Private Spite | Amani

[Nikhil Reilt]

Amani Serys ​

One night, two murders, three disappearances.

It was the middle of the semester, about a week after reading week. Security wasn't a massive concern on campus; the worst things they got on the average night were prank fire alarms and noise complaints. Campus police were ill-equipped for murder investigations.

First was professor D'Andel Trunc, from the faculty of law. He'd been an expert on the structure of legal systems of worlds in the Outer Rim, and had developed some highly accurate models on legal system development based on a number of factors. He was highly respected in his field.

Nikhil squatted next to the drained corpse of the old Shistavanen. The professor looked as though he'd been dried out in a desert for a week. He'd died last night, but the body felt almost supernaturally cold, and initial assessments showed no signs of struggle or harm.

When the Jedi arrived, he stood up immediately to greet her. "Master Serys," he said, reaching out a hand for a shake. "Sorry for the short notice, I appreciate you coming here."

 

[Amani Serys]

Of all the things Amani had expended to encounter during her time in university, a double homicide plus serial kidnapping was pretty much near the bottom of the list. But it was just her luck that such a thing would occur during her tenure. Not that a lack of enrollment would have stopped her from helping anyway. With campus police lacking in manpower, experience, and equipment, the resident Jedi was called upon to offer som assistance.

"Not like I've got much else going on," She smirked ironically, "Good to meet you. I'll do what I can to help." Her eyes were pulled towards the sight of the husk of what was once Professor Trunc. The mirialan immediately frowned. She hadn't been a part of his class, seeing as she was only here to complete medical school, and so she couldn't quite say she knew him well. But surely there was nothing he could have done to deserve such a fate. "What the hell happened?"

Amani twisted her lips, "I guess that's part of the reason I'm here, huh?" She was a medic, after all. Perhaps there was something she could learn that the others could not.

Nikhil Reilt​

 

[Nikhil Reilt]

Amani Serys
​

"Yes," he said. He stepped forward, before pausing and producing a pair of disposable gloves for Amani, and then another for himself. "If you see here," he squatted next to the body, "he seems, ah... dried out... but you can see there's still water in his body."

He reached down and widened the eyes slightly, then the mouth, careful not to move things too much. "We suspected some kind of directed heat or microwave weapon, but- it seems almost like his soul was pulled out of his body."

He stood again and stepped back. "Is there any kind of precedent for something like this with the Force?"

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani slapped on the gloves and knelt down. Tentatively, she reached out in the same manner as Nikhil, trying to get her own sense of the scene. As he assessed, the corpse didn't seem wholly dehydrated. There was something darker at play than a mere heat weapon— A conclusion which, to the Jedi's suprise, Nikhil made as well.

"That's quite the hypothesis," She said. In any other circle, such a statement would be dismissed as little more than figurative speech at best, "…But yes. Not exactly common, though." Amani stood up, pensive wrinkles etched in her expression, "There are other bodies, yes?" She wanted to see them, if possible.

Nikhil Reilt​

 

[Nikhil Reilt]

Amani Serys
​

"Mm- it's, ah, become relatively common to assume it's something to do with the Force if there aren't any other common options," he said. "Not that there are more murders committed by Force sensitives, just- it's an easy out for cold cases, or certain high-profile cases." It was always a sensational, newsworthy event if someone was killed by a Force sensitive -- the news got ratings, the public got fear, and the security forces got more funding.

"In this case, though, I can't think of much else." He shrugged.

"The other- Dr. Byi- she's across campus." He took off his gloves and threw them in a waste bin. "It's a bit of a walk, unfortunately."

 

[Amani Serys]

"Well, better for it to be kept in mind than not, I suppose," It could prove an easy scapegoat if unchecked, but Force Users were just as capable of committing crimes as anyone else. The worst of them far more capable.

As they had both deduced, a common killer couldn't have done this.

"Hm. Let's not waste time then," Amani stood up, dispatching her gloves as well. She awaited Nikhil's lead, and followed, "What about the missing people? Anything on them?"

Nikhil Reilt​

 

[Nikhil Reilt]

Amani Serys
​

Nikhil nodded as he stepped towards the apartment's exit. Just outside, his bodyguard, snapped to attention when he saw them. Nikhil was still working on breaking the Senate Guard down, but the old man still had pride in his duty, even though his current post was far less prestigious than serving someone like Tagge or Chandra. "At ease, Brod." He did not become at ease.

He turned to his left, where a squat Bimm woman stood at the ready. "The report on the kidnappings?"

"Of course, Mr. Reilt." She tapped away at a datapad, then handed it to him. He immediately handed it to Amani.

Spoiler: im too lazy to pull out the datapad div. idc

• Dr. JYN AVIL - HUMAN - AGE 47 - FACULTY OF ENGINEERING - RECENTLY STUDYING NEW ENERGY TRANSFER AND STORAGE METHODS - MARRIED (ROTEN AVIL - HUMAN - AGE 46) - 2 CHILDREN, NUMEROUS RELATIVES
  

  • LAST SEEN IN PERSONAL LABORATORY IN THE SHEVU ENGINEERING BUILDING​
• Dr. LUKRANN - SHARD - AGE 2,891 - FACULTY OF SCIENCE - RECENTLY TEACHING VOID PHYSICS - RENOWNED AS RELIABLE PEER REVIEWER - UNMARRIED - NO RELATIVES
  

  • LAST SEEN IN PERSONAL OFFICE IN THE TAGGE BUILDING​
• Dr. ROXUNN - SHARD - AGE 805 - FACULTY OF THE HUMANITIES - RECENTLY TEACHING GALACTIC AFFAIRS AND MIGRATION STUDIES - UNMARRIED (WIDOWED - TEWIN POZ - MON CALAMARI - DIED AGE 122) - 2 CHILDREN (ADOPTED)​

"If I may, Mr. Reilt, Master Serys -- the holographic scene reconstructions in Dr. Avil's laboratory and the Tagge building should be complete by now," she said.

"Thank you, Kada." He turned to Amani. "We'll check them out on the way?"

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani followed Nikhil's steps, offering the guard a nod as they turned. She took the datapad and looked it over, "Thank you," then glanced up at Nikhil, and nodded. Perhaps the reconstructions could offer them some new insight.

What immediately stood out to her about the kidnappings, was the last two victims, "Two Shards?" Amani pointed out. They weren't exactly the most common species in the galaxy. And here two of them were, at the same university, both kidnapped, "Think there's a connection?" And an engineer. The reason there was less certain, but given the apparent connection with the others, she doubted it was random.

"There's something… off about all of it. And I don't just mean in the mundane sense," Amani paused a moment, as if confirming what her senses were telling her, "There's a darkness to it. Anger, even."

"Your theory continues to hold water."

Nikhil Reilt​

 

[Nikhil Reilt]

Amani Serys
​

Nikhil chewed his cheek. "I was hoping it wouldn't," he said. A Force-sensitive serial killer and kidnapper did not bode well.

The Tagge Building -- occasionally called 'tuberculosis' -- was the primary building of professors's offices, with a few classrooms on the first floor and some lower levels. Though it wasn't closed, a few security officers were stopping and checking people coming in and out of the front entrance. Nikhil flashed his ID and they let the pair through.

"Dr. Lukrann and Dr. Roxunn are- ah, they're the only Shard professors at the university, if I recall correctly," he said. "So there might be a connection. But- I'm having a hard time drawing a connection through the five of them."

He scratched his chin. "Is there anything important, ah, Force-wise, about the Shard?"

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani smirked wryly, "Me too."

They approached the professors' offices next, passing by security after a brief interaction. Lukrann and Roxunn being the only shard professors made enough sense, given the species' relative rarity. In fact, two being there to begin with was already uncommon on its own, "Might depend on what we find with Dr. Byi and the scene reconstruction." There had to be some connecting tissue. She felt it. Like pieces of the same puzzle, but without the full picture to properly connect them. "Dr. Roxunn taught migration studies and galactic affairs. Dr. Trunc taught Outer World legal systems…" She constructed her theories allowed, but trailed off only part way through. There were individual connections to make among some of the members, but tying the whole crime together was difficult based on what they currently had to work with.

Amani scratched her cheek, "Important? Not inherently. Other than the fact that they are a silicon-based lifeform with the potential for Force-sensitivity. My understanding is they form a group mind of sorts in their colonies, though that's not intrinsically tied to the Force."

Nikhil Reilt​

 

[Nikhil Reilt]

Amani Serys
​

"I see. I assume, being separated, Lukrann and Roxunn don't have that kind of connection?"

Inside they were greeted by a Marshal who led them to the elevator. Dr. Lukrann's office was on the third floor, so it was a quick trip up.

"They were both in Dr. Lukrann's office," he said. "Don't think that was mentioned on the report."

The elevator doors slid open, and the Marshal led them down the hall and to the right, where a small team of investigators and droids had gathered to reconstruct the scene.

Lukrann's personal office was small as any; the professor didn't need much more than a few shelves and a desk for a computer. Behind the desk sat a straight-backed droid chassis, an old Iron Knight frame, with some light modifications. The compartment where the Shard's actual crystalline body rested was open and empty. Across from the chassis sat another, this one a half-slumped protocol droid, hands grasping at its own neck. Its crystal chamber was open and empty as well.

On the far wall, the window was shattered open; a light breeze came into the room.

"Is the holographic reconstruction ready?" One of the technicians nodded. "Start it up."

With the actual droid bodies present, it was strange to see a holographic version begin walking down the hallway. First was Dr. Lukrann, steel chassis marching down to his office. He sat down stiffly in his chair. The technicians sped up the recording -- an hour later, Dr. Roxunn arrived, shuffling into Lukrann's office. He seemed to motion to Roxunn to close the door. As they did, though-

"Stop- right there." The display was cut off slightly, since the cameras in the hallway could only see so much within the room as the door closed, but it was there. There was a man -- a figure -- standing to the left of Lukrann. It was dressed in some kind of exo-suit; from what Nikhil could tell, it was made of metal, without gaps. He could see no eyes or other distinguishing features, though the figure's left side was cut off slightly. However, in its right hand it held a tall staff topped with a pointed, star-like symbol.

"Hm."