Sandra steps out of the refresher with a towel wrapped around herself and sits at the table with the dissembled data pads. She sighs at the dozen messages on her data pad. Missions that need doing, people that need ‘saving’, and various bold students looking for a master. Her legs cross as she finds none of the students on the list to be satisfactory. As odd as he was, she already knew he would be her Padawan. She has gained much sensing abilities from her own Master…Artemis.
A message beeps on her datapad and she looks over it with moderate intrigue. Her data mine and info from the Shadow’s network on Selton. A quaint place that was not so sleepy as she had thought…
Dear Diana,
Here is the information you sought. We are unsure why such an agent needs to do such investigations here, but we will leave your matter to your discretion.Be well,
Shadow Archivist
Sandra blows some hair aside and looks on Rothel’s number on the comm. She decides to get dressed in her outfit for odd missions and then spends a few minutes prepping the ship before going to see Rothel…
“Rothel…where are you at the moment?”
He sounds a bit busy, and in pain.
“Oh hey Master. I’m sparring Mart at the moment. What’s up?”
“We are going to your home town. Clean up and prepare yourself.”
“Right. I’ll uh… I’ll be there soon.”
After finishing up the spar, he massages his bruised self and makes his way to his apartment, where he finds a change of casual-looking clothes to blend in, then packs his necessary items before heading off to Sandra’s ship. Inside the ship, he sees Sandra whom is ready. She looks to Rothel and motions him to the co-pilot seat. It is here they begin the take off sequence.
“How are you feeling about the trip…?”
“I’ve already been there once. I’ve seen what I needed to see… But I should tell you, there’s a Sith presence there. I’m ready to… Do whatever needs to be done when we get there.”
“I know. Some info came back from my Organization’s data mining, but we will manage. I do not know a port in the immediate area, so we will land in a more inconspicuous place as to avoid any proding.”
“Wouldn’t it just benefit us to take the starport? The gangs have no control there… Or they didn’t when I lived there… And the Sith guy there, he lives out in the wild… Wouldn’t landing outside of approved parameters draw more attention to us?”
“My ship has no legal code markings and I can hide the ship’s energy with a dampener when we are out. But if you feel it is fair to land at the port, we may do so.”
“If that’s the case,”
He fumbles around his bag, before procuring a datadrive.
“Take mine. My ship’s been totaled for a long time. The drive has the codes I used for my ship. They’re registered and everything, but I’ll have to request access to land.”
“Very well. Was your day well otherwise?”
She takes his drive and installs it in a secondary port. She lets it upload and types in any other modifications.
“Today was… Actually nice. I went to Mon Cala with Mart to meet up with Lacie. We worked on the wildlife there, looking for a fix to the cloning problem. We uh… Yeah it was fun. We all camped and everything. When we got back to Dac, Lacie stayed and Mart and I headed back.”
He seems distant, then looks back into space.
Sandra nods and flies the ship. During the flight she leans back in the captain’s chair a bit and just looks at the stars.
He looks over at Sandra for a moment, then back at space.
“Mart said you’re a Shadow… You hunt the Dark Side… What exactly does that entail?”
She straightens a slight and looks to Roth.
“I do far more than this. It is something that does not suit the Order’s Mantra. You knowing what I am and what this is will not benefit you in any way. Suffice to say, I am the Last Resort.”
“Huh. And this, Last Resort thing… Is it a club, or are you one of a select few?”
Despite it not being healthy for him to know, he seems insistent on finding out more.
She crosses her legs and lets a foot tap softly against the ship’s wall.
“Very few. If my false flirting made you shiver, this would surely disturb you. Enough of this line of questioning. I will advise you if you are needed for such matters. In the meantime, we are almost there.”
“Shiver…I reacted the way I did because I see you as a teacher. If you want me to act otherwise I can do so.”
He shakes his head.
He turns to her with a blank, if cold, stare, before looking at the planet before them. She gives a dismissive wave, and in reaction, he scoffs before looking to comms. Sandra maneuvers the ship manually now as she prepares the docking sequence with the dock master.
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The ship is set gently and once codes are approved, the landing is done. With a little jumping of gravity, they have now arrived. At the calm home town of Rothel. The Dock is fair with people movingall about the area.
“Welcome Home, yes? I am unfamiliar with the terrain, so you shall lead as you see fit. This exploration is for you. I shall simply be your ally and guide as a jedi.”
He steps down the ramp and looks around. He’s hit with a wave of nostalgia before he quickly shakes it off. He seems more focused than usual. Waiting a beat, he walks off to the main square. Approaching the main square, he sits down in one of the benches, lowering his head and pulling the hood on his jacket over. He looks around for clues as to what’s been going on lately. Sandra follows quietly, looking around at various people.
He looks up slowly at a couple making their way down the road in an expensive speeder. He frowns softly as he recognizes the woman. She’s in the passenger seat and almost smothering the man next to her in the driver seat. He looks away, trying to find something less depressing. Sandra looks at Roth.
“Discomfort…”
He looks at Sandra.
“I recognize the two… The woman’s name is Treda, my uh… we used to be together. The guy, if I recall, is from Theed. When I was still here, he had a place of power in the local government in Theed. Probably still does, judging by the way she’s…”
Treda is a blonde woman with tied up blonde hair and soft blue eyes. She is a a lovely maiden and portrait of charm to the audience.
He looks away. He continues to look around. Finally, he stands up and heads over to a sign. It says:
“HELP WANTED, INQUIRE INSIDE.”
He heads in and looks around. Lining the walls are shelves stocked with equipment, gadgets, gizmos, and parts. For a moment, it almost looks like Rothel is smiling under his hood, seemingly at home. Then a tall man, about 6 foot 4, very well-built, comes out of the back room, approaching the counter. "Help ya find something? *He speaks in the same accent as Rothel. Sandra looks at the fellow. She is making no current effort to hide herself.
The man has a buzzed military cut, a short beard, and a mix of black and grey hair. He looks like he’s been through hell. Rothel approaches the shelves.
“Yeah be with ya in a moment.”
He continues to look around, until he turns to face the man. His eyes go wide under his hood. He simply stands there a moment. The man gives a furrowed look.
“You, uh, alright sir?”
Slowly, Rothel lifts off his hood, looking at the man. His eyes are sad, nearly teary and his mouth is slightly open. Soon the old man shares the look. They stare at each other for a while. Finally, the man goes around the counter and looks at Rothel.
“In family, tech gets old…”
Rothel speaks through a choked breath.
“But never obsolete.”
He responds. The man embraces him. Sandra runs a hand through her hair and looks on the pair curiously. Rothel seems happy to have found him, and returns the embrace, though he seems guilty. When Sam pulls back he puts his hands on Rothel’s shoulders.*
“Oh my boy, you look… You look like hell.”
Rothel smiles weakly.
“So do you, pa.”
Sam chuckles and pats Ro on the shoulder before returning to the counter.
“So how have you been son?”
He looks to Sandra, pointing at her slightly.
“This your uh, lady friend?”
Rothel pauses a moment, then looks to Sandra, smirking.
“You could say that, yeah… We’ve known each other for a while.”
Sandra smiles cutely and waves to the fellow.
“Hello, I am Diana! A pleasure!”
Sam chuckles quietly, nodding once.
“And you too ma’am. You too.”
He looks to his boy who just lied to him.
“Oh, we have so much to discuss.”
Rothel frowns.
“We do, but I’m afraid it has to wait… See uh, ever since I ran away, I was enlisted into the Republic… As much as it pains me to say it… I’m on duty, and here for a reason…”
Sam frowns softly, his grizzled veteran face showing its wrinkles.
“I see.”
Rothel quickly adds:
“But it’s great to see you pa. As soon as I can, I’d love to come by and chat.”
Rothel motions with his thumb over to Sandra.
“See Diana and I, we met in training, and we’re both… You could say investigators.”
Sam furrows his brow at this, looking to Sandra a moment.
She smiles kindly and folds her hands cutely and politely infront of her.
Sam looks back to Rothel.
“I understand son. I used to be a PI in the Royal Guard some time back.”
The old man, still looking like he was thirty, save his wrinkled face and black-gray hair, moves to the door of the shop, locking the door and turning on the closed sign. He then motions the two into the back-room. The young man follows, looking to Sandra, a brief look of shock and/or self-disgust on his face. Diana gracefully follows into the room, her eyes peeking around cautiously, despite the kind presence she installs. In the back room are loads of shelves stocked with prepackaged supplies, all stamped with the ‘Janoo Supplies™’ Logo. They make their way to a cozy-looking room that looks more like a house than a store. He motions to the couch for them, then takes the chair adjacent. She sits and crosses her legs politely.
Rothel grabs some seat, close-by to Sandra. Sam reaches to the end-table, grabbing what looks like a still-hot cup of Nubian Tea. He takes a sip before regarding the two.
“So, what do you need to know?”
At this Rothel looks to Sandra.
“We came to investigate two matters. The first is in relation to the Empty Eyes gang and their activities if they have involvement with the Sith movement.”
Sam frowns, his age showing through his guise of youth.
“Hun, the Empty Eyes have been a problem since they were first conceived. They’ve been nothing but trouble to Naboo, and most of the gangs around the planet don’t wanna touch them anymore. They deal in smuggling, drug-running, slave trafficking, and other things nobody knows about… There’s just no evidence to pin them to anything. Trust me, in my years of service, I couldn’t find a thing”
Rothel picks up
“That’s… Why we’re here… We’ve reason to believe there’s an HVT on Naboo, calling the shots.”
Sam tilts his head up in thought. “And who do you believe is this High value target?”
“We believe it could be a Sith hiding out in the woods and swamps.” Rothel returns.
Sam reclines in the chair, humming quietly, and roughly. “I know someone who fits your description, but he’s just an old geezer… Heh, he’s older than me. Been around since the dawn of time, that one. He lives in a cabin of his own in the mountains, near the outlying woods.”
Rothel frowns… “You mean Jarel? The man who tutored me, gave me an education?”
Sam nods. “Aye, that one. A right book worm he was, er, is.”
It takes all Rothel has to not break down or blow his cover.
“What is the easiest way to reach this fellow?”
Sam looks to Sandra. “He’ll likely be following the same path he does everyday, going to the market for the locally-grown foodstuffs. It’s around that time.”
“Sounds like a good time to go then. We can discuss the second matter upon return, yes?”
“Sure, I’ll brew a cup of tea for you.”
“Thanks, Pa. We’ll be back soon.”
“Now hold on, son. I need to ask you something.”
He looks to Sandra. “I’ll catch up.”
Sandra gives an elegant curtsy before allowing Roth to stay behind for the moment. Sandra enters the front of the building and looks around at the passing people, smiling and waving to the ones who choose to do so. Her mind wanders about the target that has been thrusted upon them suddenly.
Rothel approaches his father, looking up at him. “Yeah?”
Sam’s face seems to have sunk.
“Be honest with me boy… You’re not Republic, are you?”
Rothel freezes. “How did you-”
Sam chuckles. “Come on son, give me credit. I used to be an investigator like you’re playing right now.”
He places a hand on his shoulder.
“I know what you’re after, and all I can say is good luck.”
Fighting the tears back, he embraces his father.
“Thanks dad.”
After a second, he turns and rejoins Sandra. Sam watches his son go, muttering to himself:*
“May the Force be with you son…”
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Outside of the Shop as Sandra waits
Rejoining Sandra, he looks to her, his hood now on again. He adopts a very heavy expression.
“He knew.”
“When you’re dealing with a trained operative, you have to assume they’re as good as you are. But how he knew is what worries me, as we have not shown any means of our coming or going.”
“I think it was my fault… I played the part poorly. He saw right through me. You though, I don’t know…”
“Giving too much information can be as bad as not giving enough. In the meantime, we should find this fellow. You know this place, so lead on…”
Rothel nods.
“Let’s get going, Diana.”
He then walks out, heading to the market. The market is alive and bustling, full of people coming and going, buying and selling. It’s filled with the smell of freshly-harvested fruits and vegetables, along with other foodstuffs. The edge of the streets are lined with stalls, where people are interacting with each other using food and credits.
Sandra notes mentally:
Spies are suppose to travel light with nothing that could identify them. Some do, but most find that staying sane requires staying connected to something that reminds them why they do what they do. His feelings for is friend left him open, but perhaps old friendships can be a boon as well.
Sandra looks along the street and minds the faces and foods of the area. Rothel looks around at each stall until he starts to walk over to one. Behind the stall is an older-than-time looking man, draped in a dark robe. He’s selling what looks like Nubian Cabbage. He fits the description.
“Cabbages, how fascinating.” she notes to Roth
“Yeah, you think that’ll go good with the stew?” He speaks in a deeper than usual voice.
She finds this a bit amusing
“Depends if we make him boil over or not…You follow him and I will follow from…another direction. There is no need for two of us to be possibly seen at one time.”
He nods once. “You’re the sous chef.”
Making his way over to one of the benches in the center of the market, he sits down and begins to mess with his datapad, his gaze always on the man. Sandra looks around the buildings for their average height and keeps it in mind. For now, she decides not to extrude as much Force as possible and walks around the parameter of the fellow. No longer having need to always see the target directly now that she has mentally marked him. The old man finishes a transaction, then heads into tent of his booth.
Rothel watches him go, then gets up and follows. He makes his way to the booth and sneaks behind the counter, peeking through the flaps of the tent. The old man is fiddling with what looks like a box of cabbages. On second glance, it is metal, contrastive to the usual wooden crates produce is transported in. On top of that, it has a symbol on it. One Rothel recognizes quickly. The man inspects the box, scanning it with what looks like a code reader. He then inspects the device, hums to himself, then looks to the entrance of the tent.
Rothel quickly ducks out of sight before the old man has a chance to see him, holding his breath. The old man, seeing nothing, hums in thought before setting the scanner down and moving further back in the tent. He reaches for a cylindrical device, what looks like an ornately detailed liquid container, then heads back out. Hearing footsteps, he silently scurries back to the other side of the counter, waiting for the old man.
Sandra is not too far away, making small talk and picking a snack from a local.
Spies are trained to keep track of multiple conversations at the same time. Standing alone as you eavesdrop is too obvious. You need to engage in a cover conversation near your target.
“Help you with something, young man? You look awful hungry.”
Rothel keeps his hood over his eyes for the most part and speaks in a deeper voice, and without his accent, as he starts speaking Huttese
“Yes. My girlfriend and I were thinking about making a stew for dinner tonight, and I was told you grow the best around.”
The old man seemingly knows Huttese and smiles.
“Ah, I remember making stew with my wife. We always had cabbage with it.”
“Well, what would you recommend?”
The old man looks off in thought, in Sandra’s direction, then around some more before focusing on Rothel.
“I don’t remember our recipe, but I do have it with me if you’d like to copy it.”
Rothel follows his gaze to Sandra, then to the man. "Sure. "
The man motions for Ro to follow.
“It’s in my tent. Come, I’ll show you.”
Rothel follows the man, shooting one last gaze to Sandra before heading inside. When he looks, the boxes are gone. Sandra sighs in annoyance as he vanishes into the tent on his own and starts to hurry over.
Rothel looks around frantically, though not showing it on his face, but can’t find any trace of the boxes. All he sees are cabbages and pictures of the man doing old people stuff with his wife. The old man vanishes behind a pile of boxes.
“eh just a second. I know it’s around here somewhere.”
“Take your time sir.”
He keeps the Huttese going, then when out of sight starts looking around the cabbage crates. It didn’t make sense, the boxes were right here, they had the logo, and were metal, but now it looks like a bunch of wooden crates full of cabbages, smelling of cabbages. The old man returns and Rothel quickly acts like he was hunched over, scratching his leg to justify his closeness to the boxes.
“Here it is, although there’s one thing I need to tell you.”
The old man turns around, seemingly looking for something.
“It’s alright Sir. I appreciate the hospitali-”
Rothel suddenly finds himself unable to breathe. He begins clawing at his throat, his eyes watering and his face turning reddish-purple. The old man turns around and grins wickedly, slowly walking towards Rothel. He gingerly takes off the hood Rothel is wearing, looking him in the eyes.
“I forgot to mention, I’m glad you came all the way out here, just to see me.”
Rothel reaches for his hilt, but finds it missing. He looks over at the nearby table, finding both his hilts there. He then looks back to the man.
“Tsk tsk tsk. Now now, let’s not start showing each other our toys. We need to have a chat.”
Rothel has nearly passed out from the lack of oxygen. He looks at the man with fear in his eyes.
As she feels the force being used, she moves into the entrance and looks at the old fellow.
The best defense isn’t always a show of force. Keep an adversary in the dark about what you’re capable of, and he has to assume the worst.
“Now now…we came to talk. No need for violence in these busy streets…with lots of people outside…Lots of people.”
*The man looks to Sandra, a sly smirk slowly creeping over his face. He lets go of Rothel. Rothel collapses, seemingly gone for now.
“You have my attention…”
She walks over to the old fellow, gently nudging the fallen Roth aside as she passes.
“I surely hope a spritely older dark user like yourself isn’t helping any odd organizations around here. It would be awfully shameful. Why does a pleasant cabbage seller have need of such a forceful reaction, mm?”
It’s a good idea to keep your initial contact with someone who might be dangerous non-threatening. You’re a lot less likely to get shot at. Although just because something’s less likely doesn’t mean it never happens.
The old man looks to the man on the ground, then at Sandra.
“I told him last time he was here, not to come back… He has the scars to prove it, too…I just didn’t expect he would come back so soon, and with a friend…”
He mocks a frown, making pouty lips.
“I’m sorry he dragged you into this.”
“We are hardly friends. Nor were you the current target of our hide and seek game. You are just the symptom of an issue we are here to resolve first and foremost. I’m looking for information regarding the Empty Eyes.”
The man chuckles softly.
“This is all you’re after? Oh, my dear, he has you following something you can’t catch.”
“I get that a lot…”
Sandra makes her seat on a crate and crosses her legs.
“They were also involved in a minor scuffle a few years back with the abduction of the Mayor’s daughter. Who is sitting pretty with a dashing fellow, it seems.”
The old man purses his lips.
“Ah, yes… That… Hmm, well, they were Empty Eyes, but they were not…”
“That sounds like a delightful tale.”
leans on her knee and listens.
“It is… One I’m afraid I won’t be telling you.”
“If you want to find the Empty Eyes, look for what you can’t see.”
“This phrase is used fairly often. It often regards to underground passages and so on. If you are not wiling to speak on this matter, then who would be?”
He steps over the unconscious Rothel, whose eyes open shortly after.
“Sweetheart, It has nothing to do with passages.”
He gets close to her now, face inches away. He reeks of old man smell and… Burnt hair.
“What you’re looking for… It’s in the corner of your eye. It’s the thing you don’t want to see, what you can’t see, only catch a glimpse of.”
The man seems to not focus on Rothel and a good thing too. Rothel slowly and quietly gets back up. The old man shoves his hands slowly into the sleeves of his robes as he slowly backs up, inches away from Rothel, who is now fully upright, ready to whack the man over the head with what looks like a hand-crafted pole.
Sandra raises a brow a slight and considers the deeper meaning of the words a moment, but lifts a hand as if pausing their realities.
“Before you do, I have one last statement.”
Oddly now, the old man finds himself in the choke in this instance
“Do not make me have to return here…the shadows of darkness reach into the light as well…”
In the world of espionage, there are a lot of ways to introduce yourself. You can use official channels. You can use a cover I.D. You can use encrypted communication. Whatever the method, that first contact tells you a lot about a person.
The old man reveals the cylindrical container. He uncaps the top, taking a sip, before capping it.
“Yes… Good… You’ve established yourself… I can’t wait to talk about you with the boys.”
Turning it upside down, and jabbing it into his torso, he swipes a diamond stud on the side, and a blade of red energy pierces through his torso, also piercing Rothel in the side. The man then disappears, leaving a wide-eyed Rothel, dropping his device. Sandra lets go, distorted by Rotel’s injury, and the invisible person makes dust tracks on the sand as he runs off. Just his robe remains and self-destructed saber.
He inhales sharply, looking down at the hole in his side. He simply stares at it for a while, before looking back up at Sandra. Struggling to find the words, he just stands there, choking on his own breath and blood. He stumbles a bit, starting to lose his balance. Sandra raises a brow and she walks over to inject him with a biofoam that fills the cavity…for now
“Saber wounds are not so simple to heal through the force. We need to stave this for a time. Keep awake.”
He looks up at her through grit teeth, a look on his face saying ‘shut up’. He looks around, trying to find something to follow up on, a clue, or a trail.
“He left in such a hurry… There’s gotta be something he left behind.”
“Yes, this is so, but you passing out from your wounds makes things a little more complex, so you sit and shut your mouth while I look and take this pill…no need to die from infection.”
He takes the pill, but doesn’t sit down. He stumbles through the tent, looking. Looking back at the cabbage crates, they seem to have returned to metal boxes. Sandra looks around and checks for the usual sorts of safe docks or dirt covering any floor hidey holes, but only ends up finding boxes. Rothel furrows his brow, looking at the boxes.
“These were like these when I saw him through the tent. When I came in, they were cabbages… Might’ve been a mind trick.”
He definitely isn’t taking Sandra’s advice to rest. He starts moving the metal boxes, spreading them out until there’s one box left, standing out from all the rest. She grows frustrated and grabs his arm.
“Sit, fool. If the foam does not harden, you will not be awake much longer”
He pulls his arm back, pointing to his wound.
“If you’d look a moment, you’d see it’s missed all my intestines and organs. He pierced my side… I’ll be fine. I just need to…”
He takes a moment, breathing, then he heads for the table, resting on it. He motions to the one box standing out, speaking in Huttese.
“You’re parking welcome.”
*The box looks to have a manifest on it. It’s ordained with shiny metals and seems to give off a faint aura. He starts to breathe easy, as easy as a wounded person can.
“I could have found a box on my own, I know this language also.”
“I know… Also you didn’t see what I saw… He was hiding it from me for a reason.”
“I do not care what he was hiding from you in particular. You could have simply motioned where to look instead of satisfying your own need to feel useful.”
“Alright, mark you, okay? I know I may not be a Jedi master, or a shadow, but I know things. I’ll feel useful when I’m useful. It might help you to know that cabbages don’t grow on Naboo… They’re Corellian. Which means he’s getting them from someone else.”
He exhales, lowering his head and keeping himself still, allowing the biofoam to take shape.
“Perhaps it was a mistake to bring you so early. Disrespectful… We will return to the investigator. He is likely to know more about the inner workings of such businesses in this region than most, having worked Beat and Royal police.”
He looks up at her, a look of disgust on his face.
“Perhaps it was a mistake to follow you. You expect so much respect, when all you’ve done is make me feel like kriff! You make me feel like I know nothing! You topple my skills in every way shape and form, and when I finally -do- get something right, you pass it off as, eh, it doesn’t matter. You know I really hate getting the piss from you… I’ve been keeping myself as restrained and respectful as I can, despite all these shortcomings.”
He gets up off the table “Fool?! You call me a fool?! There’s a difference between stupidity and ignorance! There’s also a difference between teaching someone because they could become the next generation of Jedi, and teaching someone because they look like baggage to you, because they look expendable to you! That Master back on Viscara was right…But hey… I’m just another guy with a lightsaber hopin’ to chase his dreams and do good…”
“Yes, my skills topple yours in every way. And you said you had desire to be much better. A few actions of correctness mean little if you do not see to what your ally can do for you. Was it so difficult to rely on me to do such menial tasks as lifting boxes? Part of my work is to keep you alive. I prefer to be burdened instead of letting a wounded person do more than he must. I cannot teach a dead person”
He shakes his head.
“You didn’t see what I saw when I came in here. These boxes would just be cabbages.”
He sighs and rests his head on the table, closing his eyes.
She walks over and puts a hand on her hip.
“I need you to know when to stop and when to go. I am well with heroic actions, but it is okay to let me do some of your work.”
He doesn’t respond.
“I need you to learn to be on my level of expertise. You are good, for the average person, yes, but average is not why I picked YOU”
He still doesn’t respond.
“If you die here…that is the end. Use me. I am here for this. Question me. Test me. Because you need what I can give, and I need you to live long enough to pass it on.”"
Finally, he speaks up. “I’m sure the adjacent tents are having a great time.”
He shifts his head, looking at the boxes. “Fine, do your thing. I’ll just sit here and do my thing…”
The tents surrounding -have- gotten a bit quieter.
“I would say we can do more searching, but now is a good time to leave. When it is too quiet, there is trouble.”
“They’re likely just concerned about the noise we’ve been making. We did get a little loud. Hell I would be concerned if my neighbor started shouting. Still… You’re the master, what do I know?” He slowly sits up.
She ignores his childish notions and takes pictures of various boxes and signs meanwhile.
“We do not need the boxes themselves. We will find more later on once we get wind of their trade.”
“I would say lie low for a bit, but… Yeah I’m just a broken holodisk…”
He pushes himself off the table, slowly gaining his footing.
“Call your friend and let him know we are coming, that way if something happens and we do not arrive…we will at least have an alibi.”
“I removed the frequency for my father when I ran away from home… We’ll have to go there ourselves.”
He takes his jacket off and rips the hood off of it, refashioning it into a headband. Underneath he’s wearing a Tee-shirt. Reaching into his pockets, he pulls out a pair of sunglasses and puts them on, then wraps the jacket around his waist by the sleeves to hide his wound. He now looks like a completely different person.
“Or do you think blending in with the crowd is a bad idea?”
“It would be best to at least look as we arrived, with some covering. It would be suspicious if we left a vendor looking different, and without the Vendor. If we must change, we can do so a bit later”
He then reverts to his old state, stuffing the hood into his jacket pocket and taking off the sunnies.
“What do you think he drank?”
“…I think you should walk fairly slowly. If we get chased now, you’re in trouble.”
He nods softly. “I saw him tense up for a second. Did you have him in a grip?”
“Yes, I did what he did on you, to him.”
“How did he vanish then and take everything with him? Wait…I remember you mentioning about the Ysalimari… Is their blood or glands toxic to humans?”
Yes…this is so. Why…?
He frowns.
“Well, I was thinking he might’ve drank a mixture with that in it… That was the only reason I could think of… Maybe he had some sort of anti-venom mixed in it too that counter-acted it… I don’t know if such a thing exists, but it would explain how he got away if it does. Why else would he just casually take a drink as you were choking him? That’s all I can think of… Sorry if it’s not helpful. Or… Maybe an artificially-made concoction…”
“If it was so, he must not have been comfortable attempting to drink that while I was choking him. And while it is possible to move in a choke, he must have resisted me to some degree then to get out fast enough, but i was slightly distracted by your own injuries also…”
He regards Sandra with a brief look of disbelief, then looks to the exit.
“But if he did drink such…and left. That means…”
“There may be blood to some degree. While a saber does prevent all bleeding, it does not mean certain remains cannot be traced. Scoring leaves a scent and trail, to a very minor degree. Sadly, I do not have the scanners needed to trace this at the moment.”
He manages to remain still for a minute while they’re talking, then nods.
“My father used to have a forensics kit. He could swab and lock onto a trail with the scanner. I don’t know if he still has it, but if he does, I can’t go to get it… I’m too slow right now.”
“I will gather up some of the dirt here. He did not rustle the tent as he was leaving so the front is where he left…”
He peeks his head out of the tent, using the fabric as cover for his face. He speaks in a low tone after a few seconds.
“It looks clear… What’s the call?”
“We should inform your friend to see if he finds any leads. And while he is doing that, it is time to pay your father a certainly late visit…”
Sandra just begins walking towards where they came and motions him along. He follows behind, keeping an okay pace but still a bit sluggish. All the while he’s looking around. They take an extra lap around the block before making way back to Janoo’s establishment to prevent stalkers
She shows him how to mind followers as a lesson.
The market seems to have forgotten about the events that transpired in the tent. After a while, they reach the shop. The doorbell dings, and Sam makes his way to the counter after a moment. His eyes instantly widen as he sees his son, and immediately rushes over to help him.
“So how was the play-date?”
It’s clear Rothel got his sense of humor and cynicism from his father.
“Rothel is such a romantic. Saying sweet things to me…”
“I suppose you weren’t the one who did this though.” He points to the biofoam.
“I liked him enough to try and prevent infection and possible saber related wound illnesses”
“Saber… Hm. It’s not the first time I’ve dealt with such a wound. Here, bring him in here.”
He rushes off to the house section. She helps Roth over to the noted room. Sam motions to the bed in the room. The door to the room has the initials ‘RJ’. The walls are covered with posters of technical master-minds, there’s a bookshelf filled with books on Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, and other subjects… It seems the room has collected some dust, but it’s clear that efforts have been made to keep it tidy.
“Put him there.” He then leaves.
She does as instructed and looks on Roth.
“At least you did not suffer from shock…this time. Usually faints a person the first few seconds.”
He looks around, seemingly hearing but not regarding Sandra.
“He’s probably got a wire in here somewhere.” He smirks briefly.
“Hey dad, Diana says hi.”
He says this relatively low, but loud enough for a microphone to pick up. He listens closely in the hallway for an echo. Sure enough, there is, but a faint one. Sam chuckles in the background.
He then exhales softly, his wounds starting to fatigue him.*
“It was no doubt the place was wired, but in the meantime, he will treat you. It is rare to see actual books around.”
"Yeah they were a gift from Theed… Long ago. Pa used to work in royal security, and in his service, grew close friends with the royal family. “See, friends can be beneficial.” He looks to Sandra and smirks
“Mm…at times.”
She gets her datapad and looks on the images to study them for now as they wait. Sam makes his way back with a few medical devices, and with a forensics kit.
“Alright, now show me on the datapad where the man touched you.”
“Dad, stop…” He says quietly.
Sam smiles softly before he begins to treat his son.
“Do you recognize any of these markings?” She shows Dad once he has time to pause.
Sam glances between the hole in his son and the datapad.
“Aye I recognize that one. It’s the Empty Eyes logo… Oh, that’s Corellian in Design, the ornate details. I recognize the style.”
Jedi tricks can fool people’s visions, but they cannot fool a camera. Taking pictures of things is a great way to bypass minor issues like losing your mind.
“And that one… The manifest…”
He squints as he leans in.
"Yeah, the manifest proves it… It’s a Corellian Import.
“I see…We found a dark force user who likes to play with foreign cabbages. Any idea where they may come from?” book marks images
Sam furrows his brow.
“Dark Force User?”
He frowns. His face says Sandra’s confirmed something he was thinking about for a while.*
“Well, I couldn’t tell you where he’s from, but I could tell you where he’s likely at right now. If you made yourself known to him… The only place I can think of…”
He looks down at Rothel, then at Sandra. He pauses his work in a safe spot, then gets up, motioning for her to follow. He enters the hall, just outside of the room. Sandra follows along for now, but once outside, he looks to her with a serious tone.
“Was it Jarel?”
She describes the old man and his scents
Sam sighs. “Damnit…”
He seems struck with grief and regret for only a brief second, then he looks to Sandra, typing into a datapad of his own.
“I did not expect to find a dark force user here on this planet though, but he is still just a symptom. He is assisting the gang in their dealings, and…something more. To keep an eye out for the unseen, that which is seen at the edge of sight.”
“I hope you’re right. Otherwise there’ll be bigger things at play here.”
He stashes his datapad and hands her the forensics kit… The kit she never asked for.
“How did you know this was needed…”
She narrows her eyes a slight.
He offers her a blank expression.
“I can tell a Jedi when I see one. I used to be… Before I moved to Naboo. As soon as I saw you two, I got a strong aura from my son… The same aura I felt the day before he left… You, not so much…”
He hums faintly.
“Either your aura is fainter and you’re his student, or you’re a Shadow masking yourself…You seem to be the one making most of the calls, so I’m presuming the latter.”
“Why you know about the Shadows is another question at hand.”
“You already know the answer to that, Diana.”
She simply laughs
“Very well…”
“I don’t play the Jedi game, not anymore… After I married my wife, we moved to Naboo and kept out of the Jedi life, out of the eyes of people who wanted to mess with us, friendly or otherwise… Now this plague is reaching this peaceful planet. I’ll help you put a stop to it, but on one condition…”
“Name your terms…”
“Send my son home… He’s not ready for this…”
“I know. That is why I am with him.”
“And still he was caught alone and with his knickers down. How else would he be lying in his old room with a hole in his side?”
“His mistakes will grant him wisdom for the days to come…”
“Unless your skills leave something worth questioning… I don’t want him in this anymore… As much as it pains me to say it, because I know how much this means to him. Revenge won’t do him any good.”
“This is part of his own trials and tribulations. If he cannot get past what is here, he will always have this mental block in learning to come. He needs to confront his past and leave here with some measure of closure. He can end up like that old man if he does not find deeper meaning in his life…”
“And what if he doesn’t find closure… Only more anger, more hatred… Things could go very sour. There are no predetermined outcomes.”
"Anger can be confronted and controlled, but you cannot confront what is left to happen yet. Like waking up from a dream that is unfinished…’
He hums in thought, before smiling briefly.
“You have a good head on your shoulders. I like you. Tend to him, I’ll be back in a minute to get some tools.”
“Mm…”
she returns to Roth and gives his couch a kick.
“…Still alive?”
He looks to her with a faint smile, then taps her hand.
“Tag you’re it…”
He exhales quietly.
She blinks
“…The lad is loopy.”
“I’m always loopy…” He looks back to her.
“So… What’d he say? Some weird conspiracy theory about how the world’s gone to shit?”
“He said your arse needs wiping on occasion and not to feed you bell peppers on a Sunday. Otherwise, he will return in a moment. I will begin letting this sample run in the kit meanwhile. How are you feeling…?”
He simply lets his head fall completely into the pillow, chortling.
“I feel…”
She begins the sample test on the kit and sets it aside to run with he datapad attached
“That’s good enough for me…Better than not.”
“Right…”
Sam returns with a belt of ammo, thrown ordnance, a blaster, holstered, and a scratched up hilt, lined with scratches, dents, and a few spots of dust and cobwebs.
“So… What do you plan on doing, Diana?” Pa leans on the doorframe.
“First, finding out where the shipments come is important, then see where the various boxes are sent to. Place tracers on the various shipments and see where the shite sticks…”
“I agree. Finding the exporters will help us establish an idea of their network.”
"Do you have a spare ride we can use…? As much as I love to run at high speeds across a city scape, a vehicle would be nice.
And what about the old man?
Rothel nods softly.
"One of three outcomes will happen if we meet again in your weakened condition. 1) he uses you to defeat me, and we both die. 2) he ends up running away again. 3) he dies and we learn nothing.
“So… What’s the play?”
“For now, find the supplier, stop the dealer. The gang is what we initially came here to find anyways…”
He leans his head back.
“I have a speeder you can use… It’s registered as a civilian transport, so you can use it safely.”
“Thank you…”
“This may be your op, but I’m offering my services… Where do you need me?”
“I need you to run trace on the markers I plant. I cannot do both at one time and even with the two of us on the field…it will be exhausting.”
“I see… Very well. I’ll also make a visit with my friends in the business, ask 'em to keep taps on communications coming to and fro, and let you know if anything pops up.”
He hitches up his belt, the hilt just now coming into sight for the two.
“Thank you. Roth, are you functional?”
He grunts softly as he pushes himself back up. “Functional enough.”
When he looks at his dad, he notices the hilt, then looks up at him with a confused look. Sam simply nods and puts on a face that Rothel recognizes all too well, dropping the look and looking to Sandra.
“We are going to the shipping yard to plant traces on the cabbage shipments. Nothing generally dangerous with such a task, for us. Slap it on something and done.”
Sandra hands Roth a dozen small stickies.
He takes them and sets them on the bed, then looks to the two.
“I’m gonna get changed real quick.”
“Mm…”
“That is… Assuming my clothes are still here?” He looks to his father who gives a soft nod.
“Wear something light. We may borrow some of the dock worker clothes so we do not get harassed…” Sandra notes.
“Will do.”
After a short bit, Rothel exits his room, probably for the last time. He has a gray double-layer T-shirt that has a nerdy slogan in black text. The sleeves are black as well. He’s wearing black pants and light-weight gray shoes. He’s also got sunglasses and a cap.
Sandra giggles softly
“…Fascinating.”
He looks down at his shirt. “What…”
Then he smiles, looking to Sandra.
“Alright… I’ll need a bit before I’m in full ass-kicking mode, but I’m starting to feel a bit better.”
He looks to Sandra. “Alright. Let’s get going.”
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The ride to the shipping dock is fairly dull aside from what eveer odd music channel they try and shuffle through to not drive Sandra mad. Meanwhile, they pull over to the docks and find a higher set parking lot that lets them see over a fair bit of the region, the ships flyin along with various other shipments and cargo freighters move their loads around.
“Do you know what the most important lesson for today is?”
He looks at the two from the back.
“Sitting in a hot car, being on look out for what we need for as long as we have to. I hope you brought snacks…” {asses back some binoculars
“I always bring snacks.”
He slips off the backpack and sets it in the middle of the speeder before grabbing the macrobinocs.
When the operation demands it, you get to sit in a hot ship with no air-conditioning in downtown.
He leans in through the two seats in the front where Sam and Sandra are, putting the binocs up to his face. Sam reaches for his own binocs, looking through them. Janoo notices one of the ships is dropping in fairly faster than most are and with a suspicious amount of workers hurrying over. Rothel doesn’t spot anything, but Sam points it out.
“There, on the far end left.”
Rothel moves his zoom over left.
“Oh I see it… What is it?”
“Look how they’re putting priority over this ship rather than tending to the ones already docked, and the amount of workers going over. That’s fishy”.
“Huh.”
“Perfect. Janoo, can you set up the tracking system while Roth and I go tag shipments…”
He’s already setting up his datapad with the terminal in the speeder. He looks over to Sandra, a brief and very concealed grin.
“Hmm?”
“Let us go, Roth…time to learn a new force trick.”
Rothel gets out of the car slowly. “oh yay.”
It is not so much yay. They walk a few meters to the hillside of the parking lot overlooking some stacks of crates below
“…This is the Force Jump, and…bilaterally, landing”
“Huh… Not so yay. More of a … Weeee.”
“The sensation you get when you speed up. Summon that, but instead of letting it go, keep it at your feet and shoulders. We will need to do a rolling land. This is a combination of Alteration and Telekinesis.”
“Uh, alright.”
He takes a deep breath… Thrust into a position like this where he needs to learn on the fly, little margin for error, he takes a moment to calm his mind.
“When you look before you, remember what you are jumping for. What you will live and die for…and let yourself become one with the air…”
The sky and sun shine upon him…awaiting to embrace him.
“The force…is everywhere.”
*She does a summersault off the ledge and falls several meters.
He takes a slow breath through the nose, letting it out through the mouth. He feels the energy around him, drawing upon it. Pooling it in his core. He bends down at the knees, feeling the muscles get tired. Using this feeling, he locks onto the muscles in his mind and directs the energy there. Then with a leap, he jumps off, feeling the wind brush against his face and body, running through his hair. He falls for a while before reaching Sandra’s location. Upon landing, he disperses the energy in his legs and leans forward in a PK roll, redirecting the energy to his back and shoulders, dispersing it as each part makes contact with the ground.
Traditional rappelling requires holding a rope with both hands, which is inconvenient if you’re being shot at. That’s why Special Forces are trained to rappel in unconventional ways. Jedi do not usually need such devices. A great boon.
“Brilliant…you did not break anything. Now the fun part…”
He then adopts a look of excitement, adrenaline kicking in.
“Hah”.
“Also note…no not inhale after a landing”
He simply looks at Sandra, nodding.
They dart along various shipping crates to observe the shipmen moving some of said outsourced cabbages and other goods. They are attempting to move quickly to place these in what look like quick shite logos made to present the illusion of a business marketing. One of the shipmen starts to rally others to a larger crate.
“…now is our chance. Tag as many of the viehicles as you can. There’s about 20 vehicles.”
He jumps down, softening his landing as he does so, then begins quietly running around, tagging vehicles, with the trackers. He puts them in hard to reach and hard to see areas, such as in their engines, or tucked away between cushions. All the while, he’s constantly keeping an eye out for anyone who may spot him, hiding when he has to. The guards, in their exhausted and hurried state, hardly have time to notice the force speeded pair dashing around like swashes of wind. It is not difficult to tag the 20 vehicles, but now they return to the section where they wait again. This seems successful and the shipmen get into their respective rides…except one pair who pull up near where the pair are hiding.
“MIKE, I need to take a massive Piss.”
“Yo, Me too. Lemme in on that action, eh?”
“Yeah, just dont look at me, ye? I get stage fright.”
“Whatever, man…”
Sandra motions to Rothel.
“…we found our ride. This way…bonk him. I get the other one.”
He sneaks up behind one of the guys, ready to put him under. On her go, he wraps his arm around the man’s neck and fortifies his grip with his elbow, putting extreme pressure on the man’s neck. He struggles for a second before falling limp. Sandra works on her man fairly quickly also. She takes off the guard’s uniform and stuffs him in a crate in back. Rothel then strips him and does the same as Sandra. They hop into the vehicle and Sandra messages Sam.
“We are picking you up…wait for us by the south exit. Free ride into their base…”
“Roger that. I’m enroute.”
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Inside the Eyes’s Factory
They follow the series of cargo shippers through the city, the three in the single shipper. They make odd turns through the area, but eventually end up driving to a more rural region with factories and abandoned warehouses. All the shippers seem to pull into the dark underbelly of a single warehouse. Once parked, most of the shipmen head up a series of stairs. Sandra, Janoo, and Rothel wait until the people mostly leave.
Roth watches the men leave, then looks to his father and his mentor.
“What’s the word from the two in the big chairs?”
Sandra considers
“Well, we should identify what the relevance with these cabbages are. The cabbages can just be a front for something else the Empty Eyes are doing, yes?”
Sam nods his agreement.
“Yes… We’ll need an idea of what they’re doing as well. What are they actually doing? We’ll also need to leave a little surprise for them, I think.”
Rothel adopts a concerned look. “You mean blow the place up?”
“Not exactly… Maybe, if it’s a last resort, but we should try to stop production, or at the very least, hinder it. While I do like blowing things up, it’s not always the best call.” He looks to the Master. “Your thoughts?”
“I would not suggest total destruction. We do need evidence to have the planet’s formal government make legitimate moves against the Eyes also. We cannot tear down everyone of their aspects of our own…”
Rothel nods firmly.
“Gotcha… So move in, find evidence, throw a hydrospanner in productions, and bring it to brass.”
“Yes”
He sighs. “This sounds too much like a holofilm… I like it.”
“This is generally how it goes…”
Sam smirks slightly.
“Except most agents tend to die around this point, so take caution”
Sam looks around the room they’re in.
“I’ll let you two work on infiltration and evidence. I’ll see about giving a gift to our beloved co-workers.”
“Lovely,” Sandra remarks.
“Sounds good. Be careful dad.”
“You too son. Have fun breaking and entering.”
The two exchange a father and son chuckle, before exiting the vehicle. Sam slinks off and out of sight, almost immediately.
Ro looks to Sandra. “You lead?”
Sandra looks to Ro now
“Remember what I showed you. Acting. Look and feel like you belong here. If you’re the new guy, ask questions and apologize a lot.”
He slouches forward and frowns somewhat. His glasses and the uniform give him an extreme nerdy teen look, save the small stubble on his face.“Hey I’m new here, man. Sorry.”
“Excellent.”
He straightens his back and nods once.
Sandra undoes her shirt buttons a bit on the jump suit and ruffles her hair some and makes a messy ponytail.
“I have breasts, so I have a 24% advantage over men and women…”
“Hmm.” He looks down at his own chest… “Darn.”
Mm…alright. Follow me, ya?
“Uhm, alright.” Already he’s playing his role.
They make their way up the stairs that the other jumper fellows walked up earlier. after a flight, they meet two security guards.
The first guard scowls. “A little slower than the other ones, eh?”
Ro and Sandra exchange glances before Sandra speaks up.
“Sorry, we’re kind of, like, new, ya know?”
The guard sighs. “Hurry it up to the dorms. Next shipment out is in an hour. You know gon know how Mecha gets when you all be making late shipments.”
“Sorrry sorry! Um…dorms are, like, on the third floor?”
The second guard shakes his head.
“They dont even train em no more. SECOND FLOOR, stupid ass.”
Rothel pushes his glasses further up his nose as he frowns innocently, then bumps Sandra in the side with his elbow. “I told you!”
Sandra nods quickly. “R-Right, like, we goin, we goin.”
“Ugh…”
Rothel scoffs and gives an apologetic look to the guards who nudge them along. They scurry along and look on the first floor of the facilities. Guards in unmarked uniforms moving shipments around of various foods, but also weaponry and small arms. Nothing normal for a grand cartel under the guise of a local gang. They wander a bit, uncared for by the various guards watching for people of more Hostile looking nature.
“At least they are ignoring us…” Sandra whispers.
He speaks a little louder than Sandra. “Oh come on, gimme a break. It’s not like I knew. You gotta work those things.” When they pass the guards, he lowers his tone. “How am I doing?”
“Keep it up. Here are the stairs up…”
He follows next to Sandra, taking the stairs. On the second floor, they get a better view of the smaller cranes lifting bigger cargo onto what looks like movers that will take another basement route out. To the north side, where they are at, are the dorms. South seems to be a security point to stairs up. West seems to be the refreshing rooms. He looks around, then looks to Sandra.
"Hey I forgot my deodorant."He motions to the dorm with his thumb “Catch up with you later?”
“Alright, I’m gonna, like, go use the refresher.”
He heads off to the dorms. In the dorms, are a series of 8 bunk beds along two walls. Several men are laying down, some at a table playing pazzak, and some reading news on datapads. Roth reaches for his own datapad and starts reading, blending in. Every now and then he’ll shoot a glance across the room to get a better idea of what’s going on around.
Man 1: Hey, they got the new boss in. Say he likes to shoot first then ask questions. Killed three new shippers for FUN. I miss the old guy.
Man 2: Seriously. At least Benny learned our damn names…
Man 1: What his name again?
Man 2: Macha, dont forget. He may shoot you for that too.
Roth scratches his cheek, still trying to probe more info.
Girl 1: They got a new security guy last week with the new boss.
Girl 2: He can lube my ship any day.
Girl 1: I hear he likes to let people up there low key.
Girl 2: Scandalous~
After a bit he cuts in with the men.
“Hey uh, what’s he look like?” Roth rubs the back of his neck.
“I’m kinda, new here. Getting shot is not number one on my list ya know?”
Man 1: Who, Macha?
Man 2: Who else, moron.
Man 1: Got a scattershot laser rifle. Messy. As. Mynoks.
Man 2: He gets bored a lot.
Man 1: He’s about 6’2, Black hair, military get up, and likes to blink a lot.
Man 2: Real serious type.
He grimaces. “Yikes. Therapy, maybe?” He cracks a small smile in attempt to make a quick quip.
Man 1: Better him than us. Anyways…
Man 2: Don’t piss around when he’s here. Stand up and fly on command.
He pushes his glasses further up his nose and clears his throat, offering a very casual and exaggerated salute.
“That’s gonna be a bit hard for me… I always was a smart-ass. Scattershot Laser rifle, huh? Interesting choice.”
he folds his arms and leans against the wall.
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Meanwhile…
Sandra enters the refresher and nods to the fellows in there. They nod in turn and she enters a stall and sits with pants around her ankles to look the part.
Girl 1: I hate this bloody job. I’ve made more money as a street walker and at least they used lube when they screwed me. Gah.
Guy 1: Hey, Dolla. Its alright. After this shipment, we are GOLD. They taking the loot hidden in dem cabbage holds. No big deal! Then YOU can do the paying for the fun, ya?
Girl 1: I guess. When they movin?
Guy 1: Bout an hour. Gotta fill in the top man first, ya know.
Girl 1: That security check better not grab my arse again or i’m gonna scream.
Guy 1: Alright, im out. They let you in there, so don’t forget your damn keycard again.
Girl 1: Fine FINE
The guy leaves and the woman remains. Sandra gets out of the stall and walks next to the woman. Sandra looks to her and smiles.
Girl 1: Get bent, new girl…
n a fight, you have to be careful not to break the little bones in your hand on someone’s face. That’s why I like bathrooms. Lots of hard surfaces.
Sandra slams the woman’s head on the fountain infront of them
“Who’s bent…?”
She drags the woman to a stall and leaves her in there, flipping a pinky to lock the switch from the inside with the force, and gets a keycard. Sandra goes to the Barracks now to meet Roth
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Meanwhile…
Man 1: Well, who has the card again? One of the girls?
Man 2: Maybe…I dont care.
Sam hangs inverted from a pipe, letting three guards pass him without a second thought. He then continues on his way.
“I miss this…”
traversing the pipe from the tall, three story ceiling, he makes his way to the wall, where he slides down the wall with the Force and locates the generator. Having access to jedi tricks, he could certainly reach the 3rd floor on is own and the generator itself is nothing spectacular.
The guards are far more well equipped here though. Three guards stand at the generator and 1 at the back up power switch further down.Sam uses Microkinesis to tickle one of the guard’s nose, causing him to sneeze, then grabs one of the EMP bombs he brought with him and fastens it to the generator, inside the paneling. He then leaps up and grabs hold of one of the ceiling pipes before anyone spots him.
Guard 1: Dusty as bloody tatooine in 'ere…
Guard 2: Shut it. Focus, moron.
Sam sneaks back off and looks for a big machine that looks useful. On the third floor still, seems to be one more main room. This is sealed off by a key card. This room is on the west side of the building.
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Back in the dorm…
Sandra walks in and waves to Roth. He nods to Sandra and motions her over.
“Yo Diana, come look at this.”
she comes over
“Like, what is it?”
He holds his datapad to her.
“Look at the headlines.”
On the screen is a list of everything he’s learned so far.
“She’s actually gonna marry the sleazebag. Imagine it…”
Diana: Oh ye? What’s up with her?
Man 1: Seems like a girl that got it in rich. Lucky her.
Man 2: Naw man, way more complicated.
Girl 1: No waaaay, its TRUE love.
Girl 2: Piss off, with that love crap.
Man 1: Shite had to be arranged. She aint even DAT pretty.
“Really?” He regards the men.
“What happened? We’re… Both from outta town.” He motions to her and Sandra.
Man 2: Right, noobies. Two weeks bloody late to. Listen up.
Man 2: No one knows for sure, but they say it’s an arrangement, ya hear?
Man 1: Thats just a rumor, foo.
Girl 1: No way, they met before the Eyes got big!
Girl 2: No no, it was AFTER they got big and then I think the rich boy has hook ups with the Eyes, see?
Man 2: Girls always be crazy. Listen. Eyes getting help from SOMEONE, ye?
Man 1: I guess only the Eyes and big guy have that cred flow.
Girl 2: They say the Sith are digging round here too.
Man 1: SITH, my arse.
He laughs as well.
“Well, maybe…” He regards the girl with a nod.
Girl 2: Hey, dont laugh at me! I saw one of them silver shinies asking round for some people.
Diana: Who was he like, asking for?
“Silver shinies?” Roth inquires
Girl 2: Yeah, like on the Vid when some big show named Revan made his debut.
Man 1: I think you used that word wrong.
Girl 2: He showed on the vid! You know wat I mean!
“The holonet?”
Girl 2: Yeah, halla net. Had some silver fellas in the back with rifles.
“Ah. I’ll be honest, I’ve kinda been outta the loop these days… Don’t know much about politics.”
Man 1: Forget about it. Get the news we ready to go up to the boss. Take sweet cheeks with the card. Security likes an ass on a girl.
Diana: Of course he does…everytime.
“On it.”
Girl 1: You got it, flaunt it, baby doll
Sandra exits the dorm and blows some hair aside. He follows Sandra out.
“Time to see if we can get to the third floor…”
“You go first. You got the breasts and shit…”
“Woe is me…”
They approach the checkpoint and she flashes the card with Roth.
Guard: Checks out. Meet Bennok by the desk. Send the fella to tell the boss.
Diana: Y-yes sir.
Roth: Got it sir.
The third floor has two rooms. One with an open overhead with the power generator and various guards, and another room with a large door with a smaller door on it. Roth idly looks up, and in the darkness can just barely make out a man hanging from the ceiling. He looks back to Sandra and nods.
“See ya later.”
Sandra goes to the security room off to the side of the generator room
“H-Hello?”
Bennok: Finally! Something sweet to look aside from these ugly mugs all day.
Sandy: N-Naw sir…im not that perty, like, ya know.
Bennok: You got the word?
Sandy: Yea, like, they crew is ready to, like, go on.
He gets up and takes a handful of redhead rear. Sandra squeaks and bites her lip
Bennok: Guess I gotta beep dat guy in. No time for a quickie today.
The door to Roth’s room is open.
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Meaaaaaanwhile…
Roth’s small door opens. He enters in slowly, looking around like a lost lamb. In this room is various computers. He hears an echoing laughter in the distance. The screens show a wide range of activity in and around the area.
“HeheHEheh Hahah…HAhhahAHHa…WHO COMES, heahheha…”
He stands fully at attention and lifts his chin in respect.
“I’m uh… one of the new guys, sir. They sent me up to tell you, we’re ready to go.”
He sees a man suddenly land infront of him with a large thud. The hookshot returning to his hand
“iseeiseeiseeiseeisee! gooooood. Goooooood”
Roth flinches in response, but remains tall and straight. He gets a good look at the man. His eyes barely give a humanistic green haze as he gazes deep into this madman’s eyes. His body is slightly hunched, and looks like he has seen extreme combat, or what is left of a fighter. The soft red hue from the scatter rifle just highlights the fellow’s dark blue armoring
“HehehHAHAHA, go GO! Shipment go NOW, or he gets maaaaaadMAAAAD”
He quickly nods.
“Yes sir, right away sir.”
He shoots a very quick glance at the computers ahead, getting all the info he can before turning and leaving. From a passing glance, he sees several warehouses, but one near the palace? Is that a palace or some place? Without overstaying his welcome, he quickly turns and leaves.
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*Meeeeeanwhile…
Janoo can see the workers prepping to leave. Rothel quickly rejoins Sandra.
“Next time, you’re going.”
Sam finishes up his work and makes his way to the main area, waiting for the two to make it back. Sandra rubs her arse
“…Why is everyone so rough with me. Ugh. I am going to make a U-turn once we regroup and we’re going to get that data before they ship out.”
“If I was a half-witted trigger-happy guard toting an automatic blaster, having not seen a fresh glass of hydro in a while, I’d be a bit rough too.”
He speaks idly while his eyes are forward, walking.
They regroup together on the second floor, no one really caring as guards and workers rush around.
“So, what now?”
“…We need to get back in that room. I’ll have ass guard open the door again and you two get inside. Hold it open for me.”
They nods once.
“Go get 'im tiger.”
He smirks before sneaking off, his son following behind.
Sandra lets the two guys meet at the small door as she goes to the security room again
“Helloooooo~”
“Well, little peach. You came back.”
“I wanted you to give me that quickie before I go~”
“Greedy. I have cuffs too.”
“Hehe, come on.”
As soon as he touches her, his body hits the ceiling of the small room then down again.
“Too much woman for you, jerk…”
Sandra pushes his button and the small door opens for the boys. Father and son sneak in, holding the door open with the force to allow Sandra time to enter. They then let it close quietly. Sam takes a second, crouching down low and out of the way. He closes his eyes, seemingly concentrating. Sandra makes a powerful force leap to the other side of the building in a splendid long jump and slides into the room before the door’s hydraulics force it shut…
“Thanks, fellas…Now, consoles…”
"HHehhAHAHHEHHAHAHA. WHO IS IT?"
Sam speaks in both their minds. “Stay quiet.”
When they look down at themselves, they notice they can’t see where they are. Sam seems to have vanished as well.
This odd man begins to swing around and has full control of this room. He fires several scattered blaster shots around the room wildly, prompting the group to scatter. Rothel attempts to sneak around to the toe consoles. Sam uses Force Cloak and stays in a corner of the room to support his son.
The metal clinks of the hookshot in the dark room is one of the few hints of his location. Sam finds a different vantage point by climbing higher. Rothel uses some goggles to use a thermal scan. He makes his way to the terminals that seem to take less firing that most places. While he can spot the swinging mad man, he’s still hopping around quickly and sees them, firing his rifle at Rothel.
Sandra makes several force pushes, but misses. Macha laughs and swings over to Sandra’s location now. She twirls her staff to try and deflect as many of the shots as possible, but takes two shots in the side and arm. After failing to kill them for a few minutes, Macha opens up several mirrors in the room. The type of laser he is using seems designed to reflect off the mirrors to scatter weaker shots across most of the room.
"REAAAAAAAAADY, HERE COMES THE BIG ONE!!! EYAHAAHHAHAHAAA"
Macha primes his rifle and goes to fire on the mirrors. Sandra winces and pulls down a mirror closest to Sam, Sam takes out a mirror next to Rothel, and Rothel takes out a closer mirror in sight. Several lasers rain and Sandra takes some shots and falls to the side. The mirrors around the other pair being down causes them to not take any blasts.
Sam leaps from his perch and Force Pushes Macha hard and he slams into a wall.
"Pain, YOU HURT ME, DIEEEEEDIEDIEIDIEIDIEIDIE"
Rothel keeps on downloading data. Sam then pulls the visor off of Macha and kicks him into a wall. Sam leaps on Macha to keep him pinned down, holding him tightly. Rothel comes over, but smells something is off…a hint of Ozone? Rothel shouts now.
“Get Back!”
Macha self destructs into a burst of final lasers from his suit. Sam and Rothel take some shots and they lay and grunt in pain a moment, though could have been more fatal if they had not been retreating already from the warning. Rothel takes a bolt to the face. Thankfully, it hits his goggles and bounces off. He falls backwards however, seemingly knocked out from the impact.
Sam is hit in both arms and one leg. He grunts loudly.
“Getting too old for this…”
Sandra lays against a metal beam and begins healing herself slowly.
“…Better be…worth it…”
Rothel gets up slowly, nearly falling over himself, stumbling.
After a moment, Sandra is able to limp to the terminals and types with one hand and looks over various archives of information. She stands quietly as words flip and come, then images on one screen. The Janoos gather their senses before making their way over to the consoles.
“…Initiate, are you…alive over there?”
“Barely… Which is good enough. Let’s see what kind of freaky porn this guy’s got.”
He accesses one of the consoles, as does Sam.
“…Do you recognize this structure? It looks…noble-ish.”
He nods softly. “Yeah that’s one of the markets. Merchants hub. Big shots went there when I was around, did business. I wouldn’t be surprised if we found our lovebirds there.”
“…A fine place to pay a visit. I also found records on Sith supplying the Eyes for a larger raid on an undetermined target. We may have disrupted that.”
Sam digs around for manifests and dossiers.
“Hey you two, come get a look at this.”
Sandra limps over “What is this?”
“This here’s a contract, signed by the mayor… Looks like he’s trading off his daughter to keep crime and terror low.” He points to the details of the file.
“…Fascinating. What a curious move by the mayor. But a short term effort once the Sith invade, proper.”
“Son of a bitch… That dirty bastard…”
Ro seems hot-headed, but a glance from his father calms him down.
He continues to read the file. “Son of a bitch is right… This guy looks like a grade A asshole… A real sleazebag.” He looks to Sandra. “What’d you find over there?”
“…I found where they where will be staying. Also, there is no primary record of the old man doing more than helping the Sith or eyes. He may be just using them to sustain his own games. May need to speak with him again before we leave. Otherwise, security detail will be extreme as the palace is throwing a party. An excellent way to get inside…”
“Jarel is a rather secluded fellow. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had his own plan in the works… Nothing to worry about right now, but I will keep tabs on it.” Sam notes.
“A party at the palace, only the rich and sleazy are allowed there… Usually they have credential checks on entry.” Roth says.
“Yeah… Their security detail is tight too. They usually have a lieutenant on the premises, and they tend to know their men, so disguises won’t work, unless they wear face masks.” He looks to Sandra a moment. “The men there are usually well-trained, so seduction won’t do much.”
“So what do you suggest we do?”
“Well, in my experience, it’s better to not be seen at all than to wear a fake face. If your cover gets blown, like it did here, you’re gonna make a permanent visit with the Force. Plus I’ve always been better at sneaking around than blending in. I would suggest infiltrating from the roof and using maintenance access. We can go from there once we have more detail on the building’s layout.” Sam looks to Sandra questioningly.
“…Now we need to get out. Time to steal a ride. We have the advantage in any case. We can scale places with well timed jumps, and so on.”
Rothel hums in thought, before his eyes light up. “I’ve got it!”
“Well, don’t keep it from us, son.”
Rothel turns and places his arm on the passenger seat, looking back at them.
“I’m the least wounded, or at least it looks like… I can jump up, infiltrate, find a guard to impersonate, then let a dressed and prettied up Sandra inside, no background check, no questions asked.”
“How do the nobles feel about servants on this planet?”
Sam’s old but youthful face lightens, a soft smile on his face. He looks to Sandra, humming quietly.
“Usually servants are in the service of royalty, more specifically the Queen. It might raise a few eyebrows to see just a noble with a servant.”
“Mm…good to know. In any case, I will go dress shopping and you two can prep in your own way. Drop me off at the local shopping center…”
The three get out of the base from the basement and steal a speeder truck. About an hour passes as they drive from the docks, past Selton, and to Theed. The high-end merchandise is usually in the main capital, where population and standard of living is higher. Rothel kicks the engines back up and takes off back onto the roads, while Sam finishes up his healing techniques. He leans back in the other side of the speeder and grunts, seemingly taxed for now.
Sandra manages a powernap until they get to the shopping center.
End Part 1
