Jedi Mission: Ring of Fire (Eriadu)

[Ghostie]

In Space, aboard a Jedi freighter approaching Eraidu
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Sirius forgot just how cold space was. Being stuck in the Jedi Temple for weeks on end did that to a person. He hadn’t been on a starship for almost two months before this mission. Sirius’s first mission with Master Teer Ka. He pulled the brown blanket back up to his shoulders and rolled over on the bottom bunk which he was resting, not quite awake but not sleeping either.

Sirius met Master Ka just about three weeks ago. He had actually been disrespectful in their first meeting without really meaning to be. She still offered to become his new master though. Sirius gladly accepted. Sirius would say that their first day as Master and Apprentice started a little rocky, but they soon learned to understand each other and they got along very well. Since then, it had been three grueling weeks of physical training and honing his force powers. Sirius didn’t exactly lose weight he had gained from his long inactivity in the Temple from their exercises, but rather fat disappeared and muscles built. He still had a long way to go though.

Master Ka also sparred with him almost every day, teaching him new moves and how to be “creative” as she called it during a battle. Sirius felt he learned more in the past few weeks about lightsaber combat than he ever did with Master Wolf. Master Ka had also taught Sirius the basics of throwing his lightsaber and calling it back to his hand. It wasn’t necessarily hard, but just a technique that took a lot of practice. It was important that you didn’t accidently cut off your own hand after all. But as he told Master Ka, Sirius wanted to hunt dark jedi. It was now her job to prepare him.

It seemed that on the long shuttle ride out to Eriadu that Sirius finally got some real rest. But the training still didn’t stop. There wasn’t much room on the shuttle to spar or throw a lightsaber around, but Master Ka made sure Sirius kept up on his exercises and force abilities. They had cleared out a space in the small cargo hold where Master Ka had Sirius do push-ups and sit-ups, and try to lift random crates that littered the floor.

But now, on the morning of their mission, Master Ka allowed Sirius to sleep in and he took full advantage of that. Or at least she hadn’t made him get up yet. He had no idea what time it was, but he was pretty sure that the others were up by now. Master Ka mostly likely was, but they had also been assigned this mission with two other Jedi, another Master and padawan team.

Master Tem Farelle was part Miralukan and part Human from what Sirius knew. This was something that didn’t make Sirius think we was weird like most would, but in fact just the opposite. Sirius thought it was very cool. Master Farelle was kind and helpful from what Sirius saw, but he hadn’t really got to know him yet. It was the same story for his padawan, Alycia Zel. Alycia was human from what Sirius could tell, and she was very beautiful. Sirius and Alycia had talked here and there on the shuttle ride and they had gotten along, but even this long shuttle ride wasn’t enough time to get to know someone.

Sirius rolled back over on the bunk, unable to get comfortable. Was it the nerves from the upcoming mission? It had been almost two months since he set foot outside the Temple, and now he was going on his first mission with Master Ka. Maybe he was just sore from all his exercises. Whatever the case, Sirius adjust the pillow before resting his head on it again. It was then that the door to the quarters opened, and a figure stood in the doorway.

The light from the hallway poured into the small room, illuminating even the furthest corners. Sirius pulled the blanket up on reflexes, shielding his eyes from the rather bright light. After a few seconds he lowered the blanket and looked to see who had disturbed him. But without his glasses, Sirius could only see a figured standing in the doorway.

“Whoizit?” he asked in a rather tired voice, not yet fully awake.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Teer Ka stood in the doorway of Sirius' room, the figure of the Togruta Weapons Master silhouetted against the light from behind her. Her Padawan had slept long enough by her estimation. Already she'd given him a break from the usual physical training, a conscious decision to free up his strength and focus for the mission at hand.

Arson on Eriadu. Apparently the local authorities were having such a problem with it that they'd requested Jedi assistance. Normally it was a task she'd expect Sentinels to undertake, but she had her own investigative abilities to be used as needed. She'd hunted down Dark Jedi before, and they were much more evasive than most. She could handle this.

There was also limited danger. She wasn't about to bring Sirius into a fight with Force-users. She wasn't confident he could last in a fight with sabers, but she was reasonably confident he could withstand one against blasters.

“Whoizit?”

Master Ka noticed her Padawan's glasses were off. Those were another liability she felt the need to work around. If he lost them in a duel, he needed strong sense abilities to compensate for his reduced sight. The fact he was asking who was there when she'd been by his side for three weeks instructing him wasn't a good sign for his sense abilities, and the fact that her distinctive silhouette, with her towering montrals, wasn't recognizable to him instantly was a bad sign for his vision.

They still had a lot of work to do.

"If you reached out with your senses, you would have known immediately Sirius."

Teer stepped in and tapped the light switch with her hand, brightening the room. "Its time to wake up, we're almost to Eriadu."

She also knew Sirius hadn't meditated yet. She'd tried to get him into the habit of meditating every day, the way she did. That was a habit of hers started from her Trial of the Spirit, when she'd realized she needed the meditation sessions to hold back her own darkness and keep her temper in check. When she skipped meditation, she inevitably found herself in a bad mood, and was often bordering on manic. Sirius hadn't shown any such tendencies, but it was a good habit to get into early on.

[Charlie Sharper]

Tem sat in his adopted quarters aboard the Jedi Freighter that was taking him to Eraidu in a light meditative state to calm himself. He would be finishing his run about now if he were at the Temple on Coruscant, but conventional meditation would have to do for now, as the cramped quarters of the ship provided little room for such a run. He did however finish a few (many) pushups and about as many crunches, physical training always made him feel better, especially when there was any sort of turbulence for the utilitarian ship. One couldn't say he hated flying...Just, maybe more of a mild discomfort about it. It was a bit of a feeling he never could quite overcome when he was in a starship. It wasn't that he was afraid of falling, and he was actually alright at flying himself, it was just the thought of not exactly knowning what was going on that bothered him.

He rose from his meditation and stood up, feeling that they dropped out of hyperspace. He opened his door and headed for the room of his charge, Alycia Zel. On the way he passed Master Teer Ka, who was about to open her padawan's door. He hadn't met her before this mission and they hadn't much time to talk on the trip over, but Tem had spoken to her padawan, Sirius Kelrune, a little during the trip. Sirius seemed like a well rounded young padawan, Tem had noticed his affinity for technology almost imidately and with a limited conversation, the boy's mind would light up at the mere mention of anything tech related. Tem was rather handy, but he expected not nearly as much as the young, spectacled boy. He overheard the boy's groggy greeting of Master Teer and chuckled a bit, arriving at the door of the only other Padawan on the ship.

He had let her sleep in just as Master Teer did her padawan, this would be their second mission together, but this apprenticeship was still very new to both of them and Tem was still unsure exactly how to treat his charge. This would be another step for both of them, another learning experience just like on Zeltros. He knocked on the door three times and waited for his apprentice.

[Bones]

The trip seemed to take forever... It was an eternity of cold and darkness outside, but the warmth she found onboard the ship was completely different. Naturally, the time had been spent attempting to get to know the other Jedi accompanying herself and her master on the mission before them. Teer Ka and Sirius Kelrune. They seemed more than capable to her.... which was obviously one of the first things that she had picked up on.

Sirius was definately someone she thought could be a friend for the future. They had a lot in common, maturity hidden by jokes and laughter, they both seemed to be talented young Jedi, and they had both lost a master. The boy was certainly someone that she wanted to keep close to her.

She had woken early that morning, but kept to her own quarters, running over her favourite holo-book of Ataru. She had attempted, with her sabre set to training, to do some of the more simple maneuvers. She had practiced rolls with her sabre's blade withdrawn, she had tried flipping off walls, and back flips. She started to enjoy the acrobatics, and practiced some of the simpler attacks.

Eventually, however, she heard the others stirring, so she dressed in her padawan robes, tucking her hair behind her ear once she was dressed. She looked across to the mirror, allowing her eyes to trace over her own body. Alycia had to admit, she was slightly narcissistic. Her eyes followed her curves, before lingering on the exposed skin of her legs beneath her skirt. She smirked, before reaching out with the force.

The first thing she heard was "Whoizit" she laughed for a moment before hearing his master's cool response. She then heard the knocks at the door. She swung it open and looked upwards, her eyes connecting with Tem's goggles.... where she imagined his eyes would be. She bowed slightly before saying, "Good morning, Master. Are we there?"

[Ghostie]

As soon as she spoke Sirius recognized the voice. Master Ka. And she didn’t sound happy. What was Sirius suppose to do though, use the Force while he was asleep? It wasn’t the first thing he had thought about when waking up. Sirius doubted most Jedi didn’t think about reaching out with their sense when they first woke up, unless there was a danger around, which there wasn't right now. But then again, Master Ka wasn’t like most Jedi.

Master Ka turned on the lights as Sirius reached down to the floor and tried to feel for his glasses. After a second or two he finally found them. Sirius picked them up and slid the rectangle rimmed glasses onto his face. He blinked a few times as everything came into focus. There Master Ka stood in just inside the doorway, looking down at him. Just beyond her he could see the lit hallway.

Sirius threw off the brown blanket and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He was wearing a white shirt and brown pants, his pajamas. He leaned over and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. It didn’t help any though. He would need something else to wake him up, maybe a shower if they had enough time.

“Sorry Master, reaching out with my senses wasn’t the first thing I thought about when you woke me up. But you said we were almost there?” Sirius wanted to get started. First mission in a couple of months, Sirius thought he had a reason to be excited. He tried to keep the excitement out of his voice, though he didn’t think that he did a good job of it.

“Give me five minutes in the refresher and I’ll be good to go.” Sirius jumped up from his bed and grabbed the black duffle bag from the other side of the room, which had extra robes in it. He headed off to the very small refresher that was connected to his room, leaving Master Ka standing in his quarters alone.

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Okay, so maybe it had been five and a half minutes, but Sirius had tried his best. He had rushed, but still got everything done he needed to get done. Besides, what did half a minute matter? Sirius emerged from the room hooking his saber onto his belt and cleaning his glasses on his robe. His hair was still a bit wet, but he was wide awake now and ready to go.

“Sorry to keep you waiting Master Ka. Anything we need to do before we land?” Sirius knew Master Ka liked to meditate everyday, and she had been trying to get Sirius to do the same. It wasn't exactly his favorite thing to do, but he did see its uses. Sirius figured Master Ka wanted him to meditate before they landed.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

“Sorry Master, reaching out with my senses wasn’t the first thing I thought about when you woke me up. But you said we were almost there?”

Teer Ka nodded silently and resisted the urge to lecture her Padawan. He did need to rely on his senses every minute of every day, without exception. That was what she did, and what she expected. It was a hard life yes, but someone had to live it. A soft life didn't prepare you for combat with Dark Jedi. It took rigid training and a disciplined mindset to do that.

But she let her eyes deliver that message. They'd been training together for three weeks, so it was safe to say he knew exactly what she meant by that pointed glance.

The Togruta Jedi tended to deliver just as many lessons and commands non-verbally as she did with words. It was her aura, her demeanor, that made her so commanding.

“Give me five minutes in the refresher and I’ll be good to go.”

Master Ka nodded one more time and stepped out of the room and into the corridor again. She closed her eyes and folded her arms, standing there and simply waiting.

She allowed herself to slip into a half-meditation until the moment was right. She found it was the best way to burn through excess time, to clear the mind entirely and be mindful of nothing but your surroundings. Even in meditation she always kept that awareness, because it was her life.

She turned and re-entered the room just in time to see Sirius reemerging.

“Sorry to keep you waiting Master Ka. Anything we need to do before we land?”

Meditation was the first thing that came to mind. She'd done her best to instill that value in her Padawan. Well, perhaps not her best. If she truly wanted it she'd have him doing it day in and day out until she was confident he could do it daily in a proper way.

"Today I will excuse you from meditation if you do not wish it. You might not have enough time before we land and meet our contact."

[Charlie Sharper]

"Good morning, Master. Are we there?" Tem looked down the hall and then back at Alycia. He could tell she had been training. She reminded him of himself at that age at times at times like these, eager to learn and become a Jedi, but not so eager that it hindered her development as a padawan. "Yes, we are. I would suggest preparing for landing." He said with a smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure we will be planet side soon."

Tem walked toward the cockpit, opening the door with the force. "I take it we are there?" He asked one of the pilots. "Yes, we will be on the surface within the hour master Jedi." "Have we hailed the planet yet?" The Pilot reached up and pressed a button, causing the holo to spring to life showing the landing site that they were to land. "Yes, we have received landing clearance in the North of the Capital." "Good, I must prepare for landing." Tem said walking back to his quarters where he gathered up his robes, he was expecting it to be hot on the planet, but one could never predict the weather, especially on a polluted planet such as Eriadu. He then walked back toward his padawan's quarters to wait on her.

[Bones]

Alycia bowed slightly as Tem suggested she prepare herself for landing. "Of course, Master. I'll ready myself for landing straight away." She turned and returned to her room, gathering the equipment she would or may need. She hooked her lightsabre hilt to her belt, aswell as gathering various other small utilities such as breathers, a grappling hook, range finders and a pouch of Republic credits issued by the order for the use of the mission.

When she was ready, she walked towards the centre hold of the ship. Stretching out with the force, she felt that Tem was returning from the cockpit. She walked in such a way that she intercepted him walking back towards his quarters.

She fell into stride beside him before asking, "So, Master, can you give me any more information about our mission yet? Or is it still need-to-know? Personally, I think it'd be best if I were able to prepare fully for what lies ahead."

[Ghostie]

Sirius didn’t want to meditate, what padawan his age did? But he also didn’t want to upset Master Ka by not meditating. It was something she was obviously trying to instill into Sirius. Master Ka meditated every day, and she had given him his own time to meditate as well. But Sirius had to be honest, he didn’t always do as she expected. In fact, the very first time Master Ka had him meditate by himself; Sirius had met Knight Sherasti Rin, and helped her plan a party. Some meditation alright.

But again, Sirius didn’t want to upset Master Ka either. She was already unhappy that he hadn’t relied on his senses to tell that it was her at his door. An upset Master wasn’t something you wanted on a mission, Sirius knew from experience.

He decided that the best course of action would be to find if they had enough time to meditate, then decide whether or not to. If they ran out of time, Master Ka couldn’t blame him could she?

“How much time do we have Master Ka? If we have enough time I suppose we could meditate, clear our minds for the mission ahead.”

A clear mind would be vital for the mission ahead, Sirius thought. It had been a long time since he had been on a mission and he didn’t want to screw anything up.

As Sirius waited for Master Ka’s response, he gathered together some items from around the room and in his bags onto the bed. Tools, gadgets, anything he thought would help on the mission. It may just be a case of arson, but Sirius learned a long time ago to always be prepared. Every tool did something. He put his items into various pouches on his belt, so that they were out of the way and out of sight until they were needed.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

“How much time do we have Master Ka? If we have enough time I suppose we could meditate, clear our minds for the mission ahead.”

"Half an hour," Teer stated, providing the answer. Just the right period of time to call the prospect of meditation into question. She liked to reserve a full hour for silence and contemplation. She needed it to keep her composure during the day, particular when missions were underway. It was as vital as being properly rested or properly equipped. Her normal demeanor was hardly sunny or soft, but without her morning routine she was more wary, tense. Her temper flared up, and she had trouble stifling her anger. She had a tendency to lash out on those occasions. And when she lashed out, it wasn't pretty.

Luckily she'd already had her meditation for the day, for the hour before she'd woken up Sirius from his rest. That meant for the remainder of the day, or equally likely as long as she remained awake, was going to be spent in a tolerable mood, if a serious one. This was a mission after all, and Teer took those seriously. Long ago she'd stopped being a cocky Padawan. She was experienced now, a skilled warrior with a track record of victory. And she hadn't gotten there by rushing and being distracted. She was where she was today thanks to a great deal of focus and work, and a serious attitude.

But that wasn't to say she didn't make jokes or appreciate them. She did. But only rarely, and only at the right moments. Moments of safety.

They weren't in any danger yet.

Teer kept her gaze trained on Sirius, watching him for a reaction as she spoke again, her slightly gruff voice carefully neutral. "It is your choice."

[Ghostie]

"It is your choice."

Sirius let out a small sigh. It seemed as if Master Ka wanted him to make all the decisions all the time. He even had to make the decision to be her padawan. Sirius always had a decision made for him. Master Wolf was a very decisive person.

But he wasn’t there to compare Jedi Masters. Sirius was there to learn under Master Ka. He had to keep thinking over the past few weeks of something Master Ka said the first day he was her new apprentice. Don’t let your grief hold you back. Sirius didn’t want it to, but he found himself constantly thinking on how Wolf would’ve done things compared to Master Ka. It was hard not to.

“Some meditation would be great.”

Sirius sat down on the bed cross legged, ready to begin.

____________________________________________________

After awhile, the small Jedi freighter joined the traffic heading for Eriadu. Merchants, entertainers, businessmen and all sorts of travelers were making for the surface. The Jedi ship was able to pass most ships and go through customs without a hassle. They were on official “Jedi Business” as one of the customs officials put it after all.

Penetrating the atmosphere, the small freighter angled north, towards the capital city of Eriadu. The pilot circled the city twice while waiting for permission to land from the spaceport. While circling the city, anyone with a clear view outside would be able to see the portions of the city the arsonist had burned down. There were whole buildings reduced to nothing but rubble. Homes and businesses destroyed, more hardships on top of the war. Just a reminder as to why the Jedi were there in the first place.

Receiving permission to land, the freighter headed straight into the city. Merging with traffic lanes and weaving in between buildings, the pilot headed for the heart of the city. There the main police office was located, were the Jedi were suppose to meet a detective. Landing in a small spaceport neat the office, the pilot turned off the engines, ending the trip.

____________________________________________________

“We’ve landed. Feel free to leave the ship and come back as you please.” The pilot said over the intercom.

Sirius awoke from his meditation with a start. It was time to go. Time to start. Time to do something other than sit in the Temple and feel useless.

“Let’s go then!” Sirius sat hoping off the bed, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.

[Vasemmasti]

Detective Alistair Sobrin was, for once, not pleased with himself. He had an impressive track record, but he had little idea how to solve this one. Having to call in jedi nagged in his mind as a personal failure. Never before had he been so stumped in a case.

He tapped his fingers on his knee, appearing anxious. Perhaps it was that anxiety that had compelled him to meet the jedi as soon as possible. He was not a man used to failure, and now that he had been forced to meet it, he wanted nothing more than to get the case over with as quickly as possible.

As such, he was most delighted to see the the jedi shuttle land on the landing field in front of his window. He hadn't even been doing anything in the time he had waited on the spaceport. He had been too busy worrying. So he got up all the faster, gathering the hem of the overlong white silk shirt that had settled under him while he sat down. He had often been told that he looked more like a diplomat than a detective, but he had always been the sort of person who liked to look classy on the job.

The detective, clad in extravagant all-white walked out onto the landing field to greet the jedi. He was determined to waste as little time as possible. "Ah, honorable jedi. I am most pleased to meet you." He bowed. "Detective Alistair Sobrin at your service." He then switched to a slightly more informal tone. "As you know, various factories and industrial plants have been burned down recently." His tone had now changed to simply professional as he gestured the group to the door inside. "Surprisingly, the evidence of whoever might have done it also seems to have burned down." He continued. "Their attacks are seemingly random, and they have hit the plants of many different corporations. They also seem to act too quickly and too often to be one person." He paused for a second, as if to recall facts. "Their last target was the local Suprima Foundries building. The fire was quite devastating."

___________________________

Earlier, in the Suprima Foundries

"Are you sure this is going to work, Lyra?" A woman in the traditional black gown of the Eriadu women asked another, identically clad woman. "Yes, Lila." The other woman said, only glancing at her while saying so. They determinedly walked towards the foundry gates. After all, the only kind of plan worth trying was the kind that was crazy enough to work.

There were two guards at the gate. Perfect. One for one. The two armored guards stepped up to block the gate. "This is a restricted area. State your business or leave." One of the guards stated matter-of-factly. This was why the sisters had brought gowns with overlong sleeves. They could conceal a gun. "This is a verpine shatter gun." Lyra pointed her hand, bent at the elbow at the guard, allowing him to see that all that was holding up the end of the gown was a gun barrel. Lila did the same. "Don't do anything you might regret. This gig isn't worth your life, right?" The guards gulped, looking at each other. They had heard of shatter guns. One could punch a hole right through their bodies, and no one would hear a thing. "Into the cabin, both of you." Lila spoke this time, referring to the guard cabin by the side of the gate. They obliged, not making a move against the sisters.

"Shut down that camera." Lyra quietly spoke to one of the guards as he was led to the computer terminal. Again, he obliged. The security camera went black. "Remove your helmets." Lyra continued, now in a normal speaking tone. Then she pointed at the corner of the cabin. "Sit down right there." The guards still obliged without a word. The sisters still had guns trained on then. Then they used them.

The magnetically propelled bullets found their mark, drilling through the heads of the hapless guards. The sisters were quickly there, blocking the wounds before they could bleed on their suits of armor. They'd need those suits. Lyra began removing the suits from the now lifeless bodies while Lila sat down in front of the computer display. The deceased guard was still logged in, and for someone of Lila's skills, it was simple to abuse the poorly made database to pick up administrative passwords and door codes.

She logged on as the head of the facility while Lyra shoved the guards' bodies into a locker, stripped of armor. Security cameras across the facility began displaying a static image. It wouldn't be long until it was noticed, but it'd buy them some time. Lila changed the password and logged off. Then both of the mirialan sisters changed clothes, replacing their gowns and veils with ill-fitting guardsman armor. They put their gowns in backpacks oddly similar to the ones worn by most of the guards. "Do you have any idea how silly we look in these?" Lila spouted out. "It'll fool them long enough." Lyra responded in a carefree manner.

Then they both walked out to the short strip of driveway between the gate and the facility itself. At the door, Lila punched in the door access code. They were in, and nothing would be recorded for a while. As a nice plus, they had observed that the technical aspects of the security system were being maintained by stupid people who wouldn't even realize anything was wrong in quite a while. At least not until the place burned down completely.

Despite the ill-fitting suits, no-one saw fit to stop them as they "patrolled" their way deeper into the facility. Finally, they reached the power control center. Due to the extreme melting points of some metals, foundries like these required a great deal of energy, as well as materials that burned with extreme temperatures. How fantastic for arsonists.

Lila punched in the access code for the power control center and the two walked in the door. "I trust everything is going well?" Lyra asked the five labcoat-clad operators in the room. Lila walked to the other door. "Won't be for much longer." She said, shooting the comms unit with the blaster she had stolen from the gate guard.

The power control center was strewn with bodies and the next course of action was clear. The control center had an emergency exit, for safety reasons. Ironically, it would enable its downfall. Lila shattered the transparisteel window with a few well placed shatter gun shots. Then she began firing the shatter gun on the tanks of flammable materials. The gun punched through, and though the holes were small, they were rather clustered. If ignited, the substances would melt through their containers and spread to the other, equally intensely burning materials. Eventually something would explode and the fire would likely cause much of the facility to collapse in on itself. Lyra fired the blaster at the breached tank. Sure enough, the heat ignited the contents. The sisters turned and ran for the emergency exit.

Mission accomplished.

[Charlie Sharper]

Tem walked down the ramp of the freighter followed by his apprentice, Alycia Zel. Eriadu was located on several major hyperspace lanes, and as to be expected, the port was bustling with activity. Ships were landing and taking off while people were everywhere. Tem saw someone walking toward the ship. -Our contact no doubt- Tem thought to himself, he was a finely dressed individual, perhaps a diplomat of Eriadu. Tem tried to reach out with the force but his senses were overloaded by all the activity in the port. He often felt this way in densely populated areas, he had read once that it was a common thing for Miralukans to feel this way in large crowds, another trait that seemed to be due to his Miralukan heritage.

They reached the contact at the bottom of the ramp and he bowed to them. "Ah, honorable Jedi. I am most pleased to meet you. Detective Alistair Sobrin at your service." Tem bowed in return to the detective. "Hello Detective, I am Tem Farelle. He then motioned to Master Teer Ka. "This is Master Teer Ka. And our padawans, Alycia Zel and Sirius Kelrune." "As you know, various factories and industrial plants have been burned down recently." Tem noticed his change in tone and could sense that the detective was in a hurry, no doubt eager to solve the case.

Alistair began to walk toward the Port Authority building so Tem followed him, motioning them to following him inside. "Surprisingly, the evidence of whoever might have done it also seems to have burned down. Their attacks are seemingly random, and they have hit the plants of many different corporations. They also seem to act too quickly and too often to be one person." Tem listened to the facts that they had gathered so far. Tem could feel that there was more to this then a random gang of arsonists. "Their last target was the local Suprima Foundries building. The fire was quite devastating." Tem turned his head and then looked back at the Dectective, his goggles hiding his eyes. "We'll have to see the reports you have on each fire, including any preliminary report you have on the latest fire. Also I would like to see the Foundry, perhaps we can find a clue as to who they are and what they were doing there."

As Tem thought he felt out with the force, and a question formed in his mind. "You said that they had burned down plants belonging to different corporations. Have there been any civilian or government buildings targeted? Or has it only been corporate buildings that have been attacked?"

[Bones]

As they walked down the ramp to the landing zone, Alycia became immediately aware of two things. First - the cold. She pulled her cloak tighter around her, trying to block out some of the cool breeze. The other was the polution. It seemed to catch in her throat and lungs, making it hard to breathe. She closed her eyes for a moment, allowing the herself to relax, which in turn eased her breathing.

She bowed as she was introduced to the detective, and listened intently to everything that he was saying. Fires. Industrial places and factories. Apprently no link. However, she was able to pick up a small link. "An observation, Master Farelle," she spoke quietly, "Factories and industrial plants would be locations crucial to the economy of the planet. This could be a link." After speaking her mind, she allowed herself to fall silent again.

She looked across at Tem as the detective spoke, hoping to get a read for his feelings. It was strange. For once, she couldn't read her master. Instead, she decided to look across to their companions. She looked at Master Ka, and once again could not get a read on the other Jedi. She turned to Sirius, and all she could feel as a sense of excitement and intrigue.... Just like her own feelings.

She was excited, and couldn't wait to jump into the chase of the fugitive arsonists.

(( Sorry it's not real strong, didn't really have much to go on for Alycia ))

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

With meditation completed for her Padawan, Teer allowed him to lead on, and together with the other two Jedi they emerged into the rather caustic air of Eriadu. It was a world that the Togruta Weapons Master had never been on before, and one she didn't particularly have an interest in coming to again. For one reason, the air stung her eyes for the first few minutes, causing much more blinking than she would have liked, though she avoided rubbing her eyes with her hands.

As Teer was introduced, she nodded, then returned to her stony attentiveness as the detective described what had happened. Already she realized there was one flaw to the perception of the strikes. No attack was fully random, as a practitioner of Juyo she knew that much, However wild and erratic your strikes were, there was always a method, always a purpose.

When Knight Farelle's Padawan spoke up and suggested it was an assault on the economy, Teer nodded her agreement. "That is something to consider. No matter how difficult it is to discern, there is a profile to these attacks. There always is."

Master Ka lapsed into silence for a few seconds, weighing her thoughts carefully. When she had them gathered, she spoke again. "If we can isolate the pattern we can predict their next attacks. This should be our first priority."

[Ghostie]

Sirius stepped off the landing ramp into the early morning sun of Eriadu. Or at least what could pass as the early morning sun through the smoke and fog of the over-industrialized planet. It was good to be somewhere else other than the Jedi Temple. However peaceful the Temple may be, being stuck there for a couple of months wasn’t exactly Sirius’s idea of fun. It was nice to be out on a mission, to a planet he had never visited, and just see all sort of different things. If he wasn’t a Jedi, Sirius thought he would make a great tourist at least.

Sirius’s mind wandered for a moment as he remembered the last planet he was on that was over-industrialized. Taris was not a happy memory. He remembered what Master Ka had said the first day he started his apprenticeship under her. ‘Don’t let the past hold you back.’. Sirius was sure now though that the past was propelling him forward. After all what happened on Taris was the whole reason he accepted Master Ka’s offer. She could teach him to fight dark jedi and Sith. Which was exactly want he wanted to do now.

Sirius bowed towards the detective as he was introduced by Master Farelle. He was a short man, and a bit overdressed for the job. And he got straight to business, no beating around the bush, no more than greeting the Jedi politely. Sirius wished more people treated the Jedi like this. Usually people kept talking about how honored they were to have a Jedi here and got distracted from the real issue at hand.

Sirius followed the group towards the Port Authority, which he thought was a little odd. Shouldn’t they be heading back to the Police Station? Sirius decided it didn’t matter too much, but was just weird. The detective, Detective Sobrin as he introduced himself, seemed frustrated. It showed on his face, and his feelings were so close to the surface a youngling could’ve picked up on them. But with this string of unsolvable arsons and having to call in Jedi to help, who wouldn’t be frustrated?

Sirius followed the rest into the building, and leaned against the wall next to the door as the others discussed possibilities for the arsons. Factories, corporations, the economy. Those were just key elements that stood out to him as the others discussed. But nobody seemed to say the thing Sirius was thinking; espionage. There was a war going on after all. If you wanted to hurt the planet’s economy and the war effort at the same time, just take out key factories such as vehicles and weapon plants.

After Master Ka finished stating that they needed to figure out a pattern to the attacks, Sirius spoke up.

“Perhaps it will help if we had a map of the city and know what kinds of factories have been burnt down. I’m guessing vehicle and weapon factories? Those could be big targets if you want to stop the war effort and hurt the economy at the same time.”

[Vasemmasti]

"Suprima Foundries was the sixth to be attacked" Alistair said. "One major power plant was destroyed by somehow causing the reactor to explode. That one caused a lot of deaths. Then there was one hovercar assembly, one gas refinery. They also burned down a massive hydroponic farm. Finally, they blew up the warehouse of an industrial explosives supplier." Alistair listed. "All were different companies, and all were local. None of them were government facilities. I have reports back at the station, but we don't have many solid conclusions. The sheer extent of the devastation has hindered crime scene investigation." He paused, probably to ensure everyone was still following his explanation. "While these attacks have had an effect on the local economy, it hasn't crippled any of the industries targeted, though the gas refinery, VaporWare has had to quit all operations as a result. They didn't have sufficient infrastructure to keep going after the attack."

Alistair kept walking until he reached the door to the indoor section of the spaceport. As was apparent, he wasn't interested in wasting time. They'd go to the station post haste.

[Charlie Sharper]

Tem followed the detective while thinking about the information he just gave. None were exactly military targets, if anything, it just seemed like senseless destruction. They quickly arrived at a speeder ready to take them to the Police Station. They loaded in and were whisked quickly to the station. Once they arrived they received some sideways looks from the staff and police, it was obvious that they didn't see many Jedi here.

"If I could have the reports on the case so far, and also, a full briefing on it, then maybe we could better deduce the cause of all this." Tem waited as an office worker scurried to get the reports together. Tem could feel the uneasiness in the office, these attacks had people worried and scared. It was almost oozing off most of the officers, Tem could feel them worrying for loved ones that worked in factories, which there were many that did. In the heavily industrial world, almost every building seemed to fit the attackers profile, and almost everyone knew factory workers, family members and friends, it was a common job on Eriadu.

Tem suddenly realized the scope of the attacks, they touched almost all of the populace, most directly. Maybe that was the point, to spread fear and unrest among the populace? But it felt like something was going on behind the attacks, like there was a distinct purpose to it all. Tem opened his mind and let the force flow through him, quieting his mind. Something was definitely at work here, that much was certain.

[Maybe Vas could post again and do a Briefing for the Jedi?]

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Teer listened to the law enforcement officer list the targets, and she put herself into the perspective of an arsonist. What were the main reasons someone would burn down industries and the like? Thrill came to mind, but not in this case. Thrill would account for one or two small attacks, but these were large and complex operations. The motivations had to be more complicated as well, probably in line with any of the great motivators. Profit, ideology, or love.

Profit. That would imply there was a special pattern to the attacks, with the bulk of the targets designed to harm a competitor or to cover up insurance fraud. That would take a great deal of time and scrutinizing to determine, which they didn't have.

Ideology. From the Sith to the Mandalorians, there were countless enemies of the Republic who could wreak such havoc to cause general mayhem, and she wouldn't put it past any of them to do so. There was no limit to what enemies like the Sith would do. And of course there were Dark Jedi in the universe, lurking beneath the surface for their chance to cause damage.

Love was always the interesting motivation. It was possible love was an influencing factor for those carrying out the attacks at the behest of others who were planning them for different reasons. But love itself becoming the reason for arson without an outside factor? She was inclined to disqualify that one.

Perhaps there were other things that would be better to focus on, patterns based on geographic locations for example. She'd need to see a grid of the city to tell, but there had to be some sort of pattern. Even what looked like chaotic and unpredictable strokes in a battle could be, and were often, carefully planned attacks.

"I am curious," Teer spoke up, "Have you examined insurance fraud as a motive? Or considered that maybe the company suffering the least damage instigated all this and harmed themselves to distract you?"

She didn't mean to insult their work at all, or imply they were lax, but those motivations might not have sprung to the foreground quite so readily. Of course they probably had looked into it and discounted it already, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.