Snow business like Xho business [D8, LM]

[Zizzy Roosh]

"Oh right. I mean left." She started walking down the hallway towards the last room on the left.

"I wonder if she managed it or if it's totally unrelated. Do you remember if Master Xho even found any Gree weapons? They never found anything matching the wound that killed him."

As they neared the door she stopped and gave Camlen a reassuring look. "Might be tough. Seeing this place again. It's okay though, I'm here with you."

[Hatoful GM]

Camlen shrugged. "Could be. Nothing obvious. Of course, with Gree technology, who knows?"

Her words made his expression turn serious. He took a deep breath, then smiled. "Thanks, Zizzy. That means a lot to me. I'm glad you're the one who found me." Another deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready."

[Zizzy Roosh]

Her attempts to consult the force for guidance were rebuffed so she just nodded and then walked up to the door. "Me too. Let's see if they left this thing open for us."

Zizzy tried the door to the lab...

D8. LM. Do I Foresee any trouble ahead?: 1eF 1 Dark Side

[Hatoful GM]

"Watch out. It's always cold in there." Camlen shivered in reminiscence. "It's as far as can be from the heating, and has ice on more walls than most."

The door slid open.

Actually... it wasn't that cold. And it looked almost exactly like it had in the image Camlen had shared. Only... it seemed a little off somehow.

(Perception: Average to notice, or through roleplayed observation)

[Zizzy Roosh]

Zizzy took a good long look at the room before touching anything. "You know, it doesn't feel that cold. Oh wait, thermal cloak." She let her tendrils scan the surroundings and then looked at Camlen.

"I know you said it's draining, but could you show me this room again? Your memory of it. There's something...different about it." She reached for the force connection.

[Hatoful GM]

"It seems smaller; I thought that was just my different perspective." Camlen waved a hand. "Everything looks different from in here."

He took a deep breath. "Okay. Here goes. Concentrate on the link..."

... it was a moderately large room; it had to be, because it had so much equipment, with a generous amount of space around each. Some of it was easily recognizable, but some of it wasn't. What was that sphere in a holder, over there in the corner? Focus moved around the room, from device to device, tracing over the white tiles, noting the chill of coming from the far wall... a desk near the front, and one near the back, papers on the front... an older Cerean Jedi was sitting at the desk. He looked up with a smile...

It was difficult to tell, since the perspectives were, in fact, different. But the space around the objects no longer seemed quite so generous. And the sphere in a holder definitely wasn't there. And, of course, no papers or Cerean Jedi, but that probably wasn't it.

(If you do the perception roll after that, 2 boosts)

[Zizzy Roosh]

"Well that sphere isn't here anymore, whatever it was." Zizzy walked over to the far wall. "See how much smaller the room is now? There's got to be a whole hidden area behind here."

D8. LM. Average Perception. Two boosts for using the holo memory: 2eP+1eA+3eB+2eD 5 successes, 1 advantage

[Hatoful GM]

Camlen's mouth opened, then closed. "You're right. I don't... that must have been after I was, uh, holocronned." He said, rubbing his head. "Another few years... Master Xho was talking about a need for more secrecy."

Indeed, Zizzy's tendrils could note that this wall wasn't as cold as the one to her right as she came in. It felt more like the one to her left, where there was a bordering room.

"I wonder how you get in?" Camlen frowned. "Maybe something on the wall itself? If it was something in the room, a tool or something, the investigators would have found it."

[Zizzy Roosh]

Zizzy nodded as she looked at the different aspects of the room. She looked for anything on the wall that could be manipulated. Or possibly a tile on the floor. Or something on the ceiling?

"A secret chamber. Well, it definitely wasn't in the report so we're on to something here."

[Hatoful GM]

It was, in fact, on the wall itself. Once again, Zizzy's tendrils allowed her to spot the tile that felt a little differently than the rest.

Part of the wall slid aside, just enough room to squeeze through. A blast of cold air accompanied it.

Camlen swallowed, his eyes a little wide. "I've got a... strong feeling about this." He said.

[Zizzy Roosh]

She was pretty pleased with her investigation so far. Looking at Camlen she gave him an understanding nod. "I bet. You know, maybe I should be a Jedi Investigator? Okay. Are you ready?" Tugging her thermal cloak more tightly around herself, Zizzy stepped into the gap.

[Hatoful GM]

That made Camlen grin. "Maybe you should be. And I can be your sidekick in a box." He nodded. "Let's go, partner."

It was a pretty tight squeeze behind the false wall. The original wall was still in place, a bit less than a meter behind. The cold seemed to be coming from a hatch in the ceiling, with a ladder leading up to it. Also of interest was what appeared to be monitoring devices, affixed to the false wall, cables going up into whatever lay above.

[Zizzy Roosh]

"Come along then. You'll need a nickname.... How about 'Holo lad'?" As she squeezed in to the chamber and looked up at the hatch her attention was drawn to the monitoring devices.

"Any idea what those are? Mechanics and computers aren't really my thing." Looking up the ladder she was glad of the gloves built in to her armour. "Guess we're about to get some answers."

[Hatoful GM]

Camlen chuckled. "Alright, but only if I get a cool costume. Maybe something that matches your swimsuit."

Frowning, he glanced at them. "Yeah, that's surveillance equipment. It looks like it's monitoring the room." He looked at Zizzy. "If the recordings go back far enough..."

[Zizzy Roosh]

She nodded. "Might be a bit loose on you but whatever tweaks your tendrils."

Her grip on the rung tightened. The anticipation was almost physical, but she tried not to get too excited. "Alright then, let's solve this case Holo lad."

[Hatoful GM]

The hatch opened easily, revealing... rather a lot of stuff. An entirely other room, rather roughly carved out of the ice, with some basic insulation keeping it from getting that cold. A little generator ran in the corner, powering the room. There were a few items for comfort; lights and a space-heater, both of which turned on as the hatch opened.

There was that funny sphere device. It was hooked into large table console and projector into the center of the room.

The cables ran up to another console in the corner. A few of the lab below was visible on its screen, along with a series of controls for date and time.

[Zizzy Roosh]

Zizzy looked over at the sphere with obvious curiosity. "Oh wow, I wonder if that's a map of the galaxy l? We should..." No. That was second on the list.

Her attention switched to the surveillance equipment. She looked at Camlen. "Let's find out what happened to Master Xho before we do anything else. Are you okay to watch this Camlen? I can watch it first and report back if you prefer?"

She closed the hatch and moved over to the console. She dialed in the week before Xho's death for a bit of context and waited for Camlen to decide what he wanted.

[Hatoful GM]

Slowly, Camlen nodded. "No, it's okay. I'm ready."

...

It was fairly quick going through the playback. The week before didn't have too much information. Master Xho had few visitors. Mostly an older Camlen, a bit taller and broader, with an adult's musculature. He clearly knew about this hidden lab, as he would accompany Xho there sometimes. Holo-Camlen watched, his expression strange.

The fateful day...

It was a sudden thing. Master Xho was in the main lab. From the corner, a shadow seemed to suddenly materialize into a person, dressed from head to toe in black, although the figure gave some hint that it may have been a woman. They struck instantly, ruthlessly, stabbing Xho from behind. He crumpled; Camlen hissed through his teeth.

The assassin quickly searched Xho, coming up with some sort of key. Moving to the desk, the key opened a compartment. Pulling out a datapad, the figure turned to Xho, smirking. The lips moved, but there was no audio.

Strolling casually, the figure left the room. Even as they did so, their form seemed to shiver, shifting... exactly what it shifted to was not revealed.

A minute passed.

The door slid open, revealing Camlen, a preoccupied frown on his features. The frown quickly turned to alarm as he spotted Xho. He rushed to his master's side, turning him over.

They spoke. For a moment, it looked as though Camlen was going to rush for the door, but Xho shook his head. Some more words were exchanged. And then, tearfully, Camlen reached out, closing Master Xho's eyes for the last time.

He stood, determination hardening his features. He moved quickly to the desk as well, pulling out two items that Zizzy would definitely recognize; the Gree device, and the holocron. And then, with one last glance, he left the room.

...

"Zizzy." Camlen's voice was soft, with just the faintest hint of a quaver. He looked at her; even at his limited height, she could see his cheeks were damp. "Master Xho was searching for Ossus. And he was close to finding it. Everything he had on it should be on that console there." He smiled sadly. "I know how to access it. That's the last of the blocked information on this holocron."

[Zizzy Roosh]

She reached out for Camlen, even though she couldn't touch him physically there was the feeling of connection as she touched his holo hand. "You saw that thing right? It must have been some kind of Sith assassin. Maybe even this Lord Zash. You did what he asked, he was proud of you."

Zizzy moved over to the console and nodded. "Okay then. Let's find Ossus."

[Hatoful GM]

Indeed, it wasn't quite like a touch, but it nearly was, enough that Zizzy really did feel the sensation of his hand for just a moment, warm and alive.



Camlen took a deep breath. "Okay. Thanks Zizzy." He smiled up at her. "To the end of the line together, huh? Let's do it."

He walked her through the steps. The console powered on. Focusing on the sphere let her navigate mentally though to the information they sought.

It was true that Master Xho had found the lost planet of Ossus... nearly. In fact, he had traced it to a small area. The problem was getting there. During the war with Exar Kun, a pwerful supernova had ravaged not only that system, but surrounding ones. He had been working on how to navigate around the new matter and hyperspace storms that had been created.

Unfortunately, that was what the assassin had stolen. If she worked for Zash, or was her, it seemed she had a head start.