A Plan

A Plan
Date of Scene:	27 October 2024
Location:
Synopsis:	Pike, Navi, and Heydan regroup to plan how to rescue the young force sensitive.
Cast of Characters:	159, Pike Windu, Navi, Heydan Seegil, Cayde Alexis, Annelia Belask

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Athena (159) has posed:
Once the small group has crossed the permacrete bridge over the awful smelling ditch full of sewage liquid, the young Nikto Binny takes them towards the southern edge of the squatter encampment on the other side.

His younger brother, Tommy, will tumble out of a large metal canister half full of putrid water once they approach. He looks relieved as he scrambles towards them."Binny! Is.. is mom gonna be okay?" he glances at Pike. "Are you gonna be able to help her?" he asks timidly.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Following Binny, the Jedi Master is mindful of the filthy ground. Putting an arm around the youngling, he soothes, "trust in the Force."

Navi has posed:
Navi steps back as Tommy clambers out of the container full of filthier water. "Oh, thank the Force... were you /hiding/ in there?" she asks Tommy. The smell is almost enough to turn her stomach, even without the chemical reek from the ditch trying to twist it in knots.

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil takes a look around the squatter encampment as they enter it knowing all to well what life was like in one of these spots. Deciding to let the Jedi handle things he keeps quite but pays more attention than he is letting on to everything around them.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde had gone ahead to look for Tommy while the others still talking, across the bridge and...somehow had ended up somewhere not where Tommy and the others are.

    He -thought- he'd felt the young boy's presence somewhere around here...but there's nothing in sight but factories and warehouses and piles of waste. And maybe more squatters.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Y'know, often it's said that Ann isn't a subtle jedi- not even close. She's tall and conspicuous and direct and, lately, kind of crabby. But then again, Cayde *is* pretty distracted...

    So who's to say if he's expecting it when the baleful presence of an irritated master is suddenly looming over him, despite having not been with the group 'till now, balling the back of his robes into her fist.

    "I believe this now marks fifty... -eight- times I've told you not to wander off on your own when working with a group unless you have very good reason. Care to enlighten me?"

Athena (159) has posed:
Pike will find that Tommy smells abominable. He seems to have taken to the elder Jedi though and clings to him, transferring some of his stink to his clothing. "What is that supposed to mean?? Is she gonna get better? Like my arm got better?"

Binny smirks at Navi. "You think -he- smells bad? Ha... maybe you should stay behind then. Where we have to go is even -worse-."

He motions for them to follow him into one of the permacrete structures closer to the heart of the squatter encampment. As they're walking over, he looks around. "Hey wasn't the one blond kid here just a few minutes ago?"

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike is careful, as he is still carrying the old female. "I can't make any promises. But I will do everything I can for her."

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil follows the group into the tent again keeping to himself but observing everything happening.

Navi has posed:
"Somehow I think I'll survive," Navi retorts. "But Agent Black better appreciate this. I don't care /how/ good the security force says he is." She's still achy and sore from the wallop she took at the hands of the bounty hunter, which isn't helping her mood.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Oh, he can feel Ann's presence as soon as she's in range, and is immediately embarrassed and rather ashamed of himself. He flushes as he turns around when she grabs the back of his robes.

    Ah, of course she'd kept count...

    [...Master...I...I am sorry] he signs, although he doesn't offer an explanation as to why'd wandered off. However, she will get a vague sense that it hadn't actually been any legitimate reason other than everyone was talking for too long and he'd become restless (bored).

Athena (159) has posed:
Tommy nods and keeps a firm grip on Pike's robes as they head inside the permacrete structure Binny had been leading them towards.

"Who the hell is Black?!" Binny asks, his brows furrowing. He pushes into the building, which is less decrepit than the hut they'd just fled, thankfully. There's a small cot on a wire bedframe in a room off to the side, next to a window whose tattered drapes have been closed.

Binny then turns to Heydan, gesturing at a small table in the center of the room. "Let's see that map you got. I'll see if I can figure out where the entry points are on the map."

While Cayde is distracted by Anne, he might not notice that the nexu that had attacked them earlier is prowling in the shadows, watching.

Navi has posed:
"Someone you should be very, very, /very/ glad you've never met," Navi replies heavily to Binny. "Trust me. And for what it's worth, that one blonde kid wanders off all the time. Which Agent Black should be very glad about, since I can't blame him for it."

"Master Windu, we may need to put the mother someplace safe so you can attend to her, and I can go find Cayde. This is a very dangerous place for him to get lost," she adds to Pike.

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil walks over to the table ignoring the conversation about his boss and sets down a small holo-projector on the table. Tapping a button on the side of the small holo-projector as an image of the entire underbelly of this region of Coruscant springs to life filling the room. Backing up from the projection he pulls out a small datapad then taps a few things on it. Slowly the entry points begin to glow highlighting where they are to assist with navigation.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike follows Binny inside. "A powerful Republic agent. That is all I know."

    The Master nods at Navi.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Get into the conversation, Cayde, or work lookout. We can talk about it later, but getting bored and going off-brief is a -bad- habit for your desired line of work," says Ann simply, shaking her head. She lets go, turning on her heel to walk back towards the others- expecting Cayde to follow.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    [...yes master...] Cayde answers in sign, staring at the ground before he starts to follow Ann.

    However, he hesitates when he detects the nexu's presence nearby. <Master wait...>

    Eventually though he just hurries after her, trying to keep tabs on the creature at the same time.

Athena (159) has posed:
Binny arches a brow at Navi but doesn't ask any further questions about Black. He looks over at the holoprojector and peers at the underground map Heydan had acquired. "Okay, so," he begins, tapping 6 out of the 8 entry points highlighted on the map, "these were all blocked off recently. That leaves only two - and they're heavily guarded. But usually right after the sun sets they all go for like, a five minute smoke break. So if we're lucky, I can squeeze in and open up one of the other doors that the rest of you guys can fit through if you can avoid being seen by guards coming back after their smoke break." He points to the two entry points he's talking about, tapping them on the holo display.

Tommy tugs on Pike's robe, drawing him towards the room with the bed. "I think you can put her on the bed there," he says, "do you think you'll be able help her get a little better, at least?"

The nexu doesn't attack, at least not yet. It follows, unaware Cayde knows it's there. However, heading straight for the squatter camp while the nexu follows probably isn't a good idea...

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike sets his burden down. There doesn't seem to be any blankets, so the Jedi sheds his brown great coat and covers the female with it.

    "I can try." And the Master places a hand on the woman's forehead and silently recites his usual mantra."

Navi has posed:
"Don't worry. Master Windu is the best healer I've ever seen." Navi listens and watches the map as Binny explains the situation with the tunnels, trying not to think too hard about being underground in heavily-guarded tunnels. "Let's hope they're having the mother of all cravings tonight," she observes softly. "Master, if you've got things here for the moment, I'm going to see if I can find Cayde."

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann turns on her heel, stopping mid-stride as Cayde's tone and method of conversation changes.

    "Got something? Think we have enough problems right now, don't want to add to the pile."

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil removes the blocked exits and asks, "A smoke break isn't a long period of time. Do you know what they smoke? I could happen by, strike up a conversation at just the right time, and go on break with them.", before looking around to add, "Delay them a bit?", and break off. The woman on the bed suffering and Pike searching for blankets distracts him from further thought. Sighing he walks over to the bed and hands her a credstick. Then looking at those present, "Just take her to a hospital. My salary should cover it and she is just going to get in our way.", he exasperates. Despite sounding annoyed his expression is one of actual concern for her wellbeing.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde nods, and tries to connect her to the nexu's presence as it prowls nearby, tailing them. Probably wasn't a great idea to lead it back to the squatter camp and the ill mother. And Tommy, whom its owner was after. He's thinking, best to either take it out, or force it to serve them instead of Torkle Sunn...

Athena (159) has posed:
Pike will discover the woman has been battling some kind of infection for a while. But due to malnutrition, her body just can't seem to recover fully. Tommy looks expectantly at the Master...

"I mean, if you can get them to like you enough to talk to you for long enough, he says, "then you'll be lucky." When he puts a cred stick in the barely conscious woman's hand, Binny turns to Pike. "Take her to Dr. Cassias." A pause. "Don't ask why, but he's seen her before."

The nexu remains in the shadows for now...

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike frowns, His attempt at healing the female failed. But it did reveal her underlying condition. The healer looks to Binny and Tommy. "I sense she can recover. I will see to her after the mission. She is in no danger at the moment."

    Pike nods in affirmation to Navi.

Navi has posed:
"Wasn't Dr. Cassias arrested not too long ago for filing a false toxicology report?" Navi asks Pike. This is mostly for Binny's benefit, since she was there for the arrest. "We may need to find another doctor, Master. And we may need someone to stay with her until we return. Something to figure out when we're all back together again. I'll be back as quick as I can." She hurries back the way they'd come from.

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil nods as Pike explains the situation and then returns to the map. "So, you were saying, they take a smoke break? What do they smoke? The 'recreational' stuff or..", he asks making air quotes around recreational and looking somewhat hopeful before his voice trails off in a questioning tone.

Athena (159) has posed:
Tommy seems disappointed but he doesn't complain. "I think we can get Tseela to watch her while we're gone," he says. "If he's around."

"What?" Binny seems to be in disbelief about what Navi's telling him, but he doesn't have time to ask her more questions before she hurries off to go find Cayde. He frowns at Heydan. "Spice, duh. And not just the regular stuff you can get on the corner on Level 1313. Glitterstim. They say it makes you see into the future and know shit about people you'd normally not be able to know. I dunno if that's true, though."

Pike Windu has posed:
    "Glitterstim is dangerous," Pike offers to the other conversation. To the youngling, he smiles. "I mean it that she can get better. Don't worry. Go see if Tseela is near."

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil nods to Binny and then quickly turns his back to the group to do a fist pump while silently mouthing the phrase 'Oooooohhhhh yyyeeaaahhhh' which he masks by faking a sneeze. Facing the group once more he says, "Okay, okay I got it. We get some Glitterstim, maybe if we can find it something better than what they sell on Level 1313 and then I smoke them out. If we get the good stuff then it will put them down."

Navi has posed:
Navi reaches out through the Force, seeking a specific mind. <<Cayde, can you hear me?>> She hopes he can; it would be pretty easy to go in a random direction and get lost down here. <<Cayde, please tell me you sensed something that would help us, and not that you got bored and wandered off again...>>

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Just break its focus and send it on its way. No sense putting an animal down. Or- well, could send it back to whoever its master is, for us to follow," Ann suggests, shrugging a little.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde nods. <I know its master...it should not go back...> But he could certainly try to send it away. So the padawan focuses his attention toward the creature's mind, attempting to create a hallucination of the fattest womp rats it has ever seen scuttling away into an alley behind it. They look so round, and so...tasty...

    Navi will be able to detect Cayde's presence in the area, although it feels a bit far off. It would seem he actually went the other direction.

Athena (159) has posed:
Tommy nods when Pike instructs him to go look for Tseela, and he hurries out of the building, in search of the aforementioned being.

"Everyone knows that," Binny retorts, "but they do it anyway. Not that much, and I feel like they just do it so much that they're kind of just used to it now." He frowns. "You're gonna convince them to overdose? You'll have to be extra lucky to manage that." But then he shrugs. "Well, you can do whatever you want, honestly. But we need to get going, since sun down is soon and we need to get there at the same time they're taking their smoke break. I'll tell Tommy to come meet us at the bridge after he gets Tseela to watch over my mom." And with that, he heads out of the small building, hoping the others will follow.

The nexu resists at first, but eventually, it skitters out of the shadows and after the illusory womp rats in an alleyway nearby, disappearing from view.

Navi has posed:
"He /would/ go in completely the opposite direction..." Navi grumbles, moving off in the direction she'd sensed Cayde in. She wasn't expecting Annelia to be there, since she hadn't been before, but the company will be welcome. "We need to get him a leash or something..."