Attack of the Killer Spark Bees!

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Seth A'mun"]

Popo's Peepers


It started out a relatively normal day.

Kaile was in the middle of picking out her meal. She was starving and her tummy was fit to be tied. To be frank, it was gurgling rather loudly and she kept giving the holodroid a sheepish grin.

"Sorry..." she would apologize, glancing back down at her holo menu. The Nuna nuggets were always a classic. As were the Rodian Spaghetti and meatballs. Oh! They had Dantooine Bread Pudding!

NO! Bad Kaile! She would chide herself, dessert is not food! Pearly white teeth would bite at her lower lip. The moist plump bread. The caramel drizzle. The icecream a la mode...

Oh, but golly that looked good.

Unfortunately, the strawberry blonde was going to get neither nuna nuggets nor bread pudding. That usually happens with wild Spark Bees from the local honey farm accidentally escape.

And leave a fiery path of carnage in their wake!

 

[Joy]

"Yes Mr. Gaff, these here are handpicked carrots grown at the Jedi Agricorps. We got loads more we could help you with."

*mumble mumble mumble*

Abel nodded his shaggy brown head. "Yes, sir, we also have honey bees. Why do you ask?"

The old man pointed out the window at a black cloud that was swarming toward the restaurant.

"Well those don't look like honey bees at all, Mr. Gaff, those are spark bees I'd wager."

The two shared a look.

"Oh."

Someone inside Popo's Peppers screamed and then everyone started running.

Dash it all, those spark bees had been part of the Agricorps' responsibilities. How could they have gotten out? Abel felt horrible. They needed to get everyone out now. He ran over to a woman who was still seated.

"Miss, we need to go. There's spark bees on the loose and they're coming here."

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Abel"]

Things certainly became chaotic.

"I.. what?!" Kaile's jaw worked as she was struck speechless. Sparkbees? Where those really SPARKBEES?! There was no time to mull over the reason why Spark Bees would be loose by they were.

"Miss, we need to go."

Her stomach gave a rather irritable growl. However, the expression of growing alarm over the stranger's cherubic face along with the sense of urgency made the decision. Grabbing her satchel, she scooped it up, sliding the straps through her arms as she came to her feet.

"Are they really --" a cry of panic went lancing from across the diner, were one Sparkbee was busy buzzing his way a little too close for comfort. Some patrons were running away, others were madly attempting to corral them in. But Sparkbees had a tendency to set things on fire.

And fire, ohhh did the first few sparks of it every did start to spread.

 

[Joy]

He nodded emphatically at the lady who seemed to want to stay in her seat.

"We got to go, miss, before the whole swarm gets here."

He pointed toward the backdoor, where all the other patrons of Popo's Peppers were runnings. A few errant spark bees had already made their way inside the establishment.

Zzzp. Zzaap.

Every crackle from the buzzing spark bees elicited a flinch or a cringe from Abel. Tongues of fire suddenly shot up the walls. Wide blue eyes turned toward the open front doors and a sudden, horrible humming. The black mass came roiling and seething like a cloud of smoke.

His throat constricted and he felt panic flutter in his chest. Almost everyone was out now, except-

A little Trandoshan boy tripped and fell, ankle burned by a spark bee. Without knowing exactly what he was doing, Abel rushed over and picked the boy up in his arms. The Trandoshan was crying.

"Shh, it's gonna be alright. I'll get you out of here."

He turned to the strange lady.

"I'm not leaving 'til you do, Miss. This is my fault, it is, and I need to make sure you get safe n' proper."

Was that his voice? It sounded confident and earnest. He didn't feel confident. He wanted to run far, far away, but he couldn't. It would be wrong.

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Abel"]

Things were getting chaotic by the minute.

Kaile gave a quick nod, agreeing with the young man's assessment. But with the way flames were licking up the walls, how the buzzing spark bees were moving like a dark wave. It was rather terrifying.

She shot to her feet, fork and cup spilling everywhere. "Go, go!" she would encourage, her breath hitching as she saw an errant spark bee get closer. They just had to get to the back door. But what else could they do...

Her hands would nudge Abel right by his back, crouching down to avoid the growing snap hiss of flames picking up more tinder. Smoke would rise, licking and rising up in dark funnels to the ceiling. As patrons of Popo's Peepers bottle necked out the back door, water suddenly began to spray from the fire extinguishers.

It would flow over them all, falling like rain to drench their clothes and make the floor slippery. One can only hope it would deal with the fire.

The little Trandoshan gave another whimper, his tiny scaley arms wrapping round Abel's shoulders and neck as if he were the only thing keeping the monsters at bay.

One particular spark bee, angered by the water, came a bit too close. Just as they were passing the kitchen, Kaile nabbed a cast iron skillet.

"Oh no you don't." she would murmer under her breath. Oh there was a determined gleam in her eyes. When the bee came to close, Kaile gave a sudden whoop and swing of her pan attempting to shoo it away, walking backwards towards the exit.

 

[Joy]

As the strange lady fended off a spark bee with cooking implements, Abel carried the injured Trandoshan youth out the door, where the rest of the patrons of Popo's Peepers were fleeing. They all paused just outside the building, watching with horrified fascination as flames shot up from the building, eventually engulfing the entirety of the restaurant in wicked tongues of reds and oranges.

Abel handed off the Trandoshan to its parents, who started to run for their nearby speeder. As for that woman, oh here she came, Abel had started to worry that she might've been consumed by the flames.

The young padawan pointed at the enormous black mass buzzing over the burning building. So many. All the hives must've gotten loose. But how? He'd made sure they were locked up and sealed, good and proper.

The restaurant manager stood nearby, hands wrenching at wildly tousled hair. "I'm ruined! Ruined!" He wept.

"Mister, you have to get someplace safe. We need to move as far away from here as possible."

The despondent man turned toward him, face flushed purple. "What do you mean?"

"These're spark bees, they'll keep going, lightin' up buildin's everywhere. Best we can do is evacuate and hope the fire brigade gets here soon."

A glimmer of suspicion shown suddenly in his eyes. "How do you know so much about them."

"Well," Abel scratched his head, looking at the buzzing mass, "This might be my fault, sir. I'm awfully sorry."

"Sorry?" the manager spluttered, "Sorry?! Why you miserable miscreant, I'll show you sorry."

Hands wrapped around Abel's throat with all the desperate strength of a madman. Abel choked, coughing, struggling for air. "I'm sorry," he tried to say, but nothing would come out. He beat against the man's arms, but it was of no use. His own face began to turn a matching shade of purple.

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Abel"]

Coughing, covered in soot, the Lorrdian came stumbling out of the restaurant with teary eyes. Her lungs burned, and she still had the cast iron pan. Stumbling out, she bent over, breathing in great heaves.

Man, was she really making all that noise?

It took her a second to realize that wasn't her at all. No, when she glanced up, all the blood drained from her face as the young man who had helped her earlier was being choked by the manager.

Ohmystars!

"Let him go!" she said with a shout, exclaiming as she ditched the pan and ran over to him. Kaile didn't think, she merely acted. In one great jump, she launched herself at the manager's back, trying to tug him off the other and stop him from choking by slipping her own arms around his neck in a blood choke.

"Let him go!"

 

[Joy]

The restaurant manager barely heard [member="Kaileann Vera"]'s words, until she tugged him off of the padawan. Confused, angry and embarrassed at being caught, he spluttered for a moment before mumbling incomprehensible words and moving off in the direction of the other refugees.

Abel sat down the minute the man released him. Wheezing breaths shuddered in and out, but the purple started to recede as oxygen circulated throughout his body. He looked up at his savior, the woman from before, and couldn't help the tears that suddenly stood in his eyes.

He could hear the sound of rapidly approaching sirens. He hoped everyone had made it out ok.

"All my fault," he rasped hoarsely, slumping forward, hiding his face in his hands, "all my fault."

The Jedi would expel him from the Agricorps, but that wasn't the worst of it. How many people would have their homes, or places of business burnt before the day was through? So he clasped dirty palms to his face to hide the shame. Hot tears ran down his cheeks. He was a terrible padawan. What was he thinking? Trying to be a great Jedi like Mr. Starchaser. No sense in that when he couldn't even keep a couple of bees in line.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Abel"]

Kaile managed to slid off the manager, but by no means did this stop her from adding, "We just have to stay calm!" It wasn't the manger's fault, he was just overrun with emotion with what had occurred. It could have happened to anyone. A sigh expelled from Kaile's lips, her lungs feeling that burning rasp of smoke.

Wait, what about...

Turning, her attention would now drift towards the one who had given her aid earlier. She found him, holding his hands to his face, shoulders shuddering.

A gentle hand would reach out to touch his shoulder.

"Are you okay? Do you need a medic?" her voice would ask in concern, crouching down to a kneel to see if he needed anything. His eyes had been bulging out when the manager had attempted to choke him. The wail of sirens grew louder, and by now, another series would join it. They didn't have Spark bee farms here without considering fail-safes and Operational Risk Management.

"Here... let me look."

 

[Joy]

Soft fingers touched his shoulder. Abel looked up, pushing away tear tracks with the heel of his hand. Reddened eyes looked up at [member="Kaileann Vera"]. Hurt? No he wasn't hurt.

"I'm fine," he rasped, "It's all wrong. I don't know how this happened. I followed the procedure. It doesn't make sense."

He shook his head, curling brown hair flopping. "Look at me, feelin' sorry for myself when good people are out there losin' their livelihoods. I don't deserve no Jedi title."

The padawan pushed himself to his feet as a fire crew arrived along with a bee keeping unit. The keepers began to douse the spark bees with large amounts of sleeping gas, while the fire crew worked furiously to put out the flames caused by that swarming black mass. Abel watched it all, chest sore, throat aching.

"Sorry, miss. Didn't mean to blubber like that. I just... I hope everyone is alright is all."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Abel"]

"Hey.. no no no.. it's fine," She tried to comfort him, giving a a soft smile. A thoughtful look came to her, glancing out towards where the beekeepers were smoking the bees with sleeping gas. Yeaah... it wasn't the best scenario, but.. one had to make the most of it.

"We don't know what happened." Kalie would offer in encouragement. "It could have been anything. An accident." another thought, "Nothing is foil proof." she would add with a knowing nod.

"We just have to do what we can for people right now." she would remind him, pointing over to the Trandoshan little boy who had been burnt.

"Let's see if anyone needs help. I have a med-kit." she would say, moving to slide her back over her shoulder. "Do you have one? Or know where we might be able to get more? Get these people some bacta patches and the like."

 

[Joy]

"Of course," Abel mumbled, feeling sheepish. Here he was distracting her from helping people with self-pity. Stupid. Stupid. "No, I don't have a medkit, but I have had a bit of training. Let's try."

Frowning, the padawan moved over to the Trandoshan. "Excuse me, is it alright if we treat you?"

The youth nodded, reptilian features inscrutable aside from a tightness that Abel took for pain. Abel tried to give the Trandoshan a reassuring smile that he didn't really feel. "Miss, you got some gauze or something? I don't have any bacta patches and I'm not skilled enough to do no Force healing or whatnot."

As they worked on the Trandoshan, a bee keeper in a white, fire retardant suit walked over to the trio.

"You Padawan Abel?"

"Um, yes."

"You were the one to seal the hive last, correct?"

Abel gulped. "Yessir."

"Well, son, we had a limb failure over in the left quadrant."

Blue eyes stared, wide and disbelieving. "A- a limb failure?"

"Yep, third quadrant. Broke the containment zone. Big hole we've got to repair now."

The padawan looked over at the woman, then at the beekeeper. "So a tree branch broke? That's what did it?"

"Limb failure. The old oak. Anyway, thought you might want to know." The beekeeper moved back to help out with the operation, leaving a bewildered and relieved padawan behind.

Abel felt like his throat was clenching up again.

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Abel"]

Kaile sat in front of the Trandoshan child, his leg propped up upon her lap. On her side she had the small medkit, flipped open to reveal the contents within. She was carefully wrapping gauze around his calf, when she heard the low murmur of conversation.

A limb failure.

Her smile brightened, and she would shine a sunny smile over at Abel. He appeared so relieved. As if a great weight had lifted his shoulders. Poor guy thought he had been the one responsible.

"See... I told you." Kaile would say with warmth at the young Padawan. "So you are a Jedi?" she asked him, curious. The bees were slowly getting corralled, and the firefighters had just arrived. Streams of a special solvent to dampen the fires. She was sure that whatever damage there was, the Jedi Order would take care of it.

At the very least, aide in repairing.

 

[Joy]

The agricultural corps member shrugged. "Not really. I'm just a padawan. Maybe one day I'll be a Jedi Knight, but I'm no great warrior."

He looked up at the woman. Sunlight shone through a halo of red-gold hair. The day seemed a little clearer with that smile of hers. Earlier, he thought he was saving her, but maybe it had been the other way around the whole time. So strange, the way the galaxy worked. Maybe the Force was trying to push him in a certain direction. Abel wasn't sure. During meditation, he tried to listen, but he received no grand visions, or even humble whispers. Maybe the Force had no need of simple farmers, only great warriors like Mr. Voidstalker and Mr. Starchaser.

Oddly, Abel did not feel troubled by that thought. All he wanted to do was go back to his farm, family in tow, and live a normal life. Settle down, nice and quiet like. But with the Sith and Vong running around, burning his farm and everyone else's, Abel wasn't so sure he would ever get the chance. So, until they were destroyed, he would just keep doing his best, even if he was no masterful swordsman.

"I'm Abel, by the way," he smiled back at her.

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Abel"]

There was a softness in her expression, a sort of hidden knowledge that perhaps was just instinctual to women around the 'Verse. With an earnest smile, Kaile would add, "I think one can be great regardless of titles.." she told him, looking back down to finish wrapping the Trandoshan's child leg. "And a Jedi doesn't need to be a great warrior."

"At least, not in the physical sense." she would elaborate, "It really isn't just subject to Jedi exclusively. Simply being able to do what is right at any given time, help others in need, and do your best is what makes one great."

She truly believed this, for that is why she was here. Why she was part of the Pyre assigned to the Galactic Alliance. Why she did her best using what skills she had to be able to procure information for the benefit of doing good.

Big brown eyes would flick up, smiling out at Abel with an earnest sweetness that could cause cavities.

"Pleasure to meet you Abel." her smile grew wider, "I'm Kaile." she introduced herself, then with a wiggle of her nose, turned to the Trandoshan child.

"This is Cheurk." the little boy gave a shy nod, still a bit in pain but feeling better.

"So how long have you been with the Jedi?"

 

[Joy]

Abel supposed what she said made a bit of sense, it did. Not that her explanation would make him great either. Mopin' about whiles others lost fortunes to flames wasn't exactly anyone's idea of a hero. Put others first, that was the call of a Jedi. Even above his own pain and heartache. Lot of good that heartache done him anyway, since the whole thing hadn't been his fault to begin with. Made him look right stupid it did.

He nodded at last and shook the little Trandoshan's claws. "Nice to meet you, Kaile, Cheurk."

The padawan eyed the last of the flames on the restaurant before the fire brigade doused them.

"Oh, not long. Bout a year I suppose. Only came cause the Vong took my home. Didn't have anywhere left to go. Jedi took me in, said I had a few talents, I guess. I'm still working on them though, nothing spectacular. How about you, miss? You seem to know an awful lot about the Jedi."

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Abel"]

"There you go, hun." Kaile would tell Cheurk with a sunny smile. The Trandoshan child would smile back with a toothy grin. He still had some time to fully heal, but at the very least ha had first aid given to him. Turning back to Abel, Kaile's smile grew wider. At least, until he mentioned the Yuuzhan Vong. He hadn't been the first to be affected, if the reports were correct. Alderaan. Empress Teta. Selvaris. Those were just a few of the planets that had been affected by Vongforming.

That wasn't including all the others that had been razed.

Kaile gave a small nod, then gave a small sheepish shrug. "I just wander to and fro. Worked at Yum bunnies before." she admitted, then added. "Lived in the Protectorate for a bit. They had quite a few former Jedi within their ranks." that made sense for the young woman, as many of those who were in the Protectorate were fringe Force users or former Jedi Order members.

"So... how did you end up looking after the Spark Bees?" she asked, giving a smile to Cheurk's mother as she came by to pick him up.

"He'll be okay... just needs some rest. The bacta patches will clear that all up." she told her, reassuring her about her son.

 

[Joy]

"Oh yeah, I heard about the Protectorate. Right lot of good work done by you around the Fondor parts. Saved a lot of people if I recall. A lot of people. Stopped those Fringe lords from gettin' their hands all over everythin'. Those fellows were scary in their time."

He scratched the back of his head and waved goodbye to the Trandoshans. At least the kid was alright. And he seemed to be the only injury. They'd been lucky, or the Force was with them. Abel wasn't sure what the Forceologists would say. Probably use a lot of big words and confuse him, that's what.

"As for the spark bees well, I used to work on an estate as a farmer. When the uh... when they came and we left, well, the Jedi seemed to think I did pretty well with gardening and animals and such, so they put me to work with the spark bees. I expect that'll change now though."

Abel rose to his feet, looking around. Everyone seemed to be settling down now. They might need him for some paperwork, but he expected that'd be in the morning.

"Where'll you be off to now, Kaile?"

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Abel"]

Kaile's smile would broaden. If there was one thing the Lorrdian enjoyed, it was listening to the story of where others came from and where they were going. What got them to this specific point in time? What brought them to these specific choices.

That fascinated her.

"Well.." she began, curious as she began to collect all the other items back into her med-kit for now. "Did you ever have experience with Spark Bees before?" they were Yuuzhan Vong critters if she recalled correctly. Not like someone goes on learning how to deal with 'em unless they had some sort of Yuuzhan Vong experience before.

"Oh me?" she gave a glance up, meeting Abel's eyes. "I can help out a bit here while folk need it." she said, earnestly offering her help. "I've some time."

A more concerned expression drew towards his throat.

"How's your neck holding up?"

 

[Joy]

A set of eyes as deep as the wide blue yonder met her gaze. Not a lot of people took an interest in his story. Leastwise, none as pretty as this. The padawan smiled hesitantly back at her. Didn't really get much of a chance to talk about why he knew so much about spark bees. Nasty critters, but treat 'em right and they'd treat you right. Just needed a bit of caution and a real big cage is all.

A real big cage.

What about her? She probably fought in a lot of great battles, being from the Protectorate. A great hero, he bet. Just bein' modest. The way she'd taken the offensive and helped that Trandoshan.... she had to have some sort of experience in battle.

"Well, I-" Warm eyes, brown like chocolate looked at his neck with some concern. Abel caught himself staring into them for longer than he intended, unable to remember what he'd been about to say. He stammered for a moment, flushing furiously. "No, no, I'm fine. Just a reminder of a mistake I might have made is all."

[member="Kaileann Vera"]