"Oh, it's definitely a he," Ranger Cardosa chimed in.

"Dane!" Sonora said warningly.

"And we definitely know what he looks like," Ranger Cardosa added.

"Dane!" Master Tabret exclaimed again.

"What?  You may as well tell them what you found out during your three year investigation," Dane replied, indicating both Jubali and Traest.  "Especially if you want them to have as much passion about catching him as you do."

Master Tabret huffed and then continued resignedly.  "During my investigation I quickly found out why the Jedi Council assigned me to track down the Paladin.  It turns out they not only had suspicions that he had been a member of the Order, but also which member he had been."  She sighed, and Jubali could detect a hint of sadness creep into her voice.  "The reason I was chosen to track the Paladin is because the Council figured I would recognize his modus operandi because he was my master." Sonora let the last word hiss out from between her clenched teeth.

"Ew, so he's like my 'grandfather'?" Jubali made air-quotes.  "How does someone go from being a master to embracing sheer chaos?  Is he...is he a Sith?"

Sonora's facial expression when Jubali correlated her relationship to the Paladin to a familial relationship indicated she did not appreciate the term, but she answered quickly and clearly, "No, he's not a Sith.  At least from what I know of what the Sith are supposed to be and not according to what Obi-Wan recently told me the Sith he faced was like.  He has no desire to specifically destroy the Jedi."

"Well according to his chaos theory he doesn't need to try and destroy the Jedi," Dane chimed in.

"What do you mean Ranger?" Traest asked.

"The Paladin is a Givin," Dane explained.  "The way their minds and culture work, they're very mathematically-minded.  He's very smart and very talented along those lines.  He got into chaos theory, and according to his predictions, the Jedi would destroy themselves in...what would it be now?  Sometime in the next 10 to 13 years."

"But that's crazy!" Traest replied. "Why would the Jedi destroy themselves?"

"They wouldn't!" Master Tabret confirmed.  "He just uses it as an excuse to play his games.  He claims the chaos that he causes is preparing the galaxy for life without the Jedi, but he really just does it to amuse himself."

OOC: Any comments?
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:17, Thu 15 Oct 2015.

"Oh!  A Givin...I like Givin," Jubali lamented.  "Destroy ourselves..." Jubali thought for a minute (Knowledge:Social sciences 3+2=5, fetch) before changing tacts  (Knowledge: Galactic Lore 2+18=20).  "A social collapse, like what's happened in history...it's possible.  I don't see it happening anytime soon but that's rare for any civilization to see their impending collapse.  Being aware of the problems is half the battle."

"While I agree Jubali is right," Traest said.  "It's just an excuse right?  Paladin's just making it up so he had a reason to leave the Order and do what he wants, right?"

"Of course!" Master Tabret agreed emphatically.

"Although according to him, he hasn't left the Order," Ranger Cardosa pointed out.

"What?" Traest asked confused.

"It's true," Master Tabret confirmed. "This is one of the reasons the Jedi Council wants him apprehended.  But no, the reason he left was because he was bored.  His calculations were always so accurate that every situation became too predictable for him.  So he started setting out to make things more interesting by introducing chaos to every situation.  I'm afraid I didn't realize what he was doing until it was too late."

"What do you mean too late?" Traest pressed.

"My trainer and I were on assignment with Sonora and her master," Dane said.  "We were in a negotiation that I guess was too routine for him because he decided to introduce one of his chaotic elements.  Well one of the parties drew their blaster and fired at him.  My trainer, out of reflex, jumped in front of the blast to protect a Jedi..." Dane trailed off for a moment.  "He died instantly.  Now I know Givin's faces are basically stuck in place, but he had no remorse at all.  It almost seemed as if he was going to laugh."  Dane couldn't continue.

"He was certainly satisfied with himself," Master Tabret continued.  "His idea had worked.  By introducing chaos into the situation he had made it unpredictable."

"What a psycho," Jubali replied, disgusted.

"Well maybe this will help us know what he's up to," Guro spoke up startling everyone.  They had nearly forgotten he was there.  He was holding up a small datacard, and suddenly everyone remembered why they had been tasked to save the Damsel in the first place.

"Okay, let's see what's on this thing," Dane said, taking the card from Guro and inserting into a reader on the med bay's display port.  A simple text file appeared on the monitor, with words written in strange lettering.

OOC: Make an Intelligence check.

OOC 12+1=13

Because of her recent study of the Naboo Crisis before the mission to Kel Dor, Jubali was barely able to recognize the characters as Gunganese.

Jubali gasped.

"I was just studying this!  This is Gunganese!  Remember the Naboo Crisis?  This is the language of their native non-humans.  What would his document be doing in Gunganese?"

"I'm not sure," Master Tabret said thoughtfully, her brow furrowed.  "We should report this to the Council and see how they want us to proceed."

Soon miniature versions of each Council member were represented in blue on the holodisplay.

"We believe you should continue on with your investigation into this matter," Mace Windu was saying.  "Proceed to Naboo yourselves, and discuss with the Naboo Joint Council the document.  I'm sure one of the Gungans will be able to translate it for you."

"But be wary you must," Master Yoda spoke up.  "Improved are the relations between the Naboo and the Gungans, but not everyone on the Joint Council is happy about it."

"We understand masters," Sonora acknowledged.

OOC: Does Jubali want to speak up before the transmission ends?

"Masters, a destabilization of an unsteady council matches the Paladin's trend.  What if taking document to them is what he wants?  Maybe we should find out what it says first in case it's lies about the Nabooians."

"Very insightful of you Padawan, but whom would you suggest to translate the text, but a Gungan?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.

"Someone without political power, someone who has no interest if the text says something bad."

"The safe move that may be," Master Yoda replied.  "But not necessarily the smart move."

"What do you mean master?" Sonora asked.

"I'm afraid the Joint Council would not look kindly upon us going behind their backs to discover what this says," Master Windu answered.  "It may cause more strife than taking it to them and having something unfavorable be contained in it."

"Maneuvered us into a corner, the Paladin has," Yoda commented.

"Then we go in openly," Jubali suggested.  "Tell them up front that the person who had it is deceptive and manipulative.  That we don't know what it says but that there's potential for it to be inflammatory lies.  Then at least they're doubting what's written."

"I think the Joint Council would appreciate your candor," Ki-Adi-Mundi commented.

"If there are no other concerns, please proceed to Naboo," Master Windu finished.

OOC: Any more comments/questions?

"Thank you, Masters," Jubali said, bowing and feeling a bit giddy from their positive comments about her.

The flight to Naboo was uneventful, and they were easily granted a landing space at the Theed Spaceport.

"I'll arrange getting the ship repaired," Dane said to Master Tabret, "if you want to get these two," he poked his thumb at Jubali and Traest, "some medical attention."

"Sounds good," Sonora answered.  "We can meet back up at the entrance to the Royal Palace in a few hours."

Ranger Cardosa nodded in agreement.

OOC: Does Jubali strike up any conversations on their way to the hospital?

OOC Nope.

Jubali admired the beautiful buildings as they traveled but knew she'd have to wait until later to get a better look.

When arriving at the hospital, they were cordially greeted and then sent to triage.  "Now that you're safely here, I'm going to go arrange our meeting with the Joint Council," Master Tabret informed Jubali.  "I will be back soon."

True to her word, by the time Jubali and Traest were moved from triage to treatment rooms, Master Tabret returned.  "I'm afraid the Council will not be able to grant us audience for two days.  It's probably just as well though, from what I've learned from the physician, it may take that long to get you back to your best.  And for Traest, it definitely will."

Soon Ranger Cardosa arrived.  "I got the Eclipse all set up for repairs.  It will be a several hours, but it sounds like we'll be here at least that long."

OOC: Does Jubali have any comments during her two-day hospital stay, or is she just going to rest?

Jubali tried not to show her relief at being able to rest for two days in a comfortable hospital.

All too soon it was time to meet with the Naboo Joint Council.  The four heroes arrived and were introduced to each member of the Council before the meeting began.  After introductions, Queen Amidala, ruler of the Naboo, spoke.  "Honored Jedi, distinguished Rangers, tell us, why have you come?"

"In truth, we have come seeking your help," Master Tabret began.  "Some information has come into our possession that we are unable to analyze because it is written in Gunganese.  We were hoping members of this body could interpret it for us."

"Meesa certian we could," Boss Nass, leader of the Gungans spoke up.  "But meesa must be askin', wherun did you be gettin' dis information?"

"A valid question, Boss," Ranger Cardosa responded.  "It was retrieved by Republic Intelligence during an undercover operation."

OOC: Does Jubali want to add anything?

"Be wary, though," Jubali warned.  "The person behind this seeks to sow chaos and discord.  What's written here could very well be lies designed to push apart the Gungans and the Humans."

OOC: Go to the new topic "Adventures on Naboo".