Zalor Anneri
Crew of the Wayward Son
There will be justice for Theed. Trust my anger.
Posts: 296 
Affiliation: None (currently) - Jedi Shadows(formerly)
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Theed
Oct 27, 2016 21:31:42 GMT -8
Post by Zalor Anneri on Oct 27, 2016 21:31:42 GMT -8
A tingle went down Zalor's spine when Tanara walked up to him, sporting the new outfit he had spotted for her. She was stunning. It was perfect. Almost too perfect, he thought.
The tingling sensation got more intense when suddenly, Zalor's mind seemed to briefly float back in time...
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Sayra Nur was standing in the exact same spot that Tanara was standing in right now, sporting a new Neubian blue jumpsuit she found that matched her new white cloak and robe. She loved it, and not only did she love it, Zalor loved seeing her in it. It was the first time she had sported it, and the same tingling sensation shot down his spine then when he first saw it, too.
She gave the same little twirl, only hers was far more flirty. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, Zalor was sure she spoke the same exact words...
~"Well? What do you think?"~
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Zalor's response was...
~"Wow! Sayra...you...you look..."~
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"...amazing!" It was as if he had rehearsed this scene almost exactly. He spoke the same words that he had said to Sayra, only replacing her name with Tanara's. His face was flushed. His heart rate was accelerating. But, then...like hitting a brick wall...he made a realization.
His body and his mind had just played a cruel trick on him.
Here he was, enjoying Tanara's company. He had only suggested that she was his girlfriend to Brianna to get her to cut the needless talk, but Tanara had decided to run with it. Once she had decided to run with the joke, he realized that he was enjoying her company even more. So much so that when she stepped out of the dressing room, sporting the new outfit, it was just like the first time he was with Sayra, in this same spot. His body and mind were reacting the same way.
Except Sayra was gone. Tanara stood in her place.
What is wrong with me? These were the exact words that formed in his mind, just as his excited smile faded and became bitter remorse and hurt. Zalor then became self-conscious, and was afraid she would see the change in his countenance. But it was too late. The hurt took place. He needed to find Sayra, and not be fooling around with his closest platonic friend. After all, Tanara was engaged, and Vincent would be furious if he caught them together. This was wrong, all wrong, and Zalor knew it.
Zalor decided not to try and hide his feelings. He breathed a deep sigh of regret and sadness, hoping Tanara would spot it.
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Tanara Ajahn
The Organization
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Theed
Oct 30, 2016 18:59:52 GMT -8
Post by Tanara Ajahn on Oct 30, 2016 18:59:52 GMT -8
The Twi'lek girl giggled and twirled again at her friend's response. She did really like this outfit. She made to turn back to the change room when she noticed the very visible emotional change in her friend. She was immediately concerned and moved a few steps closer to him as she started to think of why he would have suddenly become depressed. He had seemed so happy and enthusiastic to be spending time with her, even if shopping wasn't one of his favourite things to do. Within seconds she realized why.
~I haven't seen Sayra Nur in years.~
~...tell them I miss them. A lot.~
~ I wanted to marry Sayra Nur...~
~I've taken Sayra here on numerous occasions...~
Suddenly she felt extremely guilty as she realized she had been ignoring how much her friend had been missing his girlfriend. She had been inadvertently attempting to fill that gap in his life, while also attempting to fill the gap she felt with her fiancee's absence. "Zal..." She wanted to explain that she didn't mean to attempt to replace Sayra. She wanted to apologize for ignoring his feelings. She had forgotten how devoted he was to his girlfriend. That he wasn't a shameless flirt like her fiancee was. She tried to tell him all this, but the words wouldn't come. Her mouth felt dry and sealed shut.
So instead of speaking, she attempted to move closer to him to give him a reassuring hug, but her feet seemed a thousand pounds heavier, keeping her in place. At this point, she wasn't sure if a hug would even help, or if it would make it all worse. She stood there, looking at her friend, who was hanging his head in regret and sorrow. She was at a loss of words and actions. "Zal....I..."
She somehow managed to turn herself around and walk back into the change room, where she had left her belongings. She knew they both needed a few minutes to collect their thoughts and emotions, so she took her time in packing up her old clothes. She knew however, that they had to get on with their day. She was still throwing a party, and had several more stops planned along the way. So eventually she strapped her bag on her back again and stepped out of the change room. She looked over at her friend and attempted to give him a friendly smile. "Let's go pay for this outfit and get going. We've got more stops to make before the party."
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Zalor Anneri
Crew of the Wayward Son
There will be justice for Theed. Trust my anger.
Posts: 296
Affiliation: None (currently) - Jedi Shadows(formerly)
Traffic Light: Yellow
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Theed
Oct 31, 2016 20:27:04 GMT -8
Post by Zalor Anneri on Oct 31, 2016 20:27:04 GMT -8
"Tanara..." Zalor knew he had gotten her attention, and he could see that Tanara had almost immediately realized what was going on. However, she seemed to have as much trouble putting words to the sudden wave of sadness that had come over him as he did, so he decided to explain himself. "...I know what you're probably going to say, and...it's not your fault. I do really like the outfit. I think you should get that one."
Zalor allowed Tanara to lead them back to the cash registers. Yet, they were far enough away, Zalor had plenty of time to continue explaining himself...he needed to get this off his chest, and he wanted to make sure there was no misunderstanding.
"What I wanted to say, though, was...the first time I took Sayra here, she stood exactly where you were when you came out of that dressing room. She said the exact same thing, and I responded the exact same way. When you came out of the dressing room looking amazing in that outfit...it...it made me miss her. Like, a lot. I miss Sayra, Tanara. It's been almost five years since I've seen her last." At this point, Zalor was nearly fighting back tears, trying to keep his composure.
Zalor fell quiet when they finally reached the checkout lane, which was surprisingly vacant, on a busy day like today. A black-skinned woman with her hair done up in what appeared to be three different buns (Zalor couldn't why understand the current trend of multiple buns was such a hit lately), spotted Tanara first and smiled at her sweetly, offering to take the outfit from her to fold it properly in a cloth bag.
"Hi! Did you find everything you need alright, ma'am? Ooh, you got yourself a fine lookin' ensemble, right here."
Zalor merely stared awkwardly between Tanara and the cashier woman, hoping there'd be a gap in the more mundane conversation where he could continue.
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Tanara Ajahn
The Organization
Posts: 249
Traffic Light: Green
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Theed
Nov 1, 2016 17:52:00 GMT -8
Post by Tanara Ajahn on Nov 1, 2016 17:52:00 GMT -8
She listened silently as her friend explained himself. Predictably, her assumptions were correct. He was missing his girlfriend, and she had unintentionally made it worse. Now she had to come up with some way to make it up to him besides the party she was throwing for him. For now though, she would have to focus on the tasks at hand. The first of which, was paying for the outfit. As they reached the checkout lane, she returned the cashier's smile and handed her the outfit.
"Yes, I found everything just fine, and it's all perfect for me."
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Zalor Anneri
Crew of the Wayward Son
There will be justice for Theed. Trust my anger.
Posts: 296
Affiliation: None (currently) - Jedi Shadows(formerly)
Traffic Light: Yellow
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Theed
Nov 1, 2016 20:20:59 GMT -8
Post by Zalor Anneri on Nov 1, 2016 20:20:59 GMT -8
"Alright, lemme just scan and bag these..." The cashier carefully and neatly folded the outfit into a cloth bag, but not before scanning the tags of each piece.
She handed the bag to Tanara, then tallied up the price on the computer. "Okay, that'll come out to two hundred and ninety-five credits. Either of you have our rewards program? Twenty percent discount if you got it."
Zalor was so distraught by what happened at the dressing room, that the cashier's words hardly registered in his mind.
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Slowly but surely, the mental walls preventing him from truly wanting to go with Matango and Alora on their quest started to break down. He started to feel guilty for hiding out here for five years. He had all the training and resources he needed, even with the Enclave gone and the Shadows scattered, to track down his friends. To find Sayra, his beloved. What was stopping him? Fear? Fear of finding them dead? Fear of the First Order? Whatever it was, Zalor didn't care. It seemed silly in comparison to the self-inflicted torture he had imposed upon himself by not searching for them.
For her.
He could see Sayra Nur everywhere he looked in his mind. Their battles they had fought side by side. The many outfits she tried on here at Malarin's. Their time spent together at Endor and here on Naboo, relaxing, having fun and getting to know each other. He missed her so much it was killing her. Having Tanara back made him realized just how much.
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"Sir?" The cashier looked at him, puzzled - awaiting his response. He finally snapped back to reality.
"Oh! Oh, uh...yes, yes I do. Hold on." Zalor pulled out his datapad, pulled up the discount code and showed it to the cashier. She scanned it, then recalculated the total.
"And...that brings it down to two hundred and thirty-six credits. Not bad."
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Tanara Ajahn
The Organization
Posts: 249
Traffic Light: Green
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Theed
Nov 4, 2016 16:48:27 GMT -8
Post by Tanara Ajahn on Nov 4, 2016 16:48:27 GMT -8
She waited patiently while the cashier placed the outfit into a cloth bag, then held it loosely in her hand after the employee handed it to her. When asked about the rewards program, she turned to her friend and waited for him to respond. He seemed lost in his thoughts for nearly a minute before finally pulling out his datapad. Without batting an eye, the Twi'lek girl handed the cashier a credit chip worth three hundred credits. She was a little surprised that the outfit wasn't worth more, but she also wasn't about to complain about the price. Afterall, she had enough money from her grandfather to buy the entire store several times without breaking a sweat.
"Thanks very much, keep the change if you like."
Of course, a small part of her was tempted to hack into the store's internal network and play around with their systems. She wouldn't cause any sustainable damage, just some harmless mischief. Fortunately for the store, she didn't have the time to devote to something like that at the moment. She was too preoccupied with party planning stuff. Now that she had the outfit, it was time for their next stop. She hoped it would be more interesting for her friend than shopping for clothes.
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Zalor Anneri
Crew of the Wayward Son
There will be justice for Theed. Trust my anger.
Posts: 296
Affiliation: None (currently) - Jedi Shadows(formerly)
Traffic Light: Yellow
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Theed
Nov 4, 2016 20:47:34 GMT -8
Post by Zalor Anneri on Nov 4, 2016 20:47:34 GMT -8
"Have a good day." Zalor managed a half-smile as the two departed the checkout lanes and headed back out to the Theed main square.
When they were back outside, they had both noticed it was getting dark. Theed's decorative street lamps started to shine, but the traffic never truly seemed to die down. Being the planet's largest city, Theed never truly seemed to sleep, especially not the business district.
Zalor couldn't help but notice that Tanara had given the cashier a whole 300 credits, without asking for the change back. And he had gone through the trouble of getting her the discount. As a man who pinched every credit he could, Zalor couldn't understand why Tanara threw her credits around, and didn't even so much as thank him for offering to use his discount code to help her out. In his saddened mood, he decided to vocalize his concerns...
"You let her keep the change? I...I brought us to Malarin's on purpose - so you wouldn't have to go spending all your money."
Zalor shrugged his shoulders and decided that it ultimately didn't matter to him. It was her money, she could do what she wanted with it.
His mind quickly turned back to...Sayra. To his friends. To what happened in his mind back at the dressing room. The fresh air, the coolness and crispness of the night was clearing his head. He could hear himself think. The Force was beginning to speak to him. It whispered names quietly in his mind. Names of people he loved so dearly. Sayra. Evan. Asha. Darek. Oni-Li. Jasso. They were the names of the last six people he saw on the Forest Moon of Endor. All of whom were his closest friends. It was tough leaving them behind. And he had promised to catch up with them. He knew, deep down, he hadn't kept that promise.
"I've made a decision, Tanara..." Still staring into emptiness as they walked along the streets, Zalor blurted the words out so Tanara could hear them. They were full of newfound conviction. It was time to make good on his promise.
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Tanara Ajahn
The Organization
Posts: 249
Traffic Light: Green
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Theed
Nov 10, 2016 17:15:42 GMT -8
Post by Tanara Ajahn on Nov 10, 2016 17:15:42 GMT -8
Now that they were back outside, she swiftly consulted her map of the city again, then turned to start walking to their next destination. She was pleased at how much time was passing, which meant they could probably head back to the inn after their next stop. Nearly everything was in place, there was just one or two details she was waiting to fall into place. She was very excited for her friend to see just how much effort she had put into planning this party, and she really hoped he would enjoy it.
She looked over at her friend, who was seemed quite determined and self-assured now. She was glad to see that some semblance of his old confidence was returning to him. She was curious though, as to what he had reached a decision about. Though if she had to guess, it was about Sayra and the rest of their friends. He was probably going to tell her that he was ready to leave Naboo and go find them, but she wanted to hear him say those words. She didn't want to push her friend toward a decision after she barged into his life. "A decision about what?"
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Zalor Anneri
Crew of the Wayward Son
There will be justice for Theed. Trust my anger.
Posts: 296
Affiliation: None (currently) - Jedi Shadows(formerly)
Traffic Light: Yellow
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Theed
Nov 10, 2016 19:40:12 GMT -8
Post by Zalor Anneri on Nov 10, 2016 19:40:12 GMT -8
Zalor paused for just a moment before speaking. He had a brief second of self-doubt, but it was quickly brushed away. He drew a deep breath, then, after only a few seconds, he softly stated, yet with renewed confidence...
"I've decided...that tonight will be my last night in Theed. If my destiny is to travel with Adieumus and Raven and help them on whatever their mission is, then I need to do that. It's the only way I'm gonna find my friends. I'm not gonna find them sitting here at home like I have been for the past five years. I realize that now. I should've been out looking for them all along. Having you back..." Zalor turned to face Tanara, managing a half-smile, but still too ashamed of himself for how he acted in the fashion store to give her a full smile, "...finally made me realize that."
Zalor stopped briefly and stood under a bright lamppost. Now it seemed he had something really important to say, as if what he had said before wasn't important enough. "Come with me, Tanara! Come with me - let's both go with Adieumus and Raven. Let's both go find the others. Maybe we'll even bump into Vincent along the way. He always has a knack of turning up when we need him, right?"
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Tanara Ajahn
The Organization
Posts: 249
Traffic Light: Green
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Theed
Nov 10, 2016 20:23:41 GMT -8
Post by Tanara Ajahn on Nov 10, 2016 20:23:41 GMT -8
She listened to her friend explain himself, allowing a smile to slowly form on her face. She was glad that her friend had finally made his mind up on what he would do, though she was curious as to what he was gonna tell Tryn, the current owner of the inn. He had wanted to make her friend the new owner, but he was now determined to leave. "So what are you going to tell Tryn?"
As for whether she would go with him and join with Adieumus and Raven and the others, she had already promised her godfather that she would. She didn't really fault her friend for having forgotten that, as he had had a hard time with his life being flipped on it's head. "Zalor, I told Dash I would help, and I intend on keeping my promise." She gestured for her friend to continue following her as she led him onto their next destination. She had taken note of the weaponry her friend had decided to carry on himself, and decided that it was as good a time as any to see just how good he was with them. The place she led him to was a shooting gallery. As she approached the building, she took a quick glance at her friend to see his reaction before stepping inside to begin registering them for a private booth. "Come on Zalor, I wanna see how good a shot you are."
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Zalor Anneri
Crew of the Wayward Son
There will be justice for Theed. Trust my anger.
Posts: 296
Affiliation: None (currently) - Jedi Shadows(formerly)
Traffic Light: Yellow
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Theed
Nov 10, 2016 20:50:51 GMT -8
Post by Zalor Anneri on Nov 10, 2016 20:50:51 GMT -8
Zalor began to walk down the street with Tanara as she led him to their next destination. Judging by the street they were on, Zalor had an inkling that he knew where she was taking him, but he couldn't be for sure until they got there. Tanara had asked him what he planned on telling Tryn when he next saw him. Zalor was hoping that Tryn would show up before the Jedi, so that he could talk to him in person. But, if he did, he had already made up his mind on what he'd say.
"I'll just tell him the truth. He knows I'm a Jedi, he'll understand. We've got plenty of people qualified for my position as assistant manager. Vaili's worked there forever - she knows the place inside out. Tomaas took university classes on Corellia for hospitality management - I know he's been shooting for a leadership position. Tryn's got plenty of other people besides me able to do the job I've been doing. It breaks my heart though. Last night, he had his heart set on making me owner. Now, I'm gonna turn around and leave him behind. I feel for him." Zalor bit his lip once more as he frowned. He tried to imagine Tryn's reaction to him telling him about the Jedi coming to fetch him. Deep down, he knew Tryn would understand, but it'd be a blow to his morale, for sure. With his knee getting bad, Zalor could tell he was getting exhausted by the day-to-day grind of being an innkeeper in the busiest city on the planet. Zalor was concerned for the poor old guy. He loved Tryn, after all. The man had basically become his grandfather.
"That's good - I'm glad, Tanara. I just wanted to be sure. It's not like we...oh!"
Zalor's relief that Tanara did, in fact, plan on joining him in leaving with the Jedi turned to surprise when he saw where Tanara had taken him. This was the Royal Watch's public shooting range, open to all firearms enthusiasts. Zalor, ironically, had just been here a week ago to practice with his S-5.
"Hey! I know this place - it's the Royal Watch Gun Range. I just so happen to practice here every week!" Zalor reached behind him and patted his satchel, which had his S-5 pistol and his Bowcaster inside. Zalor suddenly grew excited. The party could wait. It was time to show off what he had learned in his time away from the Jedi.
"Alright, I'm game."
Without any further hesitation, Zalor briskly walked up to the front doors of the enclosed building and opened them, leaving room for Tanara to follow close behind him. If only Evan were here, he thought.
"...my lip's kinda sore." Zalor muttered as the doors shut behind them.
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Tanara Ajahn
The Organization
Posts: 249
Traffic Light: Green
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Theed
Nov 13, 2016 13:17:25 GMT -8
Post by Tanara Ajahn on Nov 13, 2016 13:17:25 GMT -8
It took her very little time to get the two of them registered and into a private range. At finding out her friend routinely visited here, the Twi'lek girl was even more excited to see how good of a shot her friend was. For herself, she had spent over a year training on Tatooine with the mercenary Strider and his Mandalorian girlfriend Meena. With their help, she had become a pretty decent crackshot. She was much more confident with her blaster skills than her lightsaber skills.
The range she had registered them for, had multiple settings. The first setting was the basic standing target, good for beginners to learn the ropes of how to aim. The next was a basic moving target, for the intermediate level. The third setting was the one she was most interested in for her and her friend. It was a rapid fire mix of both standing and moving targets, for the advanced users. All three setting had a scoring system based on accuracy. The more accurate you were while using the least amount of blaster bolts yielded the highest score.
"Okay Zal, first up, basic target. But to make it more interesting..."
She unstrapped one of her two DH-18 blaster pistols from where it had been strapped low on her hip, and held it up in front of her. She winked at her friend, then focused the Force around the blaster to hold it in place while she herself turned her back on the target. She carefully channeled the Force to make minor adjustments to the positioning of the blaster, then focused hard on the trigger. The blaster fired off a single shot, which flew out across the range and hit the target, mere inches from the center.
"Beat that, farmboy."
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Zalor Anneri
Crew of the Wayward Son
There will be justice for Theed. Trust my anger.
Posts: 296
Affiliation: None (currently) - Jedi Shadows(formerly)
Traffic Light: Yellow
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Theed
Nov 13, 2016 21:45:16 GMT -8
Post by Zalor Anneri on Nov 13, 2016 21:45:16 GMT -8
"Farmboy?"
Zalor shot a coy smile at Tanara, pretending to be insulted, before turning back to the firing range and chuckling. "Yeah, that's fair."
Nevertheless, Zalor was impressed by Tanara's skill, and the trick shot with her using the Force to aim while not looking definitely added to the show she was putting on.
The range reset, and Zalor was presented with the same three choices of difficulty as usual. Admittedly, Zalor had kept his use of the Force to a minimum when he was out in public in Theed - he didn't want to risk someone discovering him and relaying his location to any one friendly to the Sith or the First Order. He hadn't practiced using his S-5 Blaster without actually holding it in his hands. Although...this wasn't to say he hadn't challenged himself...
"Okay, well - that was pretty flashy, but...it's time to show you how we do it on Naboo."
After loading his S-5 blaster, he set it on the counter, then reached into his satchel and took out a blindfold. It was thick wool, colored dark grey, so there was no chance of seeing through it. He tied it tight around his eyes, making himself completely blind. Without picking up the blaster from the counter, he used the Force to sense what difficulty he wanted, then pressed the correct keys, just as he always done.
After a few seconds, the range finally reset to the basic difficulty, and a number of targets appeared, followed by a countdown...
5...4...3...2...1...
As soon as the countdown got to one and the targets activated, Zalor Force Pulled the blaster into his hands and stood in a perfect pistol-wielding stance, making sure to keep the gun at an optimal distance from his face, just as the range-master had taught him. Without a second's delay, and still completely blindfolded, Zalor fired a shot at each target, each shot scoring just a centimeter from the center of each target. He kept going until he had fired three shots - and scored three targets.
He put the S-5 back down on the counter and lifted his blindfold. Satisfied by the results as they were displayed on the computer, he turned back to Tanara and smiled. "Well...I'd say my weekly practices here have paid off, wouldn't you?"
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Tanara Ajahn
The Organization
Posts: 249
Traffic Light: Green
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Theed
Nov 14, 2016 18:08:45 GMT -8
Post by Tanara Ajahn on Nov 14, 2016 18:08:45 GMT -8
Okay, that was a pretty impressive display. She was giddy that he was jumping right into it, it made this so much more enjoyable. As the range reset, she giggled at her friend. He had very clearly been practicing. "Not too shabby, but we're just getting started." Once the range was ready, she stepped up to the controls and began inputting her next set. She decided to bump up to the intermediate level, with several moving targets. She wanted to really start showing off, so she set the speed at the maximum it would go at this level. She then took a step back as she waited for the range to set itself up and glanced over at her friend. "You may want to take a step back." She turned her back to range once again, this time holding her blaster in her right hand. She listened carefully for the countdown to finish, then spun around twice as quickly as she could. The first spin granted her a split second glance at the range and the position of all the targets, though they had moved significantly by the time she came around again. Despite this, on her second spin she raised her blaster and released three incredibly fast shots down the range. All three shots were dead on center. Pleased with herself, she turned to her friend to explain. "Meena taught me that one, though I have yet to use it in an actual fight."
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Zalor Anneri
Crew of the Wayward Son
There will be justice for Theed. Trust my anger.
Posts: 296
Affiliation: None (currently) - Jedi Shadows(formerly)
Traffic Light: Yellow
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Theed
Nov 14, 2016 21:19:58 GMT -8
Post by Zalor Anneri on Nov 14, 2016 21:19:58 GMT -8
Zalor wasn't used to seeing Tanara using a blaster. She rarely used her lightsaber. She rarely was involved in combat against the Red Fang, if Zalor could recall. To see her, now, doing all these neat trick shots with her DH-18 was truly awe-inspiring. She had grown up. She wasn't the young girl that hung around the group all the time. Zalor enjoyed watching her display her talents.
Of course, her antics did seem a little over-the-top. They had both been trained very differently with blasters.
"Pretty flashy there, hotshot. Dunno if I would use that in a fight, though. Still pretty impressive."
The range reset. Zalor was up again. He walked over to the range's computer, and set the difficulty to intermediate. This time, though, he increased the number of targets to ten, and set their distances and movement speeds to random. He wanted to truly impress Tanara, and although he wasn't flashy like she was, he knew of a way he could get her attention.
As Zalor tied the blindfold back on, he turned to Tanara and grinned. "My skills may not be as flashy as yours, but what I lack in showmanship I think I can make up for in efficiency. Watch how fast I do this. Time me, if you want."
When Zalor was ready, he started the range up again. His S-5 Blaster was still on the counter, just like before. The countdown started.
5...4...3...2...1...
Ten targets, at various ranges, appeared. Some moved, others were stationary. All of them were smaller, to account for the harder difficulty.
Still blindfolded, Zalor once again Force Pulled his blaster to his hand and assumed the proper stance. In an instant, Zalor started firing shot after shot after shot, each one finding its mark, and all within a spread of about a centimeter. He left very little delay between each shot, taking each target down like a professional.
When all ten targets were down, Zalor put his blaster back on the counter and removed his blindfold. "So..." Zalor turned and shot a playful grin at Tanara. "...how'd I do? Did you time me?"
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Tanara Ajahn
The Organization
Posts: 249
Traffic Light: Green
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Theed
Nov 16, 2016 21:44:28 GMT -8
Post by Tanara Ajahn on Nov 16, 2016 21:44:28 GMT -8
She couldn't help but laugh at her friend's reaction to her trick shot. Yes, she was being a little over the top with her choice of shots, but that was very much the point. She wanted to show off and have fun with her friend, and he seemed to be enjoying himself as well.
"If I was surrounded, it would come in handy."
Her friend then began setting up the range for his turn, and asked her to time him. While they waited for the range to set up, she activated the timeclock built into the range's computer, and started it as her friend fired his first shot. In the seconds that followed, she studied her friend carefully. Most of the time, he seemed meek and passive, but instead of that, she saw confidence and action. She knew that if he could maintain this attitude there would be very little that would challenge her friend. She hoped he would, he could be a capable leader indeed.
She stopped the timer as the last target was shot. She looked at the time, and then smiled at her friend.
"Seven point five one seconds. Not too bad at all. But enough playing around. Finale time."
Now it was time to show him just what she could do. No fancy trick shots, just straight shooting. She stepped up to the range controls and set it to the highest setting she could. This setting was for highly advanced gunners, and it showed. It was a timed segment, the goal to simply shoot as many targets as possible in one minute, with the hope of accumulating the highest score. The targets themselves would appear and disappear, for mere seconds at a time. They could be any size, shape and distance, and would appear everywhere. The countdown started as Tanara took her place in front of the range. For this last test, she decided to use both of her DH-18 blasters. She held them up and in front of her, ready to begin aiming and shooting. With a second left before the targets appeared, she glanced at her friend, with a feral grin on her face.
Her attention snapped to the range as the first target started to appear. With no hesitation, she began firing down the range. Blaster bolts swiftly filled nearly every square inch of the range, hitting target after target, no matter how small or far away the targets were, or even how briefly they appeared. She had clearly been taught well by the mercenary Strider, who prided himself on being able to fire enough blaster bolts at once to keep even a force user at bay. The Twi'lek appeared utterly focused, her eyes darting back and forth across the range. Her complete concentration was only broken when the clock finally ran out and targets stopped appearing in the range. She twirled her blasters on her fingers and brought the barrels up towards her face so that she could blow out the smoke that was rising from the nearly overheated barrels. She carefully returned her blasters to their holsters as she took a few steps away from the range and turned to her friend. "How was that?"
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Zalor Anneri
Crew of the Wayward Son
There will be justice for Theed. Trust my anger.
Posts: 296
Affiliation: None (currently) - Jedi Shadows(formerly)
Traffic Light: Yellow
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Theed
Nov 21, 2016 20:38:32 GMT -8
Post by Zalor Anneri on Nov 21, 2016 20:38:32 GMT -8
Zalor had briefly worked with Nolan Strider, the mercenary Vincent knew from Tatooine. He was an enigmatic, yet level-headed guy, who loved his companions as much as Zalor loved his. But, in combat, Strider had a way with his weapons unlike any other mercenary or soldier Zalor had ever encountered. And now, his unique yet fierce fighting style had been passed on to Tanara. There was no doubt. He watched her shoot, and it was as if Nolan Strider was standing in the room with him.
When Tanara lowered her weapons and the range had given the final tally, Zalor was admittedly stunned, at first. He hadn't expected Strider to teach Tanara so much, nor Tanara to pick up on it so well.
"Well...now that was something. Strider's definitely taught you well. I'm gonna be hard-pressed to beat that."
Zalor reset the range, setting it to the same exact advanced difficulty as Tanara.
"Alright. My one S-5 against your two '17s. Here we go."
Zalor, insistent on being consistent, put his blindfold back on. He knew his connection with the Force would be sufficient enough to act as his sight for this final test.
With Tanara's total double of what was normal, based on the fact that she was using two guns instead of one, the range reset to scale down to a single firearm. She had hit over sixty targets in one minute. He would need thirty to beat her, for bragging rights.
5...4...3...2...1...
Once the countdown got to zero, the timer started and the targets appeared. Zalor's S-5, which he had put back on the counter to start, flew into his hand. With a perfect posture, Zalor started rapidly shooting target after target. He only missed twice in the first ten seconds. Beyond that, every target fell with extreme accuracy. Zalor paused for three seconds to let his barrel cool down so that it wouldn't overheat, then resumed firing. His target score continued to rise. After forty seconds, Zalor was forced to pause again to let his barrel cool down. Three more seconds, then he was back to firing. This was a true test of skill and efficiency with his S-5. He felt like he was keeping pace, but the cooling down of the barrel was costing him.
Finally, one minute passed and the targets disappeared. Zalor took off his blindfold and set his blaster down on the range counter to look at the score. He sighed with a disappointed smile as he looked at the score. "Aww. Only twenty-eight. I was going for thirty. Only missed two. Well..." Zalor turned towards Tanara with his arms folded, conceding defeat. "I guess it goes to show who's had the better teachers, I suppose."
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Tanara Ajahn
The Organization
Posts: 249
Traffic Light: Green
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Theed
Nov 25, 2016 18:12:36 GMT -8
Post by Tanara Ajahn on Nov 25, 2016 18:12:36 GMT -8
She was impressed that he once again put the blindfold over his eyes. She certainly didn't expect him to do so. Even with the handicap though, he skillfully fired off his shots down the range, hitting target after target. She noticed that he did pause every so often to let his barrel cool down, presumably it was something his instructors had trained him to do. She could see the value of maintaining a balance between blaster temperature and shots fired. She might consider implementing that into her own style at some point. She would have to figure out however, how she would give herself that cooldown time without sacrificing too much of her ability to fill the air with blaster bolts.
Some small part of her was a little disappointed that her friend didn't end up beating her score. She was still impressed with him though. Had he not been wearing the blindfold, she was sure he could've beaten her score. "Maybe, but don't sell yourself short. You Nubians have some pretty impressive skill. Now, how about we-" She was interrupted when her tablet started beeping. She pulled it out and checked her messages. Everything was now in place. It was time to head back to the inn. "Okay, scratch that. Let's get going. It's party time."
She took the lead once more and escorted her friend out of the Gun Range after shutting down their private range. She was excited to see the end result of her plans almost as much as she was excited for her friend to see all that she had been planning. There was however, one more stop she had to make alone before she could go back to the inn. "Zal, there's something I gotta go check out really quick. Just go on without me, I'll meet you at the inn." She gently kissed his cheek, then started skipping away before wrapping the Force around her, rendering her undetectable. Now invisible, the Twi'lek girl sprinted off down the street, heading back to her friend's place. She had previously snuck a glance into her friend's bedroom and noticed the holo-pictures of all their friends on his bedside table. She was going to borrow them. At top speed, it only took a few minutes for her to reach Zalor's apartment, taking every shortcut that she could. She remembered that her friend did have an alarm system, but knowing him, it would be a basic one.
It took her only a few seconds to hack into his security system and open the door. She shook her head as she stepped into the apartment. One day she would teach him how to boost his security systems. For now though, she wouldn't worry about it. She had plenty of other things to think about. The party being her current priority. She swiftly moved through the apartment into the bedroom and gently picked up the holos, storing them in her backpack. She also took this opportunity to change into her new outfit, as she probably wouldn't be able to later. She then made her way out just as quickly as she came in, locking the apartment remotely behind her. She raced through the streets back to the inn, and managed to arrive several minutes ahead of her friend. She went inside to make sure triple sure that everything was ready, then went back outside to wait for her friend.
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Zalor Anneri
Crew of the Wayward Son
There will be justice for Theed. Trust my anger.
Posts: 296
Affiliation: None (currently) - Jedi Shadows(formerly)
Traffic Light: Yellow
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Theed
Nov 27, 2016 20:47:47 GMT -8
Post by Zalor Anneri on Nov 27, 2016 20:47:47 GMT -8
And just like that...she was gone.
Zalor watched awkwardly as Tanara vanished into thin air. She had Force Cloaked. Why? Where was she off to now in such a hurry?
"Uh...okay. See you at the Inn!" Zalor waved awkwardly as he left the Royal Watch's Shooting Range. He put his S-5 back in its holster after reloading it with a fresh energy cell, then he walked back out into the night air, holding his satchel tightly.
In truth, Zalor was glad Tanara had brought him back to the gun range. It was probably the last time he would see that place, but knowing both hers and his blaster skills were sufficient to tackle whatever the galaxy could through their way reinforced his newfound desire to go and find his friends. It was just a matter of time before...
::Zalor? Boss? Pick up!:: Zalor's comlink beeped. Zalor picked it up and Vaili's voice came through on the other end.
::Hey Vaili, what's up?::
::Um...?:: Vaili's voice seemed that she was unsure how to put in words what she was about to say. ::...well, Tanara's astro droid, er - I mean...your astro droid made it back to the Inn by himself. And he's got Tanara's...party things. Sorry, he told me not to tell you what they were. But, uh...I thought he was with you. Where are you?::
Zalor raised an eyebrow in surprise. Even for Artoo, that was surprisingly efficient of him. He had taken the little droid's resourcefulness for granted. ::Um...I'm on my way back, actually. Tanara will be right behind me. Did Tomaas...::
::...get the maintenance droids up and running? Yes sir, we're finally back to a full crew for once.::
Zalor breathed a sigh of relief. It was good news. The Inn could keep itself running now with all the maintenance droids back online. Everything was falling neatly into place. ::Excellent. You can put him on the front desk now. So that way you can...uh...::
::...help set up for the party?:: Zalor enjoyed how much he and Vaili were on the same brainwave. They had been finishing each other's sentences, as if they both knew what to do. Zalor suddenly realized that Vaili would make an excellent assistant manager in his stead. ::I'm on it, boss. Oh, Zalor! Tryn called! More good news!::
Zalor perked up as he stopped in his tracks right by the riverside. ::Oh?::
::Tryn's gonna get himself a prosthetic left knee, finally. Alonae finally talked him into it. One of their nephews is going to help pay for the procedure. It'll be done right here at Theed Medical.::
::Oh!:: Zalor's voice conveyed genuine surprise. Tryn had been deeply stubborn about not getting any sort of procedure done on his ailing knee. He wondered what could've changed his mind, besides his wife's nagging. ::Wow!:
::Yeah, he wanted to break the news to you in person, but he doesn't think he'll be back to the Inn tonight. I figured it'd help put your mind at ease. You seemed distracted today.::
::Well, that's...good news, indeed!:: Zalor let a small smile of relief cross his face as he began walking down the street towards the main square. He wanted to get to the Inn and get to helping set up. ::Well, go ahead and get to work with...whatever Tanara told you, and I'll meet you there in ten. Minutes, that is.::
::Roger that, boss.::
With that, Zalor put his comlink away and sped towards the Ja'raak Inn at a jogging pace.
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Exactly ten minutes later, Zalor found himself back at the front of the Ja'raak Inn, where he found Tanara already there waiting for him. He seemed confused by this, based on the way she had disappeared and left him behind at the shooting range.
Zalor shot a playful smirk at the Twi'lek as he made his way towards the entrance. "Alright, Miss Suspicious - you run off and leave me back at River Street saying you had to do something else, Artoo won't let Vaili tell me what you've got planned, and you're already back here waiting for me. What's with the cloak and dagger? You not running a Shadows Op and didn't tell me about it, are you?"
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Tanara Ajahn
The Organization
Posts: 249
Traffic Light: Green
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Theed
Nov 28, 2016 20:58:36 GMT -8
Post by Tanara Ajahn on Nov 28, 2016 20:58:36 GMT -8
She didn't have to wait long for her friend to finally arrive at the inn. Predictably, he was confused about what was going on. Good. This was exactly what she wanted. Now for the reveal... "You'll see. Come on, it's time to start the party." She gestured for him to step into the inn ahead of her, waited for him to pass her, then followed him in. At first, the interior of the inn was pitch black, as all the lights were off. But after Zalor took a few steps into the inn, the lights suddenly turned on, finally revealing the extent of Tanara's planning.
The entire building had been transformed. Instead of a cozy little Nubian inn, they were seemingly transported to Endor, with trees, bushes, huts and fake torches everywhere. There were streamers strung across branches, and confetti suddenly falling from the ceiling, which now resembled the night sky seen from the forest moon. Hanging over where the front desk was, was a large banner that read Happy Birthday! Standing around the front desk, were nearly a dozen people. The owner of the inn Tryn and his wife Alonae stood next to Tryn's brother Zulis, who had been flown specially from Tatooine. Vaili, Norme and the other employees stood next to them. Beside them, stood the Jedi Healer Angel Tirahil, who had healed Tanara the last time she had been on Naboo, and the Gungan hunter Nussan Gallo. The blue and white astromech droid rolled up to Zalor beeping and whistling happily.
In the cafeteria, tables were already set with various party supplies, food and drinks. In the far corner however, there was roped off table, with a sign on the rope. It read 'VIP Only'. On the table, were the holo-pictures of Zalor's friends, along with an item. In front of Sayra's picture, a single red Gallo Mountain flower. For Asha, a hydrospanner. For Evan, a bottle of Tarisian ale.
The Twi'lek girl waited patiently for her friend's reaction to what she had done.
"Surprise."
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