Ask Kyber In The Rough

[Zayn Talis]

​

Despite what he might’ve implied at the beginning of this journey, Zayn really wasn’t a fantastic pilot.

The journey to the Antares system was a notoriously difficult one to make - traveling deep into the Unknown Regions and where hyperspace lanes were known to be unpredictable. It requires almost constant attention and manually intervention on the part of the pilot, and it meant more time where Zayn had to actively take the controls. Which, in of itself, lead to an even bumper and stomach-churning ride. But they hadn’t died and all their navigational systems indicated they had kept course..

So Zayn wasn’t going to be taking any shit anytime soon.

Of course, the purpose for their journey and turbulent flight wasn’t one of pleasure. For months, the Antares system - and the kyber-bearing asteroids found therein - had been the source of immense debate between the Jedi Order and Organizations across the Galaxy. It seemed that everyone - whether for spiritual or monetary gain - wanted a piece of the haul, and the promise of the latter had begun to attract those unwilling to go through any legal channels to obtain the resource. Reports had reached the the ears of the Jedi regarding the arrival of pirates within the system, beginning to harass miners and steal entirely shipments of Kyber Crystals for their own profits. It was finally the justification the Order needed to intervene,

“Should be dropping into the system soon,” Zayn finally said towards Godric, leaning back a bit in the pilot’s chair as he kicked his feet up. The Padawan was dressed in his standard-issue Jedi attire - sporting a lightly color, hooded tunic and matching pants, alongside brown boots and a utility bed. His hair was combed and styled in its usual side-fade, while the hilt of his saber was clipped to his belt. For the moment, the Padawan allowed himself a moment of relaxation and downtime as they approached the end of their journey.

Somehow, he had a feeling that he wasn't going to have much of an opportunity for it going forward.

@Nefieslab

 

[Godric Mand]

Godric quite liked flying but he made it a point to be the one actually doing the flying. That was half of the reason he liked it - the control of a machine so powerful with just some deft movements of the steering yolk and flicks of switches at different, important, moments. The trip to Antares, however, was one he was already dreading before he set foot onto his ship, the Victory Manifested.

He had let the Padawan take the controls though as a teachable moment.

Gods and Force above, below and even inside his quivering heart he didn't think he'd be doing that again. The kid wasn't even doing a bad job but letting someone else control the ship was getting to him - he was beginning to think he might have to end up as one of those Knights who ran away whenever the Masters started asking after teachers for padawan learners. If this was what teaching was like he could see himself going grey in a year.

In direct contrast to the Padawan, Godric's robes were not understated. Instead he was currently wearing the white robes with gold lining he had had made for his mission to Hapes - before it got scrapped.

"Time to place your bet Zayn; what we flying into do you think?"

He grinned as he set down five, physical, credits.

"My credits are on we arrive mid-shake down, just in time to be Big Damn Heroes."

From further in the ship, Godric's R7 unit whistled and beeped at the two of them. Godric blinked a few times.

"Fuck, Charlie, don't even joke about that." he muttered, "He says his credits are on us being ambushed and this whole thing being set up to try and capture Jedi."

... ah hell. Now his droid was getting his paranoid.

@Altaris

 

[Zayn Talis]

With minutes to spare as they approached the Antares system, Zayn promptly decided he was going to spend every second of their remaining downtime relaxing. He rather casually reclined into the cushions of the pilot’s chair - crossing his left ankle over his opposing knee, using the other foot to swivel a bit in the seat. The Corellian’s hazel gaze flicked over to Godric after a moment or two, regarding the Knight’s fancy-ass robes before considering his question.

Truth be told, Zayn hadn’t the slightest clue what they were flying into. A trap? A scene of pirates completely caught off-guard? Something else? It was impossible to know ahead of time, and it was a sense of uncertainty that made their journey both exhilarating and unnerving for the Padawan.

A grin tugged at the corners of Zayn’s lips as he reached into his pocket - pulling out an additional five credits and proceeding to plant them down on the center console. While the Padawan would’ve happily put more on the bet.. He wasn’t exactly rolling in cash. Growing up on the shit side of Corellia and service as a Jedi wasn’t a real money-maker, after all. “My credits are on us catching them with their dicks out. Too busy droolin’ over some Kybers to be thinkin’ about Jedi showing up out of the blue.”

There was some undeniable confidence in that statement as the Corellian settled back in his seat. As far as he was concerned, that was certainly the outcome that made the most sense, right?

Well, they were about to find out. The pair - or trio rather, if you counted Charlie - were only afforded a few additional minutes of chit-chat before a series of high-pitched chirping indicated that the shuttle was finally dropping out of hyperspace. Zayn snapped back up and grasped the controls, flicking a few switches and keeping his eyes ahead as the stars began to still and the shuttle finally lurched back into realspace.

The moment it did, Zayn’s eyes went comically wide - jaw hanging open and everything. Despite his very confident prediction, they were most definitely anticipated ahead of time. Not only was there a cluster of pirate-operated starfighters that were pre-positioned and ready to engage, but before the Padawan could react in any productive way, their shuttle abruptly lurched forward once again - moving sideways as it was pulled towards one of the larger pirate vessels nearby - a tractor beam making a boarding inevitable whether they liked it or not.

Zayn couldn’t help the string of very colorful expletives that followed, filling the cabin as he struggled with the controls to break from the tractor beam. This was, of course, followed up by a series of beeps and chirps from Godric’s own Astromech. Who also went out of its way to snag the ten whole credits before they fell between the seats. Could Droids be smug? Because this one really did sound smug.

“Fuck you too, Charlie.” Zayn hissed.

@Nefieslab

 

[Godric Mand]

Godric snorted in amusement at Zayn's turn of phrase. He resisted the urge to act like he was some kind of crazy old man reminiscing about the past for all of about three seconds before he decided that he was absolutely going to tell the kid anyway. It amused him too much not to say it so he was making sure he got it all out.

"That reminds me of a Shadow mission where I dropped in on a pirate meeting unexpectedly... they'd apparently decided to enjoy themselves quite a bit." he grinned, "I don't know who was more surprised - me or them - but lets just say that bringing a lightsaber to that kind of sword fight gets a lot of people out the gene pool."

To find themselves in a similar situation in space would be ideal but he wasn't quite as confident as the Padawan. There were times when the Force seemed designed to fuck with the Jedi and he was already getting that kind of sense from their little jaunt.

As real space came back into focus, Godric sighed a little bit before leaning back in the chair he had perched on for a second. He gave Charlie a side-eye as it grabbed the credits. The little fucker even had the complete lack of decency to gloat about how he had been right.

He was going to be insufferable for weeks after this.

"Fuck Charlie." he agreed before standing from his seat, "Alright Zayn - time to flip the credit chip. Do we think we can lie about being Jedi or do we think we're going to need to employ violence?"

He grabbed a series of vibroknives from underneath his console before slapping a couple of blaster pistols onto the seat he had just left.

"Trick question really - both involve violence. One just involves doing it openly as Jedi."

With this little prep time? Godric wouldn't have time to change into one of his disguises, even if he had a criminal persona which might actually work in this situation. No, it was time to try and make sure they could evade capture or death by visiting it upon their enemies before they could stop them.

@Altaris

 

[Zayn Talis]

Zayn couldn’t help but let out an amused snort - reclining back a bit further into his chair while Godric told his story. The Corellian shook his head a bit, his lips tugging upwards and into a sideways smirk. “Poor bastards,” He said in a voice of mock-sympathy. Well, maybe a bit of genuine sympathy. While he doubted their luck would be quite that good, Zayn was still confident that they’d be able to get the jump on the pirates.

Confidence that was promptly bitch-slapped from existence as they dropped into real space.

The Corellian continued to yank at the controls of the freighter - trying and failing to break away from the gravitational pull of the tractor beam. It became abundantly clear that wouldn’t be working anytime soon, and Zayn proceeded to abandon the controls entirely and rise up from his seat. His hand immediately brushed at his side - confirming that his gold-bladed saber was still close within reach. When Godric spoke, Zayn flashed him a grin - still able to crack a smirk despite the absolutely shit circumstances.

“Ain’t no way to get out of the fighting,” He said after a moment of consideration - snagging a blaster pistol for himself in addition to the lightsaber on his hip. “Might as well do it openly. I’ll bet they haven’t figured out who they’re fuckin’ with yet.” With that and another bit of side-eye to Charlie, Zayn jutted his chin and strode out of the cockpit. He turned down the corridors of the freighter, stopping at the corner of a hallway that led towards the airlock. By now, the ship had already been pulled flush with one of the larger pirate ships - a docking tube extending and fusion cutters visible as those on the other side began to cut their way inside.

The pair would only have a minute or two before a breach. Zayn proceeded to pull the hilt and pistol from his waist, giving Godric a nod as he pressed his shoulder to the corner.

@Nefieslab

 

[Godric Mand]

Well Zayn had a sense of humour about danger and that was a big plus as far as Godric was concerned - Jedi needed to get over the idea that violence was something to be feared. It was something they were good at and it was something their enemies were 100% going to visit upon them so it was better they get used to it quick.

"Don't let the diplomats of the Order hear you say that." he half-joked, "They give the worst tongue-lashings and no, not like that. But also yes, like that."

Openly it was then.

Grabbing a pistol of his own, he strapped it to his left hip before taking a couple of the vibroknives as well. In the close quarters of a starship, knives and other short blades were probably better than a lightsaber. That wasn't to say he wasn't going to bring his own laser sword of course - just that he might not need it.

Taking a deep breath, Godric didn't take cover at the corner right away. Instead he nodded to Zayn before moving right up to the stretch of wall that the fusion cutters were circling. Letting the Force flow through him, he nodded once more for Zayn to ready himself and his blaster before lashing out with the Force at the mostly cut-out section of hull.

The Push sent the circle of durasteel plating flying away from the wall, slamming into the surprised face of a Duros before continuing (now with half a face's worth of gore) into the chest of a human woman behind the unfortunate Duros. Godric immediately pulled himself away from the gap in the ship's hull to give Zayn a clear view to attack.

@Altaris

 

[Zayn Talis]

Zayn had to momentarily pause when Godric made his remark about the diplomats of the Order and their supposedly sub-par tongue lashing. The Corellian blinked a few times just then, his eyes squinting ever-so-slightly as if the man was suddenly in very deep thought. After a moment or two, he looked back to Godric - flashing the knight a grin. “..Doesn’t sound so bad, now that you mention it.” He said cheekily, his voice making it difficult to tell if the dude was joking or not. Which, to be honest, likely meant that he wasn’t.

Unfortunately, the Corellian didn’t have any time to think about it. Instead, his attention was shifted strictly to the situation ahead of them - watching as Godric positioned himself further down the hallway and close to where the fusion cutters were working through the durasteel airlock doors. He returned the nod to Godric, taking a deep breath to ready himself before peaking around the corner.

The split second that Godric Force pushed the circle of durasteel, Zayn rolled from the corner and moved ever-so-slightly into the hallway - keeping the majority of his body tucked behind cover, but exposing his upper half to line up his shot. As Godric moved himself out of the way, the Corellian rapidly followed up with three shots from his blaster pistol in rapid succession - one of which found its mark square in the chest of another human member of the enemy crew and caused him to drop to the ground, another served as a glancing blow to a Cathar, and the final found purchase in nothing but the docking tube that connected them.

“Kriffin’ Jedi!” A voice could be heard somewhere amongst the group.

"How'd you guess?" He called back. Zayn didn’t have an opportunity to point and shoot for very long. While their superior numbers weren’t unbeatable odds for two Jedi, the return-fire came quickly and from multiple blasters - forcing the Corellian to tuck himself back behind the corner before he was filled with as many holes as a wedge of Caridan Cheese.

A handful of the pirates began to step forward - attempting to press their advantage and make progress onto the Jedi shuttle. Deciding he didn’t like that prospect in the slightest, Zayn promptly reached out with the Force - coiling his grasp crate that was stacked neatly in the hallway facing the airlock. Yanking his arm, the Corellian sent the box hurtling down the hallway - successful in knocking one of the men flat on their ass as the duraplast box hit them center mass. With that, the Corellian rolled fully from around the corner - using the momentary reprieve to ignite his saber - painting the hallway in a brilliant golden light as he advanced forward. He kept his blaster pistol raised in his left hand, the blade of his saber positioned in the likely event that he was going to be shot at.

@Nefieslab

 

[Godric Mand]

Ah the kid was going to go far - and if he didn't then he was at least going to have fun getting to wherever he was going. Probably going to go straight to the top of the Grandmaster's 'Naughty list' or something but Godric didn't think that Zayn would mind being recognized as a bad boy.

With the enemy crew now well and truly aware of who, and what, they were it was time to stop holding back. Igniting his lightsaber in his right hand, Godric moved through the entryway immediately in the wake of the crate that Zayn sent flying through the same hole. The pirates who had dodged out of the way of the crate, a pair of humans, were caught off guard by the lightsaber buzzing right at them, catching them mid-dodge of the crate.

They screamed as his blade carved through their hands and sent them crashing to the ground, wailing in pain before passing out from that same pain. Grabbing the last pirate in the docking tube as she was attempting to escape, Godric grabbed the Rodian by one of her ear-stalks and slammed her face-first into the closed door of their end of the docking tube.

"Open the door."

He waited a beat and she seemed to find it objectionable.

"G-go to hell, shcutta!"

Godric pulled back on her ear-stalk before ramming her forehead against the door hard enough to knock her out.

"Zayn!" he called back to the other Jedi, "You know how to slice a door open? I don't want to cut through it if we don't have to."

With them being currently, technically, outside both ships sound wouldn't travel very well. If they could unlock the door to the pirate ship they had a chance to catch them by surprise. A lightsaber through the lock would work but it was hardly subtle.

@Altaris

 

[Zayn Talis]

Almost by instinct, Zayn’s golden blade rose into a defensive guard - anticipating the flurry of blaster bolts that were bound to be fired in his direction. Much to his surprise, however, it only took a few moments for the Corellian to realize the pirates had turned their attention elsewhere. His hazel eyes quickly snapped towards the source of that reprieve - watching as Godric carved his blade through two humans, and proceeded to bash the Rodian against the door with enough force to knock teeth loose.

Well, if Rodian had teeth, it would’ve.

He didn’t waste any more time - quickly making his way down the hallway in order to join Godric. The combined efforts of the pair had, unsurprisingly, made short work of the pirates who slipped into the docking tube. The poor bastards likely assumed they were boarding another mining guild vessel, oblivious to who exactly they were dealing with.

As he approached, Zayn’s attention shifted to movement out of the corner of his eye. While one of the pirates had been knocked off his ass by the thrown crate, it appeared that hadn’t been quite enough to take him out entirely - an arm lifting ever-so-slightly with blaster in hand. Zayn didn’t hesitate for even a moment, the Force flowing from his fingertips and rushing Force in a concussive wave. It was enough to bash the man against the wall of the docking tube - knocking him out cold.

“Just your luck,” He said with that same cocky confidence, flashing Godric a grin, “I do.” The truth of the matter was that Zayn had a rudimentary understanding of how to slice into things and wasn’t skilled at it by any means. But he wasn’t about to disclose that information to Godric, and instead promptly approached the control panel just off to the left of the blast doors - promptly getting to work. It took several minutes - and no lack of guesswork throughout - but Zayn finally stepped back from the doors, entering in a simple key-command before doing so. Much to the surprise he would absolutely never admit to, the blast doors proceeded to hiss open - a green light clicking on to indicate that the locking mechanism had been deactivated.

“Ta-da,” He said with a smirk, wiggling a brow towards Godric before jutting his chin towards the now-opened doors. While the boarding party had been incapacitated, the rest of the pirate crew was located deeper into the ship - momentarily unaware of the Jedi that were now skulking around their vessel.

Roll: 11/20 to slice open the door.

@Nefieslab