Private The Ghosts of Dantooine

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Vera Noble

For the record, Gatz was well aware of what this assignment was all about: judging whether or not he had the capacity to lead a mission, and whether or not he could serve as guide to the younger Padawans of the Order. Oh, sure, it wasn't a proper trial per se. But—senior Padawan or not—why else would he be handed an assignment where the only other member was Vera, another Padawan? Why wasn't a Knight at the helm of this mission, passing wisdom down to Valery's daughter?

This was unorthodox, and highly so. But then, Gatz supposed he was an unorthodox Jedi, who'd returned to the Order in an unorthodox manner. And he was creeping ever closer to the threshold of that of a Jedi Knight—frighteningly close, considering he wasn't a fraction of the Jedi that Valery was. But they were at war, and the Council needed Knights, not Padawans.

It didn't make Gatz any less anxious, or any less fearful. He didn't feel ready to be on his own. But neither could he drag his feet. Not when so much was at stake these days.

"Tin Can, put her down on the pads near Khoonda," Gatz stood from the pilot's seat, "I'm gonna go find the kid."

<Roger, roger.>

"And have Whacky take a look at hyperdrive motivator. We should have been here an hour ago."

<Ugh, do I have to talk to that brownnoser?>

Gatz answered his aging astromech by walking out the sliding door of the cockpit. He'd left Vera to her own devices during the trip—she was, after all, a teenager. Moody, wanting her own space, and generally not needing direct supervision most of the time. It wasn't like there was any trouble she could get up to on his ship.

"Little Bug," Gatz called out, "we're coming in for a landing here in the next few minutes. Where are you?"

 

[Vera Noble]

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Tag: Gatz Derrevar

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"Fuzzy, I told you to stay home..."

She looked at the Racyon hidden away in her bag and sighed. This wasn't the first time he had managed to sneak along for a mission, but there was no way to have someone pick him up this time. Fuzzy would be along for the ride, and he was determined to keep it that way. With the bag opened, he crawled out and sniffed Vera's fingers before climbing onto her shoulder. He was a little big for it, but it's where he felt safe and comfortable.

"I don't know how I'm going to explain-"

"Little Bug,"

Vera blinked and turned towards the door when she heard him, "Crap..." There was no way to hide Fuzzy and no time to come up with a plan. Vera sighed in defeat, then walked over to the door of her room and opened it up. She appeared in front of him, ready in her robes and with her lightsaber clipped to her belt.

And a Racyon on her shoulder.

"I'm here."

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Vera Noble

The door to Vera's cabin swung open, and Gatz was met with a curious sight: the young Padawan herself, whom he'd expected, but also a racyon on her shoulder. Gatz had a few questions, which he thought wasn't unreasonable. One: was that Lula—no wait, there was no bow. Also this racyon wasn't as fat as Corazona von Ascania 's pet. Two: why did everyone and their mother have a racyon? Three: where the hell had this one come from?

"I'm not bothered by it," Gatz made sure to clarify, "but... why'd you bring a raccoon along?"

Then again, Vera was sort of chaos incarnate. Or, well, she had been when she was younger. She seemed more... tame these days, though that wild spark—a gift from her mother—was always there. And it was a trait Gatz knew all too well, having been a rambunctious teen in his own youth. He supposed that was why he'd always had a soft spot for Vera, from the moment he'd arrived bleeding on Valery's doorstep and she'd answered the door.

She'd only come up to his waist then, little girl that she'd been. Now look at her: a Jedi Padawan, lightsaber on her belt, and taking assignments.

"We're running late, so it's best we get moving," Gatz turned away from her door, "we're landing at a farming community called 'Khoonda.' The leader of the settlement has asked to meet with us, but the details on what he wants are... vague. They're having some kind of issue with the ruins of an ancient Jedi Enclave here."

 

[Vera Noble]

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Tag: Gatz Derrevar

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"I didn't," Vera protested. "Fuzzy brought himself along." She squinted at her little friend, and he did look back at her. He just didn't seem to care and brought a claw around to scratch his rear. Seeing this, Vera sometimes truly believed that his mind had been consumed by a person, who now lived inside her Racyon.

But it was just Fuzzy.

"I'm ready!" Vera said once Gatz told her they were running late. She had made sure to prepare her tunic, her lightsaber and she had supplies in a backpack that she carried with her. Food, medical items, and other emergency tools. Even some snacks for Fuzzy, just to keep him satisfied.

"What do you think might be the matter there? Jedi ruins don't usually cause problems. Maybe they're actually Sith ruins and the Dark Side is what's causing trouble?"

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Vera Noble

Damn rodent had a mind of its own, it seemed. Gatz found the idea of a racyon tagging along of its own will kind of farfetched... until he thought of R4 and how erratic he could be. Vera's raccoon was far smarter than his aging astromech, so maybe it wasn't that strange after all. Maybe, unlike the droid, her pet would actually come in handy.

"If you're bringing him along, be vigilant," Gatz said softly, "Dantooine has a lot of dangerous predators."

Gatz led Vera down the ramp, their boots touching a landing pad so old that sod had been blown on top of it by the wind, leaving them standing on a weird amalgamation of durasteel and dirt. Judging by the fact that no one had thought to, you know, clean the pad off with a leaf blower, Gatz figured that Khoonda rarely saw visitors.

"What do you think might be the matter there? Jedi ruins don't usually cause problems. Maybe they're actually Sith ruins and the Dark Side is what's causing trouble?"

"Well, I did a little digging in the Archives. There is an old Jedi Enclave not far from Khoonda—one that predates even your mom by a few hundred years. But ruins attract many different kinds of people—not just Jedi or Sith, but archeologists, historians, and even salvagers. It may be that the Enclave is simply the location, and not the problem itself."

The mystery of what was their issue to solve, he wagered. Otherwise the details of this assignment wouldn't have been so vague.

 

[Vera Noble]

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Tag: Gatz Derrevar

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"I'll keep him safe, but Fuzzy is pretty smart, too." She gave the Racyon just one look and he responded with a dip of his head. Fuzzy then climbed his way down Vera's back and settled within her backpack. There, he'd always be safe and she wouldn't have to worry about keeping him on her shoulder.

The two Jedi then descended the ramp together, and Vera immediately noticed how dirty it was. She grumbled and patted her boots, but it mattered nothing.

She wasn't getting home clean from this trip.

"Are you calling Mom old again? She'll kill you, you know." Vera grinned at him and tugged on the straps of her backpack to tightly secure it. "But you're probably right. I just don't like the idea of Jedi ruins being the source of any trouble. Even if it's not the ruins themselves."

It probably meant something really bad was happening there...

Time to explore!

"Let's go look, though! I'll follow you."

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Vera Noble

Vera said that the rodent was smart. Gatz didn't think an animal who spent half his time scratching his ass was all that intelligent, but then Fuzzy went and tucked himself into Vera's backpack, after a simple look in his direction. Like he'd thought earlier, the racyon was smarter than his droid. R4 didn't even listen when someone used words, much less a simple glance.

Damn. He ought to replace R4 with a raccoon. Maybe Cora would tell him where she got hers from.

"Are you calling Mom old again? She'll kill you, you know."

"Well duh," Gatz grinned, "that's why I'm telling you that she's old, and not her."

Any other joke he might have made was cut short by the protocol droid staggering over to them. It was an odd thing, moving on disjointed limbs. Gatz had never understood why so many models of legged droids were so stiff. It was as if their manufacturers had intentionally stunted them, but why? He supposed he'd never know.

"I am En-Three-Vee-Three," the droid chimed happily, in a robotic feminine voice, "but you may call me Evie! I am the Assistant to the Assistant Administrator of Khoonda! How may I direct you today?"

Well, if nothing else, she had spirit. Spirit that her clumsy, disjointed body couldn't keep up with, unfortunately.

"I'm Gatz Derrevar, this is Vera Noble," Gatz gestured to the rapidly growing teenager beside him, "delegates of the Jedi Order. Your Administrator requested our assistance with something."

"Oh yes! He has been most impatient about your arrival!" Evie still sounded as happy as could be, "please, come with me! I'll schedule you for an emergency meeting right away!"

 

[Vera Noble]

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Tag: Gatz Derrevar

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"I wouldn't be so sure that Mom doesn't know. Maybe she's cloaked and watching every step we take." Vera flashed a toothy grin and turned her eyes away as the protocol began to approach. She was almost certain that Mom wasn't watching. She could, but she wasn't that paranoid about her kids going on missions.

Especially not with trusted friends.

For a moment, Vera studied the rather strange protocol droid. She seemed pretty happy for serving an impatient person, who had likely been very difficult to entertain.

Then again, their programming made them the perfect servants.

"Is there anything we should know about him before we meet him?" she asked the droid, hoping that it'd help her prepare for whatever was to come.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Jedi Robes | Lightsaber
Tag: Vera Noble

Gatz thought about that for a moment: it was well within Valery's ability to do exactly what Vera was suggesting. To sneak around, undetected, as they took on this assignment together. And neither of them would ever know. Val could mask her presence in the Force, and literally turn invisible. She could, literally, be hovering right over his shoulder right now.

Because she'd been one of them. A Jedi Shadow. The barest hint a tremble reached his fingers, but Gatz stuffed the fear back into his heart before it could get any further than that.

"I like to think your mom trusts me enough with your safety to not do that." He chose to focus on that, instead of fear. Fear was pointless. And Valery would never hurt him like that one had. "So, do me a solid Little Bug, and do try to not get hurt."

Although, if the worst came to pass and she did get hurt, Gatz supposed he was the perfect Jedi to be chaperoning her. He was, after all, a Jedi Healer of some talent these days.

"Is there anything we should know about him before we meet him?"

"Administrator Joot is a very busy man! He's in his office at all hours of the day, on conference calls! He almost never has time for visitors! The responsibility of discussing pressing issues with the community often falls to my own master!"

"Conference calls? With who?"

"I do not know!" Evie chirped happily.

Well, that was enlightening. Still, as they drew closer to the square, orange building that served as Koonda's administration headquarters, Gatz supposed they'd find out what kept the administrator so busy relatively soon.