An invisible cage

[Tsar Fire]

Derek scowled. He was being ignored, which while good, was also frustrating... He didn't dare make the first move, yet... He was about to continue towards the hangars when a voice yelled.

"HEY YOU! OFFSHOOT!" Derek jumped as a guard leapt out of a concealed niche by the entryway into the spaceport. "This area is off limits to your kind."

Scowling Derek allowed himself to be shooed away, but the moment the guard's back was turned he grinned and sprinted down the side wall of the hangars, turning off into an alleyway and dashing along it, counting out steps as he went.

 

[Ben]

Ben overheard the shouting of the guards, and ignored it. He then reached the enterance to the hangar, and two durasteel doors slid up as he walked through.

The hangar had many doors running down it like a hallway. His hangar lay near the end of the spaceport, Hangar 24. There were employees inside the spaceport carrying crates to various places across the hangars.

Ben slowly paced down the hallway, scanning the numbers printed on the metal doors of the hangars.

 

[Ols]

Cain followed the young man's presence, now at a run, using the Force to propel him. He did not know if Natalia had come with him or was trying to stop him another way, but he wished to talk to the man. He saw him up ahead and leapt forward once more.

"Stop!" he called, "Stop!"

 

[Imperator]

At first Natalia followed with Cain but in order to help catch the man running away more easily she used the force to hide herself and then jumped up onto the roof of a nearby hanger. Wherever he went she would be able to watch him and if necessary cut him off. "I have him in sight." Natalia sent a message to Cain just to let him know she following him.

 

[Tsar Fire]

Derek didn't hear the shouts behind him and had finally reached the right hangar, # 23. He paused, and let his senses calm for a moment, pulling the lightsaber from his belt. He had to be crazy, but this just might work.. he waited until he felt,... no... he KNEW that it was the right moment to move, and slid the blade into the wall of the hangar.
The voices had started to hover around the edge of hearing as he moved the blade quickly in a circle, trying to cut away a small section of the hangar wall, not knowing that at that moment the man in white was walking past the open door to the hangar...

 

[Ols]

((I'm out for the night guys...so one more post each until I wake up tomorrow, k?)

Cain, boosted by the Force, had caught up with the man as he moved to cut a hole in the door. He pulled him in the Force, pulling him away from his newly cut hole and a good few feet away, leaping into the gap before he could get up. The man in white would be behind him now, but he stood before the younger man, his face set. He knew Natalia had his back, though.

"Hello," said Cain, "I'm Cain Ray. Now you've stopped, will you listen to me?"

 

[Ben]

Ben saw the man slicing through the door, ignoring him. As Ben stated in his mind before, he had no business in what he would not receive payment for, unless it had been hostile towards him.

He pulled a card out of his pocket, and swiped it through the I.D. Scanner. The durasteel door slid open and his ship layed in the middle of the large hangar.

Ben walked in the hangar, and placed his card back in his pocket. The door slid behind him as he paced towards his ships ramp.

 

[Tsar Fire]

Derek lay on the ground, gasping, the voices clamoring louder and louder, as he realized that his earlier guess had been right. This man was jedi. He was in big, big trouble. But... he was too close to give up. He would listen, and wait, and be careful...

"I'm in a hurry, breaking the law and all, so why not... I'll listen to whatever you have to say, but can we do it inside?" He motioned towards the shadowy interior of the hangar, hoping he could make it to the ship in time to get it clear of the wrath of planetary officials.

 

[Ols]

"I don't want you running off on me again," said Cain, "so I'll stand between you and that ship, and if you try to move I'll slam you down in front of one of the security guards."

Cain paused and looked behind him. There was a fair amount of commotion in the docks.

"You carry a lightsaber, yet I feel you are no Jedi. The Force is strong with you, though. I may be able to help you."

 

[Tsar Fire]

"help me how?" The force? What was he talking about. Jedi were special, were great... Derek wasn't any of those things, that much he knew. There was no way he was a jedi, there just wasn't.

"All I want help with right now is destroying the slavers who ruined the lives of so many of my friends and family. I want to stop from them hurting anyone else." He pulled himself up slowly, picking up his lightsaber from where it had fallen.

"I need that ship if I'm going to manage that, can't we talk once we are on board, I promise I'll listen to whatever you have to say there." He gritted his teeth, the voices were almost deafening now, but he couldn't afford to have another attack. "I don't think the force has anything to do with me though, despite what you might think." The voices were drifting clearer now. "I wonder what that... I'm watching you're back... When will my next bounty come?... How much... still hungry...

He gritted his teeth, he couldn't fall apart just yet.

 

[Ols]

"I can feel the Force strongly in you," said Cain simply, before adding, "Oh and I have a ship. And I can help you, if you'll let me. I can open your eyes to greater things. But you must first realise destroying slavers won't make you feel better. Revenge is never a reason to do something, it will drive you to the depths of depravity. If you listen, and learn to my help, I will aid you in ridding the galaxy of these slavers, I assure you they are no friends of mine."

Then he saw him gritting his teeth, as if from a very loud noise in his ear. "Ah," he said, "you hear them. And you hear them through th Force. You already feel it, you just don't realise what it is."

 

[Tsar Fire]

"What!? The force... don't make me.... laugh..." actually, it made sense.... too much sense.... Derek gritted his teeth as the voices clamored louder and louder, and replied.

"I don't care if you have a ship, I need that one. It's the only one that will serve my purpose, and I want one of my own. I don't want to belong to anyone again." He shivered with frustration. "I don't want revenge... I want justice, and more importantly... I want to protect the people... my people... who nobody else will fight for. I want to stop anyone else being taken."

"I need that ship if I'm going to have a chance...."

 

[Ols]

"A ship is nothing compared with the power of the Force," Cain said, "arm yourself with the Force and you will become that avatar of justice you so wish to be. Listen to me and you will never belong to anyone or anything, but the will of the Force. Let me unlock your potential, and I promise I will equip you with tools greater than any other, and I shall return with you to free your people. If you leave now, maybe you'll save a few, but you'll die at the hands of the slavers. Come with me, let me teach you, let me arm you and when we return the slavers will be a mere stain wiped from the face of the galaxy."

 

[Tsar Fire]

Derek paused, his head bowed. He knew the security alarms would be going off soon, he didn't have time to think.... Perhaps, he could listen.... but he would not give up everything...

"If you help take that ship.... I'll listen to whatever you have to say. I'll do whatever it is that you want me to do... I'll even consider your claims that I might have a touch of.... the force..." He gulped. "I just... need to know that I have a way out... don't you see? I need wings to carry me, that are my own... and I looked at the specs... and those are very special wings..."

He didn't know how to make this stranger understand, he just hoped that he would be willing to compromise.

 

[Ols]

"If I refused you would have problems," said Cain, "a corvette needs a crew, not just a pilot. I do not see why you so desparately need a corvette. The Force will provide you with wings greater than any ship. Learn the ways of the Force, become a Knight of the Shade order and you will be armed to spearhead your attack on slavers."

Cain saw little use for one corvette in a battle against slavery, lest how one man could pilot a corvette on his own. Unless he already had help.

 

[Tsar Fire]

Derek smiled. "that's what is special about this ship. It's a unique vessel, an experiment which small-minded people didn't appreciate."

He set the lightsaber back on his belt. He wouldn't have a chance against this man anyway. "I could pilot it by myself. Not well, mind you... but I could fly it... and it is much more powerful than most vessels of its size... It could be a valuable tool."

He looked the stranger in the eyes. "I said that I was willing to compromise... I only ask for one thing. Then I will listen to everything you say... or is that... too much to ask?"

 

[Ols]

"You're asking me to steal a ship for no apparent purpose, what could this ship have that you need so desparately?" Cain was genuinely at a loss as to why this boy was so desparate for a ship. He claimed he could pilot it himself, but Cain doubted a boy who did not think himself Force sensitive could operate four technician stations at once, let alone all the others should he need to utilise the ship's weapons or even landing capabilities.

 

[Tsar Fire]

"this ship is unique, I told you already." Derk sighed. "I know its a lot to ask, but the arrogant jerks have enough money to build five more like it from their pocket change, okay?"

He gave a small shrug. "It was an experiment in automating systems via several central computing systems. The ship can be piloted by the captain alone, if rather poorly. It still works best with a crew."

"I... can't explain why its important to me... it was just... my glimpse of freedom...." He just wished he could explain, but... if he had to leave it... he would.... but... he wanted this ship which was so much better than anything else he could acquire....

 

[Ols]

"If you come with me you'll have no need of a ship, you'll have need of very little in the way of goods and items. A great man once said to me that we truly become free through the Force. I promise I will accompany you in wiping slavery from the face of this world, but I cannot help you unless you want to unlock your potential. And stealing this ship for the sake of it being more than you can afford seems...wasteful. If you were to come with me you would have little need of small battlehsips. I can show you a much greater glimpse of freedom than a ship. Will you let me teach you?"

 

[Tsar Fire]

"Can jedi fly between the stars... or do they need a ship to travel upon!" Derek hung his head, and sighed. "Alright... Maybe... later... I'll come back and BUY the thing. Because even the jedi need a good ship in space... but... if you can prove to me some measure of good faith that what you say is true... I'll go with you.