Zaye and Kolene's Excellent Adventure

I agree to take the Sector Ranger Zil Nax down to level 6, but only after we have a chance to check on the kids and refresh. He agrees and we make plans to meet later. Then Jem Vandross personally thanks me for rescuing his paramour and we discuss the fact that we both have a need to irritate the Hutts. He mentions that the stadium fighting will come to an end to begin upsetting the Hutts and we will meet on Chalcedon in the temple to have cafe and cookies to finalize those plans. After he passes out from the drugs so he can be transported through the library by So'Zen, Zaye and I head off to check on what precisely our trio of troublemakers have gotten into. On the way we lay wagers on who instigated what, how much has been broken, and whether any of the crimes are major. I bet dinner dishes that Spook was the first to suggest breaking the rules. Zaye counters with the fact that her kids love playing space pirate. I laugh at that and counter saying that works in my favor as Spook will figure that out and use it to advantage. Zaye sighs and agrees calling it a learning opportunity. I only want to know for whom? Zaye smiles and just gives you a quick kiss in reply before she says "Yes", then returns to matters at hand.
 
We get back to the ship and it is still in one piece which is a pleasant surprise. Zaye glances at me and laughs. "Looks like dinner dishes are your job." I just shrug, but I am pleased that the three of them appear to have gotten along well together and did not get into any trouble. We gather them into the family room and listen to what they have to tell us about what happened. I see that Spook is happy with the setup and finds the children intriguing . The kids also seem to enjoy her company and are happy to learn from and with her. That does relive my mind quite a bit and I glance over at Zaye to see her also looking relieved. We then take some time to explain about the Sector Ranger's request and why we are going to help. I also take some time to tell them all about what I experienced the last time I went down there and give them what history I have of the Starrise Falcon. The kids look at me like I am a hero, but while I would love to bask in that, I remind them about the dangers that have happened due to my actions. We go over some ground rules for the coming adventure and make sure that they understand that going with us is the safer option and not a treat.
 
The rest of the team arrives as well as Ranger Nax. Zaye and I go through the pre-flight checks, verify that everyone and everything we need are on board and safely stowed. With the flight plan filed, we drop the team off at the requested point and leave them alone with no explanation. The Sector Ranger asks no questions, but he is making mental notes. I just hope I don't have to come up with a story later. Asd we are flying away, I have a momentary twinge of unease and I hope they know what they are doing. I shrug because I have to follow through on my responsibility to the Sector Ranger. Hicks is my co-pilot while Zaye and the kids observe. Zaye looks through the screens and tells me that she has seen something like this before. She thinks she might be able to combat the natural shielding. Ranger Nax starts asking questions about the planet and what caused this. He is very fascinated by the fact that there is atmosphere.
 
We discuss if either a purrgil or maybe a space cuttlefish thing he has heard of that is armored and even bigger. We discuss the possibilities of that for a while and then I suggest that maybe that would be a good project for Weha to take on to better understand the working of gravity and how that might have created this world. While we are discussing this, Zaye leans over and suggests I try the sensors again. When I engage them they flicker in and out, but I am able to see the level 5 land mass. Then there is a image of a ship that is either heading towards level five or around it to get to level 6 which is our current destination. I check with the Ranger and he claims that there shouldn't be any leaks and no one is aware of what he is doing. I share this with the Ranger and he asks for a better image. Zaye works on it and we get a better image in between static bursts which is enough for us to see the land mass below and get a really good image of the ship.
 
We can see the level five clearly and remain in pursuit of the ship. As we get closer to the land mass, the ion clouds melt away and we can clearly see the landmarks we remember including the art installation of the bulk freighter we left. There is a herd of the mushroom trees migrating and leaving flowers and vines. I make sure the children observe the phenomenom and have to deflect the inevitable request for a pet one. We continue to follow the ship and Hicks has weapons at the ready. Then Zaye pops in to let us know she has found the ion trail of the ship heading deeper past level five. I ask the Ranger if he wants to stay here and do some reconnaise or follow. He asks if our sensors will alllow us to get enough detail to determine if it is a shadow port or something else.
 
Ship shudders a bit as we hit more turbulent air and a denser ion cloud. It is obvoius we are approaching something. There are many sensor images, but we are able to follow the wake of the ship. I quickly ask him to check for other wakes that would indicate a meeting place. He says that there are four other trails in the immediate area though they are one to two days old. Looks like this ion cloud saves the contrails for a few days. I ask him to check to see if this is trails from the same ship or different ships. Hicsk says the most recent is from a different ship. I ask the room at large for theories and Zaye proposes that we are heading towards a shadow port. I look at the Sector Ranger and ask him if that was he was looking for. He says yes and wants us to get close enough to get decent sensor scans. I ask Zaye how close we need to get to get the needed information. She says we need to get at least within ten clicks. She then suggests that we use repulsor lift and drift. I move one click above the contrial we are following and turn off the ion engines and turn on the repulsor lift and we begin to drift through the cloud following the ship.
 
Suddenly Hicks gives a soft exclamation. "There is a Jedi temple down there. It is in ruins, but it is there." I am not happy and I of course do not have a Jedi with me to handle this. Hicks suggests that we land on the rim of the depression that holds the Jedi Temple. As that is within the ten click radius for our sensor range, I am willing. Hicks rhapsodizes about how he just wants a good vacation and then I ask about if a Jedi temple might have a way to defend itself. I look more closely at the land and it is more desert like with purple sand that moves with the wind. Crystalline trees that have amber pods and twised black sticks that come up out of the ground like a hand trying to get out of the ground - a huge hand that is almost as big as my hand. There might even be animal life. Black furry creatures that seem to be surfing through the sand and either running towards something or away from something.
 
The Jedi temple appears to be part of a bigger complex so there is less of the animal and vegetative life in the bowl. I scan the sensor data and find four spots on the rim that would have less interferance from the native species. As the ship we are folloing is heading in from the south and the other ship is to the south east, I pick the spot on the north face. We continue to ion drift keeping the temple ruins between us and the ships. We land and the purple sand swirls around us quietly. Hicks begins passive scans to get all the data he can. I take a moment to check in with the children to get their impressions. Supper secret Jedi project that went horribly wrong with force monsters inside. Other option is that there is gold and gems with force powers that make you invincible. I notice that Hicks goes silent suddenly and ask what he found. "I am getting a lot of life signs inside the temple." This gets the Sector Ranger very interested. Seems that there are prisoners with guards in position around them. "Slavers!" I turn to the Sector Ranger to get his input on what we should do.
 
He suggests that he head out alone and plants a virus into the two ships on the ground to keep them grounded for a day while we book up and get BOSS ships to zoom in and take down the slaver ring. Hicks countersuggests that he do his ARC Trooper routines and takes out the ships himself. I veto both suggestions and force them to go together to handle the disabling of the ships. As soon as they are out of sight, Zaye plops into the co-pilot ship and begins typing madly. She is happy they are gone and says she hopes she is wrong. She works with the sensor data and once she has confirmed her theory, she has a major defeated aura. Zaye then asks Spook to take the kids out of the room and then she tells me the name of the freighter: Star Cyclone. This is captained by a man that reports to Zaye's adotped father who she reminds me is a very bad man. He runs his kajidic on a mathematical theory that he got from a Mentat, the 50% theory.
 
We continue discussing the past and what we need to do. We decide that we need Hicks and the Ranger to help us go ahead and rescue the slaves now instead of waiting for the BOSS ships. I tell her that we have to explain her knowledge of the ship canptain and his attitude towards his slaves which means we need to rescue them now. Ranger asks for our plan and I say that Spook will babysit while the four of us take a jaunt down to the Jedi temple to rescue those people and capture some bounties. Since we are on the north side, we should be able to meander down and find a back door. Hicks chimes in with details on how many guards would be stationed at each door. Ranger asks if we have any synth rope or something to help us get down the hill quietly and Hicks suggests creating a repulsor lift from odds and ends. The Ranger and Hicks are ready, but Zaye and I need to get into our gear. She gets into her armored skin suit while I get into my exosuit.
 
Hicks also brings some synthrope in case it is needed. We are almost ready to leave the ship, but I take time to clue Spook in on what we are about to do and she plans to work on firing solutions just in case they are needed. I remember to grab some first aid kits and verify the Ranger has some as well. We get down the side of the hill and head towards the temple. I am a bit awkward in the exosuit since I haven't tried it before, but we manage to get there and find a back door. I keep an eye on Zaye as I can tell she is very tense, though no one else would be able to pick up on that. We pass meditation chambers and as we are passing thought the hallways, there are different inscriptions on the walls in languages that I don't really recognize. The intricate details in some of this artwork is gorgeous.
 
We find two guards and take them down quietly and quickly. In fact Zaye did one of the guards so quickly that I barely had time to blink. Hicks mentions that as the guards weren't walking around that means we are near to the holding cells and that a rumor mentioned that tired, hungry slaves are easy to control. We find a door with a force screen, a keypad, and a latch. The floors are marble with some smaller rooms close that we could use for an ambush is we hear anyone coming. Zaye and Ranger Zil head off to wait for guards while I watch Hick's back. He is working feverishly and taking down sercurity layers while I listen intently. I hear a sound from the direction that Zaye went and turn my shield on and face that direction. He stomps towards me talking about the fact that with no call in there had to be in person checks on every guard and once he passes Zaye's room, she jumps onto his back and attacks him. He rams her into the wall and she drops into a crouch. I pull out my plasma blaster and hit him in the side. Zaye jumps back on him and does some finger jabs and then he is falling to the ground. Zaye checks him for a pulse and then looks up at me to say that she doesn't want to kill and she valaues.