Misguided Padawan [JEDI MISSION]

[DeathToll]

Dantooine. A small settlement just outside of the main landing lay quiet. Not a person could be seen carrying out their daily work. No indigenous species there in took their place, no animals could be seen grazing where farmers once kept them away. It was eerie how even the elements were drawn in wait, rolling in on itself as if to build for a storm. The planet's one sun broke through the clouds at several places, beaming down rays of hope and of wishing light. Soon a ship hummed into hearing, peeking through the atmosphere towards its destination. It would be met, as Republic workers kept to there stations within the compound. The strangeness would begin on the outside of these walls, yet still - even these men knew of the feeling that shrouded this settlement. An evil had come. It had grown, nestled into its writhing position deep in its hiding place ...or so was thought.

As the waves of shewing air blew out around the lowering Carrier, two young Padawans looked on out behind the pilot and beyond the viewport at the waving assistant waving his lit wands to their designated birth. Here they were. It was time to go to work.

------------------------------​

Joss squeezed tight the poor seat cushion beneath his two handed grip, inturrupted by the pilot who there in sat with discomfort as he scolded Joss with a look. Ripping his hands away with an apologetic silence, Joss snuck his eyes over to the Padawan next to him from underneath his dangling locks that hung so defensively over his face and large birthmark. They had had the entire trip over here, after meeting up at the rendevou where Joss had arrived from Coruscant, to get to know one another - yet here they were and Joss still hit a wall every time he tried to speak. HE was nervous.

Wearing his normal and common Padawan robes, mostly dark brown with an underlining white along the cuffs and long collar, Joss brown hair was as much a part of his uniform as the rest of him. Though form fitting to his trained body, Joss image was very much one of timidity and inadequate confidence. But here he was, on his first mission. The Force truly is mysterious.

 

[Malon]

Darkness. It was something Ferus Cole had become accustomed to in the past couple of days. Not long ago, he had been a Jedi, a Padawan at the great temple on Coruscant. His time as a Padawan had ended, though, when he had lashed out at his Master in anger, and wounded her with his lightsaber. He had then fled the Temple, and had stowed away on a cargo ship that eventually landed on Dantooine. He'd used that oppurtunity to escape and start anew.

He was now aliened with the dark side of the Force. The Jedi could never know what they were missing out on. It had been but a taint when he had first arrived on Dantooine, but after a day or two of exploration, Ferus had found a cave strong in the Force. The cave had tested him, and shown him the full might of the dark side. Ferus, though, had not resisted the dark side, as a Jedi would've. No. He embraced its power, let it flow through him.

Now the cave was a sanctuary, a place of his dark power, and he was determined to strike fear into the heart of the locals from it. Though he was only seventeen, he knew his command of the Force would grow stronger with training, though he had only began training as a Jedi a short month or two ago. His lightsaber, a gift from his old master, rested on his belt. He'd refitted it with a red crystal he'd found within the cave, a symbol of his fall.

And now the dark side barked out to him, as if in warning. The Jedi had found him. Now he would be waiting...

 

[Rom]

Opening his sanguine eyes as the ship touched down, the Barabel padawan let out a sigh of relief. For Raynor Cree, the mission to Dantooine and the flight to get there marked not only his first mission as a Jedi, but was also the third planet he had ever been on and his second flight in a starship. Overall, the obsidian scaled reptile was extremely nervous. He had only been with his Master for a few weeks when the call came for willing Padawans, and Raynor still didn't feel ready to deal with issues of the force. Still, even though he had yet to get much practice with the Force or the use of a lightsaber, the Barabel was clad simply in the brown robes of a padawan with a dark green trim under his tattered cloak, the long length of a sheathed cortosis-weave vibrosword was leaning against the cockpit wall waiting for him to grab alongside his pack. His long tail hung almost limply over the arm rest of the seat, the metal barb affixed to the end of his tail scratching along the metal floor with every rocky motion of the ship.

While the Barabel may not be as well trained in the ways of the Jedi, his experiences with the Hunt and clan wars on his native Barab 1 certainly prepared him for any violence he may have to defend himself and his fellow padawan from. Raynor only hoped that he would be able to use the lessons taught by his master to effectively deal with his innate aggression and anger when the hunt-glee took him. Turning over to his fellow padawan, Raynor internalized a silent curse as he picked up on the human's nervousness. He had been remiss in not learning more about his companion during the journey. Pulling himself to his feet, Raynor reached out a clawed hand to the other Padawan and smiled, trying hard not to bare too many of his sharp fangs. "This one is Raynor Cree, and it iz an honor to finally work with another Jedi. This one hopez that our success will be swift and that our companionship will remain strong." To Raynor, the final comment was the closest the normally cynical reptile could get to asking someone for friendship, but he hoped his broadcasted feelings of kindness and trust would allow the other padawan to understand his meaning.

 

[DeathToll]

Tossing his bangs aside, Joss slowly met Raynor's hand with his own...

"Joss..."

He answered with a single upward nod, trying not to seem too out of place; for these two seemed to have much in common. It would most likely become clear why these two Padawans were on this particular mission, bearing certain meaning to them both in their own ways. Every Jedi must face their own demons within. Some succeed against them. Others...

Seeing how Raynor was eying the weapon alongside his pack, Joss began to wonder if he was properly prepared for this mission; looking down at the dangling hilt of his training saber along the loop of his belt, Joss felt even more inadequate. Well, he thought, this is a mission to bring the lost Padawan back 'alive'. Though, Joss had yet to face any opponent other than well mannered Jedi, as far as he knew.

A thought crept under his skin. Would a dark user of the Force know of Joss' issues? Would he know which buttons to push? Sweat began to bead across his forehead. Then it hit him. The dueling chambers. The worst place for him. The place that held so much curiosity and addiction for him. Where all his aggression had been surfacing as of late. Joss worried about an impending fight. Looking back at his companion and fellow Jedi Padawan, Joss hoped Raynor would be more capable then him. After all, Joss didn't even volunteer for this but was actually sent by his previous Master in hopes of him breaking out of his shell.

...Grabbing his things and nodding to the pilot who instructed them to keep in touch, Joss had but some pouches that he fiddled with to secure onto his belt. Swirling around his large robe as he step down the ramp, Joss slipped his arms through the sleeves and tossed the hood up over his head. Standing outside of the hanger, Joss waited for his companion to stand beside him for a confidence booster as he looked on at all the bustle in and around the facility. Arcing his view up and right, Joss studied the men a tier above them deep in their work on a glittering console.

 

[Rom]

Nodding at the single word response the other Padawan had given him, Raynor simply grabbed his pack and swung it up and over his back and hung the sheathed blade from his belt. Taking note of the other padawan's supplies, Raynor shrugged and attributed his gear to the lack of a powerful weapon like a lightsaber and his training with the other soldiers on Barab 1. The Elders had always taught that it was better to bring something and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Gesturing at the symbol of the Jedi Order resting on Joss's belt, the barabel grinned another toothy grin and said, "This one cannot wait to get to learn to wield a lightsaber. Hopefully we won't need to use our weaponz, but this one hopes you won't mind if I take cover behind you if the blaster boltz start flying."

Raynor wasn't really sure why he was making such an effort to befriend this human, but something in the Force told him that it was the right decision. Closing his eyes as he pulled his hood up over his head and stepped up alongside his fellow Padawn at the top of the boarding ramp, the reptile reached out with his mind to get a sense for the area that they were in,his tail flicking out behind him in agitation. Raynor gritting his fangs in frustration as the thunder echoing in the back of his mind rumbled against the shields of light surrounding his mind. The Dark Side felt stronger here for some reason, and his own darkness seemed to be glorifying in his nervousness and fear.

Shaking his head, Raynor turned his head slightly to the other padawan and muttered softly, "Jozz, this one is curiouz as to how you want to begin the investigation."

 

[DeathToll]

Joss cracked a half smile from underneath the trim of his hair at Raynor's first comment. It seemed Joss wasn't totally stiff. He turned his head to whisper over his shoulder.

"I'll do my best."

As for how they were going to start their investigation, Joss was at a complete loss for words; unable to shut his gaping maw. It seemed that everything stood still in that moment of haze. Even the workers around them started to eyeball the two as if their hesitant manner was an eye-soar amidst the purposeful men. Or perhaps they weren't the first Jedi to come through here. Maybe there had been others who had tried and failed. Joss was still at a loss for words. But, just then, a well-dressed human overseer of sorts surprised them with a stealthy greeting that broke the silence.

"GREETINGS JEDI. Right this way."

Joss looked over to Raynor with concern. The man did not even give his name, but rather spat out the forced welcome and spun away into a speedy walk. Joss wondered how busy a small settlement like this could get. But soon it became clearer as the man skid to a stop right beside a computer terminal. He spun back around to face the two Padawans and blindly tapped the center of the screen with two fingers causing it to wake from its screensaver.

"Here we are. This terminal will give you all the information we have on the missing Padawan as well as some..."

He stopped as he noticed the lost look on Joss' face, and perhaps even on Raynor's. He was moving extremely fast and Joss didn't even realize that anyone would be so prepared as to be briefing him on their mission. The man continued.

"...as well as some locals who've witnessed what our cameras have not. ...You are here for the missing Padawan, yes? Alright then. I must be going, but you can reach me in my office here anytime. Good luck."

Clicking his heals together, the men soon sped off and to work. Joss looked to Raynor and back to the screen before them. Stepping in closer, Joss tapped the upper right corner displaying a picture portrait of a man with the name Saurjun Theegle above it. The portrait zoomed to fill the entire screen that pushed the picture over to the left hand side and filled with letters that seemed to type out the man's official statement as read. Saying something about seeing the Padawan, or so he says, cross through his land after destroying his maintenance droid and flee off further west; Joss wondered more about how much information they had on the subject as a whole.

This was Joss' practiced skill, as he spent much time on his personal computer back at the Temple. Swiping his finger across the screen from left to right, the folder of the man shrunk back into the top right corner thus giving way to a larger index of categorized documents. Navigating through them with ease, Joss found several leads listed; however, he slowed his inspection upon finding the security recording of when the Padawan first arrived on Dantooine. It seemed this was the only recording of the Padawan, lost to a lack of surveillance outside the complex.

"Well, there's two ways we could go."

Joss batted aside his bangs as he addressed Raynor, still not quite able to make direct eye contact for very long if at all.

"There's that land owner who says he saw the missing Padawan and there's a hunter who reported seeing several abandoned speeders at these coordinates."

Joss pointed at the screen which now shown a vague map of the region north-west of here. Either was a possible lead and both weren't entirely solid. But then, as Joss head faced Raynor, his finger accidentally slid down and activated the window to the Padawan's pixelated mugshot taken as he walked through the facility as well as his name.

 

[Rom]

Rolling his eyes at his fellow Padawan as the Supervisor started to walk away, Raynor muttered under his breath, "This one didn't realize that the welcome mat hiz Master spoke of meant that we'd be treated like mud to wipe on the mat." Shaking his head at the rudeness of the busy human, Raynor slid over to the side to watch Joss work on the console, his current technological skill, or lack thereof, making him more of a hindrance than a help if he tried to use the terminal. Looking at the screen and the picture and text files being flashed across the screen in a blur of movement.

Leaning in close to examine the map, Raynor looked at their two leads before turning to Joss, "Might this one suggest that we examine the farmers' lead first? If he was truly there, this one might be able to pick up hiz trail to whatever hole he could be hiding in." Turning his head, Raynor looked the the object of his hunt. The padawan looked to be young, not even an adult in the minds of his fellow humans. To the Barabel though, age was not an indicator of danger. If anything, it could be the most misleading thing of all in a foe.

Pushing away the hunt-glee that pressed at his tightly held mental shields, Raynor turned to Joss and muttered, "Though this one iz very familiar with the Hunt, I do not presume to know what the best approach for dealing with a rogue human is, where he may hide or run or go for supplies. Any ideaz, Jozz?"

 

[DeathToll]

Joss looked back at the screen when he realized that the picture had changed with Raynor's reaction.

"Ferus Cole.."

Joss whispered in a space between his fellow Padawan's words, reading the upper text above the picture. Joss clicked a final key that sent the picture into a sustained rotation, turning the picture of the missing Padawan's head clockwise. Joss turned back to Raynor to agree with starting with the farmer.

"Mmm"

Joss hummed an agreeing tone and nodded his head. They would start with Saurjun Theegle, whose settlement was straight out the back entrance along a skirting path north of here through some hills. The walk could take about two hours.

Joss turned away, rubbing the back of his neck in thought. A chilling spike in reflection made Joss wish he hadn't thought of it, but still gave him course of action in his mind. He began to wonder what he would do, if he searched the dark places of his being. Joss was far from that keen intellectual Jedi who could take charge and follow his instincts, decisive and strong willed. No. Joss was internally contradicting with strife and disbelief. He wanted to retreat inwards, hide in that darkest place, and revel in it.

And then it came to him. He dared not show the courage to jump to conclusion and show any faith in one of his own assumptions to speak it, but indeed believed there would be a Force swelling cave of some sorts out beyond the near settlements. It would have festered with the Darkside and given pause to someone like their missing Padawan. Joss also silently presumed that it would have given a short term boost in power to this failed Padawan. Joss' face shown with worry, revisiting his fear of battling the runaway. Returning to the now of reality and to his companion Raynor, Joss gulped down his nervousness loudly.

"...We should find some speeders."

Having ignored Raynor's last question, Joss hoped to leave the subject of what his mind had created and get moving; which only made him the quieter, dwelling on their eventual destination and conflict: the missing Padawan.

 

[Rom]

Tilting his head slightly to the left, Raynor silently wondered why the other Padawan had ignored his question. Shrugging it off as something that Humans did, the barabel nodded at the suggestion of finding speeders and moved off in the direction of a small information kiosk where a protocol droid stood. Looking over the silver and gold plated droid, Raynor failed to hide a short sissing laughter fit at the thought of his Master and her uneasy feeling bordering on loathing for most droids. Shaking his head to clear his mind of the frivolous thoughts that had taken hold, Raynor slapped a clawed hand down on the table of the Kiosk to get the droids attention.

"This one requestz to know where he could find a speeder to rent." Ignoring the startled fussing of the droid, the reptilian apprentice pretended not to hear the muttered comments about kriffing alien savages from the other humans he had cut in line. The Padwans didn't have time to waste, already their prey had a head start. Pushing down the Hunt-glee, Raynor followed the droid to a few speeders parked outside and picked the fastest one available, the sleek green lines only marred by the two forward blaster cannons sitting on the front. Tossing his pack into the backseat alongside his sword, the Padawan turned to Joss and muttered, "This one haz not had the chance to drive any vehicle outside of a simulator, it may be best for you to drive, Jozz."

 

[DeathToll]

Joss lowered his head unable to face anyone right now, let alone a fellow Padawan; as his fears gave questioning pause to his actions. However, following Raynor over to the kiosk, Joss held back at the end of the line. Almost making a move to Raynor's side at the pound of the reptile's hand on that flat surface, Joss instead caught himself by recoiling his already outstretching hand and covering his mouth with his other hand. He looked around to see who was watching, a bit embarrassed; though, Raynor had good intentions towards their goal.

Catching up with the leading droid, along side Raynor, Joss leaned over to whisper his two cents. It seemed Raynor's loud action gave a boost to Joss' limits in the moment.

"You know, this Padawan's probably come here for a reason."

Joss gave an affirming gesture to Raynor as they equipped themselves onto the speeder and Joss took the controls into hand. The vehicle was thinner than most, but faster; vacant a top cover-shield.

"This Ferus probably isn't going anywhere. Most likely, he's found a niche."

Still whispering, Joss realized that he had just started up the engines and maybe Raynor had not heard that last bit. In fact, Joss hoped Raynor had not heard that last bit, as Joss didn't like the attention of sounding like he knew what he was talking about. Even more so, Joss then tried to act like he didn't quite know what he was doing - driving this thing ...but he did.

Eventually, having set in the coordinates and lifting the lightly weighted speeder off of the ground, Joss looked back to make sure Raynor was settled in and they darted off into the countryside. The Republic-based complex behind them shrunk into the distance and soon swerving through the hillside paths became a bit more engaging.

Odd looking trees filled their new terrain, clustered and twisted together in places, as they passed through the perimeter of one uninvolved settlement. It was clear, the further they flew away from the landing platforms and main complex - the less civilized and technologically driven these settlers had allowed themselves to become. Though another transition of note was also clear, as the settlements also grew heavier looking in the security department the further into the wild they went.

...It had taken them under an hour to reach the desired settlement, having made a slight detour to avoid a small pack of kath hounds, and the engines weren't the loudest as speeders go - though Joss' input in conversation (if there was any) was sparse. Joss was totally unfamiliar with the area and, after parking the speeder, Joss double and triple checked the map layout center screen to make sure he had the right place. Just off of one strangely singular and almost uprooted tree, they stood next to their speeder; the two Padawans had reached a settlement, and were noticeably recognized by the turning scrap-heap cameras of nearly a century old technology.

Joss head slowly turned towards Raynor just as the camera had swiveled towards them, eyes sliding right to meet Raynor's in reaction to the camera-eyes on them.

 

[Rom]

Sitting in quiet contemplation for most of the ride, Raynor tried to keep the puzzled look off of his face as he observed his fellow padawan. To the Barabel's eye, the young human was a mess, one who would probably end up in an asylum for a nervous breakdown within a few years. His mind, on the other hand, told him a much different story. Joss had an air about him as one who tried to portray an act below his ability, to hide who he was and what he was thinking. In their brief time on the planet, the young Jedi had dodged any question that had do to with his own thoughts, but when it came down to his skills with navigating the terminal, his suggestions, and even his quick piloting ability all show-cased a higher than average intellect and a more forceful personality than the young man portrayed.

Shaking his head, and resolving to pull the other padawan out of his shell, Raynor hopped out of the speeder and grabbed his pack and weapon before immediately taking his place alongside Joss and muttered with a friendly grin "Nice skillz, flyboy. You'll have to teach this one on our return trip." Feeling as if he was being watched, the Barabel slowly put his hand on the hilt of his sword as he moved into a position that gave him a view of the surrounding area before calming down as he spotted incredibly old cameras watching them. Pretending to wave at one of them in a friendly manner, hoping that whoever was monitoring them would come out and give them the information they needed, Raynor leaned close to Joss and whispered, "This one has a bad feeling about the welcomez we keep getting on this planet...."

 

[DeathToll]

Joss, frozen along side Raynor in almost a mocking position being caught on camera, managed to crack a smile at the friendly lizard's suggestion of a return trip. It loosened him a bit to think there was anything beyond this upcoming confrontation.

"I-I really just kinda figured it out."

Joss stuttered to cover his reddening face, which usually darkened the large birthmark upon his face uncomfortably more so. Turning back to the settlement, Joss began to wonder why no one had come out to greet them yet; or at least, as Joss actually envisioned it would be, some old coot bursting out with a barrage of why they hadn't come sooner. No. Instead the cameras seemed to be acting on updated software, though the cameras themselves were ancient. Joss again noticed this but spoke nothing. Instead, his eyes simply squinted along with a coupled single twitch of his dominant right hand.

Almost looking back at Raynor, Joss instead swirled his head around - as if to say 'come on', and began creeping closer towards the strangly hesitant facility. Small double-sided satellite dishes spun around atop tall skinny metal rods above their heads as they passed, shrieking a high pitched grinding sound every revolution; a chorus sound of many satellites making the same killer noise, as they drew closer to the main home unit of the complex. Passing the rumbling hum of one generator to their right, it seemed like there was some loose part within being battered back and forth. All of these things gave off a peculiar tone to this place, as if things were just let go without the required maintenance; but still, Joss thoughts lingered on the cameras and what he could tell to be high-tech software installs. Either this land owner was cheap but knowledgeable or something else happened, and he may not be here any more. Maybe Joss was wrong, but he was hesitant regardless.

Stepping into the shade of the side arches stemming from the main entrance, Joss held at an angled approach with his hands almost crossed but by no means ready to grab his training saber. He still had yet to have ingrained that instinct into usefulness. But there they were, and the camera hanging over the door held right onto them; 'held' being the operative word, as it looked as if it might fall off of its strung shabby attachment any second.

Unsure and unwilling to simply try the entrance first, trusting in his worries, Joss instead slowly lifted a finger that buzzed the ringer. A slight delay led to a harmonious chime that jingled throughout the complex within, though they were able to barely hear it from outside the door. Joss looked back to where he expected Raynor to be, where he gave a curious glance as he wished to say something along the lines of 'well... that works' - because things weren't looking so easy for them just yet. It seemed Raynor was correct about the continuous pattern of greetings they would receive this day.

About sixty seconds went by, twenty of those being the time length of the chime within, and Joss had no idea what to do as no one had yet answered...

 

[Rom]

Sissing in good humored laughter at the blushing Padawan, Raynor moved alongside him cautiously, his eyes wary for any trap that may lay in wait for them to stumble upon. Looking around the area, the reptilian Jedi attempted to wave his hands in front of the camera mounted above the door, hoping that he'd get the attention of whoever was inside so they would let them in. Standing out in the open like this made him nervous. Quirking his brow at the sight of the machinery being in such bad shape, Raynor mussed outloud "It'z almost as if the owner just disappeared and let the place fall apart..."

Thumping his tail on the ground out of impatience after a full minute had passed without an answer, Raynor turned to Joss and muttered, "This one suspectz that we are being ignored... perhaps this one should go look for an unlocked side door or window?" While he wasnt exactly comfortable with the idea of breaking into a strange human's house, Raynor continued to operate on the idea that the prey would keep moving and the more time they wasted, the farther the prey would escape to.

 

[DeathToll]

"O-Oh. Okay."

Joss agreed, if only it meant he got to stay put. He wasn't much of an adventurer at this point and reached back to try the ringer once more, and once more no answer. Though instantly, Joss shrunk his head into his shoulders with a jerk as he felt the sound of running footsteps within the halls of the complex through his youthful connection to the Force. And in that instant, if Raynor had not yet gone around to look for that other entrance, Joss' eyes would have shot up to meet Raynor's; as a proven fact of most Jedi was their commonality in feeling the ripples in the living Force. Basically, if Joss felt it then Raynor must have felt it.

There was someone inside, and they must have heard Raynor's words of finding a way in... or something worse; but Joss was soon becoming known to himself as favoring the worse. But there was no time to think. Instead Joss reacted. Whether Raynor had already gone round to the back or side or wherever that next entrance was or not, Joss blasted off into a sprint that would reach along side his companion.

"Quick! Get to the next door!"

Joss wasn't the break-em-in type either, nor did he share Raynor's beliefs of their target's movements (though he could be wrong), but it was now or never as far as he could tell. So Joss would either reach the next doorway just after Raynor did, or just before; and there they would plow that barrier down ...by force or wit it was comin' down.

 

[Rom]

Jerking his head to the side at the sudden warning he sensed through the Force, Raynor nodded once at Joss and sprinted along side him to a door he had already marked as a likely candidate along the side of the enclave, sitting just off a balcony on the second story. Pushing a little bit of the force into his legs to increase his speed, the barabel leapt up onto the balcony, his claws digging into the stone work to pull himself up. Reaching down with a clawed hand to help boost Joss up, Raynor pulled the other padawan up into the cover and immediately leaned his back against the wall, motioning for Joss to do the same. Unless someone came out of the door next to them, they should be in complete cover from any of the camera's or the person who had been running for the door.

The Padawan didn't know why the feeling had felt dangerous, but he trusted the warning the force gave them and it ended up being the right thing to do. Moving in a line out of the front door and fanning out around the property, a series of silver colored battle droids were being led by a man he recognized as the farmer who had filed the complaint. Cursing under his breath at the realization that things had just gotten far more dangerous, Raynor turned to Joss and reached out with his mind, trying to telepathically send his plan into the other Padawan's mind.

"This one suggests that we get into the house and one neutralize the computer controlling the battle droidz alongside whoever is still in the house while the other make a run for the front entrance and lock it down, holding the door until the droids are deactivated." Looking at his fellow Padawan, Raynor continued, "This one is most familiar with battle and does not know how to use a computer... it'z up to you to deactivate the droidz as quickly as possible while this one holdz them off."

 

[DeathToll]

The Barabel skilfully lept up to the balcony and their hands slapped together, Joss having jumped behind to catch palms and pull him up along side Raynor. The heat was about to turn up.

Joss gulped into a hiccup of nervousness, then finally agreed to nod to the plan. Brushing aside the hair in his face, Joss was a bit thankful that he was the one best suited for computers and wouldn't have to face the droids head on; though he did worry about Raynor. What Joss wasn't sure of was how he was about to b-line it for the door beneath them. He could have turned to the door they now sat against and took the time to hack it open, but time was not something they had. While the grumbling man turned to form his troops up, he'd soon realize there was no person in sight and head straight back into his fortress for more surveillance. That being said, Joss looked back at his new friend with a look of fear and anticipation.

Jerking his head to signal for the go, Joss shot up and over the balcony with a single supported hand - legs lifting up bent together sideways; hanging on for dear life, Joss would slingshot himself around and down straight into the line of the doorway and behind the main force of droids with their backs turned. With his signal, Joss hoped that Raynor knew what Joss was doing and as well hoped that he'd be enough of a diversion for Raynor to take advantage of until those machines could be deactivated.

The farmer was obviously a coward, but as well was he extremely suspicious and prepared - borderline schizo . The slightly obese and scruffy human held his remote to much of his controls, though that would soon cease if Joss had anything to say about it.

Having rolled down straight into a sprint for the door, Joss slid into the open entrance to dodge any incoming fire should he be spotted prematurely. And just as he expected, pulsing red stripes flew overhead and past his ears as he barely made it in in-time. Leaving the door open and unattended, Joss figured it best to allow some droids come after him should Raynor allow it, in order to split the main group; as he held that sprint as fast as he could to shut down the battle droids. Little did he know, there was more waiting within than he thought.

 

[Rom]

Grinning at the audacity of his fellow padawan's plan, Raynor nodded and threw himself off of the balcony to land infront of the door just behind Joss. Gathering the Force into both palms, Raynor crossed his arms and then swung them out in a wide frontal arc, pushing as much telekinetic energy as he could at the droids and the man turning to face him, hoping to distract them so Joss could get inside safely. Cursing as less than half of the enemies were thrown further back into the courtyard, Raynor rolled backwards into the house and and went to slap the door controls shut only to have them melted to slag by a blaster bolt, the door grinding to a halt barely halfway closed.

Pushing off his pack and cloak, the reptilian padawan called on the Force for aid, smiling as he felt the energy fill him to the core. Drawing his vibrosword and grinning widely as he embraced the hunt glee, only pausing to push away the hate and leaving him with his innate aggression as a tool to use to his advantage. This was one of the techniques his Master had suggested, and Raynor was excited to see if it would work. Holding his sword diagonally across his body, Raynor dove forward into the breach of the door as the blaster fire abated to allow the droids to enter the house, his blade swinging high in a decapitating swing towards one droids head as he lashed out with his tail, knocking another two off their feet. Ducking and weaving through the occasional blasterfire while lashing out against the droids with force enhanced strength, the Reptilian Jedi surrendered himself to the will of the Force with his last thought being directed at the other padawan.

"This one wishez you luck, Jozz."

 

[DeathToll]

"...You too Raynor."

Joss spoke out-loud to himself, having not the allowed ability to telepathically return the gesture to his fellow Padawan in the Force. But just as he focused on whether or not he should make the effort anyway, his feet switched sideways skidding to a halt as three battle droids stand in waiting at the end of the hall. They turned, snapping to the fight and opened fire from a distance, as Joss finally took one of the doorways that had been sliding open as he passed.

Diving sideways into an open door, Joss found himself in a long hallway of a simple white-washed rectangular room. It was strange, but he was out of the line of fire. Seeing another door across the room to his diagonal, he figured there wasn't much time before the droids reached him; but, as soon as he stepped two feet in, his heart sunk into the pit of his stomach.

With a heightened sense, Joss' head snapped left as he witnessed the door slam shut with the beeping sounds of a security lock going online. Frozen in his steps, his head whipped back right to see his fears come to fruition at the end of the hall as two large cylindrical nodes lifted from the floor.

The plated shafts extended one segment at a time, the two turrets still facing each other until full extension; and so Joss had no other choice... but to charge. His boots squeaked as he pushed off from the waxed floor, pounding into a dash for his life again. He squeezed tight every part of his body that he could in anticipation of the end, watching the turrets turn towards him as fast as they could. And he was running straight for them.

"rrrrrRRRRRAAAAAAHH!!"

Joss held a scream as he passed the center of the long hall and the turrets had already blasted a rocking crossfire that scorched the walls before him, as if they couldn't wait to turn all the way to char his corpse directly. But as those turrets had finally reached him, it was as if all were in slow motion; and Joss abound with adrenaline.

Skipping into a punch off of the floor, Joss soared up and over another crossing line of fire; the turrets adjusted upwards to follow Joss' arc through the air. But in that split millisecond, as Joss rotated over his head, his arms shot out in response to the adjusting turrets as they sounded malfunctioning joints unallowing for full rotation and were repeatedly hitting a glitch - until Joss flew right between the two turrets. The turrets spun inwards from freedom and blasted off two shots each with a purpose, and two explosions nearly engulfed that end of the hall.

Emerging in a single knee crouch upon both hands and a ducked head with his eyes closed, Joss stood to look right... then left. The two turrets had destroyed each other as he passed between, and poor Joss was shaking from the experience and panting heavy breaths.

But his recouping moment was cut off by a single pound at the door which he had entered. Joss flinched at the noise and turned towards his new exit. The door had slid open half way from the blasts that disrupted the control panel. Joss squeezed through and into the next room. ...He really needed to figure out where he was going.

 

[Rom]

As he thrust his vibrosword through the weak metal chasis of the battle droid directly behind him and dropped into a spinning sweep with his tail to knock down the droids trying to back him into a corner, Raynor couldn't ignore the idea of taking a few terminal tutorials incase he made it back to the Temple alive so he wouldn't be in a situation like this again. Lucky for the Barabel padawan, the old model droids were using extremely old blaster pistols and rifles, his keratin scales taking a few hits through his clothes leavingt behind no would but a sharp burning sensation. Ducking down behind the alclove infront of the front door, Raynor reached out with the force and depressed the button of a thermal det magnetized to the body of an approaching droid and sissing in quiet laughter as the resulti explosion wiped out three of the battle droids moving in to surround him. Enveloping his body in the almost loving warmth of the Force, Raynor darted out of his cover to renew the assault, smiling a wicked grin as the farmer called for more droids to make their way back from the patrols on his land. Hopefully his distraction was helping Joss, but for now Raynor had to deal with the heavy repeater bolts flying towards him from the farmers weapon.

Crying out in pain as a wild shot managed to slam into one of the already weakened scales along the base of his tail, Raynor starred at the smoking wound for a moment before narrowing his eyes into slits and growling in the back of his throat, fangs bared. Reaching out with the force, Raynor brutually wrenched the rifle from the farmers grip, trying unsuccessfully to push away the feeling of satisfaction at the sound of breaking bones. Tossing his sword into the door behind him with a flick of his eyes, Raynor reached out and caught the rifle in his arms, immediately bringing the powerful weapon to bear on the fast approaching droids. The reptilian Jedi fired until the pack overheated and threw the weapon away, pausing only to raise his middle claw at the massing droids before running back into the house, grabbing his sword as he slid into the homestead and darted around the left hallway, making sure to stay in sight long enough for some droids to see him and begin the chase in the direction away from Joss. As he planned his first trap involving the balcony above the descending stairwell, Raynor could only hope Joss was having more luck than he was.

 

[DeathToll]

Slamming his shoulder into a wall of cased disks upon shelves that were sent everywhere with a splash of force, Joss found himself navigating the internal workings of the complex like a maze. If he went right, then the next door led left; and over and over he found himself zigzagging in u-turn after u-turn, only running from those blasted droids. They followed him at every turn, and just when he thought he lost them - a lone droid would randomly be waiting around the next corner.

"How many droids does this guy have??"

Joss pleaded to himself, shoving off the shelves and slamming into the next door panel with his shoulder and opposing palm. The door slid open, but so did the door behind him. They had found a way around him! He was trapped!

There were three doors in this new room: one in front and behind, as well as the one he had just entered from now to his left. But as soon as he stepped through and into the room, there was no time to react as the other doors opened simultaneously. Joss immediately darted over to the door in front of him with a droid entering and opening fire there, but ran up the wall - he pushed off to the next wall with one step and lept out with a surprising slash from his activating training saber at the droid entering from behind him. Managing only to batter the joints of that droid with the low intensity beam, Joss rolled down to the floor beneath it and swept around his splitting legs that dropped the droid to its sparking face. Quicker still, Joss just barely avoided a shot from the first droid with his fluid movements; spinning around into another roll right up into the first droid's face with a swiping uppercut again with the training saber, dislodging the neck joint and paralyzing the droid into a spasm that shot out a blast of its gun right passed Joss' twisting shoulder.

Joss immediately turned around to see his end, but realized the smoking mark across the other droid's chassis. This one had shot the other one. Joss nearly blew from a mixed exhale of a single laugh and a loss for words. Spinning back towards his intended direction, Joss elbow slammed the first droid's head into the doorway to get through; then, turning around to finish it, Joss hit the door controls that slammed shut and crushed the droid's head in it's track.

Joss then took a deep breath, deactivated his training saber, and wished he knew where he was going...

"Ha!"

Perfect! There before him was a core of computers all hardwired together, possibly even the main security controls; Joss wasn't sure. But in any event, he could at least find out where he needed to go. Joss practically jumped onto the keys and began speed typing through the system. It seemed this farmer didn't have company, because he had almost no access security put up for this base computer or master link. Becoming more and more annoyed with how many subsections and unorganized folders there were, Joss flipped lightspeed fast through each overlapping window. Time was of the essence.

"Yes!"

Flashing bars surrounded the images of a row of droids and Joss double clicked on highlighted bars, switching them off. Though at first Joss thought he had deactivated the droids, he found it only allowed security access. No doubt the farmer would have noticed from this that someone else was in his system. The images of the droids were still lit, so Joss clicked on the weapons next which then were no longer lit. Joss figured he had deactivated the droid's weaponry, but not the droids themselves. This led to what Raynor might find to be quite funny, as Joss began clicking on every limb he could - possibly deactivating and reactivating certain parts of each droid's bodies. It was an old system. Joss would have to figure it out...