Private Aftermath

[Lao-ta]

Seeing the new marks appear on the screen made Lao-ta realize they would need to adjust their strategy. They couldn't turn and fight but they'd need to at least try and discourage their pursuers. Niynx and Dominik weren't in good shape. It would have to be Haro and herself.

"Haro. I'm going to connect our minds so we can work as one. Let me in when you feel the touch. I'm going to take one of the tail guns. I'll lend you my senses and use the connection to anticipate your moves. Together we'll get through this."

She rose, touched Haro reassuringly on the shoulder and reached out with her thoughts to make a connection as she turned to dash towards the rear of the ship. As she did she continued to lay a gentle pressure on Haro's mind letting calm confidence fill the space between them. Letting it fill the whole ship as she flew past the other two on her way to the rear. She reached out to them as well, letting reassuring calm wash over the length of the ship in her wake. The jedi knight took the controls of the turret and took a deep breath, firming up her connection to the others, and waited for the enemy to get in range.

Niynx Ioune Dominik Borra Haro Aven

 

[Haro Aven]

"Haro. I'm going to connect our minds so we can work as one.”
“Wait, what?”
“Let me in when you feel the touch.”
“Uh-“
“I'm going to take one of the tail guns. I'll lend you my senses and use the connection to anticipate your moves. Together we'll get through this."

Haro spared a glance up at her with uncertain eyes but kept his focus primarily on piloting. Then he felt it. Her mind. A soft pressure on his psyche. His eyes grew wide, startled but fascinated by the sensation, but he let her in as she’d told him. All the jittering anxiety and uncertainty washed away in the tides of her calm confidence and he visibly relaxed. Was this what having the Force felt like? Is this how Niynx felt all the time? He didn’t have time to reflect on it now and the questions that spun in his mind were quickly replaced with absolute focus.

The Little Minnow tore through space, steadily closing the distance to the nearby planet, but not fast enough to outrun the squadron of five fighters that sped off after it. The ship’s scanner tracked their trajectory but Haro could also feel their proximity through Lao-ta’s senses as well as the precise moment it would be best to divert some power back to the shields. Enemy laser cannons began firing a moment after Haro boosted the shields. He took in a deep breath and exhaled, as he’d seen his Jedi friend do in tough situations, remaining focused on the touch of Lao-ta’s mind so he could move the ship according to her direction.

Lao-ta | Niynx Ioune | Dominik Borra

 

[Lao-ta]

Lao-ta let her senses expand into space around them. She tracked the approaching fighters with her eyes but also through the force. She felt Haro already responding. Shifting the shields into place before the enemy even fired. Good. They needed him to be sharp. She would do what she could but their fate would ultimately rely on his judgement and reflexes. She'd seen the boy was fast and he knew his ships. They could pull through this.

She let herself slip into a bit of a trance, feeling the minds of the enemy pilots. Predicting their moves. Impressions, intentions passed into her mind and she let them flow to Haro. Hoped he could see what she saw. Just in case... "Bank hard to starboard and then roll twenty degrees port." She said calmly into the intercom. Then she rotated the turret and readied herself to take the shot. Once Haro performed the maneuver she would be lined up perfectly to fire on the lead fighter.

Haro Aven Niynx Ioune Dominik Borra

 

[Dominik Borra]

Dominik hated this. Dogfights through space and avoiding oncoming fire from large cruiser's was tongue-biting enough, but he wasn't the one piloting. He wasn't even co-pilot. Or the gunner. He was injured and bedridden and in a lot of pain and couldn't even hold himself down. Instead the kid who was arguably more banged up than he was layed across him, holding him down to the table. He felt more useless than extra baggage. But there simply wasn't anything he could do, he had put everything on the line in order to beat Carnifax. He had swung and missed. And now he was paying for it, not reserving his strength for later when it was needed.

He'd just have to hope this kid pilot and the jedi were enough to get away from trained soldiers.

 

[Haro Aven]

With each passing moment, Haro's anxiety faded away to be replaced with a serene determination to match Lao-ta's. He had never been so focused in his life, nor so present in the moment. Just as he was beginning to adapt to the presence of the jedi's mind intermingled with his, a new and rather unsettling awareness was passed on to him, then another and another — the impressions of their pursuers. He could feel their intentions, their directive to destroy their target without hesitation, their fear of the consequences if they failed.

In the holocomics, it was always clear who the bad guys were and there was no question as to why they were bad. They just were. Aside from some of the major villains, they were most often faceless soldiers, masked or otherwise obscured, depicted as an obstacle for the hero or Jedi to defeat for some greater good. To feel the intentions of the "bad guys" was something Haro never thought he would experience and it chilled him to the core.

Lao-ta's instructions sounded over the coms and Haro reacted immediately, executing the requested maneuver from a muscle memory that was only partially his own.

Their teamwork resulted in Lao-ta accomplishing a lethal series of shots that tore through the engines and cockpit of the enemy fighter which blasted soundlessly into bits of debris. One of the awarenesses in Haro's mind flared with terror then blinked out as the enemy pilot's life was suddenly and violently snuffed out. The world around the young pilot seemed to fade away for a long moment and Lao-ta could feel his focus slip. One of the other ships sped through the debris of their fallen comrade and moved into position, firing on the Minnow. The shot bounced off the ship but still rattled Haro back into the moment.

Blessedly, they were far enough away from the interdictor’s tractor beams not to worry about getting caught up in them but they still had the fighters to shake. They were getting close enough to planetside to start to make out the contours of the surface through the atmosphere. Much of the planet appeared to be ocean with smatterings of rocky continents.

"Find us a place to hide," he instructed his little droid who was still plugged into the nav computer. Bodie instructed the ship to scan for signals, signs of civilization, while also cross-referencing any information in the ship's databanks with information on this planet and its inhabitants. The little droid managed to locate what seemed to be the only real civilization on the planet, a research facility of some sort.

“Bodie found a-uh… research facility I guess? Routing us there!” Haro said over the coms to Lao-ta then addressed his droid.

“Nice job, buddy. I sure hope they’re friendly.” The droid warbled hopefully in response.

Lao-ta | Niynx Ioune | Dominik Borra

 

[Dominik Borra]

The ship suddenly banked hard in some maneuver. One hand gripped whatever he laid on until it was white. The angle was so steep that he would have rolled onto the floor if Niynx hadn't been holding him down. Still, it was a battle not to start bouncing around the cabin. Laser Cannons blared and the banking lessened. Dominik let out a breath but didn't relax his grip. Sharper turns could happen at any moment and the last thing he wanted to do was fly off the table and crush the padawan against a wall.

Research Facility? He had heard the kid talk over the intercom, his voice bouncing off the metal walls despite the sounds of the engines and laser cannons.

Research Facility, that meant military, or at least a way to make long-range communications to a military to help them out. Though a research facility this close to a Sith warship didn't bode well. Would they be friendly? Oppressed? Hidden? Abandoned? He hoped for friendly, and it was literally the only thing he was capable of doing at the moment.