Glassed Planets DON'T Have Bad Records (R1 Adventure)

[Cale Gunderson]

Striding down the streets of the Ring of Kaferne he was silent, pushing his way through the thick crowds wandering the street as he closed in on his destination. On the outside the shack seemed like anywhere but the place to get hired for a job that would pay six figures in credits, but one would be foolish to judge a book by its cover as anyone familiar in the less fortunate areas of the galaxy could tell you. Gunderson could clearly remember occasions on One Sith held Coruscant that usually the most stocked resistance safehouses were those that outwardly appeared the most decrepit. He also remembered what it was like to kill everyone inside. Every. Last. One.

He winced at the memory as he stood at the doorway for just a moment, wondering if the two others from the Cantina had followed him, and pondering who might be inside.

[member="Dax Fyre"]
[member="Xiarr Sair"]
[member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

(sorry about short post, I've been having some computer issues)

 

[Dax Perl]

"If either of you two need a job, feel free to come along." Did Dax just hear that correctly? Dax paused a moment and replayed the words in his mind. There was no way a Sith, former or not, had just offered a job to two Jedi. But he had. 'Well okay then...' the Rogue thought to himself. "Welp, got nothing else to do." He quickly knocked back the rest of his drink, a sudden fire alighting in his belly, "This'll be interesting."

The Knight stood and followed the ex-Sith out the door, hands in his jacket pockets, "Who's your employer?" he asked.

(Just reposted this from the previous thread)

[member="Cale Gunderson"], [member="Xiarr Sair"], [member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

 

[Xiarr Sair]

A job? Xiarr had been looking to make more credits but he hadn't guessed he was going to work with a former Sith. He paused, taking one last sip out of his drink while he thought about the offering. Xiarr sighed and followed the other "jedi" out the cantina door. Xiarr responded to Dax's question: "I doubt he has an employer..."

By the time they had left the cantina it was night, that meant that even more scum were now roaming the filthy streets. Gang members, bounty hunters, thugs, and others were all lurking in the shadows and in the alleyways, waiting to strike. It made Xiarr uneasy, and ready to draw his lightsaber at any moment. But he did his best to not show this to the others, physically and mentally.

[member="Dax Fyre"]
[member="Cale Gunderson"]

 

[Cale Gunderson]

"For one, yes I have an employer, but I do not know their identity as they've worked rather hard to conceal it. I just know they're looking to pay upwards of 500,000 credits a person for this job." Replied the aging Knight as he rapped his hand against the durasteel door three times. In his gut he felt that something was off about this job, that perhaps it would end up be something sinister like slave trading, and to be quite honest Cale wasn't in the mood to butcher the scum of the galaxy with unrepentant brutality in the moment, he'd done that enough in the past month alone. Suddenly a metal slit in the door slid open, no one asked for any password, they only waited.

"Giraud's folley."

The moment he spoke the words the door opened and the three of them would be rushed inside so that the heavy door could close once again behind them. Inside the building was significantly more advanced, cool steel lined the walls and floors, bright white lights illuminated the area, and in the back of the room was a desk with four chairs before it. In all honesty the room appeared as if it had been yanked out of one of the many factions who took inspiration from the Galactic Empire's vessels. At the door stood a towering droid, armed with a heavy blaster, and two more just like it stood to either side of the desk, while sitting at the desk was a man in a simple black uniform, a breathing apparatus concealing most of his face aside from the pale upper half and the thin white hair on his head.

Looking at the trio with glazed over eyes he motioned for them to sit down. Cale didn't know why there were four chairs, he knew the job had hired a pilot, but it never mentioned anyone else, had they expected him to bring others? The whole thing was odd, but he needed the credits, and reluctantly took a seat. Now all that needed to happen was for [member="Xiarr Sair"] and [member="Dax Fyre"] to do the same.

([member="Jhiaga Shiwr"] you could either be in one of the chairs already or in your ship, it's up to you.)

 

[Dax Perl]

"Five hundred per person?!" Dax said in disbelief, "This guys is either deperate or just baiting us. Maybe both." Whatever the job was it meant trouble. And lots of it.

The three knocks echoed down the empty street, and no sooner had the two words spilled out of the Sith's mouth had the three Forcers been pushed inside. The inside made Dax narrow his eyes as the sudden bright white lights illuminated his face. As his vision cleared the Rogue looked around at his surroundings. 'Great...more Sith... the man thought to himself.

The man before the trio hestured for them to sit. The first question was how did he know more people than the Sith would appear. Second, why was there an extra chair. The Knight lowered himself into the seat, allowing one hand to rest on a saber. One heavy droid, an overseer of some sort. A potential Sith hostile. Dax felt uneasy in all of this...

[member="Cale Gunderson"], [member="Xiarr Sair"], [member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

 

[Xiarr Sair]

Xiarr rolled his eyes at the Sith's statement, 500,000 credits for a job? Either this was one hell of a job, or he was lying so he could get more people to help him. The latter being the most likely in Xiarr's mind, as he still didn't trust the sith. But if he didn't trust him, he probably shouldn't have followed him out of the cantina.

Xiarr followed the Sith down an empty street and knocked on a metal door three times. After the door was open, Xiarr noticed how the architecture stood out, with shining metals and sparkling floors. Xiarr had little time to observe it from the outside before he was pushed into the building. A menacing droid with a blaster looked down at the three as they walked further into the building, and then Xiarr noticed other droids of the same series. There was a man sitting at a desk, who motioned for them to sit down. "Look, I'm not sitting down until I know exactly what we are doing."

[member="Dax Fyre"]
[member="Cale Gunderson"]
[member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

 

[Cale Gunderson]

​"Information retrieval, I need the documents of one Galen Erso, a chief scientist for the Galactic Empire. The payout will be 500,000 credits per person. The Eradu system was his last known location. Your vessel is on docking pad 9, I believe. Details will be relayed on an encrypted channel given to the pilot. That is all." The man in black stated through strained breaths, as far as Cale could tell the old man wasn't force sensitive, though he certainly was astute and incredibly straightforward. Cale gave a curt nod, and sat quietly, he didn't have anything to say in objection, he had already made up his mind about the job and had no intents of backing out now, he needed the money almost as badly as he needed something to do.

Looking to both Dax, who'd been more cooperative and at least sat down, he felt a bit reassured. However, the other remained paranoid and defiant. He couldn't blame him, the man had the air of a former Jedi about him, though not so far fallen from grace as he. Then again, was it truly a fall if he ever had any choice? What darkness clung to Cale came from self loathing and doubt more than anything. He remembered Tallia, she'd been his first crush, starting way back on Illium when they'd first met, he'd helped her mend her stabalize her broken leg and construct her saber, they'd been friends for so long, but it had only taken a few words. Those words warped him, then the mask mutilated him, tore his psyche apart as he became nothing more than a pawn, a slave, a monster.

Cale shook his head, trying to take himself away from the pain, hoping desperately neither of the others had noticed the second of turmoil in his mind.

[member="Xiarr Sair"]
[member="Dax Fyre"]
[member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"What's the catch" the Rogue said instantly, "No way your just handing out five hundred kay for some data about some farming world."

It just didn't add up to Dax. Some Imperial scientist who worked on some back water farming world. What could he possibly have of any importance. The other Jedi had every right to be suspicious at this point. This job smelled of a trap.

[member="Cale Gunderson"], [member="Xiarr Sair"], [member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

 

[Cale Gunderson]

"Eadu is a world with far too stormy a climate to maintain farming. It was the site of an Imperial research facility under one Galen Erso, if you wish to ask further questions, I will find someone else more willing and less inquiring. I am not putting forth this amount of credits to be interrogated." The man stated matter-of-factly to Dax in response, his voice tense and somewhat irritated. "I have accumulated much wealth in my lifetime, but it all pales in significance to this data to me. It is my ancestors legacy." The man added, his breathing heavy and pained through the respirator, so far as Cale could sense, he was telling the truth.

[member="Dax Fyre"]
[member="Xiarr Sair"]
[member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

(Posts are gonna be short for a few days, I'm on my phone only)

 

[Dax Perl]

The Rogue crossed his arms and leaned back into the chair. "Alright. Fine." The man needed credits. And if that meant jumping onto a volatile storm planet for half a million, sure. Why not.

[member="Cale Gunderson"], [member="Xiarr Sair"], [member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

 

[Xiarr Sair]

Xiarr remained silent as the other "jedi" continued his argument. Whoever this Galen Erso was, his creations must have been very valuable to the organization this sith served, and Xiarr didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Xiarr remained silent and sat down on one of the chairs. Xiarr really didn't need the credits, but he really needed adventure. Xiarr sighed, waiting until the Dax gave in as well, but even then, he still felt a little bit uneasy.

As they all sat down, Xiarr noticed four chairs, how had they know that there was going to be others, and who was the other chair for?

[member="Dax Fyre"]
[member="Cale Gunderson"]
[member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

 

[Cale Gunderson]

With a nod Cale stood up and moved towards the door, he figured the fourth chair belonged to whoever their pilot was, with his luck it would be another Jedi type who assumed he was planning to kill them along with the occupants of the nearest orphanage. The man had said pad 9 was where they would meet their pilot, and he saw no point in trying to work out answers from a man who clearly wasn't going to give him any. A job was a job, and one with this kind of payout was bound to be as interesting as it was dangerous. Without a word the man stood up and turned on his heel, heading towards the door and out into the streets, heading for docking pad 9.

Fortunately it wasn't much of a walk, in fact it was only a block away. While Cale assumed [member="Dax Fyre"] and [member="Xiarr Sair"] were keeping pace, but he hadn't bothered to check with his own eyes, he could sense them close, but the shack was so close it wouldn't have made a difference in terms of how strong he sensed them. Stepping onto the pad he looked for the pilot of the Corellian vessel before him. It was time to get going.

[member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

 

[Dax Perl]

As the trio approached Pad 9, Dax whistled in appreciation at the Correllian vessel. "I'm gonna feel right at home in this thing." he said gazing up at the ship. Finally he turned to the Sith and asked, "Mind if I ask your name?"

Dax knew a few Sith. Killed a couple too, came with the territory. But he'd never met former Sith before. It wasn't exactly like the Jedi where you bowed at any given time. As far as he knew Sith were lifers, committed to their cause...because it was usually their own.

[member="Cale Gunderson"], [member="Xiarr Sair"], [member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

 

[Jhiaga Shiwr]

The ramp to the Indomitable lowered as the others approached, granting access to the ship. A silent motion to get aboard the YT-2400, painted in blue and white, just like its owner's armor scheme. The ramp would raise as soon as the group entered it, only for the vox of the ship to come to life, a neutral female voice, muffled by an helmet, filling the halls of the spaceship.
"Welcome aboard the Indomitable, pride of the Shiwr, from Mandalore. Any utilization of the Force aboard this ship can be considered as an insult against both me and my heritage, so keep in mind I am not responsible for any of you getting thrown out of the airlock. We will be departing in slip-space as soon as I get clearance - in fact, I'm kidding, I already started the engines."
Just as she finished her sentence, Jhiaga smirked, activating the propulsion of the ship and rapidly heading toward the atmosphere as she grinned. They would eventually regain their footing... or they might even keep standing straight, if they spent at least some time aboard such a spaceship. Soon enough, they reached orbite, leaving the Mando'a to wait for the coordinates to be processed by the on-board computer, reactivating the voice command. "I'm going to join you in the lounge - please, make yourselves at home... but not too much."
Deactivating the broadcasting, she left the cockpit, locking the door behind her, and headed for the loungue, knowing OOM-92, one of her battle droids, would lead her... associates... to the right destination.

[member="Cale Gunderson"] [member="Xiarr Sair"] [member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

Dax could feel the engines thrumming beneath his feet, even as he stepped aboard the icy painted starship. Looks like they were ready to make way. A voice suddenly echoed through the halls, and the man stopped to listen. 'Seriously? We're all Forcers...and your our ride...what could we possibly do?' he thought at the mention that the use of the Force was prohibited.

As the Mandalorian vessel began it's ascension to space, Dax took a single step behind himself, to stabilize himself as the vessel rocketed upwards, waiting until the rumbling of the atmosphere subsided before returning to a normal standing position. "Blasted Mando..." the Corellian muttered. To be honest he'd known only a couple Mandalorians, namely the Merans, but they'd never managed to piss him off before even meeting him...This woman was something else.

"-make yourselves at home...but not too much."
"Oh Force forbid that happen." the man said sarcastically as he began to make his way to the lounge. "She seems friendly."

[member="Cale Gunderson"], [member="Xiarr Sair"], [member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

 

[Cale Gunderson]

"Cale." He responded to [member="Dax Fyre"]'s question of his name. As they were rushed aboard [member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]'s vessel and into the lounge he couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at Dax's remark about the Mandolorian's demeanor, he was spot on, but most Mando'a carried themselves in the same way in his experience. He assumed that she had already plotted course for Eadu and that she'd be joining them to go over mission specifics shortly. If they were lucky the operation would be easy in and easy out, one stop on Easu, perhaps a few still active Imperial security droids to cleave through, the back to the Ring to pick up their heft reward. But something told Cale they weren't going to be all that lucky, someone or something would make this far more difficult than it needed to be.

For the first time, Cale did something besides make a blunt statement, "Do either of you have any idea who Galen Erso is?" He asked openly to Dax and [member="Xiarr Sair"], as well as Jhiaga if she entered in time to hear it be asked. The question was sincere, the aging wayward knight didn't have the slightest clue who the man was, he knew of a Galen Marek, as the man was his ancestor sort of, or at least was the template for his ancestor who was the darker of the two successful clones, not that it really mattered, neither Cale nor Marek, nor Marek's clone Davin shared that ancestor's unruly abilities with the force. In all honesty he just wished to know what made this Erso so special.

 

[Xiarr Sair]

No use of the force? Xiarr could get use to it just for the ride, but it was annoying and obnoxious either way. When he entered the ship, he sat down with the other to remaining silent until the former sith asked a question about this Galen Erso. "No, and I doubt he's important enough to have made something that is worth 500,000 credits." Xiarr was still suspicious, but not of the former sith, but of his employers. He had an essays' worth of questions that needed to be answered, but they would probably never be answered. After a long pause, Xiarr said: "I suppose this is the best time to exchange names, the name is Xiarr, Xiarr Sair." This had happened quite a few times, Xiarr was doing something casual like drinking or wandering, then he notices a few figures that stand out from the crowd, and the next thing you know your offered 500,000 credits and you're on your way to a wet wasteland, or something along those lines.

[member="Cale Gunderson"]
[member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]
[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"Dax Fyre" the Knight said, nodding his head. The man recognized the name. Some guy who lived during the Dark Times...the man obviously had done something to be written into history, even vaguely. Dax couldn't just remember what it was.

"Well then why the hell is this guys spending two million credits to get this stuff. Can't be nostalgia."

[member="Cale Gunderson"], [member="Xiarr Sair"], [member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

 

[Cale Gunderson]

"Possibly this Erso figure helped develop some sort of Imperial weapons project. Force knows how many there were and that to this day we still haven't found them all." Remarked Cale, hoping to take any attention off of him and focus it on the mission instead. He pondered what kind of threats they might encounter, Eadu might just be important enough to draw the attention of the Imperial Remnant faction that was starting to pop up in the news, if it was they'd likely have more than a few stormtroopers to deal with, though hopefully they wouldn't warrant something like a Star Destroyer, that would be unfortunate.

Crossing his arms, Cale waited patiently for their pilot, hoping to iron out some sort of plan for the operation.

[member="Dax Fyre"]
[member="Xiarr Sair"]
[member="Jhiaga Shiwr"]

 

[Jhiaga Shiwr]

"Jhiaga Shiwr", said the Mando'a unceremonously as she entered the room, the others already telling their names to each other. "I'm the pilot of the Indomitable. I'm supposed to get you force sensitive lot to Eadu and assist with the retrieval of the aforementionned plans... and make sure you actually do it. Don't underestimate me; I was there on Ossus."
She let her thread hang in the air, placed a hand on her hip, near her blaster pistols as to pass the message to them, the lightsabers onto her belt making quite clear she obtained them directly from the cold dead hands of a force user. Asserting her dominance was vital when travelling with such people... and the prospect of them sensing her own force sensivity was slightly annoying.
"Now that this is out of the way. What's the plan?"

[member="Cale Gunderson"]
[member="Xiarr Sair"]
[member="Dax Fyre"]