Log:Jedi Order: Hutt Lord Update
Kasia and Aryn update the Jedi Paragon, Rey.
OOC Date: Feb 12, 2022
Location: Council Chambers, Devaron
Participants: Rey, Kasia Ashkuri, Aryn Cortess
It's twilight on Devaron. The Jedi Temple is all lit up with the suns just disappearing over the trees and the horizon.
The Council Chamber is mostly empty as ever, with a few meditation chairs ... floating in the air.
Rey is floating in the air too, with her legs crossed and the tabards of her Jedi styled garments dangling beneath her. Her chin is up, her eyes are closed and her lips are softly moving as she is whispering something to herself…
The lights in the chamber are low, with a calm sound of the winds flowing through the open windows, and the sounds of the junble, and nature beyond...
Serenity is a simple way to describe the Paragon's state in the now...
The door to the chambers slide open and Aryn steps through, pausing briefly to one side so she may walk in side-by-side with Kasia to approach their Order's paragon. Her steps are light, announced only by the footfalls of her booted heels and gentle sway of her cape. Her lightsaber is clipped to one side, unmoving, its curved hilt obvious beneath the limited light. She did not announce their approach; Rey probably felt them when they arrived.
Sorry, Serenity, there are some new heels in town. Or in the temple. Which is to say, the gentle jungle sounds that fill the peaceful chamber are interrupted by the much sharper click-click of heels against stone. Kasia has arrived. She steps through the door to stand beside Aryn, eyes sweeping the space before settling on the meditating, floating Paragon. She doesn't /say/ anything to announce her arrival, but she also probably does not need to.
There is only a few more whispers from Rey's lips before she opens her eyes, and the meditation seats, along with the Paragon come down to the ground. Rey, as always, does a forward tumble before her boots quietly touch down on the Jedi seal upon the floor of the old chamber. She looks over to Aryn and Kasia, and smiles at them.
"Hey." She quietly says before motioning to some of the meditation seats. "Come, sit." She offers before walking over to one that her satchel is laying on. "How are you both?" She inquires as she settles in with her legs crossed again.
She smiles at Kasia. "I'm still trying to clean all the mud off of the Falcon, and off myself for that matter." She states next with a grin showing on her expression, referencing the training the other day where AX FIRED A DISRUPTOR AT HER!
"I am well, Rey, thank you," Aryn comments after watching the nonchalant tumble and landing of Rey. When bid to sit, Aryn shifts to one side taking up a chair she seemed fond of given its shape and large arms. Fluffing back her cape, she settles, lifting one leg up to cross the other whilst her arms rest atop the chair's, hands cupped over their ends casually. Aryn doesn't segue to business just yet, leaving the other two ladies those moments to reminisce.
"Hey," Kasia greets in return as she moves toward the offered meditation seats available. She carefully lowers onto one and flexes her toes as much as one can while still wearing shoes. The mention of mud makes her laugh. "I made such a mess getting on my ship, too. I'm not sure the flooring in the quarters is going to survive it." Her head shakes ever so slightly. "I can't believe pulled that thing out in public like that." There's a roll of her eyes. "But I'm doing well otherwise."
Rey listens to the respones, and smiles as she pulls a canteen wrapped in white cloth out of her satchel. She uncaps it as she sets it on her lap and gently shakes her head. "Smugglers...." She laments with regard to Ax.
"But yes, poor Chewie was mopping the whole trail from the boarding ramp to the crew quarters." She says with a grin then before she raises the canteen up to take a sip, and refresh herself.
When she lowers it down again, she looks between the two of them. "So I take it you've some news about the Hutts mission?"
"Yes, we had an opportunity to speak with Lord Chrouda the Hutt, fashioned the Voice of the Five Families. I assume he speaks for some Hutt Council, but Kasia may know more of their politics than me, admittedly." Aryn shares, fingers drumming idly along the edge of the chair arms. "We negotiated for the planetary shield plans and designs, presenting something trade. The Chancellor, Lando, offered a retrofit of the Cartel's Mon Calamari flagship as a show of good faith. The Hutts accepted, but supplemented with a counter offer in addition to that service. They intend a mission specifically for the Jedi Order."
Aryn glances toward Kasia then, leaving the rest for her to fill in.
"There's a council that speaks for... well a large portion of the Hutt power, but there's a lot of branches and politics," Kasia explains quickly. "They work together until they don't, then there's fighting, powerful Hutts rise to the top, and you repeat the process. I don't know for certain how Chrouda fits in other than he's the voice for at least one on the council. That he's on Nar Shaddaa tells me he's not that powerful, but enough that none of the Nar Shaddaa Hutts are trying to immediately kill him." A mess, in other words. She glances over at Aryn a moment. "We didn't agree to any terms, just that we'd bring this before the Jedi. He wants us to go hunt down some slaver who has earned the ire of one or more of the council members. I don't feel badly about hunting down slavers, but there is almost always something more to the ask than they tell you. I'm just not sure what it is yet."
Rey's eyes focus on Aryn as she starts to relay the information. She closes the cap back on her water before she just rests the canteen in her lap. Her hands go to rest on her knees while she listens closely. Her head nods gently twice to what the Alderaanian explains, then she sweeps her stare over to Kasia.
Rey purses her lips at this, and when she hears about the job that the Hutts desire from them, she flutters her eyelashes a few times before shaking her head.
"It sounds almost like an assassination request." She quietly says first. "We would need to research this 'target' they have more first. We would need to know if their deeds truly do desire our intervention. I... wouldn't feel right taking them to the Hutts either for punishment. They would do... who even knows what to such a person. For all we know they would just hire them for what they know about the slave trade."
Thusly, she shakes her head gently again. "If we can find out more information about this person they want action taken against, then maybe we can come up with a plan to go with that could resolve the needs of both our parties." She pauses then, and shows a light smile.
"The mere fact that they'll consider the Republic to get those plans though, means a lot. Lets just hope they're not pulling us along, so to speak..."
"I believe the only way we will get details about this mission is by agreeing to take it on. Lord Chrouda pressed us to realize this is a timed request." Aryn says neutrally, not necessarily leaning one way or another. "If this is the case, what should we do?"
Kasia's brows furrow and she holds up a hand, "They don't need whoever this is for what they know about slaving. I can promise you that. The Hutts are chin deep in that business and don't need any help. My guess would be it's someone who did work for them, betrayed them somehow, took something that belonged to them. Something like that. I don't think the risk here is helping them with slavery, I do think it's risky to take anyone to them, though. Theft, or betrayal to the Hutts is dealt with harshly." She glances over at Aryn again, nodding agreement with the nature of the information and mission. "I think we're only getting that information if we agree. That puts us in a position of having made an agreement with a Hutt, and... while that doesn't necessarily obligate us to complete the task, if we don't then any hoops we need to jump through to get what we want will be worse. If we don't agree, whatever is asked of us next will be... more."
Both of what they say cause Rey to consider as deeply as she can on the matter. Her fingers wrap gently at the outside of her knees as she does this. She does nod her head once then. "I'd like to accept the mission from them." She tells them. "I'd like you both to go, and take your padawans, if possible. It could be a great learning experience. It also could give us a greater insight on how future dealings with the Hutts might go."
A moment later and Rey shows them both a soft smile. "I trust you both to make the right decisions in the moment... Between the two of you, you have the wits, and the skills, to decide what best outcome can be achieved. If we can complete this, and garner those plans... we can better protect worlds in the future. If we can't? Well... we'll find other options. Just be wary of Hutt deception, for it's all I ever hear when others speak of dealing with them...."
"Understood," Aryn says confidently, nodding her head in response. "Perhaps there are resources available on Nar Shaddaa that might share more insight on who this slaver, or former slaver, is." Aryn leans back in her seat, eyes closing a moment as she considers the implications of their mission and where it could take them. Deep down, she feels a sense of gratitude for having Rey's trust on the matter, and is thankful for Kasia being the wise leader in warning them of Hutt designs. The solidarity of their team helped Aryn feel confident in the assignment, and it seemed like their end goal was becoming clearer and clearer. "With Kasia's vast experience with the Hutt Lords, I have all the confidence that we can navigate any task together." She shares a glance between the two.
Kasia listens intently to Rey as she speaks, head bobbing every so often in silent agreement of what she says. Near the end of it, there's a quiet, humorless laugh that escapes. "I spent the better part of a decade beneath the thumb of Hutts. Their hobby is being deceptive, playing word games, and generally toying with species they view as lesser than them." She pauses, catching herself before she really goes into the trenches with what she goes. A moment is spent reeling herself back, and then she smiles. "We'll be careful. I'm sure with the four of us, we can handle whatever they're demanding of us."
She folds her arms loosely over her stomach, the fingers of her left hand thrumming against her side with a gentle tap tap against the fabric of her dress. "I could reach out to some of Hex and my old contacts. We got out of the slave rescue business a few years ago, but we still have connections with people who do it. Maybe they've heard something too. I can put out feelers once we get the name."
Rey continues to just give subtle nods to the further that which they tell her. She sweeps her stare back and forth before speaking up again. "When I was on Jakku... I lived with a horrible monster of a man. He began to threaten to sell me in to slavery when I entered my teenage years. It's what lead me to running away from his care, and setting out on my own. I very nearly got a first hand look at that... life. But, thankfully things went another way for me. I feel for those who did not get so lucky as I. Thusly I'd love to do all that I can to help."
She takes a breath then before showing another twitchy-quick smile. "If you can devise a way to find information on this target they are after, it could really help you prepare. So. Trust in each other, and trust in the Force, and you'll find a way..." She shakes her head side to side then.
"And remember, whatever happens, just do your best, and the end result will be satisfactory to me."
"I will need to make further preparations to remain on Nar Shaddaa till our task is complete. If you both will excuse me, I need to make a call. Thank you for your time, Rey." Aryn rises, offering both ladies a lovely smile before stepping toward the exit. Mid-walk, she pulls out her datapad and begins to scroll through the contacts to find the one she needs. She waits till she's in the corridor to send the call out.
"Thank you," Kasia says to Rey, then glances up at Aryn as she stands. "I guess that means I'll see you back on Nar Shaddaa. Let me know if you find anything." She smiles at Aryn before she turns to go, then looks back to Rey. "We'll keep you updated with our progress." With that she too stands, looking ready to head out as well.
Rey watches them both stand, and smiles softly at them. She uncapps her water again, but speaks up before they depart. "May the Force be with you both." She says in a calm, and pleasant toen of her Core Worlds accented voice.
A moment later and she is stepping off of the seating cushion and raising her canteen up to sip from it as she approaches the windows in time to watch two white feathered birds flying across the horizon toward the jungle canopy that is laced in a misty cover coming from the cold river water off the distant mountains.
