Private Disaster Relief

[Iris Arani]

She'd never been to Jabiim before. And already it was off to an intense start to her trip. What should've been just Iris learning more of the various cultures of the Galaxy turned to a full blown rescue mission. The village that was her destination had been swept away in a terrible mudslide, beyond what the locals had expected. So now she was coated in mud, hand out, pulling aside the rubble she could to try and dig through the mud and find survivors. Only a couple had been found thus far, and she was getting tired.

The colors of the Force she saw bent to her will, lifting stone, walls, hovercars. Whatever she could see to try and get to the colors trapped below. She could see them, the people trapped. Or at least the colors of panic and fear that echoed in the Force around them. She needed to be quick.

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

Iris Arani
​

The warnings Amani had heard of Jabiim’s nature were no exaggeration; Muddy ground shifted under the deluge with each step she took. The torrent of water stung at her face like needles, and what meager protection her poncho offered was swept back in harsh winds.

With luck Amani was already nearby when the call for aid went out. Though some procedures were only just getting underway, others had already taken to direct rescue efforts, with one obvious standout catching the healer’s attention. “Hey!” Amani tried to call out, her voice muted by the ever-constant rain.

She switched to a more direct approach, sliding down a small incline of muddied soil and stumbling into a full stop just short of the individual surrounded by a collection of floating debris, “Hey,” Amani spoke again, more audible this time, “You a… a Jedi?” Perhaps an obvious observation, but all that came to mind at the moment. It was times like these that Amani wished she too could still lift her problems away with just her mind.

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris blinked. Another color joined her, pulling her gaze. She stared at Amani Serys for a moment, not seeming to notice the question. At first. Then she nodded before pointing down close by. "There are people trapped! I can lift, but the rain keeps flooding it! Ideas?" It was weird shouting over the rain. Any other time and she might've just talked in the woman's head. But, she didn't know who this person was. And, well. Nobody seemed to appreciate mental communication from a stranger.

Her gaze shifted to the mud as she again started to pull out what debris she could to try and dig the people buried within out.

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani's gaze fell to where Iris had pointed, where every effort to retrieve whoever was down below was being thwarted by the planet's volatile weather. "Ehhh-" no time to waste. People's lives depended on it.

She shook her head, trying to recompose her focus. "...I don't know," Amani muttered with growing frustration. With only the two of them she couldn't find any way to save the people below, and panic began to mount as their timeframe continued to tick away.

It was in that moment, just as she nearly overwhelmed herself with fear, that it all washed away. Another second passed before she seemed to relax, and raise her hand almost subconsciously. A deep breath, followed by a wave of calm, and from her outstretched hand a bubble of the Force formed, repelling the incoming water from where the victims were trapped. At least, for the time being. Amani looked up, apparently astonished that it had worked, before returning her gaze to Iris, "How's that?"

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

All at once the rain stopped. Iris, still desperately trying to dig through the mud, hadn't noticed it at first. Objects continued to be dragged free, her hands continued to dig at the mud where she had to. Then she paused. Blinked. Looked up.

"How's that?"

The colors didn't lie. Light came from Amani Serys , making the bubble around them. A Force User? Still stunned she continued to stare, more blankly at the other woman. No, right. People were still buried.

"Yeah. Keep holding it."

Iris took a breath, looking back down to the mud. To where the people were still trapped. Then reached out. The protection from the rain, the bubble, she could split the mud enough. The Force shifted under her guidance as she closed her eyes. One by one she reached down and pulled the people trapped to the surface. The trio that'd been buried, now free, gasped for air. Wiped off the mud that covered their faces. Panicked, happy, surprised.

The Padawan lowered her hand and fell forward, taking a couple deeper breaths.

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani watched with awe, as if she had never seen the Force used before, looking back and forth between her own barrier and Iris' efforts.

In short order, the people trapped below were freed. No later than that did Amani's force bubble dissipate, and along with it, her actual Force sensitivity. She laughed in amused wonder, closing the gap between herself and Iris, resting a hand on her shoulder, "Did you see that?! That was-" She raised her hand again to try and recreate the effect, only to find nothing.

"Wha-?" Her fascination turned to disappointment, as several more attempts yielded the same lackluster result. Amani sighed, accepting her return to normalcy; Whatever brought that moment of clarity back, she wasn't capable of duplicating. Instead, she refocused her satisfaction on the fruits of their efforts, a bittersweet smile returning as she watched those they saved rejoice in their freedom. She looked back to Iris, "Sorry, just haven't been able to actually do that for a while. You good?"

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

That was.. Odd. The colors around Amani Serys , how they shifted and.. Echoed? Iris focused on it for a moment, the only moment she could as the bubble faded. What in the world did that mean? In all her life, she'd never seen someone use the Force, then just not be able to. Was that normal? Her head tilted as she seemed to focus in on the conversation. Oh, right. Her gaze shifted to follow Amani's to the people who'd been saved, smiling faintly herself.

"I'm good. Lets get them somewhere safer."

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani nodded in agreement, before ushering over the rescuees to follow, “There’s a small relief camp already set up not too far from here. It’s not much but, well, better than here.” Response was quick, at least, as evidenced by her being here as well. Silver lining to a naturally volatile climate, she supposed.

A quick lookover to ensure that the survivors were free of any immediate emergencies, and Amani was ready to lead on when the rest were ready. It was a familiar feeling, given her line of work, making the young medic seem more composed than she really was.

“Amani, by the way,” She turned to Iris, offering conversation, “So what’s a Jedi like you doing in a mess like this?”

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Right. Safety. Relief camp. Iris visibly relaxed at the idea. The people they helped, they weren't in danger anymore. Or wouldn't be, once they made it to the camp. Iris was quick to help usher the folks alongside Amani Serys , smiling warm to any who looked her way. A smile was important to helping people feel comfortable. .. When had she learned that? The thought crossed her mind as she paused, drifting off in her own inner world.

".. Huh? Oh. I uh. My master said I should see more worlds and.. Yeah. People needed help."

 

[Amani Serys]

Yep, that tracks. Amani nodded, finding the response sufficient.

“Fair enough. Good thing you were here. Don’t think I could’ve solved that mess on my own.” She lowered her tone ever so slightly with the last comment. No reason to get people stressing over how things could have gone.

"I just so happened to be near the system when the distress call went out. Better late than never, I guess." A bit of forced optimism on her part. At least things had gone well so far.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"I didn't solve it either on my own." She glanced back to the ruins, nodding her head once. Amani Serys was why those people were saved. Together, at least. Iris scratched her cheek, gazing up at the stormy sky for a moment. The Force had it's own will, right? Did that mean..?

"You were Jedi once, right?"

 

[Amani Serys]

A faint smile tugged at Amani's lips, "Teamwork makes the dream work, eh?" She quickly affirmed the adage. No reason for them to dance around acknowledging their own efforts.

The next thing Iris said however, gave her pause. Amani opened her mouth as if to answer, but stayed silent for a moment before giving a proper response. One could practically see the gears turning in her head as she debated how to answer, then deciding on a simple, "...Yeah," as satisfactory.

Another beat passed before she gave a slight clarification, "It's a bit of a… complicated story. But yeah. I used to be a Silver a while back. Obviously not really an option now, right?" She added, in reference to her lack of a present Force connection, assuming another Jedi would be able to pick up on it.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

So she was. That explained a lot. Iris nodded with a faint smile, self assured that she actually noticed something correctly. And not just something she felt through the Force without thinking about. Though, Amani Serys seemed off about it? The Padawan tilted her head, the smile turning to something more of concern.

"Why not?"

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani exhaled with a trill, "Uhhhm," she deliberated internally over how to explain the mess that led her to this point, "Well, I guess the easiest way to put it is, I had a bit of a close call with the dark side. Closer than I'd care to admit."

Still dancing around a more direct admission, but she left more than enough details on the table for one to read into, "A-anyway, through that whole mess, I ended up losing my connection to the Force, after…" Well, admitting somebody died is a hell of a thing to bring up in a conversation with a stranger, "...Point is I can't use the Force anymore because of it."

She flexed her fingers, pausing as she pondered what they had just done, "Or, at least I didn't think I could."

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

The colors shifted and Iris frowned. Whatever Amani Serys was going to say but didn't, it was dark. Sad. The Padawan didn't want to push that though. No, she learned that pushing strangers for information was often a bad thing. Or at least made them uncomfortable. Still, it didn't add up.

"Or, at least I didn't think I could."

Oh. Yeah that made more sense. Iris nodded once, her smile slowly returning before she turned to keep walking. They were still out in the rain. It'd be nice to get dry.

"You don't seem to be cut off. Just.. Distant. I can help, if you want."

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani seemed taken aback by the genuine proposition of help. Not for lack of trust per se, just unexpectant of an offer. She gave a gracious smile, "Well… sure. If you think there's something you could do, I wouldn't say no."

Can't hurt to try, at the very least.

"Maybe once we find somewhere a little less… damp." Amani threw a mop of drenched raven hair out of her face. "I think that's the camp up ahead, better than standing around out here," She nodded towards the silhouettes of tents and makeshift shelters further off, barely visible under the dark sky and sheets of rain. A set of blinking emergency lights around the perimeter helped ensure its discovery by any wayward souls.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"I have tricks that could help. .. It will involve a lot of uh, well." She scratched her cheek, mulling over how best to word it. Often, most people didn't actually understand what she meant. But Amani Serys wasn't most people, right? She was a Jedi once. Should be easy to explain. Iris nodded once, a smile taking over her pondering expression.

"Melding. We should be able to meld, and I can see through your eyes on just what is missing. And you might be able to see it too? Maybe. There's also all the colors, and that might be too overwhelming." And just like that Iris was rambling. She followed after the Mirialan, slicking back her hair to get rid of some of the excess water just before ducking into one of the shelters. Several people were around, eating something akin to soup. Was it soup?

Smelled too bland to be soup in Iris's opinion. Her frown lingered only for a moment before the smile returned and she looked back to Amani.

"Okay, so. Um. We should probably sit."

 

[Amani Serys]

A meld? There was merit there, though Amani approached the idea with an air of concern. "Are you sure? I don't want you to potentially... hurt yourself or something, just for this." Given the potential for melds to overwhelm their users without proper precautions, she wouldn't feel comfortable without at least giving Iris the out.

"But… if you're confident in it, then I trust you."

Amani looked around the shelter, spotting and leading Iris towards an extra canvas flap, which led to a smaller, currently unattended room of the tent, "Should give us a little bit of privacy." Better to keep any distractions out for this. She gave the room a once-over before nestling onto the floor, leaving a spot for Iris to join. "Never done something like this before. Guess it'll be a new experience, at least."

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"I've learned to do it pretty easily now. With all kinds of people. I'm more worried about what you'll see. It's.. Hard to explain?" Most people did just give her a blank look whenever she did try to explain it. Still, she followed after Amani Serys , nodding her head. Privacy would be good for this. Iris took the spot, crossing her legs, closing her eyes. "It's fun! Ish. Depending. Mm. It's definitely new."

Iris smiled briefly.

"Ready?"

 

[Amani Serys]

Her apparent experience with the ability was enough to assuage Amani's concerns. "Can't be worse than anything I've already seen, right?" An unconfident chuckle slipped out. "I can take it."

She mimicked the Jedi in her preparation, closing her eyes and taking a long, deep breath, "...I'm ready."

Iris Arani​