The Party Crashers [PM to join]

[Dessh Ekwesh]

Location and time: The Jedi Academy on Ossus, the middle of the night.

Diego Ticon, former gang member turned Jedi padawan had only meant to sneak out of the Academy for a few nights at the most, and simply to get a break from the suffocating atmosphere of the place and have a little fun. He'd never intended to bring a friend back from the Lower City on Taris, but alcohol, spice, and camaraderie had made some convincing arguments during his evening out. The young padawan was still virtually a stranger at the Academy. Other than spending time with his master, Corvus Raaf, Diego had been defiantly anti-social and made no effort to get to know the other padawans at the temple grounds. When he received a message from an ex-gang member and friend, Morellian slicer, Jalek Sathora, he relished the opportunity to hang with his old homie.

The two men were thoroughly inebriated and as they neared the grounds of the Jedi Academy, made no effort to hide it, laughing raucously, hooting and hollering, and even littering the temple grounds with empty liquor bottles. Although he hadn't been gone more than an evening, Ossus felt even more unfamiliar than it did before he'd snuck out, and Diego felt a bit like an intruder in his own home. Although he was doing well in his lightsaber training with Corvus, the young thug had still felt like he didn't belong at the place, and the alcohol in his system was convincing him to act the part.

As they neared the halls of the main temple, Diego turned towards his friend with a drunken smile. "So here we are! The karking Jedi Academy. Did you ever think that you'd see me here, you ginger bastard?" He playfully shoved the slicer and then looked around, eyes glazed, scratching his chin. "What do you wanna do first? Steal some holocrons, raid the armory, terrorize some padawans? Knowing you, you've got something even more devious in mind, eh?"

[member="Jalek Sathora"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Jalek Sathora]

Unlike his friend, Jalek didn't have a reputation of any sort to uphold within the Academy, though it seemed the man cared just as much about all of it as he did, maybe even less, as it were. But even sober the fact wouldn't have bothered him, and now that he was more than a little intoxicated he couldn't make himself care any more. Top that off with Diego being just as out of it as he was, and it was a recipe for destruction, not to mention mass chaos courtesy of the resident Renegades and seasoned troublemakers. "I never thought I'd see myself here, let alone you." His voice was a drunken slur, though still relatively understandable.

He'd only been there for a few minutes at best, the atmosphere of the Academy was already beginning to get to him, and if he hadn't already decided that being a Jedi wasn't the life for him, this only cemented it. Things were too quiet for his liking, but the part of him that was still relatively sober reminded him that it was the middle of the night, and anyone with even a little sense was asleep, or at the very least indoors. That probably didn't speak a lot for the two of them, but he couldn't make himself care about something that didn't bother himself in the first place. And besides, this place could use a bit more livelihood.

Something vaguely reminded him that he'd had something going on the next day, maybe another job or something similar, but he shrugged it off, instead turning his attention to the task at hand: cause as much trouble as possible, preferably without getting caught right away. That would just take the fun out of things, but one never knew, with these Jedi. "Dunno about you, but all of the above doesn't sound like a bad idea. Unless someone else decides to come out and play, we have a lot of time on our hands."

As if just remembering he pulled his datapad out of a pocket on the inside of his jacket, blinking slowly as he studied the screen as it lit up. Despite his drunken state he was still able to slice into the security systems of the Academy, though only to the bare minimum, and attempted to shut down at least the cameras that had a view of the grounds they were currently wandering. Only time would tell if he was successful, but it was worth a shot.

[member="Diego Ticon"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Fortunately you couldn't just land at the Academy without someone noticing. Or should that be unfortunately?

Corvus was woken in the middle of the night by a message. Her Padawan had returned to the planet and was currently causing a disturbance in the grounds. The list of petty crimes committed was also listed - including slicing the Academy's computer system. If they could have sliced the Force they might have gone unnoticed!

So she dressed quickly and sensing her Palawan's presence, headed off to intercept him before he got thrown out of the Order.

[member="Jalek Sathora"] | [member="Diego Ticon"]

 

[Dessh Ekwesh]

As they staggered down the halls, making their way to the armory, Diego thought he sensed a glimmer of something, an aura that vaguely reminded him of his master. In his inebriated and drugged state, he couldn't concentrate long enough to use the Force in a useful way, so the young man simply shook it off.

As he and Jalek made their way to the armory door, he pointed to a terminal on the wall. "Ok, Orange, let's see you slice into that," he said, nodding towards the panel. "Then if someone else doesn't come out to play, you and me are gonna fight." He grinned at his friend, remembering that they used to enjoy sparring with one another.

As Diego waited for Jalek to do his hacking, he leaned up against the wall and took out his packets of spice, tossing one to his friend. He quickly ingested enough to incapacitate a baby wampa and then dumped the empty packet on the floor. Anyone else might have passed out right on the spot, but Diego was a Ticon, and anyone who knew the Ticons knew they had a legendary tolerance for all manner of illegal substances.

[member="Jalek Sathora"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Jalek Sathora]

Reaching up a hand Jalek caught the packet of spice, tucking it away and fumbling with a cigarette for a moment before he finally managed to get one lit, smoke drifting from his mouth and into the midnight air as he studied the terminal for mere seconds, turning his attention back to the datapad he held and beginning to do what he did best: slicing into encrypted systems. As inebriated as he was, he still managed to navigate well enough through the lines of code, though he did run into a few hitches here and there, muttering a curse as he was almost booted from the system, managing to avoid such for the time being.

Moments passed and he continued in his work, finally looking up from the glowing screen with a crooked grin, tucking the datapad away as it shut off. "If that didn't do it, then I don't know what else would." Far from an expert when it came to slicing, he still held his own skills in high regard, perhaps too much so. "And if you remember, my only real weapon is a datapad and maybe some lines of code." It was true that he'd learned his share of street fighting when he still worked with the Renegades, but his enthusiasm for actually using his skills in the more physical aspect was divided almost evenly between enjoying it and doing so only out of bare necessity. This time would be an exception, more due to his current state than anything else.

Although he was Force sensitive himself, his own ability wasn't much evolved past a heightened danger sense. But, due to the lax amounts of alcohol and spice ingested, it was dulled to almost nothing. As such, he wasn't aware of the vague stirrings of another, much lighter presence within the Academy, nor was he inclined towards warning his friend of such had he noticed it. The Morellian didn't much care for who he upset, because in his line of work, if you weren't antagonizing someone you weren't doing your job right. And that philosophy oftentimes carried over into his day-to-day life more than it probably should have.

"So what is it you actually get done here, besides trying to find your inner peace? Swinging a glowstick around has to get boring eventually, and something tells me they don't like our idea of fun."

[member="Diego Ticon"], [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Dessh Ekwesh]

At Jalek's little jab, Diego simply said, "Pfft. I'm learning other things besides the Jedi code. At least I will be. Plus, I'm getting pretty good with those glowsticks." He blinked and suddenly stared at a piece of fuzz on the floor as if it were the most amazing thing he'd ever seen. Shaking his long hair out of his face, he looked back at his friend. "Believe me, man I know it's boring here. But we're gonna fix that soon."

Diego turned and inspected the terminal on the wall, looking at Jalek's handiwork with a furrowed brow. In a flash, the young man reached backwards with his arm and then punched the terminal as hard as he could. The door opened with a hiss, and he grinned at his friend.

"Prepared to get your ass kicked with a light whip, my friend."

[member="Jalek Sathora"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

He didn't know exactly what time it was, but the force didn't adhere to his sleeping schedule. Any time something was off or there was a trouble that effected him or those few friends he'd made after becoming a Jedi, the force had always made sure he was well aware of it. That's why he'd been startled awake in the early morning hours when it was still very much dark. The moon was still in the skies, and as his sapphire eyes cracked open and glanced around his small personal quarters, Varus realized that he would have no more sleep that night. Something was wrong, and he had a bad feeling he was about to find out just what was wrong very soon.

Pushing up off of his bed, Varus forced himself to begin waking up. He shook his head lightly, blonde strands of hair falling across his face as he raised upright and got out of the bed. He then pulled on a pair of black pants, pulled on his boots and fastened the leather straps and took a moment to gather his senses. He rubbed his eyes for a moment before reaching down and picking up his brown, leather flight jacket, pulling either arm of it on before shrugging his shoulders to pull it snug against his back. He then glanced down at his training saber, which he'd left half deconstructed on the desk in his room, and thought about taking it with him. He thought better of it, though, realizing that whatever was going on, it shouldn't need to resort to any form of violence.

As he left his room, Varus scanned the halls and saw that a few of the younger Padawan and initiates were out of their beds. Those few younglings who'd been blessed with considerably strong connections to the force had sensed the disturbance as well and had left their beds, peeking out of their doors and watching down either end of the hall as they wondered what might be going on. They wouldn't find out if Varus had anything to do with it, however, and as he carefully wadded through the dark hallways he waved at each child, giving them a serious look as if to say, "You shouldn't be out of bed.", and one by one they all sank back into the darkness of their rooms and closed the doors behind them, listening to Varus's unspoken commands.

After about ten minutes had passed, Varus was about to give up his search for the reason the force had called upon him that night. The halls were clear for the most part, but as he passed the Armory he heard the chatter of two young men, around his age, who seemed to be eager to get into trouble that night. That's when he saw them both entering the armory, which he had actually recalled locking up himself just a few hours ago. They were past curfew, breaking into the armory and committing crimes against the Jedi Order without hesitation, which wasn't surprising as the smell of alcohol on heated breath was getting stronger as he approached.

Stopping at the armory door, Varus held his hands calmly at his sides as he turned and squared his shoulders at it in order to see into the armory and find out who was behind all of this. "It's a little late for the routine weapons stock check, don't you think, guys?", he said, well aware the neither of them were there to make sure that everything was in it's rightful place. Jedi or not, he was going to stop these jokers peacefully or by apprehension, the former being his preference. He wasn't afraid to hurt someone breaking the rules or the law, however.

[member="Diego Ticon"] - [member="Jalek Sathora"] - [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Dessh Ekwesh]

The new arrival earned a glimmer of recognition from Diego's glazed eyes. "Hey I know you!" he said in a voice that was a few decibels louder than what was called for in the middle of the night. He grinned wickedly at Varus as he lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply and blowing the smoke out right in the other man's face. "You're a padawan like me. Vargus or something. I'm Diego. I'm sure Corvus has told you all about me." At his last statement he raised his eyebrows knowingly.

Diego smirked offered up a bottle of whiskey to the other padawan. Then he indicated his red-haired friend who was dressed in similar the similar swoop gang street clothes as Diego and had the same symbols tattooed up and down his arms. "This is Jalek, my old homie from the Lower City Renegades. Why don't you join our little party, Vargus? You look like you could use some fun. We've got plenty of booze and spice to go around. And I'm sure we could go find a few older Jedi women around here who are just dying to get laid. C'mon, let's make a karking night of it!"

Before the man could say a word, Diego, tossed him the bottle and, the cigarette still dangling from his lips, made a beeline into the open door of the armory.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"] [member="Jalek Sathora"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Jalek Sathora]

By this time the alcohol had begun to wear off, and Jalek blinked a few times as the world slowly swam back into some semblance of focus. Though not completely sober, he was still clear headed enough to know where he was and who exactly it was around him, whether he liked his new company or not. However meager his Force abilities might have been, he was still skilled enough to pin the new arrival as yet another Jedi, but seeing as where he was, that didn't surprise him. There would have been more cause for concern if the man hadn't resided at the Temple as well.

But what did catch him off guard was how attractive the man was, though he quickly brushed it off. The chances of him being interested in someone like the slicer were slim, and besides, he wasn't there for matchmaking. Still he remained outside for another moment or two with him before stepping inside the armory as well, more out of pure, blatant curiosity than anything. It was rare for him to ever get the chance to lay an eye on any weapons beyond what was usual for the thugs that wandered the streets of Taris, and those were rudimentary at best. This was something entirely new, and far more refined.

"Next time you want a cigarette all you have to do is ask, you know." The comment was made far less serious by his grin, and he studied the weapons that lined the walls with an unguarded curiosity, though he didn't make a move to take any of them up just yet. It was two parts not knowing how to operate many of them, and one part unsure of what his friend had in mind. Despite belonging to the same gang, the Morellian had always been one more inclined to a datapad instead of a blaster. "You mind explaining what half of this is? I understand blasters and thermal detonators, but not the rest."

As he spoke he continued to walk the armory, eventually making his way to where Diego stood once more, still glancing around the surrounding area before casting a look outside to where the Jedi still stood. This was all very new to him, and it wasn't just the abundance of weaponry. But for the moment he wasn't all that concerned with keeping everyone happy, though he never really was. If they were irritated enough, they would make the fact known on their own time. "I'd wager a bet that half of this doesn't get used."

[member="Diego Ticon"], [member="Varus Shatterstar"], [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

[member="Diego Ticon"] | [member="Jalek Sathora"] | [member="Varus Shatterstar"]

Corvus wasn't sure what was the greater marker of where the men were - the disturbance in the Force, the noise, the fumes of something...sweet, or all of the testosterone.

The combination was enough to bring every Jedi in the Academy to the armoury - but the fact that they hadn't was just lucky - and Corvus didn't really believe in luck. So she marched up to the three men - not sure who was responsible for what and so she simply gave them all an equal stare.

"What is the meaning of this?"

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus caught the bottle in his right hand, and then shortly after the cigarette in his left. He glanced between the two for a moment, leaning down and sniffing the mouth of the bottle for a moment as he did. He missed whiskey, and he certainly would always have a place in his heart for a nice spiked java and a beer now and again, but he'd left his drinking days on Coruscant with his broken life. He'd had enough of directionless living and hiding from other force users who thought they were doing those they counted themselves among a favor by wrangling young force users up for the cause. He'd killed a few of those very men before in a struggle not to go with them, knowing they wouldn't just stop pursuing him after one failed attempt, and he certainly didn't want to relive those days because a little alcohol decided to crop up bad memories.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't drink all that much these days, and if I smoke this I'm gonna be right back where I was about a year ago. So, I'd rather not.", he said as he raised the cigarette and dropped it into the top of the bottle, the cherry hissing as it touched the liquid inside and slowly began to soak. He then reached down and sat the bottle down just on the outside of the door frame before standing back upright and propping up his right shoulder against that frame. He then swung his right leg over his left so that he could stand, leaning against the armory door in comfort as he watched them look around.

He intended to be careful with them, making sure they didn't actually go for any weapons as they looked around, but they had already broken into the armory, and he figured that if this was going to end calmly, he should let them look around for a few minutes before he asked them to leave. "We can go to the archives and take a look at some of the weapon documentation if you like, but we're not going to linger here long. I hate to be a wet blanket, but this isn't my idea of fun and I'm going to have ask you guys to pack it in here shortly.", he explained as he watched him, those icy eyes of his following their every movement as he prepared himself. He'd be ready to act if he needed to, and he knew that since they'd been drinking that night, he'd have an upper hand against the pair of them.

That's when Varus noticed Corvus, who looked none too pleased to find them all there in the armory after hours without permission. He glanced over from his place leaning against the armory door frame as she made her way over to them, and his first response was a simple shrug, coupled with a bit of a frown. "These two are having a bit of an adventure tonight, Crovus.", he explained before looking away from her and back to Diego and Jalek

[member="Diego Ticon"] - [member="Jalek Sathora"] - [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Dessh Ekwesh]

First Diego laughed at Jalek's comment about the cigarette as if it were the funniest thing he'd ever heard. It was obvious the long-haired padawan was as high as a kite. But when the other padawan took the cigarette and stubbed it out in his whiskey bottle, Diego narrowed his eyes and momentarily stared at him with a murderous rage. Then his face broke out into a wide grin. "Pack it up, Vargus? We're just getting started, man."

The young thug rifled through a cache of weapons until he found what he was looking for. "Come to papa." he muttered not no one in particular as he picked up a light whip. "Look it this, man." He grinned at Jalek and flicked the switch on the weapon, flicking his wrist, cracking it, the tendril of light whipping dangerously through the air.

Then Diego heard a familiar voice and he promptly dropped the weapon to the ground. "Corvus!" he bellowed. Ignoring her angry tone, he came charging towards her to give her a big bear hug.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"] [member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Jalek Sathora"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus didn't need to think about what to do...a whole range of natural instincts kicked in - like self-preservation, maintaining decorum, maintaining self-respect, maintaining authority and more than just a tiny amount of ego deflation. And if she was honest, an overdue spanking!

Corvus raised a hand and a shimmering blue bubble appeared around Diego. For as long as she kept the bubble in place, he wouldn't be hugging anyone soon.

And Varus seemed to be on the side of sense, so that only left the unkown individual to deal with so she gave him her full attention.

[member="Diego Ticon"] | [member="Varus Shatterstar"] | [member="Jalek Sathora"]

 

[Jalek Sathora]

If Jalek didn't feel out of his element simply being on the Temple grounds, then the presence of the two Jedi only added to the feeling. But he wasn't about to admit as much to the two before him. One lesson that he'd learned while sticking by the Renegades on Taris was misdirection, and it was a tactic that still stuck with him, perhaps more than it should have. Then again, that was what made him so good at what he did in regards to any of his less than legal activities, particularly slicing. This would be one of the few times that he would be telling the truth. For the most part, at least. Something told him things wouldn't be nearly as peaceful as they were now should he reveal all of his tricks of the trade.

"Look, if I'm being completely honest," which he rarely ever was, "I don't remember half of what's happened tonight." And wasn't that the truth. As best he could recall, they had been at one of the many bars on Taris, and the next second, or so it seemed, they were on Coruscant, and he was following his friend through the Temple grounds while being completely lost to everything himself. "And I have a meeting to make in a few hours, so if we could live and let live, that'd be great." As he spoke he kept his hands open and at his side, his tone as even as he could manage, his jade gaze steady. Smoke drifted from between his lips with every word he spoke, but he supposed now wasn't the time to put out his cigarette.

The part about the meeting wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't as tame as he made it sound either. As a slicer, he tried to keep his work up and open to all manners of beings throughout the galaxy, so he often found himself meeting employers at the strangest times in the morning or night. This was no exception to what he considered usual, but what these Jedi might think either a bad excuse or something highly unlikely. There was never any telling with these types.

[member="Corvus Raaf"], [member="Diego Ticon"], [member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus simply smiled at Diego as he continued on his little search, but when he found the vibro whip Varus grew concerned. He leaned up off of the wall and was about to say something when he saw the man drop it and come running towards Corvus. The next moment the man had been entrapped by an orb of light, which actually made him laugh lightly before crossing his arms over his broad chest and leaning back over against the armory door frame. He watched Diego for a few moments, realizing that he'd probably not be very pleased with being trapped like a rat, especially in front of a friend who he seemed like he was trying to impress. For now, though, Corvus had her student under control and so Varus simply said to Diego, "It's Varus, by the way...", before leaning his head over a bit to glance around him at Jalek.

"...and we're not going to be doing any killing. That's not really how things work around here.", he explained with a friendly smile at Jalek before his face then grew rather serious. "I don't know, however, that you'll be making any meetings in the morning.", he continued to say as he shrugged. "You might very well be going to prison for this one. At least, for a little while."

[member="Corvus Raaf"] - [member="Diego Ticon"] - [member="Jalek Sathora"]

 

[Dessh Ekwesh]

Before Diego could get to Corvus, he felt his whole body slam up against a shimmering blue wall of energy. As he slowly got his bearings, he realized that his master put him in a karking bubble! What the frell, he thought hazily. He was only going to hug her wasn't he? Diego realized he had taken way too many substances to follow any kind of narrative, even his own.

Seething at how smug Varus looked, the long-haired padawan listened as his buddy Jalek tried to talk his way out of the situation. His friend was slippery tongued, he'd hand him that. Diego himself was more a man of action, which was why he and Jalek made such a good team back on Taris.

Turning back to Corvus, first he gave her an imploring look, and then he grinned, racheting up the charm as best he could in his inebriated state. His smooth-talking never worked on her anyway, but it was all he had at the moment since he wasn't powerful enough to break the bubble. "Come on Corvus. You can let me out of this thing now. I'll be good. Promise."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"] [member="Jalek Sathora"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus ignored Diego. No scratch that, she listened to him but pretended to ignore him. Instead she listened to how Varus was going to deal with the other miscreant. This should prove interesting.

[member="Diego Ticon"] | [member="Varus Shatterstar"] | [member="Jalek Sathora"]

 

[Jalek Sathora]

A short trip to prison wasn't his concern, neither was one that would last a few months. As one who often worked on the other side of the law, the slicer was no stranger to spending time on the wrong side of a jail cell if he got too daring in his work and dug too deep. Upsetting his employers was another risk, and one that he often enjoyed a bit too much on some occasions. This wouldn't be anything different, except for perhaps that he would be staying in a nicer prison than what was typical in his line of work. The Jedi were always kind, even to those who most often worked against them any other time. That strategy was questionable, but considering his present situation, he wasn't about to point out the flaws in their ideology. At least, not to their faces.

In the end, all he did was shrug. "Then my employers can wait. It doesn't bother me any. In my line of work, you learn to be thankful for the little things. And that includes only going to prison for a short time." The way Jalek spoke of things would catch most anyone else off guard, if just because he was so nonchalant about the necessary legality of things. But risks were a necessary part of life, doubly so for one who was considered nothing better than another petty criminal by most, especially by the likes of the Jedi. No one had lost any limbs yet, so he couldn't speak out about their ways too much.

"But, if you're going to take me in, there's no point in wasting time. I don't know how you guys do things around here, but from where I'm from, when we talk about things we get them done." And for once he was telling the complete truth. If someone from the criminal underworld was to threaten him in a similar manner, he would already be cuffed and halfway to his new home, a prison cell. But apparently these Jedi made more idle threats than they actually went through with. Disappointing to him, because he was intrigued to see how low they would stoop at some times, though he never crossed the line himself. Or at least, not quite.

[member="Corvus Raaf"], [member="Diego Ticon"], [member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

"Look...", Varus said as he pushed off the door frame and walked into the armory, making sure to step past Diego so that he could see Jalek clearly. He then stopped and slid his hand into either pocket calmly before he said, "...I don't want this to get rough any more than you do, and I cant tell that you're a serious man. I don't want to waste your time, but I also realize that you'd rather not have to deal with the pesky restraints we could put you in either. They can make the wrists a little sore and all.", he admitted with a soft smile.

"I was actually thinking that we could get the two of you breakfast so you could do a little more sobering up. Whether or not you actually get put in the slammer is going to be up to Corvus, though. I'm just here to help.", he said as he glanced back at the less than pleased woman behind him. He saw that she was still not very happy, and so he displayed a slight grimace as he turned back around to Jalek and said. "So. Let's go find something to eat and we'll talk about it, but I suggest against doing anything stupid. After all, you guys entered the Lion's Den willingly. If it isn't us it'll be someone else, and I'm sure your friend would much prefer to deal with his own master than anyone else.", he continued to say as he looked back at Diego.

"So. breakfast or a handcuffs?", he asked with a friendly air about him.

[member="Jalek Sathora"] - [member="Diego Ticon"] - [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was tempted to release Diego but she wanted to see what the newcomer would say first. So she kept her own counsel for now - but her face was rearranging into a more pleasant order. Her dark mood of before was definitely softening.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"] | [member="Diego Ticon"] | [member="Jalek Sathora"]