The Mission, The Jedi and The Pilot

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

View attachment 2923
LOCATION: Outside of the bar on Lothal. (to the character's left as they enter)
TIME: 1400

Raighley Luminara Jarrus had gotten a call from the Jedi Order that she was needed to be able to go on a mission with another young man. The Jedi had mainly known how to contact her because she had helped them twice before and she vowed to help them whenever she had time from work. Rae made her way over to the local bar on Lothal that was called The Flaming Rancor. Once she arrived, she had looked on her holophone where she had saved a picture of the man she was meeting and then looked around to find that he hadn't arrived yet. Since he hadn't arrived yet, Rae hung out on the side of the building, keeping a low profile as she waited.

As Rae kept to herself, a young man had come over, clearly drunk and started begging her for money in a different language. "[I'm really poor and I need some money *hiccup* for a meal and a drink. Would you be so kind to spare a few?]" he asked. Rae hadn't looked up from her phone, but when he finished, she had no choice but to answer him, so putting her phone in her back pocket, she put her hands on her hips and looked at the drunk man. Luckily Rae had known the language, but she could tell he also knew basic and he wanted to play her, but she was clearly unimpressed. "[Look buddy, I can tell when someone is drunk and you are clearly there. I can smell it coming from you and I can see it in your eyes. Now if you weren't a drunk, a scammer and were truly poor and I know you aren't because I have seen you before , but again, if you weren't any of the things I listed, maybe I would give a little bit of thought. But I know a scammer when I see one.]" she responded in the same language he had used.

The man looked up a her and frowned, realizing he had been caught. "Aww damn it!" the clearly shorter drunk man said as he then turned around going to find someone else to scam who was dumb enough to to fall for his trick. Smiling as she saw that he had been defeated, she looked back at her phone and looked up again as she waited for the man to come.

He just had to be here soon...
@Ral

 

[Ral]

"Wait, let me get this straight, you're putting me with some girl who isn't even a Jedi?" Cassus Lammerai asked the aged Nautolan Knight standing before him, her big black eyes staring back at the younger Jedi unblinking. They stood a few feet apart from each other staring for several seconds. When it became obvious that the alien wasn't going to dignify his question with an answer, the Knight sighed and shook his head. "There isn't another Knight who is available? Or even a Padawan?"

"No."

Cassus let out a loud groan as he shook his head. "Fine," he replied eventually, looking back into alien's black orbs. "What's her name and where do I meet her?"

A smile slowly spread across the Nautolan's blue face, in her hands was clutched a datapad. Extending it out for Cassus to take and read the personnel file on it, the female began to speak. "Her name is Raighley Jarrus, and you'll meet her in the the Flaming Rancor. She's helped the Order before, she's competent enough and we trust her. That should be good enough for you."

The man frowned, he didn't like working with new people, and he especially didn't like getting stuck on a mission with some new girl he'd never met. He didn't know if he could trust her, or if she'd just get in his way. It didn't seem like he'd have much of a choice though, so he'd just have to go and meet her. Looking down at the datapad, Cassus looked over the basic info and the photo they had on hand. "Well, at least she isn't ugly..."

That was always a plus.

Outside the Flaming Rancor
​

Walking up to the cantina, Cassus looked around to see if he could spot this young woman he was supposed to go on a mission with. While he still didn't like the idea of going on a mission with a complete stranger who wasn't even a Jedi, the man was willing to give this lady a single chance to give him a good first impression. Reaching out into the Force, Cassus tried to see if he could sense anything out of the ordinary. Thankfully, or perhaps unfortunately, he didn't sense anything in particular. Today, Cassus had chosen to wear some basic clothing, leaving his more heavy-duty stuff on the small Jedi transport he had taken to reach the town from the Jedi Temple. He was about to give up and go inside for a drink when he finally noticed her brown hair and piercing blue eyes staring out at the small crowd of people that was currently passing by.

Walking up to her, he smiled warmly, bowing politely once he got her attention and speaking in a cordial manner. "Greetings, you must be the lovely young lady I'm supposed to meet, Raighley Jarrus is it? I'm Cassus Lammerai."

 

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

As Rae waited, she was staring at a crowd of people who had come from the bar and were very noisy people. Her cold icy blue eyes looked through the crowd until a man came over to her and she stopped leaning on the wall, standing straight up and she cracked a smile as he smiled and bowed. She returned the bow by bowing her head to him and responding.

"Yes, I happen to be that girl." she smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you. And yes, my name is Raighley Jarrus. But please just call me Rae." she responded. She had to admit, he was better looking than the picture she was given of him.

 

[Ral]

"Excellent!" Cassus grinned as he extended his hand in a more informal greeting. The Knight watched the young woman, kept his eyes fixed on those bright blue orbs and wondered what she was thinking at that moment. She had beautiful eyes, Cassus noted, framed perfectly in her face against that brunette hair. Opening his mouth he continued, "Yes, it would have been quite embarrassing for me if you were some other girl other than the one I was looking for. But I'm glad you are her... Rae."

Looking at the entrance to the cantina, he raised his arm and motioned towards it. "Well, would you like to go inside and sit down as we discuss our mission over a drink or two? Hopefully get to know each other a little before we start risking our lives and putting them in each other's hands."

With a chortle, Cassus took a step forward towards the entryway, stopping to look back at Rae to see if she was coming. If she joined him he'd let her lead into the cantina and pick the place to sit before continuing. "So, Rae,"
He started as he took another step, "Why do you want to help the Jedi? Doesn't an attractive young woman like you have something better to do? Boys to see and be charmed by?"

 

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

Rae smiled and let out the smallest of giggles before next taking his hand when he put it out for her to shake. She thought it was pretty funny when he started talking about how embarrassing it would have been if he had gotten the wrong girl and she nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I could kind of say the same thing." she said giving another smile.

"Sure that'd probably be a good idea so we both know what we're working with." she responded as he let her lead them into the bar. She walked about halfway from the door and the back of the bar where there was a table out of the way and sat down.

When Cassus started asking her questions, it seemed more like when someone asked a tom boy why she wasn't into pink and girly stuff. As she sat down, she looked to Cassus letting out a tiny laugh before responding. "Why do I want to help the Jedi? Well, saying that my mother and father were Jedi, could explain that. Plus they are good people. Does someone like me have something better to do with my life? Eh.. maybe. But my life would be pretty damn boring if I lived the high life. Besides, fighting is my only chance in living and getting away with the things I was accus- never mind. And boys? Im pretty good as an independent. I have my reasons. But if I find the right guy, which for me, probably will be never due to- umm.. things I've done and who I am." she said.

One thing Cassus didn't know, was that Rae harnessed the power to create and control ice and she had gone through many problems as a child, that included accidentally hurting other kids who later became friends with pirates and Mandalorians who then were told to keep an eye out for Rae and capture her at all costs.

 

[Ral]

Following Rae into the bar, Cassus scanned the dimly lit interior through the hazy smoke that filled it at the dozen of local patrons, mostly aliens of a myriad of species, though there were a few humans and near humans there as well. In one corner a Gand findsman, sipped on some sort of odd xenos concoction, at the counter a pair of Zabrak spoke in hushed tones, at a distant table an Aqualish seemed to view the bar suspiciously. The Jedi Knight couldn't blame the last alien, this definitely seemed to be a rather motley collection of customers. Cassus was sure that it wouldn't hurt to keep one eye open for unexpected and unwanted visitors.

As they sat down somewhere in the middle of the bar, out of the way at a small table giving Cassus a decent view of the smokey cantina. Listening to the young woman as she explained a little bit about herself, it seemed rather apparent to Cassus that Rae hadn't talked about herself too much to other people considering she nearly let slip two particularly curious and interesting pieces of information she didn't want to divulge, whether because she was ashamed of them or because she thought Cassus would think she was a bad person he couldn't decide. So, he decided to press the matter a little.

"Accused of? What kind of things have you done and what have you been accused of? Surely a young woman like yourself can't have done all that much." Cassus knew it was untrue. There was plenty a lady could have done by the time they reached Rae's age, but he wanted to make her trust him and open up. After all, if he couldn't trust her because she kept potentially vital secrets, how could he trust her with his life? "I find it interesting that your parents were Jedi, but you aren't... Why don't you want to live the high life? And to be perfectly honest, I'm quite surprised you don't have a man. Surely, an attractive woman would have many potential suitors. Are you telling me none of those fine young man piqued your interest?"

The knight sat there and waited for the young woman to answer his many questions, a charming smile on his face. His face would appear genuinely interested and eager to learn what Rae had to say, internally hoping she would trust him enough to open up to him.

 

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

Rae had been nervous to reveal her power due to other people being bounty hunters who would possibly be spying on them. But as she expected, Cassus pushed. She took a quick look around their table to make sure no one was listening. She then continued in a lower voice. "As a young girl, I-I was accused of hurting other people when I was only trying to play. It wasn't my fault that I couldn't control it." she then figured that since she had told him this much, she should just tell him everything. "I have the ability to control ice." she said quickly and quietly. She had just told him her deepest secret. "So a woman like me, not have had the ability to do much? I turned the entire planet against me... almost..." she responded.

He then mentioned her parents being Jedi, but her not being one. "I always wanted to be.. but I guess it never came to me.." she said, now thinking of her parents. "I don't want to live the high life, because Im not that type. I lived on the streets most of my life and was looked down upon. All I want to do is prove everyone that they are wrong about me. They saw my power once and labeled me Ice Phantom." she said, looking down towards the table. She felt ashamed of her past and now that she was teling him her life, she had a feeling that there would be things he wouldn't like about her.

"Nah.. men are too scared of me. It's true. They see me coming and immediately go opposite ways. Plus the first few guys I had really screwed up. They all left me different ways, but each time they took a part of me with them, leaving me as a piece of nothing. Men don't want a girl who's lived in the streets all her life with practically no parents and has ice powers." she said.

Rae had just hoped that she didn't come out too bitter or sound like she was pitying herself.

 

[Ral]

As Rae started to speak, sharing her secrets and more about her life story, details she probably hadn't shared with mamy others, Cassus sat across from her, his hands steeped together to form a point just under his chin, his face a nearly imperceptible mask of calm emotion, not revealing anything. The Jedi would wait for the young woman to finish recounting her troubles, and her abilities before choosing his next words with great care. As Rae finished he reached out into the Force and touched her mind, it would be something the female wouldn't notice, as it would be the most subtle of intrusions. Once he was satisfied that he hadn't been lied to, and gotten a general feeling about what the girl had thought about what she had just said and done, Cassus opened his mouth to speak.

"Well, that certainly is a lot to share. I find it odd that while you claim you can control ice you have no other abilities or Force powers. Unless you are part magical ice giant than I don't see how your ability to use and control ice wouldn't be an indication of Force Sensitivity, especially considering you said your parents were Jedi. Perhaps during our time together we can see if you truly are sensitive to the Force and if you can learn more; I know I'd definitely like to see what these ice powers of yours can do... not right now though, obviously." He paused momentarily to consider her face, knowing that part of story was probably exaggerated in some way. People had a tendency to use hyperbole when recounting things about their life, especially the particularly good or bad things. Still, he felt like he could trust Rae, but he still had questions he wished to ask. "So, Rae, you say you've dated men, but that they're also top scared to come near you, so which is it? How many men have you dated? How did they hurt you?"

 

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

When Cassus started to talk again, he mentioned her ice magic and looked confusedly at him. "Wait a minute. You said that you were surprised I don't have the force if I can control ice.. does that mean Ice is linked through the force??" she asked trying to understand what she was hearing. Now all of a sudden instead of the tough one with the sad background, she immediately felt like a lost child trying to find answers. He then said that they would find out if she was sensitive to the force depending on how their mission went and she just nodded in deep thought for a few seconds.

He then mentioned about the men. Ugh, always the hardest part to explain to anyone she worked with. She sighed and then started to explain. I guess he had to know about her at some point right?

"Well, this is the same way it went for every guy I've dated. They find me attractive, ask me to be their girlfriend, ask me about my abilities, strengths, etc. and then they learn about the ice magic and come up with some dumb corny excuse to leave and never come back. They usually leave three or four months into dating." she said. All she wanted when it came to dating, was someone who would understand her and love her just the way she is, without having the fear that his girlfriend might freeze him or kill him with an ice spear.

"So now the guys who have dated me, have spread word that I'm a monster and I am completely impossible to deal with. I'm kinda used to it though. It's been going on for at least four years now. That's how they hurt me, because they spread the wrong words about me everywhere and turn everyone against me." she said.

 

[Ral]

"Yes, I can't see anyway where this ability of yours to control ice isn't linked to the Force. It's all connected somehow, except for some of those more arcane rituals some cults perform, but even then it could be argued that they are just using a perversion of the Force." Cassus remarks back to Raighley. She sat there seemingly befuddled by what he had told her. The Jedi did not appear to be surprised. That was a rather expected response, one he was used to seeing when he encountered a neophyte, so it barely even registered in Cassus's mind. He waited a few seconds for her to process what she had just heard. Clearing his throat he smiled at her, "I suppose we'll just have to see if there is anything else you can do. Maybe there's hope for you being a Jedi yet... or... maybe you can be something different. Something more."

The knight smiled and moved on to the next topic. Boys. He wanted to get Rae more curious about what he said be free divulging further, and it would give him a chance to learn about her more. Listening as she continued to explain her previous experience with boys, he wondered if she meant it to sound so bitter and self-pitying, or if that was just a coincidence. It did sound a little extreme, but he had just met this girl and had no idea what she was really like. Maybe there were other reasons. In any case, he knew he would need to be friendlier than those they spoke about if they were going to complete the mission he was assigned. Smiling politely at the young woman Cassus spoke, "So did you get particularly close to any of those men? Or were they too short to go very far or develop any to anything special?"

To be honest, Cassus was rather curious to hear about Rae her and previous flings, he was also curious to hear how she felt about what happened, and so he asked her. "So, tell me, how did all this make you feel? Angry? Sad? Did you want revenge or vindication? Did you do anything about these boys or just let it go?"