Brother, Is That You?

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Cassiopeia took advantage of the few moments that Milo was debating on what they should do. She could take a moment to take in her home town. Half of her wanted to leave, for good. The other half wanted to come back, some day. Not anytime soon, but maybe eventually. If Jacob was alive, she wondered what he'd want to do.

She nodded. Back to the ship, they'd fly there. They'd be discovered, but she imagined that a ship would probably win in a battle. Unless they had some type of air defense system. She really had no idea how sophisticated they were. If they were close enough to the ground, Cassiopeia was sure she could hit some people with daggers, maybe with the rifle, too. She sucked at a lot of things, but she was a pretty good marksman.

Milo and Freya began to move back to the ship. She gave the town one last look before she let out a sigh, holding back any tears that tried to escape. She began to follow Milo and Freya back to the ship - she was a few feet behind them. It was for the best that he didn't let her stay there any longer. They had more important things to do.

"I don't know what weapons they had... I think it was blasters, knives. I know they had hovercraft to get there, transport the... loot, I guess, back. Probably will want to be careful, though."

[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

"Good to know."

The three went to the cockpit, where Milo once again fired up the engines, lifted off, and headed towards the nearby camp. What would've been a 4 hour hike turned into a 4 minute flight.

The camp was in sight. And it looked like it was still occupied.

Blaster bolts pinged off the durasteel hull of Milo's corvette. He wasn't afraid of that. Hitting a few switches, the former Ren primed the weapons systems to rain down death upon the raiders. From here, he could see several tents, with men running about, firing. Several hovercraft were rapidly being leapt upon and started. Freya sat in the copilot's seat, which held the primary controls for the ship's weapons, and sat poised, ready to fire on Milo's command.

"Freya, hit the hovercraft. Don't hit the tents. We don't know who's in them."

Immediately, the young woman locked on to the first hovercraft, which had just lifted off from the ground. The front cannons fired and found their mark, leaving only a yellow fireball and smoke to mark where the vehicle had been. She did the same to the other hovercraft, destroying them before they could even lift off.

"Good. Bring us down. We can handle the rest."

A rocket went screaming from the camp towards the corvette. It slammed against the ship's shields, rocking it slightly. Milo turned to Cass, with a slightly unnerving smile upon his face.

"I hope you're ready."

The ship touched down quickly, and the three would emerge. Freya laid down suppressing fire for the trio to move closer to the camp. Any stray shots that managed to go in their direction were quickly deflected by Milo's white blade, which sprung to life with a hiss and steady crackle.

Several raiders were still alive in the camp, reorganizing from the carnage that Milo's corvette had rained down upon them. They had cover in the form of containers. It was going to be a good fight.

"Let's do this."

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

It was fast. Faster than even Cassiopeia expected (even though she really should have.) Cassiopeia was a lot more surprised it was still occupied. They had set up right before they raided her village. She didn't expect them to stay but sure enough, they had their own village.

Based off the blasters hitting Milo's ship, they still were terrible people. That didn't surprise her one bit. Cassiopeia watched as Freya began to rain fire down on the small raider group. She had never complaints about what was happening. She really couldn't care less what happened to them. She was glad that Milo told Freya not to hit the tents. She hadn't even thought about that.

The hovercrafts were destroyed quickly. That was realistically the most dangerous part. Cassiopeia nodded her head, impressed. She did have to wonder why they didn't have their own hovercraft. Anyways. The ship sat down, albeit a little bumpily.

Milo spoke to her and she nodded. She gave him a smile back, albeit less unnerving. "I'm ready."

They were out and it looks like Freya and Milo had deflecting bullet abilities, which was fairly nice. Cassiopeia had put her blaster on her back as they had exited, but she began to take her daggers out. They were her preferred weapons of choice. Several of them were behind containers. They had to come out to fire.

The center of the camp seemed to be where the HQ of the camp was. They weren't very original raiders.

She caught two of the raiders peering around a container. They were attempting to fire on the trio. Cassiopeia took advantage of their exposure, particularly when Freya and Milo were deflecting bullets. She threw one dagger, which landed in the middle of one guys throat. The other was thrown almost a second later, which landed in his chest. This would be her strategy, probably, for most of the walk towards the center.

 

[Milo Ren]

"Freya, look out!"

Milo warned his daughter just as she rounded a container. There was a raider there, wielding a vibroblade. He took a look at the girl and smiled nastily.

"You'll go for a pretty penny on the sl-agh!"

With a simple tilt of the head, Freya had crushed the man's trachea. He fell to the floor, gasping for air that never came. The young woman moved on.

Milo's lightsaber hacked off limbs, hands, heads. He was in no mood to play games. It was time to cut through the band of scum like a hot knife through butter. Using bounding cover, he sprinted from box to box, dispatching his foes methodically, all while keeping an eye on Cass and Freya. It was a good thing he was, too. A raider was about to blast a hole in Cass' back. In a smooth motion, he brought up his flechette launcher in his right hand and unloaded, shredding the man and saving his client.

"Flank them!"

He was in the center of the group of containers. Freya was to the left, and Cass was to the right. If they combined their efforts, they could force the raiders into a singular point and wipe them out to the last man.

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Cassiopeia kept her focus on moving ahead, although when she heard Milo yell out for Freya, she took a quick glance although she didn't react. Freya knew what she was doing, so she wasn't too worried about her. Milo was also watching her carefully, plus she didn't want to accidentally get in the way of the saber. Plus, she really needed to watch out for herself. Chances of people dying today? It was definitely her. x10.

She kept throwing her daggers, aiming primarily for the throat or in between the eyes. She even threw one that went through one guys shoulder that was trying to throw his own daggers towards Milo or Freya - she couldn't exactly tell which. She gasped a little as Milo shredded a man who almost killed her. "Thanks," she mumbled out as she threw a dagger into a guy's chest.

She nodded when he said to flank. She was very careful to stay hidden but she threw her daggers as necessary. One guy came up to her right, who tried to grab her. Luckily for her, she managed to stab him and practically gut him with a small scream. Her clothes were officially ruined, though. She pulled the rifle off and began to fire when she could at the raiders. They were almost finished with them - several of the raiders had begun to run away. She tried to shoot a couple as they ran.

 

[Milo Ren]

Milo and Freya systemically cut down what remained of the flanked raiders, then looked up to see a few retreated, running for their lives.

"Cowards! Don't let them retreat!"

It was slightly ironic. No doubt when they raided villages, the victims ran away, begging for mercy only to be gunned down. It was interesting to see how the tables had turned. Milo let loose from his flechette launcher again, using the last shell in the double barrel. His target dropped. Freya likewise took precise aim with her blaster and her target hit the ground, dead on impact. She was about to do the same to the last man, but Milo spoke up.

"Wound that one."

Her shot, instead of his back, landed on the raider's shoulder. He fell to the ground, howling in pain.

The fight was over, it seemed. At least here. Who knows how many camps they'd have to go to next?

Milo stepped forward to the wounded raider. Frightened, he tried to pull a holstered pistol on the former Ren, but with a wave of his hand, he sent the weapon flying into the woods. Then his boot connected with the raider's face, and he was out cold.

Milo dragged the unconscious man back to the container area, where he propped him against one of the several scorched boxes that sat next to the tents.

"You two, come here."

Milo's plan was to wait for the two ladies to join him, then beat the tar out of the raider once he woke up until he spilled the beans.

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

They didn't have to tell her twice. They basically ruined her life. She couldn't imagine how screwed up Jacob might be - being a slave, or tortured. Maybe it would have been more merciful if he was killed. She used her rifle blaster to finish a few of them off. They were awful people, and really deserved to die. Only a little of remorse hit Cassiopeia - she only felt bad for their own families, if they even had one.

She glanced towards the wounded guy, who was then being dragged to a container area. She nodded as she was requested and came by. She wondered how much blood was over her - she knew her dress had lots from the close up. She probably even had some on her face, which kinda grossed her out a bit. Trying to get her mind off that. She stood next to Milo and the raider.

She crouched next to him and pulled one of the last daggers she had. Knives were good to torturing a guy out of information, right? She grimaced mentally. Now this part... She might leave to them, honestly. She wasn't sure if she had it in her to torture someone. "Um... Do we need to tie him up or something?"

As such, she let her gaze focus on Milo. He or Freya would probably be better at this part.

 

[Milo Ren]

Milo stared at Cass. She was absolutely soaked in blood, from her face to her dress. Meanwhile, both Freya and her father were clean. She was new to combat, and sloppy. She'd learn.

"We don't need to tie him. Freya will handle him."

The raider was beginning to stir. Blearily, he opened his eyes, which quickly widened in fear. Milo landed a solid punch to his nose, which reverberated with an audible crack. He grabbed the howling man's head with both of his hands and got real close.

"Listen! You have one chance to tell us where you keep slaves at. Lie to me, or don't answer, and we'll hurt you before we kill you."

The raider babbled incoherently for a few seconds.

"I'll tell you, man! Just don't hurt me anymore! Ok, look, there's this big camp about 50 klicks north of here. It's pretty much got all our slaves there."

Milo looked at Freya, who nodded and extended a hand forward. The raider's whimpers became howls of agony, as the young woman ripped the information she wanted from his mind. It only lasted a couple of seconds, and then it was over. The raider was left senseless while Freya thought for a second, mulling over the stolen memories.

"He's telling the truth."

Milo nodded and activated his saber. In a deft move, he cut off the raider's head, then deactivated it, staring at Cass for her reaction.

"Let's go then."

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

She caught Milo staring and she shrugged a little, "I'm not use to close combat fight. I... Kinda was lucky, with this." She murmured quietly. She was great at throwing a dagger into someones head, shooting someone with a crossbow, but close combat? She was awful at.

She nodded. That made sense - these guys were experts, after all. That's why she gave them basically her life savings.

She kept a glare at the guy but she did not move or make any noise. This was definitely their job - the torture part. She even winced a little at the sound of the guys nose breaking. She shivered, although she did her best to not make anything seem like she was.

Freya did her Force thing and the next thing they knew is that the guy was telling the truth. It wasn't like he had much to live for.

The next second though and Milo took his saber and sliced the guys head off. It was a quick and easy death at least. She only winked slightly, but stared back at Milo. Why was he staring at her? She nodded. That was going to be a long walk, though. Where they going to take the ship again? "Yeah, let's go... We'll have to be more careful, though. The slaves." She sighed. "Also... Do you have any extra clothes or can we stop somewhere?" She motioned over her relatively bloodied body.

She knew of a Chroman village going in that general direction, but it was also kind of nasty going into their towns. Moisty, cavey, small. Hopefully they had something.

 

[Milo Ren]

Milo again gave Cass a quick once over. She wanted to make a pit stop on the way to potentially freeing her brother?

"Do you want to change, get all comfy, maybe grab a drink, a shower? Or do you want to find your brother, love? Get in the ship."

Milo marched off to his corvette, while Freya shot Cass a sneer before following suit. She decided to speak directly into Milo's mind, that way their client couldn't hear their conversation.

'We're practically babysitting this schutta. Let's take her to whatever village she wants to go to and leave her there. We already got the money.'

Milo, on his way to the ship, raised an eyebrow, then telepathically sent back, 'You think anyone would hire us again after word of this got out? No. We stick to the plan.'

Freya silently accepted her father's judgement. Still, it didn't hide the apparent disdain written on her face whenever she looked at Cass. She thought she was the only one who's ever lost anyone? Her brother was probably dead. It was the way of the galaxy. People died or went missing all the time. This was a waste of time. The two of them could be back with the fleet, learning more from Ra. Instead, they were out here babysitting this nerfherder. Anger began to build up in the young woman, and she turned to Cass, practically hissing out her words.

"Your brother is dead. Quit this idiotic chase and go home."

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

She stared at Milo flabbergasted. Seriously? That was completely uncalled for. She felt the anger quickly building up inside her. The second portion of his payment? Hell no. Whatever, he could kill her in the end if he didn't receive. This had been a nightmare from start to finish. Not to mention, any reviews? They're definitely not getting any good ones from her.

She nearly rolled her eyes at Freya, but decided to completely ignore her. Freya was a jerk. Period. Milo was just as bad. They deserved each others bitter company. Surely, she could have found nicer people to help her.

They were almost back to the ship when Freya began to talk to her. She stopped, stared at Freya for a moment, "Here is the thing, Freya. I paid you guys to do ME a service. And to be frank, you guys are the biggest jerks I've ever met. It doesn't matter if he's dead or alive, I paid you guys to FIND him. Dead or alive. Everyone here knows he might be dead!" She nearly yelled back. "Give me my money back or shut the hell up and do your job." She hissed back, boarding the ship.

She made sure she let her blood soaked clothes get on the ship, too. She used her hands to drain it on the middle of the flooring. Screw these people. If she hadn't already put so many credits into their account, she would have left. She knew where the camp was now - she could probably figure the rest of it out from here. Heck, she probably could have done this by herself. It wasn't that hard to kill a bunch of raiders.

 

[Milo Ren]

Milo raised an eyebrow again as Freya snapped at Cass. That wasn't like her. At all. Before he could stop her, his daughter stormed forward, where their client was draining her blood on the ship's deck.

"Freya, don't."

She ignored him, instead marching straight up to Cass. Raising her hand, she began to choke her with the Force, not enough to kill, but enough to hurt. As she did this, Freya snarled, her voice a harsh growl.

"Test me, schutta. I'll kill you without a second thought. Raise your voice at me again. DO IT!"

"That's enough."

Milo strode towards the scene. He wasn't about to physically stop his own daughter. In fact, it was better to let her release her tension this way. He was mostly making sure it didn't go too far.

"Let her go."

"We have her money. Let her find her brother."

Milo sighed, then got on a knee, lowering himself to Freya's level.

"I was a slave once, you know. As much as I try to act like this is some job, it's not. If there's even a slim chance that we can find this kid and free him, we're sticking with this. Please, Freya. For me."

The young woman held Cass in her grip for a second longer, then let her go. Freya then stormed off to some corner in the ship, eyes welling up in anger. Milo took a few steps towards Cass to ensure she was relatively unharmed.

"She's had a rough past. Lost a lot of people. Sorry."

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Cassiopeia regretted her outburst almost as soon as it happened. She had lost her temper, lost her way. She needed to meditate, to focus herself. She was a teacher, not some fighter like these people where. She wasn't hardened. She was squishy. She was upset, felt disgusting, over having someone elses blood all over her and suddenly, it meant she didn't want to find her brother.

Cassiopeia heard Milo tell her don't but the next thing she felt was a grasp around her throat. She knew what Freya was doing and she didn't fight it, except for her body's natural reaction of coughing, trying to get air into her lungs. It wasn't like Cassiopeia had that much to live for, anyways. A migrant teacher with no family, friends, or money. Heck, it'd be a blessing if she killed her. She would at least be absorbed into the Force or whatever happens. She wouldn't have to worry about this crap anymore.

They have her money. Let her find her brother. That's probably what the questionable faces were for, earlier. They were debating it. Whether Milo wanted to go with the plan, she wasn't sure. Freya let go of her after Milo told part of his story, although she clearly didn't want too.

Cassiopeia fell, catching her breath. She coughed for a minute or two as Freya ran off. Cassiopeia's own eyes had tears in them by this point. "I... I don't think this is going to work out." It came out quietly. She could practically feel the hope draining from her. Not to mention, he'd side with her in the end. At least she'd be stuck here, with her parents graves, over some escape pod or something.

She used her arm to wipe some of the tears that had built up and escaped from her eyes. "I'll clean this up. I-I'm sorry, for all of it," she said quietly. He had the money, so he had what he wanted, anyways.

[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

Milo stared at Cass as she wiped her tears off and said the job wouldn't work. His heart dropped just a tad, a feeling he hadn't felt in a long while. He, deep down, really did want to find this kid and bring closure to this tragic affair.

"Look, I know I haven't really been the picture of professionalism. But to be honest, I want to help you find Jacob. I know what it's like to lose people too. I'm not giving up on him. Whether you choose to give up or not is up to you."

He looked at the blood soaked floors and shook his head.

"Don't worry about the mess. Try some of Freya's clothes. They're probably too small, but you can try."

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

She took a deep breath as she tried to contain her emotions, her tears. There was just so many feelings that were going through her heart. She wanted to believe they would find him, but how could she ever face Freya again? After all, the girl did just try to kill her. The girl thought she was some kind of dumb, stupid, squishy, crappy person. She wasn't used to not being liked. She wasn't used to be in constant conflict with the people around her. She knew it was unrealistic to have at least reasonable relations with everyone, but it still stung. How could they finish this now?

She kept her head hanging down, as she stared at her feet and the blood. She listened to him carefully, hesitant to fully trust him. Maybe he wanted to find Jacob, but maybe he wanted to toss her out too. They did have their money, after all. She looked up and stared at his green eyes, "I am a teacher, Milo. I'm not a fighter. I can defend myself, I guess, but that's why I paid you guys in the first place. I can't do it by myself, at least not without getting myself killed. And if Jacob is alive, it'd probably get him killed too if by some miracle I find him. I'm not someone who gets blood all over my clothes and it just means... Nothing." Her voice started out strong but then slowly became a whisper.

She shook her head, "I don't want to give up. But how can I be near Freya? Or you now? How can we be effective as a team? After... This?"

She took another deep breath, trying to control herself. "I'll just stay in these... I would rather not mess with anything that is Freya's." She went to the wall and sat down slowly. She let her arms wrap around her legs as she stared ahead.

[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

Milo gave a slightly concerned look to Cass. Poor girl. She looked absolutely defeated.

"I'll have a word with Freya. I assure you, she'll be on her best behavior afterwards."

Milo kneeled down next to the grieving woman, and put a hand on her shoulder for comfort.

"Look, we'll find Jacob. If not, we'll at least find out what happened to him. Come on. On your feet."

From there, Milo stood back up and extended a hand.

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Cassiopeia wasn't sure what to do anymore. She thought she had a chance to find her brother and they had made some progress. But, it was increasingly seeming like she just lost 10k for nothing. At least she got to see her parents graves again.

She perked a brow, not really believing that. Her facial expression probably told everything that needed to be told. Although, it did relax some after a few seconds. Freya on her best behavior? She wasn't entirely sure Freya was someone who would listen based off the previous encounter, but she knew the girl had lived a hard life.

She truly wasn't prepared for a hand on her shoulder. Her body naturally jumped a little at the touch but it relaxed after a second. She wiped her eyes with her free arm. That was surprisingly... Nice, of him. It wasn't something she expected. She knew Freya and Milo had feelings. It was just surprising he actually showed any towards her.

She took a deep breath and put her hand in his and stood up. "At least it'll be something," she whispered. She gave a weak smile to Milo.

 

[Milo Ren]

Milo gave a slight smile to Cass as he felt her hand in his. It was surprisingly smooth and soft. For a moment, he had to resist the temptation to hold it a little bit longer. It had been ages since he had a woman, and for good reason, too. Attachment slowed him down. Dropping Cass' hand unexpectedly, Milo's face grew gruff once again as he cocked his head to the side, gesturing towards the bathroom.

"Freya always keeps some clothes in there. Go change. I'll go talk to her in the meantime."

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

She didn't notice the feeling that shot off inside her as their hands touched until a few seconds later. He dropped his hand unexpectedly and she brought her hand towards her neck, rubbing on the sore parts. Did he feel that little spark too? Or was it just in her head? Surely, it was just in her head. Her cheeks were the lightest shade of pink, so she kept her head looking away from him slightly.

She nodded, "Okay... Sounds like a plan." She walked into the bathroom, grabbing a couple of the clothes. She quickly changed, washed the blood off her face & hair, and reemerged a few moments later. She cautiously went and sat down on a container, waiting for them to come out. Or to die by Freya's actual hands.

[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

"I don't care how you feel about her, we're sticking with this job. If I have to drop you off somewhere and treat you like a child, I will."

"Fine. I'll leave her be."

Milo gave Freya one last warning glance before leaving her room. Well, that would probably work. He had spoken to her about leaving Cass alone, and everyone getting along in general. While he didn't expect perfect cohesion, it would be nice if the two women could at least stand each other.

Milo made his way back to Cass, who was now clean, dressed in Freya's clothes. They were a bit too small for her, and the former Ren had to try to not stare.

"Talked to Freya. She has no quarrel with you anymore. We're gonna find Jacob."

Milo then gave Cass another half smile, with a slightly more relaxed expression on his face. He was ready to help her out.

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]