Attacker Unknown... (closed)

[Spada Elhow]

Spada lay reclined and asleep in a soft, large chair of a relatively small round room. The dormitory room was inside a shuttle and was the temporary "home" that he, Padawan Jacen, and Jedi Knight Rognan Dar were staying in for the long flight to their mission. Spada stirred in his sleep, his breaths making a strange noise through the Kel Dor's mask over his eyes and mouth.

For Spada, a strange dream was playing out. But to him, it felt like reality. In his dream, Spada was at the top of a huge tree, much like the trees on kashyyyk but not as wide or thick. Looking down, Spada could see that the ground through the bushes was empty, save for the trunks of the massive trees. Trying to move, he suddenly lost his footing and fell, getting a feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Back in reality, Spada jerked upright and breathed heavily, making a noise as he awakened. Standing up, he began to pace and think of his dream.

He had been dreaming about Koran for some time, even before discovering the problem there and asking for the mission to investigate it. He and his two fellow Jedi were on a shuttle to Koran, to investigate several deaths of Kel Dor researchers caused by an unknown assailant. Spada thought out his mission over and over in his head, and could only think of one attacker; the Narok. The large, undeveloped beasts were known to be aggressive through the Kel Dor's research, but never so coordinated and bold.

Clearing his mind of all his thoughts, he called out to Rognan and Jacen,

"Hey guys, come in here for just a moment."

[Rognan Dar]

Rognan was not one to travel about. If there was a purpose to going to other places then he had no problem with it. And it wasn't that he hated space travel, it was just something he never really got use to.

He had agreed to come along on this mission because he felt that it was time to get out a little more. Sometimes he felt like he was making a cave for himself to shelter him from the world. It was at these times that he realized that he was needed to get out and do his duty as a Jedi. Another reason for coming along was because his padawan, Jacen, was so eager to get on a mission. This would not be Rogs' first choice in a first mission, but it perhaps could be just what was needed.

Now, on the small shuttle headed for Koran, Rognan was meditating. The shuttle was not as large as some that he had seen, but it was big enough that three people could be plenty happy with for a while. At the moment he was meditating in a corner facing outward. His thoughts roamed around. At times he thought about the mission: trying to ready himself for whatever might come; about how things at the GJO would be while he was away, if Yarden would be fine under Marga's care, along with Vista. Also he thought about what he might have been like if he never became a Jedi or of different choices that he could made. But all that went away when he heard Spada call out to him.

Opening his eye's Rognan looked taround with curiousity. Standing up, he walked down the shuttle and founs Spada.

"What is it?" he said coming up to him.

[Jacen]

Jacen had just been sitting around reading a book about some of the theories of the Force he had gotten from the Jedi library. When Spada called them however his head snapped up. He marked his page and went over to the Kel Dorian along with his master.

[Spada Elhow]

Spada waited until both approached him and said calmly,

"Now we'll be landing shortly, so I just want to give everyone an idea of what we're going to do. Now, I know I'm not the highest ranked Jedi here..."

Spada glanced over to Rognan jokingly, continuing,

...but I believe that this will take all of our skills to uncover this mystery."

Spada beckoned his friends to follow, walking to a computer on a table and loading up the schematics of Koran.

"Now, as you can see, the planet is mostly forest except for ocean and rocky coastlines. Here-- this is the Kel Dor research center. They have been studying the planets evolution since they first discovered it who knows when.

Now as you know, some scientists have been dissapearing and are being found later...horribly mutilated. However, we don't know the attacker yet, so we must very carefully look at the evidence and find out the group causing this trouble."

Spada's eyes gazed over the two, saying,

"This is all that I know about the mission for now. I'm sure that the Kel Dor will have more answers for us."

As he said this, the shuttle lurched and touched down in an open clearing of the vast forest of Koran.

[Rognan Dar]

Rognan was silent during Spada's presentation. And when they landed he looked out one of the shuttles observation windows and spoke over his should.

"So the planets population, there underdeveloped you said? Are they at all hostile or in any way act violently?"

These questions were fundimental. For if the people were hostile, this mission could be much harder then he origanally thought. Rog would hate to have to use his lightsaber, even if it ment for protection. Even if the populas wasn't, these missing scientists kidnappers he guessed were not to friendly.

"And does this planet have and rules and regulation that need to be followed while we are here?"

[Jacen]

Jace was very interested in the rules also, but he also wanted to know about the cultures individually.

"How many type of people are down there? Are they divided into any type of social structure that we might have to adhere to?"

[Spada Elhow]

Spada waited for the two to ask their questions and said,

"Well...my information isn't great, but what I know is that the native inhabitants do not have any 'civilization' of technological significance. It would be easier to call these creatures a step between animal and humaniod. They cannot understand nor learn our languages, and we are yet to find a 'village' of the animals. It's hard to explain, but they just aren't intelligent enough to organize in any significant way, although several groups of the species does live in 'clans'."

Spada turned off the hologram and said,

"The Kel Dor will give us the answers we need. Now gather your things and meet me outside the ship."

Spada then grabbed a bag he had taken with him for the trip and walked out of the room, down the ramp and onto the planet. As he exited the ship, a strange, tree-like scent filled his mask and he looked out at the planet. It was truly a strange landscape.

The forest floor was completely empty. It looked as if it had been tilled and flattened. There were no grass or shrubs on the ground, only the tall and thick trunks of the trees. Spada could see very far out into the forest and saw no wildlife whatsoever on the ground. Looking up, he suddenly realised that the trees blocked out the sun, creating a full shade on the surface which darkened the floor. The branches of the trees began about 100 feet up the trunk, and continued past Spada's vision. Spada looked in awe at the strange landscape and waited for the others to arrive.

[Rognan Dar]

"Lets hope that there are still some Kel Dor to get answers from."

As the three split up to get there travel items, Rog made his way to where he was sitting and grabbed the pack that was there. He then looped his arms through the support lops and headed down the ramp.

As he first got a glimps of the surroundings he was shocked to only see trees. Some kind of lower life plants would have been expected on a forst floor. Looking up, he saw the reason why. The sun was blocked out by the huge branches of the trees. With very little sunlight to get through, hardly anything would have been able to grow underneath. At lest there wouldn't be much to tangle up his feet. But the darkend state of the place gave off a bad feeling. No wonder people went missing. It would be completely black at night with no moon light being able to penatrate the canopy above.

"Well, lets get a move on. Where to?"

[Jacen]

Jacen followed the other two out, carrying a much small bag than the others. The only thing he carried was an extra set of robes and a few changes of undergarments.

He looked up at the trees with awe. He had never really seen a natural area such as this before. His life had been spent in the lower levels of Coruscant until only recently when he had come above to join the Jedi. So this was quite breathtaking for him, but he came back to his senses when he heard Rogan ask which way to go. He walked over to the other two.

[Spada Elhow]

Spada glanced over at the two and began to walk towards the camp, which was not far off.

"The camp is not far off. Luckily, theres not much underbrush to get in the way, but it also takes away cover."

Spada looked down and up at the sky again, saying

"You're probably wondering how we landed through all the canopy of trees. Actually, the Kel Dor were building their base here, but found a fresh water stream about a 1/2 mile away and moved to there. The opening is still there, so the ships use it as a landing pad."

Spada ran his hand along the fat shape of a tree, feeling the vines tangled around the trunk and diving into the ground, creating a bumpy surface since the tree's roots were very shallow.

"The trees here are very unique. During a certain season, the trees drop pods with seeds. On the way down, the pods tear open from the speed of descent on the way to thr ground. But thats not the special thing. The pods drop the seeds along with a sappy substance. Its an acid, and only the trees are resistant. Thats why the only plant life here are the trees. This sounds strange, but these are the most 'agressive' plants that I've heard of."
"There is a time right before the pods fall when some plant life which has been struggling to grow begins to grow, but its mostly like moss and sometimes a small flower. They all get killed when the pods fall though. The Kel Dor are trying to find a use for the acidic sap."

Spada sighted out in the distance a different shaped object. Spada then pointed to it and led the trio into the camp.

(just post thoughts and say a thing or two until i can think of more to post)

[Rognan Dar]

"So your saying that these trees have a natural acid that they drop? Is it seasonal? And how is it that even the Kel Dor are living under these things with this acid? How strong and deadly is it?"

Not that Rognan was worried, but these kind of things would be good to know, in case that something would happen that involves these trees sprouting pods and dropping them on their heads. How could any species live here? Surely, if it can kill smaller plant it can at lest couse small burns or rashes to the skin. Not to mention anything they built would also eat away after a while. Touching one of the trunks, he reached out with the Force to that tree. He could sense life in the tree. Expecting to feel a little more then that he pressed in more, but there was nothing all that strange with the tree. It was like any other tree that grew. These just had a special, almost defensive, seeds.

"Do you think that if you cut the tree down that this acid would seep out of it like sap would?"

[Jacen]

JAcen was curious of this two, because if they had to fight in here, he would hate to turn these trees against them as well.

[Spada Elhow]

Spada glanced at the treetops and said,

"Don't worry, the pods fell about a month ago. And the acid builds up inside the pods, so the trees are dry in terms of the acid. They won't trouble us as long as we're here. As for how the Kel Dor live here, I do not know. We will get our answers soon."

The three finally reached the camp, being immediately greeted by two kel dor looking similar to Spada, who did not speak and only led the group into the camp.

The buildings of the camp were not constructed from metal, as most buildings were. From the outside, the buildings looked like the trunks of trees hollowed out and cut in half, creating a cylindrical building frame of bark and a few inches of pulp. They were led into one of the buildings through a wide open door, and the two men walked away back to where they came from. Almost instantly, another Kel Dor walked towards them and the tree heard the same voice in their head,

'Hello. You must be the Jedi we were told of.'

The Kel Dor looked much skinnier than Spada, holding a clipboard in one hand and extending his other hand out to the three, shaking their hands. Skipping greetings, the Kel Dor quickly said telepathically to the three,

'Now I know you all have questions, so I'd be happy to hear some of them and I will answer them to the best of my ability.'

[Rognan Dar]

Rognan bowed at the waist, his own personal greeting, before taking the Kel Dor's hand. Taking the edges of his robe he rapped them around him closer.

"Yes, we have questions. But I'm sure you already have guessed what a few of them would be. Nonetheless, we need to hear all you know about this place and what is going on first so that our questions may be more direct."

[Spada Elhow]

The Kel Dor studdered, not sure what to say,

'Well... l-lets just say that if I told you everything we know about this place, you'd be an old man.'

The Kel Dor walked away, continuing,

'Well, as you probably heard about the acidic sap, I will go into detail about it. The trees drop pods of seeds, about 5 pounds each, and the pods break open from the velocity of descent. The sap inside the pods then separates, creating a shower of it which gets into the ground, killing the plants tring to grow.'

'Now the sap, although it has an acidic affect on all other plants except itself, it cannot harm other trees of its own species. That is why our base is constructed of the bark of the trees to keep the machinery safe. As for most animal beings; you, me, and the wildlife here, the sap does not harm us. In fact, it affects us in no way whatsoever. We haven't tested the edibility of the sap, but we are quite confident that it will not kill someone if they eat it.'

Walking over to what appeared to be an animal's organ, the Kel Dor dipped his hand in and as he removed it his hand was covered in a gooey, green sap which stuck to his hand as if it were metal melted into a liquid. The consistency gave the effect of changing from a solid, to a liquid, and then solid again.

"We have to keep it in a bantha's stomache because it burns through the metal containers. It's quite peculiar, wouldn't you say? Feels like getting a massage in jelly.'

'The sap's melting point and freezing point seem to change constantly, but we cannot get it to turn into a gas or plasma....But I must be trailing off now...what else have I not covered that you wish to learn.?'

The Kel Dor walked over to the stmache and wiped his hands, the sap sliding off easily, some of it missing the container and immediately being sucked in by the ground.

[Rognan Dar]

Contently listening to the Kel Dor, Rognan made a few mental notes as he continiued with his explaination on the trees and the acid pods. It was good to know that even if it wasn't time for the pods to drop, that it would not harm then much except for maybe being knocked out.

"Have you been able to use the acid for any other use as it is? Surely there can be some good use of it in its jelly like form?" Rognan asked after he the Kel Dor stated that they didn't make much progress with changing its physical nature. Then, when the Kel Dor asked about what else they wanted to know, Rog found no better time to talk about why they came.

"Tell us, what as been going on here that requires are assistence? From what I have heard from Spada there has been a few missing scientists?"

[Jacen]

Jacen sat next to his Master as he asked questions. He had been looking around the lab as the Kel Dor talked, only paying half attention. When Rogan asked about the mission his head snapped forward. He too was eager to find out what had happened to the scientists.

[Spada Elhow]

The Kel Dor quietly walked over to another doorway, the trio following closely as he telepathically said,

'Yes... 19 to be exact. Not one has been found wounded or alive either. In fact... we- we only have found one that hasnt been torn apart...'

The door in front of the Kel Dor opened, and they entered into a room similar to the previous one except it was a bit smaller and had several long tables spaced out. In a corner, there were several pods, metal and cyllindrical, sitting closer together and spaced out along the far wall. The Kel Dor walked over to the wall with the pods and stopped at one, saying,

'Here are the remains of Barr Saan. He's the only one who we've found who has all of his limbs... Now I'll forewarn you, this isn't going to be a very pretty sight...'

Hesitating, the Kel Dor pressed a button and the pod split in half, Opening on a hinge and allowing the cold, wet air to escape. The steam then cleared, revealling what at one time was Baar Saan.

'The corpse looks nothing like what a Kel Dor should look like,' said the scientist, keeping his eyes off the body, 'probably due to the fact that it appears to be missing all of its skin from head to toe. However, the skin was not peeled off, instead it appeared it was taken off piece by piece. This is what we think to be the result of something biting the flesh off, which then leads us to believe its an animal.'

After the three Jedi had their look, the Kel Dor quickly closed it up and said,

'We're keeping him cold so he can be shipped back to Dorin to have his death ceremony.'

The Kel Dor led them outside through all of the rooms and stood a few feet from the doorframe, telepathically saying,

'This is where he was when whatever it is took him. Its strange, since this is pretty much in the center of the base. Whatever it is can sneak around pretty well. We found Barr about 2 miles north of here, sitting against a tree. The other remains are usually also found north of here, spaced out in about a 1/2 mile diameter. Thats where I think you Jedi should go, but for today I think we should all get some rest you three can set out tomorrow. Follow my associate Koom Kaar to your quarters. If you have any questions about the trip you will be taking, just ask for me, Nook Kaar. For now, I must leave you to my brother.'

With that, the Kel Dor walked off back into the lab and the other Kel Dor approached, not speaking to them and walking towards another building, where their quarters were. As they walked, Spada said to Koom,

"Been a while since I've seen you."

Koom glanced over and suddenly snapped out of a trance, saying,

"Spada! It has been a while. Good to see your Jedi training is going well."

Spada introduced him to his Jedi friends and they walked into the quarters and into a large room with 3 beds lined up. Spada put his bag down and said,

"Alright, that was a pretty fast briefing, but I'm sure we can ask more questions tomorrow if youd like. Now what do you guys think we should do?"

[Rognan Dar]

Rognan was very distrest on the findings of the Kel Dors fellow scientist. It was strange that there was only one that was like that, still having most of himself together, though the lack of skin was strange. Even if it was a animal, then why did it not finish what it has done with the others. And maybe its not even a animal at all. It could be a person, canibal maybe, that has been out there and either hunting the scientists, or just trying to stay alive. But the amount of Kel Dor that have been confurmed dead was high, to high for someone trying to live off them. Scratching that thought out, he went on to the others.

Just then, Nook Kaar left and sent them with his brother. He half listened to the idol chat that Spada and Koom had, talking about old times and how they had been since they last saw eachother. During that time he went over the possibilities again. If it is a animal then there shouldn't be to much of a problem finding it and taking care of it. But if there is a pack of them, this could be alot worse then they thought. For if the Kel Dor scientists were not able to notice their entry into their camp, then the Jeid could be next on the list. But then his thoughts went back to it not being a animal. That someone that was smart enough to know how to get to the Kel Dor without being detected and somehow drag them out and kill them, leaving just about nothing to study. But what was the reason for it? Did the Kel Dor know something about this place that someone else didn't want to know?

As they entered the room, Rognan looked it over. It was a nice room. It was not all the fansy, being that it was a scientist camp site. But it was just enough that they could be able to do what they needed in it. He checked the door, then the windows. He wanted to make sure that if they needed privicy, that they would not be hindered here. But there could be microphones in the room. And if he found them, then the Kel Dor would be tipped off about it.

"I dont know what this could be. Nook makes it sound like a animal. And there is good evidence to support it. But what if it is not? Is there any other kind of life that is known to this planet? What do you two think it could be?"

[Jacen]

Jacen's ideas leaned more towards the killer being sentient, because there was just so must that didn't make sense if it was an animal.

"I think that whatever it was, knew what it was doing. An animal could be behind this, but it is just to unlikely that it would make it all the way in here without being noticed. But if whatever is doing this is thinking and reasoning then what is the logic behind these attacks? Maybe they are just scaring off the scientist so they can be left in piece, but...."

He closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. When he opened them again, Rogan and Spada stood looking at them, waiting for him to finish.

"But, something just doesn't feel right. I can feel it through the Force, but it is elusive somehow."

[Spada Elhow]

Spada paced around the dormitory, putting together his thoughts.

"I don't know guys... some of the information just doesn't add up. Your guesses are as good as mine."

Spada looked to Jacen, saying,

"Strange...I don't feel anything. But considering the circumstances, we should all be wary and take note of the feeling Jacen has."

Spada walked over to one of the beds, lying down and saying,

"For now, we should rest and perhaps we will be able to see the situation differently."

With that, Spada rolled onto his stomach and fell asleep.

5 hours later

Spada suddenly woke, sweating as he usually did. Popping up, he noticed Jacen and Rognan were already awake. Outside, Spada could hear shouts of people, and stood quickly, reaching to make sure his lightsaber was still on his belt. The three ran outside to the havoc within the village. All around, scientists were leading others into the dorms, some holding blasters and looking cautiously around. A kel dor ran by the jedi and Spada shouted out to him,

"What's going on here?"

The kel dor telapathically replied,

'Another scientist has dissapeared!'

Spada heard this and immediately began to ask himself many questions. Spada looked to his friends and said,

"I don't know what we should do. Maybe we can pick up a trail if we go now, but then again we may be able to get more information from the scientists if we stay and ask them."

[Rognan Dar]

"No. We first need to make sure that these Kel Dor are safe and stay safe. Then, if there is any chance of a trail, we try and follow what took the scientist and see if we can catch it. If there is no such trail then we look around. Ok?"

Rognan did not like what was happening. They had only just arived and had just had a nap and things were going crazy. Not to mention that he could not feel anything about what might have happened. All he sensed was fear from the other Kel Dors, and even a hint of anger and loss, which he guessed came from the ones that knew the newly taken scientist.

[Jacen]

Jacen was still confused even as they tried calming everyone else. For him, feeling the fear and confusion from the Kel Dors was overwhelming. It was his first time dealing with mass emotions like this, and it was almost overwhelming. He couldn't make head nor tails of what was happenning.

He followed Rogan and Spada to the place where the latest scientist had disappeared. The Padawan put a hand on a nearby wall to steady himself. Something right here was not right. He could feel it in his bones. "This...this is where it happened isn't it?"