Private Don't Fear the Reaper

[Katarine Ryiah]

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Tags: Gatz Derrevar


Katarine saw the receptionist leave the desk out of the corner of her eye. Perhaps the page hadn't worked and the receptionist needed to go personally find a doctor. Kat could feel the womans unease as she walked further and further down the hallway, but it was only getting stronger. That was weird to Katarine but Gatz started to explain about Jedi being like myths. Perhaps that was what was happening? She listened to him fully explain as her eyes continued to lazily glance up and down the plaque with thousands of names.

"why do you ask?"

"In my day the Jedi were often portrayed as villains. When the Republic was at its height though I think they were well respected but after Order 66 there was a lot of Jedi hatred. Most of us went into hiding. The receptionist just seemed very nervous to talk to us. I can still feel her unease. I just wondered if things had changed at all since they found me frozen on Naboo. So much of the galaxy I am still getting familiar with and...."

She trailed off, her eyes zeroing in on one of the small little metal plaques of donors:

Gido T'suro​

"Take a look at this plaque." She pointed to the tiny name and glanced over her shoulder to see the receptionist scurrying back to the desk.

"I am so sorry but none of our brain surgery team is available. Could I perhaps take a message?"

Kat raised her eyebrow at Gatz.

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[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Training Saber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"The Republic?" Gatz asked, incredulous.

That was history. Like, almost a millennia ago, history. And that was if she was talking about The Fall of the Republic, and not older, like the era Valery Noble was from. Suddenly, every odd thing Gatz had noted about Master Ryiah made sense: the reason she was asking about public perception of the Jedi, the reason she struggled with something as simple as a commlink, and the reason he was flying the speeder... her struggles with technology were just like Valery's, who barely knew how to turn on the tv.

Maybe he ought to put together a refresher course for the two of them. Hah! Wouldn't that be funny? A remedial Padawan holding a remedial class for Masters.

But then Master Ryiah diverted the topic, beckoning him over to come look at something. Gatz stood up and walked the few steps that separated him from her, and immediately spotted what had piqued her interest: a plaque dedicated to the doctor they were looking for. Apparently their man was a donor. Of what? Gatz suspected brains, but maybe that was too convenient. Either way, now they knew that Gido T'suro was linked to this hospital, even if only barely so.

The receptionist hurried back to her post and denied them the chance at talking to one of the surgeons. They were brain surgeons so they were probably busy at all times of the day, so Gatz didn't find that to be particularly suspicious.

"Maybe you could answer a question for us instead?" Gatz counteroffered, "I'm looking for a Doctor Gido T'suro. I'm something of a budding surgeon myself, and I was hoping to intern for such a prestigious doctor. Is it possible you could put me in contact? Maybe a number, or the address of the clinic so I could introduce myself in person?"

Gatz didn't like to lie these days. But it still came to him as easy as breathing.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

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Tags: Gatz Derrevar

As soon as Gatz spoke Katarine felt the receptionist ease a little. She was buying the lie he had to sell. Katarine had to admit he was a good liar. Years with the Underworld would do that to a person. She should know. During her time as a Jedi Investigator she had spent most of her time undercover in the Underworld. It was a useful skill to have, even if she knew it could feel wrong using it.

"Oh, you want to do an internship?" The receptionist smiled and her shoulders visibly relaxed. "I thought... well... when two of you showed up.."

"Oh I'm just here to make sure this padawan gets placed in a good medical internship. We weren't sure if there was paperwork to do. Then I'll be on my way."

At the word "padawan" the receptionist relaxed even further, just as Katarine suspected. Underestimating Jedi padawans had been a hard lesson back in the day for the galaxy and it looked like not everybody had learned it. Gatz was more than capable of solving this crime himself, even if he didn't believe so, and underestimating his abilities was foolish, but luckily a fool was just what they needed right now.

"Well ... yes... I guess.. that would be okay. Here... let me get his information."

A moment latter the receptionist had handed over a digital readout with the address and phone number of the clinic. Katarine thanked her and they left the hospital at a normal pace. Once they were out on the street she smiled at Gatz.

"Well... let's not keep the good doctor waiting."

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[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Training Saber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

As far as lies went, Gatz had told better. He was a little rusty, considering he'd spent over a year away from the criminal underworld. Even so, it seemed his natural charm and penchant for talking himself out of trouble remained, because the receptionist ate up his little fib like it was the most genuine thing she'd ever heard. He... didn't know how to feel about that—lies like this were the staple of his old profession, not his new one.

The falsehood has served its purpose. Gatz was less pleased by that than maybe he ought to have been.

Game could recognize game, and Master Ryiah picked up on his fib easily. She bolstered it, even, giving it credibility it otherwise would have lacked. Who would think a Jedi Master was lying to them, after all? A man like him? Definitely. A Padawan? Possibly. But a Jedi Master? Few would even dare to accuse one of such.

And, true to form, the receptionist hurried to collect the information they'd asked for. A name and an address, but she also uttered one word that gave them even more information about the good doctor. 'Him.' And now they knew that their brain surgeon was male, something they could only have guessed at a few minutes before.

"Thank you." Gatz smiled, and followed Master Ryiah out the door.

The Jedi Master didn't want to let T'suro wait a moment longer, and Gatz wasn't going to argue. The man was, potentially, a serial killer. The sooner they confronted him, the better. So he took the controls of the speeder once more, and began to guide them to the address the receptionist had given them.

"So," Gatz asked as he changed lanes, "how are we going to play this? Keep up the intern fib? Or just walk in on Jedi business?"

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

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Location: Flying to Clinic
Objective: Decide on gameplan
Tags: Gatz Derrevar


"So," Gatz asked as he changed lanes, "how are we going to play this? Keep up the intern fib? Or just walk in on Jedi business?"

Katarine thought about this for a moment, biting her lip as she weighed the possibilities.

"Well if you show up for an internship it might appear less threatening. I could case the clinic, snoop around and see if anything is hidden there while you blab on about some internship. The upside is that might give us more clues and its less likely to cause him to run immediately, meaning we can follow him when he leaves work if we need. The downside is if he doesn't fall for the ruse he might attack you and we don't know what type of croons or firepower he might have with him, especially if the clinic is where he's performing the murders."

She paused for a moment, thinking about that option in her head.

"The other option is to walk in on Jedi business. That might scare him and cause him to flee if he's guilty. We could take him in for questioning. We have enough to hold him twenty four hours. The upside of that is no threat of being ambushed on your part and it would give us open access to search his clinic without hiding. The downside of course is that if he isn't doing this at his clinic we might blow a lead. He could wait out our twenty four hours of questioning and then go clean up his mess and take this to another world. We might lose him for a while. Or if he has a partner he might take the fall but we've only solved half the problem."

Of course he could be totally innocent. He might not even be the doctor they needed but Kat had learned long ago not to believe in coincidences. The name wasn't that common and the fact that he was in brain surgery meant he had something to do with this. He might not be the killer but he knew who it was at least.

"Your choice. I trust your instinct"

She eyed him sideways and wondered how that would make him feel. She could tell he had reservations about her as a Jedi and of course about himself as one. The truth was Katarine was not a typical Jedi the way Valery Noble or Obiwan Kenobi might be. Maybe she had been once upon a time, but after Order 66 the traditional path of a Jedi was blown to hell. Even before that Kat had served as an undercover operative most of her life. Lies, criminal dealings, and all of it came with the territory. Perhaps that was why the Council saw fit to pair them together. Kat needed to see that the old Jedi ways were back and embrace tradition once more, and Gatz needed to see there was more than one path a Jedi could walk. Seemed like the type of thing a Council would do, though Kat hadn't yet met everyone on the Council.

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[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Training Saber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

Gatz listened attentively, as Master Ryiah went on to pitch two separate ideas. They each had their own merits, and one of them might even end without him getting stabbed, or shot, or killed. Gatz typically liked days where he didn't get stabbed, or shot, or killed. But he had to admit... the first option seemed the best to him, even if it potentially put him in harm's way.

Not that that was anything new to him. And, frankly, a serial killer who didn't like his victims to be in pain was better than the jungle predator on steroids that had torn out his entrails. So, really, nothing could happen in that clinic that was worse than the worst pain he'd ever been in.

And the choice was his, as Master Ryiah laid out. Gatz didn't understand that decision, but he wouldn't argue with the Jedi Master who made it. He was scum, but if she trusted his judgement enough to let him make this decision... then he would endeavor to be worthy of her faith.

"I'm partial to the first idea," Gatz admitted, "I survived smuggling for all sorts of cartels, gangs, and pirates for six years out in Hutt space. I think I can handle a brain surgeon with a scalpel and a high-tech laser cutter. And if I can't... well, I have a penchant for surviving what should be fatal wounds."

Though, admittedly, he usually walked into dangerous situations with a blaster on his thigh. Not a training saber that was utterly useless for real combat.

In spite of everything that was sure to transpire soon, Gatz couldn't help but feel that this assignment was a breath of fresh air. The Jedi Temple was a stuffy place, meant for orthodox students. He was anything but. And he was starting to realize that, maybe, Master Ryiah wasn't exactly an orthodox Master. That suited him just fine. It meant there was less judgement when he inevitably stepped into the grey area to deal with an issue.

"Unless you disagree, I'd like to pose as an intern, while you snoop." Gatz brought them in for a landing.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

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Tags: Gatz Derrevar

Katarine was happy to hear the confidence in his statement. Even if he didn't realize it this mission was starting to raise his confidence, just a tiny bit, and that was a good thing. She smiled, watching him out of the corner of her deep green eyes. It was a very satisfying experience to watch someone learn and grow in front of you, and the feeling felt familiar to her. Ever since being unfrozen she had been dealing with amnesia but this feeling was almost Déjà vu. She was confident she had played the role of teacher several times before during her service to The Republic. It felt rewarding to know some part of her identity now, that of a teacher.

"Alright then. That's the plan. I won't be far away so just try to keep him talking and calm. You can take my blaster if you want. It's ancient but it works."

She had of course read his file and knew that he only had a training saber with him, but a real Jedi was not merely their weapon.

"You know if we live through this we ought to build you a real lightsaber." She gave him a lopsided smile to show she was teasing but the offer was sincere. If Gatz needed a master she was happy to serve as one but she wouldn't push it. There were several esteemed healers in the order and that might suite his needs better. All Kat could do was be there for him when he needed it and guide him where she could.

Her comm unit buzzed and she picked it up and fiddled with it for a moment. In her day these things had basically been voice boxes but now you could send texts and pictures and all sorts of things over them. For a second she frowned in frustration, not understanding why it was showing her some calculator function, but a moment latter she saw the message from the Temple.

"Another girl's been reported missing. We better work fast."

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[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Training Saber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"Probably be too suspicious if I walk in with a weapon." Gatz declined the offer of borrowing Master Ryiah's blaster, despite how much he wanted to accept, "might look like I'm suspecting a fight. Besides, the Force is supposed to be my ally, right? I mean, that's never really been true before..."

The Force hadn't stopped him from getting hurt the last dozen times he'd been in a situation like this. Even after Valery had jump started his training, he'd still ended up getting mauled by an actual jungle predator on steroids. But, they weren't dealing with some beast on New Cov. Just a surgeon who lured his victims in to a clinic.

Victims that were typically unsuspecting. He wasn't.

Gatz set his training saber down on the seat, for the same reason he didn't take Master Ryiah's blaster. It was then that she mentioned him building a lightsaber. He'd wondered when she'd say something about that. Most Jedi constructed their sabers as younglings, long before they'd actually transitioned to Padawans. But he'd left the Order before his gathering; before he'd ever learned to build one. And he'd tried to make sense of the schematics, but... he'd never learned well from reading or lectures.

"I'd need a crystal for that... and a lot of help." Gatz admitted, "I never had the chance to learn how to build one... and who has the time to teach a twenty-five year old Padawan something they should have learned when they were ten?"

But he wasn't going to pretend he wasn't eager for help in that area. Cora and Master Serys-Organa were already helping him with his studies, and Gatz didn't want to add to what they were already doing for him. He couldn't bring himself to bother Briana, not with everything that was already on her plate. And Valery... he didn't want her to know how much he was struggling. Plus, she was busy enough as it was.

Wherever that thought had been taking him, it was interrupted by Master Ryiah's comm. Another girl had been taken, and much like the Jedi Master said, they needed to get to work.

"Alright," Gatz looked at the small clinic, "see you on the other side?"

And then Gatz was off, walking through the automatic doors of the clinic, and into the lobby.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

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Location: Clinic
Objective: Snoop
Tags: Gatz Derrevar


Katarine wanted to comfort Gatz about his age and rank but now was not the time. There was a missing girl and if the doctor had her then there was a grim future indeed. They both had to get to work. After they landed Kat got out of the speeder and eyed the building. There should be some type of side entrance she figured so that was where she would start.

Gatz meanwhile was going straight into the lobby, where a large handsome desk would greet him. There were three different females behind the desk, two helping patients and one on the comm unit with someone. The lobby was very luxurious for a doctors office but maybe that was to put people at ease. Brain surgery was scary after all. There was calming music playing and a fishtank bubbling in the corner. It all seemed serene and sterile.

When the female Pantoran put down the comm unit she looked up at Gatz and smiled. "Have you been helped sir?"

---

((if you want to NPC any of these people go right ahead!))

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[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons:
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

He pushed those feelings of shame over his inadequacies away. They served no purpose here, other than to distract him. And a distraction was the last thing he needed, when he was heading into what was potentially a serial killer's lair.

The clinic was a sterile, if ostentatious space. He supposed that made sense for Coruscant though. Even if it was in the meat packing district, they were still on the upper levels of Coruscant, not at some back alley ripperdoc on Nar Shaddaa. At first glance, Gatz would never have suspected that this was a dangerous place to be. But then, that was why it was so effective, wasn't it?

He was being lured in, and if not for the fact he was on this case, he wouldn't have had any idea.

...the female Pantoran put down the comm unit she looked up at Gatz and smiled. "Have you been helped sir?"

Gatz plastered a smile on his face, and approached the front desk, "not yet. I'm not really a patient, I'm actually here to introduce myself to Doctor T'suro. I'm a budding surgeon myself, and I was hoping to study under him."

"Oh." The Pantoran woman didn't seem to know what to do with that, "I think he might be busy..."

Gatz had expected something like this. Even if this woman wasn't suspicious as to his real reason for being here, it was pretty unusual to just ask to meet someone who might be performing brain surgery. But Gatz wasn't about to give up. Especially because, if he really was busy, it might have been with the new woman who had been abducted.

"Would you mind checking for me? I understand he's a very busy man, but I'm a very persistent person," Gatz turned his smile into a grin, "better the good doctor meet me now, instead of me coming back to bug you everyday."

"I... suppose I could see if he has time to spare." Huh. That had actually worked.

"Thank you."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

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As Gatz disappeared within the clinic Katarine decided to try her luck with the basement. Usually in a medical facility the basement was either storage or a morgue, and in both cases sometimes it was easier to get into these areas than one would think. She put her hands in her pockets and strolled casually down the street, keeping an eye out on the lower levels of the building. Around back there was an alleyway that looked as if it was used for deliveries. This would do as well as anywhere she figured.

She headed that way and quickly ducked behind a dumpster when she saw two people coming out. They had janitor uniforms on and seemed to be enjoying a break. Kat knelt down and put her back against the dumpster, content to listen for now. There was nothing she could do until the men moved so she could sneak inside.

After a few moments howwever she worried this might not be a quick ten minute break. She summoned the Force around her and knocked a pipe over further down the alleyway. The effect was immediate. The men got up and went that way to investigate, and Katarine slipped behind them through the door and out of sight.

It was disturbingly simple to get into places sometimes and honestly though it was good for the purposes today Katarine did worry about security. She was certain she would be on camera eventually, perhaps even now so she better move quickly.

Gatz Derrevar

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