Chapter 8a: Slaves' Redemption

[Bo]

Map

Shili: Landing area near Sanctuary

The rest of the divided First Fleet hangs in orbit over Shili as Wile Landoo, Manh Toisao and Anneela Karu near him in the cockpit, pilots his ship down through the clouds and sits down gently in a jungle clearing just outside the limits of the settlement now known only as 'Sanctuary.'

He goes over the ship's controls, shutting down systems and lowering the exit ramp. He yawns. "Well," he says. "We're here." The Rodian looks out over the landscape. Shili is a jungle planet and, though much of the area around Sanctuary has been cleared, thick foilage still obscures any more than a few meters visibility into the woods.

Earlier, in orbit, Divak Tan and his communications officers contacted the fleet, arranging for Wile's friends to come down in their own ship. Apparently he has important information to relay to them that has been discovered during the journey to Shili. Also, the adventurers may sense, this may be accompanied by a task....

OOC

I'm going to make a summary OOC post shortly that goes over where all the NPCs are and whatnot. This is Muskrat and Shurijo's thread, btw. Mystic and Haya will get their own.. Have fun!

[Shurijo]

OOC

Muskrat, sorry to cut our conversation short about rogue Jedi etc. I thought we'd talk during our flight here, didn't expect us to land so quick

As the trio heads to Shili, Manh finds some time to speak and question the Jedi. "How are your lightsaber skills?" Manh asks, "I haven't been able to spar with anyone in a long time."

"As far as being rogue, I do not believe that I have strayed from the Oath as much as the Order. When the Order began acting as pawns of the Emperor and killing the innocents who only sought freedom and independence from the corrupt government led by the Emperor, I knew that the Order had lost it's way. That's why I followed my master, Master Bulq, and the others. We stood for the rights and freedoms of the independent systems. It was only years later that I discovered Master Bulq had become as corrupt as the Emperor and that is when I left his side. Shortly after that, the war ended and what the other Jedi called the 'purge' occurred at the temple. I wasn't so much as on my own as I was just forgotten about. The Order believed I had died with the independents and they believed I had return to the Order."

[Bo]

Wile clicks off the sensor display of the Ghest and then says. "I guess most of the rest of the fleet will stay in orbit... no sense utilizing the resources to land and take off again... "

Then he overhears the conversation between Anneela and Manh. Over the years, Landoo and Toisao had shared much about themselves, but the Rodian never tires of hearing stories about the time surrounding the Clone Wars. "How did you break the news to Bulq that you were... uh.. splitting up?"

OOC

didn't mean to interrupt the conversation. i just sense the pace slowing down.. time to get back on the track to adventure

[Muskrat]

Anneela says, "My lightsaber skills are fairly good, but really I make a better spy. Particularly since I can't take as much of a beating as some other Jedi. My early years as a fence meant I don't have the typical set of Jedi skills and abilities. But if you want to do some sparring, I could certainly use the practice."

Display

I'm a scoundrel 2/ Jedi 4, with my first level being in scoundrel. This means I have many more skills than most Jedi, but far fewer hit points. My base attack bonus is only one point behind where someone who was a Jedi from first level would be.

Anneela continues, "I have to say I always felt like the politics of the whole war against the Separatists was a bit over my head. I never really understood why they were rebelling and why we were fighting them. I was just grateful to the Jedi Order for taking me in and getting me out of the life of petty crime I was leading, giving me more extensive training in how to use the Force. I mean, they found me in the first place, because there were a couple of Jedi trying to break up a slave-trading ring and the slavers caught them. Being part of the underworld gossip network, I heard about it and helped them get out of the mess they were in. And when they learned I had some rudimentary knowledge of how to use the Force," Anneela shrugs, "they decided they had better to take me with. On top of the fact that I was probably a dead woman if I stayed where I was. So, my experience of the Jedi is that they do good work. Mind you, they're a bit stuffy and eager to run everyone's lives, and I think a lot of Jedi never fully accepted me as one of their number because of my late age in joining, but they seemed to be doing more good than bad."

[Shurijo]

Manh nods along as Anneela continues. "I don't remember many younglings arriving at a late age, but I also believe that it's better to bring someone in at an older age and teach them how to harness their talents than to allow them to experiment on their own and potentially cause unintentional damage to themselves or others."

The former padawan responds to his pilot and friend, "It appears so." He walks down the ship's ramp and takes a look at their surroundings. "From the desert, to the ocean, and finally, the jungle. Looks like we're taking the scenic route."

"Master Bulq, yeah, you've heard that story before, Wile." Turning to Anneela, he says, "Let's just say, he didn't take it too well, but I didn't stick around to talk about it."

Manh reaches the final step of the ramp and places his foot onto the planet surface. "How far is it to the destination? What type of wildlife do you think we might encounter here?" he asks.

[Bo]

Wile continues to talk as the trio exits the Ghest and steps into the jungle. The air is filled with the buzzing of insects and the chirping and squawking of forest birds. Off in the distance something roars. Much closer, there is a shrieking sound followed by what could only be a mating call.

"Oh, you know," says Landoo. "The usual flora and fauna. Trees, tress, and more trees.. the occassional unidentified carnivore that wants to have us for lunch." He smiles. "Only joking. Scanners put the settlement of sanctuary on a kilometer or so in that direction." He points. "I didn't pick up any other big lifeforms other than ours."

Then he asks Anneela. "I guess you're a survivor through and through, Karu. Maybe the skills you learned before joining the Order helped to save your hide after things went to pot."

[Muskrat]

Anneela walks carefully through the jungle. She's been on jungle worlds before--she's been on all sorts of worlds, first in service to the Jedi, then hunting for her parents--and she knows you have to be careful where you walk. "I suppose I don't need to tell you guys to look out for plants with poisonous spines and the like. Just because nothing wants to eat us for lunch doesn't mean it's safe."

In response to Wile's comment about Anneela's skills helping her survive, she says, "Oh, yeah, that's definitely true. And helped me save Ackbar back on Dac for that matter. It turns out knowing how to hotwire an air car is a useful skill for a Jedi." She sighs. "Unfortunately, it didn't help me rescue my parents. I thought I was closing in on them--like I said to Master Tan, this Imperial agent was offering me information on them in return for spying on Ackbar, and I was hoping to get Ackbar to help me set up a double-cross to get the info out of him--when the Imperial invasion came crashing down on our heads. And now I'm back in service to the Jedi. It seems unlikely I'll find my parents as long as I'm doing that." She sounds regretful. "But with this rebellion against the Empire--it may be the best shot we have at halting all this crazy brutality the Emperor's troops engage in. And if we win, maybe we focus on making things right in other ways, like really abolishing slavery."

[Bo]

'Or," says Wile, chuckling to himself. "You just have to find this Imperial agent again... though I have no intention on piloting the Ghest anywhere /near/ Dac again for a long, long time...."

[Muskrat]

"That's a thought," says Anneela. "I'm not to eager to go back to Dac myself--if nothing else, with all the craziness related to rescuing Ackbar, I wouldn't be surprised if I made into some security database, leaving me really vulnerable to getting nabbed by the cops. But I may have to risk that to go back there and pick up the trail. And I do know where the agent works--I tailed him there using the Force," she says grinning. "So I do have that advantage over him."

[Bo]

The adventurers continue on, winding this way and that, eventually descending for a few hundred meters and taking a turn to the right. Then, opening before them in a jungle valley, is the village of Sanctuary: New home to the Jedi Order and the birthplace of the current rebel movement.

Map

Map

From the overlook, the adventurers can see a waterfall far to the North, spilling over a rim of small mountains. The stream is forms curls down into the valley among bungalows and larger, more solidly build buildings that have been more recently erected. Here and there, there are also towers jutting up from the jungle floor, possibly turbolift shafts descending into the subterranean depths.

Far below, the adventurers can see dozens of tiny figures scurrying about. Some of them exit one bungalow and disappear into another, or sometimes they go from lift shaft to lift shaft. Near the stream, the adventurers may even be able to make out the bright glimmer of green and blue lights.