Fwurg

[Veolian Commonwealth]

The two conscious handmaidens quickly took stock of the situation. One of them went to make sure the empress' retinue could retrieve their personal belongings from the luggage they brought with them. The other stayed with the the unconscious empress.


After the other noblewomen and the slaves had retrieved what they wished to retrieve, the handmaiden initiated a full wipe of all other electronic devices in the luggage so they carried no further information about their origins, previous owners, or any other information. She then prepared a timed incendiary explosive to destroy the complete contents of the luggage compartment in half an hour.

Just as she was about to seal the luggage compartment to ensure that the explosion remains contained she changed her mind. She disarmed and then disabled the bomb, making sure that there the ignition mechanism was irreparable. She then wrote a message on a pad, and left it in the unsealed luggage compartment:

To: The lead operative of Admiral Efy'arn

Though she will never admit it, my empress is in your debt. Consider the contents of this luggage compartment a form of partial compensation for the danger you took upon yourself when engaging three Jedi to ensure the successful escape of someone you consider an enemy.

--Trtīya

Though she was sure that this wasn't what the empress would order, she knew that the empress wouldn't have a problem with it.


Finally, the two handmaidens instructed the slaves to carry the unconscious handmaidens while they carried the empress. The handmaidens, with unconscious empress and handmaidens carried by the retinue then made their way to the other vessel.

[Mercury]

The shuttle was empty and equipped with food and supplies for the journey back to the Union for the group. The ship diagnostics showed it was fully fuelled and ready to fly off at a moments notice. All in all, despite being a tad small, it really was all quite convenient, as if someone had prepared the ship just for them.

As Darones and Ariana prepared for departure, the handmaidens and the rest of the empress' entourage finished up with the luggage and evacuation, making their way safely to the shuttle-craft and leaving their gift for the Admiral.

After the last of them had entered the shuttle, there suddenly appeared to be a malfunction in the hangar bay, accidentally causing the shield to turn off and allowing the shuttle to fly out. Taking the also very convenient opportunity, Darones piloted the shuttle away, easily jumping to hyperspace en-route back to the Union. The kidnappers vessel did not follow.

((OOC: This brings us to the end of the regular mission! I think an epilogue is in order however, based on the report made by the Jedi (and no doubt by the Empress to the Veolian Commonwealth, but first lets see the Jedi report) ^_^))

[Ariana Danacia]

Ariana hands in her report.

((OOC: Here is the Report.))

[Veolian Commonwealth]

((OOC: None of my characters have anything to do with the Jedi's report. But as a player, I helped out a little by elaborating on some parts in the report. I asked Ariana's player to have a look and check my work: they had no comments.))

[Darones Rei]

As Ariana presented her report to the Jedi Council, Darones accompanied her, he however wasn't happy with the way the mission had turned out. He felt responsible, at least partially, for the failure of the negotiations and blamed himself for not catching the issue with the Empress' slaves beforehand in order to prevent an incident such as the one that had occurred.

As the report stated, the Empress had been adequately protected and was safe, but Darones felt that that was more a result of luck and the timely intervention of other parties, then that it could be accredited to his conduct.

[Mercury]

The Jedi Council read over the report with solemn silence.

"Perhaps it is best if we hire an additional teacher, to aid our padawans in navigating the complex web of diplomacy."

There seemed to be some agreement in the Council regarding this course of action.

Regardless, the Council accepted the Jedi's report. There was not much else to be said.

((OOC: The stated reward for the mission was 1 skill point and depending on the success of the mission a new Special Manoeuvre for a combat style you already know. Unfortunately, the mission was a failure, so the reward is limited to 1 skill point only.

Additionally, Ariana has shown exceptional bravery - though it did not make the mission a success, such actions are rewarded. Ariana gets the option to choose, instead of a skill point, get a Special Manoeuvre for a combat style she already knows. This is instead of, not in addition to, so she can either get a skill point or a special manoeuvre, but not both.

I will be running the epilogue as a separate story - I originally thought I would do this as part of the meeting with the Jedi Council, but I decided I wanted something which allows for more player interaction and which wasn't just a scolding, so I'll leave it here and surprise you. I think you'll be pleased. ^_^))

[Ariana Danacia]

((OOC: This mission has been going on for far too long and I am happy that it is finally over...

I have no clue what you want to do with the seperate story, but I will wait and see.))

[Mercury]

((OOC: Agreed. Hence the separate storyline. It will primarily cover the fallout between the Union and the Slave Rebellion as well as the other goal of this mission, and it will be focussed primarily on the political side.))

[Shaedys]

Shaedys stood there as Ariana handed in the report, having read over it and concluding it that it was well written as always.

He too regretted the failure of the mission, yet very much appreciated the survival of the empress. Shaedys however was angry at his own failures the most, not properly forecasting the impact of certain actions. He was fully expecting a proper scolding after this ceremony was over.

((OOC: Sounds good, however I will probably try to avoid it :P))