Chapter 5C: Barren Soil, Fertile Mind

After Order 66, few Jedi dare to venture outside the shadows—rumors of the dark and terrible Darth Vader haunting even their waking moments. Yet, some Jedi find this life of fear unbearable. The Empire is always watching, and Vader himself is eager to confront any Jedi that might bring him closer to the whereabouts of his betrayer, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
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Chapter 5C: Barren Soil, Fertile Mind

Post by Shurijo » Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:12 pm

Perception checks
* you don't see much of military inside the building, it appears they mostly patrol outside, most likely assuming if you're inside there, then you're not a problem
* nothing within this building really feels off-limits, most likely if it's off-limits it will be in another building that doesn't have 'civilians'
* there's various ports in computer labs and various locations as common for research-type buildings
Dr. Sorbaru turns to the others and states, "I feel like a good nap. The shuttle here was exhausting." She then turns and heads towards her quarters.

As she departs, Tavleth says, "That's a good idea. I'm going to grab something to eat and then get some rest." Looking over at Shoshannah, he asks, "Meet tomorrow and start going over the research?"

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Chapter 5C: Barren Soil, Fertile Mind

Post by Muskrat » Fri Oct 01, 2021 8:51 pm

Shoshannah nods and says, "That sounds fine to me." To avoid suspicion, she says, "I'll get some rest as well." It would doubtless take a while for her to make any progress on getting useful data on her fellow Jedi and on escaping.

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Chapter 5C: Barren Soil, Fertile Mind

Post by Shurijo » Tue Oct 05, 2021 9:56 pm

The researchers sleep peacefully and without incident. When the morning arrives, Shoshannah finds the others eating their breakfasts in the mess hall area. As she walks by, they wave to her and invite her over to join them.

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Chapter 5C: Barren Soil, Fertile Mind

Post by Muskrat » Wed Oct 06, 2021 7:54 pm

Shoshannah joins them and asks, "How did you sleep last night?" She was used to much rougher conditions, but still had slept somewhat uneasily, knowing she was still under the control of the Empire, even if under less security than before. She would gladly trade a sleeping bag in the woods for her current situation. She says nothing of this to her new companions though.

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Chapter 5C: Barren Soil, Fertile Mind

Post by Shurijo » Fri Oct 08, 2021 5:32 pm

The two welcome Shoshannah to the table. "Fine. The accommodations are actually quite nice. I was afraid it would be tailored more so for those troopers, which don't care if they sleep on durasteel or dirt." Dr Sorbaru says.

Tavleth then speaks up saying, "The shuttle to Raada will be leaving in a few hours. I suggest getting a good meal and packing anything you can get. I'm not sure what conditions will be like on the moon." Tavleth had mentioned that he will also be going to the moon site in order to better observe and measure the results.

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Chapter 5C: Barren Soil, Fertile Mind

Post by Muskrat » Fri Oct 08, 2021 11:08 pm

"Ah, good, I'm eager to get into the field," says Shoshannah. "I'm used to traveling light, so I'll probably focus on packing scientific instruments." She does her best to make small talk with the others, but her mind is elsewhere, pondering her predicament.

When she begins packing, she focuses not only on what will be necessary for their scientific research, but any wilderness survival tools she can plausibly bring along under the guise of research. She doesn't know if she will have an opportunity to escape, but if she does, she wants to make the most of it.

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Chapter 5C: Barren Soil, Fertile Mind

Post by Shurijo » Tue Oct 12, 2021 7:11 pm

+ Standard "Wilderness" gear pack, but without tent and outdoorsy stuff, since you're expected (and supplied) to stay on 'base'.
A few hours later, Shoshannah and Tavleth board the shuttle with supplies, instruments, and data recorders which will transmit back to Dr. Sorbaru. The flight takes nearly half a day or more and in the time, Shoshannah was able to learn that the sparsely populated, remote farming moon of Raada had only one major settlement and there was no centralized governing authority. The settlement was so small that there's no official name of the location. The settlement's outskirts were surrounded by numerous rock outcroppings and canyons. The Imperial bureaucrat Jenneth Pilar lead the agricultural production efforts and she was reminded that Pilar was in charge, with her job being to focus only on the engineering and farming problems.

Documents show that the Empire had constructed prefab administrative buildings and a prison within a fortified base at Raada's spaceport which also housed several military walkers and tanks. Several restrictions had been implemented on the local population including night curfews, rules forbidding large group meetings, and restrictions on local cantinas' operating hours, food, and alcohol.

The local farmers had been conscripted into work crews to plant the Imperial crops. In a report from a few days ago, she learned that a local farmer named Tibbola drunkenly confronted an Imperial officer and was summarily executed in public as a warning that the Empire would not tolerate trouble.

Finally, the shuttle exited hyperspace and began to make its way into the moon's atmosphere.

"Well, looks like we finally made it." Tavleth mentioned. "I wonder what the conditions are like there. It sounds like the first crops have already been planted, so I'm not sure we can get an accurate reading of the preconditions."

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Chapter 5C: Barren Soil, Fertile Mind

Post by Muskrat » Wed Oct 13, 2021 6:13 pm

Shoshannah nods, but says, "I imagine we'll be able to approximate them by getting some samples from outside the farmed area--the local forests and farms." She is troubled by the Imperial mistreatment of the locals and wonders if she might be able to do anything about it. She briefly envisions going rogue and chasing out the Imperial forces using the Force, but she knows that this is not something, she as an agronomist--even a Jedi agronomist--can accomplish on her own. A big, sparsely populated planet might provide plenty of places to hide in the wilderness though. Getting off the planet again would be a challenge without any pre-existing arrangements.

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Chapter 5C: Barren Soil, Fertile Mind

Post by Shurijo » Fri Oct 15, 2021 12:40 pm

"That's a good idea. I'll put in the request for that. They'll have a squad accompany us, in order to protect us from the locals." Tavelth states.

"For now, that building over there in the middle is the Administration building. That's where we'll find Mr. Pilar. He's in charge of the finances and making sure this whole operation is both cost effective and productive. While we don't work for him, if we need any resources other than what we brought or use of trooper escorts, then that will need to be requisitioned through him. I've also heard that he's eager to move up the bureaucratic ranks, so as long as what we do makes him look good, he should be open to our requests."

"Over there is the trooper barracks and next to that is where we're staying. There's a small room where we can place our instruments. There's only one HoloNet feed and that's in the Administration Building and requires Pilar's authorization code to send or receive data or messages."

Glancing around, Shoshannah sees the durasteel prefab walls and buildings surrounding the encampment. The prefabs, she assumes, will just get collected and moved to the next planet or moon after the Empire has harvested all of this moon's nutrients. It's bound to be a costly operation moving all of the equipment, so she begins to see how improving the plants to not leach all of the nutrients from the soil to allow multiple harvests will save the Empire time and money.
If nothing else, we can skip forward to after the request to leave the base is handled

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Chapter 5C: Barren Soil, Fertile Mind

Post by Muskrat » Fri Oct 15, 2021 7:10 pm

Shoshannah has to restrain herself from staring sourly at Tavleth. He seems to take for granted that the Imperial troopers' presence is legitimate and that it's the planet's natives who are a threat. She thinks of making a case for not having the trooper's presence, but decides that would sound suspicious, especially since she was only fresh out of prison. Even in the presence of the troopers, she might be able to get a fix on how things were off the base and decide if it made sense to try to escape.
I'm good with skipping forward.

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