Ask Onderon The Heart of the Issue

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn had absolutely no idea what the man had said or what language he had said it in. Probably some sort of native language, right? Within only moments they had disarmed and subdued their target. Varyn scooted over toward the entrance again in the even that they would be assaulted once again, but not more attacks happened from that direction.

The man started choking on something and breathed it in Crix's face, and Varyn had absolutely no idea what to do. He tried not to panic and focused, his face turning into that same strained look as he tried to create a bubble of more safe air.

Here! Breathe this! he said, practically shoving it into the Knight's face.

What should I do?! he said, panicking and practically shoving Crix toward the fresh air of the escape tunnel.

Are you okay!? he said, looking back at the dead man. What was that!? he said, holding his breath and heading back to drag the body into the fresh air. He started rummaging through the man's pockets, setting a backup blaster, datapad, and comlink on the ground. A handful of other papers were in his pockets including a picture of the dead son.

Is this what beastriders look like? he asked.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Whole lot of questions and a whole mess that the two Jedi had managed to get themselves into without a doubt. Grimacing in pain even as he took in some of the air from Varyn's efforts alongside his own, Crix could feel his lungs crying out for more air but they were, at least, no longer threatening to collapse in on themselves right now. Coughing up a mixture of blood, phlegm and poison, Crix violently spat it from his mouth as they made their way out of the tunnel.

Specifically out of the tunnel in the direction away from the house - Crix didn't know who had sent the attackers but he didn't want to bet his life on the fact that the House themselves were blameless. Reaching the exit of the tunnel, which opened up into some of the Onderonian Jungle, Crix sat down on the edge of the steps and drew in breath through the Force, exhaling more of the poison before grabbing his canteen and taking a deep swig of water.

He closed his eyes and tried to calm his racing hearts down.

"I'm alright, I'm alright..."

Both for Varyn's benefit and to help himself.

"That was a suicide poison capsule - thankfully it was tailored to humans mainly." he admitted, "It's normally a spy thing."

Which made a lot more sense when the picture of the dead son came up - like an assassin or spy had been given his target and commanded to attack. And given a way to avoid being interrogated. He shook his head.

"Beast riders mainly just look like baseline humans but the language he spoke... it was High Sith. Back in the histories the Jedi fought in the Beastrider War but we helped the Beastriders because the old royal family line were Sith worshipers." he grimaced as he tried to push himself to his feet, "Someone's trying to spark up old tensions. Fuck, Varyn, this could cause a civil war if we're not careful."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn let out a heavy breath as he listened to Crix's explanation, suddenly realizing just how deep they were in this. This was pretty far above his pay grade he was pretty sure, but someday he'd be responsible for things like this on his own. No more training wheels or Jedi Knights to help him out, and for that reason, he was determined to do the best he could.

Okay, that would be bad, he said before realizing that was a pretty worthless statement. He continued pawing through the man's gear and plopped down onto the ground, trying to figure out how to unlock his datapad.

Are you any good at these? he asked, offering it in the direction of the Knight. It suddenly occurred to him that their wounded prisoner was no longer in the tunnel.

Oh, shoot, he said, pushing himself up and heading down the tunnel, following the blood trail until he eventually found the man collapsed on the ground inside the basement. He knelt down, checking for a pulse only to realize that he, too, was dead.

He's... dead, he said, standing up again and now picking through his pockets.

So... high Sith, beast riders, a possibly guilty royal house, and a dead noble, he recapped aloud. Why do I feel like we're heading into the jungle? he said. They were on foot which means their outpost either isn't far or they have a vehicle nearby, right? Or a pickup by someone else? he said. Any of those would be a lead for them to use.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

A Civil War... well he had never stopped one of those before so he supposed it would be a real feather in his cap should he be able to say that he and Varyn were able to avert one. The issue was that he wasn't entirely sure how they would be able to do that. After all, they seemed to have stumbled into the whole real-conspiracy plan right when it was coming to a head with the assassination of a noble heir.

This was usually the part where they would discover that they had been betrayed by their supposed kinsmen and the Civil War would begin under the guise of raising arms to right a wrong done to them. Taking the tablet, he looked it over for a few moments before pulling out a multi-tool from his belt with precision-style tools.

"Just a dumb droid, really." he assured Varyn as he started overriding the security features, blinking before wandering after Varyn to their deceased captive, "That is about our luck."

Shaking his head a little bit as he worked on the tablet, he did point out one thing.

"The royal line that worshiped the Sith was stripped of the throne at the end of the war - the current royal family would have no blood ties to them. Otherwise? Yeah that all sounds about right." he agreed, "I think the jungle is the only option we have available to us. If we go back to the house we'll end up needing to explain two bodies. Right now all that will do is set them off on their pre-conceived notions and the war starts."

As they started out into the jungle, Crix grinned a little bit as he was able to break through the security on the datapad. Immediately he started scrolling through it for the most recently accessed information. One of the first things he noticed was a lock-app for a speeder bike... and a message.

A message from House Ortice asking if the deed was done.

"Crap." he hissed, "Message from House Ortice asking if it's done... they might have actually sent the assassin after all. Force be damned, we need to follow where this goes Varyn. If they did do it, it's war. If they didn't, someone is going to great lengths to frame them."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn headed out into the jungle, feeling like they were going a bit aimlessly, and yet they didn't have a great many other options. A low flyover in a ship would gather far too much attention, and speeders would barely be better.

He thought about the holorecording that Crix mentioned, and something told him it wasn't fake. Perhaps it was, but it seemed unlikely to him. And if war broke out? Surely there had to be another option other than war? Someone could hold them to justice, right? And what was justice here? It brought up one of those "difficult questions" that Crix was about to be so lucky as to be on the receiving end of.

Master Aran, if the family we're helping insists on war rather than some other form of justice, then what? Do we help them? Is that justice? Or do we let the murderers go free? What if no one else can hold them accountable? he asked. The Jedi were called on to bring justice and they had answered, but sometimes the answers weren't so clear. Something nagged at the back of his mind to tell him that things were only going to become more complicated the deeper into this plot they went.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix already had a feeling that heading out into the jungle to try and find the assassin's speeder bike was probably going to end badly for them. His experience with jungles was bad enough that he could honestly say that he expected the worst possible outcome to occur whenever he set foot in one.

That and he hated the humidity.

"If the family tries to insist on war, we might need to go above their heads to the Royal family. Houses like these two are big and influential but Royal Houses tend to hold more power to keep them in line. If needs be, we might need to go in and secure those who gave the orders and turn them over for the King's justice."

Left unsaid was that the King's Justice might be worse in some ways. Left unsaid was that it was something they would need to live with. Hopefully it was left unsaid because they didn't need to actually say it. Because he wouldn't have to be forced to explain to Varyn that being a Jedi meant protecting people's right to rule themselves and, sometimes, it meant that terrible things were going to happen because of that.

It was probably a vain hope.

As they trudged through the undergrowth in the direction of the speeder the app said was in this direction, Crix felt something through the Force. Igniting his lightsaber in a flash, he batted away a blaster bolt sent through the trees in their direction, narrowly avoiding taking a shot to the chest. Loud swearing was his reward from behind the trees and he rushed forward into the clearing, finding an idling speeder bike and a man running away.

A man Crix recognized by his armor.

"Stop!" he called out to the head of the House's guard, "Traitor to your House and home - stop or we will cut you down!"

Would they? Non-lethally, sure.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn thought about Crix's explanation, and nodded grimly. He wasn't necessarily opposed to someone being put to death for their crimes. In fact, he'd been reprimanded multiple times during his young career for advocating that Jedi act as executioners of the worst of criminals. But he also knew that some societies and cultures could be far more barbaric than a simple saber across the neck.

And further, there was the question of how many innocent people might die if it broke into a war. That wasn't one person paying with their lives, it was the rich and powerful throwing other lives away to protect their own. How was that justice? How was that any different than what the Sith did?

They were questions he was considering posing to Crix when the blaster shot rang out.

His saber snapped to his hand once again and he started chasing the man down, heading back in the direction of the town. He tried but failed to get a grip on the fleeing man with the Force, and in short order, they were making it back to the city streets, which meant waving his saber - training or not - around wasn't a good idea. He put it away as they reached the square.

Do we split up to try to find him? he asked, looking through the crowd to see if he could spot the armored man anywhere.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

From bad to worse.

Being back in the heart of the city wasn't quite the worst place for them to be while chasing the traitor but it was far from the best either. The crowds meant that tracking him through the throngs of people would be tough, especially if they stuck together. Splitting up was, in his own experience, a pretty terrible idea half of the time and, unfortunately, the only way to actually cover the amount of ground they needed to cover almost every time.

Kark!

Why did it always come down to splitting up?!

"Alright, make sure your com-link is with you." he instructed Varyn in a tone that assured the young Padawan that this was not up for debate, "You see him? You call before you try anything."

He almost asked Varyn to call and then not do anything to try and apprehend the guy but... well he had learned a little bit about being a teacher and the first thing he learned was to never give a teenager an order that you knew they wouldn't follow. Crix had known Varyn on a personal level for a few hours at most and he already knew that if he told the guy not to do anything, he'd have a whole mess of Varyn-Doing-It-Anyway on his hands.

"You head toward the Palace, see if you can round up some Royal Guards. I'll see if I can head him off if he's heading for his 'New Employers'."

As they broke away and split up, Crix realized he had just sent a Padawan to speak to the Royal Guards. Even as he pushed his way through the crowds, he began working on a speech he hoped not to need.

No, Alex, I had no idea how Varyn got arrested. None at all! Can we get that bail money now please?

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn didn't look ecstatic about having to call in before confronting the assassin, but he could recognize that it was probably for the best. Okay he said reluctantly before pulling out his comlink to show that he had it. He put in an earpiece and turned it on so the pair could remain in contact more easily and set off in the direction of the Royal Guards.

Yeah, because he was totally going to be able to convince the Royal Guards. Well, a lightsaber was a compelling support that he was actually a Jedi. It didn't take him long to find one of the guards and approach.

My name is Varyn Atrix, I'm a Jedi investigating the recent murder. My master and I are on the trail of the suspect but he's fled into the city here. We need your help in apprehending him, he said. This was followed by waaaaaaaay too many questions, and Varyn was really getting a little bit impatient, but he answered them like a good Padawan. For now.

Meanwhile, Crix would find that the square was filled with many different people and navigating to the House in question was difficult. When he got there, the droids out front looked like they were about ready to shoot anyone who approached and something would tell Crix that that was just the standard for them. Not big fans of "visitors" over here.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Well he hadn’t heard any shouts of alarm, explosions or blaster shots yet so he had to assume that the Padawan hadn’t done as badly as he was currently.

Crix himself had gone after the traitor through the crowds but the bugger noticed he was being follow almost immediately. Someone must have given some basic information about the Jedi, however, as the traitor immediately started stabbing people at random in the crowd as he ran. The cries of pain through the Force and audibly through the crowd were jarring to Crix, who was already using the Force to help him keep track of the man.

Of course half a dozen people suddenly being knifed was causing a panic and the crowd was writhing and surging into a trampling mass. Distracting a Jedi with the pain of others and causing a barrier or people?

Clever.

Not enough to keep him from Crix’s sight but clever. Deftly bobbing and weaving through the crowd, Crix followed the traitor as he headed for the palatial clan district of the city. They functioned like embassies did for planets in that they were guarded and would often go out of their way to act like they had something similar to diplomatic immunity. They absolutely didn’t but they could threaten the King’s peace so it often just got accepted.

Crix reached up to his com link.

“He’s heading for the clan district – get the guard to send ambulances, he’s cutting up passers-by to distract me.”

Unfortunately, the droid sentries were rather… unflinching when it came to the extenuating circumstances. They just stared at the organics panicking but Crix couldn’t honestly see or feel where the traitor had gone. Deductive reasoning said he’d gotten past the droids but he doubted he would be able to just walk past them himself. Stopping in front of them, he let out a slow breath.

“Varyn, any chance if the Royal Guards can tell you what the punishment for destruction of droids is? This might need to be resolved with some violence…”

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn heard the message over his coms, eyes going wide as he heard Crix demand ambulances for the people.

Holy kark, holy kark, holy kark, he thought to himself, but instead what came out of his mouth was.

Calling now, Master Aran, he said, starting to move briskly back in the direction Crix had gone. The guards - who previously seemed somewhat uninspired to really help in more than name - started getting reports of violent assault in the square.

Are you serious?! he muttered under his breath as the guards seemed to actually engage. His fingers were just shy of shaking as he dialed the number for emergency services.

Yes, there's been an attack in the square. Send law enforcement and medical people, he said. Sirens started to blare as emergency speeders descended on the square and Varyn glanced in the direction of the violence but kept heading forward.

Uh... I think they're a little preoccupied right now... for either answering my questions or noticing a single broken down droid, he said. Was he allowed to hint that? Probably, after all, Crix was the Knight and could make his own decision.

 

[Crix Aran]

Well medical staff being on their way was about the best he could hope for. His own healing talents were rather lackluster it had to be said but he was certain that most of the people who had been harmed by the escaping traitor wouldn't be suffering too much. The wounds he had seen was quick and meant to be showy - they were meant to hurt and to bleed as much as possible to incite as much panic as possible.

Like making white noise in the Force to disrupt Crix's own attempts at tracking... tricky and something that opened up awkward questions about how someone knew anti-Jedi tricks.

"Alright I'm sending you a nav point via datapad now." he told the Padawan as he did as he said he would, "It's the clan compound I last saw him heading into - if they can't help you, make your way here and we'll meet up inside."

Message sent with the location, Crix immediately put the datapad away before moving up to the two droids currently standing watch as sentries at the front of the compound gates. One of them made to move towards him and held out a hand for Crix to stop.

"Identification, please."

Reaching out with his free hand, Crix smiled.

"Of course."

As soon as his hand touched the droid's own, electrical energy surged from his hand as he manipulated it with the Force. Knowing droids as well as he did, Crix was able to manipulate the energy with great precision, shutting down the droid without breaking it permanently. It would just need a hard restart.

The second droid began to see this as a problem but Crix threw his lightsaber at the droid, igniting it with the Force in the air as he guided it. With his precision, again, the blade impaled the droid through a single component that had the droid slumping over, deactivated. Pulling his saber back to him, Crix extinguished the blade as he quickly made his way into the compound and encountered a new problem.

"... Varyn the clan isn't here." he reported to the padawan grimly, "This is a bad sign. If they're already evacuating this effectively, it stands to reason they had forewarning. See if you can access the vehicle storage area - they might be attempting to leave that way."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn was hoofing it to the compound, only narrowly avoiding running into people as he looked at his datapad and the navpoint he'd been forwarded.

Got it, I'll check! he responded quickly. He made his way past the deactivated and dead droids that Crix had dealt with but took a sharp right inside the compound, heading for the vehicle bays when blaster fire started ringing out.

Agh! he shouted, diving into cover in a way that was far from graceful. He reached down, hands shaking a bit as he snatched his saber from his belt and triggered his comlink.

I found them! I found them! he shouted, trying and failing to keep the slight panic out of his voice. They could end this here and now if they could catch these people. Or... more likely... he could get shot and killed. Hopefully not that. They'd definitely catch these guys.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Hearing blaster fire in the background, Crix's ears perked up and he immediately made sure his lightsaber was back in his dominant hand as he left the unoccupied parts of the clan compound's main building. There would be time to search for incriminating evidence in the empty building once the fighting was done. Hopefully they would be able to ensure that no one else died until guilt could actually be established.

Though, given what he knew of Onderon justice, he didn't doubt that death would still be involved. But if it was only the deaths of those guilty of conspiracy he could stand to bare it.

Hearing the panicked voice of Varyn over the com, Crix doubled his speed in heading in the direction he had sent the Padawan. He didn't want the Padawan's first real mission in diplomacy to end in violence but he even less wanted it to be the kind of mission that acted as a true trial for the poor Jedi.

"I'm on my way - keep your head down!" he urged Varyn, "Keeping you alive means more to me than catching these guys."

They could always pick up a trail or leave it to the local authorities but he refused to be the Jedi Knight who brought a body back instead of a Padawan. Using the Force, Crix ascended through the air with a mighty leap that took him to the lower roof area of the vehicle bay. Sprinting across the rooftop, Crix spotted a couple of the clan guards firing on a piece of cover with a guardsman moving up to flank.

Another leap saw Crix spinning through the air, landing beside the advancing guardsman as he turned around the side of the cover. He reacted to the sudden appearance of a Jedi in a way most people did - he tried to fire his blaster at Crix but found he couldn't. Crix's lightsaber hadn't stopped moving even as he was landing, moving in a sweeping gesture that cut through both arms at the forearms, the tip of the saber even slicing out the guard's right eye in the end of the motion.

The guard screamed and Crix threw him at his fellow guards with the Force, his soul hardened to the sickening sounds of the man's screams being cut off by the sound of breaking bones as the thrown guard impacted the unforgiving wall. Crix reached out with his free hand to place it on Varyn's shoulder.

"On your feet, Varyn." he urged the Padawan with none of his earlier mirth or lightheartedness, "Act as a defense for me while I use the Force to detain him. I need you Varyn."

It was a lot to ask of a Padawan, to throw him into an unexpected battle and ask him to adapt on the fly. To adapt or to let his senior die... it wasn't something Crix would have wanted to teach Varyn but it was a lesson he needed to learn. Being a Jedi meant needing to adapt to the Galaxy's worst and beat it back.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Crix appeared like a whirlwind, his saber flashing around to dispatch the enemy smoothly and with an obviously practiced grace. Varyn was a bit jealous, if he were being honest, but he told himself someday that might be him. For the time being, he focused on not being killed or otherwise finding himself in a situation where he was doing more harm than good.

He nodded emphatically as Crix gave him a task. He would do it and he would do it well! He was going to hold off these murderers and they would bring justice to this unjust world! Wow, that sounded real lofty didn't it, but in reality it was just what he had to tell himself to keep from panicking. And because perhaps that was what he aspired to in one way or another.

He took a stance near Crix, saber held in his hand as two more droids emerged from the building to stop them. His saber may not have been of the genuine cutting variety, but the blasters the droids were using were quite real and quite lethal.

He caught the first shot and managed to even send it back toward the droid. The second he got as well, directing it toward the other droid. Both automatons were dispatched quickly, but the third shot wasn't quite so well dealt with.

The final shot slammed into his thigh, knocking his leg out from under him and forcing a cry from his lips as he all but buckled to the ground, only narrowly avoiding landing on his saber. He clamped both of his hands to the side of the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood that was now oozing free. He knew enough of blasters to know that putting his hands directly over the burns immediately would only scald his hands. He breathed through his teeth, eyes watering in pain as he pushed himself into cover though there was no more returning fire from anyone on his end.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Reaching out with the Force to ensnare someone was something he was rather used to but he couldn't say he was accustomed to doing it while under fire. Thankfully, Crix had Varyn to cover for the fact that he was not in the best place to be using the Force at the same time as defending himself. Thrusting his left hand forward, he Pushed the retreating target forward against the side of the wall, sending the man sprawling to the ground with a cry of pain.

The droids were becoming more troublesome but he trusted in Varyn to be able to hold them off, trusting his safety to the Padawan. Varyn would succeed because he was ready, because Crix needed him to be ready to succeed in this moment or else they were both kind of fucked.

No pressure.

As the blaster bolts flew, Crix Pulled on the legs of the man, dragging him across duracrete and steel at speed. The minimal armour the man was wearing was the only reason he wasn't scraped raw by the dragging motion but it was still painful if the cries were any indication. Once the man was beside them, Crix reached down and physically pulled his weapons away from him before tossing them as far as he could.

"Alright now you're going to- SLEEP."

He cut himself off with the command through the Force when Varyn was hit. The pained guard had very little resistance to such uses of the Force at the best of time and with the pain he was distracted enough that he slumped over immediate. Crix left the guard where he lay and moved over to cover with Varyn to place a hand on Varyn's shoulder to steady the teen.

"Thank you, Varyn." he told the teen earnestly but quietly, "This should be it now - we've got him. Get yourself in a comfortable position with your leg and we'll call the guards to us and I'll take a look at it."

As he sent off a message to the guard he let himself breath.

"... seriously though, your Shien blocks are pretty good kid."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

It's... fine. It'll be totally okay, he said, not really clear whether he was talking to himself or to Crix at that point. The job seemed to have been done, and the guards started swarming in over the place.

Thanks, he managed a proud smile at the compliment. The agonizing burn in his leg reminded him that he still had work to go before he was actually ready to be on his own. But it was a stepping stone.

Don't hold this against me... when the... ugh... when the next mission comes up, okay? he said. Despite everything that had happened, he had learned, it had been exciting, and he had a feeling there was still a whole lot that he could learn from Master Aran. He just hoped he hadn't blown his shot.

@Nefieslab