Ask Coruscant Sugar and Spice and Everything Not Nice

[Astra Calloway]

In the last few years, there had been a great deal of choices on offer to Astra which had began with her choice to join the Jedi Order at the age of twenty which pleased her adoptive father greatly, though was much to the dismay of her sister who would much rather suppress and hide her own force sensitivity instead of embracing it and learning about who she was. Astra however, was now at a crossroad, now she had taken the leap to become a Jedi, she had to decide just what kind of Jedi she wanted to be, though under Kraud's guidance she could already guess what the answer would be.

As she was about to leave for the upper levels to leave the planet, she felt a disturbance nearby, someone was in danger. All around her people were going about their business but among the crowd ahead her eyes fixed on someone reaching to their waist for a blaster which was usually a bad sign and not a rare occurrence on somewhere like Coruscant but didn't always include a fatality, however in this instance she thought there was a high likelihood of there being a fatality if she didn't intervene, this person had the intention of shooting and shooting to kill someone unprepared for the attack.

Rather than drawing a lightsaber and thus attention to herself at the first sign of trouble, she held a hand out and used to force to prevent the man from firing the weapon in the few moments it took for her to run over and stand between the man and his target, prompting a confused look from the man. When their eyes met, Astra waved a hand in front of the man's face and spoke quietly to him. "You do not want to kill this man." She told him to which he repeated her words back to her before seemingly losing all motivation to commit the act he had been so compelled to do moments before.

She stared the man down until he turned and left before turning to see who he had been attempting to attack and she was surprised to find a young man standing before her but as she opened her mouth to speak to him she sensed that the danger wasn't over yet, the attacker hadn't been alone. "Who did you anger?!" She asked as she looked around in the crowd and above them to ensure there were no weapons trained on the man. "Keep your head down and follow me." She ordered, intending to lose the attackers or at the very least lead them to a less densely populated area. Although she really had no authority over the young man, to disobey now would be to his own detriment.



@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

This was it now, after this one last job he'd leave Ryloth for good - no amount of hot Twi'leks would keep him on that planet, all he ever did was find trouble there. Although, it wasn't all bad, he did win a YT-2000 in a totally legitimate Sabacc game there a few days ago, now he could go wherever he pleased. This 'new' YT-2000 of his, he called it The Kath Hound, it seemed like an aggressive enough name for others to take him and his ship seriously. His last Ryloth job was a smuggling job, yep more illegal stuff, he was smuggling spice from Ryloth to some cartel members in the lower levels of Coruscant, when the transaction was done, he'd return the money to his employers on Ryloth, take his cut and then be on his merry way - which was far away from Ryloth.

Currently, Jey was waiting in a populated area, ready to take the buyers back to The Kath Hound and give them the cargo. It was strange... being on Coruscant, after giving up on Death sticks for good - his connection to the Force continued to reestablish itself and boy, being on Coruscant was overwhelming to say the least, he could feel and sense so much from the people and the planet. Part of him hated it, but part of him also... liked it? Jey then noticed a sketchy looking male Duros in a trench coat making his way toward him, he figured this was the buyer.

"You Jeyten Dres?" the Duros asked, Jey sensed a slight uneasiness in him - maybe it was his first transaction or something. "The one and only." he responded with a smile "You the buyer?" he added, which the Duros responded with a nod. Jey then turned around and motioned for him to follow as he was about to lead him to his ship, however he felt something... something weird, that pit feeling in his chest again - it was the Force, warning him of something. Suddenly he heard the Duros call out to him "Your body will be a message to your boss, Dres." this caused Jey to turn around and see the Duros had a blaster pointed at him with the intent to shoot. Knowing he wouldn't pull out his blaster in time, he closed his eyes and prepared for the inevitable until...

... Nothing. He opened his eyes and saw a blonde-haired woman standing right in front of him, with her arm outstretched in the direction of the Duros. She said something to him, which he repeated back to her word for word before turning off and walking away "Uh..." was the only word he could muster after witnessing that encounter. Before either of them could talk, he sensed something else too, more danger maybe? Prompting the woman to question what he had done to anger them - "I didn't do anything!" he shouted back, quick to defend himself. She then instructed him to follow her, she didn't have to tell him twice! Jey hightailed it out of there, following closely behind his saviour.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

Common sense wasn't all that common but thankfully the young man had it and followed Astra as she ran through the crowd, dodging people as she did, though she made sure to pay attention to where her companion was lest she should lose him. He was adamant that he hadn't done anything to anger the people following them and she didn't think it was too unlikely for that to be the case since a lot of the people you could find here had learned to become very self-serving as a matter of survival rather than out of pure spite, she pitied them because of it but their actions were not excused.

Once the crowds grew thinner and then almost dissipated entirely, she slowed down to a stop to allow the pair time to catch their breaths, though Astra imagined she would recover a lot more quickly given that she had the force to aid her. "What are you, a smuggler? A bounty hunter?" She asked, trying to gain a better understanding of the situation. She knew all too well how the galaxy worked and what some people had to do to survive so she didn't judge people for their path in life because a lot of the time, they weren't choices, they were survival strategies. "I'm Astra." She said, holding a hand out to the young man since it seemed like they would be spending some time together.

The danger was far from over though as two Rodians with blasters drawn approached the pair and exchanged words to each other in Rodian, prompting Astra to turn to Jey, "Do you speak any Rodian?" She asked, to which the answer was understandably no. "Then I imagine the negotiations will be short." She said casually before drawing her lightsaber and deflecting a blaster bolt from the Rodian in front of her while using the force to push the one in front of Jey to give her the few seconds she needed to deal with the other Rodian since they were surrounded on either side.

The deflected bolts hit walls, away from civilians but as the other Rodian began shooting, her attention became divided and she accidentally deflected one of the bolts into the Rodian's chest, causing her to hesitate for what could've been a fatal moment but she had to see the job through and quickly turned and severed the blaster of the other offending Rodian in half and planting her foot firmly on his chest to kick him backwards, causing him to lose his footing and fall back on the floor. She pointed the tip of the lightsaber at the Rodian's chest in an attempt to intimidate, though she had no intention of killing him, and he seemingly understood the message and got to his feet to scurry off.


@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

Jey followed the blonde woman closely as they swiftly made their way through the large crowd, escaping their attackers. For a brief moment, he was reminded of his times on Nar Shaddaa - being drunk with his friends, causing trouble and having to flee from the local law enforcement because of it, a small smile formed on his face for a brief moment before he remembered he was literally running for his life.

As the Jey and his saviour managed to escape the crowded area and stopped in a secluded, but hopefully safe, area to catch their breaths. Jey bent over slightly, panting heavily - you think he'd be used to this, with all the running he had been doing these past few weeks. The blonde woman broke the silence between the two when she questioned him regarding his profession before finally introducing herself as Astra. Standing up straight and placing his hands on his hips, he hung his head low slightly to breathe in one last bit of air, "I'm Jey, and I'm neither. I was just doing this one smuggling job to get by, usually I'm a free agent." he responded, releasing his hands from his hips as he finished his last sentence.

Their moment of peace was brief when it was interrupted by two Rodians carrying blasters as they exchanged words in Rodese - he understood them slightly due to him being fluent in Huttese, however he wasn't completely sure of what they were saying or how to speak back to them, so when Astra asked if he spoke it he simply shook his head in response. Returning his focus to the Rodians at hand, the hazel eyed teen hovered his hand over his blaster holster, ready to start blasting but before he could even do anything; Astra drew out a emerald kriffin' lightsaber - she was a Jedi?! "Perfect." he thought to himself, "This what you were leading me to, old man?" he questioned internally, wondering if meeting was influenced by his Jedi ancestor or something crazy like that.

Everything happened so fast, all he could make out was a haze of green as it deflected several blaster bolts - Jey was unsure of what or who he was aiming his blaster at. She was quick and graceful, he'd give her that. And before he knew it, it was all over, one of the Rodians was on the floor, smoke coming from their chest and the other was on the ground with a lightsaber pointed at his face before scurrying off. With his blaster still in hand, he turned to Astra with a grin "Well, I'm now 100% more attracted to you. You showed those nerf herders what's up." Jey turned to look at the deceased Rodian, whose death he had partially felt through the Force - which was... weird, and then he returned his gaze at Astra once more, she seemed shaken, "Hey, I've got a ship docked just a bit away from us. If we can get to it, we can get outta here." he informed her.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

Although Jey didn't seem like someone who was totally defenceless, Astra was cautious not to overestimate him before she fully knew his capabilities, especially in such a high risk situation. However, it had proved to be a mistake as she had tried to do more than she could handle which had resulted in an avoidable fatality. Had she simply supported Jey rather than trying to be his sole defender then the Rodian may have escaped with his life. She knew dwelling on such a matter would be pointless, even counter-productive but such thoughts would continue to haunt her.

Astra quickly put the lightsaber away once the situation was void of danger, not wanting to draw any more attention to herself than necessary because without the lightsaber she could not been pinpointed as being a Jedi. "Yeeeah... being a free agent isn't the safest, if you're not in a guild or have friends to work with people will use it as an opportunity to screw you over. It's a dangerous galaxy when you're on your own." She said thoughtfully when they finally had an opportunity to continue the conversation, in attempt to show she was not judging or condemning the teen, hoping to gain his trust or at least some positive reputation for the Jedi since they needed all they could get.

"Yeah and don't you forget it." She joked and gave him a smirk, though really was still dwelling on what had just happened, she was good at hiding her emotions and it wasn't like he was... force sensitive? She seemed taken aback, giving Jey a confused look. "You're force sensitive?" She asked, although she knew the answer, she wondered if he did. She didn't often come across other force sensitives outside of those within the Order so this would prove for an interesting conversation when the opportunity arose, perhaps he would be interested in honing his unique abilities within the Order, though she knew it wasn't for everyone as she had seen by her sister's rejection of the Jedi.

"Sounds like a plan." Astra agreed, gesturing for him to lead the way. She was on high alert after all that had just happened but she couldn't sense as much danger as there had been before, hopefully they were through the worst of it but being a free agent seemed to draw a grave amount of danger towards oneself.


@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

Jey wasn't a fan of the Jedi, not really. Whenever he heard the word Jedi, anger would stir in his chest as it would remind him of how that very same Order was responsibile for the suffering his family had went through for generations, it reminded him of how his father left him and his mother behind - leading to her death from overworking herself. So, although he didn't like the Jedi he wouldn't lie to himself and freely admitted that he liked Astra despite her allegiances.

The teen's hazel eyes widened upon realising that of course she would sense that he was Force-sensitive. His face fell into a frown when she questioned him on it and he shook his head saying "I don't wanna talk about it." in a cold manner before leading the way back toward The Kath Hound. Jey hated and rejected the Force for the same reasons he disliked the Jedi - honestly, he wished he could just go back to using Death sticks to shut it off but... it wasn't that simple, not anymore. With Jey leading the blonde Jedi, the two returned into the crowded streets of Coruscant's underworld, being in a large crowd they had a better chance of not being discovered.

The walk was silent as the hazel-eyed youth was still irritated at being asked about his Force-sensitivity outright, since it was a sore subject for him. Although, he felt bad about it... it wasn't Astra's fault... it was just Jey's own issues he had to work through and in-turn, led him to his next thought process. Jey slowed down his walk speed and began walking side by side with the blonde Jedi, but still led her toward his freighter.

Sighing, he turned to look at her "What's so special about the Force anyway?" he knew what it was and how it worked of course, from the lessons he learned from his father years ago but he wanted to know why there were entire cults dedicated to it, why so many wars started because of it. He wanted an outside opinion on it "Why's it so karkin' special to you, Astra?" he added, in an attempt to give his question more depth.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

Jey's unwillingness to talk about his force sensitivity was unexpected but Astra couldn't say she was all that surprised, after all she had to deal with the same thing because of her sister's internal conflict with her force sensitivity and while she couldn't say she fully understood why they seemed to have such adverse feelings towards who they were. Still, she was cautious not to upset Jey and it was clear he didn't want to talk about it so she stayed quiet for most of their journey, feeling awkward for having brought up to matter in the first place.

Astra trailed behind Jey, pondering on what she should say next and whether or not she should apologise for mentioning his force sensitivity but ultimately decided against it, he knew she meant no harm and she wasn't to know it would upset him so she let the matter be, this was very much his issue and not hers, if he chose to talk about it then so be it but otherwise she knew when to stop talking. Eventually, he dropped his speed to rejoin her, perhaps because he had calmed down though he still seemed to have some attitude weighted behind his words.

"Well, I mean- Uh..." She hesitated, clearly not expecting to get into some philosophical debate with a stranger. "It really makes you feel connected to everything and everyone and it gives you abilities which you can use to help others. It depends on how you see it but I see it as a gift and you don't have to choose to use it but it helps you to feel connected to the universe, past and present." She frowned, unsatisfied with her answer since she knew whatever she said would likely make a lasting impression on Jey. "Why is it such a sore subject for you?" She asked, feeling justified in asking such a question after he had asked her one that was rather difficult to answer without going into great detail.


@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

The hazel-eyed youth guessed Astra would respond with something similar to that, something he had heard a thousand times before from his father. He noticed her frown after giving her answer, heh, maybe she didn't fully believe her own words either... or, he was just projecting. Then the blonde Jedi moved on to her own question and asked why this topic bothered him so much, Jey turned his head away from Astra, avoiding any and all eye contact with her and so she couldn't see the scrunched up face he was making.

However, he let out a long sigh, usually he wouldn't allow someone to know this much about himself but... she was the only person to figure out his Force-sensitivity since the incident on Nar Shaddaa, he might as well fill her in on the rest. "My Force-sensitivity can be tracked all the way back to the Clone Wars. I had a Jedi ancestor that survived the Purge, he died a little after training his kid in the ways of the Force and the teachings passed all the way down to me and my Dad." he stopped himself, trying to regain his composure as he felt the anger form in his chest and stomach before continuing, he let out another sight before continuing "At first, I wanted to train in the ways of the Force but after he left me and Mom in the and she--" he struggled "--no, I hate the Force. All it's done is brought issues to my family."

Jey paused again and fell silent, the journey toward the docking bay that The Kath Hound was located was a short distance away. Suddenly, that pit feeling in his chest returned once more before they - there was something behind this door and inside the docking bay, something dangerous. The black haired teen un-holstered his blasterand held it upright just a few inches from his face. "You feel that?" he asked, although he struggled to sense what was behind that door... there was definitely something there.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

Astra listened respectfully to Jey's side of the story but like all stories she believed there was more to it than he was saying, every story was just one person's perception of such events and more often than not were influenced by emotions. She was shocked to hear that he was the descendant of a Purge survivor, she didn't know that much about her own lineage but doubted she was related to anyone quite so renowned.

The story was all too familiar, how one person felt personally victimised by their connection to the force, it wasn't dissimilar from the feelings her own sister harboured towards the force, such strong negative emotions which even led her down the path of self-destructive behaviour in attempt to keep her force sensitivity at bay. No matter what guidance her and Kraud had tried to give Alana, they had yet to successfully help her to come to terms with who she was so she doubted she would have such a positive outcome with Jey in their encounter but she hoped to at least make enough of a lasting impression for him to reevaluate his feelings towards the Force.

She sighed and went to place a comforting hand on Jey's shoulder but pulled back, no, she didn't know him well enough to do that, her words would have to speak louder than actions. "Look, Jey-" She started before noticing him begin to draw his weapon and her hand instinctively went to the lightsaber hilt at her hip. "Yeah." She replied as she began slowly approaching the door. "Looks like they're waiting for you."


@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

While he struggled to sense the intentions of the threats behind the hangar bay, he trusted a trained Jedi's senses more than his own. Turning his head to look at Astra, who was now holding her lightsaber, he gave her an affirming nod acknowledging her statement. Exhaling through his nose, Jey slammed his palm on the wall panel and opened the doors to the hangar and stepped through with his blaster aimed.

An expression of shock proceeded to fall on his face, there was about a dozen thugs consisting of various near-humans and aliens with blasters and surrounding his ship. The situation seemed hopeless for a brief moment, until he smiled to himself, and remembered he had a Jedi on his side - although, he didn't like them he knew having one on his side helped a lot. "The hell, guys?" he called out, blaster and free arm outstretched "What the kriff happened to honour among scoundrels?" he asked, face burrowed into a frown.

Jey noticed a Hutt on cybernetic legs approach the forefront, implying themselves as the leader of this group of thugs. "Jeyten Dres,." he said in Huttese. "What do you want?" Jey replied back in Huttese. "At first I ordered my men to kill you and take your cargo, as a message to your boss who had swindled me more than enough times. Then I realised who you were, my fellow Hutts on Nar Shaddaa placed a bounty on you and I intend to collect." the Hutt stated with a grotesque smile and a deep chuckle, then his yellow eyes focused on Astra and noticed her lightsaber "Oh my, a Jedi? Today's my lucky day, I bet you'd fetch a good price yourself wouldn't you?" he asked Astra rhetorically.

The Hutt boss then turned back to his enforcers, before walking on his cybernetic spider legs passed them "Go ahead boys, but remember, don't kill them. We need them alive." he ordered to his men and after that, they immediately aimed their blasters directly at Jey and Astra. Noticing a cargo container a few feet away from them, Jey pushed Astra into cover and followed suit before the thugs could fire. As blaster bolts bounced off of the crate, Jey turned his head to make eye contact with the blonde Jedi and grinned "Well, on the bright side... they don't want to kill us." he informed her, unsure if she knew Huttese and understood anything the Hutt crime lord was saying earlier.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

Astra was surprised to see the extent to which thugs were willing to go to make a matyr out of Jey and was even more surprised, if not disheartened, to see a Hutt at the bottom of it all. While they weren't in immediate danger yet, with no intentions of firing to kill as far as she could sense, that could change at any moment so she brought her lightsaber up to vertically to eye level in a defensive stance.

While the pair exchanged words, Astra said nothing because although she was familiar with Huttese to an extent, having come from an outer rim planet herself, she did not understand the language aside from a few select words and could add nothing to the conversation so she only glared at the Hutt when their gazes met after hearing the word Jedi. She could infer enough to grasp an understanding of the situation.

A change in mood and Astra could sense the imminent danger that followed and prepared herself for the onslaught of blaster fire but rather unexpectedly was pushed behind a cargo crate by Jey. She stumbled to get her footing but quickly whipped around to meet his gaze next to her. "They don't? Have you told them that?" She asked jokingly. The situation didn't seem completely hopeless so she wasn't too worried yet, between the pair of them they should've been able to handle it.

"We can't stay here forever so just... don't die, that would be really inconvenient." Astra said as she edged towards the side of the cargo crate, lightsaber held close to her body ready to deflect the blaster bolts that would be flying in her direction. She stepped out from behind the crate and sure enough began deflecting the blaster bolts being fired towards her, it was considerably easier now that all the hostiles were in front of her instead of surrounding so she could deflect the bolts more safely, avoiding any unnecessary casualties.

However, the problem with Soresu was that you could be deflecting blaster fire all day and not make any progress, only weakening yourself in the process. She needed a way to take out the hostiles and quickly, though they were severely outnumbered, so she deflected a few blaster bolts downwards, aiming for the legs of the thugs, not a fatal move but one that could certainly incapacitate. She wanted to take out as many as she could, as quickly as she could because she knew Jey may not act as sparingly on their lives.

The attackers were relentless and it was beginning to get overwhelming as Astra tried to gather the focus she needed to use the force in such a demanding situation. There was no time. In the time it would take her to actually utilise the force while in range, she would be shot so she took a more hands-on approach and walked towards the remaining thugs while still deflecting their blaster fire, severing a couple of blasters in two and disarming another by taking off their blaster-wielding hand. The disarmed among them knew they were defenceless against their opponents and backed away.



@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

Astra's joke brought a mischievous grin on the teen's face "Easier said than done, Blondie." he jested back as he set his blaster to kill. Jey watched as Astra leapt from cover and used her lightsaber to deflect and reflect the incoming blaster fire. Jey was once again mesmerised by the blonde Jedi's skill with a lightsaber, especially since he had never seen a functioning lightsaber up close before. The hazel-eyed teen poked his head over the cargo crate and noticed the thugs were completely focusing on Astra. Perfect. They won't even see him coming.

Promptly, Jey rose up in a crouched position and shot off his blaster in the direction of a Devaronian. While he wasn't a crack shot with a blaster, the thugs having their attention solely focused on Astra gave him an advantage - Jey concentrated with one eye closed and tongue stuck out slightly before pulling the trigger and shooting his blaster off directly into the Devaronian's chest before hiding back in cover. He felt it again, a life snuffed out in the Force, but he didn't care... not one bit - these guys were scumbags and he'd be doing the galaxy a favour. It was him or them, and in this instance it was definitely going to be them.

Still in cover, Jey's gaze switched to Astra to see how she was doing and he noticed her actually approaching them - "What the hell is she thinking?" he thought to himself as he watched her, luckily, Astra had managed to take out half of the thugs but the remaining ones who were still shooting at her from either side of her - but she couldn't hold them off forever. Jey had no idea how he'd be able to help her in time, and then that's when he heard him. "You know what you must do, Jeyten." called out a familiar voice, Jey's face turned into a frown "I...can't." he surrendered, refusing to even look at the spectral form, or hallucination, of his Jedi ancestor. "You can. But you won't. Open yourself up to the Force." and with that, he was gone. He was right, if he was going to help Astra, he'd need to use the Force.

Jey proceeded to inhale deeply and close his eyes tight. It had been so long since he willingly opened himself up to the Force, he had almost forgotten how - begrudgingly, he heeded his ancestor's words and opened himself up to the Force and to let it guide his actions. Now feeling it flow through him, Jey emerged from cover once more and eliminated two of the thugs shooting at Astra with pinpoint accuracy, Force guiding his actions completely, and took the heat off of her which allowed the blonde Jedi to take out the remaining thugs.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

Any time now, Jey. She thought, waiting for the teen to spring into action and relieve some of the pressure of defending and disarming a dozen people. Once he emerged from the cover of the cargo crate he began shooting with the intent to kill, as she had suspected. While the Jedi themselves were not wholly against killing in self-defence, it was very much a divided opinion and on a personal level Astra did all she could to avoid that outcome. She grew more and more uncomfortable at the feeling of people leaving the physical plane of existence through her connection to the force but didn't see another option without getting one or both of them killed.

With two more of the thugs taken out, Astra could redirect her attention and in the short moment without blaster fire she drew on her connection to the force and held her free hand out towards two of the thugs, pushing them back into the wall, knocking one out and dazing the other. The last man standing knew he was beat but he could not surrender in front of the Hutt so he continued to fire towards Astra but to no avail, she deflected the first bolt back into his knee, effectively ending the battle.

With the threat now detained, except for the Hutt before them, Astra stood down, the lightsaber facing the ground at her side. "Are you ok, Jey?" She asked the teen without taking her eyes off the Hutt. "Can't we just scoot around him? He's not exactly going to chase us is he? He doesn't look very nimble in those." She said, using her lightsaber to gesture to the Hutt's cybernetic legs. As a Hutt, his reputation preceded him, their infamy as crime lords was well known throughout the galaxy, their agility however was not.




@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

With the coast clear, Jey stood up and exited the cover - "I'm good!" he called out while waving out to the blonde Jedi. As he walked to approach her, he turned his head to look back at the cargo container and saw the amount of blaster marks on the front of it which made him realise how intense the earlier battle was. Drawing closer to Astra and the Hutt crimelord, she lightheartedly expressed her desire to disable the Hutt's cybernetic legs.

The black haired teen didn't respond, his face showed that of rage - with his blaster still in hand, Jey clenched its handle tight and walked right passed Astra and pointed his blaster directly to the Hutt's head. "I've got a better idea." he said coldly, "I should put a blaster bolt right between his kriffin' eyes. No one would miss him right? He tried to kill me, then kidnap us." he asked rhetorically, clenching to his teeth together and tightening his grip on the DL-18's handle even more tighter and breathing heavily through his nose.

He really wanted to, he really wanted to snuff out this scumbag's life but... enough people had died today. Sighing, he lowered his blaster and shot at the Hutt's cybernetic legs and completely disabled him, preventing him from following the two when they escape. "<Tell your Hutt buddies on Nar Shaddaa to stop searching for me. Because I swear, I will go back and I will kill them.>" he ordered sternly in Huttese, he was bluffing of course, there was no way he'd be able to successfully wipe out the Hutt crime lords on Nar Shaddaa but there was no harm in scaring him and them. The Hutt nodded in response before Jey silently made his way onto The Kath Hound, motioning for Astra to follow.

In the The Kath Hound's cockpit - Jey booted up the ship's engines and proceeded to pilot the ship to take off and get the hell out of Coruscant's underworld. While piloting the ship, Jey let out a long sigh before forcing a smile onto his face "Where do you want me to drop you off? Gonna have to have a loooong talk with my employer when I get back to Ryloth." he joked, trying to avoid talking about what had happened earlier.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

Astra could sense the raw, cold emotions radiating from Jey and became weary of what his next move would be, she wouldn't hesitate to disarm him too. As Jey spoke of the possibility of him killing the Hutt, Astra immediately opened her palm down at her side, hoping Jey wouldn't see her using the force in attempt to prevent the weapon from firing temporarily should Jey decide to pull the trigger thus giving her ample time to disarm him but it seemed it wouldn't come to that as after a tense few moments Jey made the decision on his own not to follow through with his threat so Astra withdrew her hand.

Although she didn't know what had been said to the Hutt, no doubt it was better than a blaster bolt to the head so she let Jey say what he needed to say before retracting her lightsaber and following him onto his ship. Astra stayed silent during the time it took for them to take off, now the adrenaline of the situation was wearing off and they were back to facing reality and she was coming to the realisation that she had taken a life but like Jey was putting on a smile and pretending all was well, though both parties knew otherwise.

"Oh um..." She thought for a moment about somewhere reasonable to be taken since she didn't want Jey to go out of his way. "If you're going to Ryloth now then Ajan Kloss or Dantooine would be ideal." She replied, thinking it wasn't too unreasonable to ask to go to nearby outer rim planets. She remained quiet for a while after answering his question, the fatigue setting in after the adrenaline, the force was restorative but it took some time.

Even when she felt able to carry a conversation with Jey, she hesitated, unsure whether or not she should try and speak to him about a topic he clearly had negative feelings about. She tried testing the waters first to see how he would respond to her potentially unsettling statement when mixed with flattery. "You know... the Jedi would be lucky to have someone like you." She told him. It was true, he had the bravery, camaraderie, skills and potential to become a Jedi, it just seemed as though it was a path he had chosen to shut himself off to.



@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

"Roger, roger." he said in response to Astra's answer about where she wanted to be dropped off. Jey continued to pilot the ship off of Coruscant and into space, with the tapping of a few buttons on the cockpit's panel, setting a course for Dantooine - The Kath Hound proceeded to jump into hyperspace. Swivelling around on his chair, Jey turned his attention to the blonde Jedi once more and grinned at her. Astra's body language showed that she was about to say something, so he waited for her to say whatever it was she was going to say.

There it was, he half expected this conversation - the Jedi conversation - but still, Astra's statement took him aback a little. Placing his palms on his thighs, Jey's head hung low and two locks of jet black hair fell over his face. While his ego appreciated the flattery, deep down Jey knew he had a lot of issues and personal demons he'd have to overcome to even consider becoming a Jedi... and even then, his relationship and history with the Jedi wasn't that great to begin with.

"Thanks, Astra... but I can't... I just can't. There's too much bad history there." he said solemnly, his confident and lighthearded facade beginning to completely drop. However, his mind travelled back to earlier during the firefight at the hangar bay... when he briefly opened himself up to the Force, he remembered the feeling. Maybe he could get some answers from Astra about it.

"Earlier something happened." he said, in an attempt to draw her attention "During the shootout... for a quick moment, I let myself open up to the Force, willingly, to help you and--" he gritted his teeth, feeling crazy for even saying this "But... for that brief moment I felt whole again. I felt like my true self." he said begrudgingly. Honestly, he had no idea why he was telling her this or what he expected her response to be, or what this even meant, but... the hazel-eyed youth had to get it off of his chest.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

As expected, her statement wasn't a welcome one but Jey didn't seem to respond too negatively to it, prompting her to continue on the subject. "You can't blame the Jedi or even the Force for one man's mistakes, Jey." She said with a sudden seriousness. He seemed bitter about the predicament his father had left him and his mother in when he had left them and although she didn't know the whole story, she knew the Force was not at fault and that Jey's anger was misdirected.

"You're angry at your father for what he did to you but you're directing that anger towards the Force, why? Because it reminds you of him?" She didn't care if her words stung, she wanted to try and grasp a better understanding of the situation so she knew how to properly help. This was a situation that would require some tough love before the real healing could take place and Astra wasn't afraid to speak the truth. If Jey had a problem with what she said then he could take it up with her, they had enough time travelling to get all their debates out and Astra had a lot to say - as usual.

"That's because it's who you are." She replied. "And you're trying to hide from that." She tried to meet his gaze to connect with him on a more personal level and build a rapport. "But my sister is doing the exact same thing, I'm very experienced in this area so don't think you can get off that easily." She half-smiled, trying to lighten the mood somewhat. The actions Alana took in attempt to nullify her force sensitivity upset Astra but hopefully with a more neutral position to Jey, she could provide more assistance without too much interference from emotions.

"It's good that you called on the Force but it would be even better if you had the training behind you to utilise it properly." She said, once again suggesting the Jedi Order as an option to Jey and she wasn't about to back down on the matter. But she wasn't without manners. "But thank you for helping me and risking yourself." She said, unwilling to accept any thanks from him should he try to return it, it was her duty after all.



@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

He dreaded this conversation. Astra went on to lecture him about his troubled past and troubled relationship with the Force and the Jedi and he planted his palm into his face as she went on. Astra did not hold back, and he probably needed to hear this... he'd never actually had this conversation - the conversation regarding his past due to the simple fact he never let anyone know about this side of his self.

As much as he hated to admit it, the blonde Jedi did raise some good points and asked a few thought provoking questions - although, he was too stubborn and hot-headed to actually act rationally. He clenched his fists that rested on his thighs before his face contorted into that of anger and annoyance, he rose from his chair and raised his voice "Yes. I hate my father. When he left, my Mom worked herself to death to support me and her - all because he decided he didn't want a family anymore. The Jedi, the Force, yeah, I hate them because it reminds me of my father." his voice grew increasingly louder with every word before... it softened with the next few words he was about to say "I hate the Force because I inherited it from him... a part of him I can't forget or escape from... the only kriffin' thing he left me."

Jey was surprised... he had never spoken about these feelings before, as a matter of fact, he didn't exactly know he felt this way until now. Did he just have some kind of breakthrough? As he began to calm down slightly, anger turning to sorrow, he was able to evaluate things more logically instead of emotionally, when she mentioned about 'proper training' to utilise himself properly, he knew she was hinting at joining the Jedi - "Look, I know you think me joining the Jedi is a good idea but I can't. Not right now. I'm not Jedi material and I have a lot of things to work through." he informed her, avoiding her eye contact.

Jey sat back down in his pilot's seat and ran his gloved hand through his black hair, letting out a long sigh. "And I'm sorry about your sister, I mean it. My advice on that, is maybe trying to see things from her point of view." although he couldn't really give her proper advice, seeing as he had no idea on who her sister even was. With that, Jey prepared himself for Astra's inevitable response.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

If Jey felt the need to raise his voice to convey what he had to say then so be it, Astra however showed no emotion to him while he spoke angrily of his father and the effect he had had on their family. This was for Jey to work through, she believed her role here was to guide him in the right direction but first putting his thoughts into words, even if they were being shouted, may be beneficial to him understanding his own feelings and help him to begin healing.

In her experience, these feelings of anger were fleeting and once all was said, another emotion would take precedence so she simply waited for Jey to calm down and watched as his rage quickly turned into sorrow. Astra spoke calmly to the young man, deciding that maybe now was an appropriate time to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry that happened to you, those aren't the actions of a true Jedi." She said, able to empathise with him by sensing his anguish through the Force.

"Can't you see that you're letting it define you?" She asked. "You come from a lineage of what I'm assuming to be successful Jedi, why let one bad one ruin what all those before him had worked so hard to achieve?" She pondered, wondering if any of Jey's ancestors had been watching over his journey in dismay.

When Jey was adamant he didn't want to join the Jedi right now, Astra held her palms up as if to say she surrendered, she didn't want to push him too far on the matter otherwise it would become hopeless. "Ok, ok. I respect that. At least consider it is all I'm saying." She replied before dropping the matter. At the mention of her sister, Astra shrugged it off and smiled.

"Yeah, well... that's what we try to do." She replied before swiftly moving on the conversation to avoid getting her own emotions too involved. "You must know by now that all Jedi aren't like your father was... So why be angry at a group of people who had nothing to do with the actions he chose to take?" She asked, though she was unsure if he could answer her question there and then, it may be something he would have to ponder on himself.



@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

Jey jolted but then relaxed slightly when Astra placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and he listened intently to what she had to say next - his head was hung low and he refused to make eye contact with the blonde Jedi, like a child being scolded by their parent. Everything that came out of her mouth was true, however... Jey nodded in response with every few sentences before it was his turn to speak. "We?" he queried internally when Astra mentioned another person, regarding the topic of her sister. He neglected to follow this however, as he didn't want to intrude on her own life.

"Hate to admit this... but yeah, okay, you may be on to something." he sighed, before raising his head to meet her eyes. "With the Jedi... I don't know, it's just they're so linked to my family and it was the reason for my ancestor's death that started this whole chain reaction that led to me and my father." he explained trying to convey what it was that bothered him about the Light sided Force users "Sometimes I feel like if my family weren't so closely linked to your Order, he and my Mom would still be here y'know?" he then shook his head and waved it off "Ah, it's stupid." he added with an embarrassed face.

Once more his mind travelled back to the moment he opened himself up to the Force and how relieving it felt to just let it in, instead of actively trying to push it away. "Y'know... even though things are complicated between me and the Force right now, I can't get what happened today out of my head." he chuckled while placing his face in his palm and shaking his head "Ugh, I really hate admitting this but... I kinda wanna feel like that again. It's been so long since I opened myself up to the Force..." he paused, deliberating on if this is what he really wanted, for if he asked, this will change things for good. After a few short moments, he sighed in defeat "... I was wondering if you could, I don't know, help me completely open up to it again." he asked, hoping he wouldn't regret this decision.

@Sunfrog