Private Cargo Unknown

[Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan]

Cargo Unknown

It was an intense game. While one side had a clear material advantage, both in regards to the pure quality of its pieces and the numbers, the other side had its pieces set up in a much stronger position to attack the opponent and also carried the momentum. Loïc loved playing Dejarik against himself - it was one of the most certain ways to guarantee an even an exciting match throughout as he could always spot the opponent's flaws and plan on how to exploit them. But then, he always faced obstacles when he had to execute his plans which made for quite a bit of excitement.

His Nubian freighter was making its way through hyperspace with a low soft hum from the engines. For a moment, the Jedi Knight looked up from his game to throw a glance at his passenger, Mi'la Undari , a Twi'lek padawan. Naturally, it was not his own as it had been years since he had met someone whom he could tolerate for more than a week. She seemed like a gentle and kind soul but taking her on in a game of Dejarik was way too great of a risk, seeing as she might be far too poor of a player. But then - chances were that she would be able to hold her own or perhaps even perform much better than himself. The greatest players of the game seemed to be growing younger and younger after all.

Standing up, he looked down at her "I'm going to check on Yannick. I need to mull over this next move for a bit anyways." he said, contemplating whether to sacrifice another piece or not. Deep in thought and with the hint of a smile on his lips, Loïc left the room and walked back towards the cargo hold. Feeding the beast, brushing his mane and refilling the water tank - it was all part of a purely joyous activity for the Knight who couldn't think of anything more gratifying than tending to his varactyl companion.

Brushing the mane in peace, Loïc suddenly stopped as an odd sound could be heard from the hyperdrive, causing both the human and the varactyl to look towards where the sound came from. "That's not good, is it?" he asked before handing the comb to Yannick who took it with his mouth and put it away. "I'll go check it out. Stay here." he said, patting the animal on the back before moving on towards the back of the vessel. Once there, he could only see about two meters ahead of him as the compartment was filled with smoke. Fortunately, the problem was nearby - a broken pipe to one of the stabilisers and an overheated power coupling. Quickly leaving the room and closing the door whilst activating an emergency protocol, he rushed back to the main leisure room next to the cockpit where he had been earlier.

"We need to dock somewhere" he said with a calm voice that was a bit higher than his usual tone. With a hand gesture, he ushered her in towards the cockpit. Despite the rather pressing circumstances, Loïc felt like the situation was under control. Instead of panic or urgency, he entered the cockpit with curiosity, eager to see what the padawan would do in the precarious situation they found themselves in.

 

[Mi'la Undari]

Mi'la studied the moves of the knight, musing as she believed he had made a critical error in his strategy, though the payoff for this failure didn't pan out. Loïc made a mention of needing to check on his pet, and left the padawan to her thoughts within the hold of the freighter. She didn't have much to say about the knight, other than he seemed kind and fancied himself an intellectual, but whe had seen many of those in her life: many of them were far less impressive than they made themselves out to be. Still, he was a veteran and perhaps could impart wisdom upon the padawan; something Mi'la knew she was lacking in. She was rather used to space travel, it had become something of a norm for her after all, but she much preferred the confines of the Jabberwocky than this spacy flying hotel.

An alarm rang out from the cockpit, catching the Twi'leks attention, as she raced to investigate it. Once there, she noticed that Hyperspace didn't look so Hyperspacy. The fluid blue pattern that indicated one was at hyperspace flickered in and out, indicating they were slipping out of Hyperspace. The main computer flashed a series of warnings, far too many for Mi'la to read right now. That didn't matter, what did matter was that someone needed to take control here. Jumping into the pilot's chair, Mi'la disengaged the hyperdrive, and switched over to sublight engines in the hopes to coast the ship out of a turbulent jump. With that established, she threw up a diagnostic report on the main computer, then began to throttle back on the sublight drive. It was then that she noticed Loïc had returned, to which the padawan could only chuckle and shrug at having been caught piloting his craft. "Hey, sorry, I just heard the alarms and had to jump in." She glanced to the diagnostic report, and frowned at what it indicated. "Looks like the hyperdrive couplings and the motivator malfunctioned. That isn't a cheap fix either." Shaking her head, she looked to the man once again. "Do you need help back there?" He had probably seen the damage first hand now that she thought about it, but maybe there was something she could do to help.

Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan

 

[Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan]

A satisfied smile spread across his lips as he saw that she had assumed the pilot's seat. It was good that she had taken it upon herself to ensure their safety and it showed that she certainly didn't lack initiative. Loïc shot her a quizzical look from behind as she apologized "Are you now?" he quipped, not really expecting an answer.

Taking the co-pilot's seat next to her, the Knight started transferring power from the stabiliser with the broken pipe to evenly disperse it among the other systems. A few minor adjustments ensued but nothing which would take much time. Instead, he brought up the holomap and let out a simple "Indeed", confirming her damage diagnosis and the cost of repairs at the same time. "There's a space station nearby, take us in and we'll have a professional look at it" he said, concluding that there was little which he could do in order to fix the ship from where they were now.

Surely enough, a primarily white complex soon emerged through the cockpit view port. While Loïc was tempted to contact them himself and request docking, he too much of a traditionalist - it was up to the pilot or captain to do it and while he might be considered the captain of the ship, his current position was that of a co-pilot. "Seems like we were lucky" he said, reflecting on how close to the station they were when they dropped out of hyperspace. Leaning his head to the side for a moment, he contemplated his choice of words and added "It seems like the force was with us" with a dry voice.

Assuming that she managed to get them a clearance to land inside the station, he would cross his one leg over the other, seeing as there was little left for him to do other than to seeing as the cleverly designed ship minimized the amount of work which would have to be done by both the pilot and the co-pilot. "Who taught you to fly?" he asked, throwing a glance at her before starting to put away the map.

Mi'la Undari

 

[Mi'la Undari]

"Well, being honest no, I'm not sorry for saving you credits on Forced Hyperspace Termination damages. So watch yourself, I'll do it again." She smiled, before looking over the damages once again. Not much had changed it seemed, which was a good sign; not to mention they hadn't exploded, so there was that too. "We are certainly lucky, a hyperspace mishap might have sent us to weird space or whatever they call. Want nothing to do with that."

Loïc was busy pulling up a holomap, which put Mi'la at ease as she could get accustomed to the freighter controls in the meanwhile. The knight seemed to have made modifications to limit the negative effects of the stabilizer, which was good, as it gave Mi'la less work to do. Being told they would need to visit a space station, the Twi'lek looked to the map that was being displayed, and realized that Loïc wasn't making the call. Guess it was up to her. "I'll hit them with the service request then, if you're okay with it." If no objections were made, she would send out a repair request to the station, and begin correcting the course of the craft towards their new destination.

Readjusting the seat, Mi'la only glanced towards the night when he inquired on her flying skills. She gave a smile, as she conjured up the memories to answer his question. "Well, I was very fortunate growing up. Parents let me go on trips to expand my knowledge of other cultures, but I got sick of having to charter flights, so I took courses at the Commentor Institute of Flight, and got my license there. Been flying myself ever since then." Tugging at her headband, Mi'la double check the course that she had plotted and felt content with it's appearance. Hopefully this would be the last mishap they had. "What about you?" She asked, throwing the question back the Loïc now.

Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan

 

[Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan]

It was all going rather smooth. Well, as smooth as it could be expected to go when the ship was malfunctioning and at the risk of blowing up and killing the three of them. Loïc's thoughs went out to Yannick but there was no need to truly worry. Yannick was not only a strong and majestic being, but also a brave and courageous one. A few huffs and puffs from the engines wouldn't frighten him

Looking over to her, the Knight observed her as she took the initiative to contact the space station authorities "The ship is yours" he said with a nonchalant tone, indicating that she was the one to make the call while she was in the pilot's seat.

With interest, he listened as she spoke of where she learned to pilot a spaceship. In all frankness, he was a bit surprised that she had not been fully taught by her parents. Either she was, similarly to himself, lucky enough to have an upbringing in wealth, or she might have parents who worked in commercial shipping. Whether it was the one or the other, learning how to fly tended to come for free. But then, there were a number of conditions in between those which could also have had an effect. "A formal education in flight" he said, repeating her words. "I don't suppose to have a formal education in ice skating too then?" he asked - while fully intending for it to be a jestful jab about how little he cared for formal educations in the field, Loïc's tone failed in conveying the humour in it.

As she sent the question back, he looked at her for a few moments before dropping a somewhat curt "You would not know them" It was clear that the Nubian was done with the conversation as he then proceeded to send over the ship's specifications to the station's hangar command and then to synchronise the ship's landing procedures with those of the station. "She is in your hands. Holler if you need anything" he said before walking off back into the ship, now confident that she had a decent idea of what she was doing on her own. At this point, caring for Yannick was more important.

Mi'la Undari

 

[Mi'la Undari]

Mi'la felt her enthusiasm deflate a tad as the man spoke to her, getting a sense that he didn't care for her presence at the moment. Had she done something wrong? Or was he just reserved like this? It bothered her not knowing. She felt like he was mocking her a tad with the comment about formal education, though she tried to act as if it didn't bother her, it very clearly did.

"Well, no...I don't see how ice skating would require education to partake in..." Did he know about her past? About her family? It would explain the dismissive remarks, but maybe she was just overthinking. Certainly that was the case, he was just stressed, having to take this ship into a station for repairs. She just needed to calm down. Then he hit her with another retort, and soured her mood further. Who karked in his shoes? "Oh, okay then." She muttered, her head-tails coiled around her neck to show she was growing agitated, though Mi'la caught the emotion and smoothed it out. She didn't reply as the knight left the cockpit, probably going to check on the damages to the ship, or maybe to be with his pet. Either way, Mi'la would let out a frustrated sigh as he left. "Thanks for helping Mi'la. Good job not blowing up the ship Mi'la. Just four words man, that's all." The Twi'lek grumbled, gripping the controls of the ship tightly before letting out a sigh. "Not gonna let him get to me. It's just a test, that's all." She told herself, taking in a deep breath and blowing the frustrations out. She focused on moving towards the station, ETA would be in about ten minutes at maximum sublight speed. She put her mind to more useful things, like working out the fuel efficiency of this freighter compared to her N-Wing.


Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan

 

[Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan]

Dismissing the sound from the cockpit he seemed to hear as he left as static noise, Loïc continued in towards the cargo hold of the ship where Yannick was. The varactyl stood with its head high and eyes switching from point to point as it looked out for potential threats, clearly aware that they were in a precarious situation. "Don not worry, Yannick" he said whilst giving the beast a small clap by the neck. "Our Twi'lek friend shall bring is into a hangar, once there, I will let you out from here for some..." he trailed off, knowing that claiming the air to be 'fresh' would be false. and he had no intentions lying to Yannick whatsoever which lead to the truthful continuation ".. some better air"

While the Knight was not by any view ports, he could soon hear more noise as the ship entered the hangar and was pleased by how smoothly the landing went. With a quick step, he launched himself to sit upon Yannick after pressing the button to lower the ramp. Together, the two ventured out into the open hangar. A fair amount of people were in there already as it seemed to be one of the shared hangars which were common on many space station used as rest-stops. Slowing down and eventually reaching a halt, Loïc gazed out over the area until he saw someone approach him.

The Aqualish woman came towards him with crossed arms "Welcome to Tung Space Station, I am Lorvar." Looking down at the woman, Loïc nodded "Thank you, Lorvar." he said before thinking for a few moments and deciding that they were not all too friendly yet "I am Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan. You may refer to me as Pen-Arl-Lan and this is Yannick" he said, petting the beast by its mane. Assuming that the Padawan had arrived outside, he would look down to her and direct his hand towards her "And this is... and this is..." he grew quite for a moment before finishing "I shall let her introduce herself."

After the introductions were made, Loïc would take the initiative to bluntly announce "You look like a mechanic!" upon which the alien would respond with a proud nod - she was getting precisely where she wanted with this discussion. "My ship is damaged and will need repairs. Hyperdrive couplings needs replacing, stabiliser pipes too" Slightly taken aback by the request, the Aqualish was about to ask a followup question, but instead of taking it himself, he leaned his head to the side, shooting a look to Mi'la, hoping to get her involved too.

Mi'la Undari

 

[Mi'la Undari]

Settling the ship into the docking bay, Mi'la took a moment to take breath, knowing that everything was going to be okay. Her new jedi friend was going to be just fine once they got all this worked out. She found those words challenged as Loic had already left the ship, practically charging down the landing ramp atop of pet, leaving the padawan to awkwardly waddle down the ramp behind the man. Standing aside the man, an Aqualish woman approached, seemingly a dock worker for the station. Mi'la was about to say something to greet the woman, when Loic began to talk instead. He hadn't said much before she regretted letting him do so. During the introductions, she looked at him with an incredulous stare, as it seemed he had entirely forgotten her name. Closing her eyes for a moment and letting the moment slide, Mi'la smiled to the woman and introduced herself. "I'm Mi'la Undari, nice to meet you."

Loic unfortunately took the initiative again, beginning to rattle off all the issues they were having with the ship, then abruptly stopped and stared to Mi'la direction. She was starting to feel slighted again, and she wasn't sure what was bringing her fellow jedi to act in this way. Moving past Loic, Mi'la was now face to face with the mechanic, smiling as she motioned to the plug in module off the front. "I think there are a few other issues that sparked up while we were flying over here, could you plug in and see what your read outs say? The main stabilizers felt a bit sluggish, and I'm concerned we might have a fuel leak given the damage to the stabilizer pipes." Taking a more upbeat tone with the woman, Mi'la would accompany the mechanic towards the module, letting her get a read out of the ship's current condition, all the while the padawan looked to her technical superior, unsure as to what she should feel about him. Was it something against her, or just how he was normally? It was getting hard to tell.

Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan

 

[Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan]

Remaining seated on Yannick, the two slowly followed Mi'la and Lorvar to the module by the front. With a few meters apart, there was a little difficult hearing what they said, but there was no need to resort to the force for this as he could still pick up most, if not all, of the conversation. Noticing how the Padawan looked to him while the mechanic worked, Loïc produced a practiced friendly smile until she looked away again.

After a while, Lorvar would look to Loïc before settling her gaze at Mi'la "I have assembled a list of components you'll need. Me and my crew can start working on installing them and fixing whatever damages have been made to your ship" she said, seeming to be rather interested in making business with them. An amused smirk grew on the Knight's lips as the Aqualish seemed to call it Mi'la's ship but to him, the mechanic's thoughts and opinions didn't matter too much.

Hopping off from Yannick, he patted the beast by its mane, nodding towards the ground, indicating that it should stay where it was. After receiving a loud chirping noise in return, he smiled, letting out a short "Thanks" before moving over to the two women. "May I see the list, please?" he said and gave the woman an approving nod when she handed it over. Looking at it for a bit, he eventually asked "Why is this greyed out?" upon which a brief period of silence fell over them "We... we.. uh, don't have it" Loïc then produced a rather menacing skeptical look which caused the woman to raise her hands, showing her palms and speak at a quick pace to plead innocence "Nobody has it on this space station. Do you know how hard motivator cores are to come by when the most relevant cargo captains to drop by ferry lightsabre components?" Accepting her explanation, Loïc nodded "Well, I would like to accept your services and if we can find this core, I would like to to install that too" he said and received a quick answer as the alien simply responded with a resolute "Deal"

Apparently more comfortable interacting with the Twi'lek, the Aqualish woman looked to her when continuing "Your best bet is to speak to Yalett over there" she said, pointing at a stand near the door leading deeper into the station. "Just, stay on your toes. He is slime, that one"

Mi'la Undari

 

[Mi'la Undari]

Mi'la didn't want to interrupt the woman as she explained the ship problems, but it seemed the Aqualish woman was more akin to speaking with Mi'la than her human counterpart; aliens gotta stay together you know? Listening to the explanation, Mi'la had a bad feeling about all of this, but more importantly she needed to air some things out to Loic when they had a chance. The explanation seemed simple enough, get the parts and the nice woman here would fix it all up for them. "Right, so get the part, bring it back, and we are good to go? Alright, on it." Saying little else, Mi'la moved to speak with Yalett. She only took a few steps, before realizing that there seemed to be no one at the stand, perhaps the man was busy with something in the back, but perhaps this was the opportunity Mi'la needed.

Turning back to find the jedi knight, Mi'la spoke up, though aiming to keep the conversation between just the two of them. "Hey, Loic? I just wanted to check, I didn't do anything to upset you, right?" She asked, her features crossed with concern as she spoke, her Lekku's coiled around her neck like a scarf. "Because, I get the feeling like I've slighted you or something, and it's been bothering me. We're good, right?" She asked, looking to the man for affirmation, and if she received it, she would merely move on towards the stand; her mood varying based on how the jedi knight answered.

Yalett was now visible as she turned about, and he seemed to be a Rodian. He was rummaging through a trunk he had recently set onto his counter, his features seemed to indicate a bit of annoyance. Taking the opportunity, Mi'la continued forward, offering a greeting. "Hey there, are you Yatlett? We were told you might have a ship part we need." The Rodian perked up, his bulbous eyes blinking at the two, as he shut the trunk and moved it back under the counter. "That depends traveler, I have many wares, many parts. All to good for ship to zoom." Mi'la blinked in confusion at the man's words, then looked back to Loic. There was a clear disconnect here, his basic was terrible. "Big boom? For the ship, it makes a big boom? Big boom makes zoom!" The Rodian stated, making hand motions as if it made the conversation any easier to understand. "No, no big boom. We need to zoom." Mi'la partook in the hand motions, taking her hand and lunging it forward to simulate hyperspace. "We need part to zoom. Zoom part is Motivator Core. You have Motivator Core?" The Rodian nodded, holding up one of his green digits, before shaking his head. "Before you zoom, you must boom. Do boom, and you zoom. Agreed?" The Twi'lek wasn't even sure if the Rodian was trying to have a conversation now.

Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan

 

[Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan]

And so they were off. Lorvar called in her crew to start making repairs, leaving Yannick, Mi'la and Loïc to acquire the needed parts. Naturally, roaming around the space station with Yannick was less than optimal. Still, having faith in Yannick, the Knight simply nodded at him as they left, letting out a simple "See you later, holler if you need me" before moving on with the Padawan.

Once they got to the stand and the shopkeeper wasn't there, Loïc's first instinct was to move a bit further in or call for them but it seemed like his companion had a different idea. Turning to her, he looked at her attentively, curious to see what she had to say. Usually, people would reserve the 'Hey, Loïc' for more serious chats. When he had heard the first question, the Nubian understood that it was indeed the case. Producing the same sympathetic face he would use when being told of a client's unfortunate story, he pondered over her question for a few brief moments. "No" he finally answered. A friendly smile formed on his lips, not in too stark of a contrast to his usual more neutral expression "You have been most helpful.." he said, seemingly trailing off for a bit with his face remaining in the same position until he completed the sentence "..Mi'la."

With his face returning to normal, Loïc gazed upon the Rodian who presented themselves as Yalett. Barely managing to cover his face with his palm, the Knight mustered what restraint he could from cringing at the alien's command of basic and the situation they found themselves in. Fortunately, Mi'la had captivated the Rodian for it to not notice Loïc's disappointment. Finally looking back up, he observed the hand gestures his fellow Jedi made and the ones which the merchant made. At this point, he was unsure of who could provide him better insight so he finally turned to the green alien "And what, exactly, does this big boom of yours entail?" the question was hardly adapted for someone who's understanding of the language was so poor. Eventually, he pointed towards the closest lavatory and asked "Big boom?" whilst gesturing a downwards thrust with his hand.

Mi'la Undari

 

[Mi'la Undari]

Well, that talk could have gone better, but it could have gone much worse. Taking what positivity she could from the situation, Mi'la moved along to the Rodian, where a rather disastrous conversation played out. Feeling that they were both getting frustrated with this talk, Mi'la looked to the knight with an exasperated look. Yannick seemed more than willing to keep playing along, though he seemed a bit befuddled by what Loic was saying. After a moment of blank staring a the jedi, the Rodian nodded at the notion of 'big boom'. "Ah, yes, yes. Big boom!" Reaching under the counter, the Rodian dropped a rather large metal component onto the counter, eagerly rubbing his hands as the two jedi inspected the device.

Looking to Loic yet again, Mi'la said what everyone was thinking. "Yannick, this isn't a bomb is it?" She prodded, her expression looking extremely concerned. "No, wrong boom. This boom goes Zoom! Not boom!" The Rodian retorted, pushing the device towards the padawan, much to Mi'la's chagrin. "You are not doing a good job of convincing me this isn't a bomb Yannick." The Rodian seemed annoyed now, opening up one of the panels of the device and letting the Twi'lek read it. 'Hyperdrive motivator, MK IV Corellian Star Systems'. The part number read off fine, and with a quick check in the force it didn't seem to be an explosive either. "You take it down to sublevels, swap it for package with Gravel. Come back with package, all is good. You get zoom, I get boom!" The Rodian repeated, as if it made any more sense the third time.

Mi'la shook her head, looking to her superior for advice. "What do you think?" She wasn't entirely sure about this favor they were running for the Rodian, especially if they weren't going to be paying him for a service. Mi'la was starting to suspect this was an act. The behavior she was seeing wasn't consistent, and it seemed that Yannick was going out of his way to sound as ridiculous as possible; and yet she sensed no deception from his aura. It was very strange. "So, we take this down to Gravel, bring up Gravel's package and the part is ours?" Mi'la asked, only for the Rodian to eagerly nod. "Yes, after pay, then we good. Yes." Oh, now they were paying for the part? This whole situation seemed fishy to her, but if Loic was okay with it, then.... well really they had nothing they could really do. Flying with out a repaired ship was going to get them no where.

Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan

 

[Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan]

Ridiculous. This was simply ridiculous. Loïc was grateful that Mi'la was there because she was still trying to communicate with the alien whereas he would have tried to find someone who could translate for them. How someone could get by with such a poor grasp of Basic was beyond him and when looking around, the Rodian community seemed to be extremely limited which furthered the confusion. But then, it did seem like the Padawan was making progress - there were no bombs and the 'zoom' stuff was related to this odd 'gravel'.

With furrowing eyebrows, Loïc showed a clear lack of understanding as the Rodian asked for them to pay "You want both payment and this 'gravel' of yours?" he asked with a skeptical tone and inquisitive eyes. "Then you might as well let me pay for the motivator core and be done with it." While he had very little sympathy for the Rodian staying civil was still a priority. Not taking much of a pause, he soon continued "So, how large is this package of 'gravel'? We can find a good courier service and add that to the price tag."

Loïc threw a glance at Mi'la. If they couldn't make a good deal with the Rodian, it might be necessary for them to call in support from the outside. While it might take some time for help to arrive, it did seem to be faster than having to go out of their ways to retrieve the gravel and bring it back out to the space station again. But he would keep the thought to himself for now and give Yalett a chance to make a more adequate proposal before suggesting that they leave the alien be and search for alternative routes.

Mi'la Undari

 

[Mi'la Undari]

The Rodian looked to the knight and shook his head, seemingly not happy with how the knight spoke. "No, no Gravel is security officer. Gravel handle packaging. Gravel have package! Take big boom to Gravel, Gravel give you package. Once you bring package, you get zoom!" The Rodian clapped his hands together, as if expecting that to make this whole situation better. Mi'la interjected. "But we have to pay you for the part still." The Rodian looked to the two jedi, then rubbed the tube appendage on his face. "Discount for help, seventy five percent off for zoom? This good?" He asked, looking to the two, his suction cup like digits tapping on the hunk of metal eagerly. The Twi'lek looked back to the knight and shrugged. She felt that they could give this a go, they needed to get one with their mission, and she didn't feel like anything about this trade off could go badly; yet.

Sighing, Mi'la looked to the Rodian, and shook her head. Her head-tails curled around her shoulders, indicating she didn't like where this talk was heading. "Alright, we'll do it." She was probably making a mistake, but in her mind there was no other option at the moment. Yannick seemed overjoyed at their acceptance, as he pushed the block of metal off the counter, hardly giving Mi'la enough time to catch it. "Great! Great! I'll be right here when you get back!" The Rodian disappeared into the back, leaving Mi'la struggling with the heavy block of metal as she tried to find a hover-cart to set it on. "Well, he's nice!" She wasn't exactly pleased by having a hunk of metal nearly dropped on her foot, but this was the hand they had been deal. "Loic, can you help me out here? This thing is really heavy." She huffed, unable to find a cart and finding she couldn't lift the block enough to set it back on the counter. They had to find this security officer now, do the trade off, and then they'd be set for their mission to continue. How hard could it be?

Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan

 

[Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan]

No. He did not like this one bit. Suddenly gravel was a person! The force did not seem to be with them today but at least the Rodian wasn't asking them to go to Commenor and then back to the station again. Loïc failed to see why it was so important for them to run the errand instead of just paying outright - but 75% out of the total price was a rather hefty amount that he wouldn't mind saving. Still, he was very skeptical of it all - the bad feeling he had in his gut did not seem to be fading. Still, he kept his emotions inside and projected a rather neutral facade, taking extra care to maintain it as Mi'la looked to him.

It was interesting to see where she would take it and seeing her take Yalett's offer on was very much to his liking. It was not the most careful path but it was one that showed initiative to do the work and perhaps even a bit of boldness. With that, he nodded.

While it was a most amusing sight, to see Mi'la struggling with the sudden weight that had been thrown at her, it was rather clear that she needed assistance. Instead of answering her directly, he took a few steps towards her "The force is your ally. Reach out - feel - let it imbue you with the strength you need" his voice was soft and calm, just like it had been during their time together. Unaware of how far her master had brought her so far, he put a hand on her shoulder and focused. Through his efforts, she would be imbued with part of the strength needed to put it on the counter. The purpose was to let her experience how it felt so that it would be easier to replicate.

Once the hunk of metal was dumped onto the counter, either by her own use of the force, or by Loïc intervening to help her put it there by physically carrying it with her, he would eye the padawan "This technique, it can be helpful when your own physical capacities are lacking. It can harden your body, slow down or hasten it's systems and if worst comes to worst, keep you alive."

 

[Mi'la Undari]

Struggling with the hunk of metal that had so generously been dropped into the Twi'leks grasp, Mi'la tried to push the device up with her knees, desperate to not drop the metal. Being lectured by Loic to trust in the force, she wanted to give him a dirty look, as it was easier said than done at the moment. Unfortunately, she didn't have any energy to spare responding to the man, but to her surprise she found a new strength within herself, as the seemingly crushing weight of the ship part felt bearable. Feeling the hand on her shoulder, she found Loic had done something to aid her, and with his help she set it back onto the counter. She felt the irritation she had towards the man diminish, as a bit of shame funneled into her thoughts as well. "Thank you. I...didn't know that." She replied, looking to her arms, then to the part, curious if she could do it on her own. "I'll give it another go then, thank you for the lesson." She responded, giving him a short bow of respect before trying this new technique.

Reaching out as she had been instructed, Mi'la focused the energies that came towards her into her body, focusing it on her arms and back muscles, feeling a rejuvenation within her body as a result. With this new strength, she took both sides of the device and attempted to lift it, and nearly threw it over her head. Astonished by the extent of her augmentation, she looked to the man, a beaming smile on her face. "This is awesome! I can do so many things with this now! Thank you!" Turning around with the device in hand, Mi'la brought it back down, holding it against her chest as she looked for the lift they would require to find this Gravel individual. Her mind was abuzz with positive thoughts now, as she felt she had learned something new today, and got a bit stronger in the force as part of it. Maybe Loic wasn't so bad at all.

Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan

 

[Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan]

A slight smile grew on his lips as he bowed his head upon receiving her thanks. Apparently she liked that and it was not the least bit surprising. Mi'la seemed like one who would thirst for more knowledge and her current behaviour primarily worked as a confirmation of that.

Loïc looked at her with an interested gaze - the girl was going to try it out for herself. Was his confidence in her rightfully there or was it misplaced? It did not take long before a smirk spread across his lips. It looked like she was doing it with ease. The Padawan had an intriguing mix of what seemed like raw talent and curiosity which combined into what he considered to be great potential. "Don't mention it."Still, it could be rather exhausting for someone who was not trained in it to use but figuring that experience was a good way to learn through, Loïc remained silent for the time being. This did naturally not mean that he would let her injure herself - walking half a step behind her, he kept a close eye on her, ready to intervene if she started to give way to the heavy weight.

Before long, they stumbled upon a hover cart, well suitable for carrying the object, and seeing as it stood abandoned by a service kiosk, it was easy to assume that it was free for them to use. Nodding to it, Loïc indicated to her that it would be good for them. Figuring that, if someone wanted to charge him for its use, it wouldn't be much of a problem. With his hands clasped behind his back, it soon became apparent that the Knight had the idea that his companion would continue managing the goods they were transporting as he simply waited for her to take command of the cart.

Once on their way and out of the hangar bay, he showed a bit of curiosity "So, Mi'la. For how long have you been training? Is your master someone I happen to know?"

Mi'la Undari

 

[Mi'la Undari]

Just as Loic thought, it wasn't long before Mi'la felt her strength start to fade. The device began to grow heavier little by little as the pair moved along, and though she tried her best to not give it away, it was rather obvious she wasn't able to hold it. When the pair stumbled upon the hover-cart not far from where they had departed, she was all too grateful to place the machine onto the cart, taking a moment to catch her breath, only to find her muscles began to seize up from her usage of the force. "Oh boy, okay. Yea, not doing that again. Ow." She muttered, grimacing in pain, but found it to be a short lived agony thankfully. It was a learning experience to take in stride if nothing else.

Once the discomfort was set aside, the Twi'lek took to operating the cart. Taking a moment to look about and make sure no one took issue with their use of the device, but found no one challenging them. She flipped it on, lifting the cargo and the cart several millimeters off the ground, and beginning their trek to the security office. As they moved to the turbo-lift, Loic began to question her degree of training and her master as well. Happy that they were finally getting somewhere akin to being friendly, Mi'la would respond as they got into the lift. "Oh, well, I've been training for seven years. So, I'm a bit seasoned I suppose for a padawan." Looking through the list of floors, she found the level for Security and pressed it. As the door closed shut, she learned back, facing the knight as she answered his second question. "My Master is Sakadi Sinvala, you've probably heard of her. She's the conqueror of Nar Shaddaa after all!" She beamed, knowing that while Sakadi didn't exactly conquer the planet, she still managed to convince the Hutt Cartels to listen to her; something that was rather impressive to anyone who knew the Hutts. "Regretfully, my own training has been rather lacking I suppose, but I'll get. better. Every day is an improvement, you know?" The truth was she didn't jump into her apprenticeship right away, after all it took a bit of consoling after her enslavement ended. "What about your training Loic?" She asked, curious what the man would reveal about himself; or if he would do so at all. Leaning back against the walls of the lift, Mi'la felt in good spirits for the time being, hopefully the day continued to go like this.

Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan

 

[Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan]

With his hands clasped behind his back and head tilted up at the floor display, Loïc only threw a few occasional glances at the Padawan as she spoke. The floordisplay was not very exciting in itself but at the same time, his facial expressions did not reveal any disinterest either. The knight nodded idly as she revealed for how long she had been a Padawan. Not all remained Padawans for seven years but those who did tended to be rather reliable - either that or incompetent, but Mi'la seemed to belong to the former group.

"Sakadi" he said, pondering for a few moments as he searched his memories for the master in question. Suddenly, he turned to her, somewhat surprised "The mute? Must have the patience of a saint, that one. Communicating via a droid is frustrating to say the least. That is what she had to do, right? Or did the Hutts allow her into their heads?"

Soon, she continued speaking of her training, apparently not fully satisfied with something. It was something he could sympathise with, seeing as ambition and an eagerness to learn were not always met - the masters liked to preach patience, something which it he eventually came to accept himself. Still, her last sentence was not something he agreed with "No." he said, looking to her "It depends on what you do with the day, doesn't it? But I suppose a good outlook on life goes a long way."

Just as she asked her question on what his training, a soft plinging noise could be heard as the elevator arrived at their destination. With a soft smile, he looked to her before walking out, taking it as a sign that the question wouldn't have to be answered. Still, he was in a somewhat generous mood and let out a simple "Think of me as a generalist. I dabble in this and that but as I am sure you are aware, that hardly leaves enough time to master many capacities." Walking out into the room which was large and rectangular in shape, he looked to the signs right up ahead. Apparently, the wide corridor that stretched out from the opposite wall was some sort of bar or clubbing area containing a number of establishments. Only when he glanced over to his right could the signs of the security office sign be seen.

As they approached the doors into the Security Office, Loïc looked down at the thing they were transporting. "So, Mi'la. What are we transporting?" It may have seemed like a test, but in truth, he was not aware of what it was either and he would hate for it to be a bomb which would only be possible to smuggle into the office by using the good reputation of the Jedi.

Mi'la Undari

 

[Mi'la Undari]

It was nice to know her master was known to the knight, then again Sakadi was rather active in her efforts. Though as the human inquired on the nature by which Sakadi had done so, Mi'la was a bit foggy on the details. "I imagine she spoke to them in their heads, Sakadi can't really talk with droids, being mute and all. You should see her try and set hyperspace coordinates, she has to put it in manually alot of the time. She certainly has patience, that I can speak to. I mean, manually putting in hyperspace is tedious, so much easier with voice commands or telling a droid to do it." She always found that tidbit about her master remarkable, and something she sought to aspire to.

Her smile faltered into a frown as the man rejected her statement, though she could understand the rational behind it. "I think we always improve day by day, but I agree that some days can be far more effective in teaching than others." She would meet him halfway, though she did appreciate his compliment. about her outlook. "Well, in my line of work, having a positive outlook made it a bit easier to not die." Mi'la was partly joking, after all it didn't matter what your outlook as a slave was, if you gave up you would probably be killed as an example; though Loic had no way of knowing that about her. The thoughts of her past life caused her to tug her headband just a little tighter, though the slave branding she had was more than likely covered.

As the doors opened, Mi'la listened to the man as he explained his skill set. It made the Twi'lek ponder what her strength was. She had thought herself something of a sentinel, but the force drew her attention more than lightsaber combat. Loic seemed to be a jack of all trades from his explanation, but what did that make her? "You know, I'm not quite sure how I would describe myself. I just find new talents and focus on mastering them." She reasoned, as the pair exited the left and continued onward, passing several security officers as they did so.

Nearly to the door, Loic inquired as to what they were dropping off, to which Mi'la was rather happy to explain. "Well, looks to me like this is a miniaturized hyperspace drive. If I had to guess it's one to be installed in a small personal craft, though given the weight disparity Im guessing it's loaded up with sublight optimizers and a injection system. Though that's just my guess." She was pretty sure Loic wasn't going to understand most of the techno-babble she had just given him, before truth be told she hardly understood it all too.

Loïc Pen-Ar-Lan