The Intrique of the Deep [Open]

[Corstar]

Kieran stretched in what space there was of the mini-sub. He and Regnier had to split up, into two different submarines in order to get down to the ocean floor. Regnier still hadn't reported in over the com, but Kieran could feel his presence, steadily, through the Force. If the man had anything to say, he'd alert the Jedi Master.

Kieran slowly wove through the deep. He felt slightly guilty. The Selkath Employee who was tending the submarines would wake up with a suitable headache, it had been a rough mind wipe. For both parties.

Kieran was almost falling asleep, due to the excessive humidity of the enclosed space he was in. The surrounding water was quite cold and the heaters were working overtime to combat it.

As he came over an ocean ridge, he was jolted awake. He raised an eyebrow as the scanners screamed at him, but he wasn't listening.

A station, an underwater station, similar to one you'd see in space, was securely anchored to the ground. A Republic insignia was emblazened on the side. He could see lights coming from portholes.

It wasn't until the Submarine literally jumped, that he looked at the scanners, then outside the submarine. some unfortunate fish had managed to shove itself through one of the port side engines. This made the engine quite disagreeable, belching sparks and bubbles, Kieran grimaced as the Submarine tilted. He watched helplessly as the craft lost most of it's power in a few seconds of inaction.

Kieran waited as the submarine drifted forward, silently. He looked up as he passed under a hanger. Using the Force, he stopped the Submarine's momentum and curved it upwards. The Submarine breached the surface of the water, allowing Kieran time enough to climb out of the sub, before it sank back down into the deep. He turned and looked down at the water, bubbling from the now sunken and open submarine, he grumbled under his breath. He nearly didn't have enough time.

The lightsaber swung up and around, with a flash of light, it reflected two blaster shots into the ceiling, sending a third into the ground. Kieran's second lightsaber activated before a man shouted.

"Don't hurt me! Please I want to liiiiive!"

Kieran sighed. He let the excess energy bleed away, before making a mental call to Regnier. I have a headache...this is going to be a long mission. I found something, come take a look.

[Regnier]

Well, unless there's another giant Republic undersea base around the corner, this must be the place.

The sub containing Regnier turned lazily and set a docking course for the station. Regnier himself glanced around, seeing nothing of any real insterest past a few sharks and the station itself. He did make not of what looked to be...sparks? over the next ridge. Odd... The Knight shrugged and waited for the submersible to break the surface of the subpen. He engaged the docking mechanism as soon as it did and opened the hatch.

Only to be greeted by a blaster bolt. Like a bolt of lightning, the Knight shot forward at the attacker, activating his blade and deflecting the bolt into a nearby crate in mid-air. He connected with the shooter's torso boot-first, and sent her into the wall behind her hard enough that she bounced. Regnier prodded the unconscious body, tied her hands, retrieved her blaster, and started dragging her towards the presence of the other Jedi.

A few minutes after Eitan sent the mental call, Regnier strode through an airlock leading to an adjacent sub pen, dragging the unconscious woman by the boot in one hand and holding the carbine in the other. He set the former down several feet from the Jedi Master and glanced at Kieran's 'friend', as well as the scorch mark on the floor.

"Hmph. I see you got a welcoming committee as well. Figures that you got the less dangerous of the two." He muttered as he glanced over the edge of the dock and into the water. "You know, I thought I saw something akin to a sparking sub. What'd you do, run into a rock wall?"

He shrugged and rested the carbine against his shoulder, prodding the unconscious woman with the toe of his boot idly as he did. "So, what have we found, Master Eitan?"

[Corstar]

"The Fish on this planet really really hate me. I think actually everyone really hates me on this planet. If it doesn't try to eat me, it throws itself into my engines."

Kieran looked over at the now unconscious "welcoming committee" that had greeted him.

"The man was probably just as much as a problem. I just made his brain stop his lungs for a few moments."

The Jedi Master flicked his cape back and attached his lightsabers back to his belt. He gestured towards the door, dragging the two unconscious beings behind him, he left them in a closet as he continued on. They went through the base without any incidents, for several minutes, before coming to a control center.

Kieran looked around carefully, pressing buttons randomly to see what would happen.

[Regnier]

"See? I told you I had a bad feeling about this mission." Regnier muttered as he slung the carbine over his shoulder. It sounded as if the Jedi Master was having an obscenely bad run of luck with this planet so far, but what surprised him was that he himself wasn't. Compared to most of his missions, or at least those that the council sent him specifically on because they suspected physical trouble, this had been a walk in the park. He'd only been thrown into one durasteel wall so far. Ah well...I suppose it always has the potential to get worse. We aren't done yet.

The Knight followed Eitan, taking minor detours every now and then to check certain rooms. It was disturbingly quiet, save for the sounds of the two Jedi's boots and the general sounds of being in an underwater base. Where is everybody? What is this, base-wide lunchbreak? I don't like this...

He watched the Master 'work his magic' in the control center from the door. He smirked and shook his head. "Just try not to hit the 'flood facility' or 'self-destruct' buttons, eh? I'd rather not be entombed on the floor of Manaan."

Regnier slipped past Eitan and started for a door on the far side of the CC. The corner of his mouth quirked slightly as the door opened. He'd seen enough of them to know what a Republic security room looked like. He stepped inside, paused, and dropped low, a single bronz-ish beam hurtling past where his head had been not so long ago. There was a grunt, followed by a loud thud from inside the room. Regnier swore, dragged the body outside, dropping the man roughly on the floor, and tossed the disruptor rifle at the Jedi Battlemaster. "I thought those were illegal..." He muttered as he glared at the neat hole in a view-screen.

[Corstar]

Kieran caught the rifle with one hand, examined it and ignited his lightsaber into the center of the barrel, cutting it almost cleanly in half. Dropping the smoking pieces on the floor he shrugged. "They are."

Uploading the map to his wrist mounted datapad, he pointed towards a hallway. "That way will lead us to the airlocks. They should have suits."

Kieran looked back at the Control Center, unsure on how to lock it down. He contemplated slicing it up but he had already caused enough damage. He left the room mostly unscathed and walked towards the airlocks.

[Axelpro]

Such a troublesome planet this is...

Adrian was sitting the small Submarine as it dove into the watery depths of the planet. He was still fairly close to Ahto City which told the young Knight he was still on track.

Flashback

Hello, I was wondering if you saw any peculiar Humans come your way.

Adrian had a good feeling as he had let the trace amounts of the force lead him here. It was as if the person he was looking for had made carefully printed footsteps. It was also apparent that he wasn't alone. Normally things like this wouldn't be possible, tracking someone through the force, but the person he searched for was strong enough to leave this kind of indentation although not too significant.

No, and I don't feel like handling anymore questions today. My head hurts...

It was then that the young knight realized that what he was sensing was the effects of the force from this very Selkath. It was as if his mind was berrated with a number of suggestions and probings. Knowing that this result meant that the Selkath in front of him was harboring something of value Adrian continued.

So what exactly do you do here?

Well I have been given the task of looking over the Submarines and who is given access to them as well as who comes up from the water in this particular dock.

Adrian nodded again this time hoping that the one he was looking for had come through this way.

So did anyone come through here today?

No, nobody has entered through or exited out of this particular dock this whole day, and that is enough questions. I don't need any rude Humans interrogating me when I have a headache.

The information was enough, it proved beyond reasonable doubt that someone strong in the force had made their way passed this Selkath and managed to erase his memory of the event. The action by this Force Sensitive left the Selkath mentally drained and easily seceptible to more telepathic suggestions.

You will let me through to use one of the remaining submarines.

Adrian waved his right hand gently in front of the Selkath who simply nodded.

I will let you use one of the remaining Submarines...

It wasn't enough though, Adrian had to make sure he covered his tracks to normal people just like the ones before him. Again the young knight waved his hand in front of the Selkath.

You will wait 30 minutes and end your shift early. You will forget that you ever saw me.

I will wait 30 minutes and end my shift early... I will forget that I ever saw you...

Satisfied Adrian continued through towards the docks leaving the Selkath in a rather stupified daze.

End Flashback

[Regnier]

Regnier moved to the airlocks after binding the latest shooter. He opened one of the sealed man-sized containers and narrowed his eyes at the suits inside. They were incredibly bulky, sure, but they most definately weren't one size fits all. He opened the next container, and the next, pulling the largest suit he could find out. He glanced it over a few times. "To bad they didn't make any for a wookie. That would probably fit better."

After several minutes of pulling and squeezing, he sealed the helmet on and somewhat wobbled to face the Jedi Master. "I feel like a Gamorrean in a tactical bomber." He turned again and clunked into the airlock. "So, where exactly are we going, anyways? I'd really prefer to have a destination so I can get out of this thing as soon as possible. Things are compressed that shouldn't be compressed."

[Corstar]

Kieran couldn't help but laugh. He coughed and showed Regnier his datapad. "You're going here. To the giant red X I wrote down."

Kieran looked down the halls, back the way they came. "I'm going to explore a bit, and I'll keep in contact through the com, but according to the control center, the area I marked is some sort of harvester of some sort. It might be taking too much kolto...or something. Get to it first and then we'll figure out the problem. I'm going to see if I can find the person in charge of this place. And ask him why he has so many...aggressive guards."

Kieran patted Regnier on the top of the helmet. "Hope that thing is water proof. If you spring a leak, make sure to move fast. Water at this pressure will cut you into little pieces when shot through a small hole. May the Force be with you."

[Axelpro]

Adrian opened the hatch and quietly stepped out of the Submarine. His feet touched solid ground which happened to be the Republic facility the young Jedi picked up while searching for that person in the depths of Manaan. The Knight had assumed that the person he was looking for could only have come to this place seeing as how he wasn't looking for any sentient that could breathe underwater. Not really making an effort to mask his presence Adrian proceeded through the spacious doorway that opened up for him, letting him leave the Submarine Dock. Before completely leaving he noticed that there were a number of other Submarines docked there.

Now with his hood neatly overtop his head he continued to walk with the only thing truly visible was his piercing Turquoise eyes.

I can feel his presence here, I think...

[Regnier]

Regnier muttered a curse as he stepped fully into the airlock. "Next time, I'll take the ships and your apprentice can dodge sharks." He reached over and pressed a switch, beginning the transfer sequence. "I swear, if this is all because some giant fish is eating too much kolto..."

He waited patiently as the door sealed and water began filling the room. "That's really comforting, you know?" He sighed slightly as the water rose above his head. "I have a feeling I'm going to need it's protection soon. The same goes for you, Battlemaster." Eventually, the door before him opened and several warnings detailing the more advanced features of his suit appeared. Ht sonic emitter looked useful, but he grabbed one of the undersea blasters off the wall, just in case. A small dust cloud settled after he stepped out onto the ocean floor. A few fish swam by and a crustacean latched onto his boot, but except for a few firaxans he met along the way, there was little of note. Unfortunately, the only way to the X Eitan had marked was either by jumping a canyon, scaling a rock wall, or entering a small building. An open one. He didn't like the fact that the outer airlock was open, as it had a keypad on the outside and was obviously designed to be locked shut. He shrugged and entered.

He stepped inside after the cycle completed, though he remained in his suit. It was too much of a hassle to get back on. Eventually, he stepped inside a junction hall, only to spot another sentient in a suit. "Ha, I don't take kindly to...what the...? You were supposed to take off your suit at the airlock! So much for sucking the oxygen out of the facility..." The man turned and started to run as fast as the suit allowed.

Regnier followed, and briefly contemplated shooting the man, but decided against it. The suit made shooting on the move impossible. He was able to catch up to the man at the far airlock, as he wasn't able to seal it in time. "Why the rush?" He asked rhetorically as he shoved the man against the wall of the slowly filling airlock with the blaster barrel. "I have a task for you. Take me to the nearest harvester and explain to me what the hell is going on around here along the way. You're alternate choice is to be shoved in that nearby canyon with a leak in your suit."

The man simply nodded dejectedly, or at least attempted to inside the suit, and started outside the airlock. "Come on. Main harvester is about two-hundred meters that way. Watch for firaxa, the area is crawling with 'em lately. As for what's going on...beats the hell outta me. First, all the-" The man screamed about a half-second before a shark hit him square from the side and attempted to carry him off, still screaming. Regnier shot the shark, which dropped the man, but unfortunately for him, had also punctured his suit in several places. Regnier shut off his external mic's briefly as he continued on, allowing the Force to warn him of danger.

"So much for my guide..."

Eventually, he came to what appeared to be the harvester in question. He froze, and started recording from his helmet's internal camera. "Eitan, this is Vakkor, if you can hear me, find a console where you can recieve holo-feeds. You may want to see this."

What lay before him was a large, black, metallic...thing. He wasn't sure what it was exactly. He reached out to touch it, but was stopped by a very large wash hitting him, throwing him over side-ways. He landed with a grunt, rolled onto his back, and swore in three different languages. That was a really big shark. He worked his way upright, ran, and lept over the side of the ravine and onto the small ledge ten feet down underneath the bridge. "Eitan, I'm going to try and send my holo recording to you datapad. If you lose my signal, I've been swallowed."

((Look, I'm being unoriginal...ish! >_>))

[Corstar]

"Give me a moment." Kieran replied as he ran back to the control center. He froze, stopping before he entered it. He took a step back, bending down, he looked at the tripwire he had nearly stepped on. He looked at the wall, where a Proximity mine was set.

He blinked before stepping over the mine. They had to have barely missed it when walking out.

Stepping inside the control center, he sat down at the main console in the swivel chair. Spinning around once for the fun of it, he stopped infront of the terminal he needed and brought it up.

"Receiving. By the way, don't use any laser weapons on the fish around here. It has bad consequences."

Kieran turned his head as he felt another presence. A considerably stronger one than the echos of the beings he felt throughout the station.

"I may go off the air myself. There's a Force Sensitive in here with me. Send me the video feed, I'll let it download. Give me a moment."

Kieran closed his eyes, reaching out for the other Force Sensitive.

Friend or Foe. Identify yourself.

[Axelpro]

Adrian heard the message run past him. He had to pull it back and repeat in his mind again so he could understand it. It was at this point where he would know whether he found trouble or not in his search.

Well that depends on if you are Master Eitan than I am a friend. If you are not, then I suppose we will have to meet first. before a verdict can be reached on this matter.

The young knight didn't want to come off as overly mysterious or cryptic, but at the same time he didn't want to explain his entire situation to someone who he wasn't even sure was the right person. After all he had only heard of the Jedi's exploits.

[Regnier]

Regnier muttered a curse as the giant shark swam past overhead. He glanced at the rifle in his hand and muttered another one. He entered a few commands into the communicator and sent the recorded feed to the command console. For the most part, the holofeed only showed a lot of water, harvester, and mud, but it also showed the giant firaxa hovering over the bridge, and the large metal device sitting in a clearing. Now it was out of his hands, though, and all he could do was hope the console recieved it. Alright, now how do I get out of this mess? Time for some acrobatics, Vakkor.

With a grunt, he jumped as high as the suit would allow, which wasn't very much, grabbed a jutting piece of the rock wall, and attempted to haul himself up. Eventually, after a considerable amount of effort, he succeeded, and pulled himself back onto the small bridge. Then he ran as fast as the suit allowed, leaving a sizable mud trail behind him. Soon, he made it back to the airlock from whence he had earlier come and went back into the smaller sub-facility. After the airlock had drained, he stepped fully inside the facility. He stopped and muttered a curse. Three Selkath had apparently taken exception to his intrusion, and he now found himself staring down the barrels of two sonic pistols and one repeating blaster carbine. He cursed several times. How do I get myself into these things...?

The first shot hit him a millisecond after he fired his own rifle. Ten seconds later, Regnier's communicator shorted out and his suit lost power, slamming into the floor with a loud crash, landing on top of the last Selkath to fall. Regnier cursed once more for good measure as the edges of his vision started fading into black. Well...it just got...worse...

[Corstar]

Kieran brushed his cloak back as he looked back towards where Regnier had left the station.

Friend it seems it is. Continue towards the control room. Watch for traps.

Kieran returned his attention to the console, his hands began to blur over the keyboard as they typed commands, responding almost faster than the computer could generate the answers. He searched through the security files, adding a list of names to a background file, making short biographies off of bio-readings.

It took a minute and thirty seven seconds before he had the entire station's crewlist down on the background of the console, he rerouted their holographs to cycle on another console, within his line of sight. If he recognized one it would catch his eye.

Returning to the files, he typed in a command and bit back a curse as the screen turned to red and 'restricted access' appeared on the screen. He entered in a passcode that was supposedly universal, given only to the Jedi Masters of the Council.

It didn't work.

He put in his birthdate.

Surprisingly enough...

It didn't work.

Staring at the screen for a moment, he reached into his robes, his hands grazing over the lightsaber hilt on his right hip. He was tempted...but cut away the temptation as he reached for a datachip. Placing the datachip in the console, he was rewarded with a series of beeps as the restricted screen disappeared.

He searched through the files detailing the purpose of the station and the full design specifications. With a whistle, he began downloading the data back to the datachip. It held his universal slicing keys, his personal journal logs and some recipes on the galaxy's finest ales.

Some things you couldn't live without.

[Axelpro]

Of course Master Eitan

As he projected the thought through the force the young knight was already moving. Only his boots could be heard hitting the ground as Adrian made his way to where he suspected the Master Jedi was located. It was subtle, but Adrian began to notice that his footsteps weren't the only sounds in the vicinity. It wasn't a sound he expected from Master Eitan; it was something that puzzled the young Knight.

Oh!

It was a good day to be a Jedi...

If Adrian didn't have the honed senses of a Jedi or experienced warrior he would have missed the expertly placed mines that were strangely enough on the walls of the corridor he was traveling down. The fields had been set up large enough that if someone were to be walking through without care he or she would most definitely not exist much longer.

That was a little too close...

That thought wasn't transmitted to Master Eitan as the Jedi held his hand over his heart for a moment or two in order to catch his breathe and regain composure. Usually he would be able to hop right back into the flow, but this trap was a split second from ensnaring Adrian in its deadly grip.

Taking a couple steps back Adrian decided on the best course of action and began running for the mine fields that he could see. The time that each foot was on the ground got smaller and smaller as Adrian got faster and faster. With about two steps between him and the deadly trap the young knight's eyes went up and within that moment Adrian left the ground. As he soared over the trap he was thankful for the rather tall ceiling that the station had. Adrian landed softly, his cloak floating down to a still position after him. Standing up the Jedi turned the corner at the four way intersection of corridors and then after another quick corner he was standing in front of a room.

Now the sound he heard as a little bit more relaxing to his nerves as it was the typing of a certain someone Adrian felt he knew. The door slid open allowing Adrian entrance and with a kind smile he took off his hood in respect for the Master Jedi.

Greetings Master Eitan...

[Corstar]

Kieran was leaning back in the chair when he heard the door open. He span in the chair and nodded at the other man. Bringing his hands down from behind his head, he uncrossed his legs and stood up. With a light stretch he smiled at the Jedi Knight.

"Greetings....Adrian isn't it?"

Kieran pocketed the chip with the downloaded data and folded his arms.

"This is a popular little secret base."

[Axelpro]

Ah forgive me for not introducing myself Master.

Formalities were always important and Adrian had them down pat. The young knight's eyes scanned the current room's surroundings as he gave a rather absent answer.

Yes, quite popular indeed...

Again the Jedi's eyes wandered this time running over the numerous keys on the panel and with each key he felt his intelligence get smaller and smaller. Adrian shook his head briefly and looked at Master Eitan with his turquoise eyes.

I'm sorry if this is an inappropriate time for you, but I wish to continue my training as a Weaponmaster under you.

He wasn't as subtle as he usually was. Most likely because it was the first time he was asking something of a fellow Jedi rather than being commanded by a high ranking Council Member or something along those lines. He didn't falter, but still there was definitely an uneasiness in Adrian's stance that even a non-force sensitive could see without much effort.

[Corstar]

"Um. Well this doesn't happen to be the best of times...obviously, we're somewhat in the middle of something at the moment. Later, after we're done here, I may be able to train you as a weaponmaster for a period of time."

Kieran looked at his crono and looked at the scanners.

"Excuse me one moment." The Jedi Master moved to a console and typed a quick command. "Vakkor, come in. What's going on? Regnier, report in."

[Regnier]

It was a good dream. A happy dream. The type of dream Regnier hadn't had for a long while. But a dream it was, for he was holding a conversation with someone who was distinctly dead, and Regnier wasn't in the habit of talking to ghosts very much. Or, at least, it seemed to be a dream. There was an alternative.

"Am I dead?"

"Ha! I know for a fact it'll take more than that to kill you. No, booki, you aren't dead. Not yet. You may consider getting off your procrastinating lump, however!" The Twi'lek responded, unceromoniously clubbing him over the side of the head. The Jedi Temple faded into blackness, and another familiar voice came through the dark.

"Vakkor, come in. What's going on? Regnier, report in."

"Mmph..."

Regnier blinked a few times as the blackness started to fade into durasteel. He squinted at the floor. After a few painful minutes, he managed to pry most of the suit off, pull off his communicator, and locate the problem. It was recieving just fine, but there was no way it was sending anything. The mic had been cut clean off by a bolt that had narrowly missed his head. He tossed it to the side, crawled to one of the recently deceased Selkath, and took his.

"Vakkor here. Ran into a bit of trouble. I may be stuck in the harvester observation facility unless I can find another suit. I'm alive, though." He said, grogginess, pain, and a trace of annoyance outlining his voice. With a grimace, he hauled himself to his feet. His ears were still ringing quite badly, the room was revolving, and he felt like he'd been shot several times. Mostly because he had. "Hang on awhile while I try and find a med station down here. If I go offline, I've passed out. You get the feed I sent?"

He started forward, using the wall heavily for support, and nearly tripping several times.

[Corstar]

"Feed? uhh..." Kieran looked around the room, pointing at Adrian he snapped his fingers twice, pointing at a console. "Nothing yet, let me check."

Kieran ran a system map of the surrounding area on his screen, marking the area where Regnier was, hypothetically, with a red dot. He reviewed the area quickly, pointing a finger at a room, he marked it with a blue arrow. He uploaded the edited map to a datapad, which took several moments. Spinning in his chair while he waited, he turned to look at Adrian.

"Anything?"