Private To Capture a Mockingbird

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra's journey home was a understated affair. The padawan had been granted temporary leave to visit Zeltros and see her mother. News was a distant family-friend had passed, and she felt it right to come pay her respects. She wasn't close to them, she barely knew their name. But after Kintan and the death she had seen there, a part of wouldn't forgive herself if she didn't step forward and participate.

It was almost like seeing this one woman off would make up for the countless that didn't get burials.

Not that she was trying to think long on that.

Kyra couldn't fly, but public transportation did her good enough. Artesia had a port for travel and sat between her home and Kashyyyk, so it was there that she found herself having to transfer to a new ship. Strangely enough, Wookies and Zeltrons didn't have a direct flight to each other. There was only one problem ... the shipping dock she arrived was on the wrong side of the city. She had to take a shuttle the whole span of the metropolis to get to the correct side.

She bee-boped in place on the shuttle platform, a set of headphones wired into her ear as she waited patiently for the shuttle to arrive. Kyra had forgone her padawan robes for a set of pants and a bomber jacket, the girl feeling pretty stylish in Romi Jade 's old leather jacket. There wasn't much to note about her, besides the fact she was pink and clearly alone. Her red locks were tied up in an messy pony; a single padawan braid ran through the mix.

A style choice, or statement? To the public, it was meant to be unclear. Kyra knew what it meant though. It was a promise she held close to her heart.

The shuttle slid in, its arrival announcement lost to the music blaring in her ear. Kyra dipped her chin to the beat, stepping into a nearly empty carriage and sitting down.

Aldric Cassus Akovin Vallaro Kindall Siv Dragr​

 

[Aldric]

The only free time he seemed to find these days was on the way to or from some important Jedi matter. It had barely been two weeks since his promotion to Jedi master, but he was already nostalgic for the freedom of knighthood. Free reign to go wherever he wished, with the only stipulation that he accept the occasional mission from his Jedi peers here and there. As with many things he only learned to appreciate all the time he had to himself once it was gone.

He sighed deeply into the datapad, sitting hunched over the piece of tech in a sparsely populated shuttle. His leg had crossed over the other and his arm was resting on his knee, palm supporting his head. His eyes lazily skimmed over the contents of another collection of notes he’d been tasked with compiling into a more comprehensive form.

He swayed ever so slightly to the side now and then; four days’ worth of missed sleep finally taking their toll. The deeper secrets of tauntaun cheese did not aid in his quest to stay awake.

Discomfort settled into him rather unexpectedly. He shifted in his seat, leaning back and straightening his legs. Though it proved tricky he tried to continue reading as he stretched, the words barely entering his mind. He leaned slowly from side to side, back rubbing against the robe that separated him from the stiffly padded metal.

Finally deciding to lean to one side he brought the datapad close to his face, pulling the robe over him for some additional warmth, he felt the air had suddenly grown cold. Yes, certainly down a few degrees, no doubt about it. A slight smirk formed on his face as his eyes went through the motions of reading the text without actually comprehending the words. Definitely colder.

Soon enough he began fading from consciousness, head sinking against the seat as the datapad slowly faded from his mind. He pulled the robes tighter. His thoughts were wandering from the matters of Jedi to the endless stars. The shuttle came to a halt, but he'd long ceased paying attention.

A few minutes pause were vitally important to maintaining proper focus for extended periods of time. No one would judge him for taking a break to better serve the Order, right?

Surely not.

Kyra Perl Cassus Akovin Vallaro Kindall Siv Dragr

 

[Cassus Akovin]

Zeltros

Cassus had never been to Zeltros before, and despite being a quarter Zeltron on his father's side, he didn't feel appropriate being here. It felt like a safe enough place to hunt for Jedi, though. Violence seemed to flounder here, or so history says. Nonetheless, Cassus had come prepared for violence the same way he always had. There were no pucks for the Jedi he was hunting, no Tracking FOBB to rely on. Just pure skill and luck.

Finding a Jedi on a world swarming with individuals just looking to get away and have a good time, would be difficult, but Jedi could be made predictable. Their idealism was a strength, but it could also be made a weakness. That was the strategy Cassus had in mind, and he was sure his allies would agree. The trick was drawing them out without getting caught and tracking their movements from there. Once they had a bead on who they could target, their jobs would become all too easy.

"Hey," Cassus spoke through a communicator while aboard his personal ship, landed on a spaceport pad. "Who wants to volunteer to make some noise so we can draw out the Marks?" He was speaking of course to Siv Dragr and Vallaro Kindall , me he worked with on Onderon to capture a high priority Jedi target. He pushed the memories away and sighed thinking about what he was still after now.

His mother was dying, her health deteriorating even with all of the drugs and medical equipment he was purchasing from what few successful jobs he could garner. So, he was going after bigger, more dangerous targets. Targets his mother would never go after, not only because she had a friendly working relationship with some Jedi, but because of her complete hatred for the Sith.

What choice did he have, though, when he felt capable of earning such incredible wealth that would more than allow her to survive longer even if she should never fully recover? He pushed his uncertainties away as he began to draw up a strategy.

Kyra Perl Aldric

 

[Siv Dragr]

Z E L T R O S
HUNTERS: Cassus Akovin | Vallaro Kindall
TARGETS: Kyra Perl | Aldric ​

"If we make some noise, it'll only put the targets on guard. Fan out and use the fobs to locate them," Siv said with a tone that hinted his finality in the subject. The Mandalorian didn't know how long Cassus had been in the hunting game, and the boy had fought well on Onderon, but their trap there had been a stroke of luck. The Jedi had already been pushed out of their comfort zone, in an area where their mindset had been fight-or-flight before the hunters had arrived. Here, however, it was different.

As Siv walked off of the landing pad where the Blood Eclipse stood parked, he pulled up the cowl of his cape to partially conceal his very-noticeable beskar helmet, wrought in the unique fashion that only Mandalorians wore. According to the team's informants, and a quick jaunt into some reliable holodatabases had confirmed that there should be two Jedi currently on the planet; a Padawan looking to visit her mother, the other a Master doing who knows what. Hopefully, the two were unaware of each other, which would make Siv and his fellow Hunter's job much easier.

Surreptitiously checking that his blaster pistol was in working condition, Siv moved into the heavy Zeltros crowd as his fob silently tracked his two targets via the HUD systems located in his Mandalorian helmet. The fast-moving motion of the Padawan's signature indicated that she was likely in some sort of low-flying shuttle or transport speeder, while the Master seemed to be motionless. From this distance, without a clear line of vision, Siv would be unable to tell if the Master was asleep or simply sitting down, but either would be an easy state to jump him in. "I'll go for the Master - Cassus, you the Padawan. Vallaro, you can choose who you'd like to go for," Siv whispered into his comm as he stealthily toggled on the stun and silencing settings on his blaster.

 

[Vallaro Kindall]

C:\Mission\Target(s): Kyra Perl | Aldric
C:\Mission\Allies: Cassus Akovin | Siv Dragr

Vallaro had a love-hate relationship with Zeltros. On one hand, he loved the atmosphere and endless parties but on the other hand, he hated what it did to his wallet. This was his 4[SUP]th[/SUP] visit to the planet in as many years but unlike his previous visits, this one wasn’t for pleasure just yet, first there was a job to do. Two Jedi on the planet made for excellent work and even better pay. He listened to the com chatter of his associates as he made his way from the landing pads to the inner city.

“I dunno, making some noise could be fun,” Vallaro said as he merged with the crowd. The one advantage of not wearing armor, unless someone knew him, he was just another face in the crowd. Following a tracking fob was generally easy but in a city like this, it could become a headache. He checked his datapad. One marker was moving towards him quickly: the padawans.

“Looks like the Padawan is headed my way so I’ll start with them. Don’t get taken out alone Siv.” Vallaro said as he lit a cigarra and placed it between his lips. He stared at the datapad some more. She was fast but then stopped for minutes at a time. Again, the marker took of moving quickly for a few minutes and then stopping for several more. “that’s not normal driving, what is she…oh…I got ya,” he thought to himself as he chuckled and opened a com channel directly to Cassus.

“This might sound a bit odd but our Jedi's on karking public transit. We just gotta head ‘em off. I just need ‘em to stop a few more times and we’ll know exactly what route they’re on.” Moving quickly to make up for lost time Vallaro made his way towards the nearest major shuttle hub. “We got any info on the mother? Make this easy if we could just know where it is she’s going.”

 

[Kyra Perl]

Perl was a well-known name on Zeltros. If not for the mother's notoriety as a master herself, then for the strides the Tycoon had made in the entertainment industry. The family wealth was vast. Their properties were extensive and overwhelmingly successful. No doubt a regular visitor of Zeltros had spent a time or two in one of the many flourishing establishments. There was a location for everything-- designed and catered for the clientele of the area and their particular needs.

Perl was a popular name. One might expect to get more money from a hostage attempt than a bounty. If not for risking the infamous mother's wrath.

The emergency card in Kyra's pocket contained more than enough credit to hire a driver, never mind buy his transport out from under him. She had taken public shuttle for a singular reason.

She missed home.

The shuttle ship was long, full of multiple carriages as it snaked its way through the cities. Bodies came in and left in waves. Kyra sat in place, her feet tapping to her music as she soaked in the vibes... the sights... even the smells of her people. Quarter-zeltron herself, she still identified this as her place. Despite all that had changed with her... she found peace in this moment.

She showed no sign of getting off. The shuttle's direction slowly become clear-- east side, the 'wealthy' district. It was a long way to go yet as they hit another stop. The city was large.

Aldric Cassus Akovin Siv Dragr Vallaro Kindall

 

[Aldric]

Passengers came and went with each station the transport passed. Aldric sat motionless, wrapped in a blanket of his robes as the datapad slowly, barely more than a crawl, drifted down from where it had fallen onto his unconscious form.

The quiet metallic whistle of his breath mask was barely audible over the engine's subtle rumble. He didn't snore when he slept, but always worried he did. There was no socially acceptable experimental method of testing whether his hypothesis was correct, so he had to rely on the word of the few shipmates he had lived with over the years. It wasn't as though he didn't believe them, the insatiable curiosity within simply never quieted down until his suspicions were sufficiently confirmed or disproven.

He stirred slightly as his breath caught. The datapad slid further down his robes, lingering dangerously close to falling to the floor with a clatter. It was the same one his parents had gifted him almost a decade prior. He'd made sure to take good care of it, though the scratched paint and discoloured segment of its housing stood as evidence to the many dangers it had been exposed to.

Despite the hundreds of hours of work still ahead of him, he looked peaceful as he slept. The dark rings under his eyes appeared almost like the unique quirk of a near-human species. A few strands of dark hair had fallen loose from the neat bun they had been tied into. If it wasn't for his father's almost non-existent ability to grow facial hair, he'd probably be sporting a stubble by this point too. He didn't quite look dishevelled, but the wear of travel was making itself apparent.

The datapad teetered on the edge of his robes with each rise and fall of his chest, barely balanced on the corner of his elbow.

Kyra Perl Vallaro Kindall Cassus Akovin Siv Dragr

 

[Cassus Akovin]

Tracking Fobbs? He got a Tracking Fobb for an open bounty? Cassus didn't think you could for something like this, but he was still a fresh hunter, all things considered, one of the disadvantages of being so young. Without trying to embarrass himself that he didn't have a tracker, he supposed it was a good thing he was paired up with another hunter. He rolled his eyes when Siv Dragr suggested he take the padawan, but he didn't argue. It was all the same bounty for these two, no priority targets to fight over like on Onderon.

"Not surprised honestly, open bounties don't put any direct heat on people. They think they'll be too unimportant to be noticed, they probably don't even know they're being tracked." Cassus responded to Vallaro Kindall , "I wish I could tell ya, I'm not much of a slicer. I know a guy, but not someone I can call in for this at the moment, unfortunately. I've got a swoop bike, I could tail her if you upload her tracking information to my Nav computer." Cassus decided to get up and started walking over to his cargo bay, where his swoop bike awaited.

Kyra Perl Aldric

 

[Siv Dragr]

Z E L T R O S
HUNTERS: Cassus Akovin | Vallaro Kindall
TARGETS: Kyra Perl | Aldric
​

Siv wove his way through the crowd, the signature of his Jedi now brightly outlined in the Mandalorian's HUD systems. He took care not to bump into anyone -- the crowd wasn't so tightly packed that he'd be forced to jostle his way through -- but even so, he could feel the occasional glance or outright stare at the bounty hunter's shiny Beskar helmet. Unlike other silvers, irons, and chromes, Beskar had a unique glint to it that easily distinguished it from other precious metals. If you knew what you were looking for, and had an eye for such things, then you'd be able to easily pick it out. And at this time, when Beskar production had been nationalized by the Sith Empire, hunters or treasure seekers would be hard-pressed to find any. With the market so scarce, they'd be forced to turn to more desperate means, and even a hardened Mandalorian like Siv would start to look like easy pickings.

But then again, this was Zeltros, a world supposedly full of parties and pink people. Not a lot of treasure hunters here; or, at least, the treasure they hunted wasn't that of Beskar or precious metals, Siv thought to himself as he slid around a young Zeltros woman sitting on the lap of an old spacer to duck into an alleyway. The alleyway provided an opportunity -- out of the traffic stream, Siv was able to move quicker and more furtively towards his target, which happened to be conveniently on the other side of the alleyway, sitting in a parked shuttle at a landing pad. A quick bioscan told him two things as he stepped out of the alley and into the shadow of the civilian craft sitting before him; one that his target was asleep, and two and more importantly, it seemed like he was the only one that remained on the shuttle.

A small service droid stood at the bottom of the disembarkment ramp, obviously not paying any real attention to the crowds of people streaming past it in both ways. Siv had seen the particular model many times before on other Outer Rim worlds, and he knew from previous experience that it was a droid that did not have full-range sensors, and often was very oblivious to its immediate surroundings. Walking surreptitiously behind the droid, keeping out of its range of vision, he lept up a short distance on top of the ramp before entering the shuttle proper. As he walked into the dimmed cabin, his helmet display adjusted accordingly, and he could see his target, outlined in plain, still fast asleep. Time to get this over with, Siv thought to himself as he drew his blaster still on stun mode, pointed it squarely at the slumbering Jedi, and fired.

 

[Kyra Perl]

The music had brought Kyra into a rare, meditative state. The girl did not even realize the transition-- her fall from alert to trance-like had been slow. Comforting. The music had brought her to a state of mind she had never been able to achieve on her own. And she didn't even realize it.

The world felt alive with energy. The music soared and pumped. The girl urged the force to respond and move in turn, creating an unseen painting of dancing energy and exploding colors. If any force sensitive had been awake, they would have found it beautiful. Like the aurora borealis of some planets, or the fireworks of festival.

For the first time in her life, Kyra was tapped in. Content. And in tune.

And that was the only reason she raised her hand in time to throw a shield out over the sleeping man.

The stun bolt rippled over the small bubble of light that encased Aldric . Kyra blinked, the moment shattering as she stared down at her hand. What had brought her to raise it?

The obvious answer never came to her, because then the carriage broke out in a panic. That kinda stuff happened when someone fired a gun, even if it was only set to stun. Kyra found herself trapped in her seat, pushed about by the bodies trying to shove out before the doors closed. Her ear buds fell out. She gripped desperately at the railing. It was chaos.