World Tree MUSH

  Dantooine is an extremely remote green world serving as the Rebel Alliance's headquarters, a peaceful agrarian world that seems bizarrely at odds with the bustling sprawl of its military base. This is where the Rebel leadership dwells, and also where they keep the majority of their resources.

  Since her orders Juno's been cross and quiet. She's held herself to even higher standards than usual. While she hasn't been hostile toward her passengers, she has been preoccupied and somewhat irritable. That irritated silence has only intensified up to this moment. Depending on how much Li-Ming heard, she may know why Juno is so annoyed; everyone else just gets to deal with it.

  The general reaches out to snag a passing ensign by the forearm. "You there. Find General Leia. Tell her General Eclipse has arrived. I don't trust your new communications officer." He turns and stares, gawking; all those titles just make him gulp air. She gives him a gentle push to get him off and away.

  Once the hapless messenger is sent off, Juno lets her breath rush out in a sigh that sounds suspiciously resigned. "Welcome to Dantooine. Headquarters of the Rebel Alliance. I expect we've got a few minutes until General Leia turns up..." Her voice drops into an unhappy mutter, like a cat that's been dashed with a bucket of water. "Then again, it wouldn't surprise me if she already knew..."

    "Why don't we trust the comms officer exactly?" Comes a voice from over Juno's shoulder, attenuated faintly by the beskar helmet that obscures his visage.
    The Mandalorian is here, having landed the Razor Crest already in the landing pad nearest the Rogue Shadow.
    The Child is with him of course, nestled into the interior of the floating pram that almost always hovers by Mando's side.

    By now, Hyouka's had enough dealings with Juno and the Mando's neck of the woods that she's starting to feel comfortable there. It's not surprising to see her arriving on Dantooine with the two of them; nor, knowing her, is it surprising to see her hovering over the Child, doting unabashedly. "If that Moff Gideon can find out thorough information on even offworlders like Hyouka," DARGN replies to the Mandalorian, "It's possible he has eyes and ears everywhere."

    Dantooine, they're on Dantooine.

    Dante meanwhile follows along. "Wouldn't surprise me. He clocked us all pretty well on Nevarro." He says, hands tucked in his pockets. A few of the Rebels are gawking at Dante's Greatsword and downright 'prehistoric' choices in pistols by their standards. "Sounds like he was somethin' of a spymaster, and never stopped."

    There's been time for Josuke to change into something more appropriate for a desert, thankfully. His school uniform isn't really good for that kind of environment. He's covered up with light-colored fabrics, a loose long-sleeved shirt and light slacks. But of course he's got his hair in his typical style, and he's wearing his typical Bally's loafers.

    He hasn't really known what to say to try to cheer Juno up, so he's mainly left her alone through the trip, and been polite to her when he needed to interact. Though he spent the trip with that thoughtful pout on his face that he has when he's thinking about something.

    These futuristic places always surprise him. Officially he's supposed to be scouting things out for the Speedwagon Foundation, but he's pretty sure nobody's going to let him take pictures in here. So the small camera stays in his pocket. any scans are going to turn up with him unarmed.

    DARGN's mention of Gideon having information gets a wide-eyed look. "He had information on the offworld people?" he marvels. "Geez... need to be careful, I guess..."

    Piera's sat in placid silence during the trip to Dantooine. The fact she's in /space/ and flying around inside a metal skyship is not lost on her, but the Isu have some very strange gear so it's not exactly surprising, just different. She stands silent as the messenger is sent running to fetch this 'Leia' person, keeping her hood over her head, obscuring her face behind the white fabric. The Mandalorian and Juno would likely spot the glint of metal and the faint jingling of chainmail. The Assassin's still missing her sword, after the fight with the SpecFor trooper on the lava river, the scabbard sitting glaringly empty. "I agree with the voice. If he was that capable, he likely knows where this base is, or at least has a very good idea."

  "We don't trust the comms officer because the comms offer is an idiot," Juno points out patiently. "His predecessor was killed a few weeks ago. The replacement leaves much to be desired. I don't think he has any Imperial sympathies. He's just incompetent." Juno sighs, slipping her hands into her pockets and slouching a little. She eyes The Child as the bounty hunter and the floating pram pass by, but she doesn't speak to either. doesn't say more to either of them. Her hands pull from her pockets to fold her arms. The longer she waits with nothing to do, the more tense she looks.

  "Aaah, Gideon." Hyouka's words earn a sigh. "Gideon, Gideon, Gideon..." Juno shakes her head, expression souring. "I haven't forgotten about him. You know, there's a reason he was executed for war crimes decades ago. I think it would be safer by default to assume Gideon already knows everything. That man can run an intelligence network like nothing I've ever seen."

  To Dante, she throws over her shoulder: "Something like that. No actual regret over the terrible things he did, either." She straightens. "Monster. And now we have that monster breathing down our necks. It's damned unsettling. I wouldn't be surprised if today's orders are an issue of tying up that loose end."

  Josuke's camera is eyed, but as long as he keeps it in his pocket, he gets no grief from anybody on the base. Offworlders seem to be pretty well tolerated even here, though. There's such a melting pot mix of alien races in this galaxy that people are pretty tolerant of weird new stuff, on the whole.

  Josuke earns a look from Juno, and she blows out a sigh, weary. "Yeah. He did." Even her. Especially her. While it was nothing particularly damning, it was unsettling to have those secrets laid bare all the same.

  "Welcome to Dantooine."

  It's not Juno's voice that speaks up, but another: Clear, warm, but without the clipped precision of Juno's Corulag dialect. Turning, the group would find one General Leia Organa: Unofficial leader of the Rebel Alliance, Force-sensitive, and the woman responsible for keeping everything going. She has the same hard-worn look as Juno, although her eyes are clear, and the spectre of loss doesn't seem to weigh quite as heavily on her shoulders.

  Juno jolts as though she were electrically shocked, and immediately follows through into snapping off a razor-precise salute, back straight as a durasteel rod.

  "I'm glad you were all able to make it. At ease," she adds, for Juno's benefit, stepping closer to look over the group. "You all may be tired after that trip. Why don't you accompany me? I'll explain the situation as we go."

  Juno falls into line behind her fellow general without another word, looking as tired as she usually does.

    "Sounds as if you guys don't have many options for replacements." Dante says. He nods in distaste as the topic shifts to Gideon. "We checked that ship after he crashed, found only a burnt hole in the cockpit. If we didn't find his body, then he's not dead yet." He muses, running a hand across his stubbly jaw.

    He nods to Josuke too. "Yeah, had us all cornered and sounded like he knew us by memory. Guy's gotten a lot of eyes in a lot of places, means he's sharp as hell. We barely made it out of that bar with our lives."

    Once the general makes her arrival, Dante nods to Leia. "Ma'am." He's obviously not military, but Dante knows better than to make snide jabs at an officer on her own turf. Instead, he just follows Leia and Juno without complaint. Hopefully, there's coffee on this base somewhere. Or at least beer.

    Between Gideon and in incompetent comms officer, the comms officer probably doesn't HAVE to have Imperial sympathies for that man to learn something he can use. A fool in a position of holding knowledge can be as dangerous as an adversary seeking said knowledge.
    "Point." Mando concedes to DARGN, before his attention falls to Piera.
    "Nice armor."
    The Child is in fairly good spirits, babbling up at Hyouka.
    Mando will allow the doting. For now.
    And then there's Leia. Mando's just gonna follow along and listen to whatever she has to say.

    Piera turns her head slightly towards Leia as she speaks up. The movement is only just visible as as shift in the hood of her robe. "Safety and Peace to you, General." comes the italian lilt. She turns to follow Leia, remaining largely quiet. The instinct to melt into the crowd in full swing as she settles into a spot within the group. The Mandalorian's notice of her armour earns him a quiet nod in return. She'll go into detail if asked but won't offer up information unprompted. The Assassin does gravitate closer to The Child and Mando as they join the procession, though.

    Hyouka looks up from the Child, giving Juno a worried frown. as Josuke's question is answered for her. She has one of her own, though. "Do you think he'd actually send someone to attack my home?" The simple threat of it was enough to really, really set her off back at Navarro. It's a deep worry of hers.

    The newcomer, on the other hand, earns a slightly surprised look, and then a more cheerful wave of her hand. "It's nice to meet you. I'm not terribly tired, my body's artificial, but even with an artificial body, a long trip can still wear you out mentally. If there's hospitality being offered, I'm glad to accept."

    Yeah this is a secret rebel base or something, right? No pictures are getting taken of that. There's always time to get a picture of a desert sunset, or wildlife, or something like that later. That's the stuff SPW is interested in anyway.

    Josuke looks to Juno at her words, and to Dante at his addition to it too. Definitely something to bring up with Jotaro later, he decides, with that thoughtful pout. "That could be a security concern for the Speedwagon Foundation," he decides. "If that guy can get offworld information so easily, there's the chance that the wrong people from my world might be able to persuade him to part with the wrong kind of information."

    The rest of that thought will have to wait, though -- the unfamiliar voice draws Josuke's attention, and he looks to the source of it. And he offers a polite bow to General Organa. "Thank you for receiving us," he replies. He too will follow, and stay quiet. He's still learning about this place, and one doesn't learn by talking.

  "That all depends on what goes missing." Juno shifts her weight, glancing back at the dark and still form of the Rogue Shadow. "We can't afford to be too selective when there's a vacancy that needs to be filled right away. I'm certain they'll find someone better suited to the task. I'll be long gone, by then, of course. I don't intend to stay here any longer than I need to."

  The pilot shakes her head, snorting. "I've crawled away from enough TIE fighter wreckage to know you can survive even if you've got wreckage spread over a kilometer. I should have gone back to check. And put a blaster bolt in whatever was left," she adds in a growl. One just can't take any chances with morally bankrupt spymasters.

  That show of respect from Dante seems to be appreciated. Although she's dressed rather plainly, it's clear that Leia commands a tremendous amount of respect from the men and women of the Rebel Alliance. Juno Eclipse is included in that number: The old pilot might grouse under her breath, but she's here, and considering there are other places she could be, that's probably saying something.

  She does manage a smile as she passes by the babbling pram and Hyouka, though. Yeah, maybe the tough old general isn't as tough as she looks.

  "I don't know." Juno answers Hyouka as honestly as she knows how, shrugging. "If it were me, though? I'd be taking precautions, in whatever way you thought best."

  "I'd do what you feel you need to do." To Josuke, the pilot dips her head. "If you need any help with that, don't hesitate to comm. I'll see what I can do. I feel a little responsible; I should have checked and made sure the bastard was actually dead." She grimaces. "I should know better; I've walked away from crashes worse than that, before."

  Each person to greet Leia earns a response in kind, perhaps pleased at the respect offered. Maybe she wasn't expecting very much. It's not long before the group is led into one of those domed buildings, and to a table. A cafeteria. Not just any cafeteria, but an officers' mess. There's nobody here. Also, there's food. Water. Most importantly, there's coffee, and coffee-analogue.

  "Help yourself," Leia offers.

  Juno doesn't wait, excusing herself to the counter off to the side, pouring herself a very large cup of coffee. She brings her very large cup back over, easing herself into a chair.

  Leia will wait until everybody's had a chance to help themselves to food before she gets into the meat and potatoes of the issue. Juno waits patiently, sipping at near-scalding, acidic-bitter coffee and trying to will the caffeine to hit her system.

    WOO! Coffee! Dante's more of a beer guy, but coffee's good too. He grabs himself something that looks vaguely like lunch, including a bagel and coffee, before he has a seat. "Thanks for letting us drop by, I'm sure this is a real big security risk and all. Still, Juno's good people, I'd be crazy not to offer my help."

    Help yourself, Leia says.
    The Mandalorian helps himself to a seat. Eating would just reveal his face, so he doesn't go for the food, simply folding his arms across his chest as he waits.
    He does not seem to notice the bagel that just starts... Floating towards the open pram and The Child, behind his back.

    Piera finds a cup, and pours herself some water, neglecting any other refreshments for the time being and settles into a seat in an out-of-the-way spot. Some habits are hard to break, and thieves and Assassins are naturrally cautious in social situations, especially inside buildings with limited escape options. She doesn't give off any 'furtive' energy though, the force sensitives might pick up some trepidation in the young woman's subconscious space.

    "Il Mentore should be the one here, not me." is muttered softly, someone with good ears might catch it in the enclosed space, though.

    Juno's answer is... not comforting. But in truth, it's about where Hyouka's mindset is anyway. Maybe she'll have some kind of escape hatch installed for the shinki and Serrah.

    Oh. There's coffee.

    Coffee cures all worries.

    It doesn't take Hyouka more than a moment or two to have both a cup of coffee and a plate of food.

    Josuke nods to Leia. "It's not just information I'm worried about," he offers. "I'm sure mine isn't the only world that has the same problem, but there are things in my world that give people powers, and I don't want them spread out all over the World Tree. Or for anybody to invade my world for them."

    Oh hey, food! "Thank you, ma'am," he replies politely when she offers them the use of the officer's mess. He drinks coffee too, so he'll get some of that and a little something to eat. He's a teenager though, and a pretty big teenager besides, so his 'little' something to eat is about the size of a typical meal.

    He pauses as he notes the floating bagel, though. "What the...?" Though as he notices the expected destination, he covers his mouth to stifle the laughter. No laughing at the big armored guy that could probably hit a 1-yen coin with a laser pistol from roughly the distance of half a continent away. Josuke kinda likes both his eyes, and wants to keep them where they're at.

  "Don't thank me just yet." Leia folds her hands on the table's surface. She hasn't fetched anything for herself, though, and seems disinclined to do so. She doesn't seem to notice the bagel incident, and if she notices Piera's edge of trepidation, she's tactful enough not to comment on it.

  Josuke's statement earns a nod from Leia. "We of the Rebel Alliance don't necessarily condone capital punishment, but Moff Gideon's crimes were truly heinous. He was executed shortly after the fall of the Galactic Empire."

  In the chair beside her, Juno broods in silence over her coffee, gaze tired and distant. Although she gives the impression of paying no mind to the proceedings, she's listening. Dante's comment earns a faint, acknowledging nod that doubles as thanks.

  The tough old pilot raises her coffee for a sip, and she definitely notices the bagel. Her coffee freezes precisely halfway to her face as she stares, blankly, while the bagel floats past her toward The Child's pram. She stares for a few seconds more at the bagel, and then side-eyes The Child.

  "We've got to do something about Gideon, but the reality is that we just don't have the resources." It's Juno who speaks next, swilling her coffee around and eyeing the group. "He's a consideration for later. This isn't actually why we're here."

  Blue eyes slide to Leia.

  "The Rebel Alliance has a problem," Leia announces. "The First Order is building a new base on Malastare, presumably with the intention of policing interstellar cargo and traffic. Port Pixelito is a valuable logistical resource. We have a great deal of information, materiel, and personnel passing through Malastare's orbit, and we can't afford an Imperial blockade. They haven't finished construction of the new base, yet, so it's my hope that if we can sabotage it, it will relieve some of the pressure."

  Juno smiles, nastily. She doesn't say anything, but there's no mistaking that expression of savage, wolfish joy. "This could all be over with a bomber, General. Why didn't you just assign me to a strike team?"

  "I considered it." Leia straightens and rests her hands in her lap. "It's too close to civilian structures. Even with your skill, Juno, I don't think you'd be able to keep losses within acceptable margins."

  The blonde pilot shakes her head. "Better not to risk it." She sighs. I hate ground ops, that tired breath seems to say. "What have we got to work with?"

  "Minimal. We don't want the First Order catching wind of an operation in the area."

  "...Excellent." Juno's response is sour, but accepting, in a resigned sort of way. She glances back around the table. "Some of you have been there. How confident are you in working in a high-grav environment? Malastare can be pretty brutal. Step wrong, you can break a leg without meaning to."

    "My experience with different worlds extends to ones mostly similar to my home, though with more extreme environments, like when we encountered Gideon." remarks Piera. "My abilities are based around my agility, being restricted would make me far less effective." The Assassin sips her water, then leans on the table. "That said, if innocent lives are at risk, it is my duty to try and protect them, for inaction on my part would be as if I slipped the knife into their chest myself."

    The assassin then pulls her hood back and places a dagger on the table, taken from its sheath with a sleight of hand. "You have my blade, General."

    Hyouka settles into a seat, somewhere close-ish to the Mandalorian and his ward, and listens quietly. When Juno asks about who might be willing to head to Malastare, though, the cyborg smiles over her coffee cup, raising her other hand. "We already know I can handle it." She's been there before on a job for Juno, after all.

    "Though I feel like I should come clean," she adds, expression growing a little more dour. "I... haven't been able to pull off that dragon mode thing again. DARGN says I'm not getting anywhere near the 'activation threshold'. And my repair station still hasn't finished fabricating another earth-elemental cryst-"

    Here, DARGN cuts across. "Correction, Hyouka. As of fifteen seconds ago, earth crystal fabrication is complete. It is available to you once again."

    "I don't like the idea that someone has to die so that a literal whole universe can be at peace, but... my dad has known people like that," he agrees. So no, he's not about to chastise or complain about what had to be done to Moff Gideon. But didn't the others say something about having seen him alive recently...?

    Concern for later, yeah. Juno speaks up and then looks at Leia, and his gaze follows hers. The explanation is given, and Josuke ventures, "My Stand doesn't just fix things -- it can reduce things to their components too. I might be able to dismantle stuff and then the Rebel Alliance can cart off the building supplies."

    But... then the mention of the high-gravity environment. "Well, uh... I haven't really ever dealt with a high-gravity environment," he admits. "My world doesn't really have the technology to simulate higher than normal gravity, except for that theme park ride that spins around so fast it lifts people off the ground. But my Stand's not hampered by the environment, so I should be okay."

    The Child now has a bagel. By the time this happens it's already too late for Mando to do anything about it except heave a sigh at the little green toddler's antics as it takes a big bite.
    "So this First Order. That's what becomes of The Empire after they go under?" They just... Come back under a different name, with the same basic plan and agenda?
    That... That kind of royally sucks.
    "I'm not exactly a big fan of imps, so I'm in."

    "I can fly, gravity won't be an issue I don't think either." Dante answers as he listens to the briefing, taking a chomp out of bagel. "He's bad news, Josuke. Trust me, guy's...let's just say the Empire's pretty heavy on the whole turbo-fascism business." He says, taking another munch. Chomp chomp. "In any case, I'm in too. First Order, Galactic Empire, whatever, these guys gotta go, no question about that."

  "High gravity's a bitch, but you're pretty agile," Juno asides to Piera, sizing up the younger Assassin with an appraising eye. "You might not suffer too much from it. I'd just have a care how you set your feet down. We can visit Malastare under different pretenses, to see how the gravity might affect a squadron."

  What a wretchedly ragtag band of misfits... but it works. It works beautifully.

  "You're always a welcome asset." This is tossed over Juno's shoulder to Hyouka, along with an approving look, considering that admission before shrugging. "That doesn't matter. It isn't like they're going to be expecting any of it, so if you're offering your help, I'll take what I can get. Just having someone along who isn't susceptible to gravity fractures is a plus."

  Leia shakes her head to Josuke's statement, and she's the one who speaks up first. "It isn't just one, but Gideon is a dangerous criminal. We've brushed up on his file, just to be sure. The fact that he's both willing and capable of crossing the World Tree at will is concerning. He's a noted concern; we're keeping our eye on him, as best we can."

  "We're not going to pursue Gideon until we have the ability to crush him like a bug," Juno puts in, with a sigh. "If we screw up our chances at going after him, he'll go so far underground we'll never find him again. We'll only have one chance... and I don't have much faith even in that."

  "That's a great idea," Leia does toss back, to Josuke. She seems to be warming to the suggestion. "We can always use the materials."

  "If we can't, I'm sure there are Rebel-friendly enterprises around Port Pixelito that might want them," Juno adds. She leans back more comfortably in her chair, sipping coffee that looks and probably smells more like starfighter fuel. "It'll get used one way or another. Why don't we plan on visiting Malastare? It'll be easy enough to get in without too much notice. Podracing is popular; people come from systems away to place bets and watch the races. It'll give us a chance to see how we can work in a high-grav environment."

  To Mando, Leia and Juno both look, but it's Leia who speaks. "That's right. After the fall of the Galactic Empire, there were enough Imperial loyalists to rebuild, and create a new institution on the ashes of the old one."

  "Sucks, doesn't it?" Juno asides, wearily. All that effort, all that time; and in the end, none of it counted for much. As long as the First Order is still around, the Empire may as well be around. "Every time we seem to make headway, it feels like our work is undone, but it's our responsibility to keep at it." Her smile is fleeting; mirthless. "I had a feeling. Good to have you, Mando."

  "Well, it seems like we all have this well in hand." Leia stands, and that seems to be her dismissal. "Stay on Dantooine as long as you wish; I'll make sure that you have the clearance to go anywhere you need to. General Eclipse, if you'll accompany me."

  Juno's coffee half-lowers, and she curses under her breath. There's that other shoe, dropping. Then, pulling herself from her chair, she stalks after Leia. The coffee comes with, though. The coffee can be pried from her cold dead hands. "Well, I suppose I'll be seeing you all later." Juno half-turns toward the group, before snapping off a razor-sharp salute. She is, despite her weariness and her roughness around the edges, a soldier at heart.

  Then she turns and slinks after Leia. It wouldn't do to be late. Even if she obviously doesn't want to report for whatever it is she's reporting in for.

    Piera nods, a familiar sensation. "The Templars are much the same. We manage to wipe them out, but some holdout rebuiklds while the Brotherhood languishes, then the Order returns and sweeps the weakened Brotherhood aside, until our holdouts rebuild and the pendulum swings back once more.... an unending cycle." The assassin sheaths her dagger, then nods toward Juno. "cclimating to a new environment is the task first set to all new recruits of the Brotherhood... though much like our young friend." she glances to Josuke at that. "We have no capability of increasing the sensation of weight on a person without loading them with cumbersome equipment."

    When Juno is lead away by Leia, the Assassin places a closed fist over her heart. "Safety and Peace to both of you."

    Josuke nods to Dante's mention. "Sounds like it," he agrees. There's only so long they can delay the serpent, he knows, until its head has to come off for the good of this world. Maybe for the good of other worlds, too...

    Leia also speaks of Gideon -- and there are more? "Oh, that's just <great>." The word 'great', of course, being in English... Or as near as he can come to it. He's not good at English!

    Though the mention of using the building materials gets a nod. "I'm assuming 'choke the supply train' is one of the more subtle ways this Empire might try and get the better of you, so supplies are probably always going to be useful to someone," he agrees.

    "Yeah, going there and getting the lay of the land for us who aren't used to it might be a good idea," Josuke replies. "That and it'll be a great opportunity for me to get some pictures." Assuming his camera won't instantly crunch like a soda can. Then again if there's that much gravity it'd probably be more than a human body can handle...

    Josuke waves as Leia, and then Juno, depart. "Thank you," he says once more, to Leia. And to Juno he offers a reassuring grin!