FAB as a Farmboy [Closed]

[Beowoof]

Taanab was a wide-open world, made up of vast, fertile fields, ideal for farmland. Much of the population were farmers, and though much of their territory was cultivated by droids and other agricultural machinery, they still had what seemed to be an endless amount of chores. All that hard labor required a break every now-and-then.

On the outskirts of Pandath, a semi-annual celebration was being held to mark the ending and beginning of various crop cycles. It also was just an excuse to have a good time, which was perfectly acceptable.

The Rutian was also here to have a good time and pick up some spare creds, performing aerial stunts in her restored T-16 Skyhopper and offering rides to the less stingy citizens. There was plenty of room for an airshow or two and the miles of sparsely forested land made it ideal for spectators to observe all the flying craft and every trick the pilots managed. So far, there had been no accidents and everyone was perfectly alright with that.

Sressechka stood by her Skyhopper, polishing the elegant script that was the aircraft's name: Jenny. She was up for another performance in less than an hour and wanted some good pictures.

[member="Zaren Bouqi"]

 

[Zion Krayt]

The Jedi Knight Zaren Bouqi loved to explore the galaxy, and he usually did it alone. His Padawan that he had only gotten recently, was left upon the planet of Ossus, and was confined to the Temple at all times where Zaren was concerned. He was only strict with his Padawan when they were in the same room, but now that he thought of it, it was probably better to keep him close, or to make sure he remained upon a Republic planet.

Especially Jedi. The Sith were looking for Tython after all.

But he was on Taanab on this day, there was supposedly a race. It was interesting to say the least, he thought himself a decent pilot, at least good enough to survive, but there were those around who had reactions that he wouldn't be able to compare to without the Force. And then he set his eyes upon [member="Sressechka"] and watched what she would do.

The twi'lek seemed a little young to be in the race, and more times than not he probably would have gone over and warned her to do something else, to change her life, but this time he was going to take a different approach and wait.

 

[Beowoof]

Sressechka noticed one of the crowd paying particular attention to her and decided to interrogate him a little. Maybe she could impress him enough for some free advertizing. Money was in demand these days, you know.

Sashaying up to him in her black leathris bomber jacket, she tugged at her goggles and smirked at the man. "You're in town for the show, mate?" the Twi'lek asked. "Aren't many models like this around these days. Go 'head, take a picture." She winked and stepped back to prop herself against the aircraft in a jaunty pose.

[member="Zaren Bouqi"]

 

[Zion Krayt]

He watched as the twi'lek woman sauntered up to him. "You'd be better off taking a picture with me." He said with a sly grin, though it was in obvious jest and it was evident upon his face.

"What's your name?" He called out to the Rutian. It was curious as to why she would single him out, there were definitely others who were watching her. But it seemed they had caught each other's eyes.

[member="Sressechka"]

 

[Beowoof]

The Twi'lek exaggerated interest in the man, shifting into another pose. In truth? She sensed a sucker and someone who could be an instrument to raking in a little more cash at the festival. Promotion was vital.

"Don't know you yet, mate. I'm Sressi, Ay-Kay-Ay: 'The Sunburner'," she answered, her attention divided between the man and the throngs passing by. The flyer waved to everyone and gave seductive glances to select individuals, hoping to grab their attention and their credits. Barnstormers had to work the crowds harder than they had to work their flight instruments.

"You covering the show?" Sressechka asked, clambering onto one of her Skyhopper's wings. The stunts she had to pull...

[member="Zaren Bouqi"]

 

[Zion Krayt]

He shrugged his shoulders at her words, and watched as she gave her looks and did her poses. He supposed she could do whatever she wanted, it was her own life really.

"Covering the show? I'm only watching for as long as I'm interested." He said with another shrug of his shoulders. "Are you interesting entertainment, Sressi?"

[member="Sressechka"]

 

[Beowoof]

She checked at his question. He was not interested in her already? That was disappointing. She wondered how she could step up her game to get some press. "I'd say I've got a knack for the unexpected." Sressechka resumed waving to passersby. "There's always the chance of making a new record.

"Sooo..." she continued, still distracted by the small audience she was attempting to accumulate, "What's your name and what holonetwork you with?"

[member="Zaren Bouqi"]

 

[Zion Krayt]

"How unexpected do you get?" He asked with a grin. This was turning into more of banter if anything, and she seemed to not even realize it. He had never realized that he could quite possibly be a manipulative being. The day he realized he was cunning.

"Oh, I think that's information for after your race." He said with an amused grin and probably the best wink he could have given someone.

[member="Sressechka"]

 

[Beowoof]

"Hmm," she mused upon his question, eyebrow raised. "I guess you'll have to watch the whole thing if you want to find out..." He seemed to be turning the tables on her, withholding information. This could be a losing battle with nothing in store for her at the end of the day. Still, you can't get anywhere if you don't at least try.

"We'll have to see if you're worth making time for," the Rutian sniffed, hoping to regain some respect in this mindgame.

[member="Zaren Bouqi"]

 

[Zion Krayt]

"Looks like I will have to watch the whole thing." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. About time. He was curious as to when these events started, not that the banter was boring, but because that he was tired of standing around when he could he be actually be seeing what she was worth.

Even though he wasn't apart of a holonetwork.

"You're the one who we're watching." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. "You might found out that my skills are more suited in other areas." He said slyly, and then he walked off to the stands to see if he could get a seat.

[member="Sressechka"]

 

[Beowoof]

Sressechka frowned. It seemed like she had failed to gain any guarantees from the man. Maybe she should have pressed for a sponsorship instead. It may have made her sound more serious.

Clambering into the cockpit of her T-16, the Rutian Twi'lek waved off people who were gathered too close to the ship for her to safely take off. She then flicked through the readouts of the engines on the only up-to-date element of her aircraft: the computer. Old ships like hers had proven themselves to be immaculately reliable, but they did not have all the safety fallbacks like the modern craft in case something did go wrong. But maybe that was part of the thrill of the ride--fly until you die. Sressi pursed her lips for a moment in thought.

Onward for now! The bush pilot flicked on the engines and lifted off the field, slowly ascending above the crowds in her Jenny.

[member="Zaren Bouqi"]

 

[Zion Krayt]

He imagined so many things going wrong in a race, or stunt shows similar to this event. When ships came around an obstacle, you didn't know what was on the other side of it, if it were the type that blocked everything behind it, and by the time you got around it, you were hit with another obstacle. An obstacle that could kill you.

He shook his head at the thought.

For some reason he felt as if that sort of thing wouldn't happen upon that day.

He watched as Sressi's Jenny vehicle rose up into the air, and he waited for the race to start.

[member="Sressechka"]

 

[Beowoof]

Sressi handled the joystick of the ancient Incom aircraft lazily, loosening up her nerves prior to the race with a warm up buzz around the field. Other aircraft began to drift upwards and speckle the sky, and comm chatter filled her cockpit as pilots checked and triple-checked that they would not be taking off right into someone else's rear. Obviously, that was rather appreciated and the voices were not as irritating as they might be in other instances.

Jenny was likely the oldest flyer in the race, and she had needed to have an engine makeover a few months back for her to be competitive. The barnstormer did not like altering her ship much, preferring to keep it as classic as possible. Still, there were some sacrifices that needed to be made. The upgraded injector for the afterburners was certainly useful.

Rolling with the ailerons, Sressechka flipped upside-down and back for show before floating into place in the rotating wheel of racing aircraft as they awaited the go-ahead to start the competition.

[member="Zaren Bouqi"]

 

[Zion Krayt]

He was sat near several twi'leks and he wondered if they were rooting for Sressi, the rutian twi'lek that he had met minutes before. He could only wonder, and then his wondering stopped when he heard the countdown begin for the race. Thirty seconds, and all those who weren't in their seats were starting to rush and he smiled, not because he was unkind or anything, but simply because people hadn't judged the starting time of the event as well as they should have.

It was time for the race to start now, and finally, his gaze wandered away from [member="Sressechka"] to settle upon another racer's ship. Maybe things were going to get a little excitable.

 

[Beowoof]

The comm banter increased as several pilots--including Sressi--chirped at each other. It was something of a racer pastime, insulting each others' wings or reminding of past failures. But it was all in good fun. Well... mostly. Sneaking a peek out the cockpit window, the Rutian saw a group of her people and thought she identified the 'reporter' nearby. Her resolve built up and she affixed her most intense game face.

The Twi'lek was twelfth in the rotation, following a predefined circular route set for the competing aircraft. The green light was given, and they would continue spinning about until the pilot in the pole position felt ready and broke the pattern. This one happened to be a rather eager one, and he jetted onward after only two passes around. The rest of the flyers followed in snake-like form for a few seconds, and then they were scrambling about sky, looking for opportunities to get up front early.

The pilot who had started in eleventh place seemed to not have the best reaction time off the start, and Sressi was able to capitalize on his slow reaction and zip in front to claim his spot. Her plan was to flit all the way up to fourth before taking things a little easy and conserving her boosters.

[member="Zaren Bouqi"]

 

[Zion Krayt]

In truth he didn't really understand what was going on and so he just decided to set his gaze upon the first contestant as he circled around twice and then sped off already. Based upon the reaction of some of the people in crowd he supposed that wasn't the best idea, but he was interested in the first racer. The one who dared to break tradition!

From his peripherals however, he saw that [member="Sressechka"] was starting to catch up, but she only received a part of his attention while he watched for the first three racers.

 

[Ballen-Ist]

A dark clothed figure would make their way through the stands, pushing past the large crowds that continued to cheer and roar in joy. Apparently this speeder racing sport was a popular event, one that the young Sith pure blood had no interests in. The boy's only interest within the area lay with the dark skinned Jedi who sat quietly, examining the race and all of it's details. Sure, [member="Zaren Bouqi"] had chosen a spot within the audience stands that was rather active with fans, however there was one seat that had been free for a while now, it's inhabitant having left and not returned. The short figure remained cloaked as he strode through the narrow isle, quietly taking the seat that had been freed, beside the Jedi. Keeping his hooded gaze forward, Ballen-Ist's arm would lift from beneath the flowing garment, having his hand grip around a shining metallic handle that could be recognized as a lightsaber by many.

However, only Zaren would recognize it as his lightsaber, for it had been taken from him after his battle with Darth Ferus. Bending his arm at the elbow, Ballen-Ist would hold the saber handle to his side, obviously hoping that the man would accept it.

 

[Zion Krayt]

He sensed the Dark Side presence all along, he felt as if it were a little familiar, but he didn't make any moves to move towards it. It seemed as if the Sith was moving closer to him. And then, he realized the Sith was coming for him. He sensed the determination to move through the crowds to get to him and then sat down next to him.

Form Zero.

He saw out of the peripherals of his eyes the lightsaber hilt that he recognized. It brought nostalgia to him and he suddenly realized who the Sith. "Why?" He said, and he glanced to the Sith at his side, not daring to reach for it.

[member="Ballen-Ist"]

 

[Ballen-Ist]

"Did I earn it?" He spoke, a questioning look sweeping across his expression as his head turned, facing the dark skinned Jedi he had confronted long ago. The boy's youthful features were sincere, surely [member="Zaren Bouqi"] would not sense any deception, he would sense the true, honorable intentions, for the young Sith made no effort to cloud his feelings.

"No tracking devices, no rigged explosions, nothing." He spoke, having his arm extend further towards the man, attempting to rid himself of the saber.

 

[Zion Krayt]

His hand wrapped around the lightsaber cautiously and he looked over the Sith. It had been a while since he had seen his lightsaber, and the Sith was returning it. It was a surprise to say the least, but he was still the Sith, but he'd let him leave.

He wouldn't have a choice in the matter.

"No you didn't earn it." He replied however, and then he looked back to the race. "You have ten minutes to leave this planet." He finished and his helmet fashioned itself over his head and his phrik gauntlet tightened around the lightsaber hilt.

"Thank you."

[member="Ballen-Ist"]