Private Colluding with Cargo

[Loomi]

Colluding with Cargo
Sellia II, Jedi Praxeum
Tags: Rahla Tis

Very recently, the Jedi Praxeum on Sellia II, the primary habitable moon of Ord Providence, had requested the aid of padawan learners to assist a local friendly civilization, the Sellites. They had supposedly lost track of a holy item and suspected foul play. Now they appealed for aid from the New Jedi Order. Loomi and one other girl had been chosen for the mission. Most intimidating of all, they had been selected for the test flight of a new Jedi starfighter model, one which was soon to be rolled out to the rest of the order. Combine all of this and it was rather clear why Loomi was so nervous.

It got worse when she arrived at the hangar of the Jedi Praxeum. She recognized the Togruta she was meeting with. The girl had been in the café where she had unwittingly acquired an alcoholic beverage and suffered terrible side effects. Loomi had been super embarrassed by the entire ordeal, one because she had assumed she was just getting coffee, two because it showed her struggles with reading comprehension, and three because she had gotten a little personal that day.

Needless to say, it was embarrassing.

"O-oh," she began, trying to force a smile. "Hey... there. Uh, weird seeing you here..."

Loomi sighed, her face becoming flush red. She didn't recall the girl's name. That was enough to make her avert her eyes.

"Wh-what was your name again?"

Her memory was so out of it. The entire situation was very humiliating.

 

[Rahla Tis]

Oh, she was assigned with the drunk one.

It was weird, but it made her feel.. Comfortable. Not nervous, just comfortable. Rahla smiled, just a little, as she looked from Loomi towards the ship. "Rahla. I didn't catch your name either." No, Loomi had passed out before she could get a name.

"You ready?"

Loomi

 

[Loomi]

Sellia II, Jedi Praxeum
Tags: Rahla Tis

"Rahla. I didn't catch your name either."

"Oh, sorry about that," Loomi apologized, her antennae curling back nervously. "I... can't read very well. When I pointed at what I wanted, they didn't tell me what it was..."

The Godoan still felt really stupid about that. She woke up feeling miserable, and adding on that people had seen her drunk made all of her anxieties swirl in her stomach. Would people think she was an alcoholic? She hated alcohol. Would her friends hate her because she had it? Would the reputation stick with her forever?

Oh, she had forgotten to give her name.

"I-it's Loomi," she finally gave.

Thankfully the subject changed. Loomi was many things right now, but at least she was ready. Fortunately, their vessel was ready as well. The Epo-1 Delta-class Light Interceptor. It was designed by one of the Jedi Council's members apparently, and this was intended to be it's first flight. A lot of pressure.

"Uh, who's flying?"

 

[Rahla Tis]

Oh so that's what happened?

Rahla nodded a little, her smile turning way more sheepish at Loomi's embarrassment and nervousness. She didn't want to make a possible friend feel bad! Her gaze shifted around, trying to find something else to talk about without hurting her feelings. At least she got a name! Loomi. Yeah, Rahla was going to remember that. And, well, at least there was a new topic. The ship! And then embarrassment for the Torgruta.

"I um, don't know how to fly."

Loomi

 

[Loomi]

Sellia II, Jedi Praxeum
Tags: Rahla Tis

A warm smile spread across Loomi's face when the Togruta padawan became insecure about her ability to fly. She was a nervous mess herself, but the Godoan at least liked to make other people feel better.

"Aw shucks, don't worry about it," she insisted. "I'm an okay pilot, and this thing has two seats I think."

Loomi made her way over and poked her head into the cockpit. There was the pilot's seat, of course, but there was indeed a secondary chair as well. It faced backwards from the nose of the vessel, oriented towards a navigational computer set up in the back of the cockpit.

"Uh, I guess that's you're seat then." Loomi shrugged.

A beeping sound drew her attention to the back of the ship, where an astromech droid was already situated.

"Oh, hey there!" the Godoan greeted. "Looks like navigation shouldn't be too hard then."

 

[Rahla Tis]

Well at least Rahla embarrassment helped Loomi get out of her own. The Torgruta let out a nervous sigh as she glanced to the ship. Just enough space for the two of them? Claustrophobic for sure. She bit that back as she nodded once and went to climb in.

"Okay, yeah. That works. .. Yeah." At least the droid wouldn't cause them to go off course. Grant it, now inside the vessel it was easy to feel the chill coming from the Padawan. Her pendant, the crystal within, it was always and forever cold around her. Which she preferred.

"You'll get us there, right, droid?"

Loomi

 

[Loomi]

Sellia II, Jedi Praxeum
Tags: Rahla Tis

"You'll get us there, right, droid?"

The astromech chirped out reassurance that he would, which was was more than enough for Loomi. She quickly situated herself in the cockpit, prepping the vessel for takeoff. Strangely, she felt something bizarre emanating from the pendant that Rahla wore, but she didn't reflect on it for very long. They had work to do.

"Okay, Sellite settlement," Loomi muttered to herself. "Should be easy to find. It's just a fort on some big ol' vines. Easy."

Before long, she had set off, taken aback by the speed of the vessel. It was enough to panic Loomi for a secong, but she quickly eased into flying as she allowed her force instincts to take over. Weaving through the vines of the planet was almost second nature, especially with the rotating wings that it had.

"You're pendant is real pretty," the Godoan finally complimented. They had a moment to speak after all. "It feels kinda funny. Where'd you get it?"

 

[Rahla Tis]

A fort on vines? Rahla lifted a brow right up as she watched Loomi from over her shoulder, then looked back to the navigation screen. She had no idea how big those vines had to be, but if Kashyyyk taught her anything, it was to never underestimate the plants. It was also pretty good she wasn't able to see what was going on as Loomi flew. She'd be way more nervous otherwise.

"It's.. A gift from my late Master. Iskristall is what his people called it. Ice Crystal. It melts like ice, though it just evaporates. Unless you imbue it with the Force, like he showed me. Now it never melts. And, well, it's always cold. I know some people don't like the cold, it's very nice for me."

Loomi

 

[Loomi]

Sellia II
Tags: Rahla Tis

"That's... real odd," Loomi noted. "I love it."

Maybe not the cold part, but the intricate meaning behind the icy gemstone itself. That was nice. Before long, however, her thoughts drifted to what lie ahead of them. It was a structure composed of wood and metal, clearly old enough for smaller offshoots of the massive vine it sat upon to reach up and bund into it. Despite it's 'home-made' aesthetic, the shape of the structure was very reminiscent of a small outpost or fortress. Most bizarrely, men and women of differing builds patrolled it's walls and stood guarding it's entrances in a highly regimented manner. Notably, they all wore strange helmets that Loomi had never seen before.

"Uh... Droid says this is the place," she relayed, landing the Epo-1 and popping the cockpit open. "I guess we get out?"

She did so herself, finding a tall man in the same kind of armor standing before them (or at least he was tall to her height standards).

"Master Jedi," the man greeted with a salute. "Captain Lark, Sellite Division. CO will be wanting to brief you on the operation. I suggest you two follow me post-haste."

 

[Rahla Tis]

Odd?

Rahla frowned at that term, but didn't say anything more on it. Instead she glanced up to see the vines. Yeah. They were as massive as she expected. A smile formed for the brief moment before they disappeared into the vines themselves and into the hanger. She hopped out just after Loomi, taking a second to steady herself.

Then looked to the commander. Master Jedi? Haste?

"Okay. Fill us in on the way on what you can." Please. Oops, right. Manners she cleared her throat.

"Please."

Loomi

 

[Loomi]

Sellia II
Tags: Rahla Tis

"Okay. Fill us in on the way on what you can."

"I'm afraid that my intel is minimal," the Captain informed Rahla. "I've been stationed at your Praxeum. Word of specifics hasn't fully reached my ears, but I know that an heirloom has been lost in the chaos."

"Heirloom..." Loomi echoed with a frown.

That was an item passed down through generations, or at least that's what she thought it meant. It was strange, at least to the Godoan it was. What did a military group need an heirloom for? Where they a local militia or something different? These Sellites were certainly a strange bunch, that was for certain.

It wasn't long before they were in what appeared to be a briefing room, all the way down to the war room table in the center that showed a hand-made map of the surrounding area. A man stood at the end, a rather tall and burly fellow. Tears in his sleeves showed hints of the dark tan skin that was vailed by his helmet, an old ARF Trooper model. That was surely their 'commanding officer,' or at the very least their leader.

"Thank you for coming," the man greeted, his tone gruff but shockingly gentle. "I'll keep it straight and to the point. A sacred item was stolen from us, one left behind by our founder. Arko was his name, a man driven to guide us to this place with divine purpose. To guide us, he left behind his eye."

Loomi turned to Lark, who's composure seemed to waver ever so slightly. This eye must have been very important.

"We suspect the thieves are twenty clicks out, hiding in a grotto a good ways down into the moon," the CO continued. "Retrieve it and my people will forever be in your debt. Captain Lark will assist you. He's the best marksman in our operation. Any questions before you depart?"

 

[Rahla Tis]

Heirloom?

Rahla nodded. Of all things, she understood the importance of those. Perhaps it was just because of her Master and his people that she learned how important something like an Heirloom could be, especially to a military. She was determined to at least help these people if she could. With a determined expression she nodded towards the man. "We'll get it back, you can count on us." She didn't have any questions.

She glanced to Loomi, giving her fellow Padawan a nod.

"Let's go."

Loomi

 

[Loomi]

Sellia II
Tags: Rahla Tis

"Let's go."

"Yeah," Loomi nodded.

"We'll go by foot," Lark stated. "It isn't far. A quarter-day's journey from here."

Without a word more, the captain set off towards the exit. Loomi, knowing nothing else to day, followed silently.

---

It was nearing nightfall now. Streaks of orange and lavender filled the sky as the trio made their way down the large vines of the moon. After walking for some time now, Loomi's mind began to wander. What made this heirloom so important? It was their founder's eye... but was that a literal or metaphorical thing? She couldn't help but let this pondering slip out of her mouth.

"So... is this heirloom actually an eye?" the Godoan asked.

"It's cybernetic, as you would call it," the Captain explained. "Not exactly an organic relic, if that's what you mean."

"Oh," she frowned. "...Does it do anything?"

"It has spiritual power, that I know," he stated, "But none have attempted to activate it. We find that some items are best left undisturbed." The man tilted his helmeted head ever so slightly. "You're Order has a vast library of knowledge if the stories are to be believed. Surely there are things there that are never used, no?"

"Uh..."

Loomi turned to Rahla for a more concrete answer. She, of course, struggled to read simple sentences, let alone study in the library. She hoped her companion would fair better at answering.

 

[Rahla Tis]

Books and knowledge never used? Rahla hummed for a moment in thought, thinking back to the library where she spent a good chunk of her time. She didn't have to think long though. She shook her head, frowning all the same as Loomi.

"Not really. We have artifacts, but if their use is unknown our scholars spend the time to at least know what they do. They might not use them ever again, but if the need arises, at least we know if it can help or not."

Loomi

 

[Loomi]

Sellia II
Tags: Rahla Tis

"Interesting," Lark noted. "I wonder..."

The man shook his head, seemingly pushing back his internal thoughts. Loomi was confused initially, but it wasn't long before she felt something. Vibrations in the force, echoing through the vines. Footsteps.

"Contact," the captain stated, drawing his rifle and getting low to the faunal ground. "Dead ahead. I'm counting two guards."

Sure enough, a pair of Rodians stood at the mouth of the grotto. Loomi knew better though.

"Fifteen," she corrected. "There's thirteen more inside. They're... huddled around something."

Loomi turned to her team. She, of course, had no direction on what to do. Did they just run in?

"Should we just rush them?" the Godoan asked.