Private Dragon Tails

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

Jonyna looked around, frowning. "Not sure that's an option. Folks around these parts don't tend to take orders from jedi well. We need to intercept the dragons first, then figure out what's up with this Hutt."

She'd dealt with enough outer rim worlds to know evacuation would be a tall order. Unless the GADF fleet rocked up, many of the locals would probably just hide in their homes, or more likely tell the two of them to fark off. "Let's get back to the speeders. We'll be better off dealing with the problem ourselves before it hits the town."

 

[Aris Noble]

"Dragon hunting, then?"

They could handle a couple Krayt Dragons, of that Aris was sure of. Maybe it was a bit much of an assumption for him, but thus far he'd proven to be mostly indestructible. Even when that Sith Lord beat him to a pulp, his bones didn't break. He healed, even, from the bruises and pain. He followed Jonyna out, his gaze shifting to where he knew the Krayt Dragons would be coming from. He couldn't see them yet, even with his eyes.

They still had time.

"Do you think we could corral them somewhere else instead?"

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

Jonyna's eyes followed her padawan's as well, looking off into the distance. "We could try. Worst case scenario, we have to put them down, but I don't think it'll come to that. Corralling isn't a bad plan though, good thinking kid." She gave him a small thumbs up, before looking to the bikes. "We better get moving soon though. We'll need to figure out a plan of attack once we get close. Any other ideas?"

Admittedly, she wasn't as much worried about the dragons as she was the tuskens who would be out there. Dragons would be lumbering beasts, even if they were agitated. They should be able to out maneuver them on their speeders, but Tuskens would be territorial, and armed with equipment that could give them trouble.

They just needed to be careful.

 

[Aris Noble]

"I don't think they care much about us, so we'll probably want to find something they do? It's a lot of how they're being guided to town without them fighting each other."

Aris's brow furrowed in thought as he continued his path towards the speeders with a more hurried pace. They needed to reach those so they might be able to form something. "Too many unknowns, really. We should scout them."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

Jonyna nodded as they made it back to the speeders. "We need more info. The bikes have built in systems that...I don't have a clue how to use." She blushed as she climbed onto her bike. "You any good with tech? I was never good with this kinda stuff..."

She didn't like admitting it, but tech was her one weak spot. She always had someone to cover it, and Si Tech made it look like she had a handle on it...

But she sucked at it.

 

[Aris Noble]

There was one thing Aris really, really loved about speeders. Simplicity. In a shuttle, or a ship, to pilot, there were so many buttons that needed to be hit in certain orders that Aris suffered from analysis paralysis. Too many things, too many calculations. He knew how to use technology, but to do both at the same time, it freaked him out. Drastically.

So, his expression wasn't a good one either.

".. Let's go primative with it. Maybe sticks and rocks."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

One of these days, she'd need to learn how all the systems work. Still, she wasn't opposed to the low tech option. "Alright. Try and keep up, Stardust." She smirked, revving her engine and taking off.

The next hour was pretty quiet. Jonyna let Aris just enjoy the ride for the most part, the unending sands and towering mesas filling their vision. Jonyna was always one to love nature, and it was drives like this that made her remember why. Even a barren world like Tatooine had it's beauty, the two suns beating down on them as they silently blasted at full speed through the red sands, the ocean of dirt.

"Pretty, ain't it?" Jonyna asked her padawan over the speeder's comms. "Always remember, no matter where ya go, appreciate the worlds we protect. Not just the people."

 

[Aris Noble]

"Stardust?"

Aris blinked at the nickname, but he didn't dislike it. Regardless of it though, he kicked on his bike to speed across the sand with her. He did blink as she spoke through the com before he cleared his throat. There was a beauty here, sure. But his gaze was more focused on looking for the dragons coming to kill people than to pause and appreciate.

"Soon as they're handled, yeah, why not?"

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

One of these days, she'd teach the kid to live in the moment. They'd find these dragons, sure, but beauty like that wasn't going to wait. One sun setting, while the other rose to dominate the sky. Aris was still young, despite his size.

"Alright." Jonyna smiled back, focusing on the drive.

About 20 minutes later, they starting hearing rumbling in the distance. They were getting close, and Aris could see the spines of the dragons poking over the horizon...

As well as a massive cliff overlooking them. A mesa of sandstone, high enough that they could-

CRACK!

The sound of slugthrowers firing off, one pinging off the windshield of Aris's speeders.

Somewhere out there, they were being fired on.

 

[Aris Noble]

"Slug."

Aris could hear it before the shot came. The priming of a hammer, the settling of a gun being aimed. The pull of the trigger. At once Aris's speeder stopped almost dead with how hard he hit the brake. A normal person should've been thrown clear, but he wasn't as the shot hit the sand before him. His gaze drifted up, watching for the ridge, the shooters.

Tusken.

Worse, the dragons were here too, about to round the hill and see them. Between dragons and guns, huh? He could hear another shot about to go off, so he sped up to get out of the line of fire.

"Think they're willing to talk? They're already prepared to fight, and I'm guessing it's the dragons they're after."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

Tag: Aris Noble

"Only one way to find out. We need to get close though, and I don't think they'll give us the chance. Plus, I don't speak Tusken. You don't happen to, do you?" Jonyna asked, swerving purposely to keep herself a moving target. While she wasn't the speeder jockey that Aris was, she was trained enough in it to keep upright despite swerving to dodge gunfire.

Aris could see at least three of them, but there were definitely more up on the ridge. Meanwhile, the snap of gunfire seemed to have given the dragons a spook, because one of them charged forward, through the valley and towards the two. "Aris, we need to think fast!" Jonyna growled. "What's the plan kid?"

 

[Aris Noble]

"No, but they do Sign. I can work with that-"

Aris suddenly hit the breaks on his speeder then, coming to a dead stop in the valley. Another shot missed, but now he was an actual target. The speeder wouldn't move fast enough to dodge another, especially as a bullet ripped into the engine block. But the Padawan seemed calm regardless. He hopped off the speeder then, turning his gaze up to the ridge above.

Another shot came his way, but this one he caught in his hand, snatching the slug out of the air before letting it drop beside him.

I know you can see me. We are not your enemies. We're here to stop the Krayt Dragons. They should not be here, or in a herd. Stop firing and work with us to stop them. They'll be here far too soon. He signed, calm and collected. Catching the bullet had given them reason to not keep firing. They didn't like outsiders or technology, but they weren't dumb.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

There was a pause in the gunfire as Aris signed, as if the tuskens were forming a response.

We are here on orders of Gepokha. We want him to leave us alone. We guide dragons to city. You jedi push him away, we leave you alone.

It was clear by the lack of continued gunfire that the tuskens had no grudge against the jedi, but they wouldn't help either.

Jonyna grumbled, trying to figure out a way to guide the dragons away. The valley could be collapsed, trapping them, but altering the mesas like that would mean changing the paths the locals took. How the desert functioned. A more nuanced solution had to be found, as she wasn't sure the Force would allow her to simply carve out a cliff to drop on a few stampeding dragons...

"Well, they're not shooting at us now. I think we can lead the dragons away with some flame if we need to. You got any other ideas?" Jonyna asked as she got off her bike, watching the dragons getting closer and closer...