Private Wild Goose Chase

[Maeve Linahan]

Maeve led Resh up the gravel path like a dog on its leash.

She'd debated long and hard before deciding to let the boy accompany her on a mission outside the temple. He had field experience, but if he was to be her apprentice, she needed him in proper shape, and in the last several agonizing weeks of his training, he'd proven it.

That, and she might've also felt a little bad for being absent during that fiasco back in the training hall. Hadn't been her fault, of course, but she'd been so preoccupied with her own duties, she hadn't been there when he needed her most.

Well, at least he survived.

"Try not to stare and leave the talking to me," Maeve told him now as they continued to walk uphill to the secluded house ahead, which was draped in ivy and blooming vines. "We're not here to intimidate. We're just here for information. Understood?"

Maeve hadn't briefed Resh much about the mission, but it was straightforward enough—a lesser Sith was hiding out on Pashvi, a remote planet in the Outer Rim, and it was now their job to root them out. A local herbalist claimed to have intel on them, and all Maeve and Resh needed to do was to retrieve it. Simple as that.

What could possibly go wrong?

Resh​

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[Resh]

Resh was finally getting to go on a mission.

He'd been in the field before, sure. But back then was might as well have been a nuna bird with its head cut off: Directionless, running on instinct, and in a lot of trouble. He hated the idea of doing more of that. But now that he had a master, and a real goal to work towards, it suddenly didn't feel like he was just here to survive. It felt like he was here for a purpose. And he wanted to prove that he could handle it.

Besides, those weeks of grueling training couldn't have been for nothing.

"Stare?" Resh asked. He supposed some folks found it uncomfortable, given the way some people reacted when he kept his eyes on them. He wasn't used to a lot of the things he saw out in the galaxy, but was his staring bad enough that she need warn him against further offenses? "Why would I stare?" He asked innocently. Maeve explained date situation further, to which the pureblood simply glanced down at the path and nodded, "Okay." He still didn't understand all the details, but surely his master would have told him everything he needed to know to be prepared, right?

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Maeve said nothing more. Resh understood and that was good enough for her.

When she reached the hilltop, Maeve pushed open the fence that circled the herbalist's remote house and marched through a crowded garden. All manners of plants grew here. From bone-white Kewafi flowers to cloyingly sweet wisteria, between dagger thorns and skullcaps, or thornsuckles and hogweeds. They were beautiful, and fragrant, and colorful, and—

"Try not to touch the flowers," Maeve said. "They're poisonous."

She crushed a few stray roses as she cut a path to the porch. The garden felt more like a wilderness and needed some serious tending, but that was a problem for someone else. She was just here for information and a Sith to kill.

Climbing the steps onto the porch, Maeve cracked her knuckles against the door twice, paused, then three more times. A secret code. The herbalist was sure to understand it and would come running up to welcome them any minute now...

Except she didn't.

Maeve frowned. She tried the lock, but nothing. Normally, moments like these required patience. The herbalist was probably just out on the hillside picking flowers or whatever nonsense it was she did—of course, Maeve was not patient and she didn't like to wait.

"Alright," she told Resh, stepping aside. "Time for your first test. Open this door."

Resh​

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[Resh]

"Oh," Resh double checked his footing from there on out, making very sure to not step on any of the flowers just in case, even as Maeve trudged her way through the garden with abandon. They reached the door, and after a few specifically-timed knocks, they were met with… nothing. Resh looked around curiously, unsure of what was supposed to be happening. After a brief wait, Maeve gave her padawan a new order.

"Alright. Time for your first test. Open this door."

"Just… open it?" Was this some kind of trick? "Should we be doing that?" He didn't want his Jedi career to end with a stint in the clink for breaking and entering. He started with the easiest option, just trying the handle. No such luck. Unsruprising, given Maeve had literally just tried that. But might as well double check, he supposed. Out of a desire to avoid any sort of conflict more than anything. No such luck. "Hmmm…"

He knelt down, raising his hands to the lock, before silently admitting that he didn't know how to actually pick a lock. Then, he tried to maniuplate the lock mechanisms with the Force. Still no luck. He still didn't know what mechanisms to manipulate in the first place. Brute force it was. He looked around, hoping someone would open the door at the last second. Then, he raised his palm, and with a little push, the door violently flung open. The lock was broken from the concussive force behind his telekinetic shove. "Oops. Sorry." Stronger than he intended, but probably about what he should have expected.

At least the door was still on its hinges?

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Maeve watched impatiently as Resh dressed down the door with his eyes. She was half-tempted to roll her own with how long he was taking, but before she could say anything, the door suddenly snapped open, cracking against the wall inside.

She blinked, then lifted an eyebrow in Resh's direction.

"Well, that works," she said and strode into the house. "But Shadows doesn't apologize to doors. Our job is to move through them, by any means necessary."

She would've preferred a quieter approach, but Resh hadn't completely taken down the door and to be honest, she probably would've done the same thing he did.

Maeve took a quick look around the herbalist's little hideaway. It was a wide space with only a bedroom in the back hidden behind a torn curtain, crowded with potted plants, herbs, and other strange alchemical mixes and antiques. A meal sat unfinished on the table. Candles sat in melted pools in their stands. Not a soul in sight.

"Looks like she hasn't been here for quite sometime," Maeve said. "Not good."

She approached the kitchen table and rifled through a sheaf of old papers. Nothing useful. Even the food seemed like it'd been sitting out for days, maybe a week, crusting with mold.

"Check the bedroom," she told Resh. "See if you can find any clues."

Resh​

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[Resh]

"Right," Resh scratched his head, swallowing the urge to apologize a second time. That was probably the closest he'd gotten to a compliment from Maeve, so he took it.

The interior was as green as one might expect from herbalist. But even Resh could tell that this place was seemingly abandoned in a hurry. Food was rotten, and undisposed of. Candle wax fully melted down. "Not good?" He repeated. That much was obvious, though Resh still didn't quite understand the context for it all.

He did as told, opening the curtain that led to the bedroom. It was similarly unkempt to the rest of the abode, "I'll try master, but… what exactly am I looking for?" Resh asked, trying to squeeze some more insight out of her.

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"It's obvious," Maeve explained to him. "The overgrown garden. Food left out to rot. We can only fall to two conclusions: she decided to take a spontaneous vacation, or someone decided to take her on one by force. In our line of work, what do you think is more likely?"

Her eyes surveyed the kitchen and dining room while Resh explored the bedroom. "What you're looking for is clues. Evidence that someone broke in, or signs of a struggle, or details on what our victim might've been up to before her disappearance. You have two eyes, so use them. You may just find something we can work with."

Or maybe he wouldn't. This was a Padawan she was talking to, not even half a Shadow, and he probably had the investigative skills of fish. Maeve didn't expect much.

Either way, behind the torn curtain, there wasn't a lot for Resh to see.

The room was indeed a mess. In one corner sat a desk cluttered with empty phials and herbs, all the drawers left hanging open, and in the other sat a completely disheveled bed, covered in white feathers. Strangely, feathers also littered the floor, leading underneath the bed…

"Find anything?" Maeve called from the other room.

As if on cue, a wild goose burst from under the bed, charging at Resh with shriek.

Resh​

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[Resh]

"…Probably the second," Resh sighed, then did a double-take, unsure if the question had been rhetorical or not. Maeve tried to walk him through it, but he struggled with the minutiae. His knowledge of investigative work was second-hand at best, and he was essentially just Ana amateur miming his interpretation of his master's work. Resh meandered across the room, picking up one of the empty phials to examine its residue. He shook it around, and to no one's surprise, nothing happened.

"Find anything?"

"Uh…" Resh delayed, not wanting to admit his empty-handedness. He turned and followed the trail of feathers, and began to bend down, when the bird struck. He yelped loudly, stumbling back and dropping the phial he had been holding. It broke on the ground, and he knocked against the wall. "Some kind of— Attack creature!"

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Maeve whirled as she heard Resh's cry and the sound of shattering glass. All thoughts fled her mind and in an eye-blink, she was tearing through the curtain into the bedroom, lightsaber in her hand, eyes hard. Whatever it was Resh had found, she would slice through it like—

"A goose?" Maeve said, bewildered at the sight before her: Resh, forced against the wall. A white-feathered bird, shrieking and honking at him in a frenzy.

Every ounce of fear and concern she had for Resh instantly evaporated.

"That isn't an attack creature. That's a harmless bird." As she spoke, the goose turned its attention on her and started honking at her too, circling her angrily, but she raised her lightsaber at it and gave it a glare. Understanding the death it faced if it didn't shut up, the goose fell silent and backed away.

Maeve turned her glare to Resh. "What is wrong with you? For Ashla's sake, you have the Force and a lightsaber. Something as small as this shouldn't be enough to frighten you. Have you never even seen a goose before?"

Resh​

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[Resh]

Harmless? The waterfowl hardly seemed harmless with how brazenly it charged a being several times larger than itself. All the same it had the intelligence to back down at Maeve's silent threat, leaving them in peace. Maeve then turned her ire to Resh. He glanced away from her, pouting where he sat.

"What is wrong with you? For Ashla's sake, you have the Force and a lightsaber. Something as small as this shouldn't be enough to frighten you. Have you never even seen a goose before?"

"No! I haven't!" Resh finally burst, throwing his hands in the air. To Maeve, this was common knowledge. But Resh was clositered in a dark side convent deep under Coruscant. Geese weren't exactly commonplace, and learning of them wouldn't exactly advance his training then. The boy was clearly frustrated, "I just got— startled! I didn't—" He scoffed and stopped talking, failing to see any reason to defend himself further.

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"Unbelievable," Maeve muttered.

She turned away from Resh, surveying the room and the skulking goose. Perhaps she'd been wrong to pull him out of the temple. Maybe she'd overestimated his confidence and skill after his fight in the training room and could've benefited from another week, another month, practicing his reflexes. Perhaps this was all a mistake.

She bit the inside of her cheek. No. She was being too harsh, expecting too much. Valery, Amani—they'd have never shouted at their own padawans the way Maeve had, and for the briefest moment, she almost felt ashamed. Almost.

"It doesn't matter," she sighed. "At least you didn't accidentally stomp the foolish creature to death." That would've been much worse—a sign of his dark heritage rearing up its ugly head.

Maeve glanced at the goose and walked past it, completely ignoring the animal as she searched through the bedroom herself, rummaging through the desk and testing the lock on the window. There had to be something, a clue, that they could use to figure out where the herbalist had gone. Clearly, she'd been kidnapped.

While Maeve searched, the goose's attention flitted between Maeve and Resh, half-tempted to hiss again, eyeing them suspiciously, but if one looked closely enough, there might've been a flash of understanding in its eyes, like it wanted to say something but couldn't.

Resh​

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[Resh]

Resh could tell Maeve was showing some restraint. In that long pause between her chastising him, and finally letting it go, he could see the wheels turning. Resh half expected her to take him right back to Coruscant. Perhaps even disown him as her pupil. But Maeve didn't. And he found himself quietly sighing in relief. For a few moments Resh just sat there, looking between the goose and Maeve as she continued her search. His master's words flashed an intrusive thought in his mind of him doing just that: violently crushing the bird to death as soon as it appeared. He shook his head, and shivered at the prospect.

As if to make up for the uncommitted act, Resh approached the goose and lowered a hand, "…Hi." He muttered, sensing the creature's apprehension, "What is it?" Instictively, he connected to it with the Force, trying to divine its intentions and thoughts. Resh had never done that before, but it came naturally.

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

The goose honked nervously at Resh as he approached, but when the boy reached out his hand, tying a thread of the Force between them, the animal calmed. Dark eyes stared back at him, feathers ruffling, and after a long stretch of silence, feelings began to flow into Resh—fear, panic, desperation—and then, a single word.

Help.

"Why are you staring at that goose like you're about to eat it?" Maeve said, staring at Resh with a look caught between confusion and irritation.

Around her, the room was in an even worse state than before. Bedsheets thrown aside, clothes dumped on the floor, the mattress upended. Maeve had rummaged through whatever she could get her hands on and still found nothing. Perhaps she should've brought a Jedi skilled in psychometry, but it was too late for that.

All she had was a Padawan who liked to stare at geese.

Maeve sighed and paced back around the room, but as she did, the goose honked again, turning to Resh once more and pouring feelings into their bond.

Outside! Window. He came through!

Resh​

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[Resh]

Maeve Linahan​

Resh himself was surprised when the goose transmitted its thoughts and feelings into something he could process. It was actually speaking to him. He didn't register Maeve's question, but she didn't seem to lingerer an answer. After a few moments, he glanced up towards the window and approached it with purpose. "There was an intruder. They came in through here." He said, touching the windowsill.

Resh looked to the goose again, trying to reconnect, "What did he look like? Where is your owner?"

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"What?" Maeve turned to Resh as he spoke. "What makes you say that?"

She fell beside him, studying the window, not bothering to hear his answer because it wasn't like she'd believe him anyway without checking it herself, but still, she found nothing out of the ordinary. The window was locked from the inside, and what dust that had settled on the sill was undisturbed. If anyone had entered through here, they at least would've left a sign.

But they weren't dealing with just anyone, were they?

"Wait here," she told Resh, then unlocked the window and stepped carefully outside, leaving him alone with the goose, unaware of whatever conversation he was having with it. She just took it for another one of his oddities.

In the silence that followed, the goose honked. Did not see face. Only saw light. Green light! Feathers ruffling, it raised its neck up, padding towards Resh.

No owner. I am owner!

"Well, Resh," said a sharp voice, and there stood Maeve again, watching him from outside the window, pine needles in her hair. "I don't know how you knew, but it would seem you were right. There's tracks outside. Humanoid. Looks like our intruder was not careful enough."

"Come." Maeve gestured at him to join her outside. "Leave the goose."

Resh​

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[Resh]

"Um…" Resh paused awkwardly, unsure of how to answer. Apparently, it was enough to get Maeve to at least investigate the possibility. Meanwhile, the goose continued to speak to him. He nodded half-understandingly. Green light? He wasn't sure what to make of that. Perhaps Maeve had an idea. What's more, the goose claimed itself the owner. At first he took it as little more than a cry of independence from a solitary pet, but then again there was already something strange at play. Was it strange enough to be…

"Master?" He stood up, "Wait. Uh, the goose says, it's the owner." He winced in anticipation of her reaction to such a ludicrous suggestion.

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Maeve turned to leave, but Resh's suggestion put her to a sharp stop.

Her eyes slowly shifted back to the boy, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. "What do you mean, 'the goose says?' Just what are you implying?"

Ordinarily, she would've taken his answer as some poor attempt to avoid coming with her, or to stop her from leaving the goose behind, or just some more Pureblood nonsense. But strange circumstances did surround this house, and she wasn't the kind of Jedi to disregard even the slimmest chance of a threat.

Maeve climbed back through the window, staring suspiciously at the goose. "Are you sure it spoke to you?" Her hand touched the hilt of her lightsaber. Could it be this creature was some spy left behind by the intruder? "What else did it tell you, Padawan?"

While she stood a few paces from them, Maeve's shadow loomed as she stared down at the goose, like she was about to stomp it into a Trandoshani flatcake.

"Ask it what it's name is."

The goose shuddered, shrinking back, almost moving as if to hide behind Resh. Its thoughts brushed his mind again, slightly panicked. Cressida. My name. Cressida!

I am owner! I am herbalist!

Resh​

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[Resh]

Resh shrugged sheepishly, "That's… what it said." He glanced over at the feathered creature suspiciously, "Yeah. I don't know what else it would be." He kicked his feet along the ground, and before he could ask Maeve's question to the goose, it answered her.

"Uh… Cressida." He echoed, looking up at Maeve, "Says it's an herbalist."

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"Cressida?" Maeve whirled at the name. "Are you sure it said Cressida?"

Recognition flashed across her face. She stared down at the goose, who honked in what sounded like approval, dark eyes glimmering with an intelligence she'd failed to notice. There was no way. It wasn't possible—no, she wasn't possible.

During Maeve's secret exchanges with the herbalist, they'd given her the name Cressida, a name she hadn't briefed Resh on before their arrival, not unless he'd somehow come upon it in his search of the bedroom. Still, why would he lie? The idea that Cressida had been transformed into a goose was so ridiculous, it might've just been the truth.

Maeve reached out with the Force, trying to forge a connection with Cressida, but the bridge fell apart before she could get a word in. Her eyes turned to Resh. It seemed the boy was the only one who could communicate with the herbalist now.

"I… cannot believe it," she said. "But it would explain everything." She looked to Cressida, who flapped her wings desperately. "How did this happen? Who did this to you?"

They came as I slept! Cressida said in Resh's mind. Witch!

Resh​

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[Resh]

Resh nodded. It seemed he had come upon something after all. And as Maeve tried and failed to connect with the bird herself, it seemed he was the only one who could move this investigation forward.

"I… cannot believe it," she said. "But it would explain everything."

"It would?"

The boy leaned closer as if he would hear the words in his mind better by doing so, "Uh. She says it was a 'witch'." A pause, "What's that mean?"

Maeve Linahan​