Private The Farmer in the Dell

[R'Ruug]

OLIVANT RANCH
TAANAB​

She knocked on the front door, in the middle of the night.

A Swordsman, she called herself. Fitting name, Olivant thought, seeing the fancy-looking blades on her hip. And the glowing red laser sword, burning a welt into the side of his neck. The armored, black-caped being hissed something to him, venomed mutterings the older farmer could barely hear, what with panic clouding his mind. Something about... crime? She seemed ready to take his head off, then and there.

Then, she looked back. Noticed a looming shape emerging from the Jerba barn. Olivant noticed it too, the distinctive outline of his oafish farmhand. The woman deactivated her blade, stepped back. Spat on the ground between them. "You've got a day to pay reparations," she said, glancing worriedly at the brutish Whiphid behind her. "When you don't, I'm coming back, with all my friends. And we'll kill your sons, your servant, your animals... Then, after you've had a chance to grieve... we'll kill you, too."

​

Those were the words that rang in Olivant's mind, as he stared out over his ranch the next morning. He sat on his porch, moving back and forth nervously on his rocking chair, a slugthrower rifle propped up against the siding next to him. His three sons, all adults with the same dissatisfied scowl as their father, toted blasters as they went about their morning chores. The Whiphid was working in the fields.

It was a lucky break this 'Swordsman' didn't know R'Ruug was a simpleton. The only scary thing about his hired help was the fear of him fething things up, if left to his own devices. Though, the older man supposed he probably should thank the savage, even if it was just a case of being in the right place at the right time. Perhaps he could get the cut of his choice the next time they drove the Jerba herd to the butcher's. Yes, that would do.

Olivant had activated a distress signal, an old Alliance code he'd scrounged up thanks to a GADF veteran buddy. Everyone on Taanab hated him, whatever, so he turned to the GA, told them all about this brigand and her laser sword. They'd come help. That was what they did, wasn't it?

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Olivant Ranch

​

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Tag: R'Ruug

Valery's X-wing slowly began its descent down towards the surface, close to where the farmers lived. It was a little uncommon for her to be responding to distress calls like this now that the war had started, but she needed some time away from it. After killing one of their greatest warriors at Ryloth, a woman she had also considered her sister, Valery was struggling with the idea to fight more Mandalorians.

A mission among the people to help them was just what she needed, and her husband agreed. So as troubled as she felt, she stepped out of the cockpit of her X-wing with a smile, and drew in a deep breath.

"Mr. Olivant?" Valery asked after approaching the people sitting outside. She offered them all a warm smile, and bowed at the waist to show respect the old fashion way for a Jedi. "I'm Jedi Master Valery Noble. I received your distress call, and will be handling your problem here. Do you have any idea when she'll be returning?" She knew it was getting straight to business a little, but she had a feeling they would be on edge with the threat made against them.

Perhaps her assuring them and getting serious would help a bit.

 

[R'Ruug]

OLIVANT RANCH
TAANAB​

There were cautious eyes on Valery Noble as she landed her ship, and walked up the dirt path to the farmhouse, passing enormous barns of braying animals, and silos full of meal and grain. The brothers watched the woman approach, each with hands on their blasters- not threatening, just ready for trouble.

The tall farmhand, who had been crouched over a line of vegetables alongside an enormous pack animal, stopped his work to stare, though he didn't approach.

Olivant didn't make a motion for his weapon. He knew a Jedi when he saw one.

"Mr. Olivant? I'm Jedi Master Valery Noble. I received your distress call, and will be handling your problem here. Do you have any idea when she'll be returning?"

"Master Noble," the patriarch repeated, in a respectful, if nervous, tone. He tipped his hat to the Keshian. "I didn't expect help to come so soon, nor did I expect a Jedi Master to be the one to save my life."

"I'll be honest, the whole encounter was... a blur to me." Olivant stood from his rocking chair, angling his head to reveal the burn under his chin. "I woke up to pounding at my door, I opened it, and there was a lightsword to my throat. She said she'd come back... tonight, I believe." The older gentleman's brow furrowed in suspicion.

"How much will it cost me for you to stay until then?"

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Olivant Ranch

​

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Tag: R'Ruug

"It won't cost you anything," Valery assured him with a polite smile before she glanced at the others near him for a moment. "My only request is that you're somewhere safe when she returns tonight." A part of her did want to ask if he had anything to drink or eat — all she had left after her travels were rations, and they were horrible. But she wasn't going to ask someone who relied on her help to give her anything.

They'd likely feel an obligation to say yes.

"I can also offer you a bacta patch for that burn," she said whilst tapping the underside of her own chin to make it clear she was talking about his injury. "That way it'll heal up nicely, and after tonight, nothing about what happened will hopefully bother you again." She spoke calmly and kept her focus on Olivant.

At least, until she let her senses wander.

"There's someone else out in your fields. One of your people?" She asked to be sure, but also to open up conversation about him. There was something about his presence in the Force that made her curious.

 

[R'Ruug]

OLIVANT RANCH
TAANAB​

The old rancher's eyes darted up in surprise. "For free?" He chuckled to himself, shaking his head. Maybe the Jedi were as altruistic as the Alliance claimed. "Damn awful business practice, but I can't complain."

Olivant nodded slowly as Valery offered him yet another gift- medical supplies. "I don't give, nor do I take, handouts. So to pay you for your services, and the patch, why don't you join the boys and I for breakfast? We breed Jerba here- it'll be the freshest, best tasting ground meat and eggs you've ever had."

He should know. He grew it all himself.

"There's someone else out in your fields. One of your people?"

Olivant followed where Valery's eyes had tracked with an annoyed frown, all the way to the tall worker. Once he noticed they both were looking, the boy obviously looked left, then right, then went back to picking vegetables, as if he hadn't just been staring. "Yes. Our farmhand. Been around the ranch for years." The bearded man smirked. "Whiphids are simple-minded creatures, but that's what you get for cheap these days."

The old rancher stepped aside, gesturing with his hand to invite the Jedi Master into his house. His three sons stepped into the ranch home, putting away their blasters and getting ready for breakfast. The Whiphid did not. "After you, noble Master Noble."

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Olivant Ranch

​

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Tag: R'Ruug

"Well, we're not a business," Valery said with a chuckle before tilting her head slightly when he offered something in return for her service and the patch. She didn't want people to think that they needed to, but his offer seemed to come from a good place. So, as long as he didn't feel obligated to offer her anything, why wouldn't she accept it? "Alright, that sounds lovely. Thank you," Valery said before giving him the patch.

But she didn't quite follow him inside just yet.

"Won't he be joining us?" Valery inquired when she noticed that they were all heading inside without him. "I'd like to meet him if I can." She turned to face Olivant, having noticed his earlier annoyed frown. She had a feeling the boy out there was paid very little for his hard labor, and likely not appreciated all that much either.

Perhaps they'd prove her wrong.

 

[R'Ruug]

OLIVANT RANCH
TAANAB​

"Won't he be joining us? I'd like to meet him if I can."

Olivant looked up from applying the bacta patch on his neck, the look of soothing relief interrupted by a confused expression. Before he could respond, one of his passing sons muttered barely-heard words under his breath. "Might as well ask to chat with the pack-beast."

The rancher glared at his son. "Boy, not in front of guests." Then, with an apologetic smile towards the Jedi master, "Apologies. My kin don't understand... Core World sensibilities. But the farmhand is working now. And he doesn't eat until he's finished work. It's part of our arrangement."

"Besides, he's never sat at our family table. I doubt you invite every one of your employees over for dinner." Olivant shrugged. "Pay the hired help no mind. He isn't important today. You are."

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Olivant Ranch

​

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Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: R'Ruug

Sensibilities?

Valery felt the muscles in her arms tighten, while her hands clenched into fists. But... as frustrating as these people were, she would still protect them. She wasn't going to let them die because they were like this — it wasn't the Jedi way. But she was still going to follow her own senses as well, and decided to step back out of the doorway with an almost apologetic smile. "I'm going to talk to him before I eat anything."

She dipped her head to Olivant and looked over to the fields again. Did he even know that this woman was returning later tonight? Or had Olivant withheld that information from him? She wasn't going to make assumptions, but she wanted to make sure that his aid knew what was coming.

His safety was just as important.

"I'll be back soon," she told them and whether or not they liked it, she wandered off to the fields. She didn't know his name or anything about him yet, but none of that mattered.

"Good morning," Valery began as she approached the Whiphid. "Do you have a moment?"

 

[R'Ruug]

OLIVANT RANCH
TAANAB​

Olivant couldn't make heads or tails of why the Jedi Master wanted to talk with R'Ruug. It made no sense to him. If she wanted to find good conversation... she wouldn't find it with a Whiphid. If she wanted information about the ranch, or about the Swordsmen, she wouldn't find it there, either.

It baffled him.

"Alright, Master Jedi," he finally said, defeated. "But hurry inside. Would hate for you to judge the Jerba after it gets cold."

With that, Olivant went inside, shaking his head, and making sure to bring out the best they had to offer. It was worth it, to impress the Alliance representative. What if he needed the Jedi again? He had to put his best food forward.

And that foot was not R'Ruug.

​

Barta was nervous today.

R'Ruug could feel it, every time he laid a gentle, soothing hand on her rough hide. The old Bergruutfa was usually a gentle, calming presence, one that he relied on for strength. But today, perhaps she could feel his worry. So she twitched under his hand, uttering low growls of concern.

"Shhh..." The farmhand soothed, his clawed hand rubbing along her cracked skin. He talked with her in their secret language. Let her know that it would be alright, and if it wasn't, she would have him. Once she had calmed, R'Ruug bent down, getting back to picking bulbs from long stalks in the field, and throwing them into the cart Barta carried behind her.

His first warning that someone was approaching was Barta's stomping foot.

"Good morning."

The young Whiphid stood up straight, tall despite his deferential hunch. He was obviously nervous, but he managed an awkward wave. "Uh... Yes." His clawed hands began fidgeting with each other. His voice was low, gravelly, but youthful. Unsure. "...Mr. Olivant said not to talk with you... Miss." Barta lowed behind him, picking up on his unease.

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Olivant Ranch

​

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Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: R'Ruug

"I'll be back soon," Valery said with a dip of her head. She didn't actually care much about the food though — talking to his worker out in the fields seemed a lot more interesting. Especially after what she had felt when focusing on him. Perhaps he wasn't as simple as Olivant and his kin made him seem. On top of that, she hated the fact that they treated him like he was a lesser person, and that only made her want to disassociated herself with the owner even more.

She'd save his life by handling this woman tonight, but that was going to be it.

On arrival, Valery noticed that the Whiphid was nervous. She could see it in his expression and the way he waved at her. But he was still quite imposing, and Valery felt her chin rise just to look him in the eyes, "He told you not to talk to me?" Valery blinked and looked over her shoulder. "He seemed to be fine with me coming to you, so don't worry about that." Looking back at the taller figure in front of her, she smiled.

"I'm Jedi Master Valery Noble. What is your name?"

 

[R'Ruug]

OLIVANT RANCH
TAANAB​

"He told you not to talk to me?"

R'Ruug nodded slowly. It didn't look like she wanted that answer. Should he not have told her that?

The tall shepherd seemed to relax a little as Valery continued, assuring him that it was okay they were speaking. "Oh, okay." His voice stayed low, uneasy, but there was a visible uptick to his features. "I do not... talk to strangers much." This would be the most excitement he'd had in a while. Besides last night.

Barta seemed to relax as the Whiphid did, regarding the Jedi master with the unfathomably peaceful curiosity that only a large creature could possess. He did very much the same, his hunch lessening slightly, even a smile pulling at the edges of his enormous mouth up as she asked him his name.

"R'Ruug, Ma'am," he intoned, bowing his head deferentially to the Jedi Master. Then, he thought a moment. Jedi. They were fighters, right? Protectors?

"Are you... going to save the ranch, Miss Noble?"

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Olivant Ranch

​

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Tag: R'Ruug

Valery was starting to dislike Olivant more and more, as R'ruug talked to her. He didn't feel simple to her at all, and those people had called him a pack-beast. No, he was polite and seemed excited over something as simple as talking to someone. She couldn't imagine just how lonely of a feeling that must be.

"It's very nice to meet you, R'ruug," she said with a warm, genuine smile. "I'm going to protect the ranch, yes. Part of me coming here was to actually ask you if you knew what was going to happen." She didn't trust Olivant that much, clearly. She feared he hadn't even told R'ruug, just because the larger Whiphid had scared off the woman before.

But at least that didn't seem to be the case.

"I was also wondering... why do you work here? If you don't mind me asking." She looked over her shoulder and frowned a little. "They don't seem to treat you very good."

 

[R'Ruug]

OLIVANT RANCH
TAANAB​

Miss Noble smiled a lot.

R'Ruug offered up a tusked smile back, almost reflexively, at Valery's warmness, scratching a claw behind his head. "I knew," he said simply, obviously staring past her as he recalled the previous night. "I was sleeping in the barn..." He pointed towards a large structure by the farmhouse, where the sounds of impatient Jerba could be heard inside. "and there were noises. Whispers. So I listened. Miss Sword Lady said she was going to kill Mr. Olivant for... something... So I walked over, made sure he was okay. Then she said she was coming back tonight." The golden-maned Whiphid twiddled his thumbs. He knew he wasn't supposed to talk about that something.

"So... I am glad you are here, Miss Noble."

"I was also wondering... why do you work here? If you don't mind me asking. They don't seem to treat you very good."

"They are... fine." R'Ruug shrugged. He didn't exactly have a good frame of reference. "Mr. Olivant freed me from... animal thieves... When I was small." He paused, trying to remember the name for it, before giving up and continuing. "He lets me work, and I have a roof, and food. And I get to be with animals." That last part made his smile widen. He loved Olivant's herd.

"I am... lucky... to have a job." It was something the farmers had told him many times in his life.

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Olivant Ranch

​

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Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: R'Ruug

"You were very brave to confront her like that," Valery said with an encouraging tone. "A lot of people would have looked the other way, rather than risk their own lives to help someone else." Especially with someone like Olivant, who she still felt was exploiting the young Whiphid here in front of her. It made her wonder why he hadn't already stepped away — he was strong, and far smarter than those people gave him credit for. He could easily make a living somewhere else or pursue his own dreams.

But the reason for his stay became quite clear soon.

"Well, I can see why that's making you want to stay here. Just... you are allowed to live your own life, and while it's nice for them offer you a job, you're not lucky to have one. You strike me as very kind and clever, so you'd be able to find work wherever you'd like, as long as you pour your heart into it." Which seemed to be related to handling animals. That smile hadn't escaped her, and she wondered if his friends here made it worth coming back.

"I also sense something else about you. Has anybody ever talked to you about the Force?"

 

[R'Ruug]

"Of course I helped," R'Ruug stated, his confusion only continuing to grow. He couldn't let Olivant get hurt. R'Ruug cared for his boss. The human did so much for him, and all he asked for in turn was labor. It was hard, sure...

"You strike me as very kind and clever, so you'd be able to find work wherever you'd like, as long as you pour your heart into it."

R'Ruug fully frowned at that, crossing his long, furred arms over each other. "I am not... clever." The Whiphid's golden eyes found somewhere else to be, landing on Barta behind him. He put a hand on her side. Centering himself on the roughness of her hide. Pulling comfort from her strength. "I cannot do my letters. Or numbers." He'd never been taught. Not like he'd ever need to learn them, Olivant said. "I know I am not smart. So... I am lucky."

Then, the Jedi asked him about 'the Force'. R'Ruug shook his head, the long blond hairs of his mane swaying slightly in the breeze, as he turned back to Valery. "Sorry, Miss Noble. I do not know about a force. But... I do not know a lot of things."

"What is that?" A small glimmer of curiosity speckled the Whiphid's long face.

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Olivant Ranch

​

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Tag: R'Ruug

Valery tilted her head slightly in response, "Just because you haven't learned something yet, doesn't mean that you aren't clever." She gestured with her head to the animals he had been taking care of, "You may not have learned how to read, but most people have no idea how to properly take care of animals and have them respect and love you." She offered another soft smile and hoped her encouraging words would get through to him a little.

To her, it sounded like he had been kept down all his life.

Then, he asked about the Force and Valery considered what to tell him. She could go into how it's a type of energy binding together all living things. But...

"Let me show you first," she told him before she raised a hand. The brush he had likely used to clean the animals was summoned into her hand, and her eyes turned back to him. "The Force is almost like a type of energy, but one that's part of us. It flows through all living beings, but it's stronger in some than others. You are what we can sensitive to it, so what I just did and much more is all within your grasp if you learn how to control it."

"Maybe you've ever felt something before already? Like a whisper or gut feeling that actually helped you out?"

 

[R'Ruug]

Valery's insistence that he was clever left R'Ruug with a dissatisfied frown. Nobody had ever called him any kind of smart before. He had trouble believing it. "Working with them is easy," the Whiphid protested, his raspy voice timid. He didn't like disagreeing with anybody. Especially guests who he was supposed to be respectful towards. "People are... hard."

"Let me show you first."

R'Ruug's usually-squinted eyes widened with awe as his Jerba brush floated over to the Jedi's hand. His mouth was agape for a second or two, before he could respond. "I do not understand." In reference both to the physically impossible act of making something float, and the litany of descriptions Valery went through afterward.

She asked him if he'd ever felt something like it before. Something magical.

The tall farmhand got a little blush in his cheeks, grasping his shepherd's crook from the ground. He steadied his fidgety hands against it. "I... have a secret language. With Mr. Olivant's animals. The others do not believe me. But I hear them. And they listen." As if to prove his point, R'Ruug looked to Barta, and without words, the beast began to lumber towards the ranchhouse, to unload her cart by herself.

"I talk to them. A lot." He wrung his hands around the staff, embarrassment adding to the hunch of his back.

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Olivant Ranch

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
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Tag: R'Ruug

"It only feels easy because you've already learned how to do it," Valery said, unbothered by the Whiphid's protest. She understood that after all these years of being told he was simple, of being treated like he was simple, that he wouldn't just accept what she said so easily. But what he was doing out here was as complex to her, as dealing with people was to him. He didn't need to accept that from one day to another, but she hoped that what she said would stay on his mind.

That it would encourage him to seek more than just being someone's servant.

For now, her little display of the Force had caught his attention, and she couldn't blame him for not understanding. Jedi dedicated their whole lives to learning about the Force, and they wouldn't ever understand it all either. But far more interesting than his reaction, was what he told her after.

His language, as he called it.

"I believe you," she told him with a smile, "It explains why they feel so calm around you. But it confirms what I believe as well. As I said, the Force connects all living things, so it also makes it possible for us to interact with animals in ways that are impossible to most others. My husband and daughter are very good at calming animals down as well, for example."

"With a gift as the one you have, you can do quite a lot of good. Both for people and animals."

 

[R'Ruug]

R'Ruug got inordinately happy hearing someone validate him. Olivant and his sons had rolled their eyes and called him stupid when he tried to tell them he could talk with the herd. But this kind stranger that he'd just met, that could move brushes with her mind, believed him.

"Your family can talk to them too?" Excitement colored his words, even if his face didn't entirely show it. The idea that there were others like him... "I... thought I was the only one."

"With a gift as the one you have, you can do quite a lot of good. Both for people and animals."

R'Ruug seemed unsure at that, canting his head to the side a little. "I like being helpful. But... Mr. Olivant would not be happy if I was not here to watch his herd." The Whiphid slowly began to walk to the barn, stopping in front of the large doors. "We are driving them to the market next week. He needs my help taking care of them."

Leaning his crook on the side of the barn, R'Ruug threw open the doors using all of his species' strength, and a couple dozen hoofed, smelly animals began to stream out, swarming around his body, licking and butting their heads against him. The young farmer laughed childishly, scratching behind their ears, and forgetting his troubles for a moment. A few walked curiously over to the Jedi Master, staring at her and braying.

Thankfully, there were no insects buzzing around. R'Ruug had asked them to leave.

The shepherd turned around to look at Valery again, his smile draining a little. "I have to... take the Jerba to the pasture."

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Olivant Ranch

​

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Tag: R'Ruug

Valery nodded and chuckled, "They sure can. I've seen my daughter summon an army of Racyon's on Ukatis once that way." She wasn't sure if he knew what a Racyon was or not, but whether or not he did, it meant that others were indeed like him. Which she knew would be a nice feeling — it was reassurance that he wasn't crazy or weird. He just had a gift that few others had, but enough people to find connection.

"Mr. Olivant might not like it if you were to leave or do more with this. But... how do you feel about it? Your life is your own, and if you want to do more with this connection you have, then you should. Doesn't mean you have to leave him from one moment to another, but don't let him hold you back either." Valery didn't feel bad at all that she was potentially driving him away from the ranch. Especially not if it'd make him happier.

She then watched his interaction with the herd of animals, and couldn't help but smile. In a Galaxy constantly at war, it sometimes felt rare to meet someone who was truly kind.

R'ruuh was one of those people.

"I can walk with you," she said while she gently patted the animals that moved around her. "I also don't want you to feel pressured to make any decisions. I'm only wanting you to be aware of your options."