Paying it Forward

[Rekha Kaarde]

[SIZE=12pt]Battle was raging around them the Jedi and the Sith were taking each other on for the right to have the planet Iridonia considered among their..properties.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Rekha did not always like war she knew it happened and she knew that lots of times too many innocents paid for the wages of war with their own lives.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Well today she was going to go and help them out..literally out as in off the planet.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]She was pacing a bit she had made contact with [member="Veino Garn"] she needed a hand getting in, getting loaded, and getting out. There was a rebel faction formed there on Iridonia that wanted to get some of the women and children off just in case the Republic lost.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Rekha offered to help. She didn’t have a lot of credits to burn but she had enough for this.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]So..the Midnight Star was ready, and so was the pilot…now…[/SIZE]

 

[Veino Garn]

[member="Rekha Kaarde"]

Veino strode towards the ship, labelled as the Midnight Star, captained by Rekha Kaarde, sometimes smuggler, sometimes barkeep, loosely affiliated with both the Protectorate and the Underground, much like himself. This operation could be loosely affiliated with them both, but as far as he was aware, was set up independently of them both. Not that he couldn't shift funds towards the operation, but it seemed that staying small in discreet was the better plan for this. This was no invasion. This was getting people out of a planet and quickly before things got far too heated. And there was the woman in question, pacing around.

Nervousness, perhaps? Lots of energy? He had his empathetic walls on high right now. The last thing he needed was to get overwhelmed by the emotions of those around him. This was going to be delicate and he would need to be as focused and clear as he could. Hopefully there would be no Ysalamari anywhere. That would be unfortunate. He swallowed nervously at the thought and then greeted Rekha with a well-practiced lazy smile. He'd spent enough time fighting with the Republic army to know what it meant to have a Jedi around, especially one designated a Master. The title brought responsibility and a great deal of expectation with it. Everyone always assumed he knew what was going on, how to react, and the best plan of action to achieve the victory. If he seemed to not have it, well, that took the foundation out from under the morale and things started going downhill. No matter that he had nightmares and flashbacks from all he'd been through and was terrified of battles, for a variety of reasons. They sent a sick chill shooting through his stomach and his mouth went dry. If he lost connection and focus with the Force for an instant, it was all over. The empathy would overwhelm him, washing away his consciousness like a tidal wave. But it was best to keep that tucked away from most people. They depended on him.

"So, ready to roll? Probably best to brief me on the way if you can," A slightly more amused smile, crept across his face, "And I'm only a mediocre pilot, so I can't help much there." Sure, he could shoot and handle guns relatively well, but actually flying? All sorts of vertigo problems. He hitched his travelsack higher up on his shoulder and pushed his hat back farther on his forehead, "But I'm ready other than that."

 

[Rekha Kaarde]

[SIZE=12pt]She took in that well practiced lazy smile and gave him one of her own bright welcoming, I’m ready for anything smiled, which she followed up with, “I’m as ready as they get”[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]A quick nod of her head and she motioned for him to come along with her. There was plenty of time to get to know one another but for the moment Rekha wanted to make sure the Star was ready and she needed to brief Veino.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]His comment about being mediocre at piloting, she laughed, “Don’t worry, this is only my second flight” A blatant lie but one she told in hopes of making him laugh, and understand it was ok with her.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Rekha began walking towards the door of the ship, “So you are willing” her green eyes were now fixed on him as her flirty nature began inching its way out, she turned walking backwards as she looked him over from head to foot,. The she stopped short trying to make him run into her just slightly for affect, lowering her voice, “Are you able as well?” she asked softly, coyly with hints of sexual overtones. She smiled at him, poor Veino he had no idea who he was traveling with.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Before he could ask, she began walking again looking at his face she turned heading inside, “You can bunk in there” Her left hand came up and pointed to a room, “I’m over here” she pointed to her right. “Stow your gear come up by me, and we’ll make haste and I’ll brief you Veino”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Her tone now was all business. [/SIZE]

[member="Veino Garn"]

 

[Veino Garn]

[member="Rekha Kaarde"]

He gave her a more genuine smile in response to hers. That was good to see and it was encouraging to work with someone with that attitude again. The Jedi weren't too bad to work with, all things considered, but there was nothing quite like working with smugglers. The true smugglers with a devil may care attitude for whom the work was as much a part of their being as was his. They had a spark to them that all the Jedi he had met lacked. Made him feel as young as his actual age again, which had stopped happening a long time ago.

He nodded and followed alongside her, laughing with at the comment about it being only her second flight.

"Well," He said after a moment, "The Sith fleet best fear us then! We'll tear them apart!" Then there was a slight pause in his step as she turned to walk backwards, and he started picking up some flirtatiousness going on. He stopped two steps from her, training from years of lightsaber combat and the slight precognition of the Force giving him a clue she was going to stop soon. The flirting was well beyond just some now. It was flat out obvious and he raised an eyebrow at her. That had not quite been what he expected, but he could reply all the same without the barest hint of a smile or wink.

"If I'm able to will it, I'm ready to do it."

It really didn't make much sense, honestly, but words were not his talents. He was an empath. He felt what it was like to be others down to their core of their being and understood them. Sometimes he even understood people more than they understood themselves. It came at a price, though. He was always conscious of never quite being himself. He was always at least partially somebody else and generally in a state of mild confusion between the conflicting emotional profiles.

He followed alongside her again as they strode further up into the ship and quickly ducked into the bunkroom to secure his gear and strode to where she would be. This would be an interesting briefing then. Not like the formal ones of the Republic Army or the long forgotten Army of Light he had once fought with. It'd be interesting to see what happened.

 

[Rekha Kaarde]

[SIZE=12pt]She looked at Veino and smiled she hoped to put him at ease hoped she said the right words and radiated the right emotions.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“The planet Iridonia has refugees that need evacuating, you and I are going to go in there pick them up and deliver them to safe space” that part never sounded bad when she practiced it a little while ago. It said exactly what she intended it to.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Rekha turned and sat down in the pilots seat, her practiced fingers glided over the controls. “So, what do you think OH, I should tell you there are Sith there and they may not be happy to see us” In her experience Sith were never really happy to see anyone that wasn't a Sith, or at least associated with them. She was not, Veino was not either that meant they could end up in the cell together. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]She gave him the once over, a cell with him, could be interesting.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]She worked a little more magic and then leaned over to the NavComp, “Still want to go?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]She stopped and now her green eyes focused on Veino to see what he would say.[/SIZE]

[member="Veino Garn"]

 

[Veino Garn]

[member="Rekha Kaarde"]

Veino slipped into the co-pilot's seat and strapped himself in, pausing to examine the controls around him. He wasn't planning on doing any flying, but it never hurt to know where the controls were. Otherwise he could end up trying to fly his own ship and make things even worse. Better safe than sorry, as far as most things were concerned. This one especially. He nodded as she listed the objective of the operation. Short, sweet, simple, and to the point. Not something that would ordinarily be a problem. Or something that would necessarily warrant someone granted the rank of Master. The Sith turned all the tables around.

"You handle the flying and I'll handle the Sith," He said after a few moments thought and cloaked his Force presence. No point in giving himself away in orbit. Again, better safe than sorry. Last thing they needed was to be tracked down and hunted by a Sith fleet trying to capture a Light side user. They would send a fleet if they had to. The One Sith had a thing when it came to overpowering force. There was no delicacy or subtlety, not anymore at least. There used to be, back in the early days, but the ones capable of such things had been driven out by the growing brutality in the ranks. They were repeating the cycle of the Sith Empire again. This too would fall, in time, and hopefully sooner. He had no way of telling when, unfortunately.

He met her eyes and nodded. "Let's go and may the Force be with us."

 

[Rekha Kaarde]

[SIZE=12pt]“Great, cause I don’t do well with the Sith” She smiled as she got them prepped and buttoned up.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Moments ticked by and the ship rose up and slipped out heading towards space. Rekha at the controls felt as natural as well Veino would feel in the force.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“We might need a little more than the force” She was not teasing when she said this. “We might need a bit of plan to make sure we get in and get out without issue” She looked down the ship was ready, she pulled back the control the ship with a slight hesitation slipped into hyper space.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“So Veino,” She turned, “What is your strength, we’ll try to be sure to play to it. Mine is talking, and lieing” She smiled, “but I only lie for the right reasons” She only lied because she needed to get something.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Oh wouldn’t [member="Jon Burke"] laugh at that.[/SIZE]

[member="Veino Garn"]

 

[Veino Garn]

[member="Rekha Kaarde"]

Veino gave a slightly awkward shrug at the comment. His track record wasn't all the good either. He had the scars to prove it as well. "I'll take care of that part then." He slipped into quiet as they slipped into space. He'd have to agree with needing a plan. He could only improvise to an extent and a situation such as this was far too critical to risk it. It was delicate and lives of innocents were balanced on an edge. He set his mind to calculating odds and chances and counter-plans. It would be a very difficult mission if they did it incorrectly. He started at her question. Excellent question. He considered it.

"I'm good with slipping in and out of places and lightsaber combat when pressed to it." He considered if he should reveal the next part, "And... I'm an empath. I can sense what others are feeling. Sometimes very strongly." He gave her a pale smile. "Difficult to work into a plan, I'm afraid. Can't really impact others. Only myself."

It was a bit of a liability, if he was completely honest. If his shields fell, he could easily be overcome by the sheer amount of emotion that existed. It had almost driven him mad once. He dreaded that ever happening again. "That will be very helpful, especially at the beginning." He considered for a moment. "Maybe we're carrying a cargo of holovids? Or some other small cargo that would bring a small profit?"

 

[Rekha Kaarde]

[member="Veino Garn"]

[SIZE=12pt]“Slipping in and slipping out are excellent skills for this kind of job I” she was still smiling, “I will follow your lead on that. The refugees we are looking for are going to be located in a cave near a mirrored lake.” She handed the information data to Veino, "They wanted to get as far away from the Sith as they could this is the location, I need a place to land. Can you locate a place for me?"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Rekha paused remembering the details, “It’s cold there Veino they may be suffering from the elements, and yeah I know they live there but if they only got out with bare essentials. Well, you can imagine”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]The proximity alarm was beeping, “We are getting ready to come out for our first jump point, if we need any supplies tell me now we’ll get it” She had stocked the ship with things a few medical supplies, blankets, extra food. But if a different kind of weapon was needed, well that they’d need to find.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Rekha found some pride in helping others, but she knew that one day she’d step left when she should have went right and that would be the end. This trip wouldn’t be then she decided.[/SIZE]

 

[Veino Garn]

[member="Rekha Kaarde"]

Veino nodded and took the datapad, studying the information and scouring the geography around the lake. There were a few places that could be landed on, but he was looking for a little more than that. Someplace that could be used defensively while still getting all the people aboard the ship. There was no reason to leave all of them vulnerable while working on it. That would be harmful for the Underground and everyone opposing the Sith. There was a spot that seemed plausible. It was sheltered enough to be used as cover, but travel looked like it would be easy enough to get people to the ship quickly. He marked it and handed it back to her.

"This looks like the most strategic landing location." He swiveled in his seat to think about supplies. "I have my lightsaber which is all I need. We'll want more cold-weather repair supplies though. I have some skill in healing, but not enough for a large group like this." Not that he was aware of, anyways. That took a much greater focus on healing that he had. He was still relatively inexperienced with healing. He had the power for it, and some of the skill, but nothing compared to the Healers, either of the Jedi or his own order. "But what will you need?"