Open to 1 Worth the risk

[Kaedan]

Ever since he received the gift of a ship from his mother, Kaedan spent a lot of time working on it. He was by no means a mechanic but that didn't mean that he didn't know how to get things running. The fact that the ship turns on or flies is good enough for him. The little repairs was his problem and shouldn't be passed off to anyone else just like that. The things that he couldn't fix like the ships damaged hull and swapping the engine out, those were done before the ship was transported from his home planet to Takodana. Maybe someday the ship would be fully fixed... wouldn't hold your breath on it though.

Now that he had his own ship, he wasn't on Takodana as much and would frequent the Starlight Beacon space station. It was as boring as the day he had the tour there with Nat. He was also there for T'vani's padawan trials. That was also the first time he met fellow padawan Theia. Even so, they didn't really formally meet or knew each other back then. He also met many others along the way. He stopped being a loner and now had many friends.

Speaking about friends and his ship, he had recently finished tuning the ship up for a trip. He and Theia were supposed to be taking his ship to venture out. This wasn't anything that was officially sanctioned by the order. Simply exploration among peers. What would they find? Who would they meet? It was all a mystery. Wasn't that the fun in things?

Kaedan stood at the holotable and took out his EZPhone. He messaged Theia to let her know that he and the ship were ready for their adventure. He stood in the common area close to the boarding ramp. Everything they would need for the trip was already on board including food supplies. All that was left was the adventure out there.
@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia wasn't sure how her convincing worked, but it did; she just wanted to get out of the temple, it was hard for her to remain in a single place for very long without getting bored. She chalked it up to the lack of real plants, there was difficulty for her to see artificial systems in space grow as they did. She hadn't known Kaedan for very long, but he seemed genuine enough that she thought it would an intriguing ride after she learned he just inherited a ship of more sentimental value over what she thought was a minimum standard in grading for a ship of its class.

In this, she was curious to where the star map would lead and how and if his ship would even get them there. There was a ping on her comm as he had messaged her. Theia arrived shortly after, clearly ready to go, pack in tow, just barely zipped shut; she had packed so much it was nearly bursting at the seams. However, Theia would argue everything inside was important.

She waved to Kaedan when she spotted him though her gaze would set on his ship, which was short of being held together by dura-tape and Theia grimaced, unable to hide her snobby ship preferences. Theia wouldn't be alone as behind her rolled her droid, Gee-Gee who also agreed to her disapproval to his ship. "You certain this will even get off the ground?" she asked Kaedan, the droid behind her whistling as it reminisced and chirped out some ancient technology facts. The redheaded padawan waved her hand at the droid, getting him to shush. One she hoped was this ship was good enough to get them off the ground and back again, if she had to call Ezra, or Uncle Jai or her mom to her help, she would never hear the end of it.

@StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

While standing in the common area, Kaedan waited for Theia. The wait wasn't long though he wondered just what was up with what she was carrying. Her luggage was barely holding itself together. Yet, he didn't mind. If she brought all of that stuff, maybe it was necessary. She waved at him and he waved back. "Welcome aboard." His face shone brightly as he thought of the ship. Her grimace didn't go unnoticed though. He also didn't blame her. At a glance, the ship was a hunk of junk in its current state. Also, from what he gathered, Theia came from credits. Deep pockets of credits too.

Her question brought a chuckle out of him. "Of course, she will get us off the ground. Despite her looks, she's quite the bird. If anything goes wrong, I know how to fix her." At least, for the most part but she doesn't need to know that or the fact that none of the 5 test flights I've done involved hyperspace travel. It'll be fine. Theia didn't come alone, she brought a droid companion who also had reservations about the ship. Again, he didn't blame. "Well, seeing as you don't trust me or my ship, trust in the force."

Kaedan escorted both Gee-Gee and Theia to the cockpit. He sat in the pilot seat and buckled in. "Alright, strap in." He turned on the ship and it came to life. The boarding ramp closed and he began doing his pre-flight checks. Temperatures looking good, fuel full and ready to go. The engines are all active, controls are responding. Hyperdrive looks good... Weapons? Still not operational. Oh yeah, neither are the rear shields. Guess we got to make sure not to be shot at from behind. Alright, all working systems are a go. "Here goes."

He pulled on the yoke lightly while pushing on the throttle. The ship slowly lifted off the platform and they taxied out until they were free to climb. As they entered space, things were relatively smooth. There was no shackling or anything. The aircraft was held together well. "Told you she'd get off the ground. Now, where are we headed? I'm guessing you may have put the coordinates inside the droid, if so, he can feel free to plug in."
@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Trust in the Force? With ships...
She certainly did trust in the Force for many things, but sometimes there were things that she relied on plain ol' bolts and wires.
"It doesn't work like that..." she sighed, the droid also beeped in its version of a sigh too; it was hard for Theia to accept anything below peek, if she had known this ship was it...she would have done her own inspection beforehand. She followed him onboard, her demeanor returning to cheerful as she remembered how quickly they would be off on their adventure on a path to a possible treasure. Surely it was probably something not as fancy or worthwhile as she believed it to be, but the ability to just get out of the temple and away from some of the other padawans was relieving.

Dropping her pack on a nearby bench, she followed Kaeden to the cockpit, sitting down and adjusting the straps with Gee-Gee finding a comfortable spot behind her seat to watch them both. Though, also to be close to the computer terminal in case he needed to plug in and see what was wrong... if anything went wrong.

Theia took a deep breath as she listened to the sublight engines hum to their take off; he asked about the coordinates and Theia turned slightly to look at Gee-Gee who whistled and plugged in, uploading the data to the navi-computer. "Outer Rim, some fly-by world, anyone who probably stops there is just looking to refresh before heading back on their hyperspace route." Theia explained, "Supposedly it used to be pretty popular, a smuggler's den or something, there's probably a ghost route through hyperspace around there. Would be cool to try and find it one day." she paused, looking at the coordinates loading on the navi-computer. "The story goes that they were continuously raided and pretty much abandoned the world, but not all their treasures were brought with."

@StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

Kaedan told Theia to trust in the force since she didn't trust him or the ship. He knew that wasn't how it worked which is why he wasn't surprised when she responded. He said it as a way to tell her to rely on something she could find peace in. Well, at least he wasn't being literal in the sense. He didn't let her doubts get him down though. He had faith in the ship.

As they made their way to the cockpit, the ship came to life and they were flying. Gee-Gee uploaded the coordinates as Theia informed Kaedan on their destination. "Treasures in the Outer Rim, sounds really appealing." He smirked as he lined up the ship in preparation to jump to hyperspace. Hyperdrive is almost ready. Here goes nothing. With the hyperdrive ready, he pulled a level and the ship darted forward, going into Hyperspace.

The moment the ship made the jump, it sounded as if the ship was under strain. Rattling could be heard inside the ship. Lights flashing red shone in the cockpit, displaying areas that were under threat of being destroyed. Kaedan didn't flinch nor show any fear. He kept hold of the controls even as they fought to be free. It was a miracle that the ship hadn't fell apart yet and uncertainty of it holding together was in the air. Come on! We got this. If you can survive the wear and tear of being a bounty hunter's ship, this should be nothing. Just a quick trip to the Outer Rim and back. He continued to hold the controls firm as the rattles continued.

Maybe he should have dropped the ship off to get fix by a professional. Having taken up the responsibility of the ship, him wanting to be the one to put it back together was not a wise choice. Maybe if he had done a hyperspace flight test he would've decided this wasn't exactly ideal. Ideal or not, the ship was still holding together.
@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

While Kaedan had faith in his ship, Theia was having an internal meltdown as all the bells and whistles sounded as they flew through space and time. She begun to wonder if this was going to be worth it, and thought of the headlines on the holonet - DAUGHTER OF FAMOUS HYPERSPACE ENGINEER DIES BY HYPERSPACE. That would be the worse and what made it even more unbelievable was how he was sitting so calmly next to her, at least he appeared calm and focused; maybe it was just how Jedi Knights were, calm and focused, far from what she is able to do in her own training. Or maybe this was the galaxy's punishment for swaying this Knight to go on this unauthorized expedition.

She turned to look at her droid who seemed just as calm as Kaedan, her eyes narrowed wondering what it wasn't telling her in the moment. "Like, I like taking risks, but this is like testing fate." she grimaced, turning to look at Kaedan, "I don't want to test fate today." she frowned. As short as the trip would be, it was agonizing for the padawan until she finally realized there was not much else she can do except trust Kaedan knew what he was doing. A minor lesson for now, not one she wanted to do but with a few focused breaths, she could feel past her emotions and look for a peace elsewhere until they returned to real-space.

@StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

As they journeyed through the hyperspace lane, Kaedan kept holding the controls. The droid with Theia was surprisingly calm about the way the ship was handling the trip. Not what the boy was expecting. He was sure to be hearing beeps of protest and concern from the little guy. Well at least that was something that was going right.

Unlike the two of them, Theia seemed to be worried about this. "We'll make it. Trust me, it could be worse." While this was an extreme case of bad, worse was still possible. They could have blown up from simply making the jump to hyperspace but they didn't. The ship could have also torn itself apart but it was surprisingly holding together. Regardless of their trouble there was a step that could be worse.

The ship dropped out of hyperspace when Kaedan pushed the lever up. They had arrived to the coordinates that Gee-Gee put in the system. "See, we made it." Kaedan entered the planet's atmosphere while surveying the land. Once he found a suitable place to land, he brought the ship down. The landing was not exactly smooth but they were safe on the ground. "Alright, let's go find some treasure."

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia remained still and rigid the remainder of the flight; she felt if she were to even look at the panels the wrong way, this whole ship would implode. Regardless, relief couldn't even begin to describe what she felt when they were able to re-enter real-space and land on the surface of the planet, albeit roughly. It was like as though the universe was getting her back for knowingly talking Kaedan into doing this with her. On the flip side, if she hadn't they'd both be stuck at the temple doing boring stuff like staring at a wall for meditation or mopping the floors.

As the ramp lowered, Theia hurriedly stepped to reacquaint herself with the feeling of natural existence of rock and dirt...which was to say, this area seemed to full of it. Dunes and bluffs of jagged brown rock and dirt that seemed to go on for miles. Gee-Gee rolled behind Kaedan when he would leave the ship also, beeping its observations. Theia turned back to look at him, "Yeah, good idea, stay here with the ship."

Theia glanced at Kaedan and gave him a reassuring grin, "I hope this just doesn't lead to like nothing, this place looks like its just...lifeless." though if they were to reach out with their senses, they would be able to feel the life the surrounded them. The redheaded padawan opened the map she had downloaded, markers already traced out a path, "Just a few clicks east." she said leading them.

@StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

Kaedan stepped out of the ship right after Theia. He looked at the map and smiled. "There may not seem to be life here but there probably is some hidden in the most unlikely places." He pointed out. He knew that things weren't always as they seemed. With Theia leading, he followed slowly. The landscape was crusty and the ground had plenty of cracks.

As they journeyed through the lifeless land, he thought about how different it was from his green luscious planet. The waterfalls that he could hear in the distance there... it was something he never thought he would need to think about. It was strange when visiting the opposite of your home. "So... what planet are you from and what's the land there like?" A small smile appeared on his face. "I'll tell you about mine first. I'm from Rion, it's a nature filled planet with hardly any industrial presence."

While they continued, Kaedan could sense the life around them. They weren't alone by any means. Were the creatures around friendly or hostile? For now, that didn't really matter.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

She was surprised as to how monotone the land seemed as they trekked; she at least considered the advantage they might have if anything decided to appear, given it didn't match the same brown as the land. Silence remained between the two jedi, Kaeden seemed as though he was intently observing the landscape as was she. The girl didn't mind; she was wrapped up in her own thinking, everything from what they were doing presently to how dinner would go the next time she visited Uncle Jai and Uncle Em. Her attention snapped back to the current moment when Kaeden spoke, asking her about her homeworld, her mouth opening, but then shutting as Kaeden immediately proceeded to briefly tell about his own.

"Oh, uh..." she said after a moment, realizing he was just keeping it short and sweet, "I lived on Naboo for most of my life," she stated thinking it was pretty self-explanatory. She knew it was a popular world on the holonet, most individuals understood what one assumed Naboo looked like without having to say much, "They are a balance of industrial and nature, I guess." she shrugged. However, something would catch her attention as she slowed to a stop.

"You feel that?" she asked him, her own senses ringing caution as they approached a narrow cavern. Stone walls rose high above each of them; if there was a predator nearby, this would be a perfect spot to ambush them.

@StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

She was from Naboo. Kaedan knew of its existence but didn't really know much about the planet. As popular as it was on the holonet, he didn't really know what it looked like. Most of his time in the past was spent meditating, studying, training and sparring. Any additional time was for sleeping or speaking to his parents. Luckily, he didn't have to ask her to go into more detail. A planet that had balance... this was something he wanted to see. He mostly saw planets that were mostly one or the other.

When Theia slowed to a stop, Kaedan's hand moved to his side. His fingertips brushed the familiar metals of his lightsaber. There was something there, something strange. "Yeah... we aren't alone."

A loud screech came as winds around the two padawan picked up. The dust on the planet kicked up and enveloped them. A creature of great magnitude casted its shadow while flapping its four wings. It also didn't come alone. Bat like creatures the size of a X-wing swooped down from the stone walls.

Kaedan gripped his lightsaber and got into a ready position. The blade came to life, shining its familiar blue hue around. "Back to back formation?"
@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Kaedan spoke what she was thinking as she tried to discern what it was exactly they were experiencing. The area looked barren, but she knew one's eyes could be deceived and they would need to rely on the Force to help them. The young jedi didn't grab her weapon immediately, waiting in the silence to see if the moment would remain or pass. She could feel the energies of the Force dance along her fingertips, the pulse of its waves flowed and ebbed through her like ocean waves. And in it, she remained steady, like stone. Her breaths quieted, it felt almost she were holding her breath longer than needed as she listened, but before she would concede to the normalcy of unnatural silence, there was a loud shriek and their predator revealed itself.

Theia nodded, lining back to back with Kaedan as the creature was not alone, several others came swooping down the stone walls. Not yet did Theia activate her vibroblade, and instead she jutted forward her palm, "Close your eyes!" she shouted to him. Whether or not he decided to do so, the padawan emitted a blinding light from her palms. The creatures let out a cry, quickly blinded by the flash of light from the teen. They quickly became dazed and disoriented, running into each other, into the ground, some flapping erratically. However, it was their chance to bolt out of there, Theia was uncertain of how quickly they would recover, "C'monnn!" she said taking off to find cover.

Force Flash roll = 18/20
@StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

As the duo stood back to back, Kaedan stayed at the ready to defend. He closed his eyes at the sound of Theia's warning. Through the darkness of closed eyelids, the light brightened his non-peripheral vision. When it was safe, he opened his eyes and ran off with Theia. He deactivated his lightsaber and hooked it on his hip. "That was a good idea." There was cover but it wasn't covered. It would give them temporary respite. "We can't stay here forever."

The beasts screeched loudly, especially the giant one. The light aggravated them and sent them into a frenzy. A small pack of them flew erratically into stone walls. As giant stones hit the ground, the land cracked and quaked. The land was unstable and breaking apart.

The giant flying beast flew past the padawans and landed on a stone platform behind them. "That's not good." The smaller beasts recovered and started to swirl around the teenagers. Kaedan activated his lightsaber again. He looked around, trying to find a place of escape. "There is a cave in the distance, we may be able to get to it across that bridge."

With the beasts spiraling around the padawans, one of them break from the circle and dashed towards them. Kaedan moved closer and swung his blade to cut the wing. He managed to cut the beast but its size and speed sent him back. "We should run now." He deactivated the lightsaber and started running towards the bridge. As poorly maintained as the wooden bridge was, it would have to do for them.

Lightsaber attack roll = 9/20
@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

No one needed to tell her twice to get running, she had already bolted, but the erratic flying of the creatures were proving to be difficult to navigate. She skidded to a stop, narrowly avoiding the winged chaos that dart and swooped across, overhead, and around the two padawans. No doubt, Theia was starting to think this was a bad idea, trying to even find if this treasure existed was proving to be too much of a difficulty. She was starting to believe it could have just been a cruel joke, or for them to get stranded so when the real pirates returned, they could be robbed of their own valuables.

"Don't wait around, lets get to that cave!" she said as he swung around to slice one of the creatures in two. The bride was something out of nightmares as Theia paused, looking across and then looking down. She shut her eyes tightly before taking a deep breath, sprinting across the bridge while trusting herself to be successful. She could feel the sudden ease of instinct take over and the Force pulling her across. She turned to see where Kaedan was, the cave just ahead, and when he successfully crossed, she made sure he also got inside the cave too.

@StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

Kaedan took off after Theia, heading towards the cave. As the giant creatures focused on frenzying and recovery, the duo of padawans made it to the unstable looking bridge. Theia ran across it first, almost flawlessly which gave Kaedan the confidence to do the same. And ran he did, though it wasn't as flawless or graceful as his friend. His foot even managed to break wood under him which could have ended with him taking a fall but his momentum got him to the other side.

Not even having much of a moment to catch himself, Kaedan entered the dark cave with Theia. If treasure truly was at the end of their path, would it truly be worth it? He took a deep breath, thinking they were safe. He should expect more since the land was so deprived of water that it was cracking at almost every turn. For the mean time, they were safe from the land falling apart beneath their feet or were they? Only time could tell. "Let's hope for the best." He activated his lightsaber to provide light for the both of them. "Can you check the map to see where we are in relation to the treasure?"

In the distance, there were sounds of something in the cave with them. The noise of hissing and taps echoed through the cavern. The noise multiplied with a clicking sound coming with it. "I don't like the sound of that."
@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia opened the map to look again, seeing they were on the right course. She paused looking further into the cave, starting to wonder if the trouble they were going through was really worth it. The girl pocketed the device, slow in her movements as she heard odd sounds from inside the cave. Frowning she glanced to Kaedan.

"Maybe we should just let this one go." she told him, backing up as he shared his sentiment about the sounds they were hearing. From the harsh terrain to the flying beasts, that they would probably have to face again, she pulled out her comm, speaking softly to her droid back at the ship.

"Its not worth it."

@StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

With Theia checking the map, Kaedan kept his attention in the direction of the hissing, tapping and clicking sounds. He breathed deep and slow. If they were to continue, he wanted to be psyched up for whatever was in the cave with them. Part of him wanted to know what the treasure was at the end but the other part of him truly believed whatever was at the end wasn't worth them putting themselves into unknown dangers for.

When Theia suggested that they let this one go and that it wasn't worth it, he nodded. "Got it." He sighed, looking out at the light from the cave's entrance. "We're going to have to make a run for it back to the ship." He walked over to the entrance and deactivated his lightsaber. While he was saddened that they couldn't see what the treasure held, he figure that one day he could return for it with enough of a force to make it to the end.

While looking out, he saw the flying beasts in the distance. "With them out there, we're going to have to bee-line towards the ship. Even if Gee-Gee could get the ship off the ground, the weapons system isn't functional so there would be no way to blast through the beasts' perimeter. So it's up to us to make it back." He looked over at Theia momentarily. "Let's go!"

He rushed out and allowed her to cross the bridge first before he did his attempt to make it across. He heard the creaking from the floor boards and he also saw that the rope was barely holding it together. He used the force to push Theia safely across the bridge as the ropes snapped. He grabbed onto the ropes and used the force to enhance his leap, barely making it to the edge. He held onto the side of the cliff and pulled himself up.

@GABA

rolled 6/20 on moving across the bridge