Ask The Path: Headway

[Zay Kartan]

Zaylos Kartan wiped sweat from his brow as he surveyed the junkyard. He'd been sent by his current employer, Yaneer Skiff, to salvage some parts to add to their stores. So far, it'd actually been going very well. He'd managed to find a number of lightly used carburetors, and a couple of power converters. He spotted something out of the corner of his eye turned to see an old SS-54 Light Assault Ship.

Kartan blew an appraising whistle as he stepped into the open hull of the ship. It was in really good shape. Was it covered in rust and stank like the inside of a gammorian? Yes, but in a junkyard that was as close to brand new as you got. Besides he'd restored worse. His imagination painted the ship durasteel grey with olive accents. Oh yeah, Kartan was in love.

He pryed open the cockpit and felt his heart hit the floor. It looked like a thermal detonator had blown out the entire room. There was a hole in the floor and he could see right to the cargo bay and the ship's main console was completely destroyed.

"Welp, this just got too expensive for my taste...."

Defeated, Kartan returned to his sled and made for the check out counter. Garlin Krick, an Anzellan with an adorable beard and a surly attitude, greeting him with his typical grunt.

"Hey Garlin, just this today."

Garlin rattled off a string of Azellan, and Zay was pleased to notice he was picking up more of the strange tongue.

"Yeah, Yaneer sent me... H-hey, any chance you guys have more SS-54's hiding out there?"

Garlin replied in the negative and Kartan accepted it. Oh well...

Zay thanked Garlin and loaded up Yaneer's speeder with what he'd found. It was a short trip back to the shop, and Zay pulled around back. He was in the middle of unloading the speeder when Yaneer started calling for him over the intercom.

"It's gonna be one of those days..." Kartan grumbled as he wiped his brow and made his way inside. Pulling his pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and lighting one up as he entered the shop.

Zay had been prepared for his day at the yard. He was dressed in a ratty white tank top that was covered in oil and transmission fluid, a pair of tattered jeans with a shop rag tucked into his front pocket. His boots were scuffed and well worn and his exposed limbs were as clean as the shirt on his back. His hair was wild and pushed back by the goggles that adorned his head.

"Yaneer, where you at? I'm in the middle of unloading the haul!" called Kartan as his eyes adjusted from harsh sunlight to the dim interior of Yaneer's shop.

@Wit

 

[Vinry Forge]

It had been an accident, she had been chasing a felon when he had disappeared into the junkyard. He had a headstart, obviously knew the junkyard, and was hoping the vastness of the yard would make it harder for her to find him. He hadn't relied on her being a Jedi though, and she had spotted him soon enough. It was while leading him towards the waiting sec force gunship that she had spotted something from the corner of her eyes.

It had taken a few days to sort out all the paperwork and have some free time to herself, so when she returned to the junkyard she had some trouble finding what she had first seen. It didn't help that things had changed since her last visit. New additions raised the mounds of obsolete tech higher, while junk haulers had torn others down to retrieve anything valuable they could get their hands on.

But about an hour or so of searching finally brought her to a landmark she could identify, if you could call a rusted droid arm buried in the ground and showing you the finger a landmark. But she finally had her bearings, and started moving with surety towards her goal.

"Kriff!" The curse escaped her lips as she reached her destination, realizing that a new pile of junk had been deposited over her treasure. With a tired sigh, she took off her cloak and rolled up her sleeves, moving towards the junk heap and beginning to dig through it. She was tired, sweaty, and eager to get this over with. And that made her careless, because she didn't notice till it was too late when the rubble shifted above her and came crashing down around her with a loud...crash.

She lay there, half buried in ruined bits of appliances, droids, ships, and other things she didn't wish to give a name to. She tried to move, but her legs and left arm were buried. She could probably use the Force to get herself out of this mess, but without being able to see what was happened higher up the heap she wasn't sure if she would just make things worse by moving anything. Well, there was nothing to it but wait. The sec force guys knew where she was, they'd ultimately come looking for her. And someone must have heard that crash, it was loud enough. Force willing someone would have heard that.

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

"Whaddya mean I've gotta go back to the yard? I just got back," said Zaylos with little more petulence than he'd intended.

Yaneer, a gungan, and Kartan's current employer, glowered at him. "Issa say, brrring mesa big ole haul. Issa say be onna look out forsa good goooood. Yousa bring back small potatessss."

"Small potates?!" Zaylos scoffed incredulously before stalking back out the way he'd come. Yaneer kept after him, pestering him to bring back a big haul or something of worth, and it took everything in Kartan to keep from throttling the gungan. Zay hopped into the half unloaded speeder and hit the gas. The remainder of the haul he'd brought slid out the back and clambered to the ground sending Yaneer into a prancing two-step fueled by rage and the fear of losing a toe from falling carburetors.

The wind whipped through Zay's unkempt hair as he struggled to control his temper. He could feel his anger welling up, threatening to send him into a frenzy, but he wouldn't let it. A few minutes later he was passing through Garlin's checkpoint when he spotted a couple of SEC officers hanging around the vending machine. It wasn't out of the ordinary to see them around, but it wasn't often they came to the Junkyard. Right now, Zay didn't really care. He just wanted to get this job done. He bobbed his head in greeting to Garlin and stepped out into the yard.

As he meandered along he came across a burnt-out protocol droid head. He stared at the lifeless photoreceptors and decided to let loose a little. Kartan punted the head as hard as he could. The tarnished copper head flew into a nearby pile and then fell to the ground. Underwhelmed, and still pissed, Kartan prepared to kick the head again, but before he could there was a monstrous CRASH.

Zay dropped to the ground covering his head with his arms and after a moment frozen in fear and certain he'd been crushed by a pile of debris he opened one of his eyes and realized he was totally fine...

"What the hell was that?" He wondered as he stood up and brushed off his arms. Zay rounded the nearest junk pile and stopped. One of the larger piles looked like it had collapsed in on itself. He looked around wondering what caused the pile to fall, but he didn't see anyone.

Deciding to use this opportunity to look for that "Big haul" Yaneer was griping about Kartan set to picking through the junk. He was elbow-deep in the pile when his hand gazed against something, soft and... warm? Kartan reached into the pile obscuring the object and got a handful.

"What is this?"

@Wit

 

[Vinry Forge]

Vinry heard someone approach, and as they got closer, she waited to try and hear if it was actually a person or one of the automated droids that did most of the work around the junkyard. Besides, by this time she was buried so deep that she wasn't sure her voice would carry. So she waited, till someone started digging around above her. That was most definitely a person, not a droid, and for a moment she was relived that this particular hell was over.

Till she noticed a hand reach for her, and grab her, in a most uncomfortable manner. In that moment her relief turned to irritation, and as the hand moved around, more of the rubble was cleared above her so that she could actually see some light above her.

"Will you stop doing that and pull me out?" She barked at the top of her voice, her patience running thin as she contemplated just blasting the rubble away, to hell with consequences.

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

It's not often that junk piles speak. It's also not normal for them to be soft and warm. Sufficient to say, when a muffled voice emanated from the hole he'd stuck his hand into it scared the living shab out of Kartan. He ripped his hand out of the hole, back-peddling like a mad man, and slipping on a loose protocol droid arm, before landing flat on his back. Zaylos wheezed as the air was driven from his lungs, but managed to force himself up to stare wildly at the hole.

"H-hello?" he called out from a safe distance. Then realizing the being may be in trouble he rushed forward yanking junk from the pile until he could make out the being underneath.

As Kartan realized what was under the rubble the familiar feeling he'd experienced earlier came rushing to the forefront of his mind. His face adorned the color of a cherry as he pulled the last piece of junk free from it's captive.

"I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry..." he said raising his hands in surrender.

@Wit

 

[Vinry Forge]

Vinry was a little annoyed as she finally managed to get to her feet, but she was also a Jedi and it didn't take her long to regain some semblance of calm. So by the time the rubble around her was cleared away and she got to her feet to spot the apologizing man, she was no longer cross enough to yell someone's head off.

"It's fine," she said as she tried to brush off garbage from her robes, "think nothing of it." She let out a resigned sigh as she realized cleaning the robes was a lost cause and she would just have to walk around like she had gone swimming in a Naboo swamp. That was when she realized she was letting herself get distracted, and turned her attention back to her rescuer.

"Thank you," she said as she wondered who he was, he didn't look like the other handful of employees she had seen at the yard, "Force knows how long I would have been trapped under there before someone came looking for me. Not sure what brought you here, but I sure am glad for it. What were you digging around for?"

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

A plethora of thoughts bombarded Zay’s mind as the woman in robes emerged from the wreckage. Embarrassment still prominent in his visage, Zay attempted to collect himself as she asked him why he was here.

“Oh, I work for a local mechanic shop. My boss flips starships on the side, I help him find the parts.”

Of course, that was the immediate answer. In reality, he was hiding from things he didn't understand. Since gaining his freedom the immensity of the universe dwarfed him. He was alone and trying to fulfill a promise, but it... well it wasn't going great. However, the newcomer presented a welcomed distraction from his perceived inability.

Consternation danced across his expression as she mentioned the force. He'd been hearing that term a lot lately and every time he heard it, it made his stomach stir. Maybe the force was code for hunger?

"If you're looking for something, I might be able to help."

Zaylos wasn't sure how, but this woman seemed to radiate serenity. There was an innate peace about her presence that was beguiling to him, and who knew, maybe helping someone when he felt helpless would shift his mindset.

@Wit