Private 4:50 to Sleheyron | Phineas & Andromeda

[Andromeda Demir]

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Andromeda's typing had improved greatly since her early days in the stacks of the Jedi Temple's library, and her affinity for technology had improved as well. That wasn't to say she was used to the broader galaxy she had discovered upon her spiriting away from Irvulix V, by any means. There were still things that puzzled her or surprised her or sometimes scared her. Sullustans, for example, were still something of a challenge for the young woman. Still, the galaxy kept turning ands he had much to be getting on with. All this a roundabout way of saying she had downloaded all the files available about the Hutt world of Sleheyron to her datapad while in the library, and that datapad -- along with her backpack containing a few changes of clothes, survival tools, kit, and rations -- accompanied her to the landing pad at the Temple where she was waiting to meet the Knight with whom she had been paired.

She'd never met Phineas Kand and as far as she was aware never set eyes upon him, but from Master Noble's briefing, she knew Kand to be a Jedi Knight. That put him leagues ahead of her, at any rate.

While she waited, she reflected on the assignment. It was touching, the Grandmaster's concern for the working classes. She wished it extended to the Galactic Alliance more generally, but if wishes were fishes then we'd all live in riches. "At least it's not mines this time," she told her droid, who craned its dishlike head up at her and chittered inquisitively. "That's right, I hadn't finished your arms for that mission so you didn't come... I think it was Master Noble's idea of a sick joke. But I guess I should touch wood; there's no reason there couldn't be mines."

Glancing at her chronometer, Andromeda settled onto a bench by the landing pad where the trio would catch a speeder to the spaceport. She was early, and that let her relax. A little.

Phineas Kand​

 

[Phineas Kand]

Tags:
Andromeda Demir
-​

Sleyheyron. Finn had never been, and probably never would have had it not been for the assignment. Just beyond the Mid Rim, the planet lay in Wild Space. Specifically, in the midst of several Hutt controlled worlds, worlds that fell far outside the usual law and order of the Alliance worlds. He'd had his work cut out for him, spending what time he could in preparation for departure, reading and scouring records of the world. What he found wasn't terribly encouraging. If the missing laborers had been taken there as initial data had indicated, they were in for a rough time.

The route the workers had taken on their way back to Alliance Space was riddled with recent incident reports. According to the database no less than twelve cases of attempted robbery had occurred over the last month, some more successful than others. This was different than that though, the ship had simply gone missing. No debris indicating a run in with a band of pirates or catastrophic failure, no emergency transmissions or artifact signals, their ship had simply disappeared.

A mystery. Much like the padawan he'd been assigned alongside. An Andromeda Demir. A part of Finn thought that this might have been part of a greater joke. He was taking his time in choosing a padawan to train - in any capacity. Some padawans had several teachers before they finally settled in on a single one, others never did. It wasn't that he was afraid of the responsibility per se but... it was always one of those things. He would know when the time was right, or so he thought. No matter, however. This was an assignment and to refuse one, well, that would be especially unwise.

Thusly, he found himself striding his way towards a landing pad burdened with little more than a small duffle and a sealed black leather pouch. Strapped to the exterior of his duffle was his armor, more a collection of pieces and parts that offered him additional protection outside that of his typical robes. No need to be prancing around in that, the journey ahead was long. Nimbly slipping between two large cargo haulers, Finn found himself just down the street from their meeting place. Not late yet, it seems. Wouldn't do for a Knight to show up late, now would it? He slowed his pace just a touch as he approached, eyeballing a young woman seated at a bench. Is that her? Has to be.

"Andromeda?" he asked, questioningly as he shifted the weight of his bag. "Ready to jet I assume?"

​

 

[Andromeda Demir]

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Andy looked up when she sensed a presence approaching, rose when she saw a taller man approaching. She set her bag down. "Andromeda," she agreed. Awkward. She cleared her throat. "Uh, call me Andy. You're Phineas, right?"

She crouched to pick up her bag, slung it over her shoulder. "I'm ready when you are," she said. "This is my droid, Dish." Not a terribly imaginative name, it's true, given the dish-shaped head of the pit droid. She nudged Dish with her hip, who looked up at her. She nodded with her chin towards Phin, then Dish fixed his subtly glowing photoreceptor on Phineas and then offered him a chittering greeting.

"He's..." Andy hesitated a moment and cleared her throat. She wanted to say very stupid but that seemed ungenerous. Pit droids weren't terribly intelligent anyway. So instead she concluded, rather diplomatically, "...shy. Um -- shall we?"

Phineas Kand​

 

[Phineas Kand]

Tags:
Andromeda Demir
-​

"Please," he shook his head and and grinned. "Finn." Nodding, he added, "Andy it is, and..." The Knight's eyes darted to the rather diminutive droid. "Ah. Dish." He fought back a chuckle at that one. Droids can be a liability, but I guess they have their uses, he thought to himself. "Master Dish," he dropped to a half bow, winking as he returned the chortled greeting. With a short intake of breath, he motioned towards their destination. "Off we are then."

Setting off with a self assured swagger, Finn hummed a song quietly as they passed down several crowded causeways towards a speeder pool. After a few exchanges of credits they were off, the plush seating of their speedercraft well worn. Leather of some kind which had taken a rather dark patina. Their pilot, a rather gaunt looking Bith man. His clothes looked comfortable, far less professional, but when you spent all day shuttling people around, Finn could respect that.

"So," he said. "You've received the Council's brief. Where do you think we should start?"

He waited patiently, eyes scanning the horizon. They had a decent amount of travel ahead of them, crucial time for them to get to know each other and make sure they were on the same page. Finn had seen the odd pairing before, Knights stumbling over their Padawans, Padawans getting themselves into trouble. It was no doubt a learning process but at least he had the benefit of being aware.

"Ideally, we won't have to make any waves, the quieter we can handle this the better."

​

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[Andromeda Demir]

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Andromeda settled into the speeder seat, closing her eyes against the sudden sense of vertigo as the speeder departed. There was something horrifying about that moment every time, for a woman who hadn't grown up with repulsorlifts, when a speeder lifted effortlessly and went into the traffic lanes, magically suspended some hundreds of feet above the cityscape.

"Ordinarily I would say we should try to investigate the scene of the workers' disappearance, but it sounds like time is of the essence," said the young Padawan. "If those workers disappear into the Hutt slave trade there's no telling if we'll ever be able to get them out again." Her voice was thoughtful; the girl from Irvulix V kept her own counsel on the morality of selective justice. Did anyone in the Hutt slave trade deserve to be there? She truly doubted it -- and yet, the Grandmaster of the New Jedi Order was sending them after a handful of workers, a figurative drop in a figurative ocean of victims.

She understood that the Jedi were a finite resource, that they could not be used as a cudgel against injustice writ large. But still, there was something brutal about this. Andromeda had no doubt that she and Finn would cross paths with dozens of individuals that they could save but wouldn't, because their mission dictated elsewise.

It was almost enough to make her fume.

"So, Sleheyron first, I guess? Maye we can pose as representatives of someone looking for workers similar to the variety of those who just disappeared." Her skin crawled at the idea of posing as a slave-owner, but she didn't see another way to get information while still keeping it quiet. "What do you think?"

Phineas Kand​

 

[Phineas Kand]

Tags:
Andromeda Demir
-​

As Andromeda spoke, Finn scrolled through a few pages of the data they'd been provided on the missing persons. The list of names was fairly long, a handful more than a dozen. That might be a steep ask, thought Finn. This wasn't his usual schtick but he had at least a little bit of knowledge on how these sorts of criminals operated. If it was anything like he understood, it would be difficult to locate a handful of those who'd disappeared let alone more than a dozen. Slavers looked at beings differently, not individuals of emotion and soul but in terms of value. Strength, size, skill, nothing that truly made someone who they were. Not deep down anyway.

"Sleyheron sounds like a good a spot as any. It's far enough outside our influence that I can't imagine they'd just hand them over if we walked in like this." Finn glanced at their rather obviously Jedi robes. "Too bad."

The Jedi Knight shrugged, eyes wandering along the winding flight lanes of traffic and tower spires as they drew closer and closer to their destination. Their first destination, anyway. "I'm not terribly familiar with how the markets work, more of a knock heads and figure out the details later - much to some of the Council's chagrin I'm sure. The other lead we could follow is the missing ship itself though that might be a dead end. It's not likely whomever is responsible for our missing folks held onto it for long." Finn frowned.

"It'd be lucky if we knew someone a little more aware of who the key players were around those parts. Maybe we check out a few of the local watering holes for information once we arrive?"

 

[Andromeda Demir]

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Andromeda looked down at her Jedi robes and she nodded her agreement. "Quite right," she said coolly. "And from what I know of these little backwaters... well, you never can tell whether being Jedi would help us or hurt us." She glanced over at him, then looked down at her datapad. She knew all about slavery -- not slave markets, not buying and selling, but life on Irvulix V had been slavery, pure and simple.

"As far as slavers go," she told him grimly, casting her eye out the window. "I'd be happy to bust every last head. But somehow I feel Master Noble might object if we recovered the workers at the expense of a path of dead Hutts. Then again, it is not the Jedi way particularly." Her fingers flexed instinctively, almost as if she itched to rewrite those rules. What good was resolving a slaver's crimes peaceably? They would simply turn around and enslave someone else, hoping the Jedi Order wouldn't care as much about the second batch.

The speeder began to slow as they approached the spaceport. "You raise a good point about the ship. If it's even still where it was attacked. If these people took the workers, what are the chances they didn't break the ship down for salvage? That sort of things tends to come up around spaceports, right?" The speeder landed and Andromeda climbed out, fetching her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. "I brought some clothes that aren't... so obviously Jedi. So perhaps we can be incognito."

The Padawan joined the Knight, with Dish following along behind them. "Is this your ship we'll be taking, or something the Order has provided?"

Phineas Kand​

 

[Phineas Kand]

Tags:
Andromeda Demir
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"I'd be happy to bust every last head. But somehow I feel Master Noble might object if we recovered the workers at the expense of a path of dead Hutts. Then again, it is not the Jedi way particularly."
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That sent a smirk twitching at the corner of Finn's lips. He understood the desire to act, suspicious that if it weren't for the Order, the young woman next to him might have been more likely to prioritize knocking heads than recovering the hostages. Well, maybe not prioritize, but he had no doubt the woman carried some fire. "Aye, on both accounts," he mused. Perhaps that was why Master Noble had paired the two for this mission - a test for both of them. As the padawan slung her bag, Finn pursed his lips. Yeah, that would have been a good idea. Amateur hour, apparently. His silent self chastisement was interrupted by his own nod.

"Well, funny you should ask." Already ideas were forming in his mind. "We've booked travel with a smuggler out of Dressel. I guess he owed the council a favor and this is it." Only a short way off the Mara Trade Corridor, relatively speaking, a smuggler who frequented it wouldn't be too amiss. "Actually, that's us, right up there."

A short distance ahead, Finn pointed at an elevated landing pad. Upon it rest what, technically, passed as a cargo vessel. Along its hull could be seen several rusty panels, crude welding and carbon scoring evident. Fitting, Finn supposed. Standing near a deployed loading ramp, a single figure clad in a mix of leather and plastoid armor paced back and forth, a lit deathstick visible hanging from his lips. Oh boy, this'll be good. Then again...

"I may have overlooked the fitting in bit but..." he trailed off, raising an eyebrow. "What he's wearing might pass?" A sheepish grin accompanied a subtle shrug as a mischievous glint shone in his eyes. Soon they'd be well on their way to Sleheyron and Finn, well, as they'd swing into orbit, was the new owner of a worn and somewhat smelly bit of armor, and a blaster pistol. That was new.

 

[Andromeda Demir]

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Andromeda's gaze followed Finn's finger to the ship he was pointing at, her dark eyes narrowing a little as she took in the ship. Even from here, it looked decidedly ramshackle to her. Her eyebrows lifted and she glanced sidelong at Finn. "I hope they know what they're doing," she said. If the Council deemed him trustworthy, who was Andy Demir to cast aspersions? But she wondered idly whether anyone on the Council had actually traveled on that ship.

The boarding process was efficient, and as she and Dish climbed up the ramp, over her shoulder she caught a glimpse of Finn chatting with the pilot. She stashed her things in the lockers the pilot had directed her to before she wandered around, exploring the ship. On the inside, it seemed more solid, but certainly nothing luxurious. Something about it reminded her of Irvulix V -- the places where the captain had had to make do with less, to improvise repairs. Patches on patches.

The thought of Irvulix V hit her hard, and Andromeda frowned gravely at the feeling of being punched so hard in the gut that she couldn't breathe. She put a hand to her stomach, blanching, her dark eyes closing hard against a sudden stinging in her eyes and nose. Don't cry here, she chastised herself. Not in front of strangers. Her breath shook and she pushed herself to stand straight once more.

She pulled herself together and, with a jerk of her head toward Dish, resumed her exploration of the ship, before retracing her steps back to find Phineas Kand and his new prize. She wrinkled her nose at the funk, even from half a meter away. "Uh... whatcha got there?" she asked dubiously.

Phineas Kand​

 

[Phineas Kand]

Tags:
Andromeda Demir
-
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"Oh, this?" Phineas drew the blaster from its holster and gave it a slow twirl. "A smoothie," he shrugged, grinning from ear to ear. Tucking the weapon back into place, he nodded and motioned towards a pair of jump seats. "Best get settled before we take off, I can't imagine our friend is particularly thrilled about..."

The Knight's words were abruptly halted as a swish of fabric and soft footsteps shuffled past, towards the cockpit. It was all Phineas could do to keep from laughing audibly as their pilot sauntered by with a glare, jedi robes grasped in his hands as he lifted them up off the floor to keep from tripping. Eyes darting towards Andromeda, Phineas' shoulders dipped in silent laughter. "As... As I was saying," he continued, fighting back a chuckle. "Wouldn't want to end up on the floor on account of the turbulence."

-
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The flight had been far less turbulent than Phineas had expected. The pilot was repaying a favor presumably, it wouldn't have bode well should his human cargo arrive too shaken up. Phineas stood behind the pilot's seat, staring out of the viewport as they waited in orbit. A voice chirped from the comm panel.

:: Besh Osk Krill, your scan comes back clear. Advance to your destination has been approved. ::
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There wasn't any real risk of their travel being denied so far as Phineas was aware. Even so, he breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the deck plating shift subtly beneath his feet. From their perch in the sky he could see Sleheyron against the obsidian backdrop of space. Clouds filled its atmosphere, dark masses of land sprawled far and wide with veins of red cutting through like a web. A vast majority of the planet was volcanic in nature, it meant the surface changed frequently and while cities tended to be built up in some of the older regions where there was less geological activity it meant that traders, slavers, and otherwise, would have undoubtedly opted for a more nomadic lifestyle. At least, that would make sense to Phineas.

There was no point in worrying about it now, they still needed to simply get on the ground and get their bearings. "Did you read anything about which hub was the largest?", he asked Andromeda. "I imagine if whomever is responsible was trying to offload slaves, they'd look for a place they could get in, make a deal, and get out without much fuss. Of course, that could also mean they'd opt for the anonymity of some of the smaller trade hubs." Phineas frowned. Hard to guess, too many variables.

Closing his eyes, Phineas took a deep breath and silenced his mind. Breathe in. Hold. Exhale. Breathe in. Hold. Exhale. The Knight felt an almost weightlessness descend upon him. There was nothing. No ship, no space, no slaves. No mission. There was only the Force. He could feel its presence, like a thread of silk brushing up against the tips of his fingers. He felt at peace. Gently, slowly, Finn let the Force swirl about before subtly pressing against it, inquiring of it. Not foolish enough to expect a direct response, reading the energy was more nuanced than he expected. Ideas, thoughts, logic, energy, sorrow, joy, feelings tumbled about as he lost himself in the Force for but a moment - and then it clicked. His eyes snapped open.

"I think we're better off hitting the largest slave hub, more eyes, more buyers, it's much more likely that someone has seen the people we're looking for." An audible sigh escaped their pilot's lips.

"Yeah, I can do that."

Their pilot gripped the controls, the ship descending closer and closer to the surface. As they approached their destination, Phineas went over their brief one more time, committing the faces of the missing to memory. Hopefully they weren't too late.

 

[Andromeda Demir]

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A few minutes later, the Padawan emerged from the transport ship into the dusty ring of a spaceport. Her mind flashed back to the spaceport on Irvulix V -- this was of a similar era, almost rudimentary compared to what they could find on Coruscant or Corellia or someplace else that was part of the modern world. The air had a weird tang to it, almost metallic to Andromeda's untrained pallet. She sniffed experimentally before pulling her poncho on and tugging it into place.

I look disgusting, she appraised herself in the chrome reflection of a nearby fuel machine. Even if it hadn't been smudged to high hell, she would still have looked bad. But, she resolved as she looked around the landing area, it looked like she was in good company. The people here would not be likely to be seen in any fashion magazines, except as a particularly tragic 'before' picture.

She slid a pair of sunglasses on and went with Dish towards the exit to the main thoroghfare. She had barely emerged from the spaceport building when an alien whose species she did not recognize shrieked something at her, shaking a string of some kind of fish or amphibian at her. Andy blanched, shrinking away, and when she realized that they were cooked -- to make food -- she politely demurred and shook her head.

"I -- just ate," Andy said. "Thank you. But, uh -- could you direct me to the market? I'm looking for some... help. If you understand what I mean."

The alien stared at her blankly, then shook the fish at her again.

Andromeda drew back, glancing over at Phineas Kand . "I guess he doesn't know. Or he doesn't speak Basic," Andy muttered. "Any ideas where to start? Have you been out here before?"

Phineas Kand​

 

[Phineas Kand]

Tags:
Andromeda Demir
-​

The padawan's chance encounter with an overzealous... whatever that thing was... salesman, garnered a raised eyebrow from Phineas. Fighting back an amused smirk, he gave their surroundings a once over as they tread away from the vendor. "Well, I've never been here exactly." His footsteps slowed as they approached a wide opening in the street in front of them. "But I'd guess we're where we need to be." A frown tugged at the corners of his lips as his eyes scanned the crowds of people ahead.

Large globs of people, shifting left, right, all manner of direction splayed out in what could only be described as a gaggle. Upon closer inspection, Phineas could see that some of the people were shuffling, less walking. Ah, so that explains the elevated platform in the center. Ahead, a particularly portly Gammorean led a string of persons, chained at the waist towards a rickety staircase that led to the platform. "I don't recognize any of them," he said quietly to Andromeda. He shifted uneasily at what he knew was about to happen. Detestable.

Casting his gaze elsewhere as those chained were paraded up to the platform for auctioning, Phinneas looked for something that indicated where the transactions were conducted. Sure, the auction happened here but where did buyers go when they had to close the deal?

"Maybe there's someone who knows what lots are coming up?"

 

[Andromeda Demir]

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Andromeda felt her stomach turn when she realized that the people shuffling along in the broad space weren't just walking in a line because it was an efficient mode of travel. They were shackled together, and there was only one reason for that. Unlike Finn she couldn't tear her eyes away as the men and women, aliens and Force-knew-what else, were marched onto the stage. In short order, a Duro came onto the platform and started the proceedings.

"Lot one, a baker's dozen -- that's thirteen, people, count 'em: thirteen -- slaves fit for any kind of ground-based hard labor. Mining, farming, house slaves, simple industrial pursuits. Not well-suited to high tech or other such jobs, but if you're looking for that, friends, there's plenty more to go. So -- let's start the bidding at a hundred thirty thousand. Do I hear a hundred thirty thousand? Thank you, madam, do I hear a hundred forty? To the Devoronian in the back. Do I hear a hundred and fifty..."

Andy let the auction fade into the background and she glanced around the area; there was another Gammorean talking to another Duro over by a small store-front. They both half-glanced at the stage as the bidding broke three hundred thousand. The Duro gestured at the datapad, tapped at something, and the Gammorean waddled off. The Duro dropped the datapad on the ledge under the window and folded his arms to watch the auction. They have to be involved, Andromeda thought. Her dark eyes squinted narrowly, and she was seized with the urge for action.

"Wait there," Andy said, darting away from Finn's side. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission, after all.

The storefront was one of over a dozen that ringed the plaza, with a sign in a language she didn't understand, but she took the opportunity of the Duro's back being turned to sneak behind him, snap up the datapad, and tuck it down the front of her trousers, pulling her tunic and poncho over it as she scurried away. It wasn't til she had returned to Finn that, with a covert glance over her shoulder, she reached under her tunic and into her trousers and pulled out the datapad.

"Lookit," Andy muttered, touching the screen. "Looks like a set-list -- see -- thirteen, low skill, raid on New Apsolon." She glanced at the baker's dozen of pour souls on the platform. "What's New Apsolon? I guess it doesn't matter, they're not ours. Here -- see if you can find our people. Where did they get stolen from, again?"

Phineas Kand​

 

[Phineas Kand]

Tags:
Andromeda Demir
-​

The bidding war had started on the auctioneer's latest lot. Eager faces salivating at the thought of owning these people. The disgust Phineas felt turned his stomach, his expression however, not betraying his thoughts. This was their reality, this was the reality of the greater galaxy. Evil would always find places to thrive, out here beyond the protections offered by the Alliance and her laws, depravity festered. Internally, he made a mental note that should they every get the opportunity to come back, he would see this market of flesh closed - for good.

"Wait there."

Phineas felt Andromeda move off before he could even react or respond. Oh boy. Looking over his shoulder he kept his eye on her as she bobbed and weaved through the crowd. A flash of fabric here, the top of her head there, and then she was gone. Blast! He would have to trust that she wasn't going to do anything stupid. No sense in kicking up a fuss, the whole point was to remain incognito, at least as much as they could. The Knight turned back to the action, eyes scanning the crowd. Can't be too hard on her, he reminded himself. A few moments passed, a jubilant shout erupting from the other side of the crowd. The lot had been won, bodies shifting and shuffling as a rather proud auctioneer guided the newly purchased lot from the elevated platform. Already he could see another group gathering in preparation. How many souls must pass through here on a day? An hour?

His thoughts were interrupted at the return of Andromeda, tablet in hand. Is that...? Nevermind. I'd rather not know. Phineas kept his comments to himself, satisfied with simply raising an eyebrow as she touched at the screen. "A station maybe, colony? It wouldn't surprise me to find that colonies were being harvested for laborers." The Jedi frowned, taking the pad and scrolling through some bits of data. It took him a couple tries but eventually he figured out the cataloging system. "The briefing we received from the council didn't specify precisely where they were coming from. I'd guess somewhere in the Kessel sector. Say, did they ever specify what the make and model of the transport that went missing was? It almost looks like some of these entries have an inventory list attached, maybe they noted the ship as salvage?" The Jedi continued to search, eyes locked on the screen.

 

[Andromeda Demir]

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The Padawan frowned as she searched her memory, then she shook her head.

"I don't think it said," said Andromeda after a moment. "But -- we know who they were working for. I can put in an inquiry to them if we can find a comm booth..." She craned her slender neck, looking around the plaza. "I think we passed some on the way from the spaceport -- could double-back." She turned her attention back to the datapad, her dark eyes narrowing a little.

Then they lit up and she looked up at Finn. "Master Noble did say that the workers were just beyond Alliance borders." Andy chewed the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. She could remember standing in the library of the temples with Corazona von Ascania , discussing their homeworlds, a holomap between them. The memory gave her a feeling of warmth, a moment of human connection that had been few and far between in her experience with the New Jedi Order.

"Have you got a map of the galaxy? I bet we can get one on our datapads. And we could cross-reference border sectors to the list of origin locations from this." Her fingertip flicked the corner of the stolen datapad. She jammed her hands into her pockets and looked up into Finn's face earnestly. "But we need to come up with a plan. It doesn't matter if we can identify them if we don't know what we're going to do about it, right?"

They could interrupt the slave auction, but she suspected that would cause upset at the bazaar. Maybe they could follow whoever purchased the group and spring a rescue there?

Phineas Kand​

 

[Phineas Kand]

Tags:
Andromeda Demir
-​

"Funny that, I do." Phineas tapped at his side, datapad tucked firmly into an inner pocket. "Of course, might be nice to get away from prying eyes if we're gonna talk shop." The bustle of the crowd had grown slowly but it was becoming quite the din. "There's a hole in the wall not too far from here, might be worth checking out. Libations tend to loosen lips and I don't much feel like explaining to Master Noble why we had to cut down the lot of these folk." He spoke casually but the seriousness of their situation tempered his normally jovial tone. He'd considered it, even if for but a moment. Far too rash, not to mention it kind of went against everything they hoped to stand for.

"Well, we have to find these folks before we know what we're dealing with. How are you with reading minds? I've got an idea, come with me." Phineas stepped to the side carefully, stopping briefly before continuing to navigate towards the edge of the crowd. "Oh, and make sure you return that," he grimaced inwardly. By the time she'd finished putting that thing back where it'd come from, Phineas had sat down at a small outdoor cafe at the edge of the yard, bottle of unknown beverage in hand. "Here, sip on this - it's just water." His eyes scanned the crowd for a moment before resting once more on the auctioneer. "How are you with Telesthesia?" He almost stumbled over the word. "Think you can get anything from him?" he nodded in the direction of the risen platform.

The Jedi knew the type, greedy most oft, incredibly detail oriented. It was a wonder to behold how much effort people put into seeking pursuits of moral and ethical question when if they'd just taken the higher road they might actually contribute in a meaningful way. But they didn't. "I'd wager if they're on the block today they'll fetch a pretty price, might be able to glean something?"

He sipped at the water, taking a deep breath and calming his mind, slowly shutting out the din of the crowd. The Force was here, as it was everywhere, but tapping into it felt elusive. He could feel the life around him, the elation, the sorrow, all underscored by clouds of night, stronger around some individuals than others. Sitting next to him, Andromeda, one of the brighter spots of light in the ethereal arms of the Force. It was well outside his own methods but maybe he could help, a wariness keeping tabs around them for any possible threat. "If we fail this, I'm open to ideas." Phineas had to admit, he was curious where the Padawan might lead. This was as much a mission that needed doing as a way to develop their skills - the both of them.

 

[Andromeda Demir]

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Andromeda studied Finn for a moment, then looked down at the datapad. "Right," she answered him. Returning the datapad made good sense; if they hadn't noticed it was gone already, they probably would, and if they thought they'd just misplaced it there was a good chance that they'd chalk it up to forgetfulness rather than foul play. But if it stayed gone -- well, that might cause a disruption, might alter the course of events in a way they couldn't anticipate.

"Meet you there," Andy confirmed. She quickly connected her datapad to the stolen one with a data transfer cable and copied the contents onto her own before tucking it away. She once more tucked the stolen datapad into the top of her leggings and covered it with her tunic before darting back through the crowd toward the storefront.

It took a brief distraction -- rattling a broken metal panel against the wall behind them -- to free the path for Andy to drop the datapad in such a way that it looked like it had been set on the ledge haphazardly and fell, and she was gone again, picking her way across the plaza to the hole in the wall Phineas had indicated before. She pulled out a rickety chair and settled delicately on it. "Thanks," she said, taking the bottle. She regarded it for a moment, then took a sip. The sip turned into a long draught as she realized how parched her throat had become. The water tasted odd -- maybe taking on the qualities of its container.

Still better than most of the water on Irvulix V, but it didn't compare to what you could get at the Jedi Temple. But she couldn't get too distracted by thinking about the Temple. Especially not the cafeteria. What she wouldn't give for a trip down the dessert line...

"Huh?" she was jerked back to reality by Phineas' question, and her eyebrows furrowed. "What's that?" she asked. Well, that was one way to answer the question. "I'm not sure what that is but, uh, I could -- give it a try? If you can give me some idea of, you know, how to do it."

Andy set her datapad on the table and folded her arms, frowning thoughtfully. "All else fails I can infiltrate the slave pen. You can chip me or something so I don't get lost."

Phineas Kand​

 

[Phineas Kand]

Tags:
Andromeda Demir
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"Well, now's a good a time as any."

The Jedi took a sip of water before leaning in.

"You've spent some time at the temple, they've taught you how to enhance your perception? Telesthesia is the ability to extend one's perception beyond the usual sensory limits, allowing a Jedi to project their presence and tune into distant conversations and thoughts. By harnessing the Force, you can sharpen your senses to hear what they're saying and even glean their thoughts, aiding us in uncovering the whereabouts of our missing workers. With luck, he's expecting a big payout in which case his greed will lead us right to them."

It was a bold move, to attempt such a thing here. Distractions were plenty, and should the man become aware of their attempted intrusion, there was no telling what kind of precautions the man would take. They had to be careful.

"Maybe you can get a location from him? If they plan to sell them, they've got to be held close by. I'll watch our backs, close your eyes if you need."

Gently, Phineas reached out through the Force towards Andromeda. Carefully he pushed against the Force as it pushed against him in an effort to guide her. All the while, he kept his eyes open, scanning the crowd for the first sign they'd been discovered.

 

[Andromeda Demir]

​

Andromeda's dark eyes cut to one side as Phin explained the concept of telesthesia, studying the auctioneer he had pointed out. If she was being honest it seemed quite counterintuitive to her; she wasn't sure she could conceptualize what he meant. That was the problem with a lot of her Jedi education: it required a kind of reasoning that didn't come naturally to her.

"All right," she said. She knew the Jedi philosophy on trying, so she didn't bother saying she would, and instead opened herself to the Force.

She reached for the drink and took another drink and then rolled her neck, as if preparing for a prize fight. Andy let her eyelids half-lid her eyes, so that her attention on the auctioneer wouldn't be obvious if he happened to glance her way. She reached out with the Force instantly recoiling from the cacophony of presences around her, each individual a presence in the Force, each broadcasting to one extent or another the emotional state of the people around them. She pressed her lips together, trying to navigate the sea of emotions, her fingers curling into the rusty armrests of the chair she occupied.

The stronger emotions jumped at her: fear, more distant but most powerful, radiating from behind the auction platform; rage, too; lust -- a vivid spike from a pair of aliens whose species and gender she couldn't discern watching a twi'lek weaving through the tables at the outdoor café, she could almost feel what they were planning --

"This is a terrible place," Andromeda murmured to Phineas. "The people here -- they're -- ah?"

Greed. Clustered right there at the podium, just like the Knight had suggested. "I feel it. He's expecting a big payday... and he's... afraid, I think," she murmured. Eyebrows furrowing, eyes squeezing shut. Listen... listen... closer, closer! "It's... they've discovered something -- and -- everything is more urgent now."

"The -- they're waiting?" Andromeda said, her voice contorting with confusion. "They're afraid, but eager. They want to be sure they're not -- being watched."

Her fingers flexed. "His greed is the only thing stopping him now. From doing something terrible." Her eyes opened, staring at Kand, sincerity and fear pouring from her eyes and her signature in the Force. "I think they didn't realize who they captured, and now they're worried the Alliance will come for them. They're prepared to kill them all to evade capture."

Phineas Kand​