[Pre-TL] Trouble

[KinkyPrawn]

Socorro/Drunk Dug cantina​

13:22 local time​

If there was one place that Arden both hated and loved equally, it was Socorro. It was sketchy, it was risky and it was a safe haven for anyone who were in some kind of trouble with one form of law or the other. But for some people, it was also a great place to get neck-deep in trouble.

Arden was after one such man. Wanted by a Hutt and hard to catch. Naturally, that would require someone with skill. Arden was flattered. His ship touched down and he slid out of the pilot's seat. He waltzed over to his bunk and opened his locker. He threw on his leather jacket and holstered his twin WESTAR-34's. He checked himself once more to make sure his other effects were in place along with his vambraces, then he turned to leave the ship.

As he walked through the streets he got a few sidelong glances, but the onlookers merely shrugged and went about their business. He was looking for a specific place, though it wasn't hard to find. He opened the door and took a look around, tugging his jacket closed a little more to cover his weapons. Some patrons looked at him but aside from that nobody bothered. He walked in and calmly made his way towards the bar counter.

He sat down on a stool and rested an arm on the counter, his T-visor moving slowly as he kept his senses open for any surprises...as well as waiting for his target to come to him.

@AfroBandit20

 

[AfroBandit20]

It was a regular bland day bar tending. Jey had seen a variety of old and new faces that had appeared in the cantina today - it had been about a month since Jey took solace on Socorro and he had finally managed to adapt to his new life. In this time, Jey began to slowly overcome his death stick addiction, due to the lack of dealers, and in turn his connection to the Force was somewhat restored - albeit, severely damaged.

Earlier that day, before the hazel eyed boy started his shift, he felt that pit in his chest again... which was, what Jey perceived as, the Force warning him of oncoming danger. When Jey noticed a Mandalorian, or a person wearing Mandalorian armour at least, enter the bar... that pit feeling in his chest returned once more. The black haired boy was both mesmerised but also nervous, he'd had never seen a real life Mandalorian in the flesh before but he was nervous because that this person may be the threat he had sensed earlier.

Reluctantly and cautiously, Jey approached the Mandalorian and leaned against the counter opposite of him. He smiled and put on his customer service voice - "Never seen a Mando before. What can I get you, buddy?" he asked, keeping an eye on him while also staying close to his DH-17 blaster pistol under the bar counter, just in case this new customer was indeed a threat.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[KinkyPrawn]

Arden's T-visor slowly turned to look at the bartender. Definitely the guy he was looking for. He could see behind the facade. This kid was wound tight. He didn't blame him. Usually when Arden ended up somewhere, things had a tendency to go south. It was a mystery he didn't have a clue how to solve.

"You should take a picture, I hear it's good luck." he quipped as he rested an arm on the counter. "As for wha' ya can get me, how abou' a tall glass of your best beer for the both of us and tha' piece under the counter?" he asked nonchalantly. Though, while his new drinking buddy was trying to be subtle over keeping close to the weapon underneath, Arden was much less subtle with his right hand resting on the grip of his pistol. "Why don't you sit down, kiddo? Let's me an' you have a little chat." he spoke calmly and confidently, not sounding at all like he's after him.

"Also, stop being nervous. You're making me nervous." he continued as he watched the kid, hoping he wouldn't try anything stupid.

@AfroBandit20

 

[AfroBandit20]

Okay, so this Mando was clearly really good at whatever it was he does - or maybe Jey was straight up bad at hiding things. The black haired boy's friendly facade shifted immediately as his fake smile dropped into a straight face. Jey turned his head and looked in multiple directions to see if anyone were eavesdropping on their conversation - when the coast was clear, his eyes returned to the Mandalorian's T-visor and he let out a defeated sigh.

Jey deduced that this Mandalorian was probably a bounty hunter, seems its what the culture had been reduced to in recent years. The hazel eyed Force-sensitive was scrappy in a skirmish but he knew he couldn't hold a candle to an actual Mandalorian - so for now, he'd have to play the armoured warrior's game.

"Okay, okay... but not here." he responded "Outside." he added, shifting his eyes to the cantina's exit. "Keedarr, I'm going on break. Cover for me." he stated without even glancing toward his co-worker, Jey discreetly clipped his blaster to his belt and covered it with his black t-shirt before following the Mandalorian outside. Now outside of the cantina and away from any prying ears, Jey leaned against the exterior's wall and folded his arms, feigning confidence - in reality, he was fearing for his life and hoped his body wasn't conveying this.

"Grakkus send you?" he asked, displaying no emotion in his voice as to not betray his true feelings.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[KinkyPrawn]

Arden raised an eyebrow, though it quickly turned into a frown when the kid suggested going outside for this. "Oi! Wha' about my beer?!" he called out, holding both hands up in the air. He looked at the second bartender and placed a few credits on the counter. "Pint of beer with a straw, hurry up." he said and impatiently waited for his beer. Once he had it, he was off to catch up with the kid outside.

Outside of the bar he came to a halt across from the kid. One hand guided the straw in underneath his helmet while the other held a firm grasp on one of his blasters. He didn't say anything at first as he sipped at his drink. The level lowered at a remarkable pace until the pint was finished off and the glass was placed on a trash can beside him. "Yeah, Grakkus sent me. Got a very shiny price out for you for some reason." he admitted as he rested both hands on his pistols. "Also that beer is shite, is tha' really the best you got?" he asked him with annoyance, completely derailing the topic at hand.

"Now, I can probably just blow your legs off and drag you back to Grakkus, bu' that's too much effort. So instead I'll give you the choice. How do you wanna do this?" he asked him, slightly drawing his pistols from their holsters. He fully expected the kid to try something stupid.

@AfroBandit20

 

[AfroBandit20]

Jey could only watch and wait as the bounty hunter slurped at his alcoholic beverage - "What I'd do for some booze right now." he thought to himself for a brief moment. After he had finally finished, Jey's eyes shifted from the Mando's helmet to seeing both of his hands firmly placed on his blasters. Nervousness came over him again, "Bet he really knows how to use those." cringing at the thought of the bounty hunter's skills.

The Mandalorian bounty hunter then confirmed that Grakkus was indeed his employer, before abruptly commenting on how bad the beer was. Jey forced himself to stifle a nervous smile, trying his absolute best to appear calm, collected and confident. Jey's arms remained folded and his expression blank "Sorry about that, I've asked my boss to change our brand ever since I started working here but... she's a bit of a shutta, so..." he responded with a nonchalant shrug - with the hidden goal of deflecting the intensity of the situation he was in.

The part that came next caused Jey's expression to change slightly, the Mandalorian mentioned about blowing his legs off - with that tone of voice, he was probably serious too - before giving him an ultimatum of how this'll go down. Jey sighed again, stepping forward slightly and unfolding his arms, squaring off against the warrior who was two or three inches taller than him - Jey stared right into the Mandalorian's T-visor, adrenaline completely overcoming his fear.

For a brief second, Jey inhaled before summoning as much of the Force as he could and stretching out his arm to push the Mando - due to his damaged connection to the Force and his irregular use of it, the Mando wouldn't go very far, in fact he'd probably just skid on his boots a few feet away from him. But it'd give him enough time to flee. After using the Force to push him away, Jey unclipped his blaster and took off running - where? No clue yet, but for now, he had to get the hell away.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[KinkyPrawn]

What amused Arden the most about the whole situation was watching the kid trying his hardest to remain calm. He could tell that the kid wanted to bolt. He was watching him carefully, waiting to see what he wanted to try to get away.

Jey tried to keep going with the comment Arden made, but there was no escaping the situation he was in. Arden watched as the kid dropped his hands and took a step closer. After that, everything started moving in slow motion. Jey breathed in and Arden drew his pistols. Then suddenly he was skidding backwards a few feet with Jey trying to make a run for it. Not having time to process what just happened, Arden launched his whipcord at Jey's legs to ensnare and trip him before he was out of range. If he missed, he was going to have to run after the kid...he really wished he had a jetpack right now.

If the whipcord hit its mark, Arden would simply pull him back while walking towards him. The reality of the situation now sinking in. This kid used the Force on him. Was he some kind of Jedi? If he was, the bounty would start to make a little more sense to him. If he kept trying to use the Force, that Hutt would need to be happy with a corpse.

@AfroBandit20

 

[AfroBandit20]

Jey continued running until he felt something wrap around his legs, halting his movement and with a tug, his chin was slammed on the sandy ground - "Think I just lost a tooth." he thought to himself. Turning around, he noticed the Mando had used a whipcord on him, Jey really wished his ancestor's lightsaber was functional - this'd be a completely different situation otherwise.

Reacting instead of thinking, Jey used his DH-17 to unload a barrage of blaster bolts into the Mandalorian, not caring where they landed, although he knew that his armour would protect him from the bolts. As he was being dragged closer and closer, the hazel eyed Force-sensitive would try something else too - Jey aimed his blaster directly at one of the Mandalorian's whipcord launcher and closed his eyes, opening himself up to the Force to let it guide his actions, like his father had taught him all those years ago.

Feeling at one with the Force for a brief moment and with the Mando getting closer - allowing him to get a better aim, Jey took the shot, shooting at the bounty hunter's whipcord with the hopes of disabling it in some way. If this worked, he'd be able to slow him down as well as buy himself enough time to escape.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[KinkyPrawn]

As Arden pulled the kid back, he still kept a pistol handy just in case he tried something. Sure enough, Jey drew his blaster and tried to shoot at Arden. He quickly dropped what he was doing and aimed at Jey. As Jey fired, so did he. But instead of blowing a two-inch hole through the kid's chest and gut, a wide blue ring flew from his pistol.

Their shots would collide simultaneously. Jey's shots would fly at Arden, with two hitting his torso. Arden's stun bolt would hit Jey and completely knock him out. Arden's armour held up, though his chest will be blue for the next few days. If Jey somehow didn't get knocked out, Arden would simply keep firing until he was. With the situation taken care of, Arden holstered his pistols and groan as he walked towards the knocked out Jedi. "You little bloody wanker!" he groaned, grabbing hold of Jey to have him sit upright. "You know how much tha' hurt?!" he continued to rant as he pulled a pistol and fired another stun round just to make sure he was out.

After that, he pulled Jey over his shoulder and carried him off towards his ship. "And I swear, before we go back to that Hutt, I'm gonna ge' myself some proper beer. Ya go' that?" he spoke as he walked. Once he reached his ship he dumped the body into a cell and turned on the ray shield to keep Jey in. His weapons and effects were all hidden somewhere else in the ship. He pulled a chair closer and sat across from the cell with a cup of caf in hand. His helmet was placed down on a crate next to him and he sipped lazily, waiting for him to wake up.

@AfroBandit20

 

[AfroBandit20]

D R E A M

Everything went black... was Jey dead? Probably. Aggravating a Mandalorian was dangerous for one's health. Suddenly, a familiar blue glow lit up the dark abyss, the black haired boy was currently in, Jey turned to see the spectral form of his Jedi ancestor once again. But this time, he wasn't hear for his annual "disappointed parent speech", no, this was different.

"Combat isn't always the answer Jey." he uttered softly, "Use your head, not your emotions." the deceased Jedi continued. However, before Jey could ask what he meant, it was all over...

Jey abruptly woke up, flailing about like a fish out of water before having the memories of what had transpired rush back to him. He wasn't dead! He was just stunned unconscious by the Mandalorian bounty hunter. Now awake, the hazel eyed Force-sensitive took a brief moment to observe his surroundings. He was in a cell, a small one at that, the thought of him being trapped on the Mando's ship immediately came to his mind and once he turned his head to see a ray shield with the now helmetless Mandalorian watching him so menacingly behind it. His suspicions were confirmed.

Jey rubbed his chin, still sore from when he fell on it earlier, he turned over to meet his gaze with the Mando. Getting a better look at his features, he saw that he was fair-skinned with dark black hair and dark brown eyes - even though his life was in danger and he was at risk of being handed over to Grakkus... he felt somewhat honoured? To see a Mandalorian's true face seemed to be like some sort of honour.

With a long and drawn out sight, Jey ran his hand through his jet black hair before leaning both of his hands on the long seat inside the cell and hung his head down, allowing his black hair to fall over and block his sight. "Alright, you got me." he muttered "Gotta give me credit though, was pretty ballsy to try and run right?" he jested, trying to defuse the tension and hide his growing nervousness once more. Gaining his composure slightly, Jey raised his head, hair parting on its own where he could just about make out the man in front of him, "Name's Jey. Jey Dres. You got a name? Or should I call you Generic Mando #66?" he asked attempting to get under his skin, he figured that if he were to escape - no better way to do it than annoy or anger the bounty hunter so he could, hopefully, lose his cool, deactivate the ray shields and come inside to beat on him.

If that would happen, Jey would... well, he hadn't thought that far, he'd just wing it.

@KinkyPrawn