Fwurg

[Mercury]

"My plans?" the would be king inquired "Well, beyond what I told you, I am afraid I cannot really say. Secrets of state and such." One of the flunkies finally spoke up: "Nor would it be relevant. Unless the Jedi will make their adjudication based on their personal political persuasions." This seemed to be the end of the discussion.

Soon, Ariana and Trigiel arrived, taking their samples from the would be king, and the group moved off to find themselves in an office to discuss the matter.

((OOC: I am moving us to the next phase of the story))

Senator Lophos had arranged for not just a lab, but an entire automated set-up to be ready and waiting for Ariana and her carefully taken samples. In a test where finally Scientist would have been entirely appropriate to use, but where Ariana managed the same thing with Medicine.

With a total score of 10 (Reason + Force Level + Medicine), Ariana managed to come to some interesting results in her tests:

• The DNA of King contained 143 unique markers, making him uniquely identifiable out of a possible 11.150.372.599.265.311.570.767.859.136.324.180.752.990.208 individual Kaminoans.
• The DNA of the king has not been genetically altered
• The DNA samples from the tomb were much more degraded, some having as few as three markers.
• This degradation is entirely expected due to the methods of preservation (basically none)
• However, overal the collection of different royal family members can be used to construct a family profile
• This family profile has 34 unique markers
• Accounting for genetic drift over the generations, to be marked as a member of the royal family by genes, at least 28 markers should match
• Which in turn allows for 1 in 268.435.456 Kaminoans on average to match the genetic profile by random chance
• However, genes are not distributed randomly but are inherited and mixed
• Putting the numbers into the computer, it would take approximately 16.384 generations for selective breeding to produce a person matching the 28 unique markers
• The would be king matches the family profile on 29 unique markers

While Ariana was busy determining these results, the detective and clean up crew were rounded up and taken to the other Jedi for questioning. The detective was summoned in first. He was an older Kaminoan who did not look to be of particular importance.

"Yeah, I remember the case. Some drunks breaking into the tomb and having a frat-party. Broke into the tombs, probably took pictures of themselves pretending to be a dead king or something. "

He crossed his arms in front of his chest like a Pharaoh might

"That's just conjecture, but they probably thought it was hilarious." he shrugged "I brought my report"

The 'report' was more accurately described as a bunch of files randomly distributed over a disorderly directory structure, and it was not very helpful. From the looks of it, the Jedi would have to drag the information out of this man - he wasn't uncooperative... just highly unmotivated and not very bright.

[Fecta Trigiel]

Before the detective and the cleaning crew arrived, Trigiel brought the rest up to speed, so they all knew about what they found at the tomb, and the likely possibility that all the bodies in the tomb are switched.

Trigiel looked at the report, but quickly came to the conclusion: "Unreadable for me, to bad, well that is way you are here. Where did you find the bodies when you took a look?"
((Check: 7 = 4 Force Level + 3 Intuition -- for checking any odd reactions from the detective. Trigiel is no detective so Vision is not in its place here I think.))

[Shebi Ajava]

When Trigiel was done informing everyone of their exploits at the tombs, Ajava filled the two tombraiders in on what she experienced at the ship of the heir.

Recognizing that the Detective was probably underpaid, overworked and given the jobs others didn't want, such as a break in in an irrelevant dusty tomb, she understood his frustration.

"Listen detective. We are not here to judge or criticise your work. We are here to find out the truth, and this tomb has become important for that. Now, your superiors are probably not very motivated to get to the bottom of this, after all, there is real crime to be fought. We do not fault you for that -- it could very well be your superiors that will answer to us later, but you are the expert on the case.

Just answer our questions honestly and just tell us if you skipped some procedures and cut some corners. We don't care about that. We just want to know everything you know, and then we are done talking to each other." ((Check: 10 = 6 Force Level + 4 Intuition -- to read the detective and play on his unmotivatedness))

((OOC: Since Mercury fast-forwarded us to a moment with eavesdroppers: I'm assuming that if you don't state you inform the others of what you saw/experienced the others don't know what you did. So far we have Trigiel's and Ajava's information.

@Mercury: I would really like a moment to talk amongst ourselves without eavesdroppers later on before we are fast-forwarded to judgement time...))

[Mercury]

((OOC: Feel free to post conversation for the in-between period - just trying to move stuff along.))

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

Nathan made his report to the others before the detective arrived, including his personal opinion at the end.

"Personally, I don't think one's parentage validates a claim of leadership. Then again I'm not a good judge for that, since Astrians have never used such a system."

He listened to the others findings and after the detective arrived he remained quiet and observed.

[Shebi Ajava]

"Let's see what the actual situation is here before we determine our course of action. It might very well be that this is not just the return of a long-lost bloodline, but that more is at hand. For one, the fact that he spent time with the Hutt makes me think that maybe the Hutt might have an interest in this situation.

On the other hand, it might just be that this really is the return of the long-lost bloodline. In which case the people of Scir might be in for a surprise. Their own law states that their democracy is in effect as long as no heir is available -- now that an heir has arrived, they have few options left."

Ajava replied to Nathan, just before the detective arrived.

[Mercury]

"The bodies? This wasn't a murder you stupid droid." the Detective rolled his eyes, apparently having mistaken Trigiel for a droid. "Some of the bodies had been moved in the tombs, probably when they went to lie next to them." the detective explained, basing his conclusion on absolutely nothing in the evidence records, as far as the Jedi could tell.

"Look, I didn't cut any corners. The tomb had been broken into, damage was done. We took inventory, gathered evidence. Insurance files were claimed, restoration will be made if we ever catch the perpetrators: they will be held accountable for the financial damages." He sighed "There was one peculiar thing... the alcohol bottles we found - they are different than local bottles. Aren't sold on this side of the continent. So whomever brought them travelled quite a bit. But they aren't exactly uncommon, so it was a dead end. What do you want me to do, track down every bottle of liquor on the planet to find out who bought these? Even if I had the resources, that is pretty much impossible..."

[Ariana Danacia]

After finishing all the DNA tests she added her own conclusion to the report: The DNA tests support the claim of the king, but due to the high level of deterioration from the samples from the tomb I would not base our conclusion on this evidence alone.

Ariana made a copy of her DNA report for each member of their Jedi team and some for the Scir government. She waited with handing any of them out until the group was together again. After finishing the report she took another look at the blood sample she took to look for anything out of the ordinary.

((Check: 10 = 4 Force Level + 5 Reason + 1 Medicine -- Studying the blood sample. Getting a comprehensive metabolic panel.))

After doing this and creating a report on the blood sample Ariana would rejoin the group to talk about their findings.

[Shebi Ajava]

"You might want to show a little more respect to my colleague... He isn't a droid", Ajava interjected.

After the detective told his tale, Ajava looked at his report again. She repeated the detective in her mind: 'probably when they went to lie next to them.', 'There was one peculiar thing...'. Together with what Trigiel has told her she concluded that these were no ordinary tomb raiders.

"Where are the bottles now?", Ajava asked. "I would like to have a look at them. You would be surprised at what we can find."

After the retrieval of the evidence bottles was arranged, and the interview with the detective was over, she looked over the reports by Ariana. After that, she asked Ariana to have a look at the bottles as well -- especially for genetic material. And finally, she told the rest that after the analysis of the bottles, she would like to talk over their course of action.

[Fecta Trigiel]

"Yes, I am a padawan cyborg, and I am merely trying to get a grip on this as I have the feeling I am still missing something sir detective," Trigiel said after Ajava did her saying, "there were drunk people and the corpses of the nobility. When your people arrived, were the drunk vandals still there? And how did you encounter them and the corpses? And please tell me in as much details you can, up to the dirt under their fingernails if possible."

[Nalan Passik]

After hearing the DNA report of Ariana. Nalan started to ponder the situation.

"the longer this goes on, the more I feel that they are looking for something of value here. The fact that they had contact with the Hutts supports this idea I feel. I find the suggestion that they came back because they 'ran out of money' a bit weak. The suggested king certainly acts like one. Somehow i find it weird that he did not return sooner to reign over this planet since he now seems to want it so much. Besides the strangeness of the kings words I wonder what the story behind that mysterious woman is. Maybe she is more important behind all this then it seems."

"it is was a shame I could not get into the computer on the ship. but perhaps we can take the approach the other way around. I can inquire if there is a library where i could look into the history of this place. Perhaps there are entries of something valuable or important on this planet. something valuable enough for the king in 'financial problems' or the Hutts. What do you guys think?"

((OOC: This being said in the in between chat without eavesdroppers .))

[Shebi Ajava]

"Ah yes Nalan", Ajava replied to Nalan, "I didn't have time to ask you about that. What do you mean with 'that mysterious woman'? The only thing you told me was that you were caught trying to gain access to their system. There were multiple women on board, what makes her that 'mysterious'?"

((OOC: After answer, I'm ready to go to the 'putting our heads together to create a new plan' phase. We still have to receive the documents from the would-be king, and I have a hypothesis about the situation that we haven't yet considered.))

[Nalan Passik]

"It was a strange ordeal" Nalan said while putting her hand to her mouth , clearly pondering the situation.

"After I managed to brake away out of sight and clearing I went in on the computer to have a little look around. I was caught by this woman who claims to be the wife of the 'king'. But the strange part was that I could not sense her at all in the force. Like that she was not even there you know."

Nalan starts to walk off with the rest to think of their next steps in their investigation.

[Shebi Ajava]

"I think this would-be king has multiple wives. Which isn't all that strange, considering that he seems to be a very charismatic and physically fit kaminoan. If he actually is a kaminoan...

You could not sense her at all? That is very worrisome. I have some experience with people that can't be sensed in the force, but too little to draw any conclusions right now. You should have mentioned this earlier, while we were still on board, I could have tried to sense the other 'wives'."

"Oh well. Let's review all the evidence and discuss things"

Shebi Ajava joins the rest for some discussion.

[Mercury]

((OOC: I believe some clarification is in order, specifically, I ask that you have a careful look at viewtopic.php?p=6054#p6054.

To clarify, it is not actually the case that Nalan was unable to feel the woman with the force as if she were a void. Once she had taken notice of the woman, she was able to feel her as normal. Rather, under normal circumstances, a Jedi would feel danger such as the risk of being discovered, and especially a Jedi who is skilled in stealth and vision would expect to notice her.

Perhaps as some background information especially for those of you (I don't know who you are) who follow the Unifying Force theory might ascribe this event, which is strange and unusual, to the will of the Force, which apparently willed that Nalan would encounter this woman, rather than being able to evade her. Others might ascribe it to chance, or those who believe in the Living force might see it simply as an effect the wife created, and your Jedi may interpret it as they please of course ^_^

I probably should have made this part of the backstory more clear the moment the event took place, as not everyone might have drawn this from the movies and expanded universe. In any case, I would suggest perhaps Nalan can further clarify her feelings on this, now that her player knows a little more about what I was aiming for ^_^

In any case, this may be an avenue you want to explore further.))

Detective

"A cyborg... oh, my apologies then... I thought you were a droid. That was pretty rude of me, sorry..." the detective apologized. "The bottles should be with the evidence."

As the research on this was done, the detective continued to answer Trigiels questions.

"The place was abandoned by the time we arrived. We got the call at... ten in the morning. But it may have happened any time over that night or even the night before. It was called in by a hiker. Checks out, hikes there every few days, local person without any criminal record who has lived there all their life. No strange financial activities. Often its the one who discovers the crime who did it, but in this case its a dead end.

So no, we didn't actually see any vandals. We just presumed they were vandals because of the vandalism and the whole tomb being broken open and alcohol everywhere. It looked like a frat house. They literally opened every single tomb in there. Bloody vandals, doing this off of my tax money too, I bet."

Bottles

Indeed the bottles were brought in: examining them in more detail, the Jedi were able to determine only one interesting fact - they had been irradiated. The most likely cause for this was the bottles having travelled through space, which was odd since there was perfectly good transportation possible on the planet itself. Moreover, the bottles were all several months old, meaning they had been purchased well in advance of the actual party. Whatever the cause of this, it all seemed somewhat peculiar.

Some of this was actually in the evidence log, but the detective had just figured it was students buying booze by the truckload to get it a few percent cheaper and save on the trafficking it back and forth themselves. Students did do this, so that would be a possible explanation for the date.

Genetic evidence on the bottles was difficult - having been handled in the factory in conditions that were not exactly genetics neutral, as well as during transport and having been handled by the evidence team after the fact left a lot of doubt as to who would be an actual perpetrator and who would be simply an innocent figure who's DNA had been carried by the wind or by transfer onto the bottles. It would not stand up in a court of law.

The only conclusive odd thing that could be decide was that Gamorreans had handled the bottles. Gamorreans weren't usually so kind as to leave the bottle intact after a drink, and they didn't frequent Scir, though a few hundred million of them lived in the Union, most notably in Liberal Assencia.

Royal DNA

Besides various testimonies, the primary evidence the group had gathered consisted of two sets of DNA. The DNA testing of the King beyond matching it with his presumed relatives did not yield any interesting results. In fact, checking on this, it was soon revealed that not only was the DNA perfectly normal for a Kaminoan, it specifically lacked any markers that would suggest DNA alterations altogether! This guy was not cloned or enhanced or anything. Not even his predisposition for heart failure had been fixed, which would have been a relatively simple medical procedure. In fact, his DNA was as pure as that of a Veolian princess.

Documents

As they rechecked the results, a package finally arrived from the would be king, containing the documents the Jedi had requested earlier. Inside was a detailed genetic documentation of the would be kings family tree since leaving the planet.

Now these documents however were very interesting indeed. The family tree was strangely shaped at its base, accounting for the fact that the royal family and their hand full of servants who had left the planet had had only limited access to fresh DNA, leading to extensive inbreeding within the limited group. That didn't immediately mean mother-son or brother-sister relationships, but within the small group, within a few generations chances were that every single Kaminoan in the group was a cousin twice removed or a distant aunt of the king.

With that level of inbreeding, it was no wonder the kings DNA held a predisposition for heart failure, but its presence and not being fixed was a little bit convenient, especially since it could prove a very solid argument for the king having a legal claim. Was that why it wasn't fixed? Would a mother truly allow her son to risk death for the purpose of proving a legitimate claim to a throne... it was certainly not impossible.

Except there was a problem.

If there was indeed inbreeding as the documents suggested... then 28 markers matching wasn't nearly going to cut it. Inbreeding meant much lower genetic drift and chances were at least 32 should match between the would be king and the royal family! The odds of the Kings profile matching only 29 markers under those circumstances... were only 6%.

Moreover, such inbreeding resulting in just a predisposition for heart failure? That seemed unlikely as well. There should be a multitude of problems, but the DNA had very little.

This all left the Jedi perhaps with more questions than answers. The force encounter with the wife perhaps warranted further investigation, but the detective and the bottles seemed to have revealed all they would. The royal DNA too seemed to have given up some inconvenient secrets. If only there was a way to get a better family profile. Those 34 unique markers, it just didn't seem enough for any definitive conclusions... perhaps that was another possible avenue of research.

[Shebi Ajava]

Ajava had a look at the family tree. As veolian nobility, she was trained in the reading and analysis of family trees, so she quickly picked up on the inbreeding issue. However, she wasn't an expert in genetics, so she was happy to leave the detailed analysis to the experts.

When everyone was together, Ajava started to speak, again in a routined 'commander' voice.

"Ariana, thank you for testing the bottles. We have all had a moment to look over the evidence so far, I think it would be good to exchange ideas, and come up with a new plan. Especially with the new information about inbreeding, I'm reasonably sure that something is up."

"My theory is as follows: instead of manipulating the bodies in the tomb, the break-in was only to acquire genetic material. This material was then used to somehow ensure that any genetic analysis of the would-be heir matches the family profile perfectly. They might have mixed and matched the genetic material from different males in the tomb to get a hybrid profile that would match with a high likelihood.

Unfortunately, I am not sure how we can best test this hypothesis, other than taking some unexpected samples from the would-be king. Maybe a source of genetic material where it is difficult to mask previous genetic markers."

She looked around at the different padawan in the room.

"Oh. Before we start. Nalan, you said this woman claimed to be the wife of the king? Did you get her name? If his family line is really as inbred as these documents suggest, we should look her up in these documents. Maybe she can offer a second source of DNA. After all, if she is his second cousin or his first cousin once removed or something equal to those familial distances, she should share a significant part of his genetic makeup.

However, as Nalan informed me that she was as a void in the force, we should be careful. She is probably a highly trained operative. I've met a group of ultramarines from the Slave Rebellion that had the same trick."

"I would like to know what you think of the situation thus far, and what your current hypotheses are. Don't leave out any detail, it might be significant or relate to some other insignificant detail noted by someone else."

[Ariana Danacia]

"The analysis of the bottles that seemed to have traveled through space matches your theory that the break in was used to cover up the retrieval of the genetic material. It looks like they were planted evidence.

Furthermore the DNA does not seem to match the story that the documents tell. The DNA is looking too good to me, this should not be the case with so much inbreeding. Still we can not rule him out on the DNA alone.

I agree that we should expand our search and check all the other persons on board of the would-be-heir's ship. I guess we should start with this strange wife. Lets separate them and question and analyze them individually."

[Fecta Trigiel]

Trigiel heard what the others said and thought about what they knew, but he had a problem, his sometimes chaotic brain couldn't wrap itself around all the separated pieces.

"Well we a lot of information I can't parse, lets make a list of what we have, and the different theories." He grabbed a holoprojector and a write device and started to make a list.

What do we know?

start:

• hiker finds the tomb
• inside tomb, literally every tomb was broken open
• empty bottles scattered around
• big mess

bottles

• irradiated -> they have travelled through space
• handled by Gamorreans
• several months old

DNA

• Perfectly pure DNA from the king
• No signs of mucking with it at all
• inherited predisposition heart failure
  
• king had 143 unique DNA markers
• not genetically altered, so it seems
• tomb DNA had 3 unique markers
• altogether family profile of 34 unique markers
• 28 markers should match
• king matched 29 markers

Group history

• Lots of inbreeding
• Kings unaltered predisposition heart failure DNA increased proof he is king
• Thanks to inbreeding, the king should match 32 markers, not 29
• Lack of DNA problems in conflict with inbreeding stats
• 1 mysterious woman

"Lets see, did I miss anything?

OK, the theories: The fact that the bottles are handled by Gamorrians is interesting. But I do not know what to do with it. As the DNA of the King looks unchanged, some really good genetic scientists have been at work, given that he is a fraud. And very good people are mostly less hard to find, but he can still be altered at a different world, so this search would be probably still be a waste of time.

The King does not look likes a normal Kaminoan, but his DNA does, what is slightly conflicting but not hard to explain.

Getting the DNA profile of all the people is a good idea, and if at all possible, not only from the standard locations, but from all possible locations. Cheeks, blood, hair, urine, armpit skin, no reason not to take it from several locations.

Have we determined what design their ship is? Maybe that gives us some more clues.

Maybe Nalan and I can try again to get access to the ships logs? While Nalan does her thing, I can stand watch, if somebody comes, I am just looking at the ship, as I like ships and buy Nalan her some precious time."

[Nalan Passik]

((OOC: thnx for the summing up. :P))

"It is quite suspicious that every tomb was broken. Perhaps that the people involved we're actively searching for something. Something tells me that if it where just your random vandals then they would of left a few tombs intact since it would be more targeted at random. Getting to a computer would still be a good idea and having you are backup to look for any unwanted encounters."

[Mercury]

"Why would they break open every single tomb if all they needed was a DNA sample? Why not simply look for the best sample and use that?" the detective inquired. Apperantly the man was not just a mediocre detective, but also good at having his presence forgotten. ((OOC: Technically it was unclear where you were having the conversation, so sue me for using an NPC to drop a hint :P)) "Those tombstones are pretty heavy, seems like a lot of trouble if you ask me. But I'm not a medical expert, so what do I know..."

[Shebi Ajava]

Shebi Ajava looked up, at the detective, slightly annoyed that she somehow forgot him.

"But, looking for the best sample would require opening all tombs to check the samples, now wouldn't it?", she asked, looking at the detective, then she looked at Ariana.

((OOC: Ehm, not really... Shebi and others repeatedly stated that they joined the others, and both me and another had an OOC remark to the effect of 'when we are alone, we continue this conversation'. But ok... let's roll with it.))

[Ariana Danacia]

"I am afraid it was worse than that. Due to the lack of conservation for the royal remains there was none such thing as a good sample. All we could do with the combined material was making a family profile.

Detective please wait outside in room 4B since we might have more question for you later this day. This will be all for now."

After the Detective had left Ariana looked at the others and continued:
"I am afraid the Detective is overstepping his boundaries and has no clue what he is talking about. How do we continue on the companions of the would-be-heir?"

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

Nathan had been quiet for a while now, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed.

"How about the samples you took from the remains? Is there any sign that that was messed with?"

He looked to the others.

"And what about the possibility that DNA was planted instead of taken. Perhaps it's a good idea to compare the samples taken before we got here and the samples we took."

[Fecta Trigiel]

In reaction to Nathan Trigiel said: "I thought Ariana already did that, did you?"

Seeing that they were stuck at the moment, Trigiel thought that it was time for some action: "It seems that we need some more intel. I propose that Ariana stays here and compare the old and the new samples. At the same time, the rest of us go back to the would-be-king. There Shebi Ajava and Nathan takes some extra DNA from the rest of the kings-party, while Nalan and I take a look around. The collecting of the DNA might also be a good distraction to grant us, Nalan and me, some time."

[Mercury]

The detective was shoo'd out of the room.

Ariana had indeed checked the samples of the would-be king several times to make absolutely sure they hadn't been messed with. And they hadn't.

However, the samples taken from the tomb were another matter - due to the decay, it was impossible to determine if they might have been messed with. This had nothing to do with Ariana, who could not possibly have been more thorough: it was simply a result of the decay of the samples.

Them being messed with was certainly a possibility however! It seemed Nathan could be on to something... Perhaps taking more samples from the crew could offer clarity, or maybe they could find a dead royal who was guaranteed not to have been messed with. Unfortunately, since all the tombs had been opened, the possibility of this was remote.

((OOC: You need to take actions before I can continue))