Ask Plot Feeding Frenzy

Vesper

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Tol Amm wasn't a planet that Vesper was particularly familiar with. Normally if she were mucking about in Hutt space it was almost exclusively on Nar Shaddaa. The Smuggler's Moon was dangerous, sure, but it also had a teeming nightlife and plenty of things for a young twenty-something to do to kill time and brain cells. The rest of the sector... not so much.

Of course, this trip to Hutt space wasn't for personal pleasure or anything like that. Vesper and her partner for this mission, a Jedi padawan named Izel, had been tasked with investigating the source of food shortages reported on the planet. She wouldn't say it out loud in fear of being offensive, but Vesper thought it was kind of ironic in a humorous way that bugs were generally the reason for food shortages, and the Jedi had sent a giant one to figure out what was going on.

As their ship descended through the atmosphere of Tol Amm, the rain the planet was known for became increasingly evident. Great, nothing punctuated a mission quite like terrible weather. As the ship landed near one of the plantations - the one that the person they were here to talk to, Yars Thrindel, generally worked out of - Vesper couldn't help but feel a strange.. tingle make the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Something on this world did not feel right, of that much she was certain.

Heading for the loading ramp, Vesper did a double check of her gear. She wasn't inherently expecting any violence to occur, but with the the feeling the force had granted her, she could no longer be entirely sure. She was carrying her lightsaber as well as a side arm blaster tucked into her jacket. As usual, Vesper opted away from typical Jedi clothing and was wearing something more comfortable.

Before heading out into the rain, Vesper looked back towards Izel and gave him a reassuring smile. "Hopefully we can figure out what's going on and won't be stuck here long. Yars' office is supposedly in the big building on the far side of the plantation. Should probably head their first."

Stepping off the loading ramp, Vesper's boots sunk into the mud a little bit as she looked around. Everything was so eerily quiet, only the sound of rain pattering on the ground in her ears. The feeling she'd had on the ship only intensified as the young Jedi started walking towards Yars' office.


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Izel Thral

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Izel was grateful for the opportunity to finally be going on more missions for the Order. For the longest time following her trials on Ifrane she had been cooped up on Ajan Kloss training, even while the galaxy seemed to be coming apart at the seams. She hadn't worked with the Knight Vesper before, but trusted in her elder's experience, as well as her own training. As the two Jedi prepared to disembark their ship she pulled up her hood and took hold of her lightsaber pike, easily mistakable for a simple metal staff when not ignited.

"That sounds simple enough." The Padawan replied to Vesper with a nod. As she followed her down the ramp and onto the soggy earth she continued. "If it's alright with you I'd like to examine the crops, to see if I can't determine what's behind the drop in supply." Izel had been raised to be a farmer after all. She still held much of that knowledge and was hoping it might help her to find some answers here. "I can check while you're speaking with Mr. Thrindel."

As they continued to move towards the plantation grounds however Izel took note of the absence of any workers with growing concern. Her antennae twitched probingly as she reached out with the Force, trying to sense anyone nearby. She couldn't. Something was wrong, and by the look on Vesper's face her companion was getting the same impression. The Padawan tightened her grip on her lightsaber, expecting the worst.

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Vesper

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As she walked further away from the ship, Vesper couldn't help but feel a voice in the back of her mind all but screaming at her to turn around, leave this place and never come back. Of course, Vesper had long ago learned how to tune that voice out, and for now that is what she did.

Letting go of her reservations, Vesper let out a sigh and settled her mind, opening up to the force. The main building that she was searching for was maybe a hundred meters or so away still, looming over the plantation, its windows dark and lifeless. In the distance and through the rain Vesper could make out what looked like the shape of two people shambling through the mud.

"Hey there!" Vesper called out, waving her hand in an attempt to draw their attention. Based on their reaction, or lack thereof, they did not appear to hear her. Quirking her head to the side in confusion, Vesper called out again. "Uh... hello? Do you know where I can find Yars?"

Vesper had still been walking towards them as she spoke but soon abruptly stopped in her tracks as the figures finally did take notice, turning their heads towards her. Each of the people - if you could even still call them that - were missing large chunks of their flesh, one even missing the entirety of his lower jaw. Her eyes opening wide in evident fright, Vesper started back peddling a bit and drew her lightsaber.

"Izel, something is very, very wrong here." She managed to say as the once slow, lurching creatures seemed to gain a burst of energy upon discovering the two of them. They started rushing towards Vesper and Izel, piercing the previous silence with inhuman screeching. "We need to kill them, quickly, before they alert any others!"

Without hesitation, Vesper pulled one of the creatures towards her with the force while activating her lightsaber and quickly carved the monster into a few different pieces, even going so far as to remove its head. She'd seen enough holofilms in her life to know what a gods damned zombie looked like. Hopefully Izel was able to quickly dispatch the other.

It was then that Vesper heard the same screeching, guttural noise even over a crack of thunder. It seemed that they had already been too slow, the creatures knew they were here now. Instinct overriding common sense, Vesper looked at Izel with grave worry creasing her features.

"We still need to try'n find Yars. He might know what in the kriffing hell is going on here." Of course, going inside of a confined space that might've been filled with freaking zombies wasn't exactly what Vesper would call a good idea.. but they needed answers and it was possible only one person on this planet could provide them. "Follow me, as quickly and quietly as you can."

With that, Vesper would sprint off, aided by the the force, for the large building up ahead. At the very least, they'd be out of the rain. Glass half full, right?


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Izel Thral

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Although her senses were still telling her something was off about this place Izel lowered her guard somewhat in relief when the two workers appeared. But when Vesper called out to them and they turned to face the Jedi she could immediately tell something was wrong. They were clearly in very bad shape, with their skin looking as though it was rotting off and one missing their jaw completely! Was this some kind of plague? A million possible explanations began to run through the Padawan's mind as she nervously raised her saber, although Vesper seemed much more certain in how to respond. Izel did a double take after hearing her order.

"Kill them!?" She exclaimed, even as the workers began charging them. "What are you talking about?" The Vratix then watched in horror as Vesper completely dismembered the worker attacking her with her lightsaber. She hadn't yet realized that these creatures were no longer human. As the other attacked her Izel sidestepped the monster and used her pike to sweep it's legs out from under it. As it collapsed in the mud she brought down the unignited end of her saber on it's head and pressed it into the ground while stepping down on it's back with one of her feet to hold it down while it thrashed and tried to grab at her. She looked back to the Knight.

"Aren't we supposed to be helping these people?" She asked, reluctant to kill someone even after attacking her. Instead Vesper seemed insistent on finding Yars, running off towards the main building. Izel released the creature at her feet and slowly stepped back, holding a hand forward and still not igniting her lightsaber. "Now stay back," She warned. "I don't want to-" The creature cut her off with a horrible screech and tried to attack her again. The Padawan released a Force push, throwing the monster backwards into the crop field. Realizing she was still in danger she turned and ran after Vesper, quickly catching up with her. "Why did you kill that one?" She shouted. "Do you know what's wrong with them? They might just be sick! Or brainwashed by some Force trick or something!" She had no idea what was going on, but it seemed totally beyond the pale for a Jedi to just start chopping people to pieces.

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Vesper

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The evident worry and concern in Izel's voice as she caught up with Vesper made the Echani Knight slow up considerably, not taking into account that a Jedi Padawan - or hell, maybe even other Knights - might want an explanation to her urgency and seemingly rash decision.

"I'm sorry, Izel," Vesper said, a look of genuine apology on her face. "I've grown to used to working alone and going with my gut, not having to potentially explain myself to someone else." It was an excuse, but at least a little valid. Vesper had always worked better alone, taking missions or things of that nature that only called for a single Jedi. It was one of the reasons she had been so hesitant to except a Padawan despite the insistence she sometimes received from others.

Looking from where they had come, Vesper could see the monster Izel had tossed into the field beginning to rise and lurch towards them once more. Reaching out with the force, Vesper lifted it off the ground and pulled it towards herself, leaving it hovering a meter or so off the ground and about the same distance from them when all things were said and done.

"Reach out with the force, try to feel this being," Vesper said between the gnashing and flailing of the creature as it desperately attempted to break Vesper's hold and bury what remained of its jaws in their necks. "The force flows through all living things, Izel. Good, bad or indifferent. Force sensitive or not, you should be able to feel the force flowing. Do you feel that with this monster?"

The answer would likely be a resounding no, but it seemed important to have Izel understand this for herself. Being a Knight of the Order, it was second nature to reach out with the force in an attempt to understand your surroundings. Vesper had detected little to no living beings around this plantation, but had foolishly neglected to inform Izel of this.

"Whatever is going on here, whatever has happened to these people, they are no longer a part of the living world. They are mindless, ravenous creatures who only desire one thing - as you can see." Watching the zombie flail desperately against its bondage was like placing a steak just out of reach of a caged, starving nexu. "Their hearts do not beat, their blood runs black. They are.. no longer the people they once were, and are beyond salvation."

Vesper hoped that Izel would understand and trust what she was saying. If they were going to get the info they were looking for and make it out of this place alive, trust between one another would be of vital importance.

"Come, we need to get inside of that building as swiftly and quietly as possible." Looking up, Vesper could see one of the windows on the second floor had been busted out. "We should probably go in through there. Let the force be your guide in the dark, young padawan. And most importantly, please trust me."

Vesper would let Izel take the lead. giving her the clear choice of staying or going. Given the atmosphere of the current situation, the Echani Knight would not fault her either way.


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Izel Thral

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Izel stopped to listen to Vesper's explanation, instinctively cringing away slightly as the Knight held the zombie suspended before them while it squirmed and snapped at them. As her elder explained herself Izel reached out with the Force, trying to grasp anything, even the smallest hint of life or soul within the monster. There was none. Vesper was right, and the Padawan felt foolish for not recognizing it immediately as well.

"I see..."
She said dismally, and suddenly ignited her saber, slicing off the creature's head with a swift movement and leaving it to go limp as Vesper still held it in the air. She retracted the blade at once and bowed her head respectfully to the Knight. "Forgive me Master, I should have trusted your judgement." She apologized, clearly being affected negatively by the action she had just taken, even if the monster was no longer a sentient being. But she dropped the issue there, and forged ahead with Vesper.

When the Knight indicated the second story window as their entry point Izel nodded and took the lead promptly upon her order. Thanks to her Vratix biology she was easily able to leap up to the second floor even without Force augmentation, clinging to the side of the building with her hook-claws before crawling inside through the broken window.

She quietly lowered herself to the floor, glancing in both directions down the hall to make sure the coast was clear. The building seemed to have been hastily abandoned. Dim lights flickered and papers and other debris littered the floor. On the wall opposite her there was a blood splatter and a dried puddle on the floor beneath it. But no body in sight. That wasn't very reassuring.

The Padawan looked back out the window and signaled to Vesper, telling her it was safe to come in. Once joined by the Knight she would begin making her way down the hall, careful to remain on high alert and to try to make as little noise as possible.

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Vesper

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"No need to apologize Izel, I will never fault someone for asking questions." Vesper could tell that the young Vratix still carried guilt about having to kill the monsters, which she understood to an extent. Having to put down a beast because it was trying to kill you was vastly different than a person, or what used to be a person. Jedi weren't killers.. but sometimes they didn't have a choice. This was one of those times. "A good Jedi wants to know why. Never lose that quality, it is one of your greatest assets."

Vesper watched as Izel scaled the building with ease, her worry growing by the second until she got all the all clear signal. Once she did, Vesper followed suit, leaping with the aid of the force to smoothly land inside the vigilant padawan. Looking around, it was quite clear that some sort of struggle had occurred, and a pretty bloody one to boot. Things were not looking up.

"If I had to wager a guess, I'd put Yars' office on the top floor." Vesper said quietly as the two began making their way down the dimly lit hallway. It was funny, if Vesper had been watching this scenario on a holovid, she'd have been shouting at the characters to get the hell out of there because they were surely going to die. Instead, she ignored that part of her brain and continued to push forward. "Plus, if there would be any other survivors, that's probably where they'd go. Only so many ways to get up there, easy to block off and wait for help."

Approaching an L in the hallway, Vesper motioned for Izel to slow up and wait for a moment. As subtly as possible, Vesper approached the corner of the wall and peered around it. Through the dim and flickering emergency lights Vesper could make out the form of three beings, hunched over and tearing up the corpse of Klatooinian. They were shoveling handfuls of flesh and gore into their mouths with reckless abandon, still currently oblivious to Izel and Vesper. Just beyond them was a turbolift.

Turning to the padawan, Vesper sighed heavily. "There are three just around the bend, but they're currently preoccupied with dinner." She paused for a moment, wondering if making jokes at a time like this was appropriate. Not so much for her sake, but Izel had shown to be easily shaken and perhaps it would not help her maintain her composure. "There's a turbolift just behind them, and if the lights on the up and down buttons are any indicator, seems to be running still."

Taking out her lightsaber, Vesper hovered her thumb over the activation button and looked at Izel with a stern determination. "Best bet is to take them by surprise. If you focus on the middle one, I can get to the two on the side. Then we make a dead sprint for the turbolift." The plan wasn't full proof, obviously, but it seemed like the best option.

Vesper let the force envelop her, the presence of the Lightside calming and allowing her focus to harden. "After you, padawan. I've got your back."


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Izel Thral

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"Agreed." Izel said with a nod in response to Vesper's speculation that Yars and any other survivors would be on the top floor. She tried not to speak too much, preferring to remain quiet given their current situation. The Padawan followed the Knight dutifully, making sure to keep an eye on their rear to ensure they wouldn't be ambushed from behind. She stopped and waited patiently while Vesper investigated what was around the bend, then listened to her plan of attack.

"Right." She replied with a nod to indicate she understood what to do. She moved around the Knight, peering around the corner to get a better look at the zombies herself. It wasn't a pretty sight, but she focused herself and maintained her calm. She took only a moment to take a deep breath, than charged the monsters.

The zombies may not have noticed the Jedi spying but they definitely spotted the insectoid Padawan running straight towards them brandishing a lightsaber. With a trio of terrible shrieks they ran towards her, the two on the sides moving ahead of the middle. Izel jumped and flipped over the first two attackers, pressing the shaft of her saber-pike into their backs to push them further down the hall towards Vesper while simultaneously launching herself at the third zombie. Igniting her green blade she made one precise swing, slicing the monster diagonally across it's torso from neck to it's other side and cutting it in half.

She landed smoothly and immediately turned around, raising her weapon to a defensive position just in case Vesper failed to take out the other two zombies.

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The two remaining undead figures were not slain, only jostled by the insectoid padawan's actions while the third slid into two pieces. The top half didn't stop moving right away, instead it's hands reached out and tried to grab at one of the many limbs belonging to Izel while it's gore stained teeth gnashed.

The two zombies Izel had tried to manuever towards Vesper remained standing. Their bodies fully turning towards the Vratix. One let out a growl but it was silenced as it fell forward from a sudden blaster bolt to the back of the head. The other turned halfway to see the source of the shot but another two blaster bolts slammed into the undead, one of which struck it in the side of the temple.

"Damn..." A tone of relief came from Byron as he stepped out from a side room that had been previously closed. A smoking blaster was held in his hand and his eyes quickly looked around to see if there were any others. "...I think I'm getting good at that." By 'that' he meant shooting.

If he had not heard Izel speak or see her lightsaber Byron would have been a little freaked out by a giant bug. "More of them may have heard that actually..." His brow furrowed and he made a face that said he was rethinking his choice of discharging his weapon.

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Izel Thral

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Izel was taken off-guard by the sudden attack of the bisected zombie, surprised it could still function despite being cut in half. It grabbed one of her legs and tried to bite her, the Padawan reacting reflexively by jamming the blunt end of her pike into it's face, the decomposing skull giving way and crushing beneath the force of the blow.

The Padawan staggered backwards as she looked down at the now motionless corpse, disgusted and mortified. She could only hope this mission would be the last she saw of these horrible creatures. She looked back with confusion as Byron revealed himself from cover. The Vratix had never seen this man before, but assumed he was a friend considering he had just killed the other two zombies. She could sense the Force in him as well.

"Who are you?" She asked curiously as she approached the human, looking him over. Her questions would have to wait, as the blaster shots had indeed alerted more of the monsters to their presence. Already they could hear the gurgling howls of the zombies approaching them. "Nevermind, we need to move..." Izel said quickly, and began moving towards the turbolift.

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Questions were in order. Byron would have been foolish to expect otherwise. "Byron Ryker. You're Jedi, I'm a padwan myself....er...pretty much. Now's not the time" He gestured to for them to keep moving and quickly pushed the button to send them up.

Taking a breath of relief he looked over to Izel. "Feel me out or whatever if you want to." He said to give his consent if she wanted to check his mind for truth. He believed she was a Jedi and so was fine with her verifying for the sake of the situation at hand if that meant they could work cohesively.

"Byron Ryker's the name. How long ago did you arrive?" He asked as he double checked his blaster. Unlike Izel, Byron didn't have a lightsaber. He had yet to craft his so had to rely on the same weapons as most other denizens of the galaxy. The past hour had been a bit stressful so the man did his best to center himself and take stock of the situation as the turbolift brought them quickly to the upper levels.

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Izel Thral

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Izel was surprised there was another Jedi already on the planet, it made her wonder why she and Vesper had been sent in the first place. Once inside the safety of the tubolift she took a moment to reach out with the Force upon Byron's consent, feeling tentatively at the human's mind. From what she could tell he seemed to be telling the truth, and now wasn't exactly the time for suspicion anyway. He was alive, and that was all that really mattered in the moment.

"Izel Thral," She introduced herself to her new companion. "I'm a Padawan as well. Knight Vesper and I landed just a few minutes ago," She paused, suddenly concerned. "Although it seems we've been separated, I hope she's alright..." She tried not to worry about it. The Jedi Knight had shown thus far that she had no difficulty defending herself from these creatures. The people they were looking for on the other hand were much more likely to be vulnerable. "We were looking for Yars Thrindel and any other survivors. Can you tell me what happened here?"

Izel was still operating on very little information. She and Vesper had been sent here to investigate a simple food shortage, and now they were under attack by these mindless monsters. Anything Byron could tell her would be helpful. The turbolift stopped and the doors opened, they had reached the top floor. There was still no sign of life, but at least there were no zombies to greet them either. The hallways were dank and abandoned, messy and littered with paper and other supplies. Yars' office was sure to be here somewhere, and hopefully some answers as well.

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Byron tried to sense if they were checking his mind. He could tell there was something going on but his inexperience forced him to only catch the slightest of sensations as the insectoid padawan satisfied her concerns.

"If she's a Knight I think she'll be alright for now." He said looking back down the hall as if checking to see if the woman was in sight. "But right now we need to get some long range communication sent back to the Order and let them know what's going on." There were bigger things than the life of a single Jedi who was probably waging a one woman army against the undead somewhere. He had his confidence in Knight Vesper despite having never met her. Once they sent out the distress call to the Order then Byron was more than happy to start regrouping with the lost Knight. There was strength in numbers afterall.

The turbolift came to a stop but jarringly so. Byron steadied himself on the wall. The doors to the lift creaked open for a moment but then stopped. "Kark. Hold on." He said and held the doors and began to try and pull to one side. Eventually the door would slide open and reveal only part of the upper level visible and the second to last floor showing enough space for them to squeeze through. They either had to go up stairs for one more floor or... "Uhh..." His head looked up at the ceiling of the turbo lift. "Can I see your lightsaber?" He held out his hand but knew that it was a personal item. The man didn't understand the true depth a jedi had with the lightsaber yet and was just ignorant of how rude it was to probably take Izel's sacred and personal tool. But he planned on using the weapon to cut through the roof access panel to have them climb on the top of the turbo lift and then get directly onto the last floor like they had originally planned. However Byron only trusted his knowledge in engineering to not accidentally cut something in the turbolift's design that would have them plummeting back down.

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While Izel agreed that her comrade was most likely fine she couldn't help but worry a little, this wasn't exactly the best place to be wandering around alone, even for a trained Jedi. She gave an annoyed click when the other Padawan seemed to dismiss her questions. "We can contact the Order and inform them of what's happened once we're back on the ship." She explained. "I have to attend to my mission first. If you know where Mr. Thrindel is we must go to him at once."

The Vratix swayed uneasily as the turbolift suddenly stopped before finding her balance. It seemed they still had a ways to go before reaching their destination. She hesitated when Byron asked for her lightsaber but handed it over without protest. She assumed he was a fairly new addition to the Order, despite his age. "I suppose you haven't constructed yours yet?" She asked as she handed him the staff-like weapon. "Just be careful. It's not a toy."

While Byron went about his work Izel would turn her attention to the open doors, keeping an eye out for any danger. It seemed the noise from the turbolift had attracted the attention of their undead friends. Already there were two of the monsters shambling around the corner at the end of the hall, and once they spotted the two Padawans they howled with bloodlust and began charging forward. The Vratix clicked out a curse in her native tongue and immediately grabbed the doors, desperately trying to pull them closed again. "Time to go!" She urged Byron nervously as she struggled with the doors, their attackers were quickly closing the gap and would be on them in a few seconds.

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"I hope you're right. My ship's long range communications are damaged otherwise I would have sent something to the Order once I landed. Good news is that that I think My. Thrindel is also where this place's communications equipment is or at least nearby." He took the lightsaber and didn't activate it immediatly. His eyes looked at it and then up at Izel before back at the tool. It was heavier than he expected.

Carefully, he activated it, feeling the surge that came with the iconic triggering of the blade. "So cool." He whispered under his breath and then proceeded to slowly carve out the panel above them. Byron warrened Izel a moment before the plate fell down. "Careful, probably going to drop- " KLANG!

The roof to the turbo lift was open. On the top, the two Jedi would find a body laying sprawled which was what had caused the issue with it arriving at its originally intended level. Byron had accidentally cut into part of the body and now a chunk sat on the elevator floor. "Here." he deactivated the lightsaber and handed it back before grunting his way up to the top floor and into the hallway.

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Izel managed to get the lift's doors shut just as the zombies slammed into them, but already she could hear them scraping desperately at the metal from the other side. They had little time. "What was that?" She started to ask before jumping out of the way of the falling panel. She looked at the chunk of body severed by her lightsaber with pure disgust before taking her weapon back from her fellow Padawan.

With a sigh she waited for Byron to climb up before following him. Scaling the inside of the elevator shaft was simple enough for her being an insectoid. She reached the top floor just after Byron, walking alongside the Padawan as they explored the level. She remained on high alert as they moved, checking each hallway and room, antennae twitching nervously as she watched out for any sign of more zombies.

"As I was saying before we don't know what's going on," She said in a low voice, hoping not to attract more enemies to their position. "We were just investigating the reason behind a food shortage. I don't know why or how long you've been here, but any kind of explanation would be appreciated..." Certainly anything was better than being left in the dark like this. "Do you have any idea what these things are? Is it some kind of disease? Or dark side corruption?"

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The appendages the undead used to scrap their way into the elevator's interior was haggared by the jammed position but they were relentless. The Jedi made it up to their desired level none the less, leaving the hungry mob to struggle behind them.

Byron pulled out his blaster again as well as his fusion cutter. Holding the melee weapon in a reversed grip, he used his off off hand to still keep his blaster hand steady. The low insectoid voice of Izel came to him but seemed like the only noise on the floor for now. The lack of sound was discomforting. No, it was more than that. The entire area just felt, off and unsettling. On the bright side that meant Byron was becoming more attuned to the flow of the Force. On the down side it meant he felt like he was walking through the least fun haunted house at a festival.

"Well the council decided to send me too apparently. I tried calling ahead but I didn't get any response from you or this Yars Thrindel guy and I guess I know why now. I must have taken a faster route, was only a few hours behind you when I left Ajan Kloss I think." His ship, the Scarab, was fast and had a class 1 hyperdrive so Byron assumed he had ended up just beating Izel and her missing master. He pulled out his wrist chrono to check the local time. "Must've not landed even thirty minutes ago. Kark, feels like hours." After he had touched down he had made it to the building and been able to get some space from the undead before meeting up with Izel. "I'm as in the dark as you are. You are actually the only normal....living...person I've seen since getting here." Still, no sound as they made their way to the Yars Thrindel's office.

@Reyn
 

Izel Thral

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Reyn
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Izel sighed in disappointment at Byron's response. "Wonderful..." She muttered as they continued down the hall. "Well in that case I suppose we should count ourselves lucky. We might die, but at least we'll die in a very unique way…" Under less life threatening circumstances Izel may have been intrigued by these creatures, if not horrified. She hadn't encountered anything like them in her own travels or in study. From her senses she could tell they were clearly dead, but something was driving them to move and to kill. If this was a problem not unique to Tol Amm the Jedi would need to capture one of them eventually for study.

Eventually they made their way to an office, the door marked with the name Yars Thrindel. Taking the lead Izel knocked gently on the door. "Mr. Thrindel?" She asked softly, still worried about gaining any unwanted attention. After receiving no response she looked briefly to Byron and tapped the end of her pike on the ground to signal him to be ready, then pressed a button on the console beside the door to open it. Cautiously, the Padawan peaked inside the office. "Mr. Thrindel?" She asked a bit more loudly. "Are you-" She was interrupted by a blaster bolt whizzing by her head, nearly singeing her antennae. Immediately the Vratix ducked behind the wall again as two more shots came from the office.

"Stay back!" Someone inside shouted. "I-I won't miss again!" If Izel couldn't sense the man's fear it would be obvious in his stuttering voice. "Mr. Thrindel we're here to-" She tried to explain, only to be interrupted by another round of blaster fire. "You can't trick me!" The man in the office shouted. "I'm not dying without a fight!"

Down the hall Izel picked up the telltale growling signaling they had been heard and more zombies were on the way. She looked urgently to Byron. "We don't have time for this..." She said. "Does that blaster have a stun setting? I'm sure he'll forgive us once we've saved his life." Whether or not the man in the office was the man they were looking for they needed to shut him up before he got all three of them killed.

@Darasuum
 

Orenth

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Darasuum
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The insectoid's sarcasm was not lost on him. Byron let out a small huff of a laugh in response but didn't muster any other words for the time being. Instead his senses were turned to reach further out. The man's heart was still beating and his muscles tensed. He needed to recenter himself if he was going to utilize the force.

They would come to Mr Thrindel's office and Byron would move to one side how he had seen others do, mostly in holo dramas and broadcasts. He peaked around the corner right when Izel nearly got her head blown off causing him to let out a curse at the close call for either of them.

His back flattened against the wall and turned to hear the noises of the undead. In his mind he thought the same thing as his fellow Padawan. Looking down at the weapon he nodded and switched to stun. "Sure um...just...cover me?" He wasn't sure how Izel was going to do that with a lightsaber.

Taking a calming breath despite the close proximity of more clawing and gnashing teeth, Byron darted around the corner into the office with as much speed and dexterity as he could muster. Don't hit me, don'thitme donthitme Dropping to his knees in a slide he fired three stun bolts towards the man. It was probably excessive, but Byron wasn't sure about his marksmanship with his movement and the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

@Reyn
 

Izel Thral

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Thrindel fired wildly at Byron as he entered the room. Thankfully the older man was a poor shot, his aim thrown off by his nervous shaking. The blaster bolts zipped over the Padawan's head by a wide margin, and as the stun shots hit him square in the torso Thrindel was thrown violently against the wall before sliding motionless down to the floor.

Outside the office Izel had her own problems to deal with. Three zombies had rounded the corner and were charging right towards her. Reaching out with the Force she grabbed one's leg and hurled it in the path of the other, forcing them to tumble over each other and leaving her with only one opponent to take on. As the crazed humanoid took a swipe at her the Vratix cut it's arm clean off before severing it's head. With the other two starting to get up again she rushed forward to finish them off.

Swinging the blunt end of her pike she knocked one of them back before stabbing the other right between the eyes. As the last remaining zombie came stumbling towards her again she maneuvered the skewered one in front of it and pushed her saber forward, through one head and into the other. By the time she withdrew her saber and the bodies fell to the floor she could already hear more of the monsters on their way. She hurried back to Thrindel's office to check on Byron. "Are you alright?" She asked him urgently. "We need to get him out of here and back to the ship. It's on the other side of the plantation." It wouldn't be easy. They would likely have an army of zombies to fight their way through and it would be slow going trying to move their unconscious charge, but they had to accomplish their mission. Izel entered the room and took hold of one of Thrindel's arms, starting to pull him up. She looked to Byron for help.

@Darasuum
 
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