Out of the Crate, Into the Cobras.

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Adulthood at 13? The idea wasn't completely lost to the Slave boy. He'd practically had to be an adult since he was old enough to hold a pan. But still even if she was considered an adult, that's still a lot of trauma to hold on your shoulders. Ka guessed a lot of people had things like that weighing on them. He shook his head.

Thiavi spoke of not having any charges on her and having bad experiences with homemade bombs. "Yeah we don't want to chance it going off before we set it I guess." Kafh said. She then suggested that they purchase the charges. That thought was quickly abandoned when she said she could rewire some of the speeders and spill fuel. Thiavi just had to get close enough without being spotted.

Kafh nodded. "It's just a matter of getting you close enough. No doubt they'll have a guard or two, since we'll two of their speeders went missing..." Ka added. He looked over to Thiavi. "Yeah I think it just might work. Just one problem, my aim with a blaster is still lackluster. So I don't exactly know how much help I'll be." Ka said with an embarrassed smile.

"I'm sure we'll figure it out. I mean you've probably been in worse situations."



[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

Worse? not entirely, I mean she'd rather be doing this than more slavery, but trying to sneak into a camp and bomb the place? Well, guess it couldn't be worse than that time over klatooine.

Well.. how quiet can you move? I have someone watching the camp who could cause a distraction, I can tell you what to pull or break on the speeders, and then blast it once you're far enough?"
It sounded risky, but she was trying to include kafh.

"or you could go about getting the slaves out while me and kebo get to work?"

Thiavi leaned on the table, one arm propped up with her elbow, leaning her head against her fist. planning a raid was kind of new, but she knew there was lots that could go wrong. and they'd need a plan B, 'no plan ever survives first contact' as they say. But what if she was starting to overthink all of this? ughh, she hated how she always second guessed herself. Thiavi trusts few people, and even she isn't on that list.

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

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Thiavi asked how quietly Kafh could move. "I guess I could move pretty quietly, perks of being a servant..." He said with a sly smile. She told him that she could direct him on the rewiring and he could blow up the speeders, or he could go into the camp and free the slaves while she caused the explosion. Kafh thought for a moment.

"I think it'd be best if I went into the camp and started freeing the slaves. The pirates will most likely head to the explosion and well...since I can't really handle a blaster all that well, you'd be a better fit there. But it's ultimately your decision." Kafh reasoned. Once they're freed, what are we going to do?" Kafh asked.

"Whatever happens I'm sure we'll do fine. Everything will go off smoothly. " Kafh said when he noticed how hard it seemed Thiavi was thinking.

[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

"Perks indeed" she says with feint smile. "Alright, You free the slaves, I think I've still got a plasma cutter, should make short work of the locks"

He did raise a good question. Once they're freed, then what? she could pick off a few sure, but a whole pirate crew? No way that was going her way..

"Well... What about that ship you came in? If we set the explosions in the right spot, we can draw them away and board the ship with the slaves. I can fly. technically.."

It was risky. Real risky.. But it was the only thing she could think of that'd really work. if they ran the slaves to mos espa, the pirates would follow them. And they couldn't exactly raise an army to fight them either..

"Wait, My droid can fly! I think. What if we lure them into town" she grabs the diamond "Tell them we've got something they want, draw most of them away, then continue with the plan?"

The trick would be figuring out who'd distract them, who'd stall them while they freed the slaves, but it just might work

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

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Kafh nodded. "Yeah that should work. If we can distract them long enough, that should buy us enough time time to free the slaves and get them onto the ship.." Kafh said. The young man was glad to hear that her Droid could fly the ship, he wouldn't want to put more stress on the slaves. Donth think flying is on their top priority of things to do right after being freed.

"Luring them into town? It's going to be dangerous, but it would allow more time to free the slaves. Okay I'm in. Tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it. I can lure them away by saying I'm an escaped slave, or I can go and free them with the Droid. Up to you." Kafh said with a smile. He wouldn't lie, he was hyped for this even if it was dangerous.

"When do we do this? I'm thinking the sooner the better. Less slaves sold." Kafh said.

[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

"In the morning maybe? we could still get some sleep and have some and have a few hours of darkness left" she chuckled. truth be told, it had been a long day for her already, and she'd spent most of it walking through the desert.

"My droid's watching the camp, He'll let us know if anything happens in the meantime. As for who's where, If you could do the luring, it would make this a lot easier. I can focus on sabotage, Kebo can focus on flying. We could pick you up somewhere? It's dangerous though.."

She didn't like the idea of putting him in any more danger than they already had to. And sticking him in a room somewhere full of pirates? that sounded like more danger than they needed..

"Are you sure you want to do this? You don't have too, I mean you could have taken that diamond and gotten yourself off of tatooine already"

that didn't come out quite as she had thought, but it was true, Kafh could have easily been better off if he hadn't gotten involved in her plan. crazy plan at that, well, not by mandalorian standards but, that's beside the point.

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

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

"Okay. We'll wait till morning then." Kafh nodded in agreement. She then asked him to lure the pirates into the town. Advising that it'd be dangerous. Kafh gave a shy smile. "Even if it's dangerous, it makes the most sense. It's better to put our different skillsets to use. And I'm sure the gods will watch over me." Kafh said. The idea of distracting a bunch of pirates didn't seem all that smart, there were plenty that could go wrong...but they couldn't just let those slaves suffer. Was Kafh willing to put himself in that kind of situation: where he coukd get captured at the price of other's freedom? He'd find out soon enough.

Thiavi asked if he was sure that he wanted to help when he could have left the planet by selling the diamond. She said he didn't have to, but of course that was a lie.

"Thiavi." He laughed. "You worry too much. Leaving would be selfish of me, even if I have to give up my freedom...I'd still do it." Kafh said with a grin. The young man looked over to the Rancor Painting.

"Get some rest, need all the energy we can get." Kafh said as he leaned back in the chair. He shook his head, a few days ago Kafh-en-ma-nofre would never have even thought to do this.

[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

"I guess you're right" she sighs. maybe she was worrying too much. "Well, I'll see you in the morning than" she grabs her helmet and walks over to her bed, setting it on a nightstand, followed by the removal of various armour, all stuffed in various drawers until she was down to her undersuit and MAM Vest, which she didn't bother taking off. Yes, she sleeps blaster proof vest. there's stuff in the pockets too, but no one needs to know that.

"Hey, lock the door for me? I'm not sure I like this part of town" she chuckles before slipping into bed.

They'd have a long day ahead of them tomorrow, and thiavi intended to be well rested. well, well rested wasn't possible now, she'd been up for awhile as it was, and they had to get up early, but rested is the word, yes.

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

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Thankfully Thiavi agreed. Within minutes she removed her armor leaving her undersuit and blaster proof vest. Kafh nodded when she asked if he could lock the door. It was reasonable seeing as...from what he saw, Tattooine was a dangerous planet, even having protection in the form of a lock would be good enough for now. Kafh sighed as he stood up and walked to the door. Locking it.

The young man then walked to the free bed and sat on it's edge. Taking the time to untie his shoes and slip them off. He would then gaze to the ceiling and let out a sigh. He waited a few minutes in silence before falling into his bed.

"Gods, protect us. This journey ahead is going to be rough...don't worry dad, I'll be safe. I'll keep what you taught me in my heart." Kafh said softly.

He tried to drift off to sleep. It was a lot harder than he thought, he guessed the anticipation of the day was getting to him. So he sat awake waiting.

[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

Time skip:

The sun rises gently over mos espa, turning everything outside a red-ish hue under the first of tatooine's rising suns. Thiavi slowly awakens, stretching with a soft groan before slipping out of bed and into her armor. They had a big day ahead of them, pirates, explosions, freeing slaves, should be fun, right?
Once her armour and weapons had been re-equipped, She head out for a moment, getting breakfast for herself and kafh. Nothing too fancy, some space waffles, and muja sauce, with blue milk. she comes back sets it all down one at a time on the table, taking a seat once everything's in place

"space waffles, muja sauce, and blue milk. A hearty breakfast am I right?" she smiles and begins eating

"Never fight on an empty stomach" she stuffs a bite of waffle in her mouth and waits for a moment before comming K3

"How's it looking over there kebo?" "Situation normal ma'am, just as boring as before" the droid's voice comms back.

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

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Kafh didn't really sleep that night. How could he, any time he drifted off, he was met with bad dreams, of his family getting slaughtered for his escape. Of course the young man prayed to the gods that it didn't happen, some time early in the morning, he heard [member="Thiavi"] shuffling around the room. Only to come back sometime later. Kafh sat up from bed and slipped out of the covers. Yawning a bit as he slipped on his shoes and made his way to the table. Sitting across Thiavi.

"It's definitely something." Kafh said as he looked at the food before him. Such big portions, most of the stuff he ate back home was scraps. He didn't even know if he could eat that much. Thiavi commented to never fight on an empty stomach before tearing into the waffle.

Kafh stared at the food, then looked up to Thiavi. "I thank you, but I'm normally used to eating after everyone..." Kafh said sadly as he slipped at the cup of blue milk. Kafh-en-ma-nofre bowed his head for a second. Thank you gods for this amazing meal, let it prepare us for the battle that stands before us. Kafh lifted his head and smiled.

"But I guess I'll make an acception..." Kafh said as he began to nearly eat the waffles before him.

"So what's the plan Thiavi?"

 

[Thiavi]

So, maybe people on his homeworld don't eat together? everything about Ankhypt was so strange...
And then there was the praying. that was new, she didn't quite get it. there were ceremonies she had experienced that involved speaking to the ancestors, but she knew that they weren't actually speaking to them, not really. it was more, speaking to oneself as not to forget.

Oh good, he's started eating.

"I'm thinking you stay here with the diamond, kebo shows up as a "Messenger" and informs them that you uhh, want to return it, want to make a deal, they come here while I'm out there, sabotaging whatever they leave there. then we take the ship, pick you up, and get the hell outta here."

That's what one night of planning brought her to. she hadn't the experience to decide weather it was a good plan or not, but that's what she had.

"Once it all goes down, there's a ladder to the roof over there" she points out the door and to the ladder on the otherside of the main room

"I have a spare commlink for you, got the blaster too if you want it. I'd need you to stall them for as long as possible, but there won't be any help till kebo gets the ship up here.. you still sure you want to do this?"

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

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Thiavi explained the plan of having him wait in the inn. And having him get picked up after, but in the meantime he would have to stall the pirates until Thiavi would be able to pick him up along with the Droid. He smiled. "Well I'm sure the plan will go off without a hitch. I have a feeling the gods are with us." He took another bite of the space waffles and gave a small grin. Placing down the utensils and nodding. "I'll be sure to stall them until you guys are on the ship and heading this way. Then I'll get to the roof." Kafh said as he stood up.

"I do want to do this. It's the right thing to do after all. The gods wouldn't want you to stand on the side of you have a means to act." Kafh said as he looked to Thiavi.

"I'm ready if you are. You may tell your Droid to proceed." Kafh said as he ran a hand through his hair. He bowed slightly to [member="Thiavi"] "thank you for the meal, but you didn't have to."

 

[Thiavi]

"you're damn right I didn't, so make sure it's finished at least" she chuckled "I'll see you in the air" even if she wasn't usually that optimistic, but truth be told, kafh's had rubbed off on her a little bit.

She gives him a respectful nod in return for the bow, and the grabs her helmet, sliding it over her head. She slings her rifle over her shoulder and sets her spare commlink on the table for kafh, then lifts her forearm up to speak into her own comms

-Kebo, I'm moving out. I've got a plan, I'll brief on way over-

and with that, she left the building, arriving at the stadium sometime later and speeding her way across the desert towards the campsite, stopping just out of view, and waiting while she briefed k3.

If everything went to plan, K3 would be taken into the camp and held while a portion of the pirates made their way into town and into the cantina.

"whatever fickle gods watch over that strange boy, I hope you're looking out for him"

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

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Kafh laughed a bit, he assumed she was joking. As she made her way out Kafh-en-ma-nofre would walk back to the table and pick up the commlink, he had no clue how to use it, but he had a feeling everything would work out. Kafh grabbed the diamond from the table and exited the room. The cantina was empty. It must've been too early for people to be drinking. He sat at an empty table and watched the door.

"Gods, hear me. I ask for strength of will. That you watch over Thiavi and her metal friend. Give us the resolve to face whatever challenges we come across." Kafh said with a smile.

Some time later

A group of pirates stopped their speeders outside the inn, the group made their way through the inn's door. The bar attendant went to the back room, hoping to avoid the trouble that the gang would cause. Their leader looked around the inn, her eyes falling on Kafh. She took one last drag of her cigarette then tossed it to the floor. The woman made her way over to Kafh.

"Got a visit from a Droid saying you had something you wanted to return to us..." The woman said menacingly. One hand on her blaster.

Kafh nodded, his eyes down to the floor. "Uh yeah...I'm would you mind taking a seat...I uh wanted to um negotiate it's uh return." Kafh stumbled. The woman eyes him down as she stepped closer. "Oh? Ya want to negotiate? For the return of something I own?" She let out a hearty laugh. But ultimately she sat down.

"Let's hear it kid, I mean we can easily just kill you and take it off your dead body if we dont like the deal." She said, and her gang laughed. Ka gulped and produced the diamond from his pocket, holding it up.

"This uh...it fell into my possession." Kafh said as he placed it on the table. The woman stared at it. Then looked to Kafh. "You want to negotiate I've a diamond? How stupid are you we could just kill you now." She spat.

Kafh sat silently for a minute as the woman pulled out her blaster. "Wait wait wait ... please madam, I beg you, in return for my life, let me buy you and your friends a round of whatever you want." Kafh said quickly. The woman smiled "oh? How about that" she smiled "okay kid, you buy us a round and we get the diamond...what else?" She asked, clearly amused.

"I uh can dance for you." Kafh said shyly. The whole gang laughed causing Kafh to flinch. "You're a funny one kid. Fine, go ahead I want to see this, then I'll decide if I should kill you."

Kafh nodded and the bartender came back out and began to pour drinks for all the pirates. Kafh stood up and walked to the jukebox,

Soon Anubian Esq music would begin to fill the Cantina.

Spoiler

https://youtu.be/VgHOPMoaIvk

The Ex-Slave made his way to the center of the room.

Deep down he prayed Thiavi would hurry.

The young man pulled off his jacket and placed it on the floor near him. Then peeled off his shirt. Exposing his toned torso. One that someone wouldn't expect a person like him to have, but in truth, he had to stay fit in order to preform his duties as a slave.

"I am Kafh-en-ma-nofre, I'm about to preform the dance of the Jackals... Please enjoy." Kafh said as he kept his head low. His voice carrying over the music.

All he heard was laughing, the young man gritted his teeth. Waiting for a beat to start on. He then found a beat to start on.

Swaying with every trill, allowing his body to be taken away by the music of his home. Feeling all his troubles go away.



[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

Thiavi couldn't help but think that things were going very badly back at the cantina, but at the very least, a sizable portion of the pirates were away from the camp finally.
The pirates had taken k3 to the ship to hold him till the captain, or whoever had been sent to meet with kafh, had been dealt with, and\or question the droid, albeit futile.
both of these factors, together, meant that security was lighter than before.
It was still early enough that the light was dim, giving thiavi a slight advantage. she had observed the place long enough to get an idea of the patrol's route and guards, which, to be fair, were pirates. sloppy, probably drunk, pirates. Well, things were better than they could be at least.

With the majority of the pirates gone for the moment, thiavi moves in quietly, keeping a mental note of the patrol's timing as she moved through the camp, low but not as slow as one would expect. in her experience, the key to being unseen was to minimize exposure, she'd move quickly from crate to crate, tent to tent, watching carefully to ensure that she didn't step on or bump into anything. Eventually, she arrives at the first of their primitive cages

"shhh, we're getting you out of here, just wait here till I give you the signal" she whispers to one of the frightened slaves as she cuts the locks open with a low powered fusion cutter.

"I have someone on board the ship who might be able to fly, once all the cages are unlocked, we'll make a dash for the ship and get out of here"

thiavi would repeat the process again until all of the cages were unlocked, and then begin moving quietly towards the ship. But alas, to her surprise, one of the guards took a different route. he stopped by one of the cages, stopping to light a cigarra.

"OH CHIT" was about all he said when he saw the unlocked cage. the slaves immediately jumped him. what followed was the mad dash for the ship as everyone ran toe scape, weather it was slaves escaping their masters, or the pirates escaping their fury.

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

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Kafh hoped that Thiavi was doing okay. He shook off the thought and continued to focus on the dance, expertly swaying his hips and moving his body to the odd rhythm. The pirates were all but quiet. Kafh-en-ma-nofre didn't pay attention to them as too much, but he could tell they were getting irritated.

Soon the leader of the group let out a hearty laugh, slamming down her mug. "You're funny kid, too bad it wasn't enough." She said as she pulled out her blaster, her gang followed as she took aim at Kafh. "Oh gods...well it was worth a shot." Kafh said as he ran towards the bar and jumped behind it. Immediately after a hail of blaster fire hit the bar and shelves, alcohol sprayed everywhere. Kafh fumbled with the commlink and began to speak into it.

"Hey Thiavi, uh...seems like the pirates weren't very interested in what I had to offer. So uh...yeah it's be great if you could come my way." Kafh gripped Thiavi's blaster pistol and peaked ofver the corner of the bar, firing a few shots that all missed.

"Keep up the pressure boys." The pirate leader said with a laugh.

Kafh gritted his teeth, he had to make a break for the back room where the ladder to the roof was. He wondered how he could do that. Kafh looked around, definitely going to be harder that he thought.

He decided the easiest thing to do was bolt, so that's what he did, he got out from behind the counter and ran to the back room, blaster fire followed, a bolt grazing his arm along the way. "Mm that stung." Kafh muttered as he entered the back room, the sound of pirates followed him.

Kafh climbed up the ladder quicky and made his way to the roof, closing the hatch behind him.

He ran to the edge of the roof and aimed the blaster at the hatch. With his free hand he pressed the commlink again, speaking into it. "Hey so I'm on the roof now, got pirates on my tail. Help would be appreciated." Kafh said with a dry chuckle.

He grimanced when he realized he forgot his jacket and shirt in the cantina. "Teaches me to try and distract people." He said to himself as he aimed at the hatch.

[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

Thiavi enters the ship ahead of the crowd, searching for K-3B0 among the tight hallways and cramped quarters of the ship. she hears a loud crash and quickly rounds the corner, blaster at the ready. to her surprise, k3 was indeed there, but no longer in trouble. One of the pirates goes flying past her, thiavi having to duck to the side lest she be hit. she looks over her shoulder to see that the pirate has made a run for it, terrified, only to be trampled by the slaves fleeing the camp and into the ship.

"With respect ma'am, you're slow" k3 says, looking down at a pair of pirate guards who were.. incapacitated.

thiavi slowly lowers her blaster before turning and making a dash for the nearest turret "Just get us to the cantina kebo! we have to get kafh out of there"

k3 makes his way to the cokpit and sits down gently, grabbing an air freshener from the dashboard and observing it closely before tossing it away with little care.

"And who is this "Kafh" fellow? you haven't replaced me already have you?" he says as the ship takes off.

"No could ever replace you kebo, there's no one quiet like you out there" she says in a tone that suggests that she doesn't mean that in a good way.

The ship slowly rises into the air, hovering about 10 metres above the sand before it sped towards mos espa. As they come in, Thiavi turns the turret around and begins blasting the speeders on their way over before the ship came to sudden halt, bumping into the railing on the edge of the roof as it turned, boarding ramp scrapping alongside it.


"Exchange your tickets inside please" thiavi said in an amused but slightly impatient tone over the comms

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

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Her timing couldn't be better. As the ship came into view, pirates began crawling through the hatch. Yelling, calling him very obscene names, Kafh shook his head and jumped into the boarding ramp, quickly making his way into the ship. He made his way to the cockpit where hemet Thiavi and Kebo.

"Thanks I appreciate the save." He said to Thiavi with a smile. "Sadly I lost your diamond in the process" Kafh then looked to Kebo He bowed his head to the Droid. "I appreciate the risk you took, I'm Kafh." He said. The young man rose. And gave a smile to both of them

[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

"FETH! Are you-" she stops a moment and just stares at kafh through her visor as k3 jerks the ship forward, closing the boarding ramp as they soared into the air.

"... It's fine, you did what had to do.. I'm glad you're ok" Truth be told, yes she was upset that diamond had been lost, but she was half tempted to hug him. but, thiavi being thiavi, she thought it'd be weird considering he had no shirt on... gods, and they called her people barbarians.

so instead she opted for the good ole, very light punch to the shoulder.

"Tell me.. that, you at least. finished. the waffles.. please." she sounded serious at first, but offered up a bemused chuckle at the last second. she didn't make them, else the chuckle would not be present..

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