"Istvan's clan was attacked, who have long been at odds with the Nebtuu. Our own clan has had few interactions with them, but I cannot say if that has had any effect yet.

"As for the scout, she is at the outskirts of our territory, keeping an eye on the clockwork demons."

"Mother Shuzal", Darex bowed his head, "Do you have any wisdom for us before we speak to the scout and begin our own investigation?"

"Go with my blessing, Warriors of the Jedi." she murmurs back.

-----------------------

The village is of some notable size- it takes a few minutes to find the correct gate. In that time the clone transport landed and dropped off your troops- the pilot wished you well as he flew back to orbit.

The scout, when called in, seemed nervous in your presence- she was young, and certiantly unused to the nonhumans in the group, but she made an effort to put it beside her when she reported in. "I'm told you had questions, sirs?"

"Yes, Itzal is it?" he pauses, noticing the youth's nervous expression. "Be calm young one. I may have the fearful visage of an off-worlder but I don't bite. Tell me, you've been among the Nebtuu recently. Have they moved against any other clans? Or are they consolidating what they already hold? Is it possible that we might find allies among theenemies of the Nebtuu?"

Tabithia regarded the local scout. She seemed to be around Tabithia's developmental age, still very young to be in combat. She had a lean build, Tabithia surmised that it must come from her physical responsibilities as a scout for the clan. She also seemed to be less than comfortable with the non-humans, though whether this was distrust or mere shock at first contact was something Tabithia couldn't determine. Tabithia wondered if this might stem from something she witnessed non-humans amongst the Separatists doing, but she didn't want to barrage the young scout with too many questions, and Master Vos'ka seemed to be on a particular line of questioning.

Instead, Tabithia focused on calming emotions and wrapped herself in the Force, exuding what calm she could to those around her.

**Tabithia performs a Force Power check for Battle Mediation to allow the Scout, Master Vos'ka, and Master Nezuma a free success on all skill checks (in case she needs to make a Discipline check to calm herself or a check to remember something, and to allow the Masters to make tactical checks based off of the information they get. I scored the required LSP and 3 DSPs - so I will use the LSP to activate the power and ignore the 3 DSPs

Roll**

She takes a deep breath, focusing on the questions. "The... puppet-men from the stars lead their attacks, the nebutuu following behind. I reconized trophies from 2 other clans, minor holdings, but I cannot say if there were more."

"These puppet-men from the stars, are they the same as the clockwork demons your elders spoke of, or are they different creatures entirely? If the Separatists have help from organics not of this world, we need to know."

"What is clockwork?" she looks confused.

"It was a term used by Mother Shuzal. You may call them the tin men. Regardless, we are here to fight them."

Darex pulls out his datapad and attempts to pull up data files - paticularly visual information - on Seperatist forces to be able to show the scout...

Tabithia watched the exchange, focusing on the calm well of the Force she held within her. Masters Vos'ka and Nezuma tried to help the young Navarion scout articulate her discoveries, but the communication gap was great, little commonality was to be found between the space faring Republic representatives and the local natives. Still, these gaps could be overcome, and as the Navarions were learning these things anew, perhaps it would be easier to teach them our terminology instead of reinvent the wheel.

"Sergeant Jax, perhaps you could show Itzal your field manual, and relate to her the terminology you use for the enemy. It would certainly help our future military actions if we all use the same slang."

Having noticed Darex combing through his datapad Jax says "I suspect that General Nezuma has already thought of that, Commander"

Looking to Master Nezuma and back to Jax, Tabithia nods, "I saw Master Nezuma's action as well, that is what led to the idea. I believe that integration is the key, not merely identification. Master Nezuma may find pictures of our droid opponents, but your GAR Manuals will have far more details; classification, weak points, engagement protocols, silhouettes, variant capabilities ... but more than that, not Master Nezuma, not any of us Jedi - aside from Masters Skywalker and Kenobi possibly, know how your men refer to them. I heard one of your men reference something called a "clanker" ... I'm not sure what that refers to, a battle droid or a piece of heavy artillery.

That is the information that Scout Itzal needs - we as a force must be on the same page. I believe Master Nezuma was attempting to use imagery to clear up the definition of puppet-men, but why don't we educate instead of clarify? Master Yoda says that all alliances must begin with a common form of communication should they be successful."

"Sergeant," Darex looked up from his datapad trying not to smile, glanced at Tabitha then switched his gaze to Jax, "your expertise would be appreciated."

"I'd second that. Back in the 423^rd I knew well enough how the troopers referred to different droids, but I doubt you'll have anything like the same experience if you've not served on the front lines for any length of time."

"Very well, Generals. Though my brothers and I tend to refer to most basic battle droids as clankers, I can see how that wouldn't be terribly useful information to Scout Itzal."

"The first thing to understand is that the Separatist armies aren't living, breathing beings like any of us." Jax motions to indicate the Jedi, himself, and Itzal "They are, instead, very complex...tools...created by the Separatist leaders to do their fighting for them."

Jax pulls up a 3D image of a B1 battle droid "These are the most basic infantry unit, or 'battle droid' as we call them. The Separatists create these by the thousands in factories across a number of planets. The factory they are building here will probably be used for the same thing. They aren't very intelligent or effective on their own, but their deployment in large numbers certainly make up for their shortcomings."

"A heavier version of the basic battle droid is commonly referred to as a super battle droid" Jax switches the image to a B2 droid "These are much tougher and capable of putting out far more firepower than the basic model" Jax plays a short video clip of a B2 in action firing it's repeater blasters.

"The last of the common infantry units are the "destroyers", and their capabilities are best seen than simply told." Jax plays another video clip, this time of a destroyer droid rolling into battle, activating its shield system, and blasting away at nearby clone troops. "Note the bubble around it. That is actually strong enough to deflect most blaster fire, making them the hardest of the battle droids to kill".

"Fortunately, all of these troops suffer from one critical flaw: they cannot act independently. They have to stay connected to a remote system to receive their instructions. Take out those "command and control" units and they simply stop dead in their tracks."

Jax continues the discussion from there, detailing the various leader droids, the weaknesses of each droid unit, and even touches on the most often seen armor, artillery, and transport units employed by the CIS, answering any questions Itzal may have along the way.

The scout watched the display with interest. "The Nebutuu have many... battle droids, you called them? With only a handful of the heavier type. I saw two of the rolling ones covering the flanks- I never saw them fold out like that though. The Nebutuu themselves follow behind the main force, as if the battle was a spectator sport."

Tabithia thanks Jax for his lessons, smiling brightly before frowning to the other Jedi, "Masters, if the Nebutuu really do see the battles as recreation, it will be extremely difficult to divorce them from the Separatists. The Separatists will do their best to insulate them from the cost of war, and thus make the entire endeavor seem like a game for their entertainment. My instincts tell me they will continue this until they are confident that they can overpower the Nebutuu, then they will enslave them once their hold on the land is secure, though I doubt we will be able to convince the Nebutuu of this eventuality if the Separatists are catering to their passions as Itzal is saying."

Darex put away his datapad and pulled his robes in tighter against the cold.

"I agree with Padawan Lacala's assessment. Turning the Nebutuu against the Separatists seems doomed to fail. Perhaps this is worth revisiting once the Separatists have been dealt a fatal blow. But for now, our focus should be on the Separatists."

Darex turned to face Itzal.

"Itzal, do you have any maps, or can you draw us some, that detail what you know of where the Nebutuu have invaded and where the Separatists have set up camp and are patrolling?"

"The Nebutuu need to learn that their is a price for this game they are playing. If we bring the war to the them they might find their 'entertainment' leaving a bad taste in their mouths."

"These Nebtuu are no better than those who play at war as a game without ever experiencing it in real life. To some the best way to defeat them might be to show them the true horrors of war, but we cannot cleave to the dark side or sink to their level. Perhaps a direct strike on their droid vanguard would show them what they've gotten themselves into. Do you have any idea of their numbers?"

Some rummaging around the guard post comes up with a local map. The particular group the scout had spotted was fairly near- about 30 km.

The Nebutuu lands were somewhat futhur away, about a weeks travel on foot, though far less for someone with a repulsor vehical. Other clans scattered across the primary continent.

Treyan consults the map with a learned eye. "That's barely a day's march away for the droids - sooner if they have vehicles. Did you see anything larger, the size of one of your huts? It would have been floating? In addition, I don't suppose you know the actual number of the droid forces?

After some back and forth, you establish that when she saw the sepratist forces, they had a single tank with them... but that it wasnt floating and battledrids had panels off and were looking inside it.

"It's under repairs? Well I'll be a starspawned cub, if that's not a gift from the Force I don't know what is," Treyan leans in over the map. "If we take the Clones, strike now while they're stalled and lacking their heavy support, even hit them under the cover of night, we'll be able to take down their forces before they can ever hope to hit us. We could cut the head off their advance before this war has even started!" Treyan curbs his excitement for the moment. "What do you think Sergeant?."