Noss sits up abruptly as Cardis snaps on the cloaking shield, "Ah, well done again , Card. That was a tricky situation, glad you're at the helm!"
"Security's already on alert." Praxis observes, watching the screens for a few seconds before settling back down. "If they're not looking for us, then we have an advantage and can slip in while they're distracted by someone else."
He sighs. "So... would you like me to dart the Hutt, or do you already have someone in place?"
Cardis activates the cloaking device of the Scimitar and begins to bring the deadly Sith group towards the surface of the planet.
It seems whatever diverted the attention the CSI has aided your endeavors of perhaps the Dark Side is with you for you reach the atmosphere of the planet undetected.
The wide table land of Endregaard spreads out before you in a panorama of reds and browns. Cathedral like spires jut thousands of meters into the air, and dark strings of dried-up riverbeds thread among the buttes, undercutting them in massive, shallow caverns. The land is dotted with dark green vegetation adapted to barren terrain. High cumulus clouds bunch together like banthas along the horizon. No cities or settlements are visible, at least on the horizon.
Noss taps his console and a scan of the nearby area pops up into the air. Pointing, he indicates a Trading Outpost, "If we land here, there's less chance of us being detected and the ship attracting the wrong kind of attention. We won't have the same resources for finding the Hutt, but we might need to get off planet in a hurry, so the ship's safety is paramount."
Cardis considered Noss's words. While his preference was for a city he could buy some drinks in and maybe grease a few palms to get information, the ship's safety must remain a priority. Besides, he lacked contacts on this world, which definitely lessened their chances of getting reliable protection for the ship - especially on a world people were desperate to escape.
"Agreed. Locating Mika will be more difficult, but we are up to the challenge. Besides if we can narrow down to a general area, we have ways of locating him."
"To answer your question, Praxis, you will be taking him out. Quietly, and unseen."
"If we need to get somewhere else quick, there's always the Bloodfin," Taras comments, having recently come up from the cargo hold. "I just finished checking her over. She's in full working order."
"Unseen is what I do." Praxis replies, showing sharp teeth again. "He won't even know what hit him."
"Good, we're in agreement then." Noss says, looking over at Cardis, "The sooner we get down there..."
Cardis sets the Scimitar down in the wilds near the outpost that appears closest to the capital Tel Bollin.
You disembark to get your bearings and a sense of this new planet.
Based on your flyover, it seems the correct way to proceed is south as that is where the Outpost is situated.
Praxis climbs out, slinging his gear over his shoulder. He looks around, but not necessarily down at the ground.
After setting the ship down, Kalus prepares some equipment. He preps the darts for the dart gun, primarily with the disease, but he coats one dart with some of the Sith poison from their stock. He then hands the dart gun and darts over to Praxis, noting the one with Sith poison and saying, "We only use this dart if we encounter Jedi. It has a little something that makes for quite the surprise."
Grabbing the camouflage netting, he steps out of the ship and says, "Let's make sure we hide the ship from passing eyes."
Praxis assists Cardis in camouflaging the ship.
The air here seems fine though it is a bit warm and dry planet side. After a brisk walk you find yourselves at the edge of the Outpost which consists of 10 buildings. You see nor hear anything but the wind.
You see a man's corpse seated in a window gazing across the Outpost. His lifeless body is desiccated likely due to the plague.
Looking into the buildings you see little of value left. It seems this place was evacuated and has been for an indeterminate amount of time.
A garage has been forced. As you inspect the area it is obvious that someone was here and here recently unlike the rest of this outpost. Judging by the parts strewn about and the grease stains on the floor there may well have been a transport here.
At the center of town is a holonet console from which you can find a map to nearby Tel Bollin. About a day's journey by local transport or three days on foot.
Looking about the village, Cardis says, "I suspect the plague has claimed everyone here." Gesturing to the man propped against a fence post, he says, "The plague has claimed everyone - or they've fled, one of the two."
Praxis peers about, before pointing to a garage door. "There. Someone's been here recently. Took a transport, maybe."
Noss nods at Cardis' observation as he looks about the settlement, noting the recentness of the theft of the transport, "Yeah, definitely a transort...hmm, what's this? Still has power...."
He's found an operational holoterminal. Pushing a few button reveals the only salient data still avilable is a map to the city, Tel Bollin.
"Well, looks like were going to the big city after all." he quips.
"The question is, who took the transport? A native, or another outsider?"
Thinking for a moment, Cardis says, "I don't think we're the only ones who've run that blockade recently. There was a disabled fighter in the asteroid field, along with other fighters and a dreadnaught actively looking for someone or something. Now, we find ourselves at a trading post with a recently stolen transport. We did not find Poppara, but what if another group did? They may not be here to kill the Hutt, but rescue him." Fixing the others with a stare, Cardis asks, "Can you tell which way the speeder went?"
You're welcome!
Cardis will assist Praxis in tracking the speeder.
Noss stalks about the edge of the town, occasionaly kneeling , running his hand through dirt and dried vegetation.
Finally, he stops, frowning, looking in the direction they came from, "A transport recently passed by here, running in the direction we came from, away from the city. "
A brisk 30 minute walk brings you to a spot in the forest where a ship is hidden! The effort was made to hide the ship from above and not from the ground. The ship is locked tight, if it as abandoned ship it is an odd place for one considering how almost everything was taken from the nearby outpost. It is a better than fair condition colossal space transport. Clearly modified to carry extra firepower.
Circling the ship, Cardis examines it for any external markings before turning to the others and asking, "Can any of you break into this ship? Depending on who owns the ship, we may want to ensure it does not leave the planet."
Noss nods towards Taras, "Tar's got the knack for the mechanical."
He then closely inspects the ground, trying to determine if the transport from the town came here, how many came off of the ship , and which direction the transport left. As he does so, he gathers the Force to him , using it to heighten his perceptions...
Praxis will hang back from the rest of the group, watching them with a predatory interest.
If I were looking to stalk them, where would I... he thinks, checking the notable hiding spots for potential ambushers.
Taras attempts to open the door...
At first the door simply will not open after nearly 30 minutes he finally gets the gangplank to lower manually.
"Whoever rigged this did NOT want anyone to get in. I almost could not open the damn thing myself. Shall we see what is inside?" He begins to head into the ship his lightsaber in hand.
Praxis surveys the perimeter it seems that there is no one waiting in ambush for the group. The forest, somewhat dense, is just not dense enough in this location to make a good ambush zone.
Noss is able to determine that indeed the transport from the outpost did come here. IN fact it seems as if something was loaded onto the transport based on depressions made on the forest floor near what he assumes to be a loading bay. It is hard to judge how many footprints are here due to all of the movement but at least one set is humanoid in size but leaves deep depressions in the grass, his guess, a Droid, perhaps a protocol droid or a very dense human.
Blaster drawn, Cardis follows Taras onto the ship. Once aboard, he cautiously goes from room to room, looking for evidence of who might own this ship.
Noss finishes his inspection of the area, then walking by where Praxis was 'hidden', "Let us know if we get any company."
He stalks up the gangway, making for the nav computer in the cockpick. He accesses the system, trying to determing where the ship, came from, where it's going, etc.
Since Noss seemed to expect him to keep watch, Praxis remains hidden, keeping an eye out for anyone coming up while they're inside.
Taras moves in alongside Noss and Cardis, creeping along on the balls of his feet. He peers this way and that, keeping eyes and ears open for any signs of other people about. He also probes out with the Force, the possibility of other sensitives being the area always on his mind. It would be a shame to miss a Jedi or untrained Force-user due to laziness, and it might pinpoint any threats.
An examination of the ship shows none of the crew is still on board. A crew of four must man the ship while six other passengers could fly on the ship as well.
The ship's designation is the Shadowfire. The ship is owned by one Popara the Hutt! It holds spice, enough spice to ease the suffering of this planet for potentially many months.
If the spice is still here it will no doubt be in the cargo bay though judging by the evidence found outside, whoever landed here unloaded that spice onto the transport whose tracks you followed to find this ship.
The navicomputer was set to plot a course from Honoghr through the Indrexu Spiral. A course different from the one that Zonnos gave to you. Clearly the Hutts have well and truly mastered the byways through this dangerous portion of the galaxy.
The computer also shows that the shuttle received clearance from the CSA to land and that one of the CSAs Lieutenant's joined the crew for the trip to the surface.
There is no indication of who though is piloting this ship as no personal effects have been left on board.
Taras moves through the ship with the others, but finding little evidence and no life, he stands near the entrance, brooding. "The navicomputer has a course plotted through the spiral, no? I suppose it would be too easy to simply return that information to our masters." He turns to Cardis and Noss. "Where do you think we should go from here?"
"Just one course or the entirety of route mapped through the Indexu Spiral? If everything we need is here, I see no reason not to copy it and take it to our masters. We would only have to kill the Hutt to prevent others from acquiring the hyperspace routes."
Noss nods, "If this is Popara's ship, then those flying it are either in league with him or they stole it. Either way , they're adversaries. I say, let's download the nav data, sabotage or destroy the ship and get back to the Bloodfin and find our target. "
"Just the one route." Taras frowns. "Looks like we'll need to find that Hutt after all." Taras downloads the course to his datapad and then makes his way outside with the others. Waving Praxis over, he breathes deeply and looks around. "I trust everyone's judgment here, but I think we need to cover more ground. We're a step behind someone else, and we won't catch up by following them on one course. I can take the Bloodfin to the city and see if I can't shake up any leads, or maybe you can, Cardis. You've certainly got a way with words. The rest of us should take to the sky, see if we can't find the wreckage. But only going one way or the other would take too long and leave us playing catch-up for longer." He stretches his arm and ejects the lightsaber into his hand, then slides it back up into its hidden sheath. "Those are my thoughts, anyway."
Cardis carefully considers Taras's idea, then says, "I dislike that option as well, but it appears the best course of action. I will take the Bloodfin to the capital to find out more information there. I'm certain CSA officers are amenable to a bribe or two. The rest of you take the ship and search for the wreckage of the Hutt's ship. Once either group has actionable intelligence, contact the other. I would suggest we not make a move on the target until reunited, unless there is no alternative."
Looking about, Cardis says, "As for sabotaging this ship..." A sudden grin comes across his face. Handing Taras a thermal detonator, he says, "Toss that in the ship's reactor - or, even better, wire into the ignition system. Without the reactor, this ship won't go anywhere, and I suspect they'll have a devil of a time replacing it."
Praxis will change positions several times while waiting. After a while, he gets a little bored and starts playing a little game guessing who comes out of the ship first. He begins to meditate unintentionally, visualizing the next target.
Taras gives his own small smirk in response to Cardis's idea. "Sounds like a plan." With that he moves back into the ship long enough to rig the detonator to go off shortly after they leave.
Noss nods, "Yes, that would do nicely." he says in agreement with Cardis' proposal.
He makes his way down to the cargo area, just to make sure nothing was missed.
As Taras feels the touch of the Force reaching out, someone searching for sensitives, he reflexively dulls his own connection, concealing himself from prying eyes.
Outside, Praxis may be surprised to find only one other sensitive in the area. About then, Taras steps into the doorway, notices the togruta meditating, and gives him a stern look. "Warn me if you're going to do that," he says, before disappearing back inside the ship to set the bomb.
Praxis will tilt his head as Taras comes into view, then straightens it as he leaves.
"Hmm..." Praxis murmurs. "Seems I might be able to learn a thing or two from them." The Togruta resumes his monitoring, being mindful of the Hutt he's supposed to kill.