Private Jailhouse Rock

[Jacen Nimdok]

"You want me to believe you were both in 'the Brig', and neither of you were pirates?"

"Now now, I certainly used to be a pirate,"

"What? Both of you?!"

There was little time for Jacen's confusion and disbelief to congeal, as they were soon under attack. As Jacen tracked the fighters, the turrets pistoning with each squeeze of the trigger, Levi's voice crackled over the intercom.

"Can you move right so that I can—" The ship shook with the impact of a blast across the hull, cutting him off. Just as well, seeing as he now realized he wasn't wearing the karking headset and was therefore shouting into the proverbial void. Grumbling, he looked around, found the headset, and put it on his head... just in time for Levi to blast the offending fighter into space dust.

<How do you boys feel about asteroid fields?>

<"Oh, I just love them!"> Jacen gushed sarcastically. <"Are you insane?! If you take us into that asteroid field, we might as well be dead already!">

But judging by the pinging of debris against the shields, they were entering the asteroid field regardless of anybody's opinion. Licking his lips, Jacen took a deep breath... then remembered that there are hundreds of thousands of miles between individual asteroids in the average belt. Oh. Well then, they should be fine, right?

Hopefully Montitia's belt wasn't especially dense...

Levi Judd​

 

[Judd]

"What? Both of you?!"

Judd lobbed a supremely skeptical expression at the back of the boy's head. They were in the Brig. What had he expected?

Sadly, the Dowutin's strengths lied in irritated expressions and biting insults, and not manning a gunnery turret. His ill-aimed shots barely made the Montitian pilots flinch, causing the large alien to grunt in annoyance. At least the little vampire was having better luck, as evident over the headset he had pressed against his ear with his stump.

Judd didn't respond when the Devaronian asked how they were. But he certainly felt something when the man spoke the words 'asteroid fields'. The other gunner was quick to voice his displeasure, but Judd was quicker to follow. <If I knew this was a one-way ticket, I'd've stuck with the slop.> There was an excited edge to his tone, though.

A little, immature, long-buried piece of him that wondered, could they do it? That wanted to try.

Levi - Jacen Nimdok ​

 

[Levi]

<"Are you insane?! If you take us into that asteroid field, we might as well be dead already!">

<If I knew this was a one-way ticket, I'd've stuck with the slop.>

Levi clicked his tongue, <Ye of little faith.> It only tempted him more. The Devaronian was feeling lucky. He dove into the field, losing their pursuers for a few crucial seconds, and thus far keeping them all from becoming space debris.

Then, engines roared above them. One of the pilots was plunging into the asteroid field to attack. Then another, closing in from below. And another, following their path directly, <Looks like we’ve got guests. Ready?> He was already formulating a scheme, intently studying the environment around them. A shot came from behind, nearly busting the shields and throwing them off course.

Levi clenched his teeth, fighting to regain control as the ship nearly swerved into a large asteroid. Rather than avoid it, he pulled up just enough to coast along the rocky surface, while the ship directly behind them failed to execute the same maneuver, and crashed, “Ha!”

Using the explosion as a split second of cover, Levi pulled the ship all the way up, fully looping upside down; Putting the ship above in range of Judd, and the ship below in range of Jacen, <Give ‘em hell!>

Jacen Nimdok - Judd​

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

T H E A S T E R O I D F I E L D​

The ride got considerably bumpier, but at this point in their escape that was nothing new. Jacen braced himself as inertia pressed him down against his seat, only to jerk him against the crash webbing covering his torso while the Devaronian piloted them through the asteroid field.

For a few seconds, he found himself pondering all the choices that had gotten him here. If you were to ask him only a week ago where he thought he'd be, fleeing the police in a pirate ship with two escaped prisoners—and himself one of them—wouldn't even have been on his list of considerations. But here he was. Here he was...

<Give ‘em hell!>

Seizing the controls again, Jacen pounded the enemy's hulls with laser fire. With a grin spreading across his features, he admitted to himself one thing above all:

He was having fun.

Levi Judd​

 

[Judd]

Judd could only watch helplessly as they dove into the field, left to pray to whatever forces were greater than him that they wouldn't immediately turn to space dust. He tried a small selection of deities, before naming off a few famous Jedi Masters and Sith Lords, just to be safe.

Time passed, and despite the pull of rough flying on his body, they hadn't exploded yet. That was a good sign, Judd figured. Better yet, the pilot told them to get ready. Judd sighed, doing his best to prepare himself for whatever the Devaronian had planned.

It became obvious, soon enough. Judd was put in the perfect position to take a shot at the enemy. He'd have to be the worst shot in the galaxy to miss it.

Thankfully, the pirate wasn't the worst shot. Laser blasts scoured the hull of the enemy starfighter, causing it to spin haphazardly out of view. No explosion, but the vessel was certainly out of commission. Judd huffed out a single, scratchy laugh.

<Fancy flying,> he said over the comms, sarcasm giving way to genuine, if momentary, praise. <We good to jump?>

Levi - Jacen Nimdok ​

 

[Levi]

Levi laughed as the last of their pursuers went up in smoke, <Fancy shooting,> He replied, leaning back in his seat for a moment's rest, he glanced down at the hyperdrive meter, <Jump is primed. Head on back up here while I pull us out of the field, and we'll be off.>

Now that they weren't being chased down by angry Montitians, Levi was able to gently maneuver them out of the field, flying straight up for the quickest exit, until there was nothing but deep space, and a sea of stars ahead. The devaronian spun around in his seat as Jacen and Judd rejoined him, "This day has gone far better than I imagined." From sitting in a prison, eating gruel, to being a free man, "How was that for a getaway?"

Levi returned to the console, and pushed the lever that sent their ship cascading into a vortex of blue and white light. Finally, they could relax, "I'm taking us to Batuu. It's relatively close, but out of Alliance space. It's a good place to lay low and get our bearings, the edge of the frontier."

Jacen Nimdok - Judd​

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

A few more bumps and spins, and they were free. Jacen waited until he heard the telltale rumble from the hyperdrive and saw the stars blur into white lines before he released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

The Devaronian announced that they were headed to Batuu, a planet he was unfamiliar with. It was outside Alliance space—probably for the best, since they were now fugitives…

That was when it hit him that he couldn’t go home. No hiding out with his mom or great-grandma until it all blew over, no checking in to some hotel and calling his aides and bodyguards. He was on his own now, an outlaw escaped from prison. If they caught him, his sentence would be much worse. It looked like he had no choice but to tag along with the two pirates who had helped him escape.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he asked, <“Do you have people you can trust there? Someone who can help? Or is it just us?”>

Levi Judd​

 

[Judd]

Trying to wipe the thrilled smile from his face, Judd stood from the controls, slowly climbing up the ladder to return to the cockpit. It had completely disappeared once he entered, instead replaced by a cautious look. "Not the worst," he responded to the pilot, a hidden appreciation to his gruff exterior.

They were criminals, too. A pirate, and a man that had done something bad enough to be among pirates. They could betray him. It wouldn't be hard, the Devaronian was sure to have a blaster or two hidden away somewhere on the Outrider II. Just because they'd escaped together, didn't mean they were suddenly best friends.

He allowed himself to get distracted by the smudged spacescape of lightspeed, before returning his burnished orange eyes on Jacen and Levi again. "'Our bearings'? 'Us'?" Judd huffed. "We're out. There's no need for an 'us', anymore."

Jacen Nimdok - Levi ​

 

[Levi]

Now cruising under the reins of the hyperspace computer, Levi hopped up, and snatched a little towel to wipe his palms of sweat.

“Do you have people you can trust there? Someone who can help? Or is it just us?”

"I've an old friend working out of there, last I checked. He still owes me a favor, though I don't expect much." The Dowutin, however, hut down any notion of them as a group. He splayed his hands, "Awww, after everything we've been through together?" He stepped forward, "I… understand the impulse, my friend. A few strangers who broke out of prison together need not be anything more. But I strictly remember you calling yourself a pirate and well… I do find myself in need of a crew."

Levi sighed, "A man of your talents would get us far. You, men, and the lad over there? Together?! C'mon, a new life out on the interstellar seas! Freedom! Booty! Whaddaya say?"

"If nothing else, at least let us make acquaintances, finally," He moved back a step, then reached out a hand, "Levi Dorne. Captain of the Outrider II." He looked to the boy as well, silently asking for his name as well.

Jacen Nimdok - Judd​

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

The big guy was out. Jacen could respect that, but the Devaronian (Levi Dorne, as he finally introduced himself) tried to persuade him to stay. He did have a point—they'd probably be better off sticking together for now. Or at least the inexperienced Jacen would be better off, seeing as he had no idea how to survive as a fugitive. The big guy's circumstances might be different. Then again, he had called himself a pirate. Shouldn't he have been even less reluctant than Jacen to join Levi's crew?

Was Jacen also every so slightly curious about being a pirate?

Yes.

Ahem. "Jacen Nimdok," he said, smiling a little and looking away almost bashfully, half afraid there would be some recognition of his family name or the reputation thereof.

Levi Judd​

 

[Judd]

Judd wasn't a big fan of schpiels.

It was, regrettably, the kind of person he was. If someone tried to nudge him, he had to push back. That flash of anger, at something as simple as the Devaronian trying to convince him to stay, was not a new feeling to the large Dowutin. He didn't like being told what to do; a common trait among their ilk.

Not that the pilot, Levi, was being pushy, nor was the vampire, Jacen, entirely unbearable, Judd relented. But he didn't have particularly high hopes for any kind of partnership.

After the other two had introduced themselves (the younger man's last name barely registering), the brute simply shook his head, defeated. "Fine," he sighed, looking away from them both. "I'll be an 'us'. For now." The meaning was clear. The second something better came along, he was out. But as long as this was the hand he was dealt... might as well play it.

"Judd."

Levi - Jacen Nimdok ​

 

[Levi]

Levi had no knowledge of the Nimdok name. But even if he didn't he probably wouldn't have cared. The captain never liked to let a crewman's past overshadow their newfound partnership. The present was much more important to him.

Well, maybe part of him would have been tempted by the idea of ransoming a wealthy noble scion, if he knew. But he also really liked having an actual crew.

Surprisingly, he had managed to convince the Dowutin as well. Judd, he dubbed himself. Levi grinned toothily, and clasped his hands together, "Excellent! Ha haaa, you'll see. Before you know it we'll be thick as thieves! Eh?" There was a bit of playful irony in his tone, acknowledging that it still might not be enough for Judd's opportunistic outlook. He couldn't really blame the man. The only thing is this galaxy Levi was loyal to was his crew, but pirates were always looking for the next big score. Sometimes, that meant parting ways. Such was the nature of the profession.

"Onto Batuu, men!" Levi left the cockpit, with a jig in his step.

Judd - Jacen Nimdok​