together for a reason.” 

“I wonder who he wants dead? Why not do it himself? Oh, this has become interesting.” Crosshair spoke in a soft, sibilant voice. 

Jax slightly stirred at Crosshair's words, and the bald man noticed. 

“What's wrong, Ghost? Afraid your paragon is just as dirty as the rest of us?” Crosshair mocked. 

Jax simply stared at him without saying a word. 

“Tch, you're no fun. If the shortie was here, he'd have flown off the handle by now.” Crosshair scoffed.

Corvus dealt the next hand in silence, and slightly nodded towards Crosshair, acknowledging the sniper. 

“Boss Nass, in exchange for thirty million Gungan warriors, wishes for me to slay his political rival. Jar Jar Binks.” 

The room seemed to still, for a moment, the only sound in the room was the slow hum of the fan. 

“Rather convenient for you, isn't it?” Hunter asked, his face was stone cold, whilst he also added chips to the ever growing pile of creds. 

“Revenge…” Jax slowly uttered the word, the sound of his mechanical fists clenching was soft, yet Corvus heard them all the same. 

“Is that all? When we worked for the Republic, we killed traitor Senators all the time. Whatchu so bent about, Hunter?” Wrecker laughed, and tossed 100 creds onto the table with great gusto. 

“Our friend here has thus far slain murderous geneticists, slavers, and members of the corrupt oligarchy. He is attempting to brand himself as quite the hero. But Binks-as we all know-is a simpleton. His support of Palpatine is no doubt, coincidental. Which begs the question. Are you prepared to kill an innocent, Master Jedi?” Crosshair darkly grinned at him. 

Corvus could sense the murderous schadenfreude from Crosshair, the solemnity from Hunter, the uncaring Wrecker, and the subtle hatred from Jax. Each one of them was looking at him, awaiting his decision. 

Rapping his knuckles across the table, Corvus himself didn’t know what he wanted to do. The day he was dropped in the Temple, he was fighting for his life. Clones programmed to murder had been his very first opponents. Killing them had been something borne out of necessity. Then, he raided the Inspectorate HQ, slaughtering officers who had done no direct harm to him, but were guaranteed to work towards his eradication. In every other circumstance, he had eliminated ‘the bad guy.’ 

Now, here he was, presented with a dilemma that could cost him all the food, and manpower promised by the Gungans. If he didn't kill Jar Jar, he would lose Nass's trust. Although he felt like he could [Mind Trick] Nass, or possibly even blackmail him if need be. However, he had given his word. More importantly, he thought about the promise he had given Jax. Glancing at the taciturn teen, he saw that the white haired boy's emotions were undergoing immense fluctuations. For all intents and purposes, Jar Jar Binks was public enemy #2 to the Jedi. To any revenge oriented Knight, that Gungan was to be killed on sight! 

Whilst he was deep in thought, Corvus suddenly let out a low chuckle at his own idiocy. He had been approaching this issue from a binary ‘should I kill him, or should I spare him’ angle. When in reality, he could do both! 

“You alright, General?” Hunter asked in a somewhat worried tone, the way his blade shifted in his hands was almost like he was readying himself to use it. 

“Probably imagining that long tongue boiling in a soup.” Crosshair snidely remarked. 

“Soup?!” Wrecker exclaimed, looking left and right for the food. 

As for Corvus, he slightly shuddered as he recalled the Anzat he fought in Galactic Bank trying to turn him into soup. 

Jax, meanwhile, silently stared at Corvus's back with a strong intensity. 

“What did you say earlier about space magic? If anyone here should know what I plan to do, it should be you, right? But you wouldn't want to get ahead of yourself, would you, Crosshair?” Corvus said with an infectious grin, and not-so subtly burned the bald man for insulting his student. 

Crosshair's dark grin was quick to be replaced by a scowl, whilst Wrecker began to loudly clap, and laugh. 

“What do you mean by that? You plan to assassinate a sitting Senator? He may have helped Palpatine, but there's no evidence it was intentional….that said…me and the boys are willing to back you up if need be. We owe you that much.” Hunter replied in a pained voice. 

Corvus sensed that the clone had gone through quite a bit of past trauma. One did not become the premier commando unit without taking care of some dirty ops. He could only wonder what kind of horrors High Command had sent them on, all in the name of Democracy. Looking at them with pity, he once again vowed in his heart to take care of the clone soldiers once this hellish war was finally over. 

This solemn moment was broken as Crosshair elbowed Wrecker to shut up, but the big man kept clapping, and laughing. 

“I see, I see! Yous gonna kill Binks, then bring him back later, like me and Crosshair!” Wrecker exclaimed. 

Jax froze in place, then both Hunter & Crosshair looked at their brother, stunned. 

Corvus slow-clapped, and looked at Wrecker with appreciation. Sometimes…most of the time, he acted like a boozed up jock, but he swore, there were occasional glimmers of genius in that oversized noggin. 

“Precisely. Sacrifice is often common in war, and perhaps one day, I will need to make a similar decision once again.” Corvus stated, recalling the various controversial actions Revan had taken. Many innocents had died as a result of Revan's actions…and many more would die as Corvus continued this conflict. “But today is not that day.” 

Hunter breathed a sigh of relief, the signs of PTSD briefly flashed across his face as he tossed aside his cards. Crosshair grunted, and folded. Then Wrecker abruptly stood, knocked over the table, and spilled the creds all over the floor as he rushed to the bathroom. 

Jax slowly brought his somewhat ragged breaths under control, and knelt down next to Corvus. His face was covered by his hood, and he didn't say a word. 

Corvus placed a hand on his shoulder, and gently squeezed. 

“If it makes you feel any better, you can be the one who makes the shot.” Corvus said softly. 

Jax shook his head. 

‘You promised.’ The teen sent through their Force Bond. 

Corvus looked down at this child, and began to send images/scenes of Jar Jar through their link. They depicted the amphibian as the well meaning simpleton that he was, painting a picture of pure idiocy. 

Minutes later, Jax stood up, and looked at him in bewilderment. “Then I have no complaints. Master is truly wise, I have erred.” 

Corvus sighed in relief. Crisis averted! He felt as if he had just dodged the Darkside Disciple bullet! 

Clapping his hands together, he got everyone's attention. 

“Okay, planning time! Binks arrives tomorrow. How can we make it as spectacular as possible, and pin all the blame on the Empire?” 

“Oh, explode his submarine!” Wrecker was quick to clamor. 

“I like the enthusiasm, but we need an intact body, otherwise, the space magic won't work.” Corvus was quick to deny. 

“I've got an idea, here's what we do…” Corvus spoke in a low, conspiratorial tone. 

Talking deep into the night, the five men shared an evil look before heading off to bed. This would be the most memorable assassination in Gungan history!