The Power of Goodwill

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Toydaria. A beautiful forest world. It was a neat little planet located in the mid rim, close to the wild spaces. No sentient species lived there, but several towns and cities of human immigrants lived there. It was literally on the edge of the map. Not much was known outside of it. And truly, probably not too much was known about it on the inside. That was okay, though.

Cassiopeia had a 4 month teaching contract on the planet with one of the local cities. It was right after she left her home world of Chroma Zed, fleeing from the death of her family. It had been a couple years since she had been back. She was surprised to read on the Holonet some of the issues going on the planet - slavers had found a nest there, as had pirates, raiders, and so forth. It had become a den of evil activities. Typically, that wasn't too big of a deal if they didn't harm civilians. This time, though, they were raiding towns, kidnapping kids, and so forth.

Cassiopeia grew fond of the planet and decided to help, if she could. Maybe she could get some of the kids rescued and off planet. There was plenty of people in the galaxy that could adopt them, keep them safe. Or worst case, free some adults. Take out the slavers, or campers.

As such, her small freighter landed in the largest city on Toydaria. She had a hovercraft she'd use to get to the towns that were being plagued. She wore a dark blue jeans, white sweater and a burgundy vest. She carried her verpine rifle, knives. She also wore her shield belt.

She stepped out onto the platform, walking towards the more downtown area of the district. Considering the Holonet news, she could only presume there might be more people ready to assist, to help.

[member="Ember Farseer"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Ember had been for a week or so on poor Toydaria helping as much as a Jedi could fending off raider attacks as much his abilities allowed him to and helping those that were left with nothing after their houses were razed. This has been the biggest raiding crisis Toydaria had ever experienced in its history. From where did these marauders come from, who formed them, funded them and organized them, and what their actual goal was, if there was any, remained a mystery. It was not a civil war, certainly but this localized war on raiders and vagabonds was certainly taking its toll on the planet and in terms of casualties.

Good, but rare, neighboring systems had lent as much support as they could allow themselves, mainly in the forms of emergency medicament, transport and temporary infrastructure but the root of the problem still existed.

Was this all a proxy war between warring Hutt crime clans? No answer could be given yet.

The Jedi Knight had a bandage running around his forehead, a few wounds marked his face and ragged cloth of his attire clearly implied his very recent engagement with a dozen or so raiders on a small town not very far from the capital itself. The runs were getting bolder and the crisis was deepening. None had answered the call from any of the Jedi orders and Ember had expected it. It was one of the reasons he remained estranged from them. But it is what it is. His Jedi Code urged him to answer the plea for help and so he did.

A young Toydarian officer oapproached Cassiopeia, his wings keeping him afloat. Even on his alien face, the expression of desperation was clear. After he was alerted of the arrival of a foreigner who looked armed and quite frankly like a mercenary, the Toydarian officer was instructed in approaching the blonde woman and to offer her rewards for her services.

He cautiously approached her as she ventured off the platform where she had landed before speaking in a heavily accented Basic.

"M'am, I am lieutenant Bakuu was instructed by my higher ups to offer you a hefty sum for your services as a mercenary." The officer went straight to the point. He lacked the stinginess for which his species were renown. Perhaps replaced by the critical situation the planet was facing. "We require every help to solve this crisis."

"Please." He added, almost whispering. The stubborn pride of the species seemed broken. Lt. Bakuu's own family had been shattered by the marauders.

A datapad was materialized by Bakuu with the offer clearly visible on its screen as he handed it to the woman.

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Cassiopeia could see the terror in people - it might have been initially on the side lines, but it had quickly became a planet wide crisis that even the safest city was facing. Someone, or some organization, needed to help get these people back into a state of stability. The planet government was failing it's response - badly. However, she saw people helping - guiding refugees, helping individuals, and so forth.

She was stopped by a Toydarian officer, who very quickly offered her a contract as a mercenary. She frowned at how sad, broken, an depressed the man was. She nodded, "Cassiopeia." She was surprised he went into offering her a job so quickly but nodded her understanding. She took the datapad and took a look, "I accept the terms." She wasn't planning on keeping the money, of course. Once she received her payment, she would donate it into some type of help for them. Maybe food, schools, something to help. She had plenty of money anyways.

"Please take me to the other individuals helping with this?" She asked quietly. With that, lieutenant Bakuu took her to a group of mercenaries/helpers/and so forth. She saw Ember, but couldn't quite place where she had seen him before. She knew she had, at some point. Most looked like they were planning another attack against the raiders, others were planning on how to help the refugees who have come into the city.

[member="Ember Farseer"]

 

[Zef Halo]

"Thank you." Bakuu whispered in grief as he led Cassiopeia straight towards a large make shift camp bustling with activity. Adjacent to it was a light-rail station. The swampy world, the mercenary would
find, was quite different. Galactic level technology such as massive buildings and cities full of skyscrapers were not present on Toydaria. The natives preferred their natural boggy world and life in smaller villages.

Thus the marauder crisis was easy to occur.

Instead of leading her to another officer, Bakuu led her straight to Ember who had been draining his stamina pools to help heal the injured. He was no specialist in the art of Force healing but every Jedi learned the basics of it. When he wouldn't attend the suffering, Ember would help with all sorts of electronics - that's what he knew best.

Upon the appearance of the armed blonde and the officer, Ember stood up from a patient to face them. A bandage covered around his head covering his forehead due to injuries he had sustained in the defence against marauders. Sleep certainly was not a priority judging by the tired eyes he had. The Force sustained him as much as it sustained the wounded.

"More help for you Master Jedi." The officer declared before his wings took him away from the two so he can focus on his duties.

The Jedi Knight respectfully nodded at the woman. "Ember Farseer."

He glanced at her weapons that seemed in contrast to her rather soft facial features. You could see anything in the galaxy. Anything. She definitely looked different than the rest of the mercs around at a first glance.

"The more hands on deck the better." He admitted with a sigh. "We're expecting a raid on a bigger village northwest of here. It keeps getting worse. "

Ember saw no point in lying.

"Other than handling yourself with a rifle-" He nodded at her weapon. "Can you help tending the wounded?"

This couldn't be won without saving those who couldn't save themselves. At least, that's what the Jedi way is.

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]

\\ooc: phone post!

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Cassiopeia had to take in her surroundings slowly, analyzing the situation from where she was at. There was camps, low level tech, small villages. It would have been cute & quaint if they hadn't been in the middle of a massive crisis. Cute and quaint doesn't protect your home when a bunch of slavers and marauders decide to create their nest on your planet. Her home planet of Chroma Zed had similar issues - still did, truly. Her family was slaughtered by similar people.

In either, Bakuu led her through a small camp, and eventually to Ember. She frowned, sensing the force use & the multitude of injured nearby. She was Force sensitive, sure, but she really had no idea how to use any of it. Maybe she'd learn one day, but so far, she hadn't really found a real purpose to needing to know it. The man in front of her, though, seemed fairly skilled in its use. That was good, particularly for the individuals he was treating.

She nodded back towards the man, "Cassiopeia Caranthyr. Wish we could have met under better circumstances." She gave a slight frown to Ember's own condition - visibly tired, injured, and his spirits seemed weak.

She nodded, "They don't give anyone a break," she said quietly, looking around the injured tent. At least they had some reconnaissance, though. They could get some people out, or defend the village. "Do we know how many will be attacking?"

She smirked with a nod, "I can. I mean, I can't do surgery, but I can do intermediate kind of stuff." Pull a bullet out without popping an organ and stitch it up, at least. "Where am I needed the most?"

[member="Ember Farseer"]

 

[Zef Halo]

"Do we know how many will be attacking?"

"We are just about to find out..."

As if Cassiopeia jinxed the whole situation with her question, the roaring sound of engines in the distance grew louder with each passing moment. Almost all medical personnel including Ember looked up away into the sky. They had heard the sound already far too often immediately recognizing it - the airspeeders of the marauders. Panic ensued and that was expected. Most of their defensive force had moved up towards the village which an attack was expected on but that most likely seemed a feint...or a deliberate misinformation.

The concentrated fear around him made the Jedi stagger as their emotions resonated sharply through the weaves of the Force.

"Kark." He cursed underneath his breath. "We need to get the marauders away from here, somehow. This place is too vulnerable." That was clearly visible but before either of them could do anything about it a larger laser bolt from an incoming airspeeder struck their position. Instinctively, the Force had reacted and an invisible barrier of the ethereal had formed around both of them. The shockwave would send them away but they would remain uninjured and safe.

Ember found his body slow to react to the situation, most of his energy had gone into healing the people around him while they were currently scurrying away to whatever safety they might find. Meanwhile, the airspeeder was coming back for another strafing run with no remorse. The Jedi Knight looked for his saber but the hilt had fallen off and tumbled away a good distance away. He had no time to reach it physically or through the Force before the armed vehicle would hit their position once more.

It was up to Cassiopeia to do something about it.

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Cassiopeia winced. She heard the sudden roar of engines and realized quickly what that meant. At worse, they were tricked. At best, someone accidentally tipped the raiders off that they knew where exactly to go. Neither was a good sign for them - or her, for that matter. She glanced around the room - it was full of wounded individuals. She bit her lip. They'd have to figure a way to lead them away.

She nodded. "Is there a bank of some sorts around here? If we can get a few armored vehicles, we can make it look like they have credit ingots in them. That'll distract them towards the vehicles and away from here. Is there a bunker of sorts we can get these people into?"

It was only a second later that the airspeeder shot a bolt towards them. Luckily, the Jedi blocked the actual blast, but it threw both of them towards the ground. "Karking hell," she muttered as she quickly got back on her feet. She reached over to Ember to see if he was alright, but her attention was back on the speeder. He was coming around for another shot.

Cassiopeia had to think quickly. She pulled her rifle and began to run away from the place, trying to get the attention of the marauder by shooting a couple bullets towards him. Before she could shoot him directly, she had to get on a path that wouldn't endanger any of the individuals on the ground once the speeder crashes. Her plan seemed to mostly work, at least to get the marauder attention towards her and not towards the others. She only had a few seconds, aimed her rifle, and hoped to the Force that her bullet would pierce the man driving the airspeeder.

[member="Ember Farseer"]

 

[Zef Halo]

"I'm fine-" The Jedi's response to Cassiopeia was deafened by the roaring of the engines of the armed vehicle.

What came next happened incredibly fast and Ember couldn't help but be impressed at the mercenary's reactions under pressure. Cassiopeia's quick thinking on her feet and attempt to distract the bandits away from the camp, while the Jedi tumbled to grasp his lightsaber, was rewarded. The Force willed it and the pulling of the trigger resulted in a round piercing right through a weak spot of the vehicle killing its repulsors and the man behind the stick. Blood splattered over the viewscreen of the vehicle as it sunk towards the ground burying the other two bandits on it.

"Nice shot." One of the patients laying nearby muttered with a thumbs up at the mercenary.

Ember staggered towards Cassiopeia and thanked her with a nod. His face reflected the mix of exhaustion, worry and determination.

"This is not over yet." He grimly said as the skies above them were darkened by the waves of speeders that were heading their way with no remorse and only desire to kill and plunder. The Jedi could feel their bloodthirst and avarice through the Force painfully well. "We need to meet them before they get too close." Ember hurried towards an unarmed speeder bike and hopped on it. He'd driven enough of them throughout his life, not a hot shot for sure but he didn't have much of a choice now, did he?

Hopefully, she followed suite to mount the bike.

"The lightsaber will be your cover." Ember said as the blue blade materialized out of the hilt before he added reluctantly. "And you can use that rifle."

Violence was not the Jedi way and every use of it came with massive reluctance behind it but should they not act - the weak and frail were doomed.

The speeder bike took to the skies in a burst of speed towards the swarm of bandit speeders.

Two against many.

[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Cassiopeia wasn't someone that liked to kill sentient organisms. In fact, she hated even having to kill non-sentient organisms. As an, ultimately, trained biologist it hurt her to see life perish in unfair ways. Their lovers, kids, parents, and so forth would all mourn their deaths, presuming they ever even found out. The raiders here probably didn't have families anymore - and if they did, they probably were not in communication with them anymore.

Ultimately, though, her desire not to kill was superseded by the simple fact of survival. Not only for herself but for the refugees - the families whom lives were uprooted thanks to these raiders.

She made the shot, quickly jumping out of the way as the vehicle went crashing onto the ground below, killing the other bandits that accompanied the driver. She chuckled a bit at the comment of a nearby patient as she jogged back towards Ember. She could see the stress, the tiredness in him. He needed a break almost as much as the refugees did. How long had he been here helping? When was the last time he left? None of the questions looked like they would have good answers.

She nodded her agreement, "We need to take them out or at least get them away from populated areas as soon as possible."

She naturally followed him, jumping on the back of the speeder bike. She positioned her rifle so she would be ready to shoot as they entered the air. "Let's do this. The sooner we get it over with, the sooner these people will be safe."

At first, it was easy to begin picking them off - they were coming towards them but their bullets and blasters were blocked by the lightsaber. She managed to pick out several of the raiders. They seemed untrained, nervous, and ultimately pretty bad at their jobs. They didn't fly well nor shoot well. "Some of the bikes look like they could be fixed," she muttered separately as she sent another bullet through one of the raiders necks. The impact threw him off the bike and to an ultimate falling death as the bike went down behind him.

It was going well - so far. She could only help they'd make it.

[member="Ember Farseer"]

 

[Zef Halo]

She was right. They needed to be as quick and efficient as possible to save as much lives as possible...at the cost of others' lives, sadly. That fact shook his concentration but the Jedi waved it away as best as he could. Ember tried as vigorously as possible to deflect bolts and slugs into the bikes rather than directly at the riders. If they were injured they would either give up the fight or taken into custody eventually. Tapping into the ethereal to focus on the task ahead, he felt Cassiopeia's reluctance to murder needlessly. It, obviously, came as a surprise considering she was a mercenary and well armed but perhaps the Jedi's initial intuition was right - there was something more about her.

"They do look like it." His voice rang in the midst of the chaos. He noticed what Cassiopeia had pointed out about the bikes. The bandits were just greatly numbered and the crisis had been a golden opportunity for them to shine. It was all an unfortunate series of events that had led to this. "Try to hit their bikes rather than the riders!"

The lone bike of Jedi and mercenary thrust into the swarm of bikes wrecking their formation and sowing chaos among their ranks.

All was good but all good was always temporary.

They had broken their organization and the blue blade of a Jedi certainly raised warning signs in the minds of the bandits but Ember wasn't really the best bike rider in the galaxy. Not even near to a quite good one either.

A few unnatural maneuvers helped by the Force before his concentration faltered due to exhaustion and they were on a crash course straight into one of the small airspeeders of the marauders. The ethereal screamed and his instincts kicked in prematurely alerted of the danger by the Force which ultimately saved the two. Ember shoved himself backwards into Cassiopeia driving both of them off the bike as it collided into the speeder in a fiery explosion.

And they were free falling.

"Hold on!" He called shouting at Cassiopeia and called the Force as much as his second wind allowed him to, creating an almost invisible barrier of the Force around them. Power surged through him channeling the spherical barrier in an attempt to save them from falling to their death.

But would he be able to sustain it or did Cassiopeia have a trump card in her sleeve to save them?

Time was running short as an ambitious vagabond on an air speeder headed their way aiming to pick them up and blast them to bits while they were aimlessly free falling towards the ground.


[member="Cassiopeia Caranthyr"]