Fandom Star Wars - A New Era

[Grammatic]

The planet Kegan was located deep in the Outer Rim region of the galaxy. Not directly connected to any of the major hyperspace highways used by most galactic powers, Kegan had been able to grow and develop in relative isolation for much of its existence. A world dedicated to farming and the cultivation of great herds of animals, Kegan had been a minor world at the periphery of the galaxies attention when the New Republic fell, and the First Order began its march across the galaxy. In the aftermath of that conflict, Kegan's agricultural exports had become even more important, and freighters from many other worlds had begun to frequent the skies of the world. That was until the pirates had come. Until the Twilight Eclipse had brought ruin and devastation to the peaceful world.

The five starships that dropped out of hyperspace on the edge of the system were not the usual freighters that frequented the world, nor were they, as many feared, the curved and hostile forms of the pirate raiders. They were more elegant in design, four smaller ships surrounding a larger capital ship. Blazoned on the side of each vessel was the red and white emblem of the Galactic Federation of Allied Sectors, and they had come to aid the world of Kegan in its time of need.

That was the official mission in any case. Standing on the bridge of the Pillar of Unity, a Mon Calamari cruiser fresh off the construction line, Rear Admiral Jax Ven stood with his hands folded behind his back, the tan naval uniform with red trim freshly cleaned, and almost gleaming on the off white bridge of the starship. Other GA crewman moved about the hundreds of tasks that kept a vessel working at peak efficiency, occasionally casting a glance at their commanding officer, who looked, to all those around, as if he very much wished he could be anywhere else. He stared out the viewport of his ship, watching as the green and blue planet he had been ordered to aid grew closer and closer.

"It's such a waste," he said under his breath, his hands flexing slowly in agitation as he turned away from the viewport, glancing briefly at the two escort ships moving ahead of the Pillar of Unity take up defensive positions. Two Nebulan-E frigates, retrofitted warships from the rebel alliances days, repainted and given a new name designation, as if that would change anything. He had been given two true modern warships, the other being the heavy cruiser Helios. The rest of their motley fleet were the ships that the Galactic Alliance could afford to spare. The ships that were being sent away from the front lines of the true threat, the Imperial Remnant near Eriadu. If Jax Ven had his way, he would have taken his ships straight to the front, but the Galactic Alliance senate had decided that anti-piracy operations were more important than preventing the rise of the next Galactic Empire.

Anti-piracy operations for worlds that still refused to join the Galactic Alliance no less.

Walking across the bridge, he approached the communications officer, nodding his head as the crewmen saluted him. "Send word to our stowaways that we have arrived," Jax said, his words almost dripping with annoyance and spite. The crewman nodded and began pressing keys on their terminal, send a message down through the decks of the ship to an isolated set of paired quarters with a living space between them.

---

Janus Marr opened his eyes slowly, green eyes blinking once, then twice as he adjusted to the darkness around him. The room he was in was fairly small, large enough for a cot in one corner, and a desk in another, but not much more beyond that. Janus sat in the middle of the cot, legs folded, and arms resting in his lap. The darkness of the room had been near absolute until a moment ago, and Janus turned his gaze towards a small, flashing red light on the wall mounted control terminal. Janus had requested that he be informed when the fleet arrived in system, and as Janus slowly pulled himself out of his meditation, he could sense the change in space around them, and the altered perception of those crew that passed by the suite system he shared with his padawan.

Uncoiling himself from the cot, Janus walked across the small room, reaching out and activating the lights for his room, and opening the door. Just before he walked through the opening, Janus reached out with the force and drew his lightsaber, resting on the desk, to his hand. He clipped the silver and black hilt to his waist as he walked down the steps leading from his quarters down to the shared lounge and kitchen he had been allotted with his padawan. This suite was usually reserved for diplomatic purposes; the temporary home for senators as they were traveling aboard Galactic Alliance starships for the most part. It had been turned over to Janus and his padawan, rather gurglingly, Janus had noted at the time, at the beginning of their three day journey. He did not let that trouble him too much. The admirals position on matters was painfully obvious, but he would not allow that to color his own perceptions. They were here on orders of the High Council of the New Jedi Order, and that was enough for Janus.

"Nareen, the fleet has arrived," Janus called as he walked into the kitchen, opening one of the cabinets and withdrawing two meal packets stored inside. The kitchen was usually stocked with much more refined foods, and even a culinary staff, but Janus had dismissed both. The Jedi were supposed to distance themselves from luxury and extravagance, a point made clear by the texts discovered decades ago in the Ossus Temple. If better food was offered as a polite gesture, or if it was the only thing available, Janus would not refuse it, but if given the free choice in the matter, it was better to go with the simplest option. Besides, Janus and his padawan both needed to grow accustomed to the new meal packets being produced by the New Jedi Order. When they were deployed in the field far from civilization, it would be the only thing they had.

Putting the two meal packets on the counter, Janus opened them both, using the wrapping as a plate and hand hold as he bit into the, well not exactly a pastry, but it might look like one from the outside. Packed with every nutrient that would be needed without the pretense of flavor. The bitter taste certainly confirmed that as Janus chewed it slowly, swallowing the first bite. Putting the pastry down for a moment, Janus cleared his mouth with a sip of water. "Nareen, we need to get to the bridge."

AtlannianSpy

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Hearing her name being called, Nareen sighed and folded on the hand of pazaak she was playing and tossed her borrowed datapad aside, letting it bounce carelessly against the thin mattress she was lying on. Nareen had been getting trounced anyway. One would think tapping into the force would be a potent advantage for gambling and it usually was, but the wily old sullustan in engineering who had leant her the pad was a hell of a player. That or, as Nareen had been starting to suspect for the last couple of hands, he was cheating shamelessly. He'd been the one who smuggled pazaak software onto every computer and datapad on the ship so it made sense he'd figured out how to give himself an edge. Nareen would be more impressed if it didn't mean she was down 25 credits.

Stretching and yawning Nareen uncoiled onto her feet and studied her dim reflection in the reflective metal surface of the wall. The same old Nareen studied her back. Skinny and lanky to the point of being awkward, Nareen's frame let her austere, brown robes hang off her like wet laundry. Her pointy ears stuck out at odd angles and eyes that looked to her tired. At least her skin was looking alright, a healthy lavender colour with a good level of lustre.

Nareen stuck her tongue out impishly at her reflection and then stuck out a hand, calling her lightsaber from the stand next her to her bed into her hand. Hah, that never gets old Nareen thought, revelling in her casual connection to something greater than herself. Nareen didn't have to reach out to know the Force was there, it had always been there as far back as she could remember, subtly weaving its way through the fabric of everyday life or prickling at the back of her neck just before she walked headlong into disaster. Nevertheless it was comforting, and amusing to reach out anyway.

Attaching her sabre to the magpoint of her belt Nareen walked out to join her master, her face immediately crumpling with disappointment at the sight, and smell, that greeted her.

"Is that really all we have to eat?" Nareen asked her master, sinking into the seat opposite him with slightly more despondence than was really necessary. "Also can I borrow tw-thirty credits?" Then, before he could answer either question she added a third. "Wait we've arrived? We're finally going to hunt some pirates? How will that work exactly anyway?"

Grammatic

 

[Grammatic]

A single eyebrow rose on Janus's face as his padawan entered the room and began to speak, amused by the speed and fluidity of his padawans questions. Other Jedi would likely have tried to discipline Nareen; making efforts to try and instill discipline and order in her mind. Janus did so as well, but he also did not hinder her natural inquisitive nature. It helped encourage her and build her confidence when she did not have to worry about being scolded for simple questions. One day, she would be on her own, and she needed to have the confidence to not only handle anything the galaxy could throw at her, but also the far greater confidence of being able to ask questions, and ask for help, if she needed it.

"These," Janus said, raising the pastry in his hand, "are something you are going to have to get used to, padawan. We are going to be in the field for who knows how long on this mission. In a few weeks, you won't even notice the taste." Janus accented these last words with another bite into his pastry, chewing it, and placing it back down on the table. "I am going to choose to ignore the fact that you have been gambling again..."he raised his hand, forestalling any of his padawans remarks, "you do not have to tell me, ship security informed me of the situation last night. I believe the loss of some credits will serve as an adequate lesson on the dangers in that activity."

Stepping away from the table, Janus began to clean up from the quick little meal, throwing away the trash from his pastry as he let his padawan eat or not eat, she would make that choice on her own. "We have arrived, and we are moving into orbit about the planet Kegan as we speak." Janus took a moment to lean back against the counter in the kitchen, folding his arms across his chest as he looked at his padawan. "That, my young padawan, is the question of the hour. While we are not here specifically to hunt pirates, the Council has requested that we investigate the most recent raids, and if possible, find a way to stop them. If that means hunting pirates, then we shall, but it is not our primary mission."

It was true, the High Council, the leaders of the New Jedi Order, had not specifically tasked Janus and Nareen with ending the pirate threat to the Outer Rim. The Galactic Alliance Task Force was not assigned that task either, they were here to simply patrol the region, and provide support for the Jedi's mission where possible. While Janus felt pity and remorse for the people of Kegan and the other worlds that were being raided, the logical point of their mission here still hung in his mind. Hunting these pirates and stopping them would not end the threat the many worlds in the Outer Rim faced. They had to find the reason these pirates had seemingly emerged out of nowhere to attack neutral worlds, and try to find a source that could be targeted by future, Galactic Alliance retaliation. Still, Janus shared some of the eagerness his padawan felt towards fighting back against those that preyed on the innocent.

"Tell me, padawan," Janus said, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, "in between your games, did you happen to read up on the planet we are orbiting? Can you tell me a bit about it?" While Janus did not want to torment his padawan, he still wanted her to learn she needed to do her research. As a former historian before his time with the Jedi, Janus knew the importance of research and history. Information gleaned before you ever set foot on a world would provide tremendous benefit for the outcome of the mission. Knowing local customs, traditions and current political and social affairs, as well as historical precedence would all paint a picture for the Jedi on what to expect. That lesson, among others, was one of the most important ones that Janus wished to teach his new padawan. Rushing into things was, by itself, a risky proposition, but if one had done the proper preparatory work, then you could prepare yourself for many different outcomes and possibilities.

AtlannianSpy

 

[AtlannianSpy]

"Don't think of it as gambling master, think of it as 'fostering positive relations with naval personnel'" Nareen argued, taking a bite of her "pastry" and grimacing. "People love it when you lose money to them, you should try taking a dive on a few rounds of dejarik against the rear admiral, might loosen him up some," Nareen took another bite, deciding to try and wolf down the food before her taste buds could catch up with the crime she was inflicting on them. "And for your information I did look up Kegan, well uh, briefly anyway. The whole planet is basically one big farm right? It used to be run by some weird, isolationist cult but that got broken up back before the clone wars. The crew have all been talking about how they didn't do much anything during the uprising-"

A shadow of something flickered over Nareen's face at that but she pushed on rather than dwell on it. "That's probably why the Admiral is in a snit about this whole mission right? 'They don't seem to want much to do with the rest of the galaxy so why should we help them?' that kind of thing," Nareen shrugged her narrow shoulders. "I do think the whole thing is slightly odd though. Agricultural shipments wouldn't normally be all that tempting a target to pirates. By the time you pay out your crew's cuts, refit and repair and find a buyer what kind of margins are you really gonna make on a cargo hold full of grain or whatever?"

Nareen's dalliance with the criminal underworld had not really brought her into contact with many pirates, there was a certain degree of separation between street thugs and hardened space raiders. Nareen had heard things though, hanging around drunken smugglers and other types airing their gripes over cheap booze. As compared to a typical freighter, Pirates needed to cut cargo space to make room for larger crew complements, weaponry and a strong enough thrusters to make running down traders and running away from authorities viable. With so little space to fill pirates would naturally prefer cargo with higher space to value ratio: droids, weaponry, pharmaceuticals and that kind of thing. It's not that they wouldn't steal food if they came across it, but would they go out of their way to target a low traffic route where food was the main stock in trade?

Nareen frowned thoughtfully as she crumpled up the wrapper of her pastry tossed it into the waste dispenser while Janus had it open. "If the council want us to investigate instead of just busting things up then do they already suspect something weird is going on?"

 

[Grammatic]

Janus nodded his head as his padawan connected some of the dots in her head. It was another reason he did not try and discourage her from asking questions and letting her talk things out. Despite what her previous master had said when Janus took charge, she was clever and intelligent. She lacked refinement, but that was far easier to teach someone, it was much more difficult to teach them how to think, how to make connections and see the world in the multi-layered realm that it so often was. "Very accurate assessment, padawan. As I am sure you know, Jax Ven was a resistance leader during the First Order invasion. He fought them for months after the New Republic collapsed, and took part in the final battle above Exegol. He was one of the first recruits to the Galactic Alliance military, and continued to fight the First Order remnants. He has shown on many occasions anger towards worlds that did not fight as he did, people that were not as committed as he was."

Janus shrugged his shoulders, pushing away from the counter. "He is not alone in that assessment. Many in the Galactic Alliance would see us cut off all support for worlds that do not wish to join. Leave countless millions in the ruins of the galaxy while they focus entirely on helping those who pay their taxes. The New Jedi Order disagrees with that assessment, and it is part of the reason that we are here." He turned away from the kitchen as his padawan finished eating, heading towards the door of the suite, gesturing for her to follow. Like her, he wore the traditional looking robes many in the galaxy associated with the Jedi, but instead of brown they were a washed tan in color.

"Your thoughts touch on some of the council's own fears, padawan," Janus said as they exited the suite, stepping out into the brightly lit hallway of starship. Before them, running along the length of the wall, was a viewport, giving the two Jedi a clear view of the world as the Pillar of Unity slowly began to orbit the world. Slowly drifting into view was the Helios, a Bothan designed cruiser. While Mon Cal provided the large capital ships that made up the backbone of the Galactic Alliance Navy, the Bothan's specialized in cruiser and frigate sized craft. The Helios was the newest of that legacy of ships, a eight hundred meter long ship divided into two block sections, the forward one smaller than the rear one, and connected by a large, open section that served as a hangar for four squadrons of starfighters. It was a powerful ship in its own right, bristling with turbolaser batteries and ion cannons, but the added hangar space made it a lethal package.

The two Jedi made their way down the corridors of the starships, passing crew moving about their tasks, some casting long looks at the Jedi. For many, Jedi were still historical figures, ancient beings that fell with the Old Republic. To see them walking the halls of their ship was a shock for many, one that had only just begun to wear off during the three day journey. Janus did his best to ignore the stares as they walked. "Pirates think about the costs and profits they will make before they do anything. Raiding a planet is a dangerous operation for a pirate group. What if the world has a standing defense force? What if the planet has already shipped out all their exports? The expenses to keep a ship and crew on active raids is tremendous, and they need to be almost certain about a profitable return before they take the risk."

The two Jedi passed through an archway into a rounded chamber, four turbolift stalls at the corners of the room. The Jedi made their way to one of them, and Janus reached out to press the button, summoning a lift. "Agricultural products have become more valuable in modern times; many worlds suffered at the hands of First Order invasions, and they lost the ability to sustain their own populations, but it still does not account for the ferocity and frequency of attacks." The door in front of them slid open, and Janus stepped inside with his padawan. "The Council is certain that there are ulterior motives behind these raids, and simply hunting down and killing pirates won't reveal what that motive is, and could just delay them before new groups take their place."

Janus turned his gaze towards his padawan, inclining his head. "What are your thoughts on this?"

AtlannianSpy

 

[AtlannianSpy]

"He was really at Exegol huh?" Nareen said, lingering near the view port to admire the brutalist lines of the Helios. Much like people sometimes looked at her robes and sabre and saw a figment of myth come to life, Nareen sometimes struggled to view the battle of Exegol as something that had actually happened instead of as some kind of vague parable. How could she not? Every separate retelling of the battle sounded more fantastical than the last: A secret sith fleet a thousand times more powerful than anything the galaxy had yet seen? Tucked away on a hidden cult world wreathed in storms and lightning? and the most absurd part of all, a fleet of millions of civilian ships from every corner of the galaxy arriving just in time to save the day? Come on. Nareen had been telling more convincing lies since age three. If it wasn't for the fact everyone from the sloppiest drunken hobo all the way up to Master Rey swore that it had happened she would have written it off as some kind of mass prank played on children, like those strange old stories some species told about a red robed jedi who delivered presents on the winter solstice.

Nareen realised she had gotten somewhat distracted and adopted a thoughtful expression to act as if she had really been considering the question her master had posed.

"There are basically two reasons to steal something when it comes down to it." Nareen said, her thoughts drifting back the claustrophobic, frenetic violence of Corellia's underworld. "One is that you want something and you can't or aren't willing to buy or trade for it. You can't afford or the person wont sell it you for whatever reason. The second is that you want to hurt someone, or damage their position at least. Maybe someone hasn't paid their protection fee so you lift some of their merchandise to punish them, or a rival gang is making a big deal so you swoop in and swipe the goods, weakening them and enriching yourself at the same time,"

Nareen paused to wave at an engineer she recognised from her pazaak games. "Except neither reason makes perfect sense here. Like we keep saying the stuff being stolen is just food. You can get it anywhere, or if you can't then you're a beggar, not the kind of person who direct pirate raids. On the flip side the Keganites don't seem like they would have any enemies who would do this to hurt them. They're isolationist farmers who aren't a threat to anyone. The admiral and people like him probably dislike them but only to the point of wanting to ignore them. If he had pirate fleets at his beck and call he would just tell them to go raid the Imperial remnant. To those people spending resources hurting Kegan would be just as wasteful as spending them to help them out.

Nareen tapped her chin. "We could start by finding out where the food is going. If it makes its way onto the open market or just gets tossed out an airlock then it was besides the point and the aim of all this was hurting Kegan, we can take that finding to the whoever is in charge planet side and see who they think would want to put the hurt on them. If the food goes somewhere in particular then we've found our culprit," Nareen grinned cheekily. "How do feel about hiding in a hay bale master?"

Grammatic

 

[Grammatic]

"Exegol was only thirty years ago, Nareen, it may have been before our time but for others it is the defining moment of their lives," Janus said as the lift came to a halt. The door slid open with a near inaudible hiss, and revealed to them a long, narrow corridor leading towards a reinforced blastdoor at the end. Two Galactic Alliance marines stood at attention on either side if the blastdoor, one a male rodian and the other a human female. The design choice for the corridor, the only connection to the command bridge of the Pillar of Unity was a new one being developed by the Galactic Alliance. In case of boarding actions, the long, narrow corridor would allow defenders to pick off enemies as they emerged in small groups from the turbolift, preventing the bridge from being quickly overrun. It was a design choice slowly gaining traction among the shipbuilders of the galaxy.

Janus nodded in agreement with his padawan's train of thought, a conclusion not to dissimilar from the one he himself had made. Given the history of Kegan, the odds of them having enemies was not impossible, but highly unlikely. Ignorance was bliss, and more often than not a planet wanting to be left alone would be allowed to do so. That desire for isolation might come across as rude, but a little rudeness was not usually the reason for armed military conflict, though stranger things had happened. The odds the people of Kegan had been operating on the black market was even less likely, cutting out the possibility of any criminal enterprises on the planet. The isolation was a decision by a ruling cult on the world, but it had been something generally accepted by the people until a few years ago. The world was just beginning to open back up to the galaxy. This raid had likely pushed it back on track towards its isolationist roots.

"The natural conclusion then, Nareen," Janus said as they approached the blastdoors, "is that the food has a greater value than we currently understand, or there was an ulterior motive behind the raid and the food was used as a cover." He inclined his head briefly to the rodian marine, a gesture the man returned before he keyed in a code on the terminal beside him. The blastdoor began to retract into the wall and ceiling of the corridor, slowly revealing the busting activity on the bridge. "Tracking the food is a good plan, it will answer most of the questions that we have if we can discover where it is going, and why."

A small smile crept across his lips as Janus walked forward onto the bridge, heading towards the heavily muscled form that could only be Admiral Jax Ven. "Hiding in hay bales, Nareen, is why we Jedi keep you padawan around."

AtlannianSpy

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Nareen's grin disappeared and she almost launched an instinctive retort, something about who hear had been so keen on roughing it at breakfast time. But they were on the bridge now and Nareen suspected the admiral and his staff would have little appreciation for her witty rejoinders. So instead Nareen slowed her pace a little, falling into position just behind and to the right of Janus with her wide sleeves joined in front of her stomach, looking every inch the the diligent and respectful student. It might be the duty of padawans to jump in hay bales but surely that meant it was the duty of masters to deal with the grumpy, antagonistic naval officers no?

Jax Ven looked particularly like someone Nareen didn't want to deal with, Nareen thought, adjusting her position subtly so that she could study him without really seeming to. The Rear Admiral was an imposing figure, tall and heavily muscled despite no longer being in a physically demanding role now that he is a highly ranked officer. Nareen suspected this was important to the man in some way, that he saw his body as a piece of machinery it was his responsibility to keep in perfect condition and that doing so set an appropriate example for his subordinates. Or maybe not. Nareen had learned to trust her intuition, tied in subtly to the force as it was, but there was such a thing as reading too far into things. Maybe Admiral Ven just worked out a lot to impress women, that was pretty common.

It probably wasn't all that important anyway. The admiral might not like them but he had at least had the courtesy to make his position fairly clear: He was concerned with the material interests of the fledgeling republic and saw this venture as a misuse of already scant reseources. Appealing to those sensibilities would probably do more to secure his co-operation than appealing to his personality. Now Nareen was wishing she had done more than very cursory research on Kegan. Some hard numbers detailing Kegan's agricultural exports and which hungry alliance worlds they could be going to would probably do a lot to mollify the man. Oh well, maybe Master Janus had something like that up his sleeve. or some better gambit.

Grammatic

 

[Grammatic]

Admiral Ven turned as he heard footsteps approaching him, his eyes almost level with Janus's own. Both men were tall for humans, over six feet in height, but where Jax Ven was built broadly and heavily, Janus was more compact and lithe. Jax Ven let the silence hang between them for a few moments, his brown eyes narrowed and staring intently at Janus, barely paying Nareen any attention save a single glance. The customary relaxed smile Janus usually wore had vanished when he faced Jax Ven, his features taking on a more determined, stoic appearance. On some worlds, it was the duty of the individual with a lower social standing to speak first as a show of respect for the higher ranked individual. Janus knew Jax Ven came from just such a world, but he let the silence hang in the air just long enough for the Admiral to think his authority was being challenged before Janus finally spoke.

"Admiral, I am pleased to see we have arrived ahead of schedule. I commend you and your crews for a job well done in the service," Janus stressed the word service as he spoke, "to the cause of the Galactic Alliance even in these distant systems." An irritated look flashed across Jax Ven's face for the briefest of moments, but the Admiral, annoyed as he was, could not verbally retaliate after being offered praise from a, technically, outside party for the actions of those under his command. Instead, he nodded his head shallowly, the barest hint of thanks in the movement, though Janus could feel the man's irritation radiating off him in the force.

"My thanks, Knight Janus. The Galactic Alliance Navy is always ready to answer the call to service," Jax Ven said as he turned away, looking back through the viewport at the world of Kegan below. The bridge layout for the Pillar of Unity had viewports running along the front and sides, offering a two hundred and seventy degree view out into space. Rather than the Imperial style bridge which saw the terminals and operating stations situated in sunken sections of the bridge, the Mon Cal style had platforms above the base floor level, each one with three stations manned by naval officers. The Admirals post sat in between three of these platforms, offering him an unobstructed view of these stations, as well as out the viewports. "We have received clearance to land in the capital city of the world. I trust you are willing to take the lead in these important discussions?"

Janus did not respond immediately to the Admiral's thinly veiled sarcasm. The Admiral had his vies on the matter here, nothing Janus could say right now would change those feelings. Beyond that, as the highest ranking military officer in Task Force Omicron, and therefore the representative of the Galactic Alliance government lacking a true politician, it was his place to lead the meeting. However, as Janus had guessed, Jax Ven was going to be using the lesser known regulation stating that in a hostile situation, it highest ranking military officer was required to remain at his post in case of an emergency situation.

"Of course, Admiral Ven. My padawan and I shall travel to the surface immediately to meet with delegates of Kegan." With a brief bow of his head in dismissal, Janus turned and began walking away from the Admiral, trusting his padawan to follow. Before they had gotten a dozen steps, Jax Ven called out.

"Knight Janus, certainly a detachment of marines would be..."

"My thanks for your concern, Admiral," Janus said, cutting the man off without looking back, "but the New Jedi Order will be able to handle the discussions for now. We will inform you if we have need of assistance."

AtlannianSpy

 

[AtlannianSpy]

So that's the play huh? Nareen mused, dipping her head briefly in imitation of her master before scuttling out on his heels. Freezing out someone who wants to be proactive might make them try to push their way in and be involved anyway despite their lack of natural interest. Now we're positioned to gatekeep his involvement so if he wants in on the action he has to at least offer us some kind of cooperation...

"Wasn't that quite underhanded master?" Nareen asked drily, when they had entered a turbolift that would take them down to the hangar.

The rest of their short trip was uneventful aside from that conversation and shortly thereafter the pair of jedi found themselves in a bustling, but orderly hangar were a crew of technicians were fussing over a boxy looking shuttle with two large, cylindrical thrusters at its rear. "The admiral must have told them to start prepping this before we even spoke," Nareen remarked. She was no expert in this kind of thing but the crew looked basically done with their work. "He's nothing if not efficient, it might be roomy in there without a full complement of marines though~"

Political sparring with the admiral aside a force of marines might have set the wrong tone anyway. If the Keganites wanted assurances that the GA had taken this matter seriously then they only had to look up and see the ships in the sky, sending down armed troops on top of that would just be rubbing noses in it.

"Actually though, if we aren't taking anyone with us then do you know how to fly one of these things?" Nareen asked suddenly, as the work crew backed away from the shuttle and its wide, bay doors slid open to welcome them in. "Because I..."

Nareen could fly. technically. The Jedi order mandated some level of competency for all padawans in terms of piloting, Master Rey herself was known to be an ace flyer and it was more or less required simply to be able to get around the galaxy. But Nareen had passed that particular exam more through brute force memorisation of the simulated course than any actual aptitude. Her results in the aerospace section were particularly... unrefined. Flying in space is ultimately a pretty abstract science. There are inputs from various sensors and you respond to them in an appropriate and timely manner and its all rather academic. Once you are in atmosphere though the ground is suddenly a factor and you are now carefully balancing a dozen different principles of physics so that you hurtle through the air too quickly for gravity to realise you were supposed to be falling. Really the whole process was just unnatural.

 

[Grammatic]

"A Jedi must be well versed in every avenue and possibility for negotiation, padawan," Janus replied as the turbolift door slid shut. "The Admiral, for all his faults, is not a bad man, but his frustration clouds his judgement. Better for him to grow agitated at me, so that he can begin to see clearly the plight of the Keganites." He glanced down at Nareen for a moment, a small smile on his lips. "Besides, I can handle a little bit of attitude. I have kept you around for a few months haven't I?" Janus did not give Nareen a chance to reply to that, having sensed that the turbolift was coming to a halt, and stepping forward even before the door slid open.

The hangar was much the same as it had been when they arrived onboard the Pillar of Unity days ago. Half a dozen starfighters, some of the older X-Wing variant, but a few of the newer E-Wings starting to enter production, were also in the hangar. Janus had not gotten a chance to fly one of the new starfighters yet, but had heard they handled better than the old X-Wings. It was a tempting proposition to test, but for now, they had another form of transport to use. Said transport, though, was old than Janus himself. The Resistance era shuttle sat in the middle of the hangar, the large, bulky engines protruding from the back, and laser burn marks down the side still from its last combat engagement years ago. Galactic Alliance shipbuilding efforts and logistical efforts were spread thin, trying to handle reconstruction on damaged worlds, military expansion, and maintenance of half a galaxy worth of space stations and outposts. It was necessary to cut corners, and almost all maintenance efforts had been committed to new models of ships, and only the most cursory efforts were made to keep older models flying.

"Before I was a Jedi, Nareen, I was a historian," Janus said as they walked towards the shuttle. "I was not even a well known historian, and my resources were limited in the extreme. I could not afford to purchase the service of a pilot or support crew." Janus ran a hand down the length of the shuttle, feeling the cold metal seeming to hum with life as they approached the waiting ramp to enter. "I have flown many shuttles similar to this one in the past, I am sure I can figure this one out as well."

Janus climbed into the shuttle, the dimly lit interior a design choice from the Resistance era. Most Galactic Alliance ships were much more brightly lit and colored, to give a more civilized and calming effect, but the old Resistance had been using whatever they could get their hands on to fight the First Order. The main area of the transport was filled with four rows of chairs, two back to back in the middle, and a row on either wall, allowing for the transport of twenty soldiers for quick deployment. There was room for more, and plenty of cargo space for supplies, but during a combat drop it was best to be strapped down and not standing for risk of being thrown wildly.

Stepping through the narrow entrance to the cockpit, Janus spun the pilots chair around and sat down, the chair letting out a defeated huff of air. Grinning, Janus spun back around and began activating the various systems that had been idling to full power. "We will be going to the capital city of Kegan, padawan, what can you tell me about it?"

AtlannianSpy

 

[AtlannianSpy]

"Aside from the fact that it holds the title of capital mostly by dint of being the only city on the planet? Not much," Nareen said, after buckling herself quite firmly into the co pilot's seat. "Most of the records I found hadn't been updated since before the clone wars and what they described can't be accurate if the city is handling any kind of significant agricultural export throughput. There was no mention of a space port for example. Perhaps you can leverage that historian's experience of yours and write them an update master?"

As the shuttle descended the surface of Kegan gradually expanded to blot out the void of space and its features came into sharper relief for Nareen's curious eyes.

Green... Was Nareen's first thought. Ossus, where the jedi order was located had been similar but Nareen still had trouble believing it The idea that every inch of ground down there was covered in grass or trees seemed totally , Nareen would have readily taken it for an odd, green coloured rock or concrete except that she could feel it. The force here thrummed with life, but it lacked the heady, frantic beat of Corellia's atmosphere. The force here was tranquil, similar to on Ossus but it lacked the...depth? or the richness maybe of that place. Ossus was tranquil the way a glassy, unfathomably deep lake was tranquil. Ossus would happily swallow you up without so much as a ripple if you delved too deeply or incautiously. Kegan in contrast felt more placid, the force whispered of swaying grass and ponderous, contemplative herds of beasts.

This far up the only sign of human habitation was the capital city, vast cluster of rounded, organic looking buildings sprouting up from the plains, looking like nothing else so much as an enormous patch of mushrooms. Just as Nareen had supposed, there was indeed a space port, although it didn't look like any space part Nareen had seen before.

For starters it was circular, instead of a more efficient square or the unruly, adhoc sprawl of less regulated ports. Nareen suspected that was a cultural quirk of the planet. That was probably also the reason that the space port had little in the way of machinery, a variety of massive, tamed beasts and human hands had been conscripted to shift cargo. Not that there seemed to much of that going on. There was a huge backlog of ships berthed haphazardly and lots of people standing around gesturing angrily at each other.

"Ah." Nareen said, realisation striking her. "The traders on this route won't be used to risking pirates. Some of them will have refused to take off and things are getting backed up as a result. Hopefully they have a berth set aside for us,"

 

[Grammatic]

"Believe me, Nareen, I have already begun taking notes," Janus said as the shuttle banked around one of the spires rising above the city. Windows dotted the tower, and as the shuttle passed, a few people could be seen looking out the window at them. Janus spared a moments glance at them, his eyes narrowing at the sight of children being ushered away from the windows by their parents. The pains this world experienced would not be so easily forgotten, and as they passed over the city towards the starport, they could see the occasional blast marks from the recent pirate assault.

"The Outer Rim has never been a safe place, padawan." Janus said, shifting from his less formal tone to that of his persona as her mentor. "Even during the times of the Old Republic, much of the Outer Rim was carved up between the Hutt Cartels, the Corporate Sector Authority and the Trade Federation. They dominated the worlds, and while few of them could be seen as anything other than extortionate, they kept piracy in check. It was not until the time of the Galactic Empire that order truly began to collapse in the Outer Rim. The Empire fought wars against the Hutts, and with the fall of the Trade Federation at the end of the Clone Wars, and the Empires hostile takeover of the Corporate Sector Authority, the Outer Rim truly became wild space. The failures of the New Republic did not help fix the slide into anarchy..."

Janus cut himself off then, refusing to cover that topic. The New Republic, the government before the Galactic Alliance, had been the culmination of the Rebel Alliances war against the Empire. The first attempt to restore democracy and freedom to the galaxy after nearly three decades of Imperial rule. In their strides to be different from the Empire, they reversed many policies at the expense of weakening their government. They did not enforce cooperation between planets, allowing many worlds to break away, and the New Republic would never be more than a Inner and Mid Rim power, a fraction the size and influence the Old Republic had been at its height. They demilitarized, fearing that having a strong military would make people see the rise of a second Empire. That decision allowed for the New Republic to be wiped out in a matter of weeks when the First Order began their war to retake the galaxy.

The Galactic Alliance was doing its best to fix the broken galaxy the Empire and New Republic had left behind, but on worlds as far out as Kegan, the protection and order of the Galactic Alliance was nothing but a rumor. As was the legacy of the Jedi, and it was that legacy that Janus hoped would aid them the most today.

"They were expecting our arrival, the Council made sure of that even before we departed Ossus." Janus guided the shuttle around a final preplanned route, and brought it down to a scorch marked landing pad barely larger than the shuttle itself. Janus used the Force as much as the ships systems to guide the vessel onto the landing pad, and he was rising from the pilots chair even before the ship was fully on the ground. A brief usage of the Force began to power down many of the ship systems as Janus entered the main hold. He came to the side door of the shuttle, activating it, and taking a step back as a wall of fresh air from Kegan threw itself into the shuttle. Janus took a moment to breath it in, analyzing the scents in the air, and simply experiencing fresh air for the first time in half a week.

Three people stood at the bottom of the ramp waiting for them. A woman, roughly five feet in height and wearing a green and brown uniform stood with two men in gray and green uniforms, blaster pistols holstered at their sides. "Master Jedi," the woman said, bowing her head, "my name is Kalia, thank you for coming. Welcome to Kegan."

AtlannianSpy

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Nareen wrinkled her nose as unfamiliar scents assailed her as soon as she stepped off the shuttle. The animals being used to shift cargo leant the air a particular, earthy tang that Nareen couldn't honestly say she enjoyed, though it at least made a welcome change from the stale, recycled space ship air she'd been breathing for the last few days. When she realised there was a welcoming committee at the bottom of the ramp she schooled her expression into something more serene and jedi-like, hopefully before anyone noticed.

Studying the woman who had come to greet them Nareen was surprised to note how young she looked: although she was still fairly inexperienced when it came to politics Nareen had the impression that it was mostly dominated by old fogeys and Nareen would expected that tendency to be exacerbated on a planet as parochial as Kegan. The woman looked no older than her early thirties at most however. This Kalia might be unusually ambitious, or simply the product of a certain amount of nepotism. It might also be the case that the political scene on Kegan was insular enough that greeting a pair of jedi was seen as more of an imposition than an honour. Actually now that it had come to mind that sounded depressingly probable. Ah well, who could blame them if that was so? The jedi were hardly a known quantity after all, all they could do was prove their worth.

"Hello," Nareen said, smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring manner and dipped her head back politely in return.

 

[Grammatic]

Janus had much the same thoughts as Nareen did as he bowed his head in greeting to Kalia. The information documents Janus had read during the trip had tabs on each member of the planet Kegan's governing body, the so called Protector's Council. Kalia was one of the newer members, barely in position for a decade, but had already garnered a fair bit of influence to her name. She had been one of the driving forces behind Kegan opening itself up to the wider galaxy, and when the pirates had come, it was easy to guess that some of the blame might have fallen on her shoulders. For a planet and people so ingrained on isolation, being sent to greet outsiders might very well be one of the greatest punishments.

The smile on Kalia's face did not give that impression though. Maybe she was just good at hiding it.

"I thank you for the hospitality of the people of Kegan, Guardian Kalia," Janus said as he bowed his head, using the formal title of individuals on the Protector's Council. The specific name choice said much about the mindset of Kegan, and Janus had already made notes on his thoughts. To label the leaders of the planet as 'guardians' implied that the isolation of Kegan was not seen as some need for independence or isolation for the sake of it, but for protection and safety. There was likely history in the worlds past of threats coming to the planet from the greater galaxy. He would go over these ideas with Nareen later. "My name is Janus Marr, Jedi Knight of the New Jedi Order. This is my padawan learner, Nareen D'hani."

 

[AtlannianSpy]

"A pleasure to meet you," Nareen said politely. "I wish I could stay but Master has tasked me with beginning the investigation while you discuss things,"

This was a great relief to be honest. As much as there was probably something to be gleaned from observing the proceedings and her teachers were always going on about diplomacy being the primary duty of the jedi order Nareen didn't have much appetite for it right now. She had no doubt her future held plenty of meetings, sub committees and hearings without her going out of her way to insert herself in more of them anyway. Besides, learning how to track down pirates was also an important jedi skill to practice!

With a polite bow Nareen hopped off the ramp and made her way up to the customs booth to seek entry into the wider city. With the backing of one of Kalia's escorts getting through security was a breeze and she was soon discharged into the wider city. Away from the spaceport the air was even fresher, although it still held a faint trace of the tangy, overripe smell of many people clustered together. The roads and footpaths were wider here than Nareen was used to on Corella, with little in the way of vehicle traffic and circular buildings forced wedges of open space into being where their would be none in a conventional layout. The Keganites seemed to disdain paint or holo signs, so the overall pallet of the city was very restrained, the natural colors of construction materials the city favoured, lots of beige and grey, shone through. Someone more generous might have described the overall effect as serene or naturalistic, Nareen couldn't help but find it a little drab.

There was little in the way of personal expression, now grafitti or gang marks sprayed on the walls, now garish advertisements boasting of this business or that, the people wore a lot of natural fibres that almost seemed intended to camouflage them against the washed out colors of the city buildings. For once Nareen's traditional, brown robes hardly stood out at all, although a few people seemed to guess at their meaning and gave her sideways looks or a wide berth. Mindful of her position Nareen smiled politely at these people or affected not to see them.

A few blocks into the city Nareen cut left, trusting that if she circled roughly around the space port she would eventually find a lower end district of bars and watering halls where she could listen in on the local gossip. It was about an hour of unhurried walking before Nareen hit paydirt: a section of the city that seemed a little grimier and where the passersby seemed a little surlier. The buildings were generally smaller, squatter and imposing men or aliens manned doors through which bawdy music wafted out. Nareen was, in a way, home.

 

[Grammatic]

Kalia was about to speak up as Nareen moved off when Janus stepped forward, a placating hand brought up between them. "Guardian, please understand we do not intend to intrude upon your home without cause. We can help you and your people faster if we can gather the information we need while we discuss matters. I assure you, my padawan will be discreet." Kalia cast a final look towards the disappearing back of Nareen and one of her guards, who had naturally gone off to follow her, before nodding her head in dejected acceptance. Turning her gaze back to Janus, she shrugged her shoulders.

"The Council is not going to like this," she said, he voice roughened by years spent in the fields, "but they are already upset, so I guess it does not change much." Janus nodded his understanding, though refrained from responding as the small party set out towards a waiting speeder car. While there was limited speeder travel through the city itself, Janus suspected there might be regulations against it, numerous speeder cars and trucks were coming and going from the outskirts of the city. Janus, Kalia and the remaining guard stepped into the speeder, and the waiting pilot banked away from the starport. Janus cast a quick glance back over his shoulder, eyes narrowing slightly.

"We will have to send someone to collect my padawan later," Janus said as he folded his arms and leaned back into the seat. Kalia glanced at him for a moment before nodding her head. The speeder took off once it cleared the furthest outskirts of the capital city, shooting across the farmlands of Kegan and approaching a large structure set against the side of a mountain. Like most of Kegan architecture he had seen so far, Janus noted the rounded, dull coloring of the structure almost seeming to blend in with the mountain around it. Armed guards stood at the stairs leading up to the entrance, and it did not take a mastermind to tell that this was a seat of governance. Why it was here, isolated from the capital city, was odd to Janus, and he would have to look into the matter further.

As the speeder landed and its passengers began to disembark, Janus opened a secure channel to the communicator his padawan had. "Nareen, I have been taken to a structure approximately two kilometers away from the capital city. I believe it to be the seat of governance for the Protectors Council. Contact me if you find anything or when you are ready for pick up."

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Not wanting to draw attention to herself in the crowd, Nareen simply tapped her communicator twice to signal acknowledgement and returned to looking for a likely watering hole to investigate. Nareen let herself be pulled along with the general flow of the crowd, letting her awareness swell to trace how and where different people split off from the main current of pedestrians. Nareen wanted somewhere that foreigners would congregate; any outsiders on Kegan were likely to be ship crews and they might have some experience with the situation in a general sense. After a few minutes of wandering like this Nareen encountered a likely prospect, a little hole in the wall place with a flickering holo-sign proclaiming it as "The Jiving Juubo".

Nareen didn't know what exactly a Juubo was nor why it might be jiving, but the burly besalisk manning the door was a pretty good indicator that the place was at least somewhat tolerant of outsiders and therefore probably catered to sailors. Nareen waited until a decent sized group decoded to enter the bar and sidled up along behind them to blend in, gently pulling on the force to encourage the bouncer's gaze to slide right past her. The four armed alien was already bored and not particularly alert so it wasn't difficult or intrusive to nudge his attention away from her, letting Nareen slip inside without any inconvenient questions about her youthful appearance.

The interior of the Jiving Juubo was dimly lit and the floor tacky with the dessicated remnants of spilled drinks. A singer was crooning in Rodian through a music terminal, but the volume had been set pretty low to allow the hum and murmur of several different conversations to easily dominate.

The bartender gave Nareen a sceptical look when she walked up to him, but when she only ordered a meiloorun juice he shrugged and scooped up the her credits then turned around to dig out a bottle of the juice from who knows where, probably no one had ordered juice without some kind of alcohol in it here in decades. Nareen settled herself on a stool and then channeled the force to amplify her hearing, twitching her elongated ears to focus directionally on first one conversation then the other.


"-sick'a being stuck on this filthy backwater of a-"


"-bleeding creds right now! and what's more-"


"Thought this whole thing was blowing over- Leeko made a bunch of runs back and forth and never got hit so-"

"Leeko Cadas? Aye well he never did have much trouble with pirates if you catch my meaning,"

"Mm? Not sure I do?"

"Well the rumor is- mind you, you didn't hear this from me by the way, but the rumor is that Leejo has a cousin of a cousin or somesuch who's in tight with one of the big cartels,"

"Hohh,"

"Aye, what's more is that some folks reckon that a few years back when pirates were real thick along the Ison Trade Corridor old Leeko made out like a bandit when a few of his rivals got hit by pirates. Perfectly timed those raids were, hit Farkas' crew when they were right in the middle of route far as possible from any outposts or patrols. Some folks reckon Leeko fed his cousin's cousin some juicy tidbits about Farkas' cargo and departure time."

"No!"

"Well that's just what people say. And remember, ya didn't hear it from me. Whoever Leeko's cousins are I sure don't wanna meet em,"


Nareen sipped her juice thoughtfully. This Leeko fellow might be worth talking to, Nareen pulled out her communicator and sent a text message to her master, asking him if he could get their hosts to look through the customs records for any ships registered to a 'Leeko Cadas'. With that done Nareen went back to sipping her drink and eavesdropping. It wasn't particularly good, but at least the bartender had bothered to put ice in it and there was still the chance of overhearing something useful for her mission or, even better, finding a pazaak game to join.