Take Me To Your Leader [D4 ME]

[Sinnya]

Sinnya guided the good ship Name TBD on a low approach to their landing site on the forest continent. From previous trips by airspeeder, she knew that finding a place to set down even a smallish starship like this one wasn't going to be a simple matter, even if she hadn't still been getting used to the TBD's controls. She'd taken several careful passes with the scanners (no doubt to Vaya's increasing impatience) before selecting a clearing not too far from the cliffs where the Chaldi made their homes.

They'd have to do a bit of hiking (and possibly climbing) to reach their destination, but it was better manners to come in on foot anyway. Fortunately it was still light on this side of Bankor, although it would be getting dark in Rygor by now.

She flicked the internal comm--"Everyone buckled in?"--then got back to her controls for the final descent.

[Qareme Torth]

Qareme was perhaps the ideal traveler. She was silent throughout the journey, spending most of it in meditation with brief trips to stand and walk - stretching her legs more than anything. So when the landing call came through she was already back in place, eyes closed, buckled and safe.

She did however say "that includes you, Verse" without breaking her meditation or opening her eyes.

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

Vaya was shaking worse than the ship by the time they actually took flight from Rygor, vibrating with forestalled anticipation. She’d been a part of planning many similar expeditions, but always with large institutional backing, and no need for secrecy. She had spent weeks thinking and preparing, checking in on each member of the group to make sure that they were completing whatever tasks she had put on them, or just still alive and being reasonably discrete. They likely hadn’t seen her without her either being forcefully casual (if in public) or talking in urgent, hushed tones about the supplies, planning, and other obstacles between them and “the site.”

The TBD, once it was formally in their possession, had become a second home, more secure in her mind than her own apartment as a place to leave dozens of piles of neatly-organized flimsies. Another theme in her check-ins with the rest of the group became asking if any of them knew anything about starship maintenance, or griping about her efforts to try and teach herself about them. The ship, despite its unsavory origins, was in fact in as good repair as advertised. Vaya grumbled about it nevertheless, new-parent-like anxiety cloaked with irritation.

If Vaya had failed to disturb anyone’s calm the previous three weeks, the day of the trip would have been a final test. Anyone available was subjected to a series of increasingly apoplectic updates (delivered by comm, or by insisting that a comm-having person pass the message on) about last-minute difficulties with flight plans, ship licensure, refueling, landing strut maintenance, all eventually adding up to a “final, definitive,” departure time of late afternoon. “The path of my life,” Vaya had declared, her voice rising to a shout, “is strewn with nerf poodoo from hell’s own demonic herd!”

Then the earthquake happened. She immediately reached out again to everyone, but to Vaya’s credit, she stopped complaining about how things affected her, merely checking in that all were well and whole. “Of course, we’ll go when we can go,” she had said, subdued.

The anxious hovering and herding resumed as their new, actual, blessedly real departure time approached, and the flight time was spent with Vaya wearing out the deck plating making the rounds, checking and re-checking: their flight plan, meteorological reports, the sensors panel for signs they were watched or pursued, her supplies, the expedition’s supplies, people’s personal supplies, people’s personal readiness (physical, emotional, intellectual).

Either burnt out by her efforts or finally taking the hint from others, Vaya had returned to the cockpit for the last hour, staring out the cockpit window or at the sensor board. She nodded in approval of Sinnya’s choice of landing spot. With her boots about to touch ground, with actual action about to be taken, and not just more thinking and preparation, Vaya’s normal equilibrium seemed to return.

“See any swoopwings?” Vaya asked Sinnya, looking down over the trees. She’d brought them up during planning as the Chaldi’s preferred way to get around the jungle. “If we can wrangle a couple, it’d make going back and forth easier. Might impress the Chaldi, too.” She poked at the sensor board, seeing if it could pick up any distinct life-forms out of the noise of a vibrant jungle.

[Verse Aura]

"I don't need to buckl-- woaah, okay yeah... gimme a sec. There."

Verse hastily strapped herself in as suggested.

"So, I'm guessing we're there? I mean, here."

[Dapper Dog]

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The bulbous structures were attached to the cliffside some were small while others quite large with large walkways that connected them and on top of them were large creatures easily twice the size of a speeder with large wings and multicolored feathers. These creatures mixed the best features of lizard and predator bird into massive forms.

There was a large platform that was clear for them to land if they so chose, and some people already gathering to see these strangers from the distant lands in the daylight. It was warm according to the sensors as they made their approach.

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

Vaya unbuckled to crane for a better view before the vehicle came to a complete stop, and started muttering observations into a recorder.

"They get air traffic bigger than their mounts regularly enough to maintain a landing zone," she noted to the others as they prepared to disembark. "That's interesting." She adjusted the straps on her pack full of survival gear, and the clasp on her thermal cloak.

[Verse Aura]

"I didn't expect that, but hey, that just makes this easier doesn't it?"

Once the ship had come to a full stop, she unbuckled and stood up, doing some completely unneccesary stretches.

"Shall we go meet the locals?"

[Qareme Torth]

Qareme rose, leaning on her walking stick as she nodded.

"Let us go meet with them. Anything we would need to be aware of before approaching, or is it best to let others do the talking?"

She was asking more for Verse than herself, but figured it was better to not mention names.

[Verse Aura]

"Well," Verse answered, unaware of the intent behind the question. "The Aznuri do value the Jedi more than they do other outsiders, so that might work in our favor."

[Dapper Dog]

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There are many people of the tribe present to greet them and four storm troopers following a woman dressed in dark clothing. She greets the group, “Welcome to the village of the Chaldi, I am Sister Tirali, we were not aware we would be receiving guests. May your waters be serene and your eyes turned upward to the skies.”

“Are you hungry? Thirsty? How can the Chaldi provide?”

[Verse Aura]

Oh no...

Verse noticed the stormtroopers of course. How could she *not* notice them? And they were following this woman, instead of the other way around? That didn't seem right, did it? Something was off, and Verse looked toward the others.

"Uhmm, thank you. We're friends of Sisters Hulia and Viati. I'm Verse."

[Sinnya]

--five minutes earlier--

Sinnya ran through the sequence of shutdown checks, helpfully scrawled on a sticky note next to the pilot's console. EXTERIOR HATCH LOCKS ON YOUR WAY OUT!! concluded the list. She unbuckled and spun around.

"I never came out to this tribe before, but everyone says the Chaldi are proud about being the keepers of history. They might be strict about the old ways." She checked her various straps and pockets, ending with a pat on the carved wood snake pendant worn on a leather string around her neck. Only one bit of Aznuri jewelry today--the piece that had actually been her mother's. "Mind your manners, especially with the older people. Probably don't talk about the Calm unless they bring it up first."

She opened a cabinet and pulled out a string bag full of... fruit?

"The people down here aren't very particular about who owns what. Anything you really can't stand the idea of sharing, you might want to leave on board."

--now--
"Hello, Sister. I'm Sinn'yatar, of the forest fringe." Which wasn't exactly a stretch; everywhere not in the forest proper was the forest fringe. And she'd rather not mention the Rygor enclave, given the looming troopers.

"My traveling comrades and I come to pay respects to the wisdom of the Chaldi people. They're all laowai, but good spirits." She held up the bag of fruit. "We don't want to impose on your resources, but we'd be honored to share food with you. We brought some fresh-harvested cram berries from the other continent, as a gift."

[Dapper Dog]

She gestured for them to follow, “Then we shall eat and speak together, little sister. Unlike the other tribes we do not hold animosity to the Empire they have blessed us with weapons and tools that will make our people strong. We mourn for those that decided to side with the Resistance, their souls now rest in the Calm.”

“Know that if you seek to bring trouble here, our brothers and sisters will fight to the last.”

She entered a large structure where people were putting out food and drink for the visitors. Outside stood two storm troopers who came to attention as the woman passed. She smiled and said, “The Chaldi are honored by your gift.”

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

Kriff. Skrog. Kark. Krong. Shavit Druk Sithspit. Damn. It had always been her plan to let Sinnya make introductions, which was well and good, as Vaya's freshly-restored sense of calm and balance was knocked askew by the sight of white armor -- so much she almost passed through the introduction entirely mute (she did manage an "I'm Vaya"). She had planned so much around the idea of not only beating the Empire here, but the Empire not even thinking to look here. She had suddenly, a thousand more questions. At least, unlike with the preparations, she wasn't operating in a vacuum. She looked around with unabashedly eager eyes, although in this case she was concealing her interest in the Imperials, and how they related to the Chaldi, under her genuine interest in the Chaldi themselves. Who's in charge here? Will they let us speak alone to her? And will what we say get back to them?

ooc: Some kind of Perception check maybe, or a Knowledge check to place this in the context of other similar past arrangements?

[Verse Aura]

This was very confusing. If Verse had been the cunning type, she might've been able to tell if her words were genuine, or coerced through the presence of the stormtroopers. She certainly hoped it was the latter. If it wasn't, she had no idea how to proceed. Then again, she had no idea how to proceed even if they *were* cowed into obedience.

[Dapper Dog]

OOC: Either is fine at Average with a setback due to the fact that the Chaldi are not super known to her.

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

She racked her brain, her brow beading with sweat under the thermal cloak. She couldn't quite remember...

D4ME Stormtroopers? Where? (Average Knowledge Outer Rim, Setback removed by Researcher): 1eP+3eA+2eD 0 successes, 2 advantage


Happy to take the advantages as info, or a boost on some social check with her.

[Jenna Karath]

Alike a chaperone Jenna had joined the others on this expedition. While she was certain the Jedi were capable in their own right she believed less and less that they knew what they were really doing. With her own brother as evidence to the same, they appeared a group that was having a hard time readjusting to the world outside of the Temple.

So, she tagged along, taking in the sights and learning all she could of these people and their customs. It wasn't the type of work she was used to doing, but, it was work that she thought might one day offer her and her brother a way out.

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

She entered a large structure where people were putting out food and drink for the visitors. Outside stood two storm troopers who came to attention as the woman passed. She smiled and said, “The Chaldi are honored by your gift.”

"The troopers snap to pretty well when she comes by, given she's not sweating through a gaberwool uniform," says Vaya softly as they accept hospitality. Then she nods, somewhat pointedly, at Sinnya. Keep talking! Because I haven't figured out an angle yet.

Then small talk occurs to her. "Those swoopwings are magnificent," she says. "I had read of them, but never seen one."

[Sinnya]

"We came to visit and maybe share some stories. How could there be any trouble in that?" Sinnya said airily, concealing unease as she followed Sister Tirali and the rest into the village with her armful of cramberries. She switched casually in-and-out of the Aznuri speech as she chatted, signaling to Tirali that she understood the language without, for the moment, shutting out her offworld traveling companions. Her own accent was noticeably inflected with the Rylothian and Huttese that had made up the rest of the kitchen talk of her childhood, but still ought to be understandable to 'proper' Aznuri.

"Do you get a lot of laowai visitors these days? I didn't know that the white-armor tribe was moving in alongside Aznuri people. Have they married among your young men and women, is that why they live here and share things with you?" She kept her chitchat as innocent as she could manage, all while looking around herself to get the lay of the land.

((I'd also love to see if Sinn can read anything of the relationship between the other Chaldi and the stormtroopers, and/or how the Chaldi are reacting to our group.))

[Dapper Dog]

OOC: Perception check at Average please.

[Sinnya]

!

D4 ME--Chaldi village, average perception. Uncanny Senses.: 1eP+2eA+1eB+2eD 3 successes

[Dapper Dog]

“Our swoopwings are fierce and strong and the pride of the tribe, we have bred them for generations and they are mighty hunters. Few laowai ever get to see them, after we eat I can show you them up close though mind your hands, they like to nibble,” she said with a smile.

“These Imperials have been good guests, they are not yet tribe but perhaps one day they shall, for now we are friends and work together for the betterment of the Aznuri.”

[Sinnya]

"I would love to meet your famous swoopwings!" Sinnya said with absolute sincerity. "I'm sure everyone else would, too..." The glance she cast over her shoulder at the others was less certain than her words. Vaya had impressed upon them all that the swoopwings were supposed to be important to the Chaldi, but Sinn wasn't sure how each of her offworld companions would react when actually face-to-face with enormous Leathery-Winged Avians (TM).

"Your guests carry a lot of weapons, Older Sister. I hope you have not been having troubles with predators." Sinnya looked around the inside of the large structure, mentally comparing the Chaldi style of building and decorating to other tribes, like the Orosini, with whom she'd had more frequent encounters. "There was a great earthquake on the big continent a few hours ago, the kind of thing my Ma would say meant the Planet is disturbed--in the old stories anyway."

[Qareme Torth]

Qareme gazed around as they arrived, spotting the stormtroopers.

Another problem...

She managed to introduce herself before they moved on, following behind and looking at the amount of Imperial presence that had gathered her. If this was really what was happening, and this Chaldi had aligned with the Empire, then it would be dangerous and likely provide little information.

Still, she kept her thoughts to herself and followed. Keeping quiet, and letting the Twi'lek talk.