Skirmish National Treasure: Crown of Ukatis

[Shem Spinner]

Ukatis
Tags: Jacen Nimdok , Corazona von Ascania , Kingsley , Kuzo , Judd , Levi , Khallesh , Aculia Voland

Goldwing, Epo-1, R5-T399​

Chaos. It had all gone to chaos. The princess was freaking out, there was a guy who had been poisoned? Shem rushed into action, running to the young man's side.

"Oh dear— Is there a doctor around? The gentleman here is ah, not doing so well,"

"Hold on, mister," Shem began. "Get something to elevate his head."

The fledgling turned, immediately making eye contact with his father, who was not to far across the room.

"Dad!" he shouted. "This guy got something in his drink!"

Yulon understood immediately, quickly flying across the hall and kneeling by the young man's side. The Rishii quickly assessed Jacen, then placed a feathered finger on his throat.

"Not good," the chieftain relayed. "His throat is swelling. Give me some room. I need to open his throat up."

Shem nodded, scooting back. His father was a medical professional, at least as far as his low-tech society was concerned. There was a responsibility for leaders to have an understanding of practical medicine and treatment, even if they weren't the flock's designated healers. Yulon was quick to draw a thin wooden reed. He had used such a thing before to preform Cricothyrotomys, as it was not uncommon for younger fledglings to ingest substances that were highly toxic. With a delicate but firm hand, the chieftain would drive the reed into the young man's throat. Air would at least return to his lungs.

"That should help his breathing stabilize for now," Yulon assured. "I'll stay with this fellow. Go help the princess, Shem."

"Right," Shem nodded.

The boy would scramble to his feet, turning to begin making his way over to help Corazona.

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

"Come on now, boy. My mixological talent isn't that rusty. It's just an acquired taste."

Jacen had staggered away from the group, clinging to the bar counter for support. His face was dark gray, and his eyes were watering.

"What happened? Tell me you didn't swallow the little umbrella."

He could only cough in response, gasping for air. Thankfully Levi seemed to get it and called for a doctor.

"You… want a water or something? In the meantime?"

Jacen managed to shoot him a glare even as his vision began to grow dark around the edges, unconsciousness creeping in. Asphyxiation certainly wasn't how he intended to die. He was trying desperately to use his (very limited) shapeshifting abilities to force the walls of his swollen throat open, but it was a monumental effort and, so far, wasn't working.

Then, out of the crowd there emerged a big bird, who then cawed to summon an even bigger bird. Jacen wasn't paying much attention to them, preoccupied with trying not to die. But then the bigger bird pulled his head back, pressed a feathered finger to his throat, produced a long, thing reed, and then...

Jacen nearly hit the ceiling. Were he able to scream, he certainly would have. The reed was now sticking out of his throat, black blood welling up around the wound. But it had done the trick. He could breathe again.

"Someone... poisoned the drinks!" he blurted out, gasping. "Whose idea was that?!"

Khallesh Levi Shem Spinner Judd Corazona von Ascania Kingsley Kuzo Aculia Voland​

 

[Scrudge]

Scrudge paid the gruff banter between Kingsley and Judd no mind, continuing to work on his needlepoint. But the Wookiee could not ignore the tremendous series of crashes that thundered on the other side of the wall, or the sirens that blared.

"Owughhhh!" He groaned, dropping his project and pressing both paws to either of his ears. Did this place have to pick such loud, high-pitched alarms?

In the chaos, Scrudge forgot that he was supposed to be playing lookout. In an effort to silence the noise, the spice addict started clambering up towards the roof, clinging to the gutter. Thin durasteel ruched and groaned underneath his weight, and finally he managed to flop himself onto the roof, bumping heavily into Judd.

Laying on his back, Scrudge groaned in misery, clawed hands clasped over his head in agony. The shrieking alarms were playing havoc on his strung-out, spice burned brain.

"Gwoararrrr…" He wailed pitifully.

Inside the treasure room, a hail of hurried footsteps would precede a flurry of beeps as the vault door's code was inputted from the outside.

"We know you're in there!" A voice shouted threateningly as the vault door started to creak open.

Kingsley Judd Kuzo Aculia Voland Jacen Nimdok Levi Shem Spinner Khallesh

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Back in the ballroom, a brief power cut ushered surprised gasps and a few screams from the crowd. The dim lighting revealed a scene of chaos: panicked noblemen and women soaked from the sprinklers, accusations of an assassin among them, and a dying man being saved by a large avian guest.

Cora's panic eased into clarity as the mouse went flying from her skirts, and she managed to clamber out from the servant's arms with whatever grace and dignity she had left.

"Apologies." She offered, cheeks flushing red in embarrassment, but she managed to switch into disaster mode rather efficiently.

There was talk of an assassin, and then poison. Given that a man was nearly in his death throes and how chaotic the situation was, Cora could only assume that it was true in the moment.

"Guards! Protect me with your life!" Horace's shriek cut across the din, and Cora couldn't keep herself from rolling her eyes.

"You, send for the doctor at once!" She ordered the disguised Khallesh, still assuming her to be a servant. Cora nabbed a passing guard and yanked the commlink from his belt.

"This is Princess von Cholmendeley. A guest in the ballroom has been poisoned. Lock everything down, and have physicians on standby.”

Amidst the frenzy of nobles, an inordinately fat racyon skittered through the crowd. Clearly pampered, the creature's reddish orange fur was cleaned and trimmed, and the pink bow tied around her neck was pristine. Lula II had watched her owner, Princess Corazona, be assailed by a tasty looking rodent. Her beady eyes followed the arc of Kuzo's small body as he sailed through the air, scampering after him beneath the table cloth for her next meal.

—

As Aculia meandered her way towards the security office, she would be approached by a pair of guards who'd responded to the lockdown initiation.

"Ma'am, what are you doing here? This area is restricted to palace personnel only." Blocking her path, one of the soldiers addressed her in a polite but firm tone. She was clearly a guest from the way she was dressed.

The two exchanged glances before one guard stepped forward, offering her his arm to take.

"There is currently an emergency in the palace. It is not safe for you to be here; please, allow me to escort you back to the ballroom with the other guests."

Rumors of an assassin had swept through the palace at breakneck pace, and though it was possible she was simply lost, the soldiers viewed this strange women with a healthy dose of suspicion.

Kingsley Judd Khallesh Jacen Nimdok Shem Spinner Aculia Voland Levi Kuzo

 

[Aculia Voland]

Aculia politely stopped when one of the soldiers asked her to, feigning a look of genuine concern as he talked, before speaking authoratively waving one gloved hand in front of both of the guards.

"Yes, and that is why I am here. I am a special defense contractor of Lady Ascania, I have important information regarding a potential Sith assasination plot against her. Please, take me to the main security office, so that I may supervise and initiate countermeasures against them. She or her husband may already be in danger!"

She stood her ground firmly, the Force flowing around her brightly for a few moments as she spoke to the soldiers. If a Jedi were watching, they would know she was using the Force, but perhaps not for what, as she had to concentrate her full power to successfully convince the guards this time around, so she was not able to use the light touches and concealment method she had before. Thankfully, most of the Jedi seemed to be in main room and more would arrive there rather than spread around the palace, after all, that is where the commotion was.


Kingsley Judd Khallesh Jacen Nimdok Shem Spinner Levi Kuzo Corazona von Ascania

 

[Kingsley]

UKATIS ROYAL PALACE
AXILLA CITY
Aculia Voland Shem Spinner Corazona von Ascania Khallesh Jacen Nimdok Kuzo Judd Levi Scrudge

​

"HEY! IDIOT! GRAB THE ROPE!"

Kingsley scrambled up the rope, somehow entangling himself more than making any vertical progress. There was another squawk of surprise when Judd began hauling the bird up. Halfway there the vault doors swung open, blinding him with harsh light. Still spinning around in circles, he was beginning to feel sick.

"What is the meaning of-"

Vomit erupted from Kingsley's beak all over the sovereign of Ukatis.

"Assassin! Protect the king!"

Blasters transformed the vault into a light show. Royal heirlooms exploded around him wreaking even more havoc on the vault. Swaying back and forth Kingsley clung for dear life. In his panic he made it harder for Judd to pull him up but only a few near misses scorched his feathers or frayed the rope. Upon his brow the symbol of Ukatian royalty was tilted at a jaunty angle. He couldn't go back to prison. Not again.

"Rrrrawwwk!" Kingsley wailed, "This was all the mouse's idea!"

 

[Khallesh]

"You, send for the doctor at once!" She ordered the disguised Khallesh, still assuming her to be a servant. Cora nabbed a passing guard and yanked the commlink from his belt.

"Of course Princess."

She tried not to snarl in disgust. The Ooglith she wore would have put the same expression across her human mask and revealed her.

Pitiful humans who ordered each other around because on fanciful titles and not because of their prowess in battle.

How they had lost to these creatures was still beyond her. At least the Jeedai typically fought and died well.

She heard the first note of blaster fire.

The distraction wasn't going to be enough.

 

[Judd]

AXILLA CITY, UKATIS
ABOVE THE PALACE VAULT
Kingsley - Levi - Jacen Nimdok - Corazona von Ascania - Kuzo - Khallesh - Shem Spinner - Aculia Voland - Scrudge
​

<Master Nimdok is having a fit of sorts, I'm afraid. What happened?>

Watching the leader of their heist clamber onto the rope, attempting to climb it as if he were a middle schooler in gym class, Judd could only make a disapproving, disbelieving clucking noise. "Our employer knocked over every stack of treasure the von Cholmendeley's had." He figured it was an apt description, as he began heaving Kingsley up the rope, the criminal's raucous climbing only making it worse for both of them, as his line began to spin.

Of course, he was in no good mood as a spiced-off-his-rocker Wookiee slammed into his side, making him jerk the rope. Judd turned around, his abrasive personality on display. "Hey! Back off, drug rug!"

He turned back towards the hole, just in time to see Kingsley throw up over the rightful ruler of Ukatis, and the concurrent blaster fire. He turned to Scrudge, a savage scowl on his face. "Help pull! Our payday's down there!" He didn't want this all to be for nothing.

Of course, if worse came to worse, Judd wasn't against letting the rotisserie cook.

 

[Jace Khel]

From one mess to the next, the cries of poison across the air and to the claxon sound of alarms. On a mission to observe members of the Galactic Alliance in their most pristine of settings, the marred Jedi Padawan had not predicted the need to shuffle aside for some fat, bumbling rodent to pass on through undisturbed. Cholmondeley, he bitterly mused, what a ridiculous sounding name.

"Princess," said the young Jedi several years her junior, "I'll find whoever the poisoner is."

Corazona von Ascania

 

[Shem Spinner]

Ukatis Royal Palace
Tags: Corazona von Ascania , Jace Khel, Jacen Nimdok , Levi , Others

Goldwing, Epo-1, R5-T399​

"Poison..." Yulon mused, rubbing at the end of his beak. "I had my suspicions... I'll inspect the rest of the drinks." The chieftain turned to the horned man. "Keep this fellow here with his head elevated. Make sure that reed doesn't shift. He'll need time to let the pathogen work through his system."

Meanwhile Shem was already on his way to assist in keeping the princess safe. As he did so, he heard a cry off in the distance that came from... the Prince? A scoff arose in the fledgling's throat. How unbefitting of an heir. Human nobles were so much more different than his people, but not in the interesting way. It was a sad sight, but Shem was far too preoccupied to feel any pity for the cowardly man.

As he got to the princess, he found that there was already another padawan there. There were other Jedi here? That came as a surprise to the Rishii, as he himself hadn't come as a Jedi. The young Jedi expressed a desire to locate the source of the poison.

"Hello," he greeted, a bit casual for sure, but he at least bowed. "I'm Shem. I'm gonna help keep you safe."

The young bird turned to the other padawan, a frown forming on his beak.

"I'd ask around the staff," Shem noted, "It was one of the drinks that was poisoned, yeah? One of the servers could be a plant."

 

[Scrudge]

"Rrrwwwgggg…" Scrudge cried, paws still clasped over his ears. Even as Judd shoved him, he rocked from side to side in agony from the blaring alarms.

The mention of their payday being compromised was concerning enough for the Wookiee to pay attention to whatever else was going on around them. Reaching into his Jersey, he retrieved a transparent plastoid bag filled with a sheer, reddish powder. Sprinkling the dust into a line on his arm, Scrudge leaned over and took a long, audible sniff. His eyes dilated and the screeching klaxons seemed to fade into the background.

Gasping, the Wookiee shook his head as if he'd been slapped. With lightning reflexes and incredible strength, he grasped both paws around the rope just below Judd's hands and yanked as hard as he could. The resulting force did pull Kingsley upwards, but it also sent the bird and his projectile vomit whirling around the vault.

Kingsley Judd

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora pinched her brow; she felt the worst of headaches coming on.

"Princess," said the young Jedi several years her junior, "I'll find whoever the poisoner is."

"Our priority is to protect the people, Padawan. The palace will be locked down and searched thoroughly. Assist with that if you must.”

"I'm Shem. I'm gonna help keep you safe."

The Princess cocked a brow before nodding. "Very well, Shem."

The commlink she'd been clutching suddenly crackled.

"The treasure vault has been breached. All available security personnel who are not currently stationed report to the area immediately!"

Cora sighed. The party itself had been quite the affair to organize; and now it had been ruined by alleged assassins and thieves.

"Right then. Shem, we're heading towards the vault. And…you." She didn't know the scarred Padawan's name, but courtesy could be foregone in dire circumstances. "The kitchens are back that way if you're going to start questioning servers." She gestured to a side door at the end of the banquet hall, nondescript and tucked away so as to appear out of sight among the more opulent decor.

—

The guards simply stared at Aculia for a moment, entranced. They'd initially been suspicious of her, but the more she spoke, the more sense she seemed to make. The pair had no idea that they were being compelled to believe her lie.

"A Sith plot? To assassinate the Princess?" One said, looking to the other for confirmation. "I…suppose that does make sense. The Princess used to be a Jedi. Maybe they are behind this."

His companion seemed to consider, then gave a nod.

"The security office is just up ahead. Even if you are a contractor chosen by the princess herself, we'll need to see your credentials. Anyone authorized to work with the Cholmondeley family is issued a document bearing the royal seal."

Kingsley Judd Aculia Voland Shem Spinner Jace Khel Jacen Nimdok Levi Khallesh Kuzo

 

[Aculia Voland]

(Beat Check for both guards)

"There's no time for that!" Aculia snapped, faux anger twisting her face into a furious expression, normally pale blue eyes blazing with an uncharacteristic fire. "Corazona could die! Every second matters and you want to stand on protocol?" She tapped her feet angrily as she waved a hand across the both of them, expertly increasing the pressure on them with the Force. "We need to go now, no more checks, no more bureaucracy, I need to be able to see everything that is happening and be able to enact protocols we can only do from there! Do you understand me or do you want a dead Von Ascania on your hands?!"

Corazona von Ascania Kingsley Judd Shem Spinner Jace Khel Jacen Nimdok Levi Khallesh Kuzo .

 

[Levi]

"Our employer knocked over every stack of treasure the von Cholmendeley's had."

<Ah. Lovely.> Levi hummed, stepping away as a large bird man came up to assist Jacen, <Well everybody's on alert over here so, might need to hurry things up in there.> The bird approached him now, forcing Levi to quiet his comms, "I'm right on it." He replied with low-effort enthusiasm.

Kneeling down to make sure Jacen didn't croak left Levi without much to do in the chaos. At least he wasn't suspicious to the crowd yet. Once they had a moment away from Jacen's savior, Levi whispered to him, "Just got a ring from our crewmate-- The plan is pretty much going to shit, in case you couldn't tell."

"As for the poison; Uhh… Not mine. I can tell you that much." He shot the young man a lone finger gun.

Jacen Nimdok - Judd - Kingsley - Corazona von Ascania - Shem Spinner - @ Everyone else​

 

[Kingsley]

UKATIS ROYAL PALACE
AXILLA CITY
Aculia Voland Shem Spinner Corazona von Ascania Khallesh Jacen Nimdok Kuzo Judd Levi Scrudge Jace Khel

​

Scorched feathers drifted over the vault like snowfall and the smell of cooked bird grew pungent. Kingsley continued to flail, now tangled up in his only lifeline. Several palace guards slipped in his mess while the others struggled to aim through a blizzard of down. Somehow, he managed to locate his comlink.

"Rrrrawwk! Everything is going perfect gang! I've got the crown! Now pull me up you big-"

Kingsley screamed into the comlink when Scrudge yanked on the rope. He vanished from sight in a puff of feathers. Talons groped for anything to hang onto. In a blind panic the smuggler ignored Judd's attempts to help him up and started climbing over the massive aliens. During the struggle his stolen crown was knocked free.

"Dank farik," he moaned.

Time slowed down as the crown slipped from his head and began to fall back towards the vault. Distant sirens were growing louder.

 

[Khallesh]

"Right then. Shem, we're heading towards the vault. And…you." She didn't know the scarred Padawan's name, but courtesy could be foregone in dire circumstances. "The kitchens are back that way if you're going to start questioning servers." She gestured to a side door at the end of the banquet hall, nondescript and tucked away so as to appear out of sight among the more opulent decor.

Khallesh had not gone far from the commotion. In a way, she could respect these humans for forming a social hierarchy. It was more orderly than the chaos in which most of them lived. However, as far as she could tell, they took they position based on birth and social wrangling rather than skill in battle.

That was all the respect she would afford the people of this world.

She followed the princess and her jeedai guards away from the social space. They were heading towards the vault, which meant the avian pirate in charge of this operation had made a mistake.

The Ooglith started to shift as she followed. The living creature was embedded in her skin through tens of thousands of cilia. Even a subtle remoulding of its form was incredibly painful. A pain that Khallesh welcomed.

She took enough time that the princess would reach the vault. But when Corazona von Ascania and Shem Spinner did,they would find a Yuuzhan Vong warrior stalking behind them.

 

[Judd]

AXILLA CITY, UKATIS
ABOVE THE PALACE VAULT
Kingsley - Levi - Jacen Nimdok - Scrudge
​

The Wookiee was a little too jazzed at the thought of their payday, yanking the rope with so much force that it escaped Judd's hands a moment. Recovering, the Dowutin continued to pull, reaching out a hand to Kingsley, as if to help him out and away from the torrent of blaster fire below.

Of course, Judd was none too pleased when the bumbling criminal began to scale him like some rabid racyon. He growled in displeasure, shrugging his shoulders to dislodge the pest.

The back-and-forth caused the crown to fall from Kingsley's head, and towards the open hole. Judd saw it begin to roll towards the edge, and threw the boss off and away from him, darting a hand towards their prize.

And missing it by a breath.

 

[Shem Spinner]

Ukatis Royal Palace
Tags: Corazona von Ascania , Khallesh , Others...

Goldwing, Epo-1, R5-T399​

Something felt wrong. There was a void around them, a lack of presence in the force. Shem had noticed an individual following them, which had the fledgling on edge.

"We're being followed, Princess," Shem relayed, turning around and furrowing his brow. "They're dead in the Force I think. They feel... empty."

What did that mean? Shem wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to let harm befall the Princess. The royal vault was certainly not as important as the life of an individual. Shem drew his bow, which he had managed to haggle in by convincing one of the servants it was his father's walking stick. Energy bows weren't a very common sight on Ukatis, fortunately, so the guard bought it.

"I think this could be a trap," he explained. "I had a vision not to long ago. A bunch of chaos around a really gross looking vulture guy. It happened right before all poison stuff."

His expression was stern now, and the boy prepared his bow. Someone was definately following them.

"But I don't think we can turn back now," the fledgling muttered.

Hopefully the Princess was good at avoiding fights.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Even with her senses in the Force depressed, Cora felt a faint tickle in the back of her mind. The kind that made the hairs at the back of your neck stand on edge.

Shem felt it too, and his confirmation deepened her frown.

"Force dead." She murmured lowly, brow furrowing. "You had a vision?"

The Padawan may have been young, but he seemed to have good instincts. They kept walking forward, inching closer towards the vault, backs to whatever was stalking them down the hall. Shem had an energy bow, and the Princess had a holdout blaster strapped to her thigh, but avoidance would be best.

"Don't look back, follow me closely." Cora muttered lowly. As they rounded a corner, they could hear the din of yelling and blaster fire in the distance.

Suddenly, Cora grabbed Shem by the wing and dragged the Padawan sharply around another corner. Her palm pressed against one of the white marble tiles on the wall, revealing a narrow staircase that would take them to the roof.

"Hurry!" She hissed, ducking through the entrance.

—

Both of the guards bristled at Aculia's insistence. She certainly was forceful—but what if they didn't let her through, and the Princess was upset? Or worse, dead? They'd certainly be executed!

"Alright, alright!" One of the soldiers relented, stepping aside so that Aculia could pass. "Just make sure that no harm befalls the royal family!"

"I thought the Princess' last name was Cholmondeley now?" The second guard muttered.

"Who cares." The first rolled his eyes. "Let's just get to the vault!"

Shem Spinner Khallesh Kingsley Judd Levi Aculia Voland

 

[Scrudge]

When Judd dove for the crown, so did Scrudge.

Judd missed. Scrudge didn't miss. Scrudge never missed.

His paw wrapped around one of the delicate golden arches of the crown, heavily laden with sparkling jewels, and it snapped right off.

Scrudge belly flopped onto Judd, holding a broken piece of the crown aloft. The rest of the royal adornment toppled into the vault below.

As far as he was concerned, their plan was successful. Even a piece of that ugly hat had to be worth something, right?

Kingsley Judd