Open [Rafa V] The Magician

[Lance Decker]

Open to anyone, especially Jedi and 5S, PvP enabled, Death Enabled​

The Jedi Knight Lance Decker stood inside the comfort of the conditioned spaceport of Rafa V. His broad frame wore a set of unzipped cold weather clothes suitable for the frigid temperatures of the numerous planets in the Rafa system. Each of the worlds had a cool climate but the man had a feeling he would be leaving the system behind. His eyes scanned the various ships coming and going but none of them matched the specifications he was watching for.

Decker knew there was more to this life-crystal operation but the truth would only be revealed after a thorough investigation. The Jedi seer had a feeling he only had a few pieces of the puzzle. He was patient and capable but he could not do everything alone. Natalie had helped uncover the corruption in the penal colony on Rafa IV where they used the prisoners to harvest the intelligence sapping life-crystals. Together, they had pressed the prison warden to divulge any and all details of his operation. The warden did not know where the crystals went after they left the Rafa system but that was the next clue Decker intended to uncover.

Life-Orchards were found on multiple planets in the Rafa system so chances were good this operation was larger than just the single compound. The Knight wanted to put an end to whatever this operation was. To do that he would need cut off the head of this metaphorical beast. The Five Syndicates had their hands in a lot of pies and employed the ships moving the product. Chances were good they were moving more than just life-crystals.

With the information from the prison warden Decker knew where the first ships were coming in. The idea was to get the transport, interrogate the crew, and find out where it was headed. Hopefully the ship would have navigation data he could read but if not then they would need to find other ways of getting answers.

The life-crystal harvesting on Rafa IV had been stopped for now. But Rafa V was likely still producing and would continue to do so until they were forced to stop. It was easy to feel powerless, like no matter how many heads he cut off it was replaced by two more. That was why Decker felt the fix would lead him out of Rafa, out of Centrality sector. In the days leading up to the present Decker had meditated significantly on this.

By now the people behind this underworld operation had heard the penal colony had ceased all harvesting on Rafa IV. It would be dangerous for any of them to come to Rafa IV and risk being captured by authorities. Rafa IV may as well be radioactive. The prisoners were being moved to alternate locations to continue serving their sentences while the former staff of the prison were under investigation. That left Rafa V with the burden of being the sole supplier of the resource. No doubt they would be pressured to not make any more mistakes.

The day was young and Decker wanted a cup of coffee. He left the window to walk towards a food stand with overpriced options. But he still decided to ordered a beverage. To a common observer, he was just a civilian waiting for public transport to arrive.

@LouJoVi

 

[Kimi Bastian]

Kimi stepped off of the starliner and into the uncomfortably frigid air of Rafa V. She would rather have taken the Kampfsturm, but having a freaking attack shuttle would raise a few eyebrows. Kimi had received a basic briefing on the situation, and was apparently suposed to meet another Jedi to investigate. The Togruta was wearing a jacket and insulated leggings over her standard armor which not only kept her warm but concealed her gauntlets and shin guards. Stopping by the cargo unloading area to collect her luggage (which was packed with her dissasembled DC-17x and saber), she then heaved the backpack up onto her shoulders and entered the heated main area. Her senses were accousted by a mixture of scents, noise, and bright lights. Sighing, she sat down on one of the too-soft benches and waited.
@Darasuum

 

[Zephyr Dadoni]

It’s official, Zephyr hated cold planets. Really, he had to wear thick clothes to remain warm and even then he could still feel the frigid air from Rafa V entering through them. Even his tail was curled around his waist, hidden below the coat that he was wearing. The Tiefling wondered if he should have brought a blanket to cover himself while walking too.

However, his complaints about the cold remained only for himself. The Tiefling had a mission to accomplish on this planet. He wasn’t going to allow his discomfort to distract him from what needed to be done.

He still needed to find the Jedi that would be his partner for this mission. The Tiefling never met them, but he had their identification. With that on his hands, Zephyr would search through the city for them. Perhaps he could make a stop and buy a hot drink for himself, since it could help him get warmer.

@Darasuum @Interdictor

 

[Lance Decker]

After paying for the coffee Decker returned to the view near the window. His companions were due to arrive at any minute so he kept an eye on the civilian transport schedules. An announcement came through the starport and signaled one such vessel had landed and offloaded its passengers.

Leaving the window behind the Knight walked until he saw a Togruta that matched the description of Kimi Bastian. Perhaps cooincidentally the Jedi Seer spotted a blue tiefling with only one horn. That must be Zephyrr Dadoni. Like Decker, his partners were Knights as well. Hopefully the three of them would be enough to complete this mission. The bright skin tones of the two other knights were relatively exotic on Rafa V but Decker also stood out due to his size. He was relatively big for a human.

Approaching Kimi from behind he sat down on one of the excessively soft available seats. He looked ahead at nothing so as to not appear like he knew Kimi. "Bastian. Decker. How was your trip?" There were people possibly watching them and the knight was used to working undercover. In case Zephyr missed the two of them Decker pulled out his commlink and proceeded to call the tiefling. "I'm at gate...1138. Join us." He felt together, they were hard to miss especially if they were looking for them.

@Interdictor @Zephyr Dadoni

 

[Kimi Bastian]

Kimi shifted a little when the man sat down behind her. Automatically her brain began calculating possible attacks that might come her way and how to deflect them, but before she got too far into it the man spoke and she relaxed, if only a little. C'mon, Bastian, get it together. No beating up your squad. "I've had worse," she muttered in reply, focusing her gaze on a sign with schedules. She heard Decker comm someone-the other Jedi, she guessed-but paid little heed to it. A computerized voice announced the departure of a starliner in the background. Kimi turned her backpack around on her lap so the part that opened was facing her, then unzipped it about halfway and reached in. To anyone else she would appear to just be rummaging around in her bag, but really she was quietly assembling her DC. No point in being unprepared, and she stil felt more comfortable with a blaster than a saber.
@Darasuum @Zephyr Dadoni

 

[Lance Decker]

With his peripheral awareness alert as always and his senses opened to the Force he could tell that the Togruta was a little tense. Hopefully she was just on guard and not the jumpy type. "Good. Our next trip might not be so smooth." He warned them considering they were going to be stowing away onboard a ship or, if things went sideways, slicing into its onboard computers and and flying it to its destination. Decker followed up with another question. "How good are you with computers, slicing, that sort of thing?"

Through the windows Decker's eyes caught sight of a C-ROC light cruiser beginning its descent. No announcement had been made of its arrival which meant it was not a passenger vessel, at least not one open to the public. Decker checked the incoming flights and saw which hangars were 'reserved'. There were several but the Knight knew which ones were ideal for a smuggler to pick. Out of the way, descrete, and large enough to handle a craft of that size. "Let's go." He stood up and began heading towards where he anticipated the ship was going to land. Afterwards he sent an updated message on where they would be headed so their third partner could meet them there, wherever they were.

@Interdictor @LouJoVi I want to keep this moving so I'm going to keep posting. All good if you don't the muse for it though.

 

[Kimi Bastian]

Kimi didn't bother to nod, worried it would give her away. "I'll survive," she whispered. Her bionic arm connected the last component of her blaster. There. She sat there for a moment, studying her weapon while it lay in her bag. Her silent contemplation, however, was interrupted by her companion's query. "I am…passable," Kimi finally responded. Truthfully, her armor had a computer spike, and she could slice into more basic systems. That was about it.

Kimi's glance also landed on the same ship that Decker had spotted, and her eyes tracked its decent until it vanished behind a parked starliner. It wasn't a normal civvie transport, she could garner that much. So, when Decker rose and told her they should go, she gave a barely-perceptible nod, then waited for a few seconds before zipping up her bag and standing up. She trailed Decker at a distance, her confident, militaristic stride allowing her to make good time.
@LouJoVi @Darasuum

 

[Lance Decker]

Decker liked the fellow Knights optimism. The two of them would be on their own. It spoke towards the Togruta's abilities to handle themselves in a situation. While their confidence was welcome Decker hoped they could back it up when the time came. He hated losing allies. Perhaps that was why he often worked alone so often.

He tilted his head slightly in regards to Kimi's slicing abilities. Decker was not especially skilled in that area but he had picked up a few tricks in his time undercover. Technometery was still beyond him and he lacked the same equipment as the other Knight. Usually he just made people unlock terminals or get by with stealing a keycard. Otherwise things generally worked out by finding ways around such obstacles.

Leading the way, Decker and Bastian would eventually find the foot traffic of the space port decrease bit by bit. They were coming to an area that was far less traveled. A sign in Aurebesh repeated the same message in several other languages. +Authorized personnel only beyond this point+ Decker, of course, walked right passed it with all the confidence of someone who belonged there.

Nobody noticed them yet and he kept walking. Eventually they came upon the reserved hangar they had been looking for. The ship sat with a combination of a dozen binary loaders, astromechs and what Decker assumed was the organic crew of the ship. One of the organics was a twi'lek man and the other was a weequay woman. Both of them were giving orders and supervising crates of various sizes being moved on palates to an elevator. They were likely the loadmasters of the ship. Inside the crates were the life-crystals along with other supplies.

"We need to get onboard." Decker stated the obvious but also said it to open up the chance for suggestions. He was not particularly good at mind tricks. Nor did he favor them considering there were plenty of species that were resistant to such techniques.

@Interdictor Looks like it is going to be just you and me

 

[Kimi Bastian]

Kimi kept her distance from Decker for a while, but once they entered the restricted area there was no reason to. It wasn't like anyone would see them. She picked up her pace and caught up with him just as they reached the hangar. When he said they needed to get on board, the Togruta subtly glanced around. The only security camera in the area seemed to be focused on the ship that was being offloaded. After taking a moment to analyze the situation, she looked over at Decker. "Do we want them dead or alive?" She didn't put any emotion into her words. For her, this was just a part of the mission. As she spoke, she swung her bag partway off of her back so that she could access her blaster.
@Darasuum

 

[Lance Decker]

A lone security camera was present, but Decker had a feeling it was inactive. Criminals did not like their illegal activities being recorded. Otherwise it was evidence to be used against them. Still, it was better to be on the safe side and avoid its line of sight.

When it came to the well being of criminals Decker only had limited empathy. They had chosen to take the risk by following this line of work and now had to deal with consequences. He believed in due process from the law but out here the law was what you made of it. Rafa's police was not completely clean. There was surely corrupt law enforcement or ways that criminals could and would get out of paying time. So Decker took some appreciation for beating the bantha poodoo out of them when it came time for him to cross paths with them.

"Preferably alive. Corpses don't respond to questioning very well." The Seer wanted answers. He was comfortable with breaking bones. If need be, he would kill without a moment's hesitation.

@Interdictor