Rage against the dying of the light

[OriginsoftheJedi]

"All right, all right. You'll have to slow down a bit if you want me to answer." Mark said with a smirk.
"Yes. I've been to a few places. Mainly in republic space, but a few outside. I've been to places like Llum, and Lego, and Agamar, and Nar Shaddaa. Sometimes I take my starfighter, like I did to get to Ossus today, and sometimes I take other transport, like right now.
And to the other question, yes there are other orders of jedi. Not nearly as big as ours, but they exist. Every so often, I actually get to help out the Silver Jedi who serve the light side of the force like we do, but they run things a bit differently. My master sends me with them every once in a while to help me broaden my knowledge of running things in different ways. The grey jedi you were talking about also exist. They serve niether the light nor dark side. They are true neutral, though they generally are nice people. Never met one personally, but I'm sure I'll get there.
So how did you get into the order in the first place Zak? Who brought you in?"

[member="Zak Dymo"]
[member="Nefertari Sovint"]
[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Sith territory, fantastic. And they really were taking a child into a potential conflict. Exception. Jacen started to wish that'd he'd brought a bigger gun. Finding a seat, he settled down into the space - which could hardly be described as comfortable - and closed his eyes. Years on the front line had left him with the uncanny ability to fall asleep almost anywhere. Battlefield missions that could last three days at a time, meant that you damn well found sleep when you could. That sometimes meant on a roaring gunship, with artillery fire in the distance, in an open field, almost anywhere at any time and under any conditions.

No point staying awake for the ride when the other end could be deeply unpleasant. At least he didn't snore as he drifted off.

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The Nautolan stood on his knees in his seat, almost like a puppy that was begging for a treat, hanging on every word that Mark spoke as though he was the great storyteller, and his account the greatest story ever told.

"Sometimes I take my starfighter..."

"You have a STARFIGHTER!" the youngling exclaimed, his voice echoing through the confines of the transport as the Nautolan demonstrated a lack of an 'inside voice.' Jacen might have had better luck sleeping in an active warzone than in the same shuttle with the green youngling.

He wanted a starfighter. Not much. Maybe an Incom E-Wing. Or... something retro. Yeah, retro was cool. A Z-95 Headhunter maybe. Or a Mon Calamari fighter, so it could go submersible in the water with him.

"So how did you get into the order in the first place Zak? Who brought you in?"

The question broke the child out of his daydreaming, as neither was something that he'd ever thought about before. Confusion clouded his dark eyes, as the gray swirls moved like storm clouds, revealing the work of the boy's mind as he mulled over how to answer. "I dunno," the youngling offered honestly, even as he still tried fathom why he hadn't ever thought about this before.

He had been at the Academy on Ossus his whole life? Right?

No, some how he knew that wasn't right. Even if his memory didn't extend beyond that. Looking back up at the human, the boy said, "I was really little. I couldn't even breathe... like... breathe out of water, yet."

---

[member="Mark Sage"] [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

"Coming up on the Gnost Dural" Nefertari announced
The frigate where they were to rendezvous with [member="Kian Karr"] was coming up on the scopes.
As they docked, the Jedi Knight emerged from the cockpit.

"Let's do this"


[member="Zak Dymo"]
[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
[member="Mark Sage"]

(OOC: Sorry I didn't move it along sooner)

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen stirred as the quiet hum of the engines was punctuated by the docking ring clamping down. Slowly blinking his eyes open as the metallic clash rung around the inside of the ship, he paused for a long yawn.

“Good nap,” he mumbled to himself. Voidstalker stretched out his legs and shoulders as he got out of the cramped seat. The man could sleep just about anywhere, but that didn’t mean his aging body didn’t suffer for it. Jacen paused at a viewport, but the visage of space was blocked by the silver hull of the ship they had docked with. He checked his power packs habitually as he slid open the door and stepped out into the Gnost Dural.

[member="Nefertari Sovint"]
[member="Zak Dymo"]
[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian had been busy while waiting for the arrival of Nefertari and her team. Getting the coordinates for the space station was easy enough, but figuring out how they were going to approach without being noticed was a whole other thing. Sure the Gnost Dural was a stealth vessel, but it also housed Jedi Padawans and younglings who had been flagged for training in the Jedi Shadows....Kian wasn't going to risk those Jedi.

"Sir, they're here." Soli Baris said from the doorway to the conference room.

"Good, bring them here." Kian said sitting back in the chair. He had a briefing to give that would help explain how this was going to work. Kian had used many of his resources and assets to put in place a plan and it was time to reveal it.

____________________​

​

Soli approached the group of Jedi as they exited their vessel onto the Gnost Dural. Several security personnel approached them to begin the necessary scans that accompanied anyone visiting the secretive ship and as soon as that was finished, Soli approached.

"Greetings!" She said smiling and approaching. "Master Karr sent me, I'm Soli Baris." She said glancing over the group, the smile on her face never waivering.

"If you'll follow me, I'll take you to him." Soli said turning and began leading them to the conference room.

[member="Nefertari Sovint"]​

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

[member="Zak Dymo"]​

[member="Mark Sage"]​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Kian Karr"]

Jacen patiently waited whilst an remote instrument bobbed around him, scanning him. It seemed security was tight here. Obviously the Jedi Order placed a much greater level of trust on children that he did. The Nautolan behind him was barely out of infancy in his opinion, and the padawan that greeted them couldn't have been much above fifteen. Maybe he was being judgemental, or perhaps he saw things as a black and white war effort, and was less enamoured with children being so involved.

The scanner hovered near his pocket, bleeping. He very slowly removed the comm link he'd picked up before leaving Ossus, leaving it with the guards. Odd that they seemed more concerned about that than his weapons. They were probably more concerned with the threat posed by One Sith intel and Spynet than him. Voidstalker dutifully followed Soli to the conference room, finding a seat to wait for the briefing.

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

So maybe the security had been a bit much, but Mark knew it was better to be safe than sorry. After the remotes, who seemed very suspicious of poor R2, were done with him, a woman introduced herself as Soli Baris. She began leading the group to the conference room where Mark assumed they would meet with Master Karr, who would brief them.
[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
[member="Nefertari Sovint"]
[member="Zak Dymo"]
[member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The young Nautolan followed the two older Padawans, standing between the two taller males as he watched with a curious wonder at the security procedures.

Were they in trouble? The boy thought that Master Sovint had said that this was a Jedi ship, for meeting up with Master Karr. So why were they being scanned?

Which, while the boy wasn't carrying any communications or electronic gear on him, the Shadow performing the security check of the youngling did come away with a sling-shot which he wasn't supposed to have... because the Jedi instructors at the Academy were supposed to have confiscated it from the last time he'd been caught with it, which only came to light after a window at the Academy had been busted.

"Uh... that's not mine?" the child ventured haphazardly, only to frown as the security technician kept the slingshot and motioned the boy on.

Making his way along with the others, the youngling frowned at the sight of the conference table.

Conference tables were never a good sign. Much talk. Many boring.

With a sigh, the Nautolan slumped forward in resignation to the fact that the adults would want to discuss things. And have meetings. And then discuss when they wanted to meet to discuss the next meeting.

Did Dark Side Padawans have to go through this?

Was there such a thing as a Dark Side Padawan? What would you even call that? A Badawan?

---

[member="Mark Sage"] [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

Nefertari nearly slapped the security person out of reflex when they reached into her jacket and took her datadagger.
"Comprehensive, as I would expect from a secret vessel of the order"
A light dark side presence would likely be felt from Nef's pendant. Not enough to influence anybody, but noticeable.
She entered the conference room and stayed with her favorite Nautolan.

Time for a briefing I guess...



[member="Kian Karr"], [member="Zak Dymo"], [member="Jacen Voidstalker"], [member="Mark Sage"]

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian's head rose as Jedi Knight Sovint and her clutch of padawans entered the conference room. Kian's masked face glanced around at the group that she had brought with her. Padawan Sage, Dymo, and Voidstalker, Kian recalled as he glanced at them. He hadn't had the pleasure yet of meeting the group but he had a habit of getting to know incoming Jedi by their dossiers. Information was something Kian held very dear and was a big aspect of his work with the Shadows.

"Knight Sovint, thank you for arriving so promptly." Kian said bowing his head respectfully as he rose to his feet and signaled for everyone to join him around the table. Kian remained standing while they took their seats. "I'll get right to business as time is a bit of a factor." Kian said glancing at the faces of the padawans and smiling....though they wouldn't see it.

"I've received word of an auction that is to take place in a few days at this space station." Kian said punching in a command on the console in front of him and a holographic image of a space station appeared before them:

​

"The station operates as a shadow port for some rather nasty individuals." Kian said clasping his hands behind his back. "Slave trading, black market sales, drug dens....you name it and the station does it." Kian said shaking his head. "We have two overall objectives." Kian said raisng a finger to tick off the first.

"Objective 1, recover the black market goods that are going to be auctioned. Objective 2, shut this place down. We'll need to split into two groups in order to do this. Myself and one of the padawans will infiltrate the main security hub, located here." Kian said indicating the tower at the highest point on the station. "We will need to move in stealth....any alarms raised will make team 2's job even more difficult." Kian said.

"Team 2 will gain access to the auction house, located here." Kian said indicating the eastern most wing of the station. "And recover the stolen materials." Kian said turning his attention away from the holograph and back to the group.

"Questions or comments so far?"

[member="Mark Sage"] - [member="Nefertari Sovint"] - [member="Zak Dymo"] - [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Micah tol Powl]

He understood the gist of what Master Karr had explained.

It was basically a capture the flag strategy. Younglings did it all the time in the games that the Jedi Academy instructors arranged for them. Which, coincidentally, seemed good introduction to situations like this. Did the teachers plan that, the boy wondered...

Great, now he was trying to understand teachers.

This is what happened when you hung around padawans and older Jedi. What was going to happen next? He was actually going to start liking girls? That thought alone made the boy shudder.

As for the particulars or terminology that Master Karr had used..? That, he hadn't followed as well.

"Questions or comments so far?"

The youngling's head turned to his left, then his right, as the boy's eyes scanned the room anxiously. He didn't want to be the only one asking questions... The adults would all just think he was stupid anyway. And he didn't want to look ignorant, so maybe he shouldn't ask his questions.

Anxiety turned to frustration, as the boy slid down in his seat.

Wait, he could ask his master. And then maybe no one would notice, the child thought to himself. With that thought in mind, the boy pushed himself up in his seat as he leaned over toward [member="Nefertari Sovint"]. Tugging on her sleeve to get the woman's attention, the boy cupped a hand by his mouth in a never-more-obvious way of asking a question he was embarrassed to ask. "What... What's a 'shadow port'?" the boy whispered anxiously.

Seriously, what did shadows have to do with space stations?

"An'.... And why's it called a 'black market'?"

Weren't markets places where girls went shopping and stuff? Why not call it a pink market then? Except, Master Karr had talked about slaves. And drugs, neither of which sounded like things girls shopped for. Didn't they usually shop places with dresses, and shoes, and more dresses. This didn't sound like any of that. Zak had read about slavery, but he didn't know much about it. Just that it was bad, like drugs. And it was illegal in the Republic, like drugs.

So, if you were supposed to say NO to drugs, you were supposed to say NO to slavery too, right? That seemed to make sense.

Slavery was bad, kids.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Kian Karr"]

Jacen rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, feeling the rough stubble that had already grown overnight. He'd been on a single operation to bring down a smuggler port before. Nothing on this scale and it had gone messy quickly.

"Just a few Master Karr. What size Force are we taking with us? What's the size and composition of the station's formal defences? Do they confiscate weapons? If they don't I assume we're expecting at least half the port's occupants to turn hostile quickly.

"And finally: are we taking children into a combat zone?" he finished the last question stoically, not looking to the child beside him.

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

When her padawan tugged her sleeve, Nefertari leaned to listen to her padawan
"What... What's a 'shadow port'?" "An'.... And why's it called a 'black market'?"
"You wouldn't want anybody to see you there, they would think you're up to no good. Both are kept pretty secret, and are shady as all get out. Often times they are quite illegal."

Then [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] spoke up and asked about taking children into a combat zone.
"You speak of my padawan, don't you? If he says he is up for it, I have no objection to his coming along. Besides, this lad is more powerful than one might think. An element of surprise you could say."

Nef understood that they were supposed to simply shut the place down, but she would just as soon blow it to smithereens. Drugs were a nasty business, and slavery made her blood boil. Still, she tried her best to keep her cool.

"Is there anything specific you would like us to keep an eye out for, Master Karr?"


[member="Zak Dymo"], [member="Mark Sage"], [member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian listened to the exchange between the group and waited for the questions to be posed before progressing. He understood some of their concerns, but they hadn't worked with the Shadows before and therefore were likely unaware of the way they tended to do things.

"You're looking at it." Kian said smiling and waving a hand at the group seated at the table. "The five of us are the only ones going in. We won't be actively seeking out combat, we will be focusing on stealth, investigative skills, and secrecy." Kian said smiling beneath his mask. "That is what the Jedi Shadows do, and this is a Shadow operation, hence my involvement." Kian clarified.

"As for the forces on the shadow port. Nothing formal." Kian said pressing a key and a number of rough looking individuals began to be displayed across the screen. "The port is held in relative check by a number of powerful thugs whose gangs patrol different sectors, but they are often at odds and bloodshed is a daily occurrence."

"We aren't directly taking the location down." Kian said folding his hands over his chest. "The security hub will grant us valuable information that can be used to have the authorities come in and make the necessary arrests....which is why it is important that we move in stealth. Anything that raises suspicion could jeapodrize the taking down of this place."

"As for the items you'll find, many of the discriptions were fairly vague....but there is some evidence that a heritage tapestry has survived the sacking of Coruscant and may be here."

[member="Nefertari Sovint"] - [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] - [member="Zak Dymo"] - [member="Mark Sage"]​

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

The famous heritage tapestries. Mark couldn't stop himself from having a small grin. Mark had seen pictures of them once or twice, but they had been lost for years now. To find one would be among the highest artifacts that Mark would ever have found.
"They belong in a museum." Mark said quietly to himself.
[member="Kian Karr"]
[member="Zak Dymo"]
[member="Nefertari Sovint"]
[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Kian Karr"] [member="Mark Sage"] [member="Nefertari Sovint"]

Jacen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Sometimes, if a buyer is thought to be bringing some big money to the table, they can get a private look at particular auction pieces. Or even get one of their experts to take a thorough look at certain items. I know this is a shadowport, not your high-class, prawn sandwich auctions house, but the principle is probably the same. Any chance you have contacts or resources who could set something like that up?" Jacen said, essentially thinking out loud. Unless that had some master thieves in the group, a secure vault might be a tricky one to get into. Cartels like this didn't leave expensive items lying around, they also didn't have trials and jails for people caught steeling. They had claw hammers and airlocks.

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] had just voiced an idea. Not only would it most likely work, that potential big buyer was possibly sitting in the same room
"That is a splendid idea, Padawan Voidstalker...would the title of Countess be enough?"
Nef thought a moment
"How to get everybody else in...I figure Padawan Sage and I bear enough similarity that some would believe we're related if we told them that. What do you think?"

[member="Mark Sage"]
[member="Kian Karr"]
[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The small Nautolan's feet kicked idly, unable to reach the floor as he sat back in the chair at the conference table, his eyes following the flow of the conversation.

He didn't mind that some of the conversation was about him, even though he was sitting there. Adults talked about him, in front of him, all the time. The part of the observer allowed the boy opportunity to try and piece together what he understood about the conversation from what he didn't.

They were going to split into two team. Team One was going to take out security, and Team Two was going to try and get inside with the heritage curtain-thingy.

Jacen thought someone with money could get inside, which Master Sovint agreed with. And then she added a possible 'in' for Mark, but left open as a question how the rest of them were going to get inside.

Looking around the table, the small Nautolan spoke up. "I'm, like, the one non-human here... other than Master Karr," the child noted. And it seemed to have been implied that Master Karr was probably going to be playing the whole 'Jedi Shadow, you can't see me' card.

So why was that important?

"They... they'd probably think I was your slave," the Nautolan blurted aloud frankly. He'd gotten plenty of introduction to the concept of discrimination during the Cyrillia mission. "..or servant," the child amended a second later. Was servant better than slave? Was there really a difference? "You know, the whole 'yes, master' thing."

Seriously, tag on a droid and she'd have a total entourage thing going.

That seemed to answer the question for three of them. And hadn't Master Karr said that he'd be taking a padawan with him? "So... so Master Sovint an' Mark an' I... we... we could, like, be Team Two then," the youngling ventured, more for the sake of asking whether he was still following where the conversation was going.

"Which... which would leave Mister Voidstalker an' Master Karr as Team One," the boy noted, looking at Jacen and then at the Kel Dor at the table. It was more of a question than a statement. "Is that right?"

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Mark Sage"]​

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

"Hmm..."
Mark rubbed three fingers across his chin.
"You know," he said, "I think this might actually be crazy enough to work."
R2-M9 bumped his leg and emitted a series of quiet beeps and whistles.
"That's true R2."
He looked back to the others.
"We are in Sith Territory, so even if this station isn't run by the Sith themselves, there's a high chance that there's a few aboard. We may have outward disguises and maybe a mind trick or two that will keep the non-force sensitives from noticing us, but what about the ones who can?"
[member="Kian Karr"] [member="Nefertari Sovint"] [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Zak Dymo"]