Refuge Interrupted

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Location: Sanctuary


After several years of training and combat experience, [member='Ar'ekk'] had become a warrior of the force under the banner of the Silver Jedi. Even though he was not of Knight status, he was deemed fit for duty by superiors, and sent out on a mission to the nearby planet of Sanctuary. It was a planet known for its pacifism, inhabited only by a small number of species compared to other planets in the galaxy, so it was very surprising to hear the many missing persons reports that had been filed.

While the planet itself was on the edge of Silver Jedi territory, they were more than willing to spare a capable Jedi along with a squad of soldiers to investigate the incidents. Filed reports were on holographic display within the transport as it rocketed towards Sanctuary's surface, providing details that would most likely come in handy later on. Village elders from various islands had begun reporting missing individuals around the same date, with people disappearing once a month only after sundown.

There seemed to be a pattern among the missing people too, for only adults and youth had mysteriously vanished without a trace, no witnesses. One of the soldiers who had been paying attention to the details suddenly turned to Ar'ekk, a confused expression upon his face. "This is pretty odd... What do you make of it, sir?" He questioned the Jedi, hoping for some insight.

 

[Arekk]

It has been years since Ar'ekk stopped being the naive, unexperienced and young Jedi he once was. He outgrew the child that once was under the command of masters Rasu Gan and [member="Tugoro Taidarious"], now walking a different path but this time alone. A fully fledged warrior with a vast amount of knowledge, the Padawan had been staying in Sanctuary to investigate some mysterious incidents that required of his experience.

The Jedi was recognizable for his curiosity and quick-thinking, so it wouldn't take him much longer to start investigating this strange case. As the sun began to rise, A'rekk made his way to the first place of interest in the outskirts of the village. This was the spot where the first missing report was filed. When he finally made it to the destination, a soldier approached Ar'ekk who gave him a quick briefing of what happened.

A small hut with no clear signs of forced entry, the interior remained untouched. A strange situation indeed as the young Padawan commenced his investigation. He couldn't make out anything out of this, so he walked outside, pondering heavily on his next move.

The soldier caught his attention with a comment. In a heartbeat, he responded: "I am not sure, my friend. Do we have any witnesses? I need someone that saw or heard something. Doesn't matter what, but it has to lead me somewhere. This is a very strange occurence. I was told several people went missing, so there's a clear pattern."

The young Jedi stood there dumbfounded, plotting his next move. The angelical sound of birds chirping made the chore slightly difficult, he couldn't concentrate. What happened in here?

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

After the transport touched down, [member='Ar'ekk'] was escorted to the scene of the first reported incident, along with his soldier escort and the small investigation team. They began to sweep the hut for any clues, but there wasn't even a single sign of struggle anywhere. There were no disturbances in the force either, no traces of the dark side or anything of the sort. As the team exited the premises, a few of the investigators began to question a nearby Rodian that happened to be passing, his clothes made up of raggedy robes and straps that held them together. Cheedo, a Rodian that had come to the planet like many others, seeking refuge from the malevolent forces of the galaxy. <We are all disturbed by the loss of our friends, but I do not know anything. You will want to speak with the village elder.>

The Rodian then walked off, as the investigators turned to the Jedi. "There is a start, I suppose," the soldier replied, turning around to see an old man slowly approaching. He walked with a wooden cane in his hand, hunched over as his aged figure moved as fast as it could. "It pains me to think someone would be ruthless enough to target our community," he began, coming to a stop in front of Ar'ekk while examining the Jedi. "You must have seen some things in your time, Master-Jedi," clearly a bit put off by Ar'ekk's appearance. "It is a great honor to have you aiding our people, I will answer what I can."

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk was caught off-guard by the elder's comment. The painful remembrance of what once happened to him during battle still ached like day one. it was something he'd never forget. So many friends, brothers, soldiers lost for a lost cause. His mind seemed to wander off slightly but rapidly focused on his target: Solving this strange case of disappearances.

As he allowed to let out a heartfelt chuckle, the Padawan replied: "I am not a Jedi Master yet but I appreciate the compliment. By any means necessary, it's my pleasure to aid such a noble community. Please tell me what you've seen or heard in the last couple of months. Do not leave out any details as they might be of great importance to our investigation. Anything out of the ordinary or something that has caught your eye."

The young Jedi's appearance had changed drastically over the years. War scars that he will always carry along, a mask covering half his face making him look half a man and machine and a robotic left arm. The eyes of Ar'ekk no longer showed the expression of innocency, of the child whose future was uncertain as he first arrived to Yutan. He was no Jedi Master yet but was working towards that with dedication and hardwork. The road was long for him to achieve such honor and greatness. But right now, his priority was assisting this helpless village and find their loved ones long lost. Although, a part of him was missing. For years, he's been wondering where Master [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] could be. He could sense something in the Force that told him he'd still might be alive and because of that, he's never lost the hope to once reunite with his old mentor.

Ar'ekk was waiting for the old man's answer. Whatever it is, it wouldn't be good.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

The old man sighed disappointingly, casting a regretful glance to the ground before speaking. "I wish I had more to tell you, but there is little we have witnessed as a whole," spoke raggedly, taking a breath as he began to remember back to the previous months. "We didn't realize how bad it was, given the lack of communication between the islands here. At least five people from each community have gone missing, if only we had done something," the elder trailed off, clearly taking the loss heavily upon himself. His genuine motions could be felt through the force, and it was probably safe to cross him off the list of suspects.

Suddenly looking up at the Jedi, he continued, "It is all my fault, I came out of my hut one night to see Hanurr leaving his shelter, down towards the shoreline to his boat. I didn't think much of it, but no one has seen him since," the elder appeared to be done speaking, having told the team everything unusual that he remembered. Then, something came to him, "Cheedo was awake too! He had been watching Hanurr from his hut. It was the strangest thing, Cheedo didn't move in the slightest as he watched from the shadows." At this point the entire investigation team had crowded around, and were now subtly scanning the area for the Rodian that had just been present.

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk suddenly turned around, trying to dart his eyes on Cheedo but he was gone. The Rodian might've been involved in the disappearances. But at what cost? That's an answer he might only be able to answer. He had to be found immediately otherwise the investigation would get stuck. As the Padawan focused using the Force, he casted his mental powers to find this individual. He turned towards the elder and asked: "Is that a typical behaviour on Cheedo? Would you think of him capable of making five people disappear? I wonder if he knew the victims personally, dealt with them in any form."

The Jedi assembled a search party and ordered them to go in search of Cheedo. He was to be brought unharmed as he could be an important part of the on-going investigation. Questions still were flowing through Ar'ekk's mind and couldn't help himself to keep asking questions to this helpful elder man. "This is all strange. The person behind the abduction must have wanted something to do with the missing people. Different communities, different people. Could they be part of something that has occured in the past? There has to be a reason." -- "What can you tell me about Cheedo?"

He felt the investigation was moving too fast. He needed to take a breath and concentrate. It was getting too overwhelming.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

The team began to disperse, getting directions to Cheedo's hut before proceeding with anything else. The elder seemed worried by this, concerned for his Rodian friend, but also desperate to find out what had happened. "No, no, of course not," the old man muttered, unable to believe Cheedo would be capable of such a thing. "We all interact here, we are a small community that provides for each other with our individual specialties. Cheedo for example used to be a chef for a Hutt on Hok, before the Mandalorians invaded the planet. He has always been friendly, though he usually keeps to himself. I've never seen him like that before, though."

After a few minutes, two members of the investigation team came back to where [member='Ar'ekk'] and the village elder had been speaking, led by a very unenthusiastic Rodian. "The old man has lost it! I already told you Silvers, I don't remember anything like that happening!" Cheedo spoke, clearly offended by the accusations that had been made. "Do not lie, Cheedo! I know I saw you watching Hanurr!" If Ar'ekk had thought the case was moving too fast, he would be relieved by this dead end. Surprisingly enough, the two were being truthful as far as anyone could tell via force perception.

 

[Arekk]

As Cheedo got carried along by two members of the investigation team and placed in front of Ar'ekk, the questioning begun. He dragged his gaze between the Rodian and the elder man before saying: "Now why would this old man say you saw Hanurr heading towards his boat and you remained inside your hut motionless and watching? I do not feel like you're lying but what's going on in here?"

This case turned out to be more difficult and confusing as he could ever thought. It would require another highly skilled mind to search for clues where the Padawan cannot. Although he's smart enough to solve this case alone, an extra hand would be great. The Padawan's mind seemed to wander off. His eyes moving through his sorroundings, searching for anything worth looking. He felt in a slump and it was difficult to concentrate even further. The young Jedi felt like something was blocking his progress. A strange feeling, indeed. Something wasn't right here.

"Screaming at each other will not aid in my search for the missing people. If you can provide me with any other information, that would be helpful. Otherwise, I'll have to move on and investigate somewhere else."

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Shaking his head back and forth, the village elder would sigh in shame, disappointed in himself for having gotten so riled up. The lack of information they possessed was the most frightening thing, besides the fact that whatever was responsible could possibly be among the small community. "I am sorry for my outburst. There is nothing else we can really tell you, other than no one has gone missing in a good amount of time. We are grateful for this, but we fear that it is only temporary," Cheedo was then released after the elder spoke, his annoyed expression turning into one of relief as he looked towards the old man.

"What about the fallen star? You may have lost your marbles, but I've seen it too," the Rodian spoke, turning around to point far away towards the horizon. "It's rare, but sometimes we will see a shining star far away upon the horizon. It appears only at night, I believe it is watching over us," The elder spoke, following the direction in which Cheedo had pointed. "Perhaps you should stay the night, and see what you can find out that way?" The old man offered, knowing that they would be easily able to set up a shelter. It was probably the best way for @Ar'ekk to solve the mystery.

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk was reliefed the screams went away in one swift stroke. The advice given by the duo made clear sense and sounded like the only good idea. Doubt there was any other option, so the Jedi took the offer.

"Guess it's our only choice. That way we can dig deeper into the mistery and reach a conclusion. Hopefully, it'll be all over before we know it."

The Padawan directed his attention to one of the soldiers and instructed him to set up a camp near the mentioned site. They were going to camp until something happened. They'd be doing search rounds still, looking for anything out of the ordinary and that might aid the investigation. Ar'ekk felt like something dark sorrounded this shinning star but wasn't sure until he could see it with his own eyes.

The sun begun to slowly disappear in the horizon. The night was already here.

It was just a matter of time before being able to find the missing answers.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

The members of the small settlement went about their daily routines as the sun set, some lighting campfires to cook seafood meals that all would share in harmony. Though the underlying tension remained among some of the individuals, the ultimate truth was that their survival depended on each other, the true essence and beauty of the planet itself. [member='Ar'ekk']'s team went about fulfilling their orders, propping up a few large tents near the other shelters of the island village. As the hours passed, the soldiers and investigative team alike downed their own rations, preparing for total nightfall as the other inhabitants began to head to sleep. Two soldiers out of the six remained on patrol, one keeping watch over the tents while the other made their rounds of the settlement.

Soon an eerie silence fell over the island, the only visible light being cast from the moon above. A faint beeping broke that silence, as the patrolling soldier radioed in from the other end of the island to the other who had been standing guard. "Thought I saw something, gonna check it out," he reported, never to respond again as the other continued to try and make contact. Still, there had been no scream, no flash of light or anything of the sort. Bursting into the tent that the Jedi resided in, the man spoke, "Sir, we've got a situation." He stopped their, half expecting Ar'ekk to have already been on his way out of the tent.

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk has been unable to sleep the past weeks as an strange feeling kept him awake. It's been an on-going thing for the troubled young one but he knew that it couldn't keep him from focusing on his current task.

The moon reflected its powerful light on his tent, allowing him to get a beautiful view from within. His tent was unzipped so he could stay on alert in case something happened and rush outside if danger was roaming close. That's when the soldier bursted inside, clearly alarmed. As he grabbed his lightsaber from the sleeping bag, the Padawan made his way outside to speak with him.

"What is it, soldier? Something happened?" he inquired, feeling at unease.

This could only mean trouble and to find out what occured, he'd make his way into danger. The young Jedi was prepared for whatever was approaching.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

"Private Fawder reported seeing something, but he never made contact after that," the soldier began to explain, quickly drawing his blaster rifle from its holster on his backpack as he broke into a sprint. Knowing [member='Ar'ekk'] would be able to keep up, the duo continued at full speed until they neared the island's opposite shore. It delved into a steep drop, a brief sandy beach the only thing between the calm waves and the rocky cliff side. The moon overhead continued to shine brightly, reflecting off of the water below while illuminating the area for the Jedi and soldier to comb. "There, sir!" Private Wilhelm callled, quickly leveling his rifle with a repulsorlift raft that looked to have just recently pushed off from shore. The further they went the closer they approached the shadows of the nearby islands, where they would be concealed from sight and free to make their escape.

On the hovering platform were five individuals, four of them garbed in dark cloth and light armor, the other oddly enough being Fawder. He was not resisting or struggling at all, simply standing on the metallic raft as it began to pick up speed. Red blaster bolts would begin to streak across the waters surface as Wilhelm opened fire, attempting to disable the raft or at least take the mysterious individuals out before they escaped. While there did not appear to be any immediate threat, the Jedi's danger sense would begin to flare wildly, as the feeling of being watched began to set in.

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk was not expecting for Private Wilhelm to open fire, so he had his lightsaber drawn out. The blue beaming plasma highlighted the entire area as the young Padawan ran towards the raft and see if he had the chance to get on it. Blaster bolts would be deflected by his lightsaber as he pushed forward bravely. He thought this was the only chance he'd ever get to finally solve the truth behind the strange disappearances.

"Stop! Stop the raft right now!"

As he picked up pace, Ar'ekk seemed close enough to get on top of the raft and tried to make a jump for it. He hoped he would land successfully on the metallic raft otherwise it'd be the last time he would see Private Fawker and the four strangers. With his lightsaber at his side and ignited completely, the young one was prepared to face danger.

Maybe they'd take the right choice and surrender. Either way, a fight was first in the Padawan's list of options.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Deciding not to heed [member='Ar'ekk]'s request, one of the dark clothed individuals stepped closer to Private Fawder, retrieving his blaster rifle and opening fire on the Jedi instead. Flashes of red streaked across the water as the abductor adjusted his aim, trying to keep up with the apprentice who swatted the bolts away. Having noticed the ignited saber soaring through the air, one of the abductors abandoned the repulsorlift controls, quickly drawing a vibro-blade that had been concealed upon their back. The Jedi who wielded that blade landed swiftly upon the metallic raft, causing the others to also retrieve their own bladed weapons. With masks across the lower halves of their faces, the assassin-esque foes began to circle Ar'ekk upon the platform, one of them speaking in a muffled tone, "You will make a fine meal, Jedi." The one who spoke then lunged forward, swinging over and around their head in an arc that would attempt to end in the removal of Ar'ekk's sword arm from his shoulder down.

The other three lined up in front of the seemingly dazed Fawder, their eyes focused intently upon the Jedi who had dared to confront them. Suddenly, Ar'ekk too would begin to feel almost dazed, a certain sluggishness that slowly tried to overcome his mind and prevent him from fighting. The trio that stood away from the others obviously had something to do with it, but exactly what was going on? Some sort of hypnosis, Ar'ekk would shortly realize. Back on the island, a blaster shot would be heard followed by Wilhelm's scream, as the soldier tumbled over the brief drop and slammed violently into the sand below. A fifth assassin that had been lurking decided to strike, kicking the man in the back after his blaster shot successfully impacted with one of the assassins on the raft. Hopefully, this would provide the Jedi with the edge he needed.

 

[Arekk]

The Padawan stood before the four dark clothed assassins with his lightsaber facing forward. He managed to quickly overcome the incoming attack and counterattacked the vibro-blade assailant, trying to throw him overboard with quick swift lounges. Their swords clashed and the impact made sparkles spread out wildly crazy. Ar'ekk's eyes seemed to take an orange Sith looking color, as if he was consumed by the dark side of the Force. In reality, he seemed to channel both the Light and the Dark to empower him in the duel.

Then, a sense of lack of self-control seemed to take over. His movements were slow and less paced, sluggish and sloppy. Trying to overcome this was difficult and the action of shaking his head off wasn't working. His eyes laid upon the trio who were behind this strange effect. How is this possible, he thought.

One of them had fallen by receiveing a blaster shot and he quickly took advantage of that by Force Pushing the rest off the raft. This would give him the chance of taking over the raft and rushing over back over to Private Wilhelm. The vibro-blade assassin was still a direct threat still and because of that the young one decided to try to choke him by using the Force. A new self-taught power he considered impressive.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

The commotion began to rouse villagers from their slumber, causing a crowd to gather nearby the cliff side where Wilhelm had taken his tumble. The other members of the investigative team acted quickly, making sure that the civilians did not get caught in the middle of the violent conflict. The assassin who had attacked the soldier began to pursue, gracefully sliding down the rocky hill towards Wilhelm who was just now regaining his senses. Fawder seemed to be in a similar boat too, for now that the mental abilities of the assassin trio were focused on [member='Ar'ekk'], he slowly became aware of his surroundings. Regardless, all four of them were swept off the raft thanks to the Jedi's force push, leaving just himself and the one he had clashed blades with. Turning to look to the surface, the assassin sucked his teeth in anger, knowing that his 'comrades' had escaped beneath the shadowy waters.

"You may have stopped us this time, but you w-" he began, before feeling an invisible pressure taking hold of his neck. Unable to breathe properly, the masked man became lightheaded, dropping his sword and falling to his knees, desperately clutching his throat as to remove the intangible hand that choked it. Fawder had begun to swim quickly back to the shore, eager to aid Wilhelm who was undoubtedly about to be killed. If Ar'ekk were to look towards the repulsorlift's controls, he would notice that the raft was programmed to automatically head in a certain direction. He could either pursue the lead he had, or return to aid the others.

 

[Arekk]

The life of the masked assassin was swinging from one thin rope. It was Ar'ekk's choice to decide if he lived or not. He took advantage of the situation by interrogating the stranger, still force choking him.

"Tell me who you are right now or I swear I will kill you. Are you behind the disappearances?" the Padawan inquired, giving his enemy a break to breath and respond properly. The blade of the Jedi's lightsaber beamed near the assassin's face, which made the interrogation a little bit more entertaining. Or it wasn't?

Ar'ekk rushed in with tons of questions to find out who was behind all of this and wasn't going to wait until the entire plot was revealed. The controls were at hand, therefore he took the decision to pursue the lead as he knew the team on the shore was safe from any harm. With the push of a button, the raft made its way to the destination set automatically by the navigational system. As they rode the waves, the interrogation continued. The assailant held by the throat, floating and trying to gasp for air.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Pushing off of the rocky slope, the fifth assassin who had attacked Wilhelm leaped into the air, performing a few acrobatic flips before landing in a knelt position. Their sword drove downwards, carried by the momentum of their fall, easily piercing through the torso of Wilhelm. Witnessing this in horror, Fawder drew his blaster pistol as he stood to his feet in the shallow depths, firing off several bolts in the assassin's direction. A few other soldiers peaked over the ledge of the cliff, training their sights on the assassin who had slain their comrade. The dark clothed foe maneuvered with incredible speed, deflecting the blaster pistol shots with a twirl of their vibroblade, before releasing a throwing dagger up into the neck of another soldier above. Opting to retreat against the growing opposition, the assassin darted along the shore and into the waters, eventually diving down and disappearing from view. Meanwhile, the captive abductor upon the raft began to catch his breath, having given up any chance of victory in this scenario.

Their one shot at defeating and capturing [member='Ar'ekk'] had been compromised, and there was only one route left now. Two tentacle-like proboscises unfurled from beneath the assassin's mask, navigating their way up the assassin's nose and straight into his brain matter. It had happened in a matter of mere moments, as the would-be captive took his own life and collapsed on the metallic raft, blood pouring from their nostrils. A beep would be heard as one of the onshore investigators attempted to contact Ar'ekk, the remaining soldiers gathering the dead and ushering the civilians back into their shelters. "Sir, what happened? Where are you?" he questioned, for the repulsorlift had made it far away from their landing site.

 

[Arekk]

Because of the sacrifice made by the assassin, he was no longer of need for Ar'ekk. Without compassion, he threw the lifeless body overboard. The beeping sound caught his interest and immediately answered back as the wind of the ocean touched the Padawan's face. He had no idea where the raft was heading but surely it wasn't going to be anywhere nice.

"I am on a raft whose navigational chart is set to follow an automatic course. I'm sending you the coordinates, gather an assault team and look for me wherever I land. How is Wilhelm?" the young one said, expecting at least good news once and for all.

Looking ahead, the situation didn't seem to look positive. Where was he heading, why did the masked foe commit suicide? So many questions that were soon going to be revealed. He kept his lightsaber at hand in case the chance of fighting rose again.

The raft would soon arrive to its designated destination.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]