Fun! And Kinrath. (Ask to join)

[Maple Harte]

"I hear you." Maple breathed in and out hard to Matsu. "So, are you saying the enclave might be the actual focus? I might be able to reach it. Or I can get back to the cave you are near and we can do something about those poor eggs. Whichever you think holds more priority, but the longer the kinrath are agitated, the worse it is for anyone who gets near them"

Maple finally caught her breath and checked on the knocked out kinrath nearby. There were probably more near the vault, but this kinrath business was occupying Maple's full attention. Plus, she was still feeling the effects of Matsu's meld.

It was strange sharing a connection with any Jedi again, even a temporary one as this. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Accepting it had been like instinct. Like putting on a glove. She was no Jedi. But the feeling was a reminder from pleasant days.

Here she was, teaming with a Jedi, bringing some small sense of balance back to it. For a moment she actually wished she had on the robes. And then she remembered all the sweat, the blasters, the sex.

Nah. She wasn't going to be putting on robes any time soon.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

If the ancient enclave was the main goal of the attack or a distraction.. then she was certain they would be more at risk. The creatures were a problem but they were numerous compared to many other creatures. "Possibly, we should check it out. I have designated some droids to move the eggs and take them back to the caves so the kinrath and legrek can retrieve their own eggs. Try to at least appease them to not attack looking for their eggs. Matsu was moving and checking some of the ship itself and didn't find much in the eay of infomration about what they would be doing here. She knew the plan and seemed the credits had been paid.

She could see they had some plans for what they wanted to do and how to spend them. Whoever had sdone this wasn't worried about well losing them for now at least. THey didn't double cross yet... more just left the situation opened for them to be in danger and killed within their own time. THe jedi master was looking at more of it when she moved down the ramp againa and closed the doors of the ship. A smile playing across her face though as she went off to go and check what they were getting all up and around until the jedi master started heading towards the enclave once the droids arrived for the egs.

 

[Maple Harte]

The ancient enclave beckoned in the distance a ruined facade of a once great training center. Maple had visited the ruins once as a shadow. It was here she had acquired the two viridian crystals for her old cane blades.

Seeing this place again brought a lot of mixed emotions as she headed towards it through the woods. The sun was up by this point, so she had no trouble seeing it. The plains were clear of anything but herbivores at the moment. No kath hounds.

Maple strode across the grass, feeling the old memories come back harder as she got closer. Her first kill had been on Dantooine. Some knight of Ren who'd bitten off more than he could chew coming to their territory. Maple had blown his chest open with a scoped slugthrower. Down he went.

She finally reached the enclave and waited, smiled a bit when she saw Matsu coming and stood in front of the ruined sublevel entrance.

She waved at Matsu, even as she made note of the sublevel doors having been forced open. She had explored the ruins before, but it had been years. She'd likely need Matsu down here if there were laigreks still. They had always liked this place.

Either way, kicking poachers off the planet was always a nice way to start the week, jedi or not.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

Giving Maple a look as she was looking at the sublevel entrace and clasped her hands in front of herself. The jedi master took a moment to revitalize and refocus herself. Where she would be able to really work and use the force was impoart to her until she was moving around.. until she was going to the sublevel doors and opening them just enough for the two of them to go inside of the ruins. The jedi master was trying to check out a few of the other things as they came itno the main open area a tree set up around them until she was moving around. Her eyes tracking and flicking back and forth to search out for signs of where they went or were going to search.

Matsu breathed out though while she was motionign for Maple to go around the tree one way and she would go around the other to make sure no one came from either side and they could search around first in the section of barracks and quarters. Where the padawans would have slept with the rooms and there was a small medical area there. "We didn't have much but there is a lot of space around here to be searched. Careful with some of the rooms and if anything comes out... we'll just have to handle it." She didn't say stun or kill, leaving it opened the leigreks were a lot more dangerous then kinrath... so stunning them could be dangerous.

She set about though exploring and moving quietly with her toes taking most of the impact softly as the force enhanced her ears. To better handle the problems that could come from the fight that they were all going to likely have. A jedi team down here would not be wasted if they could clear it out and maybe use the enclave for themselves but she was uncertain about what they might be able to find. Matsu opened one of the doors and it slid open smoothly before showing the beddings that the padawans used and some open lockers at the foots of the beds. Along the walls and panels were taken apart.

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple followed the Jedi Master in, wincing at the power exerted to force open the sublevel doors. Skip. She was dying of thirst somewhere on a desert planet, the vultures circling overhead. Skip. Back to Matsu. Back to reality. Skip. She was trapped in the basement. Her ammo was gone. She could no longer keep them out. Skip. The tree was a large one to move around to as Maple moved silently, making very little noise as she did so, moving around the tree to cover a possible attack angle with her staff. She was very cautious, looking for signs of recent laigrek activity as she entered the first room with Matsu. Saw the ancient, rotted beds, and broken terminals. She went through the room, seeing no recent signs of laigreks, though she did spot holes from which they burrowed. She smelled dust and fungus.

Maple stepped through the room, looking for signs of anything. Her eye caught sign of a smudged boot print and blood. She knealt down, sniffing it.

"Recent. Can smell the soil from the woodlands. Blood is fresh." Maple spoke softly, "Human blood too. Someone else is down here. Or was down here. But why come into this area?" She wondered, standing up. "What would you want in this old room?"

She began searching along where she found the print, saw it was facing a bed and knealt down examining it. She pulled up what looked to be a small, red velvet bag. She opened it up. More of the gently glowing amber crystals. And what looked to be ancient data tapes.

"They stashed them here? Maybe it was a laigrek attack. But what are these amber crystals? They look..."

She stopped herself. She had been about to say lightsaber crystals but she feared it would give away too much. Far too much.

"...important." she simply finished after a split second of indecision.

Her head snapped to attention as she heard faint screams for help.

"Sounds like our dummies. Lets go see what mess they're in." Maple said in a grim voice, figuring she would not like what she found.

Sure enough, blocking her way was a few laigreks as she tried to follow the screaming to a wide passage. She signaled for Matsu to follow. She was too cute to see get devoured by a laigrek.

"They have not spotted us. And I have one of the poacher's tranq guns." she said, taking aim. "Lets try not to kill them. They're...cute.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

Matsu was looking at all of it and the girl seemed to hesitate when she was talking about the crystal. Interesting and more so when she said it was important. She had stopped from saying something which only aded to her so she was looking over towards it. She was about to speak more while searching through the rotted beddings and debris that had been left over as she was searching and came away with mostly nothing. Then the sounds of blaster fire and she was movig with Maple towards the sounds seeing the tranq gun provided. She should have brought the one from their preserve.. it would have come in handy.

"I'll get you a porg sweetie." She said it with a small smile though when she said the creatures were cute or was in the humanoid who was fighitng them off and failing badly. She was joking though with Maple now to try and at least make it so if they died.. or got injured at least she could say she didn't regret having a little fun. "We'll knock them out but just don't miss. I don't know how many darts you might have left." THe jedi master moved in towards them as she was making a small sound to attract the creatures attention towards herself and get them to run over for a moment.. then they would get shot by Maple or the raider while she dodged.

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple nodded, checked her ammo, and her stun stick. The laigreks were a bit tougher, but if she aimed right...

The one they were attacking had been backed into a corner, firing at them, but they kept advancing and he was clearly on the verge of running out. When Matsu made a sound, the animals perked and Maple fired her VT Sliide gun at one, right at a soft part as it turned to engage Matsu along with the others. The raider raised his rifle to fire at one and hit it while Maple emptied her last five darts into the creatures, one by one. As they charged at Matsu, the tranquilizer took effect, and they grew more and more sluggish as they tried to attack her, though Maple would distract them occasionally with her staff, drawing some from Matsu to give the tranq more time.

Some were still going and one charged at Maple aggressively, forcing her to poke and ward it off with her staff, hearing its clicks as it moved on the ancient floors, while the raider broke into a run down another passage. Three of the animals still had enough fight to break into a run for [member="Matsu Ike"], and Maple, after batting away one of the laigreks as it grew rapidly tired, eventually falling unconscious went immediately over to Matsu to give her back up, poking and warding away the drugged laigrek with her staff. They were cute, but relentless when they thought you messed with the hive.

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

Matsu was looking at her and then at the creatures as they were coming, she took the idea and wasn't going to just go out and kil them if Maple didn't want her to. That would be well and dangerous since she was trying to give a good impression as the jedi master headed forward with her saber and deactivated it as she held out a hand holding the one creature in place and then threw them into a wall to disable and knock them out. THe thick hides and violence was something she didn't want to have to face up close without killing them or disabling with her saber. Maple was firing tranq darts and she would have to remember to give her one of the dart rifles they had for more accuracy if this was going to be a regular thing.

Matsu was moving quickly though and the being who was there became a small problem. She was firing the blaster at both of them and Matsu used stasis on the shot to stop the blaster bolt. Sending it past her head when she stopped and pulled the blaster to come to her hand. "careful where you are aiming." There was a look and she wasn't mad but someone she was helping shooting at her hurt... a little and it showed on her face as she was moving and pinned the woman to the wal with the force before she looked at her. "Now behave otherwise I am going to let the girl with the gun shoot you up with some darts. I don't know the dosage but I am certain you do."

The woman's helmet fell away as she was pinned to the wall and revealed a twi'lek, pink lekku pale and bright in the murky shadows of the sublevel, eyes looking at the two of them with bright blue pupils that were wide. "Okay." She said it throuygh strained teeth as the jedi master eased off and kept her there. She finally got to take in the armor they were wearing and it was brandless, formless most making all fo them look like a soldier instead of accentuating the body. Something she knew most twi'leks took care to do. "Now why are you here going through all of this work." The twi'lek seemed to be thinking about it and spoke defeating. "We are looking for the codex. a buyer wanted it."

 

[Maple Harte]

The bounty hunter watched as Matsu knocked out the last one, her own laigreks at last falling unconscious. But that was a short relief during the blaster fire that came Matsu's way. The Jedi Master moved faster than Maple could blink toward the shooter, disabling her with a pin to the wall. Skip. She was drowning in an ocean of maggots as the shields on her ship at last failed. Skip. Back to the enclave. Her skin which was sometimes detachable and autonomous in at least one or two delusions a day itched, whispering about soda. Can Matsu hear me? She can hear me can't she? Wheres the metal foil hat when you need it? More importantly where is that bottle of bleach with the legs? Little freak ran off a minute ago. Time to do something important looking so you don't look like a moron.

Maple approached the Twi'lek.

"Codex? What codex?"

"Some sort of Jedi Codex. Codex Of Cynthin, or something like that."

Maple raised an eyebrow.

"Is it a holocron?"

"Yeah. Sorta."

"Whats on it? Who's your buyer?"

"I dunno whats on it. As for the buyer, its anonymous."

Where do you think it is?"

The twilek gave a harsh chuckle. "Where else do Jedi put their holocrons? The library. But its hidden."

"Hidden?"

"What our source told us anyway." the Twilek answered.

"This source... What else do you know?" Maple asked, getting closer, piercing green eyes getting a small glint from low light.

"Don't know much beyond that."

"Yeah right. Where's the Codex?"

"Hidden." The Twilek repeated irritably but something in those piercing green eyes told her to show more caution in how much defiance she showed. "We had to make such a distraction in order to draw away the laigreks."

Maple turned to [member="Matsu Ike"]. "You ever heard of this Codex of Cynthin?"

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

Matsu was listening to them and at first she was curious with a look on her face. Maple had managed to get some things before she was speaking. "The codex of tython maybe but the jedi have recovered a small handful of codex." She was thinking about it and if there was one out here then it could have been the taur codex... they had some pages recovered thanks to Rave and if the pieces of it were brought together she had seen it could summon from the gap something dangerous. THey had fought the fear god.... Hopefuly not ther was the aing-tii codex. Something that connected to the lifewell and the more dangerous creatures there.

"It could be the codex from the rift as well, few know about it but the technology is highly sought after." Matsu was looking at the twi'lek with a nod of her head while she was thinking about it before she was moving now. "We will have to proceed carefully, if the codex is here then we'll have to find a way to hide it again to protect it. The temptation to use it can be great and if it is the holocron it will bneed to go to the library archives." Matsu was looking at Maple as she spoke though and used the stun rod on the twi'lek to knock her out and was moving her into a room that was cleared and sealed to protect her. She looked at Maple and gave a nod. "Lets go searching."

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple chuckled as Matsu knocked the woman out and put her in a clean storage area. Skip. She was FAAAAAALLLLLLIIIIINNNNNG. Skip. She was back in the enclave, the thirty thousand year trip completed in mere seconds with the aid...of scissors. Can she hear me? Must wear peanut butter. The Dark Gods will kill us both if I don't.

Maple led the way to the library, thankfully the amount of laigreks zero at the moment. Apparently they had been scared off. But they would be back. Laigreks always come back. Bastards. Chitinous bastards too. They'd had Ursula killed and Maple killed when they discovered they were working with the Sith--wait. False. You are not dead, Maple. Not dead. Not dead.

The library entrance was partly collapsed in and Maple had to crouch low to get inside. The library was dilapidated, part of the ceiling fallen in. Some shelves had broken down and collapsed completely. The shelves on the upper stories were more intact. The tiles looked smashed and crumbling. Maple went forward a bit, scanning the room with her eyes. The running lights had been set up by the plunderers, and they had even set up a portable terminal. Maple went to it, and immediately began accessing it security subroutines.

"Codex of Cynthin...I wonder whats on that holocron that they would go to the trouble for..." Maple wondered. Skip. She was a bee! Skip. Bees! Skip. BEEEEESSSSS.

Skip. The Terminal security programs shut down after a few minutes.

"Matsu, if you wanted to hide a Jedi Holocron in a place like this...where, you think?" she asked of Matsu Ike. If anyone could think in such terms it was likely a generalist.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

Hmm if she wanted to hide a holocron? THe jedi master was looking around and trying to find something... anything here while she looked around at the library and she would hide a holocron in plain sight... make it not something you ssought out but a jedi would recognize while she was moving. "I'd work more to be clever, looters and scavengers will come to abandoned locations... they will tear up the floor, search every nook and cranny.... but if you want to hdie something it isn't about hiding it from everyone... it is about making sure that you are not going to forget you put it here." The jedi master was reaching out while she spoke and walked around.

She was reaching out and feling for it as she found it, using the force itself as she ran her hand around a small alcove that was ruined in the far wall and she spoke. "I'd use a technique few other jedi know and use still to obscure it." She focused the force on the wall and was pulling at it to decompress the shifting as there was a pop in the force and a collection of artifacts were within it. The debris gone and cleared while she started to check it and held up sabers, robes and a few holocrons looking back at Maple with her eyebrows raised. "Unless you know what to look for... shifting is one off the best ways to hide and keep things from being found."

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple raised an eyebrow. Such highly specialized knowledge...often the simplest ways to acquire it was through ones travels. Or by hitting the books. Either made Matsu possibly dangerous. But if Maple had to pick which made her more nervous, field experience edged out academic understanding by only a hair's breadth. Some of the most dangerous Jedi spent considerable time in Jedi libraries. Maple's line of study had always been in the practical: sneaking, sniping, hacking, codebreaking. Telekinesis was her single strongest study after plant surge.

The artifacts all looked old and important: any of them could be worth distracting laigreks for. But Maple got the feeling these were not it.

Maple looked around and her eye spotted a notch on the wood in the wall where an old lightsaber rested.

She put her hand forward on the notch and pressed it.

Part of the floor retracted in the middle of the room, and Maple's eyes widened.

"Sneaky...give up the obvious stuff first. The stuff you can afford to lose. All real. All valuable else it would raise suspicion. But this alcove thing...neat trick, but it wasn't designed to fool someone who specialized in umm...'extracurricular'...um...you know what? I'm just gonna not incriminate myself. There. That solves everything." Maple said, comically scratching the back of her head while looking away before heading dow to the revealed steps.

"This looks like a new addition, relatively new, anyway. I'd wager...a century, at least," Maple said as she headed to the chamber at the bottom.

It was dark, save for grimy, red running lights on the walls as Maple spotted the shelves of books, each book bound in red leather and labled strange, oddly unsettling titles such as 'On divination by boiling' or 'Concerning the Netherworld heresies'.

Maple saw one book had toppled to the floor, one of its pages loose. She went over and picked it up. Her eyes fell on the loose, dusty page, depicting a robed skeleton flinging arrows at another.

The text, written in crimson cursive underneath read:

Spell of Arrows:

Mighty strings of the Force, hear my cry and pierce my foe's flesh.

Speaking the above words shall hurl weak, invisible bolts of Force Energy. Extremely painful but lacks penetrative power and cannot pierce most armors save for light ones. This spell is Dathomiri in origin.

It seems helping the Generalist has proven useful. Doashim spoke from within.

Maple's eyes then turned to the cover of the book: 'Violence Spells, Revised Edition.'

I knew some of the authors who wrote that book. It would be most useful to you.

Kinda got the feeling by the fact just one spell tells me how to hurl invisible arrows.

Maple flipped open the book, spotted an actual table of contents, went to page forty six.

Flesh Chain.

(Prepare knife with following curse: "As I use you to seperate flesh, you shall seperate its bonds to it owner not just in blood but through the Force")

(Subject must be incapacitated)

(Remove tissue sample from subject in following areas: Arms, thighs, head. Each sample must be length of caster's pinky finger)

(Prepare incisions along own body. Surround incisions with the following words: Your flesh now serves me and your body shall obey my will or suffer.)

(Burn tissue samples to ash with red wine. Sprinkle ash onto incisions while reciting spell around wounds.)

Process must occur starting at midnight, facing south. Success will ensure total control over victim's musculature for twenty four hours. Improper starting time will result in painful, hideous death. Requires Spirit Ichor.

"Okay, thats...terrifying." Maple uttered. "Sometimes I believe force adepts just invent this stuff just to make everyone else stay awake at night."

The case can be made, child.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

"A possibility." Matsu said it while she was looking at the rows of books and these were some of the more disturbing texts.. hidden away because the jedi didn't believe in destroying knowledge.... which could be good and bad... hiding it away meant eventually someone would be able to find it if they were looking. Or there was a danger of real problems from padawans learning about it but.... on the other hand. You did get to see the horrible and sometimes creative things beings came up with. Imagination was the real power of the force as it drove them to want to try any number of different things for themselves. The jedi master held her hand up as a glow ball appeared.

"Better to illuminate the paathway." She was going over some fo the other books and these were more the forbidden section or it, texts about just about any subject manner from thousands of different species all around them. "These are the things we have hidden away... texts that can show beauty int he galaxy or the grotesque... any number of dark intentions and methods but there are also some ideas from good and gentle beings about how things should be done. THings that might have become twisted in their original intent and desire." She said it and knew there were other archives like this some far far bigger and more organized.

"The black vaults where people think we just store darkside artifacts and things of power." She was looking at some parts of it though and continued a little deeper, the ceiling was reinforced turadium and would be able to survive an orbital strike. The switch to open the vault might be destroyed but few would be able to find it... the nullification resin would keep force users from feeling anything within the vault as well so they wouldn't just know it was here unless they were inside or the door was opened. "We should be careful and youshould be careful of what you read. Some of these beings twisted the mind with their ideas."

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple acknowledged Matsu's warning with a simple nod, but took the folded up page from the spell book and put it in her pocket. An arrow spell was an arrow spell. She put the book back on the shelf though and began looking at some of the other titles. Her eyes perked at one titled 'On Phasing.'

Maple opened the book for a second, and her eyes fell on the words for various meditations to allow one to safely phase themselves through objects, even other people. It looked to have been written by an expert. She placed it back on the shelf, but not before memorizing two or three key bits of knowledge. She looked at the lightsaber displays and spotted a switch hidden behind one of them in the darkness, and went over, hitting it.

A wall behind Matsu slid open in a loud hiss and lights in a hidden compartment lit up to reveal strange red clay tablets.

"Matsu, look!" Maple said, walking up to the tablets. They seemed to be almost done in a hieroglyphic fashion, and she could make out chemical formulas and measurements as well as...of all things...the image of an electric guitar.

"What is this?" Maple asked with a grin, pointing at the tablets. And then she spotted an electronic label.

"Codex of Cynthin." Maple said excitedly. "Its not a holocron! Its stone tablets! She turned back to Matsu.

"We should secure this find. I think the danger is mostly over by this point. I can leave you here to guard, sneak out of this place and bring my ship back to secure the contents unless you have a better idea." Maple suggested to [member="Matsu Ike"].

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

Matsu was looking at some of the things there and found one of interest details about the lothal wolves and their abilities. She had seen such creatures and understood what they could do before she was hearing Maple who had found something and gave a bow of her head. "Good idea, I can defend it and you go and get your ship." She could slave her ship to folow and work with them though before anything until the jedi master had a chance to go through all of it. SHe would read the book about the wolves and their technique for moving across the planet quickly as she bowed her head in understanding. Maple would be abel to go off and get her ship.

Matsu attention in the room though drifted while she was waiting and it was less a book and more a section of page. From the unknown regions that she knew well but this wasn't the one she had found long ago. "ANother piece" It made it more interesting and dangerous, this wasn't something you wanted to keep around or near other people and things. It could influence events and the pages almost had a will of their own.. they wanted to be found they wanted to be rejoined together and they wanted to be used. A partial page could stil cause chaos and problems but the full thing allowed others to be summoned against them.

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple grinned at Matsu's answer and headed out of the hidden chamber, retracing the path they had taken through the abandoned, ruined sublevel. She felt the weight of dead Jedi saturating the cracks in the walls. So much she had left behind. So much of her old aspirations...changed.

She had tried not to pay attention to the feeling of history, the ruins of it, as she walked through that history's literal subconscious. Her head seemed mercifully silent as she processed how easily she interacted with Matsu. What was it about this Jedi that lowered her defenses? Maple generally just went with the flow these days, but she had always had an apprehension towards most Jedi ever since Mimban. She didn't approach normally of her own accord but the situation had seen them work together. Along the path, out of the enclave, the bounty hunter decided to take care of her own business at the same time, to avoid return trips. She was making excellent time as it was so she could be thrifty. The green of Dantooines woods gave her some momentary peace as she traced her way to the bunker. The kinrath that had been surrounding the general area had dispersed, retreating underground to recover, perhaps. Perhaps since most of the poachers and thieves were dead and Maple and Matsu were really just passing through...the animals decided to split.

Clearing away the bunker's overgrowth of vines, she swiped the grime off the panel and powered the small door lock up. She had had the doors and system reinforced to survive inactivity long ago.

The ancient doors creeked and slid open and Maple strode inside, feeling the weight of her own past in here, all the disillusionment. And the light smatterings of the Jedi Master's aura in dark, lightless halls. Her rainy day supply. Matsu had added to it.

Maple pulled open some magnetic doors within the claustrophobic structure by pressing the switch on the door grips. This opened to a simple onyx colored chamber, where she kept her rainy day supply.

Her old robes were not here...they had been destroyed on Mimban, literally clawing the eyes out of her final target. Inside were backups. Spares she had never used.

All except one.

Maple placed her handprint on the scanner guarding a stone box. After the laser on the glass panel read her print, the partition on the undecorated box slid open, revealing her old weapon.

It looked unremarkable, save for light engravings near the hidden emitters. On at the bottom of the cane shaft and another hidden on a handle that gently tapered at one end. She grabbed it, feeling its familiar weight.

"Tell me," cooed a pleasant, slightly husky tone, that made her wheel around behind her.

The woman was slightly taller than Maple, with very black hair that ended in a messy, short bob. Her eyes glinted purple, her fair skin having an unpleasant palor in the near darkness. Her curvy figure was clad in a leather body-glove of an off-white color that remined her of an aged padded cell in an insane asylum. Her eyes were a nearly iridescent purple that was breathtaking to her, because it was so familiar and she did not understand why. Her smile on a face that the deadly perfection of a femme fatale. Maple knew that look. It was a look that had made her want to stop being a Jedi.

"...how does it feel, holding it again?" The woman, asked, a sultry, husky voice that for some reason repelled Maple. The woman's beauty was...repellant. And Maple could not feel anything from the woman.

"It feels...like it never left my hands..." Maple admitted, staring at the woman and backing away slightly. The woman continued smiling knowingly. Maple stared back.

"You're on private property,"

"This dead stone box?" The woman snorted her smile, though unchanging, somehow growing less pleasant by the second.

"Its my box."

"Of course it is. A woman has to keep her little black dresses somewear." The woman was standing in the doorway of the chamber.

"You...you have some business with me? With Matsu?"

The woman kept her smile, taking a step forward. Maple took a step back, though kept her cane inactive. It registered in the back of her mind. Black hair. She had black hair.

The woman leaned forward smile melting away into nothing frighteningly fast. Maple forgot to breath, grip on her old weapon gone knuckle white.

She breathed three simple words, a hint of a smile making the corners of her mouth curve upward.

"Welcome back, Uri."

Maple swung her saber cane but the woman leaned out of the way effortlessly, before kicking her in the stomach against the wall chamber and forcing Maple's own cane to her throat. There was a savage sneer as she pressed the cane harder against her throat to prevent her from screaming.

"Ah, so you got my gift." The Woman hissed as Maple was on the verge of blacking out. "So lovely in person...I was afraid you wouldn't be lucid enough to do this. But your madness progressess excellently.

Maple tried to thrash out of a terrifyingly strong grip. The Woman began smiling again at her struggle.

"I knew leaving a few corpses would draw you out. Just as I knew you'd come here to Dantooine. But you are not ready. I could end it right now. Your flesh burning under my lightning. Me breathing in the sweet scent of you as you cook...and then...and then..." the Woman trailed before ending in a grin and dropping Maple with a left hook. Maple hit the floor, disoriented. "So much we must put you through. I can hardly decide which method of breaking you would empower us both the most. I shall delight in letting you unveil it."

"Get spaced." Maple uttered in a whisper, choking., pulling out her tranq pistol and pulling the trigger.

The Woman smiled as it came up empty.

She ripped the pistol out of Maple's hands, examining it, sliding it knowingly down her stomach while staring at the bounty hunter, who was getting up, or trying to. Getting air in was hard.

The Woman tossed Maple the pistol.

"Rookie mistake. I thought you were a marksman. Don't worry. I'll think of a way to get you up to speed Maple, I swear." The Woman said playfully but there was an undercurrent of cruelty that seethed like lava.

"You have such pretty green eyes." The Woman said under her breath before walking out of the chamber. Maple had finally got out her rifle to bear and rushed out of the chamber back into the woods.

"MIND-BINDER!" Maple shouted as hard as possible. "You think you can HIDE? I WAS THEIR BEST!"

She looked through her scope, keeping track of her periphery. There was no sign of the woman.

"I 'was' their best." Maple said tiredly after twenty minutes of searching. Nothing. Not even tracks.

After getting control of her adrenaline, she headed back into the armory. She packed the spare armors, including a Va Stone, and a Ghostfire, along with a few other things that had not been there before and stuffed it onto an old repulsor cart, knowing that whether it had been real or not, the purple eyed woman was not returning. In short time, she made it back to her ship and flew it back to the enclave, unable to stop shaking for five minutes before she could even grip the controls and activate the vessel.

She didn't leave the cockpit once she landed, taking a few minutes to compose herself before going to meet [member="Matsu Ike"].



OOC: We should wrap it up with your next post. I might make one more post, depending on your reply ic.

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

Matsu could feel it... something was different and wrong while she was moving when the ship arrived mostly to make sure the way was clear and she reached out with the force. Not to touch her mind but she was touching the area around her... touching the area of the sub-level that had the unconscious creatures and with all of this they would be able to secure some of it that she was moving into a different area. Shifting it to hide it within the hidden vault. What they would be able to secure she had left where it was but the rest she could move and carry with herself as the pack she was loading it into rested with her own and she felt tired.

Allowing the force to restore and focus her mind, she was allowing the stamina and strength power of the matukai she had learned about was an important thing revitalizing herself to keep up the work but she smiled to herself when it was all finished and stood there rolling her shoulders. "Wel that should do nicely." Something to add to the library if she really wanted to increase the already large levels of knowledge that they had amounted and contained within it. She felt the force though and there were ripples that the jedi master would have to ask about when she saw Maple and had loaded the things she wanted to secure plus some reading material for the ship.

"Welcome back." She looked at Maple though walking with the pack of things to put on the ship and her own. "We have all that we need." She reset the systems to conceal and obscure what equipment they might be able to hide or leave here so that didn't leave all of it. The jedi master was walking around the under level fo the sub basement towqrds the entrance and the ship with Maple as she spoke. "Are you troubled Lady Harte?" She said it but was offering her a small look for a friendly ear and shoulder. "Because if we can I would like to hire you for your bodyguard skills, I am having a small expedition to a world and may need some help."

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple, still too rattled after her encounter with the strange woman said little.

"Its nothing," Maple said to Matsu's question. "Nothing at all. Just...got sidetracked."

She could still feel the woman's grip on her neck as she began to start the vessel. When Matsu offered her a job, Maple nodded, hoping to rapidly change the subject. "Sure. I'm always scouting for work."

As she flew the Silent Erika back to Matsu's site, she could only think of that horrid purple gaze however...