Rennah grins at Errin as she gets closer.
"You know what they say: Don't succumb to the Dark Side. Well, once in a while, you have to let out a bit of air. Besides they could have caused trouble and they won't be doing so now."
Rennah looks expectantly at the city offical that Garrett and Gunnar started questioning.
Endregaard - Night 2 - Tel Bollin
The city official looks exhausted. He sighs, "I'll search the planet high and low after what you just did for me. I' ask who you are but frankly I don't care. Come on, follow me, I'll bring you to the administrative building as I don't really know much of what you asked me".
He brings you though the streets away from the carnage the group left behind. It takes time for you all to circumvent the city as the swoop gang eventually regroups and begins to look for the attackers that spoiled their fun in significant numbers.
Finally you arrive at a building with a broken City Hall of Tel Bollin sign fallen from above the door partially blocking the entrance. The doors are chained closed. The man finally pauses and takes a breath on a bench next to the stairs leading up, "I am Lan Torel and this building should have the information you seek, if anyone recorded it".
"Well, what we're looking for is a transport ship called the Ascendant. It supposedly is large enough to accommodate a Hutt going up and down the ramp, so it should have been noted. Our information tells us that it crashlanded, but we can't be sure that the information is 100% correct. Is there some sort of log that on the comings and goings from space, and/or of any rescue parties being sent out?"
Endregaard - Night 2 - Tel Bollin
Lan shrugs, "I was security for the building. I can show you where you need to go but I don't have any answers for you. If the ship crashed was it before or after the plague swept in? If it was after I can assure you no rescue missions were sent, this city is barely surviving, hell it's not even surviving..." He looks out over the wreckage of the surrounding streets as he replies.
"The ship crashed after the quarantine was enacted, if our information is accurate," Errin says, staying close to the man and gently urging him on. "Hope your people didn't immediately stop logging that sort of thing, or at least captured it on a camera somewhere. If it exists, I'd say our friend here can find it on your servers."
She nods at Garrett. "Hope you can get this done fast. A government building isn't a place I'd like to spend a lot of time in a city gone to chaos."
"It shouldn't take me too long, don't worry. Besides, I doubt many people will be around to cause problems." Once the building is opened, Garrett shrugs when lan mentions the city. "There's medicine for the plague on-world now, if that makes you feel any better. If I had the time, I'd offer my services to take care of your swoop gang problem too... but I don't. Tough luck for you folks, but I'm sure the CSA will sort them out eventually; they'll charge more than me and do a worse job, but it'll get done." When he finally reaches the computer systems, Garrett eases himself down into an available chair and boots up the system. "Alright, at worst this'll probably take me an hour? I know it's not ideal, but neither is trying to track down a crashed Hutt ship on a plague-ridden planet."
Endregaard - Night 2 - Tel Bollin - City Hall
Rennah's lightsaber easily cuts away the chain holding the doors locked. The group passes through to the third floor where Lan claims the computer systems are located. Though the floors are littered with paperwork of all things the building is not too turned upside down. Perhaps the locked doors kept the hooligans away or perhaps once the city administration fell there was nothing left here that anyone valued.
As Garrett sits down at the console a nearby door opens and a women steps through with a blaster rifle, "Freeze or I'll..." She drops the rifle and cries out "Lan!" She runs towards him.
He opens his arms and embraces her, "Awww sis I am so glad you're safe! I wanted to come back and look for you but it's been..."
Her eyes well up, "I know. I know".
It seems her level of interest in security of the building has greatly diminished. The woman does not appear to be a warrior though, more of a clerk.
They step off to the side of the room as Garrett begins to search the database.
After some time he is rewarded. Not soon after the plague broke out there is indeed a log of a ship that went down somewhere northeast of Tel Bollin. No one was dispatched but the system does indicate that the ship activated a homing beacon. After so many weeks active the question is, will that beacon still be active?
"A ship crashed northeast of Tel Bollin, not long after the plague. No one was sent after it, but the system says there's a homing beacon that was activated. I don't know if it still is, but we can find the frequency and see if its still active." He pushes himself back from the computers, folding his arms. "Even if it isn't, we've got a direction to head in. That's better than nothing. I didn't see anything about the mines, but I can take another look." When Gunnar asks about the CSA, Garrett shakes his head. "No, I don't have access to their servers from here. I can try to hack in and open a connection, but I need to know what kind of system the CSA has on-world for me to have a chance of that. You were in their base here, can you tell me anything about what they've got access to?"
Kaldo stands to the side, and simply looks back the way they came in, making sure no one is following them.
Endregaard - Night 2 - Tel Bollin - City Hall
With the exception of Lan's sister who was already inside the building Kaldo is reasonable certain that no one followed the group here.
Lan clears his throat, "Sorry. This is Lyssa my sister. The last few weeks have been stressful and we never thought we would see each other again. Lyssa these are good people, they helped me, can we help them?"
Lyssa shakes her head, "Not with that I cannot. The CSA had contracts here but we never interfaced with their systems. Their presence here and now is solely to protect their investments here and within the Tion Cluster. They did not want the plague to spread to other planets or worse yet other systems that are Hutt or Sith controlled. They don't want any reason to come into conflict with those factions.
It was their lack of support that caused the local government to collapse. It was convenient for this to happen when it did. I bet they found something outside of the city that they wanted that no one else knows about. Strange things are rumored to take place out in the desert".
As far as mining operations there are a lot, which ones are you looking for?"[/b]
"So this new mine is north of the city and the Hutt's ship crashed to the northeast, huh? How close are the two sites?
Endregaard - Night 2 - Tel Bollin - City Hall
Garrett checks the computer to answer Errin's question. It seems they are at least a two day trip from one another, even by airspeeder so even longer on the ground.
"Anyone who believes the plague to be a coincidence, stand on your head..."
Rennah looks around with some disdain.
"Even for them that's going a bit far.... Wait a minute. How long after the plague did the injections start? I really hope they're not what I think they might be. If they're carrying the infection, this could be REALLY bad."
Rennah looks over at Gunnar.
"I'm guessing you weren't here from the beginning of the quarantine, given how you're willing to work with us?"
"They're pretty close to each other, but even that's a two-day trip via airspeeder. I doubt the CSA is infecting people with the plauge--that seems too suspicious to me--but I wouldn't be surprised if the mines are the reason they kept the inoculations for the political elite as long as they did. Once the pressure was on, like when we tried to liberate that spice, they had to get the medicine out or risk organized riots." Shrugging as he rolls his neck, Garrett stands up from the machine and re-adjusts himself. "I don't have a way of scrubbing anything from the CSA databanks from here, but if they're at the mines I'd venture a guess they're connected to the central server out there. I could get rid of anything from there, provided I can get access."
"Thing is," Garrett starts, looking back out the door into the streets of Tel Bollin, "They know we're here now, and they're not real fond of us either. We can expect heightened security, and they're probably not interested in taking prisoners, especially not "defectors"," he finishes, looking at Gunnar. "We'll need to be careful."
|
I agree but the less information about myself and yourselves that are in the CSA files I think the better. Let us get a speeder and head out to the crash site and the mines. I had a deadline to turn you in which I am now failing. I need to search myself and remove any insignia and items for tracking. Gunnar will remove and break and burn all CSA items on him at this time.
"Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer to scrub everything the CSA has on the lot of us, then grab what we came here for right before packing up and collecting our payment." Garrett shrugs, jerking a thumb back toward the computers. "Still, I'd be about as much use banging my head into the wall as I would trying to connect to their servers from here. We'll have to find somewhere else; I'd say that if you could get us into the compound under the guise of bringing us in as prisoners that could work, but we'll probably have to kill people on the way out and I know that'll offend some sensibilities. So, we'll have to find out what's going on at the mines."
"Let's go get us a speeder then, shall we?"
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Endregaard - Night 2 - Tel Bollin - City Hall
Lan and Lyssa shake hands with all of you, "Good luck in your journey. Remember stay out of the desert!" Lyssa states as her parting words. Lan states, [b]"Behind this building is a garage for official vehicles. Perhaps some of the ones there are still working, if the are not all stolen.
As far as speeders go, the swoop gangs have plenty of bikes but you have seen precious few actual speeders that are functioning. As you step out of the building and around to the back you do indeed find a garage more like a graveyard of vehicles.
"Any of these worth grabbing Kaldo? I know how to fly them, but I don't know much about fixing them. That said, I think we'd be better off grabbing ine of these, than going looking for one. At least we'll be under cover and out of sight while we fix it. Hopefully one of these is strong enough to carry the Hutt and the cargo so our ship."
Rennah moves over to cover as many of the entrancess as she can while remaining in cover, holding her blaster pistol at the ready.
"Better safe than sorry."
While Rennah watches out for any attackers, Garrett gets to work on fixing one of the speeders without comment. He just pulls out his tools and works away until one of them hums to life, before closing it up and taking his own seat. "Come on then, let's get a move on."
Errin grabs a seat on the back of the transport, her rifle laying across her knees.
"Let's get this bucket of bolts moving," Errin tells Kaldo over coms. "If we see any more of those swoop gangers, or the CS, keep your distance ... but don't look like you're trying to keep your distance. You know ... fly casual."
Kaldo nods towards Errin Sure
Rennah jumps in the back as well, gets herself comfortable and opens herself to the Force, trying to get a sense of whether they are heading in the right direction and what the future will bring.
"I suggest we rest in the ship and then use it to head further. I have a bad feeling about resting in the wilds. I'm not entirely sure that the ship is a good idea either, but I get the feeling that the danger is less immediate then. To be honest I would also like to make sure that our escape vehicle hasn't been discovered or tampered with."
"Let's head to the ship, then. If anything does end up giving us trouble while we're on board, it's nothing a turbolaser won't solve quick enough." Garrett smirks, shaking his head. "Of course, the ship's armored enough that I doubt we'll have any problems to begin with." Garrett leans back, stretching in his seat, as he keeps his rifle propped on his legs. "I can keep watch while the rest of you sleep, if you want; not like I need to take a nap." He has a look on his face as if he's trying to remember something for a moment, before turning to Gunnar.
"By the way, don't think I mentioned this; this isn't real," he says, gesturing to his body and then pinching at his skin. "I'm a droid. I figured that might be useful to you, going forward."
"Yeah, I'll sleep better with a few inches of vacuum-rated alloy between me and and this planet," Errin says. "And it will be good to give the ship a once over ... I get nervous when she's out of my sight."
"Yeah, that one I kinda had pegged after we met your friends," he says, eyeing the lightsaber carefully. "Well, I dunno about friends, considering you left them to help us instead, but whoever you were traveling with." He nods at Errin when she talks about the Emissary, chiming in when she's done. "I put a lot of work into that rust bucket, I like to make sure she's still running the way I want her to."
Endregaard - Day 3 - The Emissary
The night passes by uneventfully. The carbon based life forms finally wake, refreshed by the rest.
The limited backstory Gunnar had was that when the Sith Empire purged the Jedi at Ossus, Gunnar was not there, having learned tales of the purge during the last years of the Old Republic, he quickly hid within the CSA where he had a few contacts awaiting the time when the Jedi would become resurgent. The Jedi you met though as they came to the planet seemed to be angrier, less patient than you remember them. Still, they claimed they were here to rescue a Hutt ad that with the success of that mission would have the coordinates to these difficult to negotiate hyperspace lane in the Tion Cluster, from there you suspect they may have sought to rebuild a Jedi Temple in secret, where it would be difficult for the Sith to assault them easily and without warning...
"So, the crash site or the mines - I don't think we ever decided, " Errin says as she checks her gear in the morning. "I'm inclined to check the crash first, but could be persuaded either way."
I'm in favor of the crash site
"I'm on board for the crash site as well. I'd expect the crew to have been trying to keep out of sight, carrying a Hutt, into a quarantine zone."
"I'd say so yes. Though I would suggest that we land it a few clicks short of the crash site, so that we can sneak in, in case of trouble."
With that, Rennah preps her gear and jumps on the landspeeder.
Kaldo grabs his gear, and sits down in the pilot seat.
Endregaard - Day 3 - To the Crash Site
Garrett finds a tracking device to set to the frequency of the crashed ship's homing beacon. After a few moments he gets a single blip indicating the direction where the Imperial agents believe the ship crashed. With nothing else to go on, everyone piles into the speeder.
The transport speeds through the woods under the steady hand of Kaldo.
The sun begins to set but you are not close enough to the ship it seems that you can outrace the setting sun...
"I suggest we press on. I'd prefer getting this out of the way as soon as possible, assuming it's safe to fly. Considering how many warnings we've had about the wilderness at night, I don't want to tempt fate, even if I doubt that there's anything out here that can seriously threaten us."
"Sounds good. Just don't hit anything in the dark, okay Kaldo? "
Endregaard - Day 3 - To the Crash Site