Ask Jakku Observing the Darkness Beneath

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Within the observatory of the Mad Emperor Palpatine, the Padawans would find it has been originally designed to be as cold and brutally practical as most of the old Imperial facilities had been. At its height, it would have been walkways of highly polished black metal, reflective like glass, surrounded by walls of cold, stark, white durasteel.

It was not anymore.

In its place was a blanket of growth beneath their feet more akin to the swamps of Dagobah than Jakku – let alone the inside of a bunker on Jakku. Mostly it was moss and short plant growth (up to their shins) but in some patches there were grasses that grew easier up to their mid-thighs if not their waist.

Pollen and spores floated lazily in the air ahead of them, dancing in the stagnant air.

Ahead of them, the observatory seemed to branch out from the entrance way in three different directions; each of them was overgrown as the entrance hall had been, each of them stretching into the distance on a downward slope with light becoming less and less readily available.

The central corridor from the main entrance way was different to the others in that as they Padawans would advance, the corridor would only slope gradually downward. As with the others, the darkness began to grow heavier around them until it was safe to say that the Padawans needed either high-powered torches or their active lightsabers to actually be able to see anything.

After several dozen feet, the corridor would level out but the room they would find themselves in was something they might not have expected. The room was circular and, quite literally, cavernously large. So much so that even with four lightsabers providing light, they wouldn’t be able to see the other side of the room ahead of them. What would dominate their view was the railing in front of them and, beyond that, the sheer drop.

The middle of the room appeared to have been entirely scooped out, cored like a piece of fruit. There was no bottom to the hole in sight and the room itself seemed to be warmer than expected. Once again, vegetation was all around them, some of the higher patches of grass covering the walkways around the edges of the central hole.

Slumped over the railing in front of them was a Stormtrooper in white armour.


Two people roll for investigation into the room, two people roll for investigation into the stormtrooper.

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Ruzaan Kai

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The light of his lightsaber painted the air, which was full of pollen and spores. A tickle in his nose soon led to a thunderous sneeze that echoed off the durasteel corridor. Ruzaan led the way forward, feeling a consensus among the group to head straight toward the heart of whatever this place was. Boots crunched on the tangle of plants that carpeted the floor, doing little to assuage Ruzaan's concerns about the place. Normally, he'd have ditched his boots and gone barefoot amongst the greenery... but these plants were wrong for reasons he couldn't quite ascertain.

His heart thudded in his chest as the glow from his lightsaber revealed the skeletal visage of a stormtrooper, slumped over a railing that overlooked a massive cavern. Elidan would feel Ruzaan's nervousness rise through their Force bond, although the Togruta did his best not to convey that when he spoke. He didn't even want to imagine how far down the hole went. "Any idea what that crane was used for?" he asked the group, pointing up at a crane apparatus suspended above the hole. There was no longer a bucket on the crane, leaving a decent length of line on the spool. He edged toward the crane, making sure to keep a safe distance between himself and the Stormtrooper. He kept telling himself that he had nothing to worry about and that said trooper had been dead for decades, but the unmistakable white armor was synonymous with evil and, like Elidan, he had a bad feeling about this.


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Quin Leonkri

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“Thanks,” Quin said with a grin in response to Ruzaan and Laeonas. When he saw the message on Elidan’s datapad, he nodded.

“No time to waste,” he agreed. Following Ruzaan inside, the first thing he noticed was the greenery-covered floor. Some of the patches were so overgrown that if he hadn’t known that the lab was last accessed just three weeks ago, he would have assumed that the plants had had years to grow as much as they did. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about stale air?

But as they went deeper into the building, Quin had started to find it difficult to see. It was so dark that even igniting his lightsaber alongside Ruzaan’s didn’t provide much visibility, though it was enough to reveal the stormtrooper slumped over the railing in front of them. The sight sent a shiver down his spine, and he quickly looked at the crane that Ruzaan had pointed out to distract himself.

“Maybe to extract something from the hole? Or to put something down there,” Quin suggested. Peering over the edge of the railing to look inside, he realized that he couldn’t even see the bottom. It was either because of the poor lighting, or it went so deep that there seemed to be no end. He could only hope that it was the former.

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Elidan and the other Padawans walked through the corridor. As soon as they moved away from the entrance, darkness engulfed them. The half-Sephi activated his lightsaber to give them some illumination. It gave some relief, with now they being able to see where they were walking.

The darkness of this place had left the Padawan on edge, feeling that at any moment something could surprise and attack them. Since his sight wasn't enough on this place, Elidan had started to pay attention to the sounds that he would hear with his impressive hearing. So far, he heard nothing strange, there was only the sound of footsteps crunching the plants that were growing in what once was a sterile floor.

When Ruzaan sneezed, Elidan jumped. Turning to his friend, the auburn-haired boy saw that he was sniffling. “Bless you!” he said to the Togruta through their telepathic bond. The air was full of pollen and spores, with him also feeling some itch on his nose. The half-Sephi wondered if it could be dangerous to them. Perhaps they should have brought a mask.

They continued walking toward the center of the Observatory. The more they walked, the more it seemed that the darkness was growing around them. When they reached what seemed to be the heart of this building, not even the light of their lightsabers was enough to illuminate the place. A light, alone in the darkness. Elidan thought, remembering from a poem that he read some time ago.

Like Ruzaan, Elidan had also seen the skeleton of the Stormtrooper. Even with him being dead, probably after centuries, the sight of its white armor was intimidating. The auburn-haired boy felt the nervousness coming from his friend and he tried to project his presence to the other boy, in an attempt to calm him. He was also trying to calm himself with the Togruta’s presence.

While the others looked around the room, Elidan approached the Stormtrooper. Using his lightsaber, the boy tried to understand why and how the soldier had died. Unfortunately, he couldn’t identify the reason why it had happened. However, the vines growing out of his mouth were very suspicious.

I don’t know why he died, but there are some vines growing from his mouth. It wasn’t natural.” Elidan said to Ruzaan through their telepathic bond. “Tell the others about it.

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Laeonas Tannaras

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Laeonas' studies on the empire had been one of the less absolutely soul sucking of the historical lessons had put him through. The fall of a corrupted democracy and it's usurpation by a fascistic military dictatorship had, oddly enough, actually fascinated the man-- mainly because it only happened after years of manufactured consent and very gradual change. Despite the decay of the base, the imperial, minimalist aesthetic was still present, with halls of durasteel and absolutely zero decoration lining the main corridor as they walked forward.

As the hall began to slope down and the darkness would grow thicker, Laeonas would stick closer and closer to his fellow padawans, until he was surrounded by the glowing saber blades around them. How useful his own would be in this situation, casting it's radiant white light over the pitch black hallways. He briefly glanced down at his wrist, the convenient band around it hiding any sign of the mechanics beneath.

The togruta would let out a sneeze that felt as if they'd blown out the man's eardrums. "Eire, that was loud!" He hissed, angrily glancing at Ruuz before continuing on. They'd finally arrive in a wide open room, to large to see the ends. The man would frown just a little as he took a few steps forward, jostling raven hair as he gripped the hilt of his blade. They would begin to move into the room as a group-- and that was when they came across the stormtrooper. Laeonas instinctively pulled his blade out and shifted into a stance, before realizing a moment later that the figure was dead.

Ofcourse, it wasn't entirely clear at first, but that was the only conclusion that made sense looking at the figure. Laeonas would take a few steps forward, muttering, "What the hell happened to you..." aquamarines narrowing as he approached. The man didn't touch the corpse, but he immediately noticed the vines growing from it's mouth-- and the state of his outfit. "...this... this guy is old. Been like this for..." He began, thinking back to the exact years, but struggling.

"...I know that this is like, the oldest stormtrooper armor there is. Goes back before the free worlds alliance, the resistance-- fuck, even the rebellion." He went on, eyeing up the armor again. "This guy has to have been here like this for well over a century and a half, but his armor looks like it got cleaned just last week. But... he's also got fucking vines growing out his mouth... which means that this guy was either alive and kicking in some out of style imperial armor and got killed by this shit just last week, or these vines have been in here for decades... and they've only just got out." He went on, feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

"...I really don't like this." He'd add, staring down at the stormtrooper, and wondering just what exactly had happened to him-- and everyone else in this facility-- as well as the unsettling possibility that they might meet a similar fate.



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As the party ventured around the edge of the hole in the center of the room, in both the direction of the crane and the direction of the Stormtooper, they would notice that the vegetation that coated the ground seemed to have been disturbed. Footprints were clearly visible in the moss, heavy footfalls by the looks of how deep the footprints actually were. It would take little more than a glance for the Padawans to confirm that they were not made by the same kind of boots that the Stormtrooper had been wearing.

One thing that would become apparent to Laeonas was that the man underneath the armour, the dead Stormtrooper, was exactly what he appeared. He was a man dressed in brand new armour of the oldest class of Stormtrooper - and yet he appeared to be only very recently deceased.

As both Laeonas and Elidan came close enough to inspect the dead man, the vines that had grown out of his mouth split open into violet flowers with a burst of spores that floated quickly toward them on the stale air.

Ruzaan and Quin, examining the crane and hole itself, would be able to see something further ahead. At the base of the crane's apparatus was a datapad with a cracked screen asking for a passcode. Also at the base of the crane was a badge for a Sector Ranger - one Baldur Mead - with some evidence of carbon scoring against a small door further into the central room, headed further in. Once again, however, it appeared to be closed.


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Ruzaan Kai

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Ruzaan's decision to get closer in order to inspect the crane was rewarded with something shiny. A moment later and the Ranger ID badge was in his hands, and Ruzaan held it up next to the datapad that Quin had found. Ruzaan was content to let the other Padawan deal with the datapad- the Togruta barely knew how to use his own- and instead focused on reading his discovery out loud.

"Baldur Mead" Ruzaan said. "Sector Ranger, ID number 18775409"

"Access code accepted" came a voice from the datapad, causing Ruzaan to jump; apparently, he'd just unlocked the datapad that Quin was holding; the access code was the same as the Ranger's ID number. Ruzaan glanced up at Quin, hardly believing their luck, before crowding next to the human in order to read whatever information the datapad held.

The first observation they would make was that Baldur had an extensive vocabulary. "This guy sure likes his swear words" remarked Ruzaan, before going back to reading. "Apparently he wasn't too happy with being assigned escort duty for this scientist, even if it was important. I wonder what the 'revolutionary historical technology' could be that the scientist and her team were working on?" Ruzaan couldn't imagine what the New Republic would want with this observatory, but it was clear that the mission hadn't gone as planned; the scoring left from blaster bolts on the wall was evidence of that.

The blaster marks drew Ruzaan's attention over to the small door. "I'm gonna see if I can get this open" he said. Leaving Quin, he wandered over, still holding his lightsaber aloft in his right hand. His left was rapped rhythmically on the door- shave and a haircut- and he politely stepped back in case anyone would open from the other side.


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Quin Leonkri

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Vines growing out of the mouth of a man who was living just a week ago dressed in pre-rebellion imperial armor was enough to make him feel even more uneasy. What could have caused it? Looking around for some possible clues, Quin managed to make out a datapad at the base of the crane further inside the room. Perhaps it would hold some answers. It appeared as if Ruzaan had seen it too, and he followed the Togruta boy over to investigate.

Picking up the datapad, he tried a couple times to guess the password, but nothing seemed to work. It was only when his companion read the name and ID of the sector ranger aloud that it unlocked.

Quin met Ruzaan’s gaze in surprise. “Whoa. Nice job.” As he read over the datapad with Ruzaan, he nodded along at what the other Padawan was saying. The “revolutionary historical technology” sounded interesting.

“You think it has anything to do with those anti-gravity devices down there?” Quin peered down at the crane bin in the hole, then at the controls. If the others wanted to look at it further, he did have an idea for how to call it back up. Once Ruzaan went to look at the door, Quin put the datapad in his pocket and followed him over. It appeared that there was a control panel next to the door, and it looked a little similar to the one outside. Maybe he could try to gain access, as he had before?

After pressing a couple buttons and fiddling with a wire or two, Quin turned back to Ruzaan. He was starting to get the hang of this.

“No need to knock anymore. Got the controls right here,” he said, gesturing at the panel with a grin.

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Laeonas Tannaras

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The man's careful investigation of the corpse had gleaned quite a bit of information. It didn't provide all the answers, but it told him enough to know what to be wary of. Ofcourse, during his investigation, he couldn't have anticipated what would come next-- mainly the puff of spores that he directly inhaled. Wide eyed, Laeonas began to cough, the feeling in his nostrils almost entirely alien. Growing up on an urbworld, such spores were a rarity, only found in old warehouses and damp basements. Yet even those didn't rattle his senses harder than this did.

Ofcourse, that wasn't even the start of it.

As he felt the spores begin to seep into his lungs, he began to feel a throbbing pain in his temple. That didn't last long, but as he stood there, his grip on reality began to... change. Everything around him felt off-- and when he tried to reach out with the force as he always did, he realized why. The force itself felt bizarre, like an uneasy grip on his sword, while concussed and hungover all at the same time. "...this is wrong." He thought to himself, a coherent sentiment that passed through the thickening haze in his mind.

"This isn't--" He'd try to think, before glancing up-- and recoiling in horror.

The knife eared boy who had been standing next to him was gone. In his place was... something. The man's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the anthropomorphic mass of vines, wrapped around the flesh of some freshly killed humanoid he couldn't make out through the "foliage." Drawing his sword, he took a few steps back, breathing heavily. "BACK!" He roared, a snarl burning through his voice. "AI'LL CUT YA TA FUCKIN' PIECES, 'EAR ME?! GET THA FUCK BACK!" He went on, breathing growing ever more intense-- and labored, as his lungs began to burn.

"Guys-- ANYONE, 'ELP!" He called, thinking of the only name out of the Padawans that he could remember. "GET OVER 'ERE, 'ELP ME!" He went on, eyes darting to his side-- before his heart sank. There were two more creatures of similar size and shape, all of which were reaching out, vines growing in his direction. "NOOO!!" He screeched, hacking at the vines reaching from their main forms. "GET AWAY! AWAAAAY!!!" He further yelled, genuine terror in his voice.

Where had the others even gone? One moment the knife eared boy had been next to him, and the next thing he knew he was gone. The others had only been a few meters away, the light of their sabers illuminating the room-- but now they were gone... yet he could see these things clearly, somehow. It made no sense, and yet they were here, attacking him. Clearly these things had been waiting, they'd gotten hold of that storm trooper and now they were planning to kill him-- kill all of them.

"AI'LL FUCKIN' WEED YER LEAFY ARSES IF YA TAKE ANOTHER STEP!" He went on, sword shaking in his hand as he swiped at another vine. "AI'LL CUT Y'ALL TA PIECES, THAN AI'LL LEAVE AND GET THIS PLACE FUCKIN' CARPET BOMBED, 'EAR ME?!" He went on, his eyes glazed over with a pink, burning red that replaced the milky whites surrounding the aquamarines sitting in the middle.



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Elidan

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The more Elidan tried to think about what could have happened with this stormtrooper, the less sense the things seemed to make. If there was still any doubt that something anormal was happening in this place, the vines growing from the dead man’s mouth would be bizarre enough to make anyone suspicious.

Deciding to look more closely at the vines, the Padawan leaned over the corpse. If it wasn’t for the place from where they were coming, he would have thought that the plants were like any other. They could easily pass off as one of the vines that grew up on the trees of the jungle of Yavin IV.

While he inspected the vines, Elidan noticed that it had split open to reveal violet flowers. It surprised him. He wasn’t an expert in botanics, but it wasn’t normal for flowers to bloom so fast. Even less was the cloud of spores that they released toward the auburn-haired boy and Laeonas, who was also investigating the stormtrooper and the vines.

Before he could inhale any of the spores, Elidan backed away from the dead stormtrooper. While doing it, he used his right hand to bat the spores away from his face. Instantly after it touched his hand, the Padawan started to feel it become irritated. Looking at it, the auburn-haired boy saw red marks appear there, while a burning sensation spread over his skin.

With his hand developing some type of allergic reaction to the spores, Elidan felt relieved that he didn’t inhale it. Who knows what it could have caused on his internal organs, it could even be some type of poison. Then, he remembered that Laeonas was near him when the flowers appeared. Turning to the man, the boy hoped that he would not have inhaled these spores too.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Laeonas wasn’t so lucky. The man started to scream in panic, pulling his vibro sword and pointing it toward Elidan. The boy tried to approach him, but stopped in the face of the weapon pointed toward him. The older Padawan was totally out of control and was going to be a danger to everyone. He regretted not being able to talk, perhaps he could put some sense on his mind.

While he moved away from Laeonas, who was now saying nonsensical things, Elidan had an idea. “Ruz, something happened to him. I think that he inhaled some strange polen from these plants.” he said to the Togruta, warning him about what happened. “I’ll try to help him, but I need you to watch my back if something goes wrong.

After saying it, Elidan closed the telepathic bond between him and Ruzaan. He didn’t want to drag his friend on this crazy attempt. With Laeonas still acting violently, the boy backed away to a safe distance and used his telepathy in an attempt to enter the man’s mind. His plan was to jump head on inside it and to calm him down by projecting a comforting presence. Who knows if it was going to work, he could even end like the older Padawan.

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"You dumbasses!"

The door opened shortly after the knocks from Ruzaan - though not because someone was standing behind it in the corridor it revealed. No, the person who had responded fell to the ground in front of the door from a ventilation shaft in the ceiling. Dirty, greasy and wearing only his Ranger-issue trousers and the tattered, bloodied, remains of a vest, the human man they had opened the door to reveal drew a blaster pistol from where it had been tapped over his shoulder.

"He's breathed in the spores - we need to get him secured before he draws too much attention to us!"

Naturally he said this at a loud volume while also flicking his blaster pistol to a stun setting. He raised it in the direction of Laeonas.

"Sector Rangers! Down on the ground, pal!" he narrowed his eyes at the other Jedi, "You guys gonna help me take down this perp before we get a whole company on our asses?"


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Ruzaan Kai

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Edit: Updated to include results of a contested roll per Nefi

Ruzaan had several questions: Why was Laeonas acting so strangely? Why did a half-naked Sector Ranger fall from the vent? How did the door open? Wait, that was Quin. What was the Ranger afraid of? What did it mean that Laeo had inhaled the spores? What was the company that the Ranger was speaking of?

The Togruta didn't exactly trust the Ranger- whom he presumed to be Baldur Mead- but Elidan's message through their bond convinced him that something had to be done in order to help Laeonas calm down. "Nonlethal, please- he's a friend." Sort of. "Take your shot" Ruzaan said, reaching up his left hand and calling on the Force to try to Pull the older Padawan's blade aside. Such interference would make it difficult for Laeo to defend himself against the stun bolts with his blade. Laeo's grip, however, was stronger than he'd anticipated and, not wanting to accidentally skewer Elidan with the sword, Ruzaan released his mental grip on the blade.


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Quin Leonkri

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I wonder what’s behind- huh?

“Laeo?” The older Padawan was screaming, swiping at something in front of him that Quin couldn’t see. Just as he was about to go over and help to calm him down, he heard a shout from behind him, an unfamiliar voice. He turned around and saw that he had out a blaster pistol, and the Padawan instinctively pointed his blade at him. But then he saw that his blaster was on stun, and he lowered it cautiously.

What company?

But the man was right— they would have to help Laeonas before things got worse. With Ruzaan trying to lower the older Padawan’s lightsaber with the Force to little effect, Quin wasn’t sure what else they could do without potentially getting hurt themselves.

“Laeo? Can you hear us?” He didn’t believe it would work, but it was worth a try.

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Laeonas continued out of control, seeming to become worse every moment. In an attempt to calm him, Elidan prepared to extend a telepathic presence toward the older man. Hopefully it would work like when he helped Ruzaan to resist the influence of the machine back on Yavin IV.

However, the half-Annfyn concentration was broken by an unknown voice. Turning toward where it came from, Elidan had seen a man falling on the floor. He stared wide eyed at it, without understanding what was happening now. First Laeonas became crazy and now a bizarre man fell from the ceiling. This place was more strange than what he had expected.

When he heard the mysterious man say that they should restrain Laeonas to avoid drawing attention, Elidan frowned. What type of attention? He wondered if there was something else alive in this place that could be dangerous to them. All of this reminded him of one of these holomovies about Zombie infections that he disliked.

While Laeonas continued out of control, Elidan saw Ruzaan using the Force in an attempt to yank the blade from the older man’s hand. However, it failed and left the other still with a weapon to threaten them. At this point, the half-Annfyn had already activated his lightsaber. If everything comes to the worst, he would need to defend himself against the other.

Then, the mysterious man fired a stunning bolt against Laeonas. While he waited for it to hit the older Padawan and put him down, Elidan was already prepared to once again try to enter his mind and make him faint.

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Laeonas Tannaras

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Between the screaming, yelling and cursing, Laeonas would begin to feel just how strained his lungs were becoming. His throat was dry, and his next "STAY BACK!" sounded like it belonged to a man twenty years older than the one standing before his comrades. His lungs, filled with the hallucinogenic spores, burned just as hot as Elidan's skin had, causing the man to start hacking between his threats. His eyes, bloodshot, began reddening further, veins popping out and sclera a milky red,

He needed help, and he needed it soon.

But Laeonas didn't see his comrades, offering their help and trying to reach out to them. He saw monsters, monsters he was fully convinced intended to kill him. He was alone, with nothing but a vibrosword and his own strength to defend himself. "K-KEEP-- KACHHsshh-- BACK! BACK!" He screeched, waving the sword. He'd frantically look around again, tears welling in his eyes from the pain in his lungs. "Where is everyone?" He thought to himself, screaming, "WHERE ARE YA?!" with no response coming back.

His eyes would dart to the side as another vine creature crawled out of a vent, his heart thumping hard in his chest as he looked around again. "KAChh-- KA- HELP ME!" He screamed again, tears streaming down his face. Just than, a vine would shoot from one of the creatures, wrapping itself around his sword. Eyes widening, Laeonas would pull it back, and than chop at the vine. Throwing his hand forward, a blast of force energy meant to throw the creature back fizzled out in his palm, much to the man's terror. "No, no nonononoNONO- KAAAAchCHCH-- NAAAAAAH!" He screamed again, wildly swinging his sword, practically bawling his eyes out.

"AI DON'T WANNA DIE, AI DON'T WANNA DIE!" He went on, eyes beginning to haze up. He gripped his sword tight, trembling where he stood. His fear boiled, and as he was about to try and make a break for it, he felt a bolt hit him. His eyes would widen, momentarily clearing as he hit the ground-- before falling unconscious.



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Baldur Mead, the Ranger in question, knew that the spores were what was making the Jedi in the back act crazed so he agreed readily enough to keeping his shots on a stun setting. His own experiences with dealing with people infected by the spores told him that the electrical nature of the stun bolts tended to disrupt how the spores effected the brains of their hosts. It was, the doctor had explained, a way to break control of the spores without hurting the possessed.

He really wished the Doctor was here to explain it instead of him but that wasn't happening - too much like good luck.

The bolt hit Laeonas center mass and it was a testament to how much the spores took out of people that it seemed to knock the guy out immediately. Letting out a soft sigh, he sheathed his vibrosword and holstered his blaster pistol as he kept an eye out around them.

"Alright he should be fine - the doc said the spores get zapped into inactivity after a stun bolt." he reassured the Jedi before adding, "Ranger Baldur Mead. Pleasure to meet you Masters Jedi... I suppose it's too much to hope for that you're responding to our distress signal?"

Baldur gestured for the Jedi to grab Laeo as he looked around nervously.

"They don't seem to have heard us just yet. We can probably talk for a bit - you guys look like you've got questions bursting outta ya."


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Ruzaan Kai

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There was lots of screaming from Laeo, setting Ruzaan even more on edge, before the stun bolt dropped the older Padawan to the ground. Even after Laeo was subdued, a shiver ran its way up and down the Togruta's spine. A distress signal? A strange oasis in the middle of a desert planet? Inhaled spores making one go insane? At least Laeo would recover, according to the Ranger, and Ruzaan found his feet leading him over to where the older Padawan had fallen.

Ruzaan knelt next to Laeo, checking him for any obvious injuries. Satisfied that there were none, something that Baldur had said finally pierced its way through Ruzaan's fight-or-flight response. "Uh, Mr."- he checked the ID card- "Mead! Who exactly didn't hear us?" If needed, he would help support Laeo if it looked like the group was moving to a safer place.


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Quin Leonkri

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

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Sicadorito
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Come on, Laeo. When he saw the older Padawan fall, Quin quickly made his way over along with Ruzaan, watching anxiously as he checked Laeo for injuries. Ranger Mead’s words were reassuring, though he was still a little wary of trusting the man. He seemed honest, however, and they didn’t have much of a choice right now.

Unfortunately, just as Ruzaan asked his question, Quin could hear the unmistakable sound of footsteps marching down the hall where they’d come from. Multiple sets too. He turned to the rest of the group with a new urgency.

“I think we’re about to find out,”
he replied to Ruzaan as he glanced nervously at the entrance of the hall. Out of fear of being heard, with the slimmest chance that they hadn’t already been discovered, he kept his voice low. “We should probably move. There are at least six of them out there, and they’re wearing armor too. Whoever they are, I don’t think they’re friendly.” He looked at Mead, hoping for a better explanation.

“You’ve been here for a while, right? What else do we need to watch out for?”

@LouJoVi @Tom @Nefieslab @SlagathorTheUnknown
 

Elidan

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Jedi Order
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Jedi Knight

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LouJoVi
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Elidan watched the stun bolt collide against the chest of a panicking Laeonas. For his relief, the man fell on the floor completely paralyzed. The half-Annfyn carefully approached and kneeled next to him.

When he noticed that Ruzaan and Quin had the same idea, the half-Annfyn decided to leave the Togruta to look at the older Padawan’s body in search of any wound. Thankfully, there was none, but Laeonas was really unconscious. Elidan wondered how much time it would take for him to wake up. This wasn’t a good place to be fainted.

Once he certified that Laeonas was fine, the half-Annfyn got up and approached the mysterious man. From what the guy said, his name was Baldur Mead and he was a Sector Ranger. Elidan widened his eyes with what the man said. If this place took down Rangers, perhaps they should call the Order for reinforcements.

After Mead said that they could ask questions, Elidan picked his Datapad and quickly typed one on it. Once he finished, the auburn-haired boy turned the device so the Ranger would be able to read it. “Do you know what is happening in this place with so many plants?” if they knew what was happening, there was hope that they could find a way to solve this problem.

Then, he heard Quin’s warning about. Elidan immediately moved to help Ruzaan carry Laeonas. If what was coming was the responsible for the dead stormtrooper, they needed to get out of here immediately. However, he wondered where they could go. The half-Annfyn doubted that this Observatory had any safe place.

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Laeonas Tannaras

Character
Independent
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Exiled Jedi

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Tom
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Hell. He descended here every time he slipped into unconsciousness, be it from falling asleep, or being brought into it by force. There was always room for new horrors, but more and more the same images reappeared in his mind; parents clutching dying children being a big thing. Years of constant submersion into the suffering of those he'd felt as a world died beneath him... it was a wonder he hadn't gone mad. Though, what was he, if not mad? It wasn't often that you'd get to watch a sane man flail a sword around like how he had just done.

His lungs burned even in his nightmares. Further infiltrating his dreams were the monsters he'd seen shambling towards him. This time, he got to watch the people of Firrerre not only suffer a genocide at the hands of Sith Turbolasers, but suffer and die at the hands of monstrous, living plants. Screaming physically hurt as his lungs were choked with spores. It, as always, felt so incredibly vivid-- all of these dreams did.

So, as Laeonas stirred awake, and a few memories began to trickle in... he was left in confusion. Why did all of his muscles feel so sore? Those monsters were... they were from his dreams right? His memory of their approach was as hazy, yet as vivid as one of his nightmares. He coughed a little as his eyes slowly opened, sclera a proper milky white and eyes nowhere close to bloodshot, as they had been just minutes ago. As the effect of the spores was a demonstration of just how much they took out of the man, his rapid recovery was a demonstration of how high his tolerance for pain and trauma.

"Whathafeckappened..." he muttered, glancing up at Ruzaan and Quin, blinking a couple times. "Guuuh... where... where were ya?" He'd ask, brow furrowing. "Wha... were those... wha..." He tried his best to articulate his thoughts, but even waking up, his mind was still groggy; both from the lingering effects of the spores, and the impact of the stun bolt.



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