Ask Starlight We Ride Till Dawn... Hopefully

[Lucian Belgrave]

In a way, Starlight Beacon was like his home on Tatooine. There was nothing to do. Of course, there was always the option of more training and studying, and the same was true back on the farm, in its own way. "I can always find more chores for you to do," his father and mother would reiterate to him over and over. Instead of chores here, he would be offered a tome or something else that he hadn't been taught yet, and he could only take so much before it felt like his brain would melt out of his ears. As a result, the daredevil streak in him began to flare, and he itched to go on one of his classic adventures again.

When curfew struck, Lucian waited a couple hours before sneaking his way out of the Jedi Quarters, first navigating through meditation gardens and then through the mess halls until he reached one of the elevators. From his months on the station, he was able to learn the patrols through mere observation, and it helped keep his "escape" smooth. It really was too easy.

Once the elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal a lobby, he realized he had gotten through the difficult part. He was able to see the doors across the large room that led to one of the hangers. Lucian was dressed casually with a single-strap backpack fastened to him, a fit that was easy to move in given what he had in mind. Seeing his target and that the coast was clear, he reached into one of his bag's side pockets, pulling out a pair of headphones before slipping them on his head. Pulling out his Ezphone, he scrolled through his playlist until he found the right song, the beat banging loudly into his ears.

Lucian, believing he made it, celebrated a little early and sort of danced to the beat, hopping as he walked to the doors. His eyes were closed as he just grooved to the beat and mouthed the words, the sound destroying any possibility of thinking of anything else but the music. Outside his headphones, all someone would be able to hear and see was him hopping across the room, accompanied by the sound of his squeaking shoes.

In his victory dance, however, he was completely oblivious to the R2 droid that was rolling right in front of him. His foot caught on one of the wheels and nearly took him out completely. The R2 unit spun out uncontrollably, letting out a mechanical squeal in terror. Lucian squawked out in pure reaction, "Shit!" The headphones would slide down his neck as he stumbled forward and knocked into a display pedestal with a vase on top. The piece began to topple on top of the padawan's murmurings of "No, no, no," but to no avail as it fell over. Whipping out both hands, the force would seize both the vase and the droid to hold them in place, with Lucian in the middle in a sort of awkward lunge position that he held. His tongue stuck out as he held absolutely still, believing that maybe he was still in the clear.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra was in a mood. He had been the one to discover Starlight Beacon and first bring it online when it was still nothing but a piece of shit on a random planet. Yet, he got almost no credit for it becoming the newest Jedi base. His best friend got all the glory. Ezra was happy for him, but his ego and desire to be self important grated at him. He avoided being on the station outside of the opening ceremony, but he finally got over his ego to make an appearance.

He walked from the hangar where he just arrived into a main lobby. Ezra walked over to see a Jedi lunging over with the stupidest look on his face. The part Sephi calmly stared at the scene, watching the guy strain himself as he tried to keep a vase from hitting the floor. With a casual wave of his wrist, the vase found itself neatly back on the pedestal, “Try not to shit yourself,” He said curtly.

Ezra caught the guy’s EZPhone on the ground, his silver gaze lingering on it briefly. It still felt surreal to know that so much of the galaxy was now using a product he tinkered on and created in a dorm room. He didn’t linger there further, looking away as he began to walk off, his demeanor always aloof and a bit detached.

 

[Lucian Belgrave]

The seconds ticked by at a painful crawl, but Lucian didn't hear any alarms blare or security rush out. But when the vase was lifted back onto the pedestal, one word was calmly stated within his head: shit. If this was the end of his midnight trips, he wished his end came a little more glamorously than this, but the galaxy had its own sense of humor.

Lucian quickly stood up to his full height, releasing his grip on both the droid and the vase as he spun on his heel to face the newcomer, solemnly answering with a solemn nod, "Always." There would be an awkward pause before the padawan clicked his tongue and then asked rhetorically as he gestured to the R2 unit, "Droids, amirite?" The only play he saw was shifting blame onto the little mechanical creature but the question just seemed to simply fly right over the Knight's head. When Ezra passed him, he just shook his head in disbelief to his own words, God, he thought to himself.

Lucian was still relatively new to the Order and he still knew who the Knight was, his father's face plastered everywhere and the similarities quite apparent. While he didn't understand the extensive exploits and deeds of Ezra, he knew he wasn't the one to make a mistake in front of.

But when Ezra just kept walking, Lucian's eyes widened in shock, almost not able to believe his luck. He wasn't even offered a second glance and his eyes flicked in both directions around him, wondering if a trick was being played at first. When he was still greeted with silence, the padawan had a small debate whether to say anything before finally giving in and just saying after the Knight, "See you around..." Not really trying to wait for a response, the padawan would almost tip-toe to the hanger doors still, swiping his phone from the ground smoothly as he did. Believing ignorance was bliss, he simply ignored Ezra and pressed on.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra was already on his own EZPhone, scrolling through bolo-ball feeds. He planned on saying hello to Ferrin, Leon and a few others before ditching this place again. However, his ears twitched slightly as he heard motion continue behind him. The Thorne stood facing the empty hallway in front of him, thinking back to his own time as a padawan. He could recall being a Padawan on Brighthome and how he and Leon had to find crafty ways to get off the station because technically it wasn’t permitted. Security was double time since Darth Raze attacked and the Sith Order was making moves.

He thought of pretending not to have noticed, but these whole new things called responsibility and accountability - a terrible byproduct of his friends, master, and love life - nagged at him. With a sigh, he took several steps backwards the way he came.

Meanwhile, the padawan who thought he was so damn slick would suddenly feel the Force coil around him. He was pulled backwards, his sneakers squeaking as they skidded across the floor till he skirted right past Ezra and then came to a stop in front of him. The Force version of being yanked by the ear.

The Thorne stared at the Jedi with an unamused expression, “You got a hangar pass on you?” Ezra asked, in complete disbelief that he was that Knight now. The ones he always tried to avoid when he was a Padawan.

 

[Lucian Belgrave]

Lucian was almost there, butterflies practically flying in his stomach as he somehow managed to just walk past a Knight. But right when he was about to reach the door, that's when he felt invisible restraints form around him and shatter his hopes in a matter of seconds. His last ditch effort was one outstretched hand toward the door. "No," he strained out softly before he skidded backwards across the lobby as a human statue. Halfway through being pulled, he dropped his arm and his head in defeat and allowed himself to be placed right in front of Ezra.

The padawan lifted his amber gaze toward the silver one boring down on him and offered a sheepish grin. The truth about the pass was that he did have it on him, but it was only supposed to be used before curfew. Able to see the look on Ezra's face, he lied immediately with the naive hope of breaking out of this predicament: "Nope, we're supposed to turn them in before we head to bed." Lucian fell back onto the R2 unit, who still watched them, and he shrugged, "Truth be told, I've just been placed on cleaning duty by one of the Masters. He believes, you know, that it's a good route to... developing healthy habits and patience. I tend not to agree, but duties are duties." The story was just one of those times where sentences exited from the mouth and you just tried your best to paint the best picture you could with them.

Lucian gave a slow nod to Ezra, as if he could subtly force him to believe the story, before he added, "Me and the droid were just inspecting the lobby. We were about to move on before we were interrupted, so." The padawan just gave another shrug of his shoulders and said, "A common misunderstanding."

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra crossed his arms over his chest as the Padawan started to tell a story beginning from the dawn of time by the end of which Ezra would need to be checked into a retirement home. He had bullshitted people enough to know when someone was doing it to him. The padawan was barely a sentence through his verbal diarrhea before Ezra cut in, “All right, shut up,” He stated curtly. He checked his chrono to see when he had to meet with the Council about his reports. He had at least today to himself.

He glanced over at the R2 unit, “Don’t you have a job to do?” He asked coolly, the droid chirping before zooming away. Ezra’s silver gaze fixed back on the padawan, “Rookie mistake,” He said, “Don’t even have the droid rotation and hangar arrivals schedule down before you try sneaking out?”

Ezra eyed him curiously, “Where are you trying to go, exactly?” He asked calmly.

 

[Lucian Belgrave]

Lucian knew he was done when he was told to shut up, barely halfway through his explanation. The jig was up, and his lips pursed as he let out a quiet, "Hmm," as a response that also conveyed his internal thoughts well, Damn, I'm so fucked. There was no point in digging a deeper hole for himself. After Ezra addressed the R2 and basically forced it back to work, his eyes followed after droid as he thought to himself, And shit, there goes my lone witness.

But when the Knight labeled this as a rookie mistake before listing out different schedules he should've kept, his eyes widened slightly in shock as he wondered if this was a ploy to get more information. Unable to help himself, Lucian gave another sheepish grin before giving a light snap of his finger and shooting a finger gun at Ezra, "I didn't need them the previous times." When he realized he just admitted to having snuck out multiple times, he quickly shot up his hand and made sounds as if he could push the previous sentence away farther: "Ahhhh..." Eventually, he spoke basic and said, "Ignore that."

To push the conversation past that, he answered the question by pointing his finger down to the floor beneath them. Lucian clarified after, "Eriam." At first, that's all his response was, as if that's all that was required of him. There would be a few moments of silence before the padawan eventually clarified even further with a soft sigh: "I found out that every few years, a rare herd surfaces above ground for a few hours. The people call them "star grazers'." Lucian then cocked his head back and forth, about to tell his true intent before just safely packaging it as a partial truth to truly sell it: "I just want to go see them in person and see if they live up to the hype."

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra quirked a brow as the Padawan willingly admitted to sneaking out in the past. He really was just terrible at this. He had vagluely heard of the planet before, and he stared at the other guy in stony silence. Seconds ticked by before the Padawan got the hint and spoke about some sort of herd that came to the surface. Clearly there was a lot he wasn’t sharing - there was no way a padawan would risk this much just to look at some wild herds.

“Well, maybe I want to see them too,” He said. He could vaguely recall reading about the planet somewhere and about how there were vast oceans and waves perfect for sailing. There were entirely selfish reasons for this, but he could also keep an eye on the Padawan and score some points with the Council so they would lay off about assigning him a padawan.

Ezra spun on his heel without a word and started walking back to the hangar, expecting the Padawan to at least be intelligent enough to follow. Unlike before, Ezra was able to use his own ship - so of course it was a luxury personal transport that cost a fortune.

 

[Lucian Belgrave]

After the words left the padawan, his eyes squinted slightly in suspense as he wondered what the reaction to his plan was. The two outcomes that popped into his mind were him being shunned and sent right to the council, or possibly it being viewed as an innocent excursion and allowing him to return back to his dorms. The third option, which came true, where Ezra decided to tag along with him, was the one he thought had zero chance of taking place. Lucian's eyebrow arched in reaction, but the Knight was on the move before he could say anything.

Lucian just stared at Ezra's back for a moment until he finally shook his head and caught up with him. If he was being given an escort to make this unofficial trip an official one, then he wouldn't be a fool to deny that blessing. Even though it seemed that there wasn't an issue about traveling down to the planet, he still explained how simple and easy this trip would be, "All we do is go down to the surface." His fingers wiggled forward to simulate them sneaking and flying out of the station. "We find the herd, take a few mental snapshots, then come on back." His fingers then turned around, wiggling back toward the padawan to capture the process of getting back on the station. "It won't even take that long," he dismissively said with a slight shrug.

Entering the hanger, Lucian saw the shitty little transport that he normally "borrows" and instinctively angled toward it. But when he saw Ezra fixated on one ship, he followed his gaze and saw what he was aiming for; his only reaction was, "Holy shit." Just from the outside, he could tell that the transport most likely costed more then his whole farm back home. Before the two got lost in the confines of the ornate beast, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small drive and said, "You'll need these coordinates. Most likely location of the herd."

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra remained silent as they boarded his ship. He had a droid to do all the piloting, of course. He had designed the navicomputer himself, and the specs were souped up beyond belief, “Don’t touch any of the terminals, Skim,” He warned the guy. Seeing as how he careened across the lobby floor as if he was on a Skimboard, the nickname felt appropriate. Ezra jutted his chin for the Padawan to take a seat as the ship took off towards the atmosphere. It would only be a few moments before they jumped to hyperspace.

“Who’s your master?” He asked as he pulled up his own EZPhone to watch updates on Boloball and check on his fantasy league. He had plenty of trash-talking to do with Dash’s brother on the latest championship, “Shouldn’t someone be keeping an eye on you?” Ezra asked without looking, his demeanor calmly aloof as always.

 

[Lucian Belgrave]

Entering onto the ship, Ezra continued on as normal but once Lucian was inside, his stride slowed greatly. His mouth practically dropped at the wealth that surrounded him, the ornate furniture and spacious rooms despite only being a personal transport. Someone could have lived comfortably on the ship better then half the galaxy if they truly wanted. The Padawan had never seen or experienced such luxury before; that term only really applied to his family's speeder back home as it was the one that didn't constantly break down.

Hearing the Knight's warning from down the hall, Lucian would be in mid-spin still inspecting the space around, murmuring mainly to himself in response, "Sound just like my pops." Painful memories surfaced of his father constantly badgering him with rules but with laugh, understanding his son's young honest intention to bend the rules to see what was possible. He finished his spin to catch Ezra motioning for him to join him at the co-pilot seat, ignoring his new nickname to do as he said and slid in.

"Myself," Lucian answered ironically but also truthfully, before stating what that actually meant, "No one. I've only recently joined your Order. Still finding my way around." The choice hadn't been made willingly by him but he always understood the sentiment of why he had been sent off. Seeing Ezra fiddle with his phone, the Padawan took a peek to see that he was messing with his fantasy league. The kid was personally a huge fan of the sport, it being one of the only stable forms of entertainment that he could watch back home. Able to even spot some of the players that the Knight on his lineup, he couldn't help but blurt out, "You probably want to read the practice report on Rashaad Tufon. He sprained his ankle yesterday and is questionable." Personally, he wouldn't have played him but everyone had their own strategies.

When asked if someone should've kept an eye on him, he stretched his legs and rested them on the console with one foot over the other. Lucian reached over and struck his fist against Ezra's arm lightly before asking rhetorically, "You're here keeping an eye on me already, aren't you?"

Lucian jutted a chin to the cockpit window and said, "Once we exit from hyerspace, our desination will take us to the base of some mountains. The herd has an ingress point there to the cave systems underneath."

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra’s ears twitched slightly at the mention of the word ‘Pops’. It’s how he referred to his father as well - a comically informal term for the most influential man in the galaxy. The term ‘your order’ almost made him cringe. Clearly this kid lived under a rock not to recognize Ezra Thorne and how he was far more focused on EZTech than being a Jedi. He hardly even visited the temples. The term triggered Ezra more than he would admit, and he sat there silently fuming as he scrolled through his players. From the corner of his eye, he could catch the dude peeking.

“Whatever,” He said coolly, moving his EZPhone screen away, though quickly shuffling some things around. The Padawan had a point, but Ezra wasn’t about to admit that. His attention to sports had suffered since he started EZTech, university, and Jedi things.

“Why would you choose the Jedi if you weren’t one as a youngling?” He asked as he looked at Skim. Ezra wasn’t the type to give a shit about back stories, but few in the Order joined the Jedi late like he had. That certainly explained his rebellious attitude.

The ship approached the surface of the planet and landed, the ramp dropping down for them to exit.

 

[Lucian Belgrave]

Lucian caught how Ezra shifted the phone away from him and lifted his hands halfway in the air. He gave a cheesy grin, a temporary nickname for the Knight coming to him right then, as he said, "My bad, sport. I was just trying to help." Even though he had the best intentions, he knew how competitive and ego-driven leagues could be.

When he was asked why he chose to become a Jedi, his hands dropped back down onto his lap while his grin disappeared. The change in attitude was obvious, with the air around Lucian becoming heavier itself. He was drawn back into his past by the words momentarily but shut that portal before he was sucked in. "Who said I was given a choice, Sport?" He asked rhetorically, his tone taking on a measure of seriousness that hadn't been heard before from him. If Ezra had glanced back, he would have just found the Padawan peering out of the cockpit and sunken in his seat as he was silent for the rest of the ride.

After the two disembarked, they would be greeted with a nice, temperate breeze as trees nearby swayed in the wind. On the surface and breathing in the fresh air, Lucian's more lighthearted nature returned, and he spun around to face Ezra as he walked backward. "We need a little pep in our step. We miss the herd, we don't get another chance for years," he reminded his babysitter, not intending to be slowed down. Spinning back around, he'd lead the way right toward the nearby mountains.

The pair would first have to clear a forest before they arrived at the base of the mountains. As they made their trek, Lucian wouldn't just take the straightest or most efficient path but the most active one. If there was something to walk across, hop over, or do anything else, he clearly altered his path to do it. "What about you?" he asked out of the blue as he walked up a fallen log. "You're the most loaded Jedi I've seen yet. Why don't you just stuff your ears with credits and go do whatever you want?" He was genuinely curious, as he didn't know he had the same commitment.