Another Kind of Ammo (The Underground)

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

RED SHIFT CANTINA
REBELLION ACTUAL
LOCATION TOP SEKRIT

The Red Shift Cantina had seen its share of weird sights over the years. Mara Merrill dumping out a backpack full of holocrons had to rank among the weirder.

They weren't all holocron holocrons, of course. Just things she'd picked up here and there: datacrons with assorted tidbits of information. Some of it could be used to help train the Forcers among the Underground. More broadly, though, it could help people understand how to take down Forcers. When your faction's average ship was a freighter and your average weapon was a blaster, every little bit helped.

Datacron number one was a recording of Yoda. Kind of the definition of a 'little bit.'

The recording was from the Great Holocron, and she'd gone through this stuff before. She'd been raised, in part, on a ship that'd held the Great Holocron in a lunchbox under its pilot seat for a couple of years. Whoever had recorded this had been able to access more than she'd heard as a kid. Its provenance was by way of P.S. Garter, after Isley Verd, after Matsu Ike. The subject matter was Force Sense, Farsight, and Shatterpoint -- not the breaking of boards so much as the sensing of potential destinies and points of inflected fate. A good fit with instinctive astrogation, all told.

Datacron number two was something she'd put together herself, just basic to intermediate instruction in instinctive astrogation, and how to use it and counter it for tactics purposes. She'd been raised to it; might as well record it. Like the first one, anyone could use it -- didn't have to be a Forcer to use a datacron.

Then there was an actual holocron, that of Master Jem Wyzen. It had once been used by the CIS; eventually it had found its way to a private collector, then an auction. Its subject matter was severing Darksiders from the Force. That would take some investigating.

Oh. And the Ankarres Sapphire. That one, she'd just brought to show'em. It belonged with a healer way above her level, but for the moment she could let the Underground get a whiff of one of the most powerful healing artifacts in the 'verse. That one, too, she'd picked up at auction.

She'd sent out an invite to other Undergrounders to see if they had any resources to toss into the stewpot, so to speak. A little library aboard Rebellion Actual might make a difference someday. At the very least they could take stock of their collective resources over some lum.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Julius had heard of this Underground, several times, from companions in the Galactic Alliance. They were spoken of in the hushed, almost reverant tone as others referred to of the Rebellion against the Empire during Palpatine's reign of terror. He hadn't done a ton yet to really investigate them, but since his meeting with [member="Corvus Raaf"], he had begun to see perhaps the error of his ways. The strengths of a Jedi alone weren't enough to win in this war, nor was his saber alone. While it was his most powerful asset, to be sure, it was not the only one he needed to cultivate and grow. And so, when he had heard from one of the members of the Merchant Fleet working on his Turhaya about this meeting, he had asked for directions. And been promptly laughed at, in his Jedi robes with his saber. It had taken a simple right-hook, a textbook move right out of CorSec texts on simple street-boxing to shut him up, but he had risen more respectful and agreed to help.

And so it was, Julius had come to the Red Shift Cantina... Perhaps those here could help him plot the next steps on his journey, and if not they could introduce him to those who could. He had nothing to bring to share, but his proposal would hopefully see much of interest eventually brought to the Underground. He intended to seek out those on the Fringe and who hid from the Galaxy at large. The Matukai, the Jensaari, the Ang Tii and more. Learn what they would teach him, and teach them what he could that they would know of him. This knowledge would surely be helpful and sought after, and who better to utilize it to protect the common people of the Galaxy than those he had heard made the Underground their home.

Walking in with an easy gait and smile, the Corellian Jedi sighed, feeling at home in his more spacer like garb he had grew accustomed to during his time on the Outer Rim. A simple long duster made of oiled leather hung draped about him, a burgundy shirt tucked into tight military style tan pants with dark leather suspenders. A simple, archaic form of a holster favored on the frontier worlds strapped his bolt pistol to his thigh, and tucked into the band of his breeches in the small of his back was the MP1 he had commissioned recently, and with which he was swiftly becoming quite enamored with. Clipped to his belt was the battered and simple hilt of his lightsaber, hidden from view, but occasionally not from hearing as it thumped against his thigh.

Seeing Mara, the man nodded, waving to her with a grin that he simply couldn't help but crack. This was the pendulum coming back to center. It had swung one side to the far end when he had been taken into the Order, and in reaction he had eventually cracked and broke, and fled to the Outer Rim. From one apex to the next, he was finally coming to center, or so he felt anyway... Here was a place, and a way perhaps, wherein his talents and natural inclinations would combine to create something to see indeed. Time would tell, but his instinct, that voice the Corellian people seemed as a whole so in tune and guided by, seemed to shout with joy and the opportunity.

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

Kaia was a lot less of a soldier than her father was. Sure, he was part of the Underground and the two were on speaking terms again, but the Warden of the Sky (so much more pro than her father was at it, like totes obvi) hadn’t seen him in a few weeks. Last thing was he sending her away from Sullust for a while, apparently the Wrath of the Dark Lord was there and he didn’t want to risk his daughter. Jared, her brother, was out at the Levantine Astro Academy, running classes and teaching hopefuls the finer points of dogfighting.

But her? No, she was back to one of her joys, running supplies. It allowed her to be everywhere in the galaxy, and that was really good. For both the Underground, and the Warden job. She was able to help people when she found them, and providing a bit of safety for people who were fighting the good fight. Kaia didn’t do too much in the way of an actual war, but support? And navigation? That she could do.

Maybe one day she’d help her father out. Spotting for him to jump into systems and immediately move into combat? Why not.

But today she was at Rebellion Actual, on a bit of a shakedown. She’d put up a room here, one that she shared with her father, similar to their military-granted bunk on Sullust. Normally, Starchasers slept in starships, but sometimes it was nice to not have to worry about that, even if the Wandering Star was her home away from the Dawn Treader. It’d be good for her to get some face time with the new generation of the Underground and the dark haired girl made a booted wander out to find where Mara was.

Maybe she could help.

 

[Eliza Steele]

It was good to be aboard the Underground's secret star base again. It had been awhile since Eliza Steele had been to Rebellion Actual. She and the crew of the Corellian Dawn had been out doing legit, dependable smuggling runs to put some much needed creds in the bank. Now it was time to get back into the game and help the Resistance.

After docking the YT-1930 Light freighter in the hangar bay, the petite smuggler made an inventory of things they needed that could only be gotten at the Underground's HQ. The Corellisi was sure looking forward to have a few ales and kicking back while the Force-users of the group went through all the trinkets apparently [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] had brought to the little gathering that was called. Once they figured out what was what, Eliza might get excited.

As the foursome made their way through the mobile star base, the Dawn's sandy brown Wookiee co-pilot and quirky LE series repair droid veered off to get those extra supplies for the ship while Eliza and [member="Kad Tor"] went on to the cantina.

She wondered if her father, [member="Remy Steele"], and his lady friend, [member="Rekha Kaarde"], might show. It had been a while since she'd touched base with her old man, and smuggler friend, who was her age. Lizzy was still getting used to the idea of them. Well at least if they are happy… That's all that counts, right?

"This is your first time here… What'd ya think so far, Kad'ika?" the chocolate-eyed brunette asked as the Force-senstive goran and her waited for the turbolift to arrive.

[member="Kaia Starchaser"] [member="Julius Sedaire"] @Underground peeps

 

[Kad Tor]

Kad took in the base as they walked out the freighter. He'd never been on a space station like this one, not since the Mandos had thrown a party for Strider on The Wheel. This was different though. Kad was actually here to do something. The past few months had been a lot of legit, above board, and very legal work, except for the jobs that weren't, but all of them safe. Well safe compared to the idea of the raids which Liz'ika had taken him on with the underground before. She always made taking him off Mandalore worth it though. The petite smuggler was certainly worth the non-traditional life he lived now. Someone had to be the black sheep in the house. Still he was mando through and through, so his Beskar'gam was on, and his helmet clipped to his belt.

"I love it, and we have got to see the weapons cache later. Anything we can get to enhance the guns we already have. For now though a good whiskey is what I need. It's been too long since we've had he good stuff. All that penny pinching needs to be set aside for one night. Though, don't let me get another tattoo on my shebs if I get drunk again."

Kad chuckled. They had met, gotten drunk, and Kad woke up with Lizzy in his bed, both of them buck naked. Nothing had happened, not the night they were drunk. After giving themself a chance the next day, the two found themselves drawn to each other. What could he say, she helped him forget his pain, better than drinking it away. She also brought adventure into his life, a plus for every mando, but especially a man.

They stepped into the turbolift and rode it to the cantina. The place wasn't the Afterburner, but it was great. A few force signatures were sensed, but he knew nothing about the stuff which had them so keen. Once they figured out what to do with it all then Kad could help. Most of it should be pawned for credits he thought. Credits won wars. They strode up to the meeting, and Kad flagged a server.

"Corellian whiskey, and whatever the lady wants."

Kad left it open in case Eliza wanted her twister, or something else.

[member="Eliza Steele"] [member="Kaia Starchaser"] [member="Julius Sedaire"] [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Julius Sedaire"] came in first; his reputation preceded him, friends of friends of friends and so forth. Someone who might appreciate the idea, though he had quite a few years on her. Then came [member="Kaia Starchaser"], one of those she'd trained as a Warden of the Sky in secret. Kaia would get a serious kick out of the assembled 'crons.

Then there was [member="Eliza Steele"] and [member="Kad Tor"], the dynamic duo. Same story as with Sedaire: friends of friends, but so far as Mara could recall, she'd never spent a ton of time with them.

She raised her mug of lum to the four new arrivals. "Have a seat, folks," she said. "Welcome back to the Red Shift." She wiped her mouth and set the tankard down beside the four crystalline objects on the corner booth's table.

"So here's what we've got. Picked up most of these for a song, more or less. I'm hoping we can find something in these that'll help us get an edge on the Sith that rely on stuff like this. Grabby folks, like penguins with pebbles.

"This one's the holocron of Jem Wyzen, Jedi Master. Only one thing of worth in here: how to cut someone off from the Force. Worth looking into, if we need to keep a prisoner long-term or something.

"This datacron's a recording from the Great Holocron. It's Yoda talking about some odd skills -- Shatterpoint, Force senses, Farsight. The Farsight's the key. Got reliable intel that some powerful folks in the One Sith rely on it -- that's one reason Rebellion Actual keeps moving around. Last thing we need is someone's convenient vision leading them right here.

"This other datacron's something I whipped up, just intros to instinctive astrogation. Using the Force to pilot or jump to hyperspace by gut, safely. It's what I do and what my family does. If any of you want to take a swing at it, feel free.

"And this sucker's the Ankarres Sapphire. Insanely valuable legendary treasure gem, powerful healing artifact, burns Darksiders that hold it. My current thought? Either we find a really good healer somewhere friendly -- Galactic Alliance or Sanctum -- or we do a closed auction just to our friends and see who'll bite. This could be a huge fundraiser for us, it just can't get into the wrong hands.

"What'chall think?"

 

[Eliza Steele]

Eliza ordered herself a Twistler, then the petite smuggler plopped down in one of the chairs that surrounded the table where [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] had dumped the trinkets. The Corellisi's dark chocolate gaze perused over the inventory as the Rogue Knight explained what each one was and it's meaning. It was a lot of Force mumble jumble, but that last one struck an accord.

"I like the gem… Sounds like it could come in real handy like. I wouldn't sell that one if it were up to me, just saying," Steele threw out giving her two creds worth before taking a sip of the fruity alcoholic drink favored by Corellians.

[member="Kad Tor"] [member="Kaia Starchaser"] [member="Julius Sedaire"]

 

[Kad Tor]

"I'm not sure we should sell that thing? I mean you said yourself it burns darksiders when they touch it right? I'd think we can find someone who can use that, but it's too valuable to be used for just credits."

Kad wasn't sure about all the holocrons and things. Sure he was a force user, and his aura would give him away, but for the most part he was not familiar with the relics and artifacts of people like him. The culture he knew was the Madalorian culture, one which he had taken with him when he left Keldabe with Eliza. She was his bridge between that culture and the she lived in. Kad was not considering leaving it all behind, but the politics of it all maybe. The Mando'ade had become so political with each other lately they were forgetting what it meant. Kad needed space from that, and he had wanted more time with Lizzy, so here he was.

He took a drink of his whiskey, he wasn't doing shots right now, because it wasn't time to get drunk. He could handle his alcohol well as he wasn't a lightweight, but Kad also knew he wasn't impervious to getting drunk. If only that were possible for him.

"You know some of those you said there was a Jedi talking about skills and such. I need to learn things... I've never had a formal master per se. Maybe I could borrow them and learn?"

Kad eyed his lover after saying what he had. He wanted to make sure she didn't have an issue with him trying to learn some of these things on his own.

[member="Eliza Steele"] [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] [member="Kaia Starchaser"] [member="Julius Sedaire"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Julius watched as the veritable treasure trove of knowledge was placed on the table, and his eyes never quite left Mara's as he listened to her explanation about the abilities and lessons each contained. Truth be told, his mind whirred with possibilities, and his mind wandered far from the cantina he stood in as plans formed. This would be perfect, really, for what he had planned to do on his own. Some of the knowledge could be especially useful for his own knowledge, and he was certain that his knowledge he was set to gain would be a boon to this project, and it's goals. A moment was all he took before he spoke, hooking thumbs into his gun-belt and leaning back casually.

"I say keep the sapphire, on principal.... Somethin like that, don't quite feel right sellin it at auction, even if it is a gathering of like minded good folk. Fact, that makes it worse, breeding ground for resentment and contention amongst those be best off working together, we do that. I say we pool our minds to who could use it best that is also sympathetic to our cause, and invite them to study and learn to work with it patching up our folks or some such. If the plan works out, we give it to them after a few weeks or months provin their colors, so to speak. Or find a group worthy of guarding it, maybe?

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, the rogue gestured with the same hand at the 'crons, smiling at Mara. She was a keen one, to be sure. But the family name alone meant she was one who thought outside the box and did more doing than talking about it. Which suited him just fine really, it was an admirable quality so far as he was concerned. Pity she was young as she was, and he was trying to be at least somewhat in accordance with the Jedi Code these days...

"Now, as far as those 'crons and the like... I wouldn't mind studying a few myself. Shatterpoint seems particularly useful for someone like myself who could use it fo find the right point or time to strike in a fight... And of course, the Astrogation bit appeals to me... Could be useful, in a pinch... Doubt i'll ever be great shakes at it, but worth knowing the theory behind... Farsight and Severing seem useful, but not my style... I'm more the... Direct type... No mystical monk, if you understand me."

Here the Corellian grinned, almost patting his lightsaber hilt as was his want with such self-descriptors, and remembering it was hidden under his coat, busied his reaching hand to brush off some imaginary dust from the coat he wore and then rub at the back of his head. He really needed to think through some of his more habitual actions if he was going to be operating in such circles.

"Now... As for to what I can contribute? At this time, not much... A fresh set of eyes and a new opinion... And one hell of a lightsaber fighter...But it is my goal to start kicking around in the lesser known places of the Galaxy, once I figure out how to get to them... The Aing Tii, Matukai, Jensaarai and such. With their permission, I'll retain any teachings they feel comfortable giving me knowledge of. Where it is appropriate, i'll either record them, teach them myself to others, or help be a guide to teach those worthy how to seek out the knowledge themselves. Just got to make sure my ship can handle things like the Rift and other cosmic dangers afore I go romping about.... And maybe find some folks to help me through it...Least ways, that is the plan...."

| [member="Kad Tor"] | [member="Eliza Steele"] | [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] | [member="Kaia Starchaser"] |

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Eliza Steele"] [member="Kad Tor"] [member="Julius Sedaire"]

"That's three in favour of keeping it. Truth be told I'd love to keep it too, just seemed selfish when it was just me. I'll hang onto it until we find a good solid healer that's on our side." She twirled the Ankarres Sapphire above her palm, then snagged it out of the air and laid it back on the table. "Thanks for the advice, folks."

Her mind turned to the holocron and datacrons, scrolling back through the concerns and interests they'd raised. "You're more than welcome to borrow some of'em, Kad. I figure I'll keep'em here on Rebellion Actual where we can all use'em. For now, I'd say get started on this sucker." She slid the Yoda datacron across the table to the Mando. "Force senses are fundamental. Improved intuition works real well for someone who's already got a full combat skillset. The other stuff won't work too well for you, but it'll help you understand when you're sensing whether a thing or a moment is important, and it'll help you get a grip when you see glimpses of the past or the future or faraway things or people.

"As for you, Sedaire...yeah, sounds like you know what you need better'n I do." She slid him the instinctive astrogation datacron. "That oughta help you figure out how to find all those groups. Let me know when you set those trips up; there's a few groups I wouldn't mind visiting myself."