Private Fighting With Less

[Kahlil Noble]

"Vondarc. After the fall of the CIS they've been on their own dealing with Maw Raiders and such. The village we're heading to hasn't had much issues with raiders, but yeah. Their crops died. It's less a relief mission and more a focus on what exactly killed their harvest."

Boxes onto hover carts. Kahlil just picked up whole crates with ease cause giant guy that he was. He raised a brow as she just started to unpack them rather than carry the whole thing. But didn't question it. She seemed real paranoid about her strength.

Even now there was that unsettling prickle in the air. Of darkness unseen. Heavy, oppressive. The ramp lowered and it only got worse. Bad enough that even Kahlil could feel it weighing on his mind. His brow furrowed just for a moment before he clicked on the cart.

"Stay close. Let me know if you sense anything off. More than what it feels like now." Then he lead the way through the town. People watched from a distance, their faces worn with worry and probably sleepless nights. Narrowed eyes in distrust, but also curiosity. And hunger. The deeper they went, the more the people followed. Still way at a distance, but close enough to feel it. They didn't trust the Jedi. But they really wanted that food.

Kahlil stopped before what looked like the main hall, where a taller woman dipped her head. "You th' Jedi?"

"That'd be us."

"Them th' supplies?"

"Yep."

"Coo'. Leave em there."

Thelma Goth

 

[Thelma Goth]

Vondarc. She’d never heard of it, but that wasn’t surprising for her. Thelma was not a well-traveled gal.

The atmosphere of Darkness on the planet was noticeable, though it didn’t seem to come from any discernible source. Thelma tread carefully as she unloaded the cargo (not unpacking it), keeping her eyes peeled for anything that might be dangerous even before Kahlil ordered her to stay close to him.

Introvert that she was, Thelma was acutely aware of the villagers following them at a distance. She wasn’t sure what to make of their behavior, but she got the impression that they were wary of the visitors, whether because they were Jedi or simply because they were outsiders. At any rate, they reached a town hall of sorts, where Kahlil spoke to a tall woman about the supplies.

Thelma didn’t say anything, keeping to herself and minding her own business. They just needed to do what they had to do, then leave.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Right."

Kahlil gave a nods and a thumbs up before leaving the carts where they were. Didn't even turn to unload them and take his hovercarts back. There was an unspoken tension in the air that was directly targeting them. Nervousness. Fear. He turned back to Thelma, simply giving her a nod as they started to make their way back to the ship. He spoke low, barely a whisper, as he passed by.

"Stay calm. We go back to the ship."

He caught sight of it as he turned. A sniper, hidden from view. Trained on them both. The closer he looked at the group here, the clearer the picture got. These weren't the townsfolk. No, this wasn't what he had in mind when he brought her here. Some big animal problems, more likely. Not bandits.

Thelma Goth

 

[Thelma Goth]

Thelma's brow furrowed as they began to walk away. Something didn't feel right. Her Jedi senses were tingling, and Kahlil telling her to stay calm wasn't exactly helping her to, well, stay calm.

She followed his line of sight up to the sniper, eyes widening and fangs descending. Perhaps it was the sight of those sharp metallic canines flashing that set the shooter off. A blaster shot came arcing toward them. Thelma dove out of the way, her lightsaber in her hand igniting a moment later, teeth bared and eyes piercing.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Get to the ship!"

Calm didn't matter now. Kahlil's saber ignited in a flash of green as he batter back another blast from the sniper. Right into another as they pulled their own blaster out. Chaos erupted shortly after. More blasters, more gunfire. "Find the center! Let yourself be the eye of the storm!" More of an advanced Soresu tactic, but there wasn't much choice. The bandits were all into this, emerging from the homes to add more to the blasterfire.

They were surrounded. Ironically, it was ideal for Soresu. Kahlil shifted through them, letting some bolts just pass by him as he found his center.

Thelma Goth

 

[Thelma Goth]

Thelma tried to run back to the ship, only to be forced back as the "villagers" surrounded them. She blocked blaster bolts with her lightsaber, the situation unraveling before her very eyes.

"What's going on? Why are they shooting at us?!" she screamed. It was less obvious to her that these people were bandits in disguise, and she didn't know how to proceed. Were they under mind control? Should she be trying to stun them, or use lethal force?

Kahlil told her to find the center. To remain calm, essentially. She could do that, sure, but then what?

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Alright staying calm wasn't something she could do just yet. His gaze shifted to her as he passively turned from another shot. His blade flashed through the ground, carving through stone and earth as he weaved through the continued blaster fire. Then a flash of light as the rune he'd carved burned into existence. The earth rose, creating a barrier around them. A moment to breath, hopefully to help her.

"Okay, we got a couple minutes before they break that down." He could hear the blasters still hitting the wall. It was thick, but still just dirt. Blowing chunk after chunk away. Kahlil lowered his saber, glancing to her.

"The why doesn't matter until we get somewhere safe to think about it. Should you fight back? Should you kill them? Maybe they're being made to fight? They're questions a Jedi should have answers to, but figuring it out when you're being shot at isn't easy. So, default to prioritizing life. I'll scatter the barrier here, make a smoke screen of a sorts. We run to the ship. Gather our thoughts there. If someone gets in your way, try to knock them out. But if it's your life or theirs, don't hesitate."

This wasn't the lesson he wanted to teach her. Not here, not so soon. Kahlil let out a breath before giving a smile. As best he could, considering. "Let me know when you're ready."

Thelma Goth

 

[Thelma Goth]

Too busy deflecting blaster bolts, Thelma didn't see what Kahlil was doing. She yelped in surprise when the earth suddenly rose around them, creating a barrier. But the villagers kept shooting, chunks of dirt crumbling away and burning to glass with each blast.

From Kahlil's urgent speech, Thelma realized that he didn't have any answers either. Her thin hope that this was all according to some plan, just another part of her training lessons, was swiftly yanked away. She was left terrified. Nothing made sense anymore.

Kahlil formulated a plan of escape on the spot. Thelma nodded her head, the sound of blaster fire drowning out her mumbled, "Okay." So she repeated it, louder this time. "Okay!"

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Okay. This was gonna have to do. At her signal Kahlil raised his hand. As he said, he scattered the mounded dirt, turning the wall into a blinding haze. At least to those who didn't expect it, and none of the smugglers seemed to. Shouting erupted around them as people tried to get eyes on the Jedi before just blasting away and possibly shooting one another. Kahlil took off, right behind Thelma when she ran. Hovered close to keep her protected until they made it through the cloud.

Then continued the dead sprint right to their ship. His saber was extinguished still, but as they neared it wasn't hard to tell there were pirates close by. Certainly trying to keep them from making it back and escaping. He raised a hand, lifting one from the ground to send him flying to the side. The other he figured Thelma could handle as they made their way on board.

Thelma Goth

 

[Thelma Goth]

As soon as the walls came down, Thelma broke into a run toward the ship. Her legs were shorter than Kahlil’s, yet he slowed down so as to follow behind her rather than charging ahead.

For the most part they passed unmolested, but two of the villagers managed to get in front of them, hindering their progress. Kahlil dispatched one of them, but the other fired at Thelma. She couldn’t ignite her blade fast enough to deflect the shot. It struck her in the chest, knocking her to the ground.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Things went wrong. Kahlil turned, raised a hand. He could see things were going to go wrong. Horribly wrong. The most he could do was alter it. The Force pulled the blaster aimed at Thelma, tugging it up, away from her. Not fast enough. The shot went off, right for her shoulder. Less lethal, at least. He continued tugging the grip, yanking the blaster towards himself to disarm the other. Two quick swipes. One to cut apart the gun, the second to disable it's wielder.

Then he was down, not hesitating to scoop Thelma up and drag her on board if he had to. Much to his surprise, she was light.

That made things easier. On board he raised a hand, pulling the controls of the ship. Turning it up to get it flying into the air while he carried Thelma into the medical bay. "Can you patch yourself?"

Thelma Goth

 

[Thelma Goth]

Pain and shock took over. Thelma was more or less senseless until they were aboard the ship.

"Can you patch yourself?"

Kahlil's voice drew her back to reality. Blinking in his arms, she realized she had lost her hat during their escape. Dark green hair tumbled free.

"I... I need to sleep to heal," she rasped.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Then sleep. I'll get us back to the temple. .. I'm sorry."

She wasn't ready for this kind of mission. Grant it, he didn't expect the bandits to be living in the town, but still. He should've thought better. He let out a sigh as he left her to sleep, went back to the cockpit, and got the ship heading back to Coruscant. There was a lot she seemed to need to work on first before he could take her into the field again.

Thelma Goth