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Objective A
Location Redhaven
Allies: GR [member="Corvus Raaf"]
Enemy: Yes?
Post 11/20
He still felt a bit of pain, especially when they moved with a bit of haste. But he would not admit it. The mission was too important and the grand master had that care taker thing over her. She would only he distracted if he showed it to her.
"I would need a bit more detailed briefing on who I am to go after grand master. But otherwise it might be good to spread out in order to ensure both are taken captive."
He looked at [member="Corvus Raaf"] hoping that she would enlighten him a bit more about what needed to be done.
Just before they entered the police station, Corvus stopped.
"It's actually quite simple. Both have been asked to fill out a standard report. It's a ruse, but they won't expect it. They're in different rooms in there," she indicated the station with a nod of her head. "We simply introduce ourselves and ask a few questions on behalf of the Government who brought us in on this."
"Earlier today there was an attempt on the life of a senior Government official. The crime scene evidence - that we were asked to look at - has gone missing. Either the investigating officer has chosen not to hand it in, or the desk sergeant that books evidence in has chosen not to log it. Or maybe they are both in on it. Either way, one or both of them is in the pay of the terrorists and we need to find out each one. So. We can question them as a pair or split up and speak to one each. Your call."
Objective A
Location Redhaven
Allies: GR [member="Corvus Raaf"]
Enemy: Yes?
Post 12/20
------------------------------
Mantic pondered the situation for a while. He was not a seasoned investigator but he also figured that he could manage the task rather simple. And if he failed the grand master would not, thus giving the correct outcome of it regardless.
He wet his lips, he would suggest the latter to also provide time saving for them both. If an attempt on a governmental official had occurred it was always imperative to follow the leads before they went cold. his mind wandered for a while, thinking no [member="Alyona Volkovna"] and her position, but he recalled that the grand master had trust her completely.
With that in mind he returned to the matter at hand.
"I would advice that we split up Master. Let me handle the sergeant that books evidence and you can take on the probably more seasoned field investigator. I assume that we can reach each other rather quickly if the need should arise." he inclined his head as a short bow and awaited the grand master to confirm or alter his suggestion.
The pesky Padawan remained on the tail of the unamused thief. Obviously stationary objects like boxes, fences and parked land speeders would not be enough to keep the diminutive pursuer away. As such, the thief would have to come up with something clever to throw her off. Making a sharp right turn, the thief thought it disappeared from Kaia’s view, knocking over bins and boxes in its wake. However, in truth Kaia could see the thief’s aura radiating through the buildings and decided to make a shortcut and come dropping down on the thief from above.
Kaia imbued her body with the Force, made an impressive leap, and landed on a tall fence next to the building around the corner of which the thief tried to disappear. Immediately upon landing, she sort of bounced into another leap and landed with a forward roll on the ceiling of the stocky building. Kaia sprinted across the roof, seeing through the structure as through it was glass. Reaching the edge, she immediately recognised the thief’s cloak and leapt down for the tackle. She landed, tumbled to avoid injury, and pounced right on the thief.
“I’ve got you! Hand over my stuff, you thief!”
For such a deft thief, Kaia was surprised at how easy the takedown had been until she flipped the thief over on his back and stared into the confused face of an elderly Gran in absolute shock. Grans did not smile like the way the thief had, and rarely move with such dexterity at such... advanced age. Equally importantly: He had no satchel. It was a trap! Kaia’s head jerked around as she saw a humanoid form sprinting back the way they had come, a satchel clutched under its arm. Helping the Gran up, Kaia shouted a continuous stream of apologies while once more picking up the chase.
Objective: A Location: Redhaven
Allies: Corvus Raaf | Mantic Dorn
Enemies: Rhommamoolian Cultists
Post Count: [12/20]
Alyona found herself standing against the wall of a tall apartment complex some time later, overlooking the warehouse below that was marked on her wristcomp. The wind whipped passed her face at a fast pace, causing her grey-white hair to flitter across her cheek. It tugged at her blouse and she felt a slight chill run between her breasts and across her stomach. Alyona was standing on the windowsill outside the South-facing wall, staring down fourteen levels to the roof of the warehouse that was her target. "Fourteen levels...that's quite a height," Alyona breathed, sighing and calming her nerves before ensuring her lightsabers were secure on her belt and planning her descent. After gauging the distance of her jump, Alyona stepped forward and off the sill, then felt her stomach jump as she dropped toward the ground. The wind turned into a rushing roar, but Alyona was able to steep herself in the Force to maintain a precise level of concentration on her descent. The third level of the building sloped outward to the South at a forty-five degree angle. Hitting that at the right speed would allow Alyona to slide easily toward the warehouse, which rested just across the street. Alyona faced herself downward and spread her arms and legs, slowing her descent somewhat until she'd dropped six or seven levels. Then she tucked herself into a ball and rolled forward, slowing herself just enough with help from the Force to avoid breaking her hip when the side of her body struck the aluminum plate rooftop below with a clang! Alyona found herself skidding down the roof at a breakneck speed, but was able to smoothly catch her foot on the roof's edge and propel herself forward into a leaping somersault that brought her across the street below. She reached out and grasped the edge of the warehouse roof, tucking her body quickly and letting it swing, absorbing the rest of her momentum; she swiftly then released her grip and flipped through the open window before her, landing on all fours and allowing herself to lay against the dusty floor.
"Master, I've arrived." Alyona texted Corvus silently on her wristcomp, then stood slowly and looked around, taking in her environment. Everything was dark and silent; dust hung in the air despite the open window and the heavy breeze outside. Strange...Alyona thought to herself, stepping away from the window and peeking through the door way to her left. She was in a small room with wooden walls and tables lining them with boxes and crates stacked up here and there. None of them seem to have been touched in ages. Outside the room a catwalk ringed the building's North wall, cutting right and continuing to the far side before cutting right again and lining the South wall. Between the catwalk sections were lights hanging from long cords to illuminate the floor below, and beams crossing back and forth to support the walks themselves. A great way to cross in darkness, Alyona considered, stepping out quietly and slipping over the handrail. She crouched as she stepped down onto one of the beams, looking down below. There were two Rhommamoolians standing by the open door of the warehouse some thirty meters away. They were guarding the door and were clearly armed with blaster rifles. Alyona closed her eyes and concentrated on herself using the Force for a moment, then dilated her eyes and reopened them. Even in the dim light now she could make out details of the two guards. They were strong, burly, with coarse hairs lining their arms and faces and the backs of their hands. They wore similar robes of a dusky red color, like clay. Their weapons were slung over their shoulders and they both had tattoos of a red circle on the right side of their necks. Rhommamool is often represented by a red orb, Alyona remembered from her briefing. These must be the cultists Dorn was attacked by. Alyona allowed her gaze to drift toward the warehouse's interior. There seemed to be no activity of any kind within, and any and all doors were shut, save for one at the East end of the building. A dim, reddish light glowed from within, and it drew Alyona's attention immediately. She lifted her wristcomp and angled it at the guards, zooming in as best she could and snapping images of their necks. She sent them to Corvus with a caption that read: Cultists found. Red orb tattoo, right side of neck. She locked her wristcomp screen and glanced back at the glowing doorway. Reaching out with her senses, Alyona discovered there was no one lurking beyond, so she dropped onto the floor of the warehouse below and crept through it. The doorway led to a stairwell that went underground, and Alyona was forced to shed herself of nerves before continuing on. She moved slowly but smoothly, following the stairs down roughly two levels before it evened out into a carved tunnel that curved slightly to the left. It was lit by a continuous cable pinned to the ceiling that was interspersed with lights. Offshoots of the tunnel were splayed out every twenty meters or so, and led to darker, unknowable areas Alyona wasn't too keen to explore. Quietly she followed the span of lights, expanding her senses with the Force and hearing activity some distance ahead. There were banging sounds from a few different sources and shouting from one. The tunnel seemed to continue on for ages, and it took roughly ten minutes for Alyona pied the final corner. There she caught sight of a large, red-skinned Rhommamoolian barking orders to a group of four slightly shorter men. Their garb was plain and made only for labor, as were the tools they wielded. Large picks and shovels were being used to clear out rubbed from a broken stone slab that blocked further travel. They're digging somewhere...but where? Alyona wondered.
Corvus nodded in accord with Mantic's suggestion. "We can split up and take it from there," she agreed.
So, heading into the air-conditioned building she wandered up to the desk-sergeant - a friendly looking fellow, with slightly rosy cheeks and a girth that suggested he didn't see a lot of action.
"Here to see Inspector Abersoch, the investigating officer from the recent assassination attempt." The police officer nodded and went to activate an internal intercom. "Don't worry," said Corvus, "No need to announce me, just tell me the room and I'll find him." Yes, there was a little nudge with the Force there. The last thing they needed was to tip-off the suspects.
"Interview room E," he said, "He's filling in some form the top brass asked him to complete, so I don't think he's expecting you."
Corvus smiled. "Oh, I'm sure he isn't." And with that she headed off for the room.
Objective A
Location Redhaven
Allies: GR [member="Alyona Volkovna"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]
Enemy: mhm
Post 13/20
Mantic waited just a little while outside. Enough to give the grand master time for her entrance.
Then he went inside himself.
"Good day officer. I am here to see Officer Gard Mak. There is no need to fill out any reports, since I am just making a quick visit. Where can I find him.?"
The officer nodded, "There is no need... no. He is down the corridor to the left. Behind a barred desk. You cant miss him." the police answered, again without realizing the slight use of the force to persuade his mind.
IT did not feel good to do it but the circumstnances were special.
"Thank you." Mantic replied and started to head down the corridor to the left.
Rhommamool and Osarian. Twin planets that could not be more different. One was an example of squalour and poverty that only aroused interest due to its minerals, the other a shining example of prosperity and affluence. A story as old of time. Like A Tale of Two Cities or something similarly good.
As a matter of fact, both worlds had some history for Siobhan. The destruction...oh, wait, they had not been destroyed, just presumably devastated when Velok used space magic acquired by stealing artefacts, and Cira's disappearance had led to Tegaea Alcori, her wife, ascending to the position of Lady Protector of OP, whilst Siobhan had been made Exarch. The Bando Gora had been finally crushed, against all odds the Protectorate had survived despite its neighbours arraying against it.
Then...her nemesis Kaelin had returned and, through Siobhan's own carelessness, captured and tortured Tegaea. Then Siobhan had torn her apart. The couple had moved on, founded Firemane, now the Protectorate was dead and she did not miss it. And there goes the history lesson, we can return to the present.
Business suited her far more. Most of the day had been spent in negotiations with local leaders about acquiring mining rights for Firemane on Rhommamool. After all, the planet was vast, rich in minerals and terribly underutilised. This needed to change and somewhat femnazi capitalism was the way to bring change. Change through economic development. After all, she paid her wage slaves...err, workers, a fair wage. Firemane mercenaries had been contracted to help deal with the unrest and provide training for local militia.
Presumably this had happened off-screen since this writer is only posting now with her. Right now, Siobhan was lazing around in her fancy hotel room on Osarian, which had all the amenities you could ask for. Including a beautiful maiden who was presently massaging Siobhan's back, whilst the Lady flipped through a magazine about orchids. You see, she really loved orchids! To the point where she talked to them.
Location: The Osarian military encampment outside Osa-Secunde
Objective: B?
Allies: Rationality, [member="Ali Hadrix"]
Enemies: Grandfathered grudges
Post: 06/20
"I suppose it would be too much to ask of you to fight alongside the forces of Osarian."
Tyl's expression remained unchanged. "You could ask. It is not my place to presume your thoughts or feelings. The sentiments I relayed in front of your parliament are resolute, however."
Commandant Toland grunted out a brief chuckle. "I already presumed your answer. It would have been a waste to call you all the way out here just for that. Simple curiosity on my part, nothing more."
Truth be told, Tyl did not know why she had been summoned. There had seemingly been no way to prevent conflict. If those pulling the strings of the Osarian people truly could not see past their veils of revenge and power, then bloodshed would be inevitable. The most amount of good Tyl could see herself doing was to offer her services as a Healer in the hope that the lives she could save would end up seeing a different side to the war in which they participated.
Parnak Toland stood, his weight displaced through his arms as he leaned on a makeshift table with a holoprojector at its center. The images were of the two planets: Rhommamool and Osarian. Various blips moved about in synchronized formations, some orderly, some less so. Tyl could only assume that meant pre-emptive strikes were already underway. She turned her attention away from the projections. The Jedi was not there to spy, nor was she there to become involved in the military proceedings.
"Quite honestly," the Commandant continued. "We don't need your help. Our military is better refined, better funded, better outfitted. We don't just have our own troops, we also have paramilitary mercenaries who have assisted by not only training our forces but also reinforcing them. Had the Rhommamoolians not called for aid, the only thing they'd have is their paltry missile defense system and some miners with cobbled together blasters."
"As well as the minerals that the wealth of your world and your current military is dependent upon using and maintaining."
Tyl's comment came coolly off of her tongue. And the reception given by Commandant Toland spoke volumes. His glare, directed straight into the eyes of Tyl, was filled with ire. The military officer quickly averted his fiery stare. Tyl had made the remark as simply a factual statement. She had not intended to chide the man, but she had unintentionally succeeded all the same. With her comment, though, the Jedi learned that the politicians were not the only ones among the Osarian's with a great deal of pride on the line.
"Had your people not arrived, the Osarian takeover of Rhommamool would have been swift and relatively painless. We would have retained dominance over our sister planet and put in place a system of order in an attempt to save the lives that you seem to hold so dear."
The Commandant pushed off of the table with his fists, fists that remained tightly balled as he began to pace. Tyl was tempted to point out another observation. Forcing order onto a group of people did not guarantee that such a group would respond positively to whatever system that was. More often than not, rebellion resulted at one point or another. But she chose to hold her thoughts. If her observations were only to bring anger to the man who had respectfully invited her, then they were best kept in her mind. After all, just as the Osarian's could not force their want onto the Rhommamoolians, neither could Tyl force her ways onto the Osarians.
"But now, the tides of battle have turned from a simple takeover to a full-scale assault. Our forces are committed but the figures on the estimated loss of life is high. And victory is not guaranteed. On top of that, if the Republic opposes the Osarians in this conflict, that means that we must take a side in a much larger conflict. We cannot possibly hope to fight the entirety of the Galactic Republic. And taking a stance against them would only garner the attention of even greater military powers, whose interest in our conflict would be material at best."
Commandant Toland ceased his pacing and faced the Jedi directly. He seemed at odds with himself, but resigned. "I have also received word from our Chancellor. Though he does not rule the Osarian people, his voice does carry some weight. And while I am not in charge of our military, I am the designated liaison for politicians and officials. As such, I have been bid to parlay with a member of your military command here in our star system."
OOC:
-I mentioned that pre-emptive strikes were underway so anyone on objective C is free to keep busting skulls. If I should retract that, however, let me know. It's an easy fix.
Ali: I figured you could be the person for this guy to speak with. That is if you were interested in that route? I could also just NPC some GR military-type if you'd prefer. If you are interested, I figure I'd shuttle the guy over to Rhommamool for face-to-face. Would have done that in this post but it was starting to get lengthy. Feel free to PM if you want to discuss any details!
Objective A
Location Redhaven
Allies: GR [member="Alyona Volkovna"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]
Enemy: mhm
Post 14/20
The man was large, slightly overweight and smelled sweaty and oily. His role was behind a barred desk, where he took in evidence and booked them. Now the jedi order had reasons to suspect that he had "forgotten" to book certain evidence about a recent attack on. Governmental official.
Mantic was waved forward as the line he was in moved forward.
"Put it in the box and fill put the form." the sergeant said on routine, barely looking up as the jedi stepped closer.
"I am sorry Sergeant," he instead replied. "I am not here to file evidence. I had some questions." Mantics voice was calm but he knew this could become a stressful situation if he did not watch out.
The man behind the desk looked up with a perplexed expression. His face turned from annoyance to curiosity and the back to annoyance.
"Look here mr Jedi, just because you got an outdated weapon strapped does not mean you can barve in like this. Go away." he spat in response.
There was little time and for the second time this day Mantic reached out with the for e touching the mans mind.
"You only need to show me the log of today." he murmured and waved discretely with his hand before the sergeant.
"I will just show you this first..." he answered and turned around his monitor for Mantic to read.
Mantics eyes narrowed.
Thats it then he decided. He better go tell the grand master what he had learned.
INside there was a great amount of things, the mandalorian was moving now as she waited for something... Strider was leading this group and getting them to help out. Her mechanical hand crunched one of the cups while she watched the old man hitting on some of the jedi and removed her helmet walking around. "Strider you are going to be the one I smash into a wall. You paid me to come and fight things." She arms crossed over the blackened armor as it shifted a little dark blue for a moment with the polymer on her armor. She moved over and was looking at some of the jedi who had seemed to return to the interview rooms. She went over crossing her arms over her chest while tapping the plates. "I think our talents and services were wasted."
Corvus wasn’t thinking of her Padawan, despite the danger she had placed herself in. Why? There were two reasons in truth. One was the fact that she was competent and as a result Corvus trusted her. The second was that she was a Jedi – and life was never easy, so a test of her abilities was going to become commonplace.
So Corvus headed into the room. The faded ‘E’ on the door was a sure-fire give-away to its location and she tapped lightly on the synthetic wood before entering. The man seated at the desk was certainly surprised to see her.
And she was no fashionista but the clothes he wore said money – and the fancy time-piece did too. More than a lowly officer’s pay she surmised. But she did not jump to conclusions.
“Inspector Abersoch.” It was a statement more than a question. “You can dispense with the form, it was a means to an end. I needed a chat.”
She lifted the seat on the opposite side of the small table to him and moved it so she was sitting facing him without the barrier between them.
“I need you to tell me the truth. First time…no games or memory lapses. Please make it easy for both of us.” Her voice was calm and smooth, no Force was being used. She was simply being honest and as disarming as her natural abilities would allow.
She sensed fear in him, that she couldn’t help – he was leaking it. “What happened to the evidence from the attempted assassination?”
Objective A
Location Redhaven
Allies: GR [member="Alyona Volkovna"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]
Enemy: mhm
Post 15/20
Mantic passed a few questionable eyes in the corridor. While the police on this world had accepted, even asked for the jedi to help them in sorting the criminal underworld not all officers were comfortable with it. Corruption ran deep in their lines and if the jedi did their job, well heads would be rolling.
Sensing the grand masters presence Mantic slowed his steps and came to a halt just behind her. Waiting for her to continue her questioning.
Kiyron stood, hand on his chin, in his command center in orbit, watching the situation below unfold across the holodisplay. Things seemed to be going well. It appeared that further deployment of forces would be unnecessary. He turned and strode away, boots clicking on the durasteel deck. There was some interesting tales coming in about evidence and what-not and government collaborators. Apparently Jedi were handling it. That would either be a good thing or a bad thing. Depended on which approach they took. He'd fall back on GRIM methods, pun unintentional. A combination of intimidation and manipulation, it tended to work rather well. Fear was an excellent motivator and nothing made someone afraid than their own brain.
He paused at the doorway, nodding at the commander.
"Commander, maintain alert, but it appears a deployment would be unnecessary." The commander saluted and hurried off, whispering commands into her comms as she departed. Excellent. Kiyron let out a deep breath. This was easier than he had expected. It would most fortunate that way. He was tired of the endless war, and it was visible. Dark shadows lingered under his eyes and his hair was beginning to thin. Retirement sounded very nice right about now. Not that it would happen, but it was a pleasant thought. Wouldn't happen while the One Sith remained in existence. The Republic needed him too badly and he still owed them two lives.
To Oscar, Osarian was another planet which meant literally nothing. Nothing to him, at least. There was no reason for him to be there whatsoever and would he have had anything better to do, he wouldn't have even gone there with the rest of the Galactic Republic. But the problem was, he had had nothing to do for a while now and as the possibility to go on the dominion appeared, he saw it as a fun adventure he could take. Whether it was gonna be that or not, he had no idea. But it sure had some potential.
And that sounded fun.
He was not there to fight or do anything else the majority was there to do. He didn't have the power to stand up against others nor did he have much of a political skill. So there was but one thing for him to do -- gather some plants which he could use to create new medication. It was a new hobby of his and even though he was not very talented at that field, he still loved gathering and mixing different plants and making stuff out of them. Even if they were not always the healthiest and useful things they typically tasted awesome.
Well, typically is a serious exaggeration. Sometimes would be more appropriate.
Well, in fact, they never tasted awesome. Nor did they smell good. In fact, they were also pretty ugly. Some were even too gross to touch. At least herbalism didn't include the use of hearing sense.
As a rule, interrogations lasted a while - even if a Jedi was involved. For most realised the Force was used in such circumstances as a last resort.
Yet the Inspector crumbled in front of her very eyes. Tears flowed and a whole host of mitigating reasons were trotted out - from threats to his family to raising credits for organ transplants for his relatives. At one point Corvus was sure she counted three different grand-mothers - but she paid it little mind. The interview was recorded and he confessed his guilt.
She was no jury or judge, merely here to ascertain the facts and hand the over to the courts.
She placed a hand on his shoulder when he'd finished. "An officer will be through soon to ask you to verify what you've already told me. Any information you can share on the terrorists and their chain of command will be greatly appreciated - and may help in the length of your sentence."
And she turned to face Mantic.
"Our job here is done - tell me what you learned from the other suspect."
Objective A
Location Redhaven
Allies: GR [member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Alyona Volkovna"]
Enemy: mhm
Post 16/20
Mantic observed what was happening from the doorway. It was certainly astounding to see how the grand master accomplished these tasks, even without her level of powers. Her mere presence seemed to change or alter the outcome of things.
As [member="Corvus Raaf"] turned to him he gave a slight but polite bow.
"It was a dead end grand master. But I can see that you have come to other results here." he gave her a smile and twirled his mustache between two fingers as they began to leave the station.
"It feels most satisfactory to have been part in restoring some degree of law and order to this planet, I must say." he continued thinking out loud more to himself then anyone else as they strolled further. Then his features turned to a more concerned expression.
"Have you heard anything from your padawan? I hope she is faring well?"
The boy looked around the area he'd landed at -- it seemed like there was quite a little bit of plants around him yet none of them seemed to be of any use. They were just useless types of grass with no healing effects whatsoever. And even though these things could be used for some of the medicine he made, it wasn't useful for anything he was trying to create now.
He had to expand the area of search. He wouldn't leave the planet without having the needed plants. And Osarian was quite a planet with amazing resources so there was no way the things he looked for wouldn't be found there.
He just had to look farther. And probably deeper as well.
Something in the distance caught his eye -- it was a plant with yellow petals. And these weren't no simple petals; they belonged to a flower he'd been searching for a while now across the galaxy. It was a key component of a healthy delicious meal. Of course he could have bought it from a market or something but its value was pretty high and therefore, it also cost a lot.
But now that he'd finally found it, there was a way for him to create the amazing food. And finally bring an amazing meal into the Jedi Temple café's menu.
She listened to Mantic as he explained what had transpired. And she was sure he'd observed what had just happened. A Jedi was more than the flesh and bones that wore the robes.
They were a symbol. An ally or a foe, depending on your viewpoint. More often than not, your very presence was all that was needed to resolve matters. For resolution was key - not the use of the Force.
"Team-work," she said as he finished. "And I'm sure young Voxyn will be quite alright. A little head-strong at times...but weren't we all once?"
And with that she hailed a cab. Faith or not, she felt it appropriate to head to where her Padawan was - if only to offer her a lift back to the ship.
With the wreckage of the Iron Knight HK droid and - far more importantly - the shard in tow, the Archangel shuttle took off and left Osarian and its conflicts behind it. Very soon the shuttle had pierced the atmosphere of the planet and made for space.
Waiting for it, far away, was the cloaked Lightbringer. The small transport ship slipped into the hangar bay of the stealth ship and offloaded its precious cargo. Within moments the vessel had made the jump for hyperspace and left the system. The Iron Knight would be analysed, the shard awakened. Ideally this interesting creature would serve Archangel willingly. If not, well, there would undoubtedly be means to show it the error in its ways. The props of being a genocidal machine cult masquerading as a legitimate company.
