|
Ysmir
Are you okay?
279 posts
163 likes
BUSTAH WOLF!
|
|
last online Nov 14, 2023 13:09:53 GMT -5
Padawan
|
|
|
Aug 26, 2019 13:20:39 GMT -5
Post by Ysmir on Aug 26, 2019 13:20:39 GMT -5
As the smoke settled and things began to liven up once again, Janessa and Gerez took inventory of what they had left. His stash of mines were depleted save for one somewhat dysfunctional, jury-rigged flash bomb, and spare power backs for the blasters were running in short supply. T7, true to his word, lingered in a protective manner next to Hana and the four injured members of their group. Jack wiped a smear of the Archeri's purple blood -- was it blood? -- from his cheek as Taas spoke. He looked up.
Better late than never, I guess.
But it wasn't yet time to celebrate. Jack turned from Taas toward Janessa and Gerez.
"What's it looking like?" Janessa asked as she turned from the items they had stockpiled.
"Transport is on its way. We just gotta keep hangin' on for a few minutes, then we'll be off this rock." Jack nodded reassuringly as he checked the power packs on his dual blasters; enough to at least buy them time to get in the air. As he went to walk back toward the building's edge, Gerez stood.
"All of us?" he asked, somewhat increduously. He stood and hoisted his heavy blaster rifle over his shoulder, staring into Jack's back. Jack looked over his shoulder.
"I'm only a liar in Pazaak, G. We're all getting off this rock. I already said that. Now get ready," Jack said with a staggering amount of authority that surprised even himself. Janessa blinked as she looked between him and Gerez; the soldier-turned-mercenary was positively seething. It was clear as day that he didn't trust Jack and Taas a single bit; one was a drifter whom he'd never met before in his life, and the other? A Jedi. They made their living off being spiritual, holier-than-thou liars that spun every tale in the book if it meant glittering their reputation in the galaxy. But he remained silent, hoisting off his flash bomb to plant it somewhere strategic as the Republic transport came rocketing down from above. It was crunch time.
As it began to get ever closer, the Archeri could be heard below, a ravenous stampede threatening to squash out all life before them. As the battle resumed, volleys of blaster fire came from the trio of Jack, Janessa, and Gerez as they stood their ground on the solitary rooftop, all circled around Taas, T7, Hana, and the injured in a protective line. A claw graze Jack's cheek, drawing blood and leaving a nasty gash as he fell back from the edge of the rooftop. Amongst the yelling and the gunfire, Jack heard Taas' order; a rush of air shot outward from the bottom of the Republic dropship as it landed just to the right of the group, the few soldiers within shouting orders and waving the civilians onward. "This is it, time to go!" Jack hollered as he holstered his pistols, running over to the group.
The first to be loaded in were the injured. As they were being carried over by Jack and Janessa, Gerez hung over the side of the building and fired upon more of the Archeri. As he did so, Taas' retaliation began; a wave of telekinetic explosions rolled down the sides of the building, clearing it entirely of the Archeri presence in one fell swoop and nearly causing Gerez to stumble and fall to his doom. He stared at Taas with impudent rage as the Jedi's display of power only furthered his distrust.
Three of the soldiers had been yanked from the ship's passenger bay and flung overside of the roof, but Jack and Janessa had successfully loaded in Hana and all the injured. Jack looked over to Taas.
"That's everyone, let's--" he went to say, but his words were cut short by a swift blow to the skull.
Dazed, Jack fell. Gerez stood with Janessa held around the neck, a blaster pistol pressed firmly against her temple. The last two soldiers were swiftly and mercilessly executed by the opportunist as he stared across the small space between him and Taas, locking eyes with the Jedi Master. Venom laced his words.
"I'm leavin', without you and your friend. Or she dies. Got that, Jedi?" he spat.
T7 let out a low whir as he rolled to Jack, unconscious on the ground.
|
|
|
|
|
Fromikeable
Keeper Of The Techxts
1,616 posts
628 likes
...and I'm comin'! *guitar riff*
|
|
last online Jun 22, 2023 19:35:57 GMT -5
Moderator
|
|
|
Aug 31, 2019 14:39:43 GMT -5
Post by Fromikeable on Aug 31, 2019 14:39:43 GMT -5
Taas didn't move a muscle as he orchestrated his assault, the physical world little more to him than the warm gushes of air caused by each explosion. His meditation proved successful; he had become so familiar with each and every friendly presence on the roof that his presence moved around them without thought, engulfing each lightly, almost protecting them. For the swaths of Archeri below, his presence picked a hundred spots at once before pushing, coaxing the energies there in the Force to give way. There was no rage in it; it was a constant negotiation with the universe itself, convincing it of places to let things unravel, to shape new patterns in those that already existed.
By the time the first volley ended, the street below was a small mountain of charred fungus. Taas didn't hesitate to start the second, the Archeri horde only giving him a few seconds of rest before flooding the street once more.
It went smoothly until Jack's presence flared with shock and pain. One of the soldiers' presences faded out of existence, flaring with the carnal panic of an unexpected death. Then another. Breaking focus, Taas didn't barely even heard the ultimatum Gerez laid out, his presence breaking from the onslaught to inspect the roof.
Gerez, furious and murderous. Jack, dazed and belabored. Janessa, shocked and equal parts outraged and horrified.
"Unfortunate." Taas finally opened his eyes as the streets below began to fill with the Archeri again, the battered walls of the shop shaking as they began to climb.
"I had hoped desperation might temper your vices long enough to carry on, Gerez." Without moving a muscle, Taas called on the Force to envelop Gerez's hand. Before he could respond, it clamped like a vice, an inverted explosion of sorts, crushing the blaster and the bones in the hand that held it. Howling with pain, another burst of the Force pulled Gerez away from Janessa, flinging him with little care down the ship's ramp.
Taas stood, inspecting the roof. Satisfied in seeing that everyone had gotten on, he paid little mind to the mercenary scrambling up, broken hand clutched in his other, feet shuffling in a mad dash for one of the deceased soldiers' nearby guns.
Watching him pick it up, Taas offered a polite smile as the mercenary trained it on the ship ramp with one hand, barrel pointed toward Janessa. "Fucking bastard!"
The Force was called again, crushing the rifle like a soda can along with Gerez's other thumb for good measure. As he screamed, Taas walked to the ship's ramp, the Archeri finally reaching the lip of the roof and beginning to spill over. Patting Jack's back, the Master Jedi bode the Force to pick him out of his daze; he would have to heal him properly once they were airborne.
"Jack, if you could kindly, man the controls." Turning back to the roof, Taas made a final motion. Gerez came soaring back to the ship with a panicked, pained scream before slamming into one of the seats hard. Knocked out, he slumped, hands bent the wrong way, body sweaty, dirty, and bloody from the fighting.
Sighing lightly, he placed a palm on Gerez's head. Closing his eyes, he began to heal him, his free hand bending and pushing the broken bones back into place. "Janessa? If you and T7 could locate some restraints, I would be most grateful." Even as the Archeri hordes outside howled at and pelted the departing ship with crystals, Taas couldn't help but want to keep from mangling the interior with the Force to restrain Gerez when he awoke.
There was still plenty of work to be done, after all.
|
|
|
|
|
Ysmir
Are you okay?
279 posts
163 likes
BUSTAH WOLF!
|
|
last online Nov 14, 2023 13:09:53 GMT -5
Padawan
|
|
|
Sept 11, 2019 14:56:37 GMT -5
Post by Ysmir on Sept 11, 2019 14:56:37 GMT -5
Jack had been well and truly taken off-guard.
Perhaps, as Janessa now thought in her own mind, he should have foreseen this coming. All of Gerez's actions were to tend to his own agenda, and ensure his own survival. Not a single iota of good-will shone through his murky and grizzled exterior. He was a mercenary throughout every fiber of his being, and it showed no more than ever from across the roof where he stood with the barrel of the pistol pressed to Janessa's temple. Gerez was overconfident, brazen, and most importantly, burdened with the belief that his life mattered more than anyone else's. It was protagonist syndrome in its most extreme and ugly form.
Of course, none of that registered on his mind once the subtle inflection of the Force, courtesy of Taas, bent his hand and the blaster inward like a soda can.
Janessa, for her part, was pleased as punch to be free of the psycho's grip. She had given him a place to lay low while the Exchange and other parties gunned for he and his partner's head, and he repayed her by trying to take her hostage?
She delivered a swift kick where the twin suns didn't shine just after the Jedi Master disarmed him a second time. "You're a real sick bastard, Gerez." She turned on her heels and sauntered off into the ship, lamenting briefly at the sheer loss of life inside the cabin; the soldiers were simply doing their jobs, delivered a swift and untimely death at the hands of selfishness. However, she pushed those thoughts aside as she prepped the shuttle for takeoff.
For Jack, it was all over in an instant.
Jack felt a somewhat familiar feeling wash over him as Taas's influence pulled him from the depths of his daze. His head thumped like an Ewok drum and his vision was a bit hazy, but he otherwise felt okay as he sat upward and looked toward the Jedi. He owed this man more than he could count at this point, and although Jack never liked being in debt to anyone, he could certainly make an exception for the person who'd saved his life twice now. Jack pushed himself to his feet and nodded, looking down to Gerez -- a heap on the ground. "On it."
Jack moved swiftly, encouraged by the rhythmic and utterly horrifying pulse of vibrations caused from both the Spire that prepared to fire itself and the oncoming stampede of Archeri fleeing the Sith bombardment. Throughout the decade of adventure he had partook in, nothing had ever come close to a conflict of this scale. If this was war, he never wanted any part of it again. Sitting in the cockpit opposite Janessa with a warm flow of fresh blood seeping from the gash on the back of his skull, Jack was hyperfocused in his efforts as he ran through the routine and well-practiced motions of starting up the transport. It wasn't his Long View, but it would at least get them out of here before they all perished. He primed the engines and intiated the takeoff sequence, capped off by a pull of an overhead lever as the loading ramps closed upward along with the sliding side doors. The engine whirred to life as Jack hit the ignition, and the ship lifted from the roof of the Swoop garage as purple crystals pelted its side. A cry of anguished rage from the Archeri beneath added to the magnetic headache that ailed him.
Leaving the cockpit to him, Janessa went into the back and looked with thinly-veiled disgust on Gerez's mangled and battered form as Taas went about healing him. She wouldn't pretend to be understanding of the Jedi's boundless capacity for sympathy and mercy, but she knew in her heart that these were the core tenets that they lived by. Sighing, she nodded. "I would've left him, but sure." She went off to one of the fallen soldiers and retrieved magnetic handlocks, stepping over to Taas. She handed them off to him. T7, meanwhile, rolled up to the cockpit to hover by Jack's side as he began navigating through the war-torn and clouded skies of Nar Shaddaa.
A nearby explosion rattled the inside of the transport, though Jack kept his control on the stick.
"T7, patch into the comms. Get the Republic command," Jack said as his eyes darted back and forth. The droid beeped in recognition as his interface arm popped out of the front compartment of his torso, slicing into the comms system of the transport with little effort. The mic buzzed to life.
"Uh..." Jack began, cut off briefly by a nearby explosion as he continued swiftly and deftly navigating the transport through the air. "This is Jack. Your squad's been killed, I need to know where I'm takin' this bird, do you copy?" Jack said through the comms as his eyes were briefly turned toward a tremendous purple glow outside the port window.
Then, the purple was replaced with a series of crimson lances descending from the sky above, their origin a mystery but Jack could only assume it was a supercarrier of some kind. As they struck around the Spire that Jack had laid eyes on for the first time, the Cerbozz Pit was encrusted with cleansing flame as portions of the Spire broke away and fell down into the pit below. Slowly, but surely, its structural integrity failed entirely, the whole unfinished monument to the Chorus's desires falling flat and sinking back into the dark from whence it came. As soon as it did so, Jack's mind was wracked by the collective telepathic anguish of every Archeri drone on the surface of the planet as the interconnected hivemind lashed out with fear, sorrow, regret, and fury all at once for the decisive blow that was delivered to them.
Had they won? Certainly not yet. Jack needed to get this heap out of the sky.
As he awaited a tracking solution from the Republic military that were no doubt confused by his civilian request, Hana tended to the four wounded in the back -- nervously, however, as she sat alongside the Archeri specimen Taas had brought along. Janessa stared out the port window to the brilliant display of righteous light the destroyed Spire gave off like a beacon of hope.
"Stars..."
|
|
|
|
|
Fromikeable
Keeper Of The Techxts
1,616 posts
628 likes
...and I'm comin'! *guitar riff*
|
|
last online Jun 22, 2023 19:35:57 GMT -5
Moderator
|
|
|
Sept 16, 2019 12:51:23 GMT -5
Post by Fromikeable on Sept 16, 2019 12:51:23 GMT -5
"I would've left him, but sure."
"I would not have blamed you." Despite the agreement, Taas worked diligently. First the bruises and cuts on Gerez's head healed, his concussion from slamming into the ship lessening to a dull headache. Next came his arms and hands, the bones mending as Taas's hands guided them back into place, producing some sickening sounds as they did so. Last came the man's Archeri-derived injuries, with Taas taking a moment to mend cuts, eliminate bruises, and even address a few tender joints.
By the time Janessa handed him the handcuffs, the only wrong with the unconscious Gerez were his whole-again, dislocated thumbs. Slapping the cuffs on, Taas made sure to remove any and all tools and weapons from the man's person before fixing them as well. With Gerez bound to his seat and disarmed, Taas left him to sleep off the rest of his shock, heading forward to the cockpit. He arrived just in time to feel the ship rattle from explosions and crystalline assaults.
"If I might..." Reaching forward for the comm mic, Taas made a small amendment as the sky began to glow red. "Please respond, JMOC command. This is Jedi Master Erastothene. We require medical attention and specimen security."
"Copy, Master Jedi. Exit the sector and standby. Glassing in effect."
"So I see..." Taas's voice trailed off as the turbolaser volleys began to breach the clouds above, slamming into the rising second Spire like heavenly missiles. The show of force was absolutely tremendous; perhaps it was just his attunement to the Force, but Taas could swear that he could feel the impact of every bolt. Even if he couldn't actually, the effects were all too easy to see, each hit producing an explosion the size of entire buildings, each volley adding to the last until the crystal could barely be seen behind a wall of exploding plasma.
The sound that the Chorus produced when it finally began to fall was hard to process. Longing. Sweetness. A burning desire to help, to live. Taas had to stop an eye from tearing, rubbing it subconsciously as he watched with awe.
"Violet stars, my dear..." Humming softly, the mourning in Taas's voice leaked through more than he thought. "The last of its kind, I fear."
After a moment, the radio crackled back to life, ending the silence. "Hectus 34-1C, please report to Kalai Ri' Biro Spaceport. Master Jedi, please clarify; what kind of specimen security is required?"
"The specimen is not a thread. It requires hazardous material considerations and nothing more."
"Copy. We'll have it done."
Placing down the comm, Taas took a breath before reclaiming a small smile. Reaching out to Jack and Janessa's shoulders, he patted both. "I do believe your fortunes improve from here. And Jack-" His patting hand reached out, palm open, for a handshake.
"-thank you for upholding your end of our agreement. Many on Nar Shaddaa would not have, especially given the circumstances." They'd saved more lives than they had set out to. Even the life of a scumbag.
|
|
|
|
|
Ysmir
Are you okay?
279 posts
163 likes
BUSTAH WOLF!
|
|
last online Nov 14, 2023 13:09:53 GMT -5
Padawan
|
|
|
Sept 24, 2019 18:50:35 GMT -5
Post by Ysmir on Sept 24, 2019 18:50:35 GMT -5
As the sky settled after the cascade of sanguine pillars from space above, so, too, did the nerves and adrenaline that had fueled Jack through this ordeal.
The warm trickle of blood that had run its course down the back of his head ceased as the wound sealed, and he slowed the Republic transport to a more controlled pace as the proverbial dust settled around them. Far off in the distance, the Spire had fully collapsed, and after the sudden yet explosive outcry of anguish through the Force, things seemed awfully -- eerily -- silent, now. The booming of cannons and blasters fighting back against an infinite onslaught dulled down as the straggling Archeri were either rounded up or fleed from their inevitable destruction. From their position up in the sky, Nar Shaddaa now almost looked as it normally did; towering neon skyscrapers dotting the entire cityscape. Only the occasional smokey trail funneling up into the sky and the central pit where the Spire's smouldering remains now rested betrayed the sheer scale of the conflict that transpired here. As Jack stared out of the port window, he was almost sad to see an entire race wiped off the face of the Galaxy.
Before he could be launched into the throes of his thoughts, however, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
As the kindly old Jedi Master touched him, instead of the fear and anxiety it may have once caused, Jack instead glanced upward toward Taas with a genuine smile. He mustered it despite the fire that still raged between his ears. He nodded his head as his glance slipped toward Janessa, who still looked longingly out of the window.
"I should be the one thanking you, Taas. You saved my life -- twice. So, I owe you two, now," he said as he returned his gaze to the Jedi and took the man's hand with an affirmative shake. "I mean it. Anythin' at all. I'm your man."
As if to affirm Jack's statement, T7 cheerfully buzzed as he rolled up next to Taas and Janessa; the utility droid jostled side-to-side in excitement at the prospect of a newfound friend. Jack merely chuckled at his companion's antics and turned back to the controls. Logging in the coordinates for the Kalai Ri' Biro spaceport, Jack began directing the transport there. He held out hope in all the crossfire that the Long View was still in one piece; though, admittedly, he'd worked on putting that thing back together time and time again for years, now. What's one more remodel?
--
It was about ten minutes until they reached the spaceport, and Jack began the descent toward the ground level. Among the ruins and rubble of what was once a warzone, a few passable landing spots had been cleared out as the JMOC forces worked on tending to their own wounded and gathering the bodies of their deceased and the countless Archeri that had fallen in the conflict. The shuttle lazily made its way down toward the floor, under careful guidance of Jack's steady hand. The landing gears engaged just before touchdown, which was nothing more than the gentlest of thuds that rocked the passenger cabin ever so slightly. Jack disengaged the engine and stood shortly after; it was only after getting to his feet from the leisurely sitting position that he realized just how sore he was. He winced, but hid it well.
Hana had dutifully stabilized the worst of the wounded and even kept watch over the sleeping Gerez, who was now conscious and bemoaning his humiliated state. Jack did nothing more than shoot him a judgemental glare as the loading ramp unfolded.
Jack, T7, and Janessa followed Taas' lead down it to meet with the Republic forces on the ground. Jack gandered about at the sheer destruction, his hands pressed firmly in the pockets of his coat.
"Looks like we missed one helluva party."
|
|
|
|
|
Fromikeable
Keeper Of The Techxts
1,616 posts
628 likes
...and I'm comin'! *guitar riff*
|
|
last online Jun 22, 2023 19:35:57 GMT -5
Moderator
|
|
|
Sept 29, 2019 10:39:42 GMT -5
Post by Fromikeable on Sept 29, 2019 10:39:42 GMT -5
"-ing believable. I swear to the stars, you damned Jedi, I'll hunt you until my last day. Do you hear me?!"
Taas patted Gerez's shoulder as he guided him down the ramp of the transport. The spaceport around them looked a mess; rubble, command posts, soldiers and Jedi and Sith and armed personnel undoubtedly from Nar Shaddaa's less official authorities, each in varying states of cooperation and noncooperation with the others. Among them all, Gerez still managed to yell over the din of two armies and an underworld.
"I'll chop your hands off and feed them to every one of those stupid mushrooms I can find! I'll pluck your eyes out like golf balls and go driving on Teth and make sure they rot in piles of bones! I'll-"
"Mister Gerez?"
"WHAT?"
"I wish you the best." Handing him over to a squad of Republic troopers, the mercenary only yelled louder as he was pushed away. Taas waved with a genuine sense of kindness. He wasn't sure what sort of criminal proceedings the Republic could really run this far out of their own space with a man who wasn't a citizen, but he was willing to bet Gerez had a few warrants out somewhere that would make the situation more clear.
More than that, the man clearly just needed some help.
"Indeed we did." Turning back to Jack, Taas ushered a duo of medics up the ramp of the ship. One by one, the afflicted started to be removed on hoverbeds, each gaining initial applications of kolto, anti-fungals, and other immediate treatments.
"Reports claim that the spaceport was secured by Darth Aurelius and Darth Solis." Humming, Taas finally allowed himself to sit on a nearby box, grunting at the impact. With the task before them complete, his age started to show as he tested his joints, the wear on them a bit more apparent. Rubbing his white stubble, his smile changed from one of pep and energy to one of tired satisfaction.
"I shall not presume to know what you have seen over the course of your life, Jack, but I will tell you just the same: two Sith Lords of that caliber are nothing if not destructive."
|
|
|
|
|
Ysmir
Are you okay?
279 posts
163 likes
BUSTAH WOLF!
|
|
last online Nov 14, 2023 13:09:53 GMT -5
Padawan
|
|
|
Oct 16, 2019 14:02:13 GMT -5
Post by Ysmir on Oct 16, 2019 14:02:13 GMT -5
Hana made off with the wounded as the JMOC forces rolled them out from the shuttle. Jack felt a sense of pride; it was a foreign and, dare he say, welcome feeling. Despite the scale of chaos he had witnessed firsthand, they had managed, through teamwork, to come out on top. Seldom few could say that in times like these. Even as Gerez shouted his curses to the stars while being hauled off by Republic forces, Jack lifted a hand from his jacket and sent the man off with a two-fingered salute... and a small smirk. His head still hummed lightly, but the healing Taas offered righted him well enough to be a cocky bastard again. That's all he could ask for.
T7 chirped happily a few feet away as Janessa began tinkering with him; some carbon scoring marred the exterior plating of his hull from the troubles they'd endured over the last few hours.
"Stars, you've seen a lot, haven't you little guy?" she inquired with a small smile as she opened his rear panel and inspected the gearbox within.
"De-reet be-reet!" T7 replied with a whir and a small shake, excited to be officially reunited with his former master; his lack of a memory wipe for nearly a decade ensured his databank of her was fresh as the day he was manufactured.
Janessa giggled as she continued her inspection, shaking her head. "Stay still or I'm gonna get something stuck in there!"
Jack grinned while watching them for a few moments from afar, but turned on a heel back to Taas as the elderly Jedi Master sat down; in the silence and calm that followed the storm they had braved, his weathered exterior was far more plain to the eye than it was in the midst of combat. The Force, it seemed, had ways of imbuing its champions with a vitality and vigor far beyond their physical capacity. Outside of necessity, however, they were the same as anyone. Surprising. Jack ruminated on his words for a moment as he stared up at the sky; two Dominus battleships hovered high above the clouds, obscured but still completely visible due to their sheer size.
"Only heard rumours in my travels, not a lot else," Jack replied, squinting a bit as he examined the carriers in the smokey skies. His gaze swept back down to the spaceport and the collection of rubble and debris left behind in the aftermath of the Sith fleet's bombing run. As Taas spoke, Jack saw the physical evidence supporting his claims; destruction, plain and simple. Was it worth it? Jack wasn't so sure. He sighed.
Taking a few steps over to where Taas sat, Jack exhaled as he placed himself down on a box nearby. Hands still pressed firmly into his jacket pockets, the man drew his eyes to the Jedi. Jack was exhausted, and although his youth hid it well, the grime of battle covered him. "So what's next for you? The Republic? Is this really the end of all of it?"
|
|
|
|
|
Fromikeable
Keeper Of The Techxts
1,616 posts
628 likes
...and I'm comin'! *guitar riff*
|
|
last online Jun 22, 2023 19:35:57 GMT -5
Moderator
|
|
|
Oct 20, 2019 10:20:36 GMT -5
Post by Fromikeable on Oct 20, 2019 10:20:36 GMT -5
"If I may be excused for ruining the suspense, the rumors are mostly true. Trifle not with them." Settling into his seat, Taas's breathing became much deeper as he began to rest. Reaching a hand into one of the pouches on his armor, the old Jedi produced a tiny datapad, which he activated. Instead of tactical data and news on the warfront, it contained all matter of numbers and reports; scientific notation in spades. Scrolling through it, he began to make a small entry.
"My next destination shall be Coruscant. Specifically to study that." He motioned the datapad at the half-formed Archeri corpse that they had recovered from the garage's second floor, its mostly-covered fungal face wide with shock in death but eerily staring upwards all the same. A crew of Republic soldiers arrived donned in air-sealed armor and began to handle the body, carefully checking to make sure it was dead. Once satisfied, they moved it carefully into a bag, then into a case with seals, and finally into a large hovering capsule adorned with bio-hazard symbols.
Waving at them, Taas smiled. "Our victory here against the Chorus cannot be overstated, but to truly understand if they've been defeated, we must understand them in the first place." As the capsule was carefully escorted off, Taas returned the datapad to his pouch and sighed heavily. He supposed the researchers who had advised him against coming had made a valid point about his age. Force or not, such activity taxed old bones.
But what a find. The research that cadaver alone might produce was well worth the aches and pains.
"What of you, young Jack?" Peering past him at Janessa and T7, the old Arkanian smiled warmly.
"Will you ask her to join you?"
|
|
|
|
|
Ysmir
Are you okay?
279 posts
163 likes
BUSTAH WOLF!
|
|
last online Nov 14, 2023 13:09:53 GMT -5
Padawan
|
|
|
Nov 1, 2019 18:06:16 GMT -5
Post by Ysmir on Nov 1, 2019 18:06:16 GMT -5
If I may be excused for ruining the suspense, the rumors are mostly true. Trifle not with them.
Jack almost laughed. Almost. What that amounted to was a short but curt exhalation of air from his nostrils as he shook his head and stared back up at the sky dominated by the incoming vessels.
"Don't gotta tell me twice," Jack retorted in a reserved, but knowing tone. All the stories he had heard, and the events he had witnessed firsthand, told him quite plainly all he needed to understand about the capabilities of the Dark Jedi; the Sith specifically.
Jack followed Taas' gesture with his eyes shortly after the Jedi's answer. He glanced just in time to see the corpse of that wretched fungi that they had defeated hours prior, the one Taas had kept for his own purposes. Jack hadn't questioned the motivations behind his actions in the moment, seeing as they had far more important tasks to worry about. It only made sense, though, now that he thought about it. The way the Archeri worked meant a nigh-perfectly preserved specimen was often hard to come by, especially one halfway through its assimilation as this individual was. Science wasn't his strong suit, but even he knew that research was the key to understanding one's enemy, and understanding one's enemy could be the pivotal difference between victory and defeat. Taas' further explanation only echoed the thoughts within Jack's head, and the spacer nodded along.
Jack stared as the Archeri capsule was escorted away from them. He narrowed his eyes and seemed lost in deep rumination on the subject at hand. This being the case, he seemed to perk up rather suddenly when Taas addressed him directly.
"Me?" he asked with a measure of confusion, though the trained ear of a Jedi could tell that the tone was obfuscating. Jack followed Taas' gaze over his own shoulder.
There, just a few meters behind him, Janessa smiled almost in time with Taas' own as she resealed T7's exterior panel, patting the little astromech on the head as he beeped in triumph and happiness. Jack's eyex fixated on the two for a moment, the duo unaware they were being examined from afar. Then, soon enough, Jack joined in the merry moment with a small smile of his own. He was silent for a few beats as he let the question from Taas linger within the walls of his skull for a moment; truth be told, he hadn't even thought about that himself. In all the excitement, it had been easy to forget the initial reason for coming here. His mind and heart constantly warred with one another for control of his actions, but now, he felt more content than ever with what he had to do. Jack turned to glance at Taas one last time, rising to his feet as he did so.
"Thank you, Taas. For everything. For what it's worth, I hope our paths cross in the future," Jack said with a subtle nod of his head toward the old Jedi Master. Then, without another word, he turned on his heel.
The sound of his footsteps alerted T7 and Janessa to his presence. T7 rolled back a few inches, giving Jack space to stand before her. She levelled her hands on her hips and looked up to him with a mischievous smirk.
"I know what you're gonna say," she said confidently.
"Don't think you do this time, Ness," Jack replied with a shake of his head, his hands dug into the pockets of his coat.
"Sure I do," she said with a roll of her eyes, "You're gonna ask me to join your crew, wallop around the Galaxy with you gettin' into space-only-knows what measure of trouble and--"
Janessa's words were cut off as Jack took her by the shoulders lightly and leaned in, planting a fleeting and gentle kiss on her right cheek. Their eyes met for but a moment as they shared silence together. Then, Jack spoke.
"Don't come with me. Take this chance, Ness. The Exchange, the Hutts, they got no power over you anymore. Since the day I met you, all you ever wanted was to fix things, have a place to call home, and be happy. That ain't me, not anymore," he began, a melancholic hopefulness lacing his words as his thumb ran across the fabric of her jacket. "These last couple years, they've taught me a few things. I didn't come here to whisk away a damsel. I came here to make sure you got the future you wanted. But it's not with me. Never was."
A range of emotions flashed over her face as she spoke, more eloquently and convicted than perhaps he ever had been. At first, confusion. Then, a quiet sorrow hidden behind a thin steely gaze. But, when Janessa stopped to reflect on what he had said, it turned into a sad smile; she lifted her hand to touch his cheek gently.
"Since when'd you get a way with words?" she said, her voice small, though her eyes betrayed an understanding of his motives. Jack chuckled.
"Maybe one day, when you got yourself a big garage, I'll fly by and say hi," Jack said, pulling away from their embrace with reluctance. Not one for goodbyes of any kind, he placed his hands back into the pockets of his jacket as he looked down to T7. "C'mon bud, let's go home."
T7 beeped in response, though it lacked the pep and enthusiasm that usually marked the droid's behaviour. Jack exchanged one last glance with Janessa before turning from her, his mouth hidden behind the tall collar of his jacket. T7 rolled alongside him as the duo began the trek back to their ship, slowly fading from view amidst the scurrying JMOC forces. Janessa, with all her bravado, could only smile despite the path Jack had chosen to take; one of a drifter, though a drifter with a cause he had never thought he'd have. Jack had grown in more ways than one, and she was happy for that.
Still, he was a little sore at being saved by a Jedi again.
|
|
|
|
|
Fromikeable
Keeper Of The Techxts
1,616 posts
628 likes
...and I'm comin'! *guitar riff*
|
|
last online Jun 22, 2023 19:35:57 GMT -5
Moderator
|
|
|
Nov 8, 2019 16:34:57 GMT -5
Post by Fromikeable on Nov 8, 2019 16:34:57 GMT -5
Taas couldn't help but hum lightly as Jack's presence danced. He'd thought the question might garner a complex response, but the twenty different trains of thought at play presented quite the show in the Force. Watching it patiently, Taas clasped his hands atop his thigh, letting the silence hang.
Thank you, Taas. For everything. For what it's worth, I hope our paths cross in the future," When the response came, Taas's smile returned in spades. Bowing lightly where he sat, his response was simple.
"May the Force be with, you Jack." Watching him go, Taas sighed lightly, pleased.
Saving them hadn't made a large difference. But today, with the horrors Nar Shaddaa had seen, it was something.
Taas watched them begin to talk, almost tempted to wonder what might become of them. But it wasn't but a few seconds that a duo of soldiers in hazmat suits shuffled over to Taas's side, saluting him.
"The specimens are secure, Master Jedi. We're ready for transport to fleet."
"So we are. Excellent work, Corporal." Standing slowly, Taas allowed his knees their requisite amount of protest. Once upright, he began to walk, clearly a bit exhausted by the day's events.
"Master Vyshaan has rerouted us to one of the carriers. We're to return to Coruscant immediately."
"I had hoped to assist in the final efforts, Corporal." Taas raised a brow as they boarded the shuttle, the rest of the soldiers hard at work securing a small number of pods.
"Command has reshuffled most of the fleet, sir. The entire theater's been redefined."
"Heavens, why?"
"We were not told, sir."
Humming, Taas took his seat, strapping himself in. Pulling out a datapad, he began to navigate his messages, finding a few very recent and high-priority. As the shuttle began to lift off, he began to read.
By the time they cleared orbit, his smile was gone.
|
|
|
|