In a circular room, clinically clean with paneled walls of a light blue durasteel two men float in kolto tanks. The first of the pair, a tall, wiry man with brown cropped hair suddenly gives a cough as a voice seems to sound inside his head.

"Awaken."
This message was last updated by the player at 11:55, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

Even as the first man's eyes open and he glances groggily around inside the tank in which he floats, the second man, slightly shorter with tanned skin and several scars, hears the same voice inside his head, albeit fainter and more distant.

"Awaken!"
This message was last updated by the player at 11:55, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

The first man has already pulled himself out of his tank, gasping for air as he does so and coughing as his wet feet land on the metallic floor with a slap. He stumbles forward to his hands and knees, breathing hard for a moment before pulling himself up.

The second man's reaction is much the same. He seems disoriented as he looks around the room, unsure of where he is or why he's here, and it takes a moment or two longer than it should for his gaze to land on the first man and register he's not alone in here.

"Who are you? Are you the one who told me to awaken?" he asks, slightly rasping, looking around the room for clues as to where this place is.
This message was last updated by the GM at 11:56, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

The first man seems to have recovered himself a little, and winces as he turns to survey his companion.

"I am not," he answers the man's second question at length, "Though it seems you heard it too. I'm Sev Zallow, Jedi Knight. You?"

The second man looks around the room, trying to spot the third person who said ‘awaken’.

“I am--," he rubs his temple briefly, before his gaze alights on the kolto tanks-- "Tank. Tank Kolto. So, though, you are a Jedi? This seems an odd place for one of your kind to end up. Shouldn’t you be of killing Mandalorians and saving innocents and ingratiating yourself with politicians?”
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:56, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

Sev follows the other man's gaze to the kolto tanks, raising an eyebrow.

"All right then, 'Tank'. As for this place, I do not exactly know where here is. You don't happen to know where we are or how we got here do you? The last thing I remember is... well fighting Mandalorians honestly."

'Tank Kolto' carefully avoids looking at those tanks himself, and frowns as he looks about, searching for any kind of terminal or gear lockbox that might contain hints as to their location or how they ended up here.

"...I confess, I am not sure myself. My brain feels like mud. The last thing I remember is cleaning my gear; I am a mercenary, so I do that a lot. After that, nothing. I don't even know what month it is, much less which day it is. I wonder if there was something off about that kolto-- I remember hearing rumors the Republic were experimenting with 'alternative' Kolto blends due to low supplies."
This message was last updated by the GM at 11:56, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

"There's something off about one 'Kolto' around here," Sev mutters to himself, but also busies himself with searching their surroundings. There is no computer in the room they are in, however he does find a door control which opens readily enough.

"Something has clearly damaged our memories," he surmises as he peers out of the room and into the corridor, "An accident perhaps. Or something more sinister..."

Sev Zallow rolled 4 using 1d20+1. Spot.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 04:05, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

"Never attribute to malice what can be explained by error," Tank says wisely, following. "Perhaps you celebrated a victory and merely had a bit too much fun with the wrong brand of spice sticks."
This message was last updated by the GM at 11:56, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

Sev sends Tank a look of disapproval with just a hint of haughtiness.

"Jedi do not consume spice sticks," he sniffs, "And I have seen enough malice in recent years to expect the worst."

He glances back out into the alcove outside, and, seeming to think it safe, begins to pick his way across the corridor. Three doors stand before him, one to the left, one to the right and one before him. He tries the control panel beside the door to right, which slides obediently open. Sev wrinkles his nose.

"The morgue," he observes, placing a hand to his nose, but gives a start a moment later.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 11:23, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

In the morgue lie four bodies. The grizzled human man with matted grey hair, a green skinned Rodian in a flight suit, a sallow faced human woman in dark robes and an elderly grey haired woman dressed in purple robes.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:53, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

Only the woman is not dead. As Sev enters she stirs and sits herself up.

"I was beginning to wonder if you would ever awaken," she says calmly.
This message was last updated by the player at 11:55, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

Sev frowns, his hand still placed loosely over his nose.

"You," he says, "I heard your voice just before I awoke in the kolto tank."

Tank Kolto, made of tougher stuff, seems unaffected by the smell, though he does check the other bodies to confirm both if they are dead and the cause of death.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:57, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

Whatever Tank's profession in his amnesiac past, he appears to have had some form of first aid training as he has no trouble confirming that the other bodies are indeed dead. The Rodian appears to have been slashed across the chest by some form of molten weapon which has cauterized the flesh through which it was cut. He also appears to have been shot in the leg with a blaster. The sallow faced woman appears to have been impaled through the chest with a similar weapon to the one that made the gash on the Rodian. The grizzled man appears to have cracked his skull on a hard, sharp object, judging by the nasty gash on his forehead.

"Indeed," the woman replies coolly to Sev, "I only hope you were the only ones."

"Their weapons are in the footlocker in the room on the other side of the hallway," she adds to Tank, without turning to look at him, "And I suggest you arm yourselves swiftly. You shall soon have company."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:49, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

"Right. Am I the only one who thinks hearing other people's voices in your head is weird?"" Tank Kolto checks, looking for some blankets to cover the bodies with to give them slightly more respectful treatment than they are getting currently.

"I don't suppose they stashed some spare clothes in there too?" Sev replies to the woman as he makes his way over to the doorway across the hall.

If he is feeling any discomfort at having voices inside his head he keeps it to himself, choosing to ignore Tank's remark.

The woman seems to content to let Sev discover the answer for himself, and continues to direct her conversation at Tank.

"You do not have long now. Leave the dead and find a weapon. Unless it is your wish to join them."

She has barely finished speaking when the third door to the alcove opens, and a burly looking Klatooinian enters, accompanied by a tattooed Aqualish. Both give a start as they spot Sev who has just disappeared into the room across the hallway, raising each raising the blaster pistols they carry as they do so.
This message was last updated by the player at 13:34, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

"Not friendlies, then," Tank mutters. "Don't suppose you intend to pick up a blaster and help us with the not-winding-up-dead objective, lady?"

The woman seems content to ignore him and makes no effort to move, simply closing her eyes and beginning to meditate.

OOC: An'ya Kae rolled 36 using 1d20+16. Force Stealth.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:43, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

Sev meanwhile appears to have located the footlocker because as the pair of attackers enter the first, the Klatooinian, gives a shout of pain and surprise as red lightsaber ignites before him half impaling him through the stomach. He crashes backward against the wall behind him, dropping his blaster and groaning as he clutches his stomach.

OOC: Sev Zallow rolled 18 using 1d20+7. Initiative.
Space Pirates rolled 16 using 1d20. Initiative.
Tank Kolto rolled 14 using 1d20+2. Initiative.

Sev Zallow dealt 13 points of wound damage to Space Pirate.

"You're seriously just going to sit there doing nothing when you know they're trying to kill us?" Tank eyes her incredulously, before hurrying after Sev.

As his injured companion attempts to fumble for his weapon, the Aqualish hastily fires a shot at Sev who has no trouble avoiding the clumsy blast.

Tank darts across, cursing as he weaves his way through the crossfire, and dives for cover beside the footlocker, groping in it for a blaster. He fires seconds later at the Aqualish thug, and whether by luck or by skill, the Aqualish thug collapses, a smoking hole in his chest.

OOC: Third Smartest dealt 17 points of wound damage to Space Pirate.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:48, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

By the time the Klatooinian has recovered himself enough to reach his weapon Sev's lightsaber is already at his throat.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Sev warns evenly, "Where are we and who do you work for?"

The Klatooinian sensibly halts in his act of reaching for his blaster. In answer to Sev's question he responds weakly in a few coarse sentences in Klatooinian.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:54, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

Sev frowns, glancing at Tank.

"I don't suppose you speak... whatever that was?" he says hopefully.

"..." says Tank, who very clearly doesn't.

"Uh-Huh," says Sev as the Klatooinian continues in his own language, "We really need a protocol droid, don't we?"

"We do," Tank agrees. "He clearly understands you though. If he understands Basic, he probably also speaks it, right?" Tank says, looking for any signs the alien may be physically unable to master Basic, sounding a bit uncertain about this.

"We are in a Republic outpost in an asteroid belt in the Telos system," the elderly woman interrupts them from across the hallway, "We arrived here two standard days ago, and these attackers launched their assault two standard hours ago."

"Oh?" says Sev, pausing a moment before scooping up the Klatooinian's blaster, setting it to stun and shooting the Klatooinian twice, who gives a grunt and slumps unconscious to the floor.

"So who exactly are you?" he asks the woman as he deactivates the red hued lightsaber and begins to search the other footlockers around the room.

"Who I am is not important," the woman replies, her eyes still closed in meditation, "However you may call me An'ya if you wish. What is important is that we find a way to leave this facility, and soon."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:22, Sat 01 Jan 2022.

"And how do you know so much about this place?" Sev asks as he opens a locker containing a pile of neatly folded Republic uniforms of orange and gold.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:23, Sat 01 Jan 2022.

Tank grunts in reluctant sympathy at the 'name is not important' part, clearly empathizing with a fellow victim of temporary amnesia who can't be sure of their own name.

"These questions, while important, are best answered after we have escaped this place," the woman responds, "We have many enemies hunting us and must be gone from here before they catch up with us."

Sev frowns, throwing one of the Republic uniforms to Tank before slipping into one of his own.

"By the looks of things they have already caught up with us," he surmises with a pointed glance at the Aqualish and Klatooinian bodies in the doorway.

Tank catches it and also dons his uniform, grunting in agreement.

"I do not know precisely who these attackers are," the woman replies calmly, "However they are not the enemies of which I speak."

"Well that's encouraging," Sev says dryly to Tank as he straps on a belt and clips the lightsaber hilt to it, along with a holster into which he slides a blaster pistol.

"Are you up to keeping an eye on one prisoner, or do you need to rest again while we take this one with us?" Tank nudges the stunned body with a booted foot as he also straps on his blaster and some energy cells.

"We can bind him with these," Sev suggests as he pulls out a length of cable from another of the lockers. He seems to feel that this is a more realistic method of restraining the prisoner than expecting An'ya to actually raise a hand to stop him from escaping.

His reasoning seems to be supported by An'ya, who makes no effort to respond to or assist the pair in their endeavor.

"Do you know of any kind of aged care facility we can leave her in once we do get out? Or any way of contacting any of her relatives?" Tank asks in a low voice, assisting Sev to tie up the prisoner. "She doesn't quite seem to be all there if you know what I mean." Tank touches his head, sending her a surreptitious dark look.

Sev sends him a dark look of agreement as they finish tying up the Klatooinian's hands and feet. Once this task is completed, Sev moves over to search the last of the lockers which contains a stack of a dozen medpacs. He slides these into a backpack he has found before moving back to the doorway once more. He closes his eyes for a moment, concentrating, before frowning.

"The Force," he murmurs, almost to himself, "It feels... distant. I... I can barely feel its connection."

An'ya's hearing seems to be fine, as she finally opens her eyes to glance keenly at Sev.

"It will return in time," she assures him, "Though you may need to relearn what you have lost. For now, you will have to rely on cruder methods and abilities in order to escape this place."

"Speaking of escaping this place," Sev replies, not looking to impressed by An'ya's assessment, "I do not suppose you feel like aiding us yourself in our efforts?"

"That's probably an accurate assessment based on what help she's seen fit to offer so far," Tank mutters critically.

An'ya closes her eyes once more, making no effort to move.

"I fear my connection to the Force would do more harm than good in our current predicament. Searching the feelings of those in this facility around us and connecting to your mind to awaken you may already have alerted our enemies to our presence here, but if not I will not risk anything further."

"You could always attempt, uh, 'cruder methods'," Sev suggests dryly, gesturing to his blaster pistol.

An'ya does not seem impressed to have her own words used against her, and remains obstinately unmoving.

"I will leave you to the exploration of this place," she says at length with just a hint of snootiness, "I shall remain here and mask my presence as best as I am able."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:54, Sat 01 Jan 2022.

Tank Kolto shakes his head critically.

"Right," says Sev, shrugging in agreement to Tank as he ducks into the corridor and begins to advance cautiously, keeping an eye out for any sign of movement.

The corridor, roughly ten meters long, is formed of the same blue durasteel as the rest of the facility, with a single door at the far end. The pair approach the door, but before they reach the control panel it opens before them, to reveal a Weequay dressed in similar attire to the Klatooinian and Aqualish. His eyes widen in surprise at the pair, as he hastily fumbles to draw his blaster.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:05, Sat 01 Jan 2022.

Sev is the fastest to react, levelling his blaster and shooting the Weequay squarely in the chest. With a garbled cry the thug collapses, gasping as he attempts to raise himself.

OOC: Sev rolled 16 using 1d20+7. Initiative.
Third Smartest rolled 15 using 1d20+2. Initiative.
Space Pirate rolled 3 using 1d20. Initiative.

Sev Zallow dealt 14 points of wound damage to Space Pirate.

Tank raises his own blaster and shoots him before he can, a nasty shot in the shoulder that will knock him out a few hours at least.

"I don't see why that batty old lady refuses to pick up a blaster and help us. They're not even heavy blasters."

OOC: Third Smartest dealt 8 points of wound damage to Space Pirate

"I know," Sev agrees, as he moves into the room before them, blaster raised.

The room appears to be a small control room with a desk and terminal in the center and a series of lockers lining the walls. A small camera appears to be fixed into corner of the room to their right, while a door stands to their left.

Sev steps into the room and swiftly takes aim at the camera. It proves to be trickier than he anticipated to hit as his blast misses it by a few centimeters. He takes another shot which also misses. He coughs as he lines up a third shot, taking care not to make eye contact with Tank.

Tank snorts.

Sev frowns.

"This is not as easy at it looks, I'll have you know," he says reprovingly, closing one eye as he lines up a third shot. This final shot somehow strikes the plate on which the camera is attached at such an angle as to ricochet back at him, forcing the Jedi to dive wildly to the side as his blaster clatters across the floor.

"All right hotshot," Sev groans as he picks himself up, "Let's see you try and hit it."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:14, Sat 01 Jan 2022.

"I almost feel bad for this, but..." Tank raises his blaster, lined up his shot, and fires a direct hit that shatters the front of the camera and leaves it gently smoking.

OOC: Tank Kolto dealt 13 points of durability damage to Camera.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:02, Sat 01 Jan 2022.

Sev remains obstinately silently for a moment, eying the smoking camera reproachfully as if it purposely orchestrated the situation. At length he shrugs.

"All right," he says, tossing his own blaster to Tank, "From now on you do the shooting, I'll stick to a lightsaber. There is also a good chance someone saw that," he adds, "We'd best see what we can find from this terminal, and swiftly. You any good at slicing?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:03, Sat 01 Jan 2022.

"I mean I know what a password is..." Tank trails off.

"Do you happen to know what this password is?" Sev quips back as he slides into the chair in front of the terminal, looking thoughtful.

"There are a couple of Republic codes we used out in the Jagomir System," he says idly as he keys in a few different attempts. All appear to be unsuccessful with his final attempt drawing a rude beep from the terminal as it completely locks down.

OOC: Sev Zallow rolled 7 using 1d20+5. Computer Use.

"...I guess they didn't believe in reusing passwords," Tank says glumly.

"Apparently not," Sev agrees grimly as he rises from the desk, "All right then, let's see what-"

He is interrupted as the door before the desk slides open at that moment to reveal a pair of green skinned Rodians, blasters held ready before them.

"I'm guessing they saw the security feed," Sev says through gritted teeth, ducking behind the desk as two blaster bolts whiz overhead.

"They certainly had time to," Tank quips, diving for cover next to Sev and also raising his blaster.

Sev gestures for Tank to remain hidden as he does the same, closing his eyes and holding the hilt of his lightsaber in his hands. At the door the pair of Rodians slowly move in, the leftmost one signaling his partner to circle around the desk from the other side as they move forward, blasters trained for any sign of movement. The pair come around the desk in unison, blasters firing. Sev ignites his lightsaber as he leaps out slashing the Rodian nearest him across the chest as the green skinned alien's blast whizzes past his ear, missing him by less than a centimeter.

OOC: Sev Zallow dealt 7 points of wound damage to Space Pirate.
Space Pirate dealt 12 points of vitality damage to Sev Zallow.

"Jeedi!" cries the Rodian on Tank's side of the desk in alarm as he fires a wild shot which strikes one of the lockers behind Sev before fumbling and dropping his blaster.

"..." Tank says, firing half heartedly, clearly unwilling to shoot seriously at an unarmed sentient being. (Or perhaps just having trouble with the blaster Sev threw him.)
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 21:33, Tue 18 Jan 2022.

The Rodian appears to have no qualms in taking advantage of Tank's hesitation, scooping up his blaster and launching a well aimed blast which passes close enough to Tank's arm to singe the suit of Republic armor he is wearing.

OOC: Space Pirate dealt 12 points of vitality damage to Tank Kolto.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:47, Tue 18 Jan 2022.

Sev remains focused on his own adversary, lunging forward to impale the Rodian in the chest. With a garbled cry the Rodian slumps first to his knees and before collapsing face down on the durasteel floor.

OOC: Sev Zallow dealt 13 points of wound damage to Space Pirate.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:46, Tue 18 Jan 2022.

"...I gave you that opening," Tank says untruthfully, wincing as he feels the singe of carbon scoring on his side.

He fires again, but misses, the shot flying wide into the wall.

"...Do you want your defective blaster back?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:46, Wed 19 Jan 2022.

"No thank you," replies Sev firmly as he drops to the floor to slide beneath another blast from the remaining Rodian who quickly stumbles backward to avoid a stroke from the Jedi's lightsaber as he rises.

OOC: Space Pirate dealt 11 points of vitality damage to Sev Zallow.

Tank looks like he'd very much like to give it anyway as his next shot flies wide again.

Sev slices again at the Rodian who nimbly darts backward once more, shooting a wild shot at Sev which flies a meter wide of his left shoulder to crash into one of the lockers, sending the smell of melted plastic and metal into the air.

Tank misses a third time, and with a disgusted look, finally casts this defective blaster aside and pulls out his regular blaster, ducking behind cover to line up his next shot.

The Rodian continues to dart backwards, but runs out of luck as he collides with the durasteel wall with a curse. He has no time to react as Sev's lightsaber slashes him across the chest and with a garbled cry he collapses heavily to the floor. He does not rise. Sev swiftly deactivates his lightsaber as he crouches to examine the unconscious Rodian. Satisfied that he will be no threat anytime soon, Sev rises and turns to Tank, frowning at the damage to his armored left arm.

"You all right?"

OOC: Sev Zallow dealt 18 points of wound damage to Space Pirate.
Sev Zallow has advanced to level 2.
Tank Kolto has advanced to level 2.