Ask Staging Zone

[Vanya]

Per my OP template, thread is death enabled​

The galaxy had faced so many threats in recent days that almost everyone had forgotten the Killiks had nearly crushed the galaxy. They had infected the Supreme Chancellor which led to the downfall of the New Republic. They had been such a deadly threat that Sith Empire and Jedi joined together to fight against them.

They had been driven back and then everyone had just... forgotten. Left them alone and did nothing to pursue and eliminate this threat that could easily be building up again to invade the galaxy.

Well, Vanya hadn't been around then, but she had heard all about it now, and decided "wow, maybe we shouldn't forget about that."

Apparently Natalie had agreed and together the two women had set out to the planet Rago. It was small and only had one semi-decently sized port, and even that was small. What Vanya wanted to know was whether it could be used as a staging area to assault the Hive.

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie, dressed in her usual black leather jacket over a dark tank top and jeans, stood in front of a vending machine. She'd put her credit in, grabbing it with the Force before it fell all the way down, and typed in her favorite number. Sticky-Butter Wafers dropped down to the freedom that was her possession, and with a flick of her wrist, the credit came back out too. Grabbing her newly acquired snack, she tore open the bag and popped a few of the delicious morsels into her mouth.

Turning to Responsible-One, Natalie stared a moment and chewed before offering the bag opening to the other Jedi Knight. There was no use doing anything without snacks; that was Snack Squad's motto. Or at least it would be if they ever got around to actually making it a formal club with votes and stuff. What would be the snack mascot if they did that? Probably a snack of the month sort of deal. Keep everyone on their toes.

"Sho 'af 'ou 'vr-" Natalie stopped, swallowing the wafers in her mouth. "So have you ever seen a killik before? What exactly are we looking for here?" She looked down at the bag of sticky-butter wafers and emphasized her holding it out for Vanya. "Want some? They're delicious."

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Are you stealing?! Vanya hissed, all scowls at watching the other Jedi steal from the vending machine.

This is why Jedi are always getting bad publicity, she growled angrily. Well, it seemed it was going to get off to one of these starts as Vanya waited for Natalie to put the money back in. Were there most things that Vanya would let go? Yes, but breaking the law and using the Force to rob people wasn't one of them.

After the moment of confrontation, if she was still offered paid for snacks, she would accept with a "thank you," even offering to pay for half of them. As it turned out, Vanya was a stickler for some things, but not others.

No, I haven't, she said. I don't know, they look like bugs... but big. I think they also mind control people so it could be anyone, she said with a shrug, and as the words left her mouth she realized that this could easily turn into a disaster. No idea who was friend and foe or if there were any foes here.

The Hive is further down and off of this hyperspace lane, she said, which would make this the ideal staging ground for an attacking army and navy.

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie froze like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeder. As her fellow Knight hissed and growled Natalie slowly reached over, and slid the credit back into the machine but let it drop this time. It would have been a satisfying clink had it not been with her for so long. Natalie was gonna miss that little guy- once she was over feeling about two-feet tall. The more experienced Knights seemed to have a way with discipline that Natalie just couldn't shake. First Ezra, and now Vanya.

"Uh... yeah... you're right. I'm sorry," she said, holding up her free hand to show the credit was gone. Her other hand still offered some wafers to the other Knight. Natalie wouldn't recend her offer, but also wouldn't let the other Knight pitch in for any of them. Thankfully they were one-credit snacks. It's what made them so delicious and Natalie's go-to; cheap and easy. Though now that she at least had some money to her name it was clearly time to retire the old tricks she used to get by with.

With the lesson learned, the topic moved on to the killiks. Bugs but big was good enough a description for Natalie. Mind control was worrisome. She popped a few more wafers in her mouth, making sure to chew and swallow them before speaking. "So we're here to make sure there's no killik presence, and secure a staging point to go for the Hive?" If so it was a pretty good strategy. On Ord Mantell, Natalie and the other kids would do something similar for finding places to play and hang out where the Hutt forces couldn't find them. "These things almost took out the whole galaxy, right?"

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya realized she had maybe come down on the other woman a bit like a hammer, but... well, that was just Vanya all over. She was kind of a Jedi Hammer sometimes, and the fact that the woman seemed to be genuinely repentant for it made Vanya think twice.

Well, they could just move past that, right?

That's my hope, yeah, she said with a nod. To be honest, not even sure where to start, she said. She was just kind of... wandering around out here, hoping that they could find something - or maybe nothing - that would indicate that the bugs were or were not here.

Just mingle with the locals, I guess. Scout out where we think we could land, fuel, and stage, she added, heading down the street and glancing around. She wasn't exactly hiding that she was a Jedi with her lightsaber on her belt, but maybe that would serve to draw out anyone who was here.

So what's your poison, Natalie? A fighter? A sage? Something else? she asked.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie finished off the a good chunk of the sticky-butter wafers, offering the last few to Vanya before she would crumple up the bag and throw it in one of the trash receptacles on the sidewalk. So they were doing it live then? That was Natalie's favorite part of being a Jedi. Go out, find some trouble, make a plan as you go. Never failed her, ever, not once. We're just not going to discuss all the times it did fail her because it never did- NATALIE! Focus. Right.

"Why don't we start with asking the locals if they've seen or heard anything strange while we make our way to the governor? Then we can see if the governor will let us stage here," she suggested, giving Vanya a hazel glance before letting her eyes wander about the street they were on. Of course, if killiks could mind control- which was about as tantalizing as dating a gamorrean covered in engine oil- the two Jedi would be banking on the fact that all of the locals weren't mind controlled. They'd have to look out for strange speech patterns, and weird actions, which accounted for about ninety-percent of the galaxy.

"Well, normally anything that's poisonous to humans is my poison," Natalie quipped, giving Vanya her infamous shit-eating grin. "But I think all of Ord Mantell would hunt me down if I said anything other than fighter, but honestly it's hard to say. I'd probably say somewhere between a fighter and a strategist." She paused, though she kept her eyes on the few locals that passed by. "Growing up, you either thought outside the box or you got got. Guess I kept most of the lessons I learned."

Finally Natalie turned to Vanya. "What about you?"

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya happily munched down the offered wafers, trying and failing to keep the crunching quiet as she savored the buttery flavor.

Vanya nodded at Natalie's suggestion, hoping the fact that they were Jedi would be enough to get them in the door. After all, they looked like business, and on a planet like this... not much was happening. That wasn't to say that the mayor of governor or whoever didn't have anything on their plate, but it wasn't like trying to get a meeting with Coruscant's governor. Okay, he was probably dead so possibly bad example, but the point stood.

Sounds like a plan, she said, having no idea how to discern whether someone was mind controlled. Maybe the Winged Spirit would give her a nudge in the right direction, because Vanya sure was going to need the help.

That was terrible, Vanya said deadpan at Natalie's terrible joke, but even as she said it, there was that sarcastic, semi-amused expression that so often accompanied someone suffering through terrible jokes.

A strategist, Vanya thought, surprised. She didn't know many Jedi who self-identified as Jedi strategists, but on some level it made sense. The Jedi had been in and out of wars for decades now, and in a lot of ways she thought they had forgotten how to be anything else. Mind you, they weren't particularly good at being a military, but they sure did do it a lot. It suited Vanya just fine, though.

I originally came to the Jedi to fight evil and because I was looking for likeminded people to help, she said. In many ways, she identified far more as a Knight than a Jedi.

My heritage means that I'm more uniquely suited to fighting unusual, blatant evil, though, she said. Humans could be bad and a Trandoshan or a Twi'lek could do terrible things to each other, but there were some things, born of evil, that were far old and far more poisonous.

I originally thought that one day I would be destined to help defeat Darth Raze, but thankfully someone else already did, she said. She had helped defeat the former-Sith Empress and Dark Queen of the Nightsisters, so why not help defeat the Son of the Fanged Spirit was well?

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie's grin only widened when Vanya said her joke was terrible. The terrible jokes were always the best ones! They practically wrote themselves, and dads everywhere used them en masse. Every dad in the galaxy couldn't be wrong, could they? Natalie didn't think so! You keep dadding, dads! Ahem! Task at hand Natalie. Right!

"I ended up falling into the fighting evil crowd, honestly," Natalie said, the grin finally fading. "I couldn't stay awake during classes to save my life, so I just started going out. Cleanse a grove here, kick a hermit trying to learn the darkside out of an abandoned temple there. Small stuff." Vanya's mention of Darth Raze had the hairs on the back of Natalie's neck tingling. He was one bad dude; the pinnacle of evil some might say. As much as she would have loved to join the fight against him, she could never quite sell herself fully to the idea just from the sheer terror of what the man had done.

"So abominations are right up your alley, then," she thought aloud. "I encountered one with Ezra Thorne a while back. Took reinventing a whole new meaning of blowing sunshine up its ass, but Ezra managed to kill it." Managed probably wasn't the proper term there. Mr. Jawline didn't manage to do anything, he did everything with purpose and grace with bulging, glistening mus-NATALIE!

"Hey, sir?" Natalie asked, stopping a human male that was reading a rather old school looking news paper. If he kept up on local and galactic news, he seemed like the best bet to start with. Besides, Natalie needed to turn away from Vanya for a moment so that she didn't see the beginnings of a mental blue screen from the image Natalie had put in her own head. "Anything weird happen lately in the area?"

The man looked up from his paper at Natalie, then to Vanya over Natalie's shoulder, and then back to Natalie. "I s'pose. All the sports been cancelled at the school 'spite clear weather. Secretary of Education won't 'laborate on why. Damn shame, really. Doin' that to them kids," the man said in a slow drawl. The drawl didn't bother her, but the slow pattern of speech had Natalie thinking of swallowing razor wire instead of talking to the man. Battle nun, remember? Right. Part of the job.

"Oh, that's terrible! When was the last time you saw the Secretary of Education?" Natalie asked.

"'Bout six months. No board meetin's all that time, neither," the man said with a shrug. Natalie gave him a smile to hide the vein that wasn't to burst behind her face.

"Thanks!" She turned to Vanya. "Not exactly what I was expecting, but it's something to look into, at least."

Spoiler: OOC Roll

51/100 on if the man had anything that could be useful for their investigation

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Yes, Vanya had some experience chasing down abominations. The thought of her time on Byblos still caused her skin to crawl, but that was her lot these days. She was good at it, and someone needed to fight these evils.

The mention of Ezra also pulled some pieces together. He had been one of the other prime combatants in chasing down these monsters, and although it had been a while since she had seen him, she hoped he was doing well.

As Natalie went over to waylay, I mean question, the nearest citizen, Vanya just kind of stood there, looking around. She was glad that Natalie was handling the socialization because while Vanya probably could, she didn't really want to...

The fact that the man was saying a bunch of sus stuff about the schooling board was... a little alarming. She could just imagine the Killiks getting their hands - or you know... claw tentacles or whatever they had - into the children and infecting the entire place. It was a "starting small" sort of planet, but things could take off at a meteoric pace from there.

As they wandered away, Vanya's eyes started flicking around as if they were being watched. She hadn't expected to find the Killiks had actually set up anything here, but now she wasn't so sure. She felt that familiar tension stretch through her muscles as they walked.

I don't like this, she said. But there could be a thousand explanations, she said, as much to convince herself as Natalie. For all they knew, it could even be a different criminal conspiracy or no conspiracy at all.

We should track down this Secretary of Education, she said. But meeting the governor first might point us in his direction, shed some more knowledge, and even get us some more resources, she suggested, going back to Natalie's original suggestion.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

"Agreed," Natalie said. She was long past the idea that a group of bugs being smart was offensive. Clearly they had to be smart if they almost wiped out the galaxy; the issue was just how smart were they. Getting their hands on the person in charge of education for the entire planet would mean future generations would be far more likely to be brainwashed into doing whatever it was the bugs wanted people to do for them. If Natalie was a big, meanie bug, what would she do? Probably eat other bugs. Annnnnnd there goes that line of thinking right down into nope-ville. Never gonna think about that ever again. No thank you.

"Middle of the day. Governor is probably in the capital building," she said, spinning around as they walked to look for a building that looked a bit more regal than any of the others. "Small capital town like this, shouldn't be too hard to find. Unless it's literally just the governor's house with a sign on it." Wouldn't that be something! Come all this way to scout, observe, and investigate only to end up in some old man's house that doubles as the town hall.

"Yooooooou wouldn't have happened to look at a map of the town before we came out here, would you?" Natalie said, turning back to the front and pursing her lips. "Looked a lot smaller during the landing than it feels like it is now. Could always ask for directions, I guess."

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

I don't think there even are any maps of this place, Vanya said. This wasn't exactly a tourist destination or really anything that was remotely on the grid. They were in the backwaters of the edge of the galaxy now.

Vanya stopped at one of the outdoor stands and quickly asked for directions to whatever passed for a town hall or capitol building around here, and the two were on their way again shortly.

When they arrived at the Governor's office - which was little more than a two story building with some statues out front - they headed inside to be greeted by a rather jolly fellow, slightly overweight and clearly surprised - though seemingly pleasantly so - to see a pair of Jedi walking in.

Well, greetings! What can I do for you two fine ladies today? I must admit, I didn't expect a meeting with a couple of Jedi today! he said, beckoning them inside to sit across his desk. The office was modestly furnished in what was pretty nice for this corner of the galaxy, though in the Core Worlds would have, of course, been scoffed at and mocked for its "poor and outdated taste." The Core Worlds were also snobs, though.

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie gave Vanya a pleasantly surprised look when the jolly older man invited them in. Now that was customer service! As they entered the man's office and he sat behind the desk, Natalie chose to stand behind one of the chairs opposite of him rather than sit. Her hands gripped the back of the chair, but she wore as pleasant a smile as she could muster. As much as she enjoyed the rustic, older vibe that reminded her home, she wasn't about to let her guard down and be caught flat-assed in a chair. Besides, sitting down blocked Natalie's path to her lightsaber at the small of her back.

"Thank you," Natalie said. Ha! He called them fine ladies. Man certainly wasn't wrong, but they weren't here to be complimented; not that it wasn't nice to hear that you were fine once in a while. Natalie had been running on the fumes of getting Mr. Jawline to do a double-take when seeing her at that formal a while back. She needed some new ego-boosting material to keep her on her game.

"Well the temples got a bit boring, so we figured we're go explore and scout about," Natalie quipped. She wasn't lying on her part at least. "My friend and I found this lovely planet to be perfect, so we wanted to ask if our Order could use it as a staging area of sorts? Mostly for exploration and scouting, like I said. Somewhere we can refuel, get some warm food, nice company." She wasn't one to mince words or beat around the bush, but she also wasn't about to reveal what they were specifically looking for. Natalie kept her sense alert in the Force, searching for any thing strange about the governor. So far he was just a pleasant, jolly man.

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Apparently Vanya had no qualms with sitting down, and promptly plopped down in a chair, though to her credit, her lightsaber was hanging out at the front of her belt and at the moment, she sensed no danger to set off the warning bells in her mind.

Vanya couldn't help but notice that Natalie seemed way too excited about something as if her mind were swimming in some sort of hormonal soup that had been completely lost on Vanya. Poor girl was apparently absolutely desperate for a compliment, though Vanya didn't understand that that was what it was.

A staging area? the man asked, face changing into a confused and somewhat concerned look as Natalie spoke.

Like for an army? he asked, the source of his alarm becoming quite clear.

Why ever would you need an army all the way out here? he asked, and it was becoming quite apparent that there was no way Natalie was going to explain this away without revealing more.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie gave Vanya a glance, then shook her head. The man had disregarded exploring and scouting and jumped straight to staging area equals army. Truth was the Jedi probably couldn't muster an army right now if they wanted to, but she wasn't about to reveal that to the man. The jump could have been a misunderstanding, but Natalie decided to proceed more cautiously now. A flag had been raised in her mind, and it wasn't quite red yet but it could be. Granted, it was clear that Natalie wasn't going to be able to be vague about this.

"A staging area doesn't necessarily mean army," she began, giving the governor a smile. "But, since we're on the subject. We're scouting for something very dangerous that disappeared a while ago. Creatures, if you will. When we find them, we'll need a staging area to gather an army to get rid of them." Natalie glanced at Vanya again then back to the Governor. "If they're at a threat level that we need to. Otherwise, it would just be one or two Jedi at a time coming to visit your lovely world."

"We are willing to work for it, within reason. If you have any issues or troubles, we would be happy to help with them," Natalie offered, looking at Vanya with a look that was pleading for her to back Natalie up on this one. She was hoping the Governor wasn't Killik brained, and would understand the sensitivity of the request. Natalie also wanted to see if he would mention the Secretary of Education. Diplomacy was a game of 4D chess, and Natalie much preferred dropping a thermal detonator on the board and saying she won. Completely out of her element.

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

The Governor was a jolly man and one who seemed nice although Vanya didn't know if that was genuine or faked. But she noticed that behind those eyes was a shrewd perceptiveness that was easy to miss. He wasn't a fool.

Vanya could almost see his mind putting together the pieces as Natalie spoke, and he nodded.

This is about those bugs that invaded the galaxy a while back, isn't it? he asked, scowling and nodding again as if in deep thought.

You know about them? Vanya couldn't help but ask.

Of course I know about them! the man objected, and Vanya realized her question probably sounded a little bit condescending.

I'm sorry, of course, that's not how I meant it, she said, receiving another withering scowl from the man before he seemed to move on as quickly as it had started.

We've had stories about them dating back centuries. Rumor's always had it they live out in this area. I'm not near as senile as you two seem to think, he said with a wink.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie watched the interaction between Vanya and the governor. The corner of her lips curled into a smirk at the man's senile comment. She could admit that his jolliness was disarming, especially for a man that knew a lot more than he let off. Had to respect the game. Reminded her of a lot of Ord Mantellians. Big smiles and waves at first, then BAM, ready to pop you in the kisser the moment you didn't watch what you say. She really should visit her old home; she'd heard the Jedi had a mission there not too long ago.

"Of course, sir," Natalie said. "So you know how important it is that we're able to explore and scout the area to make sure they're not going to make a come back?" C'mon jolly man, keep jolly. Investigating would be a whole lot easier with his cooperation. Unless he was Killik brained, and just playing them for fools? Oh you sneaky, jolly bastard.

"Do you think we can use your starport as a staging area? We'll only need it if they are in the area."

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya felt like they were getting somewhere, and it seemed that her suspicions were confirmed moments later.

alright, let's say for now that you can use the area, he said with a nod. he didn't seem sold on the idea, but it was a start at least.

what can you tell us about your school administrator? vanya asked, deciding not to tip toe around subtlety. she was sure there was something going on there, and she hoped the man might be able to shed some light on it.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

For now was all they needed! Natalie nodded with a smile she couldn't help but show. Probably would have been easier to offer the man snacks, though. Everyone loved snacks. Almost every good thing Natalie had ever accomplished in the Order had something to do with snacks. And now she was missing Keck, the adorable little fucker. Keck always had the good snacks. Until he didn't.

"Great," Natalie chirped. Vanya wasn't skipping around bush with her straight forward question about the school administrator. Wasn't a bad way to go about things. Clearly being forward with the jolly governor was the right path. Natalie nodded with Vanya's approach. "We met a few minutes ago that mentioned they've been missing for while."

"Molly! Yes, she has been acting weird lately. Won't come to any meetings or conferences. Makes policy from somewhere outside of town," the governor said, waving a hand toward the window. Natalie glanced at Vanya. Bingo.

"Are the policies weird?" Natalie asked.

"Well there was one to remove history as a major subject," the governor said, rubbing his chin as he thought. "I haven't really seen any policy that is glaringly bad for the kids. Though cancelling all the sports events was a weird decision, I must say."

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya had some serious questions in her mind if "cancelling history" wasn't seen as a bad decision for the kids.

And cancelling history didn't raise any eyebrows? she couldn't help but ask, unable to contain the question despite her better judgment.

Where can we find Molly? she finally settled on asking as an alternative question. Slightly less confrontational at that. He gave them the address and the two ladies made off onto the streets again, the general sense of unease in Vanya only growing now.

Molly gives me a bad feeling, she said. A bad, Killiky feeling. I would say we could follow her and watch her, but it doesn't sound like she ever leaves. Maybe we should just go question her, she said. Great, more talking and less doing. Just what Vanya loved. She wanted to go fight some Killiks or something, not chat up the locals... sigh.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

The governor shrugged at Vanya's question. Natalie couldn't really blame him. Small backwater planets didn't need much in the way of history. Granted, most backwater planets don't live near Killik hives, but Natalie could give the jolly man the benefit of the doubt and say he probably didn't know much. Ah, but you know what would have fixed that issue from the start? History class. Damn it, Vanya was right. Cancelling history should have absolutely raised some eye brows. Natalie followed her fellow Jedi out onto the streets.

"Most teachers give me bad feelings. That's why I slept through all their classes," Natalie blurted without looking at Vanya. She took in the small backwater city. There wasn't much to it. Even following Molly around would be as dry and boring as sitting through a class. They weren't going to get around talking to the woman though, or at least attempting to. "I guess it's time we go have a chat with her." Sometimes being a Jedi was so boring. Actually no, it was most times. Natalie wasn't one for prayers, but she was damn near close to praying that Molly turned out to be a killik in a trench coat.

Natalie pointed in the direction they needed to go and started walking. It was a short walk, but there were several twists and turns to be had before they arrived at Molly's residence. Natalie pressed the door bell. It took more than a modicum of restraint to not press the button until the door opened, but eventually the door slid open.

"What?" a woman with pale eyes spat. Natalie was about to open her mouth for a greeting when the woman, whom Natalie assumed was Molly, shifted her gaze to Vanya's lightsaber. Without another word spoken the door slid shut in the Jedi's faces.

"Wow. Rude," Natalie said, turning to Vanya. Then it dawned on her what could possibly be happening. "Uh... we should check around the back for any exits."

@Phoenix