Ask A Jedi?

[Tahiri]

Palesia, Lannik​

Tahiri was sitting at the rickety table, hoping the equally rickety table did not give way under her as she waited for her Knight companion. Alright, not companion, supervisor. After the stunt she had pulled on Denon there had been some concerns about sending her out on her own, and she was for all intents and purposes on probation. Regardless, she sipped on the caff as she observed the crowded town square.

There were reports of a Lannik princeling, one who should have been sent to the Jedi for training, having gone off his rocker, bought an old lightsaber from somewhere, and running around calling himself a Jedi. Only he wasn't a Jedi, and whatever had messed with him had messed with him real bad, and people had gotten hurt. It was only when someone had almost died that the royal family had secretly contacted the Jedi and asked for their help. Lannik had been hit harder than most by the AMS virus, and it was only recently that the planet had claimed to have successfully eradicated the virus. So a big scandal was not something they wanted to deal with. They had asked the Jedi for discretion, and Tahiri had been given explicit orders to keep that request in mind and do anything on her own.

So she waited, lightsaber hidden within out of sight, but not visibly unarmed. A simple collapsible-vibroblade was clipped to her utility belt, and a stun blaster holstered at her side. More than enough to keep any would be trouble at bay. Taking another sip of the caff, she let idle thoughts wander through her brain, fighting the urge to get up and start exploring the bazaar set up in the town square.

 

[Sskaar]

Lannik was also a test for Sskaar. He had only just been knighted when the Council assigned him to the mission, and likewise to supervise to Tahiri. He wasn't her Master, but the Council had advised him that she would look to him as a role model, and for guidance, neither of which he was exactly conformable with. He had not been tested nearly enough to be anyone's role model. And yet here he was.

He wore tradtional Trandoshan attire to Lannik. The Council had also informed him that discretion was preferred by the clients, which meant using his Jedi paraphernalia sparingly. Fortunately, the green cape he wore around him hid his lightsaber better than any Jedi cloak, and he had claws on each of his thick fingers that worked better than any vibroblade at fending off assailants.

He found Tahiri waiting for him at a rickety table that looked to be literally and figuratively on its last leg. In hindsight, the two Jedi should have traveled together, but there was nothing to be done about that now. He dodged several pointed stares as he slid into the seat across from the young Padawan. He imagined patrons of the nearby kiosk were not accustomed to seeing a massive Trandoshan cavorting about with a young human woman. That, and they knew as he did that the chair was likely to give under his weight.

He prayed to the Scorekeeper it would not.

"Tahiri, I presume?" he asked in a low tone so as to avoid the prying ears of passerbyers. "My name isss Sskaar. I presssume you knew to expect me." He waved to a passing waiter ducking between the outdoor tables and ordered himself a strong tea, mostly to get her away from their own table so he could continue talking. "Any luck locating our renegade Lannik?"

@Wit

 

[Tahiri]

Tahiri, lounging around lazily while she waited, immediately straightened into a more respectful seating position at Sskaar's arrival. She knew who he was, even before he introduced himself, and given her situation did not want to make a bad first impression.

"Yes, I was waiting for you. Not that you're late," she added quickly, realizing how that might have sounded, "I just got here early." She finished meekly and stopped talking, thankfully the arrival of a waitress eased some of the tension as he ordered a tea. When the waiter was gone, she spoke up once more. "Nothing concrete, but there is an information broker who runs a fruit stall in the square. I thought that we could stroll around, track him down and maybe we get lucky with some leads."

She stopped as the waiter returned, bringing a surprisingly fancy looking cup and saucer that she placed in front of Sskaar and poured his tea into it. As the waiter left, Tahiri took the opportunity to lean in and whisper another thought that had been on her mind."The..uhh, did the council say anything when they gave you the assignment? You know..." She was quiet, awkwardly looking out towards the town square before returning her gaze to him, worry in her eyes. "About me, they aren't going to push out my trials again. Are they?"

@Malon

 

[Sskaar]

Sskaar creased his reptilian brow. This Padawan had the look about her of someone he vaguely recognized from somewhere. Just one look at her and the word 'clutz' came to mind. 'Bad aim,' too, though he could not place why. "The Council gave me preciousss few detailsss," Sskaar hissed. "I wasss led to believe the nature of the asssignment wasss confidential."

Still, the girl's words gave him pause. Should he be concerned? Should he comm the Council right now and demand answers? No. If the Council had something they wanted to tell him about his partner, they would have done so. He was content they had not and turned his mind back to the assignment.

"Let'sss go find thisss fruit ssstall of yoursss," Sskaar said and rose from his spot. The market was bustling and he did his part to blend in, swiping a raw fish from one of the passing carts while its owner was preoccupied with an unusually attractive Twi'lek man belly dancing in the nearby square. He munched on it as they walked, trying to look as un-Jedi-like as he possibly could.

"Your information broker," he said under his breath. "What do they look like?"

He asked because there wasn't just one fruit stall. There were ten, and likely more on the other side of the market. He couldn't understand why in the name of Scorekeeper these people needed so much fruit, or what brought on so much competition, but it was clear that they were going to have their work cut out for them if they had to search each and every one of these kiosks.

@Wit

 

[Tahiri]

Tahiri nodded at Sskaar's reply. Maybe it was as he said it was, and he didn't know anything, or maybe he did and was just not sharing the information with her. Maybe the Council didn't want him to share that information with her, if they were sending him to test her they wouldn't really ask him to tell her so and allow her to know she ought to be on her best behaviour.

Or, maybe she had had one cup of caff too many and was being needlessly paranoid. She had a job at hand, and if she did the job right then she there was little the Council could do. Yeah, that would show them, stick it to the man by doing the very job they set you to do. Very rock and roll of her.

"I don't have specifics," she replied as they continued walking, "all I got was to look for four..." She paused as they rounded a corner in the walkway of stalls and her eyes fell on another row of fruit stalls, but with one that stood out. Unlike the others, behind it stood a Besalisk, towering over the smaller beings occupying his neighboring stalls. "Arms. I guess that's him."

Walking up to the stall, she quickly scanned the wares and picked a dragonfruit, and spoke the words she had been instructed to. "Fire cannot kill a dragon, but bad rhymes can." The Besalisk glared at her, and folded two hands across his chest as he inspected the two of them. "My mother make fruit cake, it is horrible. You must buy fruit cake."

"Fruit cake?" She stared at him, then at the platter of cake slices that she hand't noticed so far, they did not look appetizing. She leaned to the side and whispered to Sskaar. "I think buying the fruit cake is the cover for buying information?"

"No. Mother's fruit cake taste horrible, no one buy. Hurts her feelings. You buy fruit cake, please mother. And maybe then I let you buy information."

@Malon