Ask Yavin IV It Goes Without Saying...

[Elidan]

”Of course she is.” Elidan said to Ruzaan through their telepathic bond. He wasn’t surprised that Marge was Force sensitive. After everything that happened during this investigation, the half-Annfyn was already expecting that this place would have been full of Sith and Marge was the Empress in disguise.

He smiled and the girl that was talking with him, tapped her head in an awkward way and left immediately. Using their bond, Elidan was able to find the place where Ruzaan was fighting Marge. He wondered how more times the two would end up entering a fight during this investigation.

With a movement of his lightsaber, Elidan cut down the door of the loading dock. The half-Annfyn had arrived right on time to see two more adults coming through an entrance at the other side of the room. He was able to see a glimpse of Marge and the woman looked crazy.

“Her backup had arrived. Where are you?” Elidan called Ruzaan, before putting himself in a defensive position. Their enemies were already coming toward him and he needed to defend himself.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

[The kitchen] Ruzaan answered, which might've been cause for excitement had he not been chased there by a lady with a stun baton and a vendetta. As it was, he couldn't wait to leave. His nose wrinkled in protest of the smells emanating from the bubbling pot of... something... on the stove, ignoring the angry shouts of the two Bothans who were "cooking". The more he saw of this place, the less he liked- the bare minimum amount of effort was being put into upkeep or care of the facility, and that meant that the same was likely true for the treatment of the children residing here. No wonder Marsh didn't like to talk about it.

Dodging around a prep table with numerous sanitary concerns, Ruzaan sprinted towards the serving window leading to an adjacent cafeteria and leapt through, using the Force to help cushion his body as he made contact with the floor and smoothly somersaulted back to his feet. An expectant buzz of excitement sounded from the orphans whose lunch was being interrupted by the chase, and Ruzaan skidded to a halt. Turning around to face the kitchen he'd just left, his lightsaber hissed to life in his hands just as Marge barreled through the kitchen door and into the cafeteria.

The matron, too, came to a halt; sour understanding that she had been outmaneuvered crossing her face as the noise in the cafeteria reached a crescendo. Marge had ruled by fear and reputation, singling out those she could make an example of; but never in the sight of the collective. Those with the will or power to defy her quickly vanished, leaving the children to whisper to themselves in fear about what had happened to their brave friends. Despised as she was amongst the children of the orphanage, the opposite was true for the Jedi. While some factions and prominent individuals had denounced the Order over the years, the Jedi were beacons of hope to the downtrodden and oppressed- such faith living strongest in the imaginations of children.

Ruzaan was almost disappointed when Marge's next decision was to turn tail and run, but the knowledge that he and Elidan had just helped shut down an abusive orphanage gave him energy to run after her; serenaded by the cheers of the children in the cafeteria. [She's coming back your way, I think!] he said to Elidan through their bond, hoping that his friend was doing all right. [I'm in pursuit.]

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

”Kitchen?” Elidan said, while blocking the attack of one of the enemies. He had no idea of how these people had taken vibroblades. However, what was more perplexing in all that was the fact that Ruzaan was going after a criminal through the kitchen. He wondered if there was some escape route through here.

However, the half-Annfyn had more important things to do. Like fighting these people that came from nowhere. Elidan used his lightsaber to block the attack of a woman, before needing to evade the blade from a man. He needed to finish these two and go after Ruzaan and Marge.

If she was Force sensitive and the leader of whatever was happening in this place, she probably was more trained than these two grunts that he was fighting against. His friend would need some help against her.

Gathering the Force to himself, Elidan would release a wave against his attackers. They would be thrown away and fall with their butts on the floor. While they were disoriented, the Padawan would move against the woman, cutting the hand that she was using to hold the vibroblade.

She would scream in pain, while the half-Annfyn turned to the man that was already up. “Good. We can fight together against her.” the Padawan said to Ruzaan, before jumping to attack the remaining enemy.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

[The kitchen] Ruzaan confirmed for Elidan, leaping through the serving window and back into the kitchen he'd just left. Ahead of him, Marge disappeared through the same door she'd chased him through just moments before. The Togruta couldn't help but grin despite the stakes; not only had he and Elidan managed to revive a cold case, it felt oddly satisfying to be the one chasing instead of being chased.

Ahead of him, Marge barreled through the halls of the orphanage with Force-assisted speed and reflexes. Ruzaan found himself working hard to keep up; clearly, the matron had received some form of training. That much was evident when she burst back into the room where Elidan was facing off against the man. With a gesture, Marge took advantage of Elidan's focus on the remaining combatant and hurled the body of the injured woman at the half-Annfynn.

Ruzaan entered the room as she did this, sensing the peril to his friend; if the maneuver was successful, Elidan might not be able to defend himself against the man's swinging vibroblade. A split-second decision was made as Marge ran towards the loading dock in the chaos; Ruzaan focused on the man's arm, reaching out with the Force to arrest its momentum lest it harm his friend. [Elidan, look out!]

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

The clash between Elidan’s lightsaber and the man’s vibroblade was interrupted when Marge entered the room. The two stopped to watch her with surprise. THe half-Annfyn didn’t think that someone so old like her would be capable of moving with this speed. It could only be the Force.

Elidan didn’t have much time to think about it. In an obvious demonstration of her use of the Force, Marge threw the wounded woman that was on the floor at the Padawan. He barely had time to jump out of the way and the body collided against the wall with a scream.

Using his moment of distraction, the man tried to hit him with the vibroblade. The blade grazed against his arm, cutting through the sleeve of his Jedi robe and leaving a small cut on his skin. However, thanks to Ruzaan’s intervention, Elidan was able to avoid any greater damage.

“Go take her. I’ll end this guy.” the Padawan said to Ruzaan, before turning to send a Force blast against the man. This move took him by surprise and he lost his balance. Seeing an opportunity, the half-Annfyn moved for another attack. With a fast movement of his lightsaber, Elidan cut off the hilt of the vibroblade.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

[Got it] Ruzaan replied, thankful once again for how easy it was to communicate with Elidan. Not only were they able to speak into each other's heads, but there was a mutual understanding that surpassed words by this point; and as a result, Ruzaan and Elidan were coordinated in a way that their attackers could never dream of being. As Elidan unleashed a Force Push at his assailant, Ruzaan dashed after Marge into the loading dock.

Although Marge had clearly received some training, Ruzaan felt the Force flow through him in a way that it hadn't in a while. Clarity was his; there were no questions as to his purpose here, or about his capabilities. So when Marge turned and launched a crate at him, the Togruta was already moving to evade, flipping up and over the projectile and landing easily as it crashed into the wall behind him. And when Marge began a wild offensive with her stun baton, his lightsaber was ready to deflect it; blue blades flicking this way and that in an impenetrable Form III defense.

Marge was tiring, and she knew it. Her breathing came rapidly and her strikes less skillfully. And while her anger fueled her attacks, she burned through her stamina rapidly. Her attacks ineffective and Ruzaan showing no signs of fatigue, the matron tried one final trick- another crate was sent speeding towards Ruzaan while she simultaneously swung her stun baton at him.

Ruzaan, fully attuned to the Force, saw his opportunity to end the fight. As he blocked her stun baton with his lightsaber, his other hand reached out with the Force and stopped the crate in midair; exerting his own will over the object and ripping it from Marge's mental grasp. Gray eyes locked with Marge's before he gestured again; ramming the crate into the matron and sending her sprawling to the floor, unconscious.

[I've got her] he said to Elidan, unable to keep a note of pride from entering his thoughts while he cuffed Marge. [You good out there?]

Spoiler: Ruz vs Marge roll

Roll: 19/20, above average success

 

[Elidan]

With the vibroblade destroyed, the man was left defenseless. Elidan immediately used a Force blast with all the strength that he could, throwing him against a nearby wall. The guy collapsed unconscious on the floor and the half-Annfyn took a deep breath in relief.

All these fights coming from nowhere during these missions are starting to become tiring.

“Yes. The guy is down.” Elidan said back to Ruuzan, while poking the man with his foot. The fact that the man was still breathing made the Padawan feel relieved, but now they have the problem of them waking up. “Is Marge still alive? We need to find something to bind these people.”

Once they find something to immobilize these people, Elidan would have a proposal for Ruuzan. “What do you think of raiding Marge’s office? We are probably going to find something about what is happening there.”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Elidan's voice, projected into his consciousness, assured Ruzaan that his friend had come to no harm. [Nicely done!] he replied in the same manner; Elidan had faced down multiple foes without any help, and had emerged victorious. [And yes, Marge is still alive. She'll have one heck of a headache when she wakes up, though...]

Securing their assailants didn't take long, and Ruzaan even bandaged their wounds while the Jedi waited for the authorities to arrive. The Togruta wasn't certain to what extent the laws here would punish those responsible for abusing orphans, but at the very least there would have to be arrangements made for the care of the children here.

[Searching the office is a great idea] Ruzaan agreed to his friend's suggestion, although a second thought made him reconsider his own role in the idea. Last time he'd been near evidence, he'd practically destroyed it all. [I'll keep an eye on our captives until the authorities get here; be with you in a few minutes.] Perhaps Elidan might find some information to help draw this long-lasting mission to something resembling a conclusion. Ruzaan knew that he had questions as to who had set up this place, how Marge fit into the operation, and how one of the children from the orphanage had ended up in a scientist's unethical lab on the forest moon of Yavin IV...

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan smiled when they finished taking care of Marge and her two cronies. Now there was no chance for them to escape until the authorities arrived. Like Ruuzan, the half-Annfyn was also concerned with what was going to happen with the children. He wondered if there was any Force sensitive among them that could join the Order.

When his friend said that he would stay with the criminals, Elidan frowned in confusion. “Ok?” he wasn’t sure why the Togruta didn’t want to go with him, but the half-Annfyn wasn’t going to question it.

He would leave Ruuzan behind and walk toward Marge’s office. As if they had sensed that their boss was caught, all the other employers left the building. At least it was the conclusion that Elidan reached, since he found no one else in the orphanage. The two Padawans were really alone with a bunch of children. It made him a bit concerned for their safety.
Once he reached the office, Elidan started to search for anything that could explain what was happening in this place. Among the documents being stored, the Padawan found reports about experiments with Force sensitives. “Ruz, I need you here. I found something very concerning.”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan divided his attention between keeping a stern eye over their captives and making introductions with a few of the older children. The Togruta was relieved to see that there was little love lost for Marge and the other adults, at least in the sense that he and Elidan wouldn't have to face down a swarm of unhappy questions from the children. Instead, their questions were more about their future- what would happen to them now that their latest residence was being shut down. Ruzaan answered their questions the best he could, and in turn learned more about the planet they were on. Judging by what the children were describing, there was minimal oversight in areas that could easily allow a child or two to quietly disappear. Fortunately, the Jedi Order had a resettlement program that he was able to mention, and the opportunity to interact with more Jedi seemed to satisfy many of the children.

It was only after he'd gently peeled a youngling off of his leg that Ruzaan was able to join Elidan inside the office. A cursory glance at the documents his friend had found caused a frown to crease the Togruta's face. "Nice job" he complimented the half-Annfyn on his find. "So Marge was a way of screening Force-sensitive children for scientific experiments?" Ruzaan swallowed a sudden rush of anger- no wonder Marth hadn't been keen on talking about his past. "Is there any mention of what these experiments were trying to do, and how that relates to Yavin IV?" As much as he didn't want to engage with the unpleasant nature of these details, he could feel important clues falling into place that might allow the two Padawans to conclude their long investigation.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

”It’s nothing.” Elidan said, blushing a bit with Ruzaan’s sudden praise. “I was only doing a small search around here when I stumbled on these documents.” the half-Annfyn pointed at the pile of paper that was on the table. If he was able to find all that was because he was careful when doing the search and because Marge decided to leave these things in her office.

“Yes, she was.” he said, answering the Togruta’s first question. “She wasn’t only sending children to be lab rats.” Elidan passed some papers with the image of a very familiar machine. “Do you recognize it? She was also using the orphanage to dispatche this thing to other planets.”

When his friend asked what all that information related with Yavin IV, Elidan’s expression became even more serious. “Apparently they were doing these experiments on the planet, because there were orders to ship the children there.” this would explain the Marth’s presence here to begin with. “But there wasn’t details about what they were doing and how they entered there to begin with.”

While they lacked some details, Elidan believed that all this was a success. “I think that we should report to the Council. Since the orphanage is basically closed, no children will be in danger anymore.”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

The trove of information that Elidan had found filled in a lot of the gaps in the Padawans' knowledge about just what had led them halfway across the galaxy in search of answers. A frown creased Ruzaan's face as he glanced over the papers, noting the familiar shape of the machine in blueprint form. "So they were trying to replicate Force-users' ability to manipulate others by building a machine?" His best guess as to what the horrible experiment had been trying to do.

The Togruta turned to his friend. "I agree. Now that we know where else to look for these machines, the Council can advise out next steps." He hadn't forgotten about the scientist who had been missing from the lab on Yavin IV, but a mission of this scope would require more resources than two Padawans could provide.

@LouJoVi