Rough and Irritating

[Nolan Kodd]

The Fathier-class freighter darted through the asteroid field, going round the giant rocks the size of a small moon, banking left and right. Those maneuvers would've been irresponsible in an asteroid field, if it weren't for another Fathier that was following the first one. The direction of the turret on top of the pursuing ship made its intentions clear as daylight.

"Tick, give me something!" Nolan shouted, as he sent his ship, the Trailblazer, into another roll, barely dodging a barrage of blaster bolts from the pirates' turret. The trusty MR-series astromech was nearby, calculating a safe jump out of the area (painstakingly slow, as Nolan would say). But first the ship would have to leave the asteroid field and the cover it provided; Nolan was reluctant to do that too, as he had to buy his astromech some time.

"Shields at 30%" the computer displayed a text message without any concern that the lower the number was, the sooner the very same computer would become spacedust. Nolan had to do something. The something took the form of sublight booster, an engine modification that Nolan had recently "acquired" for his freighter. Until now, he had never had a reason to use it.

A push of the control lever, and the freighter suddenly became about 25% faster. Flying like that put strain on the engines, let alone it was harder to navigate through the dense field of rocks. Nolan had to to become twice as fast and thrice as concentrated if he wanted to fly out of there in once piece and complete the job.

As the pursuers began falling behind, their fire intensified. The shields got down to 5% before the pirates were out of range. "Never again," Nolan grumbled to himself, as a beep from his astromech indicated that the calculation had been finished and the ship was ready to jump to hyperspace. Of course, he wasn't referring to anything the droid had done, but rather taking up that whole delivery job from those shady people on Nar Shaddaa. Something had seemed fishy back then, and Nolan couldn't but wonder whether this encounter with pirates was rigged.

With the Trailblazer now in hyperspace, Nolan could finally catch his breath, kick back, and think his plan through. He was jumping to Tatooine, his original destination. If this "job" was indeed a set-up, then showing up at the port and handing over the cargo was a no-go: the pirates would just finish what they started. Then again, Nolan could just be overreacting, and this ambush could be a coincidence; after all, many ships coming from Nar Shaddaa to Ryloth or Tatooine could stop near the asteroid belt to pass through it and make another jump, cutting the route short.

One way or another, the light freighter emerged out of hyperspace in the Tatoo system not so far from the sandy planet. Nolan took the ship into the planet's atmosphere, but didn't head straight for the spaceport, his original destination. Instead he aimed to land at the rocky clearing in the canyon a dozen of kilometers away from the town. Hopefully, that area would provide a good shelter from sandstorms.

The plan was simple: drive to the town, check the coast, buy some supplies and figure out the next move.

 

[Azar Torsin]

Some time ago, Azar had heard about a duel in the desert between Jedi, then-Exiles, and Cartel men that had ended in a bloodbath. Bodies had been found some time later of all different sorts. They'd been stripped of their sabers and most of their clothing as well. The sabers, Azar would have expected was a result of the saber bounty, and the clothes he attributed to either the locals or the Tuskens. Whatever the reason, it came back to the Knight's mind now.

And how could it not? Despite it having happened several years ago, he remembered why they had been out here: rumor had it there were holocrons or something of the sort in the desert. Another rumor had come in that one of the local vendors had found one of those holocrons, and Azar was here to check it out. One step led to another, it seemed. Ultimately, he was fairly certain it was fake. There'd been no other evidence of holocrons in the area, but he was going to investigate nonetheless. With the library on Ossus destroyed, he wanted to help find whatever knowledge the Jedi could gain.

So here he was, on a planet that was as hot as any he'd ever been on. The sun was beating down and he pulled his hood a little lower. Not so that he could look shady, but just because it kept the sun off of his skin better. He was already sweating profusely, but something nagged at the back of his mind as he made his way to the meeting with the vendor. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something felt... off. Whether that meant the Knight was walking into an ambush or he was about to meet up with someone unexpected, he didn't know. The Force never deigned to address specifics like that, but it set his teeth a little bit on edge as he headed past the locals in the streets.

He made his way into a nearby building. Inside there were piles of tools, supplies, and various pieces of scraps of all different types. It had every piece of junk that a scrapper could ever want, and way more of it than Azar was interested in. He was here for one item and one item only. Of course, that didn't meant that the junk dealer was going to let him simply walk in and ask about that specific item. Oh no, he was going to try to sell him a billion other things first.

The Jedi pulled back his hood and rang the bell, waiting for the owner to arrive. A moment later, a stout, overweight Rodian stepped out, muttering something about helping him in a voice that sounded a little bit too cheery. The translator he wore on his belt read out the words in an automated voice.

Welcome to my shop. What can I do for you? How can I help you? it said as the Rodian cast his arms wide in greeting.

I'm looking for an item that was found in the desert. Small, cube-shaped. I heard you may have come across something like that, he began, bracing himself for the inevitable counter-offer, denial, or general redirect that he figured was coming soon.

 

[Nolan Kodd]

"What do you mean 'the engine is worn out'?! It worked like a charm in that belt," Nolan replied indignantly to his astromech's series of beeps, but still went to the engine room. He had been maintaining and tweaking his ship a lot lately, so removing the protective cover only took a few moments. A quick glance revealed that the astromech was right: some power conduits were on the edge. Apparently, they were old already, and the use of the sublight booster definitely didn't help.

"Great, now I'll need to buy some spares too," the pilot mumbled as he left the engine room as is. Why bother if he'd have to install the new conduits on his return. Luckily, Nolan's Terrex T-12 speeder bike had an attachable light trailer for some cargo, so he'd at least be able to bring the spare parts home without a hassle. Hopefully, the credits he had made on various legal and not-so-legal freighter runs (as well as in Pazaak clubs) would be enough.

Nolan hated to go out into the desert like this, especially wearing his light armor and a poncho with a hood, but that was apparenlty one of the best ways not to get boiled by the two suns of Tatooine and the countless thugs and beasts of Tatooine. "Take care of the ship, Tick, and let me know if something goes wrong," Nolan said as he grabbed all of his standard armor and equipment, except for the rifle. He took the comlink as well, hoping that its range would be enough to keep with contact the astromech. As the freighter's loading ramp lowered, the speeder bike with the attached cargo trailer slowly rode outside and dashed towards the settlement.

Nolan wasn't sure what made him stop the speeder and turn his head towards that particular building. But he was lucky he did: he saw a shop that could very well sell what he needed. After turning off the engines of his swoop, he made sure to grab a small part without which the bike wouldn't start with him. It wouldn't save the bike from being tugged away, but at least Nolan would have time to react.

Inside the building Nolan found a middle-aged grey-haired wayfarer who was discussing something with the Rodian shopkeeper. While waiting for his turn, the young man looked around, inspecting the stock and trying to find the power conduits he needed. Eventually he'd find them and stop by them, taking a closer look. Nolan wasn't the one to interrupt others, unless it was called for.

 

[Azar Torsin]

Azar wasn't entirely sure what the Rodian shop owner was playing for here, but he didn't seem over-eager to tell the Jedi Knight about the holocron. He seemed to pause a moment, lifting his hand to his "chin" and looking off into the middle-distance as if he was trying to remember something of the sort. Yes, because Azar definitely believed that he didn't remember where to find one of the most valuable items that had come through his shop in some time.

The door behind him dinged and the Jedi turned slightly to see who was coming in, noting another young customer who the Rodian seemed to immediately gravitate toward.

Welcome to my shop! What can I help you with!? he asked, giving the same spiel he had just given to Azar. He certainly seemed intent on avoiding interacting with the Jedi and quickly walked off to talk to the newcomer. With a slight sigh, Azar's shoulders slumped a bit in annoyance and frustration. He began to walk around the shop, poking at the items inside and wondering if there was something interesting he could find inside. Or perhaps he could stumble across the holocron.

If he's always this helpful with his customers, you're going to be in for a treat, he said sarcastically to the new client. He didn't make any attempt to say it quietly and shot a little bit of a scowl in the direction of the Rodian who... might have scowled back? It was difficult to tell on the alien face, but Azar imagined it wasn't a happy expression. @Catbert

 

[Nolan Kodd]

"I'm looking for two XT-18 power conduits," the young man pointed at the specific items on display, selecting those which seemed to be of the better quality, despite their somewhat more rugged look. He only spread his arms a little and shrugged with a tilted head to the stranger's remark about the service in the shop. That gesture and the facial expression basically said "I hear you, but not much can be done about it." Not to mention that the young man didn't want to talk about the Rodian in third person right in front of him.

"Of course!" the Rodian replied, ignoring the older guest for the time being. Ignoring the parts that Nolan pointed at, the shoopkeeper proceeded to grab one of the newer-looking, freshly repolished and repainted, and hence more expensive parts: "This one is the best I have. Never been used!" An obvious lie, but Nolan didn't mind the attempt. After all, in the end he'd leave with the parts he needed and pay exactly what they were worth.

"Thanks, but I've set my sights on these ones," Nolan put the two less "mint" parts aside, turning his face to the shopkeeper. "How much for the two of them?" The parts Nolan chose definitely had been in use; but because they weren't refurbished, he could at least make an educated guess on the quality of the items and their price; the defects of "mint" power conduits were probably well-hidden.

"Seven hundred credits," the Rodian replied begrudgingly, as Nolan could make out from his untranslated voice. "But for 200 more you'd get newer parts of better quality." Obviously, the shopkeeper didn't give up on making more profit; after all, refurbishing those two power conduits hadn't cost him more than 40 credits, so charging an extra hundred per conduit was definitely good for business... if people bought it.

"Nah, that's outside my budget," Nolan lied a little to stop the seller from foisting the more expensive parts on him. "In fact, I think these parts are worth 500 at best," another lie said in a confident manner, but not over the top: the conduits were worth around 600 credits. However, Nolan knew that this sort of merchant would rather call a deal off than settle on a price dictated by a customer. "Six hundred and fifty, and not a credit less," the Rodian replied, in a slightly less hospitable manner than before.

Nolan shrugged and nodded, checking his pockets for credits before passing them over to the shopkeeper. Trying to lower the price even further wasn't worth wasting the breath and time. At least it wasn't a robbery, but rather "paying extra for avoiding negotiations.

As Nolan was tying the conduits together to carry them conveniently, he turned to the other customer: "I don't know, my business went well. You looking for something specific?" The question was a simple and genuine, but not an obtrusive offer of help. After all, Nolan knew a thing or two about mechanics, so if the stranger was looking for spare parts, Nolan could be able to offer advice.

@Phoenix

 

[Azar Torsin]

Azar kept poking around as he looked for any sign of the holocron, but saw none for the moment. Out of the corner of his eye, he kept watching the Rodian as he tried to haggle and push something on the newcomer that he didn't want. Typical peddler...

It seemed that after a few moments they had managed to settle on a price and the newcomer was luckier than Azar. He rubbed his face as if he had a headache, but in truth was just anticipating the pain that was going to be playing with this Rodian. Perhaps it was time to use the Force's help. He was just debating pulling a "you will tell me where the holocron is" wave of his hand when the other man wandered up to ask if he needed help. To be honest, Azar was somewhat surprised. In his experience, people on Tatooine weren't very helpful, but this one seemed nice enough. Unless this was all a ploy, but that seemed unlikely.

I'm looking for a small cube, he said, holding up his hands and mimicking the approximate size of the cube.

It was supposed to be found in the desert and quite the hot item amongst the locals. Unfortunately, this gentleman has not been very forthcoming, he said, motioning toward the Rodian.

You haven't seen or heard anything about that, have you? he asked. It wasn't likely, but it was worth a shot.

And speaking of shots, that was when things began to tumble downhill. The sound of a blaster shot crackled through the air and smashed into the Rodian's side, knocking him over as another flung wide of the Jedi and his unexpected conversation partner. Out of instinct, the Jedi's saber sprang to life in his hand and the next shot - more on point than the previous - bounced off the white blade and into the wall across the room.

The Jedi stepped forward, putting himself between his young friend and the shooters. Try to grab him! he said, meaning the shop owner. With any luck, Azar could cover him from being shot while they pulled free. While there were a million reasons to have a gunfight on Tatooine, Azar suspected this was no accident and was somehow linked to this mysterious holocron. @Catbert

 

[Nolan Kodd]

As the stranger described the item he was looking for, Nolan's expression became somewhat disappointed and interested at the same time: he couldn't help the stranger with that, but the young man was curious what made that item so hot. "No. I'm not a local, and I mostly specialize in tech and spare parts," Nolan shrugged, but that's when the blaster bolts interrupted the conversation.

The very first shot made Nolan duck down instinctively, as his head quickly turned towards the yet invisible attacker... or attackers. The burst of adrenaline made the survival instinct kick in almost immediately, as if guiding the man to the nearby safe spot. By the time the second shot was made, the young man had already started running on lowered knees towards cover which happened to be a couple of meters past the stranger. The third shot got blocked by the stranger's "laser sword" shortly before he provided Nolan with an improvised "cover" instead.

That made Nolan stop for a bit, throwing a glance at the stranger who deflected a blaster bolt mid-flight. However, the Jedi (it was now obvious who the guy was) then commanded to go and grab the shopkeeper. "On it!" the young man replied, running as if from cover to cover, with his head and back lowered; he still watched the stranger, just to make sure that he was keeping up and there was no threat of being shot in the back. If the threat was there, Nolan would try to dodge fire or lie low on the floor, crawl to the nearby cover and prep his blaster.

But assuming that everything went according to Azar's plan, the young man would try and grab the Rodian under his arms and drag him behind one of the table-like stands on which the spare parts were showcased. As Nolan didn't have any medkits on him, nor did he know how to help the Rodian at this point, he'd put the shoopkeeper seated on the floor, his back against the solid foundation of the stand. Then Nolan would pull out his own blaster pistol from the holster on his hip and wait in the safe spot either for an opportunity to shoot back or escape, or for the Jedi to take cover as well.

@Phoenix

 

[Azar Torsin]

Azar was glad to see that this stranger was one of the unusual ones: helpful. He hadn't run away or tried to shoot the Jedi in the back yet, which was an improvement over most of the population. The Jedi swirled his saber in front of him, allowing the blade to move in a perpetual state of motion, adeptly catching the blaster bolts that flew inward at him and batting them harmlessly to the side with each shot.

The stranger pulled the shopkeeper into cover and Azar moved further to his left, away from the pair to draw the shooter's attention. From this angle, he could see that it was a Ubese with a blaster rifle doing the shooting, and he was quite preoccupied with the Jedi. That was good, it would give his new friend - who he now saw had a blaster pistol of his own - the chance to put a bolt through the attacker's chest.

Hit him! he said, though he wasn't sure he needed to. The other off-worlder would no doubt see his opportunity now and hopefully wouldn't hesitate.

Although things just seemed to keep deteriorating. Moments later, Azar could see out over the shoulder of the Ubese that a speeder pulled up and more heavily armed individuals were climbing out. Whether they wanted to or not, it seemed that the two of them were now caught up in an adventure together and Azar could only hope the two made it out alive. @Catbert

 

[Nolan Kodd]

The Jedi sure knew his stuff: not a single blaster bolt reached Nolan or the Rodian ever since the blade had been ignited. For a moment, Nolan got distracted by the stranger's show of skill, but it also yielded results: the blaster bolts had given away the attacker's location, and it appeared that the white blade was in the center of attention for everyone, drawing the attention away from the pilot and the Rodian.

This was the moment Nolan had been training for: he was behind cover and didn't even have to close his eyes and try to hit the target blindly by clearing his mind and using his intuition: the target was right in sight and too preoccupied with the Jedi.

In fact, the suddenness of the attack had cleared Nolan's mind better than any conscious effort, forcing the young man to rely on instincts. When taking aim, he was as much feeling the target as he was looking at it; instead of double-checking if his shot would hit, he just let his hand guide the blaster towards the target. The eyes just confirmed what the Force had already done; it changed little that Nolan wasn't aware of the Force's complicity in the matter.

The whole thing happened in mere moments; then the Jedi ordered to shoot, and Nolan pulled the trigger. If the Force willed it, the blaster bolt would hit the attacker's chest, just as Nolan was going for and as the Jedi probably anticipated.

Either way, the arrival of reinforcements didn't go unnoticed, even though from his position Nolan didn't have a good enough view to tell the numbers or the equipment that the newcomers were packing. For the time being, the cover seemed like the best position anyway, so he'd stay there. The older Jedi was obviously more experienced in such matters, and the young man would defer to his judgement.

Just in case, however, Nolan prepared a backup plan: he checked his belt and grabbed his only frag grenade that he had acquired weeks ago for an entirely different job. While in cover, the young man was relatively sure that he wouldn't be hit, so he'd show the grenade to the Jedi, assuming he wasn't busy deflecting bolts: "You think the situation is hopeless enough?"

@Phoenix

 

[Azar Torsin]

Azar continued to bat away the blaster bolts that came in, moving so that others flew by and struck the wall behind him. Moments later, blaster bolts erupted from the blaster of his ally and found its mark, which made Azar grimace in satisfaction. It seemed to push back their enemy for a moment and Azar slipped behind the counter as well.

His saber blade flashed out and he looked at the orb the young man was now hefting. He didn't like the idea of blowing up this man's shop and he didn't want to ruin things for him, but he also didn't want to die here. Life over limb over property. There was a hierarchy and he wasn't sure the two of them could fight their way out of here while also dragging along the wounded shop owner.

If we have to, he said with a nod. Count us down and I'll draw their fire. You throw it and get the two of you to the back, he said, motioning toward the back door before waiting for his ally to count down.

When they reached zero, he popped up as his white blade came back to life. One of the blaster shots slammed into his left arm and he grunted in pain as his armor absorbed it, but his saber caught the next one, giving his ally the area to toss the grenade and bolt. @Catbert (Sorry for the delay)

 

[Nolan Kodd]

Nolan didn't have to use a frag: in fact, he also had a couple of concussion grenades on him, which wouldn't turn the establishment into a mess. But the sudden nature of the attack and the numeric advantage of the opponents made the young man go for the most destructive weapon in his arsenal.

In some regards, it was probably for the best: a concussion grenade would probably disorient and anger the attackers, while a frag grenade would stop them permanently or at least discourage any pursuit. Either way, Nolan's mind was made up.

"Alright. Three... Two.. One. Go!" he counted, and as the Jedi reignited his blade, Nolan threw the grenade, aiming it so that it would land by the entrance to the shop. Hopefully, it would hit any attackers who'd have entered the shop by now, or anyone close to the door on the outside.

The explosion would be louder than Nolan expected, and the remnant of the blast wave would reach his cover, disorienting the young man for a few moments. However, anyone by the entrance to the room would have a much worse time, not to mention the sand that the explosion would stir up. A perfect distraction and cover for the retreating customers.

The recovery took a few moments (had Nolan opened his mouth and covered his ears, that wouldn't have been necessary, but it was the first time he used a grenade). With shaky motions, the young man grabbed the Rodian under the arms yet again, pulling him towards the back door.

Since Nolan dragged the shopkeeper backward, he could keep an eye on any attackers who'd recover quickly enough to try and shoot at him. In a way, retreating with the Rodian in tow like that was even better: he served as a shield of some sorts, covering Nolan's legs and lower stomach as the pilot opened the door with a push of his back.

Assuming nothing happened, Nolan would drag the Rodian outside and put him seated against a nearby wall, hoping that the alien would regain consciousness. In the meantime, the young man would wait by the door, gun at the ready. After all, if he had been running the attack, he would've probably sent someone to the back door as well.

@Phoenix

 

[Azar Torsin]

And there it was. The room erupted in a detonation that sent the dust spinning into the air. The men were thrown backwards and in short order it seemed the gunfire had stopped. He could see someone flung backwards and began to backpedal toward the door, saber still up.

Of course, it didn't seem their opponents were getting up quite yet. Perhaps they were even knocked out, Azar wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to go murder them while they were on the ground.

Instead, he made his way to the back door and burst out of it. Outside, Nolan's intuition had been correct. There was a thug - another Rodian - armed with a blaster pistol and looking the wrong direction to greet them. It appeared he was looking to the end of the alley to make sure that no one came and interfered, but he had almost missed Nolan altogether. He swung his blaster around and leveled it at the kid, pulling the trigger and trying to shoot him right in the chest. @Catbert

 

[Nolan Kodd]

Nolan was right to expect an ambush, but with all the things to take care about, he couldn't a drop on the Rodian thug. By the time the human could aim his blaster and pull the trigger, the Rodian's blaster has already fired.

The thug's shot reached its target a moment Nolan's blaster pistol spat a red bolt of plasma towards the Rodian's chest. A sudden burst of pain scorched Nolan's body at the place where the shot was supposed to hit. The armor underneath the poncho absorbed the projectile itself, but the heat from the shot was still there; it was the suddenness of pain that knocked Nolan to the ground. As the young man fell, he pulled the trigger again in shock, his blaster arm still directed towards the ambusher. Of course, there was no guarantee that Nolan's second shot would be as precise as the first one, but that was all he could do for the moment.

As Nolan fell to the ground on his back, he didn't let go of his blaster. Trying to ignore the pain (which was nothing compared to even a tangent hit without armor), he growled and aimed it at the thug, intent on pulling the trigger again if the Rodian hadn't been taken out by the previous shots.

@Phoenix

 

[Azar Torsin]

Azar emerged into the heat of the back alley and immediately saw bad things unfolding. The sound of gunfire echoed through the narrow space and the sound seemed to echo again and again. Or perhaps it was just because Kodd was still pulling the trigger repeatedly. Azar wasn't going to stop him, and within moments, the Rodian lay lifeless on the floor. Smoke escaped from holes in his chest and head and there was no sign of movement.

Are you injured? Can you move? he asked, bending over to help hoist Kodd up by the arm. Of course the Jedi could see he'd been shot, but he wasn't dead, which Azar took to mean he was armored... or so he hoped. Two wounded people would make this significantly more difficult, but Azar also guessed these thugs didn't have unlimited troops. They'd shot this one and he guessed there were three out front, at least one of whom was dazed. The odds were stacked against them, but not impossibly so.

We need to get out of the street. Find somewhere to hide or regroup, he said, looking around the alleyway for any signs of a door to duck into or a place to gain an advantage for an ambush. They only had a handful of seconds until their enemy looped around the back, but in a fight like this one, a few seconds was an eternity. @Catbert

 

[Nolan Kodd]

"I'm ok," Nolan replied as Azar helped him up. The heat from the blaster bold being absorbed by the armor had subsided long ago, and so did the pain caused by it. "We can't outrun them with him in tow," the young man pointed at the Rodian shopkeeper who was still seated against the wall near the door. He could already imagine it: he'd grab the immobile shopkeeper and get shot in the back as he'd be dragging him somewhere. In Nolan's mind, that left only one option aside from fleeing: ambush.

"Try this," Nolan searched a pouch on his belt and got another orb out of it, which he'd toss over to the Jedi, assuming he was ready and willing to catch it. A concussion grenade. It was funny that the gear he had acquired but never used for a ship heist on Nar Shaddaa was coming in handy now. Nolan was running low on grenades, only having one concussion grenade left for himself. But seeing how fine they had worked so far, he'd be sure to refill once this mess was over.

"It should blind and stun them for a few moments." Hopefully, it would give enough time for the Jedi to get up close an personal with the thugs. With that settled, Nolan looked around, but didn't see any open doors. What he did see, however, was a narrow staircase leading to the roof of the shop. The railing made of sandstone could provide enough cover, assuming Nolan didn't show up at the front side of the building, where the attackers could still be preparing for another push.

Unlike the Jedi, Nolan couldn't deflect blaster bolts, and his armor could only take so much punishment. Saving the shopkeeper was nice an all, but Nolan's ultimate priority was staying alive (and, hopefully, not losing any of his possessions in the process). That's why he didn't wait for approval before going for the cover he had found, trying to tread lightly; after all, the attackers were still nearby and would probably hear his footsteps otherwise (assuming their hearing had already recovered from the explosion).

Of course, the Jedi could interfere and offer another plan at any moment since Nolan took out the grenade.

@Phoenix

 

[Azar Torsin]

Azar didn't speak up with any objections. The plan seemed as decent as any he had and he gave a quick nod. I'll make my move then, he said, hefting the grenade in his hand. He watched as Nolan took his position in cover and Azar helped the shopkeeper into the same. It wouldn't do if the man they were trying to drag out of here died.

Azar got to his own cover and not a moment too soon. He could see the men making their way down the path and waited. Shouting could be heard as the thugs saw their downed comrades. One of them bent over and Azar took his opportunity, tossing the grenade and hoping Nolan would be ready for his own attack.

Azar's saber flashed to life and swung down cleaving through one shoulder before his saber swung around to take off a leg. With any luck, Nolan would shoot the last one and they would be able to be done with this farce of a robbery. Azar was growing more exasperated by the second. @Catbert

 

[Nolan Kodd]

Nolan remained in cover until he heard the shouting; even then, he didn't hurry to leave his cover and expose himself, especially since he knew that a concussion grenade was about to go off. Once he heard it (you couldn't mistake the sound for anything else), he finally made his move.

Shooting at stunned targets from above and up close with a blaster pistol was a breeze, especially since the Jedi was doing most of the work. Nolan would simply try to pick off the remaining target with a couple of shots directed at the head and at the chest. From this angle, a miss on the former could very well be a hit on the latter.

With the attackers dealt with, Nolan would ask: "All clear?" He didn't make his question too loud, seeing how there could be someone remaining by the front door on the opposite side of the building. He'd look in that direction, but from his position he wouldn't see much; for that, he'd have to walk over to the railing on the opposite side of the building, and Nolan wasn't hurrying to do it just yet.

@Phoenix

 

[Azar Torsin]

All clear, he said as the racket died down. He looked around to see the thugs in various states of dead or unconscious and then looked to his unwitting partner. Thanks for your help, he said, though he wasn't suer that Nolan had really had a choice so much as he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I'm Azar, he said, offering a hand. The truth was, he didn't plan to stick around long, but that didn't mean he didn't want to at least make a brief introduction before continuing to look for the item he'd come for. Though, the more he looked down at the Rodian, the more he wondered if he'd just been on a wild bantha chase. The shopkeeper had made no attempt to bargain or anything, which Azar took to guess as he didn't have what the Jedi had come for.

 

[Nolan Kodd]

"Nolan," the young man replied with a handshake. "And I guess I should be the one thanking you, otherwise I'd end up like them," he pointed at the thugs as he said that; after all, if it hadn't been for the Jedi, Nolan would've had a much harder time escaping that mess, let alone dragging out the Rodian shopkeeper.

"Well, it's as good time as any to grab what I bought and dash," Nolan tilted his head and shrugged, looking towards the door to the shop. He hesitated for a bit after saying that: the shopkeeper could still need medical attention. But the last thing Nolan wanted was to get stuck on the planet.

If he waited for someone else to come see what the fuss was all about, he'd have to explain that he had actually bought those power conduits; let alone the fact that the next few people to come here could be thugs or scavengers as well.

That's why the young man would open the door into the shop, looking at the aftermath of the battle; some parts of the shop (especially by the front door) had been turned upside down by the explosion, with spare parts scattered on the floor. Over areas weren't as devastated, and Nolan would hopefully find the items he had paid for.

@Phoenix

 

[Azar Torsin]

Azar gave a quick nod as Nolan stated that he should grab what he paid for and leave. He could understand that, since no one on this planet wanted to get their hands into the business of other people's things or stick their necks out for others. It was enough that Nolan had even helped him this far, and he wondered if it was out of the kindness of his heart or because his life depended on it. Probably the latter, but that was as good as anything out here.

His saber flashed out and he replaced it onto his belt. He helped hoist the Rodian up and back inside into a chair. He wasn't very happy that his shop had been half-destroyed, but at this point, Azar wasn't sure he cared.

You're going to tell me about the holocron, he stated, waving his hand as the Rodian began to look confused. A moment later, he began to spill his guts about the information Azar wanted.

In short order, he knew that the man didn't have what he was looking for. He pointed Azar to a cube hidden away under the counter, and he could tell the instant he touched it that it was no holocron. It didn't radiate with the Force or give any indications that it was anything comparable to what he was looking for.

He gave a quiet sigh and his shoulder slumped as he set the cube back on the counter. It was pointless and clearly showed that this trip was a complete waste of time.

He pulled out his medpack and bound up the injury on the shop owner before rising again and turning back to Nolan. I should probably be getting on my way as well, he said with a sigh, indicating he'd not had luck with what he was looking for. Thanks for your help, he said, before turning to leave. May the Force be with you. @Catbert