Ask Lothal Hunter's Moon

[Haela Iskall]

Spoiler: Theme

A light evening breeze blew through Lothal City, rustling through Haela's fire-colored hair as the bounty hunter sat on their hovering G0-BL1N glider amongst some of the shorter of Capitol City's many spires. The setting sun reflected off of the city's white towers, a sharp contrast to the Tiefling's dark ashen skin but a complement to their piercing yellow eyes. Macro-binoculars zoomed in on the entrance to a local dive bar, the Drunken Loth-rat, watching as patrons walked in and stumbled out. There was a twinge of electricity in the air, that unmistakable feeling of closing in on one's prey; a feeling Haela drank in with deep, measured breaths as they watched for their target.

Soon enough, a Rodian wearing a faded leather pilot's helmet with a blue and white flight suit emerged. The Tiefling refocused the binoculars on his hand, identifying the black star-shaped tatoo that confirmed this was their target. Solee Ply. A former spicerunner for one of the Hutt clans who'd gotten a too greedy and begun selling his cargo to a competitor in a poorly hidden attempt to double-dip on his payments. $10,000 credits dead or alive wasn't anything special, but work was slow and Haela had already been in the area. Their dad needed a new medicine too. If anyone ever put a bounty out on the CEOs of some of these pharmecutical companies with obscene drug prices, they'd be the first to sign up.

As the over-eager Rodian made his way down the street, the moment for stalking drew to a close as an engagement drew near. Haela stood, securely snapping their boots into the magnetized clamps of the glider before clicking a button on their gauntlet and letting the glider drop out of hover mode. After a few exhilirating seconds of free-falling the bounty hunter leaned forward to accelerate, the glider zooming in the direction of their target. After a minute they'd reached the same street Solee walked on, causing the Rodian to turn and notice them. It seemed from a distance that he let out a little shriek, beginning to run as fast as he could away from the approaching Tiefling. Haela took a deep breath, savoring the moment. It was so much more enticing when they ran.

As they leaned forward once again to engage in the pursuit, EE-3 blaster drawn and set to stun, a familiar feeling tapped at the back of their mind like that of a water droplet rippling through a previously undisturbed pond. Their Sense. It only came when something was about to happen, so Haela made sure to remain alert while following Solee and not letting the Rodian escape their line of sight. Unfortunatley, the tight crowds were making it difficult to close in on their target from above; they'd have to resort to tracking the panicked criminal until and opening presented itself.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan wasn’t pretty sure why he was sneaking through Lothal City after a very suspicious Rodian. He had stopped on the planet only to rest a bit and would leave to Garel the following day. It was three days ago. He changed plans after he overheard in a cantina two men discussing a wave of poaching on the planet. Apparently, a Rodian was smuggling animals to the rest of the Galaxy at the behest of the hunters.

The same Rodian that Elidan was following at the moment.

Because he obviously would stop people from killing innocent animals. Even more in Lothal, a planet that nature had suffered so much with the Empire stripping all its resources and the Mandalorian invasion of some years ago.

The Knight was trying to blend among the crowd, having even changed his Jedi robes to more casual clothes. His lightsaber still remained here, hidden behind his coat. The sight of it would be enough to attract too much attention. And it was the last thing that he wanted when being stealth.

Or at least trying, because someone with his height would have trouble disappearing among the crowd.

When the Rodian stopped walking, Elidan cursed mentally. Did he notice the Knight? It would be no surprise. The half-Annfyn was a healer, not a Jedi Shadow. However, he was surprised when the dude turned to look at a glider that was coming toward him. On it was a Tiefling, which gave vibes of being a bounty hunter. He didn’t expect that, but probably someone like this smuggler would have a price put on his head.

The Rodian panicked and ran away. Elidan cursed again and ran after him. If he went to their ship and fled, the Knight would never be able to discover more about the smuggling operation on the planet.

He only hoped that the Tiefling weren’t going to be a problem for him when he caught the Rodian.

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

The spaceport looming up ahead, combined with Solee Bly's haste, made it very clear in Haela's mind what the Rodian's plan was. They would not allow it. The crowds were dense, but if he got too close then the civilians would just have to get out of the way. The Tiefling wasn't one for taking detours for cheap bounties that often, and they refused to allow this lowlife to waste their valuable time.

Haela deepened their squat and accelerated faster, extending their left arm to aim as they began lining up a shot on the fleeing Rodian with their wrist-mounted bola launcher. To their surprise, alert yellow eyes instead picked up on a tall figure with hair almost as striking as their own following several paces behind their target, but matching Solee's quick pace. Damnit. They were the only one working this bounty through the Guild, which meant in all likelihood that his was some amateur. Haela groaned, refocusing their attention on the Rodian with renewed determination.

No more playing around. This had to end now if they were going to prevent some unregistered novice from stealing a decent payout. The Tiefling aimed the wrist launcher at Solee's feet, took a deep breath, and fired.

Spoiler: Dice Roll

14

It wasn't a picture-perfect shot, but few things in the field ever really were. The bola zipped from Haela's wrist towards the Rodian, wrapping tightly around his knees and causing him to fall face-first into the paved bricks. The bounty hunter caught up to their fallen target and eased up on the glider's acceleration, circling around to hover just above the ground as the nearby crowd backed away.

"Nothing to see here folks, official Bounty Guild business. Continue on with your nights." Haela informed the crowd as they jumped down from their glider and pulled Solee up from the ground, tightening a pair of stun-cuffs onto his wrists.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan was getting close to the Rodian, who by this point also had noticed that the half-Annfyn was running after him. The smuggler seemed confused with what he should do. He was being chased by two people, one by land and other through the sky. It meant that he didn’t have much chance to escape.

And he really didn’t escape.

In a blink of an eye, the Tiefling in the glider fired a bola toward the Rodian. It collided against his legs and forced him to the ground. Now that the half-Annfyn was sure that this person was a bounty hunter. It was the type of weapon that they would use. Not that Elidan was a specialist in the matter. He never dealt with bounty hunters before.

The Knight arrived right on time to see the bounty hunter placing handcuffs on Rodian. Now that they were close to the Tiefling, Elidan could see them better. They were huge! The Jedi considered himself as a tall person, but the person in front of him had so many muscles that made them look larger than him. Their arms were so muscled, making him look like a pair of twigs. All that combined made them good looking in the man’s opinion. Like a warrior that came out from a fantasy book. Very nice.

Shit, he was staring too long!

Elidan immediately looked down, his cheeks red with embarrassment while his hands made signs frantically. “Greetings! I’m Jedi Knight Elidan. I don’t want to disturb your bounty, but I need information from him for a mission. If you give me five minutes with him, I’ll take it and leave.” his droid translated to the Tiefling, while the auburn-haired man waited for an answer.

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Haela could feel a pair of eyes drilling into the back of their head as they wrestled the Rodian up off the ground, turning around to confirm their sixth sense. Sure enough there stood the red-haired man who'd been chasing after their target on the ground, standing slack-jawed and red with embarrassment once he no doubt figured out the Tiefling could see him too. They regarded him with a stern expression and a raised brow; though the two stood at a roughly equal height, the Annfyn-looking man's body dwarfed Haela's own. They didn't doubt they could throw him with one hand if they really wanted to, and they were considering it depending on what he had to say for himself.

The bounty hunter watched as he began fumbling through a series of hand signs, immiediately recognizing it as galactic standard sign language. Their own father's illness had stolen his speech when the Tiefling was young, so the signs came as easily to them as Basic. The man's droid began to translate, but Haela waved a hand to cut it short.

"That won't be necessary, droid. I—"

"Excuse me, but I think you've got the wrong guy, ya see? Now if you'd just—"

"Shut it, Solee." the hunter stated in a cold tone, smacking the back of the Rodian's head as he interrupted. "I know exactly who you are, and I'm in a bad mood so don't test me."

Haela turned back to Elidan, the self-identified Jedi. Better than an amateur, they supposed; at least he wouldn't be after their paycheck. At the same time, they weren't interested in getting involved in whatever the mythical space wizards of all people were doing on a backwater planet like Lothal. "Apologies for the Rodian. Charmed to meet you, Elidan. Call me Haela." the Tiefling signed back perfectly. "Trust me kid, this scum is below whatever your fancy Jedi mission entails. Assuming you even are one of those magical space warriors with those skinny arms..." Haela glanced up and down Elidan's body with raised eyebrows and an amused smirk. "Now I'm on a tight schedule here, so if you don't mind I need to drag this guy's sorry green ass back to Nar Shaddaa."

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan stopped half-way through his signs when he heard the Tiefling say something to Tete. However, before they could finish it, the Rodian started to complain about being the wrong guy. The half-Annfyn raised an eyebrow, not believing that this dude was trying to sell that silly story.

The Knight was completely in shock when the Tiefling started to use the galactic standard sign language. Finally! Finally, someone was going to understand him without needing to write in a datapad or have a droid translate it. It was as if he was being seen with dignity after a long time. While having a translator was less humiliating, needing to type things for the others to read was horrible. He hated the time that he was forced to do that.

It was as if he had to work a lot more than the others simply to have the basic right of being understood.

It was like as if he wasn't even a person.

When Haela finished signing, Elidan had a large smile on his lips. His blue eyes were shining with excitement. He even ignored the fact that they called him a kid. “I can hear, you don’t need to use sign language if you don't want.” he signed, this time without Tete translating. “I’m very much a Jedi.” he picked his lightsaber from his belt and activated it, the green light of the blade illuminating the two. He deactivated it and returned the weapon to his belt.

“I’m also not a kid. I am twenty-five.” in comparison to their muscled body, the half-Annfyn probably looked like a teenager. Ops, he was staring again. Another blush came out. “This Rodian is involved with a group of local poachers. He had been smuggling animals illegally out of the planet and I want to stop it. I only need to pick the information from him with a mind trick and you can take him away.” he explained, his signs becoming more frantical. “Please? I heard that they killed a couple of loth-wolves in their den. Do you know how rare they are?”

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Elidan's elation at the sight of Haela's signing came as little surprise to the Tiefling; for as large as the galaxy was, there was a shockingly small percentage of the population that knew sign language, let alone well. It brought the hint of a smile to their face, but things quickly moved onto the more pressing matters at hand.

Haela's hand instinctively reached over their shoulder to grasp at the handle of the thermic greatsword strapped to their back as Elidan whipped out a laser sword to prove his Jedi-ness, drawing more than a few stares from the nearby civilians as well. He quickly put the weapon away though, and the bounty hunter relaxed as the Annfyn continued to sign out an explanation that he was 25 years old (really? He didn't look it...) and that Solee Bly had apparently shifted his talents into the poaching market.

The Tiefling's expression darkened at the mention of poaching, but grew noticeably angry at the mention of dead loth-wolves. Hunting was about maintaining the nature order of things, either for sustenance or proving yourself by conquering the most dangerous of opponents. Poaching flew in the face of all of that; cowards grouping together to ambush endangered or rare animals and sell off their young to private collections where they'd live among forests of steel. Haela found it disgusting and disgraceful.

"You've caught my attention, wizard." they told Elidan, studying him with a curious expression for a moment. "Follow me to my ship, I'm sure one of us can get this scum to spill his guts. If there's poaching involved, his co-conspirators will catch a price with the local government at least." Haela wouldn't outwardly tell this Jedi about their true concern about the poachers, but they didn't completely lie either. After all they had a reputation to uphold, and bills to pay.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Perhaps activating his lightsaber wasn’t the best idea to prove the point that he was a Jedi, because as soon as he did it, the Tiefling’s hand moved to grab their sword. Elidan immediately deactivated it and put the weapon back on his belt. He didn’t want to fight them. Next time that he needed to show that he was a Jedi to someone, the half-Annfyn would simply lift things with the Force.

Although, people could still think that he was a Sith.

The Order really needed to have an ID card for its members.

At least Haela seemed to have accepted his explanation, because they invited him to their ship. “I’m not a wizard. The correct term would be monk.” he informed them, really disliking how some people would think that they were sorceresses. The Jedi were more like a religion, than a spell casting club.

If the Tiefling wanted to meet wizards, they should seek the Nightsisters. Or the Sorcerers of Tund.

Elidan walked after the Tiefling toward their ship, with Haela carrying the Rodian without much effort. Really, he would need something to help carry that smuggler if he was alone. Or use the Force to lift him, which would be more probable. The bounty hunter had a really impressive strength, with all that muscles. It made Haela look hot.

Okay, he wasn’t going to think more about it or he would be blushing again and that would be humiliating.

His cheeks were already a bit pink, though.

“Have you been a bounty hunter for a long time?” he asked, trying to start a conversation. “You seem to be very experienced.”

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Haela grabbed Solee and tossed the Rodian over their shoulder despite his continued protests, all while Elidan explained the difference between wizards and monks. Perhaps he had a point; the Tiefling had expected a little more than an excitable twig of a person from their first ever encounter with a Jedi. They'd always imagined some wizened old man reading three books at once while hovering above the floor in some ancient library, or perhaps a battle-hardened woman leading a rebel charge against some tyrant with a laser sword held high. Not that Elidan was disappointing, just... different.

Haela pressed a quick series of buttons on their gauntlet, sending their glider flying ahead towards the spaceport while they walked the rest of the way with the Jedi beside them. The group drew a few stares as they walked, but it was nothing the bounty hunter wasn't used to. They'd been in far weirder situations before.

The Tiefling would have been perfectly content to walk the rest of the way to the spaceport in silence, though it seemed Elidan had other ideas. Haela's gaze flicked down to watch the man sign out a question about their experience, the last remnants of a light blush fading from his face. They laughed a little bit on the inside; his type always seemed to have a very particular facination with more muscular types.

"A decade and a half of tracking down lowlifes like our new friend Solee here, and plenty of experience hunting the biggest game I could fine before that." Haela replied with an air of indifference. "I suppose you could say I've always had the knack for it, and it pays well if you know what you're doing." they explained. Personally, the Tiefling much preferred the jobs they took for the challenge rather than the ones they took when funds were tight, but everyone had their own reasons.

"What about you, huh?" they asked. "You always been a Jedi, or what? You meditate for long enough and you get your magic powers?"

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan watched the Tiefling press some buttons in their glide, making it fly away. The half-Annfyn suspected that it would be going to their ship by itself. Very practical than needing to carry on their back. Although, the Knight could believe that Haela had some good chance of carrying by themselves.

He, on the other hand, would only be able to do it with the Force.

“So, you have been a hunter of big game too.” Elidan never had a good experience with people that liked to hunt. All the ones that he met were poachers, killing a ton of animals only to sell the parts for money. He wasn’t sure what to think of the Tiefling because of it, even if they showed some interest in helping him stop what was happening in Lothal.

Perhaps they didn’t like poaching too.

While they walked toward their ship, Haela had asked him how long he was a Jedi. Elidan smiled, already expecting this question. “It isn’t magic. It’s the Force, the energy field created by all life.” he wasn’t going to give a long explanation about it. It was difficult to explain for someone that never had studied it. He also doubted that the Tiefling had any interest in a class about it.

“I have been part of the Jedi Order since I was a small child. They found me in an orphanage in Chardaan and my training started.” he always wondered what would have happened if the Jedi never found him. Would have he been adopted? Many questions like this one came to his mind, but they don’t matter anymore.

“I’m grateful for it. They are my family now.” a family that had been divided by schism and Elidan still didn’t find a side where he could fit. Perhaps time and the Force would tell him. “Do you have a family?”

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Sign language naturally didn't always convey the same emotions as speech, yet Haela could still sense that Elidan felt uneasy about their hunting. Some people would never understand the thrill of the hunt. "You're disappointed in me." the Tiefling observed. "Lots of species hunt, it's a natural part of life. I'm no different." they explained, bright yellow eyes wathcing for the Jedi's reaction. "It's a matter of keeping balance, of staking your claim as an apex predator like anything else at the top of the food chain. Now upset that balance, hunt wastefully? Now there's a problem."

Why they'd felt the need to explain themselves to the Annfyn, Haela couldn't say; they'd planned to avoid such discussions, but it was probably his Jedi powers influencing them. That, and they really hated poachers. Perhaps it was the thought that Elidan might be thinking about them in the same light as the group hunting loth-wolves, something the bounty hunter found insulting.

They couldn't really blame any Jedi mind tricks this time.

Haela still snorted at Elidan's assertion about some energy field where his mysterious Jedi powers came from nonetheless. "The rest of us call that magic, Jedi." they commented with a slight chuckle. The Tiefling stayed quiet as they listened to his explanation of being adopted into a religious cult from an orphanage; they supposed it was good Elidan had found community, even if they found the Jedi recruitment process a bit concerning. On the other hand, a brief expression of worry flickered across Haela's face as the Jedi asked them about their own family.

"Uh, yeah. Big family. Not the reunion type, haven't seem them in a while." the bounty hunter lied, keeping their voice as flat and uninterested as possible. Hauling dangerous ciminals was a profession that made plenty of enemies, and while Elidan looked to small and frail to have stolen a lightsaber from a fallen Jedi, Haela wasn't in the business of taking risks. The last thing they needed was some pirate gang or a rival hunter holding their sick father hostage, or worse, killing him for revenge.

Luckily, the unlikely pair had just arrived at the spaceport, so hopefully Elidan was out of family history questions.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan tilted his head when Haela made his statement. Indeed, he felt a bit disappointed with the fact that the Tiefling appreciated hunting. Perhaps it was because he was part Annfyn. His species had deep connections with nature, the fact that someone could destroy it simply because they liked was seen as disgusting by them.

However, he was only half-Annfyn and could still understand their explanation. Each culture and species had their way of seeing how nature properly worked. The Jedi wasn’t surprised that a carnivorous species like the Tieflings would see it as a dispute to maintain the position as apex predators.

Yet, they both agreed that what the poachers were doing was wrong. This was enough to satisfy the Jedi.

The Knight raised an eyebrow when Haela snorted. “I’ll give you that victory because I don’t want to enter in a long lecture about the differences between the two. Believe it or not, we learn about it in our early classes in the Jedi Temple.” it would take an entire day for the half-Annfyn to explain it to them and the two really don’t have much time if they wanted to go stop the poachers.

He remained in silence when Haela told him about their family. He didn’t even need to be a Force sensitive to know that it was a big lie. Elidan wasn’t going to press for details. If the Tiefling wanted privacy, he would give it to them.

They soon arrived at the spaceport, now they only needed to enter Haela’s ship and Elidan would be able to take the information out of the Rodian. “Which one are yours?” he asked, before gesturing to the vessels around them.

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Haela was glad Elidan signed out his intention not to pursue a lecture about the nature of his magical powers; they'd never been one for religion anyways. Besides, there was the poaching ring to deal with, and that had to get done before the Tiefling dragged Solee back to the Hutts for their reward.

Even better, it seemed Elidan had picked up on the hint to drop any family talk and get right to business instead. "The Lancer-class just over here." Haela replied to the Annfyn, leading him to a black Lancer Pursuit Craft with assorted stripes of dark orange and forest green a few bays from the entrance. "Welcome aboard the Hedon's Hand." they told Elidan as the Tiefling walked up the boarding ramp they'd activated with another button on their gauntlet. If the Jedi was perceptive, he'd notice the glider from earlier magnetically attached atop the ship.

The ramp opened up into a modified cargo bay with a weapon's locker against one wall and a trio of small cells against the other. Haela unceremoniously dumped their Rodian captive onto the hard metal floor in the middle of the room, dragging him by the shirt to fling him into an upright position against the wall. Placing a booted foot on his ankle, the bounty hunter leaned in close.

"Speak, worm. What's this poaching ring my new friend here seems so interested in?"

"I've got many friends you see, yes, they won't be happy—"

"Wrong answer, Solee." the Tiefling replied, shifting all their weight onto the Rodian's ankle and twisting their foot. There was an audible crunch, followed by the Rodian's scream of pain. "I gave him a chance." Haela explained to Elidan with a shrug as they stepped back. "At least he won't be running anymore. Your turn, Jedi." Maybe the Annfyn's magic powers could elicit better information.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan stared at the ship, admiring its customized colors. It made him think back to his own vessel, plain and with the same colors from the day that he bought it. He also never gave it a name. The act of naming ships always seemed to be silly to him.

Something even childish.

It was still a surprise for himself that he had found the courage to buy a ship. He never liked piloting since the day that he crashed into a planet with all his friends. However, he soon got tired of trying to find rides when moving between worlds and tickets for transports could be very expensive.

Necessity can be a very strong motivator to find courage.

“It’s very cool.” he signed while climbing down the ramp. The half-Annfyn had noticed the glider at the top of the ship. So it really came back here when Haela pressed those buttons. It was an interesting device, and could be useful to reach inaccessible places, like villages in dangerous mountains. Elidan decided to buy one of those.

The Jedi followed the Tiefling to an area of the ship where some cells were located. Haela threw the Rodian inside one of them, before using their interrogation methods. Obviously it involved brute force. Elidan grimaced when he heard Solee’s feet being crushed. In the end, nothing of it worked and he remained in silence.

“It wasn’t necessary, do you know?” Elidan approached the Rodian, kneeling in front of him. The half-Annfyn silently stared at Solee’s eyes, using the Force to slowly enter his mind. The Knight had moved a long way since he did it in a Trandoshan and nearly destroyed his brain in the process. Now he was able to read thoughts of individuals with weak minds without them even noticing. However, he only does it when dealing with criminals or people like this smuggler.

Reading minds was still an invasion of privacy.

After a moment, Elidan rose and turned to look at Haelia. “He was going to pick his ship to visit the poachers camp and collect what they hunted today. The camp is on a hill, 15 kilometers away from the city to the North.” he signed, before looking at the Rodian. The man was crying with pain. “I think that I should heal him. He was already going to suffer a lot when you deliver him.”

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Haela raised a confused eyebrow at Elidan's assertion that breaking the Rodian's ankle was not, in fact, necessary. If he was so concerned about the poaching why was he know defending the scum who was involved in it...? Jedi sure were weird. "Well it usually works, and I'm sure he deserved it." the Tiefling replied flippantly. You didn't get far in the bounty hunting business by being nice to your prisoners, even less so if those prisoners had good means of escape.

The bounty hunter watched Elidan curiously as he kneeled in front of the Rodian, seemingly probing his mind with his Jedi powers. It honestly made Haela a bit uncomfortable, the thought of having the privacy of your mind invaded. What if he tried to snoop around in their head?

It seemed to be a question for another time as the Jedi stood and informed them of the Rodian's plan and the location of the poacher's camp. If they weren't sure the Annfyn was a Jedi before, this seemed to confirm it. Once again, however, Elidan surprised the Tiefling by suggesting that he heal the quivering Rodian before they went after his business partners. "If he didn't want to suffer, he shouldn't have been robbing his employers a trafficking endangered species." Haela replied flatly. "He's not some innocent you need to protect. C'mon, we're taking his ship to the meeting point. You were just in his mind, so you'll have to point it out to me."

With that the bounty hunter hit a button to engage the energy shield for the Rodian's cell, blocking his escape. Crossing the room to open and survey their weapons locker, the Tiefling holstered a pair of blasters and reloaded their wrist-mounted bola launcher. Satisfied with their equipment, Haela closed and locked the locker and made their way to the top of the ship's ramp. "Lead the way, Jedi."

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan frowned, then turned to look at the Rodian. He was a criminal, yes, but the half-Annfyn didn’t think that torture was something that should be used as punishment, even for people like them. What good pain could it bring? Those that were punished this way would never change their ways if pain was constantly inflicted upon them. If anything, it would only make them hate.

Although, in Solee’s case, Elidan doubted that he would live long once he was delivered to Haela’s contractors.

The half-Annfyn refused to move when the Tiefling said that they should leave. He wasn’t going to leave that Rodian feeling pain here alone. “Yes, but he is also a sentient being like the two of us. Even criminals deserve some dignity, even more when they are going to face Justice.” Elidan signed, looking at Haela with a serious face.

As if anything that the Hutts did could be considered justice. It would be better to give Solee to Lothal's government.

He once again kneeled next to the Rodian and put his two hands over the broken feet. Solee squirmed and hissed with the pain, but soon calmed down when the Knight started to use the Force to heal the broken bone. After a moment, the limb was completely healed. Elidan raised from where he was and approached Haela. “Now we can go.”

Once they were outside the ship, Elidan started to think about the memories that he found inside the Rodian’s mind. He would guide Haela toward another hangar of the same spaceport, where an old YT-1300 was waiting for them. “This is his ship.” he tilted his head. “Very old, I see. Was he really a good smuggler?”

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Haela sighed and rolled their eyes at Elidan's insistence that he heal Solee's leg, crossing their arms in annoyance but allowing the Jedi to do so. Perhaps he could afford to act as the ever benevolent, peace-loving monk, but the Tiefling was far too jaded to care. The Rodian was far from innocent, and while they weren't going to cut him down for cruelty's sake that didn't mean any pain he endured wasn't the natural consequences of his actions.

Wouldn't they be angry if someone treated their father for stealing food, though? No, that was different. Solee had been greedy, not a victim of opression being preyed upon by the more powerful.

Once Elidan was done, Haela followed him out of their ship and towards a old YT-1300 freighter with scratched and faded red and white paint. They laughed as the Annfyn questioned if their Rodian prisoner had been a good smuggler. "If he was good, he wouldn't have been caught so easily." the bounty hunter replied with a smile. "Besides, I'm sure this outdated junk certainly didn't help things."

The Tiefling flashed a bounty puck to a nearby attendent, informing them that they were confiscating this ship as part of an official Guild investigation. The man quickly allowed the two to pass, and Haela led the way up the ship's open boarding ramp. Lights flickered on in the interior, revealing a variety of trapping gear including energy nets, shock prods, and a few empty cages. The bounty hunter's yellow eyes fell upon an open notebook on top of a small table, which on further investigation looked to be a list of transactions. Beside several names, the table listed both the number of subjects sold and the price obtained.

"Here's everyone these slimes have been selling to." Haela noted out loud, holding the notebook up in the air. "Maybe I'll give them all a visit once we're done here." they added. Moving towards the ship's cockpit, the Tiefling settled down into the pilot's seat and began flicking switches and levers to bring the engine online and get the ship ready to fly.

"Solee's little friends won't be expecting us to come out of his ship, so that'll give us an element of surprise." Haela called out to Elidan. "We're going to need a plan, but your the first Jedi I've worked with; hold on, I'm taking us up. Strap in." They paused as the ship lifted up, turned, and began to fly north.

"So, as I was saying," Haela continued. "What can you Jedi do?"

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

”Good point.” Elidan signed, his eyes still looking at the ship in front of them. He wasn’t very familiar with how smugglers operated, but he was pretty sure that being caughting meant that they weren’t doing their job right. After all, if you are smuggling stuff, the last thing that you wanted was to be discovered.

The old ship also didn’t help. It probably wasn’t fast.

The half-Annfyn watched Haela show something to an attendant, who immediately allowed them to enter the ship. He didn’t even need to use his Jedi ID to announce that it was an official investigation for the Order. Perhaps the bounty hunters had that same type of stuff. It could explain how they could get into places so easily.

He immediately followed them inside the vessel, feeling disgusted with the hunting equipment that they found here. It gave the impression that Solee was also smuggling weapons for the poachers and this realization made the half-Annfyn even more furious. People could do terrible things only for a bunch of credits.

When they arrived in the cockpit, Elidan sat in the co-pilot chair. He would happily leave Haela to pilot it, because they probably would be faster. The half-Annfyn with a ship was too careful and could be suspicious when they got close to the poachers camp.

The half-Annfyn strapped his belt as Haela said. It was right on time when they went fast toward the North. He would probably have fallen with his face on the floor. “Well, we can do many things. Fighting with the lightsaber is only a small part of it. We can use telekinesis, telepathy, make plants grow, bond with animals and heal people.” he explained with a resume of it. “What can you do as a bounty hunter?”

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Haela listened to Elidan's explanation of his abilities with keen interest as they flew, though they honestly still didn't understand what half it all fully entailed. Not to mention he just listed them off without hesitation; in the Tiefling's opinion, he really wasn't living up to the legend of the mythical peace wizards (or monks, whatever) who traversed the galaxy as noble warriors. Just their luck to get stuck with one of the Jedi they probably sent to do birthday parties.

"I'm a tracker, first and foremost." Haela stated in response to Elidan's question about their own abilities. "But tracking is usually the easy part. Capturing my targets, on the other hand?" the Tiefling looked over at him with a smirk. "That requires me to be a great pilot, a skilled swordsman, a great shot, knowledgeable about what parts of the body are lethal injuries and which are not. It's hard work, and that's why the vast majority of novices fail." they explained.

"For my part, it helps that I'm naturally gifted with a bit of a sixth sense around these kinds of things." Haela elaborated. "I always seem to get an extra little feeling when someone's coming up on me from behind, or the right angle to take on a shot." The Tiefling gazed at Elidan curiously for a moment, as if contemplating something, before they continued. "Hells, I even got a little feeling something different was up when I was chasing down Solee back in the city, and then you showed up. Interesting how that works, isn't it?"

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan listened to Haela listing their abilities. It was what he would have expected from a bounty hunter, even if they were the first one that he had interacted with. Well, he had met with a Trandoshan bounty hunter many years ago in a very close way. He nearly lobotomized that lizard with his telepathy. It was a very shameful part of his past that he didn’t want to think about anymore.

“How long have you been working as a bounty hunter?” he asked, while his attention remained at the window. The landscape of Lothal was very beautiful, with its green plains. It didn’t even show any sign of the Mandalorian occupation of some years ago. He wondered why people wanted to destroy all that.

He turned his attention back to Haela when they started to talk about some type of sixth sense. It sounded exactly like the Force. Elidan wondered if the Tiefling could be sensitive. This would be an unexpected surprise. “Interesting. Sometimes I feel that, too. Something telling me to go to certain places or warning me that something was going to happen.”

“In my case, it’s the Force. Did you ever think that your sixth sense could be it too?” Elidan signed, wondering what Haela was going to say.

@René