Ask Upside Down

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani sent a quick message to Shaw (@throwitintothefire )that she was going to visit her homeworld for a week. This was nothing out of the ordinary - she was normally a wanderer and loner by nature. In fact, it was a big deal that she informed anyone she left at all. Prani hadn’t heard from her family in over two weeks and finally wanted to visit. Padawans left to visit home all the time so she was permitted a leave of absence for a week.

There was no denying the knot of concern that sat in her chest the entire transport ride over. It wasn’t like her parents not to contact her for so long. Dread sat at the pit of her stomach and she fidgeted until she finally landed on the planet.

At first glance, everything seemed normal in the sleepy town of Zalfari, a place where humans and m’shinn coexisted peacefully. Vast farmlands and plants were harvested to be taken to the city of Newham a day’s journey away. Prani’s caravan usually lined up on the outskirts and the locals had a friendly relationship.

As she approached Zalfari, she noticed the caravans and stalls left empty. The sight made her heart sink at once - her people never abandoned their wagons. Trying not to panic, she instead walked into the town itself, spotting an elderly woman hanging up some clothes outside.

“Hi there m’am!” Prani said cheerfully, “I’m..from them caravans back there,” She pointed a thumb behind her, “Ya know where them folks have gone?”

 

[The Storyteller]

Oh dearie, you scared me. Are you one o' them... newcomers? she asked, her eyes skeptically looking at Prani as she approached. Her eyes flicked to look beyond the young woman at the caravan in question: abandoned and clearly worse for wear.

She gave a wary look at Prani as if sizing her up before finally answering the question she was asked.

Them's new invaders took 'em all, she said, pointing down the road. Took over the Sheriff's office and locked everyone up. All the local deputies are workin for the newcomers now. Plus the soldiers they brought along, she said.

I'm so sorry, dearie, she said. The question of whether any of them - or how many of them - were alive would stick in Prani's head immediately.

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

“What?” Prani gasped, all her dread surfacing at once. She always thought everything was fine even if the negative thoughts began to creep in. And this woman’s words confirmed her worst fears, “What new invaders? Were they Sith?” Prani asked frantically. She didn’t wait for a response, checking for her borrowed saber before she bolted off in the direction of the Sherrif’s office. The building was near a landing bay and she feared it wouldn’t be long before prisoners were transported off the planet.

Why did they want to round up the caravan? Zalfari seemed otherwise untouched. A pang of irritation surged through her at the thought of Zalfari not protecting or defending her people. Then again, they were probably threatened and under great duress if they didn’t comply.

As she approached the sheriff’s office, she could already tell something was different. Armed men were patrolling out front. Prani had no idea where the Sheriff was and she had a sinking feeling he was killed during the takeover.

For now, she chewed nervously on her lip, trying to formulate a plan for approaching them. Prani had a habit of acting rashly when she panicked. Instead of gathering a group of people, she thought she could solve this alone.

 

[Vander]

Vander sat in the sheriff's office. There was probably a joke in there about him being the sheriff now, but he wasn't having it. The man hadn't been so bad and Vander had taken no joy in killing him. Just another casualty on the path to conquest. That was the nature of war and the galaxy.

He let out a sigh and pushed the thought of the man out of his head. It was just another statistic. Thinking about wouldn't change anything, and he wouldn't have gone back on it even if he could. It was just war.

He focused his attention back on the reports in front of him, flipping through to make report about all that had unfolded.

Outside, the guards had grown somewhat complacent, the two out front devolving into chatting rather than keeping watch. Of course, they weren't very used to actually having threats pop up, and it was exactly how Vander had managed to sneak his way in in the first place.

He glanced out the window as something tickled the back of his neck, popping his head out and frowning as he saw the guards below just... completely not paying attention.

Hey! Keep watch, he shouted down from a floor above, motioning out at the street in front of them to indicate where their eyes should be at. He didn't need them to like him, he needed them to do their jobs.

The Sith-aligned mercs that had come along were spread out throughout the city, which left him with the depu-dunces for security. Useless, he thought to himself.

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani and the other caravan folks were all Force sensitive. They had a simple way of life and leaned heavily into the Light Side of the Force. Even now Prani could sense a faint pulse in the Force that spoke to her own family’s signature. They were in that building but in a weakened state. A surge of anger coursed through her, but she quelled it. She had been taught never to give into anger even before she found her way to the Jedi.

She saw the mercenaries wandering around outside. Vander’s orders went through and were met with a noncommittal grunt as some of the mercenaries pretended to look busy. However, none of them were actually paying attention. Prani capitalized on that by using the Force to make two of them fly into one another. She winced as their heads collided together, knocking them both out.

“Gosh, sorry!” She whispered to herself as she moved closer towards the base. She gingerly stepped over the KO’d men, “Sorry sorry..I normally ain't so impolite..” She frantically apologized, crouching down to snatch a keycard before she kept moving. Prani was well out of her element and was applying Holomovie knowledge to sneak into this building. Surely this keycard would work on some side door to get her in, right?

 

[Vander]

Vander went back to his business, hearing the grumbling from the depu-dunces below but paying them no mind. He'd check back in on them in a few minutes to see if they were being equally irresponsible again.

He finished up his report to Arcanos about the execution of Greybeard and sent one the information that he thought might even lead to Calix if Vander was lucky.

Ugh, I'm sick of paperwork, he grumbled to himself, pushing back to his feet and heading out to do his own patrol of the area. His natural paranoia left him always on the prowl for phantom enemies, and the creeping sensation on the back of his neck just couldn't quite be shaken. It was like a latent anxiety of something looming over his head although he didn't know what.

He headed down a flight of stairs to the first floor of the station, stopping to look at the wanted board. Crude sketches of a trio of caravaners who had gotten away lined the board and Vander stopped to look at them. He was better with faces than he was with names, but that didn't mean that he was going to be picking any of these people out of a lineup based on these drawings.

Where are you? he muttered to himself, though Prani would hear the words muttered aloud and might even think he was asking her as she crept by nearby, leaving her to wonder how he had spotted her. He hadn't...

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani actually jumped up and down in excitement when she realized the keycard worked. The door hissed open and there was a guy on the other side. She felt a wave of panic and frantically swayed her hand, “I’m s’upposed to be here!” She blurted out. To her delight, the helmeted and armored man simply nodded and walked right past her. Prani stared after him, pondering for a moment.

Minutes later, Vander would be staring at the wanted board and someone would be passing by him. If he chose to look for whatever reason, it was someone in slightly oversized armor, but nothing out of the ordinary otherwise. And if he looked, the helmeted person would give a curt nod, “Perimeters checked and accounted for,” The mechanized voice would resound.

Prani hoped against hope he couldn’t tell her nonsense as she played it cool. She didn’t even try to walk quickly, taking casual and measured steps toward where she hoped the cells were. She really didn’t plan anything through. Not having expected to get into the building at all, she internally panicked as she thought about what happened once she came upon her family. What the heck would she do? Get thrown into a cell right next to them??

 

[Vander]

Vander gave a glance back as one of the mercenaries passed by, not actually noticing that the armor didn't really fit.

I should probably go check on the prisoners soon, he thought to himself, going back to poking on his EZPhone for a moment.

Hey you, he said, motioning to Prani.

Bring up one of the prisoners... the uh... the kid, he said, motioning to one of the interrogation rooms down the hall. The teen one, he said, further specifying.

You know what, I'll go with you to get him, he said, pushing off from the wall where he was leaning and pocketing his phone before falling in beside her.

They descended down the stairs and despite her family being in a variety of semi-sedated states down below so that they couldn't access the Force, they otherwise appeared relatively unharmed. Taking care of them and keeping them alive had required near round-the-clock care by a medical droid that Vander had confiscated from the local hospital. He didn't want to overdose the prisoners, after all, just keep them nice and relaxed. Spalium for days.

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

“W-What?” She blurted before clearing her throat with a curt nod, “Certainly, sir,” She said. Was he a Sith? The goons outside were just some regular dudes. Maybe she could overpower this guy too. Prani didn’t pull anything fast just yet, allowing him to lead the way down to the prisoners. She could spot her family already - her parents in two separate cells with her little sister Mariel with her mother. Her older brother had left the caravan a few years back, but it irked her that he hadn’t kept in touch to fuss over their parents.

Guilt charged through her as she saw the prisoners. While her people suffered, she was off attending silly padawan parties or playing her hallikset under a tree. If she hadn’t left home, perhaps she would have been able to stop this from happening. The teen prisoner in question was Barno, a hotheaded boy who often relied on his rage to channel the Force. He was drugged, but he was already gripping the bars, glaring at Vander.

While it was a relief to see her family accounted for and relatively healthy, she still needed to find a way to get them out. Prani looked over at the man in charge and then down at the blaster on her hip. No way, she couldn’t just shoot a guy! Her moral crisis was interrupted when she realized the guy was looking right at her. She definitely didn’t hear the last thing he said.

“Sir, could you repeat that? My auditory processor is near End of Life,” Prani blurted out, impressed at her ability to bs on the spot. Hanging around Mandos like Levet (@Darasuum )had its perks and she picked up some of his jargon.

“If I may speak,” She paused, waiting for the man to give permission, “What will we do with the prisoners?”

Keep your cool, Prani, keep it together.

 

[Vander]

The guard seemed to be surprised by his order and he glanced over at them. Probably just spooked by Force-users, he thought to himself. Plenty of people didn't want to go near the prisoners for fear that they would become possessed and empty husks of themselves puppeted about by the power of the Force. Of course, it was mostly nonsense and superstitions, but mind tricks were very real.

They came to a stop in front of... barnacle? Yeah, good enough. Barnacle was already glaring through the bars at him as if he wanted to rip Vander's head off. Just what he needed: to take the head off of some kid who decided to get too uppity.

Kid, just don't, just... he said, shaking his head and waving a hand. In a drug-addled state, Vander was quite confident in his ability to beat the kid without drawing a lightsaber, but that urge to do so anyway reared up for the faintest of moments before he quelled it.

Alright, bring him out, shackle him and bring him to interrogation, he said, stepping back and waiting for the guard to start moving. They didn't.

Hey! he said, waving his hand to get her attention and making a face to say "um excuse me, are you listening."

She said something about her audio processor being off, but it smelled of an excuse. He was pretty sure she was just daydreaming about what she'd do when she got home.

Out, shackles, and interrogation, he said, pointing toward the ceiling to indicate the interrogation room up above. The question about what they were going to do with the prisoners caused him to frown. These mercs didn't usually care and they were paid not to ask questions.

Why do you care? he asked rather than answering her question directly.

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani brought out Barno, the teen woozy and drooling a bit on her gloved hand. She grimaced but didn’t react, binding his hands behind his back. There was a bit of awkward jostling as she tried to work out the cuffs before finally getting them on. The fact that she was way out of her element began to sink in and there was a lot of internal panic. She was not even a combat Jedi, and here she was acting like Jedi Shadow Agent 006. It was a wonder the man in charge didn’t put her out of her misery.

She coughed when he answered her question with another question. Damn, it was obvious the goons didn’t ask questions or probe. Prani started to walk, nudging Barno upstairs and wincing as his forehead accidentally bumped against a doorframe. Maybe it would be a more secluded space upstairs to give her room to knock out the guy, “Care is a strong word,” Prani responded. What the hell kind of line was that? It sounded like some cheesy movie quote because it probably was, “They appear to be unremarkable prisoners. Th-The other guys and I were just wondering how long we have to keep watch.”

 

[Vander]

"Care is a strong word" drew another look from Vander mostly because it was just the kind of shady and evasive thing he would have said. Kriff, he must have been an insufferable person to be around. He was like... 99% sure of that.

Vander just stared at her for a moment as she asked how long they were going to have to guard the prisoners for, stumbling over her words.

You're getting paid a lot to sit around and chat, I wouldn't complain, he replied, motioning impatiently toward the stairs that they began to ascend. He cast another glance back at the prisoners and made sure the cameras were active before making his way up to interrogation.

She would be able to plop the prisoner down into the chair, a dingy room with two chairs and poor lighting and the classic one-way mirror.

That'll be all, he said to the guard, half contemplating sending her out somewhere where it was likely she'd get some real trouble. If she was discontent with sitting around then she could always go patrol the slums. To be honest, it probably wasn't worth it.

He waited for her to leave before realizing something.

What'd Yancy find? he asked her out of the blue, clearly expecting that she not only knew who Yancy was but also what he was supposed to have been doing.

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Why was this guy such a grump? She was one of his employees and he was still moody. Prani was always taught to look for the best in people. Everyone had their reasons and this guy did too. Maybe his parents were mean or his big brother beat him up as a kid. Under other circumstances, Prani would have a heart-to-heart, but she was undercover and this jerk kidnapped her parents. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen to Barno, but Jedi teachings repeated several times that you couldn’t save everyone. Unfortunately, the reality was that the people on the level below were the priority.

Everyone was being held here for a reason and that meant they weren’t in danger of immediately getting killed. However, she also left two people KO’d outside and had limited time to work with.

She was sure she was cleared and was at the doorway when he addressed her again. This time it was a question about some person she didn’t know. Internally Prani began to panic. This guy seemed suspicious of her to begin with and there was no way to tell if this was a trick question. Anxiety began to overwhelm her and Prani started to panic.

Prani was the problem. She quickly began to remember back to when she roleplayed for fun as a confident, ruthless Ranger. Prani began to wonder what that Ranger would do in this scenario - how she would address the question. Her back was turned to him which allowed her to collect her thoughts and get into character.

“Quite frankly I don’t concern myself with the whispering of those braindead oafs and all their dickmeasuring. I get paid to watch the prisoners so that’s what I do,” She stated curtly. The helmeted head looked halfway over her shoulder, giving a clipped nod, “Sir,” She said before she turned and strutted away.

Granted he didn’t have any follow-ups, Prani would all but collapse on her way down the stairs. She said so many bad words and so many mean things!!! She was on the verge of tears, trying to catch her breath for a moment before she finally straightened up again.

 

[Vander]

Her demeanor seemed to change almost on a dime. The fact that she was just dismissing Yancy's hunt out of hand was further weird, and his eyes started to sweep over her, noting the way the armor was just a bit too loose fitting. Something was off, but he didn't stop her from leaving the room, although rather than settle in to interrogate the teen, he left him in shackles and headed out moments later.

He stepped out into the hall once again, locking the door behind him before heading out to see where this mysterious and shady guard had gone.

He sensed waves of distress coming from somewhere, though that wasn't all that uncommon around Sith. He couldn't possibly have guessed it was coming from a nearly-in-tears Prani because of what she had said.

This is... weird, he muttered to himself, looking around and having that weird sensation that something was amiss but still not knowing what. It wasn't... danger per se, but kind of like that sensation if a dog had accidentally eaten an entire pie off of the counter. Amiss.

All guards report in, he finally said into his comlink. Prani would hear this over the comlink and realize she had only a few seconds to figure out how she was going to cover up the two downed guards.

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani heaved a sigh of relief when she was in the clear. She quickly made her way towards the prison, spotting her family. Prani muted her mic and looked through the bars, “Hey-” She began, catching her family looking expectantly at her. Her gaze flicked to her little sister, the terrified preteen huddled up with her mother. She knew if Prani revealed who she was it would get them excited and jeopardize everything. A pang of hurt in her chest shot through her, “What’re you looking at?” She said gruffly. Her little sister gasped and looked away.

Prani had to keep the role going if she wanted to find a way. She walked towards the nearby terminal, looking for the release. That was when the warden or whoever Mr. Grump was chimed in on the shared comms. Shoot! Prani was in trouble now! She knew the goons she knocked down outside wouldn’t report in. She hadn’t closed that loop because she was not some experienced spy!

The series of mercenaries all began to report in on the radio, announcing their names. While they were doing so, Prani switched her mic back on and used the Force to knock down a nearby desk. This would create the sound of a background crash on the shared comms right over some of the people checking in. This would be followed by her voice coming in, “Apologies, one of the prisoners regained Force use. Rectifying at once. Over,” Prani said quickly. Hopefully, it would be assumed the two idiots checked in while the commotion happened.

She finally found the switch to open the cell doors. There was a hiss and the door to her mother and sister opened. She didn't have time to figure out how to open the other one for her father. The prisoners looked around confused, “Get out and run out the back! Now!” Prani hissed at them after switching off the radio.

She whirled around and moved towards the stairs, prepared to stall Mr. Grump if he came down.

 

[Vander]

Vander listened as people came through on the comlink before hearing an absolutely cacophonous noise coming through the comlink.

The kriff was that? he asked, only to receive a reply that one of the hippies was loose.

Ah kriff, he muttered under his breath, making his way quickly to the stairs to head down, his lightsaber hilt now in his hand. He wouldn't take any risk if someone was throwing around... tables or whatever that had been.

On my way down, he said, the reply coming through Prani's comlink as he was practically coming through the detention room doors only to nearly run directly into bipolar herself.

What's going on? Do we have them under control? he said, making an effort to push past her and in to evaluate for himself.

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani told herself to keep it together. She was The Ranger. The Ranger didn’t freak out. The Ranger knew- egads Mr. Grump was making his way down! She looked over her shoulder, gritting her teeth as she saw her mother delaying and pleading with her father. The man yelled at her to leave and she was whining about leaving him behind. In the end, Prani coiled the Force around her mother and skidded her towards the exit. The woman looked her way in shock but she soon got the hint, rushing through the door.

Meanwhile, Prani squared up and looked at Mr. Grump as he descended towards her. She kept a relaxed posture, tilting her helmeted head, “Yes, sir, it’s rectified. No one got out, they just attempted to throw some objects at me when I came down,” She said, trying to keep her voice from quivering.

As he continued to make his way down, she knew it was now or never. Prani hated confrontation, but that had cost her quite a bit so far. She had him alone in a room and she still took no action. If he walked past her, her father was dead and she was next. Then there was the chance of her dramatic mother and hysterical sister still delaying things. No, Prani had to be the last line of defense.

“Sir, I was coming up to inform you that the prisoner we took upstairs may have a weapon on him,” Prani said urgently, “The other prisoners knew he would be pulled for questioning so he may not be secured,” She added. She would wait for him to turn around before coiling the Force around him to slam his head into the wall near him. With luck, he would be briefly knocked out without any real damage. Apparently, she was an expert at this…

 

[Vander]

Vander was getting more frustrated with each passing moment as he made it halfway down the stairs only to have Bipolar blocking his path. It just... smelled bad.

She told him a moment later that she thought that Barnacle had a weapon, and he hissed in annoyance. How did he get a weapon? he spat. This woman was completely incompetent! The prisoners were tossing tables, getting weapons, and just... ugh, this was insufferable.

He turned to start heading back up the stairs only to feel the Force starting to close in around him. On reflex he pulled the Force's current through himself and pushed back hard against the impact. It kept him from being killed, but it didn't stop his head from slamming against the wall all the same.

Kriff! he screamed, his head throbbing with pain and the world seeming to spin around him. It was only years of training that kicked into gear, his saber activating and whipping around behind him in a horizontal slash at nothing in particular. It was only to keep her from closing in on him as he spun to face her.

Normally he would have pressed the attack immediately, but he was still entirely on the back foot, mostly just trying to keep from keeling over... or vomiting.

Kriffing traitor, he hissed, hand pressed against his forehead in pain.

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

“Gosh I was really hopin’ that’d knock ya out,” Prani blurted out in her usual accent before she could stop herself. His quick reflex on her attack meant he was a Force user and she felt especially terrible watching him stumble around. The saber swing barely missed her and she began to panic as she realized she had an actual fight on her hands! Prani quickly reached for her hip, drawing out the blaster. She had no idea how to switch it to stun so she simply hurled it right at the man’s head with the aid of the Force.

Prani kept backpedaling, coiling the Force around a desk to slide it right in front of the man so he would trip over it in his dazed state. This was the absolute worst-case scenario!

Meanwhile, her father saw an opportunity and decided to capitalize on it. Inspired by the sudden guard betrayal, he focused and pushed through the fading effects of the drug. Within a moment, the frame of the cell bars tore right off the edges and flew to the side. The man stumbled out, the people behind him fleeing the scene. The man, however, paused for a moment, staring at the guard. Why was there something familiar about her?

"Butter my biscuits, now I seen it all! M'am to what do I owe this kind-"

Prani was mortified. Why did inopportune talkativeness run in her entire family? “RUN WILL YA?! GODS Y’ALL ARE ALWAYS SO STUBBORN!” She screeched, using the Force to hurl her father across the room. This was something she would beat herself up over relentlessly later, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She had to multitask at the same time, grabbing random office objects to hurl at the big bad man.

Her father stumbled and got the hint, booking it out the back after giving her a salute. Meanwhile, Prani improvised as best as she could, launching random missiles at the man in front of her. Her latest ammo was a stapler that was chucked right at his face.

 

[Vander]

Vander stumbled and leaned against the wall, watching the blaster come out of its holster and mentally cursing that he wasn't sure he'd be able to block a shot in his half-addled state.

Imagine his surprise when rather than a blaster bolt he was able to bring his saber up across... an actual blaster. Wait, what? Was he hallucinating? Maybe he'd gotten hit on the head harder than he thought...

She started falling back and he stumbled around the table as all manner of office supplies were turned into weapons, hurled at him. Some were caught by lightsabers, some bounced off his chest, and one stapler hit him right in the forehead.

OW! he screeched, starting to get angrier and angrier with each passing item. Likewise, his senses were beginning to come back to him and he had no idea who this guard was who was LETTING OUT ALL THE PRISONERS but oh they were going to get it when he caught them.