Legends of the Hidden Temple [ORC Dominion of J-53, Askaj]

[Srina Talon]

Location: Meeting Place for Napata Peacekeepers
Objective: The Sands of Napata [Objective II]
Wearing: Olive Tent
With: [member="BNI-Bella and BNI-Leo"] & [member="Ria Misrani"] [NPC Peacekeepers]

Srina sighed quietly while she watched her mechanical wards express more self-awareness than some organics held. Sometimes, they even outdid her emotional capacity, which was almost laughable. [member="Aryn Teth"] was slowly teaching her the value of it, or rather, the unavoidability of it, but it was still a work in progress. She could almost feel how upset Bella was at the notion of Leo ‘dying’ because he decided to take a dip in Lake Barkol. He was oblivious until the last second. Leo didn’t panic, not exactly, but he dropped everything for the blue-hued rabbit. Their affection and concern was so convincing to her eyes.

It was a very, very clever trick of programming.

The white-haired beauty was surprised that she was the only one present. It had been rumored that there would be quite a few Outer-Rim Coalition officials as well. Perhaps they had been held up? The tiny Exarch frowned, vaguely, but did not dwell on it further. They could have been held up for a half million reasons, some of which, more deadly than others. She could handle this on her own if it came down to it. Her goals were typically easier to accomplish because she didn’t seem like the one thing everyone seemed to fear lately. Her eyes were silver without evidence of corruption. She was quiet, with delicate, shrewd manners, coupled with the inherent grace of a little queen.

No one seemed to realize that she was a Sith Apprentice. Partially by design but largely due to happenstance.

When approached by the Peacekeepers the ghostly Echani inclined her head slightly in greeting. “I am Srina Talon. It is a pleasure to meet you both—Thank you for having me.”, she responded quietly, not bothering to explain that she was with the Confederacy when they had already assumed she was ORC. It was easier just to let them think what they wanted in this instance. The end result would be the same and her duties to their allies would be fulfilled regardless.

Jabari and Gelena jumped right in. The Echani liked that. When there was an obvious problem that she was capable of solving she would do so without hesitation. The notion of slavers caused her gaze to narrow faintly. Most wouldn’t notice. The focus was removed from the infamous Dread Queen when her rabbits immediately chimed in to check out the issue with the plumbing. They were overzealous, so excited to be of use, that she could hardly deny them. If they couldn’t figure it out there were a cadre of droids she could pull down from orbit that could. “Yes. You may handle that task. Report in on the hour with any findings.”

They both cheered and began to spin around in a circle. A few poses with glow rods later they sobered and returned to their all too militant stances at her side. Gray eyes, the color of a winter sky, switched back to the Peacekeepers. “Please forgive the rambunctious nature of my droids. They are quite capable—simply softened by eccentric matrices. If you can provide me with the coordinates for the camp I will see your missing people returned to you.”

Her version of ‘seeing’ to the missing people of Napata was likely far more bloody than either Peacekeeper could have imagined. Already, adrenaline began to pool in her veins, and ran her hand over the Holo-Comm on her wrist. A small screen appeared and she punched in the protocol to awaken her beloved Magnaguard. She wasn’t foolish enough to barge into the situation alone. The faultless precision of her crimson eyed robotic nightmares would be most beneficial when it came to extracting innocent civilians. They would not miss and Srina did not intend to grant any slaver scum mercy. The only value they held was in divulging the name of the Hutt that had sent them.

The pale-skinned woman glanced down at her rabbits. They had short legs to match their equally stunted arms, however, they were endowed with a rather frightening level of speed.

“Go.”

The singular order caused both units to turn and dash away while she awaited her reinforcements. Lowering her arm she turned her focus back to her contacts and let her gaze flicker between them. They seemed genuine in their requests. “Is there anything else you might require? Supplies? We did expect that your people may be in need of a few basic necessities so we do have a few cargo transports waiting on standby with provisions.”

 

[Griet van Vliet]

Objective 3
Location: Kashta

Once Griet had access to the back office, she was checking on the inventory ledger, that is, checking on whatever is sold or donated, and also having another screen to watch for the art transactions on the gallery's tax returns for past years, suspecting that there is tax fraud being perpetrated. Then again, art was generally considered non-depreciable while held in inventory so the inventory ledger, in isolation, did not reveal much. And there was no write-down to LC/NRV presumably because costs were fairly inexpensive to begin with. Sure, in fiscal records, they would need to record disposition dates, the amount these sold for and the ACB (here adjustments include selling costs), as well as the donations if those are relevant, the donatee, the value at donation. Poodoo. Under the local fiscal rules, as I understand them, the capital costs and/or proceeds on artwork are deemed to be 1,000 if either of those values are less than 1,000, she thought, while realizing that there were "appraisal expenses" recorded on the tax records to dig deeper into. And also the new value seemed to stay below 1,000 in most cases, while the original costs were typically in the 25-100 range.

 

[Ria Misrani]

BASE CAMP KRYMAH, ASKAJ

Expedition Leader Nalessk managed to keep his growls low, he'd deal with the would-be grave robber and con artist later. For now, he happily accepted the seal shown to him by [member="Jaya Tandris"] and [member="Veino Garn"]. "You keep these." He mentioned and motioned to the three smaller coins hidden within the seal, "you will need them. You are both given three life coins, you may use these at any time during the expedition. We have found that these coins when placed or given at certain points help save you from whatever harm may come, or if you're already in the midst of danger or injury, safe your life."

By this time Khrizan and Akhmarim had turned to deal with [member="Amea Virou"], having already given Jaya and Veino a small bag of provisions. A set of tools that they could use, the tools were the same, rope, chisel and hammer, axe pick, lantern and oils and a small bag of ready to eat rations and a canteen. Now they all but glowered at Amea, "you still want into the tomb?" Khrizan asked, the female Noghri looked over her shoulder. Nalessk wouldn't like it but to hell with what he liked, she motioned for the woman to wait as she went off to another part of the camp.

A few moments later she returned, and handed Amea a crossbow, another small bag of rations and a flashlight. She then quietly led Amea to the tomb. "I can help you get in this way, but it is not the easiest route to the artifact."

Whilst Nalessk then informed Jaya and Veino, "the tomb is quite dangerous, you will be faced with many obstacles, and creatures who may want to devour you. But trust in your heart, and in each other. You will need to work together, we know the artifact is located in the deepest part of the tomb here." He showed on a small map before handing the papyrus-like scroll to Jaya. "Be well, and we hope to see you again at the end of it."

Expedition Guides Haxrek and Arraks then moved off to lead the duo into the tomb's main entrance.

NAPATA, ASKAJ

"Do not worry, your droids are quite fascinating!" Peacekeeper Gelena complimented just as Jabari moved to fetch a list of supplies that they would need. "We also have a small problem of contaminants getting into our food supply there." She gestured toward the silos, "if you or your droids could be of assistance there that would be much apprecipated." It was by that this time that Jabari had returned and given the pale woman his list. Napata and several towns out here in the Sands of Napata required assistance of some sort. The winds howled and the sand billowed into the air.

"And you are most welcome, we are grateful for the assistance, here." Gelena was the one who procured a small crystal from her pouch. "It isn't much but hopefully you can make use of it." It was a glowing crystal that took the color of the sand, when held it radiated with heat. It was as if the sun had kissed this particular crystal. It also seemed to enhance one's sense of self. "Here, here are the coordinates for the camp as well. We hope you will return to us, and then we can join in the festival of the moon."

The Peacekeepers downloaded the coordinates into the woman's holomap so that the objective would be but a faint dot on her map. While the two were rather accepting of any help that came their way. They knew that it meant that some of their ideals and values would not be upheld but then without the forces to do it themselves. Beggars could not be choosers as it were. And while [member="Srina Talon"] spoke with the Peacekeepers the pipes that the rabbit droids were dispatched to where the foul odor originated. Rusted and wasted it was as if someone had done this one purpose. Inside the pipes laid several devices and the carcass of a bantha or two. This was done with purpose and most likely by the same group of slavers that had been taking people from the towns here.

Of course a closer inspection of the device in this foul area would be required.

 

[Zak Amroth]

Location: Desert Wastes​

Objective: Treasure Hunting​

Hopeful Savior: [member="Julius Sedaire"]​

Almighty DM Lady: [member="Ria Misrani"]​

​

​

"Maybe I didn't think this all the way through."

Here he was, back in the same old bad habits.

A lone silhouette was the only sight visible except for sand dunes as far as the eye could see. Each time his 'borrowed' luggabeast crested a new ridge and he saw nothing but more wastes, a knot of fear and uncertainty in his stomach tightened even more. Peeling back the makeshift turban so his sun dried skin was exposed for just long enough to drain the last of his water, the young explorer smacked his compass several times in futility. Its needlepoint was going crazy, either something was off about this part of the planet or he had simply broken the cheap thing.

It had been a little more than a year since Endeavor had set out from Jedha, and while all these dunes reminded him of his home Askaj's oppressive heart most certainly did not. Originally, the plan had been to make contact with the Jedi Academy Network to put in his dues and see if he could make something out his latent gifts after all. Linking up with the Network had been easy enough, it was the stiff and humorless way most Jedi seemed to move through life that had driven him back into his old lifestyle.

His plan had made so much sense on the transport down to Alarao City. Endeavor had decided to make his own way to the dig site, both due to his lack of reputation and any kind of Coalition credentials. All he had to do once he arrived was slip past the main expedition unnoticed and 'liberate' this King's Light, whatever it was, from the natives. Surely the Jedi could make better use of it than a bunch of desert priests, if he brought it back to his academy they'd probably even make him a Knight or something.

Now here he was, about to die of heat exposure, all for the sake of a relic he couldn't even describe.

"I bet it's a gem," Endeavor continued muttering to himself through chapped lips, "A real shiny one."

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Ria Misrani"]

It was hard not to be affected by the frustrations of the others. Amea hadn’t exactly been in the way, but if they wanted to throw their frustrations at their own shortcomings at her she wasn’t going to return the favor no matter how tempting it was. No doubt the bubbling frustration that practically boiled inside of Amea would be hard to conceal ([member="Runi Verin"]), but Amea tried. She truly, truly tried.

Her lips pursed as she grabbed at the crossbow as her answer to the woman’s question. She added some of the equipment to the rest of the equipment she had brought with her. It complemented her current toolset with rope and a few more rations, and a few more drops of water was always good. She handed the canteen back to the man with an appreciative nod. At least as much of an appreciative nod as she could muster before she turned away and let it drop in its entirety.

“So, I take it I can’t enter with them?” She perked her brow and looked over at the other two expedition members. “I mean, I signed up for the expedition. I have the papers right here.”

Amea dug through her back pocket to withdraw a piece of paper and handed it over to the woman leading her to the other entrance. Something did strike her as peculiar about this separation, something that made her worry to some degree. Perhaps a bad gut feeling, or bad lunch.

“See?” She perked her brow before she looked over at the entrance with a defeated sigh. “Are you coming with?”

 

[Jaya Tandris]

"Alright. Thanks for the... Thanks for the advice." Jaya was doubtful of the fact that a coin could save one's life, especially since if they knew that much, they would have been inside the temple before. That on its own made little sense, since in that case they could've retrieved the artifact on their own. Instead she decided to not question it and simply follow along. The tools and other items were gladly accepted and the bag was flung over her shoulder. It would likely be more than enough to get her through. And, if it would not, punching had always solved any problems tools could not. Alright, not always, but often enough.

At the notion of danger and the need for Jaya and Veino to rely on each other, the woman chuckled slightly. "I live for danger. I hope the old man can keep up, I hate slowing down." She then looked at the map on which the artifact's location was shown, then took it and rolled it up to put it in the bag she had been given before. It was good to know where one was going, generally. "You'll be having the artifact back in your hands in no time, don't worry." A wide grin was sent Nalessk's way.

Haxrek and Arraks then guided the duo to the entrance of the temple, where she took a moment to take in the structure. "Alright, Veino. Ready to walk into danger, face potential death, and fight off scary creatures? Because I don't feel like hanging around the entrance for too long." Still, the least she could do was wait until he was ready. "Just give me the word, and tomb-delving we will go. Sound like a plan?"

[member="Ria Misrani"] | [member="Veino Garn"] | [member="Amea Virou"]

 

[Griet van Vliet]

Objective 3
Location: Kashta

Yet there were no records of appraisal fees in the accounting records of the gallery, which meant that they appraised the stuff on their own, or by a third party that appraises artwork for free provided it is for the purposes of charitable donations. So, while they made no taxable capital gain thanks to the deeming dispositions, Griet realizes that something's not right: they are getting tax write-offs even though they only wrote off the cost value as an expense. Something's fishy: even though it may be technically legal, Maxwell is clearly skirting the spirit of the dispositions, she thought, while keeping all the files open so that she can confront him about these art flips. She thinks Maxwell is defrauding the tax authorities in place, in which case they are getting a much larger tax write-off than even the cost to produce those pieces. In that case Maxwell has likely been using a network of low-salary forgers to make forgeries, sometimes in just a few hours, to keep the crafting costs low, and then appraise the stuff for much higher amounts while still keeping them below a prescribed limit, and finally get a tax write-off. The business also conducted legitimate business, too.

"You... tax fraudster! You might be running a legitimate art gallery, but you're also using a business of reproductions to defraud the tax system, and claim appraisal costs for tax purposes that were neither capitalized nor expensed"

 

[Ria Misrani]

BASE CAMP KRYMAH

The girl seemed legit enough but the Guide didn't want to take any more risks. "Without the official seals there is no way, but I wish you the best of luck friend. Stay safe and may the light of our Great King be with you always." With that the Guide ushered [member="Amea Virou"] into the tomb and sealed it off from the outside. With a lot of luck she wouldn't need the seals at all or maybe just maybe one of the adventurers in the past had dropped a few. Khrizan had joined the others as Nalessk led [member="Veino Garn"] and [member="Jaya Tandris"] away from the base camp and toward the tomb. He gave them further instructions and ushered them inside, and just like Khrizan had done with Amea he too closed the tomb behind them both.

"Sands are shifting." Haxrek said off-handedly, and Nalessk nodded.

"We should move back to the caves, load up the banthas."

Little by little the base camp would be taken apart and loaded onto the back of the pack animals as the winds howled across the desert. Sand kicked up into the air and billowed across like sheets before settling elsewhere. The tomb in the shape of a great pyramid would be beaten once more by the wind and sand before all but one entrance would be covered. With a little force perhaps someone could get through but finding it may prove difficult. ( [member="Endeavor"] )

Nalessk got one last look at the tomb and then settled atop one of the banthas and kicked it forward.

TOMB OF TAHARAQ

For Amea, light would be needed almost right away as it was near pitch black. Around her laid the skeletal remains of adventurers past, whether they were thief, scholar or somewhere in between. It no longer mattered, journals and gear laid broken and scattered. Once a light was made it would be easy to see that where Amea stood one wrong step would lead to her death. As on either end of the platform rested a sheer drop to what seemed to be nothingness, two rope bridges one going southeast and the other southwest laid before the woman which path she chooses remained to be seen.

Meanwhile, for the duo of Jaya and Veino they were welcomed into what looked to be the main chamber of the tomb. The statues of the Great King stretched upward for what seemed like miles, the tomb's floor seemed solid enough. Upon closer inspection however that would not be true for it seemed no mattered which way the duo would step the ground began to shift. Light here does not seem to be an issue as it seemed one of the statues holds a torch. And as either one of the duo steps forward the ground indeed shifts, the floor opened up and it's obvious if one is to get across to the next room they would have to jump between the jutted edges of the once solid floor. If they remembered the patterns from the floor it would assist them in jumping across.

 

[Jada Raxis]

[member="Kaia Starchaser"]

​

For the strangest of reasons, where there was one Warden of the Sky, many soon followed.

At least that's how the legends started, and ended for the most part. Tales of Jorus Merrill and Chloe Black abound within the small community, whom mostly keep to themselves. Still when you're that famous word starts to leak out just a bit. Maybe to the right ears, maybe to the wrong ones.

But that was beside the point, as she kicked her boots up on a table outside a coffee shop near the street festival a small droid came rocketing down the street, scanned her and stopped. She took a sip from her caf, and then her own lil companion droid floated up from her kit bag, a disc shaped drone whirling to life.

It interfaced with Kai's droid, passing a series of secretive code.

She glanced down at her data pad, strapped to her forearm.

"Hmmmmm it's a Starchaser. Kaia?"

Truth be told, her aunt Vassara wasn't really much of a great Warden, but her and Coren went waaaaay back. Like Early Underground, and formation of the Alliance back. Starchasers' and Raxis' ; at least the bloodline and not the clan, were cut from the same cloth. Starship fuel in their veins.

"Send a message back, invite her to join us will ya?" She quipped to the Drone.

Then she cast an amused smile at the other droid.

"Need a recharge or an oil bath bud?"

 

[BNI-Bella and BNI-Leo]

Location: Napata Drain Pipes
Objective: The Sands of Napata [Objective II]
With: [member="Srina Talon"] | Peacekeepers Gelena & Jabari

The trek to the drain pipes was fraught with terror and confusion. They went through the sand dunes, chased by monsters made of wind, and walked along the horrible Lake Barkol where the water-demons lived. They were stealthy. Super stealthy. Like ninjas with powerful lazer swords like Sith and Jedi of old! They were unstoppable! They would complete their task and save the Princess Srina in the end!

And then she would reward them. With a land speeder.

The Princess Srina Talon would finally let them drive! And they would get the girl!

They were filled with mechanical joy, so chipper, that they didn’t even realize that they’d made it to the drain pipe. The water became thick in this area. Murky. Their little-pawed feet made squelching noises every time they crept forward, causing both to cringe, since they were trying to be super sneaky. Steady drip drops made both rabbit-droids huddle closer together as they made their way down the tube. Their red and blue photoreceptors acted as flashlights so they could see.

Glow sticks raised for defense they jumped into each other’s arms and huddled in programmed fear as flying creatures with elongated ears flew out of the tunnel and attacked them. The rabbits wailed and nearly ran back to the Mistress for help, however, the hurricane of flat-nosed beasts eventually stopped.

“What were they Nine-One? What were they?”

“Bats. Mynocks. Bats. Jogan-bats? Some sort of sub-species of bat…”, Leo responded to Bella while his scanners detected the genetic markers that slowly filled in the blanks. He was trying to be strong, for his companion, but even his robotic voice was a little unsteady. Worried.

“…Do they eat rabbits?”, Bella asked, using her array of equipment, to follow the chemical trail that was producing the most awful smell that the Peacekeepers were talking about. “I’m all skin and bones bats! Do you hear me?”

Her voice echoed down the dark drain pipe and Leo snickered.

“Bells. We’re droids.”

“You were scared too.”

She harrumphed and stomped ahead. They walked for a long time. Her sensors stated that the smell was only getting stronger. BNI-9000 wasn’t sure WHAT was blocking the way but it was sure something big to produce so much putrescine. Eventually, she started speaking to Leo again, because they had a mission of course…But it was getting hard to maneuverer in the drain pipe. The sludge was so thick.

“I wonder what rotting cabbage smells like. That’s what this should smell like.”

“I don’t think we want to—“

Bella stopped talking as her feet hit something. What was it? She looked down and brightened the light from her eye.

"EWWWW!!"

The voice of the rabbit droid echoed through the drain pipe and Bella jumped away and into Leo. The red-hued droid caught her of course, but, it didn't stop her from trying to scale him to get away from the dead thing. "Bells it's okay. It can't hurt you."

Eventually, she calmed down. It took a long time and many promises of a trip to the Droid Spa on Geonosis but she stopped losing her mind at the sight of several dead bantha carcasses. They even managed to devise a plan. They would use the blaster cannons in their eyes to break up the bodies, get the Magnaguard to wrap up the remains in a net, and haul them out so they could be properly disposed of. There was something else present as well. A device of some kind. "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know yet but I don't think it belongs here. We should remove it too."

With that, they got to work.

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: Slaver Base in Napata
Objective: The Sands of Napata [Objective II]
Wearing: Olive Tent
With: [member="BNI-Bella and BNI-Leo"] & [member="Ria Misrani"] [NPC Peacekeepers]

The white-haired woman was quite relieved that neither Peacekeeper seemed to be bothered by her BNI units. They were small in stature, and most would assume they weren’t up to the task but they were surprisingly adept. Srina listened while the Peacekeepers added a few more tasks to her docket and nodded her head. Faulty silos? That was an easy enough fix. Likely, the seals were broken and would need to be replaced. It would probably be better just to bring in new holding units.

“I must warn you. Until the repairs are made you might see quite a few droids moving about. I will ensure that they are unarmed but they will need to carry tools to complete their tasks.”

Some people tended to panic, understandably, at the sight of nightmarish Magnaguard moving about freely. Galena handed her a crystal that was warm to the touch and Srina looked at it curiously. She hadn’t expected any sort of payment. “Thank you.”, there wasn’t much else she could say as she accepted the map coordinates as well. She would take a complement of Magnaguard with her to deal with the slavers. She would have another set of droids analyze the silo and begin arrangements of the replacements. They had plenty of pre-fabricated buildings and equipment they could send for.

Srina excused herself kindly and promised to meet the Peacekeepers at the Festival when it was all over. She had every intention of making short work of the problems in this village. They had the manpower and the equipment. She had the strength to do, quite frankly, heinous things in the absence of an alternate solution. Diplomacy would not help her when it came to dealing with a slew of bloodthirsty mongrels. They only understood one thing.

She made it back to her landspeeder easily enough and returned to the Ferocity to acquire a squad of Magnaguard and to issue orders to others. She preferred simultaneous solutions versus tackling them one at a time. All were important. “Bella, Leo, what’s your status?”

It had almost been an hour. Her rabbits were rarely late, however, she knew their ability to emulate imagination often led them to some strange conclusions.

“We found. Well, look.”

The camera was turned around so that she could see what had been plaguing the pipes. Dead bantha? Her nose wrinkled. No wonder it smelled horrible. “Consult some of the architectural units and see what they advise. If the water has been contaminated by decomposing flesh I think the system should be flushed or something of that nature. Also, have them check the integrity of the plumbing. Holes won’t help anyone.”

“Yes, Mistress.”, both droids chimed in at the same time before she killed the connection. Sometimes, she worried about them. They could be entirely too human. They emoted better than she did from time to time.

The ghostly woman sent out a message to the Judge that was supposed to be handling this sector [[member="Julius Sedaire"]/[member="Dax Fyre"] perhaps?] and outlined the details that she had collected. New storage silos for storage, drainpipe cleaning, and finally, removal of the slavers. The Exarch made a note that she would attempt to preserve life but that it could not be guaranteed. Her first priority was to the people that had been taken against their will. Anyone that got in her way would become a casualty.

With that Srina left the Ferocity and headed toward the coordinates that the Peacekeepers had given her. She didn’t get too close with her speeder, but instead, chose to take the rest of the journey on foot. The Magnaguard were traveling in a borrowed cargo transport that they could use to bring the people back home. The white-haired woman planned to get eyes on the camp before laying siege to it. She wanted to know what she was working with before she launched headfirst into danger. She brought a pair of monoculars up to eyes and peered through them. There were quite a few able-bodied men walking freely through the stacks of dilapidated shipping containers. She switched to thermal sights and was able to spot a cluster of bodies toward the middle of the area. The Echani would bet a thousand credits those were the people siphoned from Napata.

Srina sat back on her haunches and began to outline her plan to the Magnaguard. Dead eyes hung on her every word. It didn’t look like they were even listening, however, she knew they were. “We’ll attack the camp in two waves. Subdue the slavers. Kill them if necessary—but protect the victims at all costs."

If she could bring any of the slavers in charge back to answer for her crimes she would. If she couldn’t, she wouldn’t. Slavery in CIS territory wasn’t tolerated period. But this planet was in the Outer Rim. Their laws were different. Inefficient, confusing, and different.

When the young woman stood, beautiful and out of place in the desert, her eyes closed briefly and her armor pulled from the mists. The Scarlet Vow replaced the olive toned dress she’d been wearing previously. Crimson and Onyx, with bonework along the shoulders, seemed to fit right in with her metal monstrosities. She readied her Verpine Handcannon and began to descend down from the dune.

The Slavers didn’t see her yet. They would soon.

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Ria Misrani"]

There was a sigh and a shake of Amea’s head as she stepped into the tomb. Her eyes tried to readjust to the darkness of the tomb and take in what little light they could. It was hard not to notice the bodies that decorated the walls and floor. She knelt down to brush at one of the journals when suddenly the scraping noise of the tomb’s stone door being sealed again began to echo all around her. Amea’s head perked up and look at the exit only to find herself blinded by the light. A hand reached up to cover her eyes as her feet pushed against the ground to get her upright and into a run for the door but by the time she reached it the tomb had already been sealed.

A hand banged against the stone before the futility of her situation kicked in. Amea’s hand slumped by her side and she let out a sigh of frustration before turning around to stare into the rest of the tomb. Her hand grasped at the light on her side, raised it above her and flicked it on. A bright white light shone down dead corridors yet the realization was all the same. This place wasn’t without danger, and she was stuck in here with it.

“Maybe Runi was right then.” Amea said to herself, sighed, and took her first step through the dust and grime of the temple. “Maybe this was a stupid idea after all.”

She inspected the walls for any sockets or trapholes to ensure she wasn’t in immediate danger. The force seeped through her to do the same on the ground, yet everything seemed dead. It was by many means a regular corridor, or?

There were too many dead bodies for that to be true.

Amea continued onwards on the road leading south-west. It was the one that gave her the best gut feeling. Not that either gut feeling was particularly good to begin with.

 

[Griet van Vliet]

Objective 3
Location: Kashta

"What do you mean, appraisal costs that are neither capitalized nor expensed? Art, as an investment, is just like equity securities: it can go up or down without any intervention on the owner's part"

"Then who did the appraisals here? You had a tax write-off much greater than the cost of making these reproductions, and reproductions typically don't gain more value than the value necessary to recoup the manufacturing costs in tax benefits, at least not at that rate"

Everybody in the art business knew this: revenues fluctuate enormously, while expenses didn't fluctuate nearly as much. Griet did realize that, although the treatment of listed personal property is such that there was no gain recorded so long as the value of the individual piece remains below 1,000, reproductions cost 50-100 to make, on average, and were donated at roughly 10 times that value. On the other hand, at a 18% tax rate, since the gallery's legitimate activities didn't garner more than 500,000 credits this year, the profit margin is 70-100%, with an average of 80%. Yet, Griet couldn't blame him for finding a way to attempt disposing of the pieces since the alternative would likely result in writing off the donated pieces. But he could have donated those at the price they attempted to sell those for before they decided to write off the pieces, and that would not raise any suspicions. Sure they may not be able to recoup all the costs, but it sure beats a non-deductible write-off. Just that it was a rather original scheme, albeit a low-key one.

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

With the clearance granted, Kaia made her way forward, pushing her red freighter into he atmosphere and taking note of who was coming and going, what ships were entering and which were leaving. She was in the habit of this, but unlike her father, she didn’t make it a habit of intruding on everyone’s flight and life. The Jedi Master that was her father had his own line drawn in the sand. Kaia, well, she was much more passive. That was why she had Drifter.

He made himself known much more than she did. And as the ship found its landing berth, she got a message coming in. Drifter was still going through his patterns but had made contact with another Warden. That was… interesting.

Raxis. That was a name she knew, and knew well.

Raxis was out there as much as the Starchasers and Merrills were, finding their way through space, and helping keep the freedom of the galaxy going. Once she landed and powered down, she grabbed her holdout blaster, and lightsaber, tucking both in her jacket as she took her swoop and sped off towards [member="Jada Raxis"].

 

[Veino Garn]

[member="Ria Misrani"] [member="Jaya Tandris"] [member="Amea Virou"]

Veino, whose writer totally hadn't forgotten about this thread in the madness of Skor, nodded and listened as the others spoke, before kneeling to inspect the floor of the main chamber. It was large and unsteady, with symbols etched into the floor and onto the walls. A riddle, that he could see. One step revealed the nature as the floor shifted beneath his foot and he yanked it back.

He had dealt with a lot of crazy things in his life, but this was the first that he dealt with a trapped tomb. It would take some thinking about, that was certain. He turned to his companion.

"Any thoughts on crossing this?"

 

[Yula Perl]

Objective: II—The Sands of Napata
Location: Slave camp near Napata
Tags: [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="BNI-Bella and BNI-Leo"] | [member="Ria Misrani"]

“Hey, any chance I could get some more water over here? I’m par—kkkkttt!”

Yula hissed through gritted teeth as she was tased by a rough looking Nikto man. Though mild enough not to cause any lasting damage, the electric current running through her body hurt like hell.

The Zeltron mix had landed The Mariposa a little ways away from Napata, wandering the dusty terrain on her own in search of salvaging opportunities. Though smuggling was her main gig, she never shied away from expanding her horizons. If that’s what you could call salvaging. But really, she’d come to Askaj after hearing rumblings in the Coalition about exploring the planet. That was more horizon expanding than rifling through some junk.

Unfortunately, her tendency to take on nearly every situation she encountered, regardless of the clear and present danger, landed her in trouble. It didn’t help that she overestimated both her smooth-talking and combat skills this time around. Instead of heroically freeing the slaves, Yula had found herself with a few extra bruises on her ribs and a pair of stun cuffs slapped around her wrists.

The shock let up and the pink tinted woman collapsed briefly before pressing her bound hands against the ground and lifting her upper torso. The pain of the electricity still stung her muscles as she grimaced up at the slaver.

“Hmph. This one’s got a mouth on her.” The Nitko towered over the young woman, scanning her features with a practiced eye. “Might get more for you if we cut out that smart tongue of yours.”

Oh, mom was not going to like this one.

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: Slaver Base in Napata
Objective: The Sands of Napata [Objective II]
Wearing: Olive Tent
With: [member="BNI-Bella and BNI-Leo"] & [member="Ria Misrani"] & [member="Yula Perl"] [NPC Peacekeepers]

Cretins. Cruel, ignorant, fools.

The Sith Apprentice didn’t waste any time. She surveilled what she needed to. Her Echani instincts were full of cold fire by the time she made her way down the dunes. The crimson and onyx of her armor, the Scarlet Vow, stuck out like a sore thumb against the dull tan scenery. With that in mind, she didn’t bother trying to be stealthy. They would soon find themselves at the mercy of a siege that they had no hope of overcoming.

Srina didn’t like sparing the worst that society had to offer. Often, they bred, and their line of weaponized idiocy continued to thrive. It was much more efficient to burn them down, scatter the ashes, and be done with it. Being fertilizer would be a blessing. At least the slavers would prove to be useful at some point since they couldn’t manage it whilst still drawing breath. The Sith Apprentice, for all of her ill thoughts, didn’t hate them. She didn’t care to judge.

These creatures, a mix of races by the look of it, had made their choices for better or worse. Every action had a corresponding cause and effect. A consequence. She was very much so that consequence.

The nightmarish Magnaguard attacked first. They had stealth tech that put most other versions of the equipment to shame. She could just barely see the outlines of their forms shimmering as they ran ahead and flanked both sides of the Slaver Camp. When the firing, screaming, and a general sense of fear grew exponentially the Exarch slipped past the first wooden barricade with ease. She could hear phrik electro staffs as well as blasters going off nearby. First, they would thin the numbers.

Srina crossed her first target trying to pull a woman by the hair through the sands. Her expressionless features seemed to emulate ice as she leveled her hand cannon. “Let her go.”, she ground out, her tone glacier, and unforgiving. The pig-faced Gamorrean refused and began to pull the woman harder, struggling backward, while he fired at her with a shaky shot. The Sith Apprentice moved her free hand to intercept the bolts, causing them to ricochet away, before raising her weapon. She would not repeat herself.

The hand canon went off like a bomb in the small space and flechette rounds tore from it with a fury. They tracked, much to the chagrin of most of her enemies, and Srina watched as they slammed into her opponent without mercy. Most of the slaves weren’t dressed for battle. They thought they were safe and had to scramble to the ramshackle armory for better weapons. The people of Napata were too scared, and obviously, too weak to rise against them. They hadn’t counted on the backwater little world having friends.

The body dropped and Srina knelt down next to the woman that had been abducted. She was bruised pretty badly, her lip split, and clearly hadn’t been fed very well. Her resolve not to kill them all was weakening. “I mean you no harm. Let me help…”, she breathed quietly, putting away her gun, before offering the woman her hand. She seemed hesitant. Afraid. Srina didn’t blame her. “Please. Let me help you.”

Once their fingers touched the slender warrior began to pull on the Force. She mended her marred flesh through Dark Transfer and did what she could to sooth the worst of her pains. Srina couldn’t give this woman her full focus while they were so exposed. “Can you show me where they keep the rest of your people? I would only ask that you stay close. I can protect you just as long as I have you in my line of sight.”

The woman nodded and Srina handed her the hand cannon so that she had something to defend herself with, just in case, they got separated. The camp was exactly what one might think it to be. Full of trash, shanty dwellings, cages, and deplorable behavior. They moved through the area and the Echani reached for her lightsaber. When they next crossed one of the slavers the young woman didn’t bother speaking. She moved, swinging the white bladed weapon, and sliced deep up his back from his pelvis to the seat of the back of his neck.

The Outer Rim Coalition might not approve of her methods. Srina couldn’t begin to care. Not after seeing this with her own eyes. It was too much, too inhumane, and someone needed to suffer for it.

The trek to the holding area was full of violence. Srina hadn’t come through unscathed, baring blaster burns, but for the most part, was still going strong. The Magnaguard were ripping through the enemies as if they were made of wet tissue paper. They were trained to fight Sith, Jedi, and other Force Users. Everything else to them was just a toy. The Exarch remained ever in motion, a blur of color, of searing light that left dead or severely maimed criminals in her wake.

Srina stared at the two Nitko makes that were left before her. One of them seemed to be torturing a woman with pinkish skin, using electricity, and mercurial eyes narrowed.

“You’re going to regret this. Do you know who owns this operation? Do you?”

His basic was gravelly and strained. As if the sand had gotten into his throat and made him sound like he was speaking around a neck full of sandpaper. The Sith Apprentice remained apathetic.

“Surrender or die.”

She twisted her wrist and the white light of her saber made the bright light of day all the more apparent. Screams and robotic taunts echoed up around them, from all over the camp, and it wouldn’t take these two spikey-faced lackeys long to realize they were in over their heads. The slavers looked at one another before turning to the people in the cage behind them. The girl at their feet. It occurred to them now that not only did they have hundreds of thousands of credits at stake that didn’t actually belong to them—but they had leverage. Hostages.

“Throw down your weapons or I’ll shock this one on the highest setting.”, the taller one spoke, throwing a pair of stun cuffs to the ground, before pointing his taser at one of the slaves [[member="Yula Perl"]], “And put those on.”

Silver eyes stared. It would be impossible to tell what she was thinking. Srina moved, suddenly, with the guiding strength of the Force and attacked the Nikto holding the ability to hurt his prisoner. Her lightsaber swung down hard when she was in range and she sliced through his wrist that held the electronic device that controlled the stun cuffs. From behind her, she heard the whisper silent Verpine Handcannon go off and the second Nikto dropped like a rock. She glanced back to the first woman she’d come across and saw her shakily holding the weapon.

“Good shot. Aim for his friend, but, don't pull the trigger. We need him.”, she directed, ignoring the pain-filled howls from the still breathing slaver, in order to pick up the device he’d dropped. She swung her lightsaber again to slice through the locks of the cage to let the people free from the holding area. Silver eyes glanced down at the woman on the ground. “How badly are you hurt?”

A quick press of buttons caused the stun cuffs to drop off of all of the people of Napata and the white-haired woman put her lightsaber away. She offered her hand to the pink-hued woman and hoped she was still strong enough to take it. Many of the people trapped in the cage behind her seemed injured, sick, or otherwise weakened.

At least, with the Nikto still alive, she had her prisoner for questioning.

A discrete and non-verbal order would eventually go out to the Magnaguard through her Holo-Comm.

<<Protocol update. Unit one, bring in the transport. All remaining units… I have one of the Slavers in custody for questioning. Kill and burn the rest.>>

 

[Griet van Vliet]

Objective 3
Location: Kashta

"We held these reproductions for years, and they are costing money to us just for us to hold on to them"

"The tax courts ruled that donations of artwork made out of an art vendor's obsolete inventory must be deducted at the greater of cost or retail price: you're not the first art vendor that tried this sort of scheme"

"Are you a tax prosecutor?"

The defendant of that particular case, Bramimond Inc vs. Kashta Revenue Agency, switched to VPN after they lost their case in front of the Tax Court. Sure, VPN may have bought artwork from Bramimond to furnish their Alzoc III office, but she couldn't tell Maxwell that her firm had the defendant of that one case for a client without breaching the statute of professional secrecy. But Maxwell was right to suspect that Griet may have been a prosecutor working a tax law case. Yet Griet could feel his anger brewing and that he was getting increasingly irritated at Griet discovering that he committed tax fraud. Yet, he was right in that inventory of any kind isn't free to hold, even though carrying costs were often hidden in a multitude of areas, many of which were more insidious than the other, and only a few of them were directly attributable to the inventory itself. Opportunity costs (although, in the artwork world, they were limited when it came to reproductions), obsolescence costs and inventory insurance costs made up the majority of the directly-attributable ones.

 

[Ria Misrani]

( [member="Veino Garn"] | @Jaya Tandris )

While Veino and Jaya deliberate crossing the rift within the main room, they'll not be able to help the feeling that they are being watched. The Tomb is now more than aware of intruders, once more the vile priest has sent victims to the sacrifice. A wind would brush by them but how is it that wind could cut through the tomb in such a manner? It would be a question on their minds, and with the wind came a hollowing voice, "return no longer." It was haunting to say the least, and then the jagged edges shifted once more it seemed to be on a timer. Now more than ever Veino and Jaya would have to begin their jumps. The main statue that held the torch, the eyes began to glow - in the next room there would be safety.

Elsewhere in the tomb...

( [member="Amea Virou"] )

As she moved southwest across the rope bridge, all she could hear were the sounds of nothing. Upon arrival on the other side of the rope bridge she would hear the same hollowing sound. For her however there would be no warning of turn around, no rather for her the light she held would reveal a series of spikes that seemed to spring out from the floor. They too were timed and if she looked out just far enough there was a shimmer, an orb. Someone, or something wanted her attention, "seek the light, look no further." Something or someone whispered as the shimmer or orb rushed by Amea and disappeared into nothingness.

Slaver Camp #42

"C'mon now kids, gotta save the torture for us Jetise, yeah?" Jedi Kinniak proclaimed, he wore the typical garb of the burlap brigade. Bright red hair and a shagged look to his otherwise five o'clock shadow. He was tall, shoulders and legs built for roughing it out in the brutal environments such as Askaj or even Dxun. His pale skin did him no favors in the sun, and yet here he was. The green hue of his lightsaber came to life with the all too familiar snap-hiss. "C'mon this isn't even a chal-"

Magnaguards?

He smiled, "kark me up one way and down another to Primeday, the Confederacy has arrived."

Of course he could scarcely see more than just the droids doing their damage. "Might as well meet the neighbors." Kinniak thought to himself as he slashed down a few more slavers. "Sorry kids, daddy's gotta run. Now play nice and no more slaving, got it?" The Jedi made way for his speeder, a beat up thing but a speeder that would get him to all the action. Kinniak looked his age, mid to late forties the ring on his left hand said he was married. The bags under his eyes said he was a parent, either that or the red hair that was starting to turn - either way.

Upon arrival he realized, "well call me a schutta and a hutt."

His voice wouldn't be too far away for [member="Srina Talon"] and [member="Yula Perl"] to hear. "Beat me to the punch so to speak, but I can help with the rest of these folks. Names Fred, well actually it's not Fred but trust me. Fred is a lot better than my real name."

 

[Jaya Tandris]

[member="Ria Misrani"] | [member="Veino Garn"] | [member="Amea Virou"]

"Well, let's see what we got he-"

Jaya cut herself off as she stepped forward and felt the ground beneath her turned out to be not nearly as solid as she had expected it to be, causing her to jump backwards right where she was before. After landing and feeling the relief of not having fallen down to certain death, she blew out a large amount of air through her mouth. "My thoughts on crossing this? Give me a moment, I almost walked right into my death. Not that I haven't done that before like a million times already, but still."

Her attempt at simply walking through the room did wield some kind of result, however. It was much clearer what they had to do now, even if it still was going to be a test of dexterity. "Jump. That's what we got to do." Right when Jaya wanted to get to it though, a ghostly voice rang through the chamber. They had to get going.

"Alright ghost thing, whatever you say. I appreciate the patience." The snarky comment couldn't be repressed, but immediately after the woman took a few steps backward before ramping up her speed to make the first jump. "Come on, let's go!" she yelled to Veino mid-air while aiming for the edge that she would be able to stand on. She bent through her knees a little as she landed, then looked forward for a moment to prepare for the next leap. "One down, no idea how many more to go but there's only one way to find that out."