Through the Wreckage - SJO Dominion of Charros IV Hex

[WelshPsych]

He understood Asani's concern over the number of injured and their abilities. They weren't healers by trade, Yuroic was a sentinel and while he could use the Force to heal and knew basics in healing, he was aiming to be more a Watchman. However, they were the first ones in the centre offering support and he couldn't leave the people in pain. No matter how exhausted it would make him eventually. Well, we were first here so give others some time. I am sure Master Valae isn't far away and she is an expert healer. We both could learn some healing skills from her, very nice woman.

Yuroic wandered over to Asani and adjusted the bandages slightly to be more comfortable for the alien. Petting the Kushiban on doing a good job, he wandered over to where there were more extreme injuries. Where people were missing limbs and bleeding profusely. He steeled himself and approached them, cauterising the severed limbs with his lightsaber and then bandaging them. Feeling the pain of them through the Force was overwhelming, he closed his eyes and used the Force to heal several Xi Charrian best he could. Sadly, he just wasn't skilled enough.

Times like this, he could feel his anger for the Empire, the Sith. The harm they were causing people, innocent lives. It was unfair and cruel. He sat to take a short breath. Already feeling exhausted from his use of the Force.

[member="Asani Windsong"]

 

[Dusaro Dresari]

Objective: Clear out the town and secure the Military base, link up with fellow Jedi​

Allies: [member="Kaiza Pawaro"]
Post Five​

​

Dusaro let out a light shrug at her lack of reaction to his comment, keeping a bit of an eye on her just in case. She said she was fine but that was certainly not the feeling Dusaro was getting, not from where he was looking at least. He didn't like it when someone clammed up in a combat zone, it invariably meant they were thinking of somewhere far off that wasn't here, or rather that they wanted to be anywhere that wasn't where they were, surrounded by death and destruction. She was a Jedi so she at least had the force to help warn her but it was moments like that when people were most vulnerable. Finishing off half of his water he looked over the rough map he had of the city in its current state, they were about a fourth of the way done, with a few more locations like this that needed to be taken care of. Going by the guns he heard every now and then, it sounded like the Imps had captured and gotten an AA emplacement working for one of their positions. That would need to be taken care of soon. It was as Dusaro was debating how to handle it that Kaiza looked over and talked to him.

"Are they?" Dusaro mused, looking up at the sky, shaking his head. "Sounds like someone being selfish if you ask me." Dusaro said bluntly, looking over to see if she would meet his gaze. His look was sharp, one that demanded a degree of attention. He didn't hold that gaze, looking away after a moment up to the sky. He wasn't scolding her after all or anything. He understood such thoughts in this kind of situation, Dusaro had thought them himself after all. He didn't even think she was all too seriously considering those thoughts, but Dusaro wanted to talk a bit seriously about it any ways. "But it ain't so. Jedi as a whole seem to miss something about life and people. Everyone has it hard. Heck, Jedi have it easy. Have you ever had to pay taxes? Balance a checkbook? Work a job?" He spoke with a bit of a smirk, but his tone made it clear Dusaro was being quite serious. "These people will have homes to rebuild. Lives to restore. Same as a Jedi if a temple gets destroyed. We are not any different or special. We just happen to be able to waggle our fingers and make things happen. And there is plenty i could say about the people who keep up with Jedi in combat but are not even sensitive to the force." Dusaro said, looking meaningfully at the troopers who were around the area, keeping it secure. They had been with him for the entire time, doing their best to force back the enemy in what had been until recently a loosing battle. It was clear on all of them on their armor just how much they had been through. And this was just a single tour of duty. They likely had plenty more years of this to look forward to in their lives. But they would go through with it. Because it meant something to them.

"Don't get concerned about thinking who has anything better or worse. Doesn't matter if you are a Jedi or just a guy flipping burgers, no one needs that in their life." Dusaro didn't actually thing she didn't know anything he mused over in that spiel. It was more to get her frame of mind where it needed to be for the days work they had ahead of them. They still had plenty of things to do today after all and he wanted everyone focused. "I am going to have a quick talk with the Citizens, the Xi-Charrons. I know they want to keep on fighting, but this isn't their fight. The first life they had to take in vengeance for what happened here was one to many. This is a defensive location, hmm... Yeah, that will work." Dusaro nodded to himself as he started debating something. He wanted a base inside the city itself and this place had plenty of positions that would work. While he did not want to Xi-Charrons to be offensive, setting them up to defend a location was another matter. The Imperials in the city were being purely defensive, so they would likely not end up needing to kill again as long as Dusaro didn't screw up. With a short nod after looking around he turned to Kaiza. "I want the locals to set up a defensive formation in this area. The Imperials in the city are purely on the defense and they will not be surrounded here so it is a safe place for them to stay, while also giving us a place to fall back to and have as a base inside the city itself. Think you can manage to get them to do that for me?" Normally, Dusaro would have just done that himself. But he wanted to give her a job and something to do, having idle hands was a good way to make the mind wander in bad ways. "I will assign a Sergeant and two squads to keep the area secured with them just in case. After we get that set up we move out. Your skills would come in very handy if you don't mind coming with me."

Even as Dusaro spoke to her, he was not being idle, hefting up his shatterbeam once again along with reloading his shatterguns. Thankfully he had plenty of ammo for those babies even now.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Location: Bimmisaari
Objective: Resume negotiations
Allies: SJO

"Our refugee handling limit is based on our job market's ability to handle them, assuming, of course, that they are settling long-term"

"I understand the employment concerns, especially since high unemployment can make a refugee situation... dangerous"

Surely the Bimms were familiar with the concept of direct and indirect jobs when it comes to the societal impact of expanding a planet's industrial base. Usually businesses announce that they are going to create X jobs with a new facility, but X is called the number of direct jobs. Indirect jobs are further categorized by whether they are created due to the business' needs or due to the staff's needs, the latter is also known as an induced job. For now, Bimmisaari was mostly a planet that produced lumber, paper, and agrarian products, such as wine; the vehicle manufacturing plant is a secondary thing. Of course, Jessica knew that different industries came with different impacts on the job markets; heavy industry in general is usually considered a high-multiplier sector, or otherwise a capital-intensive one. In the end, though, if one creates X jobs with the opening of an industrial facility, there's a potential for a total of XY jobs to be added, and Y is called the job multiplier. But she knew that it took time for those jobs to materialize. Unemployment is not usually a major deal in the early days of a refugee enclave, but later down the road it's a consideration she needs to keep in mind and that which many, many Jedi had little idea as to exactly how it could become troublesome.

 

[Kaiza Pawaro]

​

Allies: [member="Dusaro Dresari"]


Perhaps Dusaro was more used to battlefields than her. Either way, the young pacifist gave him a hard stare, every fibre of her body rising in defiance to his words. As a former farmgirl, she had experienced the other side of life, being a Jedi merely for three years. Up until now, all thoughts of wars and killing were distant, almost alien concepts, possibilities she never truly considered. Now very much a reality, the young Mirialan remained shaken after experiencing those terrible things. Her form shifted in discomfort, gaze flicking up, unflinching.

“Let me tell you something, Dusaro. I might not know anything about flipping burgers and whatnot, but I do know a thing or two about farming. I know how to raise crops and animals, how to operate machinery. It’s exhausting, thankless work. You go to bed hungry most of the time, even if you’re not starving. Paying levies leaves you with little, one bad harvest can ruin you and your whole family. Even if you think you are prepared for anything, the most unexpected can come and sentence you to death.” The Mirialan stated passionately, refreshing her lips by dipping the tongue into the drink.

“Yet it is much easier than this. We are protectors of the galaxy, yet we’re unable to stop atrocities from happening. The Xi Charrians here have died because of us. The Empire is purposely targeting innocent civilians, they know we feel destruction and death through the Force, that we have to live with our failure. Most people don’t have to experience such things – and most believe a Jedi life is about fancy tricks and glowing swords, glorious battles and strolls through nature. They don’t see the selflessness, the sacrifice, the courage we need. Call me selfish, but I don’t see how witnessing a thriving civilization bombed into dust is any easier than paying taxes.”

Releasing a heavy, exhausted sigh, the Mirialan Jedi shook her head, knowing this led to nothing. There was still a city to secure.

“I’ll talk to them.”

A mighty gulp to wet her whistle and she placed the canteen back on her belt, body rising up from the sitting position. Slouchy hide boots traversed through dust and debris, delivering the Padawan over to the native militia. She did not know if they understood Basic – if they could understand Basic at all – yet gestures and drawings in the dusty floor turned expressive enough to pierce the language barrier and inform the Xi Charrians of Dusaro’s request. It took a while, at times making her think there would be no way to persuade them - clicks were the only response, one she completely failed to comprehend.

With all done, a quick and decisive pace brought Kaiza over to her fellow Jedi and his troops after they gathered, ready to continue their mission.

“Done. I’m ready to assist you.” She said with a tender smile.

 

[Stephanie Swail]

Hugging a half-crumbling stone wall, Stephanie peered forward to see the 4 armed pirates starting to wander around the area, looking for loot, or slaves, or anything they could make a profit on.

She kept her breathing tight, not wanting to draw attention to herself, and her fingers rested tightly on the stone as her dark eyes peered out. Wisps of unkempt brown hair fell across her face, but she didn’t move, just watched. The faces of the pirates were covered by masks, some full facial, others half.

With no saber and no confidence, she didn’t want to get into a fight with 4 armed goons. Her attention was distracted at the sound of an engine roaring from behind, but she didn’t want to look. The pirates did, and a rain of green blaster fire shelled down on them and threw them back into the ground, smoking from the blaster wounds and dead before they hit the ground.

Peering through tightly closed eyes, hand trembling, Stephanie looked out to see a gunship blazoned with the Antarian Rangers symbol painted on the side, banking hard in the before taking a flight around the perimeter. If an unknown ship suddenly started to shoot up the area where Silver Jedi where, the Rangers would be on them in seconds.

A grin crossed her face, and she pushed away from the wall and jumped up, waving to the pilots and soldiers inside as they passed. She looked like a fool, but she was a grateful fool and one who saw that even when down, the Silver Jedi and their heroes were certainly not out.

 

[Leah Winsclav]

Leah had been quite disturbed. She had retreated to her room to drink and attempt to tune out the aftermath of conflict, however she was largely unsuccessful. She hadn't seen or heard anything from her friend Arisa either after the invite. So she was rather concerned purely for the mental aspect of her wellbeing, Jedi must suffer something great, perhaps even more so that Leah did, pacifism and intolerance for all violence. Things like these made her mad, depressed. They made her want to cry and cry she did. There was no extreme bouts of sobbing or such, but she did launch into a hiccup and snort every so often.

So, deciding to see how preceding were going, Leah decided she was going to venture out of her room and attempt to find Arisa and her cohort. At the time she rationalised that as a good decision. Leah made it three steps from her door before her, knees crumbling as she then sank to the floor, moving back so that she could lean again the door.

 

[Eugen Aker]

Valae looked and felt just about as frazzled as she was. It pained her on a personal level to feel her friend's distress, as she had been the one to bring Valae back to the Silver Order. Things tended not to turn out well for those she counted as her friends.

"Well..."

Arisa cast her dark eyes to the floor as she took a seat at the table. "I'm not...I can't stand this."

Her voice quavered as her eyes were now trained on the table, but not from sadness, but from rising rage as her thoughts drifted back to the horrific scenes she had encountered on Charros IV.

"How can the Galactic Empire and the Sith even call themselves Sentients, when they rampage across the galaxy like animals? Attacking a fracking refugee camp?! For what purpose?!"

She was shouting now. She didn't mean to, but Valae's question had finally set her off. "They all need to be put down like the frakking mad dogs they are."

Since she had first joined the Silver Jedi Order as a refugee of the fallen Republic, she had slowly come around to the Silvers' way of thinking. Attempting a more nuanced, moderate approach to dealing with her enemies. Trying to find common ground for a peaceful resolution. However, time and time again, playing moderate had only rewarded her with unsolicited aggression and betrayals. Most crushing had been the Dominion's betrayal. Against much grumbling, she had come to their aid against their Sith neighbors and had even prevented a coup. How had she and the Silver Order been repaid? By the Dominion running headlong into the arms of their very oppressors.

She was just about done playing nice with these cretins.

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Dusaro Dresari]

Objective: Clear out the town and secure the Military base​

Allies: [member="Kaiza Pawaro"]
Post Six​

​

Dusaro didn't visually react much to Kaiza's hard look or her words. Not only because he was used to the sight that was around them, but he was not intrested in hearing something he had heard many times before. 'They don't get how much it hurts', 'how can anyone else possibly understand'. Oh they could understand alright. And if nothing else before this converstaion was completly dropped, he wanted to get that across. Not to prove her wrong. But because it was important to understand. That there was no one type of people who were worse off then anyone else. He had quietly listend to her words without much reaction, but right after he finished he spoke up, looking back into her gaze with a relaxed, calm look.

"And how is what happens to us any diffrent then what happens to a soldier who looses his battle buddy. A guy who grew up with all his life, blasted away by a artillery round. With or without us, shutta's will be shutta's. Everyone feels pain on a emotional level. I have lost s..." Dusaro stopped himself there. He was getting more emotional then he himself wanted to. You didn't have to be a Jedi to feel pain at loss or tragedy. You didn't have to be a Jedi to suffer horrific things and even if you were, that did not change anything. All you had to be was a person and Jedi are still even as much as some might disagree, people. But right here, right now, he did not expet he could get that across. So he shook his head and dropped it. Maybe later, he could bring her to understand. But now was not the time for either of them.

"Good. I know what we are going to be up against, both at the military base and before it... It shan't be pretty."

The troops who were going to be staying here were already determined so Dusaro just turned around and kept his shatterbeam hefted, heading out and motioning the Regulars forward in a wedge while himself and the scouts made a ranger file while the snipers went forward as scouts. Finishing off the city itself was a hard fight, with the toughest nut to crack having been an enemy emplacement with a 40MM Vespa along with a pair of HMG's. That had been a paticularly nasty scrap when combined with a lack of cover but they managed to pull through with it, the tired and battleworn fighting force arriving at the gates of the Military base. The bases emplacements had all been trashed by Dusaro's own order when they had to evacuate. But they couldn't trash the fact that even after the heavy bombardment by enemy bombers and even turbolaser fire, the site itself was on a naturally defensible formation. Even from here just outside of skirmishing range, Dusaro could see the white Stormtroopers against the horizon. The sun was in their favor however, setting just a bit behind them as it sunk down into the smoky horizon. It gave a errie vibe to the setting they were currently in.

"Gentlemen. This is the last of them. Their last hold out. Dug in and entrenched in our own soil. Where our own workers sweated and labored over to make. They will not retreat and they will fight until we they are killed. But what does that mean for us..?" Dusaro asked with a calm expression as he observed the enemies formation. There was not a word spoken among the soldiers, they did not need to expound upon the question their commander posed. Because from the start there had only been one thing to do with them. And Dusaro did not finish his question, instead speaking into his comm unit. "All troops, begin the assault."

With the aid of the recoverd HMG's and the 40MM Vespa, the initial assault was made easier. With some cover to allow them a foot in the door, Dusaro spearheaded a aggressive assault. No trooper was the first to step around a corner, or the first to go into a enemy firing lane. Dusaro lead the way through the bombed out husk of a base, breaking through the first layer of stormtroopers and securing the first area with his fellow Padawan and troops. It turned out that Dusaro was not wrong about the Imperial Troopers. With the no prisoners policy of the Xi-Charrons, they did not stop fighting back. There was one Imperial Scout, pinned down behind a bunch of boxes. His arm had been nearly shot off, but he kept on firing his scout pistol even as he was surrounded and shot dead. Fear and terror met grim determination and those determind troops of the Silver Jedi did not let up against the enemy who would not stay down. If the base was in shambles before, by the time the hellish assault was over it certainly one. The last stand of the Imperials was something Dusaro, as a soldier, could honestly praise. Wrong and terrible, utterly horrific what they had done was, he respected their tenacity in the face of death. But even more, he respected those who did not buckle under the sight of those enemy troops who would not break.

Sitting silently on a peice of rubble at the outskirts of the military base, Dusaro silently looked on at the fastly sinking sun. His gaze was distant as he gazed upon the sun, coverd by a thick haze of smoke from burned buildings. No enemy troops had survived the assault and the place was litterd with the dead of both sides. But there was no expression on Dusaro's dirt and blood coverd face. Only a distant and lonely look as he gazed over the burned out remains of the city, alone.

 

[Rozalyne Kurganova]

The hail from Ticon's ship was passed up the chain until it reached Rozalyne. While Grandmaster Yune had been the one to finalize the proposal bringing on additional Mandalorian contractors, the original idea had been Rozalyne's. There was almost no group of individuals better suited at killing Force Users, and the particular Mandalorian she was about to meet was almost legendary at it.

Rozalyne answered the call herself from her private quarters where she had been working out budget reports for the Charros mission. All part the soul-crushing administrative duties her Jedi counterparts liked to dump on her lap as a former executive.

"Greetings, Ms. Ticon. I am Rozalyne Kurgnova, deputy director of the Silver Service Corps. I'll be the one responsible for finalizing your transaction with the SJO, and briefing you on the details of your assignment. Please feel free to dock with the Huron at any time. I'll come meet you down in the hangar."

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

​

Valae watched as Arisa sank down into a chair; her eyes softened at the sight of her friend. It wasn’t easy to see those you cared about suffering. She swallowed hard as Arisa started to speak, feeling her own throat grow tight. The smoldering rage inside Arisa was felt easily by Valae. In their years of friendship, Valae had been the one easily frazzled and frustrated… Arisa had always been the pillar of strength. But even she had her breaking point.

She listened to each word angry word spoken.

And when Arisa was finished, Valae wasn’t quite sure what to say. Truly, what could she say? There were no words that would make this unhappy business go away, no words that could change the past. For a long moment, her eyes shifted down towards the table. She drew in a deep breath, and turned to face her friend.

“I know--” She answered with a sad nod, “This hasn’t been easy for anyone, least of all you.”

She breathed a heavy sigh. Valae closed her eyes and attempted to quiet her thoughts, a calming flow of force energy would find them both.

“You know, I’m here for you.” She said, with an encouraging smile.

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

"I'm resigning!" she blurted right after Valae tried comforting her. If she let Valae continue to try talking her down, then guilt would have held her back from saying those words.

"I'm...resigning," she said, tone more normal, eyes flickering up to Valae for just a minute before she turned her gaze downward once more. "I can't be Grandmaster of the Silver Order and do what needs to be done to stop events like Charros IV."

The Silver Jedi was still synonymous with the Heavenshields, and while that was still a fact, she would always be operating in their shadow, her actions always compared to them. It hindered what she could do through the Silver Order to shift it into a direction necessary to combat all the Sith and Imperial regimes popping up left and right in the Outer Rim.

"This just isn't working for me anymore. While I'll never abandon the Silver Order, I need to try something different. For that reason, I'm joining the Rebel Alliance to start up a new command. I need to start hitting the Sith and Imperials where it hurts, without being hindered by the lofty standards the galaxy expects us to follow as the SJO."

One of the best ways to put pressure on these groups was to disrupt their operations from within, and there was no better vehicle for that than the Rebel Alliance right now. On their end, they were in need of new blood to help rehabilitate their image. It was a match made in heaven.

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Objective: Protect a refugee village on Bimmisaari
Allies: [member="Josh DragonsFlame"], [member="Anora Vahn"], Possible Other SJO Allies

Doug had continued to deflect the blaster fire that the trio were being showered towards. He watched as Josh had demonstrated using the Force to throw his Lightsaber in a manner similar to a boomerang where it arcs forward while spinning before coming back to its user. A fairly useful technique and can be nice for attacking from a distance with some practice and concentration. Doug had practiced with this maneuver a decent number of times in the past, but had yet to make use of it outside of training purposes. Josh's throw would appear to incapacitate a chunk of the terrorists, but the three were still outnumbered and as the temporarily downed terrorists got back to their feet, the three Jedi once again were forced onto the defensive. Doug continued to use his lightsaber to deflect any shots that went for him, but it was clear that they needed another plan.

Of course, Josh was a bit of a quick thinker so he had a plan in mind as expected of a Jedi Master. It seemed that the three were going to form a shield of sorts with their swinging by standing near each other. Doug stepped back until he was to the right of Josh as commanded, continuing to utilizing his twirling lightsaber slashes that acted as a decent shield from the blaster fire that came towards him. "So... Got anything in mind, Master?" Doug asked, a slightly worried tone in his voice.

Before he could even get a response, Josh had promptly used the Force to pull one of the swoop bikes forward in front of the three. With another quick order, Doug nodded and began to mimic the motion that Josh had done earlier for his own Lightsaber throw. Doug then carefully tossed his lightsaber forward, keeping a grip on it with the Force as it spun around through the air and cut through a chunk of the terrorists, who were uncertain of how to deal with this type of attack. Doug's lightsaber then spun back towards him and he caught it in his right hand right before Josh used a Force Push to send the swoop bike forward.

This combined attack seemed to do the trick as the terrorist numbers were dwindled down a bit and gave the three a bit more breathing room for another attack.

Josh's tricks worked for the time being, but he knew they wouldn't last forever. Before long, a terrorist would throw a grenade, and their swoop cover was promptly blown to bits. "Well, chit. Sorry Anora. Guess you're gonna be riding back with me on mine" Josh would remark toward the female Padawan, with a shrug of his shoulders as he would have to get his saber up again, not having to move around as he parried blaster shots. "They're flanking us! Spread out!" Josh would command to his squad as he would move a ways away from his Padawans to force the terrorists to split up as well.

It was here that Josh noticed that a good deal of the ones that had been flanking them would decide to go for the refugees that were running from the blaster fire. Watching a blaster shot hit one in the back, Josh would growl. Yeah, it took the heat off them but...

No, they had to get the heat back on them. But they were also vastly outnumbered...

That was when Josh's eyes glimpsed upon the swoop bikes that the terrorists had arrived on...

He knew what he had to do, even if he didn't like it... But if he didn't, these refugees were going to die. And they didn't have the numbers to save them all, as it was...

"Damn..." He would growl under his breath, clearly not thrilled about the only option left to him if he was to save the refugees, and his students. "Force around us... Forgive me..."

Josh was not a murdering man. But he was aware now that to save the innocent, he would have to take the lives of those who wanted nothing but to bring harm... He thought back to the day that he'd first picked up [member="Dusaro Dresari"] and remembered when they had freed the slaves and had them follow them, as leaders, on a crusade to get them to freedom... One of the slavers had been in the group in disguise, and attacked, killing one of the slaves - a husband and father who's wife and child had to watch him be killed under the Jedi's watch. Josh had been unable to do anything. But if he'd killed before the slaver could have attacked...

No... He wasn't going to let that happen again.

He decided not to tell his Padawans his plan. The Jedi Master would bear the burden of the loss of life alone, his Padawans would be free of guilt.

It would be his alone to bear.

"GET AWAY FROM THE TERRORISTS AND TAKE COVER, NOW!" Josh would scream toward [member="Douglas Starwind"] and [member="Anora Vahn"] as he would turn and hold out a hand, launching a fireball into the ground of swoops. Deactivating his saber, he would click it to his belt as the swoops began to smoke, indicating the inevitable... He would quickly pick up one of the Swoops with telekinesis, and hurl it at a group of the terrorists that were shooting at the refugees.

KABOOM!​

It exploded upon hitting the ground, and the screams of pain and death would fill Josh's mind for many days, he knew. But he kept going. It was a sacrifice that needed to be made. It was the price he paid for returning to his warrior's way. He lifted another smoking swoop, and tossed it, taking out another group of them in a ball of fire. Then went the next, and the next...

Finally, there were no more terrorist swoops to throw. Josh's breath hitched as he looked around at the bodies he had left in his wake. But he had to push it out of his mind... He had cleared about half of the field, but the remaining ones were beginning to come out of cover, blasters brandished and ready to begin firing again...

He had saved many lives today. Of refugees, and likely that of his Padawans.

But he had taken it too.

Was it a fair trade? Did he do the right thing?

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Valae’s eyes went wide, and she blinked once or twice. Her brow furrowed, and she tried to come to terms with what Arisa had just said. She shook her head slightly, unable to get rid of the shock and disbelief. She scooted to the edge of her seat, eyes on Arisa.

“Please, don’t leave…” She said, voice shaking. “If you do – I don’t know what…”

She couldn’t finish. Bowing her head for a moment, she blew out a breath. Of course, she knew that Arisa was having a difficult time, and she didn’t want to guilt her friend into staying. Her eyes shifted to the side to find the wall, she wasn’t sure what to say next. She had returned to the Order to work alongside Arisa, it was a partnership from which she drew a great deal of comfort and strength.

And now, she wasn’t sure what would become of the Order.

Wringing her hands in her lap, she could feel the frown tugging the corners of her mouth down. Valae wasn’t angry, but she felt sad and upset. Still, it would have been selfish not to acknowledge that Arisa likely felt the same way.

“If you need to leave, I won’t try to keep you.” She said sadly, “But what will I do without you here? I can’t lead – I’m not ready.”

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Keira Priest]

​

"Understood. Proceeding to dock now." And that was the end of the proceedings for the moment, as Keira cut communications in preparation to dock. All of it was uncomfortably routine, but she supposed that was better than something going awry this early on. Better to be bored with paperwork and bureaucracy, though she would always be baffled by those who were entirely at peace in such a world, where the only thing that drew any amount of concern was the next contract or legislation to sign off on. Then again, it was likely for the best those sorts of people existed, because that meant people like her would never quite be in low demand. They were the ones that completed the less desirable but still as equally necessary tasks, after all.

Upon landing in the hangar she remained in the pilot's chair for only a moment, eventually pushing herself to her feet, reaching down to clip her helmet at her waist. Her pistol and tomahawk were the only weapons on her person as she stepped off down the ramp, though she had brought the entirety of her arsenal with in anticipation of taking on a job nearly immediately. Sith had a penchant for almost always being on the move, and as a hunter, she had quickly learned to be mobile as well.

Sticking close by her ship, she waited for [member="Rozalyne Kurganova"] to arrive in order to discuss further business.

 

[Anora Vahn]

Objective: Protect a refugee village on Bimmisaari
Allies: [member="Josh DragonsFlame"], [member="Douglas Starwind"]


What….the heck had just happened? It was insane sometimes how quickly things shifted gears in combat – training or otherwise for that matter. One minute the Padawan pair and their Master were deflecting and blocking enemy fire, (using Anora’s bike to boot, no less!) and then everything seemed to happen all at once, or at least that’s how it had felt to Anora.

Her bike exploded, which had caused her to wince and briefly attempt to cover herself, and then she and Douglas were being told to take cover. There wasn’t even time to give their Master a curious or questioning look; she merely did as she was told and backtracked until she found a place where she could stay out of the way – but still see. She had to see what the heck was going to happen.

And then one after another she watched as more swoop bikes were launched at the terrorist groups, and there was a strange combination of shock, awe, and confusion written all over her face. She knew they had been out numbered, she knew there were innocent lives at stake, and she knew that it had basically come down to an ‘Us or Them’ sort of scenario. And yet she was still fairly thrown off to actually see this sort of thing – a life ending sort of thing – happen in this situation.

And yet, their enemy didn’t seem half as terrified of the turn of events as they should have been. They were beginning to leave their own cover, which had Anora brandishing her own weapon again and waiting for a signal to return to field.

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Objective: Protect a refugee village on Bimmisaari
Allies: [member="Josh DragonsFlame"], [member="Anora Vahn"]

Doug's eyes widened when Josh had shouted at him and Anora to run and take cover. He looked and saw what Josh was doing... Fireballs... Something Doug had first gotten familiar with in an awkward manner. It brought him back to a more lighthearted thought, but then the reality quickly shot back into his mind. He threw them at some other swoop bikes that the terrorists likely were riding on... And they began to smoke. Doug quickly deactivated his lightsaber, clipped it to his belt, and began to run back to take cover as Josh began to lift the smoking vehicles.

He almost grabbed onto Anora as they both ran for cover just to make sure he could keep up, but it had not been necessary They both had found a safer place to hide, but still observe what Josh was doing... He had begun throwing the now-flaming swoopers directly at the terrorists and... KABOOM. The swoopers exploded. Doug could now understand why Josh had not said anything sooner. This must... Not have been easy for him to do. Was there really no other course of action? Doug was uncertain of it himself. Doug winced as he saw the charred bodies littering the ground. While he did not necessarily feel sympathy for these people, it was still an unnerving sight for him.

He began to feel a chill in the air. Was this... The Force he was feeling? He shivered a bit, but there wasn't much time to dwell on it. Even after that horror show, some of the terrorists had STILL looked like they were ready to fight. "These imbeciles just don't know when to quit..." Doug muttered in annoyance, Anora likely hearing this. Doug grabbed his lightsaber from his belt and activated it once more, waiting to see what they could do next.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh would quickly motion for the refugees to escape the village and get away from it so the terrorists couldn't use them as a means of garnering an advantage. As they ran, Josh knew he had to cover their escape, noting the remaining ones beginning to train their weapons on them. Josh knew that if they were going to overcome this numbers game and the disadvantage of trying to save the refugees while they still remained in the village to be shot at, he was going to have to lessen the restraints a bit, if that made sense... He knew that would mean fatal blows, but the Blademaster would have to go for quick and fatal shots if he was to thin the terrorist numbers.

Josh would signal for [member="Anora Vahn"] and [member="Douglas Starwind"] to return to the battlefield and attack again, as Josh would take a breath, disappearing into the Current. By sight and sense, he could not be found. At least until he re-appeared just behind one of the terrorists, who turned around at the sound just in time for Josh to slash through their torso and disappearing again. While he couldn't hold the form and fight at the same time, he could still move back into the Current after striking.

The Jedi Master would re-appear in front of the next, and the second they began to aim their blaster at him, he slashed again before disappearing. The sequence would continue, while the other terrorists fired at the other two Padawans...

[member="Douglas Starwind"] - [member="Anora Vahn"]

 

[Anora Vahn]

Objective: Protect a refugee village on Bimmisaari
Allies: [member="Josh DragonsFlame"], [member="Douglas Starwind"]


For a moment, it almost felt like things were moving in slow motion. Anora had heard Doug speak, but the words were slow in her head as the severity of the situation just seemed to keep teetering back and forth right in front of them. Just when the three of them would seem to get an advantage, more terrorists would spring from the wood work - the epitome of not knowing when to quit.

"Agreed." she finally managed to focus enough to speak at least some form of response to Doug, and when the signal was given from their Master, Anora's blade was readied once again and she moved away from cover.

There had only been a glimpse of their Master, but it had been enough of a glimpse for her to see that all bets were definitely off now - not that blowing a bunch of terrorists up hadn't proven that in the first place. But to see him cut someone down? It made her stomach clench uncomfortably, and then twist when she and Doug were targeted again. Once again, she couldn't deflect any shots fired at them, but she could block them and she did just that when she and the other Padawan were fired upon.

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Objective: Protect a refugee village on Bimmisaari
Allies: [member="Josh DragonsFlame"], [member="Anora Vahn"]

Doug sighed. He still felt an odd feeling in the air, his hands beginning to tremble slightly. He tightened his grip on his lightsaber once he saw the terrorists beginning to fire at him and Anora. He held his lightsaber in front of him and began to move it in certain ways in front of him, deflecting some of the blaster shots heading towards him. A few of them would be directed back at the terrorists, which sent them falling over to the ground. He muttered under his breath as he did this. He slowly began to step forward, continuing to deflect shots away from him and Anora. He glanced around and noticed Josh appearing to disappear and reappear, utilizing more fatal strikes to deal with some of the terrorists.

More deaths... But dealt with quicker this time around. The numbers began to wear a bit thinner and there didn't seem to be any more of the terrorists coming. If they were careful, the day would be won most likely.

Doug slowly let go of his lightsaber with his left hand once he had gotten close enough and then quickly shot it forward, utilizing a Force Push to send some of the terrorists back onto the ground, putting them at a more disadvantaged state and lessening some of the fire on him, Anora, and any refugees still escaping. Josh... Likely would deal with some of them.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Objective: Protect a refugee village on Bimmisaari
Allies: [member="Douglas Starwind"] - [member="Anora Vahn"]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORewilaPHZY​

Josh tried to hit non-vitals and disable if he could - but unfortunately, this wasn't easy when the stakes were this high and there were so many of them. Unfortunately... Sometimes, what had to be done, had to be done. This was a lesson that his two Padawans were learning right now. He wished he didn't have to see them learn that truth this way... But it had to be done. To protect life... Sometimes life had to be taken. Josh had tried, and tried, to spare everyone he could, and still did. But sometimes you had to make a judgement call. That was part of being a Jedi.

This was something that Josh would explain to them further in a later [Likely off-screen] lecture.

His Padawans were doing their jobs of keeping the fire off him a bit while he dispatched them one by one. Whether his blows were fatal or not was left entirely up to chance. He didn't have too much time between when he re-appeared and having to swing, to decide where to swing. He had to be quick, if he was to save the refugees.

Josh would re-appear behind his two Padawans, helping them deflect a volley of shots with his lightsaber.

"We need to rush them to start to thin their numbers. Disabling shots, fatal shots, whatever you need to do in order to cut them down quickly. If you can manage shoulder or side slashes to disable them, please do, but if you cannot, do not hesitate to do what must be done. There are too many innocents here to afford to make any mistakes" Josh would order toward the two Padawans as he would find an opening in the fire...

"Charge, now!"