Private Shady Characters and Shadowports

[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Tapani Sector
Tag: Efret Farr

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The war in the core between the Galactic Alliance and Dark Empire has created a great deal of chaos that has shaken up the Galaxy. Opportunists big and small and sprung into action all across the cosmos. From the neglected expenses of wild space, to even the celestial abyss of the deep core.

A good number of criminal groups began to plunder and pillage artifacts that were once safely guarded by the Jedi. Either from the historic planet of Tython to the smaller overlooked temples further from the galactic center. Now there was a growing market fueled by the credits of wealthy buyers to acquire such rare artifacts for themselves.

Currently a notable auction is going to be held shortly in a well established shadow port in the Tapani Sector. Where a number of affluent and rich individuals will be attending to bid on and purchase what’s on offer. Be it holocrons, extra rare kyber crystals, lightsabers from fallen Jedi. To even possibly a few dark side artifacts that had been safeguarded by the Jedi. Suspected to be some of the highest bidders this auction are noblemen and noblewomen from the Tapani sector themselves from the various houses. Chief among them being members of House Mecetti and those loyal to them. Who historically have had issues with the Jedi and those aligned with the order.

The stage is set with much at stake. To prevent powerful relics of a bygone era from falling into the wrong hands. Security will be tight in the normally lawless shadow port this evening. ​

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[Efret Farr]

Dressed as potential black market patron

Until this mission she had taken on herself, Efret had not worn a Lorrdian saree under such clandestine circumstances. That was mostly because she rarely engaged in such activities, not being a Shadow or Investigator, but also because she wished to keep a portion of her wardrobe sacred. Without the wear and tear both physical and emotional of her work as a Jedi, unlike her handful of tunics and spacer articles.

But Efret had made an exception for this shadowport. Showing up as a meager spacer would surely raise some eyebrows of sellers and patrons alike in the market she was interested in as well, as a run-of-the-mill pirate, smuggler, or drifter wouldn't be able to afford a Jedi artifact. Likewise, perusing the black market overdressed might well invite trouble too. She was confident that her current outfit struck a good balance: a tasteful disguise but not overly done.

Where sell stolen Jedi artifacts if I bad person? she asked herself mentally as she moved through a market's crowd. She had been wandering around since she had arrived to the port an hour and a half ago, flying from Fondor on a small, rickety freighter that she had paid the owner of a planetside scrapyard to let her rent. Nirrah was with her, but instead of her guide animal harness she wore a flight collar and leash, the end of which was tied about Efret's wrist.

Evidently, whoever the organizers of the supposed Jedi artifact bazaar occurring here were keeping it on even more of the down-low than a shadowport operated on. If that was true, this place was like an iceberg, which shouldn't have been surprising. Still, she knew it was operating here somewhere. Her intel came from a very trusted source. Now she just needed to find it before it packed up.

Ko Vuto​

 

[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Tapani Sector
Tag: Efret Farr

Scan Complete

Ko was crouched over the body of one of the security guards here. Standing up he pressed against his datapad some before his holographic disguise matrix enveloped over his body and gear. Changing his appearance to no longer look like a Kel Dor but instead one of the armored guards here at the shadowport. Being a Kel Dor Jedi meant that he wasn’t physically very low profile. So the holographic disguise was crucial for him to go undercover.

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After he was done he stuffed the unconscious body he’d scanned into an empty storage container and stepped out of the room. He figured that the auction would be taking place around some sort of stage or auditorium. To make the presentations more opulent for the notable guests that would be attending it. Ko believed that the best time to spring into action would be after the betting was all done. When everything had been paid for but just before the items were given to the buyers.

Ko had a tracker on himself to signal a team of sector rangers and other local authorities they’ve deputized. So he could call in a raid whenever he felt the time was right. Now he just needed to find out where exactly the auction would be hosted in this shadow port. Which shouldn’t be too hard if he is pretending to work here. Otherwise he’d just see if he could follow along with any of the high profile attendees that would be here.

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[Efret Farr]

After a few more minutes of wandering, Efret finally picked up on a clue.

In the weave of the Force, an Echo glowing a very light blue appeared as a partial footprint visible to her even as the crowd moved about in ways that obscured it physically. She glanced around, but there was no other in sight. However, as she approached it, the ethereal figure of a smuggler appeared to her. It floated through the crowd unbeknownst to any passerby, following in the footsteps that someone had actually walked some time before.

Efret rose her hand to pet Nirrah, pretending she was just an exotic pet, not a sensory guide and a friend.

The translucent figure made its way into an alcove which housed a turbolift. It went to the button panel. Efret jogged a few paces to catch up with it, and, phasing into it, they both reached out to press the 'down' button before it disappeared, leaving her to actually call to lift. She had applied her psychometric abilities to follow someone a handful of times before, but to relive part of a historic figure's life or to solve a puzzle in a prehistoric tomb. Feeling a more recent Echo was easier in some ways and the same in others. For instance, the sense that she was on the right track was still overwhelming.

When the door opened, she stepped into turbolift.

Ko Vuto​

 

[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Tapani Sector
Tag: Efret Farr

Ko’s holographic disguise had him looking rather brutish. More like an outer rim mercenary guard that wasn’t entirely fitting for the more prestigious Tepani sector. Fortunately the Kel Dor knew an excellent tool to fit in once he encountered some actual guards. Asking them where the auction was taking place.

“Chuba bal uba oom-membah pa bu auction going oown? add bu graytohs? jee 'sh new bu station…” Ko asked in his third language, huttese. Which greatly helped in selling his disguise. Enough to be chastised by the others for not being in the correct location currently.

Ko made his way to a turbo lift to help reach his destination quicker. Letting it carry him to the level he should be on. Until it abruptly stopped for someone else to get on. His body tensed some as he sensed the other individual. Picking up some sort of strange familiarity in The Foce. He also got the uneasy feeling he may have just been exposed and that they for whatever reason might see through his disguise.​

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[Efret Farr]

Efret settled against the turbolift's back wall and adjusted the saree wrap over the shoulder Nirrah wasn't perched on. A feeling washed over her thanks to her Comprehend Language skill; even without being able to hear or lipread what a disguised Ko was saying, she instinctively understood that Huttese was being spoken. She reached down to the interpretation unit clipped to her lapel to switch the output language setting. However, she didn't say anything yet.

There was another feeling too—one of distant familiarity—but she was sure she hadn't seen this man before, even if she was just looking at his back.

The lift reached their destination. Its doors slid open to reveal a secret level of the shadowport. It was much smaller than the public areas levels above, with only enough room for a few short rows of market stalls.

Efret stepped out of the lift without really realizing she was, instead focused on looking out under the canopies which almost every stall had. She thought it strange that vendors would go to the trouble of setting up shade indoors, especially when the lights were dimmed as much as they were down here, until she recognized that one of the fabrics being used was of Jedi design. That one and others had price tags pinned to them.

One more feeling came: she was in over her head.

She tried to raise her foot to take a step towards the milling crowd but the muscles involved in such a motion wouldn't respond. Instead, she glanced behind herself at Ko, if he hadn't already took his leave. The Force was emanating strongly from him, drawing her in like gravity. She best stay close to him as it seemed that's what the Force wanted.

Ko Vuto​

 

[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Tapani Sector
Tag: Efret Farr

Ko too would exit the turbo lift as well. Entering the secret level that was considerably smaller than the other public spaces of the underground space station. Preventing the whole level from feeling too cramped was that there weren’t as many people down here. But to Ko that also meant that those here were likely more powerful and dangerous. After all, they were getting involved in trading very valuable and illicit goods. Jedi and Sith artifacts weren’t something that your average goon could get their hands on.

He knew that the auction would need to be presented at some sort of stage. But before he could focus on that he noticed that the woman he shared the turbolift with a moment ago looked back at him. Causing the disguised kel dor to freeze up some. Anxious that she might see through his disguise. His holographic disguise suit was supposed to be multispectrum. Perhaps she perceived the world through a very specific spectrum or frequency.

Still he couldn’t shrug off the feeling of familiarity that she had. Was she a Jedi like him, or just one of the many dignitaries he’d come across in the many social events he’s attended and happened to be Force Sensitive. He couldn’t tell but he couldn’t let doubt creep into his psyche. He knew he had to act on his suspicions and decisively. Considering that he already seemed to have her attention Ko gestured for her to approach and follow him. If he was to see if she was friend or foe he wouldn’t want to do it out in the open like this. It was probably better to find a more secluded spot.

Once they were out of sight Ko thought for a moment on what to do next. Before deciding to risk his own disguise since it was easy to remove and put back on. With a press of a button on an unseen device attached to his belt Ko’s guard disguise vanished and he gave a little wave to Efret. Appearing now as a Kel Dor in coveralls. Now looking like some dockworker on the station. “Koh-too-yah, you wouldn’t happened to be a Jedi too would you.” He recognized that it was pretty bold to just out himself like that. But if she responded poorly he’d attempt to swiftly deal with her. ​

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[Efret Farr]

She followed, and watched, then stepped back.

Her memory was photographic. She remembered Ko though she had only met him twice—once at the All Jedi meeting that seemed ages ago now, and again at his Knighting.

She also remembered that, given his oxygen-filtration mask, she had to rely on speech-to-text technology to understand what he had to say. So she rose her right arm and woke up the small screen built into her leather gauntlet, but by the time she had tapped an icon to start the app, she had missed Ko's question. Unaware, she reached to her saree's neckline to turn down the volume of her vocoder to that of a whisper.

"Ko?" she asked. Even if he didn't remember her face, maybe her signing would be familiar. "I'm Master Farr. Efret." It would be best if he knew her first name, she supposed. When it came to going undercover, Efret had always found that using one's real first name was easier than making up another. An anchor in reality made prolonged acting more comfortable. "What are you doing here?"

Ko Vuto​

 

[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Tapani Sector
Tag: Efret Farr

Part of him was a bit surprised when she replied with his name. Since he hadn’t been entirely sure if she was a Jedi and made a bit of a gamble by asking her. He wasn’t surprised though that she would recognize him, there weren’t many Kel Dor within the ranks of the NJO. She communicated through a vo`coder which also quickly narrowed down who he was talking to in his mind.

“Master Farr?” He repeated to himself. She was a Jedi he’d hadn’t had the pleasure of interacting with much. Knowing her mostly as a capable researcher and archaeologist. “I’m working with sector rangers on an operation to uncover and bust the trafficking of illicit antiquities here in the Tapani sector. Here to gather evidence undercover and contact the authorities when I’ve gathered enough.” Ko explained to Efret after her question. Trying to be clear and concise. Worrying some about the possibility of a gap in their ability to communicate. So he hoped that she would be able to understand him.

All the while Ko kept his senses sharp through The Force. The vision he gained through The Force allowed him to make sure their cover wouldn't get blown. Helping him to even ‘see’ through walls and other solid surfaces. Which could be useful in identifying any hidden inventory here. He wondered too if Efret could perceive things similarly. ​

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