Whole Lot of Trouble

[Vash Tembra]

The Echani thought about helping Aesop with his cannister, but figured it'd be best to just let him do it on his own. First and foremost, because the medic wouldn't always have others to aid him in carrying things. Best that he overcame his shortcomings now than in a live or death situation. Secondly, because Aesop might have taken offense, or been embarassed if Vash were to help without him asking for aid. Perhaps this was a touchy subject for the medic, and last thing he wanted was to make his fellow Rebel uncomfortable.

So the Jedi just took a cannister of his own, with many villagers also swarming the speeders to get some cannisters as well. Soon, the vehicles were empty, but the drivers stayed where they were, ready to take another trip to get more fresh water if it were needed.

The group headed towards the village's center, where a large metal pot about one meter tall was being suspended a few centimeters above a large pile of firewood that was, as of yet, unlit.

But that was about to change very soon, now that the little group was making a line to drop the stored water into the pot. The villagers seemed happy and hopeful, which was good... and bad. If their expectations were subverted, and this didn't work, Vash knew the people here would forever blame the GA and call them incompetents. A perhaps unfair judment, but it was hard for grieving people to think rationally, the Echani knew.

After dropping his cannister into the pot, that was now beginning to heat up, since the firewood had been ignited, Vash made eye contact with Aesop, and reached out to him with the Force. There was something he wanted to discuss with his fellow Rebel, but without anyone else knowing if possible. The simplest way to do that was by means of telepathy... only not everyone was happy to receive random thoughts from strangers in their head... so the Echani was careful to touch Aesop's mind, and let his intentions clear.

If the medic were to open himself to this kind of interaction, Vash would simply tell him there was something he wanted to discuss in private. If he didn't want another in his mind, the Jedi would simply respect that and find more conventional ways to discreetly get in touch with the medic.

 

[Aesop Blair]

Depositing the canister into the pot cane as a huge relief on the medic’s arm muscles, which he rubbed at in an attempt to soothe the aching. He was thankful for the lack of help, really. Aesop didn’t want to seem helpless or incompetent, and being able to do things on his own could prove to other people that he was here to help, not scavenge off the remaining shelter and food they had.

Now, having been surrounded by Jedi for a few weeks, telepathy had become a common form of communication. It didn’t make the encounter any less weirder, though. It was as if he were sharing his mind with someone else, and the feeling made him shiver. He shook his head in an unconscious attempt to rid the foreign sensation from his mind before focusing on settling himself and clearing his thoughts, which he suspected were difficult to comprehend.

Aesop had suspected Vash from the moment he made eye contact with him. While it was a challenge to make eye contact with anyone, some sort of energy sparked between them once it happened.

You could have asked permission first, Aesop thought, less to himself and more to the Force inside his mind, and realized how idiotic he’d sounded. He’d never get used to his mind being invaded. It unnerved him, how easy it must have been for Vash. How easy would it be for others? For people who wanted to read his thoughts, or force him to do things he otherwise wouldn’t?

 

[Vash Tembra]

"Well, I did ask permission," Vash responded. "If you didn't want me here, you could have just pushed me aside and I'd have respected that"

He understood Aesop's discomfort, however, as he himself hadn't been too fond of telepathy in his early days as a Padawan, when all the other Jedi could easily poke his mind and communicate with him. It was quite eerie until you got used to it. But now wasn't really the time for worrying about discomfort, not when they had an important job to do.

"Anyway, just need your attention for a minute, once you're done figuring things out here," was all he said, before quickly removing himself from his fellow Rebel's mind.

Aesop might not be fully done coming with the cure, and there was little Vash could do now other than let the experts handle it, so he went towards the river - that was now reflecting the moonlight - and knelt before it, observing the waters as he meditated. If anyone needed his help, he'd be here, of course, but Vash wasn't sure if there was much else he could do, other than carrying more water once it arrived.

Instead, he would divert his time and energy on meditating on their next course of action, because even if Aesop's plan worked, there were still criminals out there with technology that belonged to the Alliance, and that was something Vash couldn't allow to continue.

 

[Aesop Blair]

It took little time to make the cure. Once the water was boiled, the villagers stirred in salt and vinegar and began to disperse it to the infected. Aesop saw over the process as it went and departed when he deemed the villagers capable of taking care of themselves, searching for Vash.

He was inexplicably nervous of what was to come. What did Vash need to talk about so badly that he had to peek into his mind to bring his attention to it? It was odd, to say the least, but Aesop wasn’t going to just ignore him.

Aesop found him at the edge of the river, quietly meditating, something common between Jedi, he found. He rolled his injured shoulder, a painful whimper making itself known upon his throat, the wound stinging and restraining his movement. He supposed he would have to interrupt Vash, though the Jedi may have already sensed his presence.

Aesop settled on the grassy floor, leaning back against the trunk of a tree. “What was this important news you needed to poke into my mind to share with me?” He asked, running a hand through his black curls and watching Vash curiously.

 

[Vash Tembra]

Vash had to smile a bit at Aesop's annoyance. He'd really forgotten how bad it was for non Force Users to have their minds poked. If he could, he'd have gone back and figured out another approach, but it was too late for that now, and all he could do was learn from his mistakes.

"I just keep remembering something that woman said about the corpse - he and a few buddies get into the mayor's state, get arrested, then escape three days later? Convenient, no? And at least one of them chose to stick around the woods, and got killed for his troubles. I think this calls for further investigation."

The Echani turned his head to look at his fellow Rebel, giving him a little grin. He wasn't sure Aesop would like his next suggestion - hell, he wasn't sure he'd like his next suggestion - but it felt important to do it nonetheless.

"So, how do you feel about doing something reckless and stupid, like sneaking around in a certain mayor's estate?", Vash asked in a cheery, though low tone of voice. He really wished he was as eager as he was letting on, but that was really not the case. If they got caught, the implications for the GA would be... severe, at least as far as this little village in the middle of nowhere was concerned. What he was suggesting would risk a lot, but he couldn't shake off the feeling it was the right thing to do.

 

[Aesop Blair]

Aesop found that smile was growing on him, one that hid both mischief and excitement behind it. It had him wondering just what was going on inside his head. Well, Vash knew what was inside of Aesop’s, of course.

He didn’t know what Vash had expected him to say when he brought forth his plan. It was risky, undeniably foolish, and could get them both punished by the Alliance and arrested, two things Aesop had been trying to avoid.

Nonetheless he, stared coolly at the Echani as he spoke with enthusiasm, and Aesop found that both him and the plan were growing on him.

“How convenient that you ask the perfect person,” Aesop replied, rolling his shoulder again to ease the tension to no avail. “You’re talking to someone who was born and raised on Tatooine, the home of lowlifes and thieves. I’ve broken into my fair share of rich estates.”

It had been one of the only ways his family supported themselves; stealing from the rich. It was a long walk, but they would rob the houses together for their own benefit. Aesop couldn’t say that he regretted it.

He heaved himself up, wincing at the sharp, needle-like jab in his arm. “If we get arrested, you owe me a drink.”

 

[Vash Tembra]

The Echani let out a soft chuckle upon hearing Aesop's final remark. It was very convenient indeed that he'd asked him that. And completely accidental that Vash had found the right person - seemed he was right to trust in the Force, and his instincts.

"Heck, if we don't, I'll buy you two drinks, how's that sound?," he asked with a little grin. Then nodded towards the big, three story high mansion standing atop the hill. Vash was far from an expert when it came to robbing places, so he'd let the expert handle the details. "So, how do you wanna do this? I can Mind Trick people, and create illusions, so as long as we don't get too close for long periods of time, no one should notice that we're not supposed to be there.... but I can't, you know, actually pick locks and the like"

 

[Aesop Blair]

“Two drinks sounds nice.” Aesop smiled back in his reply. He would need one after this wildcard of a day.

“I can surely pick locks,” Aesop confirmed, sizing up the mansion on the horizon. He came to stand beside Vash. “Not too hard, truly speaking. The trick to a heist is to get in and out as quick as possible, so we would need to do such in a span of six minutes or so.”

The mansion seemed to have many entrances only seen by the eye of a thief. The many windows gave room for the imagination, as well as the relatively open courtyard guarded only by armed individuals. Aside from that, there was a small stable housing cargo from traders and the like.

Aesop felt a lightbulb blink to life.

“We’ll need a distraction that won’t bring much hostility, and since I’m the only one who can pick locks . . . “ he turned to grin at his companion, the lights in his blue eyes dancing. “Fancy being a trader for a few moments?”

 

[Vash Tembra]

"Ah, that I can do!", Vash replied in a happy tone. "Just give me a few moments - no one will believe I'm a trader if I head there with Jedi robes, after all"

With that, the Jedi made his way to his personal tent, a little ways off the village, as he and the others of his Order preferred to remain a bit... distant from the villagers. Once he got there, Vash was quick to don more civilian like clothes: a black jacket, a black shirt, and black pants. Vash liked black.

Then it was time to put on the less ortodox things: a wig, turning his usual silver hair a light shade of brown, and contact lenses, to make his Echani eyes look blue. With the Force to aid him in modifying his voice, Vash doubted anyone would recognize him as one of the Jedi.

"Right, how do I look?", he asked Aesop, after leaving the tent and finding the man. "I'm thinking I go there and just complain that one of the shipments came empty or something - we do have a bunch of empty cannisters, after all. But you're the expert here, if you have another idea"

 

[Aesop Blair]

“I can sense a trend,” Aesop chuckled, eyeing Vash’s entirely black ensemble. Black was a near forbidden color on Tatooine due to the blazing sun beating down on your back. Walking outside wearing black on Tatooine during the day was like knowingly giving your face to someone who wanted to punch it. He’d seen someone get heatstroke from making that mistake. “You look great, though. Sure they won’t notice a thing.”

Aesop slipped his traveling goggles over his eyes, shielding them from detection. The eyes were the most noticeable part of the face, despite being a small piece. People were often surprised how easy it was for witnesses to recall the features of a culprit and find them just by their eyes.

“Are we ready?” He asked, despite being aware of the obvious answer.

 

[Vash Tembra]

Vash gave Aesop a little grin and a nod of his head, making his way towards the entrance to the big mansion. He wasn't sure if his medic friend would be following or looking for another way in, but figured it didn't matter, so long as he took care of distracting the guards, his fellow Rebel would be able to infiltrate the place and acquire information - assuming there was any to be found - about why those men had tried to steal from the mayor's estate.

"Open up, you rascalls! What kind of bussiness do you have here, robbing an honest man blind?!", the Echani yelled once he got close enough to the gates, where two guards stood watch. They were clearly not used to people screaming at the door, given the confused glances they gave each other. One stood up to talk to Vash, while the other went inside the building, perhaps to call the commander.

"Sir, what's this about? Who are you?", asked a human in his early twenties, with a calm tone of voice.

"I'll tell you what this is about! Just last week I bought thirty barrels of wine from here, and you can imagine my surprise when half the shipment was from an inferior brand! You all prize yourselves as the best winemakers of the region, and can't even give decent quality? I demand to see the mayor!"

Vash knew this little village prized itself from making good quality wine, and questioning said quality would at least make the guards anxious. Hopefully, this would be enough to keep the people here distracted enough for Aesop to work in peace - Vash could already see three more guards coming over to assist in handling that matter. This was a little village, after all: having someone complain and make noise must have been quite the event for these people, and they'd definitely be at least curious to drop their work and observe the scene.

 

[Aesop Blair]

Aesop smirked at the heated conversation nearby, slipping into the building via a nearby window carelessly left ajar. It wasn’t the most graceful entrance, but it would have to do.

He found himself in what appeared to be a formal living room, housing a stage that held an array of musical instruments and a couple of seats. Thankfully, the usually busy room was empty now, implying that perhaps the family was away, or had retired to their own rooms.

Cautiously, Aesop crept further into the home, keeping close to the wall and straining his ears for any noise. Each creak from within the wood made him cringe and freeze, only adding to the nervousness of the situation.

Stumbling upon a door located in the hallway, Aesop silently pleased that no one was present as he slowly turned the knob.

 

[Vash Tembra]

It may well be that Aesop would be hearing Vash downright yelling at the guards, who were becoming more and more numerous as they tried to calm down the supposed merchant. To add to that, the Echani was actively calling them to him with the Force, and it was hard to resist Vash's mental influences, unless one were trained to do that.

Regardless of whether or not the medic would notice the ruckus in the front gate, he'd definitely notice the big computer terminal sitting on a desk in the room he'd entered. There wouldn't be much save for these two items in there, and a few bookshelves covering the walls: a study room, and a great place to store secrets.

The terminal would be password protected, of course, but there were always means to get around this, either by slicing, or discovering the password somehow.

 

[Aesop Blair]

The terminal looked expensive, delicately polished and shining, typical for rich mayors, or any rich party, in fact. It made Aesop internally roll his eyes as he searched for a clue to the password.

Vash’s distinct raging hid the small noises the drawers made as he searched through them. Most contained financial documents, bits and pieces of complex contracts and the like. Aesop wasn’t truly tech savvy—he couldn’t hack to save his life, or others’ lives, in fact, so that was out of the question.

Assuming the mayor had children, they wouldn’t have created a password that was something they would know—like a birthday or family name. Instead, they would have used something children would have no interest knowing.

After guessing a suspected anniversary date Aesop had found on a wedding card, and a pin located in the right hand corner of a document, he finally noticed a picture hidden at the bottom, the glass pristine as everything else yet hardly touched. Within was a photograph of a young woman, man, and two children.

On the back was a birthdate and death date. Numbers really were everything.

He typed in the code and grinned at the ‘Welcome’ that appeared on the screen.

 

[Vash Tembra]

There wouldn't be much to see in the terminal, other than family photos and long, boring emails. At least, not at first... but if one were to dig long enough, they would find a file, with nothing on it save for numbers: coordinates, to only the Force knew where.

Of course, even if the Rebel were able to access that information, he'd have to find some way to escape, and soon, as two guards were approaching the door, making their usual rounds in the mayor's estate.

It also didn't help that people were now gradually losing interest in Vash's ramblings and would soon go back to their bussiness. He knew they'd kick him out sooner or later, and then he'd have to find some other way to help Aesop. Vash could only hope his fellow Rebel wouldn't take much longer...

 

[Aesop Blair]

It only took a few moments of fishing in the data before Aesop came across the coordinates. He had been looking for a log of some kind more than lengthy line of key points, but they would have to do, as he could hear the telltale stomps of boots on wood approaching the closed door, making the floor creak and snap unevenly from the strain. He had limited time to scribble down the coordinates on a piece of paper, and no more time to look through or sign out of the terminal before finding a safe hiding spot.

As he found a spot behind where the door would open and hopefully shield him from view, Aesop ran over the possible outcomes. He couldn’t fight off two guards specifically trained to detain threats, let alone one. Hell, Vash could probably break him in two. Fighting wasn’t an option, but running was his strong point. He had the information, so now, there was no use being quiet.

The door creaked open, the sharp sound stifling Aesop’s breath hitching. His muscles froze to the wall as two guards entered the room, taking in the mess left for them—strewn papers, desk drawers wide open, and worst of all; the terminal broken into.

The moment they were alarmed to the situation was when Aesop made his exit, slamming the door behind him to borrow much needed time.

“You! Stop!” The guards called to no avail, their words falling on deaf, and frankly terrified ears.

They had to go. Aesop only hoped that Vash got the hint from inside.

 

[Vash Tembra]

It was a good thing, a really good thing indeed, that Vash had just been kicked out of the premises of the estate, after the Captain of the Guard had checked the holo records three times, and no mention of a "John Smith" buying wine could be found anywhere. They just assumed he was crazy and sent him on his way, which suited the young Knight just fine: he'd already bought Aesop the time he needed, and now, just had to wait... and keep an eye on his fellow Rebel with the Force.

It didn't take long for him to hear it: the commotion inside, with guards screaming something, and many who were on the gate rushing indoors. That wasn't good at all, especially if they put two and two together and came after Vash next, the obvious distraction of this little heist.

Wasting no time, the Jedi hid under some nearby bushes and began meditating. He'd touched Aesop's mind once, and he could do it again: he just had to reach out, and feel him. It was probably a stupid idea, but if Vash could only get to him, he'd be able to bolster his fellow Rebel's abilities, and give him an edge in escaping the estate.

Finally, there it was: Aesop's signature, frantic and terrified, as was expected. Here goes nothing, he thought, sending waves of Light Side energy to the medic, in order to bolster his strength, reflexes, and calm him down, in order to facilitate his escape. This wasn't his companion's first heist, so he'd hopefully know what to do. Either that, or Vash would have to walk in there and get the man out himself.

 

[Aesop Blair]

Escape routes weren’t new to Aesop. He’d been under fire from estate owners, beaten and bruised in his failures in more ways than imaginable. He didn’t want to fight these people, get punched in the face and either go to jail, or worse, die in that disgustingly clean house.

He was midway through the house, a guard hot on his heels, when he felt the unfamiliar, uncomfortable entrance of a third party in his mind. Aesop vowed he’d have to put some sort of alarm on Vash to alert him when the Ecani was using the force, yet he was using it all the time. Was it too much to ask that he didn’t use it on his mind, though?

Despite the delirium, he found it easier to sprint, his heart pumping rapidly from the exertion and fear calming. It didn’t matter that the guard was inches away from grabbing the back of his jacket. The only thing that mattered was the ajar window.

That he, thankfully, made through.

Aesop’s landing was anything but graceful, dirt kicking up around him as he hit the ground, but he was quick to his feet and sprinting again, shouting “Go!” to his companion as he spared a glance at their pursuers.

 

[Vash Tembra]

Vash had to laugh when he saw his fellow Rebel jumping off a window, very similar to what a Jedi would do. Of course, there were people in pursuit, two of which had jumped off the window to try and catch the medic, but Vash was already on it: he quickly and subtly invaded the minds of the men, subtly attacking their nervous system through the Force and causing their senses and perceptions to simply... stop for a while.

They fell flat on the ground, while Vash ran to signal to his Rebel friend to come hide in the woods with him.

"I can't believe that actually worked! I owe you two drinks," he said joyfully, hoping the other man wouldn't notice the beads of sweat that had began to form on his forehead. Using the Force was tiring, after all.

 

[Aesop Blair]

“I’m glad you think my near death is amusing!” He shouted back as they bolted into the trees, but no malice coated his words. In fact, through the exertion, barely a smile could be seen upon his face.

Of course, as twigs snapped beneath them and leaves grasped for them at different angles, Aesop could tell that Vash was growing weary. It wasn’t hot outside—rather cool, to be exact. He could guess it was his nerves, but he’d used the Force constantly throughout the day, and mind control could not be easy.

As they slowed to a halt, drawing in gasps of air hungrily, Aesop said, “We’ll . . . We’ll see how ya’ feel . . . before going to drink.” His voice was strained and quieter as he struggled for air. “But before that-“ Aesop extracted the slip of paper from his pocket, the coordinates scribbled clumsily. “I found those . . . in a terminal. Think they might mean something?”