Refuge Interrupted

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Ascending through the dark yet clear 'sky' of Nar Shaddaa, the freighter managed to evade most of the laser cannon fire, taking a few shots as Tugoro brought the shields up. "That should hold them," he mumbled, inputting the coordinates for their rendezvous with the Wild Bantha.

Leaping up from his seat at [member='Ar'ekk']'s demand, Tugoro quickly made his way through the ships corridors, climbing up a ladder well and into one of the main turrets. They were high above the city-planet now, and any missed shots had the potential to inflict damage to innocents below. Breathing in, the Jedi finally released the force's hold over his body, letting him focus on the targets that were on their tail.

With a single push of the trigger, a red blast of cannon fire impacted with one of the starfighters, causing it to explode in a fiery wreck of metal scrap. There were still two in pursuit, that continued to fire rapidly at the freighter. It wouldn't be long until they reached their rendezvous point.

 

[Arekk]

The whole ship rumbled as it made its way into space, including the cockpit. All controls moved swiftly as the ship hadn't seen action in years, apparently. Getting acquainted with the controls was not a difficult task for Ar'ekk, having been in control of many starfighters during war time. They were on the verge of reaching the atmosphere, the firefight continued with [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] striking back at the Sith fighters with everything they had.

"We should be out of here soon enough, just gives us time to make it out of the atmosphere and into space. Once we're out, we can really be safe." the Padawan communicated to his master through the headset.

They were lucky to make it out alive from the Jekk'Jekk Tarr but would they have that same luck now or this would be their end?

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

The closed space within the turret pit might have been suffocating to anyone else, but for Tugoro, it brought back fond memories of piloting his Aleph starfighter. It was still fairly different, and so his difficulty operating the turret was to be expected. Now that they were truly entering the vacuum of space, the Jedi began to release rapid fire from the turbolaser cannon, no longer holding back for the sake of those upon Nar Shaddaa.

Even so, the starfighter pilots were still skilled at their profession, rolling around and weaving away from the energy bursts headed their way. "Just focus on flying, [member='Ar'ekk']. I'll buy as much time as I can," the Jedi responded, his voice relayed back to the cockpit where his apprentice was hard at work. "Get the hyperdrive ready, we leave as soon as Cheedo arri-" Suddenly, the Wild Bantha came screeching upwards from the planet surface, flying on a curve to intercept the starfighters, releasing blasts of ion energy from the forward linked canons. One of the Sith pilots was unable to avoid the surprise attack, drifting through space as their fighter's systems began to fail.

That left one target, who smartened up and began to fly back towards Nar Shaddaa. "Back up may be on the way, we'll have to make a few jumps to avoid them." Tugoro called out, climbing down the ladder well and making his way back into the cockpit. "You two seriously owe me for this one." Cheedo's voice rang out, as the Wild Bantha formed up beside their own freighter.

 

[Arekk]

"Thanks, Cheedo. We got really lucky but I think it's time to leave this place for now. Where are we heading, master?"

Ar'ekk was making preparations on the hyperdrive to make the jump to lightspeed although the location remained undisclosed for the time being. Their close brush with death was over and they'd have to make the final escape to be finally out of harms way. A neutral planet, where they could gather supplies and make diagnostics on the freighter properly in case they wanted to continue this journey.

The hyperdrive was ready to be used, at last. The screeching sounds of the whole ship made it seem unstable but the apprentice knew she would hold on just fine, it was a tough ship.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

"I don't know about you two, but I'm headed back to Sanctuary. I'm done with these trips that yield nothing." Cheedo replied, cutting the communications link before breaking formation, angling his freighter with the nearest hyperlane route. Though that was what the Rodian said, Tugoro had a feeling they would meet again. However, there was another sensation that began to develop, a pull in the force that wished to guide the Jedi to a specific location. "We'll make a jump to the Tatoo system, we'll lay low for a bit." Tugoro told [member='Ar'ekk'], as he input the coordinates into the navigational system on the bulkhead.

An understandable decision, for space traffic control was known to lax on Tatooine, with many criminals coming and going as they pleased. Spinning the co-pilot seat around, Tugoro took a seat in it, facing forward as he leaned back to relax. That was when he remembered, that Cheedo had the dismembered Jedi on board his ship. Hopefully he would take him to safety, where he could get some amount of treatment. "Once we're satisfied that no one's on our trail, we'll return to sanctuary." He concluded, lazily gazing out the large viewport now that he had a moment to himself.

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk was not too fond of the idea to return to Sanctuary, showing his disgust with a brief groan. Regardless, the coordinates for Tatooine had been in place by [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] and the autopilot was engaged as they entered the jump to lightspeed. It'd take a while before reaching their destination so the apprentice felt it was good to get acquainted with the ship.

"She's not so bad, huh? The ship, I mean. It saved us from a major disaster, master." he inquired to his mentor, showing appreciation for the freighter.

The cockpit was a wreck, left unattended for years and almost dismantled. It would definitely require an overhaul from someone skilled enough.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Tugoro merely frowned at [member='Ar'ekk']'s dramatic disapproval, shaking his head briefly in disappointment. He did not hold it against the young man, for he himself had been the same way years ago. If anything, this trip had taught him that there was still much they both needed to learn, and they would do so side by side. Now that the freighter was running smoothly, the brown haired man lifted himself from the co-pilot's seat, before walking into the corridor towards the main cabin.

"Not bad at all," he called back in response, noting the small but equipped communications station to his left. "We're lucky she's in operating condition. Unfortunately, we may have to return it to its owner." Tugoro presented the idea, curious as to how his apprentice would react. The ship was likely found and taken by the Sith, and there was bound to be flight logs stored in the computers.

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk demonstrated his instant denial to the idea of giving back the freighter to its righteous owners. "You mean go back to Nar Shadda and hand it over to another crime lord who would want us dead for having his ship? I'm not sure, master." he concluded.

Indeed there was sensitive information on the logs as he had checked earlier such as smuggling routes and other secrets of the trade. This information however held no real value for the Padawan as he wasn't interested in gaining power or money at all but the ship itself. Something attracted him to the freighter like it was calling him to become the righteous owner of such a magnificent yet ancient ship.

"I think we should keep it, master Tugoro. At least I could use it very well since you've got your ship, the Aleph. You still have it, right?" the apprentice inquired to his mentor, showcasing a sidegrin.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

"No," Tugoro snapped, disappointed by his apprentice's lack of understanding. "I mean we should find out what this ship was used for, before we just decide to call it our own. You have no idea what this thing has been involved with," the Jedi explained, turning around and heading back for the cockpit. Turning to the large navigational computer on the wall, Tugoro would begin to cycle through old logs and coordinates that had been used.

Some were relatively recent, but nothing beyond that. It appeared as if someone had wiped the logs on purpose, as to cover their tracks. "We'll be able to find out, somehow. With any luck, maybe this ship has been to Tatooine." The man rolled his eyes at [member='Ar'ekk']'s question, before responding. "What I need are spare parts. I'm sure I'll find them on Tatooine."

 

[Arekk]

The freighter had finished making the jump to hyperspace and stopped in Outer Rim Territory, by the Tatoo System. Tatooine, an arid planet was right ahead in full display. Ar'ekk sat on the cockpit, contemplating to keep the ship regardless of its history and past.

"We have arrived to Tatooine, master. Another planet ran by the Hutts, how convenient." he sarcastically said, in an almost jokingly tone.

The whole idea of returning to Sanctuary plus returning the ship had made the apprentice's mood swing drastically, adopting a more cocky and arrogant personality. This was no surprise as he was still young and clueless to many things, the boy in him had not left despite his experiences.

"Where do we land?"

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Tugoro didn't like to constantly badger his young apprentice, but there was little else it could be perceived as by [member='Ar'ekk']. After listening to his comment, he responded. "Yes, the perfect place for a background check, considering my intentions," Tugoro said, figuring if there was any bounty on the ship, then they would surely find out there.

Stepping out of the cockpit after browsing through the navigational system, Tugoro headed for the communications station, taking a seat just as the freighter exited hyperspace. Tatooine was still a distance away, but visible through the main viewport. There was also a large space station near orbit, that had just sent out a transmission to the ship. "Unidentified vessel, transmit your transponder codes and prepare to be scanned." It looked like landing wasn't going to be as easy as Tugoro had thought, however they no illegal cargo, or anything of the sort. Tapping in a few commands on the console, the Jedi successfully sent the station the required information, which was received and processed as per procedure.

"... Ebon Hawk, you are to power down all weapons systems and dock in space station hangar bay twenty-three. Comply or we will use force."

 

[Arekk]

"Here we go again." the apprentice snarkily replied. It was trouble that found them again or was it the other way around? Whatever was going on, it wasn't good. Ar'ekk reached for his cloak to wear it in case anyone decided to board the freighter, keeping his lightsaber concealed from plain sight.

With the pressing of a few switches, the weapons of the ship were disabled as requested by the space station staff and slowly maneuvered the ship to land on docking bay twenty-three. The descent felt so slow and irritating that Ar'ekk couldn't feel but anger, walking back and forth around the ship in an attempt to calm himself down. The power on the ship went down with practiced bravado, all lights completely turned off but on the main port.

He waited for the doors to open.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

From outside of the ship, in the hangar bay, the two Jedi would hear the deep and powerful voice shouting at them. "You will answer for your incompetence, out of the ship at once!" Looking towards his Padawan, Tugoro couldn't help but sigh in disappointment, passing by and heading towards the main ramp's small control lever.

Pulling down, the wode metallic plank dropped to the floor, allowing the duo to step along it and into the hangar bay. Before them was a large, fancily dressed Houk, who had a small escort of B9 battle droids with him. The droids looked odd, but were still a good few steps up from the B1 model. "You aren't.. Was I called all this way for nothing?!" the alien roared, his large and muscular physique overshadowing his droid escort by far.

Straightening out his brown leather flight jacket, the Jedi would shrug in a futile matter, unsure of what to tell the Houk. Maybe [member='Ar'ekk'] would have a better explanation. "This ship was scheduled here months ago for delivery, understand? Instead of a single smuggler, I find two completely different ones. What is going on?"

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk looked at his mentor with an apparent confused look on his face. The freighter was indeed a smuggling ship as he realized earlier by going through the logs and receveing all sort of routes information.

"Sorry to disappoint but I don't think the person you're looking for is coming. This ship was in Nar Shaddaa, collecting dust for who knows how long. I don't think there's any cargo here." the Padawan replied first to the Houk, explaining the situation with the hope he'd reveal some more insight on who he was expecting and why.

The presence of the B9 battle droids led the apprentice to believe that the Houk was either a local crime lord or a simple minion to a bigger fish.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

The Houk was covered in fine silks and jewelry, so it was obvious that he had some semblance of power at his disposal. He leaned forward, looking directly at [member='Ar'ekk'] and sneering with skepticism. "Is that so? If that is the truth, then there will be no harm done if I search the ship." He concluded, motioning forward with a large arm towards the main ramp of the freighter. The droids began to march forward, forcing Tugoro to step to the side, nearly getting shoved by the small group as they entered the ship.

"I don't think you'll find what you're looking for, my friend. Perhaps there is another way we can settle this?" Tugoro questioned, the alien looking towards the man as he slowly approached the duo. "Perhaps," the Houk repeated, looking over the two briefly in examination. "If you were willing to run a few jobs, we could forget about this whole mess. But how do I know I can trust you?" He asked, unsure about the suspicious pair that had showed up.

 

[Arekk]

"We showed up on Tatooine with the ship you were expecting and allowed you to search the ship. Isn't that enough, for starters? Ar'ekk replied, seeking to reason with the Houk. Running a few errands for some local powerful criminal of Tatooine seemed to bring bad memories from their earlier encounter in Nar Shaddaa. Whatever he wanted them to do, it was certainly within the limits of legality.

The Padawan gave his mentor an intrigued glance, as if he was seeking for a second opinion from [member="Tugoro Taidarious"]. The ship remained intact, nothing has been tampered with since the Jedi spent most of the time in the cockpit.

"You can trust us." he finally concluded.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

After spending some time in the interior of the freighter, the battle droids began to file out, once more taking their position at the Houk crime lord's side. "We will see. I am Lord Ghudor, and I'll have you know that I work with the Exchange. As long as you do as instructed, you'll have nothing to worry about." Ghudor spoke, a quite obvious veiled warning.

"It's a simple delivery, on the surface of Tatooine. I'll be waiting here... Guarding your ship." the Houk concluded, taking out a datapad from his robes, and tapping in some information. He handed it off to Tugoro, who took it and nodded in agreement. Did they really have a choice? Looking back to [member='Ar'ekk'], the Jedi was simply glad that his apprentice hadn't decided to attack the group that confronted them. Ghudor no doubt had connections, and it wouldn't be wise to act hastily.

"What are we transporting?" Tugoro asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. "Just a few crates," the alien replied, as two of the battle droids appeared, with a pair of large metallic crates pushed ahead of them. They had miniature repulsorlifts in the bottom, so they hovered rather than being dragged along the ground. "You have the coordinates, there is a shuttle in bay twenty two. The next one over."

 

[Arekk]

The Jedi stepped out of the Ebon Hawk carrying the hovering cargo along, Ar'ekk looking over at the freighter thinking he'll not see her again. The idea of working for a criminal on Tatooine was the worst that could've happen to them but since they were out of ideas and money, it was better to do as asked unless they wanted to die.

"You heard that, master? The Exchange. If he only knew we blew up their cantina in Nar Shaddaa." the apprentice said, away from the Houk's ear. He then pointed at the datapad, asking: "Where's the shuttle again?"

Working as smugglers wasn't exactly their idea when they first took a trip to Tatooine but certainly came in handy at this moment unless they were to meet a worse fate.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

This trip had gone terribly. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Tugoro knew that taking the mysterious freighter would be bad luck. Now they were running errands for the Exchange, while still on the run from the Sith. "This way." The Jedi said, taking a last glance at the Ebon Hawk, before making his way out of the hangar. Docking bay twenty-two was just down the long corridor, which nearly stretched around the entire station. A shuttle was parked within the hangar, its loading ramp open and waiting for the two Jedi. Pushing the crate ahead of him, Tugoro walked up the plank, setting their cargo down, along with the one [member='Ar'ekk'] had brought along.

The craft would then begin to take off, the small cabin large enough for multiple seats. A couple of aliens worked in the cockpit, managing ship functions and navigation after they took the Jedi's datapad. Having taken his seat already, Tugoro strapped himself in, as the ship began to tremble slightly from their atmospheric entry. "I think we have to go to some cantina. We'll be touching down at.. Mos Eisley Spaceport." That was a place he was familiar with, and while he had no fond memories of it, he didn't attest to their return. Once this was over with, surely they would return to Sanctuary.

 

[Arekk]

The shuttle transporting the Jedi touched down on Mos Eisley's shuttleport which was luckily a few steps away from the cantina they were supposed to deliver the cargo. Ar'ekk helped carrying both levitating crates off the ship and making sure no one was trailing them to try and rob the merchandise.

"How well you know this planet, master? I don't like this sandy weather." the young apprentice said, clearly upset by the hot climate temperature. The cargo they were in charge of delivering was succesfully ready to transport and carried to the location indicated by the Hout. The duo walked calmly towards the entrance of the cantina which, unfortunately, smelled awfully to liquor and who knows what else. A loud enviroment with a band playing alien-like tunes for the audience, patrons having their private talks in their chairs and people sharing drinks by the bar.

Ar'ekk and [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] stood by the stairs on the entrance, confused on where to proceed next.