Public Ghosts of Ossus (The Scar Worlds)

[Atlas Drake]

SITH CRASH SITE
OSSUS WASTELAND
THE SCAR WORLDS
Romi Jade Brandyn Sal-Soren Kaleleon Zahim Markona Aeshi Tillian Audren Sykes
Jerek Zenduu Mishel Kryze Gao-Feh-Yu Geiseric Cotan Sar'andor The Nomad

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

Everything about the Ossus wilds seemed foreboding. This was no longer a Sith world yet their presence still lingered. While order collapsed throughout most of the Tingel Arm business for the Spacer Guild and other like minded institutions was booming. Distress calls from the native Ysanna tribes drew Captain Drake and his companions to the grounded Sith capital ship, another great war relic on a world ravaged by border conflicts.

Something out here still disturbed the native burial grounds. Maybe even the same creatures responsible for brutalizing the local wildlife.

"Something tore these kirruk apart," Atlas examined the closest animal carcass before moving on, "Everyone stay alert."

Although she would never rise again the crashed Sith hulk remained an intimidating sight. Whatever the source of evil was that plagued local tribes, it was a good bet that it was somewhere on board. Drake trusted a good blaster by his side far more than ancient weapons or hokey religions but that's why there were experts in that type of thing on this expedition. He just hoped they weren't too late.

"Keep an eye out for our friends from Mek-Sha," he warned.

Not everyone was here on Ossus for the same reasons. Captain Drake had overheard a particularly disreputable looking duros known as Sly Chance brag about how he could make a fortune smuggling corrupted kyber into Imperial and Concord space back at the Stars' End Cantina. Wrecks like this one were prime targets for scavengers with little regard for what horrors they might unleash in service of their endless greed.

 

[Jerek Zenduu]

Post Soundtrack: "Fanfare for the Common Man" by Aaron Copland

Ossus had never seemed more foreboding than it did now.

Jerek had spent much of his youth here, pledging it to help a Republic of the past fight to preserve the worlds they could only abandon. The Sith were all too happy to swoop in after them, uprooting centuries of effort the Jedi had put into the world. Ripped away, just like that, to sate the neverending Sith hunger for destruction. In its place they had seeded monstrous things: a blasphemous successor to the Great Jedi Library complete with its own looted works, landscapes full of the twisted approximations the Sith called life, and a sentient tree of sheer evil that grew roots among the stones and bones of the Jedi ruins.

Far from those sites of power now, the Jedi stood before another monstrous thing. It stood stark against the gnarled remains of the forest that must have been thick and lush in years gone past. Now it was simply a place of dead things. Life and beauty, cut short by misery wrought upon the planet like a plague. He should have been used to it by now. Yet standing before the crashed derelict, Jerek felt a new wave of despair come over him.

He shook his head to dispel it, putting it away like so many bad feelings before it. Not to ignore it, the Jedi didn't care to do that anymore. Later he would meditate on the sensation, try to parse it and place it among the others he had felt on this journey. His catalogue was a diverse array of similar mental states, it was like this all over the Scar Worlds but here on Ossus it hit the hardest.

Jerek tucked a thin lock of blond hair behind his ear. The rest of his long hair, shoulder-length by now, remained up where he had tied it against the back of his head. This one stubborn lock always managed to find its way out, and at different times could be a gentle friend to the man as well as a pestering companion. Right now, it was simply in the way. Jerek had a more present task to focus on.

"These weren't totally wild kirruk," he pointed out, crouching down to indicate the loose harness worn by one of the corpses. There were about a dozen scattered about, though this was the only one he could see with signs of civilization on it. Perhaps it was simply a runaway that had rejoined its herd, but Jerek had a feeling that the reality was something else. "Whatever did this, it was something —or someone— that they weren't expecting to turn against them."

The way the beasts were clumped around each other, they had been taken down quickly and not as a process of pursuit. A betrayal of trust. Jerek had experienced his fair share of disappointments from those he thought trustworthy, just never quite to this extent. It was a cautionary tale, and the Jedi hoped it wasn't a harbinger of what they should expect from the day.

Others around him favored their weapons or hugged the armor keeping them safe from future attacks. Jerek stood again, dressed in simple attire that helped him blend in among the meager inhabitants of Scar Worlds like Ossus. His lightsaber hung indifferently from the back of his hip, while the Jedi kept his hands in front of him instead.

The broad-chested young man was a far cry from the skinny teen Jerek had been the last time he was here. That had been a time when he felt that action and results held more meaning to him, when he eagerly reached for a lightsaber to wield and a possession to steal back away from his stolen homeworld. That gangly, brash youth might hardly recognize this poised and confident Jedi Knight of only a few years that stood among the group today.

This time, Jerek understood that he would not change Ossus in a day. He might never be fine with that, though now at least he accepted it. Someday in the future he hoped to see green fields that rolled into thick forests, and hear the laughter of younglings instructed once more at a rebuilt Jedi Academy.

If he could help right one small wrong today, that future might not be so far off from tomorrow.

"Lead the way," Jerek intoned, gesturing to the leader of their group, ready to move on.

Atlas Drake​

 

[Mishel Kryze]

O B J E C T I V E

T A G : Jerek Zenduu | Atlas Drake ​

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Ossus. A system that held a particular set of memories for Mishel, images of the old First Order's attack on the system ran rapidly through her mind. A jumbled blur of images as she headed toward the slain creatures from the Princess Leia. Sieger and his orders, the Knights of Ren descended to lend their aid in carrying out their father's will. Dressed more like a Corellian pilot than anything else she only gave a small nod of acknowledgment to the lead of the group.​

​

Lightsaber and blaster pistol were easily seen on her person, Mishel couldn't help but feel a bit haunted by the past. When she was last on Ossus, she had been fully indoctrinated - loyal to Seiger, his methods had finally broke her. She knew only darkness and wanted nothing more than to burn Ossus. Payback to the then Silver Jedi Order who dared interfere in her father's affairs. ​

​

"The devil is never a monster you don't know, but rather the one you do."​

​

"We should get moving," she encouraged and spared one last glance for the pile of discarded kirruk.​

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[Junker Jonn]

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Location: Ossus, Wreck of the Red Dragon
Tags: Atlas Drake | Jerek Zenduu | Mishel Kryze

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The Red Dragon, all five thousand meters of her (give or take all the bits that'd fallen off on the way down), lay scattered across a jagged wound in the misty forest. The titanic warship, once the flagship of the Sith Eternal, was silent and dead. Over 200,000 crew had once served on the three decks that ran the length and width of the ship, men and women long gone now. It was possible to look on the wreckage and feel grief - grief for all those killed in the endless wars against the Sith and their ilk, for the worlds ravaged in their wake. It was possible to feel hope, seeing that such a monstrous engine of destruction could be felled, or fear, knowing that more like it were out there.

Junker Jonn and his crew felt all of these things, at least a little. Mostly, they felt the pull of greed.

"Looks like the info was good, boss," reported Ersmik, trotting back up to the ridge where the salvage crew was waiting with their gear. She was a Barabel, thick-scaled and well-balanced thanks to the long, reptillian tail poking out the back of her trousers. "There's a lot of intact hardware down there. Good scrap, for sure. All those rumors about this big schutta being haunted seem to've kept other crews away." Jonn nodded, pleased. Kubaz didn't smile in a way that humans would recognize, but the twitch of his snout betrayed his excitement. "This is the big one, gentlebeings," he told his ragged assortment of scavengers. "We do this right, we're set for a long time."

The twelve of them let out a little cheer, clapping each other on the back. They'd needed good news, needed it badly; things back on Mek-Sha were getting ugly. The station had been crowded before the wave of newcomers had arrived, looking to make their fortunes (or do whatever do-gooder things they had planned) among the Scar Worlds, and now its resources were strained to the breaking point. But the legendary Red Dragon wasn't just any old salvage job. The crashed warship was stuffed to the brim with military-grade armor and advanced subsystems, the kind of thing a careful crew could pry off and transport away over the course of a few months. A gradual "eat the whole bantha" kind of deal.

They'd have more than enough supplies to patch up Mek-Sha's faulty systems... and some comfortable profit besides.

Of course, that assumed they'd actually have time to do a full salvage run. Jonn wasn't foolish enough to assume that only his crew had gotten the info about the Dragon. Competition would turn up sooner or later, which meant that they needed to get to the most valuable bits first. The hyperdrive, shield generators, sensors, life support, and weapons systems were all high-priority targets, easy to resell on the black market - or to patch into Mek-Sha's air and water filtration systems, keeping them from completely crapping out for another few cycles. "Let's go," Junker told his crew. "Time's wasting, and we've got a long week ahead. I want our camp set up and the droids deployed before sundown."

The salvage crew picked their way down the wooded slope, past the jagged stumps of trees sheered off in the Red Dragon's crash... or incinerated in the fireball of its impact. It was amazing that the warship was even remotely intact; the only part of it that was unsalvageable was the main hangar, apparently nuked in the battle and still radioactive. Rumor had it that the Silver Jedi fleet had tried to lessen the damage caused by the Dragon's fall, slowing it with tractor beams and blowing off chunks of it to lessen its mass. That was probably the only reason the core structure hadn't just blown apart in a fiery crater. "Thanks, Jedi fleet," Jonn muttered. "You're about to make me a rich man."

Even twisted, broken, and battered, the Sith star cruiser held a certain dark majesty up close. Junker tried not to think about it too much, focusing instead on the advantages and opportunities it provided. Advantage: they could set up their tents in an area sheltered from the wind. Opportunity: the nuked hangar provided them an easy way in, as long as they donned their radiation protection. Advantage: the metal hull would reflect their lights at night, keeping the camp bright and making intruders easy to spot. Opportunity: there were probably storerooms right off the main hangar, and they likely contained fuel and replacement parts for droids and fighters, easy to scavenge and sell.

"Fire up the scanner droids and the fusion cutters, folks," he said. "I've got a good feeling about this."

That was his first mistake.

 

[Sly Chance]

SITH CRASH SITE
OSSUS WASTELAND
THE SCAR WORLDS
Jerek Zenduu Mishel Kryze Junker Jonn

"Let's go," Junker told his crew. "Time's wasting, and we've got a long week ahead. I want our camp set up and the droids deployed before sundown."

"You got it, boss."

Kyros felt naked without his wide brimmed hat but dressed in salvager's gear he looked like just another down on his luck spacer from Mek-Sha desperate for extra work. There were probably other smugglers here too either disguised like him as a menial or looking for their own way inside. He picked up his toolkit careful not to jostle the concealed heavy blaster inside. Just a little insurance, if this job went smooth he shouldn't even have to use it.

"I can handle this," he slapped one of Junker Jonn's boys roughly on the shoulder, "You go see about offloading those fusion cutters."

His unwitting mark nodded in gratitude, and Sly's lips curled into a fiendish smirk while the duros unpacked a scanner droid and slipped the data spike on his belt into an open port. Monitoring the kubaz and his droids through their own systems would make locating the Sith wreck's real prize much easier. Just imagine all that kyber. Who cares if it was 'corrupted'? He could make a fortune off the red crystals, more than aurodium or even spice.

"With this score I'll be able to pay off the Exchange for sure."

So what if Captain Kyros had a bit of a gambling problem? Life on the frontier was full of risks. Besides credits wouldn't spend themselves.

 

[Romi Jade]

[theme]

---------------
​

"Something tore these kirruk apart," Atlas examined the closest animal carcass before moving on, "Everyone stay alert."

She moved to the nearest body, and the lingering aura of coldness swept through her. She equipped the crown, and trailed her hand along the rotten body for a spot she felt comfortable with.

She forged her mind into molten lightning that had come so instinctively to her call. She engulfed the entirety of this creatures frame in a hum of energy, and the empyrean flare seemed to lurk on the edge of her sensory perception. She projected this upon the body in full, laying it upon the beings frame like a cloak. She let the current fall before projected tendrils sought the land around them. The hissing wave took from her just as much as it gave...and she forged her mind into a portal to peer into the void of darkness that this lifeless body and area left behind; the imprints in the Force.

Her mind was engulfed in blinding light before being inundated with distorted input from sight, sound, and emotions.

-----

Echoes:

"Master Jade. There is no time." Her disembodied voice was faint and strained, for she battled against the cold tendrils of the Dark side that tried to wrap around her mind. "We failed. The Red Dragon will crash on Ossus. We can no longer stop the ritual… Save who you can."

"Everyone...these are the moments we strive for, when the hope of victory becomes real. I'll cover you with my life, but I'm asking you now to lend me your strength in return."

The combined effort of the Jedi and her amping and directing them would likely be able to push the object just out of reach, driving it some degrees off its intended mark -- at the very least they'd direct it to another part of the planet. She was heavily betting on the former.

​

-----

Heuh!

She instinctively called for air on the break of her trance. Having lived it once was enough...feeling it all over again was another battle in of itself. Unfortunately she didn't get far enough to see what would would've made these corpses, but she knew now what caused it all.

But to what extent?

Piggybacking on Mish, "One we know well..." mostly to herself, her words weren't super audible. Though, to the group "This ship...it was the head honcho of the Sith Eternal, a group that popped up when the Empire fell..." She cleared her throat, "I-I put it here." She picked up her pace.

"Of course I didn't realize it'd still plague us today..."
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-------
Atlas Drake | Jerek Zenduu | Mishel Kryze | Junker Jonn | Sly Chance
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[Valery Noble]

Ghost of Ossus​

---

Location: Mygeeto
Valery: Appearance
Ship: Factory link
Tag: Romi Jade Mishel Kryze Atlas Drake Jerek Zenduu Junker Jonn Sly Chance


Valery stepped up in the back of the group, her orange eyes scanning the area. It had been some time since she visited Ossus, but it still felt familiar enough. What wasn't a familiar feeling, however, was the echo the dead kurriks left behind in the Force and the darkness that radiated from the ship ahead.

She let out a soft breath before her gaze settled on Romi Jade .

Piggybacking on Mish, "One we know well..." mostly to herself, her words weren't super audible. Though, to the group "This ship...it was the head honcho of the Sith Eternal, a group that popped up when the Empire fell..." She cleared her throat, "I-I put it here." She picked up her pace.

"Of course I didn't realize it'd still plague us today..."​

​

"You helped bring it down once, now we get a chance to remove its taint for good," she said in response as she picked up her pace as well to remain close to the group. Valery had a feeling Romi partially blamed herself for what it caused here - she would feel similarly. But the Force had willed them to be here again today, to finish the job. That's where their focus would have to be.

"But if this ship was so important, we'll have to be extra careful. I'll follow your lead."

 

[Kyyrk]

The Bryn'adul Threat was over. Kyyrk still had trouble coming to terms with this idea. Perhaps because, in spite of all the effort on his part to mitigate the damage, he'd never been allowed to engage directly with the monsters. The only time he'd come face to face with them had been at ground zero.

Eshan.

The Confederacy was becoming too mired in politics. Too focused on petty squabbles. It had begun under the reign of Metus, sure, but Daegon saw the ideology flourish. Kyyrk wouldn't be able to change things overnight. He was but a single man. That did not, however, keep him from trying. In the wake of the Confederacy's defeat at Rhand, Kyyrk had been set adrift. Unsure of his path forward. He'd found some modicum of stability and direction in an unlikely place. A chance encounter with Alessandra Creed had given him some hope for the future. But when he heard of the expeditions into the gaping hole left by the Bryn'adul, he lept at the chance.

The Confederacy would be fine without him for a few days.

Weeks.

Months.

Maybe a year or two.

But as Kyyrk sat in the cockpit of the Allegiance, he couldn't help but feel that leaving the Confederacy behind for a while would be as easy as he once thought. Almost as if he was leaving a piece of himself behind. He'd heard whispers as he prepared to leave. The Scar Worlds, people called them. Worlds devastated by the Bryn'adul. Perhaps, if these worlds were made habitable again, the Confederacy could return some of the refugees to their homeworlds. Ease the strain of the burden they had so bravely shouldered.

Soon, the knight stood upon the surface of Ossus. He'd been here some years ago. What for, he could no longer remember. But the world certainly seemed to have changed. And not for the better. Standing in a small clearing of the forest, he could feel a certain darkness permeating the very fibers of his surroundings. A small group was nearby. A group that seemed to be investigating something. He wasn't immediately familiar with any of the beings gathered. Romi Jade , Atlas Drake , Jerek Zenduu , and Valery Noble were all strangers to him, though two were...oddly familiar. Perhaps he had known them by reputation before. The fifth, Mishel Kryze, was certainly known to him. If only by proxy of brief conversations. He approached the group quietly, looking at the slain beasts nearby.

"Something we expect to be a threat? And if so, how can I help?"

 

[Yula Perl]

Atlas Drake | Jerek Zenduu | Romi Jade | Mishel Kryze | Kyyrk | Valery Noble -- Junker Jonn | Sly Chance

“Did you guys all forget Rule 33 from the ‘How 2 Spacer Trash’ guide?”

Yula’s mouth was twisted into something awkward between a cringe and a scowl. She gestured to the grounded vessel before quoting from the guide her grandfather Zef Halo could have written.

“Leave the big spooky ship alone. Seriously.”

She’d been on Ossus during the latest Sith invasion and found herself wedged between the wrong end of a garbage chute and a live grenade, with her sister no less. It wasn’t a fun time, and she hadn’t been back since.

“Alright buddy, you’re up.” Patting the probe droid on the shoulder plate, she waved an arm towards the ship. The bot’s head moved, twisted this way and that, beeping in protest.

“No, I was just kidding about all that.”

More beeps, interspersed with concern whirring.

“It’s not haunted, I promise. You got this.”

Finally, the droid hovered forward to board the big, spooky ship.

Once the droid was out of aural sensor range, she leaned over to the others and murmured from the corner of her mouth.

“I’ve got three spares back on the ship, should I have brought more?”

 

[Mishel Kryze]

O B J E C T I V E

T A G : Jerek Zenduu | Yula Perl | Atlas Drake | Kyyrk | Junker Jonn | Sly Chance | Valery Noble ​

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Yula's remarks helped to lighten the mood which in turn, helped Mishel. "Right, I must have left that right between Trash Panda: The Essentials vol. 2 and How to Burlap Sack," she replied cheekily to Yula. "Also, this really wouldn't be my first pick for Salvagers R Us, pretty sure there are better boneyards to pick at near the Ison Corridor than this... Way less haunted too." Mishel added with clarity. It felt good to see some of the old familiar faces. ​

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The atmosphere still felt too spooky for her liking, and it wasn't just the sense that there was something more ominous about it. Kyyrk wasn't someone she was too familiar with - if anything just in passing somewhere in the Confederacy. Romi was about the only actual face she recognized and remembered, well, maybe Atlas as well but she couldn't quite place where she remembered him from. ​

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The Sith ship wasn't the only relic in the area, as Mishel moved forward heading up to an outcropping of rocks nearby. She wanted to get a better look of their surroundings and as she did so. She spotted something that at the very least, Yula might like. "More ships past this one, it's definitely a scrapyard. Look at that, other Sith ships - different eras, and at least a few First Order and Silver Jedi ships too."​

​

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[Kaia Starchaser]

It was nice to get out and do some good. Ossus was a world of the Jedi, an ancient library, and a world that had seen the short end of the stick plenty of times. When she was receiving word from Captain Atlas Drake that there was a team heading to the library world, she loaded up what gear she had and called in one of her family’s Gentes-class vessels. Maybe there was something to be found on the planet that could be useful, and well, a Gentes could show up somewhere with aid supplies and leave with salvage and materials.

That was the great thing about shipping, after all.

Getting the Gentes known as Corellian Dawn into low orbit, Kaia had taken one of the smaller shuttles down to the planet. She had a few other pieces of gear that was coming with her. She had her probot Drifter with her, and at small squad of salvage team. She wasn’t expecting to see too much in the way of resistance, after all, Drake was here.

And he got here ahead of her.

“But the big spooky ship may be worth something!” Kaia called over the comms as her team was making their way to meet up with everyone



Atlas Drake Romi Jade Yula Perl Mishel Kryze

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

"Easy there, Sal-Soren. No need to get your saber out just yet," said Ralia, as she shoved annoyingly past the Nabooian Padawan.

Brandyn had not been aware that his hand had even fallen to the hilt of his newly acquired lightsaber hilt. Sure, he was itching to put it to use, but it was not yet instinctual to reach for it. No, he had rested his hand on it in fear, if anything.

"You lost our last spar, just remember that Ralia," Brandyn whispered to the Twi'lek Padawan.

"It's not a competition, Rancor Snot," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "it's training."

"Says the loser," Brandyn said with a quirk in the corner of his smile. His hand had fallen away from his saber hilt, clearly feeling more relaxed. Ralia seemed to ignore his last jab, but something about the twitch of her lekku said she hadn't done so completely.

Standing behind the Jedi Masters as they conversed, Brandyn just stared over the hulking wreck of the Sith war machine. This was a far cry from the Ee'everwest Estate on Naboo. Briana Sal-Soren would have a field day salvaging here, picking for parts, or just exploring. A shiver ran up Brandyn's spine, and just for a moment he longed for the quieter times of his childhood, in the safety of the large estate, even if it did mean spending time with his sisters Briana and Blaire Sal-Soren.

"This ship...it was the head honcho of the Sith Eternal, a group that popped up when the Empire fell...I-I put it here."

The quiver in Master Jade's voice didn't inspire much confidence in Brandyn. That was purely from his lack of knowledge as to her prowess, or ability. He opened his mouth to make an inquiry, but caught Ralia's gaze. He got the message, this was not time for a Padawan to speak up.

"You helped bring it down once, now we get a chance to remove its taint for good,"

Having worked with Master Noble once before, Brandyn found his trust in her produce a calming wave that flowed throughout him. His mouth shut. Ralia appeared satisfied that Brandyn wasn't going to embarass the small contigent of Padawan that were along on the mission.

“It’s not haunted, I promise. You got this.”

"Not by ghosts...maybe...but these sort of things are never empty...right?" He muttered as he walked past the fallen beast, and overheard Yula conversing with some probe droid. The droid seemed more like a pet than a machine.

He looked back at the ship before them, and realized in that moment that he walked beyond where the other Jedi had travelled so far, and Ralia appeared by his side. "Shut...up...just watch and learn. You talk to much," she nearly hissed.

"So far...the only thing here that is at any risk...is you," he said, bristling at her constant badgering.

| Mishel Kryze | Jerek Zenduu | Yula Perl | Atlas Drake | Kyyrk | Junker Jonn | Sly Chance | Valery Noble | Kaia Starchaser |​

 

[Junker Jonn]

​

Location: Ossus, Wreck of the Red Dragon
Tags: Atlas Drake | Jerek Zenduu | Mishel Kryze | Sly Chance | Romi Jade
Valery Noble | Kyyrk | Yula Perl | Kaia Starchaser | Brandyn Sal-Soren

​

The scavenger camp took shape with practiced efficiency; Junker had worked with about half of these guys before, and had hand-picked them for this job, knowing that they had the routine down. The others were unknowns, eager hands picked up on Mek-Sha, where there was no shortage of people desperate enough, greedy enough, or both to brave a Sith warship's haunted wreckage. If they performed well, Jonn would consider relying on them in future jobs as well, letting them earn his trust and - eventually - a spot on his permanent crew. Of course, some of them already seemed to be working harder than others. That shifty Duros had picked the easy job.

But whatever; Jonn was in a good mood, and he wasn't going to judge anyone too harshly yet. The tents went up quickly - each scav carried a one-person DuraShelter, to keep out the wind and the rain, while a larger central tent would serve as a scrap sorting area. Items were sorted by value. Small, fragile, high-price items like sensor modules and power converters would stay in the tent, while the rest would be sorted into neat piles outside and covered with rain tarps. Once the setup was done, they would fall into the routine that Junker had laid out for them. Some would scout with the probe droids, acting as dispatchers. Some would sort the collected scrap.

Junker himself preferred to be hands-on, even when leading a crew. He would be a cutter.

The first time he'd picked up a fusion cutter, he'd been... what, maybe seven years old? He'd always liked tools, and his dad had encouraged that interest. Kubaz family units were tightly-knit, and that support had meant the world to him... but it had also given him the means to leave. He was one of the few who had left his nest, abandoned his loyalty to the queen and struck out on his own, and it was his well-practiced skill as a starship mechanic that had enabled him to do it. So he always felt a little buzz of mixed emotions when he held one of the tools in his hand. It was like his dad was close again, but like his people - mostly dead now - were falling further away.

No time for maudlin thoughts, though! Not when there was such a rich wreck splayed out before him, ready to be carved into profitable little chunks. Quickly donning his radiation suit, Jonn took up that sentimental tool and headed for the nuked hangar bay, a little repulsorlift sled with a basic droid brain hovering beside him. He had to have somewhere to put all the things he pulled from the debris, after all, and he wasn't about to lug it all out on his back. He hummed a jaunty little tune as he headed toward the worksite, a noise that - coming from a Kubaz's long, trumpet-like snout - sounded rather like a kazoo being gently electrocuted.

Alas, his walk over was cut short when Ersmik rushed over to him, waving her scaly arms.

"Somebody's coming up toward the wreck, boss!" she told him, a note of urgency in her sibilant reptillian voice. Junker sighed. Always an interruption when he was about to finally get to the fun part! "Probably another crew that got the same tip. I knew that Ortolan couldn't hold his liquor worth a feth. I'll go down and talk with them, see if we can work out a split." But Ersmik shook her head. "I don't think so, boss. They don't look like any band of scavs I've ever seen. Check out the feed." She held up her datapad, which was showing a live image from one of the cam droids they'd deployed to scout around the ship. "They've got lightsabers."

Junker stared at the image for a moment. "Huh." He tried to stroke his chin, then heard a rubbery squeal and remembered he was wearing his bulky radiation suit. Ersmik's tongue flicked out from between pointed teeth; he knew her well, and could tell it was a nervous gesture. "You think they're Sith, coming to reclaim their property?" Jonn looked again, then shook his head. "Nah. They don't look that scary to me." He pointed at Yula and Mishel, joking back and forth. "Look, some of them are smiling. You ever see a Sith smile?" Ersmik looked at him strangely. "I've never seen a Sith at all, boss, and I'd like to keep it that way."

Jonn thought about that, then nodded. "Fair point."

The scav captain sighed, turning back around and heading toward the entrance to camp. "Look, I think it's just a..." What did you call a group of saber-jockeys? A jumble? A journey? A justice? They seemed to be talking a lot, so he settled on jabber. "It's just a jabber of Jedi. I'll go find out what they want. You're in charge until I get back. Get things moving, we're burning daylight." With that, Junker walked back down the hill, heading toward where the droid had spotted the Jedi. Being in charge was a real drag sometimes; it meant you had to be responsible, instead of just doing all the fun parts. He missed just doing the fun parts.

"Hi there!" He shouted down to the waggle of warrior-monks, unzipping his radiation suit so that they could see his face. This might be an awkward encounter; he hadn't actually filed salvage rights on this ship, so he had no legal claim to the wreck. Not that anyone was issuing legal claims this far out from the Core Worlds; there wasn't a whole lot of legitimate government to go around out here. "Can I, ah... Can I help y'all with something?" His voice, typical for a Kubaz, was high and nasal, lending his Galactic Basic a strange inflection. "This is... kinda our spot, y'know? First-come, first-served. I'm sure you gentlebeings understand."

"Probably here to ask if we have a moment to talk about Ashla," Jonn muttered. "I am not buying the book this time."

 

[Atlas Drake]

SITH CRASH SITE
OSSUS WASTELAND
THE SCAR WORLDS
Jerek Zenduu Mishel Kryze Romi Jade Junker Jonn Yula Perl
Valery Noble Kyyrk Kaia Starchaser Brandyn Sal-Soren

"These weren't totally wild kirruk," he pointed out, crouching down to indicate the loose harness worn by one of the corpses. There were about a dozen scattered about, though this was the only one he could see with signs of civilization on it. Perhaps it was simply a runaway that had rejoined its herd, but Jerek had a feeling that the reality was something else. "Whatever did this, it was something —or someone— that they weren't expecting to turn against them."​

"The natives have been known on occasion to domesticate such beasts," Atlas considered this new information, "But if this is a Ysanna flock, where's the shepherd?"

It was difficult to be certain without proper forensics but he saw no obvious signs of humanoid remains. His gaze drifted up to the Sith wreckage, reminded by Master Jade's words of an orbital freefall which had nearly cost the intrepid captain his life. Kryze warned them not to linger and Drake was inclined to agree. The young zeltron didn't even wait for his signal, sending her probe droid in to scout ahead while the rest of them slowly approached.

“I’ve got three spares back on the ship, should I have brought more?”

"Let's hope we only need the one," he nodded in gratitude then let out a sharp whistle, "Alright everyone listen up! As soon as Yula confirms structural integrity we're going in. If you get separated or into trouble remember to activate your emergency beacon. This could all be local superstition but its a good bet something's in there."

"Something we expect to be a threat? And if so, how can I help?"

"Glad you could make it," Captain Drake extended a hand, "That's what we're here to find out. Master Jade reckons she can still sense darkness here, but the Force isn't an exact science. Echoes of the past bleeding into the present or the like."

He was just about to ask Yula if they were clear to proceed when his comlink buzzed. Atlas wore a survival jacket instead of his typical pressure suit and the military issue blaster on his hip seemed incongruous among all the lightsabers. After a brief conversation he arched his brow.

"Looks like we've got company from Mek-Sha after all," the captain informed them, "This shouldn't take long."

"Can I, ah... Can I help y'all with something?" His voice, typical for a Kubaz, was high and nasal, lending his Galactic Basic a strange inflection. "This is... kinda our spot, y'know? First-come, first-served. I'm sure you gentlebeings understand."

"Greetings," Drake hooted in an approximation of Kubazian then switched to Basic with a slight frontier drawl, "Captain Atlas Drake, Spacer Guild. We're not here to challenge your claim. This is...something like a safety inspection. Could be a reactor meltdown. Could be worse. Sorry about the holdup, but if there's any way I can convince you to hold off until nightfall I'll buy your whole crew a round of drinks back at the Stars' End."

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Aeshi frowned as she lowered the macrobinoculars that hung from a strap at her shoulder, watching the exchange. A Jedi investigation party and a group of scavengers would always be an interesting exchange. She'd heard about the wreck through the Guild and come from Centares to check it out, where she'd set up a temporary trade base.

Resources and material from the Outer Rim to buyers on the fringe of the so-called Scar Worlds. SHe figured she'd know more than a few of the ones in the Jedi-Guild party, and perhaps some of the salvagers. Alana would probably have known more if she had come, but she was wrapped up in Jedi business on the Rim. Alana had her card though, in case she wanted to call in some backup. And the Sunrider woman had been a salvager growing up, specializing in ancient Sith warships on Ambria. She'd not visited Mek-Sha yet, but that was a place she reckoned she could make a hefty profit too.

With the Development Corps needing supplies, a decent market of terraforming and logistical companies had sprang up around the Five Veils Route to supply the numerous projects across what was becoming roughly known as League space.

She considered for a moment and then shrugged, slinging her pack back over her shoulder and picking her way through the edge of the forest to the wreckage. Despite the two .48s at her hip, she held her hands up loosely in the air.

"Not here for trouble, boys," Aeshi said, halfway between the two groups, where she could just see the two leaders meeting before glancing over to the salvagers. "You lot have transport arranged for salvage yet?"

 

[Junker Jonn]

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Location: Ossus, Wreck of the Red Dragon
Tags: Atlas Drake | Jerek Zenduu | Mishel Kryze | Sly Chance | Romi Jade | Aeshi Tillian
Valery Noble | Kyyrk | Yula Perl | Kaia Starchaser | Brandyn Sal-Soren

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Surprisingly enough - and it was a welcome surprise to Jonn - it was a non-Jedi who spoke for the Jabber. He wore simple spacer garb and carried a blaster; he even spoke a little Kubazian. More Junker's kind of guy than any of these magic-wielding light-zealot warrior-monks. How was he supposed to relate to a demigod? That instant bit of kinship between space trash only went so far, though. Junker had been around long enough to have seen a whole lot of scams, and he wasn't about to fall for one. You didn't bring eight or so Jedi with you for a "safety inspection". Something bigger was going on here, that much was obvious.

And whatever it was, Junker had no intention of letting it interfere with his payday.

"Spacer Guild," Jonn repeated, nodding his head slowly. His long snout gently bounced with each nod. "Didn't realize your membership was 90% Jedi now. Congratulations. I'm sure that makes clearing customs a lot easier." His gaze, hidden behind the thick goggles his species used to filter out red light (they'd evolved beneath a blue sun, and different wavelengths hurt their sensitive eyes), flicked across the group. "Y'all look a little under-equipped to deal with a reactor meltdown. I'd have brought some hazard suits, personally. Maybe a couple of... I don't know... tools. Or are you gonna hack the reactor up with your sabers?"

He put his hands on his hips, conscious of the ridiculousness of what he was doing - a lone scav, a nobody from a nowhere station, confronting a group of the Force-knights who seemed to run half the galaxy - but trying to push through it. If the Jedi had come to Ossus to investigate an old Sith hulk, it wasn't to deal with something as mundane as a reactor meltdown. They were probably after some treasure the ship had been carrying, some mystic object or prototype technology lost in the crash. And if such a thing existed, the kind of thing that could make the discoverer extremely wealthy at open auction, well... Junker and his crew had already called dibs.

"Tell you what," he finally said, his high, nasal voice taking on a conciliatory tone. "I can have my crew hold off for a bit. We're still finishing up our camp anyhow. But I'm coming with you. I'm sure you could use the help of an experienced salvager and starship mechanic on your..." Junker paused, leaning forward to stare hard at Atlas and taking on a tone of voice that made it clear he believed nothing of the story he'd been given, "safety inspection." Whatever valuables the Jedi were here for, or whatever they intended to pull in order to cheat his crew out of their self-appointed salvage rights, he didn't intend to let them hoodwink him.

Back near the camp, Ersmik was keeping the setup process moving when she saw someone else stepping out from among the trees. Not another Jedi, thankfully; the Barabel imagined that the planet itself could only support so much sanctimony in one place before it collapsed in to a black hole of self-righteousness. Or would it be a white hole instead, or maybe a radiant yellow? Light side, and all that. Whatever. The newcomer looked to be a spacer, and Ersmik could deal with that. "We've got a ship," Ersmik cautiously replied, looking Aeshi up and down, "but we might be able to cut a deal to move things faster, if the price is right."

She shrugged, inclining her head toward Junker. "You'd have to work it out with the boss. He's chatting up the Jedi."

 

[Yula Perl]

Atlas Drake | Jerek Zenduu | Mishel Kryze | Romi Jade | Valery Noble | Kyyrk | Brandyn Sal-Soren | Aeshi Tillian | Sly Chance | Junker Jonn | Kaia Starchaser

"More ships past this one, it's definitely a scrapyard. Look at that, other Sith ships - different eras, and at least a few First Order and Silver Jedi ships too."

Yula whistled low. The First Order ships were likely far safer than the spooky Sith vessel, and far more in alignment with her own interests.

“Well if that aint a proper boneyard, Mish. Maybe if the wandering Sith ghosts don’t get us first, we could take a peek.” Idly, her hand curled around the outline red horn-shaped pendant beneath her jacket. She didn’t actually believe in super scary Sith ghosts, nor did she believe that the stupid gift-shop necklace would actually repel what didn’t exist, but hell, why not take the precaution? The Force worked in weird ways.

"Not by ghosts...maybe...but these sort of things are never empty...right?"

“Shhhh!” Yula put a finger to her lips despite the fact that the droid couldn’t hear them. “Don’t you put that out into the galaxy!” Her eyes shifted first to the left, and then to the right.

As if on cue, her datapad blinked. A ping from the probe droid.

“He’s in,” She called to Atlas, who was bust working with the new arrivals. There wasn’t any immediate sense of hostility from the Kubaz, but there was a thin layer of tension in the air. Had another crew laid claim to the ship before they’d gotten here? It looked untouched since Romi had forcibly crashed it to the surface, but who knew. She wasn’t getting that close until the she’d heard back from the droid.

Fortunately they had a few Jedi masters among them, hopefully skilled in diplomacy. The Zeltron had an odd wealth of experience when it came to working with spacers, scrappers, and general rim folk from her Judge days, but this was Drake’s operation—and he was more than capable. In fact, she’d learned to negotiate better simply by watching him.

For now, Yula was happy to tap away at her datapad. “Running structural scan now!” She announced.

“But the big spooky ship may be worth something!”

Yula groaned into the comm channel.

“Not you too, Starchaser.”

A familiar voice brought her focus over to Aeshi who’d stumbled upon the meeting of the two camps. “Tillian!” She waved over to the woman with a pearly grin. Another experienced hand would surely be welcome. “Good to see another ‘Rim type out here. I brought less droids this time, don’t worry.”

The last time they’d seen eachother, it had been during a mission to de-activate some aggressive, malfunctioning droids that had been (oops) built by Yula.

A trio of rapid pings from the device in her hand brought the Zeltron’s attention back to her datapad, and she meandered to where Drake and Junker were talking. “Scan’s done.” She informed them, holding up the datapad and tapping the screen with the edge of her nail. “Prelim looks good, doesn’t look like it’ll collapse on us unless we…I dunno, blow the reactor or something. Which we're not gonna do, right?”

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

Work work work. She was fine with it, but now that they were planet side? It meant a lot more work. She was the Jedi and the one who was more directing everything else today, but well, she still preferred to lead by example. It meant a bit of spelunking into the hulk here and identifying anything that could be useful. As they were surveying the area, that was when Kaia caught up to the group. She wanted to land the ships just out of any possible impact zone. It would really be up to her to help protect the beings under her stead, but if the ships could be out of the range? That helped.

At least she had some time, while Yula’s droids were doing their thing. The pair of Sergios would probably have to wait outside.

“Think we’ll need the heavy equipment going in, Cap?” She asked Atlas Drake as her team finally arrived. That was right before the conversation he got. Looking to one of the other escorts for the larger gear, she was about to tell them to wait in the back until they found where they could go. What she was hoping to do was … collect anything large.

And with the new guests of a Kubaz… was that what she heard? Well, she could always make a deal. That was something she had learned from her father, before he went full Jedi and legitimate. But if all worked in her favor? She’d be sending a message to Aeshi Tillian requesting help with some of the salvage and sales.

“Don’t worry about the Sith ghosts. Probably out to lunch, or raiding some ghost planet full of innocents…” Okay, she was her father’s daughter.

 

[Atlas Drake]

SITH CRASH SITE
OSSUS WASTELAND
THE SCAR WORLDS
Jerek Zenduu Mishel Kryze Romi Jade Junker Jonn Yula Perl
Valery Noble Kyyrk Kaia Starchaser Brandyn Sal-Soren Aeshi Tillian

"Spacer Guild," Jonn repeated, nodding his head slowly. His long snout gently bounced with each nod. "Didn't realize your membership was 90% Jedi now. Congratulations. I'm sure that makes clearing customs a lot easier." His gaze, hidden behind the thick goggles his species used to filter out red light (they'd evolved beneath a blue sun, and different wavelengths hurt their sensitive eyes), flicked across the group. "Y'all look a little under-equipped to deal with a reactor meltdown. I'd have brought some hazard suits, personally. Maybe a couple of... I don't know... tools. Or are you gonna hack the reactor up with your sabers?"

"They're more like...subcontractors," Drake admitted to the scavenger, "Cultural experts, you might say. Our sensors should warn us if there are any radiation spikes."

He wasn't an expert on kubaz yet based on this one's tone even Atlas could tell the foreman didn't believe a word he was saying. Some Jedi mysticism would come in handy right about now, sadly that only seemed to work on the feeble minded and he was dealing with anything but. They were already losing daylight.

A trio of rapid pings from the device in her hand brought the Zeltron’s attention back to her datapad, and she meandered to where Drake and Junker were talking. “Scan’s done.” She informed them, holding up the datapad and tapping the screen with the edge of her nail. “Prelim looks good, doesn’t look like it’ll collapse on us unless we…I dunno, blow the reactor or something. Which we're not gonna do, right?”

"Good work, Yula."

Drake hoped neither she nor the Junker noticed that he never answered her question. Evidently his suspicions were aroused for soon enough the captain was presented an ultimatum. Bring along a hapless spacer into potential danger, or provoke conflict with a small army of desperate migrant workers and their friends back on Mek-Sha.

"Fine. You can come along, but I won't be held responsible if you get yourself killed. Follow our lead, understand?" he turned back to the others, "We've reached an accord. Starchaser, leave the heavy equipment here for now. First let's chart a course."

Their access point where Yula's probe droid had begun its scans was a few dozen meters off the ground so Atlas removed the grappling spike launcher from his belt and fired an ascension cable up toward the hull tear. After a few tugs to make sure his line was secure Captain Drake began to rappel up the wrecked ship. Of course the Jedi in their expedition would probably take a more direct approach, but for those of them who couldn't leap tall buildings in a single bound they would need to rely on technology.

"If we can find what's left of the bridge," Drake activated a glowlamp once everyone was on board, "We might be able to hook a power cell up to one of its diagnostic stations."

It was easier than he expected to breach the damaged outer sections and find a somewhat intact corridor, almost as if some of the wreckage had been cleared already. His light source passed over rusting metal and paused when he noticed some markings which did not seem to belong. Atlas passed his light over the incongruous pictograms. Something about them deeply unsettled him.

"I think these are Ysanna markings," he turned back to the Jedi, "Can one of you...do the magic hand thing?"

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Ossus​

Valery: Appearance​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Romi Jade Atlas Drake Brandyn Sal-Soren Yula Perl Mishel Kryze Aeshi Tillian Sly Chance Junker Jonn Jerek Zenduu Kaia Starchaser ​

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Valery eyed the spacer who asked to come along. If there was something of darker nature on-board this ship, she didn't quite like the fact that he'd be there with them. The Dark Side was an insidious thing, and those not able to sense its presence and shield themselves were far more likely to suffer from the consequences these places brought with them.​

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But before she could speak her mind, Atlas Drake permitted the man to accompany the Jedi. While still bothered by it, she also understood that having to deal with these scavengers on the side wasn't why they were there. ​

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Looking up at their destination, Valery certainly decided to take the more direct approach. As soon as Drake got up there using his grappling equipment, she jumped after him and landed. Stepping on-board, her Keshian eyes adjusted to the darkness with a single blink.. until a light was turned on.​

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She blinked again and briefly shot Drake a 'look' before she turned her attention back forward.​

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"I'm afraid that's not a skill I possess, but I can fairly easily get us through debris or any durasteel doors that are closed and have their mechanisms locked due to a loss of power. The only parameter to be mindful of is ship integrity.. this thing looks like it has been here for some time."​

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Valery then took position a little further ahead in the hallway, allowing Jedi with psychometry skills to investigate the markings. She would meanwhile extend her senses further into the ship and stand guard. Not that she expected anything to show up, but better safe than sorry.​

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