Ask Coruscant You Owe Me, Helmet Boy

[Juniper]

​

It'd taken her days to work up the plan in her head. Weeks to think of who she could turn to. Giran? No, he was busy. Izel? Busy too, and though she was on her side completely, she'd be a little too circumspect to want to do anything like this. Fiach could easily do it, but she'd never agree to anything quite like that. Ke Eoto wouldn't do it either. The list of friends that could help her grew shorter and shorter, until she remembered the commlink that'd been sat in her desk since Nal Yeshu.

"Hey, Rynn. It's me. Nara. Wizard girl."

Nara wouldn't reveal too much. The idea of showing any emotion at all aside from pure, righteous anger was not her jam and besides, she'd done enough crying. Now it was action time.

"If you want to help, meet me on Coruscant. Call me when you're there. I'll be staying in CoCo Town for a few days. Bring whatever you can. Help me and we'll call it even. More than even. And I won't get in the way of your bounty again, promise."

Nara arrived a little while after she'd sent that message. Whatever credits she'd managed to scrounge together bought her some time in a crappy, rented room. In a better time, she mighta been more enthused about Coruscant itself. A gigantic world-city, filled with promise and sights you couldn't believe. Nar Shaddaa but with more light, more fun and slightly fewer spice gangs. Not right then, though.

He better come, Nara thought.

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

Had it been a year since Nal Yeshu? Rynn had nearly forgotten about the incident and his terrible first attempt at catching that bounty. Though he often found himself thinking about the girl, Nara, wondering if she'd ever text him? He had hoped she would, but it seemed that the girl never did. Just his luck, he thought. But, maybe it was for the best. His condition hadn't been improving over the several months, and it seemed the shots alone weren't enough to stop incidents from occurring every other day.

The galaxy had been getting stranger, first the announcement of the Arcanist and his sidekick, which he had the misfortune of meeting him and the mysterious Jedi. Then, there was the arrest of that dweeb, Master Zapa? It seemed the history lessons of his clan were enough to prove to the boy that they were not worth the trouble.

But, when the message came through on his communicator, the clanker brains couldn't help, but jump at the offer, even if he had been feeling under the weather. He would send a simple, "I'm on my way," girls liked cool, aloof types, right? He would collect the few blasters he had, his beskad and a few grenades, as well as kriff ton of medical shots.

He would arrive in Coco town, his fever running rampant, and a slight ache in his legs, but this was his big shot, he wasn't going to mess it up now. He would find the old hostel, slipping in and finding Nara's room. He would lean up against the frame, in an attempt to look cool, but it was mostly to hide the fact that he was hurting. "You..called?" He'd cough.

 

[Juniper]

Nara hadn't even noticed that he was there. She heard the clank of his armour against the wall and jumped, looking back from her chair. She stood up instantly, looking at him again. It'd been quite a while... and he looked exactly the same. That's pretty easy when he's nothing but some armour and a helmet. However, she found herself smiling as he stood there.

"Yeah. I did. Thanks for coming," Nara said to him softly, standing in her little hostel room. "Come in," she said, waving him in. It was only small. A bed, a small cabinet for any belongings and a desk. A desk littered with droid parts, a mini tool-box and her data-pad. Her blaster was on top too, looking just as battered as when she'd had it the last time they'd met.

She bit her lip as she watched him, noting the cough. "You sure you're okay?" she asked with a little bit of concern. Not just because she needed him fit and willing, but because... well, she didn't wanna see him hurting. Not a big deal, right? You want to avoid watching most people in pain, right? Nothing special there at all.

"Listen... this is going to sound really strange and stupid. But... what do you know about prisons?"

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

Rynn smiled under his helmet as he stepped into the room, his eyes never leaving the teen Jedi. His helmet would shift towards the droid parts and the blaster on the table, if he didn't know any better he would have thought she was some sort of terrorist planning some sort of droid explosion rig. Maybe she was and he just didn't know it yet.

There wasn't much room to move around, so he found himself standing awkwardly close to the girl as she looked over the table, where a set of blueprints were laid out. Maybe she is going for an attack. His hand would rest against the table as he tried to muffle a few coughs, but it didn't seem to do him much good. "I'm..fine," he'd grunt in a nasally voice. "Just something I ate."

Though when she mentioned the prison and how much he knew about it, it started to click. "Wait..don't tell me you're trying to save that Master Zapa or whatever the kriff his name is." He would wheeze as he looked over her, "What is he...your master or something? Why would you care?"

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

The blueprints were open, clear as day. Anyone could barge in and see that hey, this strange girl is planning something shady. Mind you, the entire stupid hostel was probably filled with people planning something shady. That's the kind of place it was.

"Master Zapan," she said to him, very insistently. She turned towards him, finger pointing right at him as she stepped a little closer. "And what does it matter to you? What would you know?" It was a sharp reaction from a sharp girl. She stabbed her finger at his chest, glaring up at him before she breathed and thought better.

"Sorry. I've... he's someone who didn't deserve to get locked up. And the people who should have done something about it are just happy to sit on their asses and boast about how respectful and diplomatic they're being." She hoped that'd at least explain a little something about how she was feeling. Because that rage that'd bloomed in the middle of the gathering, that fire that'd always been there but just unleashed by what'd happened and the smug, condescending attitudes of all those other Jedi... that hadn't subsided. She'd pushed it, forged it into determination.

"He was the only one who ever really gave a crap about me, so I've gotta give a crap about him. So, are you doin' this?" she asked, staring up into his eyes. "Please. I can't... I can't do this on my own."

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

Rynn's face would blush slightly under his helmet. I thought his name was Zapa.. He could see the amount of detail and planning that she had put into this operation, and it was enough to get him interested, he didn't take her for the serious dedicated type, but here she was. His eyes would shift over the various plans, as he checked his blaster rifle and pistols.

"it matters, because he matters to you," he'd say with a cough, "The problem is, you can't walk in there with your wizard powers.." He'd contemplate it over, it seemed dangerous and completely foolish. "Why don't I do it, I wear a helmet after all," he could feel the temperature building up inside of him.

If everything he knew about the Jedi was true, would this Master really want her breaking him out and possibly getting others killed. "I'll do it, but, you should stay behind." He'd wheeze as he took a rest against her desk, his head resting back against the wall as his armored chest moved up with deep audible breaths.

"Are you sure he'd want this?"

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

She was a little bit touched by his statement. That he'd agree to such an audacious, messy plan without much explanation, just because she'd asked for it. She wouldn't say anything though, just give him a warm, genuine smile.

"I'm not exactly suggesting we just waltz right in the front door and shoot them up." She rolled her eyes, though the sound of that was definitely appealing to some darker, angry part of her mind. No, don't be stupid, they may be assholes who arrested your Master but they're not bad people. Just terminally stupid.

"I was... I don't know, some way of getting in through the maintenance tunnels or busting the wall. A controlled explosion or something, we could rig a droid up..." she said, just listing the plans after plans she'd thought of. Though obviously, where he was being held was likely to be incredibly reinforced, resistant to any kind of explosive she could get her hands on.

"What? Huh? What he wants isn't important," she dismissed quickly, though she felt that pain in her heart as he said it. Could he just want to be left there? Master Oren, alone in the cells, for years and years? Away from the Jedi, away from life, away from her? "If he wanted me not to do this so much, maybe he shouldn't have been arrested then, like an asshole." She wasn't looking at Oren as she said that, just straight ahead.

When she heard him wheeze, her attention was back on him. The anger melted into concern as she stood up, putting a hand on his chest armour. "Are you sure you can do this? You don't sound well..." she said, with a little worry.

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

The young bounty hunter would look towards the girl, though all she would see was a lifeless black T-Visor, and his battered Mandalorian helmet. Though the way, his head would tilt, the shift of his fingers against his sides and his feet balancing the weight from one foot to the other was enough to show that he was concerned for her.

It seemed that she was in the middle of grieving over this change in her life, he wanted to help her, he was bound by honor to do so. She had saved his life, and thus duty dictated that he had to keep his word. It seemed really short lived, to him, but it wouldn't really be something he'd bring up. It wasn't his place, and he wasn't even sure how being in such a scenario had to feel like.

He would peer towards the girl as she stood up, placing her soft pale hand against his chest. He felt her eyes peering towards him, almost as if she was staring through them. A shiver would run down his spine as he felt his hand reach up to rub against her cheek, she could feel his hand burning through his glove. "I'll be alright," he'd wince, "I need to do this.."

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

She knew he was staring. She wasn't sure how, but she knew. It was just... a presence. Like something in the force, but it ran deeper than that. She just knew. His hand touched her cheek and even through the glove, she could feel it. She didn't know what to say or what to do. Why am I this bothered by it? And I haven't even seen his face. Just a helmet. She could only see her reflection in it. See how tired, pale and fed-up she looked.

"You don't need to do shit," she told him, shaking her head as she turned around, slipping out of reach of him. "I'm not... I'm not here to make you throw yourself at something that'll kill you." She blinked back tears as much as she could, but she'd reached that moment. Her shoulders slumped as she felt a couple of them roll down her cheek, fists balling up in anger. At the Galaxy. At the Rangers. At herself.

"This was a stupid idea... sorry."

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

The boy would cough, his hand burning slightly as he watched her turn away from him. He was a warrior, well he wanted to be one, but it seemed his body often refused on most days. He would step towards the girl his wrapping around her shoulders. He wasn't sure why, but he could feel something, something that tweaked through the air--was it magic? But, he could feel her sadness.

He would hold her from behind, out of compassion, "You're a warrior," he'd say with a heavy breath, "But, we can find a different way, continue to fight for him." His knees would slightly buckle as he felt his sickness coming on. He would pull away, moving towards her bed to sit. As his hands rested against his helmet.

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

Nara shivered, feeling him wrap his arms around her. She didn't say anything. She didn't do anything. Just let herself be held. Something that she'd normally bat away or fight off. Just feeling the closeness of someone else... until he pulled away.

She watched him move to her bed, looking unwell. As unwell as you could look in that stupid armour. Nara knelt down beside the bed quickly, looking at him. "What's wrong?" she asked him softly, her cheeks gleaming with the tear streaks. She looked up into that helmet and frowned. "You're really... really sick. We need to get you something. Or take you somewhere... or..." Could she do something? They say there are ways, powers with the force, that heal the greatest of wounds. If I... she started thinking, but stopped. She had no idea what to do, and she'd learned a little bit about rash actions like that.

"We can take you to a doctor, or... there are people on Ajan Kloss who can... look, I've got a ship, we can go..." she muttered, running through options out loud, her voice laced with concern.

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

He would shift his eyes towards the girl as she bent down beside him, though his helmet didn't move. He could see the dry tears that ran against her soft round cheeks. His hand would move towards it, instinctively his hand would move towards one, his gloved fingers gently wiping away a few of the tears. Why did you just do that?

Her concern felt strange, his feelings he felt inside of him sat at the bottom of his gut, making it feel light. "It's a disease," his voice would crack through his helmet, his fingers would point towards the pack of shots he had left on her table, "I need those.." His breathing would heavy as his hand fell off of her cheek and back onto his chest. "After that, I'll..be..able....to.......help.....your........father." He felt his eyes grow heavy--he needed to get this helmet off. You can't...not in front of her.

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

He touched her cheek. Wiping the tears away. She blinked and looked up at him. Why did you just do that? The thought just consumed her, until he spoke. Until he explained. When he did, she moved over towards the table, grabbing the pack of shots. Quickly as she could, she moved back towards him, the sadness and the fear sinking away into resolute determination.

"Just hold on, stop thinking about that, okay," she instructed, blinking back anything that was there as she moved quickly. She laid the pack of shots out and then looked at him. "I can't give you these without having any skin to... what, just..." She could see him struggling and thought that some air would help.

Without thinking, she stood up a bit more and reached around him, looking for the catches to release him. Her fingers worked quickly, snapping them loose, hearing the soft hiss as the pressure released and she started to help pull the helmet off. "Come on, you need some air."

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

He was too far out of it at that point, he saw glimpses of her moving towards the table, but couldn't really process it. Before he knew it, she was over top of him, her slender hands cupping around the edges of his helmet, and slowly the hatches would begin to snap, and he could feel the air begin to run through. No...stop..

The helmet would begin to slide up his face, exposing only a glimpse of pale chin and dark chapped lips, sweat visible across the lower portion of his face. He coughed as he felt his heart racing, "Please..don't," his hand would reach up to wrap around her wrist, "If I take this..off..now, I won't..be able to put it back on."

It didn't seem the girl cared and slowly the helmet would begin to be removed from his head, revealing a sickly young man under the helmet. His skin was pale white and dark blue bags hung under his icy blue eyes. His blackish brown hair clung to the sides of his head in a wild sweaty fashion. He peered up towards the girl, unsure of what to think. He hadn't seen another person with his own non-filtered eyes in nearly fifteen years. "Nara.."

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

Nara swatted away his hand with ease. He seemed too weak, too ill to put up a proper resistance. She lifted the helmet as best she could. Trying to get some access. A booster shot like that, the neck, right? That's what she was trying to remember from her rudimentary healing training. I wish I'd paid more attention, holy moly.

When the helmet came off, she leaned back to take him in. Her mouth just hung open for a couple of seconds. He looked... he looked ill. Really ill. But younger than she'd imagined. It seemed strange that such a decent, nice-looking guy had been hidden beneath all that armour and bluster. She remembered to breathe. "Rynn..." she said in reply, before necessity took over.

"You look awful. Have you been taking these?" she asked, leaning over him with the shot. Her fingers ran over his neck, feeling the clammy, pale flesh beneath her tips. Looking for a place to get him. Looking for... a vein, right? She found what she was sure was one, pressing the little cartridge to his neck and pressing on the button on the top. She watched the liquid inside swirl and pump into him.

"You look like shit," she told him, huffing as she held the shot there until it drained into him.

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

His hand would squeeze against her arm as he felt the shot slowly inject into his bloodstream, his teeth clenching tightly as he coughed. He was a Mandalorian, no sickness was going to stop him, an illness was nothing to a warrior, or so he told himself. He hadn't taken his medications in the past three to four months, hoping that it was all just a dream, and that he was fine. He needed to prove himself, to prove he was strong--he needed to form his clan. But, it seemed that nothing got better, his body had always hurt. I don't even know if I can make it to tomorrow.

She would be able to see the fear in his eyes, as she was so close to his exposed face. He knew his immune system was weakened, and he could easily catch a sickness on top of his disease. As she pulled away the shot, he would attempt to reach for his helmet again, "I'm a warrior..I don't need those. I have no desire to live longer than I need to." He'd say with a lie, it was something he had convinced himself out of being afraid of it all. He really was alone and scared of the world.

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

He looked an absolute mess. Whatever the shot was, she knew it probably wouldn't be enough. Whatever he had going on, it was getting out of control. Nara had a moment of panic, looking at the other shots and at his tired, pale, sickly face... wondering if she would be enough. Whether she was going to have a dead Mandalorian in her hostel room to explain. She breathed in deep, centering herself.

"Shut up, you idiot," she hissed as she swatted his hand away again. "You need to get to a doctor or something, I can't stop this myself." It was too beyond her ability. She knew of Jedi that were excellent healers, they'd be able to do the trick. But if she tried, no telling what sorta awful crap she'd end up doing to his body. Or if it'd work at all. She'd exhaust herself before the bags went away.

"Can you get up? Get up, we need to get you to a hospital. Or... just c'mon. I'll drag you off-world myself if I have to," she growled, grabbing his arm, trying to pull him up.

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

The young man would take a deep breath as he pulled him back up into a sitting position, his breathing heavily as he sniffled. "I'm not sick, it'll be alright." He'd respond as he peered towards the shot that she had just finished. She could see all around his flesh, there were markings and scarring from the needles. He was tired of being sick, and tired of feeling weak.

"You did too much already," he'd respond softly, his voice sounded weird without a helmet, or so he felt. He would peer towards this Jedi, and her strange concern for him. She was cute for sure, and he secretly liked her bossy attitude. He would try to pull himself up onto the bed, but ended up somewhat tripping into her arms, their eyes and lips inches apart. "Sorry.." He'd say with a heavy breath.

tag: @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

"Shut up, no I didn't," Nara groaned, argumentative even when she was trying to help someone. Why won't he just shut up and let me help him, asshole.. she thought as she tried to help him up, suddenly having to catch him. Whilst she wasn't exactly weak, the sudden way he just sorta filled her arms made her sag a little, leaning in close.

They were just close to each other, leaning there. He has really nice eyes... she thought, then grimaced in horror. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!!!

"Stop apologising and stop feeling sorry for yourself for f...." she grunted as she tried to move him towards the door of the room. "I'm taking you somewhere that can help you and then I'm taking you...." Home? Where does he live? What does he do apart from fall into my arms? "I'm taking you somewhere!"

@TWD26

 

[Rynn Itera]

He wasn't sure if it was the fever that was causing his imagination to flare up, or if this wizard chick was into him. He saw the way her brown eyes peered into his own. He personally liked the way her bangs fell in the front of her face, the way they were cut seemed rather homely, maybe she had someone in her wizard family do it..He didn't question it. He would turn his face away as he bit at the bottom of his lip, he'd turn back, reaching for his helmet before limping towards the door with the girl. Before stepping out, he would pop the helmet back on, his breathing heavy and warm--causing the visor to fog up.

"You're pretty cute..for a Wizard," he'd smirk under his helmet before wincing in pain, where he was going he didn't really know, but if it was with her, it couldn't be that bad.

tag: @Charndley