Ask The P-Team

[Vida Harp]

Niima Outpost, Jakku

Vida internally questioned why anyone would want to go to Jakku in the first place. It would have never been the first place she picked for exploring and expanding on her jedi training. There was nothing of value unless someone valued sand and heat, and that was about it. However, in this case, there was something, rather someone of value. The story of Jakku and the padawan who went missing quickly made its rounds at the temple; though Vida had never met this Lia individual, there were many opportunities for this quest. The first, was to bring home a padawan, certainly Vida knew she would want someone to come get her if she were ever in such a position, so that seemed most important.

Second, it meant getting away from the temple and even "borrowing" a ship for their transport. She was able to get Maura to join and luckily enough bumped into Leon who also volunteered to join her. Wanting to get away from Ithor before rumors flew that a paddie trio was going to find Lia, and potentially be stopped by the masters, Vida and the others jetted as quickly as they could. Landing near the outpost, Vida thought it would be good to start to search for Lia, since this seemed to be the most civilized port. Someone had to have heard something, it would be just finding the right person to speak with out here.

The ship would be locked up to avoid having it stolen, and Vida sneezed several times as soon as the sunlight hit her face. It was already terribly hot, she could feel herself sweating through her clothing even though she tried to wear a tunic that wouldn't suffocate her in the heat. "Let's check out and see what the locals know."

@lizziie @Zay

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura had agreed without hesitation. As soon as she'd heard about Lia's disappearance, the usually carefree padawan had been in a mood of sorts. She'd been anxiously watching the ship schedule, fully intending on stowing away as she'd once done as a youngling. But things were made slightly more complicated by the fact that her knight trials were ongoing. There was a much higher chance of Alex noticing if she disappeared off on a non-sanctioned padawan rescue.

But when Vida approached her, asking her to join her, the "yes" that fell out of her lips came without a second thought. Lia was her friend. She had to do something to save her.

Rather than pop out in Jakku wearing Jedi robes and standing out like a sore thumb, Maura had forgone the stuffy fabrics and opted for a pair of loose but-belted cargo pants and a tank top covered by a lightweight poncho. The loose garment fell down to her thighs, concealing the contents of her belt and swallowing the girl's figure in its size. Her hair was tied back into a pony with a hat plopped on top and sunglasses shielding her eyes from the sun. She had her saber clipped to her utility belt, of course, in addition to a flask of water for the hot planet.

"Let's split up and meet back here in a bit," Maura suggested as she gestured to one of the supporting columns holding up a nearby building. There was a multitude of signs covering it, and it stood out because of that.

She made her way toward the center of the outpost, confident she could bluff her way into the know with some of the people here.

tag: @GABA @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Things were awkward, to say the least right now for Leon. He could feel the conflict within him growing, but he didn’t know who to talk to about it. Dash and Ezra were gone and Leon hadn’t seen Ferrin since that party. Then there was Hera. She was going to be pissed when she found out he’d left without telling her. He considered sending her a message. But didn’t. Honestly, he wasn’t sure he trusted her yet.

Leon was dressed in his usual mission attire. Around his hips would be his utility belt with two lightsabers clipped to it and the holster of his new gun resting on his thigh. His mini arsenal was covered by a poncho. Finally, his head was covered in a bucket hat, and his eyes were shielded by tented goggles.

“Sounds good, everyone keep your com’s on. We’re alone on this, if we screw up there’s a very real chance someone could die. Let’s not take any risks we don’t need to, huh?” He didn’t like they were isolated on this. It was the reason he’d volunteered. He could tell Vida was going regardless. Again he felt the need to reach out to Hera, but he didn’t. He was ready. They could do this.

As he stepped into the outpost, he lifted the tinted goggles from his eyes and let them acclimate to the changing light. He had some extra cash on him, so he made his way to the cantina. Time to see just how accurate RPG’s are when it came to gathering intel.

@GABA @lizziie

 

[Vida Harp]

"Agreed. As soon as someone gets a lead somewhere, lets meet up, otherwise, we'll meet back here in a few hours or so in case we need to change our tactics." Vida told the others before they departed in separate directions. While Leon and Maura checked out local cantinas, Vida headed towards the other tents that were set up on the perimeter of the town. Despite some hutts returning, there was still a large scavenging presence on the desert world. She watched some as they worked to sort through what was a good sell and others that were worthless, dumping the scrap into barrels that would be used to melt down by the merchants.

Sometimes the locals liked to talk, to gossip and see how others felt about the situations that occurred on Jakku from shop keepers to infamous members of the syndicates, Vida knew they whispered. She was one of them before she joined the jedi, this information was important, it was for safety and survival.

Vida stopped at a shop stand, examining the chromed parts used in more high-end speeders and other vehicles. "Do these even sell out here?" she questioned, clearly skeptical that anyone could afford such parts. The Vurk merchant glared at the teen.

"I could sell you for some nice credits." he hissed. The girl pursed lips, eyebrows rising in a manner that spoke whatever you say...

She stepped back, getting her answer and more than positive this shop was a front and not going to be useful before heading off to her next point.

@Zay @lizziie

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon stepped into the cantina and suddenly felt like he’d been sucked into an old Outer Rim Holo. The floor board below him creaked and the sparsely attending patrons stopped what they were doing and swung around to examine the newcomer. Their attention was lost as quickly as it was earned, however, and The Padawan moved on keeping his head down. He slid up to the bar and ordered a beer. Because that’s what he was supposed to do right?

He spun around in his stool examining the patrons a moment before the bartender returned with his drink. “Thanks,” he said, tossing a couple of credit chips onto the counter. The bartender’s eyebrow cocked at the credits and they scooped them up before returning Leon’s gratitude with a curt little nod. Ah, rustic hospitality.

The Padawan knew he was out of his scope of practice. Sure, he’d managed some impressive feats while with the Jedi, but his last detective adventure had nearly ended with the death of himself and his friends. As a matter of fact, it’s why he still carried Alton’s lightsaber on his hip. The weight of that burden anchored him. It matrued him, well enough to know they weren’t on a field trip. He worried about Vida, but pushed it away. The Force would illuminate the truth for her soon enough…

The door opened and a cumulative groan escaped everyone in attendance as a wiry Weequay stumbled into the bar.

“My… thirst…” he started in a voice that sounded like rocks grating against one another. Leon watched the newcomer with mild interest as they panhandled every table along the way to the bar. He could feel the irritation from the barkeep, so he asked, “What’s this guy’s story?”

The Barkeep sighed, “Oh you’ll find out soon enough…”

“Lad, chum, pal, comrade–” The Padawan cut the guy off, “Leon.”
“Leon, I was close, eh?” smiled the Weequay, “Buy me a drink and I’ll tell you a tale the likes of which you’ve never heard.”
The Padawan considered for a second, then said, “You son of a batha, I’m in.”

The bartender groaned, but slid the Weequay a beer. The vagrant greedily sloshed down the beer, burped, then turned to Leon and told the wildest story he’d ever heard. It was the story of an auction that Peef Zaa Fenn, THE PEEF ZAA FENN, had taken control of. While describing the “merchandise” for sale at the auction, The Padawan heard mention of a young girl who matched Liana’s description.

“Wait, tell me more about the girl,” he said, interrupting a particularly terrifying description of Peef shooting a guy in the gut. To the Weequay’s annoyance, but he just chuckled, “Oh hoho!” He laughed, “All about the ladies, Eh? The Blonde was definitely taken by Peef, word on the chopping block was she was a Jedi," he sighed wistfully, "Do you know how many beers I could by for a slave like that?"

Leon couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. Peef Zaa Fenn had Liana. They weren’t up against some random criminal, they were about to face off against THE CRIMINAL. “I’ll buy you two more beers if you start over and let me record you telling this story.”

The Weequay froze, his face contorted like someone doing mental math and failing, then he clapped his hands and said, “Make it three.”

Leon looked at the single sip of beer he’d taken and slid the dude the cup, “Deal!”

Twenty minutes later he was strolling out of the cantina with a solid lead on where they needed to go. According to his new buddy, Peef had taken Liana and a couple other slaves with him after the auction. Word on the street was that he operated out of Mos Espa. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Leon returned to the rendezvous point and leaned against a wall, while waiting on the other two to return. As it turned out, bars were exactly the place to discover useful information.

19/20 roll

@GABA @lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

The three of them split, and while Leon headed right for the bar, Maura slipped around back and made her way toward the back patio where several people were standing around smoking spice and cigarras. They nodded at her when she joined them, so she nodded back.

Immediately she noticed a weathered poster stapled onto a board on the wall, so she walked over to investigate. Some of the words were hard to make out since most of it was in Huttese, which she didn't speak, but one of the men standing around spoke up before she could spend too much time deliberating.

"Auction's done and over with pipsqueak," the Zabrak male huffed.

"Aw, that's uh, too bad," Maura responded, trying to act like she was disappointed she'd been too late.

"Not like you'd been able to bid for nuthin," another standing by chuckled, eyeing her up and down.

"You don't know that," she retorted, puffing up her chest with a huff.

"Lil girl thinks she could put down a million creds!" The entire group burst into laughter, and Maura took the opportunity to slip away. She could see Leon heading back to the meeting spot, so she hurried to join him, more curious to see if he'd learned anything more useful than her.

roll: 11/20
tag: @GABA @Zay

 

[Vida Harp]

While the others seemed to pick up on more rumors, Vida had lesser luck and discovered her ability to get too distracted while doing detective work. Several conversations spoke of what one would buy with a million credits, but it did not resonate as something out of the ordinary to the dark-haired padawan as she moved on around the port city. Even she wanted a million credits, she knew exactly what she would buy- and then again would probably be forced to give it up thanks to the Jedi's rules.

Vida heard her comm beep during one of her distraction detours, somehow she was convinced to help a mason with his clay bricks. The padawan baked under the Jakku sun as they loaded them onto a speeder. She set down the armful of bricks and checked her message from Leon, smiling at the news that he was able to get some information. Relieved that she could free herself from this task and that something was found, the girl quickly returned to the others, seeing Leon and Maura standing together.

Ready for a shower, face red and probably burnt from the sun, Vida greeted both of them while out of breath before wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Please tell me you found something good." she told him.

@lizziie @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon frowned at the blood stained credit chit. There was no way for him to prove what he’d learned was fact, but when the Weequay had given him this chit, he’d said it was from the day of the sale. It had been his proof. At the time, Leon had accepted the info. He’d obviously felt for any sort of deception, but if the wrinkle face believed what he was saying, there’d be nothing Leon could do about it.

A pit formed in the center of his gut. If he was wrong and the Weequay lied he could be sending them off in a very wild goose chase. That’s when he remembered Maura’s power. Psycho-something. Psychosis? Bah, it didn't matter. She might be able to glean something from this credit chit. His frown deepened, and his hand drifted up to the “X” shaped scar on his face. His fingers ran over the puckered skin as he swallowed his fear. The Force would be their guide.

Leon bobbed his head in greeting at Maura, “You drum anything up?”

He was glad Maura was along. Even if she hadn’t found something, there was a good chance her skills would still come in handy, even if it was to confirm what he’d learned. His attention was stolen by Vida’s return. It blew his mind how hot everyone in the Jedi was. Like he was cute, but it seemed like everyone was model level attractive, Vida definitely included. He let the intrusive thought slip as she asked about their findings.

“I ran into a Weequay that claims Lia was taken by Peef Zaa Fenn,” he let his words air out before he continued, “Supposedly, he’s in Mos Espa on Tatooine,” he turned his attention to Maura, flicked the chit to her, “Catch.”

“The dude said this was from the sale. It might be able to confirm his story, you feel anything from it?”

@GABA @lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"Not really," Maura frowned. "Except that maybe the bidding was really high?" She couldn't be sure if they'd been joking about a million credits or not. It seemed really, really excessive. You could buy a whole fleet with that money!

Leon wasn't the only one distracted by Vida's return. She heard Vida's footsteps before she saw her, so she swiveled her head to the side to look to see if it was indeed their fellow padawan. She watched Vida approach, practically gawking just like Leon beside her. The sun was glistening off the sweat on her skin, giving the dark-haired teen a glowy look in addition to her flushed-red face. "She has really pretty eyes." Green was a good color. "Isn't that Leon's favorite color, too?"

"Preef? As in Preef Callo?" Maura immediately snapped back to attention, practically spitting out her surprise. Her jaw dropped, and it stayed that way until a little object came flying toward her from Leon's hand. She reached out to snatch it from the air on instinct and realized a second too late the dim hum of the Force around it.

The second her fingers curled around it, it was like she stepped through a wall of water. She looked up, no longer standing by Vida and Leon, but in the midst of an open room filled with all sorts of faceless faces and bodies. Black eyes circled around the room, noting various details from the armed guards hanging back against the walls to the clearance before a Hutt perched upon her throne. She blinked as figures around her moved about, distracted by a Zygerrian dancing suggestively to the side and the echoes of bidders shouting out their bids.

She blinked again, and a Rodian figure -- "Preef?" -- placed a gun in his hand and took command of the room. He'd stepped in front of someone in chains... "Lia!" It was her! She'd been h-

"You, receeding hairline, empty your pockets."

A deep, grave voice rang out in Maura's ear, and she turned around to watch as a huge Orcolan woman towered over her. Maura heard words come from a mouth though her lips remained shut, and suddenly there was a heavy shot to her gut. As the room around her slowly melted back to the dusty desert and sign-covered column she had been just a few minutes ago, the distinct sound of heavy credits clanking onto a table caught her attention. She watched as a bloody credit fell from her outstretched hand, and both Vida and Leon would watch the blonde padawan unfreeze.

"Shit!" Maura immediately slapped her hand to her forehead as if the impact would shake the last bits of the Force memory away from her eyes. "Sorry, I can't really... control it much yet." She'd only been still, frozen and wide-eyed for maybe thirty seconds, but for her, it'd been about five. "But I saw both Preef and Lia! Preef - he like, took over the auction for some reason. Maybe he ended up taking Lia too, like the Weequay said."

tags: @Zay @GABA

 

[Vida Harp]

The padawan shook her head in shock and disbelief as to what she had heard, "You said, thePreef Zaa Fenn?!" she spoke, breathless, more so to the fact that for one, Preef was a celebrity of the crime worlds she is familiar with, and two, they were going to have to encounter Preef.

"He'll shoot us all dead before we even touch Tatooine..." she rubbed her forehead with her palm before sliding her fingers through her hair and out of her face. Shifting from one foot to another, she certainly felt nervous about this now. Her eyes jumped to Maura when Leon tossed the coin to her, uncertain what Leon meant by reading it. However, she remained quiet as she watched carefully as Maura did her reading. She could feel the Force move around them and through the senior padawan who seemed to be frozen in time. Her head tilted slightly before glancing at Leon, and was startled when the girl yelled out in surprise, then apologizing for not being able to control it well.

Unfortunately, she confirmed the Preef story too. As much as she didn't want this to be, a feeling told her to go with it.

"Alright, then lets go to Tatooine." Vida confirmed, glancing around, "We need to be careful in case his network relays that some of us kids have been poking around here." she said in a slightly hushed tone as she entered the ship to prepare for take off.

@lizziie @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

As soon as the credit chit hit Maura’s she froze. Leon frowned at first confused by the sudden change then he felt the force around her shutter. Hope and anxiety fought for prominence in his mind as he waited for Maura’s reading.

Suddenly, she snapped out of it. Leon flinched at her sudden reanimation, but as she spoke his mischievous little smirk found it’s way onto his lips. “I made the guy tell me the whole story while I recorded him on my NalPhone. On the way to Tat, we should listen to it. Might help us find a good starting place once we’re there.”

Vida reminded them all to be discreet and he agreed. From this point forward things were going to get very dangerous.

Jakku to Tattooine was a decent jump and they’d been in hyperspace for a bit and still had a while to go. Leon stretched and stood up from his cot. He came out of his room and stepped into the common area of the ship. He took a seat in the booth and pulled out his force puzzle running through various combinations with ease to kill the time.

@GABA @lizziie

 

[Vida Harp]

As soon as they were in hyperspace, Vida retreated to the refresher to wash up, feeling gross after being on a planet that was so unbelievably hot and unfortunately, they were heading to a world that was just as miserable. She didn't understand why this couldn't be on more tolerable worlds, and questioned why criminals couldn't chose a more relaxing world to set up their criminal shenanigans. Maybe they would be less shoot-y. Tired of pouting to herself, Vida threw on some trousers cutting off below the knee and a green tunic then joined Leon in the commons.

She tossed her damp hair over her shoulders, as she sat across from him while he worked on his puzzle. At least he wasn't reading a book, she always found it hard to relate to those with their nose stuck in books. "I really hope this doesn't turn into a wild nerf chase." she said with a big sigh, clearly worried about this search turning into a tour of the shadiest parts of the galaxy.

@lizziie @Zay

 

[Maura Starwalk]

They all got back to the ship and Maura immediately went to take a shower. She came out ten minutes later with damp hair and flushed skin from the heat of the water, dressed much more comfortably in sweats and a t-shirt. She joined the others at the table and pulled her datapad out to occupy herself.

"Yeah, me too." The last thing she wanted was to go through all of this and still not be able to rescue Lia. It would make their search all that much more complicated. She was worried about her friend, especially knowing she'd been through the Hutts and was now with one of the Galaxy's most notorious criminals.

"But I think we got a good lead," she added, trying to stay positive. They would have a while to prepare, anyways. Hyperlanes weren't traveled in a day.

tags: @Zay @GABA

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

The puzzle dropped from the air and into Leon’s hands as Vida and Maura emerged freshly showered. He frowned, did he need to take a shower? Was… was that something everyone did on missions? Before he could spiral out on that thought line, Vida spoke up. Leon had no doubt they were on the right trail. Maura’s Psychoocoocachu thing had backed up the drunkard's story.

“Yeah, I’m confident we’re heading in the right direction. Do either of you know Liana?”

He pulled out his NalPhone and pulled up the video of The Weequay, “If you guys wanna watch feel free.”

Leon placed his phone on the table and then leaned back clasping his hands behind his head and stretching out.

“You guys nervous about meeting Peef?” he wasn’t trying to stress anyone out, but he wanted to know where everyone was at. This mission wasn’t some humanitarian effort there was real danger here.

@GABA @lizziie

 

[Vida Harp]

Maura joined them shortly after Vida had taken a seat and the girl shook her head when Leon asked if they knew Liana. "Honestly, I don't know very many people yet." she said, which was the truth. It had been a couple short months since she had arrived at the Jedi temple. She quickly wondered if it was weird that she was helping another padawan like this, she questioned if there was a chain-of-command, but there was annoyance to that path as to what was taking so long for anyone to do something. Vida watched as he put down his comm so they could listen to the whole story from the weequay.

Quietly, she processed the story, glad she didn't have to do any reading. Leon asked if they were nervous about meeting Preef and Vida frowned. "I would prefer if we didn't meet him, but I feel that would be wishful thinking." she said, clearly uneasy about the direction of this mission. She didn't want to entertain the idea of dying, but the danger was there and she had a feeling Leon knew this also. She hoped though if something did happen to her, they were still able to get their missing padawan back to the Order.

"Well, if Preef doesn't kill us all, I'm certain the Masters will do that for him." she smirked, trying to find some humor.

@Zay @lizziie

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon smiled knowingly at Vida’s admission, “Well, it’s a good thing you asked me and Maura along,” he said his smile widening, “We’re basically the coolest Pad’s in the Wan, if you know what I’m sayin,” no one ever knew what he was saying and honestly, that as a crime. He could charge admission for the shit he thinks on the reg.

“Nah, I’m right there with you, I don’t wanna meet Peef, I’m fine with him being a character in a comic book,” he said with a chuckle. He levitated the puzzle, beginning to twist and turn it while they spoke.

Vida mentioned the Master’s killing them and Leon laughed, “Oh we’re gonna get some bs research job when we get back as punishment for sure, but if we actually pull this off, what are they gonna do, yell at us for being awesome?”

He could feel the tension in the room and hoped keeping it light would help keep everyone’s spirits up, but underneath, Leon was scared. The other side of their narrative was death, and not just for them, but possibly the girl they were trying to save.

@GABA @lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"Yeah, you know us now," Maura chimed in, ignoring her datapad for a moment while she swept her damp hair back with her free hand. "And geez, even if they do try to kill us, I'd say it'd be worth it," she added on to the comment about their masters. She was pretty sure Alex would understand. After all, a padawan saved had to be something worth breaking or bending the rules for.

"I just hope Lia's okay..." She was sure she wasn't going to be beat up or anything, right? What good would that do? The worry that bothered the other two bothered her just as much though. "Hopefully we can just get in and get out."

That would be the easiest. The quicker the better, cause it meant less chance of Preefy boy jumpscaring them.

tags: @GABA @Zay

 

[Vida Harp]

Tatooine

Knowing at least everyone was in the same mindset about this mission going in several directions, there was some relief that came to Vida knowing they were possibly on the right path. Something just felt right when she stepped off their ship, readying themselves in the late nightlife of the galaxy's most terrible.

Even at night, Tatooine was warm enough to make her skin blister.

"Alright, lets not split up this time, I got a feeling this place is not as quiet as Jakku." she said in a hushed tone, "It seems like the local drinking holes seem to be our place to get information." the girl checked her chrono, "And everyone would be liquored up by this hour." she said looking around, and almost on cue a pair of smugglers came stumbling out of a cantina.

"Really liquored up." she said glancing to Maura and Leon before tilting her head slightly to the closest bar. If they agreed, she would head inside with them.

@Zay @lizziie

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

The ship dropped from hyperspace and Leon swallowed hard. Tatooine hung there in ominous splendor. His verdant eyes roamed the surface knowing the padawan was there, and having no idea if they could actually pull this off. He wondered what people would say if he didn’t come back. It was funny, but he’d thought the same when he’d left Adumar. He sighed, he’d miss the squad, but they’d be fine without him. He was the screw up anyway…

Leon stood from the table, “Gonna gear up,” he said leaving the girls at the table. The landing was smooth. They stepped out of the ship. Vida recommended staying together, and Leon stopped, and turned to her. “Listen, we’re gonna need someone to let the Order know if we don’t come back. I think it would be best if you stayed here.”

She’d organized this whole thing. If anyone deserved to see it through it was her, but she was the least experienced of the three and with their adversary being Peef Zaa Fenn… There was a pretty good chance that Leon and Maura weren’t coming back from this, and if the worst came to fruition all of their lives would depend on Vida.

The Padawan duo walked down a seedy street. “Stay ready, it’s—” blaster fire erupted from a building straight ahead. Daybreak sprung into his hand and ignited, the pale yellow blade swatted away three bolts but the fourth and fifth got through. He felt a lance of cold heat slip up his shoulder, and another bite into his left side. Luckily, he’d live, unluckily the attack had been so sudden that he didn’t have time to move. Daybreak at the ready, Leon prepared for the next attack.

3/20
@lizziie @Eccles @LadyRen

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura agreed with Leon. Worst-case scenario, they were jumping into a pool they couldn't swim their way out of. There was the very real chance that they could get shot between the eyes by the galaxy's most notorious Rodian. If that were to happen, no one would know what happened to the three of them. If at least one of them survived, at least there would be an answer.

"Don't worry," she chimed in after Leon. "I'll keep this one safe." She grinned, glanced sideways to see if he had any sort of reaction to her teasing, then prepared herself to go.

The two of them started down toward their destination when gunfire erupted. Just as quickly as it descended upon them, Maura ducked behind Leon and his ignited saber. She felt one of them zap by her hair, singeing a part of her hair. They were being attacked? Already?

Okay, maybe it was a stupid thing to do, but there was no way they could fight their way through this.

"WAIT!" The padawan's voice sprang into the air, cutting through the fire and reaching their opponents on the opposite side. "WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR A FIGHT! WE JUST WANNA TALK! SWEAR!"

"This is our best bet, I think," she hissed to Leon just loud enough for him to hear. "There's no way we can fight our way through this if he's here."

Hopefully Mr. Zaa Fenn would be willing to talk.

roll: 13/20
tag: @LadyRen @Eccle @Zay