Restoration by Treason

[Ascension]

"Umm... maybe we should just wait for your leader quietly," Shalan suggests.

[Minchandre]

MI-A0

"As you say. I, too, am certain that the Mandalorian Crusaders would have overlooked the rich, fertile world of Onderon, had it not been allied with the horrid Republic. Even if they had attacked, I am certain the local military could have handled it. After all, Onderon did not require Republican assistance to defeat their recent Sith-backed coup, did they?

"I digress. Kolto!"

[Ascension]

Shalan feels himself slipping back into the argument.

"Actually, from what I've heard the ones who helped stop the attempted coup on Onderon were not aligned with the Republic."

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I am right, right? The Exile and her party weren't working on behalf of the Republic, and only really cooperated with them in the defense of Telos, which happened after the situation on Onderon was cleared up. Right?

[Minchandre]

MI-A0

"You are right; I apologize. The coup was stopped by a retired Republic general and prominent Revanchist who was, nevertheless, acting as a free agent in the matter."

[pingcode20]

Yurist Levedru
"If Onderon had not been with the Republic, it would have been attacked all the same - the difference being it might have remained strong enough to repel the Mandalorians we all knew were hovering over our heads on Dxun. But what is past is past - we are here to do JUSTICE!"

He struck another pose, and then headed back over to the group and sat down, taking his rocket launcher with him.

"Right after Karith, Dark Lord of the Sith Former Grey Jedi of the Order arrives."

EDIT: @ Moral Wiz

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Rhyming. It's got a nice ring to it.

He doesn't actually say it. Nor think it, really.

[Moral Wiz]

OOC

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Ok... three serious characters and one... more or less purely comic one.

sigh. I feel as hard done by as Zak. Ping, what do you mean with the crossed out Dark Lord of the Sith bit? Anything IC? Cause insulting the master... not the best idea when there's a loyal student around.

[Moral Wiz]

Zak

Zak sighs at the argumentative trio that for now made up his master's retinue.

Short of giving the Order debating society months worth of fresh material, I don't see what good this little group will be with something like a civil war.

But that is a point

Zak kneels down, and seems to close his eyes. Doubtless Master Karith had already tried this, but it would be worth noting anyway. Just in case

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Use the Force to try and sense any force users within a ten kilometer radius. Hoping to know roughly where Master Karith is (as the only force user Zak knows he has met), as well as if there are any other force users in the area

(1d20+11)[23] UtF check

[Ascension]

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If I'm interpreting this correctly, I think I can automatically sense his trying to sense me.

"You could have just asked," Shalan says to Zak, a wee bit of annoyance evident in his voice.

[Moral Wiz]

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He wasn't actually trying to sense Shallan. He was trying to sense Karith, but also thought that it was remotely possible some Sith faction might be involved in this civil war thing. It's more vague than simply trying to sense one particular force user, as I read it, anyway.

And you can roll to resist.

[pingcode20]

Yurist Levedru, Defender of JUSTICE!

One could almost see the question mark pop up over Yurist's head as he asked "Asked about what?"

[Ascension]

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Well, I knew you weren't feeling for Shalan specifically but the fact that I'm allowed a roll to resist seems to indicate that I can detect that you're sensing for Force users. I don't want to resist, I just want to know that you're sensing me.

"About my Force sensitivity. You may be surprised to learn, Jedi, that the Force is not confined to your Order and its Sith offshoot. There are as many paths leading to the all-encompassing Force as there are living beings in the galaxy. I have taken one of those other paths."

[BooNL]

Apart from sensing Shalan's quite unorthodox Force pattern Zak senses a familiar one. If he'd look up he would see Karith standing over him. "Always the Jedi." he says with a smirk.

He walks over to the center of the group. The setting sun turning his ghastly green skin slightly red, which only helps to alienate his face. Karith is a Khil and as such has no mouth, but several strands or hullepi covering the lower half of his face. He is wearing a pristine white robe and you can see the hilt of a lightsaber hanging from his belt.

He is accompanied by a short Selkath, who is wearing black clothing and has two blaster pistols hanging from his belt.

"Thank you for meeting me here, there is no time to waste for pleasantries, so I will get right to it. Negotiations so far are unfruitful, most clans are unwilling to listen to each other, or me for that matter. While kolto is the lifeblood of Manaan, I cannot get the clans to work together on an investigation, instead they seek new ways to insult each other."

"I have a mission for you, though it will be highly illegal. I need you to get to the bottom of this kolto poisoning. Fix it, if possible, otherwise report back to me. I will take the blame with the Altho City Civil Counsel."

He turns to Shalan. "My apologies for my abruptness. I have no intentions to insult the Selkath, it is however difficult to remain neutral in these affairs. The Counsel is a mockery of itself these days and they are unwilling to aid in an investigation."

He turns his attention back to the rest of the group. "As you might know. Not all over Manaan is covered in water. There are small island chains on the planet, but none are large enough to sustain any sort of population. Yesterday, I discovered strange energy readings coming from one of these islands. I need you to check out these islands. The Selkath have never build any other settlements above ground, so whatever the readings are, they aren't native.This may be a long shot, but those energy readings are the only lead we have."

He looks each of the party members over, slowly, as if inspecting them. "I am asking a lot from you, this was not according to the original agreement and highly illegal. If you are unwilling to cooperate I will understand. Know this though, if Manaan falls, the Republic will be dealt a hard blow, possibly a crippling one.

He falls silent and waits for the party to respond. The Selkath accompanying him hasn't said a word and from the looks of it, doesn't feel like starting.

[Ascension]

"Trespassers," Shalan says with disgust, "Defiling our world with settlements above the waters... It shall be a pleasure to drive them into the sea."

He adds in his own language, "Will you be joining us, brother?"

[pingcode20]

Yurist Levedru, Defender of JUSTICE!

"The precious resources of Manaan being poisoned? It is our pleasure - no, our duty to find who is responsible for this terrible crime!"

Despite the rapidly waning light level, Yurist managed to again create a lens flare effect behind him as he pointed into the distance.

"The perpetrators are likely hard at work as we speak! There is no time to lose!"

[Minchandre]

MI-A0

MI-A0 remains silent during the force-users' little spat, despite high levels of amusement. In fact, he remains silent throughout the entire discussion, distrustfully aware of Karith's new Selkath companion. He feigns not to understand when Shalan asks the sentient in their own language, instead asking their leader, "Jedi Karith, might I inquire who your companion is? Also, who on the Council is aiding us?"

[Moral Wiz]

Zak

Zak looks shocked as Karith speaks, the older Jedi totally taking him by surprise. After a few seconds of spluttering, he smiles.

Guess I deserved that.

He listens closely to his master's words on the matter, nodding sagely at the mentioning of the difficulties of neutrality.

I'll be there of course, Master. Might I ask though, do we know anything more about just what is happening with the Kolto? If whatever it is is being caused on this little island, that might help us stop it.

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(1d20+11)[17] knowledge, galactic lore (thru his studies of the records in the Museum) to get a sense of the main clan conflict right now, their history and how it leads up to the present, who are the most prominent clans, what do they act like, why are they arguing, could they gain anything by civil war.. ect ect.

[BooNL]

"I don't have any information on the Kolto poisoning that you haven't heard yourself. While some of the kolto has turned black, most of it has retained it's natural colour. It is still poisoned though and many people have died from kolto treatment before the first signs were recognised.

The Selkath have never seen anything like this before, which is more evidence that this is not a natural occurrence."

Karith has been pacing a few feet up and down while talking, he is clearly frustrated and looks very tired.

He stops next to his Selkath companion. "This is Quer, he is of the Teros clan, one sympathetic to the plight of the Republic. He will see you make it out of Altho undetected."

"Despite the high security on the common level, Altho is virtually undefended on the lower levels. It will be easy getting you out." Quer speaks with a heavy accent and it is clear he is unaccustomed to speaking Basic.

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Zak:
From what you gathered in your afternoon at the museum the Selkath never had a structered form of goverment before the construction of Altho. Clans ruled small sections of ocean, like extended families. Now that Manaan is in political peril, the old ways have resurfaced and Selkath are tracing their lineages back, claiming that the old ways were best.


You did not have enough time to study the different clans and their political agenda, but basically, they're in an us-and-them situation. Every clan has their pride and territory and will not back down from the others.

[Minchandre]

MI-A0

MI-A0 sketches a bow to the new Selkath, then speaks in Basic "Greetings, friend Quer. The Republic thanks your for your aid. Now, how will we be transported?" Then, he asks Karith, "Jedi Karith, from you words, may I assume that you will not be accompanying us?"

[Moral Wiz]

Zak

Zak bows

Good to have you working with us, Quer of Teros. Apologies, but I am still working on the customs of your people. Do you go by your clan name, or would you prefer to not do so?

As the Selkath speaks, Zak looks a little nervous.

Err... it's water below us. How do we exit? Submersible?

[Ascension]

"Why we'll swim of cour-" Shalan begins to reply to the silly question of how they'll get there.

"Oh, wait. You can't do that. Right."

He turns to Quer and speaks in their own language again.

"How will we transport the air-breathers?"

Turning to Master Karith he asks another question, "In what clan's waters do the islands in question lie? Some families would make it very difficult for us to reach our destination."

[BooNL]

Quer reacts in kind to M1-A0 and Zak. "Quel is fine honorable Jedi. I am operating with Karith to make sure we stop our clan infighting, so I am not looking to promote my clan."

He turns to Shalan and speaks in their native language. "Please, try to refrain from speaking Selkath. We need these outsiders to trust us, secret languages are not furthering this ideal."

"The islands are on the other side of Manaan, far away from explored ocean. As such, we need not fear any clans.

I will take you to the islands in a submersible, but I will not come ashore."

When Quer finishes, Karith steps up to speak. "I will not be joining you as I am still leading the negotiations. If you will excuse me, I must depart. Quer will see that any further questions are answered." With these words, Karith bows and walks away.

[Ascension]

"Why should we work for their trust?" Shalan asks in Selkath, "If this is a business deal, they are the sellers and we are the buyers. They should work for our trust. Nevertheless, brother, I will comply."

Shalan turns to the basic-speakers and says "Don't mind us. I was just asking about a relative of mine I haven't visited in a long while. As for the matter at hand, it sounds like it will be a long journey to the islands. We should make haste."

[Minchandre]

MI-A0

"It is good to see individuals who place the good of all above petty factionalism. I am honored to meet you.Now, are there any delays, or will we be leaving immediately?" Then, after a moment, he adds, "I hope your relative is well, friend Shalan. It is important to keep up the ties that bind us all."

EDIT: Add comments to Shalan's obvious lie

[Ascension]

"Yes, she is well," Shalan replies, "Thank you for asking."

((Of course Shalan doesn't know IC how obvious his lie is...))

[Moral Wiz]

Zak

Zak smiles warmly at Quer

I agree with MI-A0. Placing the good of the community above the group of your own shows incredable ability to do the right thing.

Not sure what it's worth, I am only a Padawan, but you've got this Jedi's fullest respect and trust. I'm ready to go whenever you are.

He seems puzzled as Shalan's slightly forced answer though.

Why did he have to tell us that?

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(1d20+11)[16]UtF to detect if Shallan's trying to stiff me, under force detection

[Ascension]

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Deception to try to sound convincing.

(1d20+12)[27]

[Moral Wiz]

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Sod. Why do you have to roll well?

Ok. That bumps it up to poker face. But it was really obviously done, so don't think Zak's completely fooled.

[pingcode20]

Yurist Levedru, Defender of JUSTICE!
If Yurist caught Shalan's blatant lie, he wasn't showing it. "I think we've wasted time long enough. If there is nothing else we must know, then lead on, good sir! You can tell us anything else we need to know on the way."

[BooNL]

Quer leads you to the lower levels of Altho, traveling through hallways that are strangely absent of any security droids. "These are the mantainance halls." He explains. "Offworlders are not allowed here, hence the lack of overal security." He eventually leads you to a small docking bay, where a lone submersible awaits you.

Inside is just enough room to house five travellers and their equipment comfortably. A sixth could probably be added, but the ride would be quite uncomfortable. Unlike most vessels, the cockpit of Quer's sub is a mess. Several computers and datapads are connected to the vessel and the floor is covered in a mess of wiring. Amongst other equipment, Quer has hooked up a short-range sensor scrambler, which will make the sub effectively invisible to anyone looking.

The journey to the islands is relatively uneventful. The view of Manaan's ocean is beautiful. You see coral and fish which are only found on this planet, huge firaxian sharks swim past the sub, looking for their next meal. However, every koltorif you see looks contaminated, strange black substances oozing out into the ocean, heaps of dead fish and vegetation surrounding them.

When you arrive at the island, you are greeted by something you would never expect to see on Manaan, trees. The island is covered in thin trees, closely resembling palm.

Quer hands Shalan a transmitter. "I will explore the nearby ocean floor, see if I can get some clues. Use this transmitter when you are ready to leave the island and I will meet you back here."

As he wanders back into the vessel, he turns around. "Good luck."

[Moral Wiz]

Zak

Zak strides firmly off the sub. He'd be the first to admit that the ocean view was amazing, but like any true Shaddaa-ite, he was far more comfortable when not beneath the waves

He smiles as the Selkath hands his fellow the transmitter.

Thank you Quer. Let's hope we can find something to go on quickly

Then almost at once, he turned around, and began walking around, not too fast, but with haste in hs step, making a summery but total search of the island.

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(1d20+11)[15] Perception