Kyp and Ree research Set Harth, and talk to Ree's holocron. It remembers Harth as a patadwan, too interested in the Sith for his own good. He ran away to follow his interests after his master forbade him to pursue his research. How did he live so long? And where did he stash all the stuff he found? The Sent holocron says he was slippery. A loner. Only gets pals in order to tackle something especially big. He doesn't trust people. So if he sprang Ventress, he's probably after something Dooku knew. The Dark Reaper device? Or the Dark Harvesters, the devices that sucked life from planets to power the Reaper.
Zeltros has information on the two Zeltrons, but nothing especially informative. The male is named Rade; the female is Yara. They're siblings. They're psychos whose Force-enhanced empathy might've driven them over the edge, who ran amok and then escaped the planet before they could be apprehended.
Kyp and Ree try to gather information on each other's likes and hobbies.
Then it's off to the Core in their swanky new ship, tracking Drath to an uncharted, nasty planet. The place is thoroughly corrupted by Dark Side energy. There's one structure, no lifeforms detected. An empty landing pad and a place for a small capital ship that's gone. Looks like Drath might've removed his tracker.
SARR: "I agree with Z."
Kedrihm'Val: "Blow it up?"
Ree: "And thereby possibly blow up the entire Core including you?"
SARR: "Well played, meatbag."
Oola hacks the computer system. There's no active security, and empty building, looks like everything is cleared out. It was Set Harth's place, but the systems have been purged. some fresh blood is in one corridor, smeared on a security interface. Heading down, they find a human dead of lightsaber wounds which is missing its head and a hand (Oola takes a blood sample for later ID) and matching blood on the security panel. The place is grotesquely uncomfortable, even for the non-sensitives.
Kedrihm'Val senses a memory: Set Harth, Drath, and the Zeltrons standing in the hallway. they discuss Ventress and her apprentice prepping the ship, finding a Dark Harvester, and other stuff Harth has. Harth relates his interest in the True Sith, believes they're coming wants to be less cornered when they show. He seems very reverent; Drath is disgusted. Harth describes where he's just gone, mentions a retina and hand scanner. Drath, revolted by Harth's reverence for any being that would dominate him, kills him. Harth does something with the Force just before he dies, leaving an imprint of shock and rage on the vicinity. Kedrihm'Val notes that Drath is more confident now, powerful and angry but more controlled. More Sith.
Oola finds Harth's head. Drath cut it off, and the hand, before tearing out the eyes. Noticing the head, Kedrihm'Val realizes what Harth did: he bound his spirit into his brain, so he's still in there. Startled, he says this out loud, so Oola drops a Force crystal into the bag, which wipes out the Dark Side spirit, and that's the end of Set Harth. Rather ignominious way to go. Kedrihm'Val is rather uneasy about using Force crystals to kill or destroy.
They're able to find an ion trail from the Sith ship and track it. The ion trail leaves the Deep Core and stops, entering hyperspace on coordinates that head toward Iridonia, the home planet of the Zabraks. When Oola also spots a peculiar map in the computer which points to Iridonia, it's pretty obvious that Drath is inviting them to follow him. Uncertain where they might look for a Dark Harvester device, they decide to follow the bread crumbs.
Dalt's new ship has many merits, but it's not fast, so they detour to pick up the Starwind. Dalt thinks that the Dark Reaper is a sort of hate-powered Death Star. He mastered that sort of technology long ago, and finds the Harvesters much more interesting, inventing several unpleasant possible uses for one right off the cuff. He thinks the Harvesters actually use people, their sentient life energy, souls, spirits.
Turns out, the Dark Harvester lies--or used to lie--on a moon on the way to Iridonia. Oola's able to pinpoint it by searching through old folktales and geographic reports. When they reach it, the place is torn up, two big holes left in the surface. They send massages to the Republic to help
alleviate local suffering, but can't stop themselves because they need to catch Drath as quickly as possible. SARR thinks he'll use this thing on Iridonia, and the others find that very likely.
But Drath got there first. By the time they reach it, the whole planet is dead--scoured absolutely of life, down to the smallest microbe. The collected energy has been removed. But where? In such a vacuum of living energy, Kedrihm'Val is able to follow Drath's traces of passing quite easily. He went to a nearby town, ate lunch, then emptied a single room. There are no family pictures left or anything. Oola verifies that it was his family's home. Z discovers that Drath left a message for his parents to lead them to the site where he dropped the Harvester. Planetary defense records showed a Sith ship uncloaking and dropping the Harvester, to which Drath had hooked up a camera so he could have the pleasure of watching his family die.
Drath turns out to have burned all his old possessions out behind his family's home. And he left a note for the crew: "The one thing the Jedi are right about is no attachments." Again, the sense of Drath here is different: more focussed, more controlled. Z: "So we did him a favor by locking him up?" Kedrihm: "Yes." Z: "So we should be killing him next time?" Kedrihm: "Yes."
There are no other clues, so it's time for logic. Drath has one more Harvester, and can't build another. Drath might sit on it, build up his forces--collect some stray Thule agents?--hide till he decides what he wants to do. Kedrihm thinks what he wants to do is, apparently, face down the True Sith. So, he'll build a weapon. Z suggests that Drath might hunt for the Dark Side orb, then. He's sitting on a pile of Dark Side energy, so he may be able to use one to lead him to the other.
It's back to Coruscant to talk to Council about finding Drath...and where they find out that Drath sent the Council, and the media, his recorded footage. Darth Tromos, Sith Lord, he's calling himself. Despite this horror--yet another destroyed planet--people are surprisingly calm, confident that Ree and her compatriots, or Luke if necessary, will handle this.
So, finding Drath. Dalt says a cloak that big will have to power down every several months. He thinks Drath will hide either in the Core, which is dangerous and he could be cornered easily, or the Outer Rim, which is iffy, busy and full of untrustworthy types, or the Maw. He'll need more ships, more people, and time to go through Harth's collection of information and artifacts. He might try to ally with Thrawn. The Senate has to ratify any talks with Thrawn (who wants to know what's going on).
Ree asks the Yoda holocron about the True Sith. He tells her they are said to be equal to the Architects in power. He believes they may be a cabal of 4 to 5 individuals, very powerful beings who've telepathically influenced development of the Sith. He's quite specific on the number. the Yodacron goes inactive on further questioning about this cabal, however. Ree tells Luke, who is very curious about this development. He tells her to look into Revan while he talks to Leia.
Revan was chillingly logical. They find records of his droid, HK-47, who is eerily similar to SARR. Revan had bases all over the galaxy. He wrote a book on the True Sith, but they can find no title for it. He hoped they were remnants of a civilization, because if they were more organized they might be an insurmountable threat. The folklore book says that he thought they were a race that rose and fell in cycles of power. He traveled out during what he thought was a low ebb. If this is so, they may be ascending again.
Kedrihm'Val rather wonders what might determine that cycle.
The Jedi and Oola reconstruct Harth's computer as best they can. Ree and the Jedi Librarian visit the Smashed Holocron to talk to Pence. He ponders on how there's no species record for Yoda, and how strange that is. He must've wandered in from the Unknown Regions. Ree: "Who's to say he's only 900? Some people lie about their ages. My mother does."
And they look through the Emperor's journals, what safe bits there are. He records that he went back to Naboo for his dead master's stuff and found that it was gone. He knew it wasn't Anakin, so suspected it was probably Harth.
Dalt communes with the deleted computer and gets some more information, including Darth Plagius's missing information.
Ree talks to Kyp about Yoda being an Architect. Kyp: "You do know Luke, um, he talks to him. And Ben, and... *sigh*" So they can, well, ask Yoda. Ree talks to Endek too. He's still being a bit weird over the Alderaan thing, but says he'll hunt. He'll check the Corporate Sector auctions. Ree considers House Pelagia before remembering...the Ossus Library! And what do you know. They've got a copy of Revan's mysterious book.
Kedrihm talks to Dalt about finding the evil glowy Iridonia box. Dalt thinks it would be hard to hide in the long run. He asks Dalt what he'd do with it: Dalt comments about Force Stars (and Kedrihm duly files away that Dalt hasn't given up on that particular dream), but eventually figures he'd dump it into Kedrihm'Val's planet. Let the coral suck it up, generate hate and pain and so forth, and as a Sith ride that flow of dark power to basically control everything it touched and infested. Also he thinks he could use the Harvester to suck the Dark Side taint out, funnel it through his filter and put it back in to heal the damage to Abindosan.
Revan's book details that he thought the Sith had a ruling council of five, and they essentially had a bet with the Architects over whether creating or manipulating life was better. Some Architects and Sith felt that this was exploitation and left. The Architects are gone now, of course. Usually there were a couple of very powerful Council members, and the others were weaker--depending on the cycle. They expected the Sith to welcome them as gods, and Revan thought that the True Sith would have considered a failure to do so as a sign of failure, at which point they might choose to wreck everything and start over. So he went out to interfere.
Yoda does indeed match a drawing of a True Sith that Revan included in the book. Revan admits that it could be an Architect. He rode their telepathy backward and could have gotten a distracted signal. Of course, it's also possible the two were related or even factions of a single race.
Kyp gasps when Ree shows him the picture. Ree: "I don't wanna do this by myself." Kyp's aghast. "That poor, poor guy," he says of Luke. He wonders if they should make sure Ben wasn't a serial killer. He'll go get Leia and Han. Ree: "I'm glad Dalt never cloned you. I couldn't take two." Kyp: "Didn't Dalt have Yoda's?" Dalt does indeed--in a fake tooth. What is it with Dark Siders and fake teeth? Dalt reminds them that Drath could still have DNA from Han and Obi Wan and others. Ree tells him about finding the book, Kedrihm'Val shares Dalt's theory on his planet. Ree places a call to Malina.
The Senate is rumbling about reopening the Blueprint issue. Master Roon and Erin are increasingly convinced that the Remnant was behind the assassination attempt, but are worried that the Alderaanians might get stupid enough to try it again on their own or to be manipulated into something more serious. The ARC trooper doesn't seem to be human. He may be an advanced droid. He's not talking.
Ree finally realizes that Luke put her in her new room next to Kyp's, and at last catches on to the various incidents and innuendoes of the past. "Wait...freaking Z," she grumbles.
Luke and Kyp are missing at breakfast the next morning. Ree and Lydia train, Kedrihm'Val calls his planet to pass on information, and meditates. Oola and Dalt work on the Architect language and the droids. Later, Kyp turns up to say Luke took it well, and suggests they go out to lunch to talk further since people keep staring.
Right about then, Ree notices a girl staggering determinedly toward her, but the girl collapses before she reaches Ree. Ree darts to her side just in time to hear the girl whisper, "Dust" before dying. She was poisoned.
Monday, March 31, 2008
THE DATE. Dun Dun DUN.
The next day, Ree takes her family to the limmic match. Corellia devastates Coruscant. The day after that, she obsesses over her date all day. Z has tickets to the opera for the rest of the group, but it turns out Onna and Oola already got their own, so Z is left with two extra seats. Lydia gets invited (and is scandalized when Oola offers her a receiver for the bug she planted in Ree's gown), and Zan, who agrees but seems dubious. Kedrihm'Val goes just to make sure Z won't run amok, and he's fairly aghast at Onna and Oola.
The date--Ree and Kyp, and Han and Leia--goes well. Rodian opera is interestingly...Shakespearian. Then the Force-users sense an actor who keeps thinking about the chancellor's box. Ree leaps forward as he shoots, then a guy with a lightsaber and an assassin droid kicks into the door to their box. Z, who's in formal wear, leaps on the actor from above. And angry droids attack the stage.
Z disarms the actor and shoots him in the crotch, then sees the droids and calls "A little help!" Zan and Lydia jump down to the stage, while Kedrihm'Val swings up into the catwalk.
Han blows up the assassin droid. Kyp, Leia, and Ree all face the other poor sucker with their lightsabers out. Han and Kyp take him out, and then Kyp backflips out onto the stage, followed a second later by everyone else. Z stuffs a stun grenade into the actor's pants and throws him up to Oola, with the order, "Keep him alive!"
Kedrihm spots a guy sneaking through the catwalk and leaps at him, coming down on him feet-first on the stage. Z screams, "PRIMAL JEEEEEUSTICE!" "Shut up, Z," Kedrihm'Val replies. Lydia and Ree each take another target out, noting that these guys look kinda Thule. Leian and Zan hold back to keep an eye out, while Kyp destroys a big gladiator droid that they brought in. Han blows up the last droid to a standing ovation. Zan closes the curtains with the Force.
Oola and Onna come down to the stage with their unconscious captive. Ree is miffed, but they don't let her break off the date to take the prisoners back to the temple. After the group leaves, the date continues to dinner. "I don't know what they expected to happen," Han comments to Leia. "Maybe they should've waited till tomorrow night so we'd all be together."
At the temple, the Jedi already saw the action in the news. "I don't know what they expected to happen," Kedrihm'Val comments. The Rodian, it turns out, was mind-controlled, and does not hold a grudge. They're a tough and practical people, the Rodians, not to mention violent.
Meanwhile, back on the date, they talk about the name of Reeshome, and what'll happen to it now. Ree keeps calling Kyp "Master Durron." "You can call me Kyp, Ree," he points out to her. "And you can call me Master Solo!" Han adds cheerfully, then gets slapped upside the head by Leia. Aw, they're flirting. Leia asks Ree what she plans to do in a year or two once she's done with the heroics. Han reassures her that not every date involves getting shot at (though it isn't unusual). Kyp compliments Ree's bread, which makes her very happy.
Regarding the incident at the opera, the news headlines proudly proclaim, "The Oddest Way We Know of to Commit Suicide!"
Kedrihm'Val suspects that these guys aren't really Thule. Oola finds out the droids were mindwiped yesterday, stolen property. She tries to see who stole them, but it proves to tell them nothing more than that the Force users who attacked them did it. Kedrihm'Val looks for ID, and finds a couple of vials of dirt. He takes those to Oola. Oola has SARR poke, er autopsy the dead bodies for DNA and ID signs. All notable identifiers are gone, but the Force users have Shadow Academy tattoos.
Searching for hobbies to talk about, Kyp asks Ree if she knows anything about flying fighters. Han compliments Kyp's taking out Anakin, especially his piloting. He notes offhandedly how fast Kyp got to Dathomir, then turns back to talking to Leia. Ree follows up on the hint (it was quite something, after all, especially seeing as he was supposed to be out with Luke in another quandrant of the galaxy at the time, fighting a war). Kyp tries to dodge the subject, but after Leia drops another hint, Ree finally grasps the implication that Kyp had purposely gone out of his way to protect her. Kyp tries to change the subject to Life Day on Ree's world and how they celebrate it.
Oola spots more dirt and Shadow Academy signs. The earth, it turns out perhaps predictably, comes from Alderaan. The DNA is also all Alderaanian. She gives the report to Luke, who says, "oh WOW." He considers that it may be a frame-up and puts Roon on the case. They meet Dalt outside the Council chamber, who has been waiting to get the story from them. Dalt suggests finding addresses and ransacking houses. Zan turns out to be lurking, too, and he wonders if the Imperials are involved in manipulating the Alderaanians. Dalt says they helped with the Shadow Academy because they wanted Force users of their own.
Oola tells her brother to watch the Alderaanian delegates. He asks after the Blueprint, which is being kept at the temple. Then Oola and co. take Dalt burgling (they take him to the nicest places). The first house is pasted with Alderaanian stuff. In fact, all the places do except for the Shadow Academy people, who are also the only ones who don't have dedicated secure holomailers. Oola manages to recover a little from those--they have a meeting place at a gentlemen's club for Alderaanian men. All these men are members. The homes of the Shadow Academy guys, on the other hand, have nothing special or incriminating lying about at all, which makes sense considering they're actually trained in how to do this sort of thing.
On the date, Kyp wants to know why Ree's family obsessed over their tractor so much. Ree explains how it's important to a farm family. It's their way of trying to impress him. They talk about Set Harth. Kyp suggests they meet at the library to do some research tomorrow. How cute, he's asking for another date!
SARR gets sent to the club, since only Dalt and Z can really pass for Alderaanian males and...well, that's not safe. SARR learns that the assassins were very patriotic. The place is very mopey, anti-Republic, and anti-Jedi, except for some Antarean Rangers who're irritated by the irrational attitudes of the others and want to engage in further discussion with the Republic. Endek is bitter, but he's not irrational. Well. He's telling spooky stories about Vader chasing him. It looks like the two Shadow Academy guys were taking advantage of a pack of big talkers who were easily led.
Kyp walks Ree home--considering they live in the same place--and take the long way through gardens outside the temple. Kyp is actually smooth. They run into Luke just outside a side entrance to the temple, who briefs them on events. Kyp and Ree studiously ignore Mara lurking in the shadows of the bushes.
SARR bestows a very roundabout compliment on the group for being proactive and useful. "You make me money by being you. I value that." Incidentally, droids aren't actually allowed to own property. He's been hiding it as Onna's assets.
By the next day, the press has gotten hold of the idea that the assailants were Thule agents. Kedrihm points out that if the plotters behind this really want to frame Alderaan, then they'll either try again or provide convenient information to the press.
Luke gives his address, informing people that he's establishing more training facilities, helping the Republic secure its borders (near the Imperial Remnant, is the implication, and "We're keeping an eye on you, Thrawn" goes unsaid), and focusing on fixing Abindosan. Then he announces his engagement, to the surprise of everybody including Kyp (but not Han).
The crew plans to go after Drath soon. Also, Dalt thinks he can find away to find the mutated woman from his base on Rodia.
The Festival of Life Part 2
The next day, the Senate votes on the blueprint. Assorted other votes happen beforehand, such as forbidding archaeological digs on Ree's planet without special permits. They also vote on the name of Ree's planet (which had heretofore been unnamed), and the final decision is...Reeshome! Oola's brother helped with that one, much to Ree's dismay. Heh. They also let the Jedi send a group to see what else might be lying around on Reeshome, and introduce a bill to consider Jedi artifacts as registered items.
The final vote is to not use the Blueprint for the time being and to table the issue, which Han says will essentially tie it up in red tape forever. The Alderaanians are not happy about this.
The Chancellor's address is a state-of-the-union kind of thing, with a parade following. There's a big Senate party later on, open to everyone. It turns out to be kind of tense, with a lot of Alderaanians sulking. Kedrihm talks to different people, gets accosted by Alderaanians who think he'll be sympathetic because of the circumstances on Abindosan. One guy is upset becasue he feels no one is even looking at options. But while Kedrihm'Val feels for them, the fellow doesn't find him cooperative. He tells the Alderaanians the device is too dangerous, and if it were a matter of using it or losing his own planet, he would choose the latter.
There are bad feelings about the Chancellor among the Alderaanians. Some of them feel Leia has betrayed them. The Alderaanian delegates seem convinced that there would be no unpleasant consequences from using the thing. Emotions run high and grow increasingly unpleasant, till Winter ends up breaking an Alderaanian's arm when he gets grabby during an argument. She's really ticked.
Oola and Kedrihm note that Sent is stirring people up. SARR feeds him something that sends him rushing to the bathroom after Oola ponders getting the man out of the way for a while.
Then comes Life Day!
Ree gives Kyp the sweet bread. He asks her if she has the biggest family in the galaxy, which makes her smile, and she thanks him for his sweet present.
Ree helps with family day at the Jedi temple. Kedrihm and Z go to parties. Kedrihm does, in fact, like parties quite a bit, having no argument against food or singing or dancing. Z is mainly interested in booze.
Everyone trades gifts. Onna gives everyone on the crew a speeder. Z gives liquor, Oola hands out Ryloth food, Kedrihm'Val gives out Ithorian foods (he quite likes the Ithorians and his planet is too far away to get anything conveniently).
On the news: "The Republic turns its back on the Alderaanians!" The spiels have no hard facts, but someone has leaked information that the Senate has a way to recreate the planet. Sent gets a lot of interviews. Ooooh, Leia is not happy.
At the temple, Ree notes an extremely brief power flicker and senses that someone just tried to kidnap Dalt from his room. Arriving, she finds the assailant has been sucked into the wall by angry cables and electrocuted. Dalt is not too flustered, but says he did it on reflex. He really wasn't even aware he could still do that sort of thing. The security forces take care of it. Ree goes back to the party to see Lexi's family, where Dalt telepathically points out "You might want to protect the guy who looks just like me." Looking at the security footage a little later, she finds that the kidnapper came in with some other group, and ninja'd his way through the halls. Dalt apparently sensed the man outside his room. The security cameras follow the man's movements, even though they weren't supposed to. Ree suspects Dalt was doing it subconsciously, maybe a kind of technological danger-sense.
The Jedi heighten the temple's security and make sure that Dalt has an escort. Ree is put in charge of finding out who sent the kidnapper. The ID says it's just a lowly secretary, but that's a heck of a clerical skill set.
The man's name was Kren Dor. Oola, working her extra special compu-magic, discovers that the man used to be an Imperial Security Bureau spy and 'Re-education Corp.' ISB and ImpIntel were all labeled war criminals. Oola checks the rest of the delegation he worked for. 40 people, three of whom--one woman, two men, all human--were atttached to VIPs. All three are Alderaanian. One of them, Cho Balu, was a member of the Coalition for Progress (the group in charge of media censorship). One (the woman, Cas Roke) was a member of an ImpIntel assassination squad, and the third, Iako Orn--Oola really pulls out her skills on digging up this one--is implicated as Imperial Guard. They call Zan.
The next day is Remembrance Day. The Alderaanians milk it. The crew have to decide how to handle these spies on a day when everything is so public and it's such a bad time to go around arresting Alderaanians. Ree tells the Council, Kedrihm and Oola tell Dalt, and while Oola considers setting up a fake interview to catch the censorship guy, Z and SARR are left to their own devices. Luke has just got done warning them they'll have to be subtle when Z returns with Cho Balu. SARR is standing in for him with a holographic projector (which he apparently has built in to himself; Oola says she knew about it).
They interrogate Balu, who is of course angry. "Apparently you can just kidnap people now." "Well," Ree says, "Z is a bounty hunter, and there is a standing reward..." Z: "Holy shit, you're right." Balu is still loyal to the Emperor, and admires Thrawn. "Dalt swore loyalty to the Emperor," he says. "We're just taking back what's ours." This man really believes in the goodness of the Empire, and refuses to tell them anything further. Ree says she can't do this. Z steps up with a painting of star fighters, lets loose his 'stream of justice,' then scribbles on it. Balu is horrified. Turns out, Z robbed his house while he was there. He's got bunches of objets d'art in a sack, which he begins to methodically smash, starting with a bust of the Emperor right after Ree protests that there might be evidence in there. Then he smashes a TIE fighter sculpture, which indeed reveals a datachip hidden in the hollow base. Oola snags it. Balu finally cracks. He tells them he doesn't know of any external orders; he's been honestly working for the Alderaanians since the New Republic formed (hey, a guy's gotta eat). The chip, Oola discovers, is an archive of ship logs--diplomatic shuttles.
Having gotten the hang of this interrogation method, Ree asks Balu, "What's your favorite piece?" Then hands it to Z. (Z: "This is nice. This is 'getting-to-know' nice." Ree takes it back.) Balu, it turns out, works as his cell's secretary. His circle meets in an Undercity bar, and the next meeting is tomorrow night.
They turn him over to New Republic security, make a copy of the chip and turn the original of that over as evidence. The next day, they plot an ambush. After they see two people go into the room, Z kicks the door down. Kedrihm'Val covers the door in case somebody tries to escape, while Z and Ree engage. The Imperial Guard, Iako Orn, dives behind a table while the woman, Cas Roke, goes hand to hand with Z. Ree cuts the table apart with her lightsaber; Orn spits something at her and rolls away. Z tags a piece of the wall with his wrist harpoon and tugs it down onto Roke. Orn fires a blaster at Ree. Z slams Roke off the wall. Ree nails Orn when he tries to leap over her. And they drag the two captives back.
On the way out, the Force users sense an incoming attack. Ree steps into deflect two blaster bolts aimed at the prisoners. she orders Z to chase. It's someone in clone trooper armor--ARC trooper armor, in fact. Kedrihm'Val drains the energy from the man's jetpack and Z catches him. They fight. Ree heads that way to help. The ARC trooper (or whatever he is) grapple-hooks a passing speeder, towing him and Z away from the scene. Ree leaps onto anothe rspeeder, and gets the driver to follow. She cuts the cord, letting Z catch the guy and bring him down to the ground. The ARC throws some smoke bombs and tries to hide. Ree senses for him, noting that there's something strange about him; he's hard to follow. He shoots his hand at her and dives into a bar. Z follows, shouting, "I AM Z. I'm here hunting a fugitive!" *fires blasters* "Hand him over!" The crowd draws back from the guy, who runs. Ree tackles him, then Z nails him in the head with a leg-drop. This puts the man out, breathing a bit rough, but okay. People in the bar take pictures.
The Imperial Guard is taken to the temple, the others get sent to Republic Security.
Z suggests attending some smashball to relax. The tour for new padawans goes well. The smashball game is as violent as SARR hoped: Tatooine's rough and ready desert-dwelling farmers beat the ever-loving crap out of the sleek, posh Chandrilan athletes. After the game, Z points out to Ree, "You're only one day away from your first date." Ree gets a deer-in-headlights look.
On the holo-news, they're still fussing over the Alderaanian 'plight.' The Republic is releasing some information along the lines of "This is one of those freaky things like Luke keeps finding. Want us to mess with it?" The crew relaxes over dinner.
The final vote is to not use the Blueprint for the time being and to table the issue, which Han says will essentially tie it up in red tape forever. The Alderaanians are not happy about this.
The Chancellor's address is a state-of-the-union kind of thing, with a parade following. There's a big Senate party later on, open to everyone. It turns out to be kind of tense, with a lot of Alderaanians sulking. Kedrihm talks to different people, gets accosted by Alderaanians who think he'll be sympathetic because of the circumstances on Abindosan. One guy is upset becasue he feels no one is even looking at options. But while Kedrihm'Val feels for them, the fellow doesn't find him cooperative. He tells the Alderaanians the device is too dangerous, and if it were a matter of using it or losing his own planet, he would choose the latter.
There are bad feelings about the Chancellor among the Alderaanians. Some of them feel Leia has betrayed them. The Alderaanian delegates seem convinced that there would be no unpleasant consequences from using the thing. Emotions run high and grow increasingly unpleasant, till Winter ends up breaking an Alderaanian's arm when he gets grabby during an argument. She's really ticked.
Oola and Kedrihm note that Sent is stirring people up. SARR feeds him something that sends him rushing to the bathroom after Oola ponders getting the man out of the way for a while.
Then comes Life Day!
Ree gives Kyp the sweet bread. He asks her if she has the biggest family in the galaxy, which makes her smile, and she thanks him for his sweet present.
Ree helps with family day at the Jedi temple. Kedrihm and Z go to parties. Kedrihm does, in fact, like parties quite a bit, having no argument against food or singing or dancing. Z is mainly interested in booze.
Everyone trades gifts. Onna gives everyone on the crew a speeder. Z gives liquor, Oola hands out Ryloth food, Kedrihm'Val gives out Ithorian foods (he quite likes the Ithorians and his planet is too far away to get anything conveniently).
On the news: "The Republic turns its back on the Alderaanians!" The spiels have no hard facts, but someone has leaked information that the Senate has a way to recreate the planet. Sent gets a lot of interviews. Ooooh, Leia is not happy.
At the temple, Ree notes an extremely brief power flicker and senses that someone just tried to kidnap Dalt from his room. Arriving, she finds the assailant has been sucked into the wall by angry cables and electrocuted. Dalt is not too flustered, but says he did it on reflex. He really wasn't even aware he could still do that sort of thing. The security forces take care of it. Ree goes back to the party to see Lexi's family, where Dalt telepathically points out "You might want to protect the guy who looks just like me." Looking at the security footage a little later, she finds that the kidnapper came in with some other group, and ninja'd his way through the halls. Dalt apparently sensed the man outside his room. The security cameras follow the man's movements, even though they weren't supposed to. Ree suspects Dalt was doing it subconsciously, maybe a kind of technological danger-sense.
The Jedi heighten the temple's security and make sure that Dalt has an escort. Ree is put in charge of finding out who sent the kidnapper. The ID says it's just a lowly secretary, but that's a heck of a clerical skill set.
The man's name was Kren Dor. Oola, working her extra special compu-magic, discovers that the man used to be an Imperial Security Bureau spy and 'Re-education Corp.' ISB and ImpIntel were all labeled war criminals. Oola checks the rest of the delegation he worked for. 40 people, three of whom--one woman, two men, all human--were atttached to VIPs. All three are Alderaanian. One of them, Cho Balu, was a member of the Coalition for Progress (the group in charge of media censorship). One (the woman, Cas Roke) was a member of an ImpIntel assassination squad, and the third, Iako Orn--Oola really pulls out her skills on digging up this one--is implicated as Imperial Guard. They call Zan.
The next day is Remembrance Day. The Alderaanians milk it. The crew have to decide how to handle these spies on a day when everything is so public and it's such a bad time to go around arresting Alderaanians. Ree tells the Council, Kedrihm and Oola tell Dalt, and while Oola considers setting up a fake interview to catch the censorship guy, Z and SARR are left to their own devices. Luke has just got done warning them they'll have to be subtle when Z returns with Cho Balu. SARR is standing in for him with a holographic projector (which he apparently has built in to himself; Oola says she knew about it).
They interrogate Balu, who is of course angry. "Apparently you can just kidnap people now." "Well," Ree says, "Z is a bounty hunter, and there is a standing reward..." Z: "Holy shit, you're right." Balu is still loyal to the Emperor, and admires Thrawn. "Dalt swore loyalty to the Emperor," he says. "We're just taking back what's ours." This man really believes in the goodness of the Empire, and refuses to tell them anything further. Ree says she can't do this. Z steps up with a painting of star fighters, lets loose his 'stream of justice,' then scribbles on it. Balu is horrified. Turns out, Z robbed his house while he was there. He's got bunches of objets d'art in a sack, which he begins to methodically smash, starting with a bust of the Emperor right after Ree protests that there might be evidence in there. Then he smashes a TIE fighter sculpture, which indeed reveals a datachip hidden in the hollow base. Oola snags it. Balu finally cracks. He tells them he doesn't know of any external orders; he's been honestly working for the Alderaanians since the New Republic formed (hey, a guy's gotta eat). The chip, Oola discovers, is an archive of ship logs--diplomatic shuttles.
Having gotten the hang of this interrogation method, Ree asks Balu, "What's your favorite piece?" Then hands it to Z. (Z: "This is nice. This is 'getting-to-know' nice." Ree takes it back.) Balu, it turns out, works as his cell's secretary. His circle meets in an Undercity bar, and the next meeting is tomorrow night.
They turn him over to New Republic security, make a copy of the chip and turn the original of that over as evidence. The next day, they plot an ambush. After they see two people go into the room, Z kicks the door down. Kedrihm'Val covers the door in case somebody tries to escape, while Z and Ree engage. The Imperial Guard, Iako Orn, dives behind a table while the woman, Cas Roke, goes hand to hand with Z. Ree cuts the table apart with her lightsaber; Orn spits something at her and rolls away. Z tags a piece of the wall with his wrist harpoon and tugs it down onto Roke. Orn fires a blaster at Ree. Z slams Roke off the wall. Ree nails Orn when he tries to leap over her. And they drag the two captives back.
On the way out, the Force users sense an incoming attack. Ree steps into deflect two blaster bolts aimed at the prisoners. she orders Z to chase. It's someone in clone trooper armor--ARC trooper armor, in fact. Kedrihm'Val drains the energy from the man's jetpack and Z catches him. They fight. Ree heads that way to help. The ARC trooper (or whatever he is) grapple-hooks a passing speeder, towing him and Z away from the scene. Ree leaps onto anothe rspeeder, and gets the driver to follow. She cuts the cord, letting Z catch the guy and bring him down to the ground. The ARC throws some smoke bombs and tries to hide. Ree senses for him, noting that there's something strange about him; he's hard to follow. He shoots his hand at her and dives into a bar. Z follows, shouting, "I AM Z. I'm here hunting a fugitive!" *fires blasters* "Hand him over!" The crowd draws back from the guy, who runs. Ree tackles him, then Z nails him in the head with a leg-drop. This puts the man out, breathing a bit rough, but okay. People in the bar take pictures.
The Imperial Guard is taken to the temple, the others get sent to Republic Security.
Z suggests attending some smashball to relax. The tour for new padawans goes well. The smashball game is as violent as SARR hoped: Tatooine's rough and ready desert-dwelling farmers beat the ever-loving crap out of the sleek, posh Chandrilan athletes. After the game, Z points out to Ree, "You're only one day away from your first date." Ree gets a deer-in-headlights look.
On the holo-news, they're still fussing over the Alderaanian 'plight.' The Republic is releasing some information along the lines of "This is one of those freaky things like Luke keeps finding. Want us to mess with it?" The crew relaxes over dinner.
The Festival of Life
The next day: PARTY! The Smashed Holocron throws open the doors at 9 am. Z's already there. Kedrihm asks about the Force ceremony at the temple. Z says meditation is gay. Dalt: "You really have a problem with the whole gay thing, don't you?" Kedrihm shoots a warning look at Dalt. That's the kind of discussion opener that can only lead to slap-fighting.
The Jedi ceremony is calm and solemn.
Oola thinks they should name the boy Kel. Everyone likes it.
On to the frickin' huge parade. Their actors have a float. Re gets into an argument with SARR. "I don't understand human emotions other than pain," he tells her at one point, and "It's a good script. They send them to me. I am your agent."
Z flies by the Primal Justice float, to enormous applause, and lands with the group. Ree comments, "Well, they were very excited. He really stirred up the crowd." Kedrihm: "So are you, now Z's drawn attention to you." And indeed, now the crowd has seen Ree, she's getting sign-waving and cheers. Dalt is disappointed there aren't any signs for him. Ree points out that he hasn't been redeemed in a movie yet, and consoles him that the redeemed villain is always the favorite. SARR tries to explain how heroes are people smart enough not to come out dead, and that people recognize that.
Han has a news interview where he discusses how he personally planned out the core strategy for defeating Thule.
They attend the gravball game after the parade. Sort of like three-dimensional anti-grav lacrosse. Ryloth Twlight vs. Corellia Scrappers. Ryloth takes it by a point. Z declares he shall drink in celebration. Ree agrees to have one-- "But we get to pick it!" Z insists. He mulls it over. Kedrihm points out the Two-fisted Farmgirl, which leaves her only mildly tipsy.
That night, Ree has a dream about a state funeral, but she can't tell whose.
The next day, the documentary, "Heroes of the Rebellion" premieres. The Jedi don't allow Luke to hide in his room, no matter how mortified he is over Han's description of his early impressions of Luke. Some highlights:
Leia's first impression of Han: "I thought he was a jackass. In fact, I still think he's a jackass sometimes. The reason the Falcon couldn't jump to hyperspace was his ego. And nothing was ever his fault."
Wedge comments on Luke's flying an X-Wing in the battle of Yavin: "We all figured Luke was gonna die."
Han recounts the tale of the awful stench of the taun-taun, after which Luke comments, "He probably already told you he stuffed me in a taun-taun."
Wedge on the battle of Hoth: "Then we cleared out the AT-ATs... And then he takes out an AT-At by himself! BY HIMSELF."
"And then I trained with Master Yoda," Luke glosses over the next bit.
"Three months!" Han exclaims. "We're inside a space slug! I finally figure it out with keen observation and my innate sense of xenobiology." Leia: "He parked us in a slug and he didn't know until he shot a mynock. He spent half his time hitting on me and half his time fixing the ship. Both of them with half his ass."
Luke: "Bespin was, ah, difficult."
Han: "Mr. Natural Predator, born and bred to hunt, knows that bears cut themselves in half and string themselves up by their back legs. It's a cunning technique known as being capture by teddy bears." "And 3PO tells me..." "It's against my nature to impersonate a deity," 3PO is spliced in. "...that he's a jackass and won't do it," completes Han.
Luke: "The Death Star... It was difficult." *stares at the interviewer for a bit, won't say more*
Ree tells Luke about her dream and asks, "Is this normal?" "Oh yes," says Luke. "Oh yes, Ree. I get them...you don't even want to know."
Next up is the closed Senate session regarding the Blueprint. All discussion stops dead when the crew walks in. Ree: "This place is a lot bigger than on the outside." Kedrihm'Val laughs in disbelief.
The Senate is leaning toward using it. A few--mainly species close to the Force--disagree. The Senate seems aware it rebuilds planets, but not much else, so Dalt steps up. "We don't know how this rebuilds planets, exactly. And not to be cruel, but none of your species can understand it." After he comments a bit more on the possible dangers, the balance tips more evenly, centering around some strong personalities. He reminds them that he isn't even really stable, and he knows this is a bad idea. Ree points out, "We don't know how to turn it off and we can't hide it once we use it." Kedrihm reminds them that they don't know whether the energies released might harm people on Dathomir or Ree's world if the device is activated, Oola explains that it isn't necessarily trustworthy because it tried to rewrite populated worlds the last time it activated, and SARR tells them that it is at least basically sentient (in his words, "Meatbags, it thinks"). Kedrihm and Oola pay close attention to who stands where on the issue.
Tomorrow's session is a day of testimony. In preparation, Oola checks the Blueprint to see what planets it tried to change, and the answer is, most of them.
In the meantime, tonight they have dinner with the Chancellor and her family. Ree compliments the documentary: "You were very much yourself." Luke arrives late. They talk about the new movies. "It's a great marketing scheme-" Han starts to point out, and then Luke cuts in, "That Han must've helped with because he's defending it a lot." It was in fact Han and Lando, it turns out. Regarding Dalt, they decide they'd like to keep him with them for a while, if he doesn't mind. Luke tells them that Senal and clone!Dalt are coming to visit for New Year's. And then they start talking about Ree's date. Ree protests that nothing was going on. In her head, Leia says, "Oh my god, it's your first date." "Really?" asks Luke, in the same fashion. Han looks around, then pushes Luke's and Leia's chair, saying, "We use the speaking hole when non-magic people are around!" Zan: "You know what you need to tell them to bring, Han? Tell them to bring pie." "What?" Han asks. Zan explains to him about the wonders of pie.
The next day, it's more Senate meetings. More people are now arguing against using the Blueprint. The breakdown is about 70/30 at the moment. But weeping Alderaanians do make quite an impact. Oola reads the datapad list of the Blueprint's desired changes, and Kedrihm points out that they only stopped it because Ree's gateway was locked. Dalt comments about the Infinity Gate being broken--he could fix it, he says, but he won't. Some Senators argue for forcing him to, which doesn't go over well with the crew, who say nothing but get sort of "We'd like to see you try" expressions on their faces. Sent implies that the Jedi should be blamed for not cleaning this stuff up earlier.
At the Padawan party later that day, Ree gives Lydia Melodee-style Jedi robes. Lydia gives her romance novels (Ree loves romance novels), including one called "Master's Council," which is about a lady Jedi Master with a dark past, and the honest and heroic young Jedi who helps her to overcome it, or some equally thinly veiled "Ree and Kyp" scenario. Lexi tells them she's being assigned a Master in a few days. Kedrihm'Val and Oola drag Dalt and kel to the opening of the Ithorian Gardens, which Kedrihm finds particularly soothing and restful after weeks of the psychic noise of Coruscant.
The Jedi ceremony is calm and solemn.
Oola thinks they should name the boy Kel. Everyone likes it.
On to the frickin' huge parade. Their actors have a float. Re gets into an argument with SARR. "I don't understand human emotions other than pain," he tells her at one point, and "It's a good script. They send them to me. I am your agent."
Z flies by the Primal Justice float, to enormous applause, and lands with the group. Ree comments, "Well, they were very excited. He really stirred up the crowd." Kedrihm: "So are you, now Z's drawn attention to you." And indeed, now the crowd has seen Ree, she's getting sign-waving and cheers. Dalt is disappointed there aren't any signs for him. Ree points out that he hasn't been redeemed in a movie yet, and consoles him that the redeemed villain is always the favorite. SARR tries to explain how heroes are people smart enough not to come out dead, and that people recognize that.
Han has a news interview where he discusses how he personally planned out the core strategy for defeating Thule.
They attend the gravball game after the parade. Sort of like three-dimensional anti-grav lacrosse. Ryloth Twlight vs. Corellia Scrappers. Ryloth takes it by a point. Z declares he shall drink in celebration. Ree agrees to have one-- "But we get to pick it!" Z insists. He mulls it over. Kedrihm points out the Two-fisted Farmgirl, which leaves her only mildly tipsy.
That night, Ree has a dream about a state funeral, but she can't tell whose.
The next day, the documentary, "Heroes of the Rebellion" premieres. The Jedi don't allow Luke to hide in his room, no matter how mortified he is over Han's description of his early impressions of Luke. Some highlights:
Leia's first impression of Han: "I thought he was a jackass. In fact, I still think he's a jackass sometimes. The reason the Falcon couldn't jump to hyperspace was his ego. And nothing was ever his fault."
Wedge comments on Luke's flying an X-Wing in the battle of Yavin: "We all figured Luke was gonna die."
Han recounts the tale of the awful stench of the taun-taun, after which Luke comments, "He probably already told you he stuffed me in a taun-taun."
Wedge on the battle of Hoth: "Then we cleared out the AT-ATs... And then he takes out an AT-At by himself! BY HIMSELF."
"And then I trained with Master Yoda," Luke glosses over the next bit.
"Three months!" Han exclaims. "We're inside a space slug! I finally figure it out with keen observation and my innate sense of xenobiology." Leia: "He parked us in a slug and he didn't know until he shot a mynock. He spent half his time hitting on me and half his time fixing the ship. Both of them with half his ass."
Luke: "Bespin was, ah, difficult."
Han: "Mr. Natural Predator, born and bred to hunt, knows that bears cut themselves in half and string themselves up by their back legs. It's a cunning technique known as being capture by teddy bears." "And 3PO tells me..." "It's against my nature to impersonate a deity," 3PO is spliced in. "...that he's a jackass and won't do it," completes Han.
Luke: "The Death Star... It was difficult." *stares at the interviewer for a bit, won't say more*
Ree tells Luke about her dream and asks, "Is this normal?" "Oh yes," says Luke. "Oh yes, Ree. I get them...you don't even want to know."
Next up is the closed Senate session regarding the Blueprint. All discussion stops dead when the crew walks in. Ree: "This place is a lot bigger than on the outside." Kedrihm'Val laughs in disbelief.
The Senate is leaning toward using it. A few--mainly species close to the Force--disagree. The Senate seems aware it rebuilds planets, but not much else, so Dalt steps up. "We don't know how this rebuilds planets, exactly. And not to be cruel, but none of your species can understand it." After he comments a bit more on the possible dangers, the balance tips more evenly, centering around some strong personalities. He reminds them that he isn't even really stable, and he knows this is a bad idea. Ree points out, "We don't know how to turn it off and we can't hide it once we use it." Kedrihm reminds them that they don't know whether the energies released might harm people on Dathomir or Ree's world if the device is activated, Oola explains that it isn't necessarily trustworthy because it tried to rewrite populated worlds the last time it activated, and SARR tells them that it is at least basically sentient (in his words, "Meatbags, it thinks"). Kedrihm and Oola pay close attention to who stands where on the issue.
Tomorrow's session is a day of testimony. In preparation, Oola checks the Blueprint to see what planets it tried to change, and the answer is, most of them.
In the meantime, tonight they have dinner with the Chancellor and her family. Ree compliments the documentary: "You were very much yourself." Luke arrives late. They talk about the new movies. "It's a great marketing scheme-" Han starts to point out, and then Luke cuts in, "That Han must've helped with because he's defending it a lot." It was in fact Han and Lando, it turns out. Regarding Dalt, they decide they'd like to keep him with them for a while, if he doesn't mind. Luke tells them that Senal and clone!Dalt are coming to visit for New Year's. And then they start talking about Ree's date. Ree protests that nothing was going on. In her head, Leia says, "Oh my god, it's your first date." "Really?" asks Luke, in the same fashion. Han looks around, then pushes Luke's and Leia's chair, saying, "We use the speaking hole when non-magic people are around!" Zan: "You know what you need to tell them to bring, Han? Tell them to bring pie." "What?" Han asks. Zan explains to him about the wonders of pie.
The next day, it's more Senate meetings. More people are now arguing against using the Blueprint. The breakdown is about 70/30 at the moment. But weeping Alderaanians do make quite an impact. Oola reads the datapad list of the Blueprint's desired changes, and Kedrihm points out that they only stopped it because Ree's gateway was locked. Dalt comments about the Infinity Gate being broken--he could fix it, he says, but he won't. Some Senators argue for forcing him to, which doesn't go over well with the crew, who say nothing but get sort of "We'd like to see you try" expressions on their faces. Sent implies that the Jedi should be blamed for not cleaning this stuff up earlier.
At the Padawan party later that day, Ree gives Lydia Melodee-style Jedi robes. Lydia gives her romance novels (Ree loves romance novels), including one called "Master's Council," which is about a lady Jedi Master with a dark past, and the honest and heroic young Jedi who helps her to overcome it, or some equally thinly veiled "Ree and Kyp" scenario. Lexi tells them she's being assigned a Master in a few days. Kedrihm'Val and Oola drag Dalt and kel to the opening of the Ithorian Gardens, which Kedrihm finds particularly soothing and restful after weeks of the psychic noise of Coruscant.
New Years and Festival of Life Itinerary
2 weeks (10 Days)
Week 1 (Festival of Life)
- Day 1: Atunda
- Smashed Holocron Opening Festival Party
- Jedi Temple ceremony to celebrate the Living Force
- Opening Parade
- The lighting of the Life Tree from Kashyyyk
- Mon Calamari Ballet at Galaxies Opera House
- Grav-ball: Ryloth Twilight vs Corellia Scrappers (Galaxy Championship)
- Three dimensional anti-grav Lacrosse
- Day 2: Katunda
- Major Documentary premier: "Heroes of the Rebellion"
- Scoopball Finals (antigrav Tennis)
- Special Senate session to discuss: "The Blueprint Situation"
- Characters encouraged to attend
- Dinner at the Chancellors for the Characters
- Special invitation, all attend
- Day 3: Satunda
- Continuation of Senate session
- Characters encouraged to attend
- Opening of Ithoran Gardens
- Padawan Party at the Jedi Temple
- Thrown by the Masters
- Includes gifts both ways
- Special prices at Holographic Zoo of Extinct Species
- Astrobatics by Rouge Squadron and Jedi Aces
- Starship stunts
- Continuation of Senate session
- Day 4: Datunda
- Closed Senate session to vote on: "The Blueprint Situation"
- Chancellors address
- Eve parade
- Chandrillan ceremony of The Maker
- Senate Feast Open to all
- Day 5: Natunda
- Life Day
- Acceptance of New children and students at the Jedi Temple
- Also parents of current padawns can come to visit for the next week
- Smashed Holocron closed until evening
Week 2 (New Years)
- Day 1: Atunda
- Remembrance Day
- Alderanian Opera at Galaxies Opera House
- Rerun of: "Heroes of the Rebellion"
- Special prices at Holographic Zoo of Extinct Species
- Day 2: Katunda
- New Padawan tour of Coruscant
- Smash ball: Tantoonie Survivors vs Chandrillan Waverunners (Galactic Championship)
- Basically football
- Vow day
- A day for new year's resolutions
- Many marriages on this day
- Day 3: Satunda
- Mon Calamari Ballet at Galaxies Opera House
- Limmie (soccer) match: Coruscant vs Corellia
- Day 4: Datunda
- New Years Eve
- Rodian Opera
- Date night!!!!
- Smashed Holocron ½ price night
- Day 5: Natunda
- New Years Day
- Announcement by Jedi Grandmaster
Drath won't stay in the box!
Ree gives Jude her coin. Jude knows Rent Sin and Adrey Cuthas from Dathomir. They talk about gifts for Life Day. "Ever check what the bestselling gifts for Life Day are?" she asks Ree. "Oh no," says Ree. This leads to talk about Primal Justice, which leads to Dalt making more cracks about Z's mother. Ree and Kedrihm'Val grab Z. Ree is, as ever, dismayed by all the attention and changes the subject. Someone needs to tell Raasik Sent about his family. Dalt's apprentice is doing okay. A bit socially backward, but Dalt says he'll work on that. Z snarks about the social skills of Jedi. Ree defends their honor, but "Stupid Ape has a point," says SARR. Z irrelevantly wants a hoversled with spotlights. "We could call it the Assmobile," Dalt says brightly. A pause. Then he adds, "You want to leap over the table now or shall I say it?" Z leaps, they shove him back in his chair.
Kedrihm'Val asks Dalt what he'll do now. Dalt's not sure. "I imagine they will ask if you want to become a Jedi," Kedrihm says, looking amused. Dalt looks ineffably disgusted. "They ask everyone else," Kedrihm'Val points out. Ree thinks Dalt could teach the children. Z is horrified.
Landing on Coruscant, they exit the ship to huge happy crowds, but Ree and Kyp sense someone who's very displeased. Whomever it is vacates the area before they're able to pinpoint them.
Ree and Kyp are especially popular. Zan's vanished, as usual. Dalt basks in the attention.
The Senate has been sketchily briefed on the Blueprint. Oola meets her brother to find out who's standing where on that issue. Ree finds out SARR taped the fight against the Thule leaders, and it's now on all the holovids. Luke may be even more dismayed about this than she is. There's some speculation about Ree and Kyp as an 'item.' Ree gives Lydia two weeks off and suggests she read up on constructing lightsabers. The Council wants to know Ree's opinion of Dalt. She tells them he still has a tremendous ego but has developed a conscience. for the next couple of weeks, they decide to let him come and go with minimal supervision. Kyp suggests having Lando talk to Senator Sent. Ree recommends installing Force crystals on the prison ship.
While Onna and Oola take Ree dress-shopping, Kedrihm'Val notes something happening on the prison ship. He heads up with Kyp and the security. The breakout was well-timed for people to be off their guard. Drath and two others are missing: Asajj Ventress and her apprentice. The guards are vacant--mind-wiped--there are lightsaber marks on the walls, etc. Kedrihm'Val tries psychometry on a guard, getting an image of a white-haired man--Set Harth--and a really, REALLY angry guy with pink skin--a Zeltron--who wiped these peoples' minds with pure rage. From the evidence, it looks like Harth and his companion came for Ventress and her apprentice, and Drath broke out on his own and went along for the ride. Kyp tells Kedrihm'Val to tell Ree and the others while he informs the Council. Kyp says a ship took off, but a female Zeltron spent the day distracting people so there's no good description of the transport. That's six people leaving, then.
Meanwhile, dress-shopping, Ree doesn't know what she's doing, and is mainly concerned with where to put her lightsaber, but they do achieve success! Avoiding fiascos of lace and ruffles, they find a fashionable dress she likes. Then Ree finds bad shoes. Oola finds good ones. Ree's on the way back to the temple when she sees the news. Then she gets a call from her mother to make sure she's getting ready and not being distracted by goings-on at the temple. Dalt turns up and Kedrihm'Val gives him the lowdown. Dalt's not sure he believes the guy is really Set Harth, but he knows some stories about the legendary Dark Sider. Harth was selfish, collected Sith lore, sort of a wandering Dark Side archivist. But Dalt is more worried about Drath.
Ree deposits her purchases and catches up with the others. Kedrihm'Val is surprised by how quickly her family heard about the incident. Ree calls back, but gets no message, so Oola traces the call, which leads to a hotel on Coruscant. Oola thinks they're spying on her. "Please," snipes Dalt. "Travel 26 days just to spy on your date? Even in my family, that'd be what we'd officially call problems." Looking further into it, Oola discovers that Han Solo paid for their trip. In fact, he paid for the whole freaking family--ALL of them--as "guests of the Republic." Oola doesn't tell.
Discussing the incident further, they figure Drath might go to Hutt Space or into the Deep Core. Maybe to one of Maul's bases, but they don't know where those are. Dalt reminds them taht Oola stuck Drath full of tracking fluid. Following that, signs point vaguely to the Deep Core. Dalt wants to build a special ship to follow them through the gravity fields there. Ree passes that on to Luke, who says not to let Dalt work himself to death over Life Week. Dalt claims it'll only take 36 hours for him, Oola, and his apprentice. "What'll we call him, anyway?" The kid tells them just to pick something. It takes Dalt and Co. about three hours to draft the basic design.
In the meantime, the others are off to dinner. Oola asks SARR, "You want to go with us, go to dinner, or go off by yourself?" SARR's eyes light up at that.
The next day, the temple prepares for the Living Force ceremony. Ree gets briefed on the Senate meetings. After Kyp comments on how sad it is that Ree can't spend the week with her family, Oola tells her about her family being on Coruscant. Ree's aunts all pick on her mom for calling, and make Oola tell Han she spoiled the surprise. Ree: "What is General Solo doing?!" SARR: "Maybe he's trying to make meat pies." Ree gets all mushy when Oola tells her it was Kyp's idea. SARR tells them some of the itinerary for the next two weeks, and wants tickets to the Tatooine vs. Chandrila smashball game. "It should be vicious," he says with great satisfaction.
The festival starts tomorrow. Today, they'll see what they can learn. Z tells the girls to go jewelry shopping, and takes Dalt and Kedrihm'Val to the Smashed Holocron to start tracking those messages. Now there's a strange team.
Onna explains to Ree that it's normal to own things like this. "Jedi are what we call 'poor.'" Ree: "I have dresses my mom made." "You were what we call 'poorer than a Jedi' before you were a Jedi." Ree wants to get Kyp a gift, a fancy sweet bread her people traditionally give to their sweethearts. so, she'll bake. "Baking for men is a serious step!"
Z, meanwhile, piles on the liquor. Now, who saw that coming? Dalt's disgusted that he doesn't have a drink, and at Z's pile of liquor. Z: "Kedrihm'Val, you have to figure out how a message got sent from here. Because this usually happens when I get here." "Oh, I fear you," Dalt snarks. "If Boba Fuckup can't do it, maybe we should look for clues," he says to Kedrihm. Z wanders into the ladies' room while Dalt and Kedrihm talk to the bartender. The power flickers. It's Z, who has patched into the security system through the wiring in the bathroom. He learns that the message boy they met works for the passed-out old guy at the end of the bar. Kedrihm ponders Z's massive drunk. Dalt asks if his planet doesn't have alcohol. Kedrihm'Val looks down at himself. "We're not exactly in a state to binge on poison," he points out. "Ah, sorry about that. Easily fixed," Dalt tells him.
The guy at the end of the bar is drinking suicidal amounts of alcohol, which doesn't seem to bother him. Z's actually pacing the guy pretty well, but passes out halfway through the drinks list (he gets to the 'Kyp-up'). Dalt calls Ree to let her know about the old man, who is using the Force to heal himself. Ree comes in, sits down, and he chats with her. He saw Set Harth in the bar, so he sent the message. Says the guy looked the same as when he last saw him forty years ago. Offers his name as Pence. "If he wanted artifacts, then why not go after the library ship?" Ree wonders. Pence figures he's probably after a specific artifact.
Oola orders booze: the Destroyer Droid and the Two-Fisted Farmgirl (named after Ree). Ree orders a Jedi Healer. She doesn't want to bother Pence any further, so they pick up Z and cart him home. His place is actually quite nice.
The people working on the ship have dug up materials, so Oola and Dalt return to work.
Kedrihm'Val asks Dalt what he'll do now. Dalt's not sure. "I imagine they will ask if you want to become a Jedi," Kedrihm says, looking amused. Dalt looks ineffably disgusted. "They ask everyone else," Kedrihm'Val points out. Ree thinks Dalt could teach the children. Z is horrified.
Landing on Coruscant, they exit the ship to huge happy crowds, but Ree and Kyp sense someone who's very displeased. Whomever it is vacates the area before they're able to pinpoint them.
Ree and Kyp are especially popular. Zan's vanished, as usual. Dalt basks in the attention.
The Senate has been sketchily briefed on the Blueprint. Oola meets her brother to find out who's standing where on that issue. Ree finds out SARR taped the fight against the Thule leaders, and it's now on all the holovids. Luke may be even more dismayed about this than she is. There's some speculation about Ree and Kyp as an 'item.' Ree gives Lydia two weeks off and suggests she read up on constructing lightsabers. The Council wants to know Ree's opinion of Dalt. She tells them he still has a tremendous ego but has developed a conscience. for the next couple of weeks, they decide to let him come and go with minimal supervision. Kyp suggests having Lando talk to Senator Sent. Ree recommends installing Force crystals on the prison ship.
While Onna and Oola take Ree dress-shopping, Kedrihm'Val notes something happening on the prison ship. He heads up with Kyp and the security. The breakout was well-timed for people to be off their guard. Drath and two others are missing: Asajj Ventress and her apprentice. The guards are vacant--mind-wiped--there are lightsaber marks on the walls, etc. Kedrihm'Val tries psychometry on a guard, getting an image of a white-haired man--Set Harth--and a really, REALLY angry guy with pink skin--a Zeltron--who wiped these peoples' minds with pure rage. From the evidence, it looks like Harth and his companion came for Ventress and her apprentice, and Drath broke out on his own and went along for the ride. Kyp tells Kedrihm'Val to tell Ree and the others while he informs the Council. Kyp says a ship took off, but a female Zeltron spent the day distracting people so there's no good description of the transport. That's six people leaving, then.
Meanwhile, dress-shopping, Ree doesn't know what she's doing, and is mainly concerned with where to put her lightsaber, but they do achieve success! Avoiding fiascos of lace and ruffles, they find a fashionable dress she likes. Then Ree finds bad shoes. Oola finds good ones. Ree's on the way back to the temple when she sees the news. Then she gets a call from her mother to make sure she's getting ready and not being distracted by goings-on at the temple. Dalt turns up and Kedrihm'Val gives him the lowdown. Dalt's not sure he believes the guy is really Set Harth, but he knows some stories about the legendary Dark Sider. Harth was selfish, collected Sith lore, sort of a wandering Dark Side archivist. But Dalt is more worried about Drath.
Ree deposits her purchases and catches up with the others. Kedrihm'Val is surprised by how quickly her family heard about the incident. Ree calls back, but gets no message, so Oola traces the call, which leads to a hotel on Coruscant. Oola thinks they're spying on her. "Please," snipes Dalt. "Travel 26 days just to spy on your date? Even in my family, that'd be what we'd officially call problems." Looking further into it, Oola discovers that Han Solo paid for their trip. In fact, he paid for the whole freaking family--ALL of them--as "guests of the Republic." Oola doesn't tell.
Discussing the incident further, they figure Drath might go to Hutt Space or into the Deep Core. Maybe to one of Maul's bases, but they don't know where those are. Dalt reminds them taht Oola stuck Drath full of tracking fluid. Following that, signs point vaguely to the Deep Core. Dalt wants to build a special ship to follow them through the gravity fields there. Ree passes that on to Luke, who says not to let Dalt work himself to death over Life Week. Dalt claims it'll only take 36 hours for him, Oola, and his apprentice. "What'll we call him, anyway?" The kid tells them just to pick something. It takes Dalt and Co. about three hours to draft the basic design.
In the meantime, the others are off to dinner. Oola asks SARR, "You want to go with us, go to dinner, or go off by yourself?" SARR's eyes light up at that.
The next day, the temple prepares for the Living Force ceremony. Ree gets briefed on the Senate meetings. After Kyp comments on how sad it is that Ree can't spend the week with her family, Oola tells her about her family being on Coruscant. Ree's aunts all pick on her mom for calling, and make Oola tell Han she spoiled the surprise. Ree: "What is General Solo doing?!" SARR: "Maybe he's trying to make meat pies." Ree gets all mushy when Oola tells her it was Kyp's idea. SARR tells them some of the itinerary for the next two weeks, and wants tickets to the Tatooine vs. Chandrila smashball game. "It should be vicious," he says with great satisfaction.
The festival starts tomorrow. Today, they'll see what they can learn. Z tells the girls to go jewelry shopping, and takes Dalt and Kedrihm'Val to the Smashed Holocron to start tracking those messages. Now there's a strange team.
Onna explains to Ree that it's normal to own things like this. "Jedi are what we call 'poor.'" Ree: "I have dresses my mom made." "You were what we call 'poorer than a Jedi' before you were a Jedi." Ree wants to get Kyp a gift, a fancy sweet bread her people traditionally give to their sweethearts. so, she'll bake. "Baking for men is a serious step!"
Z, meanwhile, piles on the liquor. Now, who saw that coming? Dalt's disgusted that he doesn't have a drink, and at Z's pile of liquor. Z: "Kedrihm'Val, you have to figure out how a message got sent from here. Because this usually happens when I get here." "Oh, I fear you," Dalt snarks. "If Boba Fuckup can't do it, maybe we should look for clues," he says to Kedrihm. Z wanders into the ladies' room while Dalt and Kedrihm talk to the bartender. The power flickers. It's Z, who has patched into the security system through the wiring in the bathroom. He learns that the message boy they met works for the passed-out old guy at the end of the bar. Kedrihm ponders Z's massive drunk. Dalt asks if his planet doesn't have alcohol. Kedrihm'Val looks down at himself. "We're not exactly in a state to binge on poison," he points out. "Ah, sorry about that. Easily fixed," Dalt tells him.
The guy at the end of the bar is drinking suicidal amounts of alcohol, which doesn't seem to bother him. Z's actually pacing the guy pretty well, but passes out halfway through the drinks list (he gets to the 'Kyp-up'). Dalt calls Ree to let her know about the old man, who is using the Force to heal himself. Ree comes in, sits down, and he chats with her. He saw Set Harth in the bar, so he sent the message. Says the guy looked the same as when he last saw him forty years ago. Offers his name as Pence. "If he wanted artifacts, then why not go after the library ship?" Ree wonders. Pence figures he's probably after a specific artifact.
Oola orders booze: the Destroyer Droid and the Two-Fisted Farmgirl (named after Ree). Ree orders a Jedi Healer. She doesn't want to bother Pence any further, so they pick up Z and cart him home. His place is actually quite nice.
The people working on the ship have dug up materials, so Oola and Dalt return to work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
