Down the Rabbit Hole. pt 1. 'Teachings of the Coven.'

[Orphen]

"... Thanks Jarkon, it seems disappearances are on the rise on the streets of south western section 74 of Nar Shaddaa, authorities have reported strings of lesser gang violence among the lower economic sectors of the colossal mega-city planet. With the intent to combat the growing number of missing people cameras and surveillance probes have been increased in the vicinity, though any leads local authorities have, are yet to be made open to the public. The following statement was made from local police commissioner Exiz Parlot on the issue: 'the menace we've been dealing with is known to we authorities and we would like to ensure the public of Nar-Shaddaa that they are safe as we conduct our investigations. We urge all citizens of section 74 and the surrounding areas to report all suspicious activity to us as well as so we can catch those responsible. No further questions. Thank you.' ​

​

So there you have it... I don't know what could be causing these menacing strings, but what we do know is more than 26 people have been confirmed missing over the last couple of days, with many more potentially on the way..."​

​

...​

​

Orphen had been sent to Nar Shaddaa as an envoy to investigate the disappearances under cover, his ties to some of the underground in this area as well as some of the lesser cartels allowed him to call on some of his contacts in the vicinity. Calling on a couple of his local peeps as well as his old Corellian friend Celeste, he had each of them putting their ears to the ground for the last couple of days, checking channels and groups which might know anything about the disturbingly disproportionate increase of missing people... Nar Shaddaa had a history of cartel based violence, the police were corrupt and overall the planet could not be trusted with their own internal affairs, as it was most often the people who suffered in the interim... something that no self respecting Jedi would allow to continue... There were a few who were on the project, a couple of knights and their padawans scattered across the sector looking blindly for something or meditating on the answer, but, none of them had a working ground knowledge of this planet and how to get around it, at least not as newly as Orphen.

Landing on the planet was a hassle to begin with, landing a corvette class cruiser raised eye-brows, but it worked as an instant status symbol, Orphen could already see runners for various crime family scurrying like rats for crumbs to be the first to report it to their respective crime lords as Blood Knight exited his vehicle, wearing his patented data visor as well as his basic equipment, the Jedi in training looked like a smuggler to the naked eye more so than a Jedi, though one of his two trusty lightsabers remained hidden at his back behind his heavy, laden coat...

Stepping out into the open musty air of the space port, Orphen ran his non-gloved hand through his hair, feeling the individual stands break like waves against his digits as he observed the area around him, the visor he wore scanning the area around him, taking into account the temperature of people, their momentum as they walked and the kinetic energy they generated... hundreds of small calculations constantly streaming across his eyes helping to illeviate his over-active mind from the strain it was usually under... Bringing out his datapad he sent out an encrypted message to his people to see if they had turned up any information... only to find out that there was nothing... the people who disappeared, had not really vanished, but rather they had been re-entigrated into society, but had simply failed to be tracked down by the authorities, but, as to why these events were coming to pass, none of them knew... After slicing into the scout probes which the government had been using to locate the victims, it seemed their facial recognition software was almost decades out of date.

But this had not excused the fact that the victims 'had' gone missing in the first place, many of the victims, not just recent or confirmed had not surfaced... so, it was still pending investigation. So, orphen took to the streets, making his way through the alleys while talking aloud through his communications device almost constantly about the situation and helping direct his small team to attempt to locate where the previous victims were now... the search would take some time with the out-dated technology... but they would get there in the end... so, Orphen continued to orate his position,

potentially enough for by-standers to hear...

but the people of Nar-Shaddaa had enough on their plate in this sector...

no-one cared about a 'bounty hunter' looking for the victims of the disappearances.

 

[Gwrtheyrn]

The idea of criminal empires was fascinating to Gwrtheyrn. To be sure the Maelibus skald was familiar with the idea of a corrupt system of governing. On Iego nepotism was a common enough problem - a particularly willful and foolish lord would elevate his kin or sycophantic cronies to positions of power regardless to whether or not they possessed the necessary skill or talents to correctly carry out the duties required.

But that entire miniature hierarchies existed independent of lawful government was something that was completely new to Gwyrtheyrn. Iego simply did not have the numbers required to house such organisations. Where in cities of millions of sentient beings acted as camouflage through sheer numbers any kind of criminal conspiracy could not survive long within the tight knit communities of the maelibi where the local chieftain and his warriors would be ready to bring swift judgement down on the heads of the guilty party. Occasionally a gang of outlaws would form in the far tunnels and wilderness but nothing so grandiose as the hutt cartels.

As he walked the streets of Nar-Shaddaa Gwrtheyrn felt his blood begin to pump as he though about the disgusting gastropods. He had never met one but Lady Kay - a friend of his had come into a sticky situation by rescuing some slaves who were taken by the hutts. His mission this day probably didn't involve anything on that magnitude. Orphen had informed the poet that he would like some muscle and that while it could be problematic to take a battle droid into an urban area it was perfectly acceptable to take your friend.

If that friend was 12 feet tall and was to a wookie what a wookie was to a human strength wise then that was just a nice little side bonus. Not that the crowd seemed to be giving him nearly as much berth and he usually received. Instead it seemed that others were making it their personal business to impede his walk and then spewing a litany of curses about how damn giants needed to go and mate with various creatures each more disgusting than the last.

Gwrtheyrn's ire was just beginning to boil over when he caught the familiar sight of crimson locks that meant he had located Orphen. Not wanting to waste any time and also to get his mind of this societies attitude problem the poet hailed his fellow Jedi.

"Hark Orphen. What errand sends us to this misbegotten world? I take it is not simply an exercise in patience and restraint"


[member="Orphen"]

 

[Orphen]

Orphen saw the Maelebus coming from down the street, deciding that it would be almost impossible for him to find him otherwise, Orphen jumped onto a dumpster so that he could better stand up to Gwrtheyrn's chest height... which was pretty interesting in of itself. It was good to see him again, it had been a while, And Orphen was happy to see that as always the war ready creature carried his blade upon his back, the artifact which radiated with the force more due to its sheer size than the density of its power, bathing itself in its own radiation over time and amplifying the weapon. Waving in response to the Golden skinned giant's hark. Orphen gave a silent greeting of his own, not wanting to shout over the crowded streets. Though, Orphen did feel the presence of the weapon he had made his friend.

"It's nice to see you, it looks like you're still holding onto the present i gave you, so, how does it handle? Good?"

He spoke happily, though, needing to change the subject onto something far more immediate, and in response to the greeting of his friend..

"Haha, yeah, Nar Shaddaa would be the place for that kind of training, the entire planet is a single hive of scum and villainy as us Jedi would say, but no, sadly, our job isn't quite so simple, people have been disappearing off the streets without reason, see, when people go missing here because of the crime, the crime don't need to be hidden about it, everyone's accounted for in their own strange little way, usually through a paper trail of debt and addiction to spice. But, these people are just vanishing, well they were... Up until a little while ago. "

Orphen took a deep breath trying to compose himself, looking at the images from one of the cameras which were put up around the city, having found one of the missing people, but now, where the old beggar of a man once had bandages over half of his face, a chrome plate and a radiating yellow eye in their place as well as an anamatronic hand where there was once merely a stump. The begger seemed a lot better off than before, the 'upgrades' looking almost rather expensive and new.

"I've tracked down one suspect, but the reason no-one could find him is because the machines don't recognize his face anymore..."

Orphen wondered what kind of thing happened which would lead to this, as more reports seemed to be steadily coming in as two days clocked over and as people were missing meals. The hysteria of that people could be missing were causing the homeless community to become restless and panicky.

"And ever since the news story covering all of this the numbers of missing people are on the climb... over six dozen now. "

[member="Gwrtheyrn"]

 

[Gwrtheyrn]

The 'present' did indeed handle well. It had taken some getting used to but after several hours in the Silver Jedi firing range the poet believed that he had a competent grip on how to use the weapon effective. Several of the Silver Jedi house staff had not exactly been thrilled to find that their precious firing dummies had been blown into unsalvagable scrap by a weapon of far higher caliber than they were meant to withstand. However none were willing to take up the matter with the owner of the aforementioned weapon.

"Aye as always your workmanship does you credit Orphen. My father is a smith by trade and he would verily give his left eye to learn the secrets of your craft. Though he would likely balk at the discovery of the machines you use to assist you. I thank you again for giving me a weapon that fires honest shells and not these blaster bolts that are so beloved among the galaxy at large. There seems something more pure about a solid projectile"

The Silver Jedi nodded his appreciation before mulling over the rest of his friends news. To be honest the idea made him feel sick inside. He had seen several disturbing things in his life - the corpses of his ancestors risen up from the tombs due to a universal convergence between this realm and the far country and the products of Sith alchemy manifested in a winged rancor enhanced for slaughter. Both of those were deeply wrong and he could feel his anger and righteous hatred for such affronts to all that was holy rise up within him. But even these did not make his skin crawl like the idea of a cyborg.

How could anyone stand to take machines into their bodies?

The benefits of replacing a lost limb were of course a factor along with the enhancement of the often frail forms of non Maelibi life. But to allow the artificial life into ones very shell was horrifying. What if the machinery decided to take over and leave the man as a helpless prisoner. And from what Gwrtheyrn understood this was not even the full extent of it. The cameras that were placed all around civilized society were used by unknown agencies to spy on the populace. Did that mean that others could do so just as easily with a prosthetic eye?

Steeling himself Gwrtheyrn spoke to his friend.
"I much dislike this turn of events Orphen. While the kidnappers may be acting out of misguided sense of altruism it would seem to me that those who are taken are being defiled in a way that I consider abhorrent. Whatever the case may be I feel it best that we find whomever is perpetrating these events and put a stop to them as soon as possible. I know that machines mean a lot to you Orphen but I feel that they open the gateway to a realm of abuse the tip of which we are seeing now."

[member="Orphen"]

 

[Orphen]

Orphen nodded to his friend, looking at the Maelebus, not wanting to jump to any conclusions yet, Orphen didn't believe that machines were a threat, but the people who made them could well be, there were too many stories of clones going rogue, and the tales of Order 66 hundreds of years ago was still something that was taught to every Jedi in their earliest days, a tale of betrayal that Orphen was sure that the Poet and historian would marvel over, and possibly concoct his own song. Though, tales from ancient days may do little but give thought to where they were now, and how far they had come. When it came to the dealings of the present however, it was true, Orphen suspected wrong doings here, this was Nar Shaddaa after all, there was nothing here that didn't come without a price...

"I don't see anything wrong with people being healed of their ailments, but, I do agree with the suspicious nature of the dealings... There's no point in deliberating any further, we're not going to get answers making judgement about a group we've yet to find, so, lets hunt these people down and see if we can get to the bottom of all of this. "

Orphen jumped off of the dumpster he was standing on and began to make his way through the alleys and walk-ways of the city which seemed to be made of little more than junk and debris. It was a wonder that this planet had any infrastructure at all, yet alone had lasted this long... Making his way forward the Jedi and his companion would look to and fro, trying to keep an eye on the people whom would be in their way, Orphen was making note of fire-arms which came within their person, as well as powered blades which could pose a threat. The last thing the Jedi wanted was for the two of them to get mugged...

The hospitals were likely already full, and didn't need a dozen thugs in critical condition to add to their roster...

It wouldn't take long for the group of them to come into the bum whom had been fixed up by the strange kidnappers working in the cities underground, it was a strange thing really, Orphen waled up to the man, sitting beside him and taking out his holopad which displayed a map, as well as a picture of the man who was missing. At first, the elderly bum was startled, then a look of fear crossed his face as an image of himself before and after came across the screen, shocked that Orpehn had his likeness... usually a sign of a bounty hunter.

Just as the man looked about as he were to run, he spied the Maelebus before him, and stopped, looking much defeated. Mentioning something about a man who owed him money... which Orphen quickly waved aside.

"we're not here for your debts, we're here to find out where you got that metal work done, looks rather nice... "

The bum smiled and began a tyrade about how the people who gave it to him were saints, that they restored his sight and the arm he didn't have before... thinking that they had really given him a second chance. But when it came to talk about the location of where they had been gotten, the homeless vagrant didn't seem to know. Saying that he had been taken there while he had slept, only to wake up back on the street with the work done, he had found and talked with a couple of other people who had the work done, but, so far, none of them knew where the source was... though some of them had ideas..

Orphen frowned at this news... so the men were abducted while they were sleeping...

that was a gigantic pain.

[member="Gwrtheyrn"]

 

[Gwrtheyrn]

It was in the purview of the Skald to experience prophetic dreams. Normally this was not simply something that could be summoned on demand as one would beckon a servant or lesser kinsman but with the correct tinctures administered in exact dosage such illuminating trances could be brought on in a relatively safe fashion. As Orphen was also a member of the Jedi order he was doubtless familiar with precognitive seeing. Each disciple of Ashla was not blessed with the same potency of vision though so Gwrtheyrn in his basso profundo cadence spoke up to offer his talents.

"As it would seem that our mystery abductors prefer to carry out their deeds while their beneficiaries are under the veil of Hypnos I fear that we shall need to take measures to counteract this. Skulduggery such as this always leaves a trace whether it be among the quick or confined to the aether. With your leave Orphen I shall send my spirit aloft to walk the paths of time and witness what machinations were carried out upon this derelict beggar."

Several street toughs had stopped upon hearing Gwrtheyrn speak. Up until then the golden giant had been a known quantity - while his species my be rare enough that none had ever seen or heard of it he was at the end of the day just another tower of muscle set to guarding what was in essence his external brain. That the Maelibus was speaking to his companion in a manner benefiting an Arkanian actor preforming on the classic dramas of old made the situation something unfamiliar. Neither the poet or the mechanist were immediately recognizable as Jedi as neither were clad in the traditional robes or openly displaying a lightsaber.

A mixed group of Trandoshans and Herglics had begun to edge towards the pair of investigators. Various vibroblades and blasters were finding their way into hands without ever really seeming to move. One of the larger whale men sliding ahead of his group pretended to trip with the ain of shouldering Gwrtheyrn in the midsection possibly followed up by a stab from a vibroknife.

What the hapless orca received for his efforts was a punch to the temple causing his vision to shatter and spin followed by the barrel of the firbolg anti-sithspawn handcannon jammed into his blowhole.

"A worthy opponent may have an entire verse or saga dedicated to his memory. You on the other hand barley merit a single note. Take your fellows and leave before I send you all to the next life. A requiem for your souls would be a waste of breath."

The Trandoshans were the first to break. Each was devout in their own twisted way but none of them wanted to meet the Scorekeeper just yet. Finally the Herglics more surly than the reptiles warily backed off giving the two Jedi the evil eye.

Gwrtheyrn spat on the pavement. A clear sign of disgust for the creeping vermin.

"So what say you Orphen? Do we resort to the second sight or do you have a more mundane solution at hand?"

 

[Orphen]

Orphen watched the well practiced display of bravado, impressed at the reaction time of the Silver Jedi, who had seemed to have the matter under control before Orphen had managed to open his mouth in order to warn him of the incoming danger... But as things settled down it would become clear to the Jedi that there was going to be no one way to be able to find these people, they needed to search as many avenues as they could, the problem with visions though, is that they were often cryptic, but a vision might be able to garner a clue as to what they might be looking for, whether it be a building, an open area, under-ground or some other form of area which might narrow their search. Looking to the Maelebus after having spend some few long seconds pondering, Orphen broke from his crossed armed serious expression to look up at [member="Gwrtheyrn"] .

"I think trying to sense for their location is a great idea, if you can get a vision, the clearer the better of where he was taken or whom we're looking for, then, even if we only get part of the answer, it should be enough to limit the scope of our search to an area we would better be able to scour and find who we're looking for. A cybernetics group like this will need power, space, and not be able to move from their location. Or at least require a storage facility nearby for their equipment."

The Jedi spoke with confidence as he thought about his words tenfold before he actually spoke them, ensuring that every word he said was what he had intended to say, so not to throw either of them off in the wrong direction. The homeless man however, at their thinking and pondering freely before him, took a worried expression. Pleading with the two of them to not harm or hinder the mysterious people in any way, claiming that the group, no matter the result, obviously had good intentions no matter what was going on. picking up people from the streets and giving them this gift was something the beggar seemed to hold in incredible regard. But, if that was the case... Orphen began to think about this in a different light.

Knowing that his friend would not be able to read his mind, Orphen gave him a stern look, before looking down to the beggar. Hopefully Gwitheryn would come to the same conclusion as himself... if this beggar were desperate enough to beg two Jedi to not harm these people, only on the knowledge of them looking for these surgeons, then there would likely be others who would be more than ready to fight for their safety... Looking at the man, and getting ready to speak, Orphen felt the firm steel grip of the man's prosthetic squeeze his arm. Wincing in pain as the desperate looking bum pleaded once again, Orphen let out a cry of pain at the crushing grip before the hobo recoiled in surprise and fear at the sudden shout.

Before blubbering apologies toward the two men, Orphen cradling his forearm and rubbing the skin...

 

[Gwrtheyrn]

"Very well Orphen."

Fishing into one of the sizable pockets that adorned his fatigue modeled trousers the poet drew a crystal vial that sparkled coyly in the neon lights. The liquid inside the bottle was a clear blue with hints of opaque golden flecks strewn throughout. Brewed from particularly potent fungi that grew in the lower reaches of the underground tunnel mass that made up the Maelibus habitat on Iego it had powerful hallucinogenic properties. Jedi on average did not resort to such methods but there was little doubt that they could be effective even if laced with a degree of peril. One sip of the substance would likely kill Orphen were he unlucky enough to imbibe it.

There would be little chance of this as Gwrtheyrn popped the cork with one taloned finger and poured the contents wholesale down his throat. Setting himself down his back braced to a wall the poet gave Orphen one last peice of information before drifting off to the realms beyond.

"If I am gone longer than an hour it's likely that something malicious has waylaid my spirit. If that happens then follow after me....."

And with that Silver Jedi was gone past the darkened gates of night.

Machines.

The wretched spawn of the sentient mind.

Puppets that affected the veneer of emotions and thoughts but in reality concealed nothing but a terrible void.

Two fates equally terrible.

Something hideous and alien crawling through the tenebrous cracks in the beyond to reside and pupate within the empty shell that was the droid

Or the void itself lashing out with the abhorrent paradox of unthinking malice dedicated only to destroying that which it could not possess.

Gwrtheyrn floated within a polished realm of bronze gears and incandescent cogs. Complex motion perpetuated to serve whatever blind idiot purpose that this automaton god possessed. Pistons the size of continents churned and data streams passed between transcendent transistors. A million skittering drones served this calamitous contraption , lubricating joints and inscribing new code upon faded plates.

From the core of his soul waves of fear pulsed through the poet. To be in the presence of this over-mechanism was to much. Where he a priest of mechanism shaped and molded for years by esoteric rites of the machine he might stand its sovereign indifference but as he was he would soon become overwhelmed and subsumed

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Mote by mote Gwrtheyrn narrowed his consciousness using his body as an anchor to position the guiding spirit.

And there it was. Beneath the stained and worn streets in the underhives below - what was once a charity hospital now refurbished for whatever purpose the mystery 'Samaritans'had.

Breaching the shroud of his bodies unconsciousness Gwrtheyrn jutted awake.

"It's below us several blocks to the left. Three levels down."

[member="Orphen"]

 

[Orphen]

Orphen waited for his friend, nodding at the mention of the time it would take him.

Over half an hour had passed in the time it had taken the Maelebi's vision to focus and probe the world for his answer, Orphen sat and waited trying to triangulate the position of the base, though he was having a hard time, the multi-layered nature of the city meant that while he was able to draw it into an area, it was like a three dimensional map which created a vast degree of uncertainty, there was simply not enough data for even his own mind to draw a conclusion. However, as the Maelebi came to, Orphen looked in his direction, walking over and standing before him as he compiled himself, finally, giving directions to the location of the place they needed to be. He mentioned that it was below us, several blocks left and three levels down.

Orphen drew up his holomap once again.

Drawing a line across it with his finger, the only thing he could find three levels down were old service tunnels, but then again those had not been used by utility teams for years unless there was actually a problem. But in the slums, everything was so equally bad, there was no real reason to use them anymore. It made sense that they were there. Following the directions it seemed that in the location that Gwrtheyrn had given, there was an old hub, connecting to many of the sectors around here. It seemed that they had found their hospital, and with that, Orphen smiled, they had a heading, now all they needed to do was get there.

"Fantastic, now all we need to do is get there, we can't exactly go down any man-hole, but It should not be too hard, we just have to find an old utility elevator which connects them all and make our way to that breach in the cross-roads. From there, we can address the immediate problem and assess what is really going on. "

Orphen smiled before walking away from the beggar, he seemed to be getting his life in order, robotic eye trained on them as they left...

Some moments passed, and Orphen would have used his cennection to machines to revive and elevator capable of carrying the two of them down. The Machine was simple enough, analog, wired crank connected to an engine, so even the Maelebi and his bizzare aura should not be able to mess it up too badly. Jumping on and taking the route down three levels the lighting would go exceedingly dim, the tunnels were as narrow as sewers and the walkways were narrow, but Orphen could not help but feel that his partner might actually like it more down here. The loudness of the world above had silenced to little more than a crowded whisper, and faded away into the shadow.

"So, what do you think we're going to find there partner?"

Orphen spoke aloud as they began to approach their destination, able to see a break in the pipes some distance away as the world was about to open up into a large aquaduct junction, Built on top of an old filtration system overhanging the sector's water supply, a symbol hung on top of the make-shift hospital. with a strange multi-sphered symbol within it, Orphen knew what the smaller symbol within the glyph meant, but he did not recognize it at first, knowing that it was an atom of sorts... it was... an odd sensation, information flooded his mind about so many possibilities there was no one distinct memory, but rather, so much to filter through it replicated the sensation of needing to remember. The symbol that met, within the shape of the peculiar hexagram...

looked like a strand of DNA... but with angles and particles in place of curves and proteans...

Though he did not know it yet,

the symbol was that for theoretical silicon based life.

[member="Gwrtheyrn"]