Ask Plot Lasers and Blasters and Batteries, Oh My!

[Izel Thral]

​

Izel grumbled in annoyance and dropped the battery she had been inspecting. Dead, just like all the others. "Nothing salvageable here..." She called out in disappointment to the spacer accompanying her. She climbed out of the hole she had been sitting in to another level of the Tartan patrol cruiser they were searching. The ship was barely more than bones at this point, with most of the interior systems stripped clean and afternoon sunlight filtering in through holes where sections of the hull had been torn off by scavengers. "Any luck up here?" She asked the red-haired human curiously.

Aside from their brief meeting on Ajan Kloss Izel knew nothing of Eisa Wex, other than that she was a former Jedi Padawan who left the order and an apparent friend of Kori's. The woman had given her an impression of someone a little rough around the edges and perhaps too cynical in her perspective of the Jedi, but that was to be expected. What was important was that she was helping the Guardians in their fight against the Sith, and that was all that mattered as far as the Vratix was concerned.

Of course right now they weren't on any glorious mission fighting devious Sith lords, they were scraping through the endless refuse and trash covering Bracca's surface, looking for some replacement batteries for the CR 90 corvette they had decided to make their flagship. From what Nara had shown them it would certainly be a while before they were up and operational. Izel sighed and leaned against a wall, crossing her arms. "We really should have invested in some probe droids or something. It could take us years to find what we're looking for on a planet like this..." She realized an operation of their size would take patience, but this was getting ridiculous. Surely there was a better solution then rooting through garbage at random?

@Topher

 

[Isen Ramm]

Like many of the lessons that didn't interest him, Isen did not pay attention during any classes that had to do with electronics, ship maintenance, or mechanic work while on the Jedi enclave on Jedha. He was pretty much useless as his master, Izel Thral, and this fire-headed stranger looked for parts that would help the Jedi mission going forward. He understood something about batteries and turrets...He knew what they were, and could point out a good turret from a bad one, but batteries? Meh, maybe not.

Izel Thral had not tried to persuade or dissuade him from getting involved in the Jedi actions against the Sith. There was a meeting. She knew that Isen was aware. Isen knew that she was going to it, but did not try to get him to come or not come one way or the other. She did not ask him to speak his mind or not speak his mind, and certainly didn't try to influence what he thought on the matter. As it turns out, they were of the same mind as it came to the Sith threat.

Master and apprentice had grown close since the apprenticeship had started. There was a mutual trust, and both were fairly guarded with their personality. They would often sit in silence together. It wasn't an awkward silence. Izel may be reading or tinkering while Isen was practicing his forms or some reading of his own. Save for a few corrections Master Thral may offer to her Padawan, they might sit in silence. And both seemed to be perfectly fine with it. Strangely enough, they bonded through the silence. They both learned to appreciate it, calmed themselves in it, learned from it.

This firebrand with blazing red hair was a different matter. She had a hyperactive streak for sure. She liked to talk. Isen got the impression that silence unnerved her. She seemed to have a good heart, and Isen woud always maintain is politeness, but he was still trying to figure out just how compatible they might be as a unit. She apparently had some skill and would be helpful in a fight. What seemed to be for sure was that she knew her away around a ship. Her expertise about these matters far exceeded his. For that, he was grateful she was here.

When he signed up to fight the Sith, the young Kiffar certainly didn't imagine that his first mission would be to go to a mostly abandoned scrapyard to scavenge for parts. He was simply following his Master on this one. Oh, he was given a "job" of course. He was sitting on the outside shell of the patrol cruiser that Wex and Thral were both inside searching. He was the lookout. Other scavengers certainly did have a history of stealing from other scavengers should a particularly nice gem come from what was left of the derelicts. It was rare, but occasionally pirates would swoop in to see if there was a fresh find, and a junkyard was a great place to land a ship and lay low if someone was hot on your trail.

But those chances were low. The most likely scenario here would be they would go ship to ship searching for a couple of batteries with some juice. They would find some after days of searching, or they wouldn't. Isen would sit on shell after shell, hour after hour, and possibly day after day and look out into the horizon for pirates that wouldn't come and scavengers that left well enough alone. And he would get bored. And he would daydream about things. He would continue his silent quest to create a new form that was perfect for Jedi like him- calm but aggressive, reserved but direct.

The clanging of the parts and the occasional yelling back and forth between Izel and Eisa did nothing but push Isen toward his daydreaming. For now, such mind-drifting was not problematic for the crew searching for a few batteries.

@Reyn @Topher

 

[Eisa Wex]

Looking up from the relay panel that she had been investigating, the fiery haired spacer turned her head off the side tilting it slightly so that her aural sensor could better pick up the question being called out by the insectoid Jedi she had been paired up with. Groaning a little as she pushed herself back onto her knees, so that she could crawl over to the access hatch she had found that lead to the maintenance voids above the ship's corridors. the Fiery haired spacer's head soon popping out from the hatch and looking towards the Jedi knight. "Nothing just yet, found a few relay junctions but not looking good" Eisa spoke out as her gaze locked onto that of Izels, before her cybernetic arm peeked out from the hatch to point towards a bulkhead off towards the side of where the Jedi was standing.

"Guessing there was a direct hit near here, cos everything up here is fried" the spacer continued before her hand and head disappeared back up into the service void above, followed by a few grunts and the sound of shuffling - all swiftly followed by a metallic clang as the former Padawan dropped down boots first from the hatch and landing on the metallic deck. A light grin crossed her features as Izel went on to comment about having probe droids to make use of to scout out the husk of the wrecked ship, whilst for certain having some probe droids scouting out the colossal ship would make life so much easier - the spacer couldn't help but chuckle at the thought that in a way they did have a droid who would be perfect for the job.

But she had gone and disappeared the moment they touched down on the planet! Not that it was at all to be unexpected, a whole planet full of new scrap piles to go to town on, it would take a leash composed of pure Phrik to stop the little droid from charging off - though the spacer would imagine that it would only last so long until the little sabotage droid would figure a way to cut herself free. "Yeah, well we did kinda have that ability" Eisa sighed as she reached off to her side to retrieve her cantine of water, before taking a quick swig of the liquid. "Curse would have sniffed out the batteries in no time" the spacer continued as she screwed the lid back in place onto the bottle. "How the Kriff she got out the ship without opening the cargo ramp I still haven't figured out" she added with a light shrug, before her lips pursed in thought.

Even though the little Buzz droid was no doubt having a whale of a time running wild in the colossal scrap yard, leaving the efforts to recover the batteries a little short handed - especially given that of all those who had travelled to the world on the Rim Hopper, Curse was the one who possessed an encyclopaedic knowledge of ships schematics and designs. The fiery haired spacer had travelled with the droid long enough to have at least picked up something from the excitable chittering of the droid as she mentally dissected every ship that they passed during their travels.

Clicking her tongue for a few moments, Eisa tried to recall what Curse may have divulged as to how she would tackle sabotaging some of the larger capital class ships. "I Think Curse did mention something about there being plenty of system redundancy batteries being installed along the central spine of these ships" the spacer offered as she looked around to try and get her bearings of where they were in the ship and to where the central spine of the ships hull was. "and that they sometimes build quarters on top of the back up power banks" she added, being sure to omit the observation that Curse raised that it was the most effective way to cripple the ship at that spot, because it would often kill the crew in the process!

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel watched as Eisa dropped down onto her level, informing her that she hadn't found anything of value either. She then went on to affectionately refer to a droid named 'Curse'. The Vratix's antennae twitched a bit at that.

"You mean that Pistoeka droid?" She asked with a hint of amusement. "Nykoria told me about her. And from the sound of things I should probably be grateful she decided not to lend us a hand. If she found the batteries before us she might find it more fun to destroy them instead of hand them over." The buzz droid did apparently afford them some valuable insight through the spacer though. The central spine eh? "I'll take a look." Izel responded to Eisa's explanation with a nod before leaping up and crawling higher into the ship.

As an insectoid it was easier for her to navigate the wreck, able to climb on walls and ceilings, and leap between the destroyed sections of the ship. After a few minutes of searching she identified the area Eisa had described, and sure enough there were the batteries. Or at least, there they should have been, but it looked as though they had been removed. Fortunately upon closer inspection Izel could tell they had been removed recently. The culprit was a discarded hydrospanner, one that didn't look like it was a hundred years old. It was laying on the floor beside a busted open and empty battery box. Immediately Izel reached out with her Force sense, trying to identify any nearby sentients. She quickly felt Eisa and Isen nearby, and various tiny creatures scurrying about the wrecks. Then about two miles away was a group, relatively small, and moving slowly. Scavengers most like, and their best bet at getting those batteries. Izel picked up the hydrospanner and returned to the red haired spacer.

"Someone beat us to them." She explained, tossing the tool to the ex-Jedi. "They're not far though. We should be able to catch them if we move now. One way or another I've had about enough of sifting through trash." She turned and cupped her hands over her mouth. "Isen! We're moving!" She called out, and waited expectantly for her Padawan to join them. They had little time to waste.

@Topher @Isen

 

[Isen Ramm]

"Isen! We're moving!" the Padawan heard, and it awoke him from his daydreaming. He may have actually dozed off. He rubbed an eye and hopped up. He followed them from this ship to the next. As he was hopping from the tops of the derelicts, Isen had a distinct visual advantage. He didn't see anything, but it sure seemed as if they had a lead.

Isen yelled back, "Yes, Master! I'm right behind!"

@Reyn @Topher

 

[Eisa Wex]

A light chuckle escaped the fiery haired spacer's lips as the Insectoid Jedi spoke about her crewmate, seemingly repeating and going from what she had heard from their mutual Zeltron - before her head slightly shook as a light shrug rolled on her shoulders. "Oh Curse ain't that bad, if she knows we're going salvage hunting, she'll leave the good bits intact" Eisa offered, before a light grin curled on her lips. "She's learnt the more profit we make, the more toys she can get to take apart" she concluded with a light wink, intending to put Izel's mind at ease over the machinations of the little buzzdroid - even though there was no denying the fact that Curse would quite happy destory everything in her sight, but over the lightyears of travel that they had shared the Buzzdroid in Eisa's eyes was showing improving levels of restraint.

Looking down at the tossed hydro spanner, the feiry haired spacer narrowed her eyes as she looked it over, her lips pursing in thought as she studied the tool, angling it so to read the hand grip with a furrowed brow. "Ya know who ever left this, they ain't in the best of places" Eisa spoke out as she shook the tool in her hand before shifting it to the side and clipping it to her belt - figuring that it'll come in handy later on. "Thing's a Fastturn-12, ya don't just leave something like this behind" the spacer resumed once the tool was securely fixed in place, her brow furrowing as she figured that perhaps she may as well be taking gibberish to the Jedi Knight. "Its like leaving one those Nubian Star yachts behind, only happens when somethings got ya running scared"

Taking a deep breath, the fiery haired spacer readied herself to follow Izel in their search for the errant scrapper who had taken the batteries that they had been seeking out for themselves. Channelling the Force slightly, just in-case the two Jedi decide to use the Force to enhance their movements and speed as they moved through the wreckage of the ship. As she eased her mind into the Force, the spacer reached over to her holster and retrieved her blaster pistol, priming it up and checking the charge on the power cell. If whomever had the batteries was spooked or under duress as she suspected, she wasn't going to go in empty handed.

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel nodded in acknowledgement as Eisa made her own observations about the hydrospanner. "We'll have to keep on guard then." She said before taking off in pursuit of the scavengers. Of course, another mission where violence was inevitable. She just couldn't have an easy assignment could she?

As she used her Force sense to lead her two companions jumping through the wreckage Izel made sure to slow her pace just a bit. Not for Isen's sake, they had been practicing in their races through the jungles back on Ajan Kloss so much he practically had the agility of a Vratix himself by this point. It was more for Eisa's benefit. Izel was well aware she wasn't a proper Jedi and might not be as practiced with these kinds of maneuvers. She didn't want to leave her tired out, especially if they were heading into danger.

The Vratix remained silent for most of the journey, focused on tracking down the scavengers they were chasing. But as they drew closer to their quarry a new sound began to fill the air. Blaster fire. That didn't bode well. Izel made a visible effort to move more stealthily, finally coming to rest on the hull of an old Gallofree transport. She got down low and slowly crawled forward, peaking over the edge to see what was going on below. The scene beneath them could be best described as a warzone, with members of two different species taking cover behind mounds of scrap on different ends of a field. They were firing blasters and insults across the distance at each other.

It seemed they had blundered into a turf war between two opposing groups of Ugor and Squib scavengers. Izel let out a resigned sigh as her companions caught up to her. "Wonderful." She said dryly, still keeping her voice down so as not to draw attention to them. "Which group do you think has our batteries?" And perhaps the better question was how the hell were they going to get them?

@Topher @Isen

 

[Isen Ramm]

The young Kiffar didn't even pretend to know what some of things were they were talking about were. Tools and ship parts. Isen was out of his element. He simply followed Izel Thral, and when she slowed, he slowed. He tried staying fiften-twenty feet behind, for no other reason than to help keep a low profile. If she stopped suddenly, he would have plenty of time to recognize the threat, get low, and not be seen.

The unmistakable sound of blaster fire started to bounce off the metal scraps of the junkyards, and the Vratix leading the group slowed and crawled to take a peak. Isen carefully snuck his way to the edge so that he could get a peak as well. Two gangs, one Ugor and one Squib were having at it. Not terribly uncommon in a place like this. What remained to be seen is if either group actually had the batteries, though his master certainly seemed near convinced of it.

"Wonderful," Thral said. "Which group do you think has our batteries?"

Isen didn't study much back on Jedha, but he always took an interest in cultures and in negotiation tactics. And as it turns out, both of these species intersected with his negotiation training as both species loved the art of the deal. The Ugor, however, were known for complicated deals and prolonged negotiations, and Isen didn't figure that would do well in the midst of a firefight.

"I think we should drop down and try to cut a deal with a Squib," Isen said, watching the battle. "They love making deals for the sake of making deals. If they have the batteries, we'll trade them a victory in this battle for the batteries. If they don't, we know the Ugor have them. In that case, for victory, we get to pick two items of our choice, and they can have the rest." Isen gave both of them a quick look. "If they refuse, we'll tell them that we'll offer the same deal to the Ugors. I don't see how they could refuse."

@Reyn @Topher

 

[Eisa Wex]

Their batteries...? Well that certainly was an odd one, the Spacer thought as her eyebrow arched at the Jedi's conclusion that the batteries were the Jedi's to begin with, as far as she was aware they got bested to the finish line and that the person who had managed to claim them was the owner by virtue of finders keepers! But then again she doubted that the Jedi really saw, yet alone understood that down here in the rusted and corrosive corners of the galaxy - if you find it its yours, if any one else wants it they either; buy it, Knick it... Or kill the guy who has it

Then there was the other Jedi, much younger, and if going by his appearance and demeanour in comparison to the insectoid Jedi, he was the padawan in the two's relationship. A light smile curling on her lips as she watched the interaction between master and student, before her face soured up, seeing that the master learner relationship clearly was one of even exchange. - then why the Kriff was the Duros master such a hard ass to her.

Cutting the thoughts and reflection of Master Har's constant hollering and cautioning, Eisa figured it be best that she listened to the Padawan's offerings in a bit more detail, rather than reminiscing. A confused expression forming over her features as the Padawan spoke of offering their services to whom ever had the battery. "Woah Woah Woah! Since when did the Jedi start renting them selves out?" Eisa questioned as her bemused gaze flicked between the two Jedi, this was an interesting turn of events for the Order it seemed, offering aid to those who needed it sure, but to offer services to the highest bidder? that sounded a little bit mercenary "Next you'll be saying we'll offer to take it up the chuff in exchange for the batteries" she added, before rolling her eyes and groaning in resignation, this was going to need a quick lesson in how the dark corners of the Galaxy works.

"The order ought to send you out to the bottom of rungs a bit more often", Eisa grunted as she pushed herself upright and stepped slightly away from the cover of the ship. "It ain't all bargains and deals, that's for those in charge" Eisa offered, as a wide grin crossed her features "Pissed off enough of these gang types to know, is who's got the toughest and meanest looks that do all the talking, when you're at the bottom of the pile the only thing you care about is your life, unless you've got a screwloose" she concluded as her cybernetic arm moved to pull at the cross body strap that hung over her shoulders, unslinging the BM-664 Heavy Blaster Rifle from where it hung over her back, and holding it aimed loosely over the squabbling gangs. As she patted the core of the rifle to emphasise her point, a brief thought flashed through her mind, figuring that in retrospect they should've borrowed curses AT-RT, now that would've seriously done more than enough talking to scare off the gangers.

Pursing her lips in thought, the fiery haired spacer took a quick look over her surroundings, her gaze setting on the bow of the Transports hull, that was overlooking the small skirmish ahead of them. "Remember, it's all about who's got the toughest act out here, also helps if you've got the balls to back em up" the spacer spoke in parting as she cast the two Jedi a wink before casually walking towards the front of the ship's bow. As she drew closer to the edge, Eisa leveled the muzzle of her heavy blaster rifle right down towards the bickering junk gangs with her cybernetic arm, whilst her remaining hand continued to hold onto her K-16 Bryar Pistol .

Coming to a standstill, her finger wrapped around the trigger, holding it in place as it charged a heavy blaster round. Before pointing it towards a spilled over shipping crate laying between the two gangs. Releasing her hold over the trigger, letting off the overcharged round with a noticeable blast sound cutting over the din of the fire fight between the two gangs, before the bolt connected with the overturned container, near enough vaporising it. "Oi kriff tards, What in the blazing kark are you schuttas doing here!" Eisa barked out, her accent dropping as well as the tone, her gaze narrowing as she complemented the intimidating and pissed off tone with a scowl. "This ain't your patch, so yah best be getting the Kriff outta here pretty sharpish, and leave the scrap you've knicked off my claim, otherwise these little toys of mine are gonna be doing some serious damage to yah internal organs" she added as she gestured the muzzle of her blaster pistol towards the puddle of molten slag that lay where the shipping crate once had done .

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel listened as each of her companions offered their own solution to their predicament. But she quickly found herself siding with Eisa, at least what the spacer said initially that was. "Woah Woah Woah! Since when did the Jedi start renting them selves out? Next you'll be saying we'll offer to take it up the chuff in exchange for the batteries" Izel nodded in agreement. Not quite how she would have put it. But the human still understood how the order was meant to operate.

"Eisa is right Padawan." She explained as she looked to Isen. "A Jedi's job is to resolve conflict not jump in the middle of it. We should-" She then cut herself off as Eisa went on to explain how they should attempt to intimidate both gangs into giving up their scores and retreating. "Wait what?" She asked, astonished. But before she could protest Eisa was already standing on the edge of the ship, firing off a warning shot and then shouting down at the two alien gangs.

She succeeded in getting their attention, the Squibs and Ugors halting in their firefight to look up and listen to Eisa's threats. After the human was finished there was an awkward pause. The two gangs looked at each other, then all of them turned and fired on Eisa's position in unison. Acting quickly Izel reached out with the Force and yanked the human backwards before she could be filled with holes, blaster fire now peppering the edge of the ship.

"Whoever's got the toughest act huh?" Izel remarked sarcastically. "You know I had hoped we could try reasoning with both sides but it seems once again brute force is going to have to be the answer. Thankfully we have the advantage that they're both still fighting each other as well as us. We can fall back, wrap around and attack one of the parties from behind. Then move on to the other." She looked to her apprentice. "Try to just disarm them, don't kill unless they give you no other choice. These people may be fools but we have no quarrel with them. Not to mention they may have hidden the batteries. We'll need people to question if that's the case." She looked back to Eisa. "And please follow my lead." She asked pointedly before turning and climbing back down the other side of the ship.

The gangs would continue to fire up at the transport for another minute or two before shifting their focus back to each other. Izel would head around the wreckage to the side where the Ugors were, stealthily taking up a position behind them and preparing to attack. Thankfully the aliens had built up their own barricades facing the Squibs' side, so if they moved fast they would be able to incapacitate all of them before the other gang had a chance to get some shots in. The Ugors outnumbers them six to three, but six regular sentients against three Force sensitives was hardly impossible odds. "Alright, let's go!" Izel would say in a low voice before rushing in behind the Ugors, allowing each of her companions to choose their own targets while she focused on the two Ugors in the center of the group.

@Topher @Isen

 

[Isen Ramm]

The padawan listened as Eisa and Izel Thral quickly discarded Isen's plan. Before Isen could catch exactly what Eisa's plan was, however, she had jumped up, yelled some threats and then fired a shot, blowing up a crate between the two rival gangs. As a result, they started blasting back. Isen smirked and shook his head as Izel Force pulled away from the combined blaster fire. The red-headed firecracker drew a rebuke from Izel which Isen couldn't help but agree that was warranted. Izel quickly came up with a plan to flank the Ugors.

"Try to just disarm them, don't kill unless they give you no other choice. These people may be fools but we have no quarrel with them," Master Thrall said. "Not to mention they may have hidden the batteries. We'll need people to question if that's the case."

Isen was still smirking at the whole situation. "If we're being honest, I think my plan was better than hers, Master."

It had appeared that Izel Thral had chosen the center duo. Isen motioned hat he would take the two to their left on the outside as sprinted alongside Izel Thral.

@Reyn @Topher

 

[Eisa Wex]

A chill ran down the fiery haired spacer's back as she could feel the small hairs over her exposed skin stand on edge, in response to the sudden welling of the Force that built up around her. Before she could attempt to try and weather herself or even counter act one of the Jedi's use of the Force around her, there was a sudden pulling sensation on her body, pulling her backwards away from the prow of the ship she had been standing upon - the only reaction that Eisa could make in response was to groan out "Aww for Kriff's sake!" in mild annoyance to the sudden change in the approach with the gangers below them.

Slumping back onto the cold metal deck of the ships hall, the fiery haired spacer sprawled out in an almost child like resignation as she stared up towards the skies above, whilst listening to the Jedi Knight's comment about the toughest act, laced with the slight hint of sarcasm to the insectoids words. "Well it ain't much of a tough guy act now" Eisa retorted as she rolled her eyes before sighing. "Besides... I wasn't going to shoot em..... much.....too badly..... well mostly at their feet" she added after a brief silence, figuring that she would take the moment before Izel explained her plan to clarify what was planning to do. "Ya know just to spook em a little,... wasn't going to go all pirate on them..." she added before rolling back back so that she was sitting upright once again.

Sitting in silence, Eisa holstered her weapons as she listened to the insectoid Jedi as she explain her intended approach, on dealing with the junk gangs that had moved away from peppering the hull where she had stood, and resumed shooting back at each other. Cocking her head to the side, Eisa cast Izel a bemused expression as she listened to the pointed comment about that they had no quarrel with the Junkers, yet in her mind they were now going to go and disarm and incapacitate them - 'Forgot how inconsistent the Jedi were' Eisa mused to herself as she rose back up onto her feet and simply nodded to the instructions that had been given by the Jedi Knight.

As the group made their way towards the Ugor's almost entrenched position, the fiery haired spacer made a beeline to the right most pairing of the alien species. her speed building up as the others started to break out into a sprint. A wild grin crossing the spacer's features as she likewise sprang into action, running full tilt towards to her marks. Before the Ugor pairing could react the fiery haired spacer, dropped down to wards the ground skidding into the space between the two suited aliens. "Told you Kriffers to get off my patch" Eisa spoke out before breaking into a spot of excited laughter. as the two aliens registered the spacer's sudden appearance at their feet. Before they had a chance to react, the spacer's legs swiftly swung upwards towards the visored helmets, steel capped boots connecting with the helmets, momentarily dazing the pair.

With enough of an opening the fiery haired spacer performed a kick up, flipping her body up off of the ground and back upright onto her feet. As soon as her boots touched the ground the spacer grabbed the helmets of the two Ugors, and slammed the pair's heads together - further stunning them, enough for Eisa to snatch their respective blaster weapons from their hands and then point them at their respective owners, forcing them to put their hands up in surrender.

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel was able to get fairly close before the Ugors finally noticed her approach, spinning around to open fire on her. The Vratix ignited her pike in response and deflected each of the shots before reaching out with a hand, making a fist and pulling back. The Force answered her command, ripping the blaster rifles straight from the hands of the aliens and sending them flying into the debris behind the insectoid. While one of the Ugors stood looking down at his now empty palms dumbly the other fumbled to draw a blaster pistol at his waist.

Izel leapt forward to close the rest of the distance between them. Flipping and kicking the Ugor attempting to draw a second blaster in the chest. The alien flew back against the barricade and slumped to the ground. Before the remaining Ugor could react Izel held her pike's blade to his throat. "This squabble is over. Get down on your knees and put your hands on your head." She ordered sternly. The Ugor grumbled angrily but obeyed her commands. Izel took a brief look towards each of her comrades. She would offer an approving nod to Eisa seeing she had been successful, then looked in Isen's direction. If he didn't need help, she would then look across the field towards the Squibs' position.

"You can stop shooting now!" She called out to them, careful to remain hidden behind the cover of the barricades. "We're here to trade! Why don't we all have a nice sit-down and hash out an agreement that's beneficial to all of us? Better than killing each other yes?" Her proposal was met by silence. Perhaps they were considering hearing her out. Or perhaps they were preparing to flee or employ a different tactic against them. Only time would tell. But for the moment at least there was a lull in the conflict.

@Topher @Isen

 

[Isen Ramm]

Once the firing started, Isen ignited both blades and ran toward the two Ugors he was responsible for. Lightsaber work was his strength, and he deflected the rifle blaster shots further away from them at first but slowly started to concentrate the return fire closer to their location. Once within fifteen feet, Isen stopped running and walked casually toward them, both of them firing as often as they could without overheating their firearms. Isen continued his walk until he was at point blank range, and used his lightsaber to cut off the barrels of their long blaster rifles. He lifted his brow and nodded in the direction of Izel Thral as he spoke calmly to the two Ugors who were appropriately frightened. "She's the nice one, ok?"

The two Ugors dropped their guns and nodded. "Do what they do," Isen told them and they complied by dropping to their knees and putting their hands on their hand. Isen saw that one of the Ugors still had a blaster pistol slung on his hip. The Padawan put his lightsabers away, reached out and used the Force to pull the blaster to him. "You'll get it back." He looked at the destroyed blaster rifles and shrugged an apology.

"We're here to trade! Why don't we all have a nice sit-down and hash out an agreement that's beneficial to all of us? Better than killing each other yes?" Master Thral yelled to the Squibs.

"Not sure they can turn that offer down," Isen said to his mentor. "But what exactly do we have to trade?"

@Reyn @Topher

 

[Eisa Wex]

Now that the Ugors had been subdued, disarmed and in the case of the two that the Fiery Haired spacer had delt with, still nursing a headache. The exchange of weapons fire seemed to have fizzled out for the moment, as the Squibs realised that something must be going on now that the Ugnors had stopped shooting at them. The momentarily lull and silence being broken by the insectoid Jedi Knight who was calling out towards the still armed half of this little gang squabble, offering that rather than shoot at each other they sit down and come to an agreement, and a trade.

Her eye brow arching up inquisitively as she caught the Padawan's hushed words, questioning what it was that they had to trade for the batteries. Strangely that was a good point, after all the two Jedi had travelled to the planet aboard the Rim Hopper, and Eisa was sure as kriff that they certainly had not brought any cargo of not on board with them - if she could recall correctly, if anything the ship's hold had shed some of its cargo back on Ajan Kloss.

But then again that's not to say that the Jedi knight hadn't brought a pouch full of shiny credit chips in preparation for bartering should it be needed. Shrugging the thought off, the fiery haired spacer stepped away from the surrendered Ugors, motioning the ends of their blasters to the side, instructing them to move and sit down with the others, before tossing their weapons over the barricades and into the proverbial no mans land between the two rival gangs and then proceeding to retrieve her own heavy blaster rifle from back over where it had been slung over her shoulder.

Even though the Jedi's words and offer for talking things out and coming to an amicable trade without the need for blood shed was sincere, Eisa had been out in the various far corners of the Galaxy to know that even though your intentions may be good, the others can't always be trusted. And, having a blaster rifle that was powerful enough to blow holes through metal plating, was a good enough deterrent to ensure that the Squibs didn't attempt to pull a fast one.

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel clicked in response to her apprentice's question. "A good trade needn't include an object Padawan." She replied knowingly. After a few more moments of silence one of the Squibs revealed themselves. While the others understandably remained armed and behind cover, one of the scavengers climbed up atop the opposing barricade and held her hands in the air to show she was unarmed. Slowly she stepped down into the no man's land and called back to the Jedi.

"Well you've really stuck it to those Ugor slobs! Reason enough for me to like you! But how do we know you won't do the same to us?" Izel's antennae twitched as she used her Force sense to get a feel for the Squib scavenger. She seemed sincere, not trying to trick them. The Vratix extinguished her pike and tossed it to Isen, then helped one of the Ugors back to his feet.

"Stay here and watch over them." She said, looking between her companions. "If they try to kill me... Well... Help." She then tugged the Ugor along as she walked out to meet the Squib in no man's land. Using the Force she pulled up a few hunks of scrap for the three of them to sit on and then took a seat, releasing the Ugor. He appeared quite disgruntled, but made no vocal protests as he sat down. The Squib cautiously did the same.

"One of you has something we want." Izel explained. "Batteries from a Tartan Patrol Cruiser. I need them."

"The batteries are ours." The Ugor snapped.

"They were yours." The Squib corrected them smugly. "Now they're ours."

"You stole them! Squib rat!" The Ugor shouted as he stood up. The Squib laughed.

"That's how it goes Bantha brain. Keep your goods under closer watch next time." The Ugor started to make a retort but Izel calmly put a hand on his shoulder and sat him down.

"The batteries are going to be mine anyway." She said firmly. "And I'm willing to compensate you both. So long as you stop trying to kill each other and agree to cooperate like civilized beings." Both aliens looked at her strangely.

"What exactly are you offering?" The Squib asked.

"A job." Izel explained. "A very well paying job. As you might have gathered my companions and I are Jedi. Warriors sworn to defend the galaxy from all manner of threats-" While the Ugor appeared to suddenly be listening intently to what Izel was saying the Squib just waved her hand dismissively.

"Yeah yeah I've heard all that before. So what?" Izel's antennae twitched in mild annoyance, but she continued nonetheless.

"We've acquired a ship and are currently refitting it for use. We intend to use it as a mobile headquarters for our missions. We've already secured some funding for the venture. In addition, our work is likely to result in quite a bit of scrap and other salvage. Salvage you would have first access to."

"What do you expect of us?" The Ugor asked.

"We still need people to crew the ship. A CR 90 corvette." Izel answered. "An easy job, and you wouldn't be expected to endanger yourselves. You'd have a full compliment of trained Jedi Knights protecting you. All you need to do is keep her flying. You'll be paid well, and as I said, I can promise you access to any valuable materials we take from our fallen enemies."

"But you need the batteries for the ship as well?" The Squib asked. Izel nodded. The blue alien remained thoughtfully silent for a few moments, then smirked and extended her hand. "You've got yourself a deal Jedi. We'll lead you to where we're keeping the batteries, and you get us a position on your ship." Izel looked next to the Ugor. His face unreadable beneath his helmet. After a few more moments of thought he spoke up.

"I agree as well, just don't expect us to play nice with these Squib rats. We'll be working on one end of the ship, them the other."

"A fair deal." Izel said happily as she stood and shook each alien's hand in turn. "I look forward to working with all of you." With that Izel turned and went back to the others, retrieving her pike from her apprentice. "You see? A good Jedi can always talk their way out of a fight." The Squibs and Ugors were both preparing to leave. It seemed it would be a bit of a journey to the Squib camp.

Dice
@Topher @Isen

 

[Isen Ramm]

Watching his Master deftly navigate the negotiations between the Ugor and the Squibs, Isen couldn't help but smirk. Isen always scored well on his negotiation simulations, but he had a more...direct approach that the Masters didn't always appreciate. Master Thral was much more savvy. Though, Isen wasn't particularly keen on working on a ship with feuding factions, particularly two factions that were notorious to deal with. Still, for the time being, it appeared that the batteries would be theirs and they wouldn't have to resort to violence or overt intimidation to get them. Isen figured they could cross the bridge with working with the two factions when the time came.

Isen handed Izel Thral's pike back to her and nodded his acknowledgement of her wisdom. Isen offered the blaster pistol that he pulled from one of the Ugor contigent back to him. "Don't make me regret this, please." The Ugor snorted a reply in his native tongue that Isen couldn't understand. He prepared himself for his trek to the Squib camp, and leaned over to Master Thral. "How long until this makeshift alliance between these two breaks apart?"

Isen figured both factions were too much alike, meaning that both sides would want a better deal than the other at some point during this episode. Either one side would want to renegotiate the deal, or flat-out stab the other parties in the back. The dust was settled now, so far as Isen could tell, but with factions like these, dust storms could pop up in a hurry.

@Reyn @Topher

 

[Eisa Wex]

Well seemingly the Jedi Knight was carrying something up her sleeve when it came to arranging a deal between the squabbling gangs, offering them a means to settle their quarry and also make a few credits in the process working towards the Jedi's goal of getting this junked Corvette of Kori's off of the ground. So far it had seemed to have gone down well, and peace had settled between the Squibs and the Ugors - enough for them to take the entire party back to the Squib's camp. Following the other Jedi, but falling back off to the side flank of the newly formed alliance. Her eyes narrowing as she regarded the various faces in the procession. Even though the Jedi had placated the situation, Eisa didn't like the atmospherics one bit, something was off.

Casually the fiery haired spacer raised her cybernetic hand up to the side of her head, motioning to brush hair away from her cranial implant, her metallic finger subtly adjusting the dial settings on her aural sensors as it passed over the side of her head. Sharpening and enhancing the sounds of the various movements of the clothing, the dust giving away under the weight of each sentients boot,

Her eyes narrowed slightly as the slow sound of metal being drawn against leather, slowly her steps feel gradually out of synch with the others, falling back behind from the rest of the group. Her cybernetic hand falling onto the side of her hip, subtly pressing on and activating a concealed locator device tucked away in a pouch fastened to her belt, before finally resting over the stock of her blaster pistol. Like a hawk the fiery haired spacer, observed the various gang members from a distance, watching and lying in wait like a predator observing her prey, or more in this case like a Nek pack mother watching over her brood - after all the Jedi towards the front of the group, in the spacer's eyes were still young, especially in the ways as to how the lower corners of the Galaxy operate.

Her emerald hued eyes narrowed as she regarded a squib with a darkened patch of fur and visible scar along the side of his head, watching as his hands parted to reveal the faint glimmer of light reflecting off metal, as he drew the blade back into his hand before it coiled back. Pulling her hand down to her side arm, the spacer latched the weapon off of it's safety and slowly withdrew it from its holster.

The only warning that would come before the sudden lunge forwards towards the back of the young Padawan, was the snarled words "Die Jedi Scum" as the scarred Squib swung it's blade towards the exposed side of Isen's neck. The only sound that followed in the wake of the snarled declaration, was the ring of a blaster shot causing many of the gangers to instinctively duck down in reaction to the blaster fire. The bolt of burning green plasma reducing the Squib's head to a charred stump, sending his lifeless body tumbling down sideways onto the floor.

Before any of the gangers could react, the fiery haired spacer had both of her weapons levelled towards the gangers, her brow furrowed, as her emerald eyes glared at the gangers who were processing what just happened. "Any one else willing to attempt making a few quick credits by cashing in on a Jedi's Lightsaber?" Eisa spoke out, her narrowed gaze scowling at each of the gangers as she edged herself towards the headless squibs body, and purposefully kicking the blade deep into the pile of scrap that lined the side of the path way "They may be Jedi, but I'm not" Eisa declared, as she started to step further towards the divided gangers . "If any you ever think of betraying my friends, I swear by my pretty floral tighties .... I will end you"

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel fell in with Isen as they made their way in the direction of the Squib camp. The Squibs obviously leading the way in front of the Jedi while Eisa hung back with the Ugors. As her apprentice voiced his concerns over the longevity of this alliance she had brokered Izel clicked thoughtfully.

"We just need to keep them separated and happy. The prospective profit should cover the rest of their grievances." She assured him. Still, he had a point. The Squibs and Ugors had a long history of rivalry. She would need to stay on her toes.

The Squib camp was set up in the center of a large crater, perhaps a mark left on the planet by the Clone Wars ages ago. Their large freighter stood at it's center, with defensive barricades set up along the edge of the crater. The camp was filled with boxes and carts full of scrap being moved about and cataloged. It seemed the Squibs were already making a tidy profit here. And there were a lot of the little blue creatures here. It put both the Ugors and Izel on edge. Her Force sense was beginning to gnaw at the back of her mind as they moved inside the camp. There was danger here. Izel began to scan carefully over the scavengers as they stopped what they were doing to glare mistrustfully at the new arrivals. She tightened her grip on her pike. Then it happened.

Before Izel could even react there was a blaster shot, and as she turned around she saw a dead Squib on the ground. Eisa stepped forward to kick a knife away from him. Had they just tried to kill Isen? Izel looked angrily at the Squib leader as the other scavengers reflexively cowered from the sudden shot. The leader looked back at them silently a few moments, blinking in surprise. Then her face turned to a scowl.

"Aw hell with it," She said as she drew her blaster pistol and pointed it at them. The other Squibs pulled out their own weapons as well and surrounded the Jedi and Ugors. "Wanted to do this more cleanly but someone's always got to jump the gun. Sorry Jedi, those laser swords of yours are worth way more to me than any scrap haul. Less work too." She smirked. Izel ignited her lightsaber and stared her down.

"I wouldn't say that..." She countered. Holding out her hand she released a powerful Force push, sending the leader and all of the Squibs directly in front of them tumbling backwards. In the next instant another firefight broke out as the Ugors used the moment of surprise to draw their blasters and shoot back at the Squibs. The Squibs took cover behind the crates and returned fire, killing a few of the Ugors. They were still in a bad position being surrounded on almost all sides. Moving her hands around in waving motion Izel called upon the Force again, kicking up the dust and dirt around them and creating a makeshift smokescreen. "Get to cover!" She shouted through the sudden dust storm. "Let's grab those batteries and get out of here!"

"What did I tell you?" The leader of the Ugors shouted in an angry voice as he took a defensive position beside Izel. "Squib rats!" The Vratix just sighed and started making her way towards some of the boxes.

@Topher @Isen

 

[Isen Ramm]

Isen felt a ripple in the Force, that danger was behind him, before hearing "Die Jedi Scum." Before the Padawan could turn and engage, the sound of a blaster put an end to that. It became evident that the Squibs were looking to cash in with lightsaber bounties, and all Isen could do was just shake his head. Now the Squibs had the Ugors and the Jedi to deal with.

In the shakeup, Izel Force pushed the Squibs directly in front of them tumbling back to their main group. They scurried like roaches for cover, mostly crates as they Ugors starting firing on them. Isen sprinted forward and force pushed several of the crates that were providing cover for the Squibs' front line. The Ugors shot some of them down as others scrambled further back to more crates.

"Get to cover!" his master shouted above the fray. "Let's grab those batteries and get out of here!" Isen sent a few more cartes flying, putting the Squibs on the defensive some more before sprinting back to the cover of the dust storm and in the direction of the some of the crates.

"I guess that answered my question about how long the alliance would last," Isen said as he caught back up with Eisa and Izel.

@Reyn @Topher