Log:Jedi: On Repeat

Jedi Order: On Repeat

OOC Date: December 10, 2021
Location: Uncharted World - Deep Space
Participants: Jedi Order, New Republic: Chani Tahn, Erinn Laski, Yuun, Vega and Qutha Buvu Pah as GM

"Th-" static "-bi-" static again "-nob-" the message falters and the hologram is silhouettes at best, "Do not" a shriek of equipment problem interference before "Time has" and it continues as so, much the same each repetition with silence from the star destroyer hanging in orbit with a New Republic light cruiser now connected to it via umbilical lines and tractor beams.

"We think the debris ring is adding to this issue." the transport pilot had offered as the ship neared the planet, maneuvering above the field where hunks of star ship, scrapped metal and even what looks like a humanoid form peaking through the chaos only to be swallowed up by shadow and duranium fragments again.

The resolution of the hologram does, indeed, become more stable as Qutha steps out of the control cabin, finding a seat in the New Republic Theta-class Shuttle, quiet while looking to the message trying to get through,

"-blic has" the image briefly shows a figure in Jedi robes with a bearded face before it resumes static, "-own the sen-" another shriek of interference, "-nd our-" shadows and playback interference reigns supreme and going forward it remains more of the same. The shuttle edges closer, passing over the old cruiser that looks like a display model, hanging in space.

"That's Master Obi-Wan Kenobi." The bits of message his flickering, unstable hologram provides are not the indicator so much as the bearded face that breaks up into lines of bent, curvaceous light before trying to reform into a representation of the man that recorded it. The interior of the Theta-class shuttle mimics the changing image as slowly turning chunks of space debris pass between the viewport of the shuttle and the lights of the distant system star and other celestial bodies. It plays an ever-shifting pattern of shadows across the bulkheads and highlights Chani's face at various angles, which are made all the more complex thanks to the ghostly blue glow cast from the message and the figure providing it. Her eyes barely break from it.

When Qutha steps into the shuttle's passenger compartment from the cabin, her attention drifts towards him. Her crossed arms don't move, though. Nor does the rest of her. Draped in a rich brown robe and darker garments beneath, save for cream, loose pants, Chani Tahn is dressed much like the man stuck on repeat. "You think residual radiation from the debris is interferring with the signal being broadcast?" She twists at the waist, dropping her right shoulder a little so she can cast a glance past the narrow door that separates the compartment they're in with the one utilized by the pilots. "But where's the signal coming from? I thought the star destroyer has no power coming from it."

Erinn Laski is seated off to the side, watching the holograph fizz and sputter, its message and picture both distorted and making it difficult to decipher. She turns to look at Chani when the woman identifies the man as Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and she turns her El-718 over in her lap to give it a few last checks over, just in case. It might just be nervous energy. It might be an extra precaution. Either way, Erinn Laski seems to be performing an inexhaustive maintenance of her blaster pistol while Chani speaks.

She gazes out the viewport at the dense cluster of debris in the ring with a soft exhale through her lips. She doesn't speak until Chani mentions the lack of power from the star destroyer. Her lips purse thoughtfully and she turns her attention to the nearby Jedi.

"Could be operating on some sort of auxillary power. If that power's starting to go dry, well. Could explain why the signal's on the fritz," she says. "If it's the debris belt itself, though, it's gotta be coming from inside it. Otherwise it'd would clear up once we left it."

She depresses a small lever that clicks chamber of her blaster pistol into place with a mechanical, metallic -snap-.

Yuun sat quietly in the passenger area across from Chani, he sat quietly listening to the broken, garbled message. Studying the Jedi and having heard about Order 66, though the Jedi speaking he was drawing a blank on until Chani stated that was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Sitting up in his seat, "Good catch Chani." he says. Turning to look out the viewport near him. Studying the debris field around the Venerator. He wasn't all that well versed on ships, he knows enough to get him by.

"Could be, but couldn't residual energy possibly help keep the ship somewhat powered?" he asks as he looks to those more knowledgeable.

Vega's all too interested in the ship that is out there after the image of Master Obi-Wan sputters. The Echani moves, her black robes gathered around her as she does. She strokes her chin as she looks over readings, "The debris field could be holding radiation. It's been a while since that model of capital ship has been used. Though it wouldn't cause this level of signal degradation." she frowns as she turns to look back to her fellows.

The shuttle enters atmosphere and the signal grows stronger, if not much clearer and on display imagery, the lowered volume keeping the bursts of static to irritating rather than ear clawing while Qutha tries to answer questions posed to him,

"We were picking up signs of settlement near the signal source. It's from the planet, not the star destroyer. The trees are cleared around much of it but with some cover at the source itself. Visuals from a droid probe showed a small pyramid, barely over the canopy and a clearing we can try to set down on the other side if we loop and try to come in unseen."

The shuttle banks, keeping over the scant smears of cloud cover that drift in the upper atmosphere, to the port side of the ship a pod of massive flying creatures not unlike Alderaanian and Bespinni Thranta heel over to give the steel avian that is the shuttle a cautious distance, "Prevailing theory, if we go by some of the scant information that I could find.... I think it's is either a temple or at least a Jedi outpost was here. After the data purge at the end of the clone wars I suppose we're bound to find more of these. But Republic scout forces on the Venator have been reporting bodies struck by lightsaber wearing clone armor, cutting charges on blast doors, all life support pods gone with the flight and docking bay hatches fused by sapper thermal line and the main engines sabotaged. Battery power ran out decades ago; so all hands still able must have reached the surface."

Or they were floating in the ring.

"But the settlement suggests that at least."

"No. Residual radiation from the debris cloud wouldn't provide any power to the star destroyer at all," the young Naboo native clarifies to Yuun. Chani turns her attention towards Erinn. "They'd still detect it, wouldn't they? Auxiliary power, I mean. Especially once the cruiser is cabled in like it is." Vega mentions something about signal degradation and age. "That ship is probably over sixty years old." Debate about the origin of the signal is put to rest by Qutha moments later. "Ah." A singular noise from Chani, and one that says far more than it verbalizes. "A pyramid?" The way her face scrunches suggests a mix of confusion to go with her curiosity. Whatever questions might be sparked by the provided intelligence go unvoiced while Qutha continues.

"You think the Venator and its crew showed up hunting Jedi during the Purge?" When Chani next speaks, her line of interrogation is more from inference than any qualitative data. "The Jedi found out, and then.. what? Went up to the ship? Or maybe some were on the ship when the order went out. They fought their way out." Too many questions exist and not enough potential answers. The cold light coming from the stars is replaced by the warm color of the planet's sky as it filters that same light through its magnetic field and various other methods of refraction. "I suppose we'll find out." Anything else is speculation and thought experiment rolled into one. Chani lapses into silence and approaches a seat. Her robes spill around her legs when she tucks into it, gaze once again focused on the flickering, broken image of an old Jedi Master.

"The Star Destroyer? Yeah. I sure hope that thing's dead. I was thinking that maybe whatever's broadcasting the signal might be on some self contained power source, but if this place is as old as it sounds, I doubt that," Erinn Laski says.

The young engineer leans back in her seat and tucks the blaster pistol into the thigh holster of her armor. Her arms fold across her chest and she looks out the viewfinder when she listens to Qutha's explanation of the current theory and situation. She's still peering out the viewport as the shuttle breaks into atmosphere, lighting up from black to red to blue. When the ship banks, Erinn turns to look at Chani and even braces her arm against the side of her seat as gravity wants to tug her towards the young Jedi beside her. She listens to the girl speak and turns her eyes back to Vega and Yuun behind her, offering the two a friendly little smile. Pays to be diplomatic when you're the lone New Republic Military representative on the shuttle.

Especially when you're just a Lieutenant!

"I just can't believe the Jedi used to have outposts or... temples all the way out here. I guess things really were a lot different back then," she muses idly, this directed more towards Chani. She seems familiar with the girl and Qutha.

Yuun nods his head to Chani, he didn't like not knowing thigns and honestly he just shakes his head, "That was a dumb question to ask." he says as he turns to look at the group. He could feel the ship moving and as Qutha begins briefing them, the Knight goes silent. He takes in the information and glances back out view port. "Who's able to sense life and are able to do it at a high degree?" he asks as he cast a glance to everyone, "I ask as it may be one of many skills we can use to see who's where when we land." he states.

He looks to Vega and smiles and nods to her as well. Looking to Erinn "There are many, honestly this is the first one we get to look through that may not be marked in the stuff we have." he says as he looks to the others around him.

"No such thing as a dumb question," Erinn Laski chimes in. She's changed her voice's pitch and tenor a touch. A finger lifted up and towards the ceiling of the speeder. It almost sounds as if she's trying to mimic a male voice and, when she turns to look over her shoulder at Yuun and offers him a smile, it's apparent why.

"That's what my theoretical physics professor used to say, at least," she says. It's an attempt at being reassuring, even if it doesn't quite land.

Vega falls silent after she's explained what she can about the Star Destroyer and what it might be doing, there were so many things to explore on a ship like that, but...that was not the mission! Or maybe they could do that later. She gives a look to Erinn and nods to what she said, but doesn't offer commentary. Her grey gaze flicks to Yuun though and she shakes her head, "We couldn't sense anything this far out I'm afraid, Sir Yuun, I've had more success with closer quarters." she states softly.

Below, foot traffic on the outskirts of Acendenton halts for the following trail of the clouds creating an elongated arrowhead behind the craft that circles once, on the other side of the old stone edifice. Heads turning and grim, confused, expressions are shared and towards the central building - a long-house of scavenged metal, wooden logs, daub and wattle.

Elsewhere, on the opposite side of that central stone structure, the republic shuttle lands and the ramp drops with a hiss of pneumatics that joins the rattle of insects and the rasping calls of dark feathered birds nearby before the warm air is in, carrying with it the smell of evergreen tar, grass and wild flower blooms.

The pyramid is there as well, barely twenty yards from the ship. Smooth stones but the rock seeming to have been stained with iconography like wind and water flowing. Moving around solid figures rather than displacing. Solid bricks joined to make it look as though it formed naturally until close enough to see the fractional seams. At the top, the only odd fixture being an old transmitter structure. Some of the supports and most of the dishes having carbon scoring or metal that had cooled.

Distantly voices can be heard, but still some ways off yet.

"The Jedi existed on worlds long forgotten with numbers we'd struggle to imagine. There aren't even twenty of us now, but we're rebuilding. There are people out there who don't know what they can do. Part of our task is to find them and ask them to join us." Chani divides her attention between Erinn and the hologram. The frequency with which she regards it tells, to some degree, the veneration with which the figure is held in the Jedi Order. There'd been reverence, even, in her tone when she'd identified him. "He came to Naboo, once. Master Kenobi, I mean. He and his master met with the Gungans and saved Queen Amidala from being captured by the Trade Federation. I don't really know much more about him except that they say he was a great general."

Any further knowledge will have to be imparted at a later time. The shuttle sets down and Chani rises from her seat to be the first to disembark. She does so with the bubble of her perception stretched out around her and her inner ear tuned in to hear the call of the Force should lurking danger present itself. Nostrils flaring with the scents of a new planet she's never been to, Chani finds it almost pungent and cloying at first compared to the recycled air in the cabin. Robe sweeping about her feet, she descends the shuttle's ramp until she reaches the ground and casts her gaze around the clearing with methodical measure. It's here she feels the first tickle of something. Not danger, but something else. She pauses mid-step towards the smooth stone structure, only to cant her head to the side in a physical display indicative something has caught her attention.

She adjusts her position, side-stepping until her gaze is affixed at the right angle and she can see all the impressions melding together. "It's.. an image. A robed figure with arms raised." She speaks to her companions as much to herself, but her voice isn't raised. "The wind and the water.." Incomplete thoughts drop from her lips. "I think this is depicting the Force, maybe. An interpretation of it?" Chani's head cranes to take in the old transmitter structure. She's not unaware of the voices in the distance. "Erinn, can you see if this is where the signal is from?" She doesn't move from her own spot. In fact, Chani's arms raise, and she slowly begins to manipulate them to try to mimic the position she can see in the image. "We should get ready to have company. No one do anything threatening."

Yuun allows a sigh to escape from him, "Yeah I know. I should be used to that but some things fade slowly." he says to Erinn. He glances over to Vega as she has been quiet since speaking a bit ago, "You ok?" he asks her. He then looks back over to Chani as she speaks about the Jedi Order. Listening to what she says and he nods his head in agreement about what she is saying, everything so far is pretty accurate. "That's pretty amazing I've seen the temple a few times on Coruscant, whenever we were up on the surface, but that is the extent. Granted I've learned more since being with the Order." he stays.

As the shuttle lands and the ramp comes down, Yuun slowly gets up. "As for sensing life, I wasn't meaning from space, I'm not that strong I was meaning once we've landed, which is something I've should've said." he says to her. Yuun looks to everyone here and soon follows down the ramp as well moving off to the right and making sure he wasn't crowding anyone. As the smells hit him, he shakes his head and takes in a deeper inhale of breath, breathing through his nose and out his mouth. He coughs, "Whoa, *cough*, *cough*, ok this is waaay more pungent then other places I've been to." he says as he begins moving towards Erinn to accompany her.

Vega gives a look to Yuun, nodding her head to the man, "Yes, I'm fine." the woman tells him. She wasn't overly talkative to begin with. She gives a nod to them once the shuttle lands, "Ah, yes, could do it now that we've landed." she states to that. "I'll hang back here with Chani in case the locals get upset about us intruding first. I know it might not be the case, but better safe than sorry." she tells them with a smile.

Barely twenty feet tall, shallow angled, climbing up to where the transmitter juts from the top of it has a fuzzy feeling in the air from the hum and static proximity causes. It works, still and the power cabling seems to run down through the mounting legs into the stone itself, sealed close to keep wet and weather from seeping through.

"What do you think the image is saying?" Qutha ponders to Chani, hood down and his hair pulled back so that he can put his face into the sunlight. Smiling despite himself and eyes wide despite the fact that most species would have their vision dazzled by the direct rays, though they seem to only set the zelosian's gemstone like irises to green fire.

From both sides of the pyramid more sounds come, rattling like wood axle buggies and the plodding steps of animals pulling them. Hushed voices and even the clipped tones one might hear from officers to subordinates. Whomever is making the noise keeping to the trees and under as much concealment as they can muster.

From within the shuttle, a blast of static and then the cultured young voice can be heard saying, "And in time, a new hope will emerge." before it is washed away by interference. But it's the clearest speech from the recording thus far.

"I think it might be an interpretation of what the native people here saw a Jedi do. The iconography is kind of crude in its formation. It's very symbolic, if you account for the wind in the robed figure's hands. Wind, to me, seems like a primitive guess as to what the Jedi are capable of with their telekinetic abilities. But, honestly, I'm just guessing. Anthropology is not my field of study. It could very well be telling us to summon the Force in this spot. Or maybe it's saying water used to run here and doesn't anymore." Chani winds up shrugging at Qutha, arms dropped to her sides and gaze darting over the exhilirated look etched into his features despite the unknown of where they are and what they're dealing with.

Maybe it's just a good hit of sunlight. Whatever the case.. "I'll try meditating here and see if anything stands out to me. You should help Yuun in case our company decides to show itself. Which I guess is a way of saying watch my back." Hands pulling her robes farther away from her legs and bunching it up so provide what meager cushion it can between herself and the carved stone she's set foot on, Chani lowers herself into a position with her legs crossed. Her palms cup over her knees, fingers curled lazily. She straightens her back and eases her shoulders down once seated, allowing her breath to come in through her nose before she exhales it again through her mouth. One by one, Chani begins to tune out her sensory perception to focus inward and towards a sense that far supercedes her own view of the world. Descending into the quiet of her mind, Chani opens herself up to impressions from the very thing that constitutes the fabric of the universe.

Erinn is fairly sure-footed as she makes her climb towards the top of the pyramid. The closer they get, the stranger that air starts to feel. That static, electrical hum in the air. It crawls across the exposed skin of her neck and makes her give the back of it a little scratch with her gauntlet-covered hand. "There's this spot in Engineering aboard the Pantheon that feels like this. Electricity in the air. This thing's definitely on," Erinn says.

It doesn't take her long to figure out that this is indeed the transmitter. The overall construction, while old, is fairly obvious to spot. "This is definitely our transmitter. Old. Like, really old. And damaged, too," Erinn calls out to the group. She's never been a subtle one and, while not oblivious to those folks in the forest, she's clearly not particularly concerned either.

She's also probably not helping Chani meditate very much.

Erinn reaches up to lift one of the transmitting antennae that's been warped and bent off kilter before letting it drop down off the tip of her finger. She follows those cables into the stone and gives the seam where they've been sealed to prevent water from leaking in with her toe.

"This is just a transmitter, though. Whatever's actually housing the recording's beneath this," she says, and gives a deliberate stomp of her foot to the heavy stone beneath her just to the side of where that cabling disappers.

"If we can get to it, we might be able to get the whole transmission, but we'll have to get inside," she continues to call out.

"Hey, what is she doing?" Erinn calls out, gesturing this time to Chani.

Yuun keeps up with Erinn and as she begins to climb towards the pyramid, "Just make sure you focus on climbing." he says to her as she makes her way up. Staying where he is on the ground, Yuun begins to look around taking a moment to make sure they aren't being snuck up on. Taking Chani's words to heart, if people are here, they may just be waiting to see if they are hostile.

Hearing Erinn, he looks up and *plink* something hits him in the face from high above, "Good to know." he says as Erinn mentions this is a transmitter. Yuun shakes his head, his dreads swing from side to side a little. "We should have some spare parts on the shuttle, you think we can fix it?" he asks. He continues to listen and winces when she starts to stomp on the cables. "How about we don't break this thing. Once you're down maybe we can ask the residents here if we can go inside and get a better look." he offers.

Vega has a sudden idea, but it might be something she comes to regret as she closes her eyes and reaches out with the Force to see if she could possibly connect with the system that is broadcasting. The sudden sound of a booming goes off in her head as the message goes on repeat in her brain at 11. She repeats after the recording though given the whole of the message had not been heard by all:

"This is Master Obi Wan Kenobi. I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic, have fallen with a dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi. Trust in The Force. Do not return to the Temple... that time has past. And our future is uncertain. We will each be challenged. Our trust. Our faith. Our friendships. But we must persevere. And in time, a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you, always." she states with a bit of a wince.

Oh, that was depressing.

Qutha looks up to where Yuun is following Erinn and then back to Chani when she slips away into the peace, or turmoil, of "Meditating, Miss Erinn." answered while he turns to see one of two groups rounding the pyramid now, breaking into the clearing. Some, men and women alike, are wearing plastoid shell cuirass over their torsos. Carefully refreshed indicators of a unit or a military section painted on them. Hues of deep indigo that have been managed with local dyes.

The next group comes about the other side and the figure walking before a cart with similarly clad figures is wearing a full suite of Phase III Clone armor, the symbol of the Republic and the GAR emblazoned proudly on the shoulders. Their build is wrong for a clone though - and truthfully any clone left alive still would be the equivalent of a score and a century old due to their rapid aging. But most of the figures, some in their forties, some in their twenties have a commonality. Though some are blonde, black or auburn haired the people either bear a distinctly strong physical resemblance, or they don't. There seems to be little gray area between. Those that bear that appearance all have angular jaws, thick dark hair and hard dark eyes.

They don't speak, they don't train weapons - but they all watch with the intensity of gundarks ready to burst from their holes and pounce on new prey... but it's Vega saying the message aloud that they're focusing on. The helmeted figure's head shakes slightly and the two groups finally take a moment to look past the Jedi, and Erinn, between them with something like dawning confusion etched into their expressions.

"Here?" Erinn asks, a hint of incredulity in her voice. She even puts her hands on her hips to add an extra layer on top. She tips her head in Chani's direction. She's far enough that she can't really make out the meditating woman's facial features with great detail, but she can see the stillness to her body and the subtle motion of it with each breath. She gives an exhasperated sound and turns back to the signal transmitter with a tip of her head.

"We could repair it, but I don't know why we'd want to. We could just grab whatever data's in the main housing and leave this thing to fizzle out in a few hundred years," she says. When she turns to look back down to Yuun beneath her, her eyes catch the motion from the trees as the various figures begin to walk out. The armor isn't familiar to the young woman -- too young to have been alive during the clone wars. While the design is familiar, she definitely knows it as old. A relic. Whoever these people are, they aren't the enemies the Jedi fought against decades ago.

Erinn begins to slowly move down from the roof of the pyramid until her boots are on the ground beside Yuun once more. She walks to close the gap with the rest of the group with slow, tentative, and careful steps. When she arrives, she looks to Vega, Yuun and Qutha respectively. A sort of 'don't look at me, I just work here' expression on her face.

It's then that she catches Vega's expression. Too distant to have heard her recite the signal's message, Erinn looks a little confused. "What's the matter?" she asks.

Vega gives a look to those that approach and there is a look to the clone trooper armor but she doesn't give any indication that she's annoyed. Maybe someone liked old relics. She gives a dip of her head to the incoming group, hoping not to irritate anyone. Yuun gets her attention and there is a soft nod, "Yes, it is on repeat and blaring." she states. "Nothing to be worried about on my end." she tells him. She then keeps a watch while Yuun is going to speak to the group. She was not far if she was needed.

With Chani still in her meditation, Yuun first makes sure that Erinn comes down and not hurt herself, he then would move towards the group coming to investigate them. Yuun inwardly sighs, 'Yuun at some point you will need to learn to talk diplomatically. Just food for thought.' Rey did tell him that months ago, why oh why hadn't he ask for help for this. Never send a fighter to talk, still Yuun puts on a polite smile and walks over towards the Trooper who is fully kitted out. He stops to look at Vega and as she speaks, he moves to her once she finishes, "That was the transmission." he says. "Are you ok?" he asks. He waits for a moment before looking to the Trooper. "Keep an watch out." he says to her and Qutha.

He then walks over to the trooper, he bows his head, "Hello, my name is Yuun." he pauses for a moment, "From the Jedi Order, the signal from your transmitter was caught and sent to us." he says. His voice is calm and friendly, "We are just here to investigate and see what or who may have sent it. May I know who I'm speaking with." he asks.