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[Ezra Thorne]

Being close to the Core Worlds meant that Mindor was at risk from the Raze monsters. It was close to Jedi space and had vast grasslands to set up AgriCorp operations, so it was strategic as a Jedi planet. The planet currently had activities spanning from abomination presence and bandits were reported. Ezra was determined to avoid yet another oversight duty managing mandatory fun events and other nonsense, so he volunteered for this mission. It was summer break from Uni so he could rack up a few of these to give him an excuse to stay away from the temples for a while.

He was given a small, local militia to work with. He had them set up a base camp that wasn’t too far from where the activities were reported. The locals called it No Man’s Land. It was a valley riddled with traps and bandits, and there were rumors some abominations were lurking amidst all that. Ezra was skeptical, but even the rumors made this a Jedi problem.

Ezra had kept up with his Force training, but he wanted to brush up on his saber. He was outside a tent, fighting against multiple training droids. He had a blindfold over his eyes, and he was dressed in form-fitting attire that showed off his muscular frame as a result of the Emryc Thorne regimen. He had a saber set to stun in each hand, and he was ducking, spinning and striking in a blur of motions between four droids.

A few of the militiamen had gathered to watch, marveling at the display. Few civilians had witnessed Jedi in action outside of Holonet.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

A real mission from the Jedi. This was a treat Natalie simply couldn't pass up. She'd been traveling the galaxy around Jedi space in between training sessions, doing what she could to channel her inner sentinel. It never amounted to much, but it was better than sticking around the Starlight Beacon reading datacrons all day. Did the Jedi know just how boring those things were?

The sounds of lightsabers caught her ears. She knew she'd have a partner on this mission, but the Jedi didn't see fit to inform her of who it was. When that partner ended up being none other than Mr. Jawline himself, Natalie froze in place with a dumbfounded look on her face. She was apparently mistaken, despite her black robes and the lightsaber hilt clinging to her belt, as just another militia on looker, because the woman next to her gushed, "I know, he's so hot, right?"

Natalie turned her hazel gaze to the woman. "Yeaaaaaaaaaaah... heh...heheh," she said. Jedi liked to talk about fate; when Natalie found a way to flip it off, she would do it at her earliest convenience.

She made her way to the inner circle of on-lookers. Natalie had to admit, he was pretty good with some blades. It was hard to keep her eyes on them though considering he had more than just his jawline on display now. Catching herself watching him more than the display, Natalie contemplated becoming one of those hermit Jedi up in the mountains, complete with gouging out her own eyes. After a deep breath, the thoughts filed themselves in fantasies that'll never happen.

"Oh just take it off, give them what they really want," she said, her brain short circuiting half way through as it realized what it was saying. In a display that made the closest militia to her back away a step, despite the girls in the crowd cheering, Natalie face palmed hard. "Fuck! What is wrong with me!?" How was this man the only man in the entire galaxy she couldn't sass!?

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra heard someone call out and thought the voice sounded vaguely familiar. With a casual gesture with the Force, the droids drew backwards and disengaged. He took off the blindfold after switching off his sabers and placing them on his hips. His torso was lined with sweat and his hair was slightly disheveled, but he still carried himself with confidence.

“Them or you?” He asked with a raised brow. Ezra didn’t wait for an answer, his gaze flicking to her own hip where he expected to see a hilt, “After all that loudmouthing about my padawan and her saber, why don’t you show me your skill with yours?” The part Sephi asked. He used the Force to draw a bottle of water to himself, taking a swig before he stood there ready for combat. They had a bit of time to kill, so he didn’t mind practicing with a live target.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie hated every moment that this man looked like a glistening god to her, and yet he never stopped. Of all the times her sarcasm and sass had gotten her in trouble in the temples, she didn't expect the most embarrassing time to be on a mission with Mr. Jawline. She could barely get words out of her mouth without sounding like an idiot around him, how was she supposed to smack him with a glowbat?

Not wanting to be labelled a coward, and being too stubborn to admit when she was out played, Natalie gave a shrug and stepped into the little arena Mr. Jawline had made. "Not the first time a man's asked me to show him how I handle a saber," she quipped. "Alright, let's do this." All she had to do was not short circuit... which meant not looking at his ab- NOT LOOKING.

Fighting to keep her hazel eyes fixed to his cool silver eyes, she unclipped her saber. Turning the power setting to stun, she ignited the frosty blue blade. Natalie adopted a fairly simple fighting stance, holding the hilt in front of her face so that the blade was angled up like a fin above her head. Her left hand barely touched the bottom of the hilt. Her feet mirrored her hands, with her left leg slightly forward, both being shoulder width apart.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra watched calmly as the Padawan stepped into the makeshift arena. She chose to begin with a sarcastic jab of some sort, and he decided that was her attack of choice. Once you stepped into the arena, you were fighting. Ezra responded in kind by abruptly applying the Force to her legs when she was halfway through explaining what men asked her to do. The move was swift enough to make her fall on her ass before she drew her weapon.

The part Sephi’s saber was already in his hand, and he twired the hilt as he began to walk around her in a half circle, “Try again,” He said simply, igniting his cyan blade at last. She would have to be the one to initiate the attack.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

She had it all planned out. A quick step, quick jab and swing, and Mr. Jawline would feel her unable-to-sass-him vengeance. If only it worked out that way. Natalie found herself on her ass, which is normally not where she found herself in a fight, but apparently Mr. Jawline here wasn't playing around. She must have touched a nerve with! Small victories. Of course now she was eye level with.. nope, getting up now!

Natalie picked herself up quickly, head in the game, saber held defensively in one hand in front of her with the blade pointing toward Ezra. She circled with him, cautiously, trying to get a read on him. What would he do if she did this? Or that? The man was impossible to read and sass. Not that Natalie wouldn't die trying anyway.

Surging forward with a quickly lunge to the left, Natalie swung her saber in a wide arc from left to right but low, towards his shins. It wasn't meant as an attack but rather a feint to draw his defense downward. The real attack would come when she flowed the natural swing upwards and then downwards, in an attempt to diagnolly strike Ezra's left, ridiculously toned, and glistening shoulder. Her left hand stand in front of her, and open, ready to throw or catch anything. She was dueling a dual wielder, after all.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

He saw her go in with the arc from his own right to left, and it was aimed at his shins. Ezra brought his own saber down at a slanted 45 degree angle to intercept it perpendicularly. As a result his saber was layered above hers and stopped its trajectory upwards and he never even realized that it was a feint as her continuous momentum was halted right there. Ezra pushed down against her saber and suddenly closed the distance to get inside her guard. His face would be suddenly much closer, and his left hand came up to grasp her open palm.

In one fluid motion, Ezra pivoted on one foot and attempted to bodily throw her forward on the ground using her arm while his saber kept hers at bay. He banked on the pivot to add leverage and power behind the throw. If he was successful with the grapple move, she would be hurled forward and land face down on the dirt. If the maneuver didn’t work, Ezra would adapt as needed. However, it would become abundantly clear that Ezra had a far more unpredictable method of fighting than the usual styles taught at the temples.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Well that wasn't supposed to happen. Her saber stopped in the middle of the feint, and practically married Ezra's saber. Contemplating what went wrong there would have to wait, as Ezra suddenly became very very close. If there had been more time in the moment between Ezra grabbing her hand and throwing her, Natalie's cheeks may have even flushed a little. Normally things coming at you in a scary way weren't so chiseled and... wait nope, getting yeeted, right.

Natalie wasn't the best at fighting, that much was painfully clear, but she wasn't new to it. The moment she was about to hit the dirt, she tucked and rolled, springing to her feet a small distance away, but still within reach of an outstretched arm and a lightsaber. She spun toward Ezra, extending her right arm so that the very tip of her blade would hit his arm. Taking a page out of his book, she used her left hand, kept close to her body, to send a Force Push into the tree trunks he called legs.

With any luck, she'd catch him off balance with the Force Push, and give a little love tap with her saber.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra had expected her to simply hit the dirt face down. However, she adapted quickly and reached out with her saber. It was too late for him to see it coming, the tip striking his arm. The part Sephi winced as his arm went suddenly numb. Her follow up was also successful, sending him crashing towards the ground. He toppled down, but he braced his fall, dispersing his weight and landing evenly with his palm pressed into the ground. He followed up from that leverage with sweeping his legs to knock her back down.

Ezra rolled over as a follow up, bringing his saber close to her neck as he gazed down at her, “Not bad,” He said with a rare grin before he rose to his feet. He extended a hand to hoist her up as well if she was still down. He shook out his arm that was still stinging from the hit.

“Were you briefed on the mission?” He asked as he switched off his saber. They would need to conserve their energy for the real fighting.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Ha! Got him! Take that Mr. Jawline! Were the only thoughts she was able to have before she was knocked back down on her back, saber completely disengaged. This time, she was spread eagle in the dirt. Those steely silver eyes appeared again, quite close, if Natalie was being honest. Not as close as the glowing blade of would-be death had it been on lethal mode, but close enough for Natalie's breath to hitch. It was the grin and the compliment that made her blush. Fucking Mr. Jawline and his- and now we're thinking about things we shouldn't be. Fuck!

She took his hand and got to her feet, brushing her black "hand-me-down" robes off. Despite her back and butt being a bit sore, she was relatively fine. Her hazel eyes fixed on his shaking arm, doing some visual inspection at her handy work and maybe checking to see if he was okay. Finding he was okay, her eyes turned back to his, a shit eating grin on her only slightly dirt covered face. "You really know how to sweep someone off their feet." Why would you say THAT!?

Thankfully, Mr. Jawline posed a question that would return them to the status quo. Was she briefed on the mission? Yes. "I may have missed some of it," she said. She'd fallen asleep half way through. The presenter was boring, and not at all fun to look at. Never mind the fact she was supposed to be looking at the slide show.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra stared in silence at her quip about sweeping people off their feet. His silent staring was perhaps a worse outcome than if he tossed back a jab. He calmly crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for her answer to the next question. He could already tell she was fibbing and had zero concept of the mission. Ezra studied her for a moment.

“You truly are a paradox,” He said with a tone that displayed fascination and almost began to sound like a compliment, “For having such a big head and yet such a small brain,” He finished kindly. Ezra didn’t bother sticking around for her retort, walking past her towards one of the local militia men. He grabbed a datapad from the captain, floating it over to Natalie.

“The field you see before you is riddled with traps, the presence of bandits and perhaps even abominations,” Ezra explained, “There is little cover, so the soldiers here have not been able to advance,” He said grimly, “We need to consider ways to lure out the enemy and engage them. Right now they command the field and it has put us at a disadvantage.”

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

"Awww" she started, sarcasm lacing the voice. Then he finished his jab. Jab? No, Mr. Jawline just tripped her onto her own lightsaber twenty times. Was there a medical tent nearby? She needed to treat the burns. "Fuck you too!" It was the best she could do. Her servers were on fire, and her screens were blue. Beaten at her own game by a man that wears tight pa- STOP LOOKING AT HIS PANTS.

Natalie caught the datapad. Finally, something to focus on that wasn't him. She looked over the datapad while Mr. Jawline gave her a brief rundown. Her Ord Mantell brain kicked in. Not the smart ass that wants to take you into the janitor's closet brain, but the survival on the streets brain. "You didn't grow up on the streets, did you, Mr. Jawline?" she asked. "Bandits love free shit, so if the militia were to suddenly retreat out of sight and leave all this gear laying around, the bandits are gonna come for it. When they do we spring out, smack them around a bit." That would solve one problem, then there were the other two. Her eyes had hardened, even as she glanced up at Ezra to gauge his reaction to the plan.

"Militia can handle the traps, they've got the equipment for it. Just need to figure out how to draw out abominations."

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

There was a moment of silence as Ezra considered what she said. It sounded silly at first, but the more he thought through it, the more it made sense. The part Sephi didn’t often meet others that actually offered insightful suggestions, especially not padawans. His gaze flicked over to study her, “That’s an angle I hadn’t considered,” He admitted, which was a rarity from him. There was no doubt that he had a massive ego - after all, he was Ezra Thorne. However, she was right - he did lack street smarts and appealing to people’s core and basic senses.

“Very well, Padawan Hopeless, you have command of the operation,” Ezra said smoothly to where she would have to do a double take to catch the slip of her name. Despite the jab at her name, his tone didn’t imply it was meant as a punishment. He was not looking for her to fail, but he would give her an opportunity to take the seat of a Knight.

“There are fifty militiamen total,” Ezra explained, “We have two tanks and the men are outfitted with standard blasters and grenades. We only have one sniper, unfortunately,” He beckoned for her to follow him into a nearby tent, pressing a button to bring up a Holomap of the area, “If we can lure them out to the campsite, we only have one chance to strike. As for the abominations..” He sighed, “No intel except for rumors. Do we send in a recon party to confirm rumors or do we execute on your plan first?” Ezra asked her. He may have had an ego about being the EZTech CEO, but he did not have an ego about being a Jedi. If she stepped up to the plate, he would support it.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

The suspense was worse than his jab earlier. Like a crescendo of clammy palms and sweaty brows. Natalie studied his face for a reaction. As per the usual, his face gave away absolutely nothing. She was starting to wonder if the man's jaw was actually just made of stone. Then his words hurt her and like a chorus of angels her ego was back where it should have been all along. He didn't say he was impressed, but sure as shit was going tell everyone she impressed him. What was he going to do? Talk to other padawans to dispel the rumors?

Sweet! She even gets to comma- Wait, what did he say? "Hey!" And there she was bluescreening again. "Damn thorn in my ass." NO WHY!? A facepalm was all she deserved for that one, and she bore the burden herself in doing it. There were times she wondered how she had made it this far in life with her mouth. Better to leave that question unasked, lest she give him MORE ammo.

Natalie never thought math and militias would be the saviors of the day, but here they were, saving her from an endless abyss of self-induced embarrassment. She followed him into the tent, and studied the holo map of the area. There was silence after Mr. Jawline was done providing what little intel they did have. It wasn't much, but it would do. Natalie searched her mind for memories of Ord Mantell. "Back home we used to have to hide from Hutt gangs and pirates. We use pairs of friends called 'peepers' on every block. When a gang was coming, they'd make an subtle sound that only we would know was out of place, and warn everyone else that it was time to hide," she explained.

"Break the sniper and one regular militiaman off with a comlink. Comlink for them stays off unless they see abominations. Preferably we put them up high. Every one else retreats out behind these hills and stays out of sight. You and I stay in the camp in one of the tents and wait for the bandits. If or when they show up, we ambush them; one of us shoots a flair, and the militia rushes over the hill. The tanks will have an advantage with the high ground. If the bandits stay, they get cut down. If they run, they have to dodge their own traps and get hit in the ass by tank fire."

It was a hell of a lot to explain, but at the end Natalie felt good about it. Her eyes never left the map until she finished. Hardened, they rose to meet Ezra's. "Sound good to you?"

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

“Subtle sound?” Ezra asked, “Do you hoot like an owl or something?” He asked with a scoff, focusing back on the map. Her idea was decent, though it relied a lot on their variables and conditions being ideal. For one, would the bandits be lured by the abandoned camp to begin with? The entire thing had to look believable - the bandits had to buy that some kind of other emergency caused them all to abandon their post.

“Well, you’re the boss,” He shrugged vaguely, speaking into the shared comms to relay the orders. Ezra’s methods were slightly different than hers, but he couldn’t deny that hers at least considered various angles.

Within moments, an artificial ‘emergency’ was created. Ezra created an illusion of their comms buzzing so anyone attempting to intercept would get lots of encrypted chatter. At the end of it, the groups rushed out of the tents and away to strategic positions.

Ezra selected an unassuming tent for he and Hopeless to take cover in. He plopped down on a chair, took out his EZPhone and started messing with his Fantasy Huttball league. There was time to kill.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Hoot like an owl? Hoot like a fucking owl? Mr. Jawline definitely didn't grow up on the streets. Natalie hated it, but it was actually kind of cute how the stoic, gorgeous man in front of her was so clueless to how things were down where the not-so-well-off were. "Nah, various sounds. Things we would say every day normally, but for that week it was a warning." It was a rare glimpse into the deeper Natalie that she tried to hide. "Sometimes kids didn't get the memo." A glimpse that was short lived.

She thought she heard angels again. There were no angels of course, she would know because she would be one. Natalie watched the man, the myth, the legend, do his work. He passed orders along, just as she'd explained it, answered questions from the militia. Everything was perfect.

Until the bandits didn't fucking come, and the recon team didn't report anything. An hour had passed since Mr. Jawline had brought her to a tent, plopped down on a chair, and started mucking about on his EZPhone. Her first time to be able to show her stuff and she was wrong? Maybe he was right. Maybe she was Hopeless. Her face was in her hands, and she was half asleep waiting for a sound. Or anything. Please Force literally ANYTHING.

(Rolls were a 7/20 and a 2/20 for bandits and abominations respectively)

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra could practically feel her anxiety and distress as they waited. To her surprise, he didn’t even look at her or appear concerned. He focused on his EZPhone, scrolling through various apps. He could hear her fidgeting and his ears twitched every now and then, but he gave no indication otherwise. He let her silently sit there in her panic. It wasn’t until she got up and likely moved to say something before Ezra spoke without looking up from his device.

“They are here,” He said calmly.

His sensitive ears could pick up commotion outside as the bandits began to search through the camps. Ezra quietly notified their forces waiting in the distance. The Knight gestured for Natalie to be quiet as he slowly opened the tent flap, allowing her to peer through and take a look. This put her almost right up against him to give a whiff of expensive cologne and aftershave, but Ezra’s thoughts were solely on the mission.

He heard some commotion in the distance and knew their forces engaged. Ezra sprang into action, leaping out of the tent to catch a few of them off guard. He unleashed a powerful Force push, sending two of the bandits flying clear into a tree. From the looks of it, they were caught by surprise and the plan was going to prove effective.

Until Ezra heard an unnatural, beastly noise.

A glance revealed a massive, contorted creature made of sinewy flesh and no discernible eyes. It opened its massive maw with razor teeth and thick, slime-like saliva. He recognized it as an abomination and now he and Natalie were stuck in the camp with the bandits and the abomination coming in from their flank.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

They were here? Natalie perked up, holding her breath. There it was, the sound of pure bliss; the sound of bandits entering the camp and searching through crates and footlockers. She turned to Mr. Jawline, her eyes hardened but widened as they naturally took in more information than normal. Her heart was thumping through her damn chest. His calm, almost emotionless demeanor helped. Maybe it was his cologne, actually. Man had spent hours in the field AND worked up a sweat and still smelled like a fuckin- NATALIE THERE ARE BANDITS RIGHT OUTSIDE, DIPSHIT.

Her hazels eyes peered out of the slightly opened flap. She nodded, confirming they were in fact bandits. Natalie, despite her lack of experience following, was right behind Ezra. While he Force pushed two of the bandits into a tree, a quick ignition of her blue lightsaber and spin cut through two more bandits. The bandits were caught completely off guard. Perfect.

Atop the ridge, militia forces appeared and began firing down at the fringe of the camp, making sure to keep their fire away from the lightsabers. The tanks rolled up and thundered high-explosive shells into the field beyond, cutting off the bandit escape. It was the perfect ambush.

Until Natalie heard the roar. Natalie deflected a blaster bolt back into a bandit, then turned to see the abomination coming on their flank. The sniper hadn't checked in with the sight. That meant they were either sleeping or dead, probably the latter. She took a step back, pressing her back lightly against Ezra's, lightsaber out in front of her moving to block and deflect lightsaber bolts. The fact the abomination wasn't directly on them was good.

Natalie reached up and took out one of Ezra's EZPods, putting it in her own ear. "Tanks shift fire to the abomination, now!" she screamed into it. Not more than five seconds later the explosive shells detonated around the abomination among the fringe tents. If they could keep moving and keep the tanks firing on the abomination, they'd have the bandits dealt with and be able to focus on the abomination. "I'll keep the fire coming, clean up the bandits," she said, turning her head to Ezra. There was only the slight waver of fear in her voice.

"Get a squad to check on the snipers. Every other swinging dick, if it's not holding a lightsaber, hit it," she said, into the EZPod to the militia.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra snatched back the EZPods when she took them, because that wasn’t going to happen, “They’re not just EZPods for me, Natalie,” He stated flatly, actually using her name and pointing to his slanted ears. For him, EZPods were a defense. Loud noises could almost immobilize him even with only a quarter Sephi in him. He relied heavily on the modified dampeners in his Pods, “You are already on the channel,” He explained quickly. The fact that he took the time to explain instead of having an outright negative reaction suggested he wasn’t upset by her proactive move, but that he genuinely couldn’t be parted from his pods. Neither could anyone else in his family.

The volley from the tanks certainly made the abomination stagger in its steps. It faltered momentarily and roared before unleashing a Force Scream. The tremendous force of it mowed through several of their men and toppled one tank on its side.

“I have something I can try on it, but I need you to give me some time,” Ezra stared at Natalie, “I’m trusting you,” He said sternly, his icy gaze making it clear this was no time for sarcasm or joking. He needed to fully focus on unleashing Force Light on the beast, which was the only thing that could truly harm it.

The abomination was ravaging through bandits and their people alike, so it became the primary focus. Counting on Natalie, Ezra diverted to the side and channeled the Force to himself, rapidly building up for a massive attack. He needed to have a moment of uninterrupted focus to launch the attack, and it was up to Natalie to keep the abomination distracted while the men shot at it from a distance.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie was unable to truly witness the power of the tanks putting a good smack down on the abomination because Mr. Jawline snatched the EZPod. His use of her actual name, and the steely gaze he stared at her with, made her pause. This wasn't the sarcastic jerk that made her mind bluescreen. This was a man that had faced one of these terrors before and won. A man that knew the dangers. Her own hazel eyes hardened into his gaze as she nodded her affirmation.

EZPods off limits, and time was needed. She glanced over her shoulder quickly, raising her lightsaber to deflect a bolt back into a bandit. Her eyes met his again. "Give him hell for me too," she said coolly. As Ezra got to work on the abomination, Natalie focused on his defense. She turned her back to him, staying close as to be able to protect his three exposed sides by deflecting blaster bolts, Force pushing grenades, and everything needed to stop the bandits from reaching him in any way.

She was only a Padawan, but it was the one thing she was good at. Physical training was the one aspect of training she never fell asleep in. As she worked to defend Ezra, she dawned one of her own EZPods to find the channel erupting with chaos. "Infantry, fireteam rush. One team rushes, the other covers, then switch. Find microterrain for cover. Tanks, keep distracting the beast until Ezra can kill it. How's the sniper team?"

"Dead," a call came over the EZPods. Unfortunate but not unforseen.

"Get another squad on that hill and flank the bandits. Put them in a L-Shaped killzone," she said. Her lightsaber was a flower of blue streaks in the air in front and around her. She wouldn't fail him. She couldn't fail him.

@Sreeya