Xa Fel, on one of the outlier Sith temples....
Judicious was laying on his tarp, and as he lay there, he took the old datacard out of the datapad, and taking another card out of his tote bag, he brought up the rag and cleaner spray, and applying a little of the spray to the rag, he gingerly applied it to the surface of the datacard, carefully removing the mold and grime. Having finished cleaning it, he slid it into his datapad, and looked it over. This one was yet another explaning the teachings of Vice Admiral Farrago, apparently one of the commanders of Naga Sadow's space fleet. His ship had been surronded and destroyed by a number of Republic cruisers, but he had survived via one the earliest forms of escape pods, a crude device that had none-the-less served him well. He and his most loyal crews had erected this temple to shelter them from Xa Fel's jungle storms, and from there they had lived the rest of their lives delving into and praticing the ways of the Sith while awaiting a rescue by Sadow's forces that was never to come thanks to the awaiting armada of Kressh that welcomed Sadow's forces home back to Sith space.
Suddenly, a noise alerted Jude. He sat up, recognizing the whining of repulsorlifts. He carefully looked up from what used to be a lookout window, and saw a tramp freighter approaching the temple. He faded back into the shadows of the temple, discarding his cloak and withdrawing his lightsaber as he did so. The ship settled to the ground outside, and the boarding ramp lowered. A number of men departed from the ship, two of them armed to the teeth with blasters and stun grenades, four others carrying digging and cleaning equipment, leaving three others with lights and recording equipment. The group got organized, then departed the ship, heading into the temple. Jude tracked them as they entered the first corridor leading into the temple. Careful not to make any noise, he clipped his lightsaber back to his belt, and took out his garrote wire.
The second armed man in the rear was the first to go, his head bouncing to the ground after a noise akin to a ruslting of leaves drew his attention to his right. The other armed man dropped down and immediatly opened fire where the other man was looking, for he had heard the noise as well. The others turned and ran back torwards the entrance. The seven men ran past the entrance, then stopped, and suddenly telescoped to the ground, their heads or upper torsoes coming apart and hitting the ground, the garrote wire strung tightly across the entrace glistening with two or three drops of blood. The last armed man didn't move, and prepared to pull out a stun grenade. Jude, hiding in the shadows, concentrated. The man threw the stun grenade. It's bang broke Jude's concentrated, not that he needed it anymore. The man noticed a shadow, and looked up, just as the solid duracrete block landed atop it, splattering him instantly. Jude donned his cloak and strode outside, to where the ship sat. The pilot saw him coming and powered up the ship. Flicking on his lightsaber, Jude cut through the ship's repulsorlifts and drive engines, preventing the freighter from leaving the ground.
The pilot came down the ramp hesintantly, armed with a blaster pistol. The moment his feet touched the ground, he found himself in a headlock, his blaster arm twisted painfully behind his back.
"What is your mission here? Tell me, and I will let you live." said Jude.
The pilot tried to gulp, and didn't say anything, so Jude wrapped his garrote wire around the man's gun hand.
"Tell me, or you lose your arm. Lose that, and you can kiss your piloting days goodbye." said Jude coldly.
"We, we were to collect artifacts." said the pilot.
"For who? Where were you taking them?" said Jude.
"For, fer..., Boss Whalemon. He is collecting them, making a..a collection." stammered the pilot.
"Where?" repeated Jude, tightening his arm to where the wire almost penetrated skin.
"Ett....Etti IV. He was on Etti IV." said the pilot reluncanctly.
The pilot awoke a short time later, not aware that he had been knocked out. He found himself in a cell of some kind. A little slot in the door opened, and Jude's eyes peeked in.
"If I don't find your boss, I'll come back here and find you." said Jude.
A few hours later, Jude's personal starfighter entered hyperspace, leaving behind Xa Fel. He was very interested in Boss Whalemon's collection. He might even start a collection of his own. Boss Whalemon's severed head would be his crowning piece, he decided. He relaxed. He still had several more hours until he reached Coruscant.
Judicious was laying on his tarp, and as he lay there, he took the old datacard out of the datapad, and taking another card out of his tote bag, he brought up the rag and cleaner spray, and applying a little of the spray to the rag, he gingerly applied it to the surface of the datacard, carefully removing the mold and grime. Having finished cleaning it, he slid it into his datapad, and looked it over. This one was yet another explaning the teachings of Vice Admiral Farrago, apparently one of the commanders of Naga Sadow's space fleet. His ship had been surronded and destroyed by a number of Republic cruisers, but he had survived via one the earliest forms of escape pods, a crude device that had none-the-less served him well. He and his most loyal crews had erected this temple to shelter them from Xa Fel's jungle storms, and from there they had lived the rest of their lives delving into and praticing the ways of the Sith while awaiting a rescue by Sadow's forces that was never to come thanks to the awaiting armada of Kressh that welcomed Sadow's forces home back to Sith space.
Suddenly, a noise alerted Jude. He sat up, recognizing the whining of repulsorlifts. He carefully looked up from what used to be a lookout window, and saw a tramp freighter approaching the temple. He faded back into the shadows of the temple, discarding his cloak and withdrawing his lightsaber as he did so. The ship settled to the ground outside, and the boarding ramp lowered. A number of men departed from the ship, two of them armed to the teeth with blasters and stun grenades, four others carrying digging and cleaning equipment, leaving three others with lights and recording equipment. The group got organized, then departed the ship, heading into the temple. Jude tracked them as they entered the first corridor leading into the temple. Careful not to make any noise, he clipped his lightsaber back to his belt, and took out his garrote wire.
The second armed man in the rear was the first to go, his head bouncing to the ground after a noise akin to a ruslting of leaves drew his attention to his right. The other armed man dropped down and immediatly opened fire where the other man was looking, for he had heard the noise as well. The others turned and ran back torwards the entrance. The seven men ran past the entrance, then stopped, and suddenly telescoped to the ground, their heads or upper torsoes coming apart and hitting the ground, the garrote wire strung tightly across the entrace glistening with two or three drops of blood. The last armed man didn't move, and prepared to pull out a stun grenade. Jude, hiding in the shadows, concentrated. The man threw the stun grenade. It's bang broke Jude's concentrated, not that he needed it anymore. The man noticed a shadow, and looked up, just as the solid duracrete block landed atop it, splattering him instantly. Jude donned his cloak and strode outside, to where the ship sat. The pilot saw him coming and powered up the ship. Flicking on his lightsaber, Jude cut through the ship's repulsorlifts and drive engines, preventing the freighter from leaving the ground.
The pilot came down the ramp hesintantly, armed with a blaster pistol. The moment his feet touched the ground, he found himself in a headlock, his blaster arm twisted painfully behind his back.
"What is your mission here? Tell me, and I will let you live." said Jude.
The pilot tried to gulp, and didn't say anything, so Jude wrapped his garrote wire around the man's gun hand.
"Tell me, or you lose your arm. Lose that, and you can kiss your piloting days goodbye." said Jude coldly.
"We, we were to collect artifacts." said the pilot.
"For who? Where were you taking them?" said Jude.
"For, fer..., Boss Whalemon. He is collecting them, making a..a collection." stammered the pilot.
"Where?" repeated Jude, tightening his arm to where the wire almost penetrated skin.
"Ett....Etti IV. He was on Etti IV." said the pilot reluncanctly.
The pilot awoke a short time later, not aware that he had been knocked out. He found himself in a cell of some kind. A little slot in the door opened, and Jude's eyes peeked in.
"If I don't find your boss, I'll come back here and find you." said Jude.
A few hours later, Jude's personal starfighter entered hyperspace, leaving behind Xa Fel. He was very interested in Boss Whalemon's collection. He might even start a collection of his own. Boss Whalemon's severed head would be his crowning piece, he decided. He relaxed. He still had several more hours until he reached Coruscant.