Private Looking for Stoners

[Jasper Kai'el]

Looking for Stoners
Coruscant, 1142
Tags: Silas Westgard

Rumors of kyber had begun to flutter about the underworld again. A potential sale on 1142, likely associated with the Hutt Space Consortium, still trying to edge their way into Coruscanti space. Jasper, of course, was having none of this. Sources had linked him up to a contact that would meet him at a bar on 1142 called the Oasis. There he could gather what info he needed, knock a few Consortium goons around, and get the kyber safely back into the hands of the Jedi Order and on a shuttle back to Ilum. Of course, he wasn't going alone. Jasper was trying to get in the habit of working with others more on escapades such as this one, and who better then his good friend and former peer, Silas Westgard.

It was drawing close to the evening hours. Water evaporated from the planet's drainage system was beginning to drip off the higher levels, creating the illusion of rain. Being so far underground, 1142 was dark regardless. Jasper sat at a table in the corner of the Oasis waiting for this contact, Silas of course being there with him. It would only be a matter of time until they showed.

"Thanks for joining on short notice," Jasper told his friend. "This one just barely got to me."

He took a sip from his glass. It was non alcoholic. Jasper was on the clock, after all, but nobody else needed to know that.

"We got a bit of time before this guy shows," he explained. "How've you been? I feel like I haven't seen you since... well, Panatha really."

Not that he wanted to dwell too much on Panatha. There wasn't much left of it to talk about.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Help Jasper with his mission
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

Recently, the lower levels seemed to be more of a regular sight. It would be a lie to say he didn't like these streets, they gave him memories that he wished would disappear. However, every time he was down here more always seemed to resurface. He didn't let that get in the way though, especially when a good friend of his was calling for his assistance in a case. Silas was probably one of the more experienced Jedi when it came to the underworld, so his knowledge and information were sure to come into use.

Their meeting point was a bar on the 1142nd level, a bar called the oasis. Jasper was going to be there before him so they didn't cause too much suspicion, but soon enough they were going to be sitting and talking. Calmly walking through the doors, he naturally went to the bar and got himself some cold water and ice for what was ahead. Silas nor Jasper couldn't afford to have more fun than intended during a mission like this, there could be no room for error.

"Happy to help. The underground has seemingly turned into my second home again anyway"

Silas grinned and sat down opposite him, taking a quick sip of his drink to ease his dry throat "I've been fine in all honesty. Assignments and other things brewing on the horizon have been keeping me busy" he said while his cheeks went a slight shade of red. Of course, he was talking about the vampire girl named Thelma Goth

"Panatha was a mess... if it wasn't for our teamwork we probably would be floating around space right now"
​

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, 1142
Tags: Silas Westgard

"Happy to help. The underground has seemingly turned into my second home again anyway"

"I know the feeling," Jasper remarked. "Been down here for a while now since... well, all the formalities about knighting me or whatever."

It was still weird to think about. Speaking of weird, Silas became red when he talked about 'other things brewing,' which Jasper could kind of guess the reason for. Thelma Goth was the most likely candidate. They had been rather close at the Cobalt Club, and even before then he had caught a glimpse of them together at the Hapes Gala. It was amusing more than anything, and he was happy if his friend was happy.

"No kidding," he sighed with relief when Silas mentioned Panatha. "I'm hoping we can channel some of that here, yeah? Well, less of the soul eating Sith, more of the teamwork. Anyways, I've been keeping tabs on these guys for a while now. Hutt Space Consortium goons, posing as a local gang called the Despots. I had a... run in with them recently, but I can't say more. I have reason to believe that they have a Sith agent with them. My informant should be here soon with confirmation on the location of the deal and other specifics. Strange guy, but he seems legit."

Just then, an umbaran man made his way into the bar, dressed in a navy blue jacket and a paperboy cap. A grin was plastered across his face, his eyes vigilant, they eyes of a marksman. With a casual step, the man made his way over and took a seat next to Jasper. One of his eyes was swollen, and a bandage covered his nose. That was his informant, Mr. Nine ( Toby Russen ).

"Evenin' fellas," the PI greeted in a jovial tone. "Sorry for the delay. That zabrak was a real fussy bastard. Somethin' about much rather dying than pass the data. Nearly took me down with him tryin' to get that bloody datapad, but here I am."

The man drew a tablet from his jacket, slipping it over. It was scuffed up, but still in one piece and fully functional.

"Location's just East of here," Toby continued. "Thirteen men and some special 'client operative' to oversee the transaction. Nineteen kyber crystals of unknown origin. You'll wanna get out there quick. They're slated to get that exchange handled in a few hours." The Umbaran stood, tipping his hat. "Right then, I gotta get going. One saw my face. Don't want them following you to the pay load. I'll get them off your tail. Happy hunting."

And without a word more, the investigator was gone.

"Thanks... Nine," Jasper muttered with a frown. "That guy really makes me nervous... but he does good work. Can't argue with that."

If what Nine had to say was true, which was judging by the datapad, they were going to have to get moving here pretty soon. This was going to be fun.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Help Jasper with his mission
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

"I was going to say, you seem to be enjoying all the extra knight work from what I've seen. I can't help but be excited by that prospect" he smiled over at before taking a sip of his water. He was unsure when he'd be knighted, however, a feeling inside told him it would be soon. In the end, it was Master Noble's decision to decide when he was ready or not. No matter how long it took, he'd respect it.

Nodding slowly, he listened closely to what his friend had to say about the goons he was trailing. The Hutt Cartel? it was only a matter of time before he got involved with those gangsters again. Yet, the thing that surprised him most was the fact they were supposedly working with a sith agent. What were they planning, and why were they working together? that was only answers they'd find out for themselves "Them too working together spells bad news. I suppose the hutts are trying to make friends in high places" he said quietly with a shake of his head.

Not long after, a man's navy blue jacket and paperboy hat came walking through. His face looked pretty beat up, but he dared not mention it when he sat down beside Jasper "Sir" he said with a respectful nod to the man, offering a light grin on his trouble getting here "Some people are too stubborn for their own good" he joked before getting more serious when he showed them the datapad. Nineteen Krystal seemed like a pretty big deal, considering what they could be used for in the wrong hands. And of course, they'd be outnumbered which wouldn't matter if they played it off perfectly.

He gave Jasper a brief look in the corner of his eye and nodded to the man "Thank you for coming, you've been a great help" he said with a nod and warm smile before watching him leave "Well, looks like we've got a lot of work to do" Silas said confidently, raising a glass to him "Let's get things going shall we?" he said before knocking it against his and downing the rest of his water.
​

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, 1142
Tags: Silas Westgard

"Well, looks like we've got a lot of work to do" Silas said confidently, raising a glass to him "Let's get things going shall we?"

"I believe we shall," Jasper nodded. "We'll go by rooftop. It'll be easier that way."

The two would discretely slip out the back of the cantina, making their way up onto the tight roof space. The location they needed wasn't too far. It was an old warehouse from back in the clone wars, one that had been utilized by black sun for a short time before the Coruscanti gangs pushed them out. They staged themselves on the rooftop overlooking he alleyway next to it where the deal was reportedly happening. They weren't here yet, and it would be a good half an hour according to the datapad. Jasper pulled it out and began to skim through the info.

"Thirteen men and a client operative," he echoed as he read the file. "Nine wasn't kidding. I figure we hit the Sith first when both parties show, then fan out and take out the rest. Should be pretty straight forward..."

It seemed like they'd have some time to kill though. Jasper turned to his friend with a grin on his face.

"So, you've been hanging out with Thelma more these days," the knight observed. "Wanna tell me about it?"

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Help Jasper with his mission
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

"Roof it is, I doubt the streets would have been wise anyway"

With that, the pair of them finished their drinks and walked out of the cantina. They took a short walk to where they could access the rooftops and used it to climb upwards away from the nasty streets below. It was going to take a while to get to the old warehouse, but he was sure Jasper was willing to talk about a few things along the way. As they moved along the quiet rooftops his partner repeated what they were coming up against. It wasn't too bad, but they still needed to keep on their toes.

"We can do that, if anything he's probably the person we should mostly be worried about. The agent will have years of training, thugs on the other hand only have street cred" he said back in support. If they took him out, they'd probably be able to take down the rest without a problem by any means.

The next question on the other hand made him surprised slightly. How did he know about Thelma, was their affection for each other really that obvious? however he knew, it was enough to turn his cheeks red "We're... we're just friends" the boy lied, not really wanting to paint the full picture for Jasper. Even Silas knew they were probably more than friends at this point "It's more coincidence really. We get paired up in training and bump into each other regularly" that may have been slightly true, but Silas loved hanging out with her more than anything.

"Why? did you think we were dating Jasper?"
​

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, 1142
Tags: Silas Westgard

"Just friends, huh?" Jasper asked with skepticism, a grin spreading across his face. "If that's the case, you should've asked me to the Hapes Gala."

It was amusing, regardless. How obvious it was certainly gave it some entertainment value. Jasper wondered if he would have acted the same had he perused a relationship with another Jedi while still a padawan, or at least attempted to anyways. He hadn't been very good at that sort of thing.

"If you aren't dating," he continued, "It sure seems like you want to. I've... pursued relationships in my time off world. I'd like to think I have a good sense of what that looks like."

Though his situation was admittedly a bit different. He doubted that Silas and Thelma met fighting an insane cyborg in a fire. Still, he knew awkward romance when he saw it.

"Don't worry," the young knight assured his friend, "I'm not gonna go around talking about it. You know that. I just wanna let you know that if there's anything you need help with for that sort of thing, you can ask me."

That and his other option for romantic advice was Iris, who seemed to just go out and get drunk if the Cobalt Club event was any indication.

He didn't have much more time to think about the small talk they had made, however, as the distant sound of shuffling began to echo through the tight alleyways. From one side came thirteen men, all in matted, miss-matched sets of light armor and jumpsuits. What you would typically expect of a band of pirates. One, a large Nautolan, dragged a crate of some kind behind them. Presumably, that was the payload. From the other side of the alley, a figure shrouded in a black cloak came.

"This is it," Jasper muttered to Silas under his breath.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Help Jasper with his mission
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

"Yea... we're just friends" he lied, knowing full well they had gotten way past that stage by now. Jasper seemed to sense that too, almost like how Valery did. Silas knew he was teasing him about it too and it wasn't going to take long until everyone got on the same boat to do it to them "Jasper... we are not... ugh it doesn't matter" Silas sighed and rolled his eyes. He couldn't do much other than stand there and take the teasing as he went along.

Eventually, Jasper finally changed the subject but offered his help if he needed anything. Hesitantly, the padawan slowly nodded. Silas thought he was doing everything well so far, he kept Thelma comfortable, made her smile, and even showed affection to each other now and then. If that wasn't doing well he didn't know what was.

"Sure, I guess"

Below them, the echoing of footsteps and short talk was becoming more apparent. Stopping, the two Jedi peeked over the edge to see the gangsters dragging along their payload. It was clear within that were the crystals they were after "It doesn't look too bad for now. Although, we haven't seen the sith agent just yet" he said back quietly as he watched them go further down the alley ways.

"Let's go, the agent will be close by"​

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, 1142
Tags: Silas Westgard

"It doesn't look too bad for now. Although, we haven't seen the sith agent just yet"

"Keep an eye out then," Jasper told him. "I've no doubt they'll rear their ugly mug soon enough. For now, let's clean these guys up."

With silence and efficiency, Jasper clasped his mechanical hand onto the side of the rooftop and lowered himself down into the alleyway behind them. Within seconds, his mechanical arm was up. Three bolts flew from his crossbow, each meeting a kneecap that they promptly shattered.

"CHIT!" one of them bellowed, a bald human male. "COMPANY!"

Jasper was already prepared for them to make noise. He had drawn his energy bow, firing on a nearby water line. Water erupted from the pipe, causing mist to spring forth and begin to fog up in the chilly air. Coruscant was currently in what was it's winter climate. Controlled, but certainly still winter. It was enough to be taken advantage of.

"Alright," he told Silas, "You're up. I'll cover you."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Help Jasper with his mission
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

"You got it Jasper" he whispered, letting him go down first before following soon after. Suddenly, his partner had dropped behind them and blasted some of their kneecaps giving Silas time to strike himself. As soon as they shouted at the intruders, Silas had already jumped down to strike at the gangsters himself.

Landing on the other side he ran at them with his saber drawn and slashes the first two who were looking to shoot down Jasper. Another in front of him turned to face the padawan, but before he could raise his blaster it was cut in half and a saber was thrust into his chest. The man fell to his knees and fell to the side, laying motionless in a heap on the cold concrete.

The big man, who pulled the cargo along had dropped the crystals carefully on the floor and charged Silas. The padawan managed to duck under his attack and get behind him, swiftly turning to slash the back of his legs with a 360 rotation. Like a sack of bricks, he too fell to the floor, yelling in agony before he was silenced by a stab to his chest "More brawn than brain..." he muttered to himself before looking back to Jasper with a calm smile

"You finished over there?!"​

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, 1442
Tags: Silas Westgard

"You finished over there?!"

"Yeah," Jasper answered, returning his bow to his back. "I'm good. Looks like that's all of them. I'm counting thirteen... still no agent."

Well, there was really nothing else to do but check the cargo. Jasper made his way over to the box they had been escorting, ripping it open. What he had expected to see was an array of colorful crystals, strong with force energy. Instead, Jasper was met with a pile of red crystals. It wasn't even bled kyber, which would have been expected as well (sad as such a thing was). He picked up one of the stones, examining it closely.

"It isn't kyber," the knight informed Silas. "It's synthetic. We've been set up."

This revelation was followed by a cackling. The sillouette of a lanky figure with a long neck appeared in the mist of the pipe he had burst. A Quermian based upon the shape, which was later confirmed when a female of the species robed in black emerged, Sith eyes and all.

"What luck," the long-necked Sith sneered. "And here I thought I'd be handling the brat of a Jedi causing us so much trouble... yet here I see two? Dragged in a friend, Kai'el?"

"Chit," Jasper spat. "Guess I've drawn a bit too much attention to myself. You know the drill."

Jasper let his force light fill the alleyway, which seemed to greatly irritate the Sith warrior. Her body wasn't alchemical like Ishani Dinn 's, so no visible damage, but it was clear that her abilities were being dampened. With a look of rage, the Quermian drew four lightsabers, one for each arm, filling her side of the alleyway with a red ambient glow.

"Hope you savored your last battle, slime," the Sith growled. "This alley will be your tomb."

Then, without a moment more spared for words, the Sith lunged towards the two, blades outstretched.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Help Jasper with his mission
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

"I'm good. Looks like that's all of them. I'm counting thirteen... still no agent."

"No agent? where is he?" Silas said more to himself as he stepped over the bodies and looked at each one carefully. Maybe they had made a mistake and didn't see him amongst the group, but that theory would soon be crushed by a revelation that instantly changed things. Looking back at the knight, his eyes widened slightly at the fake crystal in his hand. They had both walked into a trip, one that was sure to be deadly depending on who they were up against.

The shadow of a long neck and a laugh soon followed to confirm their suspicions, and without hesitation, Silas jumped back to jasper to ignite his lightsaber "A friend you'll never have" Silas shot back to the sith, who made it as if Jasper had dragged him to their doom. In retaliation, Jasper revealed the light that had disrupted a Jedi they had killed before. If they were both going to get out of this alive, they needed to show that the last Sith they killed wasn't a fluke.

"Don't you think four sabers is a little too much Sith?" the padawan said back confidently, his mouth forming a short yet calm grin. Not long later, the Sith soon lunged towards them with fury in her wake. Separating from Jasper, he threw quick strikes at the woman from the left to try and catch her from all directions. ​

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, 1442
Tags: Silas Westgard

"A friend you'll never have"

Silas had always been a talker when it came to duels. Of course, he had the skill to back it up, but it was never really Jasper's style. He was never one to mind game his opponents verbally, though he would break out the stereotypical 'Jedi talk' to stall for time on occasion. He was quick to move in as well, countering the Sith's attack with one of his own. Jasper didn't wait either. He raised his hand, tugging on the Sith in the force ever so slightly. Instead of intercepting Silas's lightsaber with her own, she lurched to the side, allowing him to cleave one of her arms clean off. Her red blade hit the ground with a clatter.

"Maggot," She hissed, throwing Silas back with a powerful, though noticeably dampened force push before turning to rush Jasper.

Form V, overhead strike. Three blades and a whole lot of anger. This was going to hit hard. Jasper drew his lightsaber in an instant, drawing the fallen lightsaber to his free organic hand to intercept the blades a bit better, forming a defensive x above his head.

He slid back a good three inches when she made contact, enough force to easily fracture bone he estimated. A wild and animalistic grin spread across the Quermian's face.

"You'll pay for that," the Sith groaned. "Ten fold, in fact, once I gut you and your little companion over there. Oh I'm going to take great pleasure in harvesting your organs."

"Uhg," Jasper grimaced. "That's nasty, dude."

"I-" she continued, but then frowned. "No, wait. You're supposed to be afraid. You just sound disappointed."

The knight held back a grin. He had gotten her.

"Well yeah, that's gross," he defended. "I don't know, you're the bad guy here. I was just thinking that you were gonna have more class. Like, harvesting organs is weird-"

"SILENCE!" the Quermian snapped. "I will have NO MORE of your insolent groaning!"

The damage, however, was already done. The Sith was distracted, leaving an opening for punishment from the other present Jedi. All Silas had to do was move in and finish the job.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Help Jasper with his mission
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

The swing of his lightsaber was effective, slashing off one of the many lightsabers she had at her disposal. Seeing it clank to the ground, he looked to press the advantage with another strike to her arms. However, he wouldn't get too far. A powerful force push sent him back first into the wall, thumping hard against the unmovable object. Silas grunted loudly and fell chest first to the floor, his back hurting badly from the impact.

Silas looked up and saw that Jasper was distracting the Sith well, using words to make the creepy warrior confused. He couldn't help but smirk at the weird gutting comment his partner replied to, they always had to go too far, didn't they?

Noticing the sith had her back turned, Silas slowly got to his feet and narrowed his eyes toward her legs. If they could capture her, maybe the Order could get some vital information, it seemed far better than simply killing her. Running forwards Silas used force force speed to try and catch her off guard, lowering his body to slide and slash the hot saber against the back of the Sith's legs

"Remind me to never go to a sith butcher!" ​

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, 1442
Tags: Silas Westgard

Silas was quick to move in quietly, slashing the back of her legs. They came clean off, causing the woman to drop a good two feet. As she dropped her lightsabers in shock, Jasper reared back his head, knocking his forehead into hers full force. Within seconds, she was on the ground unconscious.

"Remind me to never go to a sith butcher!"

"No kidding," Jasper sighed, rubbing at his forehead. "She had a pretty hard head too."

That was gonna leave a mark for a while. Jasper crouched down, taking a moment to assess the alien's wounds. The cuts were clean, cauterizing as they went. Lightsabers were pretty handy at containing blood. Jasper would know. He still very vividly remembered cauterizing his own severed arm with his lightsaber.

"Well, she's stable, so we can at least get info out of her, if not set her up for rehabilitation," he relayed. "I can't even begin to imagine what they do to someone's mind to give them a taste for people organs."

He always hated organ stuff, ever since first learning about the organ black market. It was a terrible fate.

"Damn," the knight frowned. "She knew me by name too. Guess they're starting to do their research. I mean, I'm not exactly hiding my face, but..."

If they were taking note of basic Jedi stuff like this, there was something else going on here. He turned, looking back to the container of synthetic kyber.

"Well, what do we do with this?"

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Help Jasper with his mission
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

Silas slashed his saber against the back of the sith, crippling her just before Jasper flung a firm headbutt into her face to knock her out cold. Looking between the pair of them briefly, he nodded and finally turned off his saber "I can imagine, most Sith seem to have a thick skull" Silas chuckled, letting Jasper examine the sith as he checked on the rest of the bodies "That's good news, the order will soon find out if she has anything useful on her" if not, it was only right to see if they could still save her "They always have to go too far with the cannibal crap don't they?"

They both knew by now the sith did not have a filter

"It appears you're being enough of a pain to be put on their radar, I even had a Kaahlil clone try to kill me on Ilum recently. Thankfully, I managed to escape..." he said with a shake of his head before walking over to the crystals and picking one up "I guess we could destory them when we get back to the temple. We can drag it in with us when we call for transport"

He was unsure if they'd be retrieved, but it was only right to be careful "Unless you have some kind of use for them yourself, I certainly don't"
​

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, 1442
Tags: Silas Westgard

​

"I guess we could destroy them when we get back to the temple. We can drag it in with us when we call for transport"

"Unless you have some kind of use for them yourself, I certainly don't"

"I may take one for myself actually," Jasper decided. "And the temple can probably make use of them as well. They'll be good for more training sabers at least..."

They were synthetic after all. It wasn't like they were dealing with bled kyber. They should, at least, make sure that they were taken off the streets, should some criminal wind up making a weapon with it as the power source.

"Well, I guess we should probably be getting back to the temple," he finally shrugged. "Looks like I need to start looking into the roots of their operation down here a bit more... Uh, thanks again Silas. I know this ask was kinda out of nowhere. We should hang out later. Chat. We haven't done that in a while."

He really needed to be better about interacting with people again. Jasper noticed that he started to isolate himself a little when he became a knight. There was no way he wanted to do that again. With a sigh, he bound the sith's remaining limbs and threw her over his shoulder.

"Right then," the knight nodded. "If you got the box let's get out of here."