Ask Sernpidal Please, Anything But This Again

[Johanes av Holsen]

"I don't mean to pry, but, your healer?" Johan didn't hesitate with his question. He was curious, though he would understand if Zessel didn't wish to talk about it.

Johan raised an eyebrow at the Knight forbidding them to see a dead body. Sure, they were technically children, but they were Jedi! Seeing horrors was practically a part of the job description... He brushed it aside for now as he listened to Zessel explain how to collect evidence. Gloves, plastic bags and tweezers. Right. Cool. "Sounds easy enough," he remarked with a quick glance at their surroundings...

Nothing.

"Uhm. What even are we looking for?" There seemingly wasn't much around in plain sight besides the dirt and grime one would expect from an alleyway. Whoever the killer was, they removed anything that could be useful for an investigation at first glance. Perhaps it wasn't going to be that easy after all, he thought, looking over at Zessel with a puzzled look.

There was, however, what seemed to be a mostly empty and small vial glinting in the corner that he had noticed, and mistakenly disregarded in the same thought.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

”Yeah, she helps me with the ADHD.” Zessel said, distracted looking at the contents of the box that Omar gave to them. “Her name is Zyra, we started working on it two weeks ago, after Knight Natalie suggested it to me.” since it had been recent, he was still struggling with focus. However, the healer was optimistic with the future of the treatment.

“I like her. She said that I should have a hobby to also focus on things that I like and could be useful, so I started to take cooking classes.” he tried several options before deciding which activity would be the most fun. “Ah, I found the stuff!” Zessel said, pulling the plastic bags and tweezer out of the box and passing one of each to Johanes. “We need to use gloves too.”

“We need to pick anything that is out of place. For example…” Zessel stopped, looking around in search of something that could be a clue. His eyes rested upon an empty vial lying on the floor. “This.” he said, approaching the object and carefully picking it with his gloved hands. “This is very suspicious and an analysis in the laboratory can show us what was inside.”

After placing the vial inside a plastic bag, Zessel turned back to Johanes. “Try to find something. Even what you think is trash can help discover who the assassin is.”

@Wills

 

[Johanes av Holsen]

"Oh, I see." Johan smiled. He didn't know much about ADHD, but if whatever treatment Zessel was getting helped, he'd be happy for his newfound friend all the same.

"My friend Hira likes to cook too. I'm better off staying out of the kitchen, though." He chuckled at the thought; the mess he made the last time he tried and his mum's look of horror. The poor cleaners, though. The Sverender still felt sorry for them having to clean it all up.

Johan nodded along as Zessel demonstrated how it was done. "Sure, I can try." There wasn't much confidence in his voice; investigating wasn't really his forte, evidently. Glancing around, he still couldn't spot anything of note... A broken bottle, discarded rubbish bags, footprints, some graffiti on the wall— Wait, footprints...? Faded and completely disappearing after the first couple, but they pointed down the alley in the opposite direction from the body.

"I found footprints." He turned to Zessel, unsure if they should follow them or notify Knight Karlyn first.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

”I’ll be careful when you get near a kitchen.” Zessel said without looking at the other Padawan. His attention was focused on the small vial, now safely placed inside the plastic bag. He wondered what could have been inside it. Was it some type of new drug? Did it have any relation with the assassination? Was it owned by the assassin? Or perhaps the victim was carrying? There were so many questions and only an Investigator could find the answers.

Zessel got distracted thinking about these possibilities that he didn’t notice the uncertainty in Johanes' voice. In fact, he didn’t even hear what the other Padawan said. He only snapped out of his daydreaming when the other mentioned footprints. This made him turn his head so fast that his vision got a bit blurry for a moment.

“Where?” he said, rushing toward Johanes. He stopped when he saw the footsteps, a large smile on his lips. “Nice job! You should take pictures from them. Their shape and details can help find the owner.” then he turned to look at Omar, who was still busy with the body.

“Hmm, maybe we could give it a look before telling him. We would still be away from the dead.” he smiled, prepared to rush toward the alley.

@Wills

 

[Johanes av Holsen]

With a nod to his fellow Padawan, Johan took out his EZPhone and took a few pictures of the footprints. Following them, though? He wasn't entirely sure, after all, he had no weapons nor much training, having only been inducted into the order a few weeks prior. What's the worst that could happen, right? It's not like the footprints could potentially belong to a certified killer— oh wait.

But Zessel seemed enthusiastic about it, so there he followed the half-Arkanian through the alleyway. And while the footsteps initially faded after the first few, they crept back up again and again, and so the rowdy Padawans followed.

Soon they reached a decrepit, abandoned industrial complex, causing the Sverender to stop before the main gate. Spilt droid oil, spare parts and other scrap littered the front yard. "Those look like the same footsteps as before" Johan pointed at the streaks of droid oil leading into the factory. As it seemed, the owner of the footsteps was kind, and careless enough to paint a lovely 'I went this way follow me' sign behind themselves as they attempted to flee the crime scene.

"You sure we should follow in there?" he asked with scepticism, still unsure if he'd be able to do anything should things take a turn for the worst.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

Zessel was so excited by the fact that he was being part of an investigation that he completely forgot about the dangerous side of it. They could be rushing straight toward an assassin, or worse. There could be an entire gang waiting for them and the situation could go bad.

At the end of the trail there wasn’t any criminal waiting for them, only the empty space of an old industrial area. The half-Arkanian was a bit frustrated and relieved. He wanted some action, while being aware that he and Johanes weren’t prepared to deal with any attacker that could appear.

The white-haired boy immediately turned to where Johanes was pointing, seeing the footsteps. He approached, giving a better look at them. “You are right! They are exactly like the other ones.” this time, Zessel was the one to take some pictures. “The oil seems fresh. Maybe there is a droid with them.”

“I think that now is a good moment to call Omar.” he said, still looking at the oil. If there is a droid, then it could mean that it was an assassin droid. That stuff used to be hard to destroy even by Knights. Or at least it was what he had heard about in the corridors of the Temple. “I’ll send a message.” Zessel said, while already typing.

@Wills

 

[Johanes av Holsen]

Just as he received Zessel's message, the Knight made haste for the industrial yards. Approaching, he shot a look of disapproval toward the Padawan learners. Leaving without notice was a reckless move given the circumstances; his expression made that fact all too clear without having to utter a single word.

Even so, Omar could hardly keep the stern demeanour, his expression quickly mellowing out as his gaze switched between the footprints and the padawans. A hearty sigh escaped his lips followed by a dainty grin, "Nice work." His gaze analysed the area, the footprints and the oil marks stretching further into the complex. A droid assassin was definitely a possibility, especially given the efficiency of the kill. Then again, it was an industrial yard... grime and oil spills weren't exactly a rarity in such environments.

"I will investigate what you've found here. Again, good work. But you two should head back," he smiled hesitantly, turning to face the main entrance. No seasoned assassin would be careless enough to leave a trail so obvious, he thought. If anything, it felt like a trap waiting to be sprung.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

Zessel watched Omar arrive in a rush. The Padawan couldn’t understand why the Knight was looking at them with disapproval. They had obeyed him, staying away from the body. The two even discovered more clues that could lead to the assassin. Wasn’t it something good?

“Can’t we go with you?” the half-Arkanian begged, looking at the Knight with puppy-like eyes. They had helped Omar so far, it would only be fair if they went with him for the rest of the mission. Perhaps even until he caught the assassin. This way he would be able to see the conclusion of this case. He was curious to know who committed the crime.

However, he wasn’t going to insist. Omar could be one of the nicest Knights that he knew, but he would not fall so easily to Zessel’s puppy eyes. The Padawan and Twi’lek stared at each other, until the white-haired gave a loud sigh. “Okay, we are going back.” he turned to walk away, but immediately looked back at the Investigator. “But I want to know who was the assassin and why they did it!”

@Wills