Evasive Maneuvers

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

Evasive Maneuvers​

THEME​

The Corellian gunship they’d stolen tore through the hazy Ord Mantellian sky as Leah and Crix attempted to distance themselves from the chaotic battle below. As the sounds of blaster fire diminished the smuggler breathed a sigh of relief and slumped into the co-pilots chair suddenly exhausted. He pushed his windblown hair out of his face and smiled, seemingly satisfied with the results of his little suicide run.

“That was fun.” He said with a confidence that implied he’d planned the whole thing.

To Leah he added, “So how’d you hear about the deal?”

Truthfully he hoped she’d give him a name. Someone he could file away and possibly seek out provided this blaster bolt dodging crazy lady didn’t kill him. Of course, he doubted she’d let that kind of information slip. Her performance on the battlefield told him she was a professional. Briefly, he wondered if Leah knew Ghost, but brushed away the possibility. It was a big galaxy with tons of mercenaries and smugglers the probability of them knowing one another was ludicrous. But so was leaving perfectly good cover to steal a speeder and enter a full-blown gang fight.

Crix pivoted in his seat and eyed the catalyst of all the chaos in the previous scene. He examined the container with interest wondering what in the universe could possibly be so important it would be worth killing anyone who knew of its contents.

“You think they’ll come after us?” He asked.

As soon as the words left his mouth he knew them to be foolish. Of course, they would. And they’d do everything they could to either get back their ship or blow it out of the sky. The smuggler glanced jealously at the captain's chair and began trying to come up with polite ways of asking Leah to move.

It was obvious she’d been in a ship and flown before but if their pursuers were in patrol craft or gunships he’d prefer himself in the pilot's chair. Suddenly, a dull knock came from the container.

“What in the hell is that?” He asked looking to Leah with a little more apprehension in his expression than he’d have liked.

The knocking came again and the smuggler wasted no time pulling his blaster and training it on the container. The knocking started, then stopped abruptly. Silence filled the space where the knocking existed creating a tension that wound the smuggler’s nerves tight like the strings in a valachord.

Before his curiosity could get the best of him the claxon wail of an alarm split the silence. Crix’s eyes immediately shot toward the radar. Three dots moving in an attack formation closed in on them. Crix flicked off the alarm.

“Mind if I cut in?!” He asked Leah frantically.

@Deviant

 

[Leah Reach]

“From a friend.” That was all she was willing to say. Although she trusted the man, Leah didn’t trust him enough. He was a smuggler of Ord Mantell, a hive of scum and villainy. The Jedi Master visited the planet enough to know nobody could trust anybody. The notion of a rebel activity was not hard to believe but she was not going to start spilling Alliance Intelligence information to a man she just met. He may have saved her life but she had already returned the favor. If he was expecting more than what was given and offered, then he was destined to be thrown back out of the hull from where he crawled in. But as nosy as he was being, she couldn’t afford losing him now.

In the cargo hold behind them, a loud knock echoed. Instinct pulled her attention away from the windshield and toward the back. An ominous feeling followed the mysterious thud. Leah was left wondering what it was. She was as clueless as her newfound companion and exchanged a similar confused look with him. The knocking continued. Whatever was under the veiled container, there was no way it could be the high-grade military equipment she presumed it to be. When Crix trained his blaster on it, the rebel ambassador placed a hand against the side of the barrel and angled it to the floor. “Wait,” she said. Neither of them could risk shooting whatever was inside.

As a tense silence descended in the ship, an alarm pierced through. Her head shot around to see several red specks on the radar. “You have to be joking.” She groaned, perhaps for the third time that day. Despite being a Jedi Master, the Force was not with her as often as she hoped. Sensing Crix was a superior pilot, she caved into his request. The knocking from the crate only continued too, louder and more aggressive. They needed to find out what was inside before it became a bigger problem than the pursuing ships. Rising out of her seat for the man to take her place, Leah readied her own blaster and stepped out of the cockpit. “Get us out of this mess, flyboy. I’ll see what we’re dealing with in the back.”

Snaking through the corridor and around the corner, she loomed over the hidden container. Once again, the knocking stopped, almost as if the stranger inside sensed her presence. A cold feeling shivered up her spine. With a free hand, Leah pressed a single button she assumed was the lock. With a push, multiple cogs and pieces began to click together. After a few moments, the lock altogether fell silent but the crate remained unopened. She reached out to touch it. When she came inches away, the lid shot open. The woman staggered back in surprise. What emerged from the container was worse than she could have ever imagined.

“Finally,” the Sith said with a wicked grin.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

A friend huh... Crix thought as Leah deflected his weakly posed information probe. Then remembering he’d learned about the deal in a shitty pub the scoundrel decided to relent. He was hoping to catch her vulnerable from the excitement but could tell this wasn’t her first pod race.

“Wait,” said Leah, Crix’s blaster remained trained on the box but he kept his finger off the trigger. He’d been smuggling long enough to know what it sounded like when something was testing its cage. The smuggler was about to voice his concern when the alarm went off.

Leah relinquished her command of the ship and the smuggler took over.

“You got it!” He replied as he fell into his roll.

The smuggler felt at home at the helm of the ship. His hands deftly maneuvered over the controls as he silenced the alarm and began running a diagnostic of the ships systems. Once the calculations were complete he’d burn for atmosphere then make a jump to hyperspace.

Easy enough right?

Wrong.

The three incoming vessels were closing in. Crix threw the throttle forward, creating a sudden burst of speed that sent them careening for the cityscape ahead.

Over his shoulder, he called, “You might wanna hang on!”

Of course, he couldn’t see her from where he was and hoped that whatever made that noise wasn’t loose and causing issues. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach and Crix decided to ignore it. Chalking the feeling up to all of the excitement. Pulling his focus inward, Crix focused on the task at hand and resigned to let Leah handle the mysterious container.

A communication request chortled at him from the dash and a wry smile split his lips. Their pursuers were close enough to ping a closed circuit com frequency.

The smuggler opened the line and said, “Hi, how can I help you?”

A raspy voice returned his salutation with an irritated tirade, “You can help me by landing the ship you’ve stolen!”

Crix feigned confusion replying, “Stolen? I’m sorry I think you got the wrong ship, buddy.”

“Impossible!” Spat out the gangster. “Last chance! Land the ship or we’ll blow you out of the sky!”

Crix shrugged accepting the ultimatum with a casual nonchalance that permeated through his words, “No thanks, buh-bye now!”

He cut the line and threw the ship into a steep dive. Crix felt his body press firmly into the seat as the chase began, at the last moment he leveled the ship out. His trajectory would take him right into the heart of downtown, exactly where wanted.

Suddenly, remembering Leah he said, “Everything alright back there?”

@Deviant

 

[Leah Reach]

“A Sith.” She spat out the word like it was poison in her mouth. Leah hated the Empire for what they did to her husband, but she absolutely despised the Sith for what they did to the galaxy. Ruthless and merciless, they were nothing more than a dark plague for the past five centuries. Like locusts devouring the harvests of a thousand innocent worlds. Somehow, the Azure Twilight syndicate managed to capture one such locust. A tall and brooding Zabrak man covered in tattoos loomed above her. His sinister grin had never left his face as he flashed yellowed teeth and eyes, enough to terrify any rebel. Except she was more than a rebel. She was Jedi Master Leah Reach.

“And who might you be?” The Sith stepped out of the container. Behind him, he brought a presence so dark and corrupt that the Jedi could not help but slide another step back. Farther out of view from the cockpit and into a corner of the hull, she was trapped. But like any animal pushed into a corner, she was ferocious, her claws out and eyes burning with defiance. Rather than even answer his question, she only spit on the ground at his feet. The ultimate form of disrespect. After that, the Sith’s left eye twitched and he took another step forward with ill intent. He raised a hand and through the Force, squeezed her throat. Rather than submit, instinct told her otherwise. She resisted.

“What?” The Sith continued, stunned by how quick she blocked his Force choke. “That’s not possible.” He observed her, trying to understand why or how Leah could be so special. Even if she was a force-sensitive individual who escaped the grasp of the Empire, she was no former Sith, and neither could she have trained herself to such a capacity. A dangerous thought floated in the Zabrak’s mind. “A Jedi?” She drew a deep breath, spooked. Her attempt to resist only revealed who she was. Even if it was a shot in the dark, it was only a matter of time before the Sith discovered the truth. Leah needed to act fast.

Before she could do anything, as well as the Sith, the ship lurched to the side. Both were thrown off balance and into the wall. A warning from Crix followed soon after— a little late. Not that his piloting skills was at the top of her concerns. In fact, it was at the bottom. As the Sith recuperated, he had noticed the glint of a lightsaber hilt left on a separate display tied to the floor. His lightsaber. With an outstretched hand, the Zabrak ripped the saber from its glass casing and into his hand. Quickly catching on, Leah refused to give him the opportunity to strike her down, as well as saving her the trouble of a lightsaber duel in front of a smuggler in the middle of a dogfight. Pooling together her own presence in the Force, she stretched an invisible hand and bitch slapped the hilt mid-air. The blade clattered to the floor, now well out of reach.

“Not so fast.” She hissed, regaining her balance. Knowing she would become a major headache, the Sith decided to take things into his own hands— literally. Fists coiled, he charged headfirst into her direction. At the last second, Leah dodged to the side and watched as the man smacked into the wall. A loud and painful thud resounded. “Everything’s fine! Just dealing a teeny problem! Nothing I can’t handle!”

A part of her doubted it.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

"Uh, good! Just a heads up," he called back to Leah, "It's about to get wild!"

A cold pit in his gut sent a shiver down his spine as the formally distant buildings began to surround the ship. Crix rerouted the ship's shields to it's rear and cut a hard and sudden right. The thugs behind him hesitated momentarily and then corrected their trajectory and started picking up the pace. Crix snaked through the skyscrapers tightly blowing out an odd window or twenty on occasion. The thugs behind him were still refusing to fire, but their tactics were becoming more aggressive.

The three ships had been moving in a triangle formation and the two flanking ships peeled off in opposite directions what the middle ship continued to pursue Crix. The smuggler's brain worked feverishly trying to figure a way out of this situation. With Leah occupied in the cargo hold, he had no guns and if the gangsters decided to cut their losses he and Leah would be fracked. He plunged the nose twisted tot he left rounding a corner and coming out just under one of the flank ships. Crix swore and watched as the ship turned off to left on the radar. They were skirting his sights almost like they were herding him.

Sweat beaded at the smuggler's brow as the adrenaline dump began to wear off. He glanced at the radar and spotted the ship behind him. An idea came to life in his mind and a feral smile spread across his face. Crix took a preparatory breath and then slammed the throttle in reverse. His body was flung forward as he struggled to stay in the seat, the ship behind him shot overhead as it reacted to his sudden stop. Crix slammed the throttle forward coming up directly behind his pursuer. The smuggler carefully tracked his prey as the hunter became the hunted.

The impatient chirp of an alarm indicated another ship closing in which was exactly what Crix wanted. The incoming ship was approaching from the right and closing in fast. Crix slammed the throttle forward bringing the ship even with its quarry, the smuggler's hands moved furiously over the instrumentation as he prayed to any deity or higher power that would listen. The two ships ran side by side down a main strip of the city each trying to edge the other out. The opening of the city lied just ahead and Crix knew that when he'd need to make his move. He positioned himself on the left side of the other ship and sat up a little straighter in his seat as he mentally prepared for his move.

Just as the ships passed into the open air, Crix flooded the bilat and yanked the controls to the side. The ship was sent into a barrel rolled up and to the right. The incoming ship panicked at the sudden obstruction and plunged its nose directly into his comrade! Crix bugled a triumphant whoop and pulled the ship into a somersault aiming back toward the city. Only one thug left and they'd be home free. Hopefully, all the commotion didn't attract any unwanted attention.

Crix scanned the city, making sure to redistribute the power of the ships shield, as he looked for his final mark. As the smuggler rounded a corner the nose of the ship was peppered by blaster fire. Crix frantically scanned the area trying to spot his assailant, but the bastard was doing a damn good job staying in his blind spot. He cut around a building and then immediately shot in the other direction. As he rounded the second corner he yanked back on the yoke angling the ship diagonally running along the building.

The smuggler strained against the controls as the ship protested against his will. He just bearly cleared the top of the building clipping a couple of antenna in the process. From this elevation, he had a moment to try and locate his attacker. His opponent was using a hit and fade tactic that was common in inner city scuffles. This guy was good and that worried Crix. Without a gun of his own, he wasn't sure he'd be able to withstand many more hits like that first one. He spotted a large construction zone and quickly examined the space. The humongous facility was still in the barebones labyrinth of metal and random walls phase.

It was risky...

It was dumb...

It was exactly what he was going to do.

Crix angled the ship toward the construction site and punched it. He knew his adversary would be close behind. The smuggler counted on it.

@Deviant

 

[Leah Reach]

About to get wild? His words reverberated in her head before the next moment, where she smacked into the wall a second time. Now his voice sloshed around her skull like putty. If the rebel ambassador had not already been accustomed to such deranged piloting, in particular with her close friend Greybok, she would have long already painted the cabin with her vomit. It was by good luck that her head was more rattled than her stomach. As for the Sith, he seemed to share the same unruffled look. She imagined being trapped in a box for a day on the same ship would do that someone. Or the Dark Side of the Force had a few new perks. Tempting as it was, Leah remained undeterred. She was a Jedi Master, and she was going to kick ass.

The fight began shortly after. The Sith charged headfirst at her, recognizing she could not so easily slap away his two-hundred pound figure. She recognized that too. Rather than meet him in the middle, Leah decided to skirt around the sidelines. Rebalanced and with the tip of her foot pressed to the floor, she launched to the right of her opponent. His yellowed pupils followed after and his outstretched hands tried to do the same, but she was far too fast for his own good. Narrowly escaping his grip by a few inches, the Jedi leapt into the air and against the wall. Her left heel twisted around as well as the rest of her body. The Sith tried to catch up but the second he did, his face was met with the armored end of her boot.

The Zabrak staggered back, stunned. Meanwhile, Leah landed effortlessly on the ground. Lips pursed, she blew a stand of hair out of her face like she was straight out of a holofilm. Pride filled her after the successful blow, only to dissipate once the Sith recuperated and shot her a wild look. A thin trail of blood slithered from his lips. “That’s all you got?” Her enemy taunted, rising back to his full height, shoulders tensing. Leah tried to size him up. She failed, but if looks could kill, the Sith would have been the first to drop. “Don’t worry. Just warming up.” The woman cracked her knuckles and offered a smug grin. Again, the two rushed for one another. This time, the Zabrak made sure to keep on eye out on his flanks. Exactly what Leah was hoping for. Because instead of going for what was predicted, she always aimed for the unexpected.

Once he was within reach, she jumped high into the air. Her enemy attempted to grab and wrestle her to the floor but she leapt higher than he expected, opening her legs to wrap around his exposed neck. Her back leaned forward and with both arms combined, she slammed her elbows into the back of his skull. She looked ridiculous doing it, but it was better than nothing. Especially when it was a success. Trying to avoid the spikes atop his bald head, Leah delivered several wicked blows, more than enough to knock a man unconscious.

Except, the Sith was more than a man. To her shock, he persevered. Crying out with a fury never seen before, she felt him grab her by the waist and rip her from his shoulders. No matter how hard her legs held, she was torn away and thrown into the wall. The air was knocked out of her lungs, replaced with growing fear. Before she could even slump to the ground, the Sith seized her by the throat.

“Clever but foolish.” Her enemy said, wasting no time to cock back a fist to smash her face in. Fortunately, Crix and his crazy piloting skills came in clutch. The ship did a barrel roll, jerking the pair into the air and anywhere from previous position. Freed from the Zabrak’s iron grip, Leah lurched around before striking the floor. She could barely breath. Her head rang. Everything was chaos. As she tried to regain her senses, her eyes landed on the closed landing ramp ahead and the powerful Sith recovering beside it. Broken as her mind was, she pieced together the puzzle of her remaining thoughts and came up with a new plan. Yelling over the hum of the engines, she called to the cockpit. “Crix! Open the kriffing landing ramp!”

She hoped the desperation in her voice would be enough to convince him. That, or the hulking Zabrak now charging toward the cockpit. Having heard her warning and realizing what she was planning to do, the Sith sought to prevent it. He was not taking any chances, much to her dismay. Understanding that she could not afford for him to escape, or to take down the only current pilot, Leah mustered her strength and rushed him. As he came a meter from the cockpit door, she vaulted out of nowhere and tackled her enemy to the floor. It was a terrible move, but it was a move regardless. She was likely to get pummeled to a pulp. Still, she had hope. It was cliche but it had never failed her before. Leah was the woman she was today because of it.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

“Crix! Open the kriffing landing ramp!”

His body reacted on its own, flipping the switch as they closed in on the construction site. He'd close it before entering the construction site.

"Wait, What the hell?" He blurted. The smuggler chanced a glance behind him and saw a Zabrak the size of a rancor charging him.

"HOLYFRACKINGSITHSPIT!!!!!!" he yowled, reflexively yanking the yokes hard to the right sending the ship into a tight barrel roll. He steadied the ship to see Leah had tackled the monster from behind. The gunship surged into the construction complex and Crix felt time distort the way it does when a large amount of adrenalin enters the system. It was a moment of serene peace, frozen in time by the bodies overloaded senses, caught between the breath of a blink. The smuggler felt himself recede and his focus pinpoint on his instinct.

A tight corridor lay directly in front of them with a sharp left near the entrance. Crix's hands moved with preternatural speed as he adjusted speed and trajectory. The oversized gunship bearly made it through the first turn. As they came out of the turn he was forced into an immediate climb as a rust-colored durasteel support beam appeared directly in their path. The beam was connected to the two walls of the corridor effectively dividing the space in two. He forced the nose down hard as the ship cleared the beam in order to avoid a second support.

The gunship burst forth from the path into an open area in the center of the complex. Crix pulled the yokes back sending the ship into a steep upward climb. Crix continued to pull back until the ship aimed directly up toward the sky. He put it into a slow spin giving him a 360-degree view of the area and that's when he spotted the final pursuer. The patrol craft shot toward Crix from the southwest, finally relinquishing its restraint and opening fire.

Blaster fire ripped through the air toward them and the smuggler pulled the ship into a tight somersault of a turn sending them in the opposite direction of the patrol craft and its direct fire. The patrol craft was nimbler than the gunship, but its objective was destruction and that singular focus could prove fatal in a chase like this one. Crix chose a path to the left and prepared for the worst.

Twists and turns became the norm during the tense chase. The path ahead narrowed considerably and with a feral grin, Crix punched it. He manipulated the proximity repulsors and turned the ship on its side. The gunship passed into the tight corridor with relative ease. The ship would jolt and shutter when it clipped the side's of the walls, but it soon opened into another open area. The smuggler cut to the back and right sending the ship into a tall arc toward another path. The thug fired off several shots that connected with the gunships deflector shield. The ship shook with the impact and Crix called out Leah behind him.

"We're fine, everything's fine." She'd be able to hear the excitement in his voice as he went into evasive manuvers. The next corridor was a simple straight away with a corridor significantly smaller than the one they'd traversed before. Crix went through his options. He checked above and could tell that even if he pulled up to go out he'd just have to pick another path and start over... after a moment's hesitation he cleared his mind and went for it. The stolen gunship turned onto its side and narrowly slid into the path.

The deafening scream of metal scrapping stone was all he could hear as the ship bearly fit through the corridor. Any equipment located on top and bottom of the ship was either gone or bearly hanging on. His radar was only picking up a signal from directly behind and he was thankful he still had that limited visibility. The patrol craft was still behind but had to focus on his flying rather than firing off at Crix. In front of Crix, a horizontal support beam came into view and he began to slow the ship a bit letting his adversary close in by feining incapability.

The smuggler grimaced as he carefully leaned the ship into the walls. He had to convince his pursuer that he was starting to lose it, in hopes of distracting them from the beam just bearly visible around the gunships girth. At the last possible second the smuggler pulled up. He strained against the controls pulling with all his strength. The entire ship shuddered with effort as it listed upwards in order to hurdle the support beam. The ship's left most engine collided with the beam casting a shower of sparks and flame into the patrols crafts view. The pilot never moved to evade the beam.

Jets of flame momentarily engulfed the ship as it exited the construction site and into the freedom of the sky. They were free and clear for the moment. Crix breathed a little sigh of relief and then called back to Leah, "You good?"

@Deviant

 

[Leah Reach]

She slammed the Sith into the wall. Surprised and his charge thwarted, her enemy grunted angrily. Blind with fury, his hand reached around the woman, seized her by the back of her neck, and hurled her across the ship’s cabin. Several twirls through the air led her into the floor. Hair sprawled, eyes wide and the air in her lungs replaced with fear, she tried to move. Pain shot across her back. Her spine was intact and the torment was bearable but Leah didn’t believe she could continue the way she was. Neither clever maneuvers or brute action provided much needed results. Only consequence. A broken rib, a wicked bruise, blood trailing from her lips. Distant memories and worried thoughts sloshed around her head.

That was when the ship began a new row of maneuvers. Diving low, rising high. An almost unconscious Leah was whipped awake, forced to claw at the sides of the wall for stability. So focused on her own survival, she failed to notice the Sith had done the same. As she dozed, he climbed to the cockpit. The dashing smugger within wouldn’t last a second against him. Refusing to let him go, Leah grabbed his ankle by the Force and pulled. Along with the ship turning on its side, the Sith lost his grip. Skidding down the floor, his attempt to enter the cockpit ended in failure. Meanwhile, Leah continued to cling to the wall, barely holding on. Moments from losing her hold, the ship returned to its usual position. She collapsed and sighed in relief. But too soon.

A shadow loomed above and a hand grabbed her by the hair. Lifted from the ground, the Jedi Master was dragged toward the landing ramp. Open to the world below them, wind lashed against her. The Sith stood high behind her, fingers tight on her hair, breathing heavy. He was tired but not enough for Leah to overcome. He was too strong and she too unprepared. She tried to connect with the Force, gather her strength, but her vision and focus was blurred. Desperate as she was, the Light was out of her reach. The Sith recognized it and he laughed heartily. A smug grin was stretched over his tattooed face as he chuckled. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to fight a Jedi. Now, I know.” He scoffed. “If this is the best the Jedi have to offer, it’s no wonder the Order failed all those centuries ago.

That struck hard. Leah grit her teeth. She tried to cough out a biting quip or comeback but only spat blood at his feet. Enough to be insulting. The Sith cringed and pulled on her head, raising her chin. “Pathetic.” He pushed and she was slammed into the open ramp. She groaned at the blow, hands scratching at the metal. A few shots from the pursuing starship shook the freighter but the Zabrak was too determined to care. He was done playing her games. With her out of the way, he could kill the pilot and escape. Even as he brought his plan into motion, that same pilot made his voice known. “We’re fine, everything’s fine.” The Jedi grunted, trying to warn him. Nothing left her lips. On the other hand, the Sith chuckled and answered Crix with a whisper only Leah could hear. “Not for long.”

His hand reached down, fixed onto her shoulder and turned her on her back. “Come on. I want you to look at me when I kill you.” His smile was malevolent and sinister, thin and wide. He meant to do his worst, not only by hurling her body back to the planet surface but by taking her charred head as a prize. She hissed through reddened teeth. “Go ahead. Do it.” The Jedi taunted him, defiant until the end. She would not give him the pleasure of the kill. She refused to give into fear.

The Sith perked a free hand up. His fingers twitched. The lightsaber left rolling on the floor shifted an inch, then two, before it hovered into the air. Leah closed her eyes. She could feel the extension of his dark powers, its invisible hand wrapped around the kyber crystal inside the hilt of the blade. Her enemy was stronger in every facet and detail, but not in the Force. The Jedi Master needed only time to recover, and the Zabrak’s dreadfully slow approach to killing her gave her everything she needed. As the lightsaber sailed into the air, aimed for his hand, Leah pounced. Rather than slide into his grip, the suddenly active blade slid right through his back and out of his chest. It was cheap but quick and successful. It happened before the Sith ever saw it coming.

“Not so pathetic now, am I?” She said as the Sith looked between the beam of light protruding from his torso and to the woman who had done it. Before he could answer, she leaned forward, clasped her hands around the hilt and pulled her enemy to the side. Suddenly, her enemy snapped and grabbed her wrists. How he could have fought through the pain and shock astonished her. But Leah knew she had to escape his grip, else they both would plummet from the ship. Fortunately, Crix came in clutch. The vessel turned on its side for the last time. Sparks flew. An engine burst. The unexpected momentum moved in her favor, and Leah pulled away from his iron hold. The lightsaber followed with her, leaving a scorched hole in her opponent. Near death, he flew out of the hull and into the brilliant explosion of the pursuing ship.

The transport stabilized. Rising to her feet and deactivating the lightsaber, she slammed a fist into a few controls, effectively closing the ramp. Her chest heaved. One sluggish step after the other, Leah returned the cockpit and slumped into the co-pilots seat, the lightsaber in her lap. She wiped the blood from her chin, flashed a smile and a thumbs up as she answered, “Never better.” The grin faded. Her eyes fluttered. “Savareen… can you take me to Savareen? Or just— anywhere but here.”

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

Cocksure and amped to the tenth degree, Crix was still riding his triumph wave as Leah entered the cockpit. The smuggler looked her way with his smug grin, immediately noticed that she'd clearly had the WAY harder job and quickly looked away to hide his surprise. The smuggler's pazack face was refined, practiced and nearly unreadable. Unfortunately, that level of discipline requires time to prepare and Crix was struggling to lock it down.

Did she... did she just fight and kill that friggin zabrak then walk in here acting like it's nothing? He thought, kind of starting to freak out.

The pilot's fingers drummed a repetitive crescendo on the controls. He sized her up with a few side-eyed glances, noticing her lip, her fatigue, and the lightsaber resting in her lap. He unconsciously swallowed nervously, sucked it up and said, "Savareen? That's a hell of a run, but yeah. I can get you there."

He cleared his throat and said, "Mind if we take my ship? I've got some medical supplies you could borrow." He joked with a warm smile. He didn't know much more than the basics when it came to first-aid, but he planned to help however he could.

A stunted beep told him the ship was bearly operational. He ran through the basics of impromptu ship maintenance as he attempted to stabilize the engine long enough to get them close to the space station.

Crix kept to himself for a while as he ran various checks and scans of the ship. The adrenaline of his high flying escapades was starting to wear off and he felt suddenly tired. The sun peaked at them through the cityscape casting sleepy rays about the cockpit as the ship limped its way toward the space station. His mind became muddled and slow as if something were clouding it. As Crix waited for the current set of diagnostics to do their magic, a chill crept down his spine breaking him out in goosebumps. With a little shiver, he warmed up his arms and a glint caught his eye. He looked at Leah and then to the weapon. The longer he looked at the polished metal, the more clouded his mind felt. All the while in the back of his mind a whispering howl of tormented anguish suddenly intensified, forcing the smugglers head into his hands.

Darkness enveloped Crix's senses as he attempted to retreat from the force screaming at him. The deafening howl was extinguished by a very distinct snap-hiss that plunged his surroundings into relative silence. The only thing he could hear was a deep energized rumbling hum. He opened his eyes slowly, allowing them to adjust to the dim lighting. He wasn't on the ship anymore, no, instead he was standing at the far end of a shadow filled room, and floating directly in the center was the lightsaber.

His eyes widened as fear clawed at his heart. He couldn't look away from the crimson beam as it cast its inky red glow onto his surroundings. Fear and desire struggled for control over his will as he bathed in the weapon's light. A small tug right in the center of his stomach spurred on his first step. Then one shaky step after another, the smuggler approached. As he neared his left hand extended toward the weapon, he found that he no longer feared it... instead... he needed it. The weapon called to him and awaited his reply. The ominous hum of the weapon's blade was all he could hear and it called to him like a siren's song, longing, beckoning, pleading...

Finally, Crix was inches away from the blade. His fingertips outstretched toward the ignited obelisk. The polished metal hilt pulsed with dark energy, splitting the air around it with miniature bolts of lightning in a display of power. Crix's hand faltered for a moment, but it was too late. The trap had been laid. He needed the weapon. He needed the power, and with grim determination, he closed his hand around the hilt...

and everything...

went...

black...

Blinding light flooded his view causing Crix to blink. He wiped away the tears forming in the corners of his eyes and realized he was still staring at the lightsaber in her lap. Confusion colored his expression as he instinctively scooted as far from the weapon as he could. The ship's computers were in need of his attention and he wanted to fill his head with anything other than the vision he'd just seen. The smuggler sucked his teeth in disappointment when the reading came back. He affectionately patted the yokes in his hands and sighed.

Their fuselage was fracked and several of the ships repulsers were beginning to fail. Guess it just wasn't meant to be darlin...

"She's not gonna make it much longer..." As if on queue the ship stuttered dropping in altitude and then correcting.

Yeah, this baby needs a nap. I'm putting her down."

The smuggler managed to get the ship safely to the ground in an area that was sparsely populated. It'd be simple enough for them to catch a ride to the spaceport and be on their way. If Leah was serious about needing to get to Savareen, he'd be happy to make the trip. Hell, he might even make some money off it.

@Deviant

 

[Leah Reach]

She raised a hand and acknowledged his suggestion. Wherever they went and whatever they took to get there was of little consequence to the Jedi Master. As long as Ord Mantell was behind her. A scavenger’s wasteland and a criminal haven, she wanted no part of it. Her mission there ended in a disastrous failure. She gained nothing but newfound disgust for the syndicates of the Mid-Rim and the Sith who roamed its territory. Leah had every right to be angry with Rebel Intelligence for the gross exchange of misinformation, but she wasn’t. She should have known better. She should have sensed the presence of the Dark Side long before it emerged. Her vision was clouded. The Force ebbed and flowed in ways she had not expected.

She drifted. Thoughts of her husband flared, his fingers weaving and unweaving with her own. As streaks of daylight sank into the cockpit, she reminisced of her days with him on Dantooine. Hours spent dazing under the largest tree. Hearing the leaves ripple against the wind, smelling the pollen of a thousand wildflowers at their feet, watching the sun inch down the horizon. She was so carried away by the voices of her past, Leah failed to notice the smuggler beside her lean forward. His mind gravitated to the lightsaber settled in her lap, followed by straining eyes. The Force called to him. Not in the way the Jedi may have hoped, nor expected. The Dark Side smothered her light like dark clouds. Before she realized it, she was already circled by the storm.

Thunder roared. A warning. Lightning ran through her thoughts. She opened her eyes, shocked and awake. Her instinct screamed for action. A dozen alarms in her head rang. Red flags thrashed around her. The Force was in flux and Leah needed to tip the scales back into her favor. Blinking several times, she reached out to the Force and released an invisible but stunning burst of the Light. The shadows around her wailed and retreated. The weight in her lap felt ten times heavier. The lightsaber burned against her, until it was so overwhelmed by her strength, that its metal hilt cooled and relaxed into its inanimate state. Or so the Jedi believed. So long as the kyber crystal within blazed with the Dark Side, it would take more than some light to smother it out.

Leah glanced from the lightsaber toward Crix. Joined with the Force, he looked different. Same clothes, same tousled hair, same yearning look in his eyes. He was searching for something, but he was nothing but uncertain. The Jedi was searching too, but her focus was always ahead. Never right in front of her. It was no wonder she failed to comprehend the tremendous potential Crix possessed. Not until that very moment. The Dark Side played its hand too early and Leah recognized what it was after: the smuggler. The big picture was revealed. The puzzle solved. There was more to her mission than failure. She was led straight into the arms of a force-sensitive individual more potent, and important, than any crook or swindler she ever met.

However, she made no effort to alarm him. Immediately, that was. Like she would with anyone else, the Jedi Master needed to take things slow. Not only for her sake but for his. She needed to play it right. So, she ignored her instinct. One of the few times she ever had. Leah tried to think of something else. For instance, the ship. There was no way they could make it anywhere in the rust bucket. It was high time for the flying heap to rest. As for the Jedi? The mission may have come to a standstill but unwinding was the last thing she could do. Crix couldn’t go without knowing who he was or could be. In these trying times, neither could Leah let him. He proved his worth and trust. She needed to do something about the elephant in the room.

The need to ease into the conversation evaporated. Once the ship settled beside a scavenging station, where the pair could catch a ride to the spaceport, Leah chose to act. Rising out of her seat, leaving the lightsaber on the dashboard, she stepped away from the cockpit. “Come on.” Her hand snapped open, fingers unfurled, the Force stretched out. Out of nowhere, the lightsaber she left behind sailed into the air. With her other hand, she opened her robes to reveal her own blade, tucked and hidden beneath, where the Sith’s lightsaber joined it. She flashed a thin, seemingly oblivious smile. “Let’s go.” The woman trudged out of the ship, almost glad to be on the ground again, albeit troubled it was still Ord Mantell.

Expecting the smuggler to follow, no doubt full of a hundred questions, she prepared herself for the fateful talk. His own inherent gift in the Force, the idea he was not alone, the revelation of the Jedi Order. It was the same talk she had before with others. Although, for some reason, she welcomed it with the young man. There was conflict in him, but great potential and the potential to be great.

End Thread.​