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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2625522" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 285: Searching the RubbleIt was amazing how useful simply displaying the lightsaber had been. Added to the already imposing appearance of the two Alraxians, the weapon that all the smuggler’s knew right away put away most all of their ideas at attacking the two arrivals. And so, Shadow and Jyren let them be to head back down the long stairwell to the lowest level below where, apparently, things had been removed.    But that wasn’t the only reason they’d left the smugglers. It was to stop the argument that was inevitable at her brandishing that lightsaber. Jyren showed amazing restraint, though, in not suddenly yelling at her until they were a good way down and away from that corridor. Or at least, that’s what Shadow told herself...despite the fact that she knew he was just brooding and trying to figure out what exactly he was going to yell first.    It turned out to be, “What the hell are you doing with that?!”    That was, of course, something Shadow had been prepared for, though she truthfully hadn’t expected to get into this so soon. But, oh well, it could have been worse. Continuing down, she said calmly, “What are you doing without it?”    That question seemed to catch him off guard just enough to get him to stop. This then forced him to speed up his pace to catch up to her as he growled, “I gave it to my father! He put you up to this, didn’t he?! Dammit, I told him not to fight this!”    After waiting for one of the larger sections that went off to corridors in both sides, Shadow spun around and grabbed his collar roughly. With an icy glare, she looked up to his eyes, “It wasn’t yours to give to anyone, Jyren. And don’t even try to put this on your father! This is no one’s fault but your own, and you know it!”    There was a look in Jyren’s eyes that matched her glare, but had a completely different intensity behind it. She could feel his outrage through their link and through the Force very easily. His hand had come up to grab her wrist, nearly digging claws in and forcing her to retrain herself from doing the same and tearing out his throat. The two of them stood there in complete silence for a very long minute, then Shadow decided she had had it with this, and roughly threw him back and into the stairs behind, wrenching out of his grip in the process, “If you want to keep this up then get out of here. Its not too late for your to run away and go home! You can just run away again because things aren’t going your way and you’re too scared to confront anything!”    If there was ever a time when Shadow and Marix could be distinctly noticed in that one person, it was when she was angry. Shadow always had a way of jumping to the forefront ahead of the more coolheaded Marix in those situations. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t right. In fact, she was very right. So much so that the anger had been sapped from Jyren and quickly turned into a look of shock. His mouth opened and closed a few times before finally finding his voice, but even then Shadow knew what he was going to say and growled to cut him off, answering his unspoken(and stupid) question at the same time, “Of course I still love you! If you think you have to question that then you really do need to get out of here and go actually think. But that doesn’t change the fact that you are acting just like Toby! If we’re actually going to do what you suggested in the first place and find Jen, then you can’t keep breaking down like this. You made a mistake. You still can’t control your emotions. Shunning the Force hasn’t changed a thing except for forcing me to do the work while you tag along and complain.”    To his credit, Jyren did not even attempt to apologize. Slowly and quietly, he got to his feet, and then motioned down the stairs. Shadow sighed. That was better. She didn’t smile, but did the next best thing considering the current mood in the air and simply turned to lead the way. In silence, they descended the stairs, finally reaching the lowest level after another few minutes.    It was large, dark, and a mess. There was little else that could be used to describe it. They could see without too much trouble thanks to the Alraxian vision, but all they could actually make out were tables, desks, and consoles that were strewn about and torn to pieces everywhere. It looked like something had gotten loose in the place and been very, very angry. Surprisingly, there was no sign of any bodies anywhere, though the scent of blood was thick...if not a bit old.     “How are we supposed to tell if anything was taken...?” Jyren asked, his voice barely a whisper. Shadow figured this was not because he was worried about anyone hearing them, but because he was still taken aback by her snapping at him.    Shadow attempted to scan over the area, looking for anything that wasn’t in pieces. It was difficult. What was still up and where it likely was originally placed was either riddled with blaster scorch marks, deep cuts, or simply smashed in. There weren’t any security cameras anywhere that she could see, either. She sighed. There was something here...she could feel it. But it wasn’t going to be easy to find. Quietly, she said, “You start over there, and I’ll start here. Look through everything you come across. Try to find anything not smashed that might give us any ideas.”    And so, they searched. From computer console, to desk, to odd piece of equipment that probably did something very specific, to another console, the two Alraxians dug through everything. It was tedious, but Shadow could feel it was necessary. Of course, it didn’t help that she kept glancing over her shoulder to make sure the smuggler’s didn’t get any ideas and come to sneak up behind them.    A half hour passed with little noise beyond their own rummaging. Then, though, Shadow noticed two things. First, the sounds off behind her from Jyren’s direction suddenly stopped...then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the room light up noticeably in that direction. It was only a matter of seconds before Jyren called to her, “This control console’s barely in one piece but its working.”    “Anything interesting?” Shadow asked over her shoulder as she dug herself out of where she’d been digging and started over towards the bright light in the darkness that was the active console.    She could see him bite his lower lip as he was obviously looking things over, then felt a pang of worry shoot through the link from him. He didn’t need to say ‘yes’ to that, so instead simply said, “Maybe.”    Jyren waited for her to reach him before pointing to the cracked and slightly flickering screen of the console, which looked to have taken a clubbing from all sides, and pointed at some of the symbols, “Files are missing here.”    “Files...?” Shadow raised an eyebrow, curious as to how he’d figured that out so quickly, and why he immediately went to the plural.    He, of course, nodded and pointed to another of the symbols off to the side, “At least two...maybe more.”    Though Jyren stopped to wait for a reaction, it only got a look from Shadow telling him to stop pausing and get on with it. Running a hand through his hair, Jyren said quietly, “I’m not completely sure what they are but...”    “But what do you think?” she finished his sentence as a question to urge him on, trying to push away the tone from earlier in the hopes that he’d stop toeing around the point.    “There’s a reference to a file detailing Sith Poison in a later file, but nothing on the poison itself,” Jyren mumbled, eyeing the screen as he tried to make sense of the entire mess, then added, “The only other thing that looks to definitely be missing is some kind of order.”    Shadow did her best to ignore the first part, and raised an eyebrow, “What kind of order?”    “There’s a piece of an old text only transmission from Kuat Drive Yards,” Jyren said, reading a small file he brought up to make sure he wasn’t messing anything up, “Apparently, the order is ready and awaiting pickup at Kuat.”    That didn’t sound good. But still, it demanded another question, “When was that transmission sent?”    A pause as Jyren searched, then he said very carefully, “A week ago.”    Silence. Both of them began to put pieces together, though there were still a few hundred holes all over the place. But before any other information could be gleaned, there was a pop, a sizzle, and then the console died right on cue. Slowly, the two of them exchanged a careful look.    It was Shadow who said what they were both thinking, “Sadrak’s been dead for nearly a year now. He left this place empty months before that...it couldn’t be his.”    “I think we need to go Kuat,” Jyren said with a nod.    Shadow sighed and got to her feet, “Its going to be dangerous going back to the Core, but I agree. Hopefully things will start making more sense then, too.”</blockquote>

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