Better Call Sol

[Maho Aeko]

Experience, Maho cursed in her head, of course....the one thing I don't have. She felt a bit foolish for automatically assuming this merc was some undercover Jedi or similar, but was relieved she didn't say anything about it out loud.

Maho thinks over what she exactly even means by mentioning the armoury...she was sure they could get better equipped there at least. She formulated some ideas in her head, "Well, I'm certain we can find something to even the odds...plus the medbay is right on the way there, and I've been getting a little sick of seeing the blood seep from that wound on your arm..." she drifted off as the sight of it made her shudder. "What do you think?"


[member=Sol Damerin]

 

[Sol Damerin]

"I think that while turning an ambush on your attackers is a good strategy, it only works when you can get around them." Sol rubs his chin. "Armory might have something but like I said, explosives would kill us all unless the blast doors on both ships are still operational. Probably too many to get them all with a flashbang..." He trails off frowning what other items might be in the armoury. None that would be useful, at least not that he could think of.

Suddenly something in what he just said gives him an idea. "Medbay is a good stop. But do they have an airlock?" A quick spacewalk to get around their defences might actually be an effective way to deal with this last gasp. Following Maho as she leads the way to the med-bay he considers the layout of the transport. It might just be possible to sneak aboard through the airlock, get behind the pirates and take them by surprise. But in his condition, it might not be a good idea for him to risk a spacewalk.

[member="Maho Aeko"]

 

[Maho Aeko]

Maho dons a concerned look on her face; she is quite unsure if attacking the ambush head on really is a good idea. She had felt confident that Sol would be able to handle himself...but with the hits he'd taken and close calls, she was now doubting. Nonetheless they made their way through the empty corridors to the medbay, which happened to be deserted; the remaining pirates seemed to either be part of the ambush or sealed off on the bridge.

Maho sifted through the contents of one of the cupboards before locating some bacta bandages and a small bottle of pain killers. She stuffed a few extra bandages in her bag, as well as taking a few vials labelled 'adrenaline'.

She offered them to Sol, "Here, take these. I'm not sure if you need the pain-killers right now, but I'll bring them anyways." Maho started towards the door, with the intention of checking out the armoury. She spoke to Sol, "If you wanna get patched up, I'm going to take a peak in the armoury and see if there's anything useful."


[member=Sol Damerin]

 

[Sol Damerin]

Had he known Maho's thoughts he'd have been flattered. That she'd thought he would be able the whole crew by himself indicated that she really was inexperienced. Even with The Force facing a bunch of men with blasters and slugthrowers without taking a hit was hard. The opinion was even more flattering since as far as she knew he didn't have a lightsaber or The Force. Numbers could eventually trump any amount of skill though.

Grabbing a bacta pad he slaps it on his bleeding shoulder after rinsing away the blood. The painkillers he waves off. "I need to stay sharp. Taking those while we might still get shot is a bad idea." As much as they might help with the pain in his chest and arm they weren't out of the fire. He couldn't afford to have his thinking slowed or dulled. When she gets up to go to the armory he follows. "Another rule, never go solo. Splitting up can sometimes work but you need more than two. Especially when those two have no way to communicate if they split up." The bacta patch had stopped the blood so beyond the bloodstains on his shirt and the black smear on his chest he looked fine.

[member="Maho Aeko"]

 

[Maho Aeko]

She nodded in reply to Sol. Maho cursed herself in her head, her inexperience showing badly in her decisions.

Maho waited for Sol to finish up before the two of them headed for the armoury; it was only just down the corridor. After unlocking the bulkhead with her holopad, the door swooshed open to reveal a mostly empty room, with a small gun rack on the far wall and a equipment cabinet on the other. There were a couple DLT-19 rifles on the rack, which Maho quickly gravitated towards in curiosity. Picking it up she gasped from it's weight and nearly dropped it.

"Maybe going in heavily-armed isn't the best of ideas," she confessed, carefully trying to get the heavy rifle back onto the rack.

Opening up the cabinet, revealed some miscellaneous armour, and a box full of emp grenades.

Maho called Sol over, "Hey, do you think we could use these?"


[member=Sol Damerin]

 

[Sol Damerin]

The moment they enter the armory she heads straight to the biggest gun. A gun that weighs probably almost as much as the slip of a girl who just picked it up, which resulted in it dropping to the floor a second later. Thankfully it wasn't loaded or the safety was on and the gun didn't accidentally go off. Shaking his head he lets out a long sigh but he seems more amused than worried.

Eying the ion and emp grenades he shrugs. "Maybe. They wouldn't put a hole in the ship but they don't do much damage to humans. Give them a headache at best." He scratches his chin and shrugs. "Unless you have a better idea, you are the slicer." He gives her the faintest ghost of the smile trying to reassure her during an ultimately rather dangerous situation. As much as he'd like to wait this out he couldn't risk the pirates getting board and going after the other passengers so they needed to do something.

[member="Maho Aeko"]

 

[Maho Aeko]

Maho slumped down against the wall and put her hands on her head, pouting, worriedly. She was beginning to feel distraught from her experiences so far. Maho did not know how to react now, that her adrenaline had worn off from the exciting action from earlier.

"I...I don't know," she mumbled, feeling overwhelmed. "There's not a whole lot I can do from here...since they're all over there. I could probably slice through the freighter's terminal easily, but we don't have access to it."

Maho soon lost herself in her thoughts, thinking about her situation...her family...her helplessness. No matter how hard she tried, she could not think of a way to turn this situation around; their limited options were unfortunately very distressing. Maho hoped that Sol would be able to come up with something...because his mentioning of a spacewalk from earlier terrified her more than charging straight at the pirate's ambush. She was not a fan of space. All she wanted to do was touch land again.

"Are we sure there's only one entry point back to the freighter?" Maho inquired, "For all we know they used two boarding ramps and we could easily slip past the ambush." Of course down inside, Maho knew it was highly unlikely that there'd be more than one ramp to get back to the freighter; she just hoped Sol would be able to tell her something to get her spirits back in gear.


[member=Sol Damerin]

 

[Sol Damerin]

The girl was obviously starting to panic. The reality of the situation was finally breaking through her initial excitement and adrenaline. This didn't really surprise him, it was only a matter of time before she realized that this wasn't a game. What they were doing was scary, they could die, and sometimes to avoid dying you had to something you didn't want to. Like strapping on a space suit and shooting yourself into the inky black void to jump into another ship's airlock and get behind some pirates. That was what he'd do if they had no other option but they had one last option he'd not used yet, the easy option he generally avoided.

"Alright kid, you've done enough for now." He says resting a head on top of her head. "There is no secondary boarding ramp, so I am going to have to go for a spacewalk." No reason for her to risk herself. Straightening he looks down at her, his expression slightly reassuring. Then he is gone. However he doesn't go to the airlock of the pirate vessel instead he flicks the release on his vibroblades, freeing the hilts from the blades. Cracking his neck he takes a deep breath and looks down the boarding two tub. Twin shoto sabers whiz to life in his hands and then he blurs.

The sound of a firefight echoes down the halls for a few minutes and then silence.

[member="Maho Aeko"]

 

[Maho Aeko]

Maho is lost for words, as an eerie silence falls upon the ships.

Scared, she gets up and shuffles through the corridors, coming upon the entrance back to the freighter. It is quiet as death, which doesn't assure Maho at all, yet she could almost feel that Sol was still alive. She rushed down into the freighter to be met with a horrific scene. Bodies of pirates were strewn about, numbering at least eight. All were unmoving. Tip-toeing through the post-action, a feeling of dread started to come over her until she finally spied Sol kneeling on the ground, clutching his side.

Maho gasped as she hurried towards him, "Oh my, are you alright?" She questioned him with urgency, as she quickly started pulling some medical supplies out of her bag; it appeared that Sol was injured, but she couldn't say for sure without him letting her know. Maho felt an adrenaline boost as she helped Sol shuffle to a wall to lean against, as they both sat down to recover from the action.

The freighter's emergency lights were still flashing a sickly yellow glow while Maho tended to Sol, though this was interrupted by a flash of the regular lights and a voice coming on over the intercom.

"This is the Captain," the intercom blared, "I'm pleased to announce that we've regained control and proper authorities are arriving on the scene to deal with the remainder of any threats. Please stay locked down until we give the all clear."

Maho felt relieved hearing the news. It seemed as though her first adventure was coming to an end, which was fine by her...as she was just about done with it for now anyway. She sighed as she gave a bright smile to Sol, who appeared to be looking better as well..


[member=Sol Damerin]

 

[Sol Damerin]

The pirates had expected a Jedi, Maho had tipped them off that one was aboard. But they thought the Jedi would be a girl who seemed to lack training. They hadn't expected a grown man wielding dual sabers to whirl into their midst. He hadn't even struck any of them down with his blades. Instead, he'd just redirected the hail of blaster fire back into them. That was what Soresu was best at after all. He hadn't gotten them all but a quick Force push had knocked the last few unconscious. He'd not escaped unphased, he'd pushed through it with Force Body but the blaster bolt he'd taken to the chest had actually broken a rib. So when he finished a wave of sickening pain washed over him and he'd doubled over, pressing his side against the wall.

Still, by the time Maho showed up he'd managed to get his sabers away and he was rubbing some feeling back into his chest. "I'm fine." He says with a wince the bulk of the pain he was feeling was ebbing away in the background. Not gone but something he could ignore. It turned out he didn't need to though as the captain speaks up to advise everyone that the pirates were dealt with. Well, that was good he supposed. Maybe now was a good time to take that painkiller. Maho guided him down to the ground and he shakes his head trying to clear some of the fog from his head. "You did alright kid. But you need to look into getting some training." A bit of a non-sequitur but he wasn't thinking one hundred percent clearly right now.

[member="Maho Aeko"]

 

[Maho Aeko]

Maho gleamed at Sol, feeling like she actually amounted to something; Sol's following words made her think.

Her face lit up as she spoke, "Well, you seem to be pretty knowledgeable....maybe you could teach me some things?" She looked up at him with a glint of hope in her eyes. A couple hours ago, Maho was just keen on making it to a spaceport, intent on exploring the core systems and any planets tourist-worthy. Now though, it seemed to her was a chance to do something much more...the adventure she had longer for; the sense of wonder that made her leave Tiantang in the first place.

And oddly enough, despite his gruff appearance, she felt that Sol had some sort of connection with her that she was not aware of. While Maho's mother was formerly a Jedi, she had not let Maho know of her own force-sensitivity, making the young Maho blissfully unaware of her hidden talents. So here she stood, awestruck by this gruff merc who of all people was looking quite like a mentor to Maho, and she was alright with that. She smiled at Sol as he thought about her proposition.


[member=Sol Damerin]

 

[Sol Damerin]

Leaning his head back against the bulk he closes his eyes and lets out a long sigh. Sol probably should have seen that question coming. The girl was young, idealistic, and clearly eager to get herself killed go on an adventure. He was an old grizzled merc so, of course, he looked like perfect mentor material for someone that wanted to learn. Hell, she might even be right he had two apprentices that he was training with some success at the moment. Not like it cost him anything to add on a third. Teaching a group took only slightly more effort than teaching one student.

"Alright kid. I'll show you some basics." He says with a grunt. He had a responsible streak a mile wide and two long. It wasn't in him to let this girl head off into the galaxy by herself with this gung-ho attitude without at least some training. "You need physical training, combat training, tactics training..." He trails off, she just needed a crap tonne of training all around. Honestly, the only thing she had going for her right now is that she hadn't frozen up during the fight. That was good since that was by far the deadliest thing that inexperience could force you to do.

[member="Maho Aeko"]

 

[Maho Aeko]

Maho just stood up tall and confidently said, "I'm ready for anything!"

She took her bag and slung it over her shoulder, checking that her 'sabre and her pistol were in place tucked away in her robes. She smiled with a face that exclaimed eager and excited.

"What's my first lesson? Nevermind, you should teach me how to use a blaster!" Maho exclaimed as she laughed out loud. She wasn't afraid to admit that her skills with a gun were...well, lacking. Anything Sol could teach her to be more helpful than a hindrance in combat were priorities in her mind, which of course was the same priorities to Sol. She just hoped that she'd be able to pick everything up quickly; Maho hated to disappoint people.


[member=Sol Damerin]

 

[Sol Damerin]

"First lesson, after combat where someone got shot twice you shouldn't talk so loud." His head hurt and her enthusiasm while commendable was sending little jolts of pain through him. He felt mildly hungover. "Second, I am going to take a few of those painkillers and sleep until we land on Talasea. Wake me up then." He says as he proceeds to do just that. Sometimes you just needed to sleep things off.

It isn't long before they land on Talasea and Sol leads her off the ship after she wakes him up. The next day is spent heading out to a remote village on the foggy world where they get two rooms at a local inn. The day after he does what she suggested and he shows her how to properly use a blaster. Two-handed grip, using the sights, inhaling before firing, and then exhaling slowly as you pull the trigger. Once she can hit the target most of the time he thinks she might be ready for some more lessons but he isn't quite sure what to go to next.

[member="Maho Aeko"]

 

[Maho Aeko]

Maho was taking shots with her pistol at a few targets that Sol had lined up, while he watched observing her. She was quite proud of herself; sure it wasn't real combat, but she was still managing to be fairly consistent with her grouping. She pegged the targets a couple more times before spinning around and asking Sol, "Well, am I an elite sniper now or what?" Maho giggled at her exaggeration.

Though she was happy to have learnt something so crucial to her combat prowess, Maho still felt she was lacking quite a bit of experience to do well in an actual fight. A thought popped in her head, "Hey, can you teach me how to use a 'sabre? I'm just assuming you know how to use a vibroblade....and the two are basically the same, right?"


[member=Sol Damerin]

 

[Sol Damerin]

The elite sniper comment got a bland stare from Sol. He'd gotten used to her chipper upbeat attitude over the weeks. It clashed with his generally somber demeanor but that wasn't really a bad thing. It could be said that the dour old merc could use a bit of unrelenting cheer in his life. How Sol felt about this would be impossible to tell given he seemed to be an emotional rock but he hadn't stopped training her so that said something.

The question gets a snort from Sol. "You are kidding right?" He looks at her realizes she isn't and shakes his head. "A lightsaber and a vibroblade are similar, yes but they are far from the same. There are styles of fighting with a vibroblade that if you tried to use with a saber would just end with you missing limbs. Conversely, there are styles with a saber that if you tried to mimic with a blade that would just get you killed. Here pull out your saber and turn it on and hold this..." He draws one of his short vibroblades and offers it to her. "Tell me what the difference is between the two."

[member="Maho Aeko"]

 

[Maho Aeko]

Sol's glare at her comment just made Maho more pleased with herself. She very much enjoyed irking Sol with, what she found to be, humourous quips.

Her second question seemed to have provoked the man, though. Maho drew her retorsabre and took the vibroblade that Sol had handed to her. It was clearly evident that while both were 'bladed' weapons, the vibroblade felt far heavier due to the blade actually being metal, whereas the 'sabre's blade of energy meant all the weight was in the hilt. She hadn't noticed it until holding both, but the 'sabre felt so strange in her hand; the vibroblade having a natural heft to it that lent itself to being used in combat. The retrosabre seemed to take a whole new skillset as Maho could imagine it's lightness affecting how one might use it .

The longer she held both, the more she understood Sol's reaction to her comment, "I'm sorry. You're right. They feel completely different." Her voice fell a bit more solemn now; Maho felt terribly embarrassed about such a bold assumption.

"Can you still teach me how to use it?" Maho inquired, "I don't want my inexperience to get anyone killed, much less myself."


[member=Sol Damerin]

 

[Sol Damerin]

Sol watches arms crossed as the light of realization slowly dawns on Maho's chest. When she exceeds his point he takes his virboblade back and but's it into its sling. Eying the retro saber he frowns. "Not with that. It doesn't look like it is dual phase, no adjustable length and no option to decrease power to a training setting." He says and then he hesitates slightly. "Also, usually only Force users know the lightsaber forms." He says point this out since he still hadn't revealed that he knew how to use The Force at all.

"But I do know some of the forms." He relents as he considers whether he should elaborate. "But we should focus on your core combat skills first. Jumping right into sabers is dangerous and you need more training before we consider practicing with them." He also needed a bit more time to figure out if he wanted to take that much responsibility for her training. It was a big thing taking on an apprentice.

[member="Maho Aeko"]