Ask Where Did She Go?

[Liana Mason]

With Hera as a new addition to the Council, it seemed like an upswing had hit the Order as the Jedi stepped back into the galactic spotlight, which actually made Lia's heart happy. Still, today's mission was not so much spotlight-y actually.

Not that Lia minded that - she didn't need glory or even attention at all as all she wanted was to help some folks here, but it seemed like their mission was particularly lowkey. The authorities simply didn't seem to be too worried about the missing woman which Lia totally couldn't understand, but so it was more than good that the Jedi were here.

It obviously wasn't her, the padawan, alone, but Lia was about to meet with Knight Axil - a knight she might have seen once or twice, but no one she had actually worked with so far. Still, she was happy to meet him and accompany the experienced yet young knight on the quest and was hoping they'd discover traces about the woman quickly as they hadn't actually gotten many details yet.

Just like instructed, she waited the spaceport to be picked up by him, but as soon as she'd spot the vaguely familiar face, she'd greet him with a quick wave before she started approaching him. "Knight Axil, I'm your assigned padawan Liana Mason". She kept the introduction rather short, but added a soft smile as she offered her hand.

@Sreeya

 

[Tazlen Axil]

Tazlen’s work often took him all across the galaxy. He unwittingly got pulled into far more diplomatic work since bringing over the Ailon military to the ally with the Jedi. He had since then been deployed to Gannaria and other planets to lead diplomatic efforts. A lot of it was exhausting and he was looking forward to taking some down time. The moment he returned to a temple, he was suddenly assigned a padawan.

He was going to attempt to hold off on taking a padawan, but he read her file. The girl had been through a terrible time already, and he wasn’t going to add to that by implying he wasn’t ready for a padawan. In truth, he doubted anyone was ever truly ready.

He flashed her a grin, “Master Axil when you’re the padawan,” He said as he shook her hand, “It’s always a little confusing, isn’t it?” He wasn’t usually a fan of titles. Part of being a Jedi was seeking to help those that others ignored. Today’s case was an example of that - a missing woman, a family left behind and no one searching for her.

“Evidently this is the third missing case in a month,” Tazlen said, glancing up at Liana, “We can go to the local Rangers station and ask for the files they have so far, or we can start talking to the locals in the neighborhood. Which would you suggest?” Neither was the right or wrong answer, but he wanted to empower her to make decisions.

@LadyRen

 

[Liana Mason]

Liana really didn't have to wait long for Taz to appear and the kind smile on her lips was genuinely before it immediately switched to apologetic. "Oh...oh I'm so sorry, right". How could she have forgotten? Now that was a little embarrassing, but he didn't seem to be frustrated about it, which was definitely a good sign. "Master, it's a pleasure to meet you". She was still grateful for the chance to spend her last section of training with someone who had made himself such a name and while she hadn't meant any disrespect, she wasn't too happy with herself for not having kept that important detail in mind. She had a new master now and as time was potentially running against them, he was right about not wasting any time.

"I'm not sure whether we'll find much in those files", she mused, throwing him a contemplative look before glancing around. The third case...The streets didn't look too shady, but it was also not the nicest place to be. "It's a pity the authorities don't seem to pay much attention. I mean yes, obviously they are busy, but how can they not try to assign at least someone to the case?". Had they just done the bare minimun and collected the names? Why did no one care? The family was worried sick. She let out a soft sight before she focused on the question at hand, thus adding, "it's good that we're here now. I'd suggest we ask around as the locals might have either seen or heard something". They couldn't tell for sure whether they'd all comply and be in the mood for a quick chat with them, but they could try at least.

If he hadn't had anything against it, she'd start walking towards the nearest alley that was apparently just a few streets away from where the most recent case had been last spotted after leaving a bar at night. "Women...they're all female. Do you think that's pure coincidence?", she asked, her tone rather serious and her voice lowered as she glanced up to him again. She was curious about his thoughts are three didn't necessarily mean the culprit had a specific pattern, but it was definitely a little suspicious.

@Sreeya

 

[Tazlen Axil]

Tazlen nodded in agreement, “It’s more common than you think,” He admitted. He had seen countless instances where local authorities turned a blind eye to crime as long as it benefited them, “I have a feeling anyone assigned just didn’t turn up any clues so they closed the case or said it’s all unrelated,” He walked with Lia towards the poor neighborhood. Taz was pleased that she caught onto the patterns.

“Definitely not a coincidence,” Tazlen explained, “Do you spot any other patterns? What they did for work, physical appearance, anything else that ties them together?” They came across a Rodian standing around smoking a cigarra. Tazlen approached him and gave a friendly wave.

“Hello sir, we’re wondering if you’ve seen anything strange around this neighborhood,” He explained, “Word is that a woman went missing.”

The Rodian stared blankly at the two of them, looked away and let out a squeaky fart. That was his response.

Dice roll: 2/20....

@LadyRen

 

[Liana Mason]

Liana's spirits lightened up as she found the prospect of asking the civilians around rather promising for now. She was still frustrated with the local authorities, yet she knew well that there was nothing that would change the situation and prompt any quick improvements anyway.

She trailed alongside Taz, her dark blue eyes flicking up and over every now and then while simultaneously scanning the crowd for possible targets for their intended interrogation. "I believe you...it's still a shame that a life is apparently not worth more though". Of course they could put more efforts in it and try to dig deeper, but Liana had already learnt how priorities were often shifting and regardless of how frustrating it was for them, it was even more horrible for the families, but all they could do now was to take the matters into their own hands.

"If I picked up the right information, they were all...sex workers, weren't they? I'd say objectively attractive, all dark haired. An Induparian, an Atoan and a woman of Alderaanian descent", she cited, recalling the pieces of information she had seen while her brows were slightly furrowed. Whoever was behind this didn't just have a type, but it seemed like he or she followed some perverted fantasies of their own. She was hoping that wherever they were...kept they were still alive, but it seemed like the numbers of cases were now growing faster.

They approached the Rodian and obviously Lia was reminded of her time spent in captivity with another fairly famous Rodian. She kept her mouth shut and let Taz do the talking, but their first target didn't seem particularly helpful. Her eyes already flicked to another man that was just walking by as the air was suddenly filled with a weird sound followed by an oddly pleasant smell.

Was it nostalgia suddenly finding its way back to her? Was there something else in the air or had she grown oddly used to Rodians' usual evaporation? While she mananged to stiffle a slight snickering at their non-compliant subject, she couldn't deny that the smell wasn't bad at all...an odd realization, but before they moved on, she subtly took another sniff as if the scent would tell her something about the missing women.

"Have a nice day, Sir", she politely said to the Rodian before moving out of ear shot, turning towards Taz with a "Well...I won't give up just yet, but maybe we should move towards the police station". She then started glancing around again before her attention was caught by a human man that was paying them peculiar interest.

She cleared her throat and confidently walked up to him, her smile friendly and warm as she politely asked, "Excuse me, Sir, are you often around in those parts of the city and have you potentially picked up some rumors about a few missing people?". Instead of answering, the man stepped out from behind the pole and instead of replying, he literally just suddenly stared at her in a very unsettling way. "I...take that as a no. Sorry to disturb you!". She immediately turned and hurried back to Taz, glancing over her shoulder another time just to realise that he was still staring before suggesting, "maybe we should head towards the station...".

@Sreeya