Ask Nar Shaddaa Nah Shaddaa

[Astra Calloway]

Of all the places to be, Nar Shaddaa was Astra's least favourite, even more so than Coruscant. The Smuggler's Moon reeked of hopelessness and desperation and all the unsavoury people the planet drew to it meant all their unsavoury deeds came with them. Saying it was dangerous was an understatement, it was every man for himself unless you knew people but the Jedi weren't exactly favourable throughout the galaxy yet, especially not here. Astra knew it would be wise to conceal her status as a Jedi by adopting a more traditional sense of style in order to blend in, lightsaber concealed at her hip.

She was walking down a street with a handful of people loitering in when she heard footsteps running behind her, getting closer and closer until she turned to see who was running towards her but the man already had a hand around the hilt of her lightsaber and pulled it roughly from her belt as he continued running. "Hey!" She shouted as she instinctively leapt into action and began chasing him. Panic began rising within her, though it was trumped by adrenaline for the moment. Astra knew she needed her lightsaber if anything were to go wrong and Kraud wouldn't be too happy about losing it either.

The chase was short, only spanning a couple of alleyways, the man must have known she would catch up which begged the question how did he know she was a Jedi? She had an awful feeling she inadvertently did or said something which exposed herself as a Jedi and as lightsabers were valuable she seemed like a good target to rob. As she closed the distance between them, they entered a larger side street but as soon as they entered the clearing she felt a pair of hands grab her and pull her aside and she instantly elbowed the man who grabbed her in the ribs, heatbutted him in the chin and broke free, only when she got a few steps ahead she saw the person who had snatched her lightsaber facing her with a woman stood beside him with a blaster trained on Astra and two more men either side.

"Don't shoot." The man behind her warned the woman who remained steadfast. "Maybe if we take something off she'll come more easily." The man holding the lightsaber hilt suggested as he ignited the blade and she immediately began backing away. Astra sought every available option but given as the best course of action would require using the force, her chances didn't look too good, especially against the number of opponents. Kraud had always taught her that using a lightsaber was a last resort but now it wasn't an option and she wasn't sure what to do. She considered running if they weren't inclined to shoot her but she couldn't let a lightsaber fall into the wrong hands.

Astra closed her eyes and tried to gain some level of inner peace in attempt to convey a message. "If anyone can hear this, send help." She thought, hoping someone nearby would hear her plea. "What's she doing?" One of the men asked. "Some Force thing, quick take her hands off or something." The woman replied, nudging the man with the lightsaber. Within moments, Astra opened her eyes and held both hands out, using force push against two of the lackeys. The woman reacted just as quickly, shooting at Astra's shoulder and using the momentary shock to floor Astra and pin her face down on the ground with an arm behind her back. She moaned from the pain and discomfort but didn't struggle, opting to conserve her energy for when it would be more useful.




@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

It was risky business being back home, back on Nar Shaddaa - the Hutts were still after him and if anyone recognised him, he was done for. Still, he had to be here. Few days ago, the teen had a dream... or a vision of his ancestor (the two of them were on good terms lately) informing him to return to Nar Shaddaa, there was something at his childhood home that he was supposed to find, something that his ancestor neglected to tell him. As always.

Jey turned up at his childhood home, strangely enough it was still abandoned, he left Nar Shaddaa a few months ago and he was surprised no one had bought it yet. Honestly, it was a lot to be back, all the old memories and feelings regarding this place came rushing back like a flood - he had to get out of here fast, he didn't want to even be here to begin with. Jey had the security pass to his home and wondered if it still worked... or if the landlord had changed the locks on it. Either way, he wouldn't be finding out right now.

"If anyone can hear this, send help."

The words echoed through his head, a voice not his own. Jey jerked his head in response to this, and his face contorted into a twitch - although Jey wasn't a stranger to hearing other voices in his head, thanks to his ancestors, the one he just heard was one he didn't recognise. Until it all clicked, he had heard the voice before, it was... "Astra...?" he thought to himself - she had to be close by, otherwise he wouldn't have heard her Force message, right? Either way, there was no time to think, Astra needed help. Jey took off running, completely unsure of where to go but... he followed his instincts, allowing them to guide him to wherever Astra was.

His instincts proved right, Jey ended up at the entrance of an empty side street where Astra was being held down by a woman and was accompanied by two other men, one of them holding her lightsaber, meanwhile two men seemed to be unconscious on the floor. Seeing his friend so helpless and at the mercy of some common thugs angered him severely. Fuelled by rage, any and all logic went out the window "Get away from her!" he yelled out as he simultaneously pull out his blaster and shot directly at the thug holding the lightsaber with intent to kill. Focusing on his connection to the Force, Jey used it to push the woman off of Astra before blasting at her as well.

With Astra now free, the two of them can hold off the thugs together.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

Astra closed her eyes and attempted to gain some sense of composure, not only to give her the physical strength she needed to overthrow the woman on top of her but to dull the searing pain in her shoulder. She could vaguely sense the intentions of the group and saw the only course of action now was to go peacefully, try and reunite the her lightsaber at a later stage because now she was beginning to feel hopeless.

The sound of another voice immediately made her alert and her eyes opened to see... Jey? She watched what she could see but with limited mobility she couldn't turn her head to see behind her. While she disapproved of his shoot to kill method, she couldn't exactly complain given the situation and would save such a talk for a later date should they both make it out. The man holding the lightsaber stood no chance against blaster fire, he was not trained in how to wield a lightsaber effectively and it would be the cause of his demise.

When she felt the weight of the woman off her back, with a sudden surge of adrenaline she pushed herself to her feet and used the force to pull the lightsaber hilt from the fallen man's side into her hands and ignited it, quickly turning to face the man behind her who was in shock at the whole situation. "Leave now and you'll leave with your life." She told him. An empty threat but a threat all the same. The man didn't hesitate to run after watching the event unfold before him.

With two of the thugs deceased and the other two unconscious, Astra deactivated her lightsaber and took the opportunity to run to Jey and throw her good arm around him to hug him, partly because he had just helped her but also because she hadn't seen her friend for a while. "Thank you." She said with a sigh of relief as she released him from her embrace. She had never felt as pathetic as she did then but if anyone was going to find her she was glad it was Jey.



@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

Jey's emotions were still cranked up to 11. Seeing the man and woman he had just shot, dead on the ground with their chests smoking - he felt a rush of power, and with the Force as his ally, he felt completely invincible as if he could take anyone on... strangely, as he was feeling this, the teen felt a hypnotic pull to something, something he didn't quite understand yet but whatever it was, he wanted more of it...

However, he was quickly snapped out of it and returned to his senses when he felt himself being hugged by Astra - Jey was so deep in thought he hadn't realised that Astra managed to take out the remaining thugs. Feeling the hug, as well as the warmth that radiated from the blonde Jedi, he felt himself begin to calm down a little. Although a hint of anger still remained. Jey proceeded to wrap his arms around Astra and return her hug - as she released Jey from her embrace, he took a moment to look at her and noticed her shoulder wound.

His eyes widened and he began to feel angry again, the scumbags had hurt her and she had just let one of them escape without repercussions? Jey shook his head, almost violently, before faking a cocky smile at her "Jedi aren't invincible, pateesa. It ain't good to be a Jedi on Nar Shaadaa." he said, eyes still focused on her shoulder injury "Come on, my old house isn't too far from here. I'll help patch you up." so much for getting off this rock quickly. Turning around, Jey motioned for Astra to follow as he would lead her to his old home - he was sure to have something there... and it'd be a good opportunity to find whatever it was his ancestor wanted him to find.

The walk back to his old and abandoned home was short but silent. Jey wasn't feeling very talkative, still reeling from the events that had transpired and trying to calm himself down from it. Finally arriving at the house, Jey pulled out his old security pass and successfully unlocked the door which surprised him - he knew Nar Shaddaa was crummy but, wow. Entering inside, the house was just the way he left it a few months back... a complete mess and even worse, it had developed a bad smell... probably from all the out-of-date food. "Sorry about... everything. It's been a while since I've been back here." he said awkwardly as he made his way into the kitchen, hoping Astra wouldn't think less of him for his crappy home situation - he was in a different head space back then.

Jey searched through a few drawers in the kitchen before finally finding what he needed - some Bacta patches. Gathering a few, he returned to Astra and handed them to her "Here, these always came in handy after a stupid fight I'd have at the club." he said, chuckling slightly. Proceeding to fold his arms, his expression took a more serious one as he looked her in her eyes "What the hell are you doing here, Astra?" he asked sternly. Nar Shaadaa was already dangerous, even more so if you were Force-sensitive or a Jedi.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

Astra was alarmed at the level of anger Jey was displaying but thankful that some of his raw emotions seemed to dissipate when she hugged him, although it was short lived as he noticed her wound, she could guess what Jey was thinking but revenge was not the Jedi way and so she would not stoop down to that level. For a moment, she felt the undeniable cold presence of the Dark side and shivered as the presence made her feel uneasy but then it was gone again. She searched Jey's face to see if he had noticed it but he only smiled so she didn't bring it up - yet.

"It isn't good to be a Jedi anywhere these days." She replied. It was very much a roulette when you told someone you were a Jedi, they could just as easily be your enemy as your ally or whatever Jey considered himself to be. He didn't seem keen on the Jedi but had managed to befriend one nonetheless, though it was likely that was where his allegiance to the Jedi began and ended for now but Astra was determined to make a Jedi out of the teen, one day. She was older than Jey was when she started so there would still be plenty of opportunities to convince him to join, she believed it just required patience.

"You lived here?" She asked, unable to hide her noticeable surprise in her tone and expression. Although she knew a brief bit of information about Jey's past, she had never imagined he'd live on Nar Shaddaa and she instantly felt sympathy for him and wondered how he had come to live in a place such as this. "Thank you, Jey." She replied, hoping that using his name would provide a sort of grounding for him in attempt to pull him out of his negative emotive cycle. Astra followed Jey silently, able to feel his emotions which still hadn't entirely returned to normal, maybe he was due another hug.

Jey's old living situation was shocking but Astra didn't feel anything but sympathy for him as the state of his old home could only reflect the state of his mind at the time. "I don't mind." She smiled reassuringly. It was only now that she realised she didn't know Jey nearly as well as she thought she did. They hadn't known each other for a long time anyway but after they had a heart to heart talk the first time they met she thought she understood him pretty well but evidently... she didn't. She had the urge to hug him after seeing and knowing all that she did about him but thought he likely wouldn't appreciate being pitied.

Astra took the bacta patches from Jey and thanked him, she pulled her shirt off over her head with difficulty so she was down to a vest and could better access the wound then placed a couple of patches over it, grimacing as she did so. She wondered what fights he was talking about but he immediately pressed on with the reason for her visit but she was reluctant to answer since she wasn't strictly here on Jedi business but of her own accord. "I wanted to see if it was worth pursuing a gang of drug smugglers who have become quite large suppliers." She replied hesitantly. "But I doubt the Jedi would do that."

Alana's use of deathsticks had almost destroyed their family and she wanted to prevent others from facing a similar situation and getting addicted to the drug because it is widely available. The trade was formidable, no one could bring down the drugs trade no matter what they did but if the drug became less easily accessible then maybe another life might be saved - or so she believed.




@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

As Astra removed her shirt to use the Bacta patches, Jey turned his back on her and began his search... although, he still didn't have a clue of what he was even looking for yet. The black haired teen rummaged through his messy living room as Astra went on to explain her reasoning for being on Nar Shaddaa behind him, mentioning she was here in pursuit of some drug smugglers - makes sense they'd be on Nar Shaddaa.

"Drug smugglers huh? Anyone I know?" he joked, still focused on finding whatever the hell it was he needed to find "Those the guys that had you on your choobies earlier?" he questioned in a lighthearted manner before letting out a long sigh and giving up on his search for now. He returned to Astra and ran his hand through his black hair, he shrugged his shoulders "If that's the case you wanna lift ba--" he cut himself off. Something had just happened, a light bulb, an epiphany, he knew what he was here for now. "Hold that thought." he said, holding out his index finger in front of him before he proceeded to rush upstairs.

The young Force-sensitive immediately turned his back on Astra once more and rushed upstairs and came to a sharp halt outside his parents' old bedroom. He had to gather his bearings and collect his thoughts for a moment... going in there will open up a whole world of emotions he wasn't ready for yet... but Jey knew what he needed. Jey took a deep breath before exhaling and placed his palm on a wall panel, causing the door to his parents' room to swing open - the bedroom was the only clean and tidy room of this entire house, out of respect for his mom, Jey made sure to keep the room clean after his mother's death.

The emotions here were strong, pain and sorrow hit Jey like a speeder truck but he pushed through them and travelled to his father's side of the room, to his dresser and opened it. Rummaging through it for a few moments, Jey finally pulled something out - the glowing polyhedron object fit easily into his palm. This was it. Jey remembered his father carrying it around in his childhood, he never knew what it was for and still didn't... but he had what he needed.

Jey returned downstairs, still holding the object in his palm and rubbed his neck, grinning awkwardly "Sorry about cutting you off, you were saying?"

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

Astra shifted uncomfortably as the bacta patches took effect and placed her shirt back over her head, a large singed hole through the right shoulder of the fabric. She had been expecting the blasters to be set to stun given that they didn't intend to kill her otherwise she would've acted accordingly but now she would just have to learn from her error of judgement and adapt for next time, although she hoped there wouldn't be a next time - it seemed likely.

"I'd hope not." She frowned, hoping Jey would know better than to associate with smugglers of a drug that ruined so many lives. "I have no idea who they were or how they knew I was a Jedi." She replied, looking back on the actions she had taken that day to try and analyse whether she had given herself away as a Jedi accidentally but there was nothing that stuck out in her mind. "Oh, ok." She replied, surprised at Jey running off upstairs, he seemed to be all over the place since they had gotten there.

She took the opportunity to finally rest now the adrenaline had worn off and walked over to the couch with items strewn across it and she figured she couldn't make the house any messier than it already was so she shoved the things to one side and sat on the left hand side and put her feet up next to her. Normal practice would dictate removing shoes before putting your feet on furniture but something told her that not doing so wouldn't worsen the state of the couch.

There was the unmistakable presence of sorrow within the house, whatever Jey was doing or looking at was reviving painful past memories and Astra immediately empathised, able to share his feelings of sadness. When he returned, she searched his face with a look of concern. "Are you okay?" She asked before noticing what he was holding in his hand. "What's that?" She asked, intrigued. She would've gotten up to meet him had she not been exhausted and in pain.



@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

Astra was sat on the messy couch with her feet up, "Sure, make yourself comfortable." he thought to himself jokingly. He didn't really care though, after today, he wouldn't be coming back here again. "Yeah, I'm good." he said, answering her question and noticing the concerned look on her face - he could feel it slightly too but, he had to really concentrate on it. "Oh, this old thing?" he responded, holding it up slightly and giving it a look over "It was my father's. No idea what it is or what it does... but I was told to come back here and find this in a dream." he added, shrugging it off.

He proceeded to place the Holocron in one of his pouches before returning his attention on her. Jey approached her and closed his eyes, stretching out his hand - he was completely focused and immersed himself in the Force, he was using telekinesis to move the items off of it so he could sit down. The items shook in the air as he moved them, Jey was struggling to move so many small objects at once, although he had opened himself up to the Force again, he still had a long way to go before reaching his potential. The black haired teen proceeded to sit on the couch next to her and placed his arm over its backrest.

"How's your shoulder feeling now?" he asked, genuinely feeling concerned for his friend's current predicament. "Seeing as you didn't actually get to do what you came her for, want me to help? I mean... I'm not as useful as a Jedi, but I can hold my own." he stated feeling slightly insecure about his abilities, "Also... I don't need to be Force-sensitive to know this means something to you. Why's this so important?" he asked, angling his body in Astra's direction, conveying his interest in whatever she had to say.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

What Jey said only confused matters more so Astra looked up at him with a puzzled look. "In a dream?" She asked before coming to a potential realisation. "Was it an ancestor of yours?" She questioned him. It must've been a great privilege to come from a long line of Jedi, though Jey didn't see it that way yet. Astra knew little about her familial history but her parents were never Jedi or even aware of their force sensitivity as far as she knew - at least they never chose to acknowledge it.

She watched Jey move the objects from the couch using the force and smiled to herself; she would make a Jedi out of him yet. It would take time and the pull of the Dark side would always be present, as evident earlier, she knew she would need to guide him well and be careful, especially given his contempt towards the Jedi, she didn't want to push him too far too soon. He would have to come to the decision on his own, she would just try and guide him there.

"Eh... better, hurts the rest of my arm but it'll be fine soon." She replied, diminishing the effect the bolt had had to avoid seeming weak or pathetic. "I couldn't let you do that, it's too dangerous." She shook her head, though she wasn't trying to insult his capabilities. "It's not your duty." She added to clarify, unwilling to drag Jey into a potentially dangerous situation for nothing other than her own personal goals or potentially Jedi goals. "I'm pretty sure it's a holocron... the Jedi and Sith used them to store information..." She drifted off into thought. "Where did you get that?"



@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

Remembering Astra's question before, if the dream he had was related to one of his ancestors to which he simply nodded to confirm, "The first one, actually. He talks to me the most... although, I'm still not sure if its all real or its some really bad side effect from..." he stopped himself, he didn't want to tell Astra about his past with Death sticks for fear of her judgement - and he didn't really feel like having a lecture from her right now. He deflected the question and returned it back to her.

"Not my duty?" he asked rhetorically while chuckling slightly, even though Astra was his pal, she still had that annoying Jedi mentality of 'selflessness' "You're my friend, probably my only stinkin' friend in this galaxy right now. And if there's one thing I'm at least good for, its helping my friends. So, let me help you." he stated, completely unwilling to let this go and allowing Astra to feel these feelings through the Force. Even if she still disagreed, he'd just follow her anyway.

It seemed like Astra was deflecting, she seemed pretty good at that, always making Jey spill his beans but remaining a bit of a mystery herself... yeah, no, that was definitely going to change at some point. However, he'd indulge her for now - Jey pulled the holocron out of his pocket and observed it, handing it to her "I guess." he shrugged, he had no idea what it was so Astra was most likely correct. "It was my father's, as a kid, I'd see him walk around the house with and whenever I'd ask him what it was, he'd always respond with "until your older." annoyed me to no end." he responded, rolling his eyes before returning his gaze to her as he watched her observe the holocron. Now his blonde Jedi friend was out of things to deflect, it was his time to strike.

"Aaaaaanyway..." he uttered with a smile, attempting to transition smoothly "This gang you've been tracking. I can tell this is more than Jedi business, I can see that look in your eye. So, spill." he stated bluntly, she couldn't deflect her way out of this one... he'd make sure of it, and if she did, he'd just ask her again at some other point, and then again, and again, until she finally reveals the truth.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

"Your ancestors talk to you?" She asked before smiling, thinking about how awesome it would be to talk to those who came before you and have them impart their wisdom upon you. "That's so cool." She thought out loud, wondering just who Jey's ancestor was and whether or not she had heard of him before. His ancestor must've been trying to lead Jey to join the Jedi, at least that was what it seemed like.

"I know and I appreciate it but I don't want you getting hurt on my behalf." She replied. Especially since it's not Jedi business, she thought. If it had been Jedi business then she would've been more inclined to allow Jey to help but she was acting under the radar at the moment until she felt it was appropriate to reveal the situation to the Jedi. He was determined, an admirable quality, but Astra was stubborn so she folded her arms and looked at him. "This isn't your fight." She said.

Astra looked down at the object in her hands, inquisitively, exploring it with her hands and eyes before looking back at Jey. "These are really important... you have to show this to the Jedi." She said, looking at him with a serious expression for the first time. She had never seen a holocron in person but had heard about them and was aware of their importance, she only hoped Jey would be able to see it too and maybe even consider his own potential path as a Jedi as a result.

When Jey asked the real reason behind her visit she sighed and looked down, it didn't feel right lying to Jey, that would be a sure way to lose his trust. "It's not Jedi business yet but it could be." She started off, trying to defend herself as she knew her actions were irresponsible. "It's just... I know how damaging drugs can be, I've seen it first hand and if I can do anything which makes the most damaging and life-destroying drugs less easily accessible then surely that would be lives saved." She replied, voice dripping with emotion.



@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

"You want them?" he jested. He proceeded to run pull back a loose strand with his palm "Having dead Jedi in your head and ruin your dreams is not 'cool'." it was pretty much a nightmare. Though Jey and his ancestors were no longer at odds, there was this constant anxiety that he had at the back of his mind, what if these voices weren't real? What if it was all in his head? Just a bad side effect of excessive Death stick usage... hopefully he wasn't crazy.

"Was it your fight back on Coruscant? When you saved my choobies from being bantha fodder?" he asked rhetorically regarding her objections to him helping her out. A cocky grin formed on his russet face, he really had her now, "I'm helping you whether you like it or not, pateesa." he said proudly as he reached out toward her and patted her shoulder. Symbolically letting her know she had just lost this debate, after patting her shoulder a few times he returned his arm and folded both of them and snickered. Felt good to win.

Jey leaned back in his chair, continuing to watch Astra's fascination with the... 'holocron'. Jey's mood switched quickly when she stated he needed to show it to the Jedi, the hazel-eyed teen's brows burrowed as he swiftly reached over and snatched the holocron from her hand. Irritation in his voice, he called out "No. No way!" as he placed the holocron in his pouch once more "I don't have to show them anything... I'll just figure out what to do with this." he said, calming down slightly. After realising how stupid his outburst was, Jey sighed and hung his head down - "I'm sorry." he said quietly and softly, averting his gaze from Astra.

The black haired teen could feel the emotions coming from Astra... it was strange, to feel someone else's feelings. He made a guess that it was because the two had a bond of sorts, so it would be easier for him to feel her emotions despite Jey's damaged connection to the Force. Astra had some kind of history with this but... what exactly? Jey clasped his hands together, debating whether he should ask dig deeper or let things be. Shaking his head, Jey decided to throw caution to the wind and ask "You've seen it first hand? With who?"

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

"It just seems cool being able to meet your ancestors and learn from them." Astra clarified. She barely knew her parents beyond the first decade of her life, let alone those who came before them but she was raised by a committed Jedi who very much influenced her decision to join the Jedi, though he was sure not to pressure her and to allow her to come to that decision on her own. Jey didn't seem best pleased about his Jedi relatives talking to him through the Force but there didn't seem to be any part of him that he wouldn't push away and she hoped to change that.

Astra frowned, barely able to get a word in edge-ways before Jey declared himself the winner of the argument. While there was nothing specific to Jedi training that stated she had to get involved with saving his behind the first time they had met, taking the values she had encompassed from the Jedi into consideration, she knew it was the most Jedi-like thing to do in that situation. Now, she was trying to follow similar ideals by protecting Jey but he wasn't allowing her to. It was frustrating but she knew if given the opportunity, she would do all she could to help a friend.

When Jey snatched the holocron out of her hand, she stayed frozen for a moment, staring at him before placing her hand back down into her lap. She knew not to judge him too harshly, she didn't know the extent of what he had been through and so would have to treat him with sensitivity and kindness until he learned to change. "It's okay." She said with a small smile. "In your own time." She said. Ideally, the Jedi Order should have the holocron and she didn't doubt that they would one day but until that time came, she wouldn't push him.

Jey's questions had begun to get very personal, she supposed it was only fair after he shared so much of his own past with her but the difference was that it was for his benefit, he needed help, she didn't, or so she believed. Still, maybe it could provide some relief to have an objective third party to share her thoughts and feelings with without the situation descending into an argument. "My twin sister." She sighed. "She's addicted to deathsticks." She said sadly.




@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

Wow, it actually worked? Astra began talking about her own past... although, she didn't reveal a lot - only the fact that her twin sister was addicted to Death sticks, it all made sense now though, why she was so dead set on finding these drug smugglers. She was doing it to clear her own conscience in a way, he guessed. Although his hazel eyes were focused on hers as she talked about her sister, Jey's eyes averted once he began contemplating.

He contemplated whether to tell her about his own problems... he knew he was probably due for a lecture but, maybe if he relayed his own experiences, it would help ease Astra's mind about her own sister's addiction. The Force-sensitive teen sighed and placed his gloved hand on Astra's, in an attempt to comfort her "Astra, I've gotta tell you something..." he said in a short breath as he was still averting his gaze from her. Closing his eyes, Jey inhaled as he gathered the confidence, finally he opened his eyes and locked them firmly with Astra's "... I used to be addicted to Death sticks too..." he said confidently but with great shame and sadness behind it. Jey looked around the house and motioned for her to observe with him.

"Back when I was... in this place, physically and mentally. I was in a dark place, and I took Death sticks to dampen my connection to the Force, to stop my pain." he said, tightening his grip slightly on Astra's hand as it was opening up a lot of unhealed wounds while he revealed this "It took a while, but after some big events in my life. I finally managed to quit." Jey loosened his grip on Astra's hand before removing it entirely, his expression softened into a sympathetic one "So, I just wanted to say... I know it's hard now. But you've gotta give your sister time, she'll find her way like I did." if Astra had anything more to say, he would listen.

Jey was silent for a few moments after this, averting his gaze once more and scanning the room around him. He stood up swiftly and looked down at Astra, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible to not linger on this depressing topic "Let's go and look for those drug smugglers, huh?" he offered as he began making his way to the door to leave the house. He was seriously eager to get out of here.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

Astra felt uncomfortable with revealing so much personal information about herself and felt nervous for a reason she couldn't quite explain but when Jey placed his hand on hers she felt an overwhelming sense of calm but she could sense something from Jey too - apprehension. His gaze was averted, what was he ashamed of? With the declaration of a confession to be made, Astra was immediately concerned and showed such emotion in her expression as she waited nervously for Jey to reveal his truth.

At the mention of death sticks, Astra sucked in a breath but listened to what Jey had to say and followed his gaze before she offered her thoughts, if she could even form any coherent thoughts that was. His story was awfully familiar, sharing similarities with the reasoning behind Alana's death stick usage which made it all the more difficult to hear. "That's why my sister takes death sticks... she's afraid of her Force sensitivity, she wants to get rid of the feelings she gets because of it." She replied, in hope that she could show that she empathised with him.

To her, it felt like they had given Alana everything but her sister showed no commitment to staying clean no matter what her and Kraud said or did. Alana wouldn't accept herself for who she was and it seemed that neither would Jey, although there had been definite improvement in the latter and he was not as disdainful towards his Force sensitivity as Alana was. Jey gave her hope, hope that Alana could change and hope that he could continue to grow on his personal journey since he had already made the important first step.

"Ok." She replied before getting up off the couch and following Jey to the door. "Jey, you don't have to do this... I told you, this is my fight, not yours, not the Jedi." She said as she turned to him in a final effort to dissuade him from joining her but it was to no avail. Astra sighed and led the way, she had been close to the warehouse she believed the drugs were being stored in before the had been attacked but before they entered she made sure to give a stern warning to Jey. "If you need to use your blaster, do not shoot to kill." She told him seriously.



@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

Jey could sense Astra's struggle to reveal all this information but he appreciated it nonetheless, he appreciated her trusting him enough to reveal all of this information to him - however, as she revealed her sister's reasons for her addiction, he empathised even more. Although Jey's relationship with the Force was complicated but leaning toward the good side, he still had hope, now more than ever that Astra's sister would find her way and eventually quit her addiction - if he could do it, anyone could.

The black haired teen followed Astra as she led them to the warehouse where these drug smugglers holed up. As Jey pulled out his two blaster pistols (the new one he had acquired off a Quarren on Corellia.), he was stopped by Astra who specifically ordered him not to kill - Jey rolled his eyes in preparation to argue but showed restraint, stopping himself almost immediately. "Fine." he grumbled, he didn't agree with it as these guys were terrible people but he would respect Astra... not her Jedi philosophy. Jey set his blaster from kill to stun and did so in front of her to make her feel more at ease.

"Okay, you ready, pateesa?" he asked with a mischievous smirk, the Force-sensitive teen was eager to get into another fight and cut loose. And with that, Jey aimed his left blaster at the security panel and shot at it, disabling it, causing the warehouse's blast doors to shoot open - the drug smuggler's were completely taken aback at what just happened which allowed Jey to get the drop on them. "Ha! Weren't expecting to see us were you, sleemos?!" he called out laughing smugly and immediately shot off his blasters at two or three criminals - stunning them to the ground instantly. As the smugglers began to equip their blasters, Jey took the opportunity to take cover behind a large stone pillar.

Jey peaked over to see the commotion, whatever Astra was doing, she was doing well as they were no longer focused on him. He turned to count how many smugglers they had to deal with, counting around fifteen smugglers altogether... well, twelve now since three of them were stunned currently.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

There was certainly an argument to be had about Jey's reluctance to incapacitate instead of kill, in her eyes they were here to neutralise the threat, not eliminate it. This would be an on-going battle and eliminating the thugs would do no better than neutralising them in the long run, tere would always be more people to take their place so killing them would only be senseless but that would be a conversation for later.

Astra was focusing on the situation inside, trying to sense what was happening and how many people were in the building before jumping head-first into the drama but unfortunately Jey didn't share the same ideals. "Wait-" She started before Jey shot the security panel. After all he had done to try and convince her to let him tag along, he had now convinced her he wasn't capable and rather, it appeared, needed supervision. She quickly followed to make sure he didn't get his stupid choobies killed.

Astra ignited her lightsaber and held it in one hand to protect herself from blaster fire while using the other hand to Force push two smugglers onto their backs and take the fallen blaster of one, changing the setting to stun without looking as she couldn't afford to take her eyes off those still shooting at her. She then advanced on the remaining smugglers, deflecting the bolts with her lightsaber back to the shooter while simultaneously stunning others, though most of her attention was on protecting herself as she wasn't looking where she was shooting.



@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

Angling his blasters between his head, Jey could sense Astra's annoyance with him and a disapproval of his impulsiveness - Jey couldn't give two kriffs anyway, he was in his element, he lived for a good fight and he didn't care if she could sense it either. The only ever time he felt in control... at peace, was when he was in the heat of battle. Jey peaked his head around the pillar once more as he watched Astra take out another two smugglers with the Force and then with a blaster she had picked up. That was ten to go now.

Jey called upon the Force and allowed it to guide his actions as he proceeded to exit cover and shoot off his blasters at two of the thugs, stunning them unconscious as he ran to the next point of cover, behind a cargo container. Eight to go now... never mind, six - Astra managed to stun another two smugglers while he was switching cover. Jey hovered his head over the cargo container and noticed a smuggler behind Astra, aiming their blaster rifle at her - he sensed the smuggler's intent to kill her. Not on his watch, Jey swiftly aimed his right blaster and stunned him, causing him to fall to the floor on his face.

Five to go, Jey grinned at himself - only now had he just noticed that with his re-connection to the Force, his 'skill' with the blaster had markedly improved, a welcome and positive improvement in his eyes. Suddenly a blaster bolt skimmed the corner of the cargo container, nearly hitting the young teen and caused him to duck even lower in response. Okay, he'd better concentrate now. Jey emerged from cover and quickly scanned the room for the shooter, instantaneously the hazel-eyed teen spotted the shooter on a higher level inside the warehouse - closing one of his eyes, Jey aimed and shot at the shooter while the shooter also shot at him too, he ducked into cover quickly and avoided the shot. However, he managed to stun him, causing him to fall off the banister and land on ground level. The guy definitely broke something.

Four to go now, Astra most likely had that covered on her end - but he'd still be courteous and ask anyway, "How you doin'?" he called out in the warehouse, intending for his Jedi friend to hear.

@Sunfrog

 

[Astra Calloway]

Jey's affinity towards fighting was worrying, such aggression could only stem from anger and an excess of anger could lead one to the Dark side. If he was ever going to be a Jedi, he would have a lot of personal issues to resolve first before she would even consider him fit to be a padawan. She hoped to lead him down the correct path with the trust she had earned from him, after all he had obeyed her when she told him not to kill so she hoped she could keep him in line with their newfound friendship.

Regardless, it had proven not to be such a bad idea having Jey come along, though he had been lucky this time, such impulsiveness could've cost them their lives. Astra whipped around when she felt the cold sense of danger behind her but Jey had already taken the guy out so she quickly turned her attention back to the remaining smugglers who were now behind her exposed back and protected herself from the relentless blaster fire, trying to strategically aim the deflected bolts.

When deflecting a bolt, the bolt hit the lightsaber higher than she had meant it to so it was being deflected back at the shooter's head. "No!" She cried, instantly dropping the blaster in her other hand to open her palm towards the man and push him back with the Force, knocking him off his feet so the bolt would go over his head. The remaining three clearly thought themselves to be better than the twelve who had come before them with one swinging a vibroblade at Astra who leaned backwards to avoid getting sliced and cup upwards through the man's wrist before kicking him square in the chest and knocking him off his feet.

With the remaining two, she took the blaster out of the fallen man's holster and after setting it to stun, shot the other two smugglers and for a few moments all was still until Jey called out to her. Astra immediately frowned and walked over to Jey. "What was that?! I didn't say we could go in, you could've gotten us both killed!" She shouted. Although she was appreciative of his help, the way in which it was delivered left great room for improvement.



@AfroBandit20

 

[Jeyten Dres]

Jey didn't get a response from Astra which caused him to peak over the cargo container and realised all the smugglers were down for the count. With it being safe to emerge from cover, Jey stood to his full height and noticed Astra approaching him quickly and with a firm look of disapproval. The black haired teen rolled his eyes covertly, he was in for it now - Jey took the time he had to mentally prepare himself for the verbal onslaught that was about to occur.

"Whaaaat? We have the Force, I'm a crackshot and you're a kriffin' Jedi. We had this from the get-go." he responded and shrugged, while putting his two blasters in their holsters. He noticed his nonchalant-less wasn't helping the situation and sighed, lowering his head and holding his hands up in defeat "Alright, alright, that was on me. I'm sorry. But we still won though." he stated, after Jey had taken a moment to think about it - Astra had a right to be mad, it was fine for him to endanger his own life as it was his own life to waist, but it was completely messed up to endanger Astra's.

Wanting to end the conversation there and to avoid further argument, he passed Astra swiftly and stepped into the middle of the warehouse and scanned over the smuggler's unconscious bodies. Jey placed his hands on his hips and grinned at Astra "So, how're we gonna deal with these guys?" he asked, wanting to get off of Nar Shaddaa as soon as possible as to avoid the risk of being recognised, captured and taken to the Hutts - or worse, Astra getting caught alongside him.

@Sunfrog