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2.18.4787 Republic Reckoning

Arrival on Holgam is uneventful and the group jumps into the investigation straight away. Igashu arrives on scene where the Hutt in charge had been killed and begins investigation and a bit of postcognition to see what he can learn. Dabai heads out with a group of soldiers following what they think is the trail of a half-track. Quindo does a perimeter sweep and then heads off toward the mountains on foot.

Igashu learns that the killer was a human, right handed, and dressed all in grey robes, wielding a blue saber and using style 1 or style 6. Dabai gets ambushed and pinned down by some rebels, and Quindo meditates and then begins projecting force from the base of the mountains... this is what we can a bad-idea(tm).

Quindo opens his eyes around dawn to see half dozen assorted bad guys standing in front of him. Former President of Thantos Garek Brynn, Dark Force User Jr. a.k.a. Altair's mom, Dark Force User sr., Jr. and Sr.'s Master, and.... Nakail!

Igashu gives up his investigation and catches up with Dabai. Together they subdue the rebels and take 5 prisoners. Igashu quickly realizes this is not the group they came to find or to fight, but decides it's better to see they get taken alive rather than leave them to the Hutt troops. The 6th rebel though disagrees. She escaped, and she's strong in the force... it's To'iir. Mighty Fuck!

Igashu: "We need to talk, things got really complicated really fast." To'iir: "Fuck Off."

2.18.4787 Republic Reckoning (Quindo's POV)

Accompanying Momudu's elite shock troops to Holgam, the site of the most recent skirmishes, we arrive to find the local Hutt dead and his garrison killed. Dropping with Scout Team #2, we begin searching the area for clues. Igashu uses Postcognition to get an unclear view the battle. He can't see a face, but he determines that the Dark Force User is a male human, right handed, using a blue lightsaber. He favors a basic hilt-down lightsaber style, probably Style 4 (though possibly 1 or 6). The rogue was dressed in grey, not black! An important distinction.

Dabai sets out with a scout group to follow half-track tracks through the desert toward some nearby mountains. 3 hours later, heading into the badlands, his skimmer is ambushed. They lose the skimmer, and one of Momudu's troopers is killed, but they drive off the rest of the rebels.

Meanwhile, Quindo has wandered off, on foot, toward the mountains. Knowing that any Force users (Light or Dark) will disappear if being tracked down by overwhelming military forces, Quindo has decided to draw them out alone, in an attempt to negotiate. Hopefully, since their intentions seem to be good (freeing slaves), they are probably not truly evil, just misguided. Given a chance to contact them peacefully, Quindo hopes to be able to figure out 1)What they are planning, including why and how and 2) How to bring them back safely to the Council and the Light.

Marching late into the night, into the foothills of the mountains, Quindo sits himself on a rock to meditate. After warning the others telepathically to steer clear of his location, he uses a power called " Project Force" to make himself a beacon to any Force sensitives on planet. His hope is that this will draw the one or two rogues on planet to him, alone.

While Dabai and Igashu track down and capture the small band of rebels in the badlands, Quindo sits on a rock in the desert, being bait without a trap.

When the rebels are captured, it appears that they are being led by To'iir.

2.19.4787 Republic Reckoning

Dawn arrives... waking Quindo from his meditations. He lets the beacon fade out and opens his eyes to find 4 shapes standing just outside of his immediate Sense range. With the sun rising behind them, he can't quite make out who is standing before him. His first thoughts are bleak, " Oh boy, four is more than I expected..."

Suddenly, someone approaches from behind. Quindo turns to see a tall human male in a Grey trenchcoat. Eyes widening, Quindo sighs inwardly, " Oops, five is even more than four..."

After a moment, Quindo recognizes the man behind him... Garek Brynn, the ex-President of Thantos Corporation, one of Dormammu's pet Sith. Squinting back at the other 4, he is able to make out enough of the features to recognize three of the four.

One: Our first real adversary, deemed Dark Jedi, Jr. A black, buglike alien, we encountered him on Byblos, where he stole a data crystal from Igashu and escaped. The data crystal contained information from an archeological team on a Sith burial vault. We encountered him again later, and found that he was about similar in power level to us. (On a good day, we could take him one on one).

Two: A Vhodran male in black, deemed Dark Jedi, Sr. We met him on a 'derelict' Sith battle cruiser while chasing D.J. Jr. His higher level of power led us to assume he was Jr's Master, an assumption he was quick to affirm. All of us together could have taken him. Unfortunately, when we fought him, he told us that HIS master wanted to see us. We deemed that one Dark Jedi, Master, though most of us never met the fellow. In fact, only one of our surviving members did meet D.J. Master, and he fell to the Dark Side within minutes of meeting him.

Three: Nakael. In Igashu's words, " He was a boring old bookworm... and we miss him greatly. He nursed from the teat of evil, and has turned to the dark side. " Well, he's back, and he's looking at me funny.

Four: Quindo doesn't recognize Number 4, but he hopes to hell he's not D.J. Master. Though, I'm afraid he is.

The morning air is still cool, but you can feel the heat of the day beginning with the sun ahead of you. Relishing what probably is your last morning, you wait on the rock. The four Sith before you walk forward and they are matched by the steps of Garek Brynn behind you. They all stop about five meters away.
"Hello, Quindo," says Nakael, removing the hood from his head. "You should not have come here. Not now."
With a whir of servomotors, the center human pulls back his hood with an obviously prosthetic hand. "Oh, but this just makes things so interesting," he says with a smile.
"He has his purpose here," says Brynn, "and it is not to become another of your slaves."
"I would never enslave anyone," responds the man. "I'm here on a mission of liberation."