Private Trask at Hand

[Jalen Kai'el]

Trask at Hand
Trask
Tags: Ara Sheridan

​

Trask was a rather remote location, a moon covered almost entirely by water and dominated by fishing. One wouldn't expect much to come out of such a place. Yet utterings of something far grander were beginning to circulate. Some, though none could triangulate the source, claimed to have seen an old Infinity Gate, an invention of the Qua. It was the sort of rumor that was bound to draw treasure hunters, or worse. As such, the New Jedi Order resolved to send a task force to ensure that no dangerous artifacts that may be surrounding such a ruin fell into the wrong hands.

So here Jalen was, a frown on his face with his hands tucked into his pocket. The teen was reaching out in the force, feeling the vehicle that was floating before them, an old and very beat up EE-7 Repulsorlift Cargo Skimmer.

"Master, not to be that one guy," he began, "But this thing is a piece. Like, not in the good way. I think one of the stabilizing coils is shot. This thing is tilting about two degrees off center."

The boy sighed, running a finger through his hair. The journey was far to dangerous by air. The ice sheets at the northern poles of the planet offered no reliable method of landing. They had to go by sea, which meant that this hunk of junk was their only method of transportation. As a mechanic himself, it was not hard to notice how unimpressed by the Cargo Skimmer he was.

"Is modifying this thing against safety regulations?" Jalen asked, cracking a smile. "I could probably bypass the engine's limiter and link up the heat-waste sinks to increase productivity. Anything has to be better than taking a day and a half to reach the ice."

 

[Ara Sheridan]

The mission which brought them to Trask was a curious one to say the least, though Ara had to admit that she was a ill equipped for such a mission. Apart from what she read in the archives, stuff about the Infinity Gates were still a mystery to her. She had never seen one, let alone interacted with one. Now she was going in head first with none other than her padawan to get to the bottom of the whole situation.

No pressure.

The Zabrak's attention shifted to Jalen as an eyebrow raised. "Dunno about you, but that's the last vehicle in the galaxy I'd strap aftermarket parts on." She remarked as she adjusted her robes and tugged her cloak a little tighter around her. For once she looked like a Jedi outside of the temple. "Checking out the radiators wouldn't be a bad idea, though. If we're gonna be gunning it, running it cool's gonna be our best option." She continued, giving her datapad one last glance.

|What do you want to have for dinner?|

A smirk formed along her features at the message. Despite their bad debate last time they saw each other, Kayl Krayt still managed to look at the brighter things.

:: Sum noodles wiuld slap, ngl. But you wouldn't be to bad either. ::

She sent the message with a smirk and tucked her datapad away before turning her attention fully to the craft before them. It was a pitiful machine, especially compared to the stuff she and Jalen were used to. Between her pod and his brother's projects, this was like comparing a Dune Crawler to an X-wing. Sadly, it was their only option. "Come on, let's at least make sure it won't blow up." She quipped with a snicker as she gave him a nudge, heading towards the vehicle's boarding ramp.

Going through a quick inspection, nothing alarming stood out to her on her side. "Jay, see-notice anything odd?!" She winced at her own words. Despite having him as her padawan, she was still horrible at watching what she said. Even if it didn't bother him, she still hated it. Last thing she wanted was Jasper coming at her because of her bad choice of words.

Jalen Kai'el

 

[Jalen Kai'el]

Trask
Tags: Ara Sheridan

​

"Jay, see-notice anything odd?!"

Jalen sighed, frowning a little. Why did she always have to do this to herself? He didn't care that she spoke without thinking, and his brother certainly didn't either, but emotions swirled around his master that indicated she very much was still overly conscious of if her words might hurt him.

"You really need to stop doing that to yourself," Jalen remarked, tilting his head. "Come on... Jasper is a complete softie. You know he won't get upset."

Jalen walked up to the knight and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a smile.

"Lets just focus on the mission, yeah?" he continued, trying to be reassuring. "You're driving after all. Last thing I need is you hitting an iceberg."

She'd be fine. She was just hard headed was all.

"Right then," he sighed, "Guess we should get inside the blasted thing and keep it from going to hell."

 

[Ara Sheridan]

She hated when he was right. Especially in this situation. Jasper would probably not be phased by her remarks and Jalen certainly wasn't either... but it still bothered her. As a Jedi she was supposed to be mindful of what she said and did, something she had gotten better at by quite a margin. Yet this was Jasper's brother. In more ways than one, she was dealing with the same person.

"I got half a mind to park you behind the wheel, so watch it." She quipped with a smirk as she glanced at the boy. His hand on her shoulder was a reassurance. He was right about it all, he wasn't phased by the remarks so she didn't have to worry about it. That didn't mean she wasn't going to stop working on her remarks towards him. At the end of the day, she was a Jedi knight, and she had to act like one. The Order didn't need another padawan slamming someone's head in.

"Let's get a move on, shorty." She remarked as she made her way to the controls. After a few moments, the lumbering vessel started up with a grown and a shudder until it finally took off with protest and sputters. Ara was no stranger to sketchy vehicles, but this was ranking pretty high on the list of vehicles to never drive again. "You hear anything odd in the back, just let me know." She commented with a glance at Jalen. Despite her rugged appearance and attitude, she couldn't help but get a little motion-sick from the vehicle's shuddering.

Eventually she got to a point where she activated the ship's questionable autopilot and turned to face Jalen. "While we're out here, we got a choice right about now. You wanna do some training? Or get some snacks from down below?" She asked him with a mischievous grin. Either way, she was going to get him to hone in on his connection with the Force.

Jalen Kai'el

 

[Jalen Kai'el]

Trask
Tags: Ara Sheridan

​

"I got half a mind to park you behind the wheel, so watch it."

"I'd rather take my chances swimming," Jalen quipped back.

There was no way he was piloting this slow heap of garbage. Jalen was certain he'd fall asleep at the wheel. He had a slower and slower attention span these days. If he wasn't simply lounging about playing his Hallikset slower moments just made him tired.

Or maybe that was his growth spurt. Master Sheridan called him shorty, but the boy was very much not shorter than his master any longer. He did grin a little at the remark before beginning to make the rounds and assess the ship, giving a lazy salute before beginning of course. As the ship finally began to stir (and a faint presence of sickness appeared in Ara's aura), the blind padawan situated himself towards the front end of the ship.

"While we're out here, we got a choice right about now. You wanna do some training? Or get some snacks from down below?"

"Are you suggesting we go fishing?" he remarked with a grin. "I didn't take you to be the type for that."

Jalen tucked his hands into his pockets, leaning back against the window of the cabin of the skimmer.

"Damn it," the padawan sighed. "Now I'm curious."

 

[Ara Sheridan]

Ara barked out a laugh at his remark as she glanced at him. "Fishing? Closest I've ever done to fishing is dumpster diving. Nah, I packed some goodies in for us when we set out. Snacks, prepacked meals, basically anything that wouldn't require us using that stupid survival booklet. Also packed my guitar in, but that can wait for later." She explained as she faced him.

With nothing better to do, and no protests from him that she was going to acknowledge, she dragged the boy along towards the midship section of the vessel for some space. "Come on, let's see your form." She unclipped her lightsaber and adjusted the settings before igniting its unstable green blade. "I wanna see if you were doing your homework or just playing hallikset for the last week." She quipped with a smug grin as she stepped in to strike the first blow. A simple overhead slash to start off with.

At least his ability to sense his surroundings had improved, but something like that could always use more work. For herself included. At the end of the day, she was learning just as much as he was.

She wasn't exactly a star pupil as a padawan.

"Anything else you wanna work on?" She asked between her movements, just to gauge his focus. Maybe setting up a lesson plan of sorts would've been a good idea before leaving...

Jalen Kai'el

 

[Jalen Kai'el]

Trask
Tags: Ara Sheridan

​

"Fishing? Closest I've ever done to fishing is dumpster diving. Nah, I packed some goodies in for us when we set out. Snacks, prepacked meals, basically anything that wouldn't require us using that stupid survival booklet. Also packed my guitar in, but that can wait for later."

"Oh," Jalen frowned. "That... makes more sense."

He had taken that one way to literally. A grin spread across his face as Ara drew her lightsaber. He did the same, quickly intercepting the overhead strike without turning his head. Obviously he didn't need to, but that was besides the point. His reflexes and senses were improving.

"Of course I did my homework," the teen assured with a smug dismissal. "I haven't just been goofing off in the training hall."

Jalen had been running drills. Lots of them. He was working harder and harder to master his feeling in the force around him. Soresu came naturally, at least, but it was good to get more comfortable with the space around him where he could.

"Anything else you wanna work on?"

"Is how to beat you on the table?" he remarked with a grin. "Uh... I guess if you got any more difficult lightsaber techniques up your sleeve that would be cool. I feel like I've been on the basics for a while..."

His sentence trailed off. Something felt... off. Feeling around nothing stood out as unusual, but he couldn't shake the impending feeling of chaos that was thick in the air.

"Huh," Jalen reacted in a puzzled tone. "Something... feels weird. You reckon that's anything?"

 

[Ara Sheridan]

A smile crossed Ara's lips at his remark as he intercepted her strike. She followed up without wasting a moment to keep the pressure on him for a moment. "Just makin' sure you are. I got better things to do than entertain you all day." She quipped as she swung at his feet. She wanted to see how much his senses were improving.

"Is how to beat you on the table?"

"Uh... I guess if you got any more difficult lightsaber techniques up your sleeve that would be cool. I feel like I've been on the basics for a while..."

A laugh escaped Ara as she slid back and held her saber out towards him, letting him take the initiative with the attacks. "Yeah sure, right before your lesson on how to cope with disappointment." She quipped right back as she grasped her hilt with both hands. "On a more serious note, basics are the most important. Can't worry about the rest if your basics ain't solid." She bobbed and slid around in her defense against Jalen, her trademark simple blocks and counters clearly on display. "You ever read about Master Kit Fisto? Dude was a council member and he used the first form. Was pretty much unbeatable with it." She explained to him between her movements.

The fight, however, came to a halt as Jalen's movements slowed and his attention shifted entirely to something else. "Jay?" She spoke up with a confused frown.

"What? You sense something?" She asked, extinguishing her lightsaber as she took a step towards him. Not even a second later, a cold chill ran down her spine as her eyes widened. "Kriff!" She bolted to the ship's controls as fast as she could. "Jalen, get over here!" She shouted as she grabbed hold of the wheel.

Jalen Kai'el

 

[Jalen Kai'el]

Trask
Tags: Ara Sheridan

​

"Jalen, get over here!"

"I... don't think that's gonna do us much good," Jalen noted, keeping his cool but very clearly a bit stressed. "There's something moving towards us. They're way faster."

Sure enough, just off the right flank of a ship another skimmer was approaching at rapid speeds. A flag billowed at the top of their vessel, sporting the skull of a Gran. It looked to be a crew of about fifteen, a hodgepodge of ruffians and lunatics notable even from a distance.

In short, pirates.

The air soon became thick with their chanting and laughing. Then came an explosion, the firing of a canon. Rather than a cannon ball, however, something different would hit the deck of their ship. A man. As he stood, a shudder went down Jalen's spine. They were entirely skeletal.

"Aw, right in the jawbone!" the stranger hissed, snapping their jaw back into place. "Alrighty, whadda we got here, eh?"

There was no expression on the skeleton's face, but the undead individual seemed to deflate at the sight of Jalen and Ara. It was just two people, and one was a child at that.

"What a load of barnacles," he scowled. "Just a bunch of brats on a junker. After I got myself rattled up too... oh well."

With that the stranger drew a sword from his hip, one which was force imbued upon further inspection. The skeleton cackled, letting out an admittedly goofy laugh.

"Alright kiddies!" he jeered. "Prepare to meet yer maker, preferably sent there by the blade of MR. BONES!"

Jalen could really only stand there dumbfounded, turning back to Ara to read her aura for a hint of how he should react to the present situation.

"Did you put giggle dust in our caf?" he asked.

 

[Ara Sheridan]

Feeling the presence aboard the encroaching vessel draw near at a much faster pace, Ara relented and returned to Jalen to watch as a literal cannon was fired... and it wasn't a projectile of some sort sailing at them. Standing alongside Jalen, Ara could only stare on in bewilderment as a skeleton hit the deck and started talking.

She gave herself a pinch on the wrist to make sure she was awake and that this wasn't some wild dream she was having. "You can't be serious right now..." She muttered, watching as the skeleton drew a sword. Jalen looked up at her and she spared a glance down at him. "I karking wish there was, would've made more sense." She responded to Jalen before igniting her lightsaber and releasing a blast from her palm at the skeleton.

"The kriff are we supposed to do against them?" She grumbled to herself as she raised her blade. They couldn't outrun the guys, and this tub wasn't exactly a podracer. Their best bet was to fight them off, although she did have a crazy idea in mind. "Stay behind me, Jay, I'll sort them out." She spared a glance at him as the other ship closed in. "You wanna try your hand at some driving?" A devilish grin formed as she looked back at the pirates. Jalen behind the wheel would make for, at the very least, a very unpredictable target. In the meantime, she closed the distance with the skeleton. "Okay, jolly roger, get off our ship." She remarked, swinging at the skeleton to dismantle him.

Jalen Kai'el