A light touch from Quantros brought Lyla out of her trance. The scene she awoke to was one of disarray. The underwater city was subdued. Order was beginning to be restored in the market with many Sedrians recovering from wounds received from stinger fish. Around the Great Shell Dome were the bodies of many warrior monks and renegades. Also just at the entrance to the dome were Tera, Klyn and Chu-Shkar, a captive Sedrian unarmed was with them.

As the worked out what to do with the captive Sedrian the leader of the Sedrian people came to them. High Priest Cardo thanked them for coming to the aid of Fitsay.

The High Priest looked at Chu-Shkar and his injuries "what I am about to show you is the greatest gift that was ever bestowed upon an unworthy people. I ask only that you show proper respect to this power we have been given" with that Cardo manipulated a hidden mechanism near the slight opening in the dome. Even the small amount of light that spilt out was blinding. A low grinding hummed filled the water. The bright golden crack widened further and even more incredibly bright golden beams shot out into the sea. The once green waters turned from yellow then to gleam with gold, dazzling eyes and filling all to witness it with the a feeling of immense power. A golden glow surrounded Chu-Shkar, its power held him, he felt his wounds heal and his anger fade.

The dome continued to open further until the walls receded into the ocean floor. Inside lay an entrance to a coral cave. As far as the eye can see the ocean had turned gold in colour.

OOC Chu-Shkar heals all damage.

Chu-Shkar had never felt such a feeling before. It was like being bathed in warm water, but from the inside as well. It washed over him, filling his very essence with warmth and peace. Letting out a soft growl, of pleasure, Chu-Shkar basked in the light. He was unable to thank Cardo, as the feeling was too intense for him to speak. Looking at Cardo though, he could see he didn't need to. The Sedrian understood the look all too well.

Tera was in awe at the golden light. the light alone was enough to draw her attention, but the healing properties had her moth open. "Such a gift....I'm speechless. Thank you for sharing this with us." A small secret part of her was curious to figure out what exactly was going on. Her eyes watched everything, drinking in the experience around her. Something she could never forget.

Snapped out of her trance/nap, Lyla was bewildered, finding herself suddenly some place completely different and all cruk going on around her. 'What—?' she began, with too many questions to ask as she gradually got her bearings again. Then the pain hit her again; duller and not as great as before, but no less debilitating. 'Ow...' she groaned, inspecting her wounds, finding them shallower than she remembered, with the blood washed away and clotting and scabbing over. 'Huh. Mustn't have been as bad as I thought.'

She found herself with the others, High Priest Cardo was there, and before she knew it, he was opening a giant clam. Okay... She was too stunned and sleepy to know quite what was going on, before the golden light flooded out and engulfed her. In reflection, Lyla's orange twi'lek skin glowed golden in the light.

She felt... like she was in a warm, relaxing bath, all her aches and cares washing away. It numbed her to the pain, to the feeling of flesh and skin crawling, knitting back together. Soon the glow was gone, along with the savage narglatch claw rents, as well as old blaster burns, grazes, and scars, until she was good as new again. There was no way the sceptic in her could deny that, and it hadn't needed Jedi tricks either. 'By the Goddess,' Lyla breathed in awe, 'The Great Bantha, the Jedi Force, and the Golden Sun too.' She touched her tails in gratitude. 'Thank you, we're honoured by your gift of healing light. Is this the Golden Sun?' And the Imperials wanted to turn it into a weapon.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:19, Sat 22 Oct 2016.

Jason is rather amazed by this golden light that seems to have almost regenerative properties. Yet at the same time it concerns him. With such a power, the empire will never leave these people alone. They will want that power for themselves. There are also the signs of a battle everywhere around them.

"What happened here? It looks like a warzone.."

Klyn too was impressed by the strange power and watched in amazement his small wound heal itself incredibly quickly.

His first rational thought, as soon as he closed his gaping mouth, was that the Empire should never get its hands on this, whatever the price.  This was all too much mysticism for him, so he decided not to think about it anymore, leaving it to people more used to strange things.

He was relieved to see Lyla's terrible wounds were healed too, as her arrival in such a dire state had him really worried.  The looks he shot at the two who were supposed to help her could have melted an iceberg.  But settling this would have to wait.

"There is more dissidence among those people than we thought." answered Klyn.
"A small group took matters in their hands and decided to attack. We were ill equipped to be off any effective help - curse those bloody waters - so they wounded many but, mainly, they stole a strange crystal and fled with it." 
He turned to face the priest before adding:
"Which prompts the next question: what exactly did they steal?"

As the Rebels basked in the golden light the coral reef that had been hidden by the Great Shell Dome was visible to all. The reef had hollows and passages that formed a network of chambers which Cardo explained was called the Sun Caves.

"They have stolen a part of the Sun Caves" the High Priest shook his head "why?" he asked and turned to the prisoner Chu-Shkar had captured and asked again"why?"

The renegade held himself proudly. He wore a blue armband with a broken sea shell pattern engraved upon it "not only have you locked away the Golden Sun from our people High Priest you have taken to dealing with thieving aliens" the Sedrian snorted at the Rebels "we will free the Golden Sun and make it available to all our people. That is Karak's dream, that is what we fight for. Those aliens that stand beside you are weak and unable to breathe the life-giving waters of our planet. We know, for we have one in our camp. A prisoner who shall pay for his crimes against the people".

Tera beamed with happiness. "Do you hear the song too?" she asked the others, excitedly.

She turned to the renegade, frowning "You realise what you've done isn't give the golden sun to your people. It is to give the golden sun to those who would enslave your people. This isn't an internal dispute. Your leader is collaborating with the Empire." she paused for a moment "You know the prisoner you are keeping is the one we are looking for. What crimes has he committed?"

Almost incapable of getting angry while the light was on him, Chu-Shkar was nevertheless alerted by the statement that the renegade stated. [Language unknown: "Manen taivdila, our m an hopr ee ut Foerar Ntsa? P eture in totra pataom resnotmen u ng sitistpr?"]

'We don't want your Golden Sun,' Lyla retorted to the Sedrian prisoner, and clarified 'We don't want to take it from you. We want to stop the Empire, the fish-killers, from stealing it and using it as a weapon.' On the other hand, she figured Cardo could stand to share it for the sake of peace on Sedri, but that wasn't the issue right now, and it wasn't worth annoying him.

She was more worried to hear of the prisoner, knowing in her tails it had to be Mors Odrion. He'd been there all along, she realised with dread, but at least the dissident confirm one thing – he was still alive. This dissident could tell them where Karak was camped out, where Odrion was held, if they could break his faith and get him to talk. 'We have proof that Karak is dealing with the fish-killers, look.' Lyla pulled out her camera, and played the footage she'd taken of Karak's meeting with Aban, his promise to break the Great Shell ahead of an attack on Fitsay in three days' time. 'And we heard from the fish-killers themselves they plan to steal the Golden Sun.'

"And you know the fish killers are just as incapable of breathing water as we are. The real question is, do you want to ally yourself with people who will leave you alone when the waters settle, or people who will come in and take all that is yours?"

The exchange gave many clues about the situation, and especially the part about the prisoner.

Adding his words to the many information given to their prisoner he continued
"And we have proof those fish killer attacked one of your people near the surface, without provocation, only because he could have said something against them."

The renegade barked to Tera with boldness "the prisoner is being held prisoner because he is a thief".

When Lyla presented him with proof that his leader Karak was corrupt his defiance slipped away and his broad shoulders slumped in defeat "no" he cried to himself "I renounce Karak" the renegade was clearly depressed. Aghast he shook his head "I believed Karak was a leader of truth and goodness".

"Well, in fact he was a greedy bastard who didn't care a bit about your people but just wanted more power and more coins... how unsurprising..."
commented Klyn. Apparently, he had met others like him.

"And what did he steal?" he asked, a bit curious.
"While we are talking about prisoners, what did you do to the poor woman who was with him but managed to escape?"

'Well, you wouldn't be the first to follow a politician who promised change but turned out to be a corrupt, power-hungry scumbag like the rest.' Lyla told the captive dryly. She showed the footage to Cardo and other interested Sedrians before putting her camera away.

'If Karak lied to you about the fish-killers and everything, then he probably lied to you about your prisoner as well. If it's Mors Odrion, then he wasn't here to steal anything. He was here to warn your people about the Imperials, same as us. So what did Karak say?'

Tera talked calmly to the renegade "Well, more importantly. Do you think this proof would be enough to sway the other renegades? Can you tell us more about where Mors Odrion is kept? And perhaps most important...what does he intend to do with the piece of Golden Sun that has been taken from this place?"

[Language unknown: "Ngnt rith el icoshi meolnt."] Chu-Shkar grumbled.

"He stole the coral from the Sun Caves" the subdued renegade answered Klyn "we did nothing to the false water-breather but hold her captive for the theft. She stole again when she escaped" he accused Rekara.

"Karak told us that the prisoner and all aliens were here to steal the Golden Sun"  he answered Tera.

"I will speak with the prisoner" Cardo announced before anyone could ask more questions of them and took them into the Sun Caves.

"So...he did the same thing that you've just done?" Tera sighed "It's a pity to remove anything from the song." Tera nodded as Cardo suggested he speak to the prisoner. "Just one thing. You've seen the proof that Karak is in league with the fish killers. Would this sway any of his supporters to leave him?" Tera asked hoping they wouldn't have to harm many misguided Sedrians as they tried to recover Mors Odrion.

'I don't know, they released poisonous fish on their own people in a terror attack and stole holy relics – they're not exactly reasonable.' Lyla pointed out. She wondered what song Tera had been referring to; she'd seen a light but hadn't heard anything.

'I don't know how Odrion and Rekara are supposed to have stolen anything from these caves. Cardo didn't let them in, and they never made it to Fitsay. I think Karak framed them – and probably on Imperial fish-killer orders.'

Tera raised an eyebrow, trying to put some sympathy in her voice. "It's a matter of perspective. They think they're saving the holy relics. They wouldn't have been the first peoples to have been taken in by the Empires words...but you're right. I think Karak framed them and set them up to make his theft of the Golden Sun seem more reasonable and ingratiate himself with the Imperial commander."

While Klyn was a bit frustrated they didn't get more time with the prisoner, he answered Lyla's comment with a nod.

"I agree.  I don't think they would have stolen something like that. And that sedrian apparently didn't know anything about Rekara's current state which, in my opinion, is another proof of their 'benevolent' leader's deception."

He looked toward the place where the prisoner was transferred.

"The sooner we get a location, the quickest we can end this."

He then spoke to Chu-Shkar
"Our terrible, ill-prepared intervention had me thinking on how to use parts of the useless SG4 to build pistol version of the harpoon thrower.

I would gladly accept your help since we won't have much time to work on it."

"The larger portion of his followers might be duped and tricked into following Karak. But I would suggest it's safe to assume there's a core of followers who are either more loyal, or more in the knowing. Who will stand with Karak even if the truth is revealed... I suspect a fight with that core is inevitable.."

Cardo is only in the Sun Caves for a few minutes. Pek came to rejoin the Rebels once the remaining warrior monks had organised themselves. The Sedrian youngster was upset that Karak's renegades had attacked but pleased to see the Rebels had aided Fitsay.

The renegade when he emerged from the Sun Caves looked dazed and uncertain. Cardo spoke grimly "now I know the way to Karak's settlement". The High Priest signalled to Pek "ready the soldiers. We shall go parlay with Karak" he ordered.

Chu-Shkar nodded and was about to go with Klyn, when Cardo came back. After Cardo spoke, Chu-Shkar looked at Lyla for instruction.

'Hey! That's a damn good gun, that is!' Lyla interjected, patting her own SG-4 like it might be upset to Klyn's words. Her recent skill and some good shots with the new rifle had her swearing by it, even if she still missed her old DC-15a.

She looked up at the return of Cardo and the prisoner, quite sure she didn't want to know what had transpired in those caves for the priest to have gotten the location. 'First, your Highness, perhaps you could tell us what exactly the Golden Sun is? What does this coral the renegades stole do? ...Karak or his fish-killer bosses could use it as a weapon against us, and we need to be prepared for whatever they throw at us.' she advised warningly.

KLyn grunted playfully at Lyla's comment about her weapon.

He doubted the priest would give any more information regarding their secret wonder.
And it was a wise move, in a way.

What caught his attention was the 'readying the soldier' part, and the parley option.

He didn't think parley might still be an option and really hoped Karnak didn't made contact with the empire's AT-AT...

Tera paused for a moment, looking at Cardo. "A moment please, how did you do that? What did you do? Can it be taught?"

"You have seen the Golden Sun. The coral caves are a mystery for our people" the priest paused and looked at the Rebels "it is not for strangers" he considered "however I see your intentions are good. I will tell you that the coral can seem to some as if it is alive. When I dream sometimes I feel it trying to talk to me. It energizes the crystals to power our tools. It can never be used as a weapon or to kill" he explained sternly at Lyla's belief it could be harnessed as a weapon.

The large and old Sedrian then began to warm to the subject of his life's devotion as well as Lyla's and Tera's interest "when people our ill they can be healed, however the more its power is used the weaker it becomes. Karak seeks to allow all to use the Golden Sun and I see that it will weaken and we will lose it. The power and mysteries of the Golden Sun will be taught to my son when it is his time to become the High Priest" he told Tera.

As they talked Pek returned with ten of the surviving warrior-monks "father we are ready" he told Cardo.

"Then we must whiskerback and go to speak with Karak before he takes us all deep enough that only the bubbles rise" Cardo announced and signalled for the warrior monks to follow him to the renegades lair.

"Something this precious should be preserved. I...have a favour to ask. Could it be used to cure one of our companions? She's lost some of her senses. It might help her." she looked out towards the warrior monks "Well, once we've done this."

She frowned for a moment "Klyn...do we have any way of projecting the recording and audio to show the others in his band he's in league with the fishkillers? We don't want to hurt any of the Sedrians that might just have been misled....do we?"

"Perhaps it can be arranged" Cardo conceded to Tera as he led the band of Sedrians to go confront Karak and his renegades.

Chu-Shkar was agitated at the thought of having to swim again, especially since he didn't have a good weapon for underwater, nor did he have a power suit that he could use.

'Well, coral is a living organism.' Lyla murmured, remembering her nature studies but not wanting to interrupt Cardo too much while he was sharing information. This Golden Sun was obviously so much more than a typical coral. Maybe it had this Force everyone talked about, and why not corals too? Maybe it had thoughts and feelings as well, or was like the Life of Isis, being a repository of other's thoughts and memories and natural connection. As a ranger, Lyla had learned to accept the weird and wonderful of life.



'But you use it to power your sun-staffs, don't you? They're weapons.' Lyla pointed out. 'The Imperials would use it to pull ships out of the sky, to hide their fleets. Karak and the fish-killers will pervert your Golden Sun if they can.' she warned, wanting the old priest to be ready and not blinkered by faith and commandments that had already been abandoned by his own renegade bishop.

As the warrior-monks gathered and the whole troop of Sedrians started swimming to Karak's hideout, Lyla began paddling after them, expecting her team to follow. She had to worry what they were getting themselves into here – a local religious rebellion was a nasty thing to get caught up in, even without Imperials egging them on. But the Imperials and Karak had already gotten the Rebellion involved, not she and her team had to get them out.

'All natural resources have to be conserved, else they'll be lost forever.' Lyla agreed with Cardo and Tera. 'The Golden Sun especially. You'll have to work out a way of balancing using it and conserving it, to put an end to Bishop Karak's rhetoric. Else more will follow him.' she advised, hoping to the Goddess she could put a stop to the larger war too.

"Projecting the audio is not really hard, but if you want to project the image too, it another level.  It also depend on whether we take the Gold with us or not."
answered Klyn.

[Language unknown: "A eve la ilngul at ivthun, Ha armen simoll etany."] Chu-Shkar said.

"Might not be a bad idea to take the sun with us.. Remember, there's an aquatic war machine of the empire out there.. If they are assisting Karak.. could turn into a really uneven fight.."

The journey to Karak's settlement was not going to be a short one. The directions given to Cardo showed that they would be travelling around three hundred kilometres north. A trip that would take the Sedrians several hours of swimming. Any Rebels wishing to witness or take part in the parley can easily follow by speeder-raft or in the Alabak's Gold.

'No wonder we couldn't find their trail.' Lyla sighed as it transpired just how far away and in what direction Karak's hideout really was. 'And Quantros and I got eaten by a narglatch for nothing...'

She agreed with Jason, saying 'Yeah, let's take the Gold. We might need the ship's firepower, if not for the AT-AT then for a sea monster or some other surprise.'


OOC: I presume Jason meant "Gold" instead of "sun"?

Jason nods and decides to head to the ship to get things ready. He's confident that the others can handle matters with the Sedrians. And if they face anymore surprises, he'd prefer to be at the helm of their ship.

"Klyn is there anything you can do to make a waterproof blaster pistol? It felt like we were just standing around doing nothing while the renegades stole the coral from the temple" Tera asked.

"Any help would be appreciated" answered Klyn to the wookie slicer.

"Well, a waterproof blaster might not be feasible in the short time we have until we get there" he started answering Tera.
"But with Chu's help I think we can use parts of the SG4 and a few things I gathered to make 2 pistol like harpoon thrower."

"To be honest, anything that could work underwater and is vaguely pistol like would work." she looked at Chu-Shkar "Don't wookiees normally use bowcasters?"

The party of Sedrians led the way and the Rebels followed in the Alabak's Gold. During the journey that took a few hours Cardo insisted that they approach under a flag of truce. As the reached close to the settlement the starship's scanners showed a much smaller settlement than Fitsay. A large tent filled the centre with a number of smaller tents and tiny huts around it.

OOC How will the Rebels approach? Do they plan to swim closer or take the Alabak's Gold into the settlement?

As the renegades' camp came up on the viewport, Lyla rose from her seat, saying 'Let's not engage in literal gunboat diplomacy – we're not here to be Cardo's hammer. We can moor the Gold outside the camp, and swim back if we have need of it.' She'd since changed out of her shredded divesuit into a spare – not that slashes of bare orange skin weren't a good look – and recharged her blaster rifle.

[Language unknown: "Sonestnde! Ceman n tiobut'ureatibut t!"] Chu-Shkar growled in feigned anger. [Language unknown: "Niel mi m il thiatinte ichon li sielme ee ntpre thosulunac. T ven se k moio ort leecss ure nceeralaronesom u on thomad adonto paund poha manarefororeeenwit..."] He began to mumble technical things, and it quickly turned into leet speak.

"We have a lot of work, indeed" said Klyn to Chu-Shkar
"So let's not waste a minute."


Once they arrived, Klyn checked the two weapons before asking
"who gets what?"

"And I agree about leaving the Gold behind, as long as there is someone to keep it safe.
And ideally someone ready to fire the blasters if needed."

"If you want someone to stay behind and guard the ship, i'll volunteer. Think i'm the most qualified to come and rescue you if things go bad anyway. We can keep an open comlink and if you need me, i'll be right there.."

Hopefully the others won't think him cowardly for offering to stay behind, but he is the most qualified pilot in the group, as far as he's aware at least.

'Alright, you do that, if you don't think you'll be missing out on the fun.' Lyla answered Jason. 'We need someone watching out butts. You can all ride in like the Rylothan cavalry if things go south.'

'I've got a spare pistol if anyone needs one?' Lyla offered; apparently the others were struggling for weaponry. 'Though I gave it to Quantros? ...Quantros, d'you mind staying on board with Rekara and Bron? You got gummed up pretty bad by that narglatch, and if anything Force-related comes our way, we need you on overwatch.' Well, it was good to humour him...

Tera stuck her own blaster pistol into her belt, with the diving suit on. "I have a pistol, it's just really poor underwater, and the fact the Sedrians can swim so swiftly makes the lightsaber redundant." She readied herself for moving on the temple. "I think negotiations might go poorly, but hopefully the audio of his betrayal will persuade some of their number to leave"

'I've got a spare blaster rifle too,' Lyla added to her offer, 'And who needs aim and range when you have auto-fire?'

She shrugged, not liking the chances. 'Some, maybe. But the diehards will stick to him no matter what he was caught saying on tape.'
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 07:58, Fri 04 Nov 2016.

"And with some luck we will also have image with the sound, that would be even more persuasive."

To Tera he added:
"If Chu-Shkar and you want the pistol harpoon throwers, I can stick with one of the SG4.It would be a bit harder to hit but I had a good feeling with it in our previous encounter with those coral stealer".

Under Lyla's command the Alabak's Gold's low powered tractor beam was employed to anchor it near Karak's settlement. Then the Rebels were able to get closer by swimming.

Cardo, Pek and the monks announced their presence with great bellows as they approached the settlement. Many of the Sedrian renegades scattered throughout the camp, some attempting to hide and others considering swimming away. Cardo and his followers waited patiently during the frightened confusion. From one of the small tents a group of armed renegades came out and formed a defensive of the camp but kept their distance.

Then from the tent in the centre a great horn blared out. A group of heavily armed renegades emerged from the tent flap. Then a smaller and sleeker Sedrian appeared and swam toward the Fitsay party.

OOC Anyone staying in the Alabak's Gold or doing anything else let me know.

'Well, it looks like the powwow is starting.' Lyla observed from the viewport. 'That's our cue. Let's go, um, bring some transparency to Sedrian religious politics, yeah.'

Switching her SG-4 to long-range harpoon mode, Lyla formed up in the airlock with the others. As it filled with water and the hatch sprung open, she jumped out and propelled herself up behind Cardo and Pek.

Tera ended up bringing the device she'd been working on to project the image and voice of the traitor leader to his own people. She kept her own blaster pistol in its holster, but the lightsaber was within easy reach. This entire situation was apt to blow up in their face.

"Well, I hope your work will help us avoid any battle, or it might get very ugly quickly" said Klyn to Chu-Shkar as he put the water-environment gear.

"On the plus side, there is no trace of imperials... at least for the moment..."

Whilst the High Priest Cardo and his entourage swam the Rebels on board the Alabak's Gold were active in other ways. Klyn and Jason worked hard to construct two underwater harpoon pistols whilst Chu and Tera modified a holoprojector to operate undersea. Lyla sat down with Rekara. The Mon Calamari still clutched the greenish rock she had originally brought from Sedri. Now after seeing the Sun Caves Lyla could discern that the rock was in fact a broken piece of the same coral. Lyla could see that the piece was not dead. Rekara talked of how it had screamed when the renegades attacked the Sun Caves. When Lyla and the Rebels left the Alabak's Gold Rekara joined them as they swam to join Cardo and the negotiations.

Their heard Pek hiss the name "Fala" the Sedrian stopped a short distance from the Cardo and Pek. The armed renegades continued to wait patiently but held their Sun guns and spear guns, some pointed toward Cardo and the Rebels.

"So I see that the Fitsay asre still as dishonourable as ever since they deal with fish-killers and thieves" she pointed to Rekara and to Jason "I cannot possibly imagine why you have come here, but since my illustrious father Karak is away right now I will deal with the Fitsay" she said "why have you come?"

"These walking one are not the fish-killers whom I have less love for than anyone. Nor are they thieves. They are brave and honourable. I have come here with them for two reasons. To secure the release of one of their kind and to appeal to you to join us in defending against the fish-killers" he replied.

Both Sedrians accepted each others words and bowed to one another. Fala signalled to the watching guards to set down their weapons. The renegades with raised weapons lowered them. Cardo signalled for his entourage and the Rebels to do the same.

Jason was planning to stay with the Alabak's gold but he decides to at least go out and be there with this initial meeting, they might need him, and the ship will be close. When it's clear Cardo wants them to drop their weapons he get's ready to do so, but checks with Lyla first. It wouldn't do to let go of his weapon unless it's ok'd by a superior officer.

Lyla still didn't know how Rekara had wound up with a hunk of the precious coral, but she was sure that if she put it back, the fog over her mind might lift. If not, Cardo could use its power to heal her. She hoped so, anyway. The Sedrians ought to appreciate its return, at least.

'Oh, no, no, you don't have to come,' she tried telling Rekara when the Mon Calamari made to follow her out of the ship. A babbling non-combatant carrying a stolen religious treasure likely to inflame both sides of fanatics in a delicate negotiation just was not going to help here. But, too late, she was out. 'I guess you do.' she sighed into her breather.

Swimming after, she listened to the opening exchange between Cardo and this Fala. Lyla was worried to hear Karak was not joining them – he had to be up to mischief.

As the Sedrians lowered their weapons, surprisingly, Lyla looked to her team. 'Lower them or sling them so they don't float away.' The corollary to that of course was 'Keep your weapons close.' Lyla pointed her SG-4 down at the sand.

'Thank you for agreeing to talk with us.' Lyla said to Fala. 'May I ask where Bishop Karak is?' she asked, having a fair idea where. It seemed a good lead in to showing them where he really was.

Klyn too was a bit annoyed when ne noticed that Rekara  had decided to follow.
From what they had gathered, Fala's claims might not be truly wrong.
And this was not a good thing, as they new allies might think they had lied to them.
So much for the recent trust.

He lowered his weapon, but kept a watchful eye on the surroundings.
The fact that Karak wasn't here could be both a good thing: it would be easier to convince the others without his side being defended by himself, but also a bad omen: with their luck, he is currently leading the imperials toward the camp...

Sitting in the cockpit, Chu-Shkar was following along through the the Gold's sensors, and was ready to broadcast the video feed they had sliced together. [Language unknown: "Itesoual she her t ti Meul"] He sent over the coms.

With weapons lowered or cast aside the parlay became more informal. Fala and Cardo clearly knew each other well, they spoke peacefully if not friendly. Fala did ignore Pek and anything he said however.

She answered Lyla with a shake of the head "he is away", it didn't appear that she was deliberately hiding anything. She did ask Lyla one question in return "what do you make of Cardo?" she omitted any reference to his title of High Priest "my father says he rules Fitsay as a greedy powermonger".

Tera frowned as she stood beside Lyla, speaking in her language.  She closed ehr eyes reaching out with the Force trying to get a feel for all the participants.

Lyla was taken aback by Fala's question, and there wasn't much she could say with the High Priest bobbing up and down right next to. But she didn't have much to say about Cardo anyway. 'Sedrian ways are not my people's ways, and we haven't been in Fitsay long,' she qualified, 'But I saw nothing there to make me think that.' It was a careful answer, but her opinion that Cardo could maybe share the Golden Sun better to head off Karak's revolt weren't at issue here. Surprised to hear her native tongue, she whispered back to Tera [Language unknown: eSta st ol, evro u redardear etwi ckon roat er. Urent poson mi hotaca thceetac ncter ro t M wass be.t]

This conversation didn't seem to be going anywhere, it was time to bring out the big guns. 'But I saw a lot to make me doubt Bishop Karak.' It would be hard denouncing him to her daughter, but it had to be done. Sensing something between them, she left Pek out of her story 'We infiltrated the base of the Imperials – you call them fish-killers. We took captives and questioned them. They plot to steal the Golden Sun and use it as a weapon against other worlds like Sedri.' she announced, raising her voice as much as her suit's underwater speaker would permit.

'Then we saw this.'

She commed to Chu aboard the Gold, 'Chu, play it.' She really hoped that had been her name she'd heard in his latest growling, and that that meant he was ready. This would be a bad time for projector troubles.


OOC: Perception 14
11:24, Today: Lyla Rahn rolled 14 using 1d20+8. reroll (Acute Senses).
11:24, Today: Lyla Rahn rolled 16 using 1d20+8. perception.

Tera shook her head [Language unknown: "Et on, a ne bepasa n ne ard. Rutei etev str atnite. Loec hasli siro ect, mietma m lin setsetman ectni erome i io untr Llwhma ur notr...A te are ineeveday tr e A ous rutsheard li Ersveneau. Oltin be roes alndnoce estimi hasthoine as powe si avetramanain. P sanndeout anyreaour la si m it ieolfi ckeiomne. Usinma ard Ho ant ur ivieus. Oerventho reseveour p ni foeau ardtioonehou m ni illthawer th Wilameromous. Pl whunis os k ughhatcom hou lat i oneallarewhe Ndpetr Entesthou iou on tero of be hertedntiday?"] Tera looked around quickly trying to speak in a high pitched squeek [Language unknown: Theun, esnonc ith ma lothu ceil. Io fi p ncbehoic ietabewi ionearsta iltrut ilngca oreal ica sipr Dayrutund ch hoven ard trllni airirintet ut."]

Flipping the switch, Chu-Shkar watched the images and audio play out in the water around the Gold's nose. He actually felt sorry for these people. They were deceived by the one they trusted. It was too much like Jortar's betrayal of his family. An ache began in his heart as he thought about the family he'd never be allowed to see again.

Kirthwa would be entering her mating time this year, and he wouldn't be able to threaten her suitors like a good father should. Chu-Shkar couldn't help it, and a mournful cry slipped softly from him as he thought of how beautiful she would look in her flowers of the Thruuk-Sha ceremony.

At Tera's suggestion, he came back to his reality, and growled threateningly and began to really examine the sensors. If there was going to be betrayal, he wanted to stop it fast. [Language unknown: "Onckreacon."] He commed her back.

Things were apparently going smoothly at first.
But of course there had to be something strange happening.

All the exchanges in a language he didn't know wasn't very encouraging.

And Tera's warning - well, what she said in a understandable language - only increased his trouble: he would hate that they had been played.

"You must have see how Cardo keeps the powers of the Golden Sun to himself. My father wants to create his own sun cave, study it and share it with all. Do you believe in equality?" Fala asked Lyla as the pair talked about Fitsay.

Then when the Rebels played back the recording of Bishop Karak's meeting with the Commander Aban. The Sedrian was shattered by the revelation. The representative of the renegade Sedrians had firstly been composed and her arguments cogent. Then she was floating in the water, her tail flapping limply "this can not be" she stuttered.

"The sun caves must be defended from the fish-killers" she admitted after a pause as she turned the conversation away from any parley and to what they should do next.

Lyla was glad Fala and the others had accepted this so easily – no angry denials, no accusations of falsified evidence, no revelations they were all in bed with the Imperials, and, best of all, no attempt to shoot the messenger. 'And we will help you.' she said, hoping this was a promise she could deliver on. But she had to focus on their mission first. 'But we need our emissary back. Where is Mors Odrion?' she demanded before Fala got any ideas.

Chu-Shkar begins manipulating the dials on the Gold's sensor suite.

Tera nodded "Where is Mors Odrion. If your path is truly against the fish killers, then returning him to us will help in that goal."

Klyn felt some of the tension disappears as the discussion shifted from opposition to cooperation.  At least one bloodshed avoided... for the moment.
Lyla and Tera's question was, of course, a necessity, but if they really stole part of the Sun Coral, diplomacy will be needed.

And since it was definitively not his area of expertise, he decided to stay silent.

On board the Alabak’s Gold Chu-Shkar kept an eye on the sensor array. The Wookiee scanned the settlement. There was plenty of life-forms present. The green ocean was full of life. He detected larger life-forms within the tents and buildings, most likely Sedrians. There was no signs of technology beyond the simple spears and tools. A few traces of the Golden Sun powered labour saving devices and sun guns were present but much less common than in Fitsay.

“The walking one is being held here” Fala admitted when asked, after the revelation about her father she was nervous about the answer. Fala glanced back toward the renegades camp and signalled her guards to come closer then began to swim toward a sturdy building “your companion is in here” she explained. The guards opened the door at her command but there was no one inside. The Sedrian renegade was shaken again and demanded the guard on duty explain but all they could do was shake their whiskers and say that they knew nothing.

'Where is he?!' Lyla demanded in shock and anger, fearing that the Sedrian renegades were trying to trick them. They'd come so close to a peaceful resolution too. But Fala seemed genuinely surprised, and Lyla looked again in the cell, to see if there was some clue as to what had happened to Odrion. Goddess, if Karak had quietly gotten rid of him or delivered him to the Imperials...


OOC: Looking for clues, whatever. Did Odrion escape?
20:07, Today: Lyla Rahn rolled 28 using 1d20+8. perception.

Tera looked aorund with Lyla for any sign of Mors, whether he'd been there earlier and who might have "rescued" him from his current location. She decided to try the Force as well as helping Lyla.

OOC:
21:28, Today: Tera Inkari rolled 21 using 1d20+9.  Perception: aid another.
21:28, Today: Tera Inkari rolled 29 using 1d20+10.  use the force.

When they looked in the cell there was nothing to show any sign of escape. Everything was in order, except Mors Odrion was not there.

Fala questioned the guard further but he provided no clues as to what may have happened. Now fully suspecting that her father had betrayed her Fala demanded any of the guards who have been guarding the prisoner give her an explanation. The renegades submitted to her order and gathered around to shake their whiskers in confusion, that was all bar one. A renegade named Porm who was the last to gaurd the prisoner before the most recent change of guard. Porm was not there and no where to be found. Several of priests and other renegades were also discovered missing.

With everyone else now gathered Fala ordered those able to fight to return to Fitsay to protect the caves. Around one hundred Sedrian prepared to go.

'Did none of you ever think to check on him?' an exasperated Lyla demanded on the shiftless Sedrian guards. Some revolutionaries these were; making a rescue attempt would have been a guaranteed success.

'Alright, where would this Porm and these others have gone? Were they particularly close to Bishop Karak?' she asked, thinking Karak had fled with his loyalists or his cronies, with Odrion in tow, for some nasty purpose.

Chu-Shkar continued to scan for anything out of the ordinary.

The more they inquired, the more the treacheries of Karak and his close circle became apparent.  Whatever suspicions Terra might have had, they were crumbling faced with the facts they could see and understand.

"Do you think they are planning to attack the city with the imperials?"

[Language unknown: "M ivmeil ecstr la, ll restedica evre ni our thtosiar."] Chu-Shkar says in response to Klyn.

"I don't like the look of this.. There's no telling what they might do if they're desperate enough.."

He's seen what people, human or otherwise can do when they think all hope is lost. He's seen pilots smash their fighters into larger craft without any real hope of doing damage.

"My father must have gone and taken the prisoner with him" Fala answered Lyla "he must have taken the others with him. Dragob, Spodan, Burborok and K'hondo. All the priests are missing" she confirmed.

The renegades were an assortment of Sedrians, all followers of Karak and his priests. Now they looked to Fala for leadership, without any other priests to guide them. They all gathered and began their journey to Fitsay before either the priests of the Broken Shell or the Imperials could steal or destroy the Golden Sun.

"My father wants to share the Golden Sun with his people" she replied to Klyn. Despite all she had seen and heard Fala believed her fathers words were still true. She admitted her father's plans were twisted but she had faith that he was true to his word. "The Fish-killers are evil" she agreed "I think they will attack the Golden Sun" she tells him.

[Language unknown: "K esssomwhi tin iopro waatpo the ithromess t p ect iters."] Chu-Shkar sent over the comlink.

'Karak and his cronies must have returned to the sea-base. The Imperials will want to interrogate Odrion, so Karak was probably holding him to trade.' Lyla surmised as they started off.

'Your father might think he is doing the right thing,' Lyla began carefully, not wishing to offend Fala too much while she was being co-operative, 'But the fish-killers will try to steal the Golden Sun and enslave your people, just as they did mine. We have to stop them' she warned. If only she could think how...

Tera sighed heavily "The golden sun is the fish killers ultimate goal. So we need to do everything possible to try to prevent that. It's far too valuable to let them have it." she turned to Fala "okay, now think carefully. What is your fathers ultimate goal? Does he seriously think the fish killers would not just take the golden sun from him? Would he plan for that and have a way to betray the fish killers? What do the fish killers have that he wants or needs to do what he needs to do?"

"I agree Chu-Shkar" said Klyn "we should go back inside the gold to plan our next moves.  I would feel a lot safer than here in the open..."


The two others were still in heavy talk with Fala, but he just wanted to get back to their ship and talk strategy outside of the bishop's former allies.

The Rebels gathered in the Alabak's Gold and began the journey back to Fitsay. Along side them Cardo, Pek and their entourage swam back. Also with them was Fala and around hundred of the renegades. The Rebels onboard their ship began to plan their defence of Fitsay or an assault on the Imperial AT-AT Swimmer.

Then when they were just outside the Sedrian city in the murky distance several lights appeared. They were faint at first and then got brighter and brighter. One of the lights was especially large and bright. When Fitsay was in sight they could also see the forms of seatroopers, the seatroopers jetted forward in perfect formation. Behind them was the Imperial AT-AT Swimmer, a Walker-sized vehicle moving upon repulsors instead of legs. Its beast-like head moved back and forth bolts exploded from its forward cannons and boiled through the churning sea. The Imperial assault had begun!

OOC Continued in Imperial Attack.