Ask Coruscant In the Dim Light

[Emilia Vuth]

At first she kept her purple eyes straight forward and her body very stiff, allowing Gatz to work without any interruption and taking what he said seriously: that he'd work quickly. Because she'd had training for pain tolerance, she didn't flinch while he put the fresh bandages on.

That did not mean she didn't feel the pain in any sense of the word. She was very uncomfortable and felt everything like anyone else might. Pain had a way of eating at focus. Regardless, she wanted to use this as further training.

It reminded her of some of the training days her master put her through. Times where he'd made her push her body and pain tolerance to the limit. Maybe some people might've seen it as cruel training. It almost felt cruel to her during some of the hardest parts. Deep down she knew that her master was only conditioning her though. Protecting her in some way.

Gatz announcement that it was her turn to ask a question prompted her head to swiftly turn and her purple gaze to settle on him. She hadn't actually agreed to the game. The problem was she took most things seriously. If she spoke up again, part of her would feel like she owed him an answer to any other questions he might ask after.

But he was helping her...he had already helped her. The sense of good, a soft glimmer of light, was within this man. She almost felt safe with him. Almost. And the fondness of him she wanted to fight well... that was another story. This all made Emilia bluntly ask her next question no matter what he'd think of it, "Besides the few we'll be taking, where are all these weapons and armour going?" she asked.

Her voice was back to its stoic state. What wasn't completely stoic was Emilia's look. She was small and maybe hard to take seriously, but her eyes were focused very closely on Gatz's face, his body, any and all movements and reactions he might have to the question. Maybe he wouldn't get it. What she really wanted to know was if these weapons and armour would lead to the deaths or pains of innocent people if they got to the hands of whoever was waiting for them.

She was judging Gatz, because she didn't like the idea that he'd take part in something like that.

@Vicc125

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

As Gatz had expected, Emilia didn't make a fuss as he changed her bandages. He wondered if she felt the pain at all: either as a result of her Jedi training, or because the nerves in her arm might have been burnt. Or maybe she was just tough. The young Jedi before him was something of a brick wall, but the small glimmers of a personality he'd gotten to see made him wonder if that was a front she projected.

As he finished up, she asked him a question, "Serenno. Some settlement near the equator."

Gatz himself had questions about that. At first he'd thought that he was giving Republic weapons to the Sith Empire, but the more he thought about it, the less sense that made. The Empire produced its own weapons, and trying to secure more from all the way in the Core Worlds hardly seemed efficient. Plus, the quantity of his delivery was just too low a number: six crates of goods wouldn't even supply a whole platoon, much less the entire Sith war effort.

Not to mention that he was delivering it to some place remote.

"My turn: were you burnt or otherwise hurt anywhere else? I only saw the damage to your arm, but I'd like to be sure."

Gatz himself hadn't noticed any other injuries, but he'd also been hyper focused on her arm. He figured that, considering she'd showered earlier, Emilia would have noticed any other burns or lacerations from taking the full brunt of a bomb. And considering that she'd only gotten hurt because of him, well, he figured playing nurse for her was the least he could do.

@Lilith

 

[Emilia Vuth]

Serenno? That was an imperial controlled planet. There was much that could be done there. Dismantling of any Sith influence in its underworld, reaching out and protecting is higher up officials. That wasn't to say she could get it done or that it was even possible at all. There was just opportunities there. Possibilities. Ones that might lead to the liberation of the planet.

For the moment she stayed quiet after he answered. She kept her gaze on him while he worked. Only his question made her shift slightly; a little uncomfortably. Emilia looked away. "Just, one more place," she answered, feeling warmth she wanted to stab with her lightsaber tint her cheeks.

Once Gatz bandaged her arm again, the small sephi reached up and pulled the blanket slightly down a little more, revealing the side of her left breast. Her pale breast didn't need much coverage, so she was careful with the small movement of the blanket.

And careful not to make eye contact, again.

It wasn't badly burnt. Just slightly red. As a woman, if something went all the way up to her shoulder, unfortunately, it would, in all likelihood, effect her breast too. It wasn't easy being a women. Men were lucky in many ways. She was certain men had their own challenges... but the size of a man, their muscles, among other things, were all advantages. Emilia tried to push those thoughts aside. Life was not fair, and there was no reason to dwell on it.

"I want to come with you when you deliver your cargo," Emilia said, bluntly again. She wanted to see where they were going, and staying on Serenno? Maybe that was something worth doing, despite the very real risk to her.

The sound of the rooms door opening caught Emilia's attention right after she spoke. A frown pulled at her cheeks when the little droid came in and beeped up a small storm at Gatz. Despite her dislike for droids she understood it was telling Gatz that they should leave the planet now.

When Gatz was done with his medical care Emilia pulled the blanket back up over her, and shifted towards him. She grabbed one of her twin lightsabers from her belt, unclipping it then grabbing one of Gatz hands, if he allowed her.

If allowed she'd put the hilt into his hand, using her other hand to delicately fold his fingers over it. "I'd like you to keep this with you for the time being. I understand you may not have used a lightsaber before, but it is a tool worth having since we are about to do something very risky. If you get in a bind, get the hilt as close as you can to your target then ignite it. It can also be used as a defence before getting into melee. All you need to do is trust yourself, Gatz, for the Force is with you."

Not to mention she could sense the lightsaber and keep track of the man that way. He didn't need to know that, though.

@Vicc125

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Emilia confirmed that there was one more place she'd been burned. Gatz had figured maybe her side, or something. Or part of her leg? When she began to pull the blanket back, his immediate instinct was to turn his head away. He managed not to do that, however, choosing to focus on the issue at hand: the side of Emilia's breast had a first degree burn.

Thank the Force for Bacta, then.

Gatz took up the Bacta spray once more, and gingerly applied it to Emilia's skin. The young Jedi refused to look at him, red in the cheeks. He supposed he understood that. Usually he'd make some kind of joke to break the tension, probably something dumb or inappropriate, but somehow he guessed the grumpy girl wouldn't appreciate that. So, for once, Gatz Derrevar kept his mouth shut.

"To Serenno? Sure, I won't turn down an extra pair of hands. To be honest... I don't know how the rest of this delivery is going to go down. If these weapons are going to insurgents, then fine. But if they're really meant for the Empire..."

Gatz trailed off, but his meaning should have been clear: there were lines he wouldn't cross. For all his misdeeds and avoidance of the law, he was born in the Free Worlds Alliance. No way would he supply the Sith with weapons that could be used against his home. Not even Benji could scare him into that.

With the spray applied, Gatz had to move onto the awkward part: putting a sticky bacta bandage on the side of Emilia's breast. He tried to remember what his mother, an actual nurse, had said about situations like this. Something about compartmentalizing? Her words eluded him, but he was pretty sure it went something like "naked people really aren't all that interesting, Gatz, so just do what you've gotta do instead of stare."

He gently pressed the bandage onto her pale skin.

Then R4 came barging into the room, interrupting a perfectly tense moment. Usually Gatz wanted to smack the droid over the dome, but for once he was thankful. Even if he was whirling and beeping about wanting to leave the planet.

"Arfour, if it's really that bad, then get us out of here. You're an astromech droid! You don't need me for something as simple as taking off."

Clearly annoyed, the idiot droid rolled out of his quarters, and back to the cockpit.

As Gatz felt the engines kick on, and a dull hum vibrate throughout the ship, Emilia scooted closer to him. Now that her injuries were tended to, and he didn't need to turn off the rest of his brain, the young smuggler couldn't help but admire just how pretty she was. Lithe, pale, with violet eyes and white hair... and those ears, well, they really made her look like some Sephi princess.

Then she was pushing one of her lightsabers into his hand, and closing his grip on it with delicate fingers. It was an elegant weapon, far less random or clumsy than the blaster on his thigh. Inside of the smooth metal, Gatz thought he could feel... something. Like whispers on the edge of his mind. Was that the kyber crystal inside, he wondered?

"Emilia, this is... are you sure you want to hand this to me? I understand how personal a lightsaber can be to a Jedi, and to be honest with you... I'm not even sure if I remember the basics of Form I. It's been fifteen years since I've held so much as a training saber."

@Lilith

 

[Emilia Vuth]

She was glad he was willing to let her come along, and he seemed to have a moral compass about it. It was very possible to be a smuggler and still do the right thing, at least in her mind. The Order may not agree, which Emilia did not care one bit about. She was who she was, and the Order's politics mattered little to her. What mattered to her were lives and taking action to protect them.

"I'm sure," Emilia answered. She'd never admit it, but her heart did beat a little faster when she removed her hand from her lightsaber and Gatz hand. It was the first time she ever willingly parted from one. That crystal had been attuned to her since childhood. She'd shared many memories with it. Ups and downs. Many downs. This was what she wanted though.

Part of her would travel with Gatz now, and she could protect him better that way.

The other part of his answer was harder for her to address. "Yes, knowledge of the forms is important," she said. Emilia did not sugar coat things. "In battle you can shift between forms many times. That said," Emilia paused and looked back at Gatz, "A large part of it is instinct. Trust in the Force. If you truly need to use my lightsaber, let go, allow it to guide you. The Force is your ally."

She felt a little chilly without her robes on, even with the blanket, but still remained where she was and made eye contact with Gatz. A very serious look formed on her face. Emilia was not willing to break eye contact nor skip this part of the conversation, "But promise me you wont get into a fight with it unless you absolutely have to." It was very possible he'd take her comment as an insult or her being bossy. Deep down she just wanted him not to get hurt. Battles with lightsabers were often battles of life and death, and she wanted Gatz to survive this even if she didn't.

@Vicc125

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Gatz wasn't used to people believing in him. As a Youngling, he'd been constantly berated for being a difficult child (which he was). After returning to his parents, he'd never really fit in well with them. They'd wanted more for him, which was why they'd given him to the Order in the first place. As a result, nothing he'd ever done had been enough for either of them. How could it, when they'd thought he was going to be a Jedi, only to give up on that?

He'd known Emilia for all of a day, and yet here she was loaning one of her most precious belongings to him. So that he would be protected, and because she believed him worthy of the burden that was carrying a lightsaber. It didn't matter that he barely remembered how to hold one, or that he was smuggling scum that should have been wiped off of her boots. For some reason, that he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to understand, she had faith in him.

"I won't sully this weapon," Gatz vowed, far more serious than usual, "I won't draw it for any reason other than to protect myself, or others."

Oddly enough, he believed himself.

But then he felt that the atmosphere was far too solemn. He was Gatz Derrevar, sarcastic and wise-crack-y and not at all some super serious Jedi Knight, like Emilia. So it was time to lighten the mood. He had an idea on how to do that: make the cute Jedi blush. Or want to kill him. Really, either one was a victory.

"Now, as much as I enjoy seeing you with your shirt off, I imagine you'd like to get dressed," Gatz took a step back, winking at the Jedi, "so I'll go make myself busy in the cockpit."

He took his leave from his quarters, making a left turn to return to his seat. R4 already had them up in the air, just cruising through the gross yellow clouds. Gatz sat down and took the yoke, pulling the ship upward to begin breaking through the atmosphere.

@Lilith

 

[Emilia Vuth]

"Thank you," Emilia answered. It was nice to see him serious about the subject. He was now carrying part of her with him. He seemed to understand that.

His understanding made sense though because he had once trained in the Force. It was a few things that made her trust him a little more than the average person. One was the fact he could've been a Jedi. He had that potential (if he believed it or not), and that changed things slightly in her mind.

Still, her eyes did wander to her lightsaber in his hand for a brief moment until he spoke again.

Emilia grunted, loudly, looking away while her cheeks warmed up again. Why did her... clothing status around him make her so shy?

She wasn't suppose to be shy at all.

Emilia said nothing after her grunt. In fact, she wanted to grunt again but all she did was wait for him to leave the room while avoiding eye contact. The door hissed close shortly after that, prompting Emilia to relax a little. She brought the blanket to his bed (because she was a tidy person), folded it neatly and placed it there. Then she finally put her clothing back on.

Her arm did still hurt. This round of bandages and bacta though was already making a difference. Emilia rose her left arm up, squeezing her hand into a fist despite the pain. She had to keep moving those muscles.

The small and grumpy Jedi finally left Gatz's room. The door hissed closed behind her and she went to the cockpit, taking a seat by Gatz after forcing herself not to give a dirty look to his droid. Once seated she pulled out her datapad and started to send messages to the people who might lend her and Gatz some men for the job.

"I believe its your turn," Emilia said without looking at Gatz, still typing on her datapad. She surprised herself by saying it. It was very unusual for her to be open to questions in any form. "But be careful what you ask, because I have questions you might not like," she said grumpily.

@Vicc125

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

The lightsaber was noticeable weight on his tailbone, where it hung from the small of his back in such a way that his jacket would obscure it. He was, after all, a scoundrel of sorts. Not a Jedi. Yet even now, when the saber was out of his hand, he could feel the whispering at the edge of his mind; feel the kyber crystal as it tried to connect with its new user.

He shut it out, if only for the moment.

The Long March broke the dirty atmosphere, giving way to the stars once more. With their business on Balmorra concluded, it was time to return to Coruscant, and put an end to the assassins chasing them (probably Emilia). He hoped that the young Jedi hadn't exaggerated, when she mentioned having contacts that would be willing to help them. Not many people on the ecumenopolis were likely to want to take on a group of highly trained killers.

And also Emilia had explicitly said they weren't friends of hers, so...

Emilia reminded him that it was his turn, in their game of twenty questions. He'd almost forgotten they were playing, what with touching her boob and all. Dammit. That sounded wrong. He was only glad that he hadn't spoken that aloud, otherwise his Jedi companion might have lost her patience with him.

"What's Sephi culture like?"

Because she was, he assumed, Sephi. He supposed there were other races in the galaxy with pointed ears. But, if he turned out to be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time.

@Lilith

 

[Emilia Vuth]

The question was not bad. Not what she expected, but not bad. At first, her focus didn't shift to him and his question. Not until she finished sending out her messages. She'd be using up all the favours she had with this, which was not exactly ideal, yet taking out this group would be beneficial for far more people than just herself. They were a group of assassins, after all, and if they managed to kill her well, they weren't going to just stop. Ever since they'd taken root they'd carefully covered their tracks, but Emilia and a few others had finally figured them out.

Emilia's purple eyes finally shifted back to Gatz as she turned off her datapads screen and placed it back on her belt. "Far more civilized than most," the sephi answered plainly. Despite it likely sounding snooty, she said it with as much (more specifically, a lack thereof) emotion as she stated most things.

Her small frame turned in the chair and caused it to spin towards the scoundrel that she had un-wantedly gained some fondness for. That fact did not stop her from being who she was, however.

"Partly due to our lifespan," she explained, although a human might not understand so she tried to explain further, "My people can live up to four hundred years."

"In later years my people often explore art, which can be seen even in the way buildings are made. Sephi cities are beautiful, though I haven't..." Emilia paused for a moment, a small frowned tugged at her cheeks though she successfully fought it off. "I have not been to Thustra many times. My master and I travelled a lot."

A set of demanding beeps caught Emilia's attention. Her purple eyes were turned down to see Gatz's droid in front of her, chirping at her because it wanted a tool behind her. Emilia turned, grabbed the tool and held it out in front of the droid. However when it went to "grab" the tool, Emilia held onto the item for a few seconds.

"Has anyone told you that you're needy?" the small sephi said, unimpressed. She had... slightly less patience for droids, something her master had pointed out a few times in an attempt correct it. The droid let out more sets of beeps and chirps but in a clearly annoyed way. It ranted at her. Emilia frowned slightly, grunted and let go of the tool as the little droid kept ranting on and on and went on its way.

@Vicc125

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Four hundred years sounded like a long time to Gatz Derrevar. How many different people could you be with a life span that long? He'd only lived for twenty-four standard years so far, and yet he'd been a Jedi Youngling, a teenager with a criminal record, a freighter pilot, and a smuggler. It was almost unimaginable to the young man, what one could accomplish with so much time.

Yet, Emilia hadn't been to her home planet in some time, it seemed. That made sense to him: his Jedi companion, and by extension her master, seemed to be... emotionally restricted. More so than even the other Jedi he'd known. In a way, it reminded him of the stories of the old Jedi Order: the way they were during the days of the High Republic.

It saddened him, to think that Emilia had been denied her culture.

"When this is all over, why don't we go visit?" Gatz offered, "provided we survive, of course."

Then R4 pitched in, or rather, derailed the conversation. He seemed to need the hydrospanner next to Emilia, which Gatz had forgotten to put back after fixing R4's stuck motivator. Still, even if the temperamental droid needed the tool so badly, he could have been polite about the way he asked. But Gatz supposed that wasn't the astromech's style. No, his faithful robotic companion had to be as irritating as possible.

"I'm sorry about him," Gatz offered, "he's kind of a prick. But I think it's your turn to ask, now."

The navicomputer finished its hyperspace calculations. Gatz placed his hand on the throttle lever, but didn't engage it just yet.

@Lilith

 

[Emilia Vuth]

Visit Thustra?

Emilia felt her heart beat faster and her stoic expression falter into something softer, something yarning. The idea really excited her, and she'd been so solemn for so long, that this was a feeling she wasn't prepared to fight against. She turned slightly in her chair, staring out the window. She couldn't look at Gatz right now. The offer was kind... it made her look at him differently.

She really wanted to go home. Her heart beat in a way that made it hard for her to deny the desire to be with her people. To see a sephi city again, and to explore her roots more. But, she was Jedi Knight. It was her duty to abandon her own wants and desires, for the better of the galaxy and the people who could not defend themselves. She put others before herself, and she'd wanted to go to Serenno next.

A great conflict stirred in her, causing feelings she hadn't experienced in a long time. It caught her off-guard.

"I'll think about it," Emilia answered after a few seconds. Her eyes lowered somewhat.

Something spurred Emilia to stand from the chair after. "Maybe later," she answered when he said it was her turn. "We should get ready now that we are headed back to Coruscant."

With gentle steps, her ethereal form turned and started down the hallway with some swiftness. Though Emilia looked back, very briefly, to see if Gatz was following. Regardless if he did or didn't, she moved forward down the hall into the cargo bay again. This time she went to one of the creates, opening the ones marked as armor.

Her small hands moved around some pieces, "Use one of the helmets or masks," Emilia said commandingly, despite what Gatz might think of her bossiness, or if he'd comply. Once again, closing herself off into her stoic self. She couldn't let herself get distracted.

A few gray cloaks in the crate caught her attention. Emilia grabbed one and tossed it back to Gatz without looking at him. "And put this cloak over the armor you choose to wear. It'll make it harder to identify the make of your armor and track it back to you if we are caught on camera," she said. "Something might go wrong down there and it is best not to have it connected to us if it does." That would be hard to do in the first place, but this was not the first time she'd done something like this. It was worth doing everything possible to cover their tracks in case something went wrong.

Not to mention, they were doing this without being law enforcement. It could be used against them, among many other things Emilia had done, no matter if it was for the good of the planet. The Jedi Knight simply did not respect some laws, because she cared about results over everything else. Life, above her own.

@Vicc125

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Emilia said she would consider his offer, and that was enough for Gatz. He wasn't trying to force her hand, or anything, he just... Well... Uh... Actually he didn't really know what he was doing. Her planet wasn't his business, and whether or not she wanted to return wasn't his business, and taking her there wasn't his business....

The last twenty-four hours had been weird. Maybe that was why he'd offered.

"Yeah, Coruscant it is."

Gatz pushed the throttle forward, propelling them into the space between stars. Their red shifted light reflected in the cockpit, illuminating the dark corners of his ship. The smuggler was content to sit there and watch, for awhile. He felt like he was always on the move; always tangled up in something he couldn't possibly handle. Yet he managed to wiggle his way out, time and time again. So it was nice, to have a moment to relax.

He vaguely recalled Emilia getting up to move, but he stayed put. Gatz needed a nap.

Then the Jedi was shoving a cloak and a helmet into his lap, leaving him blinking at his new found armor. Did she ever stop to breathe? But then, he already knew that she did: he'd seen it himself, not half an hour ago, when he'd disturbed her mediation. Which, he supposed, counted as relaxing for a Jedi. He'd never much cared for it.

"Emilia, wearing a helmet is going to limit my vision," Gatz kept the cloak, but pushed the offending item back at her, "and I can't rely on the Force to guide me as well as you can. I'd rather not get my head taken off by another sniper, just because I can't see him."

Girl needed to chill. Or, like, stop being a plasteel wall. He wasn't sure he wanted to voice that opinion, though.

@Lilith

 

[Emilia Vuth]

Emilia took the helmet back without comment. By chance Gatz droid was nearby, just moving to another panel. Perfect, Emilia thought. She placed the unwanted helmet on top of the droid to take care of. The poor little (jerkface) astromech droid paused until it figured out what Emilia had just done. It started to spin around almost frantically to try to get the helmet to slide off, beeping up a storm of obscenities because it wasn't a serving droid and obviously took offence.

The small Jedi didn't even take note of the droids displeasure, mostly on purpose. She doubted this droid and her would ever get along even if its programming allowed it.

The lithe frame of her's fell back in the seat besides Gatz. What she wanted to say that his inability with the Force was his own fault because he'd stopped training, then she remembered his mistreatment by the Jedi. Maybe that was why he had so many bias' toward her Order?

Her Order...

She didn't really feel like she belonged to a Order though, did she? For almost her entire life, the only other Jedi she'd been around was her master. Did she really belong to the Order? Was she really Jedi, or just a trained Light Side user?

Time passed as Emilia wrestled with her thoughts. It wouldn't be too long until they were at Coruscant again. Somewhat quietly however, Emilia's stoic voice broke her silence, "Gatz, do you plan to be a smuggler for the rest of your life?" she asked. The question had something to do with her and her future plans. Plans she'd likely not tell the man about, but maybe. And it was her turn to ask a question, after all.

@Vicc125

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Emilia was harassing his droid, but Gatz didn't really mind. R4 was kind of a prick anyhow. Truth be told, Gatz knew he should memory wipe the aging droid, but the young smuggler couldn't bring himself to do it. Every time he considered it, all he could think about was how much he would hate it if someone wiped his memory.

Droid or not, R4 was a friend. And you didn't do things like that to a friend.

Emilia asked Gatz a question, and it was one that he hadn't thought on much. In a way, he tried not to think about it. Being a smuggler was only meant to make ends meet, for a short time. Just until he found something more solid, that he could use to support his family back home. Yet he'd been in this "profession" for four years. Far longer than he had anticipated, or wanted.

"It's not about what I want. I have family back home on Naboo, and they depend on my income."

Mom couldn't support herself. Much less his two younger cousins, that she was now raising. She needed the credits he earned out here, doing this. She didn't know what it was he actually did; thought he was just a freighter pilot like his father. Mom wouldn't have approved of all the smuggling he did, with his father's ship. Gatz didn't care. So long as she had a livable income.

"I didn't grow up wanting to be smuggler, if that's what you're asking. I wanted to be a pilot."

Which he was. Just not in the way that he'd wanted.

@Lilith

 

[Emilia Vuth]

A family? The answer made Emilia doubt even hinting at what her plans were. If Gatz family lost him... could she live with herself? But there was so much a smuggler with a good heart could do. So many lives could be saved, if things went to plan. Then again, it'd be up to Gatz. He could, and would likely, not join. Maybe it was for the better, but Emilia needed to push forward.

"Gatz... in the future I might need your services. I have plans and possibly steady smuggling jobs for you. At first it wouldn't be much. Later, you could make credits, and the pay might steadily increase into amounts you've never seen before. But, you may want to seriously consider not taking me up on my offer," Emilia said as Coruscant's glimmering city-planet started to come into view.

All that life.

Emilia crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair. She stared out the window at the sparkling planet, part of her mind picturing what damage the Sith might do if they ever reached Coruscant again. Red blazed across large swaths of the planet, and the sense of death oozed from it. It was not a far fetched horror to picture. Far in the past, the Sith had reached the core planet under the rule of Empress Andraste, devastating it. If Emilia sat back like the rest of the Jedi Order and stayed on defence, she believed the repeat of history was on the horizon.

"Over time I suspect the jobs will become increasingly dangerous. All you'd be delivering would be weapons, armour, medical supplies, items you might be delivering already. But they wouldn't go to criminals or crime lords or anyone else that might harm the innocent. All of it would go to good men and women. Men and women that'd work against an ever growing threat to the Free Worlds Alliance and the Republic. You could make a difference," Emilia said, her stoic tone faltering in her thought.

"Just, think about it," Emilia ended, adding something she hadn't before, "Please."

The young Jedi was done with her speech. "If we survive this," she said, changing the subject. They were, after all, about to walk into a pit of highly trained assassins.

@Vicc125

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Was... was Emilia offering him a job? Gatz found himself legitimately surprised. Sure, they were about to take on a compound of deadly assassins, but he didn't think that would land him a job offer. If anything, he figured that Emilia would find him lackluster, once the fighting started. He was a decent shot, but he wasn't a trained assassin.

As per usual, Gatz Derrevar found himself out of his depth.

"You know, I've never had a Jedi ask me to smuggle before." Gatz let himself smile.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested. As much as he hated to admit it, Gatz knew he was soft. He acted the part of a smuggler who only cared about his wallet, but he could never quite perfect the role. More than once, he'd found himself helping someone out for little to no benefit, and sometimes even to his own detriment.

It often lead to trouble for him. Kind of like right now.

Even so, the chance to make some credits, and help people out? He didn't consider himself a hero, by any means. Gatz even doubted that he was good, despite what Emilia insisted. But deep down, he did want to help others. Maybe it was the Jedi in him; the indoctrination left behind by the Order, that he'd never been able to fully shake. Maybe he really just was a good person deep down, even if he had trouble believing it.

Maybe it didn't matter.

"I'll think about it," was all the young smuggler said, as Coruscant came into view, "in the meantime, why don't you tell me how this thing is going down."

@Lilith

 

[Emilia Vuth]

"Well I never planned to tell you that I'm Jedi, you're just nosy," Emilia answered. It wasn't a real answer. She wasn't exactly sure how to reply to his comment. He probably hadn't been asked because it was probably heavily frowned upon in the Order. Probably. Emilia didn't really know. She didn't really care either. If she was expelled from the Order then so be it. A Jedi's life was sacrifice.

She was happy enough with his answer, even though she had mixed feelings about Gatz putting his life at risk with a family relying on him. Emilia had no family, but she knew how important they were to some people.

The small sephi grabbed her datapad off the top of a panel. Usually she was much more careful with where she placed things, but she still sensed no danger from Gatz. Her right hands pointer finger swiped down the datapads screen until her purple eyes landed on the message app. Opening it she began to read some messages. She'd heard Gatz's last question, she just wasn't exactly up to date on everything.

After a minute Emilia finally answered the man, "Well it looks like my... our men have confirmed the one Drek Kor compound I located is still active." Her slender fingers continued to scroll down through multiple messages, reading more updates. "Oso is planning to send one of his small scanner-droids into the compound before we enter, so we will hopefully have an idea of the layout."

Emilia placed the datapad back on her lap and stared out into the stars. "What I want to do is find a console in the compound, or maybe a datapad on one of the assassins. I want to know who put the hit on me, or you, and maybe gather other important intelligence on the cults movements. After I want to destroy the building. In all likelihood there will be casualties, but there's no need to go out of our way to end a life if we don't have to. My hope is if I hit this base, and maybe others that no doubt exist, the cult will be... persuaded to leave Coruscant."

After explaining, she put her datapad back on her belt and turned in her chair to face Gatz. Her lithe sephi frame took up very little room on the chair, but she still had her arms crossed in her usual grumpy, authoritative way, "But mostly just stay close to me and don't do anything stupid, if you can help it."

@Vicc125

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

"I spotted you as a Jedi from a mile away. It's in your demeanor."

By that, he meant that she was grumpy, self-righteous, and arrogant. Not that he was stupid enough to actually voice that. Honestly, he found it charming. Too many people in the galaxy were dull and lacked confidence, and it made them boring and generally not fun to be around.

Emilia might get him killed, but at least he'd have a smile on his face.

The communication's console pinged, likely a nonverbal hail from the docking authorities. Gatz said nothing, knowing that R4 would handle getting authority to land. His faith was rewarded, as a few moments later, the aged droid beeped at him in binary, giving him a set of coordinates to a landing pad.

"So, a scanning droid sounds like a great idea. But where are we supposed to meet up with this crew of yours?"

Gatz brought The Long March in for a landing, and let her heavy bulwark settle down in a junk of a hangar. It wasn't a pretty spot to park, but it was low profile, and that was what they needed. Plus, it was way cheaper than a landing pad up top. Closer to their destination too.

The smuggler spun around in his chair, facing Emilia. She told him not to do anything stupid, which was fair, as he was wont to do foolish things. He simply gave her a charming smile in return, but didn't say anything. By now, she should have known that stupid things were the norm for him; after all, he'd signed up for this mission, hadn't he?

@Lilith

 

[Emilia Vuth]

A mile away? Was she really walking around with a sign on her forehead that said, "I'm a Jedi"? Emilia wasn't sure what gave her away, so for the time being she pushed the comment aside.

"They sent me coordinates to meet up at," she answered his question, adding, "So just follow me."

Emilia felt a rumble through the ship as it touched down on a lower pad. She noticed that Gatz hadn't needed to do much to land; most of it was done by his droid. It reminded her that droid's were useful sometimes, as much as she disliked them. Her purple eyes settled on the little droid for a moment as the thought ran through her mind. Unfortunately it noticed her gaze and looked back at her with a curious beep. As soon as it did Emilia grunted at it, looked away and stood up.

The small sephi didn't fight her frown at Gatz's answer this time--his smile. It was hard to ignore that he was somewhat charming in his own stupid way. And even though they'd butted heads almost the entire time they'd known one another, she hadn't managed to scare him off for some reason.

And she was very skilled at scaring people off with her grumpiness. This man was different, and Emilia wasn't quite sure if it was a bad or good thing yet.

Emilia turned and began to walk out of the cockpit to the exist, then a few chirps of Gatz droid caught her attention. The small sephi didn't enjoy being interrupted, but she turned around anyway to face the droid. She was met with the little droids "arm" extended towards her with a few medpacs in it.

"I..." Emilia said, looking down at the droid. She bent down and took the medpacs from it. Her purple eyes gazed at the items for a handful of heartbeats as a few thoughts raced through her mind. "Thanks," she said plainly, turning again and walking towards the exist of the ship as the little droid beeped at her some more. "Yeah, I'll take care of him."

Once the ramp lowered, the Jedi's small frame made it's way down. She pulled out her commlink then and made a call. "Oso? How close are you?" she said, thumbing the button. "Almost there, boss," he answered. Emilia was never sure if he called her boss as a joke or if he was serious. Either way, she was bossy. "You got us another warm body, right?"

Emilia's purple eyes flicked back to Gatz. She gave a slight grunt then turned her gaze back forward, "Yeah, we'll be there soon."

@Vicc125

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

"Sure thing, lead the way."

He didn't mind that Emilia liked to boss him around. Which was funny, considering that exact thing used to make him feel stifled back on Yavin. He was a smuggler after all; a free spirit, bound only to the current of the wind. Obedience to others was like a chain, and he should have wanted to avoid such a thing at all costs.

Yet Gatz felt at ease, even with what they were facing.

In a way, he wondered if that was just a part of Emilia's presence. Yeah, she was grumpy, and had a stick up her ass as long as he was tall. Even so, there was a... calming nature to her. Serenity, like he'd seen when she was meditating in his cargo hold. It gave him the oddest sense of peace, and purpose, and Gatz hadn't felt either of those for a long time. He liked it.

He gave his trusty droid a pat on the head. For all his quirks and foul language, R4 was his partner to the end. So when the obnoxious droid handed Emilia a stack of medpacs, Gatz felt touched. Flesh and blood, or metal and wiring, Gatz supposed all beings were capable of compassion. Of having a heart.

"Don't worry, buddy. We'll see each other soon. Just make sure our ship is in one piece, yeah?"

And then they were off, a lone Jedi and a failed scoundrel, simply trying to do what was right.

@Lilith