Coronet City

[Kevin Kenobi]

*Kevin looks at Lady Shana as the four of them walk to the cantina.*

Most people just call me Kevin. I've never really been addressed by any sort of title, to be honest. You can call me Kevin or Sir Kevin if you want to.

*He shows them into a somewhat large and slightly shady cantina near the spaceport and leads them over to the bar. He signals the bartender.*

Hey Mazzen, I need to use the back room for a private conversation with my three companions.

*The bartender looks up at Kevin and almost doesn't recognize him, but remembers who Kevin is.*

Back room's all yours, kid. I'll keep it secure for you.

*Kevin shows Lady Shana, Lady Athena, and Sir Naver to the back room and shuts the door behind them, motioning for them to take a seat at the table.*

Just so you three know, this will be my first mission as an Imperial Knight, and the second mission I've been a part of, so forgive me if I seem nervous or unsure of how to proceed at any time during the mission. I was visiting Emperor Ire when he received a transmission from a pirate lord who was holding several Lurmen villages on Maridun hostage. He was demanding the release of several of his comrades who had been captured and imprisoned by the Empire as well as ransom money for the hostages. If the RGE refused to comply, the pirate threatened to destroy the hostage villages. This mission is especially personal for me because the pirate lord we are going to face is responsible for the death of my father when I was young. These are all the details I have at this time, but I'm sure we'll know more once we arrive in-system at Maridun.

[Lord Zairon]

"So our mission is to stop these pirates from destroying villages they already have targeted. That will be tricky." Shana said with a frown, "Kevin, did Ire supply you with a TIE Phantom or some other stealth device? And do we know how many ships we are dealing with?"

[Kevin Kenobi]

No, he didn't, but I do have a small cloaking device installed on my Delta-7B fighter that I can use. I'm not sure just how many ships there are in orbit, so I don't know what exactly we're up against. I think that we should, though, target the leader, see if we can persuade him to see our point of view. If we cut off the head, then the rest should fall in line and we can try to avert a near-genocide from happening here. Do you three have any thoughts?

[Lord Zairon]

"That was one of the reasons I was hoping for a cloaking device. We can't just attack the leader or else there will be plenty of time to bomb the villages. If we instead sneak aboard their ship and get to the captain using stealth we can try and hold him hostage." Lady Shana said. "As such we reverse the hostage role."

[Kevin Kenobi]

*Kevin nods*

That sounds like a good plan to me. I think we should head out and go to Maridun and deal with these pirates. Once we have a better idea of the size of the fleet, we can form an attack strategy.

[Lord Zairon]

"Agreed. So then we will all head there in our planets, come out of hyperspace far enough away from the planet to be away from scans, then cloak and move closer to see what we are dealing with. Once we do some scouting we can perfect our plan of attack." Shana said with a nod.

"Shall we all head out then?"

[Kevin Kenobi]

Let's go.

*Kevin opens the door and leads the other three Imperial Knights out of the room and out of the cantina. He coms his droid.*

Slowhand, I'm on my way back to the ship. Have the Tin Man warmed when I get there.

[Lord Zairon]

"We'll meet you there then." Shana said with a nod, "The rest of us will head to our TIE Phantoms, while you head to your shuttle." She said turning to walk towards where their vehicles were parked. "See you later, Kevin." She called over her shoulder.

Then the Imperial Knights headed to their TIE Phantoms. Once the ships were powered up and ready, the knights headed away from the planet and launched into hyperspace.

[Kevin Kenobi]

*Kevin nods to Lady Shana and heads off to his ship. He gets in and takes off for Maridun*

[Tuskers]

Meli lands in the spaceport. Tuskers exits the ship and begins cautiously walking around looking for signs of damage. After about half the distance around the ship, he hears someone clear their throat.
"Yes?" Tuskers turns towards the person.
"Sir, I'm here about your docking fee. This is a very large ship, and we don't want you to skip out on us. We need your registration papers, since you've never visited us here before."
"Papers are in a folder at the foot of the ramp. I'll just be a few minutes."
"How many people on your vessel? There is a per person fee."
Tuskers looks over at the man, "Just me."
"Sir, do not insult me. This is a very large ship. Usual compliment of at least twenty just to keep things running, plus any passengers etcetera..."
"Just me, sir. The ship takes care of herself, and does most of the flying and maintenance. I just sit back and relax." Tuskers starts running his hand over some carbon scoring. "Except I need to check the hull right now for thin spots. So if you'll get back to me, I will sign in after a while."
"I'll be back, but with an armed CorSec patrol, sir. I do not take kindly to liars."
"You will do what you must. I'll be right here." Tuskers notices the security droids that are standing in the doorway. "No need for violence. I am here to serve."

Tuskers finishes his walk around the ship, then pops inside, and comes back out with a small container of pinkish goo. He starts to spread the goo onto the hull where he’d noticed the carbon scoring. As he’s doing this, he hears the familiar sound of standard issued boots entering the area.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’m alone, no need for your weapons. I’m here in peace.”
The six officers lower their blasters, as they see no threat, “Sir, our port master indicated that you were lying about your port application. We will need to search your ship.”
“Sir, I’ll be happy to escort you through my ship, but if we could limit it to two of you onboard?”
“That is fine. After you.” The guard indicates towards the ramp.
Tuskers keeps his hands well away from his body, in plain site. “Nothing unusual here, I’m just here looking for some information. I used to have some friends that may be here. But it may take me a few days to track them down.”
They walk through the ship, and back down into the landing berth. The officer walks over to the port master. “Sir, no one else onboard. A very unusual ship…”
The port master looks disappointed, “Very well. I’ll finish up with him then. Thank you officers.” He turns back to Tuskers as the CorSec officers walk away talking about Meli.
“So, your ship, and yourself. If you will sign here, and provide the indicated number of credits.”
Tuskers finishes with the man, and seals up the ship before heading into the city.
He wonders to himself if any of the Grey or any other Jedi could really be here. But his thoughts keep going back to his encounter with the Force user on Kuat.

[Tuskers]

Tuskers wanders the streets, stopping in coffee shops, bars, anywhere, to talk. He’s been out of circulation for some time. Besides filling the void of his loneliness, he’s also filling in the gaps. What has happened politically, and with the governments and the Jedi. And he’s always listening for any mention of the Grey. There are so few that ever even knew of their existence, and now....
And so, Tuskers continues to search. To ask, and hope that sometime soon, that he’ll have a word or phrase that will lead him on the right path.
Overall, he’s satisfied that the people here are not unhappy. The galaxy is in a good place overall. But there seems to be whispers...

[Tuskers]

Tuskers spends a few days exploring Coronet city. He does not announce his presence as a member of the Grey, or affiliate himself with the Jedi, as his fact finding mission maybe compromised. He tries to get in contact with members of the ruling parties, but has difficulty since he's not of any importance to Corellia.
The unfortunate incident at one watering hole, where a man thought that he could steal from Tuskers left the man with the desire to scrub every public bathroom for the rest of his life.
And then, Tuskers finally found out what the incident in orbit was. After a long day of walking about the city, Tuskers decides to go back to his ship where he can rest comfortably. Upon arrival, there are three men waiting for him.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, gentlemen?"
"You interfered in our business, and allowed the CorSec Security Patrol to stop us from reclaiming our cargo."
"Gentlemen, I'm sure that if it's your cargo, that the CorSec security forces are helping you to retrieve it. I simply wandered through your fight, without taking sides."
"We're going to take our lost credits from you. And if you don't have enough, then you'll pay in another way."
Tuskers brings out his lightsaber, and looks over the three men. “That does not seem likely.” And he ignites his amber blade.
The three men stop for a second, not expecting this response. Tuskers flips the blade around a few times, “So, who is first?”
“All right, we were just going to rough you up, but now we’re going to kill you.” The men pull out blasters, and spread out a little bit.
“It is a shame that I’ll probably end up spending time in jail because of you three. But, I’ve done it before.” Tuskers calls out, “Meli, shields.” A audible clicking comes from the ship located behind Tuskers.
The men start firing at Tuskers, taking little care in their aim, just trying to hit him.
The Force guided his arm- no, the Force was his arm. That was how it felt to him. During moments such as these, he was purely a vessel of the Force. It rushed through him like wine down the neck of a bottle, joyous with release and the promise of more to come. His blade drew glowing lines through the air, swinging left and right, becoming a blur that the eye could not follow.
Blaster shots bouncing off the lightsaber blade, and create scorch marks along the deck and walls. Some of the shots bounce back and hit the three men, but they seem to be wearing armor that allows them to take no damage.
Tuskers takes a more offensive strategy. Switching to a one handed grip, he uses Force push to throw the man on the left across the room, and into a support column. A cracking sound followed by a large pool of blood indicates that the fight, and the life, have left this man.
Tuskers begins walking towards the other two. “Surrender now and we’ll let the police have you. Or die. No matter to me, just hurry up and decide.”
One of the men looks over at his dead companion, and decides to charge Tuskers. He holds his blaster rifle as if it is a club.
Tuskers flicks his lightsaber left and right, and then kicks his foot up into the mans chest, giving it a little Force push to reinforce the maneuver. He skids back several feet, and sits up, looking at the stumps that used to be where his hands were.
The leader of the pack has stopped firing. He reaches into a pocket and pulls out a grenade. Activating the switch, the man starts to throw it towards Tuskers ship.
Tuskers raises his left hand, and the man lifts off the ground, dropping the grenade at his feet as he reaches for the invisible hands that are chocking the life from his throat.
Tuskers turns off his lightsaber and picks up the grenade, and stuffs it into the mans belt.
“No… wait…” The strangling man tries to speak.
“Goodbye.” Tuskers walks away, still holding up his left hand, until the explosion sends pieces of the man flying everywhere.
Tuskers walks over to the one man still alive. “You, handless man… Wake up. I want to know who you work for.”
But, just at that moment, six CorSec security officers show up…

[Tuskers]

And so, Tuskers ended up spending an hour speaking to the CorSec officers on what had happened here. Then they asked what kind of weapon he'd been using, and they were not impressed with him carrying a lightsaber, without having announced it. So, he was hauled down to the station, where he was put into a holding cell...

As shift changes takes place, Tuskers observes that they are relying on his cell to hold him, and there are no guards around. "Always on the move..."

Tuskers waits for a guard to come by. He asks, "So, how long will I be held here?" The guard looks at a screen, and Tuskers uses the Jedi Mind Trick, "I'm overdue to be released. You should open the cell."
"You are overdue to be released. I'll just open your cell, and we'll get you out of here."
"Don't forget to process the paperwork, I wouldn't want to be brought back."
"No, I couldn't forget to process your paperwork."
Several minutes later, Tuskers is putting his lightsaber into his concealed pocket, and heading down the street.

But something isn't right... It seems he's picked up someone again.
"Why does everyone keep noticing me. Can't I just blend into the background?"


He quickly makes his way down the street, and ducks into a bar, trying to avoid notice.
He stops just inside and behind the door, and waits for the other to enter.
It only takes a second, and the figure, wearing a purple robe, enters the door.
Tuskers thrusts the end of his saber into the middle of the figures sternum. "Don't make any sudden moves, or you are very dead."
"You won't kill me." The woman says.
Tuskers drops his lightsaber, and almost falls over backwards in shock.

[Tuskers]

"You are alive?" Tuskers just stares at her.
"I would say so... Since I'm standing here before you." She bends down and picks up his lightsaber. Upon standing, she throws back her hood, revealing her long blonde hair.
He just stares at her, as she steps forward and tries to hand him his weapon. After he does not take it, she pulls open his jacket, and pushes it into the concealed pocket.
"Tuskers? Are you okay?" She places a hand on his right cheek, and the other on his left shoulder, and leans in to kiss him on the left cheek. "Hello?"
"Kira… You are alive. I had all but given up hope." Tuskers says in a whisper.
She laughs, a musical sound to his ears, "Yes, my crazy Uncle. And it's wonderful to see you. Come, lets sit and talk."
The cross over to a table, and sit down. Tuskers is all smiles, "How did you find me?"
Kira points at him, "You acted like a Jedi. After I knew it was you, it was easy to find out what you were doing. Making inquiries, not presenting yourself as Grey..."
"Wait, what?" Tuskers confusion shows on his face. "When I'm asking discreet questions, I raise no red flags. But then I wipe out three thugs and you spotted me?"
"Blame the local news. They heard about someone stopping three thugs, and they sent a reporter. The story was that one of them lost both hands, and they were wondering if it was a Jedi, except they knew that the 'jedi' was in custody. The key to it was the single shot of Meli that they managed to get. There is no mistaking that ship. I knew it was you." She looked very pleased with herself.
"You left me in jail." He tried to look hurt.
"Oh, please... I was just arriving, and out you walk."
"By the will of the Force. I'd have been off of this rock in an hour."
"And now?" She takes his hand.
"I always follow the will of the Force. Right now, it says to stay here with you."
"Death has a way of reshuffling one's priorities." Kira looked around. "We can't really talk here. Let's go."
They stand up to leave just as a waiter arrives. "Sorry, we can't stand the stench." Tuskers says as they walk quickly out the door, leaving the waiter sniffing the air.

A few minutes later, Kira leads them into an average looking apartment building. "You live here? Why not back at the Temple?"
"Oh, Uncle. Even you did not live there all the time." She glances over her shoulder at him. "You were always running off to that beach of yours."
"Always on the move. Not now... Now that I've found family. I'll be here. Or where ever I need to be to keep..." Tuskers pauses and looks down at himself. "Um, I think I need a shower. I just realized I had a nasty fight hours ago, and I've been locked up ever since."
Kira points to a doorway. "My droid should be able to clean your clothes. Just throw them out."
Tuskers heads into the room, and a while later he comes out with his clean clothes that the droid provided.
"So, how long have you been living here?" Tuskers is looking over some of the artwork on the wall.
They continue to talk for a few hours, and she invites Tuskers to crash on her couch.
The next day, they jumped on a maglift to head to the next city, where another Grey is living. She would not tell him who it was...
Tuskers was very surprised when they arrived at the port, and standing there waiting for them wasn't one of his old friends, but instead the first Kage of the Grey, Leor Danal.
Tuskers dropped to one knee before the old Master.
"Rise Tuskers. You are making a spectacle of yourself in this public place." The old green Master seems to smile.
Tuskers stands, "It is a pleasure to meet you at last. I have heard so much, have even studied your words in the archives."
"Yes, yes... Of this I know. Now you are here, and a surprise to us. Glad we are, to see another of our kind."

And so, Tuskers spends some time on Corellia, by the will of the Force.

[Tuskers]

"The Black Sun" Tuskers whispers, "Fierfek, I picked a big fight."
"And Meli is under constant watch. Those were not just any thugs, they were connected thugs."
"Well, if CorSec hadn't arrived, I'd have been done with them. But everything has gone to shards now." Tuskers looks over at Leor Danal. "Advise?"
The small green Jedi shakes his head.
"A lot of help you are..." He turns and looks at Kira. "Okay, they know my ship, but do they have my name and image?"
"I'm sure they got it through CorSec. They maybe criminals, but they pay well."
"Well that's just Prime." Tuskers takes out his lightsaber from the hidden pocket, and puts it onto his belt. "So, is it time to start acting like a Jedi?"
"Uncle," Kira looks worried, "What are you planning?"
"To negotiate with the Black Sun."
"Suicide? Or foolish bravery?" Leor Danal asks.
"Most definitely." Kira steps between Tuskers and the exit. "I will not allow you to throw away your life. There has to be another way."
"I'm sure there is, but the Black Sun will not forget about me, and sooner or later they may try to get into Meli. She will be destroyed rather than leave me behind."
"We must have something of value to offer the Black Sun, to stop them from hunting you down."
"That is what I intend to find out." Tuskers looks determined. "I'll make contact, and then I'll see what kind of people I'm dealing with."
"Criminals of the worst sort. Backstabbing thugs and Bantha Poodoo... Fight your way to Meli, and head back to Zonama Sekot... That is your best course."
He pulls Kira into a hug, "Darling niece, do not worry so. I will do what I must, but I will survive. The Black Sun is too large to ignore. I'd have to watch for trouble every moment for the rest of my life. Let me negotiate."
"I don't want to lose you again." Kira is obviously shaken.
"And I will not lose you to the Dark Side. Get a handle on those emotions." Tuskers squeezes her one more time, to take the sting out of his comment. "Now, let's go find someone that can relay a message for us."

The pair leaves the apartment, and head down the street. As they arrive back at the Maglev station, Tuskers notices a pair of thugs waiting around suspiciously. "I think we've been tagged already."
They split up, as if they were not walking together at all, and watch as the two new thugs follow Tuskers towards the rail line.
Tuskers stops suddenly, and turns around, coming face to face with the two thugs. "Gentlemen, how nice to finally meet you. I was hoping to run into you today."
"What?"
The guys were obviously hired for their scientific brains, and deep understanding of the universe, Tuskers thinks to himself. "I need to get in touch with your bosses. I want to negotiate." Tuskers steps closer, "Give me a communicator, and have them contact me on that frequency."
The two look thoughtful, and one starts to reach for his blaster. "Let's finish this."
Tuskers waves a hand, and uses the Jedi Mind Trick on the pair, "You will not be violent. You will give me a communicator, and have your boss contact me."
The guy takes his hand away from his blaster, and grabs a communicator, handing it to Tuskers, "I'll have my boss call you on my frequency. Will that be okay?"
"Sure, that will be great. Thanks."
Tuskers turns, and boards the train that is about to depart. He glances back to make sure that the thugs stay put, and that Kira was able to board also.
She appears at his elbow as the doors are closing. "Now that was very Jedi like..."
He smiles at her slightly, and flops into a chair, then glances at the communicator in his hand.