Preparation H: Dorks Assemble (Jedi)

[Master Buggie]

((OOC: Skip me until you guys arrive.))

[Annan Rainwalker]

The holograms of the holograms of Master Kenobi and Master Godot were somehow visible, along with Kubu's, to everyone in Koda Station. How, one may ask? Dafi the Quadduck, for one, was not entirely sure. Perhaps a Jedi youngling extremely skilled in telekinesis had somehow opened a magic portal into the realm of the 'Upside Down', and from thence patched up some kind of Force holoconnection to the Talon via a subspace transceiver. Such an idea was perhaps too preposterous for any Jedi to conceive, but Dafi the Quadduck was no Jedi; intimately connected to the Donald and Daffy Sides of the Quack, Dafi understood the workings of the Galaxy far better than even the Keepers of Peace and Justice themselves.

"Who's the kid?" Dahlia asked Ani, noticing the glint of recognition in the raven-haired Jedi Knight's eye as they saw Holo-Kubu aboard the Talon. "Is she a Red Twi'lek?"

"She's a Sith," Ani explained normally, patting the quadduck on his shoulder as it quacked in agreement; of course, no one else in Koda Station seemed bothered by the fact that a Quadduck was sitting on Master Xin's Apprentice's shoulder.

Dahlia gave Annan an alarmed look.

"Not that kinda Sith," Ani explained suddenly, catching Dahlia's look. "The other kinda Sith."

Dahlia made a face. "Sith come in kinds, now?"

Thus, Ani began to explain to Dahlia the origins of the primeval Sith Purebloods of yore - the bygone legends, the olden myths and the foregone mysteries, the epics of horror and romance laced with the dramatic tragedies - all the while differentiating those ancient ones from the cult of emo-duckhead wannabes that had hijacked their name and took pleasure in spreading their unending emoness on an asteroid belt populated by hermaphrodite insects.

Meanwhile, the Masters were stuck having a conversation of their own, those at one side keeping their voices hushed amidst themselves as to not alert Grand Master Kilsar.

"I don't like this," Master Mynb sighed softly, as she sat deep into her seat. The Sullustan Head of Koda Station turned to the Master at her side, Jedi Master Sim Ba, the currently white-furred Kushiban who sat with his eyes closed in deep meditation. "They're negotiating with pirates... I hate pirates."

"And yet, even when Master Buggie is one of them," Sim Ba replied without opening his eyes.

"That's different," Mynb insisted. "Master Buggie is a capable Jedi, his foundations well-grounded in the Light Side of the Force. Obviously, he would not let the temptations of piracy deviate him from the higher objective... but the rest of them, they're... scum, really."

"Ouch," Master Han Xin mock-winced from Master Mynb's other side. "I've had my few run-ins with pirates over the years, Lady Mynb and I humbly suggest that not all pirates are that bad... I mean sure, you'll see a giant lizard every now and then but still," he paused, before pouring himself a glass of Blue Milkshake from the jug at the side of the holotable using telekinesis. The glass floated over into Master Xin's hand, and he took a sip. "In any case, let's just wait and see for now."

"ARRRWWHWHWGHGH!!!" Jedi Master Shirrwa, the Great Wookie, agreed.

Jedi Master Sim Ba finally opened his green eyes, glancing at the holotable as they saw the Talon venture ever closer to its destination. "... Begun, the Piles War, has."

[Ben Kenobi]

Ben listened and nodded appropriately, the Sith dialect was odd to him, he’d never heard it before. Even the pronounced language he’d heard being spoken in the dungeons of Ziost had been of a different verbage but it seemed the foundations were similar. Perhaps it was the so called ancient Sith tongue of the Sith was now but a modernized version of what once was. Whatever the reasoning, he appreciated the droid’s ability to transmit the interpretation soundly. “Please to meet you, young one.” He didn’t feel it entirely appropriate to expound further on exactly who she was or who her parents were at this time… perhaps at a later date. For now, they needed to make way.

“Make yourself at home. What’s here is yours so long as you are aboard. Now if you’ll please excuse me, I must see to our heading.” Ben stood and moved back to the navigations console. After a confirmation sent to the cockpit that they were on the right course, the elder Jedi Master took his leave to his quarters where he would meditate on the upcoming events, they needed to tread very carefully if they wanted to see this done properly and whilst still maintaining the necessary security over the operation.

***28 Standard Hours Later - Location Unknown, Deadspace***

The Talon came out of hyperspace and began to drift, up ahead lay the Blue Star Pirate’s own vessel and she was barraging the Jedi ship with a flurry of hails and challenges. Once the identity of Kenobi and Godot were revealed and the appointment confirmed, they were permitted via a strict flight path towards the belly of the pirate cruiser where the hangar would be located. Ben knew that this trajectory was more for precaution on their end than any sort of practical or convenience measure… it wasn’t like they had a lot of traffic coming in and out of here after all.

Nonetheless they followed their instructions to the letter and after being granted permission to board, Ben took the controls from the RX-24 and brought the craft down gently on the deck of the pirate ship. Touching down was simple enough but no sooner had the landing pads hit the steel of the deck was the Talon swamped by an entire herd of Ugnaughts. They poked, prodded and examined the new vessel and Ben wasn’t too sure that they wouldn’t refrain from stealing parts so once he made it to the deck himself, he shooed them away and they scurried off but not after delivering a few sharp guttural words he didn’t understand and frankly was pleased he hadn’t.

Master Godot joined him as did Kubu though the Omwati held a hand out to stop Kubu from venturing off. “Hopefully we won’t be waiting long, best not to wander.” He mentioned as they watched Ben be confronted by what seemed to be the Deck Officer of this vessel and the very interesting looking conversation that followed. It was filled with the pirate expressing himself with hand waves and gestures of rolling some dice and Kenobi politely waving his own hands as a dismissal of said proposal and then the following disappointment on the deck officer’s face. Despite this, he made off to a nearby terminal and announced to the bridge that they had arrived and were awaiting Master Buggie in the hangar.

[Kubu Midwan]

“Please kia macias j'us, core wo. tym buti anyaser an zuti kontrole tave ship." The droid said. (“Please to meet you, young one. He's gotta go check the ship” ) Kubu eyed the droid at that last part. She seemed to know that the droid was doing it again, shorting the conversation. However there was nothing she could do about it.


*After they land*

Kubu watched from a distance, her eyes wondered at everything. Another master stopped her and said something. "Tyro mes valia nenx buti letas, le snaâ mure nenx kia keta." The droid said. Still she looked on in wonder, everything was so different from what she knew.

[Master Buggie]

The group of Jedi were not kept waiting long. One of the turbolifts along the side of the hangar bay carried him down and he stepped out onto the deck. Maintenance hands worked on The Accord's fighter complement, though at a much more casual pace than they'd be working if there had be any threat or any reason for the fighters to have to jump into service. Droids hovered above the hangar, going about their business, and all the while a few small repulsorlift vehicles ferried fuel, parts, or tools where they were needed. Stepping over fuel lines and thick gauged cables used for charging weaponry, Buggie approached the familiar YT-2000 transport, which stood out against many of the smaller fighter-class starships docked in the hangar. Even if he couldn't see the ship, the presence of his former master and the legendary Ben Kenobi were beacons to his senses.

After he had waved in approach to the two familiar faces and one which was foreign to him, Buggie bowed before the Jedi Masters.

"Master Kenobi; Master Godot, I am honored that you would travel all this way to speak with me face to face. You have no idea how refreshing it will be to speak with fellow Jedi for a change, in case the admiral didn't convince you that I've run into some trouble adapting here," Buggie greeted, "How may I be of assistance to the Jedi Coalition? Shall we speak onboard the Talon for privacy?"

[Ben Kenobi]

The Accord was a vessel of some reknown, though only by those who knew of her fearsome reputation among the stars. Ben was one of the few as he’d been present during the recent action against the Hutts and even long ago during the campaigns against the Empire in the earliest years of the New Republic preceding the Battle of Endor. To be aboard recalled fond memories of a time some would consider to be… less complicated. It set the elder Jedi Master at ease and when he caught Master Buggie’s arrival the sense of ease increased even more so.

Ben Kenobi awaited Buggie’s arrival and once the Verpine made contact he kept one hand on his staff and the other he folded to his mid where he bowed respectfully in return. “Yes,” Ben replied in earnest, “we should speak in confidence.” He reached out and motioned for Kubu to join them back aboard the Talon. “Come along, you’d best not stay here. Our Blue Star friends aren’t ones for kidnapping but they’ll put you to work all the same.” It was more in jest than anything else though he was very sincere about the pirates loathe for kidnapping and hostage taking. He’d never known any of their number, even the more radical, to entertain such measures even if ‘the price was right.’

They boarded the YT and Ben was last aboard, closing the ramp in the process and ensuring it sealed well before signaling to the cockpit. “Gain clearance and prepare to take us out. Start plotting the navicomputer to make the jump. I’ll be to the cockpit presently.” He released the communicator but then immediately pressed it again as he remembered one final point. “Also, maintain comms silence other than urgent messages. Make no mention of our cargo, route, or purpose. If Master Buggie decides to come with us or remain here, we’ll know in the next few minutes.” He moved into the galley whilst the RX-24 responded to his requests and once everyone was assembled he made to stand next to Master Godot.

Already the Talon’s engines were spooling up and the deck crew outside the ship were hustling now to prepare the flight deck for the YT 2000’s launch. “Master Buggie, I’m sorry to report that this isn’t a more social call and more importantly that this case hasn’t been raised months ago.” Quickly he moved on that the subject wouldn’t remain so dour, though before barging into the case he motioned to Kubu, “This little one is one of ours. Kubu Midwan, and her counterpart droid translator unit. She hasn’t yet been taught Galactic Basic.” He left it at that, obviously more questions surrounding Kubu needed revealing but the subject matter needed to be brought out.

“We’re here for the Operation Chainbreaker,” He thumbed the activation stud on a nearby holotable and the image of a large astral body emerged, one that Buggie would be able to identify readily. “The Jedi Coalition has decided to no longer depend on the Galactic Alliance’s timeline or asset assignment. Objective Aurek has suffered greatly, possibly irrevocably in some cases. The Jedi will not stand by while this continues. Obviously though this brings about some key difficulties as the our opposition has more hardened assets than the Jedi Coalition. Without relying on the Alliance to spearhead this operation, we’re going to need outside support.”

No doubt Buggie could see where this was going. “The Council needs you and your inside connections with the Blue Star Pirates. We’re going to need intelligence mainly, but most important would be your own abilities once we’re on Aurek. Coordination during the operation will mean the lives of many of the natives. If they catch wind, they’re likely to start culling the prisoners on a whim. Which is also why we need this to be as clandestine as possible in the initial phase. Any additional support that the Blue Star Pirates would be willing to muster would go a long way in seeing Chainbreaker succeed.”

Ben fell into a moment of pause, no doubt Buggie needed to think on the matter. “Though since the Council bares no authority over you, we’re asking for your help and are willing to hear what you have to say on the matter.” He didn’t even try to hide it, “You are the centerpiece for this operation.”

[Kubu Midwan]

Her eyes couldn't believe what she saw with the giant bug. However the elder motioned for her to come with saying something. She wasn't stupid when it came to motions were involved, she really didn't need a translation for that.. Kubu followed the elder, but she was intrigued by the giant bug joining them. "Ri driuni iw zo Uwatitsia Chainbreaker, ri tuti sari an duryirmi kirs buggie an shanwi." The droid translated. (He speaks of a Operation Chainbreaker, he's trying to convince master buggie to help.)

Kubu eyed the droid. "J'us anyasir an dari sis wau dari nindz j'us." She said to it. (You gotta do this again don't you.) She could swear that this hunk of junk was doing this on purpose. However there was no means to change it right now. She watched the elder and the bug converse. She didn't know what the operation was, but it sounded important.

[Zechs Merquise]

Zechs sat in the corner of an adjacent room on Koda station no where near anything important that was happening in mind numbing pain. He hunched over. Sweat dripped down his locks. A frown oozed across his face. A gurgle surged deep within. He really really really shouldn't have eaten that verpine pie.

[Master Buggie]

Though Master Kenobi spoke in guarded terms, Buggie was well aware of their meaning. He had felt the Force moving to this moment in his meditations, and now the time had arrived. It was unexpected for events to occur under these circumstances-- with Master Kenobi saving him from what would certainly have been a pummeling-- but Buggie recognized the patterns within the Force. He was being guided, and he could not turn the Jedi away.

"I swore an oath to the Jedi Council," Buggie assured solemnly, "You know the weight that oath carries. No Jedi Master would dare take it lightly or discard it."

It was a relief that the Jedi Council was beginning to realize what he had months ago-- the Galactic Alliance as an institution was created with the right intentions, but with the liberties that the galactic government offered came miles of bureaucracy, and sometimes that kept even the most compassionate leaders from getting the job done. The Blue Star Pirates had a hierarchy, as any efficient organization should, but the Pirate Council was supreme. Matters were streamlined, goals could be accomplished more quickly, and that was what Buggie witnessed in the Coruscant subterranean levels when he decided to sign on with the Company, as it was called.

The Admiral was scraping for a fight-- whether it be an utter piratical failure like Buggie or an enemy. Offering this to the Admiral would serve multiple purposes; Buggie could offer a new idea to the Nautolan Admiral and save himself from punishment, all while accomplishing a goal to better serve the galaxy. Yes, it was self-serving, but the greater good far outweighed it, and Buggie couldn't very well serve the galaxy as a Jedi Master if he'd been thrown into the vacuum by the hulking Admiral.

"I'm with you, Master Kenobi. I'm with the Council." Buggie pledged, "Allow me to speak before the Pirate Council. Together, we will correct this injustice that has gone unchecked for far too long."

Buggie placed a chitinous hand on Master Kenobi's shoulder as he looked beyond the Human and out the viewport, where Admiral Liszt's fleet could be seen surrounding the pirate flagship.

"Let's get back to The Accord before Admiral Liszt thinks you're trying to smuggle me away. I wouldn't put it past him to open fire on us."