Knights of the Old Republic: Rise of the Reavers

[Comrade Tortoise]

Asarak looked around the temple, but was unable to find the other Jedi. He must be preparing himself somewhere else. As it stood, he had a date with a ship. He got through the security with minimal fuss, and headed to the birth.

[Cynical Cat]

Riv had unfortunately nearly been crushed by a crashing aircar. Jedi reflexes and speed had allowed him to avoid being crushed, but he hadn't managed to avoid being hit by debris. For the time being, all the future held for the young Jedi was time in a kolto tank.

[frigidmagi]

"I'm guessing this is a five drink minimum story, and it will wait. Just, let me know what sort of trouble I can expect when I go to the parts shop."

Dewaddki while hungry and still a bit groggy wasn't gonna let that slur past.

"aorcoohurhanwo!?! ah'anan acrahowo rooohu orwhoooh ah rasc rhoowhoo wwahwawo acworcoo!" He declared, shaking a purple streaked fist. Really was his fault humans had weird color customs?

[Agent Fisher]

Kel took a drink of his caf. "Right, a purple haired wookie hero." He said.

[LadyTevar]

"Kel, don't mock him. It will take forever to get the dent out of the bulkhead," Trys said, sliding away the datapad for the moment. "Ok, 'waddik, just what did you do to get Hero status -this- time?"

[Comrade Tortoise]

Asarak approached the ship noticed the ramp was up and pulled out the comlink he had gotten before he left. He entered the channel he had been given during his briefing and spoke into it.

"Hello? This is Asarak. Has Riv gotten here yet?"

[LadyTevar]

Trys looked to the rest of the crew as the hail came over the intercom. "Asarak... wasn't that the Jedi we just rescued?" she asked them, as she wondered if the Jedi Academy would be that mean. Still, she hit a button to open the outside intercom. "No one here by that name, sir. Are you sure you have the right ship?"

[Comrade Tortoise]

"I absolutely do. You were to be sent a pair of Jedi. Riv was the other. He has not arrived yet it seems or something detains him." he thought for a second "And I apologize for yesterday. There are some things I need to unlearn, like an arrogant streak. That is why I was chosen for this assignment I think. Having a wookiee dislocate my hips when I make a mistake or act a fool will teach me humility. As I am sure you will agree. If you let me aboard I can check the status of my counterpart"

[LadyTevar]

The ramp ground down with the whine of compressors, allowing Asarak entrance.

[frigidmagi]

Dewaddik was distracted from explaining his story of daring heroism and selflessness at the sound of THAT voice. It was that damn Jedi again! Trys was letting back on the ship! Damn it! He always knew Humans were masochists, every single one of them, but why did they have to hurt him to!?!

"ohraahao aorcroc! ohacraao rarcwo rooohu waooahwhrr anwoaoaoahwhrr acahsc rhraoaor oowh aoacahc cacahak? ohwo anahhowo oowh aoacahc cacahak! ah anahhowo oowh aoacahc cacahak! ahww rooohu rcworaananro ohrawhao ra oaoowhcaorawhao akraahwh ahwh aoacwo rawwao aooo oaanworawh huak rawwaoworc ohwo'anan rrwoao rooohu ra akwoao! rawhro akwoao aoacraao ohahanan wwahao oowh aoacwo cacahak, shhucao whooao aoacraao shwowaah!" Dewaddik groaned as the ramp lowered. It had started out as such a nice day to.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Asarak walked up the ramp and could hear the wookiee. He could not understand the wookiee directly, but the Force was his ally and he was a telepath. He could piece together the emotion and where it was directed. Shock, apprehension (to say the least)... directed at him. This was going to be interesting.

"I am sorry Dewaddik, but we all have our marching orders"

[LadyTevar]

Trys coughed, to hide the laughter at Dewaddik's outburst.
"If you'd been with us, and not out saving the Galaxy in purple dye," yes, Trys went there. ".. You'd know that we are getting paid nicely to go find who's selling weapons to pirates. To help us, the Jedi Academy is loaning us two Jedi." Which was a more polite way to say it than Trys could have put it. "Uncle Niels set it up... and we have permission to buy whatever weapons for the ship and crew as will get us closer to the source."

Usually, the lure of new weapons would get Dewaddik distracted. Trys was hoping it would work this time. Still, if nothing else, she could joke. "But if you want to buy me a pet instead ...."

[frigidmagi]

Dewaddik threw up his hands and snorted walking off. Under his breath he muttered things about fools and the people dumb enough to fly with them. He also began looking for dye removal. If he was going to die because of a manic Jedi, he might as well look his Wookie best.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Asarak went to the console and called in to inquire about Riv. What he heard back made him wince

"Is he alive?" he asked

"Weeks in a tank? I dont think we can afford to wait that long given what is occurring... Do I have clearance to continue without him, or is someone being sent to replace him?"

"Very well, may the Force be with you."

He turned back to Trys

"Not a pair of Jedi I am afraid. Just me. It seems Riv was involved in an accident on his way out the door. Someone was intoxicated in a speeder and ran into him. He never saw it coming. His skill with The Force allowed him to live, but he will be incapacitated for weeks."

[LadyTevar]

Trys raised an eyebrow as the Jedi proceeded to use the console without asking, but said nothing. That, as Zeke would say, was the first sign to duck for cover. Hearing Asarak's side of the conversation did little to improve her mood.

"I guess the saying about Jedi being able to see the future is a myth, then. Otherwise, he'd have ducked," Trys stated bluntly, getting to her feet. "Since we're going to be stuck with you alone, there's a few rules on the ship." Trys crossed over to stand in front of the reptilian Jedi, looking him in the eye.

"First. I am the Captain, and I am the boss of this ship. If you have any objections, I'll have Dewaddik show you out the airlock." This rule clearly reached the Wookie. "This means if you want to use the comms, you ASK Permission First."

"Second, you are no longer a Jedi. From now on you are the lowest ranked crewmember on this ship. That means you get to sleep in THAT barracks," she pointed to the one on the opposite side of the ship from Dewaddik, "and you will be given tasks to do on this ship. After all," here Trys grinned like a saber-cat, "what would a Jedi be doing on a smuggler's vessel?"

"Third, if you have any problems with this, you may walk out that door and down the ramp and find us another Jedi. Any questions?"

[Comrade Tortoise]

Asarak looked into her eyes, taking in everything the woman had said. When she finished he nodded.

"Some Jedi are better at precognition than others, and unless they are actively opening their mind to the Force it can be an... inconsistent thing. I am skilled at it and can still make a fool of myself in social situations and am not immune to a random accident."

He studied her a moment. Her thoughts and emotions leaked everywhere. She was establishing her authority and while it was not lost upon him that he had requested to come in and use the comm system to check the status of Riv, and she had tacitly given that permission by opening the door it was lost on her and if that was lost on her the tacit permission may as well not have been given. She was not the sort to take kindly to being corrected on her ship... Especially when she was in error. Asarak decided it was best to choose the better part of valor. He kept his scaly trap shut.

"I apologize for my presumption regarding the comm system" he said before continuing "I have no objection to your terms and conditions, and respect and willfully submit to your authority. In truth I was ordered to do so" he shrugged

"There are some things you should know about me, not only so we can get along better, but also so that you can make better use of my abilities." he drew a breath, as if he was about to rattle off a list. "I apologize if this seems long winded."

"My species is naturally telepathic. This combined with my ability to use the Force allows me to do a few things beyond the usual Jedi Mind Trick. I can implant mental suggestions, project mental images into a target even if they are out of my direct line of sight, as well as" he then put up his fingers to make little quotation makes " gather information and question prisoners" he put down his fingers and continued.

"This ability can have uses you may not anticipate. For example, I can make an enemy pilot think we launched a missile at him in order to keep him from lining up a clean shot on us or the attached Fighter" he said this specifically alluding to something he had done in their daring little escape from Mandragal. "It also means that I can accidentally pick up random thoughts and strong emotions. This comes in handy when I need to communicate with Dewaddik, but can lead to my accidentally violating privacy. I will do my best to block out your stray thoughts, but you ought guard them as well. I have no wish to pry into your mind. However you may consider allowing me to do open up my senses in combat, it will assist in communication particularly when we cannot physically hear eachother"

"This brings me to the second set of talents. I am a precognitive and have the gift of farsight. The farther away or into the future I am trying to see the less accurate I am. Up close I can see into rooms and predict the future a short period in advance... like whether we have a thermal detonator about to come over a wall at us or something. THis is also what allows me to detect, track, and deflect blaster bolts. At longer distances or farther in the future at my level of skill you can expect vague premonitions and portents. However I may sense danger coming in advance and if I sense a conspiracy of some sort it would be wise to listen." He took another breath.

"I am also skilled a telekinesis. Of my less practiced abilities I can do the usual superhuman speed and physical performance and to a limited extent can mitigate the use of force abilities used against us. As far as my lightsaber skills are concerned I trained initially as a duelist, and secondarily in a defensive style that works equally well in melee combat or against blaster fire from multiple opponents. This means that I can engage Dark Side Adepts in single combat or... basically provide living cover for you. I am not skilled enough to do this from multiple directions or from especially high rates of fire reliably though, and have a sense of self preservation. Then there are the other skills. I can pilot a ship, run weapons systems, computer systems and handle deflector shields, precognition helpswith the piloting, weapons, and shields. I also have a good general knowledge of multiple academic subjects. Do you have any questions, comments, or concerns?"

[LadyTevar]

Trys listened to the list with one eyebrow raised.

"ok, that's nice...," she said when he finished. "What's the "Jedi Mind Trick"?"

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Oh. Sorry. I have been under a rock for a while. The Jedi Mind Trick is what I thought was the vernacular term for the influence a Jedi can have on the weak of mind. One of the first things a Jedi learns how to do, in addition to levitating small objects, is to exert small suggestions on the weak minded. Things like getting a guard to turn around so they can be slipped past, or telling someone they dont need to do a body-cavity search. A very skilled jedi can use it to slip past groups undetected. However it is a bit dicey. The target cannot have a strong will. So while it can influence a weak minded flunky, it probably would not work on you or Dewaddik for example. What is basically done is to use the Force to give a sort of weak telepathy. It works the same way a Jedi can sense emotions. I am already a telepath and use the Force to enhance that already existing ability in order to do bigger and better things against someone with stronger mental defenses."

[LadyTevar]

Trys nodded slowly. "First I've heard of it, but good to know. I'm sure your Pre-cognitive mind will tell you what will happen if you DO use it on one of us, and we find out."

"Next Question: Can you cook?"

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Oh in general if people catch you doing that, things get ugly. With your permission, I may project a mental image into your mind of something I see in another room. I would always ask first of course. As for the cooking... Dont expect fine dining or anything, but my cooking is serviceable."

[Cynical Cat]

As Asarak settled in to the tramp freighter, Trys took the ship up. The Sunrise raced across the sky, breaking out into deep space and leaving the shining jewel of Coruscant behind them. A wall panel just behind the cockpit flickered with lights and then emitted a soft tone. A light flickered on between the pilot and copilot seats. Strong, slender fingers touched the hyperspace controls and pushed them down. The ship vanished from realspace.

Their journey had begun.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Asarak, when he was not doing chores which presumably included cooking, spent his time in a space he had cleared doing saber drills, or meditating. He cast his mind out with the Force across space and time as best he could, more to hone his abilities and practice feeling the ebb and flow of the Force than to detect anything specific.