Mos Espa

When the hooded native lowered his weapon, despite his continued guarded attitude, The Seeker perceived some form of physical pain or weakness, both in his body language, and in his presence in the Force. She wasn’t familiar with the biology of his species, so she couldn’t identify his injury with any specificity, but she felt sorry for him. Perhaps she’d be able to help him, once they trusted her more fully. Although her healing studies had been cut short, she knew a few practical field techniques for temporary relief. However, it seemed that he was coming around to accepting her point of view. The taller man was posing a bigger challenge to win over, and, holding up one finger to the Tusken to wait, she turned her attention to him.

Beads of sweat were forming on the Corellian woman’s forehead by the time the tall figure exited her mind. Having traveled with Onyx for so long, she had developed the ability to feel her companion over short distances, and opening one part of her mind to another skilled Force user was nothing particularly unusual, but she was a bit out of practice at doing anything as strenuous in the Force as forming two such connections at once.

She watched his face, sensing his emotions, and especially his disbelief. “I’d heard rumors, but I’ve been out of the known galaxy for ... a while.” She took a deep breath. “Please, allow me to tell you my story, and then, if it doesn’t interest you, you never have to see me again.” A new thought came to her, one that might motivate this stranger more than a simple plea for help. “The sooner I complete my search, the sooner the Mandalorian and I will leave Tatooine.”

A wave of inner exhaustion fell over the Jedi, and she slowed her breathing, trying to hide how taxed her reserves had become. She had expended so much effort on forming the two simultaneous connections (and one of them with a stranger) that she completely missed the flight of the festive figure in red until he shouted.

=Man in Red=
“Ho, ho, ho!” A jolly voice exclaimed in High Galactic.

Her eyes widened at the unfamiliar cry emanating from behind her. Without moving or turning around, she made a questioning sign to her new 'friends.'

The Jedi Knight could tell that the tall man was conflicted, but to her relief, he consented anyway. Inwardly, Kay'li had begun to fear that she had pushed matters too hard, and that she had imposed her own desperation to solve a mystery onto the Force, causing her to follow these two when maybe they were not who the Force had intended for her to find. But there was only one way to find out now: follow this path for as long as this pair would consent to her intrusion, and see where it led.

Turning her hear slowly when neither of her new companions responded to her alarm at the shouting newcomer, she saw the jolly red-robed figure disappearing into the distance, his long, white beard flowing in the wind as he encouraged his eight unfamiliar draft animals in High Galactic. "... on Donner, on Blitzen!" But there were other strangers around, and one or two of them were starting to notice the odd trio. "Let's find somewhere a little more private to talk." Motioning with her hand for the others to follow, The Seeker continued down the side alley in the direction Zed and Nartaga had been headed when she stopped them, and led them around another corner into a still more deserted alley. She walked slowly, partly because she was aware of the Tusken's physical condition, and partly because of her own recent exertion through the Force.

"It is best that I not reveal my name, for all of our safety."

"Over a decade ago, my older brother went on a mission deep into the Unknown Regions, toward the un-mapped edge of the galaxy, and never returned. I followed him, and eventually I found the remains of his space ship in deep space. It had been attacked, and there was evidence that he had been captured after a struggle. But that is where the trail went cold." Her face looked sad, and tired.

"I can sometimes sense his distant presence through the Force, and I am confident that he is still alive. But wherever he is, after all these years, he has been unable to make contact, or to return home. I fear he may be a prisoner, or he may be marooned on an uninhabited rock somewhere. That is what led me to the Mandos, and to Clan Or'dinii in specific. They have maps of the Unknown Regions that are better than anything in the Jedi archives." Frustration surfaced in her voice for a moment. "But we searched every known planet in that entire quadrant of space, and found nothing."

"Long before my search began, the Or'dinii spent decades collecting maps left over from Thrawn's Empire of the Hand, and from ancient sources, such as the Infinite Empire. They visited a number of worlds that were once enslaved by the Rakata, looking for ancient ruins that might contain star maps or other records, and compiling them." She looked at the Tusken. "But they never looked on Tatooine." She tried to sense his mind, and his reaction to the overly broad summary of his world's history that she was about to give. Would he show any recognition? His people might have an oral tradition, or they might be totally unaware of their history, like the natives she'd met last month on Bosh Cardan.

"Tatooine was once a colony of the cruel Infinite Empire, until the natives rebelled. There is a story that the Rakata bombed the entire planet in retaliation, and that is why the planet is now a desert. The Mandos did not think anything could have survived the attack." She paused, and pointed at Nartaga. "But some say your people were there, and that they survived. Maybe some maps or records survived as well?"

She realized she'd probably been talking way too much, and switched over to some crude signs to re-state her question.

The Corellian woman watched Nartaga's reactions closely, although she occasionally stole a glance at his tall companion. The mention of Tatooine's former Rakatan slave-masters had sparked a much stronger and more profound reaction than she had expected. Clearly, there was more historical memory among the Tuskens than those so-called experts in the Core Worlds thought. Just the sensation of the native dweller's emotions through the Force told her more than the anthropological archives of the Republic ever had. Onyx was right, the lost history of the Infinite Empire was far more complex than most Core Worlders would ever know. She looked somewhat troubled at his refusal. 

"Most times, I would agree with you. Digging up ancient evils is dangerous." She said slowly. The Jedi Knight was not ignoring his concerns, but she was unwilling to be deterred by them, either. "However, I've been on Tatooine for less than a day, and I already heard a story about a dig somewhere up there." She pointed to the north. "The man said they found something valuable enough or powerful enough that people were killed over it." She didn't know what the signs Nartaga had made meant, but she got the sense they were protective gestures, and not just for himself, but for his people, and for his planet. There was a glint in her eye now, as the pieces came together. "I think that ancient evil will get uncovered anyway. If not by us, then by someone else." Her duty here was clear, and old instincts were coming to the surface. She was still a Jedi Watchwoman, after all. "We should get there first. If there is a map of the stars, I will take what I need. But either way, we should destroy anything that could be a threat."

She looked Nartaga in the eye. "There is strength in numbers." If he knew how to sense it through the Force, deep down, she was afraid too.

Unlike his two companions Zed knew very little of of the Rakatan Empire. He had read on them in his studies of the Force, about how they were one of the first major galactic powers and how they had used the Force to power their engines to aid in their expansion. Clearly they had, had a presence here on Tatooine, and based on the way Nartaga had acted it had brought nothing but evil upon the natives. He would need to learn more about this later. Give us a moment.

Turning his back towards Kay'li so as to keep his thoughts and words secret from her he began a series of signs. He did not care for what he was implying in his question for if the chieftain that had sent them into the deadlands was somehow related to this dig then no doubt there were several cultural taboos that were being broken. Speaking low in the Tusken language he added a few signs so his point would be better understood due to his poor knowledge of the language Not help, still go. Not know why bad but Nartaga no go Zed no go.

The tusken watched Zed, thinking deeply on the stennes man's signs.Nartaga shook his head with a partial shrug in response to Zed's question, indicating he did not know. "No way to know." Nartaga's head turned back slightly as he heard the woman say something, but did not fully catch what it was as his mind was racing to try and work through the possibilities. If the artifact the Chieftain was after was somehow related to an outsider dig for Rakatan artifacts, did that mean whoever had created the artifact to begin with had used evil relics of the Builders to create it? How close had whatever wicked sorcery created been to being used without them even knowing? What had stopped whomever had created it? He had so many questions, and no answers. It was still possible that they were not intertwined at all. Nartaga simply did not have enough information. He signed back to Zed in response with another shake of his head, reiterating his previous answer.

Nartaga thought of how to quickly elaborate on the belief of his people towards the Rakatan. He signed again to Zed. "....Destroyers..." He nodded at Zed's resolve to continue, despite the ever rising level of danger before they even truly began their journey. He turned back to the outsider woman and stepped toward her, throwing up another sign. "Nartaga." He gestured back towards Zed. "Zed." He nodded and gestured with an open hand towards the woman, indicating he was asking what they should call her. Even if she did not give them her real name, they would still need to call her something, but perhaps with being open with one another they could build some trust between themselves.

The Jedi Knight smiled as the unusual pair turned back to face her, their decision evident even before they spoke, from their faces and from the way their presences in the Force had relaxed. Kay'li had been so focused on discerning whether this duo was the next clue, she'd never given them her name. Another unusual mistake for one so naturally gifted in diplomacy. Her time in the Unknown Regions was changing her, and not in a good way. "Pleased to meet you both." She nodded to the Tusken, and then the Stennes. "The Mando calls me Echoy'ad, which means The Seeker in her tongue." She glanced at Zed. "But if a Mando'a name makes you uncomfortable, you may call me Marie." It was her late mother's name, but also a very common one, unlike her own given name.

"I was raised as a Jedi Knight on one of the Core Worlds. You are welcome to ask questions about me, but certain things must remain secret. Knowing them would only endanger others." She tilted her head slightly, as if the second part of Zed's statement puzzled her. "Where I want to go, is wherever the Force leads me. Thus far, it has led me to you, Zed, a fellow force-wielder who has also suffered a great loss, and you, Nartaga, who knows the sand better than anyone else in this town. But that is all I know. Our next steps are in your hands as much as mine." 

Maybe he was nervous about the Mando? She waved her hand toward the bar they had left earlier. "Oynx need not accompany us, Zed, if it makes you uncomfortable. She can stay here in Mos Espa, and alert us if anyone follows us into the desert." Her eyes shifted back to Nartaga. "That said, she hates the Rakatan as much as you do. The wrong person dug up one of their ancient evils, and the monster killed her husband before it was defeated." She accompanied her explanation with several signs. The 'monster' had actually been a Sith lord, but that was a long story, for another time.

Watching as Nartaga left the for a few moments he turned back to "Marie" and shrugged. I guess that cinches it. Before we go Echoy'ad we need to find a Diatium power cell, think of it like our payment. Once we get that we can leave this cesspool and head North. He doubted anyone would follow them into the desert. No one knew the two of them were here, and unless Marie and her Mandalorian were being followed by someone he figured they would be safe. Or as safe as a trio of people can be as they travel through the desert.

Zed walked into the shop that his new companion had indicated finding it full of droids and everything else you could imagine. Before he had taken more than a few steps into the store a small Jawa began speaking to him in its native tounge.

A beton nya mombay m'bwa! Utto nye usabia atoonyoba?

Pinching the bridge of his nose he sighed. Of course it had to be a Jawa. No I don't need a droid. I am here looking for a battery before he could finish that thought the Jawa was off running bringing back several types of batteries. Zed reached down to take them from his hand so he could get a closer look at any but as he grabbed the one closest to him the Jawa shouted out at him

Tandi kwa!

Placing the battery back down he offered his hands up in an apology. None of these will do. Leaning down low to the to Jawa he kept his voice low. I need a diatium power cell. Zed watched for a few seconds as the Jawa stood motionless his body totally unreadable under the robe they wore. The longer that he went without speaking the more sure he was that there was one here but when he was sure that he wasnt going to sell.

Shumeneez un toyneepa.

Taking the assorted monies that Nartaga had given him he showed it to the Jawa who laughed in the strange way his species did. Ja'bo'ba Keeza Ko lopo. Reaching out quickly he took almost all the credits that were in the bag and pocketed them before taking the hilt of a broken lightsaber out of his robes and twisted the bottom revealing the innards. Part of him wished that he had enough credits for the rest of the hilt. No doubt the focusing crystals inside would be better than those the master craftsman had created from scratch, but he would make do and hope that the flaw in the crystal was not so severe as to cause an issue beyond superficial. With no more pleasantries the Jawa ran off to the next customer to help them leaving the duo to catch up to Nartaga outside of town.

We can go.

Leaving the shop he began to lead the Jedi in the direction where Patashu had been left. I know you have been busy searching for your brother but what is it like out there? I've been on the planet a long time and before I met up with Nartaga recently I spent it alone, ignorant of everything and anything happening in the Galaxy. Clearly their crusade has ended.