Colonial Upstarts II IC

[Rattigan]

Zo steps back, blowing out a sigh of frustration.

"It won't budge. Any ideas Tril...I mean Simlay? I've picked up some ability to make me hit harder, react faster, or get flashes of insight into the future, or where i can find things. Nothing to move two tonne doors..."

Zo trails off, and then chuckles. "Wonder if that'd work..."

He closes his eyes and tries to foresee the path in front of them, though he's still reeling and it's hard to concentrate.

Spoiler: OOC

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Foresee roll: 1eF 1 Dark Side


The dice are not kind it seems...

[PetrifiedWalnut]

Standing in front of the door as Zo concentrates, Simlay closes her eyes and concentrates herself, while placing her hand on the door.

"I can't sense anything living beyond this door, but... I think it may be because I'm too anxious. I dare not sense anything through my angst,"

she says, finally, before opening her eyes again.

"Wait - there is an opening above the door. I don't think that was there before. If you can boost me, I might be able to reach it... at least see what's up there."

Spoiler: OOC

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I thought Zo did have a power to move objects? I know he used that in his backstory!

[Rattigan]

Zo cups his hands and kneels down to offer her a stirrup, ready to boost her up and in the hole.

Once done, he'll draw on the force to improve his Athletic Prowess and leap up after her.

Spoiler: OOC

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No, Zo's parents had the ability to Move things with the Force, and protected miners from a cave in long enough for them to get out, and he only arrived in time to see it. I made him to have Hunches or move and react quicker, but I guess he can go into that soon, with some more xp.

Athletics roll: 3eA+1eP+1eF 3 successes, 2 advantage, 1 Light Side


Will spend the light side pip on another success.

[PetrifiedWalnut]

Zo lifts Simlay up to where she can barely reach the mouth of the opening with her fingers, and then demonstrates her own strength to pull herself up. "This passage goes in a few meters, then drops into what looks like the lab we saw earlier. I'll try and find a way to open the door," she calls back. A few seconds later, she then calls "I see Nodoa. It looks like she's in some kind of stasis tank. There's another tank next to her that contains a human male, white hair, bearded, I want to say 60s-ish. There's a control panel next to them. Should I try to get them out with the panel, or do you want me to look for a way to let you into the lab, first?" she asks.

[Rattigan]

"Get me in and we can investigate together. Do you think there's enough room for me there if I jump up?

[PetrifiedWalnut]

"It would be very tight," Simlay says. "I think you could fit in this tunnel, but you might not be able to fit into the opening into the lab," she continues. "It's maybe two thirds of a meter across? You'd certainly have to dive in head-first, and it's about a five or six-meter drop."

[Rattigan]

Zo had been about to jump up after her, and pulls himself back and off balance to avoid crashing into her.

"Go through and open the door for me. We don't want you confronting anything alone in there."

[PetrifiedWalnut]

"Got it - I hope this works!" Zo can hear Simlay's voice say, before some time of silence follows. A minute passes. Another minute passes. It's hard to say exactly how much time has passed, but then, finally, a door - not the door that Zo had been looking at, but a mechanical doorway, opens in its place.

Beyond it is a laboratory with a pair of stasis tubes, one containing Nodoa, and the other an elderly human male with a long white beard and long white hair, dressed in a jacket. There are panels next to both stasis chambers. An array of various robotic equipment lies on a table, but none of it looks familiar. Simlay is standing next to a control panel on the door. As it opens and she sees Zo, she smiles and lets out a big sigh of relief.

Turning toward the stasis tubes containing Nodoa and the older man, Simlay says "I don't know how to get them out, but we have to try."

There are two consoles on either side of the stasis tubes, but the buttons on them are labeled in an unfamiliar script.

[Rattigan]

Zo will head over and calmly reach out to the Force, trying to get an insight into which is safe (or not safe) to use.

Spoiler: OOC

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Sorry, have been off ill for a while (not dreaded Corona) but has meant I have basically just been sleeping and eating and not had much brain for much.

Foresee roll: 1eF 2 Light Side

[PetrifiedWalnut]

Reaching out into the Force, Zo sees... exactly what he must do.

Using only one console, only one of those trapped in the stasis tubes will be freed - and which console is used will determine which who the freed person will be, Nodoa, or the old human - but if both consoles are used at the same time, it will free both of them.

Meanwhile, Simlay asks quietly "Do you suppose... the old human is the farmer, and the reprogrammer of those CIS robots?"

[Rattigan]

"Maybe. But if so, why is he here?"

Zo speaks faintly, moving like a sleepwalker to the console over Nodoa.

"We have to open them together, or only one will make it out. Press these buttons, but at the same time as me."

Zo describes the icons on the buttons in as much detail as he can, hoping that Simlay will understand. And then when he sees she is ready, he'll begin the sequence...

[PetrifiedWalnut]

"I'm not sure we know, but..." Simlay says as she walks over to the console, watching where Zo's fingers go, and placing her fingers on the same buttons, breathing deeply and concentrating to make sure she presses the buttons as simultaneously as Zo does. "We know the droids were waiting for him, and that he disappeared. Maybe he wanted to investigate the cave on his farm and found this? Maybe this temple offered him a trial, one that he failed, and that it is now our trial to free him?" she speculates, before placing herself. "I am ready. Do you want me to watch you and move my muscles as soon as you do, or should we try to establish a link in the Force and sense exactly when we are going to do that? I believe I can sense you, although I don't know if you can sense me. Can your foresight tell you when I am going to press?"

[Rattigan]

"Reach out for me and make the connection. I'll also count down from 5."

Zo waits for the sensation, then will count down and press the buttons in time with her.

(OOC I am SO sorry, I thought I'd posted this but it was still stuck in my drafts)

[PetrifiedWalnut]

Spoiler: Dice rolls

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Rolled 1 dark, 4 light, between Zo's and Simlay's Force dice

The pair manage to link up quite well, and press the buttons on the consoles. Lights flicker inside of the stasis tubes, and then the doors open, as the man and Nodoa are freed.

The old man blinks, flexing his hands as if having been in a state of sleep, and then looks around the lab, then spots Simlay and Zo. Stepping out, he then mutters, in a raspy voice, "Wait, what?" before glancing back at a stasis tube. Looking back at the people who freed him, he asks "Who might you be? And... where are we? I don't remember this lab."

[Rattigan]

"You're in someone else's memories old timer. Good to see you. Let's get out of here."

Zo will support his weight and help him out, trusting Trill to do the same for Nodoa.


"Though the stasis may have saved you from being found when the Inquisitor flew overhead."

Spoiler: OOC

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Yeah, the days bled into one another and I kinda went into a depressive spiral and haven't been on the internet for a while.

Real sorry. Just got away from me. Much love to you.

[PetrifiedWalnut]

Spoiler: OOC

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Depression! Oh no! I hope you're finding someone who can help you find solace!

Nodoa, it turns out, can still walk, but the old man needs more help. Trill glances at Zo as he mentions the Inquisitor, and then smirks. Nodoa sighs. "What a lost opportunity," she moans. The door leads out to the circular chamber with the raised dais, and the door to the laboratory closes behind them as they exit. "Can somebody tell me what happened here? It's like somebody's trying to mess with me."

"Not some one. Something. Maybe in the future you should be less dismissive of fables," Trill says with a chuckle as she starts going back through the doorway to the south. The fifty-meter tunnel leads back to the main antechamber of the cave. Almost as soon as the four of them are out of the tunnel, the great boulder that had rolled into place to seal the cave suddenly, and equally inexplicably, rolls back out again. The fading daylight floods into the cave, illuminating the mummified remains of the Jedi master whose lightsaber Zo requisitioned - and still has. Unlike this master, whose padawan must have failed whatever trial he or she faced, Zo and Simlay - and by extension Nodoa and the old man - are free again.

Meanwhile, outside the cave, metallic voices can be heard. "Command, whatever caused the boulder to block the cave entrance made it move again. The three organics may have found the Reprogrammer."

"Roger, roger."

"Roger, roger."

Spoiler: OOC

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What does Zo do with the lightsaber?

[Rattigan]

Zo had slipped the lightsaber into his satchel.

"I'm sure your droids will be happy to have you back." He chuckles as he looks at the old man. "I was very impressed to see what you'd done with them. Much more trustworthy than Clones."

The last word comes out with vehemence, bordering on hatred, the Anx's crest flashing a deep crimson before he takes a few centring breaths and then slowly the crest returns to normal.

"So, what next. Trill wants to pump you for information on how you've got things to grow in this environment, but I'm worried we may have to leave quickly soon, lest we risk leading that mad Gungan to you."

[PetrifiedWalnut]

"My droids?" the old man says, giving a bit of a chuckle. "I wonder how long I was in there," he adds. "I guess I can try to answer your questions, 'Trill' was it? And what's this 'mad gungan'? For starters, what's a gungan? I'm afraid I don't actually know how trees grow here, apart from that rock, somehow. I went into the cave trying to find out, actually."

The four get out of the cave, and indeed, the droids are very happy to see the old man.

Trill, meanwhile, nods solemnly. "Well, I think I can answer for you, and... well, you are in danger, here." She draws a breath. "That rock outcrop is an abandoned Jedi temple. There's no telling how long it's been abandoned, but with the mummified corpse of the Jedi master in the ante chamber, I'm guessing hundreds of years," she begins.

"So that's who that was," the farmer acknowledges.

"That temple is somehow fertilizing your farm. I can only guess that the mystical Jedi powers made it possible. In any case..." Trill continues, her voice taking on a sharper edge, "The Empire is looking for it, and they've sent an Inquisitor, someone tasked with hunting down still-surviving rogue Jedi, to find it. I don't know how close she is, but... I fear that it's probably only a matter of time before she gets here," she finishes, glancing at Zo.

The Reprogrammer groans. "Well, I'm no Jedi, but..." he mutters.

[Rattigan]

"So do we make a stand here, or do we try to run? I don't know how well we can fend off an Inquisitor and her troops."

Zo's crest flashes with a mix of determination and worry, if those around can interpret the colours.

"Now I've found others like me, I'm loathe to give you up again."

[PetrifiedWalnut]

Simlay blows out a deep, concerned breath.

"What with the Empire occupying Sidarin looking for what we now know to be this temple, unless you have an actual army and not just a few security droids, I don't think a confrontation is wise. Even if we could defeat the Inquisitor, I doubt the two of us plus Hazabar and Tigozan could handle a star destroyer's compliment of stormtroopers."

"Uh, boss, I think she's right..." says the droid officer.

"Roger, roger" repeats another.

"They've occupied Sidarin?" the farmer asks.

"Yes, they've occupied Sidarin. They've got troops in almost every settlement on the planet," Trill explains. "Most of them don't seem to know what they're here for, at least. Zo managed to lead the Inquisitor on a wild zondark chase with some pirates, something I'm not proud of, but it worked. We don't know how long she'll remain fooled, though."

Spoiler: OOC

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Slight change of plans - I will be back around the 19th.