[Solved] Operation Needle in a Load of Blue Milk

[Admin] This entry has scored 7 XP.

 

PREVIOUSLY

https://swfactions.net/community/main-forum/a-new-adventure/#post-293

 

STORY

Having only been on the lush planets of Telos IV, Kashyyyk and Takodana, the crowded, grimy cityscape of the Ring of Kafrene was quite foreign to Tolli. 

“Jal,” she whispered nervously into her comlink. “How close are you to the, um, warehouse?”

Upon landing, they had decided to split up to find the warehouse. Khar Dollum, one of the local crime leaders who also operated a blue milk shipping facility as a cover-up, wasn’t going to be particularly pleased when he found his pilfered treasure stolen back. 

Her comlink buzzed and Jal responded in quick Durese, “Vun kadog zhull. Molguu laim?”

Before she could respond, Tolli was sent sprawling by the bustling crowds. She looked around, groping for the comlink which had slipped out of her hand when she had fallen only to be trampled by the throng. Eventually, the crowd let up and she was able to get up without being tripped over. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a grey hood and brown jacket, Jal. She weaved her way through the few pedestrians who walked the streets of the outpost. 

He nodded to her as she approached and quickly drew his blaster before approaching the door to the warehouse. 

“The key.” Jal muttered. 

Tolli grabbed a small key given to them by their employer on Takodana from her belt pouch and handed it to the duro. Jal slid it into the receiver and the door opened with a hiss. 

“What does it look like again?”

Tolli showed him a picture of the treasure on her datapad. They walked down a grimy hallway with pipes, wiring, and tech panels covering every available space before arriving at another door at the end. It opened without hesitation as they neared it, letting them into the warehouse proper. Inside, pallets piled with two different types of blue milk both begotten from banthas were strewn across the metal floor. Steam wisps floated out of some of the wall pipes while mechanical chatter echoed from some of the tech panels. 

“Jal,” Tolli called out to him, her free hand pointing at a pallet that sat near a large ventilation pipe and with a magnet crane hovering over it. She showed him the image on the datapad and then looked back to the pallet piled with odd baubles. “I, uh, think this is it.”

Jal turned around, sheathing his blaster, before walking over to her. He studied the image and then verified that it and the collection ornaments, challices, swords, and… a pastry? He gave a slight smile at that. 

“A needle in a haystack,” Tolli suddenly remarked, even if it was a quite obvious needle. 

Jal looked up, distracted from examining the artifacts, a quizzical look on his face. “What’s hay?” 

“You, um, don’t know what, uh, hay is?” she asked nervously. 

“Well, Duro got glassed to bits so we now live in floating stations in the upper atmosphere. Supposedly, giant monsters roamed the place once so no complaints. Do you know what hay is? Jal replied before grabbing the sword

“I, uh… I um… no,” she replied embarrassed. “I, um, might’ve heard about it from a, uh, traveler once. Telos IV didn’t have any, um, hay, I think.”

“Unfortunate. The monks didn’t tell me either. However, they did have a datafile on ancient weapons; the markings and style indicate that this is a Hybolon blade,” Jal replied before testing the sword on a nearby milk carton which was cut with ease. He reached down and took a swig. He frowned, then tossed it aside. “Leivaks is better. Kedaam zhona jes!” 

Tolli nodded with apprehension. “I only, um, studied the Hybolos architecture, but this, uh, looks similar.”

“Neat, well, let’s get this load back,” Jal said after a few moments. They gathered up the precious artifacts and left the warehouse and departed the ring for Takodana, the beauty of space filling the cockpit before lightspeed.

 

For scoring purposes...

 

EXTRA PHOTOS

 

NOTES ON THE DURESE LANGUAGE