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It's an interlude!

Last seen with The Warlord of Droben, these self-contained minisodes help bridge gaps, pass time when time is needed and allow players to practise rules and tactics.

Interludes don't have a predictive element, so don't worry about those powers. But be warned. Although interludes end with a full health restore, you only restore ONE force point at the end of an Interlude, so be careful what you spend! (Acolytes and those with Flow of the Force restore more as per normal)..

Right now, this interlude is only for those who played the story 'Purity', but it will expand to include other Light Side players later on.

Coruscant

Three months on and your leave is over. Mandragos is fast becoming a memory. The Senators are all gone for now, to return later for the first meeting of the new committee. Big things are expected, once the normal legal issues have been thrashed out. Some of you fear progress will be... slow. On the bright side, the drug smuggling operation has been demolished. You shut down the supply at Spiridos and it seems that much of the rest of the organisation has been destroyed in some sort of internal struggle. There's nothing left. The Hutts will likely pick up the slack eventually- it's their half of the Galaxy, where the Golden Serpent runs the narcotics business on the other half- but for now a noticeable difference has been made, and Spiridos can get back to being a leisure world rather than the heart of a mass-murdering conspiracy.

Roan's report from Cassilis, however, has been met with little more than a shrug. There's nothing in the archives relating to anything that he or Jelena saw there. There's nothing else to be done. The planet itself, however, seems to have become stable again, so that is good too.

Gallagher has been undergoing counselling and seems relatively happy, though apprehensive. They have been keeping a close watch on Andro as well. There is some worry that Roan has had the misfortune to keep getting 'poisonous' assignments to lead and that he may become disheartened. Jelena... the Council is actually well satisfied with... but they feel she could do with more experience in law enforcement as opposed to the more cerebral tasks she has been on lately.

So, the solution for all of you is to put you on a big new assignment, as you were told would happen before. Trorn, the liaison to the Jedi Council, has met you all upon your return to the Temple in order to take you to the Council Chambers. He says you are going to be heading up a major investigation and enforcement operation against a piracy problem in the outer areas of the Republic. This one should tie you up for quite a while...

Despite the idea behind their three month break being that they would actually spend that time resting and recovering from their recent traumatic events- Cassilis and Mandragos- Jelena has not really done much relaxing. Instead, she has used the spare time to keep up with her studies, and meditate on the future.

Most importantly, Jelena has submitted several petitions for receiving a Padawan to train. As of yet, her requests go unanswered, but she knows she will receive one eventually.

She has, however, largely avoided the others from her recent missions. And so when she arrives at the Temple today to see Roan and Andro and Gallagher, she greets them all warmly.

"Hello, my friends," Jelena says. "I trust these past three months have been well spent in relaxation? It was something we had definitely earned, after having to engage in these maddening missions. What did everyone do?"

Gallagher comes to meet with Trorn and the others after attending one of his counselling sessions that have helped him get over what happened with Sienar and the remembrance of his past.

So far so good, Gallagher thinks to himself. He no longer worries about his alignment in the Force, as Sienar had caused him to.

"I did not stray far from the Temple," Gallagher admits to Jelena. "My time with Sienar wore me down, I needed to seek counselling with the Order to come to terms with everything. I largely did so on my own, but even so... one should not go it alone when he has ten thousand brothers and sisters that can help him with an issue that all of us face. What about you, Jelena? I thought I saw you in the Archives the other day..."

Gallagher also greets Andro with a friendly grab of the shoulder, without interrupting Jelena. He gives a curt nod of respect to Roan as well.

"I have kept busy," Jelena says, admiring that Gallagher's mood is much lighter since she last really discussed anything with him, shortly after Sienar's death on that rainy rooftop. "I studied, mostly. One never stops learning, after all. Also, I reconstructed my second lightsaber."

She produces it to show her duplicated lightsaber, sitting comfortably in her hand.

"I did not have time to do so before Mandragos. I felt my swordsmanship was weak when it came time for it in the Basilica."

The Council is in full session. You understand they are dealing with many issues today- but Trorn explains that yours is the most significant. "They have wanted a team together on this issue for some while," he says. "The difficulty has been waiting for Jedi with the correct mix of skills to become available. Even now, our manpower is short. There is increasing unrest in the outer areas lately."

"Hopefully you should not need to become too proficient, or our friend Andro would have some competition, wouldn't he?" Gallagher jests.

When Trorn starts to fill them in, Gallagher thinks about how Sienar may or may not have contributed to this unrest that Trorn speaks of, but sees it merely as an opportunity to help undo the damage.

"What sort of unrest?" Gallagher asks. "What problem is the Council trying to confront with our mission?"

"There's no single answer to that first question," says Trorn. "Crime is up, political unrest is up... there is general discontent all over. More and more of the outer areas are in the effective control of criminal organisations. Many others are in the hands of local bureaucracies whose loyalty to the Senate is wavering. Still more are too weak to defend themselves from the threats thst exist out there.

"What the Council is trying to move against is the perception that not enough is done to defend the outer worlds against such threats. Your mission is a central part of this."

Roan has spend much of his downtime in meditation, encouraging Sunda to do the same. Attempting, possibly futilly to quell his more impulsive instincts.
He has had much on his mind recently, from the battles on Cassilis to Sienar, and the famine.
His meditations brough back teachings of Master Gundark, and her desire to stop evil despite overwhelming odds. Her drive and mastery of the light has brought him comfort.

He arrives at the Council refreshed and ready to begin what he hopes becomes a clearly successful mission. Sunda is by his side, as usual and he meets the council with head held high, exuding confidence in himself.

"I agree, we should be doing more. Let us combat corruption wherever it lies. What is the nature of this assignment?"

Jelena is encouraged by Roan's outward demeanor when she sees him. She had heard whisperings that the Council worried for the morale of Roan Trilanger, thinking that so much gone wrong against him could do him harm. But he does not display it when she sees him. Maybe the whispers were wrong.

She waits to hear Trorn answer Roan's question.

He'd better let the Council explain the details. He stays outside the door and ushers you inside...

Gallagher too is pleased with Roan's directness, glad that he is not the only one to have recovered from the gloom of Mandragos.

"Thank you, Trorn," Gallagher says, before walking through the doors, ready to meet the Council for his next assignment rather than another counselling session.

Jelena goes in too, pocketing the lightsaber she had been showing the others.

The Council seems imposing as ever, against the backdrop of the Coruscant skyline.

Yoda seems to be in one of his frequent moods and says little, though he keeps an eye on all that happens.

"Good day to you all," says Ki-Adi Mundi. "I trust you are well rested?"

"As rested as we will ever be, I feel," Jelena says, bowing to the Council respectfully. She is curious about what mission they have in mind for the Jedi, but remains hopeful that she can discuss Padawan-training with them as well. "I hear the Council has much to handle today."

"Let that be our concern," says Mundi. "You need worry only about your own assignment."

"Trorn has told you the basics?" asks Windu. "Your assignment is against piracy."

"Piracy?" Gallagher says. It is not something he has ever had to deal with before, being so young and experienced so little of the Galaxy. "Intriguing. A new threat to confront, for me at least."

Jelena also has had very little experience with pirates, and then only diplomatic matters with pirates who were willing to reform and listen to Republic law. She had missed the actual fighting part.

"I am guessing there is a certain group of pirates that has raised the ire of the Republic."

"It is an old threat manifested in a new way," says Mundi "Your target is the Red Lance pirate clan, led by a man named Pelloran."

Does Jelena know anything of Pelloran or the Red Lance clan?

You have the current association in your head from your recent activities on Cassilis. You understand Kuylen (Larios, not Anaz) used those pirates as his muscle back in the day.

Ohhh...

"I would have thought that the Red Lance would have been dismantled after the encounters they had with Master Gundark's team. But I'm afraid my knowledge of them is limited to that."

The name of the clan means very little to Gallagher, and so he just listens.

"On the contrary," says Windu. "Thhe pirates took some significant losses at the time, but in the long-term they benefitted the most from that incident."

"Perhaps I should explain the complete background here," says Mundi, in his ever calm and measured voice.

"That would be appreciated," Gallagher says. "Jelena may have some idea of who these guys are... but I have none at all."

Gallagher had only met Master Gundark once, during their mission to protect the Viceroy of the Trade Federation, and sadly drew away too little of her wisdom during their short time together. He had been added to the team later in that assignment, just in time for Gundark's poisoning, which Sienar witnessed, oddly enough.

(Bah, I hate missing the first page... Pardon the long post, I still want to make an introduction. Let's assume Andro took the greetings in a good mood. He's feeling better about himself these days.)

Ando stands beside his comrades, listening carefully to the Council give their mandate. He was very grateful for a new assignment. Not only was it a chance to prove himself worthy of the Jedi title, but it was a chance to get out of the temple for a while. He didn't deny for a moment that he'd deserved the reprimand and then needed the counciling after the Spiridos and Mandragos missions. But it was getting tiresome to feel as if your mental status was being constantly monitored.

Andro did feel that the counciling had helped. He no longer obsessed about his fighting skills. Certainly he kept them up, as to let any useful skill lag was wasteful and unwise. But he no longer pursued improvements relentlessly, instead he focussed more on the other aspects of the Force which he showed aptitude for.

As a part of his healing, he had also rebuilt his lightsaber. It didn't take Andro long in his reflections to realise that instead of a model of simplicity, his saber and harness were in fact the height of arrogance. With is, Andro was unconsciously announcing his superiority with the lightsaber, possesing and carrying a blade like no other. When he first built it with a smooth featureless body and hidden activation stud, he'd made the excuse for it's unorthodox design on his imagined belief in simplicity. In fact the thing had been maddeningly hard to make and took tireless training late a night to learn to draw and activate as fast as the Jedi with 'normal' blades. That, and it's special harness worn on his hip like some sort of Jedi Gunslinger was also eliminated. Andro had re-shelled his original saber with a conventional grip and activation controls, and made attached a clip at it's base to hang the saber on his belt like almost every other Jedi in history had.

This mission would be the first to test the 'new' Andro, and he was excited for the chance.

"Meaning that Pelloran was left with a vast amount of wealth with which to rebuild his pirate clan," Jelena comments.

"Indeed so," says Mundi. "We have known the wealth from Avalar has been around for some years. It is with this wealth that Faylar attracted the services of the bounty hunter Balek, and Pelloran subsequently renewed the contract. However, long before Balek met his end on roben, that contract had lapsed. Things had mvoed on- yet the wealth was unspent.

"Evidently, Pelloran was rebuilding his force. With the wealth from Avalar, his pirates returned to power as strong as they ever were, preying on still-delicate Damagran area."

"I am guessing that the original team sent to Damagran could not be assembled for this task, so you needed Jedi with OUR skills," Gallagher says, "and that Damagran wants a lasting solution to the pirate problem. Removing Pelloran as a threat and handing the wealth of Avalar over to the Damagran system would definitely help stabilize the area, and improve their ties to the Republic."

Jelena feels that Gallagher's response has covered her own thoughts.

"Is there any risk of Pelloran still working with any of Kuylen's lackeys? Maybe ones that did not follow him to his death or anything of that sort."

"Ah, I am afraid we have not been clear," says Windu. "The situation so far described was not the sitatuon now. Although Pelloran is well-funded with good targets, the Damagran authorities have been trying to curtail his activities. In these... difficult times, the Senate is less inclined to intervene in areas that have their own ability to enforce law. Irritaitng as Pelloran was, I am afraid that we Jedi are more badly needed elsewhere. After all, it was only the destructon of the space dock that sent us out the first time; Pelloran has normally been careful not to be so spectacular."

"Ah, I see," Jelena says. "Has Pelloran been successful thus far in avoiding incidents that would require Jedi attention?"

"It's a big galaxy and there are only so many Jedi," says Windu, always just that tiny bit les formal than his fellows. Though pehraps there is a hint of concern in that voice as well.

"Things have now changed," says Mundi. "Much to the surprise of the authorities... Pelloran has abandoned the Confederacy."

"Really?" Gallagher says. "What could make that old pirate abandon his accustomed hunting grounds?"

"It is hard to tell the minds of the priate clans," says Mundi. "It may be that the damage from the constant struggle with the Damagran forces was getting beyond his abiltiy to make good. At Damagran, they are overjoyed, of course. But now others suffer. Pelloran has taken his fleet and moved inwards."

"Closer to the Republic?" Gallagher asks. "A surprising move... what area of space has he preyed upon now?"

"These are areas that are not well defended," says Windu. "The Red Lance has turned to easier pickings. They are no longer attacking trade routes. Backed by their naval power, the pirates are making surface landings. They are attackinng planets- places that, unlike Damagran, do not have the capacity to fight back against such well-equipped foes."

"Places that need our help, then," Gallagher says.

"Absolutely. The problem is not that the palces are ltierally incapable of defending themselves. At first the pirates weere attacking remote outposts, but now they are attacking fully inhabited worlds. These worlds may niot have the sophisitication of the inner planets but they have their own military forces. It is the tactics the pirates are adopting that the worlds are unable to react to- they are poorly organised and do not work well together. Damagran could co-ordinate its anti-piracy efforts between systems. Where the pirates are now, it is every world for itself."

"So maybe what is needed is not so much the Jedi combating the pirates personally but helping bind the other worlds together to assist them in doing so, so that the Red Lance will be repelled and dealt with forever," Jelena says, seeing a chance at negotiations.

Mundi smiles benignly.

"This is a long-term assignment we are sending you on," he says, "but not THAT long. We have been trying to bind together the outer worlds for centuries or more. No, we can only work with what we have out there."

"I'm sure some coordination can be done to ease our mission," Gallagher says, "but we'll see. Attacking pirates might change their minds. Is there somewhere in particular that we are being sent? Or are we being spread about that area?"

"Try not to get sidetracked," says Windu. "The worlds out there have ancient grudges and issues of mistrust and tension; getting involved with that would leave you no time to act. If the worlds are ever going to be convinced of the benefits of peace and co-operation, then closer ties to the Republic are the best means. Such ties can be made by, say,our successful tackling of the pirates.

"The problem is with how Pelloran operates. He has no big ships save his freighters to carry his gains. His space force is all fighters and small traders.. On his targets, he is hitting palces of wealth and value- banks, vaults, storhouses of valuables. Industrial sites and warehouses. His raids are meticulously planned. He knows where and when to hit his targets. His forces arrive via hyperspace, land, and launch their raid. They brutally massacre all token resistance, take the goods and get back into space before the worlds can properly respond. Then they make their escape. No one planet has the resources to find where in space they move away to, and so they are free to strike again and again."

"Then it sounds like the only way to stop him is to either find out where he is going to attack next and create an ambush, or create a target too nice for him to pass up."

Andro speaks up, "That would shake his operations up a bit, certainly, but it wouldn't stop him, I think. It sounds like Pelloran's got wealth enough to replace whatever raids we can pick off. This is an investigation first, not a military action. We need to find out where he hides and shut him down there. Am I correct in my thinking, Master Windu?"

Gallagher concedes the point about the grudges held in that area of space, and waits to hear the answer to Roan's and Andro's ideas on the matter.

"If it was possible to locate his fleet in the endless tracts of space and take the clan out at source then that would would of course be a very good thing," says Windu, "but if the Confederacy could never do that, then the isolated worlds he is attacking now certainly never will. The infrastructure in the area does not exist for locating the mobile clan fleet. Nor would you be able to raise the forces needed to perform such a job. Destroying the clan is an option that is simply impractical to the current needs of the situation, which is to relieve the pressure on the worlds in the area as soon as possible.

"We need to destroy Pelloran's striking force. He has abandoned his home- his resources will be running low. A nomadic force like he has become must continually acquire to survive. If his ability to strike is knocked out, we do not think he will have the means to replace it.

"That being so, Roan is right. If one of their targets can be located ahead of time, then the local forces can be warned and prepared. The strike force can be confronted at the point of attack. The basic principle of your assignment is simple. Determine the location of an attack- and organise the local forces in order to prevent the attack as it happens. Force the surrender of the strike force and make as many arrests as possible."

"So then all we need to do is figure out where they will be striking when we are in the area," Gallagher says. "I am sure that they scout the areas they strike in advance, maybe a scout could be made to talk... otherwise, we may have to determine how we will preemptively prepare once we arrive."

"There is no way we know of to identify the scouts," says Mundi. "But destroying that striking force is your mission. Spend some time analysing the situation. We shall do what we can to allocate additional Jedi for the final take down if they become available."

"Indeed, can we get access to any records of his previous strikes? So that we can look for patterns and have an idea of what is going on before we leave here?"

Well, they'll supply you with whatever information they can, but it is now time for you guys to put together a long-term plan of action.

"Along with what Gallagher asks for, in case there is a pattern, perhaps we should do some investigating at the site of the last raid or two. Learn how he operates this team, see the kind of damage they do, how they approach their target, stuff like that. We might also snoop around, (maybe just one of us under cover) and see if we can turn up accomplices, or at least find evidence of their scouts, how they operate. If we can manage to find somebody who knows something, that puts us lightyears ahead of where we are now. Because if there isn't some pattern to their movement, and we don't get something from someone, then figuring the next target will be long odds."

Yup, ideas like this all good stuff to be welcomed! It is your investigation, to do with as you will.

Gallagher wants to requisition files regarding the pirate operation on Jaglon Beta, so that they have as much info about that as they can. Have the pirates entirely abandoned it?

I agree that we should investigate formerly hit sites, to observe what we can about the aftermath of the attacks themselves and try to work out a pattern.

Also, we should make use of any contacts we have that could be useful.

Lastly... has Gallagher told the Council about the vision he had whilst with Sienar?

I have assumed you have told all. Was there an issue of it you wanted to discuss?

-

I'll process all submitted plans soon- any other particular avenues you want to check out?

The part where we end up on the goddamn volcano planet...

Other thoughts:
-Interview Survivors/Witnesses (if there are any)
-Do we split up at all to tackle multiple locations/objectives at once? Probably not, but I wanted to throw it out there.
-Way out there thought: Could one of us infiltrate the pirates, if the opportunity arose?
-Can we get an 'allowance' of credits from the Council to 'grease the wheels' in the inevitable cantina visit(s)?
-DO we go as undercover from the start? If pirates do have scouts or insiders on a target planet, they might not want to hit it while Jedi are around. Or they might not think it a problems since they hit and run so fast.

Gallagher has been worried about the Lady with White Hair, and wants to know if any of that segment of his dream pertains to the pirates, particularly what Gallagher sees the apparent seer seeing, and the desert of sharp rocks.

Gallagher is trying to be cautious with his glimpses of the future, especially since he predicted events with Sienar and he failed to truly listen.

There are no obvious links, so in the end it is up to you to interpret.

You always get a credit allocation, Andro. But they won't be worth much out there. Scattered worlds in that region have internal economies.

Going undercover, even to some extent into the pirates, is very possible if done right.

I like the undercover option! If Jedi are openly snooping around, the pirates will catch news of it and back off, making it hard for us to move in.

Some of you will be better at that than others.

You can indeed go visit some of the sites- recent hit areas are the Grand Bank of Sultis IV and an undergroud bullion reserve on Krillian. Means heading out there, of course, and it's all going to take some time... but then all of this will take time.

You are not in immediate daneger, so splitting up is entirely practical. Make sure you have an appropriate skill set if flying solo though, and you can only move around quickly if you can fly your own ship.

The Council recommends you do NOT use your own ships; they are too easily traced to you. They'll give you Jedi Fighters to fly out there, though be careful how you use them. Jedi flying out to heavily populagted worlds is pretty natural, but poking around explorign space etc. is too likely to tip the pirates off.

As for the pirates worrying- the clan is strong but they cannot possibly land in enough force to fight even the relatively primitive armed forces of the worlds they are hitting. They are always hitting and running before force enough to overwhelm them turns up. A Jedi would not seem to change that equation; they cannot be everywhere at once. and- although this is sad in many ways, as it would make life easier- past experience says that criminals in areas don't tend to give up just because Jedi are around. They'll still come.

You bguess they must indeed be couting out, yes. But how do you tell a pirate from a... not pirate? Tricky.

The Council also wants you to be wary of entrapment. Remember, it is a legal defence to say that you would not have commtited the crime unelss incited to by law enforcement. Finding out where they are gong to strike is fine, Setting a trap is fine, if they fall for it. But GUIDING them into a trap is literal entrapment and is no good. If you are undercover, you must never suggest; only listen.


"Look, you clever types find where they are," says Sunda, "and then Roan can fly us onto their command ship and take out the problem at source, yeah? OR. Ok. We dress up as pirates and fly one of their own ships on board!"

-

Whilst you guys are planning all this from a room in the Temple... there is a repeated tap at your door.

Sometimes Jelena admires Sunda's straight-forward thinking, but this is not one of them.

"It isn't that simple," Jelena explains. "Maybe at some point plans along those lines will be entertained, but first we must concentrate on how we are going to find them, as well as how we are going to dismantle their strike teams. And..."

Jelena is interrupted by the repeated knocking, and so gives a nonchalant 'please hold' gesture to Sunda before answering the door.

"Can I help you?" Jelena says to whomever is beyond the door.

Well, the noise was some short guy poking the lower part of the door repeatedly with a stick.

Yoda?

Jelena looks down quizzically at the short fellow.

"Hmmmm..." says Yoda, shuffling in past you without looking at you.

"Hello, Master Yoda," Jelena says, as the most powerful being in the universe grumpily shuffles past. "What brings you to our planning session?"

"Master Yoda, how good to see you."
Roan Bows.

"Hmmmmmmm..." he repats, briefly looking at all around him and finding none of it satisfactory. Sunda leaps to his feet and adopts an attentive stance.

"Much to think about, you have," says Yoda at last.

Of course, nothing is ever satisfactory....

Anyway
"Indeed, this is a complex operation needing much finesse and planning."

"Mmm," says Yoda, waving a hand. He doesn't sem interested in your opinion on the matter.

"Not easy, things for you of late, Roan,. Difficult is the life of a Jedi. Many threats there are."

"This is true Master, but such is the will of the force. I will keep striving forward."

Gallagher merely watches the exchange, looking up from the files on the last Jedi mission to fight the Red Lance. He wonders if Yoda has seen what he has seen, and if it is what has the wise old Master in such a funk.

"Hmm.

"So. More help on this, you might need, hmm?"

Andro would be with Gallgher helping look for some pattern in the pirate's movements and/or timing. He rises to attention much like Roan's padawan, and bows his greetings to the legendary Jedi Master. He listens intently, for he knows Yoda rarely, if ever, wastes his words.

(So, thinking ahead, who might have a good undercover skillset? Galllagher and I have done that, but I won't comment on Andro's effectiveness at snooping around. We're all warriors enough to pass for a rough pirate, but this might need particular emphasis on social skills to get useful info. But to begin, we should go check out the latest two hits. I guess we better hear Yoda out before we decide who we've got to splint into groups, but I'd suggest Gallagher/Andro and Roan/Sunda/Jelena, depending on who might be able to infiltrate.

Ush, with Gallagher and Andro looking at the info, I'd say some of what we're keeping an eye out for is the distance and timing of the attacks. Maybe we can extrapolate some sort of schedule and probable area of the next attack. Can we get a timeline of all or most of the hits? Is there a way to show us relative distances between locations? If we can figure how far do the pirates travel in the time before attacks, we cna 'draw' arcs of influence arounts the hit locations and look where any arcs intersect. if any hit near a habitable location it's a possible pirate base. There's some error in there to figure for pirate down time, and I don't know if this 2D strategy translates well into a 3D galaxy.)

"Any help you can offer us will be invaluable Master"

Gallagher pictures, for a moment, Master Yoda trashing the pirate striking force all by himself, but figures that it is only wishful thinking and that it is not the help Yoda means to provide.

"Indeed, it really would," Gallagher says.

-

Might want to reconsider the splits, Andro, just because Gallagher and Andro have jack-all in the form of transportation. The Council has told us not to use our own ships, maybe we can rent some for Jelena and Roan to hop around in.

But I agree that we should split to the first two places, and your plan for figuring things out sounds awesome.

Jelena simply listens, curious about Yoda's mood.

"Oh!" says Yoda, in a sing-song way. "Require help from me, do you? Afraid perhaps, are we? Hmmm, remember you all as younglings, I do. Always asking for help then as well. Except Sunda, hmm? Needed no-one's help, did you?"

"Umm..." says Sunda.

"Always the best in hs own mind. The strongest. The fastest. Maybe he alone could do this task for us, hmm?"

"I... err... Master Yoda, I didn't..."

Yoda jabs his stick towards the people he is naming.

"Maybe save the effort of those ageing ones amongst us. Like Roan here, hmm? Or Gallagher? Feeling the years go by, they are. Old and worried they have become."

"Master Yoda, we didn't..." Gallagher starts to say, "I don't think we meant it in that way! And I'm... I'm not worried."

Gallagher knows that lying to Yoda is about as easy as trying to shave with your own lightsaber, but he tries anyway. The Lady worries him.

"Well, perhaps worried I am, hmm?" says Yoda. "Worry about your focus, Gallagher, I do. Always your mind on what you have seen. Always dwelling on what might happen to you. Hmm!"

He advances towards you and begins to poke you with his stick, punctuating his words.

"Big, the galaxy is! More problems in it than those you have seen! Misery and destruction, pirates cause. Reason enough for anyone to act. Good thing to do for you, it is. Plenty of time to make sense of your other problems. Be mindful of the future, young Acolyte. But of all the future. Not just one part of it you see. The Force will guide you. Watch for what you have seen. A selfish desire, it shows, to see your future in all things. Hmm. Time, yes."

He pauses, seeming to be genuinely pondering something.

"A mystery I see in these pirates. My own worries I have. Flush it out, we must. Worry not. Do the task that the Council has set you. Stop these pirates, and answers we may have."

Gallagher recoils each time Yoda's stick finds its intended mark.

"Have... have you seen her too, Master Yoda?" Gallagher asks, tentatively. The muppet's words seem to confirm this, but Gallagher wants to be sure.

Yoda performs a grumpy facepalm.

"Listen, you do not." he says. "Obsession, your weakness is."

"I feel it too master. Something seems not right with these pirates. All is not as it seems."

(Lol, Gallagher, you actually said Muppet!)

Andro just listens. He's been in enough trouble lately to know he'd better not open his mouth around Master Yoda. His psyche has been picked apart enough lately. Besides, he really has nothing to say, philisophically, about the current situation.

"Hmph!" says Yoda, annoyed. "Hear you not what I say? Focus on your goals, you must. Not for you are other worries. Stoppe,d the pirates must be!"

Np bonus xp for impressing Yoda!

"You're right, Master Yoda," Gallagher says. "I apologize. My curiosity gets the best of me and it gets me into bad situations. I will keep my mind here and now, so that I can focus on the dismantling of this pirate clan. They have plagued the Galaxy for too long and overstayed their welcome in it."

"Well. Help you need, so help you will have. Come with me then, mmm?"

Jelena does not question Yoda; she knows that seeing glimpses of the future can be helpful, but that it should not distract one from the task at hand. She does not voice this, though, not wanting to make her colleagues look poorly in front of the Grandmaster.

She follows Master Yoda, wondering what kind of help he has in mind for them.

"Where are you taking us?" Jelena asks.

Gallagher, displeased with himself for not adhering to Yoda's message when he was saying it, looks between his friends before going with Yoda.

As the group shuffles out to follow Yoda, Andro gently pats Gallagher on the back. I feel your pain. is the general message in the gesture.

Yoda is taking you to one of the training quarters.

He motions to one of you to open a side door. Inside is a comfortable, red-themed room... with three 14 year olds inside, looking rather meek.

"There your help is, hmm?" says Yoda.

"Good it is, to take a learner. Make you think, it does. Each of you needs something to help you focus." He gives the youngsters a smile. Yoda is very fruiendly to the children, indulgent of the teenagers and generally disapproving of the adults. Generally, your progress through the Order can be measured by how much Yoda seemd to dislike you; the ultimate ambition is to get onto the Council where Yoda cna then completely disagree with everything you say.

He's ambling away now anyway, having said his piece. The three Padawans before you will be in a stage 2 of development by next. story (where Sunda was for those stories).

You had better choose one each! Sunda and Vilpa have been chosen before so they are unavailable, of course.

http://www.killermovies.com/forums/f7/t292500.html

Whilst they are choosing, Yoda has an extra word for you, Roan.

(Isn't Jeb unavailable too?)

Gallagher almost immediately starts to protest, but bites his tongue. He is not sure he is ready for such a responsibility, with all that has happened with him as of late. But if Master Yoda believes that Gallagher is ready, so must Gallagher believe it too.

Using the Force, he searches for inspiration in his decision... and senses that one Padawan is more powerful than the others, or at least has the potential to be. Gallagher strides up to the youngling and kneels before him.

Gallagher selects D'an Kao-Ru as his student.

Finally! Jelena thinks to herself. This is something she has been waiting for since the day the Council announced that she had reached Knighthood. She has a great deal of wisdom to pass on.

She chooses Essalin Beche as her Padawan.

THen I will follow Yoda outside.

"Perhaps not ready for this you are, hmm?" says Yoda to you Roan. "Many Jedi under your command, Young ones too."

(Well, with Jeb gone too, that looks like Leoto Okama for Andro, then. Looks like there's a certain trait they share skill level in, too. Jeb looks interesting, but seems like a mini-Andro, so it probably not have been a good idea to stick them together anyhow. )

At Yoda's revelation, Andro's first thought was that Yoda had either gone crazy, or had decided there were one too many Padawans running around, to assign one to this particular Jedi. He did his very best to keep the look of the sheer terror he was feeling off of his face. How does one introduce themselves to their first Padawan, anyhow? Well, they're just kids, so it can't be too hard, not like sensitive and easily-to-offen adults, anyhow... So prepared, he walks up to his new Padawan and introduces himself.

"Leoto Okama?" He bows, "My name is Andro Fenris. Yoda has given me to you to continue your training."

Just a note- I could recycle the Vilpa and Jeb profiles with different names, if anyone wants to switch. What do people think?

(Well, Jeb would have been my first choice (after Sunda - imagine the damage he and Andro could cause!) from the list, but there's nothing wrong with Leoto, either.)

So... sticking with Leoto or not?

(Let's go Jeb.)

Then his name is Argo Restal- a blonde boy.

Essalin is a dark-haired girl, whilst D'an is a wispy-looking alien type with pale skin. They look around nervously at rach other. It is Argo that speka.s

"Master Yoda said... we had a special misison," he says.

Jelena, you notice that Sunda is looking at them disapprovingly.

"That's right, Argo." Andro answers, taking care to speak as if he would an adult, not using the gentle tone most would with youths. (But these Jedi are so young! His mind protests, they are to help take down a group of Pirates? Andro tries to think back to his first mission, but stops himself before he start daydreaming.) "We all have. We are to join Jedi Trilanger here in his mission to stop a group of Pirates from harrassing helpless worlds. Do you think you're ready for such a task?"

"I am confident in my abilities Master. I know that the past missions have been tricky, but I am focused here. The introduction of young ones makes things difficult though. Pirates are violent, and I don't want to bring them to harm. However I know I can complete this mission successfully, we will just have to be more careful about it. If we can determine where the pirates will strike, we can build a resistance. The force will guide us, this needs to be done."

Kneeling before Essallin Beche, Jelena introduces herself and tells the young girl that she will be her Master now, and that she hopes they can performs great feats together.

When Sunda appears to have a problem with things, Jelena lets Gallagher and Andro talk to step away to ask Roan's Padawan what's wrong.

"Something troubling you, Sunda?" Jelena asks.

"Err, no..." says Argo. "Master Yoda said that our misison... was to look after you..."

-

"Well... just look at them!" says Sunda.

-

"Much you have to worry about here, Roan. Read your final report carefully, I will. A watch on you is being kept."

Jelena looks over the three new Padawans, lingering for a moment on Essallin.

"They are nervous and fresh-faced," Jelena says. "They do not have the experience that you have. That IS what is bothering you, yes?"

Andro's eyebrow go up at the surprise comment. Then he realises that the comment isn't really a surprise. He smiles, "Well, Padawan, yes. I suppose that would be your mission, wouldn't it. Well, you'll be watching out for us on that pirate mission I was talking about then."

"I'm really not sure they are ready for a real mission..." says Sunda.

"Ok," says Argo. "What do you want me to do?"

Andro smiles at the lad, white terror fills his guts with his best 'wise' tome: "Just pay attention to what I do and say, learn from me. Learn from my successes and my mistakes. When you can, consider why I said or did those things. Then ask questions. That's the general idea. For this mission specifically, stick close to me at all times; there is danger ahead of us. This will be a long mission, so there should be plenty of time for both of us to learn something."

Gallagher turns to his student, D'an.

"I want to hear what you think Master Yoda meant by looking after us," Gallagher says, smiling. "Any thoughts, D'an?"

"Um..." he says. "Master Yoda said to say that if you asked that, we were to say that all of you should know well what parts of you Yoda was not happy with, and you should stop bugging us and let us work out what thiose parts our for ourselves..."

Argo nods. "Right," he says. "So... are we leaving any time soon?"

"I see," Gallagher says. "Then Andro's advice to simply watch us and learn about us will suffice. Every person in this Galaxy has flaws; it should be apparent to you what ours are, in time. Watch for them and tell us when such weaknesses have shown through. It will be better for both of us, in the long run. It will help you learn what not to do, and it will help us learn how to defeat these flaws."

Gallagher thinks briefly about how his Padawan may react when he learns more about Gallagher- his vaguely disturbing past and all. He hopes it will not affect their relationship and how the student learns from his master.

"And I believe so. Starship requisitions need to be made, so that we can slip into that area of space without it being obvious who we are. We intend to go undercover."

"Were you not in their place just a few years ago?" Jelena asks. "What makes you so sure that they are not prepared for what we are to undertake?"

Sunda scoffs.

"Just look at them!" he says. "Do any of them look ready to use a sabre to kill a man if they have to? When I was that age, I was ready."

"Do you think I was?" Jelena asks.

Jelena remembers the first time the situation arose for her. She had been sent with her Master to a diplomatic meeting where a world was trying to join the Republic. An assassin came out of the audience to kill the Republic representative, and Jelena was in position to stop him... but she did not, too nervous about death to do so. Fortunately her Master was able to resolve the situation.

"Patience, Young One. There are details to set before we can leave, and not just transportation." He shifts his position and raises his voice to include the others in the room. Perhaps we should all gather once Roan gets back and start finalizing the plan, now that we know who's going to the party."

(Looks like we can split neatly in two groups. If one group wants to be undercover, and Jelena is in, they could pass as a family now that we have the kids along. Any undercover personnas will now have to account for children. Hard to go dragging them into cantinas, I imagine.

That brings up a point, though. They complicate any plans we may have had about attempting an infiltration of the pirates. Someone would have to leave his Padawan with the others. Sunda the oldest, obviously, and has gone without Roan short times before, so maybe that makes Roan the best candidate if that chance does come up. Actually, how old is Sunda? Could he play Pirate, too?

Not to get hung up on the pirate thing, how are we going to beginning this mission? It doesn't sound like cover is immediately necessary, just discretion. Would it necessarily follow that Pelloran would keep much of an eye on his previous hits? Even if there was someone on each of these planets to scout/spy for the Pirate, I still don't imagine that they are much worried about who picks over the rubble.

Why don't each team go in, introduce themselves quietly to the local government, get permission to investigate and quietly check out the sites? Depending on millions of variable items that could occur between now and then, each could then plan the next best step. Perhaps we should agree on a certain time-period of investigation at each site, then have a pre-scheduled meet-up at a central location in that neck of the woods to compare notes and figure out what's next.

I suspect that the time between now and the theoretical meet-up will not be completely boring, anyhow...)

Sunda just gives a kind of 'I dunno' shrug to you, Jelena.

-

The first thing you can do is go out to the area and get that info you are after. I want to know who is visiting where, what they plan to do to get in fo on the pirates and what skills they want to try and do it.

Only once you have good info should you mess around going undercover.

Padawans can do grunt/research work for you whilst you do the dangerous stuff; it's all good learnign work for them to contribute towards a real assignment. They are hopeless undercover becuase their haircuts etc. just scream 'Padawan', and they are not meant to do such work.

Indeed, you doubt Pelloran has either the resources or the inclination to keep surveillance up on his old targets.

Gimme a plan and let's get going.

(I think the first steps would becontact with the local gov't (I assume we must announce ourselves to them before poking around their planets?) then a sweep of the sites, interview with any witnesses/survivors. Talking to locals in Gov't and the sites might start to give us some idea about the pirates. Need people with good social skills for the interviews and any permission-seeking, and good observation, maybe fixit or some other technical aptitude to check out the hit sites.)

There aren't many out that way that would try to refuse a Jedi access to somewhere*, though your consideration for their feelings is noted.

(* because of general respect for what law exists, because they don't want to offend you and be left without yuor help, and because in the end they do rather fear you)

Maybe we should pair up Roan and Gallagher, then Jelena and Andro, for the investigating of the hit sites. Simply basing this off of the fact that Roan and Jelena can both fly ships, and Gallagher and Andro... they can't. Also put a more sensitive person with someone less so.

The Council has asked us to use other ships, maybe we can just do public transit the way Anakin and Padme did in Episode II? Unless that tends to break down the further out you get.

We can start worrying about other stuff once we glean what we can from the most recent hits.

(I agree on the splits, that's the way I was thinking as well. As for transport, we've been offerede Jedi Starfighters, but were warned not to be too overt in their use. If we need to worry about drawing attention once we're one the case more we cna look into alternate transportation then. I think that makes us ready to get underway...)

I'm sure some of the local governments have accounts and reports about each pirate hit, so we could go take a look at those, it would save us all the interviewing time. We can also send our newfound leigon of padawans off to help us out digging up files and comparing them and whatnot.

You aren't going so far out that the transit system doesn't work (and it is not in the famine area, btw. Pirates don't bother with areas in economic crisis). Naboo was very far out, remember, and was one example of an island of civilisation out there, clearly not far from Hutt space. You can get passage to any of the worlds concerned.

Ok, I have a team split. Who is going where and what people are on what tasks? And how are you getting to places?

(Andro wants to get right down to business and go straight to the site. Roan's choice, obviously, but Andro would be very interested in the underground reserve. That had to be a lot trickier than a surface building. More detail of the Pirate's skill and technique should be evident there. The Our Padawans could start out researching news or other public info on the pirates activity on that planet. Jelena can come with me or go schmooze the local government if we still think it's useful.)

"I was not prepared," Jelena tells Sunda. "I have since steeled myself to that unfortunate part of our ways, that sometimes lives must be ended. You already had when it came time for you to do it. These Padawans will learn it just as we all have. It is just not so easy for everyone. Think of Gallagher."

Jelena sighs.

"I see much of Roan's head-strong, action-packed nature in you, Sunda. He's very much a no-nonsense man. So you will be."

-

Jelena will call dibs on the underground bullion reserve on Krillian, then, so that Andro and her and the Padawans can go investigate. Since the Council has said they prefer if we don't use our ships, unless we can procure another ship, Jelena is okay with public transit to get there.

Jelena will want to meet with witnesses of the pirate attack, taking her Padawan along with her to help with the interviews and give Essallin a chance to show her mentor what social skills she has. She also wants to meet with the leaders of Krillian, just to assure them that the Jedi are here to help and get any assistance they can provide.

Maybe Andro and Argo can pick about the scene of the crime?

I guess that leaves us with the Grand Bank of Sultis IV. Gallagher is going to want to go to the attacked site itself to see if his keen senses tip him off to anything, but how we get there I'll leave up to Roan. We could take Jedi ships out. Jedi starfighters probably wouldn't be much good for four people.

Gallagher also wants to talk with D'an on the way there and find out more about him.

(Jelena, we're getting loaned Jedi starfighters. We'd use the public stuff later if we needed to draw less attention to ourselves.)

You CAN use Jedi starfighters, but that's not going to help you very much Andro!

Seeing as you can't fly them. Can we get anything bigger?

Nope. You could ask for a Republican cruiser but that's a bit high profile.

(Ah, good point. I remember the council said that and assumed that's just the way it was going to be. Got sidetracked off reality for a bit. So, yeah, I guess that leaves public transport. hehe)

Yup, We'll go to the bank. And I suppose its public transportation away, as Starfighters don't help if 3 of the 4 can't fly them and my ship isn't allowed.
I have a discussion I'd like to have with Sunda en-route as well

Fighters still have a use as they allow a Pilot to move quickly from A to B if need be.

Discuss away!

Well, anyhoo, if one of you wants to bring a fighter you can tell me.

Else, it is time to go! You may be away for quite some while.

Maybe Jelena and Roan should take fighters there so that we have them around?

Alright. I'll take a fighter.

(Yes, I don' think there's any reason twe have to travel together. Not at this point anyway. Is there anything we need to think to take care of before we leave?)

Jelena will take one, trusting Andro not to mess up her Padawan too much in the transit from Coruscant to Krillian...

Right! Well, the journey is fine. Over the next month you guys all perform various research and investigation duties. For simplicity, each of you can specify one specific thing that you specialidsed in doing in particular. Please tell me what it is you are trying to do, and we'll see how you did. You may assign your Padawans, though be wary of relying on them.

Some examples:

- Check out the crime scenes carefully (Intelligence + Observation. Not Perception as the attacks are not recent enough to be literally spotting forensic clues, but you might glean insight from looking at them)

- Get information from witnesses (Charisma + Persuasion)

- Deal usefully with local authorities (Charisma + Leadership)

Way too late to get Force senses on anything, but social force powers will work, and Intuition might kick in.

While en route, if its ok, I'd like to ask Sunda what he thinks our approach should be to this sort of mission.
I'll send Sunda to check out the attack site, while I will attempt to deal usefully with the local authorities.
Can my ties to CorSec help me out with that because I am used to dealing with police work and stuff like that?

CorSec is very different to the kind of security organisations you would deal with out there.

Your man at CorSec also says, with all due respect, that this is a Jedi problem.

"The Outer Regions are full of pirate clans- strong ones. We've got a file on each one, but this one has dropped off the radar. When they were interdicting shipping at Damagran, that was on a significant trade route. The Traders' Association pressured us to do something about it and we in turn made representations to the Senate, but no Jedi were ever sent because the feeling was that Damagran should take care of its own problrms.

"But now? Those pirates are nowhere. People go through those systems but they don't stop there, and hyperspace interdictions are rare. So the pressure on us has dropped off.

"I don't mean this in a BAD way, of course. What I mean is... only you Jedi are left that actually care. It's good that you are doing this, but there aren't enough Jedi to stamp out the piracy problem. We make sure it doesn't happen around here, but the worlds out there have no hope. No wonder they are all annoyed with the Senate.

"You know, your father always did want some sort of galactic security force, based on our model. Not to replace the Jedi, but to take care of all of the mountains of tedious investigation work needed to solve such issues that you just do not have the manpower for. You knock down clans one or two at a time; well, there are dozens of them out there and new ones come up faster than you can take them out. Oddly enough, they do seem to have taken some of his representations on board. Some new Bureau has been making a lot of information requests from us lately about any information we have on criminals moving around in the outer regions. But they seemed more interested in single personalities than mass movements like a clan."

-

Sunda thinks you need to force a confrontation as soon as possible.

"These pirate types are cowards," he says. "They only pick on the weak. They left Damagran because the Confederacy could fire back. Once we get the lightsabres out, they'll give up pretty quick."

-

Any other plans?

Since Gallagher has exactly none of the relevant skills for any of the tasks above, he will make up for it with his talent in the Force, using Presence and Leadership to bolster his social interactions. He will go with talking to survivors and witnesses of the pirate raid of the Grand Bank, taking his Padawan along to watch and learn.

Jelena will tell Andro to handle checking about the hit site of the bullion reserve once they meet up on Krillian.

"I'm a bit more social than you are," she says. "No offense."

She will take to talking with the authorities while she sends Essallin to make interviews with the survivors, feeling that sending her Padawan to authorities would not go too well as she is a young girl rather than an experienced Knight.

"Well, Does it not seem that we are out gunned? Would you try to take on a whole pirate force by yourself?"

"Hit them hard enough from the outset and that's all it takes, Master" says Sunda. "Didn't you take on a whole army at Zeiton? Didn't we take down Balek and his army with just a handful of Jedi at Droben?"

-

Gallagher- well, at least you speak the language. That could have been embarassing.

You and Roan are on Sultis IV, a reasonably developed human-inhabited world with sizeable cities. The ruling class are rather palatial in nature here- at the expense of the common people, you suspect- and the Grand Bank was a massive demonstration of extravagance by the government at thw capital. It was not just a bank, it was the centre. of the planet's financial system.

Roan is getting the low-down on what happened from the authorities. Luckily, the pirates didn't stay long enough to trash everything; they just took everyhting of value and left. Security guard were mown down. The pirates were not subtle. Red Lance fighters strafed the space port to cause terror and panic as the transport ships landed, then the pirates raced out to the bank, shot it up, took all the cash and were back to their ships and out of there before the army arrived. The surprise attack by the enemy fighters counter-acted their air power. It wasn't so well planned that they had people in the back before they hit it, but then they could never have got that sort of surprise due to the massive transports they landed. In this instance, the port was very close to the bank so they just used it for their landing. There was no way to get a hyperspace bearing; it was all over in elss than 30 minutes. They knew where to strike and seemed to have a good idea of how long it would take them.

You don't get much I am afraid, Gallagher. The porates shot anything that moved- security or otherwise- so the only witnesses inside the bank are those that got down and stayed down. The pirates used hover-cargo transports to get the stuff to and from their transport vessels; they didn'tmove in until the pirates secured the area. If anything ha dgone wrong, the pirates would have been able to get out very quickly.

-

Kirillia is home to a race of people at least 50% larger than humans, but with rather disconcerting smooth, angular, blank faces. They are relatively primitive and most of their technology is imported. The underground vault was a private concern near the mountains, away from a major settlement. The pirates landed almost on top of it and led a direct assault, forcing peeople there to haul the wealth out at gunpoint and shooting anyone that gave trouble.

So it can be said that the pirates are sure to be well prepared for their strikes and no doubt have some scouts getting the details down for the areas they attack, or they would not be able to hit and run so quickly.

Gallagher will thank his eye witnesses for what little they give him and then meet up with Sunda at the site of the Grand Bank, wanting to see if his intuitive handle of the Force gives him any insight into things despite lacking any real powers of observation.

Along the way, Gallagher will ask D'an what he thinks of Sultis IV. Gallagher himself dislikes the extravagance that the upper classes are displaying, especially with how the bank is constructed... and he suspects Sienar has something to do with his opinion, after all those rants about the opulence of the Senators on the Committee.

D'an says that the various studies he has read are very clear on this sort of thing- inevitably, if there is money being made, it will not be evenly distributed and a society will reflect that.

"Something that being in the Republic is meant to smooth out," he says, "but it seems the Republic is a bit weak out here."

You aren't sure it works even where the Republic is strong either, Gallagher. Not any more. Heck, even if you hold to the idea that the Republic used to work better, it was always a collection of sovereign states. Some were rich and some were poor.

Alright, well some good old fashioned detective time. What sort of money was stolen? Like in what form? Maybe we can trace where it is being spent and that can help us narrow down where the pirates are. Like if it was gold or something like that we could look and see where a large quantity of gold has been showing up and go from there. The money has to be spent somewhere.

"What did you observe from Droben? How did that battle play out?"

"Well," he says,. "we won, didn't we? And the mission was successful."

And that is a fair question. They were not taking money at all- credits aren't great out here. But any local curency is just that. The pirates stole goods. Stuff they could sell.