Trouble Comes in Small Packages Too

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

[member="Sebastian Thel"]


Today was a day like any other day. Well, sort of. Okay, not really. Today had STARTED off like any other day. But it sure wasn't going to end like one.

Loreena, or Lori as she liked to be called, was visiting Chasin City. Her dad [member="Veiere Arenais"] was on trial for some very bad things, stuff that she didn't want to believe were true. Her guardian and Mandalorian trainer [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"] had brought her back home to witness it, much to the dismay of her parents. Her twin brother [member="Caedyn Arenais"] was not brought home to watch the trial. Instead he was probably kept away from it all and the scrutiny that would surely follow.

It was a big mess for their family. Her young, 14 year old mind couldn't quite comprehend the politics of it all. But then again, even adults had a hard time with it too. Uncertainty was never a good thing. It left people and situations volatile. It created instability.

Needing a break from all of the attention and the media, plus the glaring watch of adults, Lori headed out on her own for a walkabout. Even though she was technically a Princess, she didn't dress the part, nor did she act like one. She headed across one of the playing fields for Skyball at the University of Eight as a pick up game took place.

Just as she came towards the bleachers, a half dozen University students recognized her and blocked her path. "Well, well, if it isn't the traitor-King's daughter."

Lori narrowed her eyes as she stopped and looked up at them. "Shut up. He's not a traitor."

"You wanna bet? Only a traitor would bring an army with him to murder his own people. Thought he was a Jedi? Turns out, he's just a turncoat Sith."

"I said SHUT UP!!"

She shoved the boy backwards. Yet the first response that she got was laughter from the lot of them. "Or what? Are you going to turn traitor too? Have you got an army to bring upon us?"

"Yeah look at me, I'm shaking in my boots."

More laughter. Lori clenched her jaw as she rolled her sleeves up. This wasn't what she came out here for. But they asked for it. "You should be..." Turning to the nearest young man, she brought her foot up for a mighty kick to his groin. It cought him by surprise, flooring him instantly.

All the others looked at her in shock, before their anger built. "Oh you're going to pay for that..." Before they could pounce on her, Lori quickly turned around and sprinted to cross the field. Five of the six tore after her. The young Princess' eyes darted everywhere. She couldn't run forever, she needed a plan. And right now she was sorely outnumbered.

 

[Sebastian Thel]

The life of an academic provided little in terms of the unexpected. That was not to say Sebastian did not enjoy his studies, being stuck in the same place simply made him antsy. Being watched by the same disapproving people. With exams around the corner, he tried to immerse himself in study while the lingering impulse to flee the university all together pressed the back of his mind. Sitting in the bleachers and writing away in his hardcover notebook, he surveyed a game of skyball and squinted in disgust at the sight of fellow students competing in their sports game.

Shouts sounded from the side of the stand. Diverting his eye from the equation beneath the end of his pen, Sebastian followed the sound and saw a group of students harassing a young girl. He shifted in discomfort and felt obligated to stand up for her, despite how much he would have run away and hid.

"Thh... ebathtian..." Another student whom Sebastian had met in his calculus lecture spoke from beside him. "She looks like she's in trouble!" William was his name and he spoke with a veritable lisp. With huge glasses, freckles and a cardigan, he followed Sebastian around like a puppy dog despite the few words they had exchanged together.

"Well go on then." Sebastian said in a voice devoid of expression. "Help her if you want." The line of his mouth remained unmoved as he stared at his equations, his hand moving fiercely across the paper. William brought his hands to his chest and quivered, looking at Sebastian in expectation. Sebastian knew he wanted to help, even if he was not strong to truly take action in any situation.

Sebastian caught the last words of the man who threatened the young girl. Things seemed to be turning violent quickly. With a sigh, he thought to himself and slid his notes and pens into a satchel around his shoulder. William crept behind him as he jumped down the bleachers to the edge of the pitch, where he waited by the side and watched the scene unfold. One man raised a hand above the head of the young girl and William gasped behind Sebastian's back. Closing his eyes, Sebastian tried to draw on his powers. Nothing happened and he felt his hands grow warm in frustration.

"What're you staring at, dork!?" Their presence seemed to provide a distraction, as one of the young men stormed towards Sebastian and gripped him by the collar of his shirt. At that point, he raised his hands to his chest and unleashed a blast of power through the Force. The students were thrown into the sides of the bleachers, which dented with the impact.

Overwhelmed by the release of power, Sebastian staggered on his feet and struggled to stand. William cupped his mouth and backed away in fear, having never seen the force in use before. The young girl had been thrown backwards and Sebastian walked forward and offered her his hand. His mouth clamped shut and he could not produce any words if he tried. He stood in silence with his hand outstretched, waiting to help the girl to her feet. His face stared into the ground, still as stone and not moving an inch.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori had managed to run across the field alright, but was almost cornered by the bleachers on the other side. She climbed up to the top and almost decided to jump across to the next set. Almost.

Instead she dropped down, just in time for the older and quicker boys caught up to her. They had her nearly surrounded. Lori's eyes followed one of the boys as he started towards a couple of newcomers; William and [member="Sebastian Thel"] . Where did they come from?

It made no matter. Lori was soon sent flying from the bleachers, landing with a thud on her back, knocking the wind out of her. Was that a Force Push? Or something like that? It made her wonder if her twin brother could perform such a skill. She couldn't as she had focused her learning on piloting, engineering and of how to be a Mandalorian.

She lay there for a few moments, waiting for her breath to return. Oh he was dreamy! That was when she noticed Sebastian standing over her with his hand held out. It was obvious that he wanted her to take it. So with a small grin on her face, she reached up and took hold of it, pulling herself to her feet. So nice and warm, so very nice and warm."Thanks. You've got a neat trick there. Who taught you?" If [member="Caedyn Arenais"] was here, he'd probably be trying to seperate them. Or maybe take Sebastian with him for training with the Je'daii. But maybe this one came from the Praxeum. That's where she would go for Force training anyways.

 

[Sebastian Thel]

As the Force released from Sebastian's palms, he heard William scream from behind him. The impact dented the side of the bleachers and sent the group of young men running in fear, Sebastian knew all too well that they would return for payback. He felt exposed and guilty, his powers out in the open for all too see. People from outside the bleachers gathered to stare. He looked over his shoulder to see William backing away in fear, hands cupped to his mouth.

Sebastian tried to speak, splaying his hands against the air and begging William to come back. The other young student continued to back away, tripping over his feet as he walked backwards. He turned around entirely and ran away, having never witnessed use of the Force before. Sebastian's features fell with sadness over losing another friend, this time over the anomaly of his powers. He turned around to face the girl and stared awkwardly into the ground.

As she spoke, Sebastian froze. His lips clenched shut in a vice. Inhaling deeply, he could not speak and tried to force the words beyond his lips. He looked from one bleacher to the other, checking to see if the young men were making a return.

"Nobody." He uttered. "I wrote it down first." D'ooh. He thought as he shook his head, smacking his forehead with internal frustration. She could not possibly know what he meant by that. He reached into his satchel and found his notebook, then flipped over to the page of equations through which he had compounded simple motion through the Force.

"We should go." Sebastian stated in a tone void of expression. "They might come back." He looked around rapidly for a place where the girl and himself could run.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

[member="Sebastian Thel"] seemed actually.. sad. William ran away like the other boys. Were the two of them friends? It was hard for her to guess. It wasn't as though she had any. Her title, plus the fact that her guardians were Mandalorians made such a thing difficult. And even though she was away from her parents, she could feel the presence of her Dad [member="Veiere Arenais"] at times. Did her brother feel it as well? Lori had little doubt that they were spied upon sometimes.

She furrowed her brows. "You wrote it down?" He brought out the notepad them and showed her. It was full of equations that were more complex than her current education allowed. "Wow...How did you figure that out?" Sebastian was smart and dreamy! Perfect!

He suggested that they move. Lori retook his hand. "This way. Come on!" She pulled him along, though she didn't run. Instead she walked. "Don't run though...It attracts attention." Running was what made him spot her, didn't it? Running always caught people's eyes. The quick movements made people look, letting the fight or flight instincts kick in. "Let's get into town. We should be able to lose them there."

 

[Sebastian Thel]

As Loreena exclaimed in awe upon seeing his formula, Sebastian managed a rare smile. A huge, enthusiastic smile between dimples in his cheeks. He began think of ways to explain just how he had managed to compound spells as formula, something many sorcerers learned. His physics professor had helped him upon discovering his powers, to begin with.

He slid his notes back into his satchel and motioned towards the gates when Loreena showed him the way. When she grabbed his hand, he winced slightly before following her, listening in all directions for any sign of the men following them. The shouts had long disappeared into the distance as they walked to the gates of the campus.

Sebastian also looked around for William, becoming increasingly worried about him wandering around on his own. He did not much like the idea of running, he had spend too many days in high school doing just that and agreed with Loreena when she lead him into town. Lights flashed from buildings soaring into the sky as they strode through the city, with Sebastian keeping a keen watch over his shoulder.

"I know where we can hide." He said as they turned a corner. Sebastian lead Loreena past factories and houses, until they arrived at an abandoned warehouse. The building had only recently gone out of business and was still standing strong.

They traveled up the stairs which lead them to the roof. Up another set of metal stairs and they arrived on top of the building. The roof was built with a shelter and various levels to sit on. Beside the wall was a fluffy couch strewn with textbooks and pieces of machinery which Sebastian had been playing with.

"It's okay, nobody ever comes here." Sebastian said in a quiet and considerate voice. He shrugged and looked around, walking towards the couch where he kept his books. He stored them away when the weather was bad and brought them out to study. Of course there were days where he simply forgot and left his things beneath the elements.

Textbooks on mathematics and technical design littered the couch, beside a droid which Sebastian had been attempting to program. Unsuccessfully, but he was trying. He invited Loreena to sit while he paced nervously along the length of the railing.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Ohhhhh [member="Sebastian Thel"] hadsuch a dreamy smile. And it brightened up his features so well! But, he was an older man! Her father would never approve, let alone her twin brother.

She didn't notice him wince when she took his hand. Not that that would've stopped her anyways. Yet the fact that he soon took the lead gave her the impression that he was just fine with her hanging out with him. And that was of course, awesome!

Inside the old warehouse they went. Lori followed, glancing about, searching for movement. No one ever comes here? It made her wonder if he lived there. Hopefully not, for it would be sad if he did.

Her eyes fell on the books of material, as well as the droid and tools strewn about. But Sebastian seemed more inclined to put them away than to let her look. Still, she sat down on the couch when invited, watching him as he paced. "I'm sure they gave up already. Otherwise we'd see them. Are you building this droid? Need any help? I build things too. I'm working on my own jet pack." Lori beemed with pride. Ol' Sparky was near completion.

Lori's eyes weren't the only pair watching Sebastion. Two others took peeks from around the corner, one controlling a drone that flew high above them.

 

[Sebastian Thel]

As the young girl made herself comfortable on the lounge, Sebastian continued to pace along the length of the roof. Biting his finger, he shook his head and tried to collect his nerves. He knew that he should not have been worried. After all, she was younger than him and seemed to have no ill-intent.

"I'm Sebastian Thel." He said, turning to face the girl. "What's your name?" Slowly, he approached her and sat down. The afternoon sun lowered over the city, causing the air to grow warm. Sebastian threw off his jacket onto the lounge and revealed a plain, grey T-shirt worn beneath bracers with trousers tucked into boots.

"Oh!" He piped up when Loreena mentioned the droid. "I've been revising the model, but can't seem to get the programming to work." To his regret, Sebastian had never studied engineering or technical design and would have liked to sharpen his skills as a mechanic. "A jetpack! That sounds awesome." His soft, brown eyes widened at the idea. "Are you a Mandalorian?" He asked, his mind immediately connecting jetpacks to Mandalorians.

From behind the corner, a pair of eyes surveyed the premises, taking in every action made by Sebastian and Loreena. Buzzing rand from above, drawing Sebastian's gaze to the ceiling where he looked around for the sound. Shrugging it off, he picked up a notebook and flipped open to the last page, where he had been tinkering away at the design for the droid.

"I thought I heard something..." Sebastian cocked his head to one side in curiosity, wondering if Loreena had heard the noise too. "Oh well." He said, slipping a pen out of his pocket. Pouring over the model, he began to scribble formula, only to score out one equation and begin anew as he determined to mend the fault in his design.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

[member="Sebastian Thel"] . Such a perfect name! But of course he was perfect, so it made sense that he'd have a perfect name. "My name's Lori." She didn't give out her full name. Besides, if he found out that she was a Princess, he'd probably treat her differently like most did. Her parents kept her and her brother out of the limelight, so they had as normal of a life as they could.

"Let me take a look at it." She brought herself over to it. Doing more than just looking, Lori started going through the different components that he had so far, including the brains of the thing. Some of the wiring was done incorrectly, which wasn't entirely his fault. He couldn't be a genius afterall, for that would make him TOO perfect. But he did far better than her brother could.

His comments on her jetpack made her smile. "It is awesome! Maybe when it's done, you can take it out for a spin. I just have to keep it from overheating and sputtering. Could be a bad fuel ratio. I'll be working on that next." When he asked her if she was Mandalorian, she shrugged her shoulders. "Sorta. My mom was adopted into a clan long before I was born. So that makes me half. She has some Mandalorian friends or whatever that will be teaching me things that I can't learn in school. Even flying." Lori beemed. Flying was her passion and she was a natural at it.

The buzzing seemed to go away, although tje drone had just gone higher. The pair of eyes continued to watch and wait for the right moment to strike.

 

[Sebastian Thel]

"Well it's nice to meet you, Lori." Sebastian said with a coy smile. The way Lori seemed to look at him made him turn away slightly, almost uncomfortable with the experience of making a friend. Although he was not sure if he knew her well enough to call her a friend, either way, just talking to Lori was difficult.

"Oh, I don't think I'd like that." Chuckling slightly, he refused Lori's offer of trying out her jet pack. Not one who particularly enjoyed adrenaline, Sebastian was more interested in designing machines rather than actually using them. "I don't really like... to go fast." He shifted awkwardly in his seat, running a hand through his pin-straight hair and messing up the strands even more.

"... but I would still like to see it." He smiled, rubbing a hand up and down his arm as he fidgeted. "Oh wow, I've never met a Mandalorian." He exclaimed as Lori talked about her heritage. Feeling almost dull in comparison, Sebastian could not think of anything interesting about his family to tell Lori in return.

"Well I can't fly, but I can design starfighters and equipment for larger ships." He internally cursed himself for how lame that sounded. "I know that isn't cool, but I like it." Shrugging, he found his notebook beside him on the couch and opened up the page to the last series of equations he had written. As Lori continued to help him re-wire the droid, he began to compound a new series of algorithms for the model.

"I'm configuring a new model, hopefully with no discrepancies in the programming." Sebastian said as he found his glasses. Thick-rimmed and rectangular, he slipped them over his ears and read the equations more clearly as he wrote. "Lori, do you know how to fight?" He asked, genuinely curious as to whether or not her Mandalorian guardians had trained her in combat.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]