STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- Puppets

Tanic walks in, a step behind Kay. He intends to stay quiet and let her do the talking.

You step through the doorway and into the presence of the wisest and most powerful of the Jedi Order. Most of them, any how. Several seats are left empty; even the great Masters still attend missions of great importance in the Galaxy. The smallest seat reserved for the diminutive Master Yoda is empty.

"Greetings, Council," Kay says, bowing deeply to no Master in particular.

"Greetings, friends," Master Windu says, for the Council. "I hope you have been well." He eyes you, Tanic.

He bows to Windu.

Kay rises from her bow. "We are well, Masters."

Windu nods in acknowledgement.

"Master Giett, if you will," Windu says.

Behind you, Master Micah Giett opens his mouth to speak. He wears traditional Jedi robes, though two decorative lightsabers hang from his belt, rather than one. His skin is yellow-tinted, and his black hair is sharply trimmed short.

"We have a mission that is of the utmost importance to the Order and the Republic. It will require strength and perseverence of the body and the mind...and the spirit. Your connection and teamwork has qualified you both as spectacular candidates for this. Trust me, it seems that you will need it."

Tanic nods, pleased with the compliment, and feels a surge of excitement rush through him.

You sense that Kay is equally grateful for the compliment.

"Have you heard of the world of Garel?" Master Giett asks.

Tanic pauses to wait for Kay to answer, then replies himself.
"No, Master. Is it in the Outer Rim?"

Kay does not know of it.

"No. Garel is a world abundant in natural gas that comes up from the ground in great billowing clouds. It is located in the Mid Rim, just within the Republic's reach. It's natives perform gas mining there; the planet puts out enough to enable them to compete with gaseous worlds such as Bespin or Taloraan.

"Do you know anything about gas-mining?"

"No, not at all. Isn't it all done with floating drones?"

"Close. Drones are used on worlds like Bespin, in addition to mining platforms. On Garel, however, the gas comes out of enormous vents in the ground, billowing into the air. They use mining stations to 'inhale' the gas, hovering over the vents. When not in use, they orbit the planet, processing the gas that they have taken in."

Giett's expression becomes ever so slightly more grave. He is typically jovial for a Council member, so the look is worrying.

"The largest station orbiting Garel is Station Alpha, used for the largest vents. It has been commandeered."

"Commandeered?!" Tanic says, surprised, "By who? Why?"

"We would tell you, but Garel has heard no reports from the station," Giett says. "This is where you come in. There were easily hundreds of people on that station. For none of them to have contacted Garel is...peculiar. Garel sent in a special operations team, but they too have not been heard from."

"Your mission is to investigate what has happened on board Alpha Station," Master Windu says, from his seat. "It is imperative that you make a discovery and resolve the situation."

Tanic nods with pleasure, that the Council saw fit to send them on the mission. Quickly following after, a sense of dread that he was deliberately heading into danger, one he masks with a smile while he waits for Kay to reply.

"Have no fear, Council," Kay says. "We will discover what has happened and return the station to its natural state."

"May the Force be with you," Giett says.

"And with you," Kay replies, ushering you towards the exit. The door closes automatically behind you.

"Well?" Kay asks.

Tanic grins, "Sounds like fun, Master. When do we leave?"

"Tonight," Kay says. "This is of the utmost importance. As soon as the arrangements are made, we shall go."

As you were both able to prepare for the mission well in advance, the only thing that remains to be done is securing a starship for passage to Garel. The Jedi Temple provides you with a lightly-armed, lightly-armored four-man Jedi craft. Kay is an adequate pilot, and so is at the controls as the miniscule ship pulls out of the hangar and zips off into the Coruscant atmosphere and beyond.

After a moment of coordination, Kay says "Here we go..." and activates the hyperdrive, sending the craft zooming towards Garel at lightspeed.

As soon as they're settled into lightspeed, Tanic starts asking questions.
"What do you think the problem is? Do you know anything about Garel? Will it be dangerous?"

"I don't know," Kay says. "Garel is a planetwide gas mining operation; normally the Republic does not hear much from it. As for danger..."

Kay trails off, eyeing the controls before leaning back. The navigational computer has the ship on auto-pilot, customary of hyperspace travel. She releases the controls.

"You have some talent for divination, Tanic. Perhaps you should sleep on it. The Force may have some message for you regarding our mission. Besides, it's night on Coruscant..."

Recognising the dismissal, Tanic merely nods and heads back to get some rest. (And, perchance, to dream?)

(You have unwittingly quoted Hamlet's third soliloquoy...)

In the quiet lull of hyperspace, the ship's controls thrumming near silence about you, you begin to drift off to sleep.

And then you hear it. A strange, enchanting rhythm that seems to come from everywhere and nowhere. You cannot discern its source, but it is maddening and seductive at the same time, trying to pull you in despite your annoyance.

Tap

Tap

Tap

Tap

Tap

Tap

On and on it goes.

Tap

Tap

Tap

Tap

Tap

Tap

It gives no sign of stopping. You claw against the darkness in vain. Your efforts yield no results, the tapping grows louder.

TAP

TAP

TAP

You are afraid, Tanic. This rhythm...it scares you.

And then you awake, tearing out of your nightmare and back to the quiet reality of the starship and hyperspace. You're shaking, and a cold sweat seems to seep from every pore.

The rhythm has stopped, though it persists in your head. You remember it and it has become stuck.

Kay is still asleep.