Private Techno-Rumble In The Jungle

[Alexander Hayes]

Alexander’s mission was a simple one. Track down a smuggler ship and disable it, or destroy it if it comes down to it. What the vessel contained, he wasn’t told. His superiors were tightlipped on the details, and just emphasised the priority was to disable over destruction.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go that way.

The information he had been provided made it easy to track the vessel down. Something he suspected had been supplied by the SIA. But given how simple it was to track their route, Alex wasn’t going to complain.

He finally got the ship in his sights in the Japrael system, specifically where Onderon and its moons were. Alex fired upon the vessel with the intent to disable. But just as he went to fire one last time, the ship veered away and the blast struck something else entirely. It sent the smuggler ship hurtling towards one of the moons.

Dxun.

Alex contacted his superiors, informing them of the new development. Alex was immediately ordered to follow the ship down, to land a significant distance away and await for backup. This time the K’paur didn’t budge in wanting answers, and they complied.

The smugglers were carrying a sith artefact of all things. Alex audibly cursed upon learning that. He had fought Sith in the past, but he had never had to deal with their artefacts. All he knew was that they were nothing but trouble.

With the information that he’d be getting Jedi backup, Alex flew down to Dxun’s surface and found a clearing to land in. From there he waited, and waited until he finally got a ping on his radar alerting him to the new arrival. Alex signalled his location, geared up, and stood at the bottom of his ship’s ramp, waiting.

And of course there was a thunderstorm brewing across the moon. Was there ever a day when there wasn’t?

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Sith Artifacts had the potential to be outright catastrophes, in any hands. The news that a group of smugglers had their hands on some wasn't anything too new. But the crashlanding on Dxun was enough for Master Kahlil to volunteer himself to aid. He was dispatched with haste, in yet another of the Jedi shuttles he'd gotten so used to flying. The Bastion was his personal ship, but he often left that to Valery Noble now.

The shuttle landed close by, with the Jedi heading down the ramp with an admittedly nervous smile on his face.

"Hey, Alexander, right? Master Kahlil. I'm here to help."

Alexander Hayes

 

[Alexander Hayes]

Master Kahlil?

Alex raised an eyebrow at the name, knowing of only one Kahlil that was a Jedi. Maybe the Order had more than one in their ranks, but he didn’t believe that to be a coincidence. He didn’t recognize the voice, but as the man approached his ship, a nervous smile on his face, Alex confirmed his suspicions.

He was the very same man who he had seen dancing with Valery at the Organa’s wedding.

“A pleasure, Master Kahlil. Please just call me Alex.” He raised his hand to shake. “Let’s head into my ship, we can go over the approach plans via the holo-console.” The K’paur paused as he looked out at the thunderstorm still raging. “And more importantly, out of the rain.”

He chuckled, before turning around and heading into his ship. As they walked through the hall to the main open room on the vessel.

“I must say, I’m glad to see news of your passing was greatly exaggerated.” Alex’s lips quirked in amusement. “Valery told me quite a bit about you. Never seen her so happy than when I saw you two dancing at the Organa’s wedding.”

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Kahlil's fine too." He chuckled a little, rubbing at the back of his head. Formalities weren't going to be needed for long, not in a hunt for a Sith artifact. Not in his opinion, at least. Kahlil was quick to get out of the rain once it was offered, though. It picked up right as he got there, a torrential downpour seemingly from nothing. Such was the way of the jungle. Or maybe he wasn't paying as much attention as he should?

Maybe, hard to say.

".. Did she now? What exactly did Valery say about me?" Now he was curious. Overwhelmingly curious. He perked a brow, hopeful for an answer. Either from him, or Valery Noble herself.

Alexander Hayes

 

[Alexander Hayes]

They had just made it past the threshold when Kahlil asked his question. Alex paused, eyes glancing towards the man before staring ahead.

He tried to remember what Valery had said, but quite a bit had happened between then and now. Though as foggy as his memory was on the details, there was something he'd never forgot.

“It was after a mission, we had a bit of down time. So we got talking about the past and such.” Alex leaned against the wall as he looked at Kahlil. “She talked about how she got here, and pretty early on she started fiddling with the wedding ring on her finger.” He glanced down slightly, catching the moment the Jedi did the same.

“And it wasn’t what she said, but how she said it. With adoration, love, respect…sadness. You might’ve been gone, but you were never gone from her heart. You were her Light, during an uncertain time.”

Silence fell as Alex watched Kahlil. And while he might have been devoid of romance, now and before, seeing it still brought a smile to his face.

“Come on, these Sith artefacts aren’t going to wait around.”

The K’paur pushed off from the wall and strode into the centre of the room. Inputting some commands, a holo-map sprung to life above the projector. It encompassed the surrounding area. From the clearing they were in, over towards where the smuggler’s ship had crashed.

“As you can see, our current location is quite a ways from the crash site. Unfortunately, we're gonna have to trek through some dense jungle to get there.”

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Oh."

Kahlil blinked in surprise. He was often great at keeping his expression calm and focused. Old habits from his time as a Sith translated to his life as a Jedi. Always stay calm, always stay focused. Absentmindedly he did fiddle with his own ring, something he'd refused to remove. Even when he thought he was dead he'd never taken it off. For the briefest moment a blush took over his face before he could get his expression under control.

He pretty quickly just latched onto the map, nodding.

"A walk won't be too difficult, I imagine. Even in the jungle. You ready to head out?"

Alexander Hayes