Arek

[Hellcat]

Arek hides in the shadows by the airduct as he hears footsteps approaching. Looking up he spies five individuals, a Twi'lek, a Rodian, a Zexx, and a pair of Weequay approaching. Having been on Taris for some time he's already managed to identify a few of the Red Claws on sight as well as managed to figure out some of the more "public" places in the Lower City where they gather from time to time. These five are definately among that scum. As far as he knows none of them are among the high ups on Taris, just some of foot soldiers of the gang. He notes that they look as if they've recently been in a fight as the Rodian is limping pretty badly and the Zexx has an arm in a sling. The other three don't look much better.

He turns his attention back to the five already milling about. They look up at the new comers as if their expecting something else. One of them gives a disgruntled snort.

"Well Abdi, where is he?" one of them, a Duros, asks the newcomers.

"Don't know," the Twi'lek says, somewhat sheepishly.

"What do you mean you don't know?" the man asks. "We dropped you off on the roof of the building and watched you chase the geezer inside. How could you not know where one old geezer is?"

Abdi jerks a thumb at the Rodian. "We were searching for him when Yar decided to start argueing over who was the leader." He then points to the Zexx. "And then Sonub decided he should be the leader. Yar threw a punch at Sonub and I had Fyg and Ak-rev deal with them. The geezer must have slipped out during the brawl. We searched the entire building after the brawl, he wasn't in any of the appartments on any of the floors."

"Prit isn't going to like this," the Duros says. "He ordered us to make sure the geezer was dead. And you five get into a brawl that let's him get away."

"What, you think he can get off world, Oso?" Abdi asks. "The TCA had him, remember? Guy's a criminal as far as their concerned, even if he is a Jedi."

"Mede he git up bac to pison," Yar says.

"Prit want's him dead, so we need to find him," Oso says, ignoring the Rodian. "Probably has a hole somewhere he hide in."

"Maybe his home, whereever that is. Or maybe a friends place," Abdi says. "TCA probably has a file on this human that tells where his home is or who his friends are. Maybe we can use that to find him."

"Find who?" a new voice asks. All heads turn to a new arrival and Arek could swear the blood just drained out of their faces. He looks towards the new arrival himself, seeing Nikto flanked by a pay of heavily armed Trandoshans.

"Prit Orn," Oso whispers, backing up a little. The others also back up, clearly afraid of their boss.

"Is the Jedi dead?" Prit Orn asks, looking over the Red Claws before him.

"N...n...no Mr. Orn," Abdi answers. "Yar started a fight over who should lead and he managed to get away before we could kill him."

"Yar arculite." Yar says, somewhat defensively. "Yar best hooter of Red Claws! Yar led!"

Prit Orn just looks the Rodian square in the face then draws his raiper and decapitates him. Yar's head lands in front of where Arek is hiding.

"Get this straight, no Jedi is to get off this planet alive!" Prit Orn shouts. "Now find this Tobias Pentag and eliminate him! And any other Jedi who may be lurking about!"

One of the Red Claws looks towards where the head landed.
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[Matthias777]

Arek listens intently, perking up at the mention of an old Jedi. Hearing Yar attempt to defend his actions, Arek doesn't need the Force to know what comes next. He stares at the decapitated Rodian head as it comes to rest in front of him, his stomach turning a little. Stupid Yar, he thinks. Your stupidity is going to get me killed. Arek tries to remain still, trusting the shadows of his hiding place to do their part. He reaches into the Force, concentrating on being invisible.

[OOC: Concentration/Sneak, CP if necessary. Does Arek have an avenue of escape, or is he boxed in?]

[Hellcat]

The Red claw moves toward's where Yar's head landed as Arek does his best to remain hidden in the shadows.

"There may have been another TCA officer in the area where this Pentag was lost," Oso says. "Abdi and his team chased the Jedi into the apartment building and Tolo intercepted dispatch saying they were sending out backup and that a Sgt. Torp was supposed to already be in the area."

"Ah, Nir Torp," Pirt Orn says, seemingly savoring the name. "He will not be a problem, I will personally make sure of that."

"Perhaps we can find where this Pentag went by raiding TCA computers?"

"Perhaps," Pirt Orn muses. "He's now wanted by the law. He may have already made a move on his bank account, that could be of some help. Do what you must, but find him. And any other Jedi who may have reached Taris. I want all of them dead."

The Red Claw picks up the head and much to Arek's relief turns around without having seen him.

Arek looks to the airduct, noting he could easily reach it. With luck without being detected.
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[Matthias777]

Arek eyes the air duct. Coming close to being discovered made him want to hightail it out of there, but the life of a Jedi...maybe more than just one, even...could be at stake. He had to stay and find out as much as he could. Something was bugging him about the sergeant that Orn had mentioned. Something about the name...

[OOC: If he has no other way of locating Pentag (assuming he doesn't recognize the name), he will tail whoever is sent to investigate Pentag's whereabouts, with the intention of letting them do the legwork, then delaying them somehow so that he has time to get to the Jedi and warn him.

What does Arek know about Orn/Torp? Has he seen the guy(s) before while investigating the Red Claws?]

[Hellcat]

"What are you mynocks waiting for," Pirt Orn growls. "Find him!"

At this the Red Claws who were present when Pirt Orn and his two Trandos seem to stumble over themselves in an effort to leave the place.

"They fail?" one of the Trando's hisses "We bring in all Red Claws on Taris to find just one Jedi? Those nine already failed once, do you want to bring in every single member on this, boss?"

"He could prove most.... dangerous. Even for an old man," Pirt replies. "There are other Jedi on Taris at this moment. Down in the Undercity."

"Banished or free?"

"Let's say they ran afoul of the TCA. And their being hampered by that new Force inhibitting collar the TCA was developing."

The Trando begins laughing at this. "Jedi in the Undercity. Without weapons or equipment. Easy prey for Red Claws."

"Easy prey, if the old man doesn't figure out their down there. Or if....."

"If?" the second Trando asks, picking up on what his boss is saying.

"Yes, much more dangerous that one," Pirt Orn says to himself, forgetting the Trandos are present. Then he seems to remember their there. "I have a job that needs to be taken care of. Come."

Without waiting Pirt Orn marches off the way he came, forcing both Trandos to catch up to him.


(OOC: Arek's never heard the name Nir Torp Before now, though the way Pirt Orn savors the name bothers Arek. Arek does know that Pirt Orn is the leader of all Red Claws on Taris and learned he was rewarded with his position when the Red Claws first began to move in on Taris. He thinks he could have been a lieutenant to the Red Claw leader on Exis Station.

As for letting the Red Claws do the foot work for him, you've got nine Red Claws to choose from, including the two apparent group leaders, the Duros Oso and the Twi'lek Abdi. It's possible Oso or Abdi one will go to TCA headquarters to try searching for this Pentag's hiding hole.

You've also got what Pirt Orn just said about Jedi being helpless in the Undercity. And then there's whatever mysterious mission he just mentioned.)
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[Matthias777]

Arek pauses, torn. Were he to follow Orn's lackeys, they would almost certainly lead him to this Pentag person...eventually. But it seemed that there was now a more pressing issue at hand; there were several Jedi marked for death and stranded in the Undercity, without weapons or even their use of the Force to help them. He wasn't sure what Pirt Orn's "job" was that he had mentioned to his pet Trandoshans, but Arek felt there was a strong chance it could be organizing a murder squad for the incapacitated Jedi down below.

Orn seemed mildly concerned that Pentag might discover the plight of the Jedi and help them somehow, but Orn wouldn't be counting on an armed Padawan getting to them even faster than the old man could. If he were to free the Jedi from their collars---a job for which his lightsaber should be more than adequate---a team of Jedi would be more suited to rescuing one elderly Jedi than the reverse. Crinkling his snout, Arek decided: he must seek out the Jedi in the Undercity with the utmost speed. But he had to at least to try to contact Pentag and warn him before descending into the bowels of the Undercity.

Making sure the coast is clear, Arek emerges from his shadowy hiding place and races to the nearest public terminal and jacks in his personal computer, quickly doing a search for the name "Tobias Pentag" and mentally crossing his digits.

[OOC: Arek's trying anything publicly available; the Taris White Pages, Google, etc. He's not going to waste time trying to hack into any databases or anything like that (not that he could). Assuming he can find the professor's contact information (data mail account, PTP contact info, educational online forum profile, etc.)...]

Quickly, Arek taps out a message to the old man:

"Tobias Pentag: I have little time, so I must be brief. I know you are wanted by the TCA and may have managed to escape. What you may not know is that you are being hunted by an organization known as the Red Claws. If you receive this, there may still be hope for your survival. Make your way to the Undercity and head to the coordinates below. I will meet you there as soon as I am able. Be sure to delete this message from this and any other accounts you have that are available to the public; the coordinates provided will not be safe if anyone else finds them. May the Force be with you."

Arek makes sure to include some out-of-the-way coordinates in the Undercity, and fires off the message(s). With any luck, the old man would make it to the Undercity and survive long enough for Arek to find him. And if the Red Claws were to find the message instead of Pentag, the enemy would be lying in wait for a quarry that never showed, instead of actively searching for the old Jedi.

Grimly hoping that he has chosen the best course of action, the young Rodian closes out the terminal and heads for the air duct opening he left just minutes prior. With any luck, he'd be able to make it into the Undercity without crossing paths with the authorities. For the first time since arriving on Taris, Arek felt confident in his purpose, and he felt no small measure of determination welling up inside him. Climbing into the air duct, Arek pauses.

Time to rescue some Jedi, he thinks silently, pushing off of the edge of the ductwork and into the inky shaft below.

[Hellcat]

Arek sends cooridinates based on his location in the Lower City, trusting that they should be the same in the Undercity. Though he does make certain to drop the third set of corridinates to Taris's surface. He then begins working his way down the many stories to the planet's surface. He eventually has to leave the airduct and follow the pipes down. The "passageways" created by the spacing between the pipes are all too often nearly to tight for someone as small as Arek to pass through and he finds himself having to force his way through, nearly getting stuck three or four times. Several times he finds his way blocked and has to resort to cutting the offending obstacle with his lightsaber. Finally after two hour and a half of this he discovers a new airduct. He cuts his way into it and begins moving along it until he reaches a ventilation grating at least two and a half to three meters over the grated floor of the tunnel below. This could be some place down on the surface of Taris.
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[Matthias777]

Well, that took longer than anticipated. I'm sure never taking turbolifts for granted again, Arek thinks to himself. The teenaged Rodian pulls his lightsaber from his cloak, but does not ignite it. Closing his eyes, he focuses on quieting his thoughts and reaching out with the Force.

[OOC: Concentration + Life Detection to see if there is anyone nearby; if they happen to be Jedi, that's a bonus, but mainly he's just seeing if it's safe to get out of the duct system. If the coast is clear, he'll raise Danger Sense (again, using Concentration first). If the coast is clear and he's successful at raising Danger Sense, he'll cut through, kill the saber, drop down, and take stock of his surroundings.]

[Hellcat]

Arek opens himself to the Force. At the very edge of a ten meter radius he detects a single sentient being but he can not tell if their Force-sensitive or not. Looking through the Vent he can't see anyone, but he also can't see in the full ten meter radius either, so the sentient might be able to see him cut through the vent or they might miss him entirely. He risks things and cuts through the vent anyway, dropping down on top of the freshly cut vent and looks around.

He finds himself in what appears to be a tunnel of some kind. The floor grating keeps him out of the muck, slime, and filth below, mush of which seems splatered on the walls. Pipes of varying kinds and sizes run along the walls and even the ceiling. In some places the connects of these pipes is no longer any good allowing contents to leak or spray out. About the only real danger Arek senses is from a couple of these spots which are allowing intense steam to spray forth at a rather high pressure. In other spots water flows out of the joints without any steam rising from it. Still other bad joints allow whatever the filth within them is to leak out. His nose crinkles at the smell of this place, a smell that reminds him of a sewer.

At the moment the only light in the place comes from his lightsaber as he finds all the overhead lights are out, with no way of telling if they work at all. Shutting off his saber he is pitched into total darkness.

Arek turns to where he's sensed the sentient only to find a wall blocking his view. With a bit of relief he realizes not only did they not see him cut through the vent, but they haven't moved from where he sensed them to begin with. So it is likely they may be in a different tunnel, or a room of some kind and didn't hear his entrance.

(OOC: Are has both Life Detection and Danger Sense up. You got lucky on the first roll, you failed to bring up concentration but got a 6 on the WD for the Life Detection roll. Concentration worked on the Danger Sense roll)
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[Matthias777]

Doesn't seem like anyone heard that, Arek thinks to himself, relieved. I've wasted enough time getting down here; I need to find those other Jedi, and fast! Carefully and quietly, Arek begins to make his way down the tunnel, trying to find his way to a point where he can get a better read on the lone sentient he senses, or at least get a glimpse of or hear them. As he makes his way down the darkened tunnel, he maintains his grip on his lightsaber, one suction cup-tipped digit resting on the activation switch.

[OOC: If it proves to be just some random Outcast, he'll approach them and attempt to find out if they've seen any recently-arrived Upworlders.]

[Hellcat]

(OOC: Arek's in total darkness after shutting off his lightsaber. Does he wish to proceed without any light?)
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[Matthias777]

[Hellcat]

Reigniting his lightsaber Arek takes note of where the high pressure steam is and begins moving in the opposite direction. As he moves he can slowly feel the sentient vanishing from his range of dectection. Soon the sentient vanishes all together as he rounds a bend in the tunnel he is in. The blue glow cast by his lightsaber makes him wonder exactly what some of the stuff under his feet is. Whatever it is he's thankfull there's a grating between him and it, otherwise he'd be trudging through the disgusting muck.

Arek suddenly detects he's approaching another sentient being as a door comes into view, and they seem to be approaching him. Judging form the direction he senses them in, their on the other side of the door. He can't tell if their Force-sensitive or not.
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[Matthias777]

Arek sidles up against the wall next to the door and extinguishes his lightsaber. He maintains a ready grip on the hilt, however, should the being on the other side of the door prove to be a threat.

[OOC: If the sentient proves to be a hostile threat, Arek will defend himself; he'll drop Life Detection and Danger Sense and bring up Lightsaber Combat, spending CP if necessary (Danger Sense should give him enough warning to use Concentration to bring up Lightsaber Combat, right?). He will not do anything more damaging than block an attack until he has discerned whether or not the threat is because the attacker is a baddie, or just startled to find a sneaky Rodian teenager hiding behind a tunnel door in the dark.

If the sentient is a friendly/neutral, Arek will try to extend a salutation without scaring the bejeezus out of them.]

[Hellcat]

Arek moves near the door, feeling whatever muck and slime ooze down the back of his robe as he moves up against he wall and extinguishes his blade. A few seconds later the doorway opens and light pours in. A large shadow falls onto the grating as the being stands in the doorway. Arek hears a startled porcine squeal as his eyes are forced to adjust to the sudden intrusion of light. At the moment his eyes adjust he feels a sudden since of imminent danger as he finds himself facing an armor clad, axe toting Gamorrean

(OOC: Arek has lightsaber combat up. He sensed the Gamorrean about to attack before dropping danger sense)
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