Won't Get Fooled Again

[Carthus Phoenix Kira]

As always Phoenix Manor was in need of some kind of work doing, given it was an overly large home for one man to live in, but he had gotten used to it.

Carthus was out back working on his XS-100 light Freighter, when he had started it must have been early morning and was rapidly changing towards the later evening of the day. A mass of snacks or wrappings lay scattered about. Some random music was playing from his comm uplink, which was interrupted by the all too annoying chime of someone trying to contact him.

Popping his head out from out of a panel in the ship he shouted out

"SC !!! ........SC ?!?!.......Damn it Short where are you now ??!!"

Grumbling that once again his Astro mech had decided to probably go off and do its own thing, he half fell out of the ship as the chiming continued, unable to suppress an "Alright alright I'm coming" as he walked, dirt from working on the ship covering most of his clothing and face as he got to communication uplink, seeing it from a number within the city, he frowned a bit accepting the call

"Car....."

was all he managed to get out before hearing what can only be described as a wave of sounds that perhaps at one point in their existence were some kind of sentence, but they sure were not that now, and was that a Jawa?. Another sale call or scam no doubt

"No.....thank........you.......I am......"

it was then a word sunk in, Oddi. It caused him to stop in his tracks looking at the holo hearing the words continuing over and over he was sure he could hear the word Oddi, not to mention the sound of the panic

"Who is this? Where is she.......what's going on? "

It was then he turned shouting

"SC !!! Get the ship ready now, not a drill I need it right now !"

Almost without hesitation the droid was seen wheeling around at high speed inside the house, smashing through the back doors that once again Carthus was going to have to replace as it sent a hail of glass shards flying, going straight to the ship with a series of beeps and bloops that honestly could have meant anything given the audio abuse Carthus was getting from this Jawa

"Give me details, calm down I can't help you if you don't calm down"

Carthus said trying to remain calm, even though he was worried something terrible had happened, making his way towards the ramp of his ship. By the identification it was Coronet city, he could have taken his bike, but if someone was injured he needed the ship. Flying to get in close would be a problem but the beauty of cities was the number of landing platforms it offered. Even if it was a more pricey private one. The hum of the ship starting to come to life was heard in the background as he walked with the communication, making his way to the cockpit where he would transfer the call.

@Zanna Black @Raven_41 @Caught in Strangereal ​

 

[Oddi Xon]

((Another short one before she returns to consciousness.))

Oddi just couldn’t quite put her finger on it… what was so familiar in this situation? And what was holding her back?

She tried to focus her eyes on the two figures, but to no avail. Like so many things as of late, here was a truth beyond her reach.

Why was she even here???

As if responding to her growing trepidation, the figure with the fluctuating crimson light seemed to well up with fiery wrath. And then… there was a sudden wave of energy as Oddi was struck by a Force consisting of anger and anguish. She let out an involuntary cry as she felt herself be thrown back, much like when she was…

In another cluster of shots, Oddi suddenly felt a sharp blow on her left shoulder. Time seemed to slow down for her in that moment as, despite knowing what hit her, she found herself overwhelmed with shock and disbelief. Her small body was sent back violently from the impact, sending her flying past Funani and Eithni, where she skidded along the floor before…

Didn’t this already happen?

Oddi released a small moan as she struggled to return to the present, but her body simply wasn’t ready for that.

@ Caught in Strangereal, @ Raven_41, @ Jexz

 

[Eithni Vala Stark]

As they continued to run for where ever it was, that they were going, didn't really matter to Eithni which method they used. With that said, the sudden very loud shriek, followed by screaming after screaming from Funani, scared the living kriff out of Eithni, jumping a good five or six feet into the air and released her own little shriek. Although, her own shriek was quick and only came out of being frightened by Funani. The witch was about to asked why Funani would scare her that way, but saw it was more than just scaring another person. "Funani? Funani?! Are you okay? Are something wrong?!" Asked Eithni, thinking he saw something and scanned the area, but as the Jawa continued to scream and even seemed to now storm to what looked like that thing her Skuld often used when Eithni visited the woman.

When Funani simply wouldn't stop screaming, started Eithni to worry about her new friend and just as the Jawa stopped sending some kind of strange message with a mix of Basic and his own language, would Eithni kneel in front of Funani. Eithni placed her hands on Funani's upper arms and shook the little fella a bit, "Funani, what's wrong?! You're scaring me!" exclaimed the young Dathomirian witch with a worry look to her ruby coloured eyes.

Whether or not strangers heard the small Jawa's loud shriek was not on her mind right now. No, right now she only wanted her new favourite hooded friend to be himself again. The young witch now started to panic a bit, she had no idea what to do in a situation like this one! What would her matriarch, the one who raised her, do?!

*She would slap the back of his head with her crane and tell him to pull himself together... Arhhhhh! That not helping! Think Eithni, think! What helped herself when she was panicking? A HUG! I always calmed down when hugging Skuld!* Thought Eithni and instantly she wrapped her arms warmly around Funani. EIthni tried to the best of her abilities to give Funani a warm, heartful and caring hug as she could. *Please work, please work! Oh, right the words!* told Eithni to herself as she remembered something about saying kind words would help.

"Everything is alright, don't worry, I'm here. You got nothing to worry about, nothing can get you" told the young witch with a warm and heartfelt voice, really hoping it would work. If it didn't work, then the witch didn't know what she could do to help her new friend from continuing screaming.

@Caught in Strangereal @Zanna Black @Jexz

 

[Funani Avanti]

Funani briefly broke out into a coughing fit as he finished his initial explosion of words. He could feel something distinctly liquid and metallic tasting now at the back of his throat. Before he could process the dire implications of such things he felt himself be violently shaken about by the Witch demanding to know what was wrong (If Funani was in a much more stable mental state he would of laughed at the irony of him scaring Eithni). Instead the Jawa was shivering having felt deeply... wronged by such contact. He shivered a bit to himself. As he processed Carthus' request to calm down he tried to until the worst possible thing happened.

Eithni had bear hugged the Jawa slightly crushing him due to an unintentionally excessive application of strength. Funani just froze in that moment as the previous feelings of discomfort were now magnified a thousand fold. Funani could practically feel his heart jumping out of his chest. Still there was one thing that remained on his mind and that was Oddi. The fact was if he stayed panicking like this, then Oddi might die. He needed to calm down. He tried to disassociate the message of Eithni's words from it's messenger. They were surprisingly nice and sweet even if they came from a mass murderer. He tried to think of his own mother how distraught he was from the first expedition he came along and how his mother had held him tight and assured him that she would do everything to keep him safe. That memory was nice, pleasant. It warmed the Jawa's heart and caused a few joyful tears to fall.

The jawa seemed to ground himself now. He needed to be calm and while the person hugging him was terrifying, she was also deeply concerned with him. Just focus on that part and nothing else about how the girl decided how she protected people. He could deal with that stuff later. He stopped making any noises and even hugged Eithni back (later he could debate whether or not this was Stockholm syndrome taking hold).

"I'm bette- now Eith-" The Jawa would get out as he now realized just how much torture he subjected his vocal chords to in the last five minutes. They hurt like hell and it was hard to speak but he pushed on knowing he wouldn't need to talk much more. He would turn back to the booth now ready to address the horrendously confused Carthus.

"Carthus. *cough* I'm Funani, a friend of Oddi's. We were captured by some slavers but managed to escape. *minor coughing fit* Oddi was shot twice in the shoulder however, she still breathing but I don't know for how long. There's also Eithni who helped us, she's fine. Anyways we're now at the holobooth on the corner of Proxima way and 19th st. In coronet city." Another coughing fit came as the Jawa felt like he was hacking his lungs out when he noticed a few drops of blood hit the ground. He suddenly experiencing a stinging sensation around his upper back. Funani reached with his left hand felt around to see what was causing it. He felt burnt fur and cloth realizing that he may have been shot and hadn't realized it. It didn't feel like it had gone too deep but he couldn't help but grunt in pain from it all the same. Funani was trying to figure out when and could only deduce that it was while they were still in the tunnels.

"Another thing. I think I've been shot." Funani Then sat himself down at the booth propping his back against the booth to keep himself upright. he looked at his blaster and reloaded a fresh charge pack, just in case. He would look at Eithni.

"Eithni, don't leave us." Funani pleaded.

@Jexz @Raven_41 @Zanna Black

 

[Carthus Phoenix Kira]

Carthus didn't really need to hear more than the few comments of being captured by slavers along with Oddi having been shot, he was already moving rapidly now towards the pilot seat of his ship that had already kicked to life and started to take off

"19th Street......Coronet......got it!"

Carthus said before slamming the throttle to full, which got a series of almost screams from his Astromech, but Carthus didn't reply or show a look towards the droid as he began to lock in the co-ordnance getting up out of his seat

"Short you keep the ship steady, the moment we are in range I want you to open the rear ramp and start to lower the ship as close to the ground as you can, I am using the cargo winch"

That comment almost caused the poor astromech to almost blow a motivator, trying to scream words in a series of beeps and whistles that were along the lines of how dangerous it was. All the while the ship rocketed through the evening sky, leaving a trail behind it from the speed it was going. The communication station on the ship was going nuts from different security agencies and also perhaps some law enforcement trying to reach whatever crazy pilot was charging towards the city as though the devil itself was chasing after them.

Carthus made his way towards the back of the ship, grabbing several harnesses and clipping them onto one, as he slipped on the flight harness he had that was stored in the back. Slipping his body into the item, Short circuit chiming over the comm that they were rapidly approaching the destination.

The light in the cargo hold began to flash, warning that decompression was imminent.

Grabbing the clip on the winch he clipped the large carabiner onto a D ring upon the harness, taking the remote for the winch just in time as the ramp lowered, causing a rush of air to enter the compartment, the sound on its own was deafening. Carthus began to slowly inch himself towards the edge, keeping the winch line steady as he looked over the edge, leaning forward over the edge of the ramp and began to lower himself rapidly towards the ground in a controlled descent.

Even at this height his stomach was flipping and turning, he would much rather have control physically over his own descent, but that was a luxury he couldn't afford
​

@Caught in Strangereal @Raven_41 @Zanna Black

 

[Oddi Xon]

((Oddi is unconscious. I think it’s ok to skip me until Jexz’s next post.))

 

[Eithni Vala Stark]

Eithni was in an awkward situation, as she didn't really know what to do. While hugging Funani seemed to help, which made the young witch happy but she also knew that Funani and Oddi weren't in the best shape. It frustrated Eithni that if she has had acquired the liquid Water of Life, she would be able to heal them back to health without problems and it could be done under half an hour.

Eithni let go of Funani and sat down erecting her spine, folding the legs and with the feet tucked under her body in front of Funani, looking truly scared for losing her new friends. The scariest part was that there was nothing she could do, she was on a strange planet, nowhere to bring them to Dathomir in time and the only thing Eithni could do was sit there and wait.

A very serious look came over Eithni's eyes, "never, you're my friends" replied the witch and moved to the side by Funani and sat down, waiting for whoever Carthus was to come and help. He better come quickly and help her friends or he would be in a world of hurt for not getting here in time.

@Caught in Strangereal @Zanna Black @Jexz

 

[Funani Avanti]

Funani just sat there in a state of quiet contemplation this was not how he imagined his adventures in the galaxy to go but hey, that's life he guessed. He looked over towards oddi and he would end up rest his head against her shoulder listening to her idle breath it was nice as he could still tell she was breathing and alive which relaxed him.

"Hang in there you'll make it through here Odd, and don't you dare think about dying on me."

The Jawa thought off all the brief good times they had together from meeting on correllia to fighting trash monsters. As he looked up at the sky he could see what initially seemed like a shooting star or spec in the air that kept getting closer and closer. What on this planet was that? At Then he started to make out enough detail to see it was a space ship of some point. Maybe this was this Carthus. He had to admit that this was quite the entrance. Oddi tole Funani a bit about Carthus but he really wasn't expecting to see a ship come down from the heavens to bail them out.

Funani was surprised but yet her was his salvation, he wondered if Oddi had accidentally befriended a crazed billionaire with dead parents and a secret cave, now that would be almost as cool as meeting a Jedi. The Jawa then chuckled to himself at that thought before talking out loud.

"Talk about Friends in high places"

 

[Carthus Phoenix Kira]

Carthus continued to lower steadily down to the street below. Sure he could have tried to find a place to land the ship but such things would take time and certainly was the fastest way given the nature of the situation.

As soon as his feet touch the ground he unclipped the harness from the winch line, moving quickly over towards where Oddi, Funani, and Eithni were, his eyes looking at the two somewhat unknown figures as he lowered down to check Oddi over.

Carthus probably still had ship grease smudged over his face from working, but even now he was carrying his collapsable vibro blade

"What happened?"

Though the truth was he wasn't blind, he could see that Oddi had been shot but also he had been told on the ride over here. Taking in a deep breath with a slow exhale he offered a harness towards Eithni

"Here, put this on and if Funani is happy to carry them up to my ship, I will take Oddi. Probably best we don't stick around here, I am sure I just broke several laws getting here, not to mention I am pretty sure they will start asking questions if they see you guys have a blaster wound"

His attention turning back towards Oddi now, taking in slow deep breaths as he tried to reach towards her to make her sense he was there, reaching out as best he could with the force towards her

"Come on kid, your not kicking it now, you still need to show me how good you are at playing that instrument of yours. Let's get you back to my place, got a spare room where you can rest much easier. Not to mention I am sure SC would be happy to have someone around that showed some kind of interest in them"

Almost on Queue, a series of chirps and chimes came through the comm, mainly the droid was checking if Carthus was alive but also was informing him that there were some ships heading towards them, obviously investigating what the rush all was as Carthus sighed out

"SC try and find out how many credits I am being fined for this breach of speed and pay them double saying I intend to head back the same way just as fast"

Carthus grinned knowing that would get a rise out of his droid, as he tried to gently pick Oddi up​

 

[Oddi Xon]

Somewhere in the void of unconsciousness Oddi felt something familiar again. Her mind drifted to that night on Coruscant… the Uscru district… where she was once again a starving street urchin in disguise and looking for a quick buck in a joint not meant for the likes of an escaped slave. Something… someone… stood out like a beacon, except this time he was holding out his hand and calling her name.

Carthus! Was it really him???

She dropped her disguise and attempted to run over to him, but it was almost as if she was swimming in water. She felt so weak, like her life force had been squandered with overuse. But she could feel his Force, and she wasn’t about to disappoint her first friend. She gathered her resolve and pushed her feet against the floor one by one as she inched toward his beckoning hand, fixating on the destination as opposed to the distance. The closer she stepped toward him, the stronger she felt and the faster she moved, until finally she reached out to grab his hand…

There was a noise all about her as she became vaguely aware for not only a throbbing ache in her shoulder but also that she was being carried by someone much larger than Funani… Funani!!! Where was he??? She tried to wake herself up swiftly but to no avail. However, she could hear his voice, talking to another familiar voice that belonged to the one that carried her. Carthus??? Her body told her to take it slow as she stirred slightly and released an incoherent mumble. Finally, she took a deeper breath and began to open her eyes.

Her vision was foggy, but it did not disappoint. Carthus was indeed the one holding her, and she could hear Funi and Eithni clearly. They were alive! They made it!

Oddi smiled slightly through her pain. “I’ve been causin’ trouble again, Carth.” she said weakly.

@ Caught in Strangereal, @ Raven_41
@ Jexz

 

[Eithni Vala Stark]

Eithni looked up at the stranger that came rushing over to them and she was about to stop him when she realized it was that Carthus guy that they were literally waiting for. As Carthus picked up Oddi and began to carry him away, got Eithni up as well, helping Funani up, so they could follow the newly arrived help.

It didn't take long before they were all on Carthus' ship and that was when Eithni let go off Funani and then found a place for her to sit down at. It was around this time that she started to feel how tired she was and not long after she dozed off up against the interior of a wall in the ship and would half sit with crossed arms and sleep peacefully. She would wake a couple of times but fall back to sleep and sleep for a couple of hours.

Waking up again she would look for Carthus by heading for the cockpit, in order to find out where they would actually be going and also know when she could get off, hopefully, it would be a less gang-infested planet or area.

@Caught in Strangereal @Zanna Black @Jexz

 

[Funani Avanti]

For Funani the ship ride would last for what seemed like forever. He never left Oddi's side looking over her. He couldn't talk, quite frankly his body was just so tired of talking and everything else today. So he just sat by the Clawdite. Funani tried to distract himself with ponderings of where they were going, whether they be able to set foot on the planet ever again, thoughts on arming and going on a full blown assault of the den they found but it was echoes compared to the one question that loomed over him:

Was Oddi going to be OK?​

Still his body slowing began to overtake his brain and he started to fade to sleep. If oddi was put on a bed he would rest his by her side. If it was a tank he would sleep with his back against it. All he wanted was to stay close to his best friend. He couldn't handle another loss. Not again, not things seem to be going up for him. Soon a small cute snore would start to emanate from the Jawa as they began to venture to their next stop.

@Jexz @Raven_41 @Zanna Black

 

[Carthus Phoenix Kira]

Carthus could not help but crack a smile when he heard the comment about causing trouble again, shaking his head some and returning to the ship much in the same way he had arrived.

Carthus had placed Oddi in one of the beds on the ship to recover before having made his way to the cockpit in order to deal with whatever drama the Corsec group was going to throw at him. The blaster wounds would heal given time but he would be sure to check things over properly when the time came, right now he had to get them out of the city and also stop anyone raising too many questions.

He would be found stood leaning over the communications array speaking into it has been discussing with the security forces the reason for his sudden burst of speed and panicked arrival, but money seemed to talk a lot of the time. Not to mention though Carthus had rushed and broken some laws they were minor, he hadn't done anything overly extreme.

"Certainly a large charitable donation is the least I can do, what with the worry I caused, I shall make sure to send it across shortly. Again please take my deepest apologies for what happened, my droid experienced a malfunction and it took me this long to override the lockout. All the best sergeant "

With that handled he flopped into the pilot's chair reaching up to rub his face for a few moments, he was taking everything in that had happened so quickly, just wanting a few moments to breathe before he acted next, but his astromech let out a low wooo sound as Eithni approached the cockpit, lowering his eyes he finally took the time to look at the white-haired person. Taking in a deep breath he exhaled

"SC set a course for home for me, take us there nice and steady. Something tells me Oddi and our new Jawa friend are going to need to rest up a bit. When we arrive open the security locks on Guest rooms one and four. Might as well get use out of them"

His eyes then looked at Eithni properly

"Sorry for the rushed appearance, didn't know what was going on, thought it was best to act and ask questions later. The city is not often a friendly place, I am taking us to my home near Bela Vistal, if you want dropping off on the way or anything I can accommodate but there is a spare room you can take until they recover. Not to mention I would appreciate learning what exactly went on. The name is Carthus Phoenix Kira, but as you hear most that I know call me Carth"

As he introduced himself he gave an incline of his head respectfully towards Eithni.

The Ship began to make its way out of the city now, heading towards the manor house

@Caught in Strangereal @Raven_41 @Zanna Black ​

 

[Oddi Xon]

At last, they could breathe. Oddi was already feeling better simply from the knowledge that they were finally out of harm’s way. Her shoulder throbbed from the hit that she had taken, and she could feel a crispiness on the spot where the laser shot had made its impact. This was a promise of pain for days to come, if not weeks.

Funani had curled up next to her and had already fallen asleep. He was probably pretty beat up too, and she hoped that it wouldn’t affect him in the long run. Despite everything, she caught herself smiling. Sure, the whole rescue was a disaster, but it was a successful disaster. They were alive, they were going to survive, they found a new and powerful ally, and she even reunited with her first friend… though she felt bad about bringing him into this.

Her mind wandered as exhaustion began to take hold again. As she recalled watching Eithni wield the Force in her own wild way, and her own actions utilizing that same power (in a far less experienced way), she couldn’t help but feel exhilarated and concerned. Sure, she had pulled off some pretty cool tricks, but her control over the Force was spotty at best. And that dream she had… was it a warning about the dark side? What did it mean??? In any case, there was something that she was absolutely certain about, and despite how she loved their arrangement, she knew that it would likely change the future of her partnership with Funani.

It was time for Oddi to find a teacher.

//Exit thread

@ Caught in Strangereal, @ Raven_41
@ Jexz

 

[Eithni Vala Stark]

Eithni was used to sleeping on hard surfaces, she's been doing it most of her time after leaving Dathomir. She slept undisturbed in her little corner of the ship and was happy that her two newly acquired friends were safe. She would do anything for friends that she held dear, showcased with the poor sod who was mugging the wrong crowd at the wrong place.

A few times she woke up and went to check on Funani and Oddi, before finding a new place to sleep, sleeping for the rest of the trip to wherever they were going. That Carthus fella seemed friendly enough, but Eithni wanted to make sure that he wouldn't try anything when they arrived at the new destination.

Where to next? She didn't really have an idea right now, she guessed she would stick around for a bit longer, before moving on. Weirdly enough, Eithni didn't really have any dreams or even nightmares on the trip away from the planet, which was weird. Not that she often has nightmares, be dreams was frequently for her, so having a dreamless sleep was new.

//Exit thread

@Caught in Strangereal @Zanna Black @Jexz

 

[Carthus Phoenix Kira]

Carthus remained in the pilot seat for the whole trip back, it was not that long a trip in fairness but going at actual legal speeds certainly slowed things down.

SC was seen scooting off around the ship here and there during the journey, the droid made a point to occasionally check in on the two injured guests.

Carthus continued to pilot the ship, taking them over Bela Vistal, into the more mountain and natural part of the planet. Away from a lot of the machinery and polluted atmosphere. People were in such a rush to expand and become more technologically advanced that they destroyed something so beautiful at times, Carthus mulled to himself. Though the truth was he loved tech just as much as the next person.

Navigating the ship towards a large house on the outskirts he began to complete landing preparations.​

// Exit Thread

@Caught in Strangereal @Raven_41 @Zanna Black