Private Set Fire to the Rain

[Katarine Ryiah]

I let it fall, my heart​

Location: Tatooine
Objective: Hire Pilot
Tags: Joran Del-Finn

Katarine Ryiah stepped off the transport with the twin suns of Tatooine blazing down upon her, the scorching heat instantly pressing against her skin. The air was thick with dust, and the sound of distant sandstorms rumbled on the horizon. It was a harsh, unforgiving world, one that made her long for the tranquil silence of the Jedi Temple. But there was no time for such luxuries. The mission before her was urgent, and her destination lay in the shadows of a distant planet—Umbara, a world lost to most of the galaxy and rumored to harbor secrets of an ancient Jedi group, long thought to have perished during the Clone Wars. If she wanted a pilot she had to hire one these days.

She adjusted the hood of her cloak, shielding herself from the sun's brutal rays, and made her way toward the cantina nestled in the heart of Mos Eisley. The place was a hive of activity, filled with smugglers, bounty hunters, and mercenaries, all wrapped in their own agendas. Katarine had little interest in the shady dealings that took place here. Her purpose was clear: she needed a pilot—a skilled one—to take her into the hostile depths of the galaxy, to a world shrouded in darkness. But she also needed protection. Umbara was not a place for the faint-hearted, and though her skills with the Force were formidable, she knew that some dangers required more than just the strength of mind and will.

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

Tatooine was not a planet Joran made a habit of visiting. The whole frakking place was sand; course and rough and irritating and that chit got everywhere. Joran used to visit the planet more regularly when he owned a handful of moisture farms. He sold those a handful of years ago when it became evident that he would never turn a profit at the rate he was forced to replace or repair equipment all because of that damned sand.

That was all without mentioning that the last time he was here in this very cantina he was…ehem…forced to shoot and kill a moisture farmer who hadn’t taken kindly to his family’s land and home being sold out from underneath him. What was Joran supposed to do? Keep ruining that farm at a loss just so that man and his family had a roof? Joran had even tried to reason with him, to explain that very thing but the man would not listen.

‘My father is buried there, next to his father and his, blah blah blah’

Fackin hell it was ceaseless.

‘Better hurry and dig him up then,’ Joran had advised

At that point the man reached a hand inside the coat he wore to protect himself from the sand. Fething sand. Joran did not wait to see what he was reaching for and made the wise decision to shoot first. No, the fact that the man turned out to be unarmed did not cause Joran to lose any sleep.

Shoulda armed himself

he thought quite correctly

Joran had come to Tatooine for one thing and one thing alone. To find work. Not that he was exactly hurting for credits currently but in his line of work reputation was everything, so showing up in a back water port like this a couple times a year to drink and play cards and boast did wonders for future prospects. Normally, Joran would’ve sent a pilot in his employ to a chit hole like this but considering the pilots he had to choose from…

Declan was probably dead.

Persia had stolen one of his ships and was currently out of his reach.

Sero was a spice head loser who would abscond with the ship Joran let him fly the minute he felt safe enough to do so.

Dagos was just a kid and his heart was still too soft for a place like this.

So that left Joran to come and hunt down a job for himself; On fething, sand chitting Tatooine.

Joran had chosen a booth in the back of the cantina to conduct his business. He had been here for hours now drinking, gambling, boasting, and genuinely selling himself. There would hardly be a being in the cantina that hadn't loudly and repeatedly heard some of Joran’s most choice exploits, stories of daring rescues, heart-pounding flights of escape, white-knuckle shootouts. It was all in service of selling himself to prospective clients. Word of mouth was huge in Joran’s line of work and Joran had no problem putting that word in people’s mouth.

If for example there was a Jedi in the building in need of a pilot, well, it wouldn’t take her long to come to the conclusion that Captain Joran Del-Finn was the exact right man for the job and conveniently enough she could find him in the back corner booth of the very same cantina she presently stood in.

Katarine Ryiah

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

And as it fell, you rose to claim it​

Tags: Joran Del-Finn


It did not take long to find a pilot. Katarine merely had to ask the bartender and he almost immediately recommended the man in the back booth. Apparently there was quit a tale of this pilots heroics. Katarine knew a lot of that was likely show but of even a quarter of it was true this might be her guy.

She asked the bartender what the man was drinking, and then walked to the back booth with the drink in hand. She slid it onto the booth for the pilot and smiled at him.

“Do you have time to talk?”

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

Joran who had just lit a cigar exhaled a cloud of smoke. "For you, I got all the time in the galaxy, love." He said to the stranger who had approached his spot in the back of the cantina.

Joran quickly appraised the stranger, his eyes moving over her subtly. She was young, probably too young for him, probably. She wasn't dressed like a senator nor a scoundrel, Joran didn't see any jewelry, she seemed neither desperate or derelict, Joran from a glance was unable to gauge whether she would be worth his time at all and then he spotted her lightsaber.

Fething Jedi he thought

"Go on and sit," he told her kicking the chair across from him away from the table, "Captain Joran Del-Finn," Joran held out his hand.

Katarine Ryiah

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Tags: Joran Del-Finn

"For you, I got all the time in the galaxy, love."

"Lucky me." She smirked at him and watched as his eyes roved over her form and his demeanor changed slightly. No doubt he had deduced who she was. Generally Katarine tried to keep her weapons and the knowledge that she was a Jedi concealed because it could get you killed in a place like this, but she was glad to see he was putting the pieces together. It meant he was smart and she needed that.

She took the offered seat and shook his hand with her delicate one.

"Katarine Ryiah. It's a pleasure." She noted that his size alone could probably scare half the dangerous wildlife she expected to encounter on her trip.

"I'll get to the point Captain. I need to go searching around Umbara. Not only do a need a pilot to get there I need someone to help me make it to my destination without getting eaten by terrible beasties. Word is you are the man for the job."