To Catch a Thief

[Cassius Droma]

She asked if he could narrow it down, perhaps by identifying any other places of interest that he could spot. Obliging, he nodded and closed his eyes, trying to reach further back with the Force. He tried to pinpoint when exactly the thief arrived on the planet and set up camp. It was difficult, as it had been such a short moment, in time, but he found it.

“South of Theed,” he said, eyes still darting below his eyelids. His perspective was on the thief’s ship right now, heading towards the valley. Theed could be seen on the horizon. Looking about, Cassius found something that would hopefully be more helpful. “There’s… a river. It passes through a mountain range before leading into a lake. Looks like the lake country, maybe the northern side. The river is only about two dozen meters from the hiding spot – I’m guessing he picked it in case he needed to get more water.”

He focused harder, to see if he could discern anything else. “There don’t seem to be any vacation homes or anything around… it might be a wildlife retreat.”

Other than that, he couldn’t see anything else. He hoped it helped – his ability, as useful as it might be, wouldn’t count for anything if they couldn’t actually find the thief.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie knew her home. She had spent her childhood exploring the caves, the rivers, the swamps and lakes. It had gotten her into a world of trouble numerous times, yet it had always been worth the risk. Naboo was a gem of the galaxy, and many would never have the benefit of truly indulging in its beauty. At times she felt almost guilty for having been born a citizen of the planet. There could be no better home. At least in her opinion. When Cassius mentioned the location she gave the man a nod.

"I know where it is." She reached down to grab her weapon and secure it out of habit, though quickly realized her predicament with a scowl. "It's obscured by thick Zaela trees. They're tall and provide ample cover from surveillance. It's a spot smugglers use from time to time.It would be simple enough to clear the trees, but it seems wrong to kill them for that reason."

Besides, they would just find a new spot and restart the cycle all over again.

"Come. Maybe if we hurry he will still be there."

The blonde gestured for the Jedi to follow her towards the hangar where a fleet of small transport shuttles awaited. "Can you fly? I'm not much of a pilot."

In other words, did you have a death wish?

[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

She knew where it was – good. If Cassius could have drawn a map, he would have, but his knowledge of Naboo was only the bare minimum of Theed and basic surrounding areas. He had only given the map readout a cursory glance on his way in with his A-wing.

He was ushered to the hangar, where a series of glinting transport ships awaited them. Cassius felt the need to pick something fast, but then again, almost all Naboo ships had that slick, aerodynamic look to them. As his eyes marveled at the near-mirror reflectivity of them, he was asked whether or not he could fly.

Giving a little smile and a nod, Cassius said, “I might not be a good Jedi, but you should find I’m an excellent pilot.” To prove his point, he clambered up the boarding ramp of one of the transports and slid right into the pilot’s seat in the cockpit. Once the Queen was seated, he pressed a series of buttons and flicked a series of switches as if he were a machine. The boarding ramp closed, the panels around them lit up, and the engines hummed to life.

Once they were given clearance for take-off, Cassius activated the anti-grav repulsors and the silvery ship lifted up. Gripping the controls, Cassius eased her out of the hangar, but picked up the pace once they had cleared it. “Navigation console should be to your left,” Cassius said. “You can put in the coordinates of where to head.”

“We’ll need to be fast if we’re going to catch him, especially if he has a sensor grid up.” Cassius said. Already, he could feel the rush of excitement, the familiarity at being at the helm again. He couldn’t even feel the blaster hit at his side anymore.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie sat beside the Padawan, gave a quick nod, spun to the left and danced fingers for a brief moment, ensuring she was indeed utilizing the correct console. The blonde wasn't the most well versed when it came to starship tech, but the screen appeared to be precisely where and what Cassius was referring to. Within a few breaths she had entered the coordinates to the location he had described, and relayed that in the form of a quick "All set" before sitting back in the seat and clasping the harness closed over her body.

One thing that Nabooian ships were was fast, of that there was no doubt. Perhaps they weren't the fastest the galaxy had ever known, but they were well enough to receive a nod or two.

"Let's go find this thief."

Hopefully he hadn't managed to slip through the planet's atmosphere and planetary sensors. If the lightsaber left Naboo, she was certain it would be lost.

Losing another lightsaber would simply be awful. She'd never hear the end of it from Aela, that was for sure.

[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

“Got it,” Cassius sounded off as he glanced at the navicomputer. The spot didn’t seem to be that far, but it was far enough away to be isolated. He did a small banking turn to the left in order to adjust his heading, then kicked up the throttle and their altitude. For perhaps the first time in his life, Cassius appreciated the fact that the Nubian ships were chrome-plated. While the young pilot always thought Nubians were a little too sleek for his tastes, he knew they would be very hard to spot in the dark.

Couldn’t say much for the sounds the engines would make, though.

~~

The sounds of wildlife were peaceful to many sentient beings, but the thief was still on edge. He yearned to get back to a place with buildings, with people. There were always places to hide in a city. Out here? There was hardly anywhere to run. It was the only option though, after stealing something from a head of state.

He was on his datapad, tapping away, his feet propped up on a small cargo container he’d set out from his small ship. It was all about killing time, really. These next few hours would be crucial. If he wasn’t caught or spotted until morning, he might be able to fly around to the other side of the planet and make a break for it.

Something caught his attention. His ears perked and his eyes narrowed. Stilling himself, he listened to the night. Was that… a starship’s engines? It could easily be a passing airspeeder, or some sort of exotic fauna he wasn’t familiar with.

~~

“Got em,” Cassius tapped the sensor readout next to him. There was an energy signature – extremely slight, but it was right where they had set the coordinates. “You might want to hang on…” he muttered to the Royal Highness. He took the ship into a deep dive, like a predatory bird swooping in on its prey. He didn’t want to take the chance that the thief would hear them and try to run off like he did before. Leveling out just above the ground, Cassius punched the switches for the landing gear and boarding ramp, both components lowering simultaneously.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie wrapped her hand around one of the straps of the harness holding her in to brace for the abrupt landing, before rapidly releasing the device to free herself of the chair the moment Cassius took them to the ground. The blonde would have reached to her side for her lightsaber as a reflex, but as she did so she realized that the whole reason they were here was because she was missing that very tool she was reaching for! She muttered a silent curse to herself as she broke free of the seat to make a dash for the ramp at the rear of the ship.

"Let's not waste any time! He can't get away again."

In mere moments she had traversed the small shuttle to the rear of the vessel and bounded down the ramp, boots clanking against the light durasteel with each step until feet hit soft, mossy grass beneath her. All around skyward reaching trees soared into the air, a perfect place to stash a ship if one could, and wait out in hiding. Thankfully Cassius was a better tracker than she, much better in fact. The only way she would have discovered the thief was when he attempted to break atmosphere and the sensors would pick him up. Of course by then he'd be gone and she'd be chasing him based on hyperspace trajectory.

[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

As soon as the ship hit the ground, Cassius unlatched his crash-webbing and thundered down the boarding ramp right behind Jamie. Despite already having been in a foot chase and being shot at only hours ago, adrenaline pushed the young Jedi forward. In what little light there was, Cassius could see movement through the trees. They got him, dead to rights.

He could see that the thief was heading for his ship, and was already going up the ramp by the time they reached his little encampment. They couldn’t let him get away again, and as he heard the high-pitched sound of the engines firing up again, Cassius made a small gamble. Pulling out his lightsaber, he ignited it and threw it, guiding the weapon with the Force. In a brilliant arc of green light, the saber slashed through both engines, and a loud sputtering sounded as the fuel failed to reach them and ignite. Thankfully, Cassius had bet on the ship just being disabled and not completely blowing up, and it looked like it had paid off.

Catching the weapon in his hand, he charged up the ramp, the cockpit and thief in clear view. “Gotcha,” he breathed out, only just now realizing that he was a little short of breath. His lightsaber was pointed directly at the man, who rather than try and shoot them or anything else, lazily put his hands up. He knew when he was beat.

Over on a crate was a glinting silver cylinder. “I think that’s yours,” he said to Jamie, nodding to the lightsaber.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]