Rumors of new lands and an old civilization (chapter 1)

[Sanya Val Lerium]

Chapter 1​

Rumors of a new lands and an old civilization ​

it's been three weeks Sanya had been looking into the strange dissaperences of trader's and mercenaries. all of them were from the same area on ossus, normally this isn't a strange thing but it felt different for some reason she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Could it be an enemy of the republic? no it can't be that, the only lead that she has is that isn't on any star map, it's not the first time this has happend. on request Sanya had a small team assembled to help her with trying to track this need down.

"good afternoon everyone, please sit down" Sanya sat down herself and pulled her hood down "the reason I've asked you here today is because I've noticed something strange in the local area, traders and mercs keep dissapering and the only lead is where they are going is not on the galaxy map. we need to find out where they are going and why" she looked around at the others in the room "any question before we set off?"

[member="Tyl Ro"]
[member="Corvus Raaf"]
[member="Zylah Dvale"]
[member="lord vyse"]

 

[Elijah Black]

The Arkanian-Human Padawan made her way to the meeting area. She hadn't received a full briefing, that would come later, but she knew the basics. As always, Zylah Dvale was dressed in the humble robes of the Jedi, dark brown robes matching her boots, on top of lighter beige undertunics. At her hip, partially concealed by the flowing robe, a lightsaber. The lightsaber was once again not hers, but one on-loan from the Jedi Order, whenever venturing off the premises of the Ossus Academy on Jedi business. This had become something she was almost getting accustomed to, with the action she'd been seeing lately.

The pale-skinned Padawan in her late teens stepped inside the room. It would appear she was the first to arrive. She looked to Sanya with a smile, and made a bow. Having forgotten formalities in recent first-encounters, she had made a mental note of remembering the polite Jedi bow next time. Lesson learned, it would seem. After a while, as more people showed up, they were instructed to sit. Zylah did as asked, and listened.

Zylah listened to the words, pondering upon them. Were they Republic citizens? They had to be, most likely. "No signs of abductions or of struggle? They just left, and never came back?" she asked finally, in a soft voice. If so the problem was with their destination. This seemed even more like the case, when there was no record of that location. "Do they have anything in common?" perhaps they all hung out at the same bar, knew the same people, someone to give them a tip of the location. Her initial suspicion was that the location lead to nowhere, empty space. And in the space waited a minor fleet, slavers perhaps. Though it was a rather elaborate set-up for slavers... Time spent dwelling on the what-ifs were unimportant, when all scenarios required the same action: "I agree. This should be investigated."

[member=Sanya Val Lerium] | [member=Tyl Ro] | [member=Dazuto] | [member=Lord Vyse Magrath]

 

[Tyl Ro]

Still being new to the Order, Tyl found busying her schedule with tasks a proficient way to acquaint herself with these newfound comrades. The Kaminoan was not the most socially outward individual. Despite her politeness, starting a conversation unprompted was not in Tyl's vocabulary. But being able to partake in a mission or fill some sort of role fulfilled not only the task at hand but also introduced her to the multitudes of Jedi that surrounded her. The adjustment from the much smaller Jedi Order from which Tyl originated to the much larger Jedi Order of the Galactic Republic was gradually becoming more and more comfortable. Still, there were so many. In a way, the Kaminoan Jedi was reminded of her early days as a Youngling and then as a Padawan on Tython.

So Tyl quickly volunteered for a mission that, from the brief description given, didn't seem to necessitate the drawing of sabers. Despite the familiar weight of the hilt swaying just beneath her hip under the folds of her nearly-floor-length skirt, she was less than thrilled to be called into engagement, regardless of the foe. Militarism was not the way of the Jedi. Yet many, not just the young, seemed eager to draw their blades at a moment's notice. While Tyl recognized an Order at war all too well, she knew the psychological drawbacks that such conflict brought, whether they were simply defending themselves or otherwise.

To be a part of a team performing a search and recovery operation was much more in the realm of a task that Tyl was appropriately suited to accomplish.

The tall, lanky woman approached the briefing room in her typical attire, not the typical robes of the Jedi, but a very short-sleeved, almost form-fitting shirt tucked into a sash from which her many-pleated skirt seemed to flow naturally down, all garments in varying shades of grey on top of her smoky white skin. Tyl glided gracefully into the room, seating herself quietly with the others assembled. None were familiar to her, but she welcomed the opportunity to associate herself with them, and donned an appropriately polite smile.

Tyl listened as the woman leading the briefing, [member="Sanya Val Lerium"], gave a quick introduction to their assignment. Navigating the stars was a difficult thing. The vastness of space, and the relative emptiness of a galaxy between its star systems meant that whole fleets, sometimes even rogue worlds, could be stashed away without anyone in the local systems even knowing of their existence. What better way to hide something massive than in the most massive haystack known?

It was less common to simply stumble upon a star system unaccounted for by astrogeographers. Stars were easy to pinpoint, and traveling to those stars for basic survey was routine, even if an astoundingly daunting task. But errors were inevitably made, data corrupted, files intentionally deleted from databases. Anything was possible.

[member="Zylah Dvale"] was the first to speak out of those assembled, and Tyl regarded her words before adding her own. "Indeed. Do we know anything about the method of these disappearances? If these vessels are vanishing of their own accord, they most certainly have some unknown destination in mind. Can we track these ships in any way?"

[member="Lord Vyse"] [member="Dazuto"]​

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was invited, so Corvus attended. It was part of her duty after all and Sanya was a young Knight that deserved any help she asked for. Corvus had been present at her Trial of the Flesh and saw first-hand how brave the then Padawan had been.

So she listened to the questions posed. She was familiar with [member="Zylah Dvale"] - having trained her before. She was one of the new up and coming Padawans that so soon would be knocking on the door of promotion to Knighthood. It was a when question, not an if one.

[member="Tyl Ro"] was another she knew but had less interaction with - but once more she could sense this was a Master of the future - only timing was the issue.

And as she waited for others to arrive, she sat back and listened to the answers.

[member="Sanya Val Lerium"]

 

[Sanya Val Lerium]

Sanya looked around to the others taking in the questions that had been asked about this assignment. she looked directly at Zylah "no signs of struggle at all they just left to this place, and I do believe these dissaperences are all apart of the same thing, but nothing adds up about it." she then turn to look at Tyl "as for the ships I can only track them so far before they drop of the scanners. I have been to the destination to where they disappear and it's just empty space. So I can only presume that these ships have some kind of jammer to stop been tracked so far."

Sanya stood up from her chair and pulled her hood back over her head "with the help of an old friend I have managed to find out roughly where these mercs and traders are been hired." she pointed on the map of the local area to where the markets meet with the clubs district "this is where we will begin our search, the only problem is I don't know who this person or people look like, their a complete mystery but we must find out who is behind this and why they are sending citizens to an unmarked area. when we get there we will have to draw as little attention to ourselves as possible."

Sanya looked around the room once more. "if there is any more questions please asked while we make our way to the place."

[member="Corvus Raaf"] Ξ [member="Tyl Ro"] Ξ [member="Zylah Dvale"] Ξ [member="Lord Vyse"]

 

[Vyse de Valorous]

Vyse is walking down the streets of the markets, a smile on his face, dressed as one of the local traders. He is buying, selling, and making conversation with the traders. But trading is not the only reason Vyse has for being at the market. Vyse has been sent to recruit local merchants and mercenaries anyway he can. It's quite easy in fact because merchants are always looking for good deals, and show mercenaries a few credits, and before it's out of your pocket there already fighting each other over it.


Vyse today has to deal with a particularly stubborn merchant who is holding up the operation. He's one of the older and richer merchants . Not powerful enough that too many would wonder where he is, but still big enough to convince other merchants not to go. Vyse has tried dealing with him in the past. But no matter what Vyse offers, he gives the same nonsense about how his great great grand father was here his whole life and so will he. Not the brightest star in the sky, thank goodness he had rich ancestors.


As Vyse heads to the mans building, the smile has gone from Vyse's face, replaced by a look of frustration. He already hates dealing with this man, but now, he could potentially sabotage the whole operation! This is something that cannot be allowed. Vyse stops at the door to his shop, takes a deep breath, puts a smile back on, and opens the door. As soon as the man sees Vyse, he instantly yells at him. "I thought I already told you! No means NO! Vyse would form a fist behind his back, tightening it as hard as he can. "Look, hear me out one last time, if you listen to me I will never return to your shop again. "FINE! If it will finally rid me of you ok! But this is the last damn time!. The smile of vyse's face is completely gone by this point, but both men clearly don't care.


Vyse follows the man into his office, where he sits down and before Vyse can even sit he speaks: Oh no, I am sure you would love to pace. Feel free to, let the blood actually flow in that skull of yours. Vyse eyes go wide, filled with rage, he knows very well that Vyse had been trading all day, and that his feet must be killing him. "No thank you, I am fine standing...." Vyse would stand there, despite the great pain in his feet. Moving to either foot in a attempt to lessen the pain. "Now ,I am willing to offer you something more then everyone else. 10X starting pay and first pick of every resources on the world. The best offer Vyse has given anyone by far. But if anything will get him to bend, this will. The man is taken aback, he did not expect such a offer after all the rudeness. He stares off, clearly considering the offer.


After a few minutes of complete and utter silence, he turns to Vyse to give his answer. No. Vyse's eyes widen, and he is filled with complete rage. "No? No?! NO! What kind of fool are you! The deal of a lifetime and you pass it down! Vyse slams his fist on the table. No wonder they all see you as a old fool! They watch like vultures because they know under your leadership your family and all the "traditions" you hold so dear will be gone soon, with you! The man stands up, clearly taken by pure hatred, with eyes wide as they can be. "I love my family, so I respect it's traditions, and clearly I love my family more then you ever loved yours, you filthy bastard. Now get out of here and if I ever see you again I will kill you on the spot.

Now if there are two things Vyse hates in this world, it's being called a bastard, and speaking bad about his family. Vyse reaches for his blaster and they both freeze. Vyse, just managing to control himself, storms out of the building. Immediately he would head right back to his ship saying one thing to himself, I am sure going to enjoy plan B.....

 

[Elijah Black]

Zylah looked to the tall Jedi Knight, as she added in her own words. It wasn't often she saw a Kaminoan. This was the first time she'd met one personally. The Padawan nodded, curious for more information on the matter. The more you knew, the better prepared you were to handle the situation. She always preferred knowing everything before going into something. Of course, Zylah was of the kind that would jump head first into something, not knowing what to expect as well. She just preferred to do otherwise.

No signs of struggle at all they just left to this place. Very curious. The fact that their signals simply disappeared was disturbing. Did it mean someone was there to snatch them up? Did someone on the ships, or otherwise, switch off any tracking device? It seemed odd for it all to happen in the same location, however. A jamming device seemed more likely. This was indeed a mystery, and not one Zylah could simply slap her lightsaber at to resolve. This required something more. She acknowledged that she did not know how to act in this situation, but found solace in the fact that that only meant valuable lessons could be learned.

"What is our next move?" she asked as she got up. If several Jedi showed up all of the sudden, she imagined that any illicit behaviour would seize, out of fear of being discovered and arrested. Would they infiltrate the location instead? Or trust in the Force that the perpetrator would reveal his or herself, or be caught red-handed? Seeming as it was time for the party to move, she would walk with the group towards whatever destination. As always, she was comforted by the presence of Corvus Raaf. The Force was with her. They would find answers to what they were looking for, and she felt equally confident that when they did, they would be able to resolve the matter.

[member=Lord Vyse] | [member=Sanya Val Lerium] | [member=Corvus Raaf] | [member=Tyl Ro]

 

[Tyl Ro]

The Kaminoan simply gave a slight nod in response to the answer offered by [member="Sanya Val Lerium"]. No doubt there was some sort of coordinated effort to keep these mercenaries and traders from being followed. But for what purpose? What cargo did they carry that required such secrecy? Or was the destination itself the item that required protection from whatever evils the galaxy might wrought upon it? Tyl supposed that only time would tell. Further information was needed before these questions could be answered, and they would not answer those questions by idling in a briefing room.

Taking a slow, deep breath, the Jedi cleared the questions from her mind. Removing idle speculations and any potential assumptions that could form as a result allowed Tyl to refocus her mind on the task at hand. Without anything further to add to their conversation, the towering woman stood with the others in the room.

For her part, Tyl was relatively unfamiliar with the others in the room as a result of her brief time spent among this new Jedi Order. The Kaminoan woman only knew a few basics concerning each. The Jedi Knight leading the operation, Knight Val Lerium, was a Healer, like Tyl, though rather young. [member="Zylah Dvale"] was a Padawan specializing in lightsaber combat. Also accompanying them was Grandmaster [member="Corvus Raaf"]. Tyl had had the intention to introduce herself properly, always one for decorum and formality was Tyl, but her duties up to that point had not awarded her that opportunity.

Despite the unfamiliarity, Tyl felt very comfortable among these Jedi women. At least as comfortable and feeling as the stoic Jedi's personality allowed. With no further questions or details posed to the group, Tyl once again emptied her mind of thoughts as she prepared herself for their first destination.

[member="Lord Vyse"]​

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus had been part of the Order when the concept of a meritocracy had been so prevalent. And now she was GrandMaster, she kept the philosophy going. So here she was a Jedi following the lead of Sanya. She was the one with the knowledge and expertise to coordinate and lead the mission, and Corvus was an asset - no more and no less.

So she filed out with the others as they set off on their destination. There would be more questions and some would be difficult to answer. That was the way with missions. They had a plan and would need to be flexible - it was not only common sense, it was the Jedi way.

[member="Tyl Ro"] | [member="Zylah Dvale"] | [member="Lord Vyse"] | [member="Sanya Val Lerium"]

 

[Sanya Val Lerium]

The four jedi left the briefing room, Sanya looked towards zylah. "we will be taking a shuttle over towards the market district, we ask around the local traders if anyone unusual has been poking around. but first i have a lead as to find out who our mystery person is or looks like, my contact has gave me a location to where this person keeps going. if you ask me they seem adamant to get what this trader has to offer. that will be our starting point." in fact the contact she keeps returning to is the person who taught her many things, basic combat, flight even how to tinker with mechanical things. even though this is a favor she felt the need to keep taneas out of the picture.

They all soon arrived at the shuttle bay and one was about to depart. everyone got on board and took a seat. Sanya had sat in-between Corvus and a passenger, she had earphones in so Sanya was okay to speak a little more openly to Corvus about what happend a while back. "Corvus?" Sanya still felt uncomfortable about the topic she was about to speak about but it had to be mentioned. "I need to ask you something..." she closed her eyes for a moment while she let out a small sigh. "when I was attacked by the sith lord before you came and got me, I was almost certain that would have been the end of me. someone that corrupted so hell bent on causing such pain and misery for pleasure and satisfaction has to be stopped. what I'm trying to say I want to track him down so he can stand trial for what it is he has done, but I know I can't do it alone." the scars all over the left side of her body felt as they where burning once more it was a constant reminder that she had a purpose to help stop the evil in the galaxy. "I would like you to be there when we face off again. I know he is much stronger than me and it's why I'm asking."

the shuttle had finally reached the market district, they all made there way off and straight towards the location, in-between them and the store was a thick crowd and would slow down progress.before heading in Sanya gave the others an earpiece so that they could still communicate without there voice been drowned out. "can you all hear me?"

[member="Lord Vyse"] Ξ [member="Corvus Raaf"] Ξ [member="Zylah Dvale"] Ξ [member="Tyl Ro"]

 

[Vyse de Valorous]

The merchant from before was in his office, the same place where Vyse and he had fought a week ago. The merchant has been dealing with a crisis. Ever since their fight, a lot of other traders, without warning, have stopped dealing with him. He cannot find out what Vyse offered them to get them to stop dealing with him.

The merchant has gotten very little sleep over the past week, and in fact none over the last 24 hours. With a raging headache, he keeps working on how to make up for the loss in profits. And finally, he snaps. In a burst of anger he flips his desk. "NO!" He cries out in rage. "I will not give into him! My family has been here for hundreds of years! I will not be chased out by some upstart!"

The merchant goes to the door leading out of his office. He slammed it open and yelled out. "Servants! Get in here and clean this mess up!" But no answer came. Surprised that they would dare not answer him, he yelled out again. "WELL!!! I am waiting!" He began to get a sick feeling in his gut, when still no answer came. He then rushed around the building, he saw no one. Only a hour ago they were all there. As he searched, he hit a new low. Had even his servants left him?

Before he finished searching everywhere, he heard the front door open. Assuming, and a bit hoping, it was some of his servants, with a answer to all this. With anger in his eyes, he rushed to see who it was. When he got there he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes widen, mouth open. He saw not his servants, but three mercenaries with helmets covering who they were, and armed.

As they raised there guns, he ran before they could get a shot off. He ran back to his office while they gave chase, just managing to get in and lock the door as they closed in. He rushed to his flipped over desk, and he took cover behind it. Once over, he frantically attempted to put in a code into the bottom of his desk, to get his hidden blaster. Finishing, he took out his blaster just as they shot the door open.

When they entered, a rain of fire fell upon the desk. Quickly the desk would tear apart under the storm of shots. Holes would form all over the desk, many just missing their intended target. But just as it seem the desk would give, the shots stop. The Merchant hears the sounds of reloading, thinking this was his best, and last chance, he stood up, leaving the little cover he had to open fire. But, as he stood up, he was shot four times in the chest.

As he fell, he could see that one of the men had not wasted their ammo and was waiting for him. The merchant hit the ground hard, the blaster sliding out of reach, as he yelled as many swear words he knew. He could hear two of the mercenaries looting the place, and one walking up to him. He went silent once the man was over him, looking into his dark red helmet with a black visor, he said what would be his last words. "Damn you Vyse!" A shot to his heart would quickly follow. As he faded from this world, the last thing he heard was:

"Mission accomplished sir."


[member="Sanya Val Lerium"]
[member="Corvus Raaf"]
[member="Tyl Ro"]
[member="Zylah Dvale"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus followed as they left the briefing room and went to join the shuttle. Sitting next to Sanya, she was aware that the Knight wanted to speak.

Corvus listened to Sanya. "I met him again very recently. He's the head of the Sith Assassins. Kian faced him in combat. And so, to answer your question, of course I will accompany you if you wish me to."

And before long they’d reached the market district, and once more she followed Sanya’s lead as they headed to the prescribed location. But the volume of people slowed their progress and in her ear-piece Corvus heard Sanya’s voice.

“I’m still here,” she said and continued to press forward, lifting her hood over her head.

[member="Lord Vyse"] | [member="Sanya Val Lerium"] | [member="Tyl Ro"] | [member="Zylah Dvale"]

 

[Elijah Black]

"Sounds good to me" Zylah said, nodding in return to Sanya. "Lead the way" Sanya was taking lead on this mission, and she seemed to be complete control of the situation. Her overview, and the way she'd briefed them gave Zylah a sense of security. She always felt better on the job, when she actually knew what the job was. It made the chance of her somehow compromising the mission so much smaller.

Zylah would follow the group to the shuttle, and get seated like the rest. When it seemed like Sanya and Corvus engaged in a conversation, Zylah turned her focus to Tyl. It sounded like a private conversation, and she didn't want to seem like she was prying. Instead she decided to address a matter she'd left untouched for far too long as it was. "Hi!" she said with a wide smile. "I'm Zylah Dvale. Padawan. It's a pleasure to meet you" it was high time they got introduced.

After whatever conversation was shared, the Jedi team reached the market district. Zylah had plugged in the earpiece given to her by Sanya, and was pleased to hear her voice from it when it was tested. "Loud and clear" Zylah replied. Their equipment was working as it should, and they were nearing their destination. Now it was time to get some answers.

 

[Tyl Ro]

Tyl followed behind the other Jedi as they made their way from the briefing room to the shuttle bay. There, a prepped shuttle lay in wait to pick them up to transport them to the market district where the contact of [member="Sanya Val Lerium"] lay in wait. Tyl's thoughts drifted as they walked along and settled themselves on the shuttle, as they often did when the Jedi pondered a mission. She pictured the galaxy, filled with stars and dust and gases. She had visited and traveled through many of them in her lifetime. But that amount came to an infinitesimal fraction compared to the sheer vastness of space, even when confined to just one galaxy. Imagining that there were planets out there, undiscovered, unplotted by the maps that the Republic held was highly likely as opposed to anything less.

The Kaminoan settled herself once aboard the shuttle and they took off in short order. Tyl shifted her perspective in once again when Knight Sanya turned to address [member="Corvus Raaf"], with no desire to eavesdrop. Though she was happily surprised when then introspection was interrupted by the girl who had seated herself not far from Tyl. The Kaminoan shifted slightly in her seat to regard [member="Zylah Dvale"] more properly while they had a brief chance to speak.

"Tyl Ro. The pleasure is mutual." Tyl's smile was warm and inviting in response to Zylah's cheery demeanor. "This Order is still fairly new to me, so I welcome meeting new faces." Tyl's musical voice always sounded with clear diction, one of the odd bits of heritage that seemed almost genetic that Tyl had inherited from her Kaminoan ancestors.

Their conversation was cut short, however, as the shuttle landed. As the Jedi filed out, Knight Sanya offered each of them earpieces in order to keep in contact through the crowd. Tyl accepted it, taking the minuscule device between her long fingers and placing it softly but firmly to her ear. Tyl made her way off the vehicle and into the thralls of people in the marketplace. When the call came from Sanya to sound off, Tyl responded. "Here," she stated simply.

 

[Sanya Val Lerium]

Sanya knew it would take a while to get through, but luckily up street was a back way. it would still be filled with people but less thick. Sanya made her way into the crowd been slightly shoved in every direction. 'damn been small sucks, this always happens.' she thought to her self looking back to see the others wasn't having such the problem. she continued having to push past the towering people till they was near the back way. "down here we can get there faster." she said over the com, there wasn't many stores this way hence why the lack of a thicker crowd.

if she was right this should lead to there first destination. "my contact has told me that one of the people hiring had been going to one of the large trader locations the past few days. probably trying to sweat talk him into giving up some stock." for a brief second Sanya could feel a shimmer in the force like something bad happend or was about to. "come on, I'm not sure but I feel as our window is closing." her pace quickend as the other shortly behind. 'I won't lose this opportunity.'

they got closer to where they had to be and shots could be herd from the store. the crowd of people dispersed away from the stores front, while a group of mercenarys walked out holstering there blasters. "zylah, tyl follow them keep your distance. me and Corvus will check inside." by the looks that was the place.

[member="Lord Vyse"] Ξ [member="Corvus Raaf"] Ξ [member="Zylah Dvale"] Ξ [member="Tyl Ro"]

 

[Vyse de Valorous]

The three mercenaries ran out of the building at full speed, guns in hand, backpacks filled with loot from the building. Anyone who would look inside would only see a robbery gone wrong. They ran down the streets, turning on many sharp turns, until one leads into a crowd of people. They shoulder their weapons, and blend into the crowd, moving among it until they enter the back of a known mercenary pub "The Hunters Rest".

Once inside the building and the door was shut, the three mercenaries went to the bartender and handed him their helmets and backpacks. After, they went to a table in ear shot of the bartender and sat down, and soon, a fourth man would come. He is dressed in normal mercenary armor with a helmet. "I take it it went well?" He says, as he sits down at the table with the other three. "Indeed it did. We did everything just as you said. Now where's our money?" The fourth man handed them a bag, and smiles appeared on the faces of the three mercenaries. "Exactly as we agreed, and some extra for drinks. Now I want you to stay here for a little bit and watch for anyone asking questions." The leader of the three would lose his smile at this order. "The missions done. I want to go and spend my money, not stay around hoping not to get caught." "The safest place for you is here! Thanks to my perfect plan, the only people who could have followed you would be coming in here. Therefore, all you have to do is take them out. Understand? Good. The fourth man would get up from the table and go to leave.

[member="Sanya Val Lerium"] [member="Tyl Ro"] [member="Zylah Dvale"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]