Out of the Crate, Into the Cobras.

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

[Entry 6]
So yeah I dunno how smart of a plan this was, I should have guessed this crate would have been hot as hell. Well muggy I mean I've been sweating like crazy in here...but that's not the point. It feels as if I've been in here for days, but it's only been a few hours. We should be far enough away from the planet by now. Maybe it's time to get out of this cramped box.

...

Kafh-en-ma-nofre pushed the lid of the crate off and pulled himself out of the crate. A few gems fell to the ground as he did. Looking around the dark room he would sigh, he was in the cargo hold. Ka wiped the sweat from his face and looked around. "Gods protect me..." He said softly, chuckling slightly. Hell did he even believe in the gods anymore? Ka stretched a bit, glad to be out of that stupid crate. Suddenly the ship would rumble and red warning lights would flash.

"Ah chit." Ka cursed as a voice would sound over the intercom.

"All hands on deck. We are under attack, pirates maybe." The voice said.

Kafh-en-ma-nofre shook his head.

Meanwhile, pirates began boarding the ship and taking out whatever resistance they came across, and capturing the rest.

Ka heard voices coming his way. "Again... really?" He complained as he jumped back into the crate full of gems, pulling the lid closed as the pirates entered.

[Entry 7]
So...strange breaking information...pirates attacked the ship, and now they have prisoners...I didn't escape one life of slavery just to enter another. All I can do right now is wait. I don't have any experience in combat so that's out of the picture...

...

Some time later, the pirates landed their newly acquired ship on Tattooine at a makeshift camp. Sprawled out across the barren wasteland tents and fires dotted the area. Pirates drink and laugh as slaves sat chained in cages. On the ship the rest of the cargo sat, including a crate with the one called Kafh-en-ma-nofre.

[Entry 8]
Okay so the ship has landed, heard some voices unloading some things but it's been quiet for a while. I'm definitely going to try and get out of here. I'm sweating in this stupid cramped crate.

...

Ka again pushed the lid off the crate and got out of it. As he made his way to the ramp he would notice how dark it was outside, only campfires lit the way. Laughing and music would fill the young man's ears.

Kafh-en-ma-nofre sighed. How was he going to get out of this one? Way too many armed guards to sneak past. Of course out of the crate and into the cobras...

[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

Tatooine, Thiavi hated it here. It had only been a week since she escaped her owners, she had already shot one of them, the first living slaver she had ever blasted, but it wouldn't be the last. Her old caretaker died freeing her, leaving her with no one left save for the red KX-series droid that had looked after her before the slavers took her. The two of them had wandered through the desert for some weeks after the rescue, headed towards mos espa spaceport in hope of booking passage off of tatooine. like all things in her life however, plans had changed.

"You know K3, I recognize this place.. I've got a bad feeling about this" Her voice garbles through her helmet

"Organics always have a bad feeling about something" The kx series says, oblivious to human emotion.

"No I mean I really do have a bad feeling about this, It's like I've been here before"

She stops suddenly as she reaches the top of the dunes. Below them was a large encampment, lit only by small campfires in the night, spread throughout the entire site. Thiavi instinctively drops to one knee, keeping a low profile while she watches the encampment.

"That's why.. It's those pirates, the ones that brought me here... it's been awhile.."

The spaceport was visible, far off in the distance, if they went around they could avoid this mess, but thiavi couldn't let it go, not when she spotted slaves held throughout the encampment.. shecouldn't bear to let others go through what she had, not while she had the ability to do something about this.
"k3, circle around, see if you can find something to distract them"

And with that she took off, headed sliding down the dune and towards the ship that had landed. Once she was at the bottom, she begins to creep her wat into the camp, walking just pas [member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"] whom she hadn't seen yet, and kneeling behind a stray crate, unslinging the short lever action blaster from her shoulder. Now it was time for her to play the waiting game while k3 got to work elsewhere, that is, if ka didn't make himself known first.

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Kafh-en-ma-nofre stood silently, at the peak of the ramp looking out towards the sand. He made a mental note to make an entry later about how weirdly calming the fires light were. Suddenly a walked right past him, he froze for a second, it didn't look like any of the pirates at the camp. She was definitely sneaking around. Ka slowly crept down the ramp and his gaze followed as the woman crouched behind one of the off-loaded crates.

"Hm wonder what she's planning..." Ka said softly to himself. Kafh-en-ma-nofre hadn't really had much contact with people who weren't enslaved, so he didn't really think as he got low and crept up behind her. He noticed her rifle and cocked his head. Her gun was readied. Perhaps an attack? Ka shook his head and cleared his throat. "What're you doing?" Ka whispered. The young man ran a hand through his hair. "Don't tell me you're planning on taking on all these pirates by yourself. That'd be insane..." Kafh-en-ma-nofre said.

The young man peeked over the crate. Then looked to [member="Thiavi"] A look of uncertainty washed over his face.

 

[Thiavi]

The young mandalorian almost jumped when someone whispered behind her, nearly falling over as she spun around, weapon ready to fire.
That was until he spoke again, his words leading her to believe that perhaps he wasn't a pirate after all. She sighs in relief and sits down, her helmet making a subtle *thunk* as she leaned against the crate.

"Of course not. I have got back up" She whispers. She wasn't lying, but that backup wasn't what someone would have wanted to hear about, as it mainly consisted of a single droid and hopefully any slaves that she could free under the cover of night.

"I'm trying to free these slaves, that's what I'm doing. And you?" Her words were short and to the point, mostly. Between that and her accent, it was possible that basic wasn't her first language.
She peeks around the corner of the crate and then looks back to [member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"], trying to figure him out. His next move would dictate her's, and she hoped that it wouldn't make anything harder than it needed to be

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

When the woman spun around and aimed her blaster at him, Ka nearly peed himself. The woman sighed and sat against the crate. She began to speak, her accent unknown to him, the man's eyes flickered as he processed what the woman said. She had backup? And was trying to free the slaves? Kafh-en-ma-nofre studied the woman's helmet for a second, wondering what she was thinking.

Kafh-en-ma-nofre sighed as he shook his head. "It's much easier to cut and run lady. Look I don't like slavery as much as you. Hell I was a slave up until a few hours ago. But by the gods, do you think you can go in there and free the others? Is it worth risking your life?" Kafh-en-ma-nofre said he shook his head.

"Don't get me wrong I want you to free them, nobody deserves being enslaved. I just don't think it's the best idea...not in this moment. I want to be able to help you, I have no experience fighting these...thugs.." Ka said a bit frightened.

He looked to the sand for a second. "Look what's letting it go on for another day? Help me learn to fight, then I can help you. I know I sound selfish, so I'm sorry." Kafh-en-ma-nofre said. He looked back to the woman. He wouldn't stop her either way.

Ka wiped his face, a mixture of sand and sweat caked on it. He wondered again what the woman was thinking.



[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

"It's much easier to cut and run lady. Look I don't like slavery as much as you. Hell I was a slave up until a few hours ago. But by the gods, do you think you can go in there and free the others? Is it worth risking your life?"

An annoyed groan crackles through her vocal enhancer for a moment. He had a point..
In thiavi's mind, she barely had a life to risk at this rate, but what were her chances of changing that if she risked it like this so early on? Sure, she could kill a few slavers, and alarmingly quickly as a few had already learned, but this was different.

"So was I. One week since I escaped, and I am not letting these people suffer the same!"

"Look what's letting it go on for another day? Help me learn to fight, then I can help you. I know I sound selfish, so I'm sorry."

It did sound selfish, Especially to thiavi who was only now trying to overcome trust issues, But the thought of having another on this little trip of hers sounded good right about now.

"Fine" she shakes her head. "We're going to Mos espa, we lay for while, teach you, then we come back, and we free them."
She takes one hand off her rifle and lifts it to the antenna on her helmet, activating her comms.
-Kebo, find their speeders and send me the location. I want you up high to keep watch after-
-Understood ma'am, be careful- The droid's voice says through the comms, just loud enough that kafh may have heard.

"Can you drive?" She hoped he could, she could focus on shooting if they were followed somehow, but something gave her the idea that maybe he hadn't driven a speeder before. Technically she hadn't either, but she'd spent enough time as a passenger to learn the basic controls

[member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"]

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

At first the woman didn't agree, not willing to let the people suffer as she did. Kafh-en-ma-nofre got that, even if he didn't endure the same type of suffering. It still didnt make it right. Soon enough the woman came around to the idea, saying that they'd lay low in Mos Espa and she'd teach him. Ka nodded, he was a bit relieved that the woman eventually agreed.

The armor clad woman then radioed her backup about speeders. And asked if Ka could drive. The young man tilted his head. "Drive a speeders? Not in the slightest, spent a lot of my time in the kitchen, servants under my particular noble house never got to touch the speeders, let alone pilot one." Ka said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I am Kafh-en-ma-nofre. Well that's what my Masters named me. But by the gods that's a long name. Don't know what they were thinking. Most just called me Ka." He said with a slight bow. The young man slowly stood up and looked around. "So where exactly are we?" Ka asked as he glanced down to the sand.

[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

"You can call me Thiavi" She says with a low nod. "Just Thiavi" She had a last name of course, but no one needed to know, not yet.

"Tatooine, We're on tatooine. This your first time here?"

A small light flashes on her HUD a moment after, pinging one of the location of a speeder on the mini map displayed in her helmet.

"I'll drive. Hope that no one spots us... You ready to go?" The pinged speeder wasn't too far away, this seemed like the gather point for ships and vehicles fortunately.
If everything went smoothly, they'd be able to slip by and escape on the speeder, maybe if they went slowly they could keep the repulsors quiet? they'd need that speeder if they wanted to reach mos espa anytime soon, else they'd have to walk there, and she doubted that ka here was equipped for that kind of travel.

[member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"]

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

"Thiavi." Kafh-en-ma-nofre said somewhat slowly. The woman confirmed they were on Tattooine, the young man had not been off his home planet, surprisingly, he was doing well so far...or so Ka thought.

"Yes, this is my first time on ah...Ta-too-ine." Ka shook his head. "Tattooine." He clarified. [member="Thiavi"] asked if he was ready to go. Ka nodded. And followed the woman , keeping himself low to the ground.

"Okie-doki pray to the gods things go smoothly." Kafh-en-ma-nofre said half meaning it. He thought a half-hearted prayer as he continued to follow the woman to her speeder.

By the gods he was going to have a lot to enter into his journal when he got a chance. The young man was not expecting that amount of craziness. He shook his head and smiled. A fun craziness. That's for sure. It does beat sitting in that stupid crate.

 

[Thiavi]

"Yes, ta-too-ine, very good" she gigles

After creeping through the encampment all sneaky deeky like for awhile until they come across the speeder. It wasn't too fancy, a pair of dusty 74-Z, probably old imperial make that had been refitted from the inside out over the years, and there was just enough space to fit the two of them. It wasn't much, but it'd have to do.

"Ok, we take it slow at first, but that won't last long. Hop on the back and I'll drive, Maybe you can tell me about these gods you speak of once we get going?"

She takes some rope and ties down the throttle of one speeder before turning it on, watching as it loudly sped off on it's own and into the desert before quickly running and hopping onto the the other one, waiting a moment for ka to get on.

"Hang on tight!"

And with that she sped out of the camp and into the desert, headed towards mos espa, taking a second to look back and see how ka was doing
[member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"]

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

She's mocking me... definitely mocking me. Ka thought with a slight grin. The young man followed her through the camp. Ka was amazed at how quietly the woman moved. Soon they were at two old speeders, she said they'd take things slow, and asked him to talk about the gods once they were off. Kafh-en-ma-nofre nodded. He watched as Thiavi tied a rope around the throttle, sending it off at a high speed. Ka smiled, of course a decoy.

Kafh-en-ma-nofre rushed to the other speeder and jumped on. Thiavi advised the Ex-Slave to hold on tight. He of course listened.

They sped off into the night, heading for what the woman described as Mos Espa. Once they were a far distance a way from the camp, Ka would relax a bit. "About the gods. On my homeworld. Ankhypt. The ruling powers are exalted. Treated as gods, the leader of them, the Pharoah, is the one who communicates with the gods, a definite faulty system. Though my peers don't see it that way. They say the gods reward those who serve the Pharoah. That it pleases the gods..." Kafh-en-ma-nofre paused.

"Yet I don't think serving them helps the gods in any way. But I may be wrong. What if the gods will my servitude? I guess I won't know until I pass. But the gods haven't struck me down yet." Ka said with a slight smile. He shook his head.

"Sorry for the rambling. So where exactly is this uh Mos Es-pea..and do you think they'll follow us?" He asked with confidence even though he mispronounced it.
[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

"My people used to worship gods, everyone said that war pleased them, so we waged war everywhere we went. So about a thousand years ago, the jedi bombed our homes till mandalore was a moonscape. The gods did nothing then, and they'll do nothing now"

She said, a slight bitter undertone to her words.

"The gods, the force, kings, none of them care for the people. Only the people care for the people. learned that the hard way"

She sighs, taking a moment to look over her shoulder, watching for any pirates that might pursue them, and of course checking on ka.

"It looks like they took the bait...
Listen, I could always be wrong about your gods, but I've been shackled by too many leaders to be wrong about them. If you follow someone, Make them earn it yes?"

She takes a moment too watch the HUD in her helmet, trying to to get them on course and answer his question about "mos es-pea"

"It's roughly north- She leans to the left a little, turning the speeder. -North east of here. If we follow the cliffs on our right for long enough, mos espa will on our left. There's going to be a big stadium, they host pod races there sometimes. I think? Only been there once"

[member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"]

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Kafh-en-ma-nofre sat silently as [member="Thiavi"] spoke of her gods and her view on them. The young man understood why she was bitter towards her gods, it was common especially in times where it seemed like they weren't even there. He pondered her words for a minute before giving a slight smile.

"Of course, it may seem like that, for the gods didn't intervene themselves. They allowed your people to be brought to their knees through Jedi bombardments and chaos." Ka paused. Feeling the wind pass through his hair.

"And you are right in feeling as if the gods, Kings and the Force don't care about us common people. Not in any actual way that matters. Heh." Kafh-en-ma-nofre gave the woman a nod as she looked back, agreeing that the pirates took the bait.

"I understand your pain madam. But do you ever think though the gods don't intervene directly, they work through people?" He asked with a grin. "I believe through all the troubles that my gods are working through me. That I was meant to free myself and fight against the tyranny that this Galaxy faces. Following you proves that I have faith in you Thiavi it is a given. You don't have to earn it." Kafh-en-ma-nofre said with a grin.

Ka nodded as the woman explained the location that they were heading to. The young man grinned as she said they're heading to a stadium that usually did pod racing, and that she had been there once.

"Interesting. Hopefully it'll be a good place to lay low for a bit. Don't worry, we'll free those slaves when we're ready. I trust your skills." Ka had complete faith in the woman.

 

[Thiavi]

"We stopped following the gods a long time ago. But if you can put your faith in me of all people, Well then I guess anything's possible" She laughed lightly.

The empty seats of the stadium slowly became visible in the distance, lit only by the moonlight. It looked so peaceful compared to the time her masters had brought her here, the sound of night creatures drifted quietly through the air in place of the roaring crowds and engines of the pod racers.

"Aww.. they took the banners down" she muttered, remembering the colorful banners that they hung last year, representing each racer and team, The blue with green trim on her armour was inspired by one of the racers she had seen last time.

Eventually they arrive at the stadium, pulling over right at the starting line. Thiavi had a mind to race the course, leaning forward a little. twisting her grip on the handles of the speeder, miming the revving of the engines. It was tempting, but it'd be dangerous to race the wastes, especially with the thought of sand people looming over the cliffs out there.

"We'd better stop here. Town's a short walk that way" She says, pointing towards the stairs that lead through the stadium's seating and up the hill into town.

"We can leave the speeder here, no one comes here till boonta eve, so they won't find our ride"

[member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"]

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Kafh-en-ma-nofre nodded, even if her and her people's faith were shook, it didn't really matter to Ka. The young man watched in amazement as the stadium slowly came into view. Even at night it was a sight to behold. A completely empty stadium...so strange. All the empty seats an empty racetrack. Ka let a small grin show on his face as the speeder slowed to a stop. Ka dismounted the speeder and took a breath.

"So they hold races here..." He commented as he dusted his arms off. He looked the the stairs that led through the seating and smiled as he began to approach them. Stopping short to wait for [member="Thiavi"] . "If you trust the speeder here, I cannot argue. Though what is this...boon-thing Eve? Can't say I've heard of it." Ka said with a question look. The young man shoved his hands in his pocket.

He wanted to ask about her past but he decided not to overstep. He was definitely interested to hear about how slavery was done on other world's, seeing as his experience may vary from her's.

 

[Thiavi]

"Boonta Eve?" She laughed "It only happens on tatooine. Every year they host a race here to celebrate the hutt Boonta..something, and his ascendancy to godhood"
How fitting that the conversation would return to the subject of a god.
"I don't know anything about boonta himself, But I can't imagine the hutts having a kind god" She chuckles "But they sure know how to celebrate. They call it the boonta eve classic, They've been around since I could remember. I think it was 20 racers each year? Not entirely sure, but they always had these lovely banners with them, all kinds of colors. Each banner for a different racer, all from different species and planets"

She pauses a moment, turning to ka "Who's rambling now?" she chuckles lightly. She was about to make for the stairs before an idea came over her.
The stadium was empty tonight, and just far enough from they outskirts of town that no one would hear if they started target practice.

"Hey, You wanted to learn shooting, Right?" She says, turning to him. She'd have to find targets for them, but it might be doable.

[member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"]

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Ka laughed as she laughed at the way he tried to pronounce Boontha Eve. His laughing was cut short as the woman explained that it was to celebrate the ascendancy to godhood of said Hutt. Instantly the young man's nose wrinked. "Even if they had some kind of god, it's blasphemy." He said sourly. "No person can take the place of a god, not while this live." Kafh-en-ma-nofre said with a hint of irritation, it reminded him of home and how his people worshipped the ground the Pharoah walked on. A god-king. The young man shook his head.

"Sorry ma'am I'm sure the celebration is a sight to behold. It's amazing that every banner is unique. I'd like to attend if it is coming up." Ka said regaining his composure.

"Your rambling is certainly not a problem mi'lady. It shows you truly care about the topic I guess." Kafh-en-ma-nofre watched as the woman was about to make her way up the stairs only to stop and ask about practice.

The young man thought for a moment. "Of course good idea. Though I must confess I've never held a blaster. Yet alone shot anything." Ka said sheepishly. It was so common for people to be armed to the teeth, yet he never held a weapon, he didn't see it as a bad thing, but in situations like Slavery? What a better time to learn.

[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

Being called m'lady was.. different for the young mandalorian, nevertheless she'd ignore it and continue on.

"Well, I've never taught anyone, so we're in the same ship I suppose" she chuckled. She'd walk back to the speeder, searching it for anything they could use for target practice. fortunately, The pirates seemed to have a few drinks for the road on board. She collects the bottles with a net attached to the side of the speeder before carrying them over to the stands, setting six of them in various seats, two rows side by side, each bottle in a higher seat than the last. After setting them up, she runs back and stands beside ka.

"Ok, I'm keeping my rifle, I'm going to lend you a pistol till this venture of ours is done, just don't break it, ok?" She was pretty sure he was incapable of breaking it, it was a sturdy blaster, meant to survive the rigors of the outer rim. She pulls her NN-14 out and sets it down on a low wall near ka. afterwards she brings up her small rifle, aiming for the lowest bottle.

"I used to be part of a show, A trickshooter for a circus environment.." She pauses for a moment, remembering her time there. She failed to mention the shock collar that activated whenever she missed. Missing was a concept literally shocked out of her. missing wasn't thiavi's style.

"So needless to say I learned a thing or two, So lets see if i can pass on some of the basics. When You aim, Take a deep breath.."
She takes a deep breath, lining up her shot, and squeezing the trigger towards the end of her exhale, A sudden flash of blue light courses through the arena with a loud *Thwuum* followed by a crash as the lowest bottle on the right shatters.

"And fire at the tail end of your exhale, too early and your shot won't be steady, breathing in brings the shoulders up. You could just hold your breath, and truth be told it helps if you need to fire more than once, but if you're trying to line up one clean shot, you'll think too much about it, that's when your hands get shaky"

Afterwards she gestures to the fat little blaster pistol she'd lent him. "Your turn. Be warned, that one's louder, and the kick back is mean. Don't hold it too close to your face"She chuckles

[member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"]

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

"Cheers then." Kafh-en-ma-nofre said with a smile. He watched as the woman placed a heavy blaster pistol on a low wall near him. He looked at it for a second. Nervous to pick it up, definitely afraid to break it in some way.

"Uhm okay...I promise I'll do my best not to break it." He said as he picked it up. Ka was surprised, it was a bit heavier than he anticipated. He watched as Thiavi readied her blaster rifle, explaining that she was a trickshooter of a kind. Was this part of her slavery? Kafh wondered as he studied the blaster pistol. The young man snapped to attention when she began to explain that he had to take a deep breath and relax before he shot.

He jumped as the shot from her rifle range out. The bottle shattering. He took a breath before letting out a nervous chuckle. "Nice shot. But chit that scared me heh." Ka would say.

He nodded as Thiavi went into further detail. "Okay, uhm..." He said unsure. He readied the blaster pistol. He took aim at the lowest bottle and relaxed his muscles. Taking a deep breath making sure his sights were set on his target. Exhaling slowly the young man squeezed the trigger, a loud blast sounding, and the kickback causing Ka to drop the blaster. His shot completely missing.

"Chit!" He said as he stepped back and sighed. "You weren't kidding...sorry miss. Just a new experience..." Kafh said as he picked up the blaster.
[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

"Understandable, I missed my first shot too, and everyone misses their first shot with the NN-14 anyway" She says, picking up the blaster with her free hand and wiping it down on her leg to get the sand off.

"The Recoil's a real karker isn't it?" She laughs "You might need to use both hands. Can I get another shot from you?"

She holds the pistol out for him, gripping it by the barrel because you know, safety. She turns to look at his handy work, watching the cinders fade slowly where the shot's impact had burnt into the scenery ahead. good thing everything on tatooine was made of stone and sand, else they might have lit something on fire.

"You can do it, I believe in ya, just need to keep trying"

[member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"]