Ask Shroom Deluge

[Orenth]

THEME​

Something splattered on his face. The thickened beard the unconcious jedi had grown out caught beads of water. Rivulets of water from a tropical drizzle ran down through the breached escape pod. Some lights continued to flash and beep a crimson warning. The scent of some burnt organic mater was only dampened by the deluge.

Another droplet hit Byron, this one impacting on his forehead and causing some of the blood to mix. Demolly, or whatever that woman's name had been on his ship. The Knight wasn't sure what hit first, the pain or the confusion. The escape pod had fallen out of orbit, thankfully far away from where the man had encountered dangerous spiders. But still a decent ways away from civilization.

Grunting, he got up from his position only to fall back. Trying to catch him with himself with his left arm he immediatly regretted it. His left arm probably had fractured. After a moment of trying to recover from the disorienting crash. He had his belt, but the commlink was nowhere to be found and the beacon on the escape pod looked smashed. Well I can't call for help or let anybody know my ship got stolen.

Turning his head to the sky, the man closed his eyes and felt the rain on his skin for a moment Taking a deep breath, centering and focusing himself he had his arm wrapped in a makeshift splint. A little bit of bacta went a long way. It wasn't long before the Knight was hiking his way with personav in hand towards what he assumed was the closest settlement.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra found this an odd world, the jungle wasn't anything she came to believe while she learned about such environments in school. However, what she did not like was the humidity, her hair had been so unruly on this world she couldn't wait to get off. Besides, the work was not good, she found some farm work, but easily preferred the bitter smell of ship engines and working with hyperdrives than digging. The teen had decided to take a break after collecting a type of root, tossing down the sack before throwing herself down on the dirt, enjoying the moment of being off her feet. Though the moment would be short-lived as she watched something fly through the sky; it was entirely too small to be a ship and Lyra decided it would be much the worth to investigate.

The redhead grabbed her belongings and looked at the sky again to where she had seen the ship. She followed the trajectory of the falling object, leading it to possibly landing several kilometers outside town. Frowning, the girl didn't think anyone had seen it, nor would go bother to see what had happened. The girl started walking down the road, eventually spotting some speeders sitting outside the bar, which was built specifically for travelling spacers. Looking around, Lyra hopped onto one and with a quick whine of the engine, she was gone, heading into the Felucian jungles.

She had no clue on what she was going to find, but there was hope it would bring her enough credits to get her offworld.

@Darasuum

 

[Orenth]

There were signs of habitation in the wilderness from farming equipment. Keeping his senses reaching outward as he walked he had a feeling he was heading in the right direction. The subtle beeping of the personav was overshadowed by the sounds of nature. But another presence was quickly approaching. For some reason, Byron thought about hiding from sight. But thought better of it. It was just his instincts in the wake of recent events trying to keep him from repeating mistakes.

Remaining out in the open, the sound of a repulsor engine came quickly into view. On the back was a younger and fairly meek young woman. Maybe a local farm girl. He thought to himself and looked her over but made his presence obvious. Sticking out a gauntleted arm he held up a thumb as if to signal as a hitch hiker. "Hey, would you mind giving me a lift to town, please?" Hopefully there was some sense of outer rim hospitality on this planet.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra was ready to move to off road to follow where she thought the debris fell, but instead slowed down the speeder when she saw a figure on the road. She frowned, not recognizing the man, he didn't look like he was from around the area. The girl let her toes drag on the road's surface until she came to a stop, letting the man approach and allowing her enough time to determine if he was a threat and if she should jet in the opposite direction.

He clearly saw her and hailed, asking for a ride into town. Lyra was silent for a moment and the Jedi would be able to tell she was trying to weight the pros and cons of helping this stranger. She really wanted to find the object that had been falling. As she brought a hand to her forehead to shield her eyes from the overarching sun, she replied to the Jedi.

"I'm not going that way." she gestured to behind her shoulder indicating she had just came from that direction, "I saw something, did you see that thing fall through the sky?" she asked him, "It was a little smaller than a personal craft, I wanted to make sure no one was in it and no one was hurt from any falling pieces." Lyra explained and waited for his response. She hoped he didn't continue to press her for a ride back to town. The downside to being who she was: young, redhead, female, people didn't seem to respect her.

@Darasuum

 

[Orenth]

Byron turned to look over his own shoulder and towards the cloudy sky. Rain continued to fall and there was no longer a clear trail in where the pod had passed. "Yeah..." He said, knowing that from what she said meant it was just his pod that had crashed around here.I need to tell the Order about this and get a ride back to Ajan Kloss.

The Knight would turn back towards Lyra. "I was in it. Didn't hit anything aside from some the ground though. And hard too." She was curious about the site and young enough to probably want to indulge that curiosity. "Is there anybody with a ship in town or long range transmitter?" If he wasn't able to start heading back to the temple then he needed to at least reach out to them.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra heard a rumbling and the sky had opened with rain. It was not uncommon, but she knew she would be soaked in a few minutes and that was uncomfortable, especially when the rain stopped and the sun reappeared.

The girl's eyes widened and she looked at him from head to toe when he explained he was in the pod that had descended, however, her gaze would settle on his lightsaber hilt and redhead frowned. He asked about a ship and a long range transmitter and she shrugged. "It could be, if you have the credits. They don't just let anyone use anything there." she glanced down at the speeder bike, knowing she did not acquire this legally or by any means of how transactions were completed.

"Are you a Jedi?" she asked, slowly turning the speeder back to the town, she patted on the seat for him to join her, however, when she went to start up the engine, it sputtered and stopped. Lyra tried again, and the same thing happened. The rain most likely seeped into some of the wiring causing something to short. "I think we're walking..." she sighed.

@Darasuum

 

[Orenth]

What the stranger said had Byron looking towards the direction of the town. He replied simply with a casual shrug, shaking droplets off his broad shoulders. "That's fine" currency was not an issue for a Jedi typically. But that wasn't why he said it. The Knight was determined it was not a matter of if just a matter of when. Byron wasn't the type to sit idle.

"Yup." he moved towards the speeder and winced a little. As soon as he straddled the bike it sputtered and died. The redhead sighed and Byron grumbled slightly, groaning as he dismounted from the bike. But the man didn't move away from it. Instead he moved along the bike with a practiced eye.

Master Sati had passed on more than knowledge of the Force when she trained Byron as a padawan. Mechanics and engineering was one of the subjects that kept his skills refreshed. Continued independence had led to him doing extensive work on his own ship."Give me a minute. I'll have a look." Pulling out his fusion cutter, he placed a hand against the bike's forward chasis. First he would take off a panel and get a look at the inside. "No point giving up on something just because it breaks once."

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

He confirmed he was a Jedi and Lyra's thoughts begun to run with questions to ask him, many of those to confirm or disconfirm ideas and stories she had heard about them from various people. She climbed off the speeder and watched him kneel down by the engine to take a look at it before opting to walk back. Lyra was quiet as he took a look, he spoke again, mentioning not giving up on something that breaks. Those words stung and though she knew he meant the speeder, there was a feeling in her gut that told her that he maybe could sense more about her than she entirely hide.

Lyra walked around to watch him work, "People do though." she replied quietly, but quickly jumped to a new topic, focusing on the speeder, "I don't know much on hardware, but coding I understand. I like making the algorithms, but fixing stuff like this," Lyra shook her head, "Haven't quite figured it out." the girl explained, still feeling tense around the Jedi.

"I didn't think Jedi knew how to fix things like that. Don't you guys just sit around and hum and meditate?" she asked.

@Darasuum

 

[Orenth]

Byron's awareness was reaching outward more, wary of dangers even if they weren't intentionally violent. The Jedi looked away from the bike as Lyra spoke. She moved from the cynical sentence onto coding though, reminding Byron that he should focus on fixing the bike if they wanted to get out of the rain.

You just did the same thing that you did when that woman got the drop on you. He scolded himself as he often had to. Byron's hands lowered the tools for a moment as he remembered his droid. BG-L0 had been on the outer shell of the ship when Byron had been knocked out. The machine had probably been grabbed by the ships gravitational pull if she were thrown and burned up in the process. The man doubted he would see his droid again.

The girl had something going on with her. The red headed youth was anxious but that didn't seem to stop her curiousity. "Wouldn't have guessed that. Much call for coders around here?" As far as the engineer was concerned, this area was wilderness and farm land. A blue arc of electricity caused a spark to flash out and the knight to flinch. He wouldn't be surprised if this was the teen's family junker. It looked worn and weathered but not well maintained compared to some of a similar model he had seen before.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

The teen watched him work, feeling herself lean in closer for a better work as he stripped wires and attempted to reconnect them. He asked if there were a need for coders and Lyra frowned. There was a spark and the girl jumped back in surprise and decided to stand on the other side to watch. It may be a little less sparky from where she now stood.

"Not much of a need, but I don't necessarily get to decide where I go." she explained and looked around quickly, "I hitch rides," she pulled on the strong stem of a massive palm-like leaf until it draped over the speeder and the Jedi, keeping the rain water from dripping into engine while he worked. "I have to keep moving, luckily people like when their droid works more efficiently and I can get enough credits to eat and move on to the next world."

Lyra adjusted her stance, finding a comfortable position while keeping the rain from shorting the wires further.

@Darasuum

 

[Orenth]

Pulling the fusion cutter back and setting it on the ground, Byron stuck a few fingers inside and looked away. His eyes weren't focused, his attention instead trying to feel the dark interior before finding the wires he was looking for and pulling them a little into view so he could see their colors. "Thanks." The man said before producing a flashlight.

"You mind holding this?" Byron asked since he needed both hands for the next part. It would be a bit awkward holding the leaf but the rain wasn't the main problem anyways. However it kept him from getting more wet than he already was in the event he was electrocuted. "Headed anywhere in particular?" It sounded like she wasn't a local farm girl then. Some drifting teen, running away from home likely. But if she was looking to get off world, then there was a chance that she would also have an idea for what was the best options in terms of rides with hyperdrives.

Grabbing the fusion cutter in one hand, the Knight would flashlight back. A single spark shot from the singular contact the tool had. Standing back up without a word, he reached over to cycle the engine again. After a questionable start, a plume of electrical smoke and then a low rumble that told the Jedi it was working. Putting his tools back and also resecuring the panel on the side of the bike he would expect Lyra being the one wanting to drive like before.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

He asked her to hold a flashlight and she frowned, realizing she would have to release the palm in order to help him. She complied with his request, kneeling beside him to point the device into the compartment while he searched for the correct wires. He asked her where she was going and the teen shrugged, "Just wherever the pilot is going." she explained, "As long as they are not going to the core." she quickly added.

He reached up and turned the engine again, but this time, it would be enough and it brought a grin to the teen. She handed back the flashlight and hopped onto the speeder, ready to go back to town. When the Jedi also took a seat, the teen would take off back to town.

However, when they returned to the town, the Twi'lek owner of the speeder was waiting outside, arms crossed. His cheeks red, which most would think from annoyance, but Lyra knew this one was a heavy drinker. Smoothly, Lyra parked the speeder in front of him and slowly stepped off the bike, incredibly tense as to what he would do about it.

"You stupid kids thin' you can dowahteber you wan." his words slurred and he stumbled to her, but paused looking at Byron. He raised his finger in warning to the teen before stumbling away.

Lyra had been holding her breath and she let out slow exhale, relieved it did not escalate.

@Darasuum

 

[Orenth]

Byron squinted at his work for a moment before replying. "What's wrong with the core?" It seemed to be a caveat.

Getting back on, he would adjust his weight with what little belongings he had to his name. The man had to grab hold of t he back end and use his thighs a little more as the youth hit the accelerator. The town would come into view and the Knight would feel a little better. His eyes looked towards buildings, the roofs mainly for antenae or dishes. Byron doubted they would have the more common public terminals found an more metropolitan locations.

A Twi'lek was waiting for them upon arrival. Byron would wait to dismount after Lyra. The lush of a man would scold the teen for what must have been a non-permital use of the vehicle. Sliding forward on the saddle of the speederbike, the Jedi leaned on the parked bike's ha handlebars a slightly and eye Lyra quietly like she owed him an explination. "Which way's the cantina?" A thumb hooked behind him to the seat he had just been using. "I'll buy you...I dunno...whatever they server here." He hoped it was warm. The Jedi was going to be fully soaked to the bone before too long.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

He asked where the cantina was located and Lyra pointed to the door behind her where the drunk Twi'lek had just been moments earlier. He offered to buy her whatever they were serving and she felt herself perk up, her eyes brightening, "They have the best dewberry pie in there." she told him, "Are you serious you will buy me something?" she asked him as they entered. She did not have nearly enough credits to even pay for a plate of dinner for the evening

Going inside first, Lyra scanned the nearly empty pub and found a place to sit, her clothes and hair still soaked from the rains outside. With her Jedi following, she hoped they would not raise a fuss with her inside, now with some man who clearly looked way older than her. Lyra frowned as she silently studied Byron by her at the table. There were perhaps one or two more conscious individuals in the pub also, keeping to themselves as they finished their food and drinks, waiting for the storm to pass.

"Dewberry pie." she said, reminding him of what she wanted.

@Darasuum

 

[Orenth]

He didn't reply though he heard her question. It made him smile and give a little chuckle before heading into the cantina. The young red head darted ahead of him. She seemed to already be finding a seat by the time the Knight entered the establishment. Meeting Lyra at the table, he sat on the edge of his chair and looked at the other patrons.

"I heard you." Both the lack of a wait staff and the bartender giving him a funny look told him as much without the need for force powers. Standing up again, he tried to not limp visibly. "You have a comlink I could use? Something long range." The bartender shook his head. "How about any ship out of here?"

"I think those guys just got off of one." The Jedi knew which ones the man gestured to since the place was so sparse. "Thanks. Can I get two dewberry pies and blue milk if you've gottem?" The bartender served up on the counter while Byron turned to look back at the teen. Paying for the food he would pick up his pie and glass of blue milk and start walking back to the table. Taking a sip of the refreshing drink his mustache would get a blue line across the bottom edge for a few moments before one of his forearms wiped it away. It definitely made the milk residue go away but his body was still wet from the rain.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra wanted the Jedi as he attended to the counter, asking questions about where he could find a commlink or other long range communication devices. Without success, he asked about a ship and he had a little more luck with the others in the cantina being pilots. However, that was what Lyra did not care, her stomach grumbled as he set down the pie in front of her and the girl took several quick bites, melting into the rare taste of dewberries.

She looked at Byron, thoughts turning as she tried to figure out what to ask him, she was indeed curious, but cautious and reserved. Trust was not something she would easily give and anything he would ask her could set her up to be hurt later. She stabbed a berry with her fork, "Can Jedi really read minds?" she asked, however, that really wasn't the question she wanted to ask, and before he could answer, she blurted out what she was really thinking.

"Why are you doing this? Buying me a piece of pie? Eating with me? You look like you're in a hurry." she quickly explained her question with justifications and glanced over her shoulder to the pilots then back to Byron, "Do you want something from me?" she asked slowly setting down her fork, getting an uneasiness in the center of her torso.

@Darasuum

 

[Orenth]

Byron's glass of milk was mostly finished by the time Lyra had inhaled half of the pie the Knight had brought back to the table. There was the second dewberry pie still sitting on the counter with its paired glass of milk. Byron wasn't really that hungry anyways.

"Havent' met one who could." There were plenty of rumors about the Jedi Order. Some of them were pretty accurate, others total bantha poodoo. It was easy to see why some people regarded Jedi warily.

More questions came. Her mind was worried and suspicious but if he were a hitchhiker then he would be on his toes too. When she turned to look at the pilots she would find him looking at her. "We're here. I don't have a lot of options." He looked around and gave a shrug and continued. "Plus I had a feeling we'd find a ride better together."

The Knight would have drank more of his milk but the girl looked perturbed. "You ok?" His eyes looked down at the food, the bar, Lyra again. "Are you sick?"

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

He was so calm around her, she could usually sense when individuals were irritated with her, even just being present she could feel she was unwelcomed by the bar keeper behind the counter. He made the suggestion that they could find a ride together and Lyra found this guy to be entirely strange as compared to those she had encountered in her travels.

He asked if she was ok or was feeling sick; Lyra did not respond right away as she leaned back in her seat, picking a smaller piece of the pie, "I'm fine, just when people are nice like this, they want something from me...or me." she frowned and returned back to her pie, leaning over it to avoid eye contact with the Jedi. "What happened to your ship?" she asked looking for a topic change to pull the attention away from herself. She glanced at Byron and then back at the pie.

"That was just an escape pod, right?" she questioned, but she was certain it was one, and not just entirely ship debris from a personal craft of small freighter.

@Darasuum

 

[Orenth]

Byron's brow furrowed at hearing her answer. He felt a great deal of fear as she said those words. There was hints of something else. He felt it and tried to fixate on it, closing his eyes. It was not immediate, not on the surface, there was something just out of view. But it wasn't good for her, or anyone else. The Knight didn't know it yet but later he would realize the symptoms of fear leading to despair. She's just a kid

Hearing her asking him a question, the Knight opened his eyes again. Seeing her look up, their eyes would meet. "Stolen. Someone wanted something from me...I guess." The man turned to look at the other patrons. Byron was patient, but that didn't mean he was going to wait around all day. "Yeah. Luckily they had a conscience and didn't float me." Being killed by the vacuum of space was terrifying.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra was scraping the plate clean when he explained how his ship was stolen; he shared his relief about not being ejected into space and Lyra could relate to the feeling. She felt it every time she woke up still breathing on the ships she boarded, she would feel it every time she stepped off onto a different world. Sleep was not easy when she traveled, the galaxy was not a safe place for he teen, a fight for survival in every moment she lived.

She wiped the corner of her lip with the back of her hand, observing the smear of the blue dewberry. She tried a few more times, occasionally glancing at the Jedi to make sure he was not making a tease of her. Though she still found him odd, he could have gotten himself a flight off world by now, but he was just sitting here. She wondered if this was just what Jedi did, sit around and wait, not in a hurry to do anything. Internally she frowned, remembering the complaints from the Rangers her parents worked with at the office; they spoke of how the Jedi, though helpful, tended to drag their feet.

Still rubbing her face she looked over her shoulder to the pilots, "Where are you headed then?" she asked Byron, "You'll need to have a destination in mind when you ask them," she turned back around to face the Jedi, "Credits help too, especially if your destinations are not the same, if its on the way, they may make the stop." explained the teen.

@Darasuum