Private Mind The Gap

[Khoe Ghafara]

Makeb System - Makeb - Equatorial Region - Tolfey Zhina Pop: 700 - 15:00 hours local time
[Theme]
Cadere​

The sleepy isolated mountain town awoke to another beautiful sunny day, but you wouldn’t be able to feel that sort of enthusiasm in the air, yes the locals got to work as usual but that existing tension in the air was present to anybody who’d visit, so thick you could cut it with a vibroblade, it had been a week since the last attack and according to survivors of other attacks it usually took them about that long to prep for another, already nearly 10 towns in the region had been raided and this town was no different, the Gandi pirates were ruthless, murdering all who opposed them stealing crops and goods, looting stores, taking outcasts unable to defend themselves with them to do god knows what and burning their buildings sending them crashing down the ravine that split the residential part of down from the commercial, the Makeb central government wouldn't help, those corrupt Hutt controlled puppets would only help for a coin too big for the village to pay, for all that the locals knew they’d been payed off to turn a blind eye to the ransacking.

The only reason this town was spared this past week was frankly a complete stroke of luck, scouts knowing the Gandi pirates the local elders sent a desperate call on the most powerful distress channel they had not reaching far out of the system, thankfully, call it dimb luck, the will of the force Jedi Knight Khoe Ghafara of the New Jedi Order was refueling her ship on a station over Lyndax when she received the distress call, always willing to help anybody she headed over in an instant arriving just in time to easily fend off the small pirate horde from the village but she knew she’d be back. The scouts reported an even larger group massing to attack the village, she had figured they weren't dumb enough to send their full force against such a weak town, she had asked the New Jedi Order for assistance but since Makeb was a neutral world they told her it wasn’t in their jurisdiction or their best interest to help or in their words “interfere”. The locals had kept the signal going in case other help arrived, any help. She didn’t have the heart to tell the locals that no help was coming from the Jedi but she felt as though they already knew. Khoe stood on the far balcony of the down wrapped in her brown cloak smoking a pipe of spice as she gazed over the dry wooded opening of the valley at the northern tip of the ravine, the harsh Makebi sun searing her through the cloak, she wasn’t exactly sure what she was going to do, her master always told her not to bite off more than she could do and it felt like this time she’d gotten herself into that sort of predicament, she was the only one hear who could reliably take out even a single brigand, they were artisans not warriors.

 

[Cadere]

After handling a ship of pirates raiding trade ships near Lannik, Cas was about to return to Kashyyyk when BB-5 picked up a distress call originating from Makeb, not far from there. After his astromech decoded the signal, the Jedi Knight learned that Gandi pirates were causing havoc across the small towns across the planet.

Without hesitation and without informing the Concord, he steered his ship in the direction. There was something that irked him about powerful forces bullying and leeching off of smaller, weaker people and so he had no trouble taking these pirates down a peg. While he wasn't sure how long the call had been sent out for, the Jedi Knight simply hoped that he would make it in time and that there was still a town to save.

Cas' Phenex starfighter eventually entered Makeb's atmosphere and he followed the distress call's signal directly to its source, finding himself in Makeb's Equatorial region. From the clouds, Cas saw the town he was meant to be landing at and couldn't help but be mesmerised by its architecture and beauty - he had never seen anything like it, he was so used to metropolitan planets or desolate worlds overtaken by nature, this was something much different. Docking his starfighter not too far outside the town, as he leapt out of the cockpit he addressed BB-5 "Stay with the ship, I'mma need you to bring my corpse back if I don't make it." he joked.

With that, the Kiffar began trekking his way toward the town - so far so good, everything seemed to be still in one piece so he definitely wasn't too late to help out. There was another thing on his mind though, while he was very confident in his abilities, he wasn't sure if he alone would be able to protect the town... but that didn't mean he wouldn't try...

Khoe Ghafara

 

[Khoe Ghafara]

As the stranger entered the town from an entrance on the cliffs overhanging the village, doors and windows shut as if the opposite of a parade rolled into town, as the sceptic locals gazed through cracks in blinds and peepholes in curiosity and fear, some townsfolk recognized the man as being a Jedi but did not greet the man, distrusting of all outsiders who entered their town in light of recent events. Khoe saw the ship land up top and decided to investigate, climbing over the rooftops of the small town she briefly shadowed the man, spotting on his utility belt his lightsaber and judging from the general attire and disposition she realized that some help had actually arrived or so she hoped. She flipped down from one of the shingling of a local two story home behind the stranger quietly.

“And here I thought I wouldn’t be gettin’ any help.” She noted snarkily making her presence known, “they’re coming from the northern part of the ravine, not the south.” She nodded her head in the opposite direction of where the stranger was headed, a warm breeze wafted through the gully as she spoke, beckoning the two of them towards where the estimated pirates would attack from.

“We’re saved!” cried one voice as a round, stout, man stumbled out of abode not 20 feet away. Consul Barik, the local mayor came out to greet the man with a near tearful bow and introduction. “First we had one Jedi, now we have two! What's that thing you people say, the way has been with us?!” He exclaimed putting his hands together, to the no townsfolk who were listening, Khoe cringed, the intrusive thought "Are these people worth saving...?" ran through her head much to her dismay. “We are simple folk and do not believe in violence in any means, you are our saviors.” the man wailed. Khoe cleared her throat and aided the man back into his home, “Your consulship you should really stay inside or at least near your dwelling we don’t know when those brigands can be back.” Barik whipped the snot of his nose and scurried back indoors, Khoe gave a playful yet sarcastic shrug to the other Jedi as he exited before returning.

“He's uhhhh how you'd say really excitable, nearly passed out when I arrived... It's Khoe, Khoe Ghafara by the way.”
​

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas frowned at the cold reception to his presence, he figured that the townsfolk would be beaming at his arrival - considering they had sent out the distress beacon and all. Weird. Wandering further into town, Cas sensed something, the presence of another Force-sensitive nearby, luckily he didn't sense the Dark side but he couldn't exactly pinpoint where until he heard a feminine voice come from behind him.

Startled, he spun round slightly holding a hand to his chest "Blast! Your mom ever tell you not to sneak up on strangers?" he half-quipped before lowering his hand to his side. The woman mentioned that 'they', who he assumed were the raiders, were hitting the town from the northern ravine which prompted Cas to respond with a slightly puzzled "...Right..." who was this woman? Was she a Jedi? He could sense the Light within her more clearly now but...

His thoughts were quickly put on the back burner when a voice cried out - when a man on the heavier side came out to greet them, he confirmed Cas' theory that this woman was a Jedi, making him wonder if the Concord had sent out a Jedi to defend the town anyway. Regardless, he would remain here, the Force brought him to Makeb for a reason. Cas raised a finger to correct the mayor "Actually, it's 'the For--' nevermind." shaking his head and stopping himself short. Folding his hands in his pockets, he couldn't help but grin at the mayor's over-gratitude - it was nice to be appreciated for once, although, the Jedi had sent him back to his home.

"Aww, couldn't you let him stroke our egos for five more minutes?" he quipped with a smile. Then she introduced herself, Khoe Ghafara, he'd never heard of her but... her surname sounded familiar, still, it was good to meet her nonetheless. Extending his arm, he flashed her a smile "Cas Tynen." although his smile faded slightly as he scanned Khoe's features more thoroughly - he noticed her qukuuf across her nose that had a striking resemblance to Clan Vos' markings. "Hey, you're a Kiffar!" Cas proclaimed excitedly, smile returning "I haven't seen another one of us in years." he chuckled, now finding a kindred spirit in the Jedi. "Oh! My bad, my bad, we should probably figure out a plan on how to handle these pirates."

Khoe Ghafara

 

[Khoe Ghafara]

Khoe accepted the hand welcomingly, appreciating the help, her too not wanting her astromech to have to haul her body back, hell he’d probably just lob himself off the ravine knowing them. Towards the Kiffar comment Khoe didn’t really know how to respond, she’d met others of her kind, their were a handful within the order but she always felt very detached from that part of her existence, visiting Kiffu but once with her master asa belated right of passage but she understood next to nothing about her culture. “Y… yeah I guess I am.” She responded awkwardly, before returning to business, “Here, walk with me.” Khoe began to saunter back to the other side of town overlooking the woods walking and talking.

“From what we’ve gathered they’ll arrive via drop ship presumably from this direction, since within those woods is where they’re based, I believe they may have a few arriving by speeder bike too, or maybe those are on the ship? Listen we don’t have much to go off of I wouldn’t call these guys expert scouts.” Khoe scratched the back of her head, “My fear is that now that they know they have help, and a Jedi noless, I’m worried about how many men they will throw at us, It might be too much.” Khoe turned a slight shade of red realizing she may have just insulted one of the few factors keeping her alive, “Not that I’m doubting your abilities or anything! I just sorta got thrust into this job if you could call it that and am… apprehensive, so please any good ideas would be amazing cause the only one I had was, fight them and try to pull the landing craft into a cliff, not very impressive.” the wind pulled Khoe’s hair in front of her as it blew out into the openness of the green below, she kept a tight grip on the handrail as she observed the scenery.

“Beautiful, eh?” she clenched the rail tighter, “I don’t want it to go to waste."

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas tilted his head to the side slightly and raised an eyebrow - she didn't seem that enthusiastic about what he said, prompting the Jedi Knight to grit his teeth in awkward embarrassment. He had probably said something wrong. "Uh, sorry." he apologised as he rubbed the back of his neck, calming down slightly. Luckily, Khoe changed the subject and asked him to walk with her which he promptly agreed, hoping to avoid the previous awkwardness.

Folding his hands into his jacket pockets, he matched her speed as he listened intently to she gave him intel on the pirates. A smile formed on his lips when she went noticeably red, believing to have insulted him in some shape or form during her explanation. Shaking his head, he reassured her "It's cool, if I was easily offended like that I'd have went to the Dark side a long time ago." ending it with a chuckle, his smile then quickly switched into a confident smirk "We do have one advantage though..." he paused, hoping to build anticipation "They don't know they've got two Jedi to deal with now." he revealed, flashing her a playful wink.

The Kiffar watched as Khoe began to observe the scenery, sliding in next to her, Cas leaned on the hand rails resting his elbows on the top of the hand railing. Tilting his head upward, he closed his eyes and allowed the wind to carry through his bronze skin and black dreads "Yeah." he agreed "I haven't seen anything like this. It... sure is one of a kind." Cas would add, beginning to open his eyes.

Turning his head to face his Kiffar ally "I don't want you to freak out or anything. I'm not really one for plans per say, I kinda just do my thing on the fly and let the Force do its work, y'know?" Cas confessed to Khoe. Leaning off of the railing slightly, the young Jedi hooked his bare hand around his gloved hand and adjusted its cuff "But earlier, you mentioned that these guys aren't great scouts right? What if we do a bit of recon on our own? See what we're dealing with and... if you're up to it, maybe take the fight to them?" he suggested, completely aware that it may be a suicidal idea but half of Cas' plans were suicidal in hindsight.

Khoe Ghafara

 

[Khoe Ghafara]

Khoe paused for a moment thinking about Cas’s plan, she would've done the scouting herself already but she was worried if she had left and been spotted by them she would of been caught out and she could of been strante between a rock and a hard place, nevertheless with the additional help it was possible they could pull it off.

“If we’re fast sure, my biggest fear would be that we spot them on their way to the town while we’re too far to help but if we act now we might be able to make it their before we think they’re attacking, but we will need to go by foot, they’d scan either of our fighters I’d imagine and it’ll just be the two of us against who knows how many.” Khoe replied calmly clacking her nails on the handrail as she continued to ponder what their next course of actions was, suddenly a spark of an idea began to brew, "but we don't have to be..." Khoe murmured quietly as she stood back up straight and began walking back into town before pausing, realizing she hadn't explained her plan, “I have a stupid idea, can your ship be piloted by only your droid?” Khoe’s face lighting up, only slightly worried she sounded crazy “cause my astromech can totally fly mine and then we could have air sport or hell, a diversion if need be!”

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Folding his arms as he listened to what Khoe thought of his suggestion. Nodding along at every few words she said before she eventually concluded - the concerns she raised were sound, Cas glanced forward, staring into space as he pondered more ideas. He had an idea of maybe her staying with the town while he scouted ahead, he was fast and acrobatic, the Kiffar was sure it would help him with recon.

His ears perked however, at her quiet murmur, not quite hearing what she said Cas turned to her with a raised eyebrow "What'd you say? he queried. Then she finally explained and a small smile, lips quirking slightly "That could work. My astromech can pilot my ship, yeah." Cas quickly answered - although, the issue was BB-5 could pilot the ship without him he couldn't engage in combat... but with a droid's superior reaction speed and ability to handle more G-Force than an organic, Khoe's suggestion of using the droid's as a diversion or distraction could very well be possible.

Smile growing larger "Okay, yeah. That'll work." he agreed. Cas raised his organic wrist to his face and spoke into the commlink under his sleeve, patching himself to BB-5 he began to speak "Hey, bud. You've been drafted - when the pirates come I'm going to need you to use the ship as a distraction." he commanded, once he was finished he lowered his arm and faced Khoe again. "I figure our astromech's can be enough of a nuisance and eventually lead the drop ship away, lessening the amount of reinforcements we have to deal with." Cas suggested.

Khoe Ghafara

 

[Khoe Ghafara]

“Yeah, this plan might actually work.” Khoe responded to as optimistically, she had a good feeling about this, looking into the future briefly it all looked bright, she activated her com on her wrist and began muttering into it.

“Hercules, I need you to travel with my friend's vessel and cause some damage at the coordinates 87 mark 6, 932.” followed by a series of beeps after each comment

“Y... yes it will be dangerous.”

“Hercules, yeah, it’s okay, you opened that door 7 seconds late 2 weeks ago buddy, let it go, I promise it’s fine, I don't hate you.”

“I swear if you throw yourself into the ravine,”

"Please?" Khoe spoke espeically softly followed by a pasue before more beeps, “Thanks.”

Khoe pressed her comm one more time, deactivating at before rolling her eyes at Cas, “droids” then making her way to the northwestern point of town where lay a staircase carved deep into the rock switchbacking down to the green below, to make the trek easier Khoe jumped down switchback by switchback as if they were a giants staircase expertly showing off her acrobatic abilities throwing in a flip or two for good measure and an ounce of clout in the process. Upon reaching the bottom, she yelling up to Cas,

“How was that?”

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas calmly watched the exchange between Khoe and her astromech. He smiled halfway through the conversation, seems like the two had a unique and relaxed relationship, reminding him of his own relationship with BB-5. Following her conversation with her droid, Cas followed the Jedi Knight to the staircase and watched her as she acrobatically make her way down the stairs.

Smirking, he raised his hands and opened all of his fingers - displaying a 'ten' with his fingers "Amazing! Do it again!" he complimented her jokingly. Before, lazily, skipping all the steps entirely and leaping down the staircase in one large somersault, landing gracefully on his feet. Patting himself off, he raised a hand as to stop Khoe from saying anything "Not my best." he said, chuckling lightly "I'm just saving all my tricks for later." the Kiffar concluded flashing her a wink after.

Realising they may have a bit more time before the attack, as far as he knew he had no idea when they'd arrive, Cas realised they'd probably need to kill time. Also, it'd be a good opportunity to get to know more about Khoe and maybe forget about the awkward encounter from earlier. Turning his body to face the other Kiffar, Cas relaxed his hands on the back of his head "You've been here a minute, what's one do for fun round here?" he asked with a mischievous grin.

Khoe Ghafara