A Short Hop

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Joza Perl"]

"Finally, you can give up your dreams of serving peace and justice and retire to a port chop shop," Asmus replied sarcastically. "Well then, onwards to Voss. Hopefully."

The way back to the ship was clear, but bolts were lancing back and forth across the hangar bay. Kairon and Mai had already returned. His tall, stout uncle and the colourful cathar stood side by side on the entry ramp blasting away.

Fortunately the ship's autoblaster was still firing and the bay was littered with objects that could be used as cover. "Let's get out of here," Asmus with a decisive nod. He darted towards the nearest crate.

 

[Joza Perl]

“Ah, yes. Every girl’s dream.” Joza tisked for lack of a clever response, her focus more so on maneuvering through the halls and avoiding any potential fire.

The young Zeltron gave a vague murmur of agreement, eyes immediately tracking to wherever would be the best hiding spot on such short notice. Ducking slightly, she dove towards a crate. The same one that Asmus happened to be heading for as well.

“Ugh!” Letting out a pained grunt as their bodies collided, Joza groaned as she planted both hands on the floor to hoist her upper body up. Thankfully they had both made it behind the crate before the impact, though she’d probably elbowed the poor scoundrel in the face on accident.

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Asmus had, in his uncle's words, something of a glass jaw. If she's elbowed him in the side of the head the young Jedi would have likely had to drag him back to the ship half-concious.

As it was, the shoulder to the ribs was enough to knock to wind out of him. He hit the deck hard and his pistol went spinning along the deck and out of reach.

"If you were trying to pay me back for earlier," he remarked, a devilish glint in those emerald-flecked-with-gold eyes, "You need to wait for someone to be shooting at me to save me."

He hauled himself back to his feet, drawing a holdout blaster from his shin. He glanced around the container to see where the pirates were, then to the Quin. Last sprint to safety.

"Mind pulling that back here?" he asked Joza, posting out his favoured blaster pistol out in the open.

 

[Joza Perl]

“I wasn’t,” Joza insisted perhaps a bit too quickly, quelling the heat from her face before it could surface as an embarrassed blush. “It was an accident!”

Huffing, the pink Jedi turned away and acquiesced to his request, but only because it was a weapon that would aid in their escape. Right? Pressing her back against the crate and edging as close to the pistol as she could without exposing herself, Joza extended a hand and forced herself to concentrate. After a few moments, the gun would shake and shudder before finally sliding across the floor and into the Zeltron’s waiting hand.

“Here,” She tossed the blaster to Asmus, trying to sound as nonchalant about it as possible. Glancing around to make sure that they wouldn’t be directly shot at, Joza remained low and stalked towards the Quin as quickly as she could. Of course, she wouldn’t move if Asmus didn’t…they had to stick together, right? Watch eachother’s back and all that?

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Asmus had to admit, if he could have imagined the type of person that dancer would be, it would not have been Joza. Not just because she was a Jedi - he had come to terms with that revelation - but he was utterly bemused by how easily embarrassed she was.

He had never seen a Jedi in action before, seen one pluck blaster bolts from the air and shrug it off as a trick. Asmus would not have expected that same person to accidentally run over him and then huff an apology.

"Go, go!" he called. Two of the pirates had noticed them. Before they could fire he fired three times in quick succession. Once they'd dropped back out of sight he darted after the zeltron. Better to have her blade between him and the pirates. The opening to the Quin was close. Just a final sprint.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza made a beeline for the exit, though made sure to split her focus the best she could between her target and the opposition. As Asmus provided a few shots of cover fire, Joza raised her saber to block anything that may come their way.

An incoming bolt sizzled against the blue beam, Joza slowing down so that she could have the proper footing and posture to block it without any recoil. As graceful as her saber movements were, they were not yet second nature and required a good amount of concentration to pull off.

She’d been so concentrated on getting them back to the Quin in one piece that she nearly ran head first into the door frame. Thankfully she didn’t have to add a concussion to her list of battle-born embarrassments, quickly scrambling through the way and to safety. Bending her knees and placing her hands on her thighs, Joza exhaled sharply and panted heavily. “You, uh, you alright? Not dead?”

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Joza Perl"]

"Kark!" Asmus shouted by way of reply.

"You been hit lad?" Kairon called as he slammed his fist down on the ramp controls. Jarrick dropped to one knee, firing bursts from his rifle as the ramp sealed shut.

Asmus barely paid heed to the concern in his uncle's voice. Instead he was pulling open his jacket and trying to crane his head over his shoulder to assess the damage. "What? Oh I'm fine. But for feth's sake this is my favourite jacket. The hole down the flank was still smouldering. The blaster bolt must have been inches from cutting through his skin.

Kairon came to an abrupt halt. A look of incredulity frozen on his features. After a moment he shook his head and sighed. "Just get us out of here. You get the tractor beams?"

"Probably!" Asmus called, but he was already turning to sprint for the cockpit. "Come on!" he called for Joza to follow.

He leapt into the pilot's chair, hammering at the controls. The thrum of the engines reverberated through the ship as he pulled them up off the deck. Two blue bolts arced over the cockpit and slammed into the hangar bay wall. The iridescent shields across the hangar flickered out of existence, opening the way.

"I can't believe we're still alive," he murmured as they old freighter accelerated forwards. "Heard of a legendary smuggler who once leapt into hyperspace right out of a hangar bay. Sounds like a good way to die a fiery - if rather brief - death. Here we go!"

They leapt out of the maw and into the nest of pirates. Fighters buzzed around them, looking to hit their engines. "Call targets!" Asmus cried. "I need a few moments to make the jump!"

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza’s head whipped towards Asmus as he swore, heart leaping into her throat as she genuinely thought that something was wrong. It turned out that the concern was seemingly misplaced, as Asmus was wholly uninjured—save for the injustice done to his jacket.

“I’m sure you can treat yourself to a new jacket after this ordeal!” Joza practically hissed at the young pilot while scrambling after him. Honestly, that’s what he was concerned about? Then again, she wasn’t really one to talk—had her hair come to any irreversible damage, she was liable to throw an actual hissy fit.


“Here’s hoping that we actually took out those tractor beams,” Slipping into the co-pilots chair, she nervously gripped the seat with one hand, the other latching onto the display she’d been reading off of earlier. This time when she called out information, she didn’t try to keep the anxiety from her voice.

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Normally piloting the Quintessence came easily to Asmus. But adrenaline was coursing through his veins and he was breathing hard and fast from their mad charge. His hands faintly trembled as they skimmed across the controls.

"Come on, come on, come on," he murmured as he banked away from two of the Ugly fighters. "No sign of tractor beams!" he added, managing to smile.

Even with the graceful zeltron's warning, Asmus was slow to react to an approaching pair of fighters. Kairon wasn't afforded enough time to fire on then.

Get it together, he chastised himself silently. Fortunately the little green light on his console was his saviour. He slammed forwards the hyperdrive lever and was rewarded by the pinpoint stars stretching to infinity and back. In a moment they were bathed in the cerulean glow of hyperspace.

"Asmus, push the hyperdrive to full speed, get us clear. Joza, think you've earned your passage today, forget the credits," Kairon said over the intercom.

Asmus turned to Joza, arcing both eyebrows. They'd actually done it. And despite the casualty of his coat, they'd come through unscathed.

 

[Joza Perl]

The air was thick with tension, but a vaguely different sort than Joza had experienced in the past. In the few battles she’d managed to find herself in siding on the Galactic Alliance, she’d fought beings that seemed to somehow have darkness emanating from them—so much that she wanted to be ill. Though the pirates could also be classified as “bad guys”, they were hardly Sith.

But as the stars strained and blurred together, a tidal wave of relief crashed over her. It was over. She’d survived yet another harrowing ordeal, and no one died! Well, nobody she knew.

Letting out a thankful groan, the Zeltron slumped rather ungracefully into the chair and slide down against the backrest. Catching a glimpse of Asmus looking towards her, she rubbed her hands over her face before using them both to push her hair back. Much to her chagrin, the tight bun had loosened enough to cause some of the red waves to slip free.

“By Force, I can’t believe we made it!” Letting out a girlish chuckle, Joza tilted her head back to rest against the upper part of the backrest. Her eyes slid over to Asmus for a moment before she realized how unladylike her current position was and straightened out with a huff. “Good job on not dying,” She reached up to tug the pins free from her head, letting her hair fall loose. Combing a few fingers through it, she went to work re-doing her hair into a bun, using the reflection in the console as a guide. “Also, good job on not getting us killed.” She took the compliment a step further, referring to them not dying a hellish death caused by some hyperspace mishap.

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Asmus remained oblivious to Joza's discomfort over being caught slouching. Instead, with a long stuttered exhalation, he tried to stop the trembling in his hands. That surge of adrenaline was still pulsing through his veins with no outlet. One minute he'd been running for his life immersed in the din of battle. The next he'd been trying to focus on piloting a fairly complex starship, expecting to have a torpedo or tractor beam suddenly being their mad plan crashing to a halt.

And then nothing. Just the calm swirling view of hyperspace. Asmus puffed out his cheeks and arched his eyebrows briefly. He did, however, notice her pull her hair free. Deep red waves rolling down. Then she proceeded to very carefully work it back up. Asmus turned back to his console, mindful that he was staring.

His breathing was sharp and shallow so he focused on trying to slow it down. “And thank you for getting us through that in one piece,” he replied earnestly. There was a pause for air. He watched his treacherous hand tremble lightly on the controls. “Look at that,” he said, holding it up. “Didn't think we were going to pull that off! I'm all full of adrenaline now.”

Still huffing, his face split into a wide grin.

 

[Joza Perl]

Perhaps Joza would have noticed his reflection in the console as he watched her, but she was too preoccupied with fixing her hair. A girl’s gotta look presentable after all, impromptu pirate battles notwithstanding.

“I’m just thankful that I didn’t accidentally slice one of your limbs off on accident.” Still, she appreciated the compliment. Fighting always set her on edge, and her one solace was that she hadn’t gone in alone. She shook her head. “But thank you. I imagine that wasn’t easy for any of us.”

A wide grin stretched her face and she laughed congenially while sliding another pin in place. Turning her head from one side to the other, she cleared her throat in approval when there were no loose strands to be found before turning toward Asmus. “You know, I shook much more than that during my first battle.” Noting his trembling hands, she attempted to smile in reassurance. “I think I actually got sick too…so you’re doing better than me. Also, I didn’t just tell you that.” Clearing her throat again, she went back to fixing her hair, ensuring that it was secured in a tight bun atop her head. Perhaps it was a combination of the adrenaline of a win and feeling more comfortable with him, but Joza shared a little more than she intended to. The young Zeltron didn’t want to look uncool.

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Joza Perl"]

“We have big mirrors on the ship you know. I’d sort that for you, but right now I’d probably pin my shaking hands together,” Asmus joked. Turning to face one of the consoles on his other side the scoundrel went silent as he continued to try and calm his nerves. Everyone looked to be operating within parameters. Tractor beams could be harsh on a ship, particularly when wielded by half-wit pirates. Yet there was no sign of torsional stress and the engines were behaving themselves.

“Shame I can’t just put my coat back into place,” he said as he turned back to face her, with a feigned petulant expression. “I liked that coat.” He watched as she ran her hands over the back of her head, feeling for any last loose strands. He ended up subconsciously running a hand through his own dark hair, drawing it back behind his ear. Not that it ever stayed there for long.

“You worry a lot about what people think of you, don’t you?” he asked suddenly. “You shouldn’t,” he stated plainly. Asmus held an overly simplistic view of the world at times. When he’d been younger he’d seen how some of the other intelligent children got so worked up over every tiny detail. Neurotic creatures, held back by their own insecurities. Perhaps his decision to stop looking forwards and not plan ahead was why he was stuck on his uncle’s freighter, but he did enjoy his carefree ways. “Most folk would kill to act like you, be that brave, use the Force like you or even look like you.”

There was an innocent to the smile that graced Asmus’ features. He talked easily and something that ended up with other people getting upset, but he generally meant well.

 

[Joza Perl]

“Truly.” She commented on his coat, though the word was spoken without a trace of sarcasm—still, it could be misinterpreted as her teasing him. The young Zeltron understood being unable to replace a favorite outfit or article of clothing. “Though I suppose this means shopping, if you’re into that.” She couldn’t help the nostalgic grin that came to her face at the thought of frolicking through a Paradise City shopping mall.

Just beginning to come down from her adrenaline high, Joza raised her head towards Asmus with a wide-eyed look. She hadn’t expected for the conversation to take this level of depth, and for a moment she squinted, scrutinizing his features to ensure that he wasn’t having a laugh at her. When he appeared genuine, Joza’s first reaction was to huff and deny it all. Instead, she took a moment to think about what he said.

“A little, I suppose.” A shrug accompanied her words as she struggled to figure out how to properly act. “I’m not that brave…I’m just trying to do my job. At least, I think it’s a job. But thank you.” The Force, she figured, was a gift. Her sensitivity was discovered early on, when she was around seven or eight—but her mother refused to let her leave to be trained. In the end, Joza had left Zeltros after meeting a young man with Force powers who encouraged her to pursue the Jedi path…after bedding her, of course. It was Zeltros after all.

“As perfect as I am,” She overemphasized one word to indicate that she was joking. “I’m still a pretty miserable excuse for a pilot. Whereas you, on the other hand, seem to have picked it up quite well.” It was likely the best sort of compliment he’d get from her, still a little sore from his earlier teasing. How things didn’t get to him, she would never know. That and…she was a little envious.

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Asmus chuckled at her reply. Whilst he’d enjoyed catching her off guard earlier in the trip, he preferred the way they conversed now. Joza was clearly becoming more accustomed to his manner, though he found he had no stomach for trying to mock her any more.

“I imagine anyone who ever did anything brave probably thought they were just trying to do the right thing. And thank you. I supposed I can go and find a new coat. Not that I ever get to shop anywhere fashionable, but the things you can find in a shadowport…” he tailed off, a spark of mischief in his eyes again.

“You know in a big galaxy there are billions of people who can fly, probably millions who can fly a freighter with style. How many are there who can use the Force properly? A few thousand. I think you’re a good bit more special than me Joza,” he canted his head curtly to the side at the admission. Then something else crossed his features. A contemplative look. “But I could give you some tips on flying, if you’d like?” he asked, looking enthusiastic about the notion.

 

[Joza Perl]

“Well…I do try to be brave. I suppose it’s something that comes with experience, though.” Vaguely, Joza wondered if she’d live long enough to ever feel completely calm and confident in the midst of a difficult situation. Quickly smoothing that thought over in her mind, she chuckles softly at his mention of shady goods.

Her lips purse together in a sort of contemplative pout at his next words. “Special is relative. I guess it depends on what I do with this…gift.” Occupying herself with watching the stars streak by, Joza tilted her face away from Asmus. Zeltrons like to stand out, but Joza preferred not to draw too much attention to herself as a young Jedi, afraid of being singled out for one reason or another before she felt confident enough with her abilities. But when the offer came from Asmus, she lifted her head with a start and turned back to him.

“Really? That’s great, I’d lo—! Ahem,” Her initial enthusiasm faded quickly to be replaced with what she thought would be a more proper reaction. “Thank you, Asmus. I’d like that.” Dropping some of the formality from her tone, she offered the pilot a small smile.

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Joza Perl"]
Asmus looked a touch contemplative. He was starting to wonder whether he should be doing more than hang around on his uncle's freighter. Just as he had said, pilots were hardly a rare breed compared to Jedi, but was he wasted here? I enjoy my life, but should I care about more than that? The Quintessence had been part of a rag tag fleet that had fought for the Alliance in its early days. Asmus had been there, in the middle of a great battle. He shelved the notion for now, but this conversation was just another little step towards the next chapter of his life.

"Excellent!" he replied enthusiastically. "There's a manual under that console."

Reaching forwards he pulled up the microphone for the intercom. "Kairon, reckon we should pull out in dark space and carry out some diagnostics? I can take her through some manoeuvrers whilst you plug into the mainframe?"

"Hmm. That does seem sensible. Take us of course and drop us into real space somewhere safe then," came the gruff reply from his uncle.

Asmus clicked off the comm and pressed a few buttons to divert them from the main hyperlane. Space was in fact remarkably empty. The distance between stars was vast. Great swathes of open void, or dark space, where a ship could hide well out of the range of any scanner. As the ship dropped back into realspace Asmus hopped up from his chair and patted the arm rest. "There actually isn't a manual down there by the way, so hop in and let's see what you can do. No time like the present."

There had been mischief in his expression before, but nothing that had come before matched the smile that reached his high cheekbones, the dimples in his cheeks accompanied by a spark in his gaze.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza couldn’t help but grin, feeling a little giddy at the prospect of handling the ship. Giddy and nervous. Unlike her estranged father, Joza was not a flying ace. Not for lack of trying, but she was a pretty poor pilot and had resigned herself to being a passenger for the rest of her life. I may not be fleeting anytime soon, but it’s probably good to learn to get myself from point A to point B.

“Oh,” She looked up at Asmus as he offered his seat, staring at him as if giving him the last chance to rescind his offer. But the look in his eyes caused a thread of suspicion to run through her and she may have gazed for longer than necessary. “Right, then.” Clearing her throat, Joza shifted over to the pilot’s chair and made herself comfortable. “What’s first, now?” Glancing down at the console in front of her, her stomach twisted when she only vaguely recognized some of the buttons. “If we end up dying in some sort of fiery explosion, it’s your fault by the way.”

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Joza Perl"]

"If you manage to crash the ship in a few kiloparsecs of empty space, I'll be genuinely impressed. Right before I regret my fiery death in the raging inferno that was my ship, obviously," Asmus said through his smile. He draped his left arm across the back of the pilot's chair and leaned across Joza, pointing to various parts of the console with his right hand. "Right, these are technical controls that govern ship functions, best to leave those be. But I'm going to throttle the engines to twenty percent and turn the inertial dampeners down. That way you can get a bit of a feel for how the ship is responding to your touch. I warn you, she can be a bit ornery if you poke and prod."

Asmus turned a couple of dials quickly. "The four pedals are the lateral thrusters. They're slim so you can hit two at once with each foot so be careful. The two in the middle are dorsal and ventral, up and down. The outer pedals are starboard and port, right and left." Asmus gave one a tap and they felt the inertial kick. As soon as his foot was removed the feeling stopped.

"That imparted a lateral drift of around half a kilometre per second, but in this much empty space we're still essentially motionless. Would take us a few thousand years to reach the nearest star in real space. Anyway, next we have the main stick. Twist it for roll, and it controls pitch and yaw. The level just to the left of it is main thrust. Let me bring something up so you can get your bearings."

Asmus flicked a switch and the cockpit window went from a background of dull, distant stars to a grid. It appeared as if a three dimensional grid had been projected around the ship, but it was merely an augmented reality projection on the glass.

"Give it a go!" he said enthusiastically.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza huffed at his response, pursing her lips and blowing a short spout of air upwards to clear away the stray hairs that had fallen into her face. She found that the thick red waves were often more trouble than they were worth, as difficult as they were to tame for mission-like scenarios. She wouldn’t trade them for the galaxy, though.

While Asmus spoke, Joza honestly tried to listen. Well, she did listen—but digesting his words was a different story. Some of it she understood—the word thruster was familiar at least. For the majority of it, she simply tried to look as absorbent and understand as possible, despite the rising internal panic of realizing just how little she knew about flying.

“I see…” She trailed, gazing at the projected grid as if she knew exactly what was happening. Turning to Asmus, she painted a polite smile onto her face in order to mask the fact that she felt like a student who had been sleeping in class and had just woken up. “Where do you suggest that I start? You are the expert, after all.”

[member="Asmus Janes"]