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[Zana Ari]

It was late at night when most of the Jedi in the temple were asleep. While most Jedi were content with potlucks and singing around a fire, Zana was growing more and more frustrated with her lack of a master and going on missions. Hallowe’en brought with it a lot of mischief around the galaxy, and that meant most of the Knights and Masters were on duty elsewhere. Many of the other padawans were either having some sort of little party or asleep.

This meant that it was perfect time for Zana to falsely clock herself in for lights out in the dormitories before she found a way to sneak out. The ship bays were largely empty and no one was patrolling it for now, and she decided she would find a way to sneak into one and fly off the planet.

Her biggest obstacle? She was entirely too short to climb out of the window to make a discreet escape. The twi’lek looked over her shoulder a few times to make sure no one was looking before jumping up again and failing the grasp the edge of the windowsill. She didn’t dare use the Force - with her intentions and lack of mastery with the Force, any Knight would be able to detect her within a second.

Cursing under her breath, she stood silently in the hallway, contemplating her predicament. After a moment of thinking, she began to walk towards one of the training rooms, hoping to find a box or crate to push to the side of the window and climb up. The hallway was dark, the entire wing of the temple completely dark except for the windows that bathed the floors in moonlight.

Zana was determined to get out one way or another, and she only had precious moments before she was caught.

@Altaris

 

[Thelian Lsai]

While most of the temple was asleep by now, Thelian was wide awake within his dormitory – silver eyes staring up at a completely blank spot on the ceiling for what felt like – and probably was – hours. It had been a few weeks since the invasion of Dantooine, and since the Echani had been released from the medbay – most of his injuries having healed over and scarred by this point, revealing that the remnants of Senin's lightning were there to stay.

While time might’ve passed, Thelian still struggled to put the entire experience behind him. Seeds of doubt planted by Raze had only grown and festered, gnawing at the Echani’s mind as he went about his duties at the temple. His sleep was troubled by reoccurring visions of that day – of the precise moment Aadya’s blade had pierced into his shoulder. The invasion lingered on his mind, and the entire situation was made inexplicably worse by seemingly everyone around him.

It seemed like every time he turned a corner, someone was waiting for him – appearing out of thin air like something out of a Hallowe’en classic – only to barrage him with unwelcome questions about him the battle, or how he was feeling, or details about what happened to Jedi Master Grayza. While his peers had every reason to be curious, the endless, unwelcome questions had become nothing more than a source of unyielding frustration for Thelian. As a result, The last Padawan who jumped him had been greeted with nothing but silence from the Echani. Silence, and a particular unpolite finger gesture. It was additionally why Thelian recently had started to avoid all those little Hallowe’en parties and potlucks like AMS.

The combination of factors had all started to take a toll on the boy, and it led Thelian to finally decide - after hours staring at the ceiling - to vent his stress the best way he knew how. By pounding his fists against something.

Not wanting to draw any attention to himself, Thelian waited until all the others were asleep or otherwise pre-occupied before sneaking away, making his way through the dark, empty hallways until he reached one of the training rooms. He didn’t even bother grabbing his saber or usual tunic, merely opting for a pair of shorts, tanktop and sneakers. Once he arrived, the Echank even bother with lighting up the majority of the facility, merely flicking on the overhead lights directly above the assortment of punching bags and boxing equipment.

Roughly two hours passed before Thelian finally stepped away from the punching bag he had decided to abuse, taking a moment to catch his breath and take a swig of water. A thin sheen of sweat coated his pale skin, and his snow-white hair was messily matted down to his forehead. A quick glance up towards the clocks revealed that it was time to get going – Thelian very much wanting to avoid being caught using the facility during the middle of the night. Grabbing a towel to wipe his face, Thelian began to make his way towards the exit of the training room.

Just as Zana was approaching.

@Sreeya

 

[Zana Ari]

Zana was getting more and more anxious as she made her way towards the training room. Every now and then she heard someone’s voice or some kind of noise that caught her attention. The twi’lek shuffled along quickly down the corridor where the windows were closed and the light was insufficient. She knew where the room was by memory alone, and she hoped it would be a quick in and out without anyone noticing.

Of course, the constant glancing over her shoulder and her quick shuffling cost her. Without warning, Zana ran fully into the figure that was coming in the opposite direction, colliding dramatically with the padawan’s chest. It was enough to send her stumbling back and she barely managed to stay on her feet.

“I’m so sorry Master-” She began with a singsong voice before squinting to look at who would be writing her up. She quickly realized it was a padawan. Not only that, but it was the infamous Lsai, the dude that socked a Sith in the face. While under other circumstances, she would have fangirled a little, she was on a mission and he was quite literally a solid wall in the way.

“Watch where you’re going!” She snapped at him with a complete change of tone of her voice, “Padawans aren’t supposed to be out of bed right now,” She said bossily as she began to shuffle around him and towards the training room, completely pretending as if she herself wasn't a padawan as well.

“And take a shower,” She called out behind herself. The dude smelled terrible.

@Altaris

 

[Thelian Lsai]

Thelian began to make his way towards the exit of the training room, laying the towel onto the back of his neck once he was finished wiping his face. There was a decidedly moody expression on his face at that moment, and it would’ve been clear to anyone, had they seem him, that the Echani wasn’t exactly thrilled about returning to his quarters.

While some of his peers found catharsis through meditation or socializing with others, Thelian wasn’t a particular fan of either. Instead, exercise was one of the few things that allowed the Echani to completely clear his mind – banishing all the doubts and memories that haunted him while pouring his energy into training.

If it weren’t for a risk of being caught past curfew, the Echani would’ve burned another few hours within the facility – wailing against the punching bag or utilizing the free weights until exhaustion finally caught up with him. Collapsing into the pillows and falling asleep would be so easy then.

Instead, he knew the next few hours would be spent staring at that same spot on the ceiling, lost in his own thoughts, before sleep finally claimed him.

As it so happened, Thelian wasn’t really watching where he was going either. Silver eyes were fixated downward and onto the boxing wraps in his hands, slowly working to wind them back up into a tight bundle. He passed through the door and into the dark hallway without even looking.

Without warning, Thelian collided directly into another figure – feeling as someone much shorter than him slammed into his chest. While he wasn’t sent stumbling back nearly as much as Zana was, the sudden collision caused the Echani to fumble his hands.

As a result, the boxing wrap slipped free from his fingers, landing on the ground in front of him. The wrap comically began rolling between Zana’s legs, completely unraveling as it traveled down the hallway and into the darkness. Thelian immediately squinted at the sight.

It was going to take him several minutes to do that again.

Only after a few seconds did he turn to look at the woman in front of him. The moonlight shining in from one of the windows served to lightly illuminate their features. To his relief, the figure in front of him wasn’t a Temple Guard or a Jedi Knight, but another Padawan.

He blinked a few times. “What the hell you snapping at me for? You walked into me.” He snapped back, silver eyes narrowing upon the Twi’lek. That was a fairly arguable statement, but that didn’t stop Thelian from making it.

“Yeah,” He replied nonchalantly to her second comment, raising a brow slightly. “So what does that make you, the fuckin’ Grandmaster herself?” He declared flatly, gazing at her with deadpan expression. If he wasn’t supposed to be out, neither was she. Much to her likely annoyance, Thelian stepped back in front of his fellow Padawan, arching a brow. “The hell are you going, anyway? And don’t say to use the weight-room.”

He paused at her last comment, blinking a few times to glance down at his sweaty clothes. He narrowed his eyes a bit as he swiped the towel that was laying around his neck. He proceeded to run the fabric under his arms and across the rest of his damp skin.

“I smell fine.”

@Sreeya

 

[Zana Ari]

Zana didn’t miss boxing wraps dropping and unraveling. Before they could traverse the length of the hallway, she quickly stomped her foot on it. However, she was beyond shocked when he abruptly moved to stand in her way. Not only that, but he was cursing worse than space pirates. Her face scrunched up in disapproval as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“And why wouldn’t I use the weight room?” She shot back icily, “Is it because I’m a girl?” She was getting beyond irritated now. The fact that he was casually standing there wiping off his pits in front of her certainly didn’t help matters.

“I bet that Sith smashed his own nose in after smelling your nasty stench from a mile away,” Zana glared at him for a moment, practically fuming as she stood there, “Now get out of my way, you anemic freak.”

With that, she used the Force to lift up the boxing wrap into her hand. She tossed it at him to amplify her mean remarks. However, she forgot she had stepped on parts of it, so she instead watched as it pathetically flew halfway between them and sadly fell to the floor between them both. Zana looked down at the ground and blinked a few times.

Before she could come up with any follow up remarks, she heard a door open nearby. Panic flashed in her eyes as she moved to physically shove Thelian out of the way so she could run into the training room to hide.

@Altaris

 

[Thelian Lsai]

Despite whatever Zana intended, Thelian couldn’t help but grimace when she decided to stomp on his boxing wraps – physically cringing at the sight. While most people would’ve simply seen them as throw-away items that only lasted a couple months at best, they were far more meaningful to the Echani.

Truth be told, Thelian hadn’t actually owned much over the course of his life. The few things he did own, largely, had been granted to him by the Jedi order – from the clothes on his back to the commlink on his wrist. Those boxing wraps – which were a bit higher quality than the standard pair - happened to be one of the few things he had actually saved up his allowance from the Order to buy for himself.

And now he had to deal with Zana embedding her boot treads into the fabric.

He exhaled softly, silver eyes flicking back up to the Twi’lek when she snapped back at him. He blinked a few times, arching a brow. “Because you’re a girl? No.” He replied flatly, looking thoroughly unamused with the implication. As he spoke, the Echani continued to wipe his pits off with the towel, raising each arm above his head as he did so. “Because your wearing fuckin’ travel boots instead of gym shoes. Which are going to be shit if your doing any squats or deadlifts because they restrict ankle mobility.” He nearly started to grumpily pointing out other reasons why he guessed she wasn’t about to hit the weights, only to be interrupted when she spoke again.

“I knocked the shit out of him because he was being a fucking creep and wanted to give me a kiss.” He declared with deadpan expression.

Thelian glared daggers at the Twi’lek, his jaw setting tightly when she lobbed that particular insult. Given his Echani physiology, it was far from the first time he’d heard something along those lines. As a child, the ‘anemic’ and ‘albino’ jokes were practically endless. As such, Thelian responded in the same way he usually did – by proudly presenting her an extended middle finger. “Up yours.” He muttered.

He kept his arms crossed over his chest after that, watching as she decided to throw his beloved boxing wraps back at him. He blinked a few times, silver eyes following the fabric as they pathetically fell onto the floor between them. Thelian stared for a second before looking up at Zana, his mouth opening to speak.

Before he could, however, Thelian was interrupted by the sound of a door opening nearby. Silver eyes immediately went wide with panic, unable to see who it was that was about to round the corner. “Shit.” He muttered under his breath, just as Zana pushed past him to hide in the training room.

Unsurprisingly, the Echani did exactly the same thing – quickly spinning on a heel to follow her back the way he came. Unfortunately, all the shuffling with the boxing wraps had somehow managed to get the damn things caught up underneath his feet. As such, the moment Thelian attempted to shuffle quickly into the training room, the Echani unceremoniously fell forward, smacking his forehead on the ground and causing a fairly loud crash to echo through the halls.

“Fuck!” He growled under his breath, pushing himself back to his feet. He reached out with the Force, pulling the unraveling boxing wraps back into his hands before running into the training room after Zana. Once he was inside, the Echani abruptly grabbed her by the wrist. “Come on.” He dragged her towards the locker room of the facility, thinking that was that was about the best place to hide from any patrolling guards.

“I am not getting caught because of your shrimp-ass.”

 

[Zana Ari]

Zana eyed him curiously as he almost had a pained expression from seeing her still stepping on the wrap. Regardless of how infuriating he was, she still stepped off it almost involuntarily. When he casually rattled off his reasons for her not going weight lifting, she opened and closed her mouth rapidly a few times. There was a deep purple tint to her blue cheeks as she managed to get out some incoherent noises as a response. He had completely caught her in her bullshit act and she had absolutely no defense.

She scrunched up her nose as he was entirely nonchalant about drying himself off, now lifting up his arms to thoroughly wipe off his pits. What the hell was this guy’s deal?! He acted like a hobo off the street and like someone that ought to have been sleeping outside. Even then, she couldn’t deny that he had a rather defined physique. All that flexing and moving his arms around caught her attention perhaps a bit more than she would ever admit. Her rage at him quickly washed all that way, especially when he shined light on what happened with the Sith.

“He did what?” Zana blurted out, disgust clearly seeping into her tone. Her eyes grew wide, and she suddenly felt terrible for her comments earlier. It was even enough to where she simply stared blankly at his rather rude hand gesture.

The interruption meant she was bolting on her way to the training room. She heard a heavy thud behind her, cursing as she realized the moron was only exacerbating the situation. Zana skidded to a halt as she looked around inside the training room. There was nothing but darkness and BO in there, and she was quickly beginning to panic. She could already hear multiple sets of footsteps down the hallway.

When Thelian abruptly grabbed her wrist, she had to clap hand to her face to suppress the yelp that escaped her. Zana was practically dragged away, almost stumbling a few times as he led her to the locker room. Once they were inside, Zana dropped down to a low crouch to hide. She could hear footsteps shuffling around.

Zana looked around for a moment before scowling at Thelian as she whispered angrily, “This is the women’s locker room!” She hissed at him, “You can’t be in here!” She said accusingly, as if he hadn’t been the entire reason for her narrowly avoiding being caught.

“Did you hear anything?”

“I thought so, a loud thud. But I don’t see anyone.”

“Ugh is it those kids having another stupid potluck?”

“Please no, I can’t stand that shit anymore. If I have to practice Heal on another padawan because their friend undercooked expired bantha meat, I’m going to launch myself in front of Raze.”

“Too soon man, can’t be making jokes about Raze like that..”

The twi’lek blinked a few times, unsure whether to laugh or be horrified. She looked over at Thelian, blinking a few more times. After her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she pointed to another entrance to the locker room that led out to a back corridor. She slowly began to move, urging the Echani to follow. After she cracked the door open, she slinked out quietly till she saw a window.

“Can you give me a boost?” She asked quietly, pointing up to the window.

@Altaris

 

[Thelian Lsai]

Thelian was completely oblivious to any of Zana’s disgust as he wiped off his pits, alternating between arms with a completely blank expression. He quite frankly didn’t see anything wrong with that he was doing. And wasn’t she just complaining about him being all sweaty anyway?

Additionally, he was - unsurprisingly - entirely unaware of how his flexing and stretching might’ve caught her attention. The Echani proceeded to throw the sweaty towel over the back of his neck when he was finished, giving her even more reason to compare him to a hobo, while additionally hauling the sweat-soaked fabric around for Force only knows what reason.

The sudden sounds from down the hall entirely caught Thelian off-guard, resulting in his unceremonious fall to the ground. There was a decidedly grumpy expression on Thelian’s face when he rose up from the ground – knowing full well that Zana had just seen him eat shit.

He didn’t say anything, of course.

Stepping into the gym, Thelian looked entirely unphased. He was completely used to the smell, and knew the layout of the facility when if the lights were off. As such, he led Zana down a few turns until he reached the women’s locker room, hiding them both behind a row of lockers.

Thelian blinked a few times when Zana spoke, staring at her almost dumbfounded. “First of all,” He muttered quietly, looking slightly irritated. “It’s literally 2:30 in the morning. There is absolutely no one changing.” He snaped back quietly. “Second of all, I could’ve dragged your ass into the men’s locker room instead. In which case I’m sure you would’ve had an internal crisis the moment you saw some dudes spare boxers.”

The Echani was cut off as the footsteps drew closer, immediately going silent as his body tensed. He was fully prepared to book it down the corridor in case things went south – ditching Zana and bolting down the hall before the guards could identify him. Luckily, the lazy bastards didn’t investigate further.

Instead, Thelian couldn't help but grow physically tense at the off-hand comments from the Knights. While the sentiment about the potlucks was something the Echani could actually agree with, the comment about Raze struck a nerve with the Padawan. He had, for a moment, been able to completely forget about Dantooine, only to be reminded of the entire ordeal by the patrolling Jedi. While he was deathly silent, Zana would none-the-less see the way his fingers curled and his jaw set tightly.

Thelian glanced down at Zana before nodding, following the twi’lek as she made her way towards the back corridor and through the door. When she finally gestured to the window, Thelian crossed arms over his chest. “Fuckin’ knew it.” He declared smugly.

“So, are you going to tell me where the hell you’re going? Or do I need to keep guessing?” He spoke softly, jutting his chin towards the window as he walked over to it. As soon as Zana followed him, Thelian unceremoniously reached down and grabbed her by the hips, lifting her up off the ground and above his head. He had developed some strength through training, and Zana wasn’t exactly heavy.

As soon as she was lifted, Zana would be able to see the ship bay just on the other side of the window. While the area was mostly abandoned, there were none the less a few guards wandering through the area. Any attempts at escaping on one of the ships would require being exceptionally careful to avoid patrols.

Just then, they would both be able to hear footsteps down the hall once again.

@Sreeya

 

[Zana Ari]

Zana’s face flushed just from the mere mention of spotting spare boxers. As much as she wanted to slap Thelian, she couldn’t deny he was probably right. In comparison, he appeared entirely unfazed by the fact that he was surrounded by strewn bras and panties here and there. She eyed him suspiciously. Why was he not alarmed?

She didn’t miss how he tensed when Raze was mentioned. He was perhaps one of the rare examples of a Jedi that was in the presence of the infamous Sith Lord and still lived another day. The mere thought of facing him sent a shiver up her spine. She could still remember Ajan Kloss, even though that was many years ago now.

The twi’lek froze when she realized he saw right through her bullshit again. She had intended the window exit to be part of just escaping the Knights. However, he picked up right away that she had a greater plan all along. She began to fumble out a lame response when he abruptly grasped her by the hips to lift her up. Zana involuntarily yelped at this, having expected the boost to be one of those types where she stepped on his hand. She had no time to lecture him on this, face completely flushed as she frantically reached for the windowsill to hoist herself up. She landed on the other side, moving over to the side for when Thelian inevitably followed.

Zana gazed at the bay and exhaled as she turned to face the Echani, “Look man, I’m about to do something incredibly stupid,” She admitted flatly, “You’ve already been through a lot and are probably dealing with a lot of emotional baggage and body odor, so I think-” Her very grand and illustrious lecture was abruptly cut short as the footsteps drew closer.

“Crap!” She hissed as she bolted into a run. It was her turn to grab him by the wrist as she ducked to the side and made a beeline for a nearby boulder to drop behind. There was a Knight patrolling the area, but he paused every now and then to text on his datapad. He had a very goofy grin on his face, suggesting that he was likely conversing with someone he fancied.

Zana turned to look at Thelian, “Make some sort of distraction noise. You know, a bird noise like in the Holomovies!” It was a brilliant plan. It worked in the movies all the time.

@Altaris

 

[Thelian Lsai]

Thelian caught the clear flush on the Zana’s face when he mentioned spare boxers, earning a roll of the Echani’s eyes. In all honesty, sweaty boxers were probably the most tame thing about the men’s locker room, and yet it got her flustered all the same. In contrast, Despite being surrounded by panties and bras, Thelian managed to maintain an entirely straight face - seemingly unphased by his surroundings.

What Zana probably didn’t realize was this was a concerted effort. The Echani purposefully attempted to ignore any of the women’s clothing that was left strewn about the locker room. Despite what might’ve been going on in his head, absolutely nothing manifested on the surface. His attention was drawn away entirely by the comments about Raze, successful in bringing back that grumpy, frigid expression to his lips.

Were he not actively attempting to keep out of sight, the Echani was tempted to give that knight in particular a piece of his mind.

There was an exceptionally smug expression on the Echani’s lips, very much aware of the twi’lek’s frozen expression. He still haven’t the slightest idea where she was going, but he was fairly confident that she was trying to leave the temple. He simply shook his head, moving to lift the twi’lek.

Once again, the Echani seemed entirely oblivious when he grabbed Zana by the hips, hoisting her up onto the windowsill. He never caught the flush against the twi’lek’s cheeks, and it took the Padawan a solid fifteen seconds to think about his hand placement. He blinked a few times, staring blankly at the wall in front of him.

Considering that Zana hadn’t said anything, Thelian merely shrugged and focused upon getting himself over the ledge.

Surprisingly, the Echani wasn’t the first thing to make it to the other side. Instead, without any warning, Thelian chucked his gym towel to the other side of the window - still refusing to leave behind any evidence of being there. Unless Zana actively moved, the towel soaked with pit-sweat would land directly onto her shoulder. Thelian didn’t delay after that, jumping up and hoisting himself onto the windowsill, landing onto the other side with a dull thud.

There was a completely deadpan expression on the Echani’s face when she was saying all of this, his arms gradually coming up to cross over his chest. “I’m doing just fi--” He was immediately cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps, followed by Zana dragging his pale ass into a nearby boulder.

He peaked around the boulder, catching sight of the Jedi Knight with that goofy grin on his face. It was an expression that gave the Echani momentary pause before Zana finally spoke, causing him to blink a few times. “You fucking kidding, right?”

There was an exceptionally grumpy look on his face, but what other option did he have? After an audible groan, Thelian cupped his hands in front of his face - making the least convincing bird noise in the galaxy.

“BAH-CAW!”

The entire ship bay was quiet, and the Jedi Knight paused his texting to look right in their direction. He couldn’t see the padawans, but the weird-ass noise had clearly come from that area. Suddenly looking very interested, the Knight began to make his way over.

“Shit.” Echani muttered. Without a second thought, the Echani reached out with the Force, seizing a small stone from somewhere on the ground. He flicked his wrist, sending the stone to collide right into the man's temple. As soon as the stone made contact, the Knight buckled sideways - falling unconscious into a bush to break his fall.

Thelian narrowed his eyes, peaking around the boulder. He knew that besides having a major headache, the man would be perfectly fine within a few minutes. “There, the fucker is distracted. Now lets go.”

He still didn’t know where they were going.

@Sreeya

 

[Zana Ari]

Zana almost gave their position away from the disgusted reaction she had from the wet rag landing on her. Why was the idiot so obsessed with this towel enough to bring it with him still? The twi’lek waited till he landed near her before she took it and thwacked it across his face, smearing him with his own sweat as she handed the rag back.

Behind the boulder, Zana shrugged as Thelian criticized her distraction plan. It wasn’t like he was bursting with brilliant ideas. She watched as he cupped his hands in front of his face and…

She winced at the noise, turning to look at him with wide eyes. What the hell was that? “I said bird, not a deranged monkey lizard!” She hissed before looking back towards the guard. Zana blinked a few times, realizing that the plan was stupid to begin with. What did she expect after creating noise from behind the boulder? Of course he would come to investigate here. She quickly looked around in a panic, trying to think how she could improvise. Part of her thought of shoving Thelian out into the open to serve as distraction.

Naturally, the Echani had other ideas. Zana clapped a hand over her mouth as he casually conked the patrol guard over the head with a rock. She gasped as she stared in that direction, even more shocked at Thelian’s nonchalant attitude about it.

“That is a Jedi, you imbecile!” She whispered angrily at the Padawan, “You know what kind of infractions we could get for that? Gods, how did you ever make it to padawan..” She grumbled under her breath as she quickly stalked over to the unconscious man. She checked to make sure he was okay, though she didn’t spot anything bleeding. He just had a bit of a bump on his head. The man was already groaning and started to come to.

Zana sprang to her feet and bolted towards the bay. There was a sense of rush coursing through her veins as she progressed much further in this plan than she ever expected. The twi’lek felt terrible for what happened to the man, but she told herself repeatedly he would be okay. She wasn’t used to breaking protocol so easily.

She immediately skidded to a halt as she arrived at the bay, looking at the rows of starfighters and ships. Zana idly toyed with a lekku, blinking in silent panic, “So um…I…. am not sure what to do now,” She mumbled, nervously looking over at Thelian, “I…forgot the bit about needing keys to operate the ships,” She cleared her throat, “Maybe I can take a speeder bike to the local public bay and take a shuttle off the planet.”

Her glorious plan now included basically taking the bus.

@Altaris

 

[Thelian Lsai]

After chucking his towel over the ledge, Thelian quickly joined Zana on the other side – landing with a dull thud and immediately taking a moment to scan his surroundings – silver eyes flicking across the various different entrances to the ship bay. It was only after a few seconds that the Echani turned his attention to Zana, spotting the twi’lek with his towel and a disgusted look on her face. He blinked a few times.

Thelian wasn’t exactly sure why he kept the towel during their panicked dash into the locker rooms, but it didn’t really seem to matter at this point. It was his towel after all, and what was he supposed to do, leave it in the hallway?

He simply crossed his arms over his chest, staring down at Zana for a few seconds. The towel smacked onto Thelian’s face, hitting him with a disgustingly wet noise. While Zana was reasonably disgusted by the fabric, Thelian looked entirely unphased – staring at her with a completely deadpan expression as he caught the towel. He proceeded to wipe his face with the damn thing again.

Once they were behind the boulder, Thelian took a moment to simply stare at Zana’s proposed plan. Sure, he wasn’t overflowing with suggestions, but the Echani knew a stupid idea when he heard it – even if he begrudgingly did as he asked.

He winced as soon as the noise left his lips. Even he had to admit he sounded like a complete moron, and Zana’s critiquing was not helping his foul mood. This was her stupid-ass plan, after all. “Do I look like a fuckin’ Convor to you?” He snapped before his attention was drawn to the approaching guard, proceeding to knock the bastard out without a second thought.

It was a perfectly reasonable course of action, and Thelian was the slightest bit surprised to see Zana snapping at him for it. He blinked a few times, eyes narrowing slightly. “No shit, genius! I didn’t think he was a Sith.” Thelian growled back at her quietly, practically rolling his eyes at the fear of infractions. “Then maybe we should try not to get caught—”

He was cut off when the twi’lek had the bright idea of deciding to check on the dude. Thelian could do nothing but stare in abject horror, their chances of getting caught just increasing triple to what they were only a few seconds ago. “What the fuck are you doing!?” He called out quietly, irritation clear in his tone.

Thelian knew the guy was fine. The Echani grew up fighting, and he knew exactly how much force was needed to knock someone out versus doing actual damage. He had even timed the maneuver so that the guy would land in the bush, breaking his fall and keeping him out of sight.

He grumbled as he followed Zana, dashing towards the bay. He was prepared to sneak aboard one of the many starfighters that lined the path, and for the briefest moment there was an almost excited look on the Echani’s lips. Of course, any such excitement didn’t linger, his expression returning to his usual deadpan when Zana spoke again.

“…You forgot the key? You do realize most speeder bikes need a key too, right?”

Thelian blinked a few times, scratching his head. He was very seriously considering ditching the twi’lek and leaving her ass stranded to figure it out on her own. The sound of footsteps and commotion quickly killed any such notions – making it obvious that the knocked-out Jedi had been found.

With a groan, Thelian grabbed Zana by the wrist and yanked her along, dashing through the darkness just as a flashlight began to pan around the area where they’d just been standing. He dragged her towards the section of the bay that contained an array of speeder bike, making a beeline for the one closest to them. “Watch my back.” He said flatly, crouching down in front of the speeder.

He reached out with the Force, abruptly yanking off the metal panel that covered the ignition cylinder and the multitude of wires that ran underneath. Without a moment to lose, Thelian began yanking a couple of the wires free, exposing the coppery metal beneath the colored coating and starting to cross them together.

From the way he worked, it was very clear the Padawan knew what he was doing, leaving Zana to likely assume that he had done this before.

After a few rushed moments, Thelian very cautiously tapped two of the wires together – leaning his torso back a bit as he did so, almost expecting to shock himself in the process. Luckily he didn’t, and as soon as the wires touched, the speeder suddenly hummed to life, the repulsors lifting the vehicle up off the ground a few inches.

The Echani was preparing to repeat the maneuver with another speeder when some of the flashlights began to pan over the speeder bikes, making it obvious that they simply didn’t have time. Thelian abruptly rose to his feet and hopped onto the speeder, grabbing Zana by the wrist and yanking her to get on behind him if she didn't do it on her own. “Hurry up!”

The twi’lek would likely have to hold on for dear life as Thelian immediately gunned it – accelerating rapidly and making a dash for the ship bay exit and the road that led away from the temple. Just as they approached the exit, the flashlights finally locked onto the pair of Padawan’s – briefly illuminating them and giving the group of investigating knights a blurred image of blue lekku and stark white hair.

“STOP RIGHT THERE!”

Thelian did not, in fact, stop.

@Sreeya

 

[Zana Ari]

Zana stood there fiddling with her lekku, beyond ashamed as Thelian yelled at her about the key. She was entirely unprepared for this plan, and now she was completely stuck. She sighed and shook her head, “I’m just gonna head back-” She hadn’t heard the footsteps, abruptly finding herself yanked by the wrist again. Zana almost toppled over a few times once more as she struggled to keep up with Thelian’s longer strides.

She looked at him skeptically as he suddenly leaned down next to a speeder. What the hell was he doing? When he took off the panel and began fidgeting with the wirings, her jaw completely dropped, “Oh my god you are such a crook!” She whispered with a mixture of shock and horror. Zana quickly patted the pockets on her pants to see if her wallet still remained. What if he nicked it while hoisting her up? Thelian was hands down the shadiest Jedi she had ever met.

Zana was shocked when the engines began to roar, suggesting that his very illegal activities actually worked. They were out of time and he motioned for her to get on. The twi’lek shook her head, frozen in place, “No way I can’t…” She blinked with eyes wide as she looked at him. She heard the footsteps coming closer and her anxiety was through the roof. He practically began to move by the time she bolted after the bike and hopped on the back. Zana quickly wrapped her arms around his waist, looking over her shoulder in terror as she heard the voices behind them.

“Wait we should-”

Nope. Too late. They were quickly zooming far away from the scene. She clung onto Thelian for dear life, beyond horrified of what was happening. The cool night air bit against her skin as they quickly approached the main roads. She looked over her shoulder and saw no one following. Zana’s heart was thundering against her chest.

Bit by bit her terror began to melt away, slowly replaced with a grin that grew wide.

“WHOOOOOOOOO!” She shouted at the top of her lungs as she burst out into laughter, “THIS IS THE CRAZIEST THING I’VE EVER DONE!” Zana ignored that Thelian still smelled, she could only focus on the feeling of being truly free and completely stepping out of line. There was something exhilarating about it, even though she knew she would be in deep trouble later. There was a deep rush as she stared up at the stars and felt the cold breeze against her skin. She had the biggest smile on her face then.

“Go to the spaceport!” She yelled so he could hear after a while, “I have credits for a shuttle or…” She coughed a few times “To find some shady person that might let us hitch a ride," She had full confidence that between the two of them, they could handle anyone particularly shady.

@Altaris

 

[Thelian Lsai]

Thelian looked completely in his element, as he was in the process of stealing the speeder. He moved the panel and started tugging on the wiring without a moment of hesitation, knowing exactly which ones to fiddle with to get the engines roaring, even if trying to hotwire a starfighter was a bit above his paygrade. There was a finesse and expertise to what he was doing that probably would’ve made an upright, goody-two-shoes like Zana incredibly uncomfortable, suggesting that the Echani had done this a hundred times before.

Which, in all honesty, he probably had.

He briefly paused what he was doing, a wire in each hand as he glanced back at Zana when the twi’lek made her whispered remark. “Yup.” He said flatly, blinking at her a few times as she patted her pockets before turning back to the speeder. While she likely would’ve thought he was being facetious, that was an entirely accurate statement. For years, Thelian had lived as a petty thief on the lower levels of Coruscant – picking up a few tricks along the way.

“Bottom left pocket.” He said abruptly, in the middle of crossing wires as he muttered. “Y’know it was always easy to steal off chicks? Your pockets are always shallow as fuck.” He said this with an entirely deadpan expression, briefly glancing back at her just as the engines roared to life.

There wasn’t a moment to lose, and Thelian didn’t hesitate to gun it at full speed away from the temple as soon as Zana wrapped her arms around his waist. He had quite literally no desire to stop, despite the demands from his superiors, and he wasn’t about to slow down to give them a better look at his face.

The Echani leaned forward on the speeder, pressing his foot down into the gas pedal as they carved a path through the jungles of Yavin. The wind violently whipped at his messy snow-white hair, and the chill of the air brought a dryness to his lips. Nevertheless, while Zana couldn’t see it, the usual broodiness on his face had all but vanished – replaced by an exceptionally peaceful and satisfied expression.

There was something about what they were doing that was entirely liberating, acting out of their own accord without a care in the world. It was a feeling that Thelian had always craved since he was a boy, during a time when every facet of his life was strictly dictated by his Hutt masters, and it filled him a passive sense of delight even now.

Thelian was pulled out of his own thoughts as soon as Zana started laughing. It was a sound of raw and utter joy, and even if the Echani did not see the smile on her face, he knew it was there all the same. It was a sound that elicited the faintest hint at a smile from the Echani, lingered for a few moments before the twi’lek spoke again.

“Shady person.” He said flatly, loud enough to be heard. “The fuck I am paying for a shuttle. That's bantha-shit.” Once again, Thelian had quite literally zero qualms about selecting the option that pushed the boundaries of legality.

Several minutes passed as Thelian sped through the jungles, making his way towards the spaceport. At one point or another, the Echani had abruptly decided to fork off the main road – attempting to throw off anyone who might’ve been following them and adding a new thrill to their little joyride. When they finally arrived at the spaceport, Thelian brought the speed to a skidding halt, leaving it parked on the middle of the pathway before hopping right off.

It wasn’t his and he wasn’t going to be needing it again, anyway.

Despite being the middle of the night – or rather very early morning - the spaceport was bustling with people, cargo freighters and transports packed to the brim into the port while dozens of different people milled about. “You going to fill me in on the destination anytime soon?”

He said with his usual monotone, briefly glancing at her as he began to walk casually towards the crowd, blending in with the ever-shifting masses.

@Sreeya

 

[Zana Ari]

Zana felt entirely out of place in the spaceport. She always had a knight accompany her to off world missions. She suddenly felt like a youngling all over again, though she noticed Thelian fit right in. She glanced at him every now and then, marveling at how he managed to keep the exact same expression on his face at all times. She couldn’t pull that off even if she tried. Zana pointedly continued to ignore the question about where they were going, pretending as if she hadn’t heard. A part of her was too afraid to face the potential reality of him not coming with at this point.

“Let’s try asking nicely first,” She said after she spotted a few very unhygienic people that fit the ‘shady’ category. They didn’t look approachable at all, she didn’t even want to bother. After a bit of wandering, she spotted a pleasant looking Nautolan. She approached him with a cheery smile and waved.

“Hello Sir!” He eyed her curiously, but her smile didn’t waver, “Our ship broke down and we’re stuck on this planet. Will you please help me and uh..”She blinked, “And my boyfriend?" It felt much safer to use 'boyfriend' in case the Nautolan got the wrong idea, "We won’t be any trouble at all! And you can drop us off at the next offworld refueling station!”

The Nautolan looked from her cheery face to Thelian’s moody one, back to her, back to him and looked progressively more and more unconvinced. Zana could practically see the wheels turning as the man likely weighed the chances of being shivved by the Echani.

“Sorry can't help you,” He barked before he walked off.

Zana looked over to glare at Thelian, “Can you ever look like you don’t have a pinecone up your butt?” She hissed, “Trying to hitch a ride and of course I’m stuck with the dude that looks like a literal serial killer,” Zana grumbled as she walked back towards the unhygienic looking shady people. Many of them eyed her in ways that made her uncomfortable, but she knew they had little choice.

There was a Gamorrean standing next to a transport that had his beady eyes fixed on her. With a sigh, Zana began to make her way over.

"Hello sir, can you help me and my.... cousin?" She smiled awkwardly, "He's a bit..challenged, don't mind him."

@Altaris

 

[Thelian Lsai]

Thelian looked entirely at home within the busy spaceport – fitting right in and blending into the crowd like he was no one special. The Echani had grown up on Nar Shaddaa as a child, and spent most of his teen years rummaging around the lower levels of Coruscant before being found by the Jedi. It felt like home more than the wide open spaces of Yavin, and the endless, evermoving crowds provided him better camouflage than any jungle brush

The Echani was entirely used to weaving and maneuvering to avoid bumping shoulders with people whereas Zana was likely getting crashed and bumped into like a Huttball player if she wasn’t being careful.

All the while, Thelian maintained that same broody, deadpan expression – quite literally looking like he was about to stab someone between the ribs. While the expression was exceptionally useful in portraying an aura of ‘don’t fuck with me’ while living on the streets, it was entirely unproductive when trying to get much of anything accomplished.

His hands gradually went down into the pockets of his shorts, looming behind Zana when she first addressed the Nautolan guy. He looked entirely unphased by the boyfriend comment, instead employing his usual habit when dealing with complete strangers. This meant that Thelian very intimidatingly stared directly at the guy the entire time, maintaining eye contact even when the stranger tried to look away.

Maybe that had something to do with the guy very quickly walking away?

Whatever.

Thelian blinked a few times when Zana abruptly turned to snap at him, criticizing his natural expression. He met this criticism with that exact same deadpan stare – gazing down at her for a solid fifteen seconds before literally shrugging and turning towards the next group of shady people.

He clearly noted the way that they were looking at Zana, and that fact alone seemed to worsen the expression on his face. If he looked like he was ready to shiv someone before, the Echani’s face practically spoke murder when they walked up to the Gamorrean guy.

Additionally, this time he didn’t stay silent.

He glared down at Zana, completely obliterating their cover. “The fuck you mean challenged, you shrimp-ass—” Thelian paused, watching as the Gamorrean very quickly shuffled away, completely ignoring them. The Echani blinked a few times, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly. He looked about ready to pound his fists into a wall.

Thelian exhaled sharply through his nostrils, his jaw grinding together for a moment as he scanned the crowd. Silver eyes eventually settled onto a group of Weequay.. Merchants? Two men who happened to be loading crates into the cargo hold of their freighter. The lettering on the hull of the ship, additionally, indicated the vessel originated from Hutt Space.

And these guys weren’t being fucking creeps. So that was enough for Thelian.

Abruptly, the Echani wrapped his arm around Zana’s shoulder, hugging the twi’lek girl close. This, of course, meant that she was nestled right up against his smelly underarm. Thelian put on the best smile he could manage, flashing white teeth as he began to walk as a pair towards the shady-looking men.

“Boska, Kanwonah!” Thelian abruptly switched into perfect Huttese without missing a beat, purposefully speaking loud enough for the two strangers to hear him as they approached.

Thelian waved a hand to who he believed to be the guy in charge. “Kava uba woy, lorda.” He kept Zana snuggled close on his arm as the entire time, attempting to appear less serial killer-like. “Hatkocanh uba phaba, tee pankpa saleu bai paknee ata wa echuta an puna puna joniu an jot ten kohdahu dah tah Jeedai kanweahn. Kae yoyohba Meecooda paniena uba kilrolrat uba jot ten kouraumola wa mogba du mee shlon han?”

Thelian gestured to Zana. "Ritke mi an mah weonven. nah doth kae bona bai uba.". Both men blinked a few times, glancing between Zana and Thelian.

@Sreeya

 

[Zana Ari]

Talking to Thelian was the equivalent of talking to a wall. Unfortunately for him, Zana was entirely unfazed by this. It just meant she could say whatever she wanted and no one would tell her to shut up. As he stood there blankly staring at her, she instead decided to fill the silence. Zana cleared her throat and deepened her voice.

“Look at me, I’m mean and tough Lsai from the rough hoods of Yavin temple basement,” She rattled off as she walked, “This? No, this is just my face. I’m constantly constipated, you see, since I like hanging out at potlucks and eating padawan cooked meals,” She cast him a glance and had to bite her lip to keep from smiling before she kept going, “And when I don’t go to potlucks, I like to sit in the middle of a Jedi circle while everyone else is singing. No, I still look constipated even then,” Zana couldn’t help it longer, bursting into a fit of giggles at her own silly impression of Thelian. The giggles only got worse as she looked at that exact look she was describing.

Naturally, Thelian couldn’t keep his mouth shut when they approached the Gamorrean. She simply sighed, not even bothering with a quip. Losing hope, Zana listlessly followed him to look for other options.

Zana grimaced when he abruptly pulled her into him, their height difference putting her entirely too close to his nasty armpit, “Eww what the-” She stopped abruptly as she realized what he was doing. For a moment she paused and had to blink at the sight of a smile. The smile stopped her in her tracks and she completely forgot everything else. She didn’t even think a smile was possible on this boy, even if it was entirely fake.

The twi’lek couldn’t understand a word he was saying, but she could tell it was Huttese. She looked slightly concerned at the exchange and stared at the Weequay. In the end, they grunted dismissively and motioned for the pair to enter the ship. As Thelian began to walk, Zana abruptly grasped his wrist to stop him, looking at him with a slight hint of panic.

“What did you tell them?” She asked, her tone suddenly frosty, “Are you trying to sell me?” The venom in her voice mixed with fear was unmistakable. It was abundantly clear this was a very touchy topic for the twi’lek. Her mother had once successfully sold her to Hutts. If the Jedi hadn’t arrived in time, she would have had a very different story. Her grip on his wrist was iron, and it was clear she was not taking this lightly.

@Altaris

 

[Thelian Lsai]

In the most shocking surprise twist of the century, Thelian continued to stare at Zana with deadpan silence. His arms shifted from his pockets to cross grumpily over his chest when she started to mimic him, a single brow arching as he gazed down at her critically. First of all, he didn’t sound like that. Second of all, he wasn’t constipated. And third and most importantly, Thelian would not be caught dead at one of those wretched fucking potlucks. Not for a million credits.

Even still, silver eyes widened ever-so-slightly when the twi’lek burst out into a fit of giggles – that simple sound once again catching him entirely off guard. If Zana looked over at him during the course of her laughter, she would see the absolute faintest semblance of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and the Echani had to bite down onto his cheek and furrow his brows to prevent it from progressing any farther.

It didn’t last however, as the Gamorrean once more served to resurface the Echani’s broody expression. Thelian spotted the Weequay merchants – who were in all honesty probably smugglers – not long after that, formulating a plan that involved wrapping his arm around Zana like she was his dream girl. He maintained an entirely fake smile and kept his eyes fixated ahead, though managed to speak out of the corner of his mouth when Zana looked like she was going to protest.

“Shut the hell up,” He whispered through a smile, very much wanting this attempt to work.

Thelian couldn’t exhaled a sigh of relief the Weequay merchants-that-were-probably-smugglers relented. Clearly his little dip into Huttese had proven effective – his accent still resembling that of a native speaker despite it being years since he used it in practice.

He was prepared to follow the Weequay into the ship when Zana grabbed his wrists, stopping him dead in his tracks. Thelian was prepared to whip around and tell the twi’lek to move her scrawny ass, only for silver eyes to go slightly wide when he caught the hint of panic on her face.

It was a look of panic and fear that Thelian had been a hundred times as a child. He had seen it in his own reflection, and it cut deeper than perhaps the girl realized.

He listened as she spoke, and the Echani seemed to have a visceral reaction to the words. Almost immediately, Zana would be able to see his face change. There was an unmistakable pain that flashed across his pale features, even if it didn’t linger for very long. His usually grumpy and deadpan expression soften slightly – far more passive than it was frigid like usual.

Thelian cleared his throat, speaking with his usual monotone. “I told ‘em that you are my girlfriend. That we were stranded on this hellhole and asked to hitch a ride in the cargo hold. We’re getting off at the next fueling station and we’ll figure out where go to after that.”

The Echani shifted almost uncomfortably. “I’m not trying to sell you.” Unlike his usual words, there was almost a reassuring tone to his words just then – as if trying his best, which wasn’t much, really, to soothe whatever rising anxiety she felt. Anxiety Thelian had once felt.

Thelian turned back towards the ramp of the ship, gazing up at it. “I wouldn’t do that. As someone who has been sold before.” He muttered under his breath, though it was loud enough for Zara to hear. He pointedly did not look back at her, giving the slightest tug of his wrist to indicate it was time for them to board.

@Sreeya

 

[Zana Ari]

Zana didn’t miss the sudden flash of pain on his face, though she initially thought it was from the way she gripped him. Her hold relaxed a bit, but she was surprised to see the shift in his expression. Something about it made him look a lot more human instead of the usual stone carving he presented as. The anxiety was clear as day on her face, memories of what happened to her and her siblings coursing through her mind.

There was no real reaction on her face as he revealed what he had said, though she began to relax internally. From his tone, she could tell he was being genuine, even though the logical side of her screamed at her to be wary. Her eyes widened considerably when he admitted that he had been sold as well. At once, a lot of different variables became much clearer. Slavery was an umbrella term, and it always had many elements of horror associated with it.

Zana was equally terrible at offering comforting words, and she remained silent. When he tugged at her hand, she finally released him and followed him up the ramp. It was just the two of them in the cargo hold along with a lot of crates and boxes. Zana took a seat in the corner, remaining quiet until she felt the engines begin to rumble.

Her heart pounded against her chest as she realized this was really happening. She was getting off the planet without any real sense of direction. Zana looked over at the Echani, also realizing that he joined her while having even less of a clue. For a moment she said nothing, quietly chewing the inside of her lip before she finally spoke.

She spoke quietly, golden eyes meeting silvers, “I’m trying to go to Ajan Kloss,” She admitted at last, “I was a survivor there. When I was a kid, I was separated from my family. The only thing I had was an old family picture with all of us in it and a locket my brother gave me when I was taken away. I know the temple was destroyed, but the dormitories remained intact. I’m trying to go see if I can find the picture and the locket. To me it’s worth the risks even if it sounds silly. No Knight would ever accompany me for this."

Zana looked down at the ground, “I’m...not as tough as you. I’m afraid to go alone,” She bit down on the inside of her lip, still avoiding eye contact, “People don’t come back from there in one piece…”

@Altaris

 

[Thelian Lsai]

Thelian was deathly silent after he finished speaking, and was very clearly making a point to look anywhere except for Zana. He kept his silver eyes fixated onto an entirely blank section of the ship ramp, glacial slits threatening to burn holes into the durasteel from the intensity.

The Echani physically could not keep the pain from flashing across his face – twisting his frigid and broody features in ways that most people simply did not witness. It broke through all the thick walls and barriers he built, and left the boy far more exposed than he felt comfortable being. Zana had seen it the first time when she caught him off guard with her question, and when he admitted having been a slave, the Echani made a point that she wouldn’t see that pain a second time.

Thelian didn’t want comforting words. He didn’t want to be related to or have anyone try to soothe the pain because they couldn’t. Thelian simply wanted to move on to a different subject entirely and forget about it all over again. His body remained exceptionally tense for as long as she held him, and when she finally released, the Echani quickly strode up the ramp and into the cargo hold.

He took a seat on the floor of the exceptionally dirty cargo hold, leaning his back against some of the stacked crates as he stared off into space again. He had escaped from a slave market in a cargo freighter just like this one, and he seemed perfectly calm as the ship roared to life, and they would both feel a bit of weightlessness when it lifted off the ground. There was no going back, and the Echani seemed perfectly fine with that.

Silver eyes snapped back to Zana when she spoke once more – greeting her gaze with his usual deadpan. The shocking admission came, and the Echani only raised a single brow in her direction, looking more critical than surprised by the prospect of going to Ajan Kloss – despite the very obvious danger and challenges that entailed. He didn’t utter a word as explained her circumstances and the reason WHY she wanted to go. He didn’t utter a word when she admitted not being as tough, or that she was afraid.

Thelian took a long pause to simply stare at Zana before he moved. When he did, the Echani lifted up off the ground and reached into his front pocket, fishing out the beat-up wallet he carried with him. There wasn’t shit for credits in it, and he instead pulled out a small, folded picture that had been stored within the leather pouch. The photograph, quite frankly, looked like it had been through hell and back. It’s edges were frayed and torn, thick creases ran across the image itself, and there was a decent hole in one of the corners. None the less, Thelian unfolded it gingerly and pinched the top between two fingers, extending it for Zana to look at.

There were only two people in the photo, both of whom were sat against what looked to be a cargo-crate. On the left was a woman who looked to be in her mid twenties, a small smile present on her lips. Her features were strikingly similar to Thelian’s, sporting long white hair and eyes that glinted pale silver. Directly to her left was a small child with an impossibly large smile and a rats-nest of white hair, alongside silver eyes that quite frankly seemed to big for his face. It wouldn’t take Zana very long to figure out that she was staring at a picture of Thelian and his mother.

“I get it.” He said very bluntly, his expression remaining blank and deadpan the entire time. He was emotionless on the surface, and yet there was underlying meaning to the gesture that the twi’lek would be able to recognize immediately. She spoke genuinely about wishing to retrieve a memento of her past, and Thelian was showing her one of his own. The only one he had.

He had no other possessions from that time, and that single photo was all he carried with him through his life. From Nar Shaddaa to Coruscant, from Yavin to Dantooine, Thelian clung to that sole photo like a toddler clinging to a stuffed animal for protection. It was his sole reminder of a time when he wasn't alone in the galaxy. When there had been someone there with him through it all, who somehow managed to quell all his fears and anxieties with the slightest touch.

That photo was the only thing that the Echani had to keep her face anchored in his mind.

Thelian quickly folded the photo back up and stuffed it into his wallet after that, pointedly not lingering on the emotional shit for a moment longer than necessary. “There is no going back, so there is no reason to get cold feet now.” He shrugged his shoulders. Thelian stared off into space for a moment before speaking again, a decidedly grumpy expression on his lips. “Trying to get to Ajan Kloss is going to be a bitch. There is nothing there of value to bring smugglers or traders, and its solidly in Sith space.”

He glanced over his shoulder, making sure they were both completely alone. He still spoke a bit softer. “Our best bet is to steal this ship. If you cause a distraction, we can hopefully lurk one of those guys in here while the other pilots the ship. I can jump him from behind and—” Thelian continued to go into exceptionally specific detail about how to mug and tie up both of the Weequay men, despite the fact that they had just helped them get off Yavin. Part of his plan involved stuffing them into the escape pod and ejecting them before they jumped into hyperspace.

“—There is a distress beacon built into each pod, so they’ll probably be found within a couple hours or a day. It really wou—” The Echani paused mid sentence, taking a moment to look at the shocked and horrified expression on Zana’s lips. He blinked a few times, sighing.

“Or we hop ships and fuck around until we can find one to take us to Ajan Kloss. And waste a lot of fucking time.”

@Sreeya