Ask Coruscant The First Step

[Zerath Eblon]

​

Zerath was still processing the sudden turn of events as the transport touched down on the landing pad on level 106. The Jedi Council, in their infinite wisdom, had informed him just hours ago that he had been assigned a Padawan learner. The Mirulakan had always assumed that he'd take on an apprentice at some point, but on apparently the Council's timeline didn't line up with Zerath's idea of when he was ready for one. Now, he did his best to project a calm demeanor as he awaited the entrance of one Zana Ari.

Zerath was dressed for the occasion in his Jedi Wanderer robes- indistinguishable from other similar light armors worn around the galaxy- and a matching dark brown blindfold wrapped around his eyes. A wooden staff a little longer than one meter in length was held in his hands; infused with the Force, it was his weapon of choice after losing his lightsaber defending Lothal.

Much of Zerath's misgivings about this appointment stemmed from the fact that he had no idea what kind of mentor he would be. One training class did not a master make, and he wasn't sure what his teaching style was... or if he even had a teaching style. What if I'm not a good master at all? What if I'm not patient enough... or if I'm too patient and she learns bad habits? Zerath was all for the mentoring and training of the future generations of Jedi, but suddenly the prospect of being responsible for their journey weighed on him. The other doubts he had stemmed from his current mission; if Zerath had had his way, he'd have met Zana on one of the meditation trails back on Yavin in order to get a sense for her passions and interests, a well as their compatibility as master and apprentice. As it was, she would be joining him just as he ventured into the Coruscanti underworld in search of a drug kingpin's hideout.

Zerath did his best not to let his internal conflict show as he opted to smile in welcome as the landing ramp opened to allow its passengers to disembark. You can do this, Z he reminded himself.


@Sreeya

 

[Zana Ari]

If Zerath was having self doubts, Zana was having a total internal meltdown. She was pacing around in circles and actually had a datapad with a list of introductions and questions to impress her new Master. She had considered herself to be one of those padawans that would simply never get a master and be stuck doing on world missions until she simply aged into Knight with enough experience. The assignment came as a complete shock and she was worried he would reject her outright. She even listed out her own problem qualities.

Stubborn. Loud. Very bad at history class.

Was he going to grill her on history? She was so screwed. Zana stashed the datapad away, screeching internally as she realized she was almost running late. The twi’lek bolted towards the ramp, realizing she was the last one still onboard. Zana all but stumbled out, already making a ridiculous first impression. She spotted her master right away, almost sighing in relief when she recalled he didn’t see through the physical plane. He couldn’t see the stupid expression on her face.

“H-Hi!” She said a bit too excitedly before clearing her throat. Zana blinked a few times, unsure whether to bow or what. Instead she opted to extend a hand out to shake, “I’m Zana Ari!” She didn’t mention being a padawan in case they were keeping being Jedi on the down low.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Zerath Eblon]

Zerath's smile stretched wider in welcome; at least this part came naturally to him. After that, he had no idea what to do. "I'm Zana Ari!" said the Padawan in front of him- his Padawan. "Hello Zana" the Jedi Knight replied. "I'm-" Nervous? Unqualified? Not the Jedi you're looking for? "- Zerath Eblon." His hand came up and shook hers. What now? What would Master Hragg do?

A second's pause grew to two, and then three, before Zerath was able to come up with a question- not for lack of trying. He had the monumental sense that his life had just been irreparably changed, and furthermore, that he wouldn't fully understand how until much further down the road. What he did feel was a strong desire to shelter the girl in front of him from the horrors of the galaxy, followed swiftly by the reminder that such a thing was impossible and therefore it would be better to walk with her through those difficult times. Those thoughts gave him clarity- the Twi'lek standing in front of him was a Jedi, and to treat her as otherwise would only hold her back.

Master Hragg had always done his best to inform Zerath of the mission and its circumstances. What was more, Hragg had invited Zerath to be a part of that process, and so Zerath finally arrived on a question. "What do you know about our current mission?" He smiled encouragingly after asking it; it wouldn't surprise him if Zana knew nothing of why she was here, but clearly she'd known who to look for and where to go.


@Sreeya

 

[Zana Ari]

Zana blinked a few times at the silence after they shook hands. However, her eyes suddenly widened and she reached into her pocket. She pulled out a small, keychain sized model of a BB-8 astromech, “I really love working with droids, so I made this for you,” Zana said brightly, offering it to him. It was actually operational, just in miniature form. The Jedi of old perhaps would have looked at gestures like these as silly, but things had changed since then. He didn’t give her the stuck up vibe, so she decided it was safe enough to offer the gift.

“I know it’s a Trandoshan named..Glob..” She grimaced, “That’s a kingpin and his gang is behind a lot of local missing civilian cases,” The Rangers were largely corrupt in these districts and had been no help, and that was why the Jedi had been called. Truthfully, the mission brief was exceptionally vague, but she did a lot of her own research and homework to piece together the rest and draw the kingpin’s name. Zana was bookish by nature, and this was a reflection of that.

“I don’t know beyond that though,” She admittedly sheepishly.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Zerath Eblon]

Zerath's smile widened to its full brilliance as Zara handed over a positively adorable tiny model of a BB-8 droid, which whirred and rolled around in the Jedi Knight's palm; much to Zerath's delight. "Thank you!" he said, genuinely, wondering if he should've gotten a gift for her as well to commemorate their first mission together. Maybe he could buy her a meal from one of the good places in the Coruscant underworld while they were here... Padawans liked food, correct?

Unfortunately, gift giving would have to wait until later. They did, after all, have a mission to focus on. Zana gave as thorough of a mission overview as one could expect, given the limited intelligence that the Jedi had had when Zerath had arrived. "That was a good summary!" Zerath said, making sure to praise Zana's preparedness. That kind of dedication would serve her well as she continued her career as a Jedi.

"Do you remember how we tracked Glob and his operation to Coruscant?" he asked, waiting for confirmation before continuing on; if she didn't know, he'd give a quick rundown. Drug suppliers had long since been experimenting on their own product in order to offer a different aftertaste, better high, or even a unique color. The Jedi had been able to follow Glob's unique strain of spice to Coruscant when reports of a new type of overdose in the last few weeks had led to testing that identified the strain.

The Jedi Knight's tone took on an instructional quality as he pulled up an approximately normal graph of the overdose data (sorted by level) on his datapad for the Twi'lek. "The majority of overdose cases tied to this strain are clustered in levels 1413, 1414, and 1415; which level do you think we should focus our search in, and why?" Maybe he was putting her on the spot too much with all of these early questions, but her answers would offer him some insight into how Zana's mind worked; a critical part of any Master/Padawan relationship, in his opinion.

@Sreeya

 

[Zana Ari]

There was a look of relief on her face when Zerath remarked finding her summary adequate. She prided herself in being as organized as possible even though she had some reckless sides to her. When he asked his question, however, she paused for a moment. After chewing on her lip for a second, she looked down, “I…don’t know exactly, Master,” She exhaled slightly dejectedly, “My guess is that there were perhaps patterns of behavior in the types of civilians that disappeared? Or perhaps similar forensic reports from the civilians that were found to have overdosed?” Zana didn’t know the exact answer, but she could certainly theorize.

Zana thought for a moment about his next question, chewing on her lip. At first she was surprised to be put on the spot so much but there was a challenge to it that made it almost…fun? The twi’lek thought about what she knew so far and what she knew about Coruscant in general, “1415,” She said after a moment, “It’s the lowest level and will have the least Ranger presence. We will have to pose as locals, but it may give us better insights than the levels where the operations may already be curbed to a degree,” It was risky and they would blow the entire operation if they revealed what they were, but it was likely to yield the most promising results.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Zerath Eblon]

Zerath nodded approvingly again as Zana answered his first question with a solid guess. "Forensic similarities, yes; Glob's particular 'brand' of spice is distinctive both in how it appears in scans and how it affects the user. Apparently it is quite easy to overdose on, and unlike many spice highs, it leaves the user much more aggressive than normal." A slight frown followed that statement as he realized that he was about to bring a new Padawan into a dangerous environment, but it didn't take a genius to understand why this drug and its creators/suppliers needed to get off the streets. Its potential for misuse and adaptation were too great.

Zerath suspected that the main operations hub for the spice operation was located on level 1414, given the distribution of the drug overdose cases. However, Zana's suggestion to investigate Level 1415 matched Zerath's desire to learn more about some of the missing persons; a puzzling aspect of Glob's operation that couldn't be overlooked. Zerath's smile returned and he nodded in agreement. "Level 1415 is a good place to begin our search. I'd like to learn more about some of the missing persons to see if there is a connection there." Details on many of the missing humanoids had been very difficult to come by.

Was there anything he was forgetting? "We will have to be careful, although Ranger Captain Trawi was able to get us these" he said, passing over a pouch about the size of a fanny pack. Trawi was their point of contact for this particular mission. "They're overdose kits" he explained, opening his by way of explanation. Inside were a pair of epi-pens as well as instructions for their use. Zana would see that there was already an identical pouch attached to Zerath's belt, and if her perception was particularly sharp she would notice that the Jedi Knight did not have a lightsaber. "Fortunately for us this spice needs to be ingested in order to work, so these are in case we come across anyone under its effects."

"Do you have any questions before we travel down?" Zerath asked. Zana had made an excellent first impression- she was smart and honest- and he only hoped that he'd done the same.

@Sreeya