Star Wars CLOSED Legacy of the Guardians (Always Accepting New Players)

GM Update​

IC: Beskaryc Taab
Briefing room, Temple of Light, Saridona Prime

Taab grunted at the enthusiasm some of the Jedi immediately took to the mission, or maybe it was at Goran's (Knight Cora) use of mando'a to encourage Shifty (Rosana Zorbo). He had to admit, her mando'a was getting better, though he doubted she could pass for native speaker back on manda'yaim (Mandalore). Some time with Troi could help with that, though his Concord Dawn accent was at times as indecipherable as Ewokese.

Of course the words seemed to fall of deaf ears when it came to Shifty anyway, even Taab could tell she didn't want to be going on this assignment. "Permission to speak?" She asked unhappily, even as the other Jedi began to make plans. Taab nodded to her, granting her permission as Knight Nosrep asked, "Do we know if there is risk of encountering the Chiss Ascendency on this mission?"

Taab held up a hand halting Shifty for a moment as he answered that first. "I'd say it would be expected, but after their last civil war a decade ago, their control isn't what it once was. Especially on a frontier world like Noris." He paused for a moment before continuing on confidently. "You shouldn't have too many problems with the Ascendency." He looked to Nomad (Knight Avarray) who was, Taab could see, rather excited by the prospect of the mission and began preliminary planning, to include the use of his own ship. Taab nodded along in approval at the idea, the Jedi would of course be most familiar with his own vessel, which could prove beneficial if they ran into trouble. Taab gave brief command through his buy'ce to halt flight preparations on the Blue Falcon and instead ensure the Vagabond was ready to go, in accordance with Nomad's own protocols for his ship.

Taab turned back to Shifty now, and with a wave of his hand bade her to speak. Just then the hatchway swung open and their late arrival finally appeared, Verbal (Knight Sodi). "Count me in," he announced nonchalantly as he leaned against the wall. Taab nearly scowled at him behind his faceplate. The jetii had no idea what was going on, yet had volunteered anyway. With a shake of his head he turned back to Shifty for a final time so she could finally speak. The other Jedi could bring the Kage up to speed during their journey to Noris.

TAG: @TheSilentInfluence @SkywalkerShine @galactic-vagabond422 @ConservativeJedi321 @Kyber Acyk @Mitth_Fisto

OOC: Feel free to go through your mission preps and get underway in your posts. If you haven't left the Temple by my next update I'll get you into space then. @Rebecca_Daniels , if you wanted your character to slip aboard and insert herself into the mission feel free. If not and you still need some time no worries, we can figure out something later for you when you're able.

---

IC: Padawan Min'ord'krizoo "Nord" (NPC)
On the run, Noris

The Chiss padawan listened carefully to the words of the more experienced padawan Colcha even as padawan Octa remained silent. "Do not underestimate our pursuer, for the Force is with them." Nord swallowed hard at the slight admonishment. Colcha of course was right. "If we stop they'll eventually catch up with us and we'll be on the run again. A flimsy shambling fence won't slow them down, they'll just cut right through it." Nord looked again at the building, indeed it could very well become their tomb if they stopped now. He looked to where the elder padawan was pointing, outwards from the city and into the wild grasslands beyond.

"We keep going. Eventually they'll get occupied with other things and give up on us. But not this soon." Nord found himself nodding his assent. Colcha was clearly in charge, and his reasoning made sense to Nord as well. Still, the Chiss was tired, and the old warehouse might have proven a place to rest. That wouldn't matter if the being following them caught up to them he argued with himelf inside his head. With a mental shrug he trudged off, leading their way into the tall blue-green grass along the line Colcha had pointed out for them.

---

IC: ???
Warehouse at the edge of the city.

The Chiss paused, his eyes closed as he felt the presence of the three force users slip out of his range. They were lost to him now, somewhere out there in the wilderness. He could have pursued them beyond the city, but it would have been too dangerous. Even going this far, to the warehouse, could have caused complications, complications his Master would not have abide. As much as it pained him, and it would pain him, he knew his Master would punish him severely for letting them escape, it would be far worse if his actions upset the plans of the Obscurum.

With a wistful look out beyond the city limits the Chiss moved back into the shadows afforded by the rising sun. There was only one place they could end up out there, one place that they could go, and that was somewhere he knew he was forbidden to interfere. At least for now. And so he let them go. After all, he knew it would only be a matter of time before they would meet again.

---

several hours later

Noris was a cool planet, but Nord found himself hot, exhausted and thirsty nonetheless. They had been out here walking for hours, the sun was now high above them, beating down on the trip of padawans as they followed a non existent path through the tall grass that partially obscured their presence. They had initially walked parallel to the old dusty road that emerged from the far side of the warehouse they had bypassed, but the sound of several speeder trucks rumbling past had caused them to angle further away from their lone point of navigation over two hours ago. Now they meandered through the wildlands, stopping every now again so Colcha could point the direction in which they should be travelling. At least none of them had felt their pursuer since they had left the city.

The Chiss wiped his brow, breathing heavily even though theirs wasn't a particularly quick pace. They'ed been marching ever so slightly uphill now for the last half hour. It was a shallow grade, but it took it's toll on them after a time. Hopefully the human padawan would allow them to rest soon. Continuing on through the grass, Nord was struck by a sudden lack of cover as the grass seemed to fade away in front of him. It took a moment for him to realize that they were at the top of a ridge line, looking down on a valley. A valley filled with people. With a start he threw himself to the ground to once again be concealed even as he called the others forward.

"There's people down there." He pointed forward, the others should be able to see the movement through the parted grasses. Opening up slightly Nord could feel them now, it was a great number of people. Worry and a great sense of loss seemed to pervade their spirits, but also a grim determination to stay the course, whatever their course was. Steeling himself he crawled forward for a better look.

Down in the valley, roughly half a kilometer distant, but well below them, was a huge throng of people, the vast majority of them Chiss, scattered about various small impromptu structures and tents. "There must be thousands of them," Nord remarked. It looked like some sort of immense camp, and at first the Chiss padawan thought that perhaps they had stumbled upon their pursuer's base. A closer look revealed that the camp was filled with women and children along with the men, and none of them appeared to be armed. There were no uniforms, or structure to the camp that Nord could see. It was simply a sprawling space of emergency shelters and tents that seemed to have sprung up in the middle of the valley. There seemed to be no defined perimeter to the camp, no fencing or walls kept everyone in, or anyone out, though a dusty road did lead up to one end. There were several hovertrucks parked there, with boxes being unloaded and carried inwards towards the center of the camp.

On the opposite end, a river flowing at the camp's edge seemed to be set up for washing and water collection (collection upstream of the washing) while in the midst of the camp was a large tent where many of the Chiss seemed to be congregating, along with the cargo being offloaded from the trucks. Smoke arose from just beyond this tent, from a source Nord couldn't see, but with the camp upwind of them he soon caught a the scent of it and it made his stomach grumble.

"Food, I smell food cooking. That must be some sort of kitchen or mess tent." He hissed out quietly but insistently. "Surely they're no threat to us, we can go get something to eat, drink and maybe some information?" He looked to the leader of their wayward expedition expectantly, hoping for a brief respite.

TAG: @Kev-Mas_Colcha @Khalia Octa

---

IC: Knight Gim (NPC)/padwan Elle NPC)
Boarding the freighter, Unknown Regions

For what seemed like the hundredth time Knight Gim fiddled with the breath mask that Knight Bonaventure had tossed to him back on the Pegasus. The masks had been designed for use by all manner of human and humanoid aliens, but it was too big for Gim, and kept sliding off his face. He had spent the entire journey over to the derelict vessel adjusting and readjusting the mask, much to the delight of his padawan who could barely contain her smirk, and probably to everyone else on the away team as well. A shudder through the deck caused by the docking of the Spirit with the freighter put an end to his fidgeting. It was time to go to work.

The airlock cycled and with a hiss the inner hatch opened, allowing them direct access to the forward section of the drifting freighter. Inside it was dark, with just red emergency lighting illuminating the way and even that blinked out every now and again. Sparks flew from various overhead conduits. "Well," Gim said, hiding his apprehension. "It doesn't look that bad." He looked to Knight Bonaventure, the human may have "volunteered" first, but the Ugnaught Knight was going to make sure he was the first one to step foot on the wrecked freighter.

Gim stepped forward and nearly lost his footing as he entered the ship as the gravity suddenly cut out before coming back again. "Gravity generators are damaged, watch your step," he said with grave concern, an effort to cover up his near mis-step. The others soon followed behind him and the airlock hatch cycled shut. "No need to lock that I think," the diminutive Jedi said to Sandstrider. "I don't think anyone here has been left alive to steal your ship." The Ugnaught gave a short nasty laugh as the group of Jedi moved forward. There were no bodies here, though the sparking circuitry above their heads was enough to show that obviously there had been a firefight here. Turning around Gim could see a scoring from blaster bolts on the forward bulkhead, while padawan Elle pointed out several others on the ceiling and walls. "Must have been a frell of a firefight," she said irreverently. Gim shrugged, pressing on into the next room.

​

That room proved to be the forward cargo hold. It too was dark, only the blood red emergency lighting fighting off the darkness, and here too blaster scoring marked the walls throughout the bay. Looking aft he saw a closed hatch leading to the next section, what their scans told them was a secondary cargo bay, while on the walls to both port and starboard were ladders that led up, probably to the control deck. As to where the Jedi found themselves now, oddly there seemed to be no actual cargo in the bay. Instead it was filled with cots and various piles of personal belongings. Some areas even appeared to have been "roped off" in an effort to create divisions between various sections of the hold. That wasn't what caught Gim's attention though, for unlike the airlock though here they found bodies, scores of them, all Chiss. "It's like a warzone in here", padawan Elle remarked, but closer to the bodies Knight Gim replied. "This was no war, it was a massacre." It took a moment for his padawan to realize his meaning, but when she did she moved a hand to her face in horror.

"These are women...children." She exclaimed, so horrified she didn't bother trying to sound indifferent. She held a hand to her mouth, even as Gim looked on. The dead Chiss were dressed mostly in civilian garb, though a few of the adults wore merchant marine uniforms. Ship's personnel was all Gim could think of them, though who the large numbers of civilians could be he had no idea. He bent low (he was short enough to not need to kneel) and examined the closest body, that of a Chiss female, perhaps 20 standard years old. The cause of death was readily apparent, the trio of blaster burns in her chest was testament enough to that.

"What happened here?" He too was flummoxed enough to not bother hiding his bewilderment.

TAG: @Skywalker_T-65 @Coffee_Ninja @Sarge @TheRynJedi @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha @ThisIsMe1138

 

IC: Kev-Mas Colcha III
On the run, Noris

"Food, I smell food cooking. That must be some sort of kitchen or mess tent." Nord interjected quietly, "Surely they're no threat to us, we can go get something to eat, drink and maybe some information?"

"Yes, but keep your guard up," replied Kev-Mas, "Something seems off about this. I sense great suffering."

He looked upwards and outwards, facing the horizon. He held his gaze for a short moment and then brought it back to eye level.

"This could either be an opportunity to assist others, or a danger awaiting us. Let us hope that the most we have to do is what we as Jedi should all be doing."

Tag: @Bardan_Jusik @Khalia Octa

 

IC: Sir Peregrine Bonaventure
In the Hold of Horrors

All those dead bodies! Too many of them. My skin crawled. They were coldly indifferent to me, but at the same time watching me with accusing eyes. 'Where were you when we were being slaughtered? Why didn't you do something?', they seemed to ask. I bowed my head and closed my eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and looked up. "Blessed light, illuminate these souls on their path to become one with all light, and let no more darkness trouble them."

I hadn't meant to speak aloud, but my words echoed in my ears. At least I sounded calm. And it wasn't the first time I had been witness to a wholesale massacre.

I pushed other dark memories to the back of my mind and grabbed my datapad, setting the camera to record and transmit the images to Pegasus. "Pegasus, are you receiving this? We'll try to record all the victims in case there are any next-of-kin to notify. No survivors yet. I'll head for the bridge to see if I can pull any logs, nav records, or sensor data."

I turned to the other knights. No doubt they'd seen such things before, and they'd help the young ones to deal with the waking nightmares they were facing now. "I don't know who did this, but they have to be stopped. Not for vengeance, not even for justice, but simply for life."

I shook my head sadly and turned my back to the horror, seizing the rungs of a ladder leading up to the bridge.

TAG: @Skywalker_T-65 @Coffee_Ninja @TheRynJedi @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha @ThisIsMe1138

 

IC: Rak Avarray
Briefing Room, Temple of Light, Saridona Prime

"I'd say it would be expected," Groucho said in response to Rak's former padawan. Rak couldn't help the grin on his face, "but after their last civil war a decade ago, their control isn't what it once was. Especially on a frontier world like Noris." The grin deepened, this was getting better and better, a rescue mission on a frontier world, undercover. He could kiss Groucho on the helmet, and just might if the opportunity presented itself. "You shouldn't have too many problems with the Ascendency."

"Good, I'll get everything in order." Rak nearly sprung out of his chair giving a wink to the security chief. "You brought us a good one." he touched his hand to his lips in an act that could be seen as blowing a kiss or just showing gratitude in some foreign culture. With Rak it is sometimes hard to tell. "See you all soon." The wandering knight called out before exiting the room. He hummed a tune to himself, acting far younger than his 37 years but, as his father told him.

"Life is short, we should enjoy it when it gives us the opportunity." And Rak was already enjoying this assignment, he would temper himself and calm eventually but, he was finally escaping the temple after a week cooped up inside unable to get out even for a moment. He was a wanderer, his heart pulled him to the stars and right now it was singing, and so was he. Just a little tune he'd heard on one of his many travels. Something up beat and cheery suiting his sunny disposition.

He entered his ship running all the preflight checks, working around some of the techs that were also working on getting his bird ready to fly for the first time in a week. Soon there was nothing left to do but, wait for the others. He took a moment to walk in the empty ship running his hand along one of her bulkheads.

"You ready to spread your wings my love." he said quietly. "We're finally getting out of here. I'm excited, are you." His love, his closest friend was silent but, that was her way, quiet, stoic and longsuffering. She had seen one side of the galaxy and then the other but, he would never call her old. No never old, just experienced.

He dropped into his pilot's chair stretching out a content smile on his face, he felt the embrace of his ship, the warm soft seat wrapping around him.

The Vagabond was ready to leave too.

TAG: @TheSilentInfluence @SkywalkerShine @Bardan_Jusik @ConservativeJedi321 @Kyber Acyk @Mitth_Fisto

 

IC: Jedi Knight Kassokay Acyk
Location: Hangar Bay, Temple of Light

Kassokay bid farewell to the other Jedi and Taab, before making his way back to his private quarters. Opening the door, he changed out of his Mandalorian armour and into the smuggler outfit, a relic from his former life as a detective. Amazingly, it still fit him like a glove. The ensemble consisted of a burgundy red jacket with black stripes down the shoulders, a plain black dress shirt underneath, burgundy red and black-striped trousers and close fitting high boots. The last pieces he adorned were a black leather Twi'lek headpiece, dark googles and a tactical belt.

He admired his handiwork in the mirror. "Hmm, not bad if I say so myself," the Twi'lek said, as he gathered up his belongings, putting them into an old haversack. He then wandered down to the hangar bay and looked upon the Vagabond. Standing at the open ramp, he checked her over from top to tail - she had certainly seen plenty of the galaxy that was for sure.

"Permission to come aboard?" he shouted up at Rak, who was probably still doing his pre-flight checks.

TAG: @TheSilentInfluence @SkywalkerShine @Bardan_Jusik @ConservativeJedi321 @galactic-vagabond422 @Mitth_Fisto

 

IC: Knight Cora
Briefing room, Temple of Light, Saridona Prime

After the briefing ended Cora stood up wanting to get ready as quickly as she could, so as to not keep anyone waiting. After she made it back to her room, Cora grabbed her rucksack and started filling it with casual, not Jedi clothes. Although they were still robes, they were light enough to wear under her armor or by themselves if she needed to. Cora hesitated before putting her lightsaber in her bag wrapped in a piece of cloth. She hoped she wouldn't need to use it, but if they encountered more Chiss Sith...

She glanced in the mirror on the way out, brushing her hair back and tying it into a braid as she moved to get her cloak. It was loose and a little sloppy, but she had never mastered braids anyway. Cora tied her cloak on and as the doors shut and locked behind her, Cora wondered just what they would encounter on this planet. Those thoughts carried her Vegabond where Knight Acyk was shouting. She shook her head and slapped him on the shoulder as she passed, boarding the ship.

Tag: @Bardan_Jusik @SkywalkerShine @galactic-vagabond422 @ConservativeJedi321 @Kyber Acyk @Mitth_Fisto

 

IC: Lenea Sandstrider
Abandoned Freighter

How do you deal with death?

Some would turn away, holding a hand to their mouth. Unable to look at what they saw. Gagging at the smell and sight. These people are not wrong, or weak. Not everyone is mentally prepared for it. How could someone prepare, anyway, if they weren't expecting it? It was a perfectly reasonable reaction.

Others, like one of the Jedi witnessing this massacre, would say a soft prayer in their favored religion. Bless the souls of those who had fallen. This was a mix of regret and a need to sooth nerves. It was also a good reaction, to have. Certainly, if you were religious at all, it was good. It was relieving. You calm your own nerves, and help the souls pass on.

Everyone, everyone, has a different reaction to death.

I...Savior help me, I wasn't ready for this.

Lenea knew that, better than most. Admittedly from the other direction, and nearly dying herself. As for this? She had never seen a...a...crime like this. Women and children, shot by blasters in such an indiscriminate manner. There was no rhyme or reason to it. A woman here, with burns to her chest. A child further down, that Lenea couldn't even look at long enough to identify cause of death. Further down from there, a mother and her child. Or a sister and her sibling. Who---

Sucking in a shaky breath, the Captain shook her head. No. Not who. But why?

As a military officer, that mattered more. Anyone could be pushed to do horrible things. But the why of it? That was more important. Unless it was just a Sith Cult, in which case this was par for the course.

"R-right," Lenea cursed her stutter, as she looked over at the Jedi going to investigate the bridge. "I'll come along. If we need to tear something apart, I'm your girl."

Her first calling had always been mechanics and electronics. It would get her out of this hall of death as well.

Hopefully, those kids will be fine. The other Jedi can keep an eye on them, if they don't just follow us...

@Bardan_Jusik @Sarge @ThisIsMe1138 @Coffee_Ninja @TheRynJedi @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

 

IC: Sanchari

"Are you a Jedi? Did you come with him?"


"Well, I be starting to train as a Jedi. I came to this ship we be on with Knight Bonaventure, he be showing me around the Temple and helped me fix up BeeZee." The Ryn waved a dark-fuzzed hand at the green and silver droid nearby. "But I did not come to Saridona with Knight Bonaventure. I crashed here with BeeZee a few weeks ago.

Further conversation was interrupted by the group arriving at the disabled ship, and going aboard.

*Some time later*

Sanchari sat in the corner of the room of slaughter where she had collapsed soon after entering. There were no living minds in the room besides her companions, but yet the room echoed with the violence of their last moments of life.

Sanchari sat, arms wrapped around BZ, the droid's cool solid form giving her something firm to cling to as she tried to sort through the impressions assaulting her mind and heart.

BZ warbled something to her quietly.

"Aye, BeeZee, we do need to be finding out what happened here." Sanchari took a deep breath and raised her head.

"BeeZee be wondering if anyone sees a data port so that BeeZee can jack in and search the ship's sensor records. I still be trying to sort out the memories that I be feeling in the room, it still be too much of a jumble, video or logs may be helping me make sense of it."



Tag:
Um, whoever? (doing this on the go, difficult to go back & forth to find the names to tag with Tapatalk).
@Bardan_Jusik @Sarge @ThisIsMe1138 @Skywalker_T-65

 

IC: Rosana Zorbo
Briefing room, Temple of Light, Saridona Prime

Before anymore interruptions could be made, Rosana looked at Taab and sighed. "Look. With all due respect, I don't think I'm cut out for this mission. I mean... I'm suppose to be out there trying to make creds and get by. I really didn't ask to be on this mission. Besides, you guys wouldn't want me to be here. Too much mess went down in the past. I am not reliving that moment again."

The thought of losing someone else burned in Rosana's mind. How could she live with herself if someone else died because of her? Zekk, her binjinphant, rested on her lap as she spoke.

TAG: @Bardan_Jusik @TheSilentInfluence @galactic-vagabond422 @ConservativeJedi321 @Kyber Acyk @Mitth_Fisto

 

IC: Kasumi
Floating Tomb



The silence through the Force was deafening. The silence here was one she had felt before, and one she never wanted to feel ever again. The lives that she saw on the deck, the lives lost, were enough to bring back the losses she had felt. The loss of her master, the loss of the younglings, and the loss of her world. She bent down and gently touched the face of one of the innocent children on the deck. Truly one so young did not deserve their life to be cut so short. The eyes were empty. But the fear and the last thing that they saw had been either their own death or the death of those around them. Kasumi said a silent prayer and closed the eyes of the young child. As she stood up, Kasumi took a deep breath and let it out. Who ever lead this massacre was truly evil, in more ways than one.

There was one thing that she couldn’t shake. Like the younglings in the temple being slaughtered by Vader, did the people on this ship not see it coming? Was it done by someone that they trusted? It appears that either it was by someone they didn’t expect to turn on them, atleast that what it appeared to her. They all looked as if they were not able to arm themselves, or try to defend themselves. Some were running while others were covering young ones.

Kasumi looked around at the reactions. She knew there would be some that would be almost sick with what they were seeing, and she was right. Not that she wasn’t sick, but to Kasumi this was becoming some what of a reoccurring theme.

She took one last look before heading to ladder that lead to the Bridge.

Tag: @Bardan_Jusik, @Skywalker_T-65, @Sarge, @TheRynJedi, @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, @ThisIsMe1138

 

IC: Vanora in the "Floating Tomb"

Vanora was flabbergasted! How horrific this scene was! Knight Kasumi was affected, but she and Knight Bonaventure were seas of calm, although she knew it was efforts of will that allowed them to be so. She tried to soak up some of their centeredness.

Vanora went over to Sanchari and put an arm around her. "Come on, let's get to the bridge where BZ can plug in and get some intel on these slime-dogs."

She took Viva by the hand as well, giving it an encouraging squeeze. Vanora would hate it if the sunny open Padawan was so shattered by this experience that she would feel unable to continue her training.

Vanora didn't have a Master at this point, but being one of a trio of children in her family, she took on the role of "consoler" almost instinctively.

@TheRynJedi \ @ThisIsMe1138 \ @Coffee_Ninja \ @Sarge @Bardan_Jusik

 

IC: Jedi Knight Kassokay Acyk
Location: Main Hangar, Temple of Light

Kassokay felt Knight Cora slap his shoulder and move past him; she probably thought that he was a weird one in yelling for permission to come aboard the Vagabond. The Twi'lek walked up the ramp and made his way into the vessel proper. Wandering the corridors, he could see that it had definitely seen a hell of a lot more than he would see in his lifetime at any rate.

Taking a seat in the lounge area of the ship, he began to mentally prepare himself for the mission ahead. His mind began to race with every possible outcome of the mission. Grasping his haversack, he felt his lightsaber hilt tucked away and hoped he would not have to use it.

Tag: @Bardan_Jusik @SkywalkerShine @galactic-vagabond422 @ConservativeJedi321 @TheSilentInfluence @Mitth_Fisto

 

GM Update​

IC: Beskaryc Taab
Briefing room, Temple of Light, Saridona Prime

"Look. With all due respect, I don't think I'm cut out for this mission." Shifty (Rosana Zorbo) sighed to Taab as he glowered at her through his T-Visor. "I mean... I'm suppose to be out there trying to make creds and get by. I really didn't ask to be on this mission. Besides, you guys wouldn't want me to be here. Too much mess went down in the past. I am not reliving that moment again."

Taab frowned behind his faceplate, jetiise (jedi) weren't normally so reluctant. Maybe some time with Nomad (Knight Avarray) would cure her of her issues. He seemed more than eager for the mission to get under way. "Look Shifty," Taab finally replied in a stern voice. "I don't get a say in who goes and who stays, and if I don't get a voice, then you certainly don't." This would have been considered a mild rebuke, a playful one even in a Mandalorian camp, so it was as polite as Taab could make it, though he realized it might come off as harsh to a jetii, even an aspiring one.

"Your ability to make creds out there," he used her own words, "is exactly why the Council has decreed you should be on this assignment. You're a perfect fit for the mission, and can give an air of authenticity to these goody two shoes spoonbenders who will only be pretending to be smugglers." He pointed to the door the other Jedi were already darting through in their rush to make their preparations. "You're going, no arguments. Now go get ready."

---

Nearly an hour later...

IC: Knight Troi (GM restricted use NPC)
Aboard the Vagabond, departing Saridona Prime

Knight Troi settled down in the co pilot's seat of Knight Avarray's Helot-class transport as the owner of the Vagabond went about the routine of clearing the ship's departure through flight control. Back in the passenger areas of the ship, were Knights Cora, Nosrep, Sodi and Acyk along with a still reluctant recruit Zorbo. Troi thought back to Taab's words to her, and while they didn't prove to be all that inspiring, at least she was following orders. That was a good start. Hopefully some time with the Guardians on a real assignment would help to ease whatever burden she carried, a burden that seemed to be preventing her throwing her lot in with the Guardians fully.

A shift of the deck and the sudden appearance of blue sky through the forward windscreen alerted the Mandalorian knight to the ship's departure from the Temple. The craft climbed quickly through the blue sky, off in the distance he could see a summer storm approaching the Temple, but it wouldn't affect their ascent. A few minutes later the rich blue sky of Saridona Prime gave way to the inky blackness of space. They were free to navigate, course: Noris.

TAG: @TheSilentInfluence @SkywalkerShine @galactic-vagabond422 @ConservativeJedi321 @Kyber Acyk @Mitth_Fisto

OOC: We'll spend a post or two in hyperspace for our journey, part final mission preps as y'all see fit and part character building here for you all.

---

IC: Padawan Min'ord'krizoo "Nord" (NPC)
Entering the camp, Noris

As the trio of padawans made their way into the large, but clearly makeshift, camp Nord thought on the words said by padawan Colcha. Something did indeed seem unsettling about all of this, and the sense of great suffering only multiplied the closer they came to the multitudes of people that seemed to making this place their home. They entered in a quieter area of the camp, away from the crowds gathered near the roadway and the hover trucks delivering supplies in the hopes that they would go unnoticed at first. Better to get a sense of what was going on, why these people were all gathered here before being questioned themselves. The portion they had chosen to enter first seemed dotted with mostly empty small tents, though from within a darkened few red eyes, Chiss eyes, could be seen peering out at them defensively. The Jedi continued on, moving inwards towards the heart of the camp and the large kitchen tent set up there.

"The people in those tents were scared to see us," Nord whispered to the others. "Though as soon as we moved on they seemed to no longer consider us a threat..." he didn't know what it meant, and hoped either of the other two would have some sort of explanation. Still walking through what passed for dusty "streets" among the various tents the jedi encountered other bedraggled Chiss slowly, hungrily, moving in towards the center of the camp. Nord noticed that few if any bothered to take note of them in any capacity. In fact most barely looked up from the ground a meter in front of their feet. These people were defeated, broken, he thought to himself, though he dare no speak to his comrades now for fear of being overheard.

Every now and again a Chiss would look up, more looking at Nord's companions than at Nord himself, but their gaze soon fell back down to their feet. Non Chiss must be something of a rarity here, though not anything to be alarmed by Nord thought as he continued his observations of the crowd. They were all dirty he noticed suddenly, something not usually associated with Chiss sensibilities, and of course they all seemed hungry. Chiss were not normally a species associated with gluttony either, but these Chiss all seemed even thinner than normal. That might account for their lack of energy and lethargic movements as well.

Sudden swift movement from the corner of his eye now caught Nord's attention. It was a blur of blue before he finally saw it to be a young girl, Chiss of course, maybe six to eight standard years old. She was rushing through the crowd, a small box no bigger than what a pair of shes might come in, clutched in her arms. The Chiss she passed by looked at her with annoyance, and then covetousness. The feeling faded quickly though either upon seeing who she was or what she was carrying what not what they desired, and so she moved quickly through the crowd, away from the center of the center of the camp and the kitchen tent towards another large tent located near the edge of camp. A flag fluttering on a makeshift pole next to it denoted a medical aid station.

"Excuse me, pardon me, coming through," she exclaimed as she bumped into padawan Colcha, not missing a beat as she maintained her stride and her quick pace. Nord paused and arched an eyebrow to both Colcha and Octa. He was still hungry and thirsty and being reasonably confident that their presence here wasn't raising any red flags, wanted to get some food from the kitchen tent, but the girl's rush had him curious.

TAG: @Kev-Mas_Colcha @Khalia Octa

---

IC: Knight Gim (NPC)/padwan Elle (NPC)
Aboard the derelict freighter, Unknown Regions

Knight Gim mumbled something under his breath in his native tongue as each Jedi dealt with the horrific scene in their own way. It was sickening of course, though he tried his best to not let the others see any sign of weakness. It was important to the Ugnaught Jedi to maintain his appearance as a fierce and noble warrior, even admidst the horror of what lay before them.

"Pegasus, are you receiving this?" Knight Bonaventure commed back to the corvette even as he set up his datapad to record. "We'll try to record all the victims in case there are any next-of-kin to notify. No survivors yet. I'll head for the bridge to see if I can pull any logs, nav records, or sensor data." The response came back quickly from Captain Ro.

"Roger that away team, we read you five by five." Her voice came through strong, without the barest hint of background white noise or static. At least then they had that going for them.

The human Knight went to ladder that led to the control deck. "I don't know who did this, but they have to be stopped. Not for vengeance, not even for justice, but simply for life." Gim nodded in grim agreement with that, the simple statement from Bonaventure spoke for them all. "R-right," Lenea stuttered, clearly affected by the death surrounding them. "I'll come along. If we need to tear something apart, I'm your girl." She began to follow after Bonaventure.

"Well, we shouldn't split up..." the words came out of Knight Gim's mouth before he was aware he had uttered them and he saw the smirk on his padawan's face, knowing what she and the others must be thinking. "Not that 'm afraid, because I'm not. But in case we run into whoever did this..." Padawan Elle nodded her head sarcastically as she replied, "Right master," just as sarcastically. "I'm not, I'm concerned about the younglings safety is all..."

"Sure."

"They might have..."

"I believe you." She said in a voice that clearly denoted anything but belief. He was about to counter her again when he was saved by the warbling of the small droid that had accompanied Initiate Sanchari. The Ryn youth translated for her droid.

"BeeZee be wondering if anyone sees a data port so that BeeZee can jack in and search the ship's sensor records. I still be trying to sort out the memories that I be feeling in the room, it still be too much of a jumble, video or logs may be helping me make sense of it." Knight Gim looked at the droid, and then around the darkened bay. There had to be a data port around here somewhere, though none was readily apparent. "I have an idea." he began rubbing his hand on his chin. "Initiate Sanchari, if we get your droid to the bridge it can use a data por..." Padawan Elle stepped between her master and Initiate Sanchari shaking her head.

"Good idea," she said to the Ryn without a trace of her usual sarcasm before shooting her master a dirty look. He was going to pawn off her idea as his own. Shameful. "The bridge will have a data port for your droid," She looked at the BB style rolling droid and back at the ladder now being ascended by Master Kasumi. "If we can find a way to get him up there."

"That's the easy part my padawan," Knight Gim said, obviously displeased with her interruption of him. He scampered up the ladder, and after reaching the top used the force to lift the droid up the ladder and onto the command deck with them. Elle looked to Sanchari and shrugged before telling her and the other two padawans to "follow me up," the ladder after the other Jedi.

---

The Command deck...

The scene that greeted them there was no better than the one below, a scene of death. Here though the dead numbered far fewer than below, and they all wore crew uniforms. "This one was the captain I think," padawan Elle surmised, pointing out the dead Chiss on the deck whose uniform bore four stripes on it's epaulets. The man's hand was gripping a blaster, but across his chest was a burn mark unlike those caused by blaster fire. It was a straight line, and far more defined than the random pattern created by a blaster. To the Jedi the cause was readily apparent. The fatal wound was caused by a lightsaber. Now it seemed even more vital for them to find out what had happened here.

"Here's a data port," Knight Gim announced sounding triumphant as he pointed to a low area secured to the lower portion of the forward command console. He gently slid the Chiss pilot's body out of the way and onto the deck. The woman had been blasted in the back of the head. "Of course you found it first, it's at your eye level master." Padawan Elle announced even as the BB droid rolled forward and plugged in. A screen came to life, at the expense of darkening the already dim emergency lights to nothing. Now the only illumination on the command deck came from the screen as the Jedi crowded together to get a better look.

At first they saw nothing, just the visual static that reminded padawan Elle of a snowstorm on Hoth. The droid's probe turned first clockwise in the data jack, then counter clockwise as the image slowly resolved itself into something still marred by wavy lines, but watchable. She leaned in trying to discern details of what she was seeing before realizing it was an image of the deck she was now on. The timestamp was still obscured but it was clearly this deck, and not so long ago. The default setting must be for the flight crew security cam she thought even as the image of the captain came into view. He was standing proud, saying something to the others though here no words could be heard. "Boost the audio gain," Knight Gim said in an aggravated way while the droid went to work beeping something back to him that padawan Elle hoped was equally as rude.

As the droid worked on establishing an audio feed the vid continued. Something out beyond the camera's range had the Chiss officer's full attention. Looking across the command deck Elle could see that it was something outside the forward transparisteel windscreen. So it was another ship. He barked more orders to his men, then the entire image shuddered. That must have been when they were hit, or maybe when they had been boarded. The Chiss began to bark again just as the audio kicked on. "Evasive starboard",: he was yelling, "shake them loose." The crewman at the helm, the one Knight Gim and so gently removed from this very station moved to obey when a sudden red bolt came from off screen and went through the back of his head. Looking around the deck Elle thought it must have come from the ladder she and the Jedi had just climbed. Ignoring the bile rising in her throat she continued watching the footage.

The captain spun around at the sound of the shot, grabbing his pistol from it's holster. He got off one shot, and though the Jedi couldn't see the result the Chiss captain must have hit his mark as his face showed a self satisfied grin. That grin was quickly wiped away as he began firing shot after shot out in the same direction, the ladder well the Jedi had used, clearly becoming more frightened, and more frustrated, with every bolt that left his blaster. Finally his target moved forward, into range of the security cam. It was a hooded figure, the species and sex couldn't be determined, though the oily sounding voice emanating from under the hood was clearly male. In his gloved hands was a red bladed lightsaber.

"Where is the Hand?" He asked impatiently of the captain, who responded by emptying his blaster at the hooded man now. The bolts were deflected away, and Elle could still see on the walls of the bridge where the Captain's shots had scored the walls of his own ship. More shots rang out from behind the hooded man, out of view of the camera and the remainder of the bridge crew was slaughter even as the Captain was lifted off the deck and into the air a good half meter by his lightsaber wielding, force using adversary.

"Where is the the Hand?" The hooded man asked again, more insistently this time. The captain, his face full of fear shook his head even as he clawed at his own throat. "I don't know who you're talking about, we're a refugee ship bound for Blue Haven, please we have women and children aboard..." Even as he said it the sound of blaster fire from down in the hold could be heard echoing up onto the command deck.

"You had women and children aboard." The hooded man said as it clearly dawned on him that this officer knew nothing of what he spoke. He slashed at him across his chest, killing the Chiss captain immediately. His lifeless body dropped to the deck as another being, a wardroid came into view. Elle noted it was the same type that had been aboard the crashed freighter that had brought Sanchari to Saridona Prime. She also noted that she didn't seem to be at all surprised by that, and that worried her. The droid sounded off in a robotic sounding voice.

"The ship as been cleansed according to protocol." The hooded man nodded at that, extinguishing his blade. "And?" He asked. "No sign of the Hand has been found." The man looked down, clearly dejected though the Jedi had still not seen his face. "Shall we continue the search?" The droid asked, clearly not programmed to understand organic emotions. "No," the hooded man replied after a beat. "If the Hand was here, I would have felt it by now. It must already be there." He paused again in thought for a moment. "Recall the droids back to the ship." The droid gave a curt bow, something Elle was surprised at even as it answered. "By your command." The file cut out a moment later, not there there would have been anything more of value to see there, though it was clear there were other files that could be accessed. Elle shrugged her shoulders, trying to process what they had seen and what they should do next. Search the ship for survivors, or more clues. Sift through more footage. Maybe someone else had a better idea. She wasn't sure she could take watching more of the same. "So, now what?"

TAG: @Sarge @Coffee_Ninja @Skywalker_T-65 @TheRynJedi @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha @ThisIsMe1138

OOC: I know I took control of BB there for a bit and I apologize, but it was the best way to get the necessary information to your characters without bogging us all down.

 

IC: Vanora Cinali, on Command Deck

Vanora watched the carnage unfolding as BZ displayed it. What is "the Hand"? Vanora wondered. Or is it a who...?
She took note of the weapon used -- a lightsaber. Was the adversary acting alone or under another's command?
She glanced around to the Knights present, waiting for them to decide on the next course of action.

@Coffee_Ninja \ @Sarge \ @Bardan_Jusik

@TheRynJedi \ @ThisIsMe1138 \ @Skywalker_T-65

 

OOC: no problem. I've said before, BZ's half GM NPC, use it whenever you need to

 

IC: Rak Avarray
The Vagabond

Rak went through his final checks and told control that he and his crew was heading off. Gently he pulled up and guided his older freighter out of the hangar and up into the sky. He let a smile bloom across his face as they came higher and higher. Off in the distance he could see storm clouds rolling in.

"A perfect time to leave then?" he said to his co-pilot grin still on his face. They climb up into the blue sky as it slowly faded away into the blackness of space. It was always this moment that brought him so much joy. The space inbetween leaving a planet and jumping to hyperspace. Your last destination was behind you and the infinite expanse of space was before you. Your past was behind your future was before you just waiting for you to take it.He plugged in the coordinates waited for the Navicomputer to spit out a result, then sent them on their way. The comforting glow of hyperspace wrapped itself around him. They were on their way.

"Well that is that." He said to Troi as he got up from his chair. "I'll go check and see how our crew is settling in." He made his way back into the lounge dropping into one of the seats looking around. "So, we are on our way towards Noris. It will take a few hours for us to get there. Plenty of time to get to know those we don't already know, and get our stories straight." His gaze fell on the young woman who seemed hesitant to get involved.

"Rosana correct?" he started, "I didn't miss your words in my rush to leave. Trust me when I say that I understand not feeling ready for a mission, or capable. But, you don't have to worry, we are all experienced Jedi here." He looked to his former padawan and all the adventures both good and ill advised came back to him. "We've been through a lot and we can handle any issue that comes up. That's what makes missions fun." The smile deepened, "You never know what will happen and you have to think on your feet to find your way out." He leaned back getting comfortable in his seat he was going to be here for a while. "So I heard you have actual experience in these, smuggling matters? Do you have any pointers for us cloistered Knights?" There was a slight sarcastic tone he was a Sentinel seen more of the galaxy than most but, he would admit to only ever playing the part of smuggler, though he had been a bit of a rogue in his younger years.

TAG: @TheSilentInfluence @SkywalkerShine @Bardan_Jusik @ConservativeJedi321 @Kyber Acyk @Mitth_Fisto

 

IC: Jo Sodi
The Vagabond

Having arrived late to the meeting and having had to get his satchel of personal supplies for whatever this mission was, he found himself sitting awkwardly in the lounge waiting for someone to tell him what he was doing. Master Hochner would of ripped him a new one if he knew what he had done, but that was only half the problem. He was the only one, once again, whose clothing had a florescent strip on it and from looking at the vessel he was glad it had the coatings to prevent fluid absorption and repelled dirt naturally.

It was when the Captain of this vessel, and whom he ostensibly figured was the Jedi in charge of this mission came back that he learned his first fact. They were doing a smuggler impersonation. Great. He was overdressed or was now the flamboyant member of their group who had a taste for finer clothing. Unless he changed into something less visible. Obstinately though, he didn't see himself getting out of his Kage armor nor his glowing robe unless somebody made a point to say something. It just felt, well it just, it always felt wrong when he was without it. A warrior without armor, without the usual holster points, and without the hood pulled forward to only let his glowing yellow eyes shine out to compliment his robes yellow glowing stripe. He had been shot with so many ionic weapons it wasn't funny, but he liked the anonymity that it provided. People said crazy things when they thought you were a droid, and often made fatal mistakes.

Pulling back his head and removing his helmet he sat it on his knee. Looking at his satchel of personal items along with a set of emergency 'run' or maintenance backup clothes as he waited to hear the tips for them as smugglers, he couldn't help but sigh at the situation. He really hoped Master Hochner never heard of this.

TAG: @galactic-vagabond422 , @TheSilentInfluence , @SkywalkerShine ,@Bardan_Jusik ,@ConservativeJedi321 ,@Kyber Acyk

 

IC: Semajj Nosrep
The Vagabond.

Semajj had elected to change out of his robes into some loose fitting armor. To the common man the weave of his tunic might be easily dismissed as the wear of a farmer, from what he knew about the Chiss they were anything but ordinary. The Ongree carefully picked at the slightly jagged edges of the grey chest platting. It would take some getting use to, especially if they found themselves in combat, but it was practical. He also added a tattered burgundy cape that came with a hood and scarf. A minimalist, but otherwise efficient way to protect his aquatic skin from harsh environments, with the added benefit of concealing some of his features from curious eye's.
He was still obviously an Ongree, that he couldn't change. But Rak had a point, as a navigator or scholar he might avoid any tough questions. It would certainly help his ability to blend in, and for that he was content.

With any luck this mission would be a simple one, extract the Jedi on Noris and return. He wasn't fond of conflict, and if it could be avoided then they should make an attempt.
Finally the consular took a seat, content to wait patiently for their arrival.

Tags: @Bardan_Jusik, @galactic-vagabond422, @TheSilentInfluence, @SkywalkerShine, @Kyber Acyk, @Mitth_Fisto

 

IC: Sir Peregrine Bonaventure
On the Bridge of Sorrows

The recording ended. Still no good sign of who was responsible, other than humanoid, Force user, and red lightsaber. Not much to go on. Could we dig up any better clues?

I turned to Sanchari's little droid. "Good work, BZ. We needed to see that. Do you have any kind of image enhancement software? I want to get a better look inside that hooded cloak. Even if you can only pick out eye color, that would be something. Wouldn't surprise me to see a red glow under there. But if you do pick that up, make sure it's not just a reflection from the saber blade."

Looking around the bridge, I spotted a sensor console. The freighter captain had obviously seen the ship that attacked, so there might be sensor records that could help us ID the perpetrators... if they hadn't removed the recordings on their way out.

"I'm checking for sensor recordings. Somebody else care to see what the nav logs say? It could be useful to know where this ship has been, and where it was bound for."

TAG: @Coffee_Ninja @Skywalker_T-65 @TheRynJedi @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha @ThisIsMe1138

 

IC: Kev-Mas Colcha III
Chiss Refugee Camp, Noris

It had seemed Kev-Mas' senses had not lead him astray and there was indeed great suffering in this camp. A refugee camp filled with frightened Chiss. They didn't seem hostile, but Kev-Mas still figured they should tread carefully as to avoid any misunderstandings.

A few moments later a young chiss girl rushed through, and bumped into Kev-Mas and quickly continued on her way. He instinctively checked his pockets and let out a small sigh of relief when he found out she wasn't a pickpocket, at least to him. He then noted the direction she was headed, towards a medical aid station and any suspicion he had towards her was eased. Most likely she was just dealing with a medical emergency. Probably someone close to her was hurt and she was rushing to find help.

"I know you're hungry," said Kev-Mas to Nord, in a hushed voice, "Probably enough so that combined with you being Chiss yourself you could pass as one of these refugees, but Khalia and I aren't so fortunate. I think a wiser course of action would be to barter what aid we can offer in exchange for food and refreshment. We are Jedi after all - it's our duty to come to the aid of the less fortunate in their time of need."

Kev-Mas then looked towards the medical aid station the young girl was rushing off towards.

"That would be a good place to start. Head there at a leisurely pace though. We don't want anyone here to be any more frightened than they already are."

Tag: @Khalia Octa @Bardan_Jusik

 

IC: Khalia Octa
Chiss Refugee Camp, Noris

Khalia had been quiet most of the walk into the camp, keeping her thoughts to herself. She silently observed the camp, feeling very out of place amongst all the blue-faced Chiss. Maybe Kev-Mas was feeling the same way. Khalia nodded at Nord's comment about the Chiss and looked back quickly to see the Chiss with their heads down, not bothering to look at the strangers.

All of a sudden, young girl came from behind the Padawans, heading towards a medical aid station. Khalia raised her eyebrows in curiosity and looked toward the other Padawans.

"I know you're hungry," Kev-Mas whispered to Nord, "Probably enough so that combined with you being Chiss yourself you could pass as one of these refugees, but Khalia and I aren't so fortunate. I think a wiser course of action would be to barter what aid we can offer in exchange for food and refreshment. We are Jedi after all - it's our duty to come to the aid of the less fortunate in their time of need."

He then looked towards the medical aid station and said there would be a good start. Khalia nodded, seeing no other way to get food, and started walking over.

TAG: @Kev-Mas_Colcha, @Bardan_Jusik

 

IC: Knight Cora
Vegabond

Cora found a seat and tiredly wiped her eyes as she listened to Rak speak to Rosana. I hope that this mission is less exciting then the past two weeks. But somehow I doubt that. I wonder what the culture of the Chiss is like? I don't think I've ever met one.

Leaning back in her seat, Cora shut her eyes and lightly dozed. There would be time to see what it was like, she hoped. Unless they managed to anger an entire planet. It wasn't like that had never happened before. And yet, It feels like this is going to be unlike anything I've ever faced before. Cora opened her eyes and sighed, "I wonder if they have a Sith Academy somewhere in Chiss Space." and then, "It's not like history can't repeat itself."

When Grand Master Satele Shan fought the Sith, they had every manner of species as acolytes.

Tag: @Bardan_Jusik @galactic-vagabond422 @SkywalkerShine @Kyber Acyk @Mitth_Fisto @ConservativeJedi321

 

IC: Rosana Zorbo
Briefing room, Temple of Light, Saridona Prime

"Look Shifty," Taab finally replied in a stern voice. "I don't get a say in who goes and who stays, and if I don't get a voice, then you certainly don't."

Rosana glared at Taab's words, making her cross her arms and look down like a pouting kid. Except she didn't have her lower lip poked out. She had glaring eyes staring down.

"Your ability to make creds out there," he used her own words, "is exactly why the Council has decreed you should be on this assignment. You're a perfect fit for the mission, and can give an air of authenticity to these goody two shoes spoonbenders who will only be pretending to be smugglers." He pointed to the door the other Jedi were already darting through in their rush to make their preparations. "You're going, no arguments. Now go get ready."

After hearing what he had to say, Rosana sighed quietly, both with frustration and defeat. "Yes... sir." With that, she turned to leave. That was it. She was going to find a way to escape.

************************************************************************

Onboard the Vagabond...

Rosana was mainly sitting there minding her own business. She had Zekk on her lap, seeing that he was always useful in missions she did for smuggling. Speaking of smuggling, a man by the name of Rak wanted to talk to her about what he heard and what her profession was like. Story of her life, right?

"Rosana correct?" he started, "I didn't miss your words in my rush to leave. Trust me when I say that I understand not feeling ready for a mission, or capable. But, you don't have to worry, we are all experienced Jedi here."

She could definitely see experienced Jedi here. That was a relief. Maybe she'd be behind-the-scenes while the others did most of the work. After all, she was a woman of both stealth and action.

"We've been through a lot and we can handle any issue that comes up. That's what makes missions fun."

The only fun Rosana wanted was to go to the club, meet up with some friends, and sleep on her ship. But after what Rak said about handling issues when it came to missions, deep down, the young brunette woman had to trust them. She continued to keep her head down and listen.

The smile deepened, "You never know what will happen and you have to think on your feet to find your way out." He leaned back getting comfortable in his seat he was going to be here for a while. "So I heard you have actual experience in these, smuggling matters? Do you have any pointers for us cloistered Knights?"

Rosana breathed softly after he asked her this. There were a few bit of things, but she didn't mind giving them advice. "Um... well... All I can say is that you have to be cool about it. Say the right things your buyers want to hear. Negotiate and don't slip up." She bit her lower lip and closed her eyes, which formed quiet tears. She kept her head bowed. "I'm sorry. I'm usually don't let things get to me. It's just... I can't do this. My master... It was all my fault that she died. I feel that this is a punishment. I punishment I deserve..."

The young woman placed a hand over eyes, trying her best not to cry in front of everyone.

TAG: @TheSilentInfluence @galactic-vagabond422 @Bardan_Jusik @ConservativeJedi321 @Kyber Acyk @Mitth_Fisto

 

GM Update​

IC: Knight Troi (GM restricted use NPC)
Aboard the Vagabond

"Well that is that." Avarray said to Troi as he got up from his chair. "I'll go check and see how our crew is settling in." Troi made one last look at the nav settings before following the ship's captain back aft. Now that they were in hyperspace there wasn't much more to be done from the bridge until they arrived anyway. Ending up in the lounge, he leaned against the wall of the doorway as he listened to Zorbo answer a question to Avarray or one of the others that Troi had not heard.

"All I can say is that you have to be cool about it. Say the right things your buyers want to hear. Negotiate and don't slip up." The woman bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. Troi and the others could sense her discomfort, and Troi now wondered if perhaps Taab had made a mistake making her come along. Meanwhile, she kept her head bowed. "I'm sorry. I'm usually don't let things get to me. It's just... I can't do this. My master... It was all my fault that she died. I feel that this is a punishment. I punishment I deserve..."

Troi looked to the others. That was certainly not something he expected from her. He fought hard to not roll his eyes at her admission. He was a warrior, he knew the pain of losing friends and comrades in battle, and while it hurt it was something you had to move past. Still he knew though that sometimes it took others longer to realize that, and guilt could eat up someone alive. He also knew he didn't have the temperament to convey that message properly, not in this instance. Bewildered he looked to the others. They would have to deal with this, and hopefully get things squared away before they arrived at their destination.

TAG: @TheSilentInfluence @SkywalkerShine @galactic-vagabond422 @ConservativeJedi321 @Kyber Acyk @Mitth_Fisto

---

IC: Padawan Min'ord'krizoo "Nord" (NPC)
Refugee Camp, Noris

"I know you're hungry," said Kev-Mas to Nord, in a hushed voice, "Probably enough so that combined with you being Chiss yourself you could pass as one of these refugees, but Khalia and I aren't so fortunate. I think a wiser course of action would be to barter what aid we can offer in exchange for food and refreshment. We are Jedi after all - it's our duty to come to the aid of the less fortunate in their time of need." Nord looked to Khalia who nodded even as his stomach made a gurgling noise. His fellow padawans were right of course, his hunger could wait. "You're right," an admission he made as he shrugged somewhat sheepishly and followed after the young chiss girl at a casual pace, once again being roundly ignored by the multitudes of Chiss they passed by along the way.

Soon they could see her destination was indeed the camp's medical tent, a tent the other Chiss seemed to be be avoiding. She disappeared inside, though the trio of padwans followed through the flap, closing it again behind them. Now they could see what their forced imbued senses could only feel before. The place was filled to the breaking point with misery. Many Chiss, men, women, children lay on cots staring at the tent's ceiling a couple of meters over their heads. Others though sat or lay on the ground, moaning in pain. These were the sick, the dying, though Nord noticed that there were many wounded among them as well. They were all suffering, though it looked as if there was no one at all to care for them...

"How can the Ascendancy allow this?" Nord wondered aloud, as the girl approached a man in what had once been a white lab coat, but was now stained a dusty brown by a combination of dust and blood. "I'm sorry doctor," the girl said sounded despondent. "This is all they had today. Most of the convoy was bringing in food not medicine." The doctor turned around now revealing himself to be a bedraggled human with a five o'clock shadow that had gone to half past eight. His red rimmed eyes spoke to his own weariness and his disappointment in what the girl had told him was clearly felt by all the Jedi like a rock through a plate glass window, though his eyes showed only appreciation to the little girl for her efforts. "Thank you Livvie," his words seemed to brighten her mood.

"I'm sure we'll make due." She brought him the small box of supplies which he opened.

"No bandages, and little sterilizer." He pursed his lips and nodded, giving a smile that warmed the heart of the little girl but that the more experienced padawans could tell was not quite as heart felt as it seemed. The doctor seemed to take notice of them. "Is everything all right friends?" They could feel the man brace himself for more bad news. "We have no beds available, but we'll make room somewhere for you..." He stepped around the patient's cot he had been standing over, a Chiss woman who appeared to be sleeping. "Are you sick, injured?"

TAG: @Kev-Mas_Colcha @Khalia Octa

---

IC: Knight Gim (NPC)/padwan Elle (NPC)
Aboard the derelict freighter, Unknown Regions

Things on the bridge were silent for a moment as everyone processed what the carnage they had seen, haunted by the knowledge that they were standing in the places where it had all unfolded. Looking up at his fellow Jedi, Knight Gim could tell they too were questioning what they had just seen. The barbarity behind it, what could be the reasoning for it, could there be any reasoning for it? Gim didn't know, but he knew it would be up to them to find out. Finally Knight Bonaventure spoke up.

"Good work, BZ. We needed to see that. Do you have any kind of image enhancement software? I want to get a better look inside that hooded cloak. Even if you can only pick out eye color, that would be something. Wouldn't surprise me to see a red glow under there. But if you do pick that up, make sure it's not just a reflection from the saber blade." The droid got to work, her data probe alternating turning clockwise to counter clockwise and back as it did so.

"I'm checking for sensor recordings. Somebody else care to see what the nav logs say? It could be useful to know where this ship has been, and where it was bound for." Gim followed Bonaventure over to the sensor console even as his padawan, Elle attended to the navigation station. She tapped at a few controls as the two Knights began looking through the sensor logs. "Looks like the ship was headed to a place they called 'Blue Haven', outbound from Chiss space, with several stops along the way. Ool, Celwis, Soisa..." her voice trailed off as she brought up the charts on the screen in front of her. Their planned destination seemed to lie just outside of Chiss space. "Blue Haven is not far from here, a few hour trip in hyperspace at most..." she looked around the bridge as she realized that these people had been just that close to safety when this had happened to them.

"Hmm interesting," Gim stroked his chin. "The ship's captain said it was a refuge camp there." His padawan nodded along somewhat impatiently, "Yeah, but refugees from what?" Before Gim could respond, Bonaventure's search through the sensor logs bore fruit as an image appeared there on the holoscreen, an image of a small warship, one with distinctly Chiss lines. "I'm not familiar with those markings," Gim said, as the log indicated the warship trapping the freighter in a tractor beam before sending over a boarding party. A Chiss shuttle escorted by a pair of Clawcraft, also bearing the same insignia that gave Gim the creeps, even if he didn't recognize it. On the other side of the bridge BZ began to chirp loudly, though for now Elle ignored it.

"Whoever is is, we know they aren't friendly." Elle sounded frustrated. "And we know they are probably Chiss," Viva spoke, her voice trembling somewhat. She pointed to the readout that BZ was chirping loudly about. From her enhancements the droid had determined there was an 87% chance the being in the hood was a Chiss.

"Chiss refugee ship carying Chiss to a planet just outside Chiss space attacked by probably Chiss..." Gim shrugged. "Do we even have jurisdiction?" His padawan scowled at him. "These people were slaughtered, and it sounded like that whoever did it was looking for someone." She blinked twice, "what if that someone is already at Blue Haven, and this is just the beginning?"

TAG: @Skywalker_T-65 @Coffee_Ninja @Sarge @TheRynJedi @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha @ThisIsMe1138

OOC: None of your characters will have recognized the insignia on the Chiss ships, but for characters who might be so inclined to know such things, they would realize that it was not that of the Chiss Defense Fleet. Thisisme1138 has mentioned to me that her time to RP will be severely restricted for the near future. Since we've just begun our adventure here I'll be running her character as an NPC until the mission is either complete or she is able to return to us. Any questions (from any part of this update) feel free to PM me.

 

IC: Kev-Mas Colcha III
Refugee Camp, Noris

Indeed, the suffering was great, but the people were more hospitable than Kev-Mas had expected. Still, he couldn't risk complicating things by getting too comfortable and he would offer their bargaining chip regardless. Besides, he felt it was the right thing to do.

"We're hungry actually, as well as in need of some rest," said Kev-Mas pointing to himself, "But as you can see we don't really belong here. So instead of just making ourselves at home we decided to work for it. Consider us volunteers to help your relief effort you've got going on here."

Tag: @Bardan_Jusik @Khalia Octa