Private Sometimes it just doesn't work out

[Vaya]

Vaya struggled, but not for long, a swift strike alongside her head sent her down, and a dart in her side put her to sleep. Just an animal tamer, a good one, but not necessarily someone who'd be known. But she was a twi'lek, a race that male or female had a reputation as making compliant slaves. Many, her included, had an attitude that just made it easier to convince them that this was how it was going to be. And it would be better to accept it, than fight it. Vaya really wasn't much different. She'd always been that way, go with the flow of things and hope for the best. It was fine to struggle for work, but to fight something that might be unchangeable seemed too much to attempt.

She woke with many others, disarmed and any useful things taken away. And wearing likely a temporary shock collar. Chips were growing more common. Harder to get at and less of an eyesore. Mostly other twi'leks, though she saw two Weequay. Which was interesting, since it seemed most of the crew were either weequay or human. Upsettingly, she even saw a twi'lek. It wasn't necessarily a surprise, they probably were helping figure out who and when to get them. But that didn't make it hurt any less.

She didn't dispair, she was sad, but there was little short of actually seeing death, or perhaps that of her family, that could do that. Yet, it wouldn't help her. She wasn't likely to try and change anything on her own. She could guess how things might progress, maybe someday slavery would no longer be the case. But for now, that's just how it was. The trip was a long one, they didn't get to see much aside from an occasional new member being brought on or off. It wasn't exactly a pleasant trip. She tried not to talk, tried to not draw attention. But she inevitably ended up speaking with the others only to get hit for it.

The ship came to a stop as it landed and they were prodded outside, looked like a facility, she didn't recognize the place, but it almost seemed like even they were on the lookout. Maybe they weren't so cozy in the system, not that she even knew where that was. Ryloth was the only thing she really knew. And even then, she'd only seen so much. They all crowded together as they were essentially herded to a fenced off area, where it seemed like they'd wait even longer.

Jacob Calhan

 

[Jacob Calhan]

"The force works in mysterious ways indeed." Jacob mused as he watched the mist roll past the window. He had come to Vassek to track down rumors of a rogue Jedi. The Jedi, if they were a Jedi at all, had apparently cleared out long before Jacob's team had even landed on the planet, leaving nothing behind except a few broken lightsaber parts and a faint echo of their presence. He had been just about to write his final report and return home when by pure, astronomical coincidence, he had noticed a strong presence in the force. Nothing like a Jedi master, but enough to draw Jacobs attention to one particular ship that just so happened to be docking in the same port that Jacob's transport had been in. Whoever he was sensing was already inside, but he did see a group of men leading what appeared to be two local women onto the ship.

Something about the way they were moving, all huddled together but stiff and rushed, made Jacob move toward them. He saw one of the men turn around and slip something to a large, orange skinned Twi'lek, while the last two hurried the women onto the ship. Jacob knew something was wrong, but he had no proof of anything. He opened himself up to the force and realized that the ship was filled with fear and despair. Slaves. Jacob could't stop the ship. With their new "merchandise" on board they were already revving their engines.

Technically this was not Jacob's concern. Technically he was supposed to report this to the local authorities and let them take it from there. Technically he should only get directly involved if this was part of his mission, and his mission seemed to be over. Jacob did have good evidence that the alleged Jedi he was hunting had already left the planet. On the other hand, he didn't technically KNOW where his target was. Technically it was possible that the presence he had felt was the target. Technically he had reasonable suspicion that the slavers were aiding and abiding the Jedi he was after. So technically... some slavers were about to die.

Jacob passed instructions onto his team to follow him from a distance, and then trailed the man who he had seen accepting what must have been payment for the slaves. Jacob barely stifled a grin as he saw the man duck into a cantina. He casually walked through the door himself and took a seat next to his target and ordered a drink.

"Hey buddy, I've got a question for you." he said to the Twi'lek.

"Oh yeah?" he responded in an openly annoyed tone. "What's that?"

"What is the Eternal Empire's policy on uh, slave trading?" The Twi'lek's orange skin seemed to pale a bit as he looked at Jacob, but his eyes quickly hardened into a threatening glare.

"Listen here fella, I don't know what you think... you..." He stopped mid sentence and let out a light cough. He cleared his throat once and sucked in a breath. Then his eyes fell to Jacob's hand. He saw the fingers pinching together and his eyes widened in understanding.

"Something caught in your throat? Buddy?" Jacob asked pointedly. "Maybe you should take a drink. Calm your nerves. We have some business to discuss."

That conversation had been about twenty four hours ago. Now Jacob was riding in a small transport, with a deactivated shock collar on his neck, his disassembled lightsaber hidden away in his sleeves and pants legs, and on his way to the slave traders' base. He wasn't worried about the Twi'lek ratting him out. He had used the threat of force choking him to keep him quiet while he was loaded into the transport, and his men had orders to dispose of the Twi'lek as soon as Jacob was out of the way. Then they would track him and on his signal they would attack. It was a risky plan, and would require a lot of improvisation, especially if the base was too large. Jacob was confident though. He would make it happen. The shock collar around his neck was a key component. It had been converted into a tracking device and a small camera had been implanted in it as well. Everything Jacob saw and heard would be relayed back to his men. It was just a matter of finding an opening.

Jacob kept his head down as he was led to the fenced off area where the slaves were held, but looked around with his eyes. He took everything in, the dozen guards that escorted the slaves, the fighter docked to the east and west, the guard tower overlooking the fenced holding area, everything. His squad would see it too, wherever they were.

Jacob smirked a bit as the guards closed the door behind him. He was in. He was half-way to victory. With the force he could easily jump over this fence. With his lightsaber he could cut through it like paper. The only trick would be striking hard and fast enough to bring the facility to its knees before they could mount an effective defense. He had one other thing he intended to do first though.

Jacob opened his conscience to the force. Among the dozens of lives around him there was one that stood out, like a moon among the stars. Making his way toward the presence he saw an attractive, blue skinned Twi'lek woman who appeared surprising unremarkable. There was nothing in either her dress or her demeanor that suggested she was either a Jedi or a Sith. Of course she could easily be disguising herself justas he was.

"So..." Jacob said quietly when he got close. "What brings a girl like you to a place like this?"

 

[Vaya]

Her lax nature was both fortunate for her, and a hinderance. On the one hand it kept her from getting too much attention. Not much point in beating a slave who's not making a fuss. She knew the situation she was in, there wasn't much of a way out of it right now. Didn't have anything on her that could help. Even if she could get out of the shock collar, she probably wouldn't make it past the fence. Not without getting shot at least. And then they'd have a reason to hurt her. Course the hindrance was that she'd probably miss any chances that there were, especially here. She was so accepting of the fact that right now there was no way out. Maybe when she was sold there'd be a chance...then again maybe not. Maybe she'd have to call her parents and let them know what happened, but that there was little that could be done.

She talked when she could, quietly, to the other slaves. Some, including her, lamenting a bit on the loss of their freedom. It wasn't exactly an appealing thought, and as much as she tried to move on with things, she couldn't help but feel sad about it all. Feel a loss of energy. It wasn't just because of the time spent there, it was the prospective future. There weren't really any genuinely good jobs for her out there. She was screwed on the matter as far as she knew. Her best hope really was that it wouldn't get as bad as it could. Or maybe that someone would be kinder than expected.

Fortunately, this was not a situation that would remain. A man approached, he looked fit, and he seemed somehow more at ease than she was. She wasn't sure if she was imagining that or not. He did wear a collar like the rest of them. She smiled at his question, letting out a soft chuckle. "Give you a hint," She tapped the back of her head with a fist, wincing slightly as she realized there was just a bit of a lump there and regretting it, "Can't say I'm surprised. Ryloth was never the safest place to live. And 'tailheads' seem to have a knack for slavery." She said the last part in a bit of a sarcastic tongue.

Letting out a said she gave another short smile looking back up at him, "How about you? Kidnapped, resold? Not really sure there are many options. Self sold I guess. Kind of how it got started for us I suppose."

Jacob Calhan

 

[Jacob Calhan]

The Twi'lek seemed remarkably casual about the situation. Was she perhaps trying to keep her force sensitivity a secret? Did she not sense him, and think he was ordinary himself? Or was it possible that... that she didn't know? Jacob thought back to his own early life. He had been a young adult before he had realized he was strong in the force. He had used the force, radiated the dark side, throughout his childhood and never realized it until it was pointed out to him in basic training. Was it possible that this woman was still ignorant of her power?

Jacob reached out to her in the force. He could plainly sense her power but he felt no resistance, no pushing back, no conscious answer to his probing, no use of that power at all. She really didn't know. Either that or she was very sneaky.

"Hmm, I suppose self sold is... close." Jacob said Coyly. He didn't plan on keeping his own secret for very long, but he did want to know a little more about her before the action started. She might prove useful. "So, Ryloth huh? I know a bit about your planet's history. It does seem like slavery is something your people just can't seem to get away from doesn't it?" He said with an apologetic shrug.

"That said, it doesn't mean you have to accept it. You aren't satisfied with being kidnapped and turned into somebody's property are you? So... what do you intend to do about it?"

 

[Vaya]

She didn't quite notice the pause, nor would it have surprised her given the circumstances. She didn't notice his probing, though, something about his reaction to what he said was off. But since she hadn't really been in situations like this often, she couldn't come to many conclusions on it. Self sold was what he was going with, even if it seemed not the whole truth. She nodded in response, taking in a breath and looking up at the sky as he talked about Ryloth. As odd, how tame most worlds seemed in comparison. Tame as a planet, but yet more brutal in culture. Aside from the outsiders that is. She nodded again in response to his rhetorical question, before smiling, if somewhat sadly, "Heh, can't let a good product go to waste can they?" she grimaced at her own dark humor, it was a little out of the ordinary to make a joke like that for her. But most of this was out of the ordinary.

His next comment and question did get her an eyebrow raise, and her eyes glance around to see if anyone had heard him. She shrugged, "Probably...not much. Not much I can do is there?" she responded, it was clear she was definitely not satisfied, but circumstances as they were it wasn't broken, "I'm not really a fighter, best I could hope for is they send me somewhere that my owner dies before I do. Preferably with lots of animals, I do well with animals. Doubt that'll happen though, I get the general idea of how things may go for me. Could be worse I guess, I could be a wookie. I hear they tend to have it the worst. Not like escape is much of an option for me." She tapped the collar, "Even if I magically managed to get out of the fence, this is a pretty strong deterrent."

She looked back out towards it, she did somewhat consider what it would take, but she wasn't expecting to even try, "Besides, probably not a good idea to cause or talk about causing trouble. Don't want them to hear." one of her lekku flicked subtly in the direction of the guards, not even risking a nod towards them.

Jacob Calhan

 

[Jacob Calhan]

Jacob sighed deeply. "What a... disappointing response. I gotta be honest, I'm disappointed. You talk like you have no control over the situation. Like you are just going to sit back and the the universe do whatever it want to you. That is... weak." Jacob was cautious enough to lower his voice, but he did not try to hide his disappointment. They were deep in the crowd, so it was unlikely that any guard would pick them out from the herd around them. It would be time to move soon anyway.

"Have you ever heard the Sith code? Interesting people the Sith so wise, and yet so stupid. The thing about the Sith is that they take the basic animalistic truths that most people ignore and fully embrace them... and then stupidly pretend that is all there is to know. Their code is a perfect example of this. Peace is a lie. There is only passion. Pretty much any honest history book bears that out. Through passion I gain strength. Strength of will, is what's it's referring too. Here is the interesting bit though, through strength I gain power. Power is the ability to make things happen. Strength is the will to use power. The will to use whatever you have available to you to make what you want to happen, happen."

Jacob looked intently into the Twi'lek's eyes as he continued. "Strength, that willpower, can get you power. But power will never give you strength. You have power. I can sense it. The force is strong in you, just like it is in my. But without the strength to use it, it won't do you any good. As long as you just sit back and let the universe do what it wants, you'll never be free. Without strength, even a king is no more than a slave."
Vaya

 

[Vaya]

She raised an eyebrow at his reaction, but simply looked out ahead with a shake of her head. Not really much to say in response to that. However, he had more. She furrowed his brow as he brought up the sith. She looked back to him somewhat more suspicious as he moved on. Something was most definitely wrong here, but she didn't know yet why.

A sense of confusion further hit her as he looked her in the eyes and continued, telling her that she was strong in the force. That came as a surprise, and a suspicious. She couldn't tell if he was nuts or serious, or both. She hesitated, her eyes glancing around with more concern this time, unsure what to make of the situation anymore. It was so easy to just go along with things. And how was she supposed to take this anyway? What was she supposed to do with this information, if it were even true at all.

"Look, even if I believed I had the force, and the sith code, what would I do with it?" She leaned back, "I don't know a thing about fighting people, or sabotage, or subterfuge or whatever. I'm just an animal trainer from Ryloth, who'd rather not get myself making a ridiculous pose to do a force push, because somebody in a slave pen told me he was disappointed in my answer not being more aggressive."

She shrugged, and looked around as a way of less clearly pointing, "I am probably one of the least impressive people here. Even if I had force sensitivity, which I apparently never noticed, I bet there are still people here with better chances of escaping with half their effort than me if I gave all of it."

She kept her voice quiet for all that she was and would say, very much avoiding attracting any more attention than necessary, "So unless you've got an army stationed outside those gates. Or a lightsaber tucked away somewhere. I'm really not under the impression that there's anything I can do about this, that won't just get me killed or beat."

Jacob Calhan

 

[Jacob Calhan]

Jacob barely held back a laugh. "Well, you are correct. Every word you just said is one hundred percent accurate. But I wonder, what will you do when you get the chance? When the moment comes for you to choose whether to grab a blaster off of the ground and fight for your freedom, or hide away in some hole and see what the universe does to you next, what will you choose?"

That moment would come soon. Jacob's men would be in position very soon. It was time to make a move. "Hey. Wanna see something cool?" Jacob asked after a pause. He motioned with his head for the Twi'lek to follow him and started walking toward the gate where two guards were standing. "I never did ask your name, by the way."

"You asked me how I got here. Here's the long version." Jacob spoke quietly as they walked, passing by the other slaves too quickly for any individual to pick up anything dangerous. "I came to this planet looking for a fugitive. They got away, but it just so happened that before I left the planet, I sensed someone strong in the force on a certain transport ship. It just so happened that I sensed you when your ship was docked to get a couple of new passengers. The ship took off before I could stop it, and technically I couldn't prove it was a slave ship at all. By all rights I should have shrugged my shoulders and went on about my own business. Instead I found the seller, tracked him to a bar, forced him to set up another sale, disguised myself as a slave, and had my men kill him and follow me."

He fell silent as they came closer to the guards. He stopped a few yards away from the gate, far enough to still blend into the crowd, but close enough that he could see the two guards relatively well. They were bored and distracted. Standing guard over a bunch of submissive and defeated slaves was a dull task after all. In fact one of them looked like he was near the point of dozing off. It was a perfect set up. Jacob reached out with the force and grabbed hold of a small rock near the less tired man's foot, and with a flick of his fingers, sent it flying into the sleepy man's leg.

"Ow! Hey!" He snapped, more in surprise than pain, and knelt down to rub at the stinging in his calf. Jacob took a deep breath and reached out for his mind. As the air filled his lungs Jacob filled his mind with anger. He remembered his father beating him as a boy, the bullies at school threatening his brother, and the slaves around him ripped from their homes and forced to work for those who were too weak to earn their own keep and too selfish to serve others. As he exhaled Jacob thrust that raw fury into the mind of the guard.

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM!" The man roared at his companion.

"Whoah, what? What are yo-" The other guard started, shocked at his partners sudden rage.

"Oh don't you start that bantha crap with me! Your the dumbest liar I ever knew!"

Jacob took another breath, and sent a wave of anger at the other guard now.

"Who you callin stupid!? I seen you over there dozing off at your post! Did baby have a bad dream!?"

That was it. Jacob didn't need to add any more fuel to this fire. The argument quickly escalated into pushing, and soon every slave and scumbag in the camp was watching the two idiot guards.

Jacob closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened himself to the force and began to meticulously move the hidden pieces of his lightsaber through the loose fitting rags of his slave outfit, and pull them out of his sleeves. Nobody even thought to look at him as he quickly assembled the lightsaber. There were a couple of slaves that were standing right next to him that noticed, but they only stared in shock. They were too used to quiet submission to cause trouble, even if they wanted to. Jacob winked at one of them, and started slowly threading his way through the crowd to an unguarded section of wall.

"Ten seconds." Jacob said into his disguised radio, then looked at Vaya. "That bunker over there will be emptied out within seconds. An excellent place to hide. But those fighters are the slave runner's only chance at winning. I plan to disable them."

Suddenly there was an explosion at the front gate of the facility, and as everyone turned their attention away from the brawling guards to the advancing imperial forces, Jacob ignited his lightsaber and cut a triangular opening in the unguarded fence.

Vaya

 

[Vaya]

She furrowed her brow at his response in thought at what he was saying, naturally, she was cautious. This wasn't exactly a normal situation, and a wrong move could be devastating. Still...doing nothing might very well be the wrong move. She couldn't answer his question, at least not at the moment. He asked if she wanted to see something cool, and she shrugged with a nod, she followed behind him, giving her name at his comment, "Vaya Laccuni." She answered briefly, as he began to explain the situation.

She almost couldn't help but began to believe him as he went on. Nothing about him really pressed her as lying about any of this, yet, she wasn't sure what she should even do about that. Could be madness? But that didn't really strike her as the case. She wasn't sure how she should feel about his methods either, though, she almost felt a sense of relief at the death of a slaver. Not that it was much.

Her suspicion of belief was quickly set away as he began altering events with things so incredibly slight. The way it was all altered so easily and under-noticed. It was so minor, yet, things so small could change so much under the right circumstances. She'd seen the same problems with animals, how even the slightest difference of a noise or a motion could set them off. Or how just the right motion would produce the opposite solution.

However as chaos spread between the guards, other factors were changing. A lightsaber assembled before her eyes, she followed him looking around. He was going to take out the fighters, but where did that leave her? She almost wandered what would happen if she didn't do anything, yet, this chance was brought before her. And she didn't want to set aside possibly her best chance. However, she was not an insurgent, a rebel, or a cop. She was a tamer, and that left her with very little knowledge on what to do here. She looked through the hole but hesitantly spoke, quickly to him, "...What should I do? If there's a plan I can help with, I'm willing. But I'm not familiar with any of this." her concern and anxiousness wasn't very hidden from the situation, but neither was her eagerness, freedom was a strong motivator when it felt within reach. And right now, not only did she seem to have that possibility, but that there might be some kind of other future out for her. If she really was strong in the force, what could she do with that? What could she learn? How could it change things? Many thoughts and feelings were running through her but she didn't know what to do with any of it.

Jacob Calhan

 

[Jacob Calhan]

Jacob grinned. So there was a spine in there. He could feel that she was telling the truth. She was full of fear of course, any intelligent being was full of fear during their first battle. But she was not paralyzed. Once presented an opportunity she would seize it. Jacob just had to find the right opportunity for her.

"Don't think too hard about it." he advised, speaking quickly as they walked. "concentrate on turning that fear into anger. Follow your instincts. Find a weapon, focus on your feelings and let the force guide your aim. Stick to cover. Stay behind me. Don't panic."

Jacob stuck close to the side of the buildings and warehouses as they hurried toward the first of the fighters. The longer he kept the element of surprise the better. He opened up his force sense and confirmed that all of the guards still had their attention on the front gates. That and the apparent uprising that had occurred when the other slaves found Jacob's exit. Some of them were still in the cage, panicking and hiding from the action. Others had left the cage but found other places to hide. Still others were fighting. Many of them were dying of course, but they were creating a wonderful distraction for his men. Their sacrifice would bring victory to the Empire, and freedom to their fellow slaves. And some of them might even live to share in that victory, like Vaya would.

As they came around the corner of the last building, Jacob closed his eyes and focused on the force. There were three minds near where the fighter was, undoubtedly scrambling to get it in the air. He could feel their panicked focus. The fighter hadn't been ready to fly, and their work was hindered as they kept looking around expecting something to start shooting in their direction, as if they would be able to react in time if it did. Amateurs.

"Just stay back for this one." He told her. They hadn't had a chance to get her a weapon yet, and it would be a waste for her first act of courage to be suicide. "Watch me, get used to the violence, and... when the trembling stops, grab one of their blasters off the ground." He didn't wait for acknowledgement. He was confident that she would do as instructed.

Jacob rounded the corner and charged straight at the slavers. He surpassed a chuckle as one of them looked up looking for threats... in the complete opposite direction. A second later of course one of the others saw him, and as he pointed at Jacob and the three went for their blasters, Jacob drew his lightsaber. They had no chance and they knew it. They just backpedalled and shot at him, hopeless panic corroding their aim. Out of the dozen shots they got off, Jacob only had to deflect one. They didn't last ten seconds.