Ask Yavin IV It Goes Without Saying...

[Elidan]

”It’s fine. I’m happy that you are here.” Elidan said, after the Togruta finally joined him in the fight against the Zygerrians. The half-Annfyn wasn’t surprised that his friend ended up having trouble coming here. By this point he was sure that ‘trouble’ was Ruzaan's middle name.

The presence of the other Padawan made one of the slavers retreat, but two still remained. After some reluctance on their part, the two Zygerrians moved to attack the Jedi. Elidan sighed, he really thought that they would be able to send these criminals away without needing to fight.

While Ruzaan sent one of the Zygerrians flying with the Force, Elidan blocked the stun baton of the other with his lightsaber and then used the Force to send him flying against an old crate. The slaver hit it with a loud sound, falling limp on the floor. “Well, in the end it wasn’t so difficult.”

He barely finished saying it when another explosion shook the ship. Shortly after that, Meridyan and part of their crew appeared in the corridor that led to the cargo hold. “Is everything fine? We captured their ship and freed the slaves.”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Lightsaber clashed with stun baton as Elidan parried the Zygerrian's blow, leaving the smell of ozone heavy in the air. Shortly thereafter the fight was over, though; both remaining Zygerrians unconscious on the floor. Ruzaan couldn't help but feel a little ashamed at his performance- he'd expected that he and Elidan might need to play a larger role in the fight- but all the same he was grateful when Meryidan arrived with the welcome news that the battle was won.

"All good in here" Ruzaan replied, gesturing towards the two motionless Zygerrians. "Thank you for your help." Perhaps the thespians should've been thanking the Jedi for being bait, but Ruzaan wasn't interested in technicalities like that- the Zygerrians had been brought to justice either way. "The galaxy is safer because of it." Quickly, the two semiconscious Zygerrians were restrained and hauled off to join the rest of the surviving slaver crew; Ruzaan doubted that the Merydians used stun bolts when dealing with slavers.

An idea did occur to him, though, as Ruzaan pondered what the next steps might be for moving on with their mission. The Zygerrian's ship now stood as spoils of war, and he was hoping that the Merydians wanted nothing to do with the vessel given its evil past. "Our shuttle sustained damage coming out of hyperspace so abruptly." he said, not completely stretching the truth, "With your permission, Elidan and I could commandeer the Zygerrian's ship and see it put to a better use than it has in the past?" Mentally crossing his fingers, the Togruta waited for Merydian's answer; either way, he was looking forward to continuing their mission and putting the ever-growing list of errors behind him.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan nodded in agreement while Ruzaan explained to Meridyan that they had defeated the Zygerrians. With a gesture of their hand, the leader of the pirates signaled for their crew to pick the slavers. The half-Annfyn watched while they were carried away, wondering where they were going.

Meridyan seemed to have noticed the Annfyn’s curiosity, because they immediately explained to the Padawans their plans for the slavers. “We are going to send them to nearby planets. It’s forbidden to have slaves on this part of the Galaxy. There are some anti-slavery groups that will be happy to deal with them.”

“Of course, you can even have their ship.” Elidan turned to Ruzaan, wondering if the Togruta really wanted to have this ship only for them. They weren’t exactly good pilots. “If you don’t like it, you two can even sell it to a junkyard. I believe that they will give a good amount of credits for that thing.”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan nodded in approval as the plan to send the slavers to nearby planets was relayed to them; either the Zygerrians could be reformed into beings who no longer practiced slavery, or else they would sweat away their crimes. Either way, this particular crew would no longer enslave humanoids.

More exciting to the teenage boy, however, was the opportunity to explore a new ship; his and Elidan's! [We're not selling it at a junkyard] the Togruta said to Elidan. Not only was it a substantial size and weaponry upgrade over the shuttle they were in, Ruzaan was determined to make the best of their "new" acquisition. He'd never owned something even remotely comparable to the freighter before, so the Aurore-class represented a huge opportunity. [We'll have to come up with a name!] Something that would represent the ship's second life under the Jedi.

With the battle over, Meryidan and their crew bade Ruzaan and Elidan goodbye, returning to their ship after another round of thanks from Ruzaan on behalf of the Jedi. Despite their odd introduction sequence, the Merydians had handled themselves well in a fight- a fact the helmeted leader attributed to the Zygerrians being split up- and Ruzaan was grateful to see that casualties amongst the minstrel group were nonlethal. "May the Force be with you" he wished them, before the Meryidan's ship floated off to bring the captive Zygerrians to their new lives.

Although Ruzaan's nose wrinkled despite himself as he stepped aboard the freighter- the vessel smelled of despair, spice, and Zygerrian B.O.- his mood was definitely brighter than when he and Elidan had first been yanked out of hyperspace. He took a moment to gaze around the ship, knowing that there was more to explore and plenty to clean before it represented something he would feel proud of. [So... what do you think?] An open-ended question, that could be interpreted to mean Elidan's thoughts on any of the recent developments.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

”Ok! We can keep it.” Elidan said, surprised with his friend's excitement with the possibility of owning a ship. The half-Annfyn wasn’t sure if they could use it, since the two weren’t exactly good pilots. Perhaps it was an incentive for him to have more piloting classes, since he had neglected those for a long time.

With the problem with the Zygerrian solved, Meridyan and their crew left. The half-Annfyn waved them goodbye, while thinking that it probably was the strangest situation that he ever participated in.

“I’ll leave the idea of a name to you. I’m not good with it.” he said to Ruzaan. If he needed to give this ship a name, the tall boy would probably calm it of something stupid. Like ship or vessel. Both were obvious names and in his opinion would fit the shuttle perfectly. However, he wasn't sure if his friend would share that feeling with him.

Since they were alone in the ship, Elidan started to use his voice rather than the telepathy. “Do you already have ideas for it?” while he looked around their recently acquired ship, the half-Annfyn concluded that it would need a good cleaning.

“I think that we’ll need to clean this place immediately. If this ship is going to be our, I want it to look like something owned by a Jedi.” he stared at some objects used for slavery. “We also should destroy these things.“

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

[Nope, no naming ideas just yet] Ruzaan replied, still coming around to the idea that Meryidan and their crew had just given the Jedi such a large ship. [Just a looong to-do list.] He agreed with Elidan that the ship would require a thorough makeover; a project that would take far longer than the time the two Padawans had left before reaching Sharlissa. However, the Togruta nonetheless found a bucket of water and a rag, and soon was going to work washing the filthiest place on the ship; the cages that the Zygerrian's slaves had been thrown into.

Like Elidan, Ruzaan wanted nothing to do with the implements of slavery. While he saw the use of having some kind of restraints aboard the ship should they need to make an arrest, the only reason the cages weren't being launched out the airlock at the soonest possible convenience was that they didn't fit easily into the airlock. It would've been easier to simply leave the cages alone and ditch them at the nearest convenience, but to the Togruta there was a kind of catharsis to washing the cages; it was as if he was also washing away their influence on the ship. No more would the freighter be a place where families were scattered and lives forever altered.

So engrossed was he in the task that the hours flew by. It was only once he'd finished, his fingers wrinkled from the water and the skin on his hands raw from the cleaning chemicals, that he wandered over to see what Elidan was up to. [Are we there yet?] he asked, realizing that he'd completely forgotten to update their destination into the freighter's navicomputer.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

”Yeah.” Elidan agreed with Ruzaan, while opening a door in the corridor of the ship. Behind it was a room with several crates. The Padawan approached one that was open and saw that it was full of cans of foodstuff. “I think that I found their pantry. We could leave all this food here.” he said, while showing to the Togruta one of the cans. “Who knows when we will need it for an emergency.”

However, what Elidan didn’t want to maintain in the ship were the cages and other things that were associated with the slavery past of this vessel. The half-Annfyn supported the idea that they should dump everything as soon as they could, preferably before they returned to the Jedi Temple.

During the rest of the trip, Elidan helped Ruzaan to clean the ship. The place was so dirty that he wondered if it was owned by Zygerrians or by a troop of Kowakian Monkeys. He wondered how they could live in a place like it.

“I dunno.” Elidan said, while rising from where he was cleaning the floor. “Did you put Sharlissa’s coordinates on the ship?”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Sharlissa's coordinates... Ruzaan facepalmed as he realized that he and Elidan had been floating around for the past several hours in realspace, not making progress towards their destination. He'd been so eager to begin cleaning the ship that he'd completely neglected to set a course. [Ah, kark. I'll get on that] he said, kicking himself internally for forgetting the obvious. [Sorry.]

A trip to the cockpit revealed that this area of the ship was no better maintained than the other areas; crumbs and stains decorated the consoles, and something had spilled on one of the seats. Disgusting. He was, however, able to punch in the coordinates and soon the freighter was traveling through hyperspace with the shuttle attached.

[We've got about 2 hours] Ruzaan informed Elidan after returning from the cockpit. Weariness washed over him like a wave, making his next decision an easy one; there would be time to continue cleaning the ship later. [I think I'm going to take a nap.] With none of the beds on the freighter being ones he wanted to touch with a ten-foot pole right now, the Togruta headed back towards the shuttle to his berth there to sleep away the rest of the journey to Sharlissa.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan laughed at their situation. They had been so distracted cleaning that they didn’t notice that the ship was basically going nowhere. “No problem. It’s my fault too.” like Ruzaan, the half-Annfyn knew where the two were going. He could have put the coordinates in the navigator too.

He followed Ruzaan toward the cockpit and couldn’t avoid grimacing at the situation of the place. It was a pigsty like the rest of the ship and would need a good cleaning. Elidan was still amazed with the fact that the Zygerrians were capable of staying in a place like this one. While they were slavers, the half-Annfyn always thought that they had a type of refinement that they used to hide their true intentions.

Perhaps it was also a façade to hide their habits of being worse than pigs.

When Ruzaan said that he was going to have a nap, Elidan nodded in agreement. “Good idea. I think that I’ll take one too.” everything that happened early and the fact that they had cleaned parts of this ship had made the half-Annfyn tired. Only now he remembered that he didn’t slept since they left the Temple.

Like his friend, the auburn haired boy had no interest in sleeping at the Zygerrians’ beds until they were properly cleaned. He followed Ruzaan back to the shuttle, where he would rest for the next two hours.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan should've figured that sleeping in space- where he rarely felt fully grounded- would lead to him having bad dreams, but by the time he remembered this it was too late; this time, his nightmares took him to his homeworld of Shili when he'd last fought Zygerrians. He'd been with a friend, then, too- one who had turned out to be a Sith. Of course Elidan was no Sith, but when Malou turned to address him- accusing him of inaction, of ineptude, of failure- she spoke with Elidan's voice.

So it was that the beeping of the navicomputer announcing their arrival, audible to the Togruta's sensitive montrals even from the adjacent shuttle, was a relief; and Ruzaan headed to the 'fresher to change his bandages and towel away the sweat from his dreams. Once he had dressed again, Ruzaan returned to the cockpit of the freighter to prepare for landing. In the viewport, the planet of Sharlissa loomed large; hopefully an important piece of an ever-growing puzzle.

[Any guesses what we'll find at the orphanage?] he asked Elidan when the half-Annfyn joined him, curious what his friend might be predicting. Hopefully this trip would be worth the effort.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

There was an interesting fact about telepathic bonds that both Elidan and Ruzaan ignored. If they didn’t close it, there was a small chance that they would be able to experience the dreams of one another. This was why the half-Annfyn, rather than having a good rest, was seeing scenes of places and people that he couldn’t recognize.

The strangest part of this ‘dream’ was that Elidan wasn’t participating in it. He had the sensation of being a simple spectator, like how he used to watch Holomovies. It became even more bizarre when he saw a woman talking with his voice. The half-Annfyn wondered if it was the effect of the medicine that he received in the medical bay.

This dream would disappear, but he would soon wake up. He would rise right on time to see Ruzaan leaving. The half-Annfyn would remain in the room for some time, trying to make sense of what he saw in his dreams. When he couldn’t think of anything logical that could explain it, Elidan went after his friend.

He would find the Togruta in the cockpit. Elidan approached and sat next to him. “No idea. I hope that it’s something that will explain what happened.” he said, trying to ignore the crazy dream that he had. “What do you think that we are going to find?”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

[Hopefully something helpful, like a neon sign saying who is behind all of this] Ruzaan half-joked in response; this mission had taken one twist after another, and part of him feared that this trip would accomplish nothing but reveal another layer that he and Elidan would have to peel back in their quest for the truth. The Togruta was beginning to wonder if they'd even finish this mission at all, but at least he felt like they were closer than they'd been a few months ago when the case had went cold.

Getting clearance to land on Sharlissa was easier than he'd anticipated, considering that he and Elidan were in a slaver's ship, but apparently the Zygerrians had invested in a number of fake identities for the freighter. Soon, a soft bump welcomed the Jedi to the planet as they landed, and Ruzaan's feet nearly skipped down the landing ramp as he relished in the feeling of solid ground underneath him again. A short speeder ride later, and the Jedi were standing outside the orphanage; still showing the scars of the recent fire.

[There it is] Ruzaan said, taking in the view. A few children played outside in a weary fenced-in yard, hardly giving the Jedi a moment's glance; Ruzaan felt a pang in his heart as he realized that the children's lack of interest was because neither he nor Elidan looked old enough to adopt them.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

”It would be good!” Elidan said, before bursting into laughter. While it was a joke, the half-Annfyn really hoped that they would find some solid clues. Every time that they thought that this investigation was going to end, the two would find something that would make it even more mysterious.

After the ship landed and the two had got outside, Elidan took a deep breath. The half-Annfyn felt as if there had been months since he had fresh air. It was good to see the surface of a planet. By Ruzaan’s reaction, he was sure that his friend also felt the same. The auburn-haired boy couldn’t understand how there were people that liked to spend long time inside these shuttles, traveling through space.

They soon find a speeder to take them to the orphanage. The sight of the place brough to Elidan a feeling of nostalgia. It had been in a place like this one that he spent the first years of his life. Watching the children playing outsider, some older than the others, made the half-Annfyn think that he could have been doing that at this moment if he wasn’t taken by the Jedi.

Elidan would press a button in the gate. The sound of a bell would resonate in the distance and soon the main door of the building would be open. From inside it came a female human dressed in some type of uniform. Once she arrived where the Padawans were waiting, the half-Annfyn would wait for Ruzaan to present them.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

The woman glanced over the two Jedi, taking in their youthful appearances while the beginnings of a frown tugged at the corner of her mouth. "We're running low on space in the teenage male dormitory" she said, grabbing a datapad. "And before you ask, no, you won't get to stay in the teenage girl dormitory" she continued, the disapproval in her voice strong enough that Ruzaan almost apologized, even though the thought had not occurred to him. "One of you will have to stay with the younger boys."

"We're not actually looking for a place to stay" Ruzaan interjected, raising a hand to forestall the woman's ongoing spiel. "We're here on behalf of the Jedi Order in relation to the fire that occurred here."

The Togruta wasn't confident that name-dropping the Jedi would go over well, given the public scrutiny the Order found itself under from time to time- but at least the woman's scorn wasn't directed entirely at him and Elidan. "The Jedi? They sent you two out to poke around?" she asked, prompting Ruzaan to wonder if her eyebrow could get any higher on her forehead. "About time someone looked into it" the woman grumbled. "Been asking ever since it happened and nobody on Sharlissa seems to care. Come on, I'll show you where it started. Guess you're better than nothing."

As the woman turned and began leading them through the halls of the orphanage, Ruzaan shrugged in the direction of Elidan, still not sure what to make of the woman's brusque manner. [Well, it wasn't a 'no'] he said, telepathically.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Before any of them could say anything, the woman started to say that the orphanage was full. Elidan turned to look at the children playing outside, counting how many of them were there. Indeed, there were at least twenty here. The half-Annfyn was sure that there would be more inside the building.

Thankfully, Ruzaan had explained to the woman that they were Jedi and not looking for a place to stay. However, she once again drew her own conclusions and started to talk about something that had happened. Elidan turned to look at his friend, visibly confused with what was happening.

“Perhaps it’s related to what we are investigating.” Elidan said, while following the woman toward the building. “We should try to act as if we are here exactly to help with it. Maybe we can discover more about Marth with it.” it was the best chance that they had at the moment to make the investigation continue. They should give it a try.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan nodded in agreement with his friend's plan, safely behind the grumpy woman's back. The Togruta had no idea how or if the mysterious fire was related to Marth's kidnapping from this place, but it was the only lead that the Jedi had at the moment. [Keep your eyes open for anything interesting] he advised his friend.

The woman led Elidan and Ruzaan through the orphanage, giving them a mini tour along the way. "There's the cafeteria, and the library" she said, pointing first to a large room and then to a pitifully small one. "Over here is the young boys' room"- Ruzaan ducked as a shoe came flying out into the hallway- "and across the hall is the juvenile boys' room."

Preoccupied as he was with finding and returning the thrown footwear, Ruzaan wouldn't notice a human girl of about 12 years old trying to get Elidan's attention. "Psst, Jedi! Over here!" she said, holding a finger to her lips and beckoning him over and away from the tour. Her eyes were wide; not in fear, but from the urgency of needing to talk to the half-Annfynn...

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

While they followed the woman, Elidan looked around the building. The place seemed to be chaotic and not even a bit welcoming. He couldn’t think how children were allowed to live here. This place couldn’t be allowed to even have animals. The Padawan wondered why the authorities didn’t close it already.

The more he saw, more the half-Annfyn felt relieved that the Jedi had taken him. If all the orphanages were like this one, he was lucky to escape from the prison that he lived in during his early years.

When the shoe came flying and Ruzaan went to recover it, Elidan heard someone calling him. He turned to see a small girl gesturing for him to follow her. “I think that I found something.” he said to the Togruta, before turning to the woman that was guiding them. “Can you use a mind trick on her? Send her to pick refreshments and food, anything that will give us time to talk with the girl.”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Splitting the party was never a good idea, but Ruzaan didn't know what choice he had at the moment. While Elidan had managed to slip out of the matron's sight, Ruzaan was getting the full force of the woman's attention; and Elidan's suggestion, while creative, wasn't an option the Togruta was confident in. [I can't] he said, telepathically, trying not to let his face convey to the matron that he was more invested in a very different conversation. [This woman is a force of nature; I don't think a Mind Trick like that would work.] Ruzaan also didn't want to admit that he'd dozed off once or twice in Ethics of Mental Manipulation, so he put on a brave face and prepared to continue the tour. [Good luck with your lead. May the Force be with you.]

A tug on Elidan's sleeve would remind the half-Annfynn that he had a humanoid to deal with, too. The girl who had beckoned him over, a human from the looks of things, gestured for Elidan to duck around the corner with her. Short brown hair framed a mischievous face that currently was all business. "You Jedi are here to help us, right?" she asked, her voice quiet and hopeful. "Marge the Barge"- apparently, the matron had an unflattering nickname- "is in on the whole thing. Kids are going missing, and none of us know why."

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan blinked at Ruzaan, confused with what the Togruta was talking about. The woman seemed to be ordinary in the half-Annfyn’s opinion and not some type of ‘force of nature’ like his friend had said. “Okay… Well, good luck with her.” he said, before slipping after the girl that was pulling his sleeve.

Once away from the woman’s sight, Elidan crouched to hear what the girl had to say. She seemed to be serious, with an expression that didn’t suit someone of her age. The children these days. The half-Annfyn thought, but immediately regretted. It made him look like an old man.

The Padawan paid close attention to what the girl was saying to him, grimacing when she said the name of the matron. Who called themselves Marge the Barge? It was probably one of the most silly nicknames that he ever heard. However, the revelation that children were disappearing and the woman was behind that soon made him forget about it.

“Ruzaan, the girl told me that children are disappearing.” he said to his friend through telepathy. “She also said that the matron, Marge the Barge, is behind it. Be careful.”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Throughout his continuing tour with Madame Marge, as the matron introduced herself, Ruzaan couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Not just the revelation that she was somehow complicit in the disappearance of several children, but something about the woman nagged at the edge of the Togruta's understanding. It wasn't until they reached a door leading to a loading dock, which Marge promised was one of the safest rooms in the entire building, that he realized why.

Marge was force-sensitive... and trained.

Her words washed over him, threatening to disarm his defenses and agree that he would be perfectly safe in the loading dock- away from Elidan, and all alone with Marge. The Togruta stumbled slightly as he fought for control, taking a step away from Marge as he did so; a step that ultimately saved him.

A stun baton appeared suddenly in Marge's hand, perhaps dropped down from within her one of her flowing sleeves, and the extra space was enough for Ruzaan to twist away from the crackling energy at the end of it. A flush of anger darkened Marge's face as she recognized that her ambush had failed, but soon she was striking at him again. Ruzaan gave ground steadily before her attacks as he fumbled for his lightsaber while trying not to trip over items stacked willy-nilly in the narrow hallway he had retreated into. A quick Force Push sent a few small boxes spilling to the floor from where they had been piled up; enough for Ruzaan to turn and run. As he rounded another corner- hopelessly lost in the doldrums of the orphanage- he both overheard Marge make a call and was able to contact his friend.

[Elidan, she's force sensitive and is calling for backup. Don't trust any adults!] Exactly how many and how prepared their assailants might be to handle Jedi (instead of younglings) Ruzaan didn't know, but he hoped that his message was in time to warn Elidan of any incoming hostiles.

@LouJoVi