Public Soul Debt | Coruscant

[Jasper Kai'el]

Soul Debt
Coruscant, Near Jedi Temple
Tags: Open

​

50,000 credits.

That was the average cost of a new starfighter, equipped with the finest hardware that the galaxy had to offer. It was this cost that Jasper found himself owing, the burden he had willingly taken on after the disaster of an engagement party on Ukatis. He had been so wrapped up in making sure BB-610 was safe and ensuring that no further damage was caused that he rather absentmindedly agreed to cover the cost of a chandelier that had fallen. Jasper, of course, didn't have money like this. Nowhere close. He built all of his gear from salvage, after all. Things he found abandoned out in the wider galaxy.

Of course their chandelier was the cost of a modern starfighter. It was just his luck.

There was so much on his mind after the party. Corazona von Ascania was the highest on that list, a young woman who now found herself teetering on the verge of enslavement by her own culture, rights to be handed off to some snob of a prince who would surely never allow her to see the light of day. As her senior and a figure that Cora trusted, it crushed Jasper even more so that he could do nothing about it. He was a failure of a Jedi and a disgrace of a friend, plain and simple. All of his brotherly instincts seemed to want to tear himself apart, and a part of Jasper considered leaving the damages unpaid out of spite. He couldn't, of course. The knight was a man who stuck to his words, and he would only shame himself even further by going back on what he said.

So, bright and early in the morning, Jasper gathered what tech he could. Accumulated starship components, simple gadgets he had tinkered with, and even a T-16 he had intended on modifying for fun. As much as it pained him to part with quality equipment, it had to be done. The knight staged himself outside the New Jedi Temple, right where the Temple grounds ended and the city of Coruscant began.

He had debts to pay.

Spoiler: Equipment

Note: I'm not selling these for UCs, just some in character interaction that sees these items exchanged. For any of these that are subbed by me, if you purchase the item IC you can consider this thread direct permission to use them in whatever you see fit. For the listed "big" items, I'm limiting them to one per writer to start with (with the exception of the engines), but any other weird tech part that you can think of that may be found at a mechanic's yard sale (reasonably as well, so no stealth tech) can be improved in for fun. If you have any questions about what may or may not be reasonable, feel free to dm me.

Canon Equipment:
T-16 x1
Class 2 Hyperdrive x2
Evader-GT Ion Drive x1
5L9 fusial thrust engine x6
Ion Shield units x2

Factory Equipment:
Anti-Toxin Face Mask x1 (He has two, so you can buy his spare)
GH05-T Spark Droids x7

Other:
Random one-off parts. Creative liberty on any writer's end is fine by me.

 

[Zak Dymo]

[ attire ] [ lightsaber ] [ wristlink ] [ headphones ]

Ladies is pimps too, go on brush your shoulders off. Naboos is crazy, baby, don't forget your boy told you GET. THAT. Dirt off your shoulder...

He was supposed to be doing lightsaber practice.

And he had been.

...operative word being had.

At some point, the Nautolan's Ataru had transitioned into popping and locking, as the green-skinned youngling worked on his moves so that he could show up and show out at his next show.

While he was practicing in the courtyard, he caught a glimpse of The Dread Pirate Cyborg-Arm. Looking sus AF, as per the usual. For one thing, he was carrying a ton of parts and equipment with him. Like seriously.

Just what was Jalen Kai'el 's brother up to, anyway?

...for that matter, what was his roommate up to? Zak felt like he hadn't seen Jalen in forever.

This required investigation! And since you knew those Temple Guards were no good, snitch-ass nerfherders, it was clearly up to Zak.

This assessment had absolutely nothing to do with his wanting to skip meditation class. Holy Sith, just when you thought Jedi Academy couldn't get any lame-er or more boring -- a class on meditation. Just fething call it nap time already!

Of course, Zak's approach to investigation was about as subtle as a rampaging bantha. Walking out to where Jasper Kai'el had set up his shop... camp... thing, the Nautolan's inky black eyes just seemed to take it all in.

"You look like a homeless Jawa."

No offense to Jawas. But also, he totally looked like a homeless Jawa. Except human. "A really tall Jawa," the boy noted, craning his head back as he looked up at the man. "Also pale."

He called it like it is.

As the boy's eyes gazed around the assorted equipment, the boy asked "Why are you out here anyway?"

No, he didn't wait for an answer. This was Zak, exactly two seconds later his attention span had already moved on.

"This place needs music," the boy said, unslinging a mobile speaker from under his arm and propping it up so that the speaker was sitting on the sidewalk. Then he cranked up the jam.

There. At least now Obi-Sus Kenobi was a stylin and profilin homeless Jawa.

Turning in a slow circle, Zak looked at each piece of equipment in turn, then up at Jasper.

Whatever this was, it beat meditation class.

"Can I help?"

 

[Seku Bondara]

Seku was on her way to the Jedi Temple to meet up with Alex StormWolf in order to relay some information she had received regarding a matter of Alliance security that the SIA needed handled discreetly, one requiring the unique skill sets that only a roguish Jedi of his caliber possessed. The SIA often hired what they termed 'outside contractors' and Seku had formed a bond with Alex ever since the first time he'd shown up at SIA headquarters to be briefed for a highly sensitive mission more than several years prior. Granted, the middle aged human male could be an absolute pain in the ass at times, but when the chips fell and there were a whole lot of unfriendlies threatening to compromise her cover, there wasn't anyone else Seku wanted guarding her six besides Alex.

As she approached the Temple area, she was suddenly bombarded by blaring music loud enough to make her wince and cover her ear cones. What the kark?! Was some new sonic weapon platform being tested, and had she been left out of the loop? Nope, nothing of the sort, Seku determined as she braved the noise and walked closer. Just some kid with lousy taste in music. Make that...some Jedi kid with lousy taste in music.

"I'm pretty sure the decibel level of whatever you're listening to violates every treaty against sonic weapons that's ever been signed by the Republic," she said jokingly.

Catching sight of the various items laid out on the sidewalk outside the Temple, Seku paused. Were her eyes deceiving her, or was there actually a T-16 Skyhopper parked there?

"Ok, are the Jedi suddenly low on Republic funding and resorting to having a yard sale," she asked.

Jasper Kai'el
Zak Dymo

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Near Jedi Temple
Tags: Zak Dymo , Seku Bondara

​

"You look like a homeless Jawa."

Jasper couldn't help but grin at the newly arrived Zak's remark. He was unbothered by the music, as much as it wasn't his style. It was nice to have company, even loud company. He came off as noisy and out of touch, and maybe he was to some extent, but Zak was a good kid.

"If it wasn't for my ship I would be homeless," Jasper shrugged, "So that ain't too far off..."

Of course, it wasn't long before the questions came rolling in. Zak was rather good at asking, so Jasper let him rattle off before continuing to speak.

"Bit of a party foul," he explained. "A chandelier fell at an event on a planet applying for Galactic Alliance membership. The Order sort of unintentionally caused it, so I'm picking up the slack. Unfortunately being responsible doesn't make you any less broke..."

In all fairness, he didn't exactly give anyone else time to take responsibility for it, but there was no way in hell he would have left it up in the air. Cora would've surely tried to foot the bill. He didn't want that for her, especially after the awful night she had.

"Can't think of a way to help right away, but just hangin' around wouldn't hurt," Jasper added. "Maybe your youth and energy will naturally draw attention."

"I'm pretty sure the decibel level of whatever you're listening to violates every treaty against sonic weapons that's ever been signed by the Republic,"

"Republic?" Jasper echoed with a half grin. "Didn't know the Alliance rebranded. Bit old-fashioned if you ask me."

He couldn't remark on her judgement of the young Nautolan's choice in music. After all, Jasper only really listened to heavy metal. She'd very likely would find his taste to be just as ridiculous.

"Not the Order," he explained, "Just me. The Jedi get funded as an organization, but we don't exactly receive paychecks through it. Money has to come from somewhere else. Even Jedi have things they gotta pay off."

Jasper was broke, plain and simple. Some Jedi were fortunate enough to inherit fortune or come from backgrounds that offer good credit. He was a clone with no family who had been abandoned as a child. Needless to say, that wasn't exactly a good recipe for having money. He didn't often need credits, but the knight would inevitably find himself in situations like this from time to time.

 

[Seku Bondara]

"The way things change from one day to the next, I can honestly never remember half the time if we're Alliance or Republic," Seku said. Getting a closer look at the Jedi, she suddenly recalled having met him before.

"Jasper Kai'el, right," she asked. "I haven't seen you since that lovely mess we found ourselves in at that Imperial black site, when somebody decided it was a fine idea to let Jedi and SIA operatives be front line infantry for a seat of the pants rescue mission."

Seku paused for a moment, then a playful smirk crosses her face as she deduces why Jasper would be selling off some of his worldly possessions.

"Ok, Mister, what'd you break, and how much are you short on being able to replace it?"

Jasper Kai'el
Zak Dymo

 

[Zak Dymo]

"I'm pretty sure the decibel level of whatever you're listening to violates every treaty against sonic weapons that's ever been signed by the Republic."

The young Nautolan popped and locked to the rhythm of the music, dancing through the carefully articulated motion even as he re-positioned so that he was facing toward where a blue-skinned Twilek had joined them.

Jasper Kai'el corrected her about the government. But that didn't matter to Zak.

Republic. Alliance. These things are of no consequence. Only phat beats. "Ain't no Senate that's gonna stop this party rocking!" the boy chimed brightly, dancing on.

As the song changed, the boy leveled finger guns at Seku Bondara as he warned, "Buy something or I will unleash such dubstep." Seriously, he'd missed a DJ venue on Atrisia, so he had his whole set saved. He could unleash the house, bring the trap, and then remix it with some EDM.

As The Dread Pirate Cyborg-Arm supplied just what it was he was doing out here, Zak seemed of the same mind as the Twilek. "I could give you some credits from my last show," the boy offered, transitioning out from the pop-and-lock to demonstrate some Mandalorian break dance moves.

"I don't think its, like, super lot or anything. Comics and junk ain't cheap," the Nautolan added. Truthfully, he didn't even know how much he had. Growing up Jedi meant that Zak had very little concept of credit. His shows brought in money, so he was able to buy comics and stuff when he wanted to. That was really all he needed.

Springing back to his feet, the aquatic boy began moonwalking as he added, "But Matsu Ike asked me to play some auction or bazaar or, like, thing... so... so, like, I'll have some more after that."

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Near Jedi Temple
Tags: Zak Dymo , Seku Bondara

​

"I could give you some credits from my last show,"

"Not for free, kid," Jasper smirked. "I don't take handouts. Find something around here you like and maybe we can talk."

Jasper had small gadgets and little droids abound, so he had no doubt that Zak wouldn't find something that didn't interest him. He wasn't going to let the Nautolan walk away with nothing. Jasper was many things, but a leech was not one of them. Exchanges had to be fair for both parties, plain and simple. Hell, he was more likely to let Zak walk away with more. Maybe that wasn't exactly practical, but he had a moral code to uphold.

He did recall seeing the Twi'lek somewhere before. Dorin, was it? She had been with that strange Jedi fellow that had stormed the door with them.

"Ok, Mister, what'd you break, and how much are you short on being able to replace it?"

"I didn't break anything," the knight shrugged, "But... I did wind up saying I'd take responsibility for the damage done to a pretty expensive chandelier. I'm a good fifty-thousand credits in the hole. That isn't an excuse for charity, I'll have you know, so no tips. I'm working with the retail price for any equipment flat, no heckling."

It was only fair. He'd get all of his equipment sold, keep the dignity of not accepting charity money, and move on with his life. The knight would be damned if he let it be any other way. The debt was Jasper's to pay alone.

He was anything if not a man of his word.

 

[Seku Bondara]

Seku couldn't help but smirk at Zak's threat to 'unleash such dubstep' if she didn't buy something. Looking back on it, she'd probably been just as much of a smart ass growing up on Nar Shadda. Ugh, she thought, let's not think about that Hutt infested @#$*hole too much today.

Glancing over some of the smaller items Jasper had laid out, something manages to catch Seku's eye.

"What are you asking for one of those Spark Droids?"

Jasper Kai'el
Zak Dymo

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Near Jedi Temple
Tags: Zak Dymo , Seku Bondara

​

"What are you asking for one of those Spark Droids?"

"A thousand flat," Jasper stated, "Bit lower then your standard astromech."

Sparks were handy little droids. Jasper had a companion of his own, Pyf, who was a good friend of his. They were no warriors, but the knight certainly had some good things to say about the model.

"They're handy little guys," he continued, "Advanced surveillance and translation in a pinch. Good to have an extra eye out in the field. They aren't the strongest, but they have some stealth capability that keeps them from being picked up on sensors."

 

[Seku Bondara]

Seku pondered for a few minutes, thinking of how useful a Spark Droid or two could be in her line of work. Finally coming to a decision, she counts out enough credit chips to cover the cost and hands them to Jasper.

"I'll take two."

Jasper Kai'el
Zak Dymo

 

[Dominik Borra]

Ukatis... what a night that was. Quite a few Jedi with not much control over their emotions on a diplomatic mission to ruin a planet's best shot for stability. That wasn't really their mission but from the results they achieved you'd think that was the case. Dominik was walking by the Jedi Temple, having some friends inside and to maybe talk about what had gone down.

And then he saw Jasper Kai'el outside of it, behind a booth with wares and objects on it. What? Jasper wasn't a merchant, what was going on?

There was another padawan nearby and a Twi'lek, seeming to make purchases. He stepped up as the Twi'lek was making her purchase. He looked at the spark droids too, staying silent until the transaction was over.

"So... this is for that chandelier, I'm guessing?" ​

​

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Near Jedi Temple
Tags: Dominik Borra , Seku Bondara , Zak Dymo

​

"Deal."

Two thousand wasn't a lot, but it was a start. Enough good deals like that would make getting through the costs a breeze.

"So... this is for that chandelier, I'm guessing?"

"...Yeah," Jasper answered the recently arrived SIA agent. "Turns out that thing costs a whole starfighter. Wasn't gonna sell my X-Wing for... obvious reasons, so this was the next best thing. I wasn't using this stuff for anything... Well, at the moment at least, but I can find more when I go scrapping later. I'd rather get this out of the way now than do it the hard way."

The knight wasn't embarrassed about it at least, but Ukatis had squashed what self esteem he had managed to scrounge up. He could be embarrassed whenever he built that back up. For now though, he didn't much care.

"Well, since you're here, see anything you might need?" the knight asked. "I'm sure I've got something here that may peak your interest."

Jasper wasn't even going to address Ukatis. That was for a different time. Right now he had a job to do.

 

[Zak Dymo]

Seku Bondara bought something.

Wise choice. The dubstep would be shuffled for another day. Or maybe an hour from now. Instead, some core drive was playing in its stead.

The Nautolan was still mulling over his options. Was there anything he needed?

He'd pay Jasper Kai'el to do his homework for him, but somehow he didn't think Dread Pirate Cyborg-Arm would go for that scheme.

A rando strolled up from the street, but seemed to know exactly what Jasper was up to. And why he was up to it. Brah didn't look like a Jedi though, so maybe he was just shopping and liked to check out the broke ass Jedi sales?

Actually, why didn't they do this more often? That Jedi Temple was just full of crap. They could have an annual yard sale and raise money for stuff. Charity or some junk.

Or better food. Not that Zak was hating but can we talk about that meatloaf?

Better yet, they could spring to get some seafood brought in. Sushi night.

Now that was a cause worth selling out for.

 

[Dominik Borra]

Dominik waved at the little guy looking up at him, smiling, while Jasper talked. There was that loud music as well that made it hard to listen but maybe it was for attracting attention. Wordlessly he nodded and looked around the booth.

He wasn't one for robotic companions, but those spark droids, surveillance... He could think of many situations those could come in handy, especially for him. And then there were the larger mechanical parts.

"I see some engines and drives here, you're a mechanic, right? And the cost of the chandelier is worth a whole starfighter?" He had to speak up over the music. "My last ship is long gone, been using loners for a while. I think it's about time I get my own, custom built. Think you have the time now with The Maw gone?"

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Dominik Borra , Zak Dymo

​

"My last ship is long gone, been using loners for a while. I think it's about time I get my own, custom built. Think you have the time now with The Maw gone?"

"I could throw something together for you theoretically..." Jasper began, scratching the scruff on his chin. "Depends on what you're looking for, of course, but I can probably throw you together a starfighter that'll do you some good out in the field. I've got some experience building out vessels from frame templates, and I'm quite fond of stealth fighters, which I'm sure someone of your profession would find quite useful."

The SIA no doubt had credits. Their agents needed to be well funded to worm their way into the darker corners of the galaxy. He had no doubts that Dominik had the funds for such a job, and Jasper was happy to make him a vessel beyond just getting the debts he had payed off.

"So... what do you need?"

 

[Dominik Borra]

A smile crept over Dominik's face as Jasper talked about stealth fighters. He was going to request stealth components be put in, but Jasper was already on the money. "Something with a little storage capacity to carry some toys around, stealth, and with good mobility. Preferably a blaster or two on it. I'll leave the rest up to the mechanic. And I'll pay you what I think it's worth, I don't take you as one to accept charity."

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Near Jedi Temple
Tags: Dominik Borra , Zak Dymo

​

"Something with a little storage capacity to carry some toys around, stealth, and with good mobility. Preferably a blaster or two on it. I'll leave the rest up to the mechanic. And I'll pay you what I think it's worth, I don't take you as one to accept charity."

"Storage, stealth, mobile," he echoed, "No problem. I'll probably be making a run for parts soon. I'll see if I can find a frame to start building out a vessel for ya. It'll be a while, but I figure I can work something out."

Jasper was already starting to think of ways to get a small cargo storage on a starfighter. It wasn't exactly typical, but if he found the frame of a bomber perhaps he could convert missile storage into space to store any gear he may be hauling out to a given location. That could work.

"This stuff may look top notch, but you'd be surprised how much of it was left behind," Jasper explained. "It's super easy for people who don't understand mechanics to ditch expensive hardware because they don't understand how it works. You'll have your starship."

 

[Zak Dymo]

Did that sound like an admission to anyone else?

Sliding forward, the Nautolan peeked his head up at the Dread Pirate Cyborg-Arm as he slyly asked, "So... you know something about stealth and storage compartments, huh?"

Totes smuggler.

Jasper Kai'el Dominik Borra​

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Near Jedi Temple
Tags: Zak Dymo

​

"So... you know something about stealth and storage compartments, huh?"

"I do, yeah," Jasper stated, un-phased by the padawan's agenda to expose him as a pirate. "Stealth missions are common for Jedi pilots. Force attunement naturally lends itself to scouting out hostile territory. My own X-Wing is modeled after the Stealth-X."

A sly grin spread across Jasper's face. Two could play at this game. If Zak was going to lowkey accuse him of criminal activity, the knight certainly had some assumptions he could throw the padawan's direction.

"You sure have a weird fixation on storage compartments," he noted. "I didn't take you to be the type to hone on something so boring, but if you really love storage I could help you find a suitable starship. The Order usually sets aside resources for Jedi to get themselves a vessel for travel."

 

[Zak Dymo]

The boy just crossed his arms as he listened to the dull explanation.

Sure. It was all a mission for the Jedi Order. Very convenient. Except Zak couldn't remember a single word about Smuggling Compartments 101 in any of his Jedi Academy curricula. Meditation, yes. Understanding the Jedi Archives, unfortunately. Tython: Jedi History to 120 ABY, you know it.

But smuggling compartments? Nope. Didn't see any of that in the lesson plans.

"I already have a ship," the Nautolan noted simply in rebuttal. However good Jasper may claim to be, there was no improving upon perfection. A good stereo sound system and it flew underwater? Zak was happy with what he had.

"Not a lot of storage though. A subwoofer takes up way more space than you'd think it would."

First world problems. Especially for Jedi starfighters.

Jasper Kai'el​