Prince Charon
Just zis guy, you know?
[X] Those two things, but also ropes, wires, chalk to catch footprints, and other things to make traps for this definitely-not-a-ghost.
Jedi Padawan Quest (Star Wars)
- Thread starter The Laurent
- Start date
- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Vote closes Saturday morning. No specific estimation this time.
- Location
- Hell
Totes, telenovelas are totes bad for you
:<Well, Kit Fisto not having hair probably would help.
(For Twi'leks who grew up amother other Twi'leks, hair is probably viewed as bizarre and kinda, like.
The way you'd react if some alien species had random slimy head tentacles like medusa hair but grosser. Or whatnot.)
Rude, that is slimefolk discrimination
Slime hair best hair for a hot day <3
[X] On top of the Lightsaber and flashlight, a camera. The better to record whatever they find!
- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Vote Closed!
Vote Tally : Jedi Initiate Quest (Star Wars) | Page 44 | Sufficient Velocity [Posts: 1092-1128]
##### NetTally 1.9.9
[x] Those two things, but also ropes, wires, chalk to catch footprints, and other things to make traps for this definitely-not-a-ghost.
No. of Votes: 16
[X] On top of the Lightsaber and flashlight, a camera. The better to record whatever they find!
No. of Votes: 9
[x] Just a lightsaber and a flashlight.
No. of Votes: 3
[X] mUTHAFUCKING BEAR TRAPS
No. of Votes: 2
Total No. of Voters: 30
##### NetTally 1.9.9
[x] Those two things, but also ropes, wires, chalk to catch footprints, and other things to make traps for this definitely-not-a-ghost.
No. of Votes: 16
[X] On top of the Lightsaber and flashlight, a camera. The better to record whatever they find!
No. of Votes: 9
[x] Just a lightsaber and a flashlight.
No. of Votes: 3
[X] mUTHAFUCKING BEAR TRAPS
No. of Votes: 2
Total No. of Voters: 30
X: Hauntings
- Pronouns
- They/Them
X: Hauntings
Nima was a careful sort of person. Not someone who wanted to be too foolish. So even as she gathered tripwire and chalk to hopefully reveal the footsteps of whoever this 'ghost' was, she went to see Lark, right after class.
He'd spent some time smiling and joking with a few of the initiates, and thus he was a little later than expected, striding around in his plain undress clothing, the armor not being needed for the day to day. Plus, as Nima realized immediately, by showing their faces, Master Bell was trying to get people used to them. Of course, they all had the same face, but it wasn't hard to tell them apart, not after you got to know them.
It all was very clever, really.
"Ah, Nima. Yes?" Lark asked.
"I'd like to ask you, have you been down to the lowest levels of the Temple?" Nima asked.
"No? Why? Is there something interesting down there? I could go if you wanted," Lark said, frowning a little. Nima could see the way his eyes were moving slightly, as if he were running across a datasheet to make sure he had time.
"No, it's fine," Nima said. In the Force, it was startlingly obvious that he probably wasn't lying. Probably was a very finicky word, but there were people who could hide their emotions, Force or no. It was just pretty unlikely, that was all. "There have been rumors about a ghost down there, and one of the things they said was that they saw white? So I was thinking that at a distance, in your armor, you might look like a ghost if someone didn't get a good look?"
"Ghosts? Are ghosts real?" Lark asked.
"Why would you think they are?" Nima responded.
"Well. Considering what the Jedi can do, I shouldn't assume," Lark pointed out.
"As far as I know, ghosts aren't real," Nima said. "I'm going to go down and try to catch this 'ghost' and see who it is."
"Ah, good luck. Don't want me to come along?"
"No," Nima said. "I'm going to be doing this with a friend."
"Oh, so it's just for fun," Lark said. "Understood, ma'am." He smiled and winked for a moment.
*******
Nima could fit all of her equipment, the tripwire, the ropes, the chalk, the flashlight, and some tacks, in a single small bag.
Wessen, on the other, had an entire backpack on her back, which looked surprisingly stuffed. "I-I thought I'd be prepared?" She sounded a little doubtful, her tentacles almost coming together, as if she were fidgeting them.
"No, it's fine. Good job on being prepared" Nima said, smiling when Wessen flushed with gratitude at the compliment. "Now let's get going. We have to if we're going to be able to be down there when night falls."
Which… was technically against some rules, sometimes. But that was fine. The ghost was usually seen at night. All things considered, that meant that there were more than a few kids out past their bedtimes, so Nima could be one of them.
Her dreams hadn't been bad enough that she had a reason not to want to go to sleep. Not recently, at least.
Wessen nodded.
******
The Temple was very large. It was a pretty easy place to get lost in, and so Nima tried to imagine a series of signposts, a a set of places to go. First she made her way down to the gardens and the zoological areas, the artificial enclosure that tried its best to mimic nature in a way that some Jedi found convincing and useful, and others a little frustrating. Nima wondered which one Wessen was, but the two of them kept quiet as they found another set of stairs and went further down.
Down here were some of the living quarters of the non-force using inhabitants, the ones who had been carefully vetted. But then below it, there were old rooms that Nima passed right by, where a few of the Knights and Masters who liked their privacy lived. From there, one more level down, and there were storage closets, a single small refractory whose food was always one of the less inviting, because of the distances involved, and some unused rooms.
And stairs, to even further down. Below this, Nima knew, was supposed to be old abandoned room. If the Jedi Order ever did expand so much that they were bursting out the edges of the building, they'd reactivate the rooms, but out of the memory of old Masters, or perhaps simply their own strange decisions, they hadn't done much.
On occasion someone went down to clean the place up. But besides that, the bottom two floors were strange. These weren't five-thousand years old, not really. They'd been built and rebuilt the Temple as need be. Large parts of it was ancient, but the inside was never quite the same. But thinking about it at least distracted her a little as they walked down the halls of this old portion of the temple.
It was dark, only a few lights working, just enough to see by, and when she glanced into some of the rooms, it was clean enough, except for the dust… but there was a lot of dust. Nima said, "So, Wessen, how have classes been?"
Wessen didn't say anything. She kept on looking in the rooms, nodding herself every so often, as Nima didn't know what to say. Surely she had heard? But Wessen didn't feel like she was in a bad mood, in the Force. Instead, there was something tense and waiting about her, something halfway between stress and contentment as she looked from room to room. And every so often she stopped to pull out this odd container and sprinkle--as far as Nima could say--nothing at all. Some sort of clear powder that all but disappeared by the time it hit the ground. It was odd. "So, this place, it seems so old, but it can't be, can it?"
"P-p-please be quiet, Nima," Wessen said, with only the slightest sharpness. But the moment she said it she stopped and shook her head. "S-s-sorry, but you're being very loud. The stairs are here. Then we'll be on the ground-floor. I think…"
Wessen trailed off.
"Please don't worry," Nima said. "I talk sometimes, when I'm nervous." She talked when she wasn't nervous too. She really should learn when the time for silence was, because she knew that sometimes a respectful silence with friends could be just as important as having something to say. But with Wessen, silence could drag on too long if she let it.
Wessen should blame her, Nima thought, if she hadn't been doing well with the biological studies. It had been Nima's idea, and Wessen hadn't seemed entirely enthused about it, when she'd suggested it.
But she'd tried it anyways.
What did that say about Nima?
It was a cramped, small sort of wing. But of course every floor was huge, and they could probably spend hours looking through the entire area. But instead, Wessen seemed to pick the far walls of the Temple itself and went along them, glancing into each of the rooms, taking note of it.
Nima kept on looking into the rooms, but it all seemed normal. Some were meditation rooms, some training rooms, and there was also an abandoned eating area, complete with a sink full of washed dishes, no doubt very old.
Wessen stared at it for a long time. "Does something seem unusual?"
"No?" Nima said, glancing around at the room. "I assume those are old? Because there are too many. Some sort of party?"
"Look at the dishes. They're still wet. And look at the actual difference between them, the patterns. Someone gathered up dishes to wash from different rooms, very, very recently, and then washed all of them. Perhaps some of them were recently eaten from, perhaps not." Wessen said it quietly, clearly trying not to stammer or equivocate. "What sort of ghost cleans the dishes people live down here?"
Nima blinked. "Oh. So, someone is down here enough to be offended by a bunch of dirty plates?"
It wasn't that everyone Nima knew was a slob, but she could imagine people going down here just to see what was there or have some peace and quiet and eating off a plate and then leaving it there. Yes, it should have gotten them in trouble, since plates didn't grow on trees, but in Nima's experience there was a lot of latitude for kids.
But if one of them was here all the time, of course they'd have to deal with it. Perhaps all of these were even one person's over an extended period of time. When she was finally thinking about what it meant, it seemed to indicate that there was someone who spent a lot of time here, someone who had a reason to care.
"Y-yes. And I saw a set of scuff marks this way. From a shoe. A boot, not something…"
"That an Initiate would normally wear," Nima said, getting it at last.
"I-I'm going to put down some more of that powder."
"What is it?" Nima asked.
Wessen pulled out a square looking box with a button. When she pressed the button, red light shot from it and scanned over an area, going up and down, but doing nothing more. Then Wessen threw a little of the strange, clear powder on the ground and in the light, it wasn't invisible. It in fact lit up so bright green as to draw all eyes.
"Where did you get that?" Nima asked.
The Temple had a huge collection of tools, weapons, and other such things. Disguises for undercover work, Mandalorian Armor, sometimes taken from enemies, but sometimes also donated. There had been Mandalorian Jedi before, after all. Strange devices, scanners, high-quality weapons, nav-devices, and… whatever this was.
"I… borrowed it," Wessen said, sheepishly.
"You stole it?" Nima asked.
"I'll give it back," Wessen said, but there was something pleased about her, as if she liked Nima's reactions. As if it made her proud.
"Well, if you're going to use it, you know what else we could do? We could put some wire over the door so that when they step in here they trip and fall flat onto that powder. Then we can tell who is guilty even if they escape. It can't be washed off, can it? Not easily?"
"No. I a-asked. Well, I asked the computer system. It said that it takes repeated scrubbings. And while the dust can be seen, it sort of soaks into anything it gets into. He wouldn't know to basically…"
"Scald his skin off?" Nima asked.
If he tripped. If he fell. Then that would mean that in theory they could start searching people to find out who was behind it. But of course, Nima wanted to find out who it really was. So they took time to carefully set up the wire and the power and then closed the door and moved onward, Wessen still scattering the powder. So it'd be in her hands, of course, and their shoes. Nothing more, hopefully. Wessen would no doubt know how to wash up properly.
Then Nima felt it. Power. Sheer, vast power in the Force. It stunned her, and she stopped, almost unable to breathe. It wasn't that the power felt malignant, or even cruel. It felt sleepy, in fact, somehow calm and controlled, something slumbering. But a slumbering giant who rolled over could crush villages, or so she'd read in stories when she was a child. It had been a metaphor for being careful with how they used the Force.
But compared to this, she was a speck. For a moment it terrified her, and she almost wanted to turn around, to turn away. Wessen was trembling a little bit when she pointed down at the crack.
The crack was about the size of three hands in length, and seemed wide enough to fit her hands into. She stepped closer to it, mastering herself and trying to feel it in the Force. There was power, sheer power, slipping from this crack. There was no other way to describe it. It was tempting, it was intoxicating… but more than that. It was quiet, it was restful. It was the kind of temptation, of a quiet day, of centeredness. It wasn't the Dark Side… Nima didn't think. But neither did it feel particularly kind, or helpful. It just was, most of all. It was exactly as it was, and nothing and everything more.
Wessen had moved on, but Nima just stared at it. She could stick both of her hands into the crack and wiggle them around, but no more than that. Peering down showed her nothing but rocky foundation endlessly. It didn't lead anywhere.
But she could feel it.
"Nima. I found it," Wessen said.
Nima shook her head and walked over to Wessen, who was crouching by a panel into an airduct. It looked screwed tight.
"I-it looks solid, but it just needs a little prying and…"
Off it went. It was large enough to squeeze through. Perhaps even an adult could manage it, in fact. Though their movements would have to be even more careful.
"Huh." Nima frowned. "Should I go in to check it out?"
"I-if you w-wish Nima, it could be dangerous."
"I think I'll give it a try. I'll come back and tell you if I find anything. Keep watch for the mysterious intruder, please."
Wessen nodded.
"You're really having fun with all of this investigation, aren't you Wessen?"
"A-a little. Well, it's sorta thrilling. Setting traps and going p-places like this."
"What about sneaking around?" Nima asked.
"I-I've never done that," Wessen protested.
"Then how did you borrow the device?"
"Um." Wessen shook her head.
"Exactly," Nima said. "Maybe that's what you're good at?"
Wessen was still excited and happy, deep down. She still wanted to see just what might happen if this kept up.
That was worth all of this, already.
*******
At parts it was so small she had to crawl, though she imagined with the Force, or enough strength, she could have just pushed on through. At others, she had to climb up, and it wound around and around. She was following her instincts, the feeling she got. They were going to head outwards, that's what she felt, and so she crawl-leapt across small gaps and went down shafts, not caring about getting incredibly dusty.
It was a huge area, but of course the walls of the Temple this far down were pretty thick. At one point she noticed a bag of some sort hanging on a string, held up by a rivet, just below. Nima marked it in her mind and kept on going, until she found it.
It was another of those seemingly closed hatches, this one with the screws still in. There was some sort of greenery blocking her view. She opened it up, and saw that she was below the main Temple entrance. There were some potted plants lining this whole area, a small concession to greenery no doubt intended to make the landscape a little less dull. And there was a slight bit of room to edge across the way. And then from there if someone could get down to the street below, and Nima bet she could pretty consistently, they could be among the residents.
This was an administrative district, but there were still entertainment areas, and homes. Coruscant was too big, so every district wasn't as sharply delineated as they would have liked. Combine that with the many layers problem and it became even more complicated.
Someone was breaking out of the Temple at night.
Nima was sure of it.
On the way back, she checked the bag. It held Coruscanti street clothes for a boy about her age, and of a humanoid build.
Her face was a thin line, and yet finding this fascinated her at the same time.
*******
"W-what is it?" Wessen asked.
"Someone is leaving the Temple via the air ducts. They even have a disguise, some sort of costume."
"Really?" Wessen asked, almost eager. "Are we going to c-catch them?"
"Yes. In fact, I know how. Maybe not tonight? Or maybe… do you have a tool that could help me get screws back in place? Imagine it. He goes through the whole passage, and how long was I in there for?"
"It took you almost an hour, there and back," Wessen said. "Was it dark out, yet?"
"Not yet," Nima said. "We should have plenty of time. So, I get rid of the way out, and then we wait out here to ambush him when he comes to face the music. The other routes don't seem to go anywhere. I had to look at those two. That's why it took so long."
"Oh," Wessen said. "And I keep watch?"
"Yes. And if you know how to hide, do that. When I get back we'll figured it out from there."
"Okay," Wessen nodded. "I can do that."
********
The third time was the opposite of the charm. When half crawling and half leaping across a gap she slipped on her own sweat. At a time like this she almost wished she dressed in Twi'lek cultural standard. It'd be better for crawling around hot duct-work, at least. She almost fell a dozen meters, but she pushed her legs out and caught herself, with a groan.
Oh. Now wasn't the time for a leg cramp, Nima thought, as she held herself there and tried to think about what to do. It really wasn't that hard, and she had messed up something that should be easy. Heck, she could have even made it easier with a few markings. Or… she was lost in thought, trying to think back to a story Master Tray'lor had told about getting lost in the ducts of yet another factory.
She was waiting almost a dozen minutes when she heard someone coming, quietly. Wessen?
But when she saw someone it was Jayne. He was a small, dark-haired boy, his skin a soft, dusky brown. He had the muscles and tone of someone who could be an athlete when he needed to be, but there'd always been something gentle and soft about him, even when he complained and joked…
"The food at the Temple is so bad," Jayne said. "So that people want to leave it more often, to go on missions and get good food." He was joking, surely he was. But now this memory seemed to have other implications. He'd said it just a year ago.
He was always a neat and tidy person, actually. Someone who cared about how he looked, and while he was quiet except when he was telling jokes, he wasn't mean.
"Oh, Nima," Jayne said. "It was you."
"It was," Nima said. Did he not notice Wessen.
"The… tripwire?" he asked.
"Me." It wasn't even a lie.
"If I… told you that I was just exploring the ducts, would you believe me?"
"Not quite," Nima said. "I saw the clothes. I saw the exit."
"Oh. I can… explain." Then he offered his hand, because of course he did. Nima reached up and grabbed it and managed to pull herself up.
In the close confines of the duct they were pressed together awkwardly.
"This isn't the place to talk, is it?" Jayne said. "Also, do you have any glue in that bag of tricks?"
"Why?"
"I broke a plate," Jayne said, sounding a little nervous. In fact, now that Nima was pressed close to him, she could feel something like panic building up, just a little. Everyone knew he didn't like small spaces, or that's what they said. Yet it'd been comfortable enough in these ducts that there wasn't any anxiety in the Force… until something changed. Until suddenly there was even less space. "I. It was a nice plate," he said, almost babbling. "With a pattern of roses. It's very beautiful."
He was at the edge of starting to panic. Nima wasn't a monster, and confronting him here wouldn't help anything. So she took out her flashlight and let him take the lead a little, and decided to talk. "Is it? I've never been a pattern sort of person. I appreciate beauty, but."
It was the significance that mattered, to the beautiful objects she had.
"I like nice things. It's really that simple," Jayne said. "The food isn't nice," he said, as he went down a shaft, having to push his legs against one end, his back against the other, and then walk down like that.
"Is…" Nima began, but stopped herself. "Are you going to put the plates back?"
"Yes. I am," Jayne said.
"Good. I'm sorry," Nima said. "How has biology been?"
"A bit hard. There's a girl, Wessen, who's trying it out. You know her… right?"
"Yes."
"It's… clearly not her thing," Jayne said. "And it isn't mine. I just wanted to learn about cute animals. But now we're training to ride animals in battle."
Of course. It was everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. In the home stretch, Nima finally said, "You know, what were you even doing?"
"Well," Jayne said. "I can explain. I swear. Please don't…"
He pushed it open, and crawled out, and Nima crawled up just behind him, wiping dust off of herself. Then she blinked as Wessen stepped, seemingly from just a shadow in the corner, though Nima hadn't felt her out there, and clicked the button. The red light scanned over them, and of course both of them were covered in green.
After all, she'd been pressed up against him in the vents.
"Where did you…" Jayne said.
"I was hiding," Wessen said.
"It doesn't work like that. I was using the Force to tell if there was anyone there. You don't just… hide from the Force. Wait, are you in the Master's class?"
"The… Master?" Nima asked.
"Who?" Wessen asked.
"That's no," Jayne said, quietly, with a shake of his head and a bit of a chuckle. "Maybe you should?"
Wessen was excited, her tentacles flailing, triumph at having done something right filling her. "W-why did you do it, Jayne?"
"To get out. I had clothes, and I'd walk for a while, or go somewhere to eat. I got credits from the staff workers. I cleaned pots and pans, or helped put up flower arrangements, and in exchange they gave me credits. Less work for them." He took a breath, looking away. "If you tell on me, they're going to get in trouble. Can you at least allow me to throw away the credits, so that only I get in trouble?"
Nima hesitated. The problem was: if this was Hannah, she knew what she'd do. What he had done was about equal: a moderate violation of the security of the Temple, and a major violation of the rules. And yet, now she was contemplating mercy. Was it bias? Or was it just her correcting from her previous mistakes.
Jayne wasn't a bad kid. If they made him promise never to sneak out again, he'd keep his word for at least a while. Maybe not forever, but even when he broke it'd be something he'd tell them. But at the same time… it was a vulnerability, and what about the crack?
Nima didn't know what to do, and whatever it did would hurt or risk somebody.
She took a breath. Then another. In ten breaths: decide, she told herself. And so she did.
What does she decide?
[] Tell the authorities about it. Give Jayne time to hide the credits, but that's it. Nothing else. He needs to be turned in.
[] Ask Jayne to tell the authorities about him. To confess and throw himself on their mercy.
[] Ask Jayne if he can just happen to mention that he found an air duct down there, and then hope they fixed the problem.
[] Tell them about the crack, and then perhaps they can discover the air-duct on its own.
[] Say that he's free to go, but that he needs to swear not to sneak out again. It's not safe for him, and if he gets in trouble it'll hurt his career, when he's only a year or two from leaving the Temple all the time as a Padawan.
[] Say that he's free to go, no strings attached. He can do as he wishes, though she'd ask him to consider, again, the risks inherent in what he was doing.
[] Write-in.
*******
A/N: So, here we go. Sorry for the delay, but twice a week is all I'm going to be able to manage, and even that? I have a big paper I should be working on.
Traps! Tripwire, etc, etc!
Nima was a careful sort of person. Not someone who wanted to be too foolish. So even as she gathered tripwire and chalk to hopefully reveal the footsteps of whoever this 'ghost' was, she went to see Lark, right after class.
He'd spent some time smiling and joking with a few of the initiates, and thus he was a little later than expected, striding around in his plain undress clothing, the armor not being needed for the day to day. Plus, as Nima realized immediately, by showing their faces, Master Bell was trying to get people used to them. Of course, they all had the same face, but it wasn't hard to tell them apart, not after you got to know them.
It all was very clever, really.
"Ah, Nima. Yes?" Lark asked.
"I'd like to ask you, have you been down to the lowest levels of the Temple?" Nima asked.
"No? Why? Is there something interesting down there? I could go if you wanted," Lark said, frowning a little. Nima could see the way his eyes were moving slightly, as if he were running across a datasheet to make sure he had time.
"No, it's fine," Nima said. In the Force, it was startlingly obvious that he probably wasn't lying. Probably was a very finicky word, but there were people who could hide their emotions, Force or no. It was just pretty unlikely, that was all. "There have been rumors about a ghost down there, and one of the things they said was that they saw white? So I was thinking that at a distance, in your armor, you might look like a ghost if someone didn't get a good look?"
"Ghosts? Are ghosts real?" Lark asked.
"Why would you think they are?" Nima responded.
"Well. Considering what the Jedi can do, I shouldn't assume," Lark pointed out.
"As far as I know, ghosts aren't real," Nima said. "I'm going to go down and try to catch this 'ghost' and see who it is."
"Ah, good luck. Don't want me to come along?"
"No," Nima said. "I'm going to be doing this with a friend."
"Oh, so it's just for fun," Lark said. "Understood, ma'am." He smiled and winked for a moment.
*******
Nima could fit all of her equipment, the tripwire, the ropes, the chalk, the flashlight, and some tacks, in a single small bag.
Wessen, on the other, had an entire backpack on her back, which looked surprisingly stuffed. "I-I thought I'd be prepared?" She sounded a little doubtful, her tentacles almost coming together, as if she were fidgeting them.
"No, it's fine. Good job on being prepared" Nima said, smiling when Wessen flushed with gratitude at the compliment. "Now let's get going. We have to if we're going to be able to be down there when night falls."
Which… was technically against some rules, sometimes. But that was fine. The ghost was usually seen at night. All things considered, that meant that there were more than a few kids out past their bedtimes, so Nima could be one of them.
Her dreams hadn't been bad enough that she had a reason not to want to go to sleep. Not recently, at least.
Wessen nodded.
******
The Temple was very large. It was a pretty easy place to get lost in, and so Nima tried to imagine a series of signposts, a a set of places to go. First she made her way down to the gardens and the zoological areas, the artificial enclosure that tried its best to mimic nature in a way that some Jedi found convincing and useful, and others a little frustrating. Nima wondered which one Wessen was, but the two of them kept quiet as they found another set of stairs and went further down.
Down here were some of the living quarters of the non-force using inhabitants, the ones who had been carefully vetted. But then below it, there were old rooms that Nima passed right by, where a few of the Knights and Masters who liked their privacy lived. From there, one more level down, and there were storage closets, a single small refractory whose food was always one of the less inviting, because of the distances involved, and some unused rooms.
And stairs, to even further down. Below this, Nima knew, was supposed to be old abandoned room. If the Jedi Order ever did expand so much that they were bursting out the edges of the building, they'd reactivate the rooms, but out of the memory of old Masters, or perhaps simply their own strange decisions, they hadn't done much.
On occasion someone went down to clean the place up. But besides that, the bottom two floors were strange. These weren't five-thousand years old, not really. They'd been built and rebuilt the Temple as need be. Large parts of it was ancient, but the inside was never quite the same. But thinking about it at least distracted her a little as they walked down the halls of this old portion of the temple.
It was dark, only a few lights working, just enough to see by, and when she glanced into some of the rooms, it was clean enough, except for the dust… but there was a lot of dust. Nima said, "So, Wessen, how have classes been?"
Wessen didn't say anything. She kept on looking in the rooms, nodding herself every so often, as Nima didn't know what to say. Surely she had heard? But Wessen didn't feel like she was in a bad mood, in the Force. Instead, there was something tense and waiting about her, something halfway between stress and contentment as she looked from room to room. And every so often she stopped to pull out this odd container and sprinkle--as far as Nima could say--nothing at all. Some sort of clear powder that all but disappeared by the time it hit the ground. It was odd. "So, this place, it seems so old, but it can't be, can it?"
"P-p-please be quiet, Nima," Wessen said, with only the slightest sharpness. But the moment she said it she stopped and shook her head. "S-s-sorry, but you're being very loud. The stairs are here. Then we'll be on the ground-floor. I think…"
Wessen trailed off.
"Please don't worry," Nima said. "I talk sometimes, when I'm nervous." She talked when she wasn't nervous too. She really should learn when the time for silence was, because she knew that sometimes a respectful silence with friends could be just as important as having something to say. But with Wessen, silence could drag on too long if she let it.
Wessen should blame her, Nima thought, if she hadn't been doing well with the biological studies. It had been Nima's idea, and Wessen hadn't seemed entirely enthused about it, when she'd suggested it.
But she'd tried it anyways.
What did that say about Nima?
It was a cramped, small sort of wing. But of course every floor was huge, and they could probably spend hours looking through the entire area. But instead, Wessen seemed to pick the far walls of the Temple itself and went along them, glancing into each of the rooms, taking note of it.
Nima kept on looking into the rooms, but it all seemed normal. Some were meditation rooms, some training rooms, and there was also an abandoned eating area, complete with a sink full of washed dishes, no doubt very old.
Wessen stared at it for a long time. "Does something seem unusual?"
"No?" Nima said, glancing around at the room. "I assume those are old? Because there are too many. Some sort of party?"
"Look at the dishes. They're still wet. And look at the actual difference between them, the patterns. Someone gathered up dishes to wash from different rooms, very, very recently, and then washed all of them. Perhaps some of them were recently eaten from, perhaps not." Wessen said it quietly, clearly trying not to stammer or equivocate. "What sort of ghost cleans the dishes people live down here?"
Nima blinked. "Oh. So, someone is down here enough to be offended by a bunch of dirty plates?"
It wasn't that everyone Nima knew was a slob, but she could imagine people going down here just to see what was there or have some peace and quiet and eating off a plate and then leaving it there. Yes, it should have gotten them in trouble, since plates didn't grow on trees, but in Nima's experience there was a lot of latitude for kids.
But if one of them was here all the time, of course they'd have to deal with it. Perhaps all of these were even one person's over an extended period of time. When she was finally thinking about what it meant, it seemed to indicate that there was someone who spent a lot of time here, someone who had a reason to care.
"Y-yes. And I saw a set of scuff marks this way. From a shoe. A boot, not something…"
"That an Initiate would normally wear," Nima said, getting it at last.
"I-I'm going to put down some more of that powder."
"What is it?" Nima asked.
Wessen pulled out a square looking box with a button. When she pressed the button, red light shot from it and scanned over an area, going up and down, but doing nothing more. Then Wessen threw a little of the strange, clear powder on the ground and in the light, it wasn't invisible. It in fact lit up so bright green as to draw all eyes.
"Where did you get that?" Nima asked.
The Temple had a huge collection of tools, weapons, and other such things. Disguises for undercover work, Mandalorian Armor, sometimes taken from enemies, but sometimes also donated. There had been Mandalorian Jedi before, after all. Strange devices, scanners, high-quality weapons, nav-devices, and… whatever this was.
"I… borrowed it," Wessen said, sheepishly.
"You stole it?" Nima asked.
"I'll give it back," Wessen said, but there was something pleased about her, as if she liked Nima's reactions. As if it made her proud.
"Well, if you're going to use it, you know what else we could do? We could put some wire over the door so that when they step in here they trip and fall flat onto that powder. Then we can tell who is guilty even if they escape. It can't be washed off, can it? Not easily?"
"No. I a-asked. Well, I asked the computer system. It said that it takes repeated scrubbings. And while the dust can be seen, it sort of soaks into anything it gets into. He wouldn't know to basically…"
"Scald his skin off?" Nima asked.
If he tripped. If he fell. Then that would mean that in theory they could start searching people to find out who was behind it. But of course, Nima wanted to find out who it really was. So they took time to carefully set up the wire and the power and then closed the door and moved onward, Wessen still scattering the powder. So it'd be in her hands, of course, and their shoes. Nothing more, hopefully. Wessen would no doubt know how to wash up properly.
Then Nima felt it. Power. Sheer, vast power in the Force. It stunned her, and she stopped, almost unable to breathe. It wasn't that the power felt malignant, or even cruel. It felt sleepy, in fact, somehow calm and controlled, something slumbering. But a slumbering giant who rolled over could crush villages, or so she'd read in stories when she was a child. It had been a metaphor for being careful with how they used the Force.
But compared to this, she was a speck. For a moment it terrified her, and she almost wanted to turn around, to turn away. Wessen was trembling a little bit when she pointed down at the crack.
The crack was about the size of three hands in length, and seemed wide enough to fit her hands into. She stepped closer to it, mastering herself and trying to feel it in the Force. There was power, sheer power, slipping from this crack. There was no other way to describe it. It was tempting, it was intoxicating… but more than that. It was quiet, it was restful. It was the kind of temptation, of a quiet day, of centeredness. It wasn't the Dark Side… Nima didn't think. But neither did it feel particularly kind, or helpful. It just was, most of all. It was exactly as it was, and nothing and everything more.
Wessen had moved on, but Nima just stared at it. She could stick both of her hands into the crack and wiggle them around, but no more than that. Peering down showed her nothing but rocky foundation endlessly. It didn't lead anywhere.
But she could feel it.
"Nima. I found it," Wessen said.
Nima shook her head and walked over to Wessen, who was crouching by a panel into an airduct. It looked screwed tight.
"I-it looks solid, but it just needs a little prying and…"
Off it went. It was large enough to squeeze through. Perhaps even an adult could manage it, in fact. Though their movements would have to be even more careful.
"Huh." Nima frowned. "Should I go in to check it out?"
"I-if you w-wish Nima, it could be dangerous."
"I think I'll give it a try. I'll come back and tell you if I find anything. Keep watch for the mysterious intruder, please."
Wessen nodded.
"You're really having fun with all of this investigation, aren't you Wessen?"
"A-a little. Well, it's sorta thrilling. Setting traps and going p-places like this."
"What about sneaking around?" Nima asked.
"I-I've never done that," Wessen protested.
"Then how did you borrow the device?"
"Um." Wessen shook her head.
"Exactly," Nima said. "Maybe that's what you're good at?"
Wessen was still excited and happy, deep down. She still wanted to see just what might happen if this kept up.
That was worth all of this, already.
*******
At parts it was so small she had to crawl, though she imagined with the Force, or enough strength, she could have just pushed on through. At others, she had to climb up, and it wound around and around. She was following her instincts, the feeling she got. They were going to head outwards, that's what she felt, and so she crawl-leapt across small gaps and went down shafts, not caring about getting incredibly dusty.
It was a huge area, but of course the walls of the Temple this far down were pretty thick. At one point she noticed a bag of some sort hanging on a string, held up by a rivet, just below. Nima marked it in her mind and kept on going, until she found it.
It was another of those seemingly closed hatches, this one with the screws still in. There was some sort of greenery blocking her view. She opened it up, and saw that she was below the main Temple entrance. There were some potted plants lining this whole area, a small concession to greenery no doubt intended to make the landscape a little less dull. And there was a slight bit of room to edge across the way. And then from there if someone could get down to the street below, and Nima bet she could pretty consistently, they could be among the residents.
This was an administrative district, but there were still entertainment areas, and homes. Coruscant was too big, so every district wasn't as sharply delineated as they would have liked. Combine that with the many layers problem and it became even more complicated.
Someone was breaking out of the Temple at night.
Nima was sure of it.
On the way back, she checked the bag. It held Coruscanti street clothes for a boy about her age, and of a humanoid build.
Her face was a thin line, and yet finding this fascinated her at the same time.
*******
"W-what is it?" Wessen asked.
"Someone is leaving the Temple via the air ducts. They even have a disguise, some sort of costume."
"Really?" Wessen asked, almost eager. "Are we going to c-catch them?"
"Yes. In fact, I know how. Maybe not tonight? Or maybe… do you have a tool that could help me get screws back in place? Imagine it. He goes through the whole passage, and how long was I in there for?"
"It took you almost an hour, there and back," Wessen said. "Was it dark out, yet?"
"Not yet," Nima said. "We should have plenty of time. So, I get rid of the way out, and then we wait out here to ambush him when he comes to face the music. The other routes don't seem to go anywhere. I had to look at those two. That's why it took so long."
"Oh," Wessen said. "And I keep watch?"
"Yes. And if you know how to hide, do that. When I get back we'll figured it out from there."
"Okay," Wessen nodded. "I can do that."
********
The third time was the opposite of the charm. When half crawling and half leaping across a gap she slipped on her own sweat. At a time like this she almost wished she dressed in Twi'lek cultural standard. It'd be better for crawling around hot duct-work, at least. She almost fell a dozen meters, but she pushed her legs out and caught herself, with a groan.
Oh. Now wasn't the time for a leg cramp, Nima thought, as she held herself there and tried to think about what to do. It really wasn't that hard, and she had messed up something that should be easy. Heck, she could have even made it easier with a few markings. Or… she was lost in thought, trying to think back to a story Master Tray'lor had told about getting lost in the ducts of yet another factory.
She was waiting almost a dozen minutes when she heard someone coming, quietly. Wessen?
But when she saw someone it was Jayne. He was a small, dark-haired boy, his skin a soft, dusky brown. He had the muscles and tone of someone who could be an athlete when he needed to be, but there'd always been something gentle and soft about him, even when he complained and joked…
"The food at the Temple is so bad," Jayne said. "So that people want to leave it more often, to go on missions and get good food." He was joking, surely he was. But now this memory seemed to have other implications. He'd said it just a year ago.
He was always a neat and tidy person, actually. Someone who cared about how he looked, and while he was quiet except when he was telling jokes, he wasn't mean.
"Oh, Nima," Jayne said. "It was you."
"It was," Nima said. Did he not notice Wessen.
"The… tripwire?" he asked.
"Me." It wasn't even a lie.
"If I… told you that I was just exploring the ducts, would you believe me?"
"Not quite," Nima said. "I saw the clothes. I saw the exit."
"Oh. I can… explain." Then he offered his hand, because of course he did. Nima reached up and grabbed it and managed to pull herself up.
In the close confines of the duct they were pressed together awkwardly.
"This isn't the place to talk, is it?" Jayne said. "Also, do you have any glue in that bag of tricks?"
"Why?"
"I broke a plate," Jayne said, sounding a little nervous. In fact, now that Nima was pressed close to him, she could feel something like panic building up, just a little. Everyone knew he didn't like small spaces, or that's what they said. Yet it'd been comfortable enough in these ducts that there wasn't any anxiety in the Force… until something changed. Until suddenly there was even less space. "I. It was a nice plate," he said, almost babbling. "With a pattern of roses. It's very beautiful."
He was at the edge of starting to panic. Nima wasn't a monster, and confronting him here wouldn't help anything. So she took out her flashlight and let him take the lead a little, and decided to talk. "Is it? I've never been a pattern sort of person. I appreciate beauty, but."
It was the significance that mattered, to the beautiful objects she had.
"I like nice things. It's really that simple," Jayne said. "The food isn't nice," he said, as he went down a shaft, having to push his legs against one end, his back against the other, and then walk down like that.
"Is…" Nima began, but stopped herself. "Are you going to put the plates back?"
"Yes. I am," Jayne said.
"Good. I'm sorry," Nima said. "How has biology been?"
"A bit hard. There's a girl, Wessen, who's trying it out. You know her… right?"
"Yes."
"It's… clearly not her thing," Jayne said. "And it isn't mine. I just wanted to learn about cute animals. But now we're training to ride animals in battle."
Of course. It was everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. In the home stretch, Nima finally said, "You know, what were you even doing?"
"Well," Jayne said. "I can explain. I swear. Please don't…"
He pushed it open, and crawled out, and Nima crawled up just behind him, wiping dust off of herself. Then she blinked as Wessen stepped, seemingly from just a shadow in the corner, though Nima hadn't felt her out there, and clicked the button. The red light scanned over them, and of course both of them were covered in green.
After all, she'd been pressed up against him in the vents.
"Where did you…" Jayne said.
"I was hiding," Wessen said.
"It doesn't work like that. I was using the Force to tell if there was anyone there. You don't just… hide from the Force. Wait, are you in the Master's class?"
"The… Master?" Nima asked.
"Who?" Wessen asked.
"That's no," Jayne said, quietly, with a shake of his head and a bit of a chuckle. "Maybe you should?"
Wessen was excited, her tentacles flailing, triumph at having done something right filling her. "W-why did you do it, Jayne?"
"To get out. I had clothes, and I'd walk for a while, or go somewhere to eat. I got credits from the staff workers. I cleaned pots and pans, or helped put up flower arrangements, and in exchange they gave me credits. Less work for them." He took a breath, looking away. "If you tell on me, they're going to get in trouble. Can you at least allow me to throw away the credits, so that only I get in trouble?"
Nima hesitated. The problem was: if this was Hannah, she knew what she'd do. What he had done was about equal: a moderate violation of the security of the Temple, and a major violation of the rules. And yet, now she was contemplating mercy. Was it bias? Or was it just her correcting from her previous mistakes.
Jayne wasn't a bad kid. If they made him promise never to sneak out again, he'd keep his word for at least a while. Maybe not forever, but even when he broke it'd be something he'd tell them. But at the same time… it was a vulnerability, and what about the crack?
Nima didn't know what to do, and whatever it did would hurt or risk somebody.
She took a breath. Then another. In ten breaths: decide, she told herself. And so she did.
What does she decide?
[] Tell the authorities about it. Give Jayne time to hide the credits, but that's it. Nothing else. He needs to be turned in.
[] Ask Jayne to tell the authorities about him. To confess and throw himself on their mercy.
[] Ask Jayne if he can just happen to mention that he found an air duct down there, and then hope they fixed the problem.
[] Tell them about the crack, and then perhaps they can discover the air-duct on its own.
[] Say that he's free to go, but that he needs to swear not to sneak out again. It's not safe for him, and if he gets in trouble it'll hurt his career, when he's only a year or two from leaving the Temple all the time as a Padawan.
[] Say that he's free to go, no strings attached. He can do as he wishes, though she'd ask him to consider, again, the risks inherent in what he was doing.
[] Write-in.
*******
A/N: So, here we go. Sorry for the delay, but twice a week is all I'm going to be able to manage, and even that? I have a big paper I should be working on.
- Location
- Reno
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[x] Ask Jayne to tell the authorities about him. To confess and throw himself on their mercy.
Stasis
Unverified Lotus
- Location
- Milky Way, Earth
[X] Say that he's free to go, but that he needs to swear not to sneak out again. It's not safe for him, and if he gets in trouble it'll hurt his career, when he's only a year or two from leaving the Temple all the time as a Padawan.
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The Englanderish
Schrödinger's Kuudere Kitty Caliph(a)
- Location
- Califat de Chats
[X] Say that he's free to go, no strings attached. He can do as he wishes, though she'd ask him to consider, again, the risks inherent in what he was doing.
Ultramandalore
Errant Quester
- Location
- just south of Parts Unknown
[x] Ask Jayne to tell the authorities about him. To confess and throw himself on their mercy.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Also, I don't require people to have an explanation with their vote, but it'd be nice for at least a few people to explain their reasoning for their votes or react to the update?
Vindictus
XENO
- Location
- Texas
I think it's worth noting that while this is potentially a security vulnerability, it's ALSO potentially a secret escape route that nobody currently knows about.
So if, say, worst comes to worst, and we need to avoid getting lightsabered by Anakin, we'll have a way to get out of the temple that he doesn't know about.
As such,
[X] Say that he's free to go, but that he needs to swear not to sneak out again. It's not safe for him, and if he gets in trouble it'll hurt his career, when he's only a year or two from leaving the Temple all the time as a Padawan.
So if, say, worst comes to worst, and we need to avoid getting lightsabered by Anakin, we'll have a way to get out of the temple that he doesn't know about.
As such,
[X] Say that he's free to go, but that he needs to swear not to sneak out again. It's not safe for him, and if he gets in trouble it'll hurt his career, when he's only a year or two from leaving the Temple all the time as a Padawan.
Hey uh, why are we voting to be a massive and unfeeling asshole to Jayne and probably the workers? Because that option doesn't mention that he should hide the credits which even by that doesn't mean that the masters won't find out and fire everyone who helped him.
Seriously, the fuck guys?
Seriously, the fuck guys?
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Just to clarify, asking Jayne to tell them does mean he'd have time to hide/dispose of the Credits.
*Nemo thought it might be unclear, actually*
[X] Say that he's free to go, but that he needs to swear not to sneak out again. It's not safe for him, and if he gets in trouble it'll hurt his career, when he's only a year or two from leaving the Temple all the time as a Padawan.
He's going to get caught eventually and we'll be out an escape route.
Remember everyone, Order 66 is coming up sooner then we are all comfortable with.
He's going to get caught eventually and we'll be out an escape route.
Remember everyone, Order 66 is coming up sooner then we are all comfortable with.
- Location
- Head in the clouds
As a security vulnerability - I have to admit that it's good as an escape route and if there's a threat capable of coming to Coruscant, able to sneak in (with gear) through the small ventilation shaft and pose a threat to the Padawns, Jedi Elders, Teaching staff and the Jedi Counillors present we probably have bigger problems then the security vulnerability
So:
[X] Say that he's free to go, but that he needs to swear not to sneak out again. It's not safe for him, and if he gets in trouble it'll hurt his career, when he's only a year or two from leaving the Temple all the time as a Padawan.
So:
[X] Say that he's free to go, but that he needs to swear not to sneak out again. It's not safe for him, and if he gets in trouble it'll hurt his career, when he's only a year or two from leaving the Temple all the time as a Padawan.
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Ah alright.
Though still, I ask others:
Why are we voting to be a dick? I mean, what's the point? Why are we voting for this? If we just don't want people getting into serious trouble why not vote for the option to have him promise not to do it?
Or at the very least if we're worried about security concerns, add in a write-in to tell Anakin or Ahsoka about it, who are the least likely to get people in trouble over it or would at least cover for people.
- Location
- Austria
*looks at Hannah mini-arc*
*looks at the thing with Nima resolving to learn from that thing happening*
*looks at votes*
Well, at least now I am sure a decent chunk of voters would've voted for telling about Hannah if it was up to vote.
[X] Say that he's free to go, no strings attached. He can do as he wishes, though she'd ask him to consider, again, the risks inherent in what he was doing.
*looks at the thing with Nima resolving to learn from that thing happening*
*looks at votes*
Well, at least now I am sure a decent chunk of voters would've voted for telling about Hannah if it was up to vote.
[X] Say that he's free to go, no strings attached. He can do as he wishes, though she'd ask him to consider, again, the risks inherent in what he was doing.
The Englanderish
Schrödinger's Kuudere Kitty Caliph(a)
- Location
- Califat de Chats
I reiterate:
It is? When did The Laurent say that? I feel like relying on metaknowledge is a sure-fire way to land ourselves in an Ackbar moment.
Vindictus
XENO
- Location
- Texas
Anakin is literally the last person we want to know about this OOC, given it's a potential contingency against him going evil
We should be about 2-3 years before revenge of the sith.
That's sooner then anyone wants.
The Englanderish
Schrödinger's Kuudere Kitty Caliph(a)
- Location
- Califat de Chats
Aaand again. Metaknowledge. It's gonna be really awkward if we try to tailor things with that in mind and it never happens. Like sure, it might happen, but without any sort of guarantee, assuming it's going to happen seems foolhardy.
- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I can't think of anything Nima has done that would avert Knightfall, but yeah. The quest would be less interesting if we stuck to canon's timeline exactly, so that's not going to happen. If you see Battles out of order, or coming closer together or further apart than you expect, well. Par for the course.