Fistful of Swoon

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

"You reckon her eyes will glow or somethin?" The redhead chattered as her fingers ran down the landing sequences to the alliance u-wing. The small outpost in Barkesh hadn't really provided the teen any opportunities to meet Jedi before. Course there were always rumors of these magicians.

The green dome of her BB-8 unit chirped back.

"Yeah I bet [member="Asmus Janes"] is ragging on Wilson about something too," she laughed. This was her first solo mission. Pretty standard. She had nothing to worry about, at least, that's what she told herself.

"Stay with the ship. I'll go see if I can find our passenger."

Grits razzled in response.

Boots clicked as the teen pilot made her way down the ramp and into the spaceport proper. Hazel eyes scanned the area, looking for the blonde space wizard.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

Aela lazily sat on a bench tucked into the edge of the hangar bay. There was a small pack besides her that contained a change of clothes, her lightsabers, and a few snacks that she had brought along just in case.

Her time here on Wroosti had been incredibly pleasant so far, in fact probably one of the most enjoyable times in her life. She spent most of her days training padawans or simply studying the various Holocrons that had been collected here over time. It was a calm and peaceful life, aside from the few detours she had to take when something happened. Still, her life here was happy enough. She was happy to maintain it, though when the Triumvirate had asked for her help in the core, she couldn't say no.

She was still an Alliance citizen, and since technically she was also a part of the Jedi Order she couldn't really turn it down. So she had agreed, knowing full well that negotiating a few trade treaties between Core Worlds wouldn't be all that difficult, and even if it was she would be able to handle it.

Diplomacy was one of her specialties after all.

Of course, she had to wait for someone from the Alliance to actually pick her up, mostly since she couldn't fly a ship herself and it looked more official if she didn't show up flying her own ship anyway. She sighed slightly, scanning the hangar bay as she looked for her ride.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Fingers unconsciously straightened the Alliance emblem-jacket. Had to look professional and sometimes it was hard with her shorter height and too-young face. Shoulders went back as her back straightened, imagining she could stretch out a few more inches that was.

Oh there. On that bench. Sharp-hazel eyes squinted. Maybe?

Shorter form walked through the small groups of people and droids zipping aroond the port until Naomi was able to approach the blonde woman. Throat cleared. "Excuse me, ma'am? Are you Aela Talith?" Fingers came up to tuck a wild strand of red-hair back behind her ear.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

Aela looked up for a moment, a flash of surprise flowing across her face. "Yes."

The Jedi Master guessed that this girl was likely a relative or something of the sort to the pilot that was taking her where she needed to go, mostly because the girl herself looked like she was only about...fifteen. She frowned for a moment but didn't say anything on that regard, saving her judgement for later.

"Are we ready to go?" She asked,s tanding from her seat and scooping up her bag.

There wasn't really much time to waste, apparently the two worlds were on the brink of war, mostly because one side was pushing their agenda far more than the other.

Aela hoped that they would be able to negotiate something peacefully, sealing the two worlds into a trade deal and letting both of them join the Alliance without much, if any, hassle.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

"Yup," she stared for a moment too long. No glowing eyes or anything. That was a little disappointing. "If you are then we're good to go. C'mon," she waved the other woman along as she turned sharply on her heels.

She'd gotten a quick debriefing on the situation. Things could get sticky to where they were going but the alliance seemed to have a lot of faith in this space magician. Naomi was glad she was going to stay mostly on the ship. Well, that was protocol at least.

"Here we are," the teen fluidly made it back up the ramp and slid into the pilot's seat. Freckled-face tipped to the droid. "That's grits. Grits, Aela."

The round head spun and the droid chattered at the Jedi master. Naomi's face went a bit rid. "Manners!"

Throat cleared.

"Feel free to sit anywhere ma'am and strap yourself in."

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

Aela frowned.

So this girl was the pilot.

The Jedi Master tried not to underestimate anyone, in fact she had fought the Sith when she was sixteen, but...well it seemed rather odd that the Alliance would let anyone so young join the Military. She gave her pilot a few odd glances as she strapped herself into one of the seats.

"How old are you?" There was no point in beating around the bush.

This mission shouldn't be dangerous, but if it was she didn't want to throw someone young into a warzone.

The thought made her stomach turn.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Freckled-face froze for a moment. Good thing her back was to the Jedi master. "Eighteen," the redhead lied through her teeth. Grits offered a bemoaning toot. "Old enough," she continued, shooting her droid a quick glare.

Clearance codes were transmitted and the take-off sequence started. The ramp sealed closed behind them with the engines vibrating beneath. "Don't worry, ma'am. You're in good hands. The alliance recruited me." True enough. Just couldn't talk about SIS.

True to her word, the u-wing lifted smooth as butter off the platform. "Which core world you want to start at?"

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

She narrowed her eyes for a moment, not entirely believing the girl. Aela decided to stay quiet on the subject however, mostly because she didn't think there would be any fighting on this trip anyway and she wasn't really a stickler for rules.

"Barissa." It was not a world that many knew of, tucked away deep in the core. At one point it had been a mining world for the One Sith, used as a way for the Sith to gain the massive amount of raw resources they had needed for their war machines. Now it was flooding the core with said resources, no one really wanting them. That was causing a trade imbalance and drove the world into a poor economic situation.

Which is what they were going to fix.

"They're the problem." She explained."We'll start with them."

See what the situation was like.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

"Alrighty," fingers tapped down onto the navigational computer as she took them up higher into atmosphere, beginning the break from dark-blues to the black beyond. Recognition briefly crossed her freckled face. She may not have traveled much in her sixteen years but she was familiar with mining and worlds associated as such.

"Should just be a few hours," red-hair parted off her shoulder as she glanced back at the Jedi. Grits warbled.

"Shh, I'll ask her in a sec," hazels rolled at the droid. A second thereafter, the tiny stars outside the viewport expanded into the long lines of hyperspace. The teen allowed herself a respite. Spinning in her seat, she carried on the conversation with the Jedi as Grits' head did a quick nod.

"We've never met a Jedi 'fore," she eyed Grits again. "What exactly...can you do?"

Blunt as ever.

"I've heard stories just don't reckon what is true."

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

It was a question that Aela was certainly used to hearing by now. She worked with younglings primarily, and that meant a daily tirade of half a dozen different tiny beings asking her everything from how high she could jump to how many Sith she had faced.

She couldn't help but smile a bit. "A lot."

It was the same answer that she gave to the younglings, and it was one that he;d true. The force wasn't easily described and summed up in just a few words. Sure she could throw out the typical stuff, run faster, jump higher, pull and push things, but Jedi were capable of so much more than just those simple tasks. While she wasn't as powerful as some of the others in the Order, she was certainly up there. Yet describing it was a tall order.

"Hard to explain." She continued finally.

"Perhaps you'll see soon enough." Aela commented. "Working with the Alliance and all."

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Curious-filled hazels were definitely waiting for something. The teen didn't exactly expect to see Grits start flying off the floor or anything but well...maybe something else. Grits apparently had the same thought in its little droid-mind because it whistled when the jedi master was done.

"Hush up," Naomi chided her partner.

The pilot's attention shifted back to the jedi. "I reckon I might." Then again maybe not. Naomi didn't think anything too wild would happen on this mission - standard shuttling. "So, do you have one of them fireswords?" Couldn't help the flicker of her gaze to the woman's pack. Standing, she made her way to one of the storage compartments opposite Aela, rummaging around for a pack of her own, just in case. Might as well get some gear ready. Still standard procedure.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

"Plasma." She corrected the girl.

That was actually a pretty big difference. Fire was just a chemical reaction, plasma was an entirely different substance and was why Lightsabers were so valuable. They could cut through more and faster. It mattered and made a difference.

"I have two." Aela went on. "One of them is actually some ten thousand years old."

That always amazed the younglings. "One of the first to ever be made."

She had learned as much from the old holocrons in the libraries. The Ancient Lightsasber that she now carried had been forged on Tython at the very crux of the Jedi Order. It had been made as one of the first ever blades, and it's unique color and blade composition proved that much. Of course the damned thing was also twice as sensitive as an ordinary blade, but she carried it more as a momento of the old days rather than an actual weapon.

Most of her fighting was done with her normal saber.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Jaw dropped a bit at the mention of the age. "I reckon that's older than my Granny's skillet. And that's been in the family for generations and generations." A wince crossed her youthful freckled-face. That same skillet was probably still sitting under the debris of what was left of her town on Barkesh. The First Order had been relentless.

Those thoughts naturally lead to her missing Ma and third brother.

Fingers tightened around the hydrospanner she held before stuffing it into the pack along with a few bacta patches. Still, curiosity got the better of the Alliance pilot, stuffing the last of the supplies inside.

"Can I take a gander? At yer ancient plasma sword?"

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

She glanced around.

Aela had never really been all that comfortable inside of spaceships. This was a side-effect of both her own inability to pilot them and also mild claustrophobia that she suffered from the multitude of crashes that she had undergone. That all added together to make her...well rather weary of flying in general.

"How about we wait." She told the young pilot. "Until we're off this ship."

She glanced around. "Super heated plasma and starships don't go well together."

That wasn't exactly true, the two could do fine when handled carefully, but Aela had her own little paranoia to worry about.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

"Alright. I wasn't gonna touch it or nothing," but the pilot understood. Zipping up the pack, she stood, hearing the exit warning beep through the ship.

"Looks like we're about there. Hang on," scooching back into the pilot's seat, the teen strapped herself in. Fingers curled confidently around the controls. And with a whoosh-pop they found themselves back in real space. The mining planet of Barissa began to fill up the viewport. Even from here, it looked like there was a particle cloud of dust and ash surrounding the planet.

Grits warbled.

"What do you mean no one is answering comms? Try again. They should be expecting us."

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

She waited for a few moments as the comm wasn't answered. Almost immediately her suspicions spiked, but she said nothing.

An odd feeling began to form in the pit of her stomach, her lips thinning slightly as her gaze fell over the command console and towards the young woman. She frowned for a moment, glancing forward and then slowly rising out of her seat. She left the bag in place where it had been. "Broadcast a message."

She said coming up behind Naomi.

"Tell them we're from the Alliance." She stopped for a second. "Include who I am."

That would at least get some attention.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

She wondered if that was a good idea and almost asked. But she kept her mouth shut. The teen had to trust that this Jedi master knew what she was doing. "Patch is in, Grits."

The droid booped.

"Shuttle to ground. This is Alliance transport delta-two-niner requesting permission to land with Jedi master Aela Talith for treaty negotiations. Anyone copy? Over."

Restless fingers gripped the controls as they meandered closer. There were a few moments of tense silence before the comms crackled and a male voice filled the cockpit.

"You are cleared for approach. Bay 211. Proceed to these coordinates."

The redhead exhaled but her shoulders didn't relax. "Maybe they had to use the refresher or somethin." Couldn't help but be on edge. Still, she went to take them in.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

Aela frowned for a moment. She had a bad feeling about this, but decide not to say anything to Naomi, mostly because there wasn't any need to scare the girl right now. Instead she simply sat back down in her seat, eyes wandering towards the viewport.

She had never been to this planet of course.

The Core was something she had never quite explored. When she'd been a kid most of it had been enthralled in a massive war between the One Sith and the Galactic republic. It hadn't been some place she could just visit, and this world in particular had been something of a fortress. Half of the one Sith Fleet had come from here, or the raw materials anyway.

"Take us in." She said quietly. "Keep an eye out though."

For what, Aela wasn't exactly sure.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

The teen didn't like the feel of this, neither. But they were going in. This wasn't a joyride; they were on a mission. "Alright Grits, keep those sensors open. If anything remotely off comes in range I wanna know bout it."

Adjusting the thrusters, Naomi took them into atmosphere. Hazel gazed scanned out the viewport as they set gently down on the landing pad. A layer of dusty-grime was already collecting on the glass. Everything else seemed normal enough. There were maintenance droids milling about and a bit of foot traffic. Still, seemed a tad quiet.

The redhead unbuckled her safety harness. "I was plannin to stay with the ship but all things considered, do you need an escort, ma'am?" The short pilot turned to the blonde force wizard.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

Aela didn't need an escort, mostly because she was entirely sure that this young woman would just get in the way if something did indeed go wrong, but the pit that had formed in her stomach told her it wasn't a good idea just to leave her there alone. She frowned for a moment then spoke. "Yeah."

It was best to play it safe.

There was something off about this place, and although she couldn't quite put it right in her mind she knew there was something sketchy going on. Her lips thinned for a moment and she glanced over towards Naomi for a moment.

"Keep your droid here." She told the girl. "Just in case the ship needs to be started."

And they needed to get out.