Dantooine, A Day Or So After Last

[suitably_heroic]

Atton	The landing on Dantooine was surprisingly uneventful; Atton found himself tense at the controls in spite of the clear skies, just in case somebody would try to shoot them out of the sky again. But nothing happened, and the ship set down peacefully on a landing pad just outside a nearby settlement. Meetra had left some time before to go talk to Bao-Dur and the Handmaiden. Now that the Ebon Hawk stood on solid ground, however, she called for him. So he got up out of his seat and walked towards the exit hatch, where they met sunlight and calm skies for what felt like the first time in an age. Kreia was outside as well - and a lady who Atton guessed was the welcoming committee. "Another visitor?" the woman asked. "You must be here to join in the plunder of the old Jedi Enclave." Yep. Welcoming committee. "You'll have to see Administrator Adare first."
Meetra	"What are people doing in the Enclave?" Meetra asked with a frown. It'd been a long time since last she was here, and... that didn't sound right. "Salvagers are stripping it of anything valuable. Mostly, they're collecting trash the Jedi left behind," the woman said with a shrug. "The Enclave was bombed during the war, so there's not much left."
Kreia	"Those artifacts have tremendous value and could be dangerous in the wrong hands," Kreia said. She turned to Meetra. "This is something we should investigate." "But since you're a salvager," their welcome wagon said with a roll of her eyes, "I expect you already know that."
Meetra	"I'm not a salvager," Meetra said pointedly, fixing the woman with a look. The woman's expression immediately turned suspicious. "Then who are you?" she asked. "The only recent visitors we've had on Dantooine are salvagers. And a slew of mercenaries." Yeah. This was the kind of thing Meetra did not want to deal with. "My business is my own," she said. "We get a lot of that here, too," the woman said, crossing her arms. "Ever since the Enclave got slagged, seems that half the people who visit are smugglers or worse." She nodded towards a gap in the wall surrounding the launch platform. "You'll want to go to Khoonda, then."
Atton	Khoonda was a pile of bantha poodoo. It looked like someone had taken one of the typical prefab houses that littered Dantooine and haphazardly slapped some stuff on it, then shot at it for a while. But apparently it was the local seat of government, and without permission, they wouldn't be able to push on ahead to the Jedi Enclave - or find Master Vrook. As it turned out, it was a good thing Meetra hadn't explicitly communicated what they were doing here: they were barely in the door before they heard the first angry, speculative conversation about their presence - and whether it had any link to the Jedi. "...no, the Jedi wouldn't dare return to this planet after what they did to us..." "...they certainly would. You remember how they were: always so superior, so arrogant... and never lending a hand when we really needed them..."
Meetra	Meetra ignored them, pushing onwards. The administrator's office was only a few hallways down. She could forget about the whispers when she had more important things to do. "A visitor," Administrator Adare called through the open doorway, smiling politely. "Please come in. Welcome to Khoonda. My name is Administrator Terena Adare. You're the owner of the, um... ship that just landed?" Meetra raised an eyebrow. "I came in that ship, yes." "Unless I'm not mistaken, that ship is the Ebon Hawk," Adare replied, her tone cooling a little. "That vessel has been on Dantooine before, during the war. That was a Jedi vessel." Well. Poodoo. "...I'd prefer if you kept that quiet," Meetra said, after a pause. "Jedi don't seem to be liked here... or practically anywhere, these days." "That is an unfortunate truth," Adare agreed. "And a wise request, which I will honor. Most of the settlers here still hold bitter memories of the Sith occupation. Right or wrong, our settlers blame the Jedi and their hidden Enclave for their suffering." Her tone softened. "But I remember the old Jedi Masters and the considerable help they lent to Dantooine. I still maintain... discrete... connections with the Jedi, which leads me to believe your presence here is no coincidence." Meetra tried to parse that. Failed. "What do you mean by that?" "My friend... let's just call him Vrook," Adare said. Ah. "We've known each other for many years. And our continued friendship could pose a problem in the current political climate. He came to Dantooine not too long ago. He was looking into something quite important. He's gone missing recently. Did he send for you, in case something went wrong?" Meetra shook her head. "He didn't send for me," she said. "But I would like to meet with him." "Vrook and I had a mutually beneficial arrangement," Adare said, looking thoughtful. "But he went to the Jedi Enclave's sublevel recently and hasn't returned. I know the sublevel is dangerous. I'm starting to fear the worst. Would you be willing to go into the ruins of the Enclave to look for him?" Meetra nodded. "I'll make it my first priority." "We're fortunate that you've come." Adare smiled wanly. "Don't expect it to be easy, though. I find things rarely are with Jedi."
Atton	Yeah, she could say that twice. Or thrice. And she still wouldn't have covered the level of crazy Jedi brought with them. "We should head back to the Ebon Hawk, load up on supplies," Atton said, as soon as they were on the other end of the door.
Meetra	Meetra nodded. She'd only brought two medpacks, and if they were going to venture into a territory as dangerous as Adare made it out to be - they'd need more. They left Khoonda at a brisk pace and found the Ebon Hawk more or less the same on the landing pad. Atton slipped in first, passing by the central room and into the cockpit. Might as well check the sensors, see if there was anything at all out there besides a couple of hovels and some rubble. Seriously. Weird to think this had been a thriving world just a couple of years ago. But that was war for you-- He was jerked out of his thoughts by a shout. He leaped to his feet and dashed down the halls to find its source.
. . .	"My lightsaber. You have destroyed it." The words came drifting down the hall. They came from a young Miraluka, dressed in black and red, now crumpled on the floor. Meetra stood there, panting, her vibroblade still in hand. "I yield... master," the Miraluka managed. "It is as I heard through the Force. My life... for yours..."
Meetra	Meetra reached up and brushed the sweat from her brow. "Get up," she said.
Miraluka	"Kill me," the Miraluka snapped. "I beg you! I..." She faltered. "It was not my wish to challenge you... and I must pay the price."
Meetra	Meetra shook her head. No. Of course not. "I will not kill you," she said, softly but with intent.
Miraluka	"I... I have nothing to offer you," the Miraluka said quietly. "Your strength is superior... it is as I felt." And with those words, she collapsed, sprawling across the floor of the ship's sleeping quarters.
Meetra	"Pick her up," Meetra said, looking up at Atton. "She needs to get to the med-bay. Now."
Atton	Atton picked up the girl - she felt strangely light in his arms, and younger than he'd originally thought she was. It wasn't far to the med bay, so he didn't mind carrying her. Gave him time to figure this out, if nothing else. He put her prone form down on the bed once he got there. "Now I've seen everything," he said, glancing towards Meetra. "This woman... she's a Miraluka. I didn't think any were left in this part of the galaxy." Not after what'd happened to their homeworld, at any rate.
Meetra	Meetra studied the girl - the hood, the lack of a hint of eyes underneath it, the bruising. But she wasn't an expert, and so she had to turn to Atton for his appraisal. "Is she going to be all right?"
Atton	Atton sat down by the girl's side with a frown. "Well, some of her wounds are pretty bad," he said, pushing aside the fabric of her robes to make inspection easier. "Looks like she was already carrying her fair share of scars." He looked back up. "But I think she'll recover, yeah."
Meetra	Meetra nodded, largely to herself. "Keep an eye on her?" she said quietly. "I need to get back-- see if we can get into the Enclave." She looked at the girl. "Let me know if anything changes," she said. "I didn't want to hurt her."
Atton	Funny. Atton'd almost forgotten what it was like to be around people who said things like that. Knocked the objection to being left behind right out of him. "Okay," he said. "I will. But let me know right away if you run into real trouble, all right?"
Meetra	Meetra's eyes flicked to him one last time. She gave him a wordless nod, then slipped out the door.
Handmaiden	The last thing Atton heard before everybody got too far out of range for him to overhear was the Handmaiden hissing, "You know she's a threat, right?" the moment Meetra went out the door.

[[ nfb but open to phone calls/messages, why the hell not. taken from knights of the old republic 2. welcome to dantooine! watch as i prepare to explain the background of an npc from someone else's exit plot by catching up on my own canon! yes, it amuses me. ]]