An Odd Request

[Alaisia]

Alaisia waited a moment, until she was able to calmly say that there were no Force-Sensitives on the other ships.

"OK, your probably not going to like what we're going to do next, but it's about the only idea I got. When I say, hit the switch that's marked 'Launch' on the silver panel next to the throttles. '74, man the turret and get those fighters taken care of. Here we go!"

She held on as the ship went into a spin, waiting for Eric.

"Now, Alaisia!"

She leaped toward the control switch, but slipped. Hitting the ground hard, she reached out with the Force and pushed the switch and looked up to see that her second try worked. She silently thanked the Sage Knight who had taught her some skills as she returned to her seat. She would definitely need those skills in the days to come.

 

[Chask274]

As Alaisia hit the switch, the ship's two missile tubes fired a salvo of concussion missiles. The missiles slammed into the projector, shredding through it's shields,and leaving the projector itself a smoking wreck. Now that the way was clear, Eric yanked the throttle, and the familiar streaks of starlight filled the viewport as the freighter jumped back into hyperspace.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Eric leaned back in his chair. "That was a little too close for comfort. You did good, though, thanks for the help! Hopefully they didn't get a solid ID on us, I've got enough to worry about without the Imperium out looking for me." Eric offered his passenger a smile. "Now, the one major hiccup I'm still concerned about is getting to and landing the planet without being detected once we enter the system. You got any ideas?"

 

[Alaisia]

"You got any ideas?"

Alaisia sat back down in her chair and paused. "I'm not sure, really," she said. "There will likely be patrols around the planet..." She hadn't thought of that and suddenly she felt horrible. She had drawn yet another person into danger. But perhaps V would be waiting for them. If his ship was watching for something out of the ordinary, he would have no problem seeing them.

She turned back to Eric, pulling her bag close. "It will be dangerous to land on the planet... Does your ship come with any sort of camouflage?"

 

[Chask274]

Adjusting a few switches, Eric grinned, "This wouldn't be a smuggling ship without some sort of camouflage, now would it? There are several compartments throughout the ship that are hidden and shielded against sensors, and there's a sensor jamming array built into the comms dish. Slipping past Imperial Navy senors isn't the problem, its avoiding being sensed by the Sith that's the problem. Are you trained in Force stealth? Because I'm not, and two Force-users on a single ship will definitely be tricky to hide."

If she hadn't known before now, Alaisia would definitely know now that Eric was Force-Sensitive. It was at this point that the ship dropped out of hyperspace right at the edge of the Korriban system. They'd move deeper in once a plan was formed, but until then, they'd hide in the asteroid field.

 

[Vexillar]

The Archanist had been monitoring the system idly since he left Naboo. He wanted to know every ship that came in and left. He was curious if the girl would even make it this far. He held faith that she would, but wouldn't be surprised, or disappointed, if she didn't make it...or even died really. She was on a war-controlled planet, an enemy of the Imperium, and was making her way to Sith HQ. The more he mulled it over, the more he would actually be surprised if she died. She was basically turning herself in, for all intents and purposes, and most Sith would love to boast at the fact that they bested a Jedi...of course she was just a Padawan, and he doubted there'd be much of a fight.

Still, when the signal came in he was actively meditating within one of the battleships that surrounded Korriban. He felt it, a small tug at the edge of his senses. He stood up and left his chambers, not bothering to take Eezeo as the droid needed to recharge anyway, making his way to the bridge. While he held no military ranking, he was one of the nicer Sith. Easy to talk to, fun to be around, if you liked having your brain picked at verbally, which gave him some leeway here and there when making requests of soldiers. Of course that being said, what he asked the commanding officer wasn't exactly a huge deal either.

"Can you...extend your sensors? There's a ship out there."

His voice was the dominate voice that escaped his lips, but underneath there was the gentle, yet firm, sound of a female's voice. The spirit that dwelled within the dark halls of his body. The commander arched a brow curiously at him. Thrown off by the voice still, but more curious about this ship. "All due respect, if there was a ship out there we would have picked it up...But we can try to increase power." The Sith nodded politely and thanked the captain, waiting on the bridge for his suspicions to be confirmed. A few moments later they came back empty handed. He smirked slightly. "Ah...so that's how they are doing it...Cute. May I borrow a shuttle?" After permission had been granted he thanked the commander for his time and took a small shuttle off to follow his senses.

He was pretty sure that whatever ship the Jedi managed to get to fly straight for Korriban would be easily able to pick up the small craft, but that was what he was counting on. His own presence in the Force was tucked away in the folds of the galaxy. He didn't go straight for the feeling he detected, merely just close enough to reach out to them. To deliver a message that would ring inside both of their heads, a feat that was a bit taxing given the distance and lack of a bond between them, but doable nonetheless.

Welcome to Korriban...

 

[Alaisia]

Alaisia sat, thinking of what to do next. "No," she said. "I'm sorry. I don't know how to use Force Stealth. I just know a little Telekinesis. I can't even sense other Force Sensitives all that well unless I focus." She sighed, not surprised to hear that he was a Force Sensitive as well. It scared her a little, realizing that two Force Sensitives were too big a target for any Sith going by to ignore. She hoped that his camoflauging equipment could keep the ship concealed until they found a way in.

Her answer came by way of a familiar voice inside her head. "Welcome to Korriban..."

She jumped, looking around for the source of the voice before realizing that she had heard it in her head... only in her head. "V is close," she said to Eric. "That's the one I was looking for. He will be able to help." She said most of this to ease Eric's mind. Though her mind ran with how to explain why she had come all this way to meet up with a Sith. She had left that particular detail out before, hoping that Eric would assume it was another lost Padawan on Korriban that she was after.

 

[Chask274]

"Welcome to Korriban"

If it wasn't for Alaisia's quick explanation, Eric would have been in full-on panic mode right about now. Ominous telepathic voices in your head, especially at their current location, would have been something to worry about. As for coming here to meet a Sith, it didn't concern or scare him so much as make the spacer curious as to why, because Ericc had kinda already guessed that would be the reason they came here. Since using comms would get an Imperial cruiser here faster than they could blink, Eric attempted to use the Force to send out a message.

"Can you come to us?"

It was his first attempt at something like that, and all he really did was let the Force flow through him and then concentrated on his message really hard, so for all he knew, nothing had happened. If the Sith was to approach, he'd find an airlock and docking ring on the top of the frieghter, just forward of the gun turret.

Spoiler: OOC

For a reference, think of the hatch Luke falls into on the top of the Falcon at the end of Ep. V.

 

[Vexillar]

The message back was...mostly feeling. He was used to such things, however, from those inexperienced in the art of telepathy. As simple as it was to feel a mind, it was rather difficult to push a verbal message through. Pictures and feelings were better, but he had to commend the attempt. At such a distance too. The Sith smiled to himself and put in a course for their ship. He hailed the cruiser he had departed from and told them not to attack the ship he had found. They were guests of his and under his protections.

The Sith made his way to the ship, without notice really besides the initial communication, and found the docking hatch. Connecting with it, he began to make his way aboard the smuggler's craft. He arched a brow as he looked about it and strolled over to the pair of them. He allowed a small smile to touch his face as he laid 'eyes' on Alaisia. "So glad you could make it. I admit, I'm a little...surprised. I didn't expect you to get here so soon." His voice was notably more different from their last encounter. The spirit of a long dead Sith spoke with him, echoing his words. He looked to the pilot and immediately noted his Force Sensitivity. "Rephrase that; I'm more surprised that you came here. It's foolish enough for someone like you, Alaisia, to come to Korriban. But to secure a Force Sensitive pilot? Well...you two will certainly have an interesting story for future endeavors." He chuckled as Eezeo approached the group of them. He waited by his master's feet for further instructions but otherwise didn't do much besides look pretty. The Arcanist reached into his pocket and pulled out a 100 credits, handing them to Eric via telekinesis. "Here. A reward for services rendered." He looked over to the girl again.

"And what did you learn from this journey?"

 

[Alaisia]

Alaisia watched as V walked over to them, grinning. She had done it. She had made it to Korriban safely, or at least so far. As V spoke, it startled her as his voice had shifted. She could hear a second voice speaking with him, echoing his words. A shiver ran down her spine and fear threatened to invade her thoughts but she stopped it quickly. This was V, and so far he had made no attempt to hurt her. She only hoped the voice was the only thing that had changed since their meeting on Naboo.

She waited patiently as he gave Eric some credits for helping her get to Korriban before he turned to her and asked, "And what did you learn from this journey?"

"Um..." Alaisia stuttered a bit, unsure. "Uh... That getting caught by an Imperial patrol is bad?..."

 

[Chask274]

Eric accepted the credits with a nod, and set them aside. "She didn't really know about my Force Sensitivity until we were nearly here. How'd you two meet? Also, if you don't mind my asking, why is a Sith helping a Jedi?" He wasn't so naive as to assume all Sith were heartless jerks, but this situation still confused him. The creepy echo in the Sith's voice was also putting him on edge, but he pushed it aside, seeing as how Alaisia seemed fine with it.

At the mention of Imperial patrols, Eric grinned a bit, "Yeah, if you hear reports of a patrol frigate and it's fighter escort being hit by an unidentified freighter over in the vicinity of the Hutt border, that was us...hyperdrive stalled and they found us just before we could get going again."

 

[Vexillar]

Vi'kaar arched a brow at her response. The spirit manifested itself, to Vi'kaar only of course since it lived within him and his mind only, Oh she's charming isn't she? This is your pet project? The girl you're risking status and power for? Tch. I can smell the stink on her even in the afterlife. Why waste your time on her? Normally, he didn't tolerate her intrusions and such, but this one warranted a response. The spirit of Ertichu was powerful, yes, she had talents and raw skill, but that's where it ended. It was no surprise to him that she was only an Apprentice and never rose beyond that. Skill only took you so far before you needed brains. Because, Spirit, she has potential. Even if that full potential is never reached, it never hurts to have connections. Even you have to realize that. Still...she will be useful, I can see it in her. A small smile crept onto his face, and he shook his head at her.

"If that is all you have learned, then maybe it's best for you to repeat this?" He tilted his head slightly. "Go and meditate on the shuttle. I will be with you shortly. Have an answer by the time we reach Korriban." And just like that her instruction had begun. He knew life would be difficult for her, and while there were many instructors and Acolytes...not all of them would be as welcoming to jokes. Turning his attention to the pilot he arched a brow. "Jedi? You must be mistaken. She is no Jedi." The pilot was a loose end, but there was nothing to be done about it now. Killing him would only raise questions, erasing his memories could be smart...but that may throw Alaisia off too. This was a fragile situation so he'd have to give him very specific instructions. "Imperial ships won't be a problem now. However, pilot, you have to clear your navigation logs and where you refueled. You were never here." He didn't say it with the sound of a threat or any such thing. He didn't need threats. Threats made people nervous. And nervous people made mistakes...

 

[Alaisia]

"If that is all you have learned, then maybe it's best for you to repeat this?" Her smile disappeared as V shook his head. "Go and meditate on the shuttle. I will be with you shortly. Have an answer by the time we reach Korriban."

"Yes," she said, not wanting to further shame herself. She should have given a little more thought to her answer instead of making a joke. She wanted to kick herself, but instead she stalked away to the shuttle where she sat on the floor. Making sure she was out of the way of any traffic that may move through, she closed her eyes and cleared her thoughts and meditated on what had passed.

 

[Chask274]

As Alaisia walked out, Eric spoke up, "Good-bye, Alaisia. Be careful out there." Eric had half a mind to further question the Sith's motives, but he really didn't want to offend him, and a close quarter fight with this guy wasn't a situation he wanted to be in. At least this time, the Sith was taking a willing participant. "I'm no stranger to flying where I'm not allowed. The flight computer will be scrubbed of any relevant data." Eric reached into a pocket and withdrew a datachip. "Please, give this to Alaisia. It's got my contact info, incase she ever needs a ride. No offense to you, but there are plenty of places where people would be happy to knock an Imperium ship out of the sky, no matter the circumstances." He hoped the Sith would honor his request, as he seemed like a decent person.