Open Kashyyyk The Call - What Is Love?

[Gram Van Alasdaire]

OOC: Come if you have reason to! Death Disabled, if interested may lead to a plot.

-Music-
“To believe in an ideal is to be willing to betray it.” - Kreia​

Gram sat.

The gentle hum of the wind passing through the treetop canopy house that the Vahla had been allowed to use as temporary residence. Kashyyyk was one of the many worlds affected by an outbreak turning many of the Galaxy’s denizens. But given that this area was considered safe, and it was being actively protected by Wookiee warriors, the Van Alasdaire felt as at ease as one could.

Yet even still, a lingering guilt ate at his heart. The purpose for coming to this place was to liaison with the Jedi Order - whenever their members had the time. Both to consider joining their cause, and enlisting their aide in rescuing a Jedi Master he had failed to protect. Nykoria Tallis had been but a fleeting being in the Vahla’s short lifespan - he had known her for a day, maybe a week at most. Yet, he would race to save the woman from any harm the Sith would thrust upon her.
Would he do the same for anyone? Perhaps. Perhaps not. But a Jedi as potent as that Zeltron, if she could be turned or broken, the resulting damage would be severe indeed. And doubtlessly the captivity was unpleasant, if not downright sadistic in nature.

As far as information went - it wasn’t terribly difficult for him to track her down. Whether the Sith had intended to keep her hidden was yet unknown - but the mysterious appearance of three Zeltron slaves matching her description on Bakura, Nar Shaddaa and Telos IV wasn’t convenience. Though unconfirmed, he had leads - all the Mystic needed now was a listening ear and helping hands.

This was not a rescue he could pull off alone, unless he decided to invest in a contingent of assassin droids. But even then, he would far prefer relying on organic beings for an affair as sensitive as this. Minimal presence, and maximum subterfuge was unusual in his experience with droid combatants.

So he sat, writing on his data pad, a half-drank clammy glass of caf to his left, with a vaporizer clasped firmly to his lips.

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music OOC

The Jedi Knight had more than one reason to come to Kashyyyk these days even beyond the current state of affairs. Her very own Padawan was from this world, Wurfuhlla the Wookiee, and getting to know his homeland was best achieved by feeling the soil. That in turn meant preserving that soil alive, ensuring the survival of its people, and no enemy, living or nonliving, was going to stop that from happening.

Why else did the Jedi Order exist? What was its purpose if not to defend and protect? They were no longer alone in this mantra, working hand in hand with allies like the Sector Rangers, as well as independents with their own agendas; and sometimes those agendas aligned with the Order’s.

Vayla had not known Nykoria Tallis terribly well, definitely not as much as she had wanted to. The Zeltron was a Master; the Pantoran was a Knight who kept herself at the edges of the galaxy more often than not, carving her own path her own way even while adhering to the tenets and tasks of her order.

Today, that truth manifested in more ways than one. The world she was on was just what her Padawan might need in his continued training, as much to adventure beside his master and rediscover his home, and more. It would be two Jedi, then, that their outside contact would find himself greeting as the door to the treetop house gave way to knocks. It was time to meet.

@Aurius @Scoobert

 

[Wurfuhlla]

Finally! Wurfuhlla was making his way back home. Not necessarily the home he had lived with his family but it was his home planet. He definitely felt normal here. The soil was soft and the grass tall with beautiful tree's. The Wookiees around were big and had long manes like Wurfuhlla. If there was ever a time and place for the young Wookiee padawan, it was here on his home planet of Khashyyyk. Just out of comfortability, Wurfuhlla wound be speaking in his native tongue if he were to speak.

The padawan only knew to follow his master. He hadn't known too much of there business here, but he figured it was important and would be something to pay attention to. Were there other force sensitive Wookiees here on Khashyyyk as well? That would be an intriguing find for sure. All there was to do for Wurfuhlla, the Wookiee padawan was just stay with his master and be ready. The sights around of the area he was in were just too beautiful to not look upon. Whatever the reason for their arrival, Wurfuhlla was just glad to be home.

@Die Shize @Aurius

 

[Gram Van Alasdaire]

The Vahla paused mid-sentence, placing his caf down with a gentle clank of metal on wood. The force user rose calmly, his eyes tracking across the room towards the door. Frankly, Gram had not been expecting visitors. At least, not so soon. He had expected his request for an audience with a member of the Jedi to take some time to arrange. Perhaps his plea was actually considered something of importance?

Wouldn’t that be a first.

Rising from his seat, Gram crossed the distance between himself and the source of the knocking. Gently unfastening the door, the Vahla opened it softly. What he saw was a slight surprise. A Pantoran in robes stood at the open doorway, with a young wookie at her side.

“Come in, come in. Make yourself at home!”

Gram extended his left arm to the living room of his humble abode. And humble it was - a series of cupboards and drawers carved into the face of the tree. Adjacent to a central fireplace sat a wicker sofa covered in stuffed pillows. A wooden table set for eating adjacent to a central stone oven. Currently only the head seat of the table was occupied with the contents of Gram’s work. Both the remaining chairs and the sofa were free for his new guests. The Vahla stepped backwards into the living area, turning to check on a heated durasteel pot before returning his attention to the pair.

“I didn’t think the Jedi had a Knight to spare on my behalf. Do either of you want caf? Maybe a bite to eat?”

@Die Shize @Scoobert

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Vayla believed in second chances but first impressions meant everything. Gram Van Alasdaire appeared inviting enough as he invited the two Jedi into his home. It had all the fittings that one might expect of a home on Kashyyyk and was therefore rather suitable for Vayla’s standards. She and Wurfuhlla had not yet gotten the chance to take a leisurely tour of the Wookiee’s homeworld, particularly under the circumstances, but the Pantoran had seen enough to respect it.

At the gesture of hospitality, Vayla smiled and drifted her gaze around the makeshift kitchen. “Tea would be superb, if you have it. Otherwise I am quite okay.” Wur would decide for himself before his master would continue.

“I’m sure the time between submitting your request to the Order and having it fulfilled was shorter than expected, Gram Van Alasdaire…” Trailing off, Vayla decided not to stand on ceremony and instead took a seat on one of those chairs, adjusting her white robes as she made herself comfortable.

“The truth is I personally volunteered myself and my Padawan to handle this matter. Master Nykoria Tallis is an...old friend...of mine. I want to help her sooner rather than later and take it upon myself to do so.”

There was always more to say, of course, but the Knight would leave it at that for now. Even Wurfuhlla was not up to speed on his master’s history, not that this portion was particularly private. “Ah, I forget myself! Name is Vayla Mirana, Jedi Knight. This is my Padawan, Wurfuhlla.”

@Scoobert @Aurius

 

[Chysim Reech]

Chysim Reech was sure how the locals would think of a Trandoshan wandering around the beaches and jungles of Kashyyyk, but as long as Chysim was left alone, he wouldn’t have any problems.

He was relaxing. That was all their was to it. He didn’t have a bounty to go after. There weren’t any bounties after him. He was going to take a break for a rotation or two. Then, the Hunter would go back to work.

He opened the side hatch to his U-Wing and lounged on his padded bench, enjoying the fresh air that came with a nice breeze through the hatch doorway.

 

[Wurfuhlla]

The Padawan took in the surroundings of the home. It was pretty standard for Kashyyyk and had fine interior. The Wookiee would remain standing for the time being. It would be rude to just relax in someone else's home right away. The offer of a beverage was quite nice so the Wookiee would answer in his native tongue Shyriiwook,

"Yes whatever you have would be just fine, thank you."

After answering he began to listen as his master spoke. She seemed to know exactly what she was talking about and was doing great. The man seemed decent enough. Then his master introduced him and herself. How could he forget to introduce himself. That was indecent of him. Though it was being down now.

"A pleasure to meet you Gram."

The Wookiee stuck out his large hand for a handshake to the man who invited them into his house.

@Aurius @Die Shize

 

[Gram Van Alasdaire]

Gram watched as the pair entered the small shack, the Pantoran woman replying immediately that she would not mind a tea, while her young Wookiee Padawan asked simply for that which was available. Gently nodding, the Vahla turned on the boiler to set the water at the correct temperature, before pouring the kid a small glass of caf. As he mixed the sugar in, he calmly listened to the lead Jedi explain that she was certain his expectations had been surpassed.

She was hardly wrong. Gram was impressed by how quickly the Order came to aide one of their own. It was something the Jedi were not unique for per se, but they certainly seemed unwilling to abandon their own members. As she sat, the Vahla shifted his focus from handing the Padawan his glass to pouring heated water into yet another cup for the Knight. Sliding the beverage over without pause, he took his own seat at the head of the table, continuing to listen.

As was somewhat expected, the pair had volunteered to help. Which would explain the speed at which the situation had been addressed. What gave the Vahla pause and a slight chuckle was the Pantoran’s tactful description of Nykoria. His smile widened slightly, with a raised eyebrow, as the woman finished by stating her responsibility in rescuing Knight Tallis from her captivity.

“Good to meet you, Wurfuhlla. A brave Wookiee warrior! I’m glad I’ll be working with Jedi. All the better that you have something at stake, Knight Vayla.”

He left his comment at that, and meaning it genuinely. They would need to work both effectively and in tandem if they wished to succeed in any sort of rescue mission. To that end, the Vahla continued.

“Since we all know why we are here, I won’t lie to you and say this will be easy. The first step will be locating Master Tallis.

Given that she could be on any number of worlds, we will need to get access to some sort of prisoner transfer orders, or buy the information on her whereabouts from the black market. The alternative is scouting Sith space until we stumble across her.”

@Die Shize @Scoobert

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Vayla sipped from her tea as much as breathed it in, the aroma soothing her senses. Noticing that her Padawan was still standing, she gestured for him to take a seat if he wanted to. Their host had since made it clear that his furniture was open to his guests; in some circles it would have been rude to not sit down.

Gram Van Alasdaire was a direct man, a quality not overlooked, given that Vayla had not come all this way for idle chitchat. Some people would have preferred to peel back the pages of history and, in this setting, share stories of Nykoria. Not these people. The stories could wait for after they had rescued the Zeltron.

“Indeed…” Vayla nodded as Gram Van Alasdaire spoke about the gravity of the situation. Fortunately for him, neither Knight nor Padawan had come here expecting an easy mission.

“We could do all of those.” She paused a moment to gauge if either of her contemporaries thought that to be too ambitious. “Our Order can reach out to the Sector Rangers, FWA and ISC, and a joint effort could yield to those prisoner transfer orders…”

This time Vayla paused to think some more. “Meanwhile, a vessel from any party can scout Sith space with the proper credentials; make it look like a survey run. Risky but, well…” She shrugged. “We’re already at risk.” We have been at risk since that red blade filled with hate.

“I know of a Ranger who has some colorful contacts in the underworld, if it comes to the black market approach.” The risk in that endeavor was no less but the reward remained as great.

“What do you think, Wur? Any ideas?”

@Scoobert @Aurius
@Kell Rook

 

[Chysim Reech]

“Sith space, huh?” Chysim chuckled. “Space is kriffin’ space! Fly in it. And if something shoots at you, shoot it back or get the hell out of there if you think you wont last to tell the tale.” He was just on Ziost relaxing for a minute or two before he came to Kashyyyk.

It also helped that his U-wing didn’t pop up any red flags on most scanners. He was just a Bounty Hunter, so if his ship was under attack then it was probably the people he was hunting. Regardless, he could get away with being somewhere he probably shouldn’t be. Maybe this was his que to offer himself for hire. I was just lookin’ for work anyway. This might be my lucky shot.

The Trandoshan chuckles and stood up, brushing off his dark trench coat. “I’m Chysim Reech. And I don’t know who your Underworld contact is but I can get you where you need to be- for a price, obviously. I always get the job done, one way or another.” Chysim talked in a deep raspy Cowboy voice, which matched his apparel and persona.

 

[Wurfuhlla]

Gram was explaining the situation and risks. Of course being that the Jedi were.. well, Jedi. They knew there were risks, and were more than willing to go through the horrors and troubles of finding the Master they were in search of. Vayla would explain how they would proceed with trying to locate Master Tallis.

As Vayla would ask what Wurfuhlla had thought, the Wookiee sat silent for a moment before having a commonly terrible plan as most padawan do. He began to speak,

"Well, we could always-"

The Wookiee padawan was cut off by a trandoshan, lizard man. Where had they come from? How did they enter Gram's home? So many questions unanswered. As any reaction to an intruder would be taken Wurfuhlla pulled out his lightsabers and standing by to ignite.

"How did you get in here?"

{/justify]

@Die Shize @Aurius @Kell Rook

 

[Gram Van Alasdaire]

”Doing everything in our power is ideal, I especially like the talks of a Ranger...”

Gram’s attention snapped to the door as a Trandoshan Bounty Hunter made his presence known. He saw the Wookiee go for the saber on his belt without activating it, even as he placed his plan firmly over his own. The Vahla was aware of hostilities between the Trandoshan species and their Wookie opponents - ancient feuds that lasted to this day. It was unsurprising that Wurfuhlla would move in defense at the sudden appearance of one such being.

The Jedi had been mentioning several options, and despite his cautious nature, this could prove to be an opportunity to enact them. The other option that the Jedi presented - scouting out the system - was the objective that came to mind. Nonetheless, Gram was slightly hesitant to involve an unknown factor in their planning.

“Mr. Reech. In case you don’t know - on most planets it is customary to knock.”

Gram turned back to the Jedi and paused. Before he spoke, in a low tone, just loud enough for each of them to hear. He wanted to get their read on this newcomer before he decided the best course of action. It would be easiest to simply hire him to be silent about what he had seen, if the Trandoshan was considered a threat. But if they viewed this as a opportunity as he did, perhaps they could agree as to putting the Bounty Hunter to use.

“Knight Miranda, we could use him as our scout. It would be ideal as he is not a Jedi - they would not know who is searching should he be caught. Only issue is I have no idea who he is. Or why he is here.”

@Kell Rook @Die Shize @Scoobert

Spoiler: OOC

I apologize for the lengthy wait time in replying. IRL got very hectic very quickly. Luckily I’ve recovered what time I lost, it should not happen again. I don’t know if you want to continue.

 

[Chysim Reech]

“Sorry ‘bout that.” Chysim scratched his head and smiled a toothy grin to Gram. “I’m parked outside and ready to go wherever you need to go.” He stopped smiling when he say the little Wookiee put a hand on his lightsaber. The unnecessary hostility boiled Chysim’s blood. Some peacekeeper, asking to get your wee-little arms ripped off. He grunted and rolled his eyes, looking back at Gram choosing to ignore the Padawan.

“I don’t like Jedi- but I hate Sith more. If you pay right, I’ll make sure my services will be worth your time.” Chysim inclined his head into a bow before leaving the building and headed back to his U-wing. He opened up the hatch and relaxed again, this time turning his attention to badly damaged IG unit that he was repairing. The Bounty droid jerked a bit and slapped Chysim who punched the droid in the head and held him down while he worked on him. “Aye! Don’t be twitchy with me, alright? I’m the one you called for rescuin’. Shouldn’t have gone in deep with the sharks, Fifty-Five.” The Trandoshan sighed and began getting back to work.

He did wonder what the Jedi were up to, but he also didn’t care. They’d be in his debt- for all the times he’s asked for their aid and they’d given him nothing but the cold shoulder. Now, Chysim could have them in his pocket and might be able to free his father- whether that be by using the Jedi’s strengths as a warrior, or their bank account. The pale Trandoshan chuckled to himself as he waited to here back from his potential tickets to his freedom.

@Scoobert @Aurius