The Fate of the Cortosis

The Fate of the Cortosis
Date of Scene:	25 September 2025
Location:	Kublop Springs - Tenoo - Outer Rim
Synopsis:	After all that fuss, cortosis ends up somewhere unexpected.
Cast of Characters:	159, Volken Mons, Ellari Zin, 418

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Athena (159) has posed:
Now that Er'gi has the cortosis in hand, it doesn't take the other Mandalorian very long to make his way back to the spaceport, where Kass' ship is parked, in sector G-16.

Volken may or may not have gone with him, but Er'gi would have immediately turned around gone looking for Volken again upon arriving and discovering that the Baron is -still- not there. It's not really a surprise, but without Kass, there's no way for him to return to Mandalore without demanding Ellari let him aboard her ship.

Speaking of which, it would appear Ellari and Jorn are still nowhere to be found on Tenoo...

Volken Mons has posed:
Volken would have been delayed due to staying back to continue the conversation with the doctor, Navi and the rest and express his ire and disapproval and disappointment in how this was all handled. Some or more may not agree with him but it was clear that most either did or were irritated enough for other reasons. Either way once he said his peace, he turns to follow after Er'gi in order to see this through to the end. He doesn't much care about where Kassady is at the moment. The involvement of the other Mandalorians back in Sundari was enough to get him on board with fully committing to helping Er'gi. Now he's just mad. and without a real target for that anger. So that means he's ready to leave this planet, Dark Saber be damned now.

Of course, seeing the utter lack of Kassady and the utter lack of Ellari's ship does cause things to fianlly sink in that the others left and didn't bother to include him in on why. Even more reason for him to cut them all loose...

"Still no Kassady?" he rumbles, coming up behind Er'gi. "Well what does it matter? ou've got it now. Just get a message to Sanza and Thaelin. Maybe they can send another ship if we don't find Kassady by then."

Ellari Zin has posed:
    Indeed, it would seem that Ellari's ship is not at the port, either...

Athena (159) has posed:
"Volken," Er'gi says, his patience clearly thinning but somehow still intact, "We -have- to find him. There is a strong possibility that he saw you, and even Jorn. And if we do not know where he is, we have no idea what he is doing. Perhaps he's trying to find a way to tell all of Mandalore that you and Jorn are here. Perhaps he has already! Secondly, -he- is the armorer. Without him, the cortosis is useless. The gauntlets cannot be made without his skill."

Meanwhile, Kasseady would have been whining to Jorn every other hour, asking him what his decision is, regarding him, regarding the idea of using him as bait to lure Caine.

Volken Mons has posed:
"What? Thaelin gave me the impression they weren't even -worried- about the Dark Saber anymore! That when it came out that Caine was responsible for causing this whole mess they turned their intention to feuding over -that- and looking for Caine!"

Volkens patience -is- gone as evident by his exasperated movements with his Dowutin sized arms.

"You got to be joking, vod. What about tht other armorer.... What was her name.. She was nice t'me... convinced me to play in those silly booby trapped skirmishes..."

Volken seems to get the concern though despite his frustrations and he snorts bullishy, "Kassady could have fallen off a cliff for all I know considering how drunk he was.. But fine... Let's try trying to reach Ellari and Jorn. Ellari at least has sense. Sometimes. When she's not pig headed and arrogant and it's not overwhelming her common sense."

He turns slighlty, looking around, "He gestures for Kassady's ship. "We can try contacting Ellari's ship from here. You have access?"

Ellari Zin has posed:
    Ellari very much likes the idea of using Kass to lure Caine out, and she has approached Jorn away from wherever Kass is being held. "Listen, we can use this to our advantage...I have heard rumors that Caine is on Tenoo, and if that's the case, he will definitely come running if he finds out we have his twin brother. Then, we can force that hut'unn to answer for his crimes against you. And against House Vizsla, and against all of Mandalore."

Jorn (418) has posed:
Jorn breathes out. The insults don't matter to him. What's another mouthful? Readying a blaster, Jorn sets the stun and shoots at the prisoner. He just needs to think.

Once Kassedy is out cold, Jorn begins to speak to Ellari. "I need another mind on this one. Kassedy could get his brother to speak the truth. Tell everyone else what he told Volken. End this chaos before blood shed. The long shot, but the noble choice," Jorn begins. Just tossing out ideas.

"I could use Kass as bait to flush out his brother. The most likely outcome. A holovid in a place it can be seen would draw some eyes. Pick the wrong method, he won't come alone. That just brings me back to Square One," he sighs and looks at Kass. "Send it to a location where too few are, family pressure dies. Even if he doesn't want to save Kass, the family could force him to. Send it to the wrong spot, or too few people, there won't be any action at all," Jorn mulls the ideas over.

That's when Ellari speaks up. "How do we keep the attention minimal. I don't mind shaking some tress, I don't want to shake too many," Jorn doesn't want to relive so many people wanting to kill him.

Athena (159) has posed:
"They -aren't-! But if someone -reminds- them to be angry about it, they -will- be. They'll remember that just as important as finding the person who stole it is, is finding the person who actually has it right now."

"She won't do it," Er'gi says with a dismissive wave, "She's too busy at this time of the year."

"I.. I don't, actually. He doesn't trust me -that- much." He glances around. "There is a public use long range communicator in Kublop, though. It's near the plaza," he says.

Volken Mons has posed:
"It might be too late, vod... Kassady -did- see me at that womans junkyard home when he tried to shoulder rush the jedi-boy while drunk... I'm hard to miss. So what then? Do you plan to threaten him or buy his silence?"

Volken shakes his head however but gestures for Er'gi to hurry and show him the comm systems on Kassady's ship.

"Let' send Ellari a message. If ring her ship her it should bounce it to her suit but if we can't do it here we'll have to go -back- to the republic comm station."

Clealry he does -not- want to do that if he can help it. The less to do with them at this point the better.

Ellari Zin has posed:
    "We don't need to at this point." Ellari points out. "We've already shown ourselves so there is not much to hide. And everyone already knows about his betrayal, but this is a matter of -personal- justice. For you, and for House Vizsla." she shrugs at Jorn's questions. "Draw Caine out. Make him duel you. Or whatever feels right to you. He won't need family to make him, after all Kass is his brother. He'll come running, I promise you."

Jorn (418) has posed:
"I would not mind this. Send it to Caine. Any others?" Jorn asks making sure that the proper targets are lined up properly. His attention focused on Ellari for a moment. "I have no intentions of killing Kass, but he doesn't need to know that."

Athena (159) has posed:
Er'gi grumbles. "But he was drunk and didn't seem to see you. So there's no way to know if he did or not even register that you were here, without speaking to him directly. No amount of credits is going to appease him, Volken. If he knows you're here, he can't go back to Mandalore, or be allowed near a long range communicator."

"You'll have to communicate with her," Er'gi says, "I cannot access Kasseady's ship. He wouldn't share the keycodes to it with me. Your choices are to use the one in town, or try your own and hope that she's in a nearby system and can receive it."

Ellari Zin has posed:
    Ellari shrugs. "That's up to you. If Caine is there, perhaps it would actually be good if others arrived. Bearing witness to a duel or some other resolution of the Darksaber's possession will bring closure to this entire ordeal, -and- force him to answer for his crimes."

Volken Mons has posed:
"So you were just dragged along as serious muscle only to end up having to solve the whole problem -for- Kassady with -my- intervention and now we're busy having to look for him to -baby sit- him in case he ruins -everything-. Gods!"

Volken's fury is clear but it's not directed at the other fuming mammoth. It is, however, directed at the side of Kassady's ship.as he pounds a massive fist against it in frustration.

Fortunantely it was a light tap. Only a slight *booming* dent...

"Fine!"

<<Ellari! Come in! Where are you!>>

Volken switches his comm link on though Er'gi can probably hear his deep voice as it aggravatedly attempts to connect with her signal.

Jorn (418) has posed:
"Does Volken know indpendent, yet connected, third parties?" Jorn asks. That would be a start. A really good start. Because sometimes the worst, and most wide spread, fires start small. Maybe that's what they need to make the truth to spread like wild fire, something small.

Athena (159) has posed:
Er'gi just watches as Volken puts a dent into Kass' ship. "Don't... don't make think about it too much," the other mammoth says. "Stirring up even more trouble is the last thing I want."

Then, all of a sudden, while Volken is waiting for Ellari to respond to his comms message, the crack of a sniper shot will echo from nearby. Some of the townsfolk might gasp, or run and hide, but the mammoth Mandalorian will find the damage minimal though probably extremely irritating.

Because whoever had been shooting at him had aimed at the only spot on his body that's probably not very covered by beskar - his posterior.

Er'gi immediately turns and pulls out his blasters at the assailant, who is now walking a ridge on the roof of a nearby apartment building. Volken will recognize him and probably curse his bad luck. The assailant is one he probably hoped to never see again - that mousy marauder who'd interfered with the bounty on the head of an errant, violent droid.

Before Er'gi can shoot him, though, he makes an announcement. "You have something I want," he says, "and I have something you need. Information about a particular Mandalorian."

Er'gi hesitates. Could it... be?

Ellari Zin has posed:
    "No idea, why don't you ask him?" Ellari replies, shrugging once more. "Don't worry too much about it, once word gets out that both you and Caine are on Tenoo, I'm sure others will show up. And once the deed is done, news will spread easily."

    Then that message comes in front Volken, the light blinking on the comms console. She goes over to answer it, arching a brow. He sounds agitated. << "Well, someone is in a bad mood." >> she remarks. << "Don't worry, I have good news. I may have a way to draw that hut'unn Caine out. Force him to answer for his crimes." >>

Volken Mons has posed:
Volken's magnificent glorious guns are always Sun's Out, Guns Out, as if daring anyone to try their hand against the behemoths legendary physical toughness,beskar or no. But the point is well made. Shooting him in the butt is something of an insult after all.

He wheels around, only to see the annoying bug that's dared to attack him.

"Is -everybody- I've run into going to show up to harass me here?!"

IRonically, he and Ellari were on opposing sides of that bounty at first.

There's a heavy shift of his gigantic bulk as he unshoulders his gigantic repeater cannon and brings it down to hsi side to hang lazily as Er'gi targets their assailant.

"What do you want, di'kut?! And what makes you think what you have is valuable enough for us to not squash you like an insect for your insult!?"

He then pauses as Ellari reaches back out to him and he rumbles in Mand'oa to Er'gi

<<I hear Ellari. She says she's got a way to draw out Caine...>>

Jorn (418) has posed:
Jorn has one very important question right now. "Ellari, ninety-five minutes or one hundred and twenty?" The question may not seem like much, but Jorn is prepping something. It's one of the last pieces of information he needs.

Ellari Zin has posed:
    "For what? The footage? I don't think it much matters." Ellari replies. "I'd imagine Volken, Er'gi and virtually -everyone- else would be quite keen on this strategy. I am almost certain he will come running sooner or later in some fashion. He'll know we're baiting him, though. So he'll probably try to find some way to get his brother back without showing himself at first. We need to make sure it doesn't work."

Athena (159) has posed:
The marauder brandishes his sniper rifle. He doesn't seem intimidated by Volken, or frightened by Er'gi.

In fact, he just chuckles quietly, and continues walking the roof ridge he's standing on. His cock sureness is probably making both Er'gi and Volken's trigger finger twitchy.

"Surely," he continues, "you've heard the rumors of the clandestine Mandalorian. Surely," he says, "it might be your business to know what he's doing, so far from Mandalore. Perhaps he has a reason to hide?"

He finally stops pacing, and faces the two Mandalorians. "The cortosis," he says, "for his alias, and ... his associates."

Maybe Volken wants to shoot him, but Er'gi seems transfixed. He lowers his blasters.

Volken Mons has posed:
<<Stand by. I've got a sniper pointing at me. The di'kut who harassed us when we were taking down that violent droid. I think he's implying he knows where Caine is. Where is Kassady? Do you have him?>>

Volken's deep voice rattles off in Man'doa..quietly.. Audible enough for Er'gi to hear him but then he raise shis voice and calls back out towards the marauder:

"It's not mine to give, flea. So I'm not handing anything over. Why don't you make it worth my while. If your information is valuable enough then maybe I'll arm wrestle my vod for it and give it to you. Otherwise you're wasting my time! Give me something valuable to chew on!"

Jorn (418) has posed:
Ellari is right. They're going to know this is bait. Still, he is going to do what he can to take away advantages.

Jorn thinks on it and he'll ready one of the holovidoes. The simple one that has a message attached, <You wouldn't believe what people can find in the dump.> The video just stays on an unconscious Kass before they cut around to Jorn's helmet staring back into the recorder. No words aside what's in the message. More is spoken with silence and imagery.

He'll add a second message.<See you on Tenoo. You've got 95 minutes before I take the trash to the compactor.> And he'll send everything from Kass's communicator. Because it's hard to throw doubt when you're using the captured party's communicator.

"We're going to Tenoo."

Ellari Zin has posed:
    <<"...A sniper?" >> Ellari frowns. Oh -that- one. <<"Wait, we're coming back. Is he offering intel on Caine's whereabouts? The more we know, the better we can get to him. The man is a coward, but he's not stupid.">>

    She turns back to Jorn. "Right, let's go. Volken said we may have a lead on his location." The engines are fired up, and she starts heading back toward Tenoo. "But be careful. The baron isn't stupid."

Athena (159) has posed:
The marauder doesn't respond to Volken, instead, he looks to Er'gi, who still seems transfixed.

He then turns to Volken. <Vod, it doesn't seem like it could be any more obvious! Perhaps Caine -is- here after all, and he may know why exactly he's here, specifically! Even if he does not give us a good lead, it is a starting point. We cannot forge the gauntlets without Kass anyway.> he says to him in Mando'a. <I think I should give it to him. What if Caine is in fact plotting something?>

Volken Mons has posed:
"If we knew where kassady was we'd have more to barain with but you're right. Fine... Besides, we can always just...take the cortosis back."

Volken mumbles this in Man'doa once again and then adds, "They're coming back so if they weren't that far away we'll have back up soon.."

He then raises his voice and calls out ot the marauder, "Fine! Goldilocks the Ginormous here is willing to negotiate. The Cortosis is here, after all. So come on down and get it."

Jorn (418) has posed:
"Let's go," Jorn says and then he nods. "I know he's not. I know even with the deck stacked against him, he won't be easy," he says matter of factly. Jorn's not underestimating this one.

Ellari Zin has posed:
    "If we can find him, that will make things easier for certain." Ellari tells Jorn as she navigates out of the atmosphere. "So I hope Volken's lead is good for it."

    Once they have left orbit, she engages the hyperdrive. "...Has Revara contacted you at all recently?"

Athena (159) has posed:
"Huh," Er'gi says, "did they say what they've been doing all this time..." he comments more to himself than anyone else.

The marauder seems pleased, with unnatural grace and ease, he descends from the rooftop. Er'gi then tosses the marauder the cortosis, which he catches, then pockets.

"He goes by 'Jasper'. No surname, it is clearly an alias. He also frequents the colony, Aklyrr Bend. The reason why is somewhat unclear. But he has been seen with two Arkanian colonists, biologists by trade." He pauses, looking thoughtful. "It is obvious to me that he is plotting something, making long term plans. To what end, I cannot be certain of. But the Arkanians' trade is telling to a degree."

Then, before Er'gi and Volken can ask him anymore questions, he darts off, disappearing into a dark alley and out of sight.

Before Jorn can reply to Ellari he'll receive a message from the other Baron. <My dear Jorn, why that's hardly fair. I'm on Takodana right now, it will take me a week at least to reach the Outer Rim. But you can be assured that I shall guarantee you whatever you wish for, as long as my brother is kept alive until then. You may not believe this, but I believe there is a way to absolve both of us of any wrongdoing. We'll both retire to a quiet life and do whatever we wish. You could disappear to a remote Mandalorian colony world, where no one knows your name or face, and marry Revara. I've found a way>

Volken Mons has posed:
"No but I'm for damn sure going to find out." grouses Volken under his breath to Er'gi. Seems he did hear that after all and is pretty much on the same wavelength. It was quite telling when Ellari didn't answer him. Guilty by ommission as far as he's concerned.

"Ellari was at the junkyard and then you and I left and now they're all gone. We're big, vod, but we're not stupid... Slow maybe but obviously we've had alot going on."

He then reaches up and lays a hand on Er'gi's shoulder.

"You did the right thing letting the cortosis go..."

Volken's gruffness is gone briefly as he nods in approval to Er'gi's actions.

"People think we're just dumb muscle for their schemes and plans but without us? This whole mess would be ten times worse..."

He then nods his head, "They're coming back. We'll tell them abou tthe colony and then go deal with him.."

Athena (159) has posed:
"I had a feeling this whole time," Er'gi says, "but its not actually so bad, Volken. If he was taken hostage, we know for sure he wasn't successful in returning to Mandalore or contacting anyone back home."

"And perhaps now, we have a lead on where Caine is, and what he is he's doing out here." He sighs. "Who would have guessed..."