Trouble at the Docks [Jedi Mission]

[Cavalry King]

The Salvager made its way slowly towards Duro, it carried special passengers on a special mission to save the planet. Their ship was an unassuming Gymsnor-2 light freighter. Such a simple, non-combatant ship would likely not attract attention as the Jedi landed and took care of business on Duro. As of now surprise was on their side, and they could not afford to compromise their mission early on. They had not even contacted the Senator from Duro as of yet, not wishing news of their arrival to spread in any way. Atu Soka had expressed his desire that they show up unexpectedly, if the rumors held any validity, he did not want a hostage situation or an escalation of hostilities due to the Jedi presence.

Atu Soka walked toward the center of the freighter to the control room where communications could be made to Duro on a solid plan formulated. It had been sometime since he had been on a mission for the Order. He felt this mission too dangerous for his new, young padawan, and thus left him at the order. He was not keen on the other master bringing her padawan, but he had no control over that. If Dark Jedi were here, then his years of training in Makashi would give him an advantage. With this form, individual lightsaber combat could be advantageous to him. He had to get to why they were doing this. He did not believe it to be a single act of terrorism on a major docking area, there had to be a greater purpose behind it. His lack of understanding on the underlying issue perturbed him greatly. He knew action was necessary, but to act with such little understanding of the real issue was dangerous. Knowledge is power. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

He stood over a hologram of Duro examining it, waiting for the others.

[Dire Wolf]

Rhissai had spent most of the sojourn meditating in her little room aboard the Salvager, more often than not the young-faced woman found the process to be more resting than sleep and at the same time it allowed her to focus her skills. Her awareness slowly seeped out from the room that she currently resided, it seemed that Master Soka was was walking towards the control room. She would follow suite. The raven haired woman stood up slowly and prowled towards her peer with the terrifying grace of a predatory cat.

No, she had not brought her padawan on this mission. To do so would be beyond foolish, beyond moronic, beyond irresponsible... there really was no word in Basic or Aphithiri that could accurately describe what a folly that would be. Three things would be her bastion in the fight against threats. First and foremost: Her abilities with the Force. More often than not the woman had found that sneaking into a man's mind and pushing him towards either temporary insanity or fear was far simpler, faster, and less hurtful than using a lightsaber. It was also less than lethal and not cripplign if she so chose. Second: Her prowess with a lightsaber: Her mastery of Soresu would keep her foes at bay long enough for her first strength to come into effect. Her third and final strength was this: Her allies. Master Atu Soka was a tremendously skilled lightsaber duelist, and he could more than make up for the Master's shortcomings in that department, just as she could make up for his.

She walked through the doorway with a confident bounce to her step as she saw Master Soka standing over a hologram of the planet Duro, simply waiting.

“Have we made contact with the local government yet?”

[Cavalry King]

Master Soka gave a friendly smile as the other master entered. He knew with her at his side, this mission would be handled well. She was skilled in her mastery of the Force and could surely hold her own in a duel. Their combined skill would be very advantageous to them. Despite the fact that both he and his partner were Jedi Masters on the council, he would not grow overconfident. It was one of the two ways to kill a Jedi - lure them into confidence and lower their guard or surprise them. Soka would allow neither to happen. He kept his mind focused on the task at hand.

"Not yet, now that we are in orbit we may contact the senator to coordinate our meeting." he quickly responded.

He was never much for words, but said what had to be said to get the message across. He began to open a link to the secure frequency that they could communicate safely on. This was not his area of expertise, but he had done it enough times to know how to code it well enough. It now became a matter of waiting for the Senator to respond.

Soka began running through the situation in his head again, calculating, formulating, and planning. He hoped that the Senator could enlighten them more and bring to light what was clearly hidden about this entire situation.

[Kella]

ooc// Do excuse my tardiness, I ended up a bit confused. X) All is remedied now, however. And do excuse any following errors in Jargon... I tried to find more information on holograms, but sadly came up short. X) //


Duros Senator Toolin Gribbs paced nervously back and forth in the control room. He was tall and slightly-built, and bore himself with all the elegance expected of one of his rank. His bald head was shined to perfection, topping a face with sharp, almost gaunt features and high cheek-bones. Worry creased his brow, and wrinkled his lip-less grimace, muscles at the base of his neck tightening anxiously. He attempted to put on a calm face, for such things as worrying were not encouraged on Duro. In fact, Toolin had the distinct suspicion that there were workers calling him a Neomedian behind his back. Surely they were, there, two whispering across the room. They meant to make fun of him.

Bah! But this was not the time for such thoughts. One of the Duros working at the blazing strip of Comm controls turned to face his Senator. "Incoming message for you, Sir."

"Who's it from?" Toolin inquired, suddenly suspicious. Perhaps it was that man he'd bumped into on the elevator, come to take his revenge, or his disgruntled campaign rival, intent on making him look foolish...

"Encrypted, sir."

"Ah." Toolin realized. "Jedi. Patch it in."

The tech worker did so. However, it seemed that Toolin was having issues positioning the Holographic recorder properly. His muffled voice wavered in and out across the frequency.
"No, back to the--" ,static, "Right, no more right, that's--", more static, "-- perfect, no! I'm sure I have it--" another flurry of static, "Ah. There it is. Thank you, Murkins."
Senator Gibbs suddenly stepped into view of the recorder, and his form became clear upon the Jedi ship. He cleared his throat and fidgeted a moment, before finally resolving to simply clamp his hands down by his sides.

"Thank you, Jedi, for agreeing to come." Toolin's rough, mid-tone voice carried a somewhat odd accent, formed by the exaggerated speech habits of an experienced orator. He clearly enunciated every word, and was somewhat fond of pausing for effect. "As you know, we've a bit of a... situation. I would tell you more... but I don't trust these air-waves, even if they do insist that they are encrypted." A somewhat offended grumble could faintly be heard over the audio. Gibbs's form leaned out of the Holograph's range a moment, and bits and pieces floated back to the microphone. "You know I mean nothing personal by it, Murkins, it's just--" His voice faded out of hearing, "-- new fangled technologies. I don't trust them."

He then turned back to the Jedi. "Ah, yes, back to business. I would like to arrange a face-to-face meeting. We will meet in the Conference hall of the Foreign affairs division. Murkins here will send you the coordinates, as well as instructions of where to land and how to find the conference room. I will be waiting for you there, so please, hurry, as quickly as possible. We cannot let this threat stand much longer."

[Dire Wolf]

Rhissai gave a slight smile as she prowled towards the hologram of Duros, so they were going to contact Senator Gibbs, eh? She never had a run-in with the man before, but the woman had most certainly heard of him. She was opened her mouth to begin to say something to Master Soka when the hologram of shifted into a garbled mess. The Aphithiri’s brow furrowed slightly as the transmission became washed with static and broken… she desperately hoped that they were just having technical difficulties of the trivial nature and NOT ones caused by certain terrorists.

The somewhat intimidating woman visibly relaxed when the garbled mess of the hologram shifted into Senator Gibbs. She let out another quiet sight when his voice could be heard clearly (and without static) through the transmission. So nothing was wrong – good. The woman only nodded as the man thanked the two for agreeing to come and save his planet… honestly it was only a formality to him, a formality that he probably rather have unanswered by anything more.

The Jedi Master gave a nod to the man’s words, her long black hair swaying ever so slightly with the motion. This man was definitely a different one. She put on her best (forced) warm smile and spoke in a friendly tone to Gibbs.

“I was just about to suggest doing the same, Senator. One can never know when the opposition is listening.”

Her statement brought her back to one of the many proverbs that “her people” had on war: The enemy is never paying attention… until you make a mistake. Rhiss gave a slight smirk at the thought, that was very true… but she didn’t plan on making any mistakes here. Not when the fate of an entire world was at stake anyways.

“We will see you shortly.”

[Cavalry King]

Master Soka gave a polite smile, he was not in a very pleasant mood given the situation, but for the sake of the mission, he would be polite. He knew it helped in the process of disseminating information. The senator appeared uncoordinated and rather lighthearted about the situation, this was a serious matter and Soka desired only to get on with the mission. He listened but said nothing. He nodded and turned off the connection and looked to Rhissai. With a sigh he said "This appears it will be more difficult than I thought". He knew better than to question a person's competence after such a short interaction, but the thought did cross him. For now he would remain objective in the matter.

He went over to the cockpit and took it off autopilot and began to locate the Foreign Affairs building and the closest landing pad to it. As he flew he cleared his mind and focused on the mission. He searched in the force for answers and searched within himself. He would need a clear and level head to see this situation for what it really is.

With a quick landing under inconspicuous transponder codes and identification, the "salvager" made his way toward the Senate building. He dressed simply, in a manner that he would not immediately be identified as a Jedi. Discretion was key in this mission for as far as he knew, they still had the upper hand of surprise.

Once inside he made his way toward the conference room, searching for the Senator.

[Sorry, trying to move this along a little.]

[Kella]

Senator Gribbs stood at the door of the conference room, ringing his hands nervously. He heard footfalls. Suddenly, his posture was straight, his hands easily by his side. He nodded as the Senator, the source of the noise, stepped by, even sparing her a bow. As soon as she was around the corner again, he resumed ringing his hands.

Then, suddenly, he looked up to see a figure coming close.
How could I not have heard...
Gribbs's mind was quick to put two and two together, especially considering a somewhat intimidating dark-haired woman was with the other. Jedi; no one else was that quiet, despite the inconspicuous nature of the Male Jedi's attire.

"Welcome, Jedi." He spread his hands wide, earlier anxiety apparently forgotten. "Come, step inside. He wave business of the most grave nature to attend to..." His face became serious, brow even going so far as to knit, a rare expression to be found on the naturally peaceful and easy-going Duros.

Senator Gribbs grasped the door and pulled it open wide, gesturing toward the interior with his free hand.

I do hope they can find a solution to the problem... if not... well, I don't know what we'll do.

[Dire Wolf]

Rhissai shifted her gaze from the now faded hologram to Atu as he spoke and nodded slightly in agreement. Uncoordination. That fact alone may just ruin it for the two Jedi: Mistimed assaults and raids have killed people before... and Rhiss was slightly worried that she would have to rely on people that this man provided. It could prove to be rather disastrous. The word "Fiasco" came to the woman's mind as she replied.

"To say the least."

The woman turned around and found the nearest seat as her partner headed towards the cockpit and began their decent to the planet's surface. It wasn't long before the Scavenger was nestled into the landing pad, a fact that caused a slight sigh from Rhissai. In space she could do little but watch events unfold... if something went wrong the most she could really do was, well, die. On the ground, however, she could employ her abilities to defend herself... and NOT die from an engine failure.

The Jedi never liked flying to say the least.

As soon as Master Soka reappeared from the cockpit of the ship Rhiss was up and walking next to him. Her clothes were not quite that of a Jedi... but she still still wore her usual attire. To be honest she would look like a kath hound walking on its hind legs if she wore civilian clothes. A woman who was taller than your average female of most species (5'10"), deep red tribal style tattoos running down her arm (only her shoulders were visible, however), and she had long raven black hair. The woman like that looked right at home in her current vestments.

It didn't take much walking before the pair linked up with Senator Gribbs, who instantly welcomed and invited them into the room. She shifted her fiery green gaze to the man, if he wasn't uneasy he soon would be. Not that she was aiming to make him uncomfortable... but her eyes tended to do that inadvertently.

"I am anxious to hear the situation as you know it, Senator."

Rhissai said, her gaze still fixed upon Gribbs as she found a seat inside the room. She was getting too old for things like this... despite the fact that she was considered young for her race. The ghost of a smirk played across her face as she was reminded of her "youth." In the physical sense of course, the philosophical and spiritual aspects of youth were lost to the woman years before.

[Kella]

The composure of Senator Toolin Gribbs was easily gathered, and he looked quite at ease, even going so far as to absentmindedly drum his fingers on the edge of the small round discussion table, the two Jedi across from him. They were each precisely one-hundred-twenty degrees seperate on the table; the chairs were arranged just as such. Gribbs liked things to be precise.

"Again, I thank you for coming. There are a series of suspicions, which come together to make a most frightening picture." Toolin Gribbs began his speech, one hid thought over a thousand times. But now, as he said it, it sounded as fresh and sincere as if he was just being struck with the idea. And that was why Gribbs was voted Senator. "First indication of a problem was a mass-murder on one of our shipyards. None were spared," Gribbs hesitated, as if what he was about to say next caught in his throat, as it did every time, "Not even a group of young children there on a school trip." One of those children was his niece. He neglected to mention that, for fear of being unable to continue.

"Two managed to escape. Their tales were strange and fraught with nightmare, but they did not contradict each other. They babbled of storms; lighting inside, red death-sticks, and figures with the faces of skulls, floating around in long black cloaks. Both were driven quite mad by the event, but I think you will agree with my logic; the intruders were Dark Jedi." Gribbs resisted the urge to spit the last two words from his mouth, like some wretched bile. Instead, his hatred lingered under the surface, with as much reservation as was proper of a Diplomat.

"On my suspicion, I had a few of my men look into the entry and exit logs from customs, trying to find a ship that met the profile. All ships were registered merchants or passport-ed citizens; save one. A small freighter. It arrived at Duro thirty-nine hours before the attack. Our records indicate that there were two persons onboard, A Human male, and a Barabel female. However, most interesting was the scanned cargo. The contents appeared to be the components for some sort of explosive device. The Customs officers marked down a 'Watch', but let the ship pass." Gribbs paused, then explained, "It's policy to do so." He was quiet a moment, letting his words sink in.

"My suspicion..." He continued, "Is that the Dark Jedi are planning to assemble some sort of explosive device. It would certainly kill much faster than their mass-murder. During the murder, the entire shipyard was ransacked. We will not know if something has been stolen until the inventory is concluded, which will not be for three days. We must act sooner than that. Who knows what the Dark Jedis' target is? It could be a single ship, a whole shipyard, or all of Duros's cities!" A flash blazed through Gribbs's eye; it was a genuine worry of his.

"You may call me foolish for thinking such things," he said, now going beyond what he had rehearsed, "you may label me nothing but a fretful Neomedian. I care not! My job," his voice trembled ever so slightly with emotion, "Is to protect my people. At all costs. If something like that last murder was to happen again..." Gribbs paused, remembering his niece's innocent smile. He looked away from the Jedi a moment, then brought his eyes back, expression resolute, "It would be unforgivable. Please help me to ensure the safety of my people. We must find these intruders, and stop them!"

[Cavalry King]

The Jedi master gave a polite bow to the Senator as he entered, as a sign of respect and quickly moved to sit in the carefully positioned seat at the round table. The senator took on a new aura of efficiency as he began to speak, however it was delivered in a odd almost nonchalant way, like he had just made the speech up on the spot. Soka could sense the undercurrents of the Senator's true feelings, however they were well masked, a skill most politicians possessed. Soka could tell as the senator dissembled that this situation was more than just political duty, Soka felt as though there was a personal attachment to this. If Soka was correct, the Duro would be much more motivated to solve the case, of course, it ran the risk of his emotions blinding him and driving him to do something foolish.

At the mention of Dark Jedi, Soka's interest peaked. The rumors had been true. The situation was grave indeed. Soka and Rhissai would have to begin at the scene and begin their investigation. Perhaps they could begin to sense out the Dark Jedi, but on a world like Duro, so heavily populated and filled with all sorts of people, it would be extremely difficult to sense any particular thing. The background "noise" was just too great. Soka breathed heavily as he considered the situation and then turned his full focus to the senator.

"We will begin our investigation immediately if you have no objections. I would like to resolve this situation before it escalates." Soka said in a neutral matter. Years of training had taught him to detach himself from things and analyze them. The fact that they had little time though was pressing against him. The notion of so many deaths weighed heavily on his mind.

[Dire Wolf]

Rhissai listened to the man as he spoke of the mass murder on the shipyard, though her stoic face remained that she couldn't help but mentally cringe as she heard of the fate that had befallen the young children. If she wasn't a Jedi the woman may have grown angry at the news, but she was above such feelings. What this revelation did do, however, was bring a sense of urgency to the woman's heart... or a stronger one to be precise. While yes, Dark Jedi were willing to kill anything that walked or crawled... but the fact that they would kill children...

“You are right, Senator Gribbs, the fact of the matter is that we don't know what their next target is.”

The woman could sense the pain, the hatred, and even some fear simply rolling off of this Duros. It was quite obvious to the woman that he was emotionally attached in some way, shape, or form... which was both a good thing and a bad thing. It meant that he would be far more open to the pair of Jedi masters and would help them to the absolute most of his ability, but it also meant that his actions would be rather... unpredictable... when the two Dark Jedi were found. She was about to speak again when Master Soka beat her to the punch, Rhissai crossed her arms and tilted her head ever so slightly as she spoke.

“As would I, the sooner we begin our investigation the quicker this situation is resolved.”

[Kella]

"Yes, yes of course," Toolin nodded, obviously eager for the Jedi to get to work. They were an odd breed, Jedi. Just as skilled at hiding their emotions as politicians, and at times, just as manipulative, though it always served 'the greater good'. Gribbs mused silently, for Politicians usually didn't share that motive. However, the somber mood greatly ruined this amusement, and it made no impact upon his humor.

"If you need anything, anything at all, do hot hesitate to ask. All of Duro's finest is at your fingertips. Resources, men, technologies, whatever it is you require. One of my underlings shall show you to your quarters, if you require rest or a chance to meditate." As urgent as the situation was, Tooling grudgingly admitted to himself that rest was necessary.

ooc// I'll be out of town, and offline, until about Tuesday. Go ahead and take control of Gribbs, if you'd like, or you can have the Jedi move on. ;D I'll see you guys when I get back!//

[Cavalry King]

Finally, Atu Soka could now get on with the mission. He still knew very little, but it was more than he knew before hand. Now with the blessings of the Senator, he could begin his investigation. The quarters could wait, he had more important things to do at the moment. He got up to leave the table, bowed at the door of the room form the hips and left for the shipyards where the massacre happened.

He doubted he would find much there but it was a start. He thought to himself the best way to catch these criminals, how would they do it? The planet was large and they could easily hide. Soka figured the only way to catch and find these Dark Jedi is to lure them out. He first had to figure out what their motives were so he knew how best to attract them. Perhaps they were after credits and seeking a bribe, no, for they would have revealed themselves already and asked for it. Perhaps they sought to draw the Jedi here so that they could kill them. This was a possibility. He knew Dark Jedi loved to test themselves in battle, perhaps they sought to weigh themselves against real Jedi. And perhaps they were after hurting Duro. Doing something for some greater purpose. The final two possibilities seemed likely and Soka thought of a plan for encompassing both of them in one fell swoop. Still he could not act on his plan till he had done an investigation, which he hoped would lead to divining the true intent of these wrong doers.

Soka looked over to Rhissai and said, "We have little hope of finding these Dark Jedi on this planet, especially if they do not wish to be found. It would be best if we draw them out to a location of our choosing. Once we have determined their motives, we shall know best how to act. Until then, we should investigate the shipyard. Hopefully something insightful shall reveal itself."

With that, he continued to walk toward the transporter that would take him to the Shipyard.

[Dire Wolf]

In truth Rhissai would have liked to know more about this mission, the Dark Jedi, the massacre, ANYTHING. But as it was, they had to act off of the near infinitesimal information that they had been given. “Easy there girl, sometimes you have to earn it too,” The young-looking woman thought as she stood up and followed the Jedi Master to the doorway, and once there she mimicked his actions and walked out with her peer.

“I agree, Master Soka, though it will be... difficult... to lure these Dark Jedi out if they have but half a brain. Something tells me that they will be the ones luring us to a location of their choosing, though I would much prefer to do the luring.”

She continued to the little transporter that was would take them to the shipyards, once inside she simply sat back in the seat in an obviously meditative position. It was needed, meditation, perhaps the Force would reveal something to her in the form of a vision... even an image would be more than helpful. But she received none... the Force wanted her to find out information without its help, either that or it wanted another attack to take place. In either case she received no vision and simply waited until the transport docked with the shipyard.

Death. Pain. Fear. Rhissai's foot had barely touched the ground before those three things assaulted her senses, the woman couldn't help but grimace as she tried to power through the brick wall of negative emotions that was before her. It was hard. But eventually she found the will to break through the initial barrier that surrounded the place. She looked over at Atu, her face still had a slight grimace.

“A truly heinous act was committed here indeed. The pain... fear... death... all of it still lingers here even after so long.”

Master Arckan waited for her companion at the front door.

[Cavalry King]

Soka nodded and sighed, "Perhaps you are right Master Arckan. It is always best to trap one's enemies, but a trap may work two ways. If necessary, we may have to leave ourselves vulnerable."

Soka took what his companion had to say and considered it to be true, the fact that it was the reality of the situation did bother him a little. They knew so little, and falling into a trap, even if they wanted to, would be devastating especially if that is what the Dark Jedi wanted all along. They still, Soka hoped, did not know of the Jedi presence on the planet or the shipyard. If they didn't, then the Jedi could trap them, if they did, it would be a bad situation. He contemplated these things in quiet meditation as the transporter carried them to their destination. As he thought about it, he knew that if nothing could be ascertained about the intentions or strength of these Dark Jedi from their investigation, Soka had settled with himself that he would set of the trap. He knew he could hold his own against any Dark Jedi, and his life was expendable. Everything was for the greater good.

As the doors opened he was assaulted by the same sensations as his companion. He could feel the pain and agony of these people and he couldn't help but sympathize for them. He internalized his pain after a deep sigh of sorrow. He stepped into the room and looked over to Rhissai. "It is strong still. We must be careful, it will be difficult to sense things in this environment against this current of lingering emotions." he replied to her in his matter of fact style.

He began to reevaluate his enemy. Immediately his senses told him that they were strong, or knew how best to do their dark works. Soka went about searching through the scene, rummaging through whatever rubble and listening to his senses. He knew that nothing would likely jump out at him. He would have to connect small details together to get bigger ones.

[Dire Wolf]

((OOC: I honestly had no clue where/how far to take this, Cav... I thought my little brain out, honest. It could be the insomnia, of course. Thats always fun. If its too far/ridiculous tell me and I can cook something else up. Also, words italicized and inbetween <<>> are said in aphithiri... it is just easier to recognize this way. <<In Aphithiri>>))

Rhissai did her best to fight past the feelings that plagued her senses as she moved about the shipyard. Those lingering emotions were so strong... so powerful... it honestly brought a tear to the woman's eye. Only the Dark Side could sow that much pain in a single area so fast, surely Master Soka felt this... but likely not quite on a level that she could. The woman had always been acute to emotions via the Force, the area of sense was one of her three strong suits, along with telepathy and sense, so to say that she felt the victim's pain wouldn't be metaphorical.

The raven haired Jedi gave a sigh as she looked about the now sterile looking halls of the ship yard. She could feel what your average person... perhaps even average Jedi... couldn't. It was not unlike some of the battlefields that she had been on in the past; the agony, fear, anger... they were oppressively strong. Her fiery emerald eyes began to well with tears slightly as she averted her gaze back to Master Soka, her voice was stoic despite the tears in her eyes.

“I know that all too well, Master Soka.”

Rhiss used the same matter-of-fact tone as he did, but she had to admit that her words had a little more bite than she had originally anticipated. She gave a slight sigh and attempted to push those external emotions out of her mind, it took a few long moments but she was eventually successful in this attempt. The woman looked up at Atu, her eyes devoid of the tears that they held before and her voice stoic.

“Forgive me, Master Soka. Those words had more of a bite than I originally intended.”

The Aphithiri woman then turned her attention to the task at hand: Investigating. There were the obvious clues; valleys in the durasteel where a lightsaber seared a path through while being swung at a helpless victim, the scorch marks on the deck from the lightning used to torture children, and depressions in the ceiling where a body was slammed into it at mind numbing speeds. Dark Jedi. It didn't take a pair of High Council Members to figure out that they were obviously involved. But how? It seemed that everything was picked clean... just then she heard the barely audible voice of a woman behind her.

Hairs on the back of Rhiss' neck began to stand on end and goosebumps prickled along her arms as she whipped around to see the source of the noise: Nothing. A phantasm. Then she heard the voice of a man in her ear and instantly whipped her head around to find the one who said it. Again, she saw no one. For some odd reason she couldn't quite make out the words just yet. She tried to speak in basic, but found that the beautiful and flowing language of her race was all that came out. This often happened during hallucinations and visions.

<<What is this? Who are you! What are you!>>

She looked around, the woman could see the two who spoke to her. Not that they meant to. One Barabel, One human, the former was a female and the latter a male by their looks. Strangley, she could understand their speech. They spoke about the attack that they oh so recently executed on the hapless souls on the very shipyard on which she stood... and the coming attack as well. She looked over at Master Soka and opened her drew in a deep breath.

<<Master>> Soka <<They are going to be attacking another ship yard. Soon. I believe that the events are already set in motion.>>

Rhissai, of course, had no idea that she was speaking her native tongue and not basic. This would lead to a little language barrier... unless he took a gander down to Aphithir and managed to learn the extremely synthesized language while he was at it. After a few moments the woman realized that she was, in fact, not speaking in basic. Rhissai began to breathe deeply in an effort to calm herself down... after a few long moments she managed to do so.

“They are planning to attack another shipyard, Master Soka. Perhaps we may just be the ones setting the trap after all.”

((I can't help but think that I mucked something up, Cav, so if I did just pm me and I can mod it accordingly.))

[Cavalry King]

((Nah its cool))

Atu Soka turned to his companion with a confused look as she replied harshly. He hadn't expected that from her. He felt the inner struggle inside of her, she had absorbed the pain lingering in the room. It was understandable that she would not be in the best of moods but it was not excusable. He was going to ask about her emotional state when she apologized, seeming to have cleared her mind of the pain. He nodded and continued searching.

The scars of battle were evident, carbon scoring on the walls indicated that their had been some struggle. The scattered nature of the blasts, especially those on the ceiling, indicated that those bolts had likely been deflected by a skillful lightsaber. He examined the scores in the walls and floor, the battle unfurled in his mind, at least what he could divine from the evidence. It was clear that it was mostly a one-sided slaughter. He took the information with stoicism. They were merely facts to him, facts that hinted at a greater event. He had emotionally separated himself from the events shortly after entering the room. He put up blocks in his mind, not allowing the grim realities of the scene to bother him. It was difficult, but it was exactly why he had devoted his life to perfecting the arts of the lightsaber. It was not merely because he thought he was good at it, it was because many lessons could be learned from the devotion and skills necessary for battle. Mental separation and level headedness were two of those skills he gained from his studies.

As he examined the room, he again gave a confused to look to his companion as she turned about and spoke in her native language. At one point it seemed to be directed at him. Finally she spoke out in basic and he nodded. He surmised she had a vision and he would not question her. After he considered the information, he nodded and said to her, "They will likely attack one of the two larger shipyards. We should split up and cover one each. If you sense anything or see anything, notify me through the force as I will notify you, this is perhaps the safest way. Then, we will have the stations sealed and trap these Dark Jedi. I believe it would be best if we could capture at least one alive... Do you know any specifics about their next attack?"

He had come to his conclusion, now he would consider his partner's response. He trusted her judgment and she could improve the plan. If not, they could set off immediately and seek to put an end to this crisis.

[Dire Wolf]

Rhissai squatted down next to one of the long carbon streaks as she traced her index and middle fingers down its length. Though she did understand what was said in the vision, it took her mind a few long moments to process just what she had seen and heard (other than the obvious facts, of course). After those moments drew to a close she looked up at her companion and nodded.

“That I do, Master Soka, from what I heard I can surmise that these Dark Jedi are simply looking to over come whatever the Council sent after them. Disturbing, how they could kill so many so brutally... just so that they could fight us.”

The woman gave a slight sigh as she stood, stretching her body out to its full length. Atu's plan seemed to be a sound one, but she could only hope that she could make it to him if the Dark Jedi did, in fact, attack the station that he was to guard before anything bad happened, and vice versa.

“As for your plan, it is a sound one. Should the Dark Jedi attack the shipyard that I am stationed at I shall notify you without hesitation. Though, I cannot help but think that ours is not the trap that will be sprung from these actions.”

The slightest of sighs escaped the woman's mouth as she looked around at the evidence of the slaughter. Blaster scoring, saber scoring, indentations on the wall... these dark Jedi were most certainly skilled combatants. It did not take the woman's gaze to settle back on her peer, the ghost of a smile contorted her face as she spoke.

“Let's spring the trap.”

[Cavalry King]

Soka shook his head, he was both relieved and disgusted by the motivation of the Dark Jedi. They were not part of some larger organization, which is good, but the fact that they would commit such atrocities for the sake of a battle. It was one of those instances where Soka felt that the mere presence of Jedi was causing the people of the galaxy harm. He had to fight this thought however, it was one of the many troubles that he struggled with during his self-imposed exile. Now was not the time for such thoughts. This was the way of the Dark Jedi, he knew that, and now he knew that he had to bring them to justice.

"Master Rhissai, there may be other ways, but I believe this is the most effective way to draw them out before they do more harm. We must catch them in the act, our surprise should prevent them from catching us completely unprepared. Now let us not waste any more time." Soka replied to her. He felt with each passing second, they might be losing their advantage.

With that he bowed and began walking towards his post inconspicuously. He walked and traveled just like anyone else in the crowd but his senses were becoming hyper aware as he kept a close eye and ear on anything suspicious. When he was inside his assigned shipyard he took up a seat in a dark corner towards the back where he had a good vantage point of most of the dockyard. If anything happened or appeared, he would see it quickly. The location of his lightsabers were second nature to him, he could grab and ignite them in one seamless movement. In these situations he shined.

For now, he watched and waited.

[Dire Wolf]

((I do believe that it is Squee/Val's turn to come into the thread. Let's wait for 'em. ^_^))

This, was truly a disgusting turn of events. The Jedi, for all that they tried to do, sometimes caused more harm then good. Sure, without them it was highly unlikely that a beacon of peace and prosperity such as the Republic could have survived, but the fact that they were willing to kill children simply to fight her. It reminded the Aphithiri woman of the perversion of war and violence that plagued her homeworld ever since they discovered that now hellish rock.

Aphithir.

Only her kind, the son's and daughters of Aphithir, could turn an otherwise perfectly beautiful and picturesque planet into a living nightmare. They only did that to the lower half of the planet, of course, leaving the rest to be fought over like a scrap of meat in between a pair of hungry hounds. It was sickening. To be honest it made her a little angry to see how others could degenerate to the level of her people... even though they liked to believe that they had risen above the rest of society. Claiming that they bettered themselves through combat. Bah. They were little more than savages with a prowess for making technology more deadly.

It took her a few moments, but she calmed herself down. Anger was not the best mood to be in... especially when one was a High Council Member. Rhissai was expected to be above such emotions, to be above emotions in general. She silently cursed herself (and race) for being so affected by their feelings... anger in particular.

“Let us tarry no longer.”

With that, she headed off towards the shipyard that she was assigned to guard. While, yes, she looked slightly out of place... none of that mattered. Rhissai called upon the Force to make herself darker around the edges, no make the eye want to see past her, through her, away from her... but not see her. She was fairly proficient at this technique, more than proficient enough to use it on your average person. A Dark Jedi, on the other hand... their mind was a little too strong for that.

The woman sat down on a little perch and began to expand her awareness outwards... hoping to feel something amiss... yet hoping to feel nothing wrong at the same time.