Strike-Team Ooroo

Location: Outskirts of Menat Ombo

Time of Day: Morning

As the Jedi made their way out of Menat Ombo, they could see the plume of smoke rising from a single point beyond the edges of the city. The once orange and red sky had been stained maroon and brown. A cool breeze swept across their faces, the changing winds brought with it the smell of destruction and chaos. A crowd of citizens had gathered at the edge of the city, too scared to venture further to investigate. As the Jedi approached, the people divided so they could pass.

Nearing their destination, the Jedi approached with even more caution. They didn’t know why they were activated but knew that if Strike-Team Ooroo is called first in, then the Summit didn’t want this handled by just anyone. The closer they got, the more intense the smell of death hung in the air. Smoke filled the sky above them almost choking out the morning sun. They stopped once they came to the edge what appeared to have been a camp. The Jedi shuttered at what they saw. Small fires remained where tents had once been. Charred remains still slept peacefully in the cots that they had laid down in after a long day of work. The Jedi entered the camp with lightsabers draw, but not ignited so as not to alert anyone. Further into the camp they saw close to 50 men, women and children that lived and worked in the camp. Their bodies carpeted the ground. All their blood had ran from small rivers into large pools.

Ji quickly grabbed his mouth and pushed past Krandon, nearly knocking him over. Ji ran to a tree just before his morning meal oozed out from the edges of his breath mask. Adeodatus walked over to a young man, appearing in his early teens. Adeodatus placed his knee on a bit of dry dirt to stabilize himself as he knelt down to the boy. He began to examine the body.

“These are from a lightsaber.” Adeodatus said while cupping his chin with his hand as to help sharpen his thoughts.

Rangel walked back from aiding Ji, and looked over Adeodatus’ shoulder. “Could the Brotherhood have done this?”

Vanwyck spoke up. “Highly unlikely but we can’t rule anything out.”
Leaving the body where it lay, they ventured further. Towards the South-West corner of the camp was a large cave. Mining tools poured randomly out of the cave as if it had spit them out. Gon Doru focused on the edge of the cave when something caught his eye. Immediately he motioned for the group to stop, and drop to their knees. Gon Doru slowly broke formation to scout ahead. He ran behind a tree. Slowly, with his face pressed against the bark, he looked from behind the tree. There, standing at the edge of the cave was a figure draped in a black cloak. Gon Doru signaled for the others to approach the lone figure.

Ji, with Mar Sul on his left and Vanwyck on his right, walked up to question the figure. When within a few meters, Mar Sul and Vanwyck ignited their lightsabers. The blue blades illuminated the smoky air and back of the figure.

Ji announced authoritatively “In the name of House Odan-Urr, slowly extend your arms out from your sides and turn around.”

The figure remained still, forcing Ji to repeat himself.

“In the name of House Odan-Urr, extend your arms from your sides and TURN AROUND!”

The figure slowly raised both arms until forming a “T” and slowly spun around.

“Commander?!” Ji said with surprise.

“Can I put my arms down now?” Revak said with a smug tone.

Vanwyck extinguished his lightsaber. “Do you know what happened here?”

The other Jedi came over to hear Revak as he began to explain. “This was a mining camp. They harvested many of the precious gems sold in Memat Ombo. This cave is worth a lot of money.” He handed Seridan a rough cut purple gemstone. Seridan took the gem and held it up towards the sun.

“So it was for the gems?” Seridan asked, still looking at the gemstone.

Revak looked back at the cave then back at the Jedi. “Not quite. A few days ago, we received word that something was found in the cave: an ancient artifact that resonated strongly with the Force. The miners were afraid that uncovering the artifact would bring bad luck to its people. They called for us to remove it. Today we would have.”

“Who would do all this for an old trinket?” Ralin asked.

“I’ve seen this carnage before. Before I became a Jedi, I knew a man named Vadon. We worked together until be betrayed me and left me for dead. I didn’t know at the time, but he became a Sith. After some research I found that he now holds the title of Lord.”

“Is this Lord Vadon affiliated with the Brotherhood?” Lu’aisha asked.

“No. They have no record of him.” Revak said nodding his head. “I will head back and tell the Summit of what we found. I want you to go into the cave and try to find if the artifact is still in the cave. Just be careful. I don’t know what else has moved in there.”