USH'S GAME EPISODE IV- 'CHASE'- DARK SIDE AREA

Saar smiles.

"The Grandmaster's daughter," he says.

-

Technically, Galder, you should be being scanned by a few hundred scanners at this point, but they are all silent. Your approach path takes you very close to the military zone- the civilian area of this gloomy moon still seems to be in full operation. But the military zone is a large dome with a poor field of view, and you do not think you are seen landing just off to one side of it.

There doesn't seem to be much going on now, though the signal you are tacking is coming just INSIDE the dome, through a service lock you have landed nearby.

-

Kuylen now produces a small holographic generator from his pocket. He turns it on, and it displays the image of a smart looking elderly man, in his 60s, with an intelligent air and piercing blue eyes.

"This man's name is Kir Ascar," says Kuylen. "Though his real name is Mal Sannan. Mal was a Jedi Padawan, half a century ago. A very talented one too, of great power. He left the Jedi half-trained, though; he had an issue with discipline. But he continued his force training on some world outside the Republic called Sirckari. If Ascar is anything to judge by, they have a very weird idea of the Force out there. I would not go talking philosophy with him.

"Since becoming a Force Master, Ascar has spent much of his time making a fortune through running a gambling business on Malastare, and an archaeological sideline in ancient Jedi and Sith artifacts. I myself have a great interest in that area too and it is in combining our knowledge that I found Avalar, much to Ascar's surprise.

"Now. The few tablets we got were not all we got from Avalar. We also got a complete set of Sith maps used by the Sith in their final war. We can use those maps to find my next... target. Only they are completely unreadable. The Sith always made things 100 times more complex than they should be. We need the correct navigational device to USE the maps we have. The Sith used bulky astrolabes to do their navigationp very much their style. As far as the Jedi knew, no such working astrolabes existed- though two non-functional ones are in the Jedi Archives. But I knew that Ascar had retrieved a working one from outside the Rim.

"Ascar refused to negotiate for it. And the agents I sent to take it from him by force failed. The Astrolabe is now in the hands of Ascar's apprentice Persis, though I understand the two are now estrnaged. I have sent my failed agents now after Persis, to kill him and get it. If they fail me again I will most likely kill them.

"But we are here for the short cut. Before things turned hostile, Ascar used the Astrolabe and maps to discover the location of the destination I have in mind. So, if we can get to him, and make him tell us what I want, the Astrolabe becomes irrelevant."

"So he's here? Alright. Now that I'm up to speed on things, do you know WHERE on this planet he is?"

"Not yet," says Kuylen. "And it is not going to be easy. Once word is out we are here, we will become targets for bounty hunters. Ascar himself is a man of great capability and tackling him will not be easy. he also has many friends in the Hutts. And finally, it is almost certain the Jedi will come. Ascae is here because he is fleeing them, for he ran into some trouble with them on Malastare. But the Jedi will want him for bigger reasons than his fleeing- they will want to top US talking to him."

"What?.." asks Takuan surprised. He extends a force wave scanning the coffin for any life form.
(or is it a symbolic object

There is... yes... SOMETHING in there...

"It's a cryo chamber," says Saar. He pulls out a small remote from his desk. "And this is the kill switch," he says. "Whilst we have Latella, the Order will do whatever we want."

Takuan grins.
"so this is the master's daughter" he says "most impressive. I take it they're greatly fond of her"

"Well, the Grandmaster certainly is," says Saar.

"well...so as long as the grand master is at ower, we'll have them in the leash" says Takuan
"so you want me to let tou know if they get too revolutionary at a point..."

"Well, I know a bit about bounty hunting," I say with a wry smile. "I'm not too worried about that."

(OOC: Dexx, does your sig say "Shadow Elemental"? A coincidince, or is my idea actually spreading?)

"Obviously," says Saar, "they all want to be free. But none will dare make an attempt to retrieve her lest it go wrong.

"But lately... I have been sensing that SOMETHING is making them restless almost to the point where they may even sacrifice her. This would not be good news for us, but I cannot imagine what it is. That is what I would like YOU to find out. And of course, if you get any flashes of inspiration about what is going to happen next, so much the better."

-

"Good," says Kuylen. "Then I shall search for Ascar soon. I would rather I could concentrate on that job and not have to deal with any petty problems that come my way. I will want you to deal with those. And I will have my hands full handling Ascar. If the Jedi come, they are problem I want YOU two to deal with."

(kaliero...i have 'elemental' as my custom user text for quite some time now. Thsu i added it into my siggie. The shadow thinggie is added afterwards and has no relevance with the elemental.)

"i see.." says takuan
"they're a prised aquisition on our side. I'll see what i can do. But i have to be infiltrated.."

"You can't really be any more infiltrated than you are," says Saar, "which is to say, not very. I am relying on your instincts and interpersonal skills.

"It was myself and Edna who brought things under control here, though we needed Kuylen to actually give them their orders as they responded better to a military man- which is why he left Malastare. Since then, Edna started to sense there was a problem, but then cut and run before she followed it up. Damn girl. I expect you to do her job."

"i'll need to spend my time around them" he says
"how do you keep this place organised? where do they stay concentrated?"

"Nayler is our main liasion with the Order. This is his citadel. There are 100 prelates with citadels spread over the planet, and one grand citadel where the Grandmaster is. And then innumerbale training camps and settlements, and one rather sophisitcated communications suite they use to receive contracts.

"Basically, I am stuck here doing admin work. But while it is achieving something I do not mind."

"very well then, i'll start my work with Nayler's citadel"

"Well, the Jedi will be a bit more of a problem than the hunters, but I'll do my best, Sir."

"If you want to avoid direct confrontation wit the Jedi," says Kuylen, "use your brains. There are a hundred ways to make someone's life unpleasant on Nar Shadda.

"Now, Ascar is an affluent man and is unlikely to be hidng in the dregs. Wherever he is he will be up top, in the wealthy areas. But all those areas are under the patronage of someone else. We need to find the trail of contacts that have gotten him to safety here.

"I am going to speak to Shareth the Hutt, but she will not appreciate your presence. I want you to hit the streets and find some information, any way that suits you. I;d start with the gambling bars if I were you- all of Ascar's Hutt contacts are through gambling."

-

Ok, Dexx, you are free to do what you want. I have no direct guidance or plotline for you this story, merely people with motivations and some events that happen at certain times, so you have freedom of action. Scary, huh?

"ok, where will i be staying?" asks Takuan

(I have a feeling that Zink and Kaliero will run into someone...unpleasant somewhere in the story *coughBalekcough* )

Galder knocks on the airlock door. "Hello, is anyone home?"

(Pah! What POSSIBLY makes you think they might find Balek on the moon known as the city of the Bounty Hunters where eveyone gets their contracts from?)

-

(Airlock is overdoing it; Tartarus is breathable, but unpleasant)

The door opens from the inisde... to reveal Rura, in the hatchway passage.

-

"Oh, there will be a bed for you here somewhere," says Saar. "Probably a bit stony though."