Ask You the Jedi?

[The Storyteller]

At the Bar​

Zeffy just grinned a little bit at the subtle way that Leon's face fell when he was actually given what he asked for - not what he 'asked' for. It was the little things that made being a bartender fun and this was definitely one of those moments. Still, she wasn't all fun and games - she was still a business owner after all and she wasn't running it just for the laughs.

"Credits." she told Zeri with a straight face before smirking and shrugging, "Don't get caught drunk and I don't give a rat's ass, kid. Just so long as you don't cut up my bar with your lightsaber - then I'd get mad."

The bartender grinned but Zeri and Liana would notice that some of the regulars sat at the bar seemed unnerved by the expression, shuffling away before they could attract Zeffy's attention. Behind the two Padawans, the main entrance to the bar opened and admitted three large Trandoshans and a Zabrak woman. Eyeing them warily as they passed by, heading toward the back, Zeffy returned her attention to Zeri and Liana.

"Rough end of a rough town you've come to, kids. The Order still sending children into their problem zones?" she tutted as she set another couple of drinks down on the bar in front of the teenagers before leaning back against the bottles behind her, "I would have thought they'd have learned after the first few dead kids or the first dozen PR fuck-ups. How long you kids been in the biz?"

In the Room​

As Leon literally crashed into the room, both he and Aranmir would be able to tell that it was not, precisely, in the best of states. The room they had entered was not large but it contained a sleeping area with an unmade bed, a bathroom through another door and a food preparation area in the far corner. Through vibrations alone, which cause the window to shake, they would both be able to tell that the room was facing a busy train line.

The door shut behind them automatically with a dull click.

And as Leon pulled himself together and Aranmir took a glance around, both of them would immediately see why Jedi Malox had not responded to their sudden entry. Sitting, slumped, against the side of the bed was the Jedi they were looking for, head listing forward, limbs limp and pale skin all the paler in contrast to the blood. Bright red and arterial, the scent of the blood was thick in the air even as they would be able to see it slowly crawling down from the knife lodged in the centre of his chest, creeping onward to join the already expansive pool of blood around the floor.

Neither of them would have any doubts that Jedi Knight Malox was dead.

Malox had been a human male of roughly thirty years of age and was still dressed like a spacer, with a blaster pistol still holstered at his hip. His right hand balled up into a fist, his left seemingly stretched out to reach for something before death took him.

In light of this discovery, both of the Jedi would be able to see the room's current state in a new light. The drawers weren't just open; they had been pulled out of the dresser. The covers weren't untidy; they had been torn open. Floorboards weren't in disrepair; they'd been broken to check underneath.

And as they stared and took in the room, the silence was broken by a knock at the door.

"Hey - Jedi! Open up!"

@Logan @Zay @LouJoVi @LadyRen

 

[Aranmir]

Aranmir jumped a little when the door closed behind them. The entire room became covered by darkness and the Padawan quickly moved to the light switch that he saw next to the entrance. When the lights were turned on, the Tiefling was able to see more of the state of the place.

And Malox’s dead body.

Any joke that he could do about the Knight having a wild party in the room died inside his mouth. His mind was now interpreting the chaos of the room as a crime scene, rather than the place where a libidinous Jedi decided to indulge in carnal pleasure. “Be careful to not contaminate the scene.” he said to Leon, his voice deadly serious. It was as if a different person had replaced the Tiefling.

Besides liking very dramatic soap operas, the Tiefling also appreciated some Holo series. Among his favorites were those about criminal investigation. When he lived in the circus, Aranmir had watched all the seasons of CSI: Coruscant, CSI: Cantonica, CSI: Naboo and even of the dreadful CSI: Holonet. He had watched those so many times that he learned how a forensic professional should act in a crime scene like the one where the two Padawans were at the moment.

There was also the fact that he had been learning with the Jedi investigators.

The Tiefling rushed toward Malox, being careful to not step in anything that could be a clue. Once he was close to the Jedi, the Padawan crouched next to the body and studied it. “The blood is still flowing, but starting to get thick. Probably he was killed in less than an hour.” Aranmir said to Leon, before cutting off the sleeve of his Jedi robe. Carefully, he would use the piece of cloth to remove the knife from the Knight’s chest, without contaminating it with his fingerprints.

“Strange, it’s a normal knife.” he said, while covering it whole with the cloth. “I expected a vibroknife.” Aranmir continued inspecting the body and noticed a piece of paper in one of Malox’s hands. Since the death was still recent, the rigor mortis wasn’t in full effect yet and the Padawan was able to pick it from the Knight’s fist without much problem. “It seems that he wrote something here.”

He was going to read the paper, but the sound of someone ordering them to open the door stopped him. Did the assassin return to the crime scene?

@Nefieslab @Zay @LadyRen @Logan

 

[Liana Mason]

Lia was far from satisfied with the party being split for now, but there was little she could do apart from staying on her guard and keeping her senses unobscured like her female paddie friend, as the two boys had already vanished.

She reached out with the Force in an attempt to keep aware of their emotions, hoping she'd notice any internal commotions if trouble was ahead, but as the bar was focused and as she didn't want to seem too absent-mindedly, it was hard to stay focused for the blonde padawan.

The doors were suddenly opened and Liana's turned around after the perception of the sound across the room. Her gaze immediately fell onto a fearsome appearance of four dangerous looking bargoers who immediately started crossing the room. A shudder immediately crept down her spine and she had to suppress disclosing any signs of her inner turmoil, so that the only thing she reflected so far was curiosity, as exemplified by her slightly raised brow. Who were they? And what were they looking for? She began to have a damn bad feeling about this.

She was about to turn back to Zeffy behind the bar in order to avoid staring at the new guests, but in the very moment she turned she suddenly caught a glimpse of something that at least internally made her gasp while she was still fighting for control of her facial expressions.

A lightsaber. Clipped to her waist and careful hidden from prying eyes. Was that Malox' saber?! What exactly was she doing with it?! And what did that imply for the Jedi? Zeffy didn't fit the descriptions of the Jedi they had been given and he would have never willingly lent his saber, had he?!

Countless questions began racing through her mind while her stomach turned upside down. She swallowed the hard lump that had suddenly built up in her throat and telepathically adressed Zeri in a rather hectic way. 'She has his lightsaber. Zeri, something is wrong, we need to get to the boys'.

With that, she immediately turned to the bartender with a warm smile and replied, "We'd love to continue this chat, but the boys have just called. We'll be right back!", she declared, managing to keep her voice rather soft as she already slid from her bar stool and grabbed the other Jedi's hand, pulling her with her and wanting to head back up as well. This situation was seemingly already getting out of hand and she didn't like any part of it. Her right hand was wandered down, but did not grab the lightsaber's hilt just yet, but Liana's detour into the criminal underworld back on Tatooine had left her much more wary.

@Nefieslab @Logan @Zay @LouJoVi

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

From his prone position on the floor Leon got to experience the clutter of Jedi Malox’s room on an intimate level. Aranmir quips about the Jedi having a wild night, but Leon’s eyes were glued to the unmoving feet sticking out from behind the bed frame.

The dull click of the door shutting sent Leon into motion. This wasn’t some bullshit messenger mission anymore, this was real, and that meant they were separated and in hostile territory. Leon could feel his heart begin to race as he began to have flashbacks of Berchest. He took a deep breath feeling the air fill his lungs. He let it out slow.

Aranmir said something about being cautious, but Leon wasn’t listening. It didn’t really matter though, Baudelaire had been on enough crime scenes like this to know the general protocol. The Tiefling gave a verbal exam of Malox’s body, “Look at his face, he felt this. He felt the whole thing.”

A small pang of fear blossomed in the back of Leon’s mind. Alton Vari had been killed in a similar manner and the killer had been a Sith Master. His mind began to reel from the impact of the knight’s death, but instinct took over. “T-137, try to contact the nearest reinforcements. Jedi Malox has been murdered. We’ll continue with caution. It’s obvious whatever Malox found was important.”

To Aranmir, “His saber is gone. Somth—”

A knock at the door stopped Leon mid-sentence. He locked eyes with his Tiefling partner, held his index finger up to his lips then pointed at the window. They needed to get the hell out of her now. Leon eased over to the window and eased it up. In the distance he heard the wail of a train incoming. Baudelaire eased himself on the domed roof of the Lusty Twi’lek and waited for Aranmir. They news to get back to the girls and have a real talk with Zeffy.

@LadyRen @Logan @LouJoVi @Nefieslab

 

[Zeri Adasca]

Ah, credits, Zeri said, the smallest touch of a frown finding its way onto her face. The one thing I don't really have. What a shame.

Zeffy's next choice of words caught Zeri a little off guard if she were being honest. Things seemed to have escalated into much more serious talk without her even realizing. Dead kids? PR fuck ups? Granted, Zeri didn't really pay attention to a lot of things like that. Didn't really seem prudent - not like she could fix any of it anyway. Still, she couldn't help but feel like the vibe inside the bar had changed ever since the boys had gone upstairs.

Before Zeri could really inquire just what Zeffy was talking about, Liana started speaking up and mentioning how something was wrong. Feeling the girl tug on her hand and start to drag her in the direction the boys had gone, Zeri offered no resistance as she slid from her seat at the bar.

Mind preoccupied with the strangeness of Zeffy, Zeri tried to slow Liana down just a little so she could figure out just what the girl was talking about.

She has who's lightsaber? Where's the fire, Liana? Are the boys in trouble?

@LadyRen @Zay @LouJoVi @Nefieslab

 

[The Storyteller]

At the Bar​

Zeffy's eyes seemed to lock, unerringly, onto Liana just as the young woman looked up from where she had spotted the lightsaber. She pinned the Padawan in place with her gaze alone, raising a single eyebrow as she waited to see just how the young Jedi would react. In the end, Liana chose to back away from the situation entirely as quickly as possible and the bartender didn't make any attempt to hide her disappointment as she crossed her arms and leaned back against the back of the bar.

"M'not going anywhere kid, so you'll know where to find me." she called out before shaking her head, "My bloody bar after all."

She pulled one of the glasses to her with her left hand but Zeri would be able to see that the second glass she called to her hand with a subtle application of the Force. The bartender would make no move to stop them at all as she instead turned her attention to washing the glasses.

If the Padawans wanted to rush off that was none of her business and she had more customers besides.

In the Room​

As Aranmir was pulling the scrap of paper free, he would be able to read it with very little difficulty. Written in basic, it was written at an odd-angle, as though done in a great hurry and it was clear that the paper had been torn from something else. As the message was laid bare, Leon would also be able to catch sight of the contents, briefly.

A time and a nav point on planet.

8.30pm

"Oh my... Knight Malox has been compromised it appears! My scanners indicate that the navigation point is for a local morgue in the area... and we must now follow Shadow Protocols." T-137 reported before actively scanning again, "Records indicate that there are no Jedi on the planet, aside from Jedi Shadow, Knight Malox. Order files have been temporarily declassified in light of the situation - we must get you out of here, children!"

From the door, the two Padawans would be able to hear a muted conversation as the Zabrak and the Trandoshans had a hushed conversation. Instead of knocking again or, Force forbid, attempting to force entry, the group began to leave as Leon was easing himself out of the window.

On the Stairs​

As Zeri and Liana headed away from the bar, the two of them would have to quickly move to avoid the group that had gone up after their allies. Speaking in louder tones now, the Trandoshans and the Zabrak woman seemed to be too wrapped up in their own argument to notice that they had almost run through the two Padawans.

"We can't do this without the Jedi!" the Zabrak woman was insisting, rubbing her hands together, "Are we sure the note said to meet the Jedi at 5pm?"

The trio of Trandoshans hissed, before one of them spoke just as the group were leaving earshot.

"Kark that... I'm not going to do nothing just because the Jedi didn't turn out to be real! It's time we end this and I'm not afraid to get my claws bloody to do it!"

The unlikely foursome would continue to head towards the door, their expressions set as they hurried ahead.

@Zay @LouJoVi @Logan @LadyRen

 

[Aranmir]

”I would say that he is more than compromised.” Aranmir said to T-I37, the droid seemed to like stating the obvious. The Tiefling really wondered if he wasn’t made with part of 3PO. The Padawan carefully placed the knife in his belt, the only place where he could store it. He hoped that the piece of cloth around the weapon could protect it from contamination.

The revelation that there were no Jedi there besides them wasn’t a surprise, Ord Mantell wasn’t the type of place where the Order would have an outpost. If it was the case, they wouldn’t need to send Padawans to collect information and stumble in a criminal scene.

T-I37 comment about Shadow Protocol and Jedi Shadow made the Tiefling immediately turn to stare at the droid. He had heard rumors about the Shadows, but never had thought much about their existence. If Malox was one of them, whatever he was doing there was really important.

Aranmir would have asked for more details, but the people hitting on the door didn’t give him much time to be curious. If they really were the assassins, then the two Padawans were in trouble. What chance did they have against the assassins of a Jedi Shadow? They should leave and regroup with the girls.

This is why he followed Leon through the window, not noticing that the sound at the door had stopped. Once he was with the other Padawan at the roof, Aranmir remembered the paper that Malox’s was holding. “This hour and nav point, do you think that we should go there to see it? Perhaps we could find something about what happened.”

@Nefieslab @Zay @LadyRen @Logan

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

When Leon saw Aranmir heading his way he committed to exiting the room. T-137 put them on shadow protocol, Leon asked the droid, “T-137, in your scan did you confirm the body in there was Malox?”

There was more to what they’d just come across than meets the eye. His mind flashed back to Berchest. To Anton Vari. To the ritualistic style of his death and the rigored expression left on his face. It was painful to recall. Even now the weight of Anton’s lightsaber seemed to intensify, but he managed to push past his guilt and focus on the present. Emotion was dangerous in these situations, so Leon turned to the force.

He opened his mind to the omni-present power as they slipped down the side of the building on the fire escape. He could feel a swath of euphoric emotions interposed over emotions he’d rather not define, he was looking for anger, malice, hatred, darker emotions that would stand out from the imbibed, all the while considering the time and nav coordinates. By the time he hit the ground from the last leg of the ladder, Leon knew two things, they couldn’t bail, and they needed to check out that morgue.

Over his shoulder Leon looked to Aranmir and said, “Yeah, I can’t ignore this. For whatever reason the force brought us here, and I need to see it through.”

Baudelaire’s intent was to give the other Padawan a way out. He didn’t want anyone feeling like they had to do this. He knew this was going to be dangerous, and he knew there was a very good chance they could fail, but that didn’t change the fact that they’d been chosen for this mission. Leon wouldn’t be satisfied until they left Ord Matell with the information Malox died for.

He rounded the corner making for the entrance of the bar and bobbed his head in greeting to Borrisk before saying, “Errand for Zeffy,” and then heading inside. Zeffy. There was the real danger. Had she known about the body upstairs the whole time? Only one way to find out. Leon made a b-line for the bar, not realizing the girls had just slipped up stairs.

In a hushed voice he hissed at the Bar Owner, “I don’t think Malox is gonna be able to make his rent, cause he was upstairs with a dagger in his CHEST!”

@LadyRen @Logan @LouJoVi @Nefieslab

 

[Liana Mason]

Lia's heart was beating faster and faster while she kept dragging Zeri - who fortunately didn't show any real signs of resistance - along. She could still feel Zeri slightly yanking at her to slow her down, but the focused padawan wasn't easy to be decelerated. 'I don't know...could be Malox' lightsaber...but I don't know whether they boys are in any accute danger, my feeling simply isn't good at all', she hectically replied, still choosing telepathy over a hushed and obviously stressed voice while she pressed on.

Before they reached the stairs, Liana did not only perceive the approaching footsteps but also the voices of the strangers who were seemingly coming back. Obviously startled and unprepared, she pulled Zeri to the side, waiting in a little niche next to the stairwell and letting the four pass while pressing her own fingers over her lips to keep quiet.

They seemed to be lucky as the four appeared to be too engaged in their own conversation to spot them, but even though Liana had never held any racist prejudices, those three massive Trandoshans frightened her. Was it because of the scales? She really couldn't tell, but they seemed dangerous and ready to unleash violent measures onto someone who deserved it.

That was when a really scary thought dawned her. Had they already paid the boys and Malox a visit?! Immediately after they were out of earshot, Liana let go of Zeri and started sprinting up the stairs with a panicked "Come!". Just as in instructed, Lia chose the door Zeffy had talked about and jumped against it with half her bodyweight, expecting that the boys had left it unlocked and thus slamming right into it and hoping for it to open, however, all that happened was that her shoulder collided with the hard surface which made her wince. "Krifffff...", it escaped her before she remembered minding her own language again. "Leon, Aranmir open up!", she called through the door, rubbing her shoulder while grimacing and her heart still wildly pounding in her chest. What the Force was going on here?! Lia was not having a good time and didn't like any of it.

@Nefieslab @Logan @Zay @LouJoVi

 

[Zeri Adasca]

Zeri was a little confused but she was willing to follow along with Liana for now. The girl clearly had a strong feeling about the boys and them being in danger and Zeri wasn't going to balk at her dragging and end up being the reason Aranmir and more importantly Leon ended up getting hurt or worse.

Sliding into the niche with Liana, Zeri heeded her warning to be quiet as she watched the huge Trandoshans and their Zabrak friend pass by. She caught what they said and it struck Zeri as kind of weird. It almost seemed like they were looking for help from the Jedi, not looking to capture or harm them.

Things in this bar were just not added up at all. They needed to get down to the truth of what was happening here sooner rather than later. So Zeri decided to take a gamble, though she was never usually very lucky. What's the worst that could happen?

Excuse me, She said to the group of lizards, watching as Liana moved forward further up the stairs without her. Are you looking for Jedi? Do you need help? She would be loud enough that they would be able to hear her over their own squabbling, at least hopefully.

I am a Jedi, she said, leaving it hang in the air between them. She would wait to see their reaction, but Zeri was no fool. If they seemed hostile in any way she would be ready to fight, but fighting wasn't what she hoped to achieve here.

She just wanted to know what in the fuck was going on.

@LadyRen @Zay @LouJoVi @Nefieslab

 

[The Storyteller]

On the Stairs​

The group that had made their way up to the room were halfway down the stairs and intent on leaving with Zeri called out to them and tried her best to interject herself into their issues. While the Zabrak woman seemed to have noticed her beforehand, the Trandoshans startled and one almost fell down the rest of the stairs before he was stabilised by his friends. Taking a look at bother Zeri and Liana, the group quickly shared glances.

It was clear that they were conflicted about something before they even dared to speak. When they found their nerve, it was the Zabrak woman who spoke first.

"You're... are you the Jedi we were meant to meet here?" she asked, some hope bleeding into her voice as she spoke, "Are you Jedi Malox?"

One of the Trandoshans seemed more anxious than the others and looked between the Zabrak and Zeri, on edge.

"This is the Jedi? How are we supposed to trust them to help us get the young ones back - they're young ones themselves! We need to go to the meeting place and we'll need to bring our own blasters and hope for the best. We can't wait around for Real Jedi and we can't put more children in danger just to try and save ours, it's not right."

At the Bar​

Zeffy had let Zeri and Liana go without a word, returning to her work, but when she was confronted by Leon. Blinking once, the bartender raised a curious eyebrow when she noted that the teenager seemed very intent and very serious indeed. Still, she stepped back up to the bar, ready to humour whatever had caused the young man to suddenly try his hand at dialing up the intensity.

Leaning on the bar with both hands, she spoke up first.

"Back so soon eh?"

She spoke with an easy smile but it seemed to falter as the Jedi Padawan spoke. Her eyes seemed to glaze over for a second as emotions flashed across her face, her heart on her sleeve for what probably felt like the blink of an eye before she schooled her expression. Face now carefully blank, Zeffy took a single step back from the bar.

"Hmm."

Zeffy waved her bouncer over and whispered into his ear before moving over to one side of the bar - and pressing a button. Immediately the sound of a bell ringing sounded throughout the bar and the patrons groaned. The bartender seemed unmoved by their groans.

"Everybody out! We're closing up shop early - don't make me toss you all out you good-for-nothing bums!"

She pointed to her bouncer.

"Get them out of here - everyone but the kids."

Reaching over to the bar's provisions, Zeffy grabbed a bottle of whiskey before moving over to one of the tables and gestured for the Jedi to follow. As she began pouring herself a glass, she scowled at Leon and Aranmir softly.

"I'm going to ask only two questions. Depending on your answers, we might either have time or we're well and truly Fucked."

She downed a shot, quick.

"Did he still have his lightsaber?"

She poured a second glass and hesitated.

"... and was his heart still in his chest?"

@Zay @LouJoVi @Logan @LadyRen

 

[Aranmir]

Aranmir frowned with Leon’s way of talking, it seemed that the older Padawan was the only one interested in understanding what had happened with Malox. “Hey, dude. We need to see it through. You aren’t the only one in this mission that wants to understand what is happening.”

The Tiefling followed Leon through the roof, returning to inside the club. He wasn’t sure if they should be doing it, since as far as they knew the assassins could still be there. However, they should regroup with the girls. They needed to know what had happened with Malox and get out of here immediately.

The only part that Aranmir doesn't agree too much is with Leon’s idea of talking directly with Zeffy. As far as they know, the Twi’lek could also be responsible for the death of the Jedi Knight. After all, the Lusty Lekku was her property. The Tiefling doubted that an assassination would happen without her knowledge.

When Leon basically rushed at the woman and accused her of being responsible for Malox’s assassination, Aranmir already expected the situation to get bad. The Padawan saw Zeffy’s smile disappear and for a brief moment he felt several conflicting emotions coming from her. There was sadness, guilt and a profound sense of loss. It made the Tiefling think that perhaps the Twi’lek had no idea that the Knight was dead.

He also felt a mixture of fear and determination, something that he didn’t expect to feel coming from someone that apparently had killed a Jedi Knight so easily.

The purple-skinned Padawan watched in silence while Zeffy ordered her bounce to empty the club. Now he was curious about the fact that she wanted to talk with them alone after Leon hissed at her. While he watched the patrons of the bar leaving the place, he saw that the girls weren’t there anymore.

“Where is Zeri and Liana?” Aranmir asked, while he watched Zeffy grab a bottle of whiskey. “Did you do something to them?” even after asking it, the Tiefling was nearly sure that the woman wouldn’t have done it.

After Zeffy asked her questions, Aranmir decided to answer them. “No and yes. I found a common knife deep on his chest, probably pierced the heart.” the Tiefling showed her the weapon covered with cloth. “What do you mean by saying that we are truly fucked?”

@Nefieslab @LadyRen @Zay @Logan

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon watched the news hit her like a punch to the gut. From the moment they’d met he could tell Zeffy was used to having the quickest wit in the room, but this revelation caught her flat-footed. To her credit, the shock was only noticeable for a second before her instincts kicked in.

Baudelaire wasn’t concerned when she emptied the bar. Having someone murdered upstairs wasn’t particularly good for business. When she grabbed the whisky and headed for a booth, he followed. His eyes scanned the room, wondering where Liana and Zuri were. Then he spotted her lightsaber. So many questions began bubbling up in Leon’s mind, but before he was able to bring them to light Aranmir took a turn to charge ahead.

“Easy, let’s not make an accusation we’ll regret. I’m sure they're around here somewhere,” said Leon with a smile that was much harder to come by than it appeared. When Zeffy asked her questions Leon’s mind began to reel at the implications. The time and location suddenly carried a weight. Aranmir took the lead again, and Leon listened very carefully.

Everything was starting to add up to a result he couldn’t bring himself to think, much less say out loud. He couldn’t believe how quiet T-137 had been. This would have been prime time for the little droid to pipe up and tell them to run for their lives…

@LadyRen @Logan @LouJoVi @Nefieslab

 

[Liana Mason]

There was no voice calling back, which immediately unsettled the blonde padawan further, but once the pain radiating from her shoulder slowly started fading away, she focused and reached out with the Force to sense whether they were still inside, and maybe even worse: in accute danger!

The immediate realization that no living creature was on the other side of the door only unsettled her further and as she turned around with a frown, she was already picking up how Zeri suddenly started making contact with the dangerous scaled trio and the frightening tall lady.

What the Force was she doing?! While their mission slowly descended into chaos, Liana's unsettling feeling from the pit of her stomach only intensified. She jogged back towards the stairs and took a deep breath to keep it together as she came to a halt next to her apparently daring padawan friend.

The Zabrak immediately replied something that made Lia frown. Getting the young ones back? What were they even talking about? She still didn't have a good feeling about the group at all, but it suddenly escaped her:"We are real Jedi". Her tone was even a little feisty. Maybe it was a reaction to her inner apprehension, maybe she felt a little attacked by how they didn't seem to believe they were 'real' Jedi.

"Who is in danger?", then, it was even curiosity taking over. "We may be young but we are no children". As Lia continued more confidently, she stemmed a hand in her hip, her index finger sliding over the fabric of her robe so that the four would get a better look at the lightsaber she was carrying with pride since she had been a child. Where were the boys though? That sense of danger was slightly fading away, but things didn't add up for her...

@Nefieslab @Zay @Logan @LouJoVi

 

[The Storyteller]

On the Stairs​

Without another word, Liana had managed to cause a ripple of emotions to run through the assembled group. She had labeled them as Jedi, real Jedi, and she would be able to see clearly that these people were desperate for intervention by someone they thought of as a real Jedi. Their hopes had been pinned on Jedi Malox but he wasn't here and now? Now there was a young woman who was stepping up, asking for their danger and their concerns to take on for herself.

"... our children are missing."

The admission seemed to pain the Trandoshan but he pushed on. Because gaining help was more important to him than his pride, because he didn't want to chance not being fully prepared.

"The other Jedi, Malox, he and the bartender said they were tracking them. That they would be able to help us get them back if we met with them again today - but Malox hasn't answered so we need to move on to where he said we were going. It's our only real lead to getting our children back... and we'll go with or without any mystical Force help."

At the Bar​

Had the situation been anything else, Zeffy might have been amused at the way the Tiefling Jedi seemed to puff up slightly to prod at her about where their friends were. But even the typically rather cynical woman had limits and she was fast approaching them - she didn't blame the young Jedi their concerns.

These were concerning times.

"The two girls left a little bit after you did - headed up the stairs. I'd say you would have seen them on the way down, but, you two seemed to ignore the perfectly good set of stairs we have here." she jabbed before softening slightly, "No need to worry just yet kids... that part comes later."

Taking the time to check her glass and make sure it was fully topped up with whiskey, she seemed to pause for a moment when Aranmir spoke, once again bringing up something she had mentioned as he explained the situation that they had found in the room above. Her eyes lingered on the covered knife for a second before returning to the Jedi.

"People don't kill Jedi for no reason, they're too awkward to kill for anything other than a Cause." she muttered, taking a moment to take a swift drink, "Malox was killed because of what, who, he was investigating here. He asked me for help and I said I'd think about it - probably would have lived if I'd gone with him but I didn't think they were as bad as he said... he probably could have come up with a less dramatic way of proving me wrong than getting his ass murdered."

Her whiskey gone, Zeffy eyed the bottle before pushing both glass and bottle to one side and focusing up.

"They're a cult and they've been growing recently. Rumors about them said they were just some anti-force user crazies but Malox thought otherwise and he was right - they're not anti-force users, they're force sensitive themselves. But they hunt down people with the Force, they butcher them. That's what Malox found out. That's why they came for him, because they don't limit themselves to Jedi or Sith... any Force Sensitive will do. Even the younglings."

@Zay @LouJoVi @Logan @LadyRen

 

[Liana Mason]

Liana started to question her own intuition for a moment as the group of strangers had seemed rather shady and dangerous at the beginning, but then, after apparently opening up about the reason for their quest to find Malox, their emotions seemed very real and thus a subtle hint of irritation caused her to shift her weight from one foot to the other.

"I'm...sorry to hear", she sympathetically offered as a reply, however still carefully placing her words wile she tried to suppress the misstrust that threatened to bleed into her voice. She cleared her throat while she softly furrowed her brows before she decided to believe them for now. It was as if their desperation made them talk to openly, to lay all cards open and share their whole story with the two young women, so that the kind-hearted padawan put aside her initial apprehension. Still, the question that lingered in the hallway was still how the boys had managed to disappear in such a short period of time.

"We are very sorry about this all", she added quietly, already slightly afflicted, her eyes now darting over to Zeri before she forced herself to stand upright again. The line about the bartender startled her internally, yet she didn't try to let any of it bleed into her demeanor. "But we will help you. You don't have to worry, that's why we are here". Of course Lia didn't know any details, but she had already decided for the whole group that they couldn't leave their seemingly genuine concerns unanswered.

It unsettled her that they had neither seen the boys again nor had she felt a presence behind the Malox' alleged door, so that this whole situation was still rather tense for her. Since they had mentioned Zeffy thought, Liana instantly decided that the bartender with the concealed lightsaber was definitely their first lead. A little absent-mindedly she reached for Zeri's elbow with the intention of leading her downstairs right away, gesturing for the others to follow with her other hand while trying to process the newly won information "Come. Let's not waste any time". After adressing the whole group, Liana mustered a soft, however sympathetically sad smile she threw the strangers before directing her gaze to the front, widened, dark blue eyes scanning their surroundings alertedly as her little detour to Jakku and Tatooine had taught her to stay attentive at all time. Despite the story sounding plausible, this whole scenery reeked of menace and she didn't intend to ever endanger a fellow pasawan again...

@Nefieslab @Logan @Zay @LouJoVi

 

[Aranmir]

Aranmir bite his tongue to not make a retort to Leon. With Malox dead in his room, it was obvious in the Tiefling’s opinion that Zeffy,the owner of this place, was the prime suspect of the crime. He was surprised that the other Padawan didn’t even think about this possibility.

The Padawan felt relieved when the Twi’lek said that the girls were fine, but the idea of them climbing the stairs left him a bit concerned. The people that were at the door could still be there. If these were the true criminals, then they could be in trouble. Aranmir only hoped that the two would be able to defend themselves against the killers of a Knight.

He paid close attention to what Zeffy was saying. Malox was killed by a cult, it was even worse than the Tiefling had expected. He remembers some episodes of the CSI series where the investigators had discovered that a cult was killing people. It always ended badly for the characters.

Now in real life they were going to face one that killed any Force user. He had a terrible feeling about it.

“Do you know the name of this cult?” Aranmir asked, wanting to know more details about the possible responsibles for Malox's death. He also wanted to ask Zeffy if she didn’t see anyone strange going to the Knight’s room, but refrained from doing it for now. It could end with her cooperation.

@Nefieslab @Zay @LadyRen @Logan

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon could feel Aranmir’s anxiety and couldn’t blame the guy. Baudelaire was very aware that most things were adding up to make Zeffy the prime suspect. The only thing he couldn’t shake was how affected by Malox’s death she was. He’d rubbed elbows with some of the slimest scum in the galaxy and even there emotions were nearly impossible to hide. Any thought that Zeffy may be involved directly with the Jedi Shadow’s death was put to rest when she explained what Malox was here to do.

"There was an unexpected guest at the door," Leon shot back. "Between that and the dead body at our feet, we thought it might be prudent to gather our group," he sighed, "You see anyone out of the ordinary?"

To his surprise, fear didn’t grip him. It was there, it was always there, but it didn’t command him like it had on Berchest. Instead he was able to listen logically to what she was saying. He eyed her whisky jealousy, but her story had dried up his desire to drink, that need replaced by the call to action. He couldn’t let other’s, especially younglings, get picked off one by one but some force crazed cult.

Aranmir asked what the name of the Cult was and Leon cocked an eyebrow in interest. It seemed as though the other dude was starting to come around to the situation. Yes, Leon was concerned about the girls, but he knew Liana well enough to know she was stronger than she looked. She’d been through a shit ton in the past few months, and if there was anyone he trusted on this mission it was her. So, rather than allow his fear to take over, Leon started putting together a plan.

“I’m down to help however I can. If there’s a group of crazed force killers hunting kids, I can’t let that slide,” his mischievous little smirk spread across his lips as Aranmir’s reminder from before drifted into his mind, then he corrected, “We will help however we can.”

At this point he needed to wait on the girls to hear what they knew before he’d feel confident moving forward. However in the meantime he’d ask Zeffy how far the coordinates on the piece of paper Aranmir had found in the room were from the bar. If it was out there, they’d need a ride.

@LadyRen @LouJoVi @Logan @Nefieslab

 

[Zeri Adasca]

Zeri remained quiet as the Trandoshan spoke, explaining his tragic circumstances. Her first instinct was to reach out and hug the giant lizard man, but Zeri had enough wherewithal to hold onto that instinct for now. The look on her face would have been enough to show them that she was taking their wants seriously and that she felt for them.

Without a doubt, Zeri said, nodding along with Liana as the girl said they would be more than willing to help. We will find your children. She said the last part so resolutely that it would be clear to the Trandoshan that Zeri was serious in what she was saying. She was a teenager, sure, but she was also a Jedi.

And you could count on Jedi.

As they made their way back down the stairs, Zeri was relieved to see the boys back at the bar, though she was quite curious how they'd managed to get back down here without using the stairs.

Approaching the others, Zeri waved to the boys and waited for Liana to give them the rundown.

 

[The Storyteller]

Together Again​

It was with such conviction that both Zeri and Liana spoke that there was a moment where all of the Trandoshans paused and looked to one another - they seemed to be caught a little bit off guard. The Zabrak woman, for her part, looked rather smug in an understated way, as though she felt vindicated by both teenagers doing their best to openly embody what it truly meant to be a Jedi Knight in these trying times.

While Liana was hurrying to bring the group back to the middle of the bar, Zeri would be able to notice how the tension seemed to ease out of the concerned parents, just a little bit. Of course they would be relieved, why wouldn't they be? They had blaster pistols at their sides but they were civilian models for civilian parents so very upset by their terrible situation.

It made perfect sense for the avowed Jedi offering them support to ease their fears even slightly.

"Thank you little Jedi - I didn't want to try this without the help of someone from your Order or the Sith. Even on a backwater like this, we know that if you need something done against all odds; you need a Knight."

The Trandoshan fathers all nodded while the Zabrak mother seemed to be following at Liana's heels with extra speed in her steps as they rejoined the bar... specifically arriving as both Aranmir and Leon were asking questions of their bartender host. If the bartender was bothered by the expansion of the audience listening to her speak, she didn't let it show at all.

"I don't know their name because Malox didn't know it either. This ain't a holonet serial drama, kid, people don't go round spouting exposition like the name and history of their secret organisation just because the story needs the heroes to know where to go next." she groused, sighing a little bit as she reached up to rub at her forehead with a wince of pain before nodding, "Right so those co-ordinates are for a morgue not too far away - I've still got the hovertruck from the last delivery run so you can all pile in the back."

Standing, the bartender drew herself up to her not inconsiderable height before placing both hands on her table and eyeing each of the Jedi, including the returned girls, in turn.

"Now this next bit is important. I don't want you freaking out on me in the middle of a situation - so I'm going to show you this now and if you have a problem with it? Then it's better to have it out now."

Taking her lightsaber from her belt, she held it horizontally in front of her so that everyone could see it without her threatening anyone with it. The hilt was slightly curved, letting the Jedi know that it was designed for the fencing-like style of Form II.

With a snap hiss, the shockingly bright red blade burst into existence and hummed and buzzed like a hive of angry bees as she stood there.

"Former Sith Champion and I'm not going to apologize for it... anyone have a problem with this speak now."

@Zay @LouJoVi @Logan @LadyRen