First Reply Trouble in Lake Country

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Open to a Jedi

Gatz was back home on Naboo, and he wasn't particularly thrilled about it.

Well, he supposed that wasn't entirely true: home was Theed. Once, anyways. Not Lake Country. He'd grown up in the city, civilized and urban, not the rural farms that dotted Naboo's most isolated locale. Lake Country was supposed to be an idyllic paradise, mirroring the rest of the planet he'd grown up on—cataclysms and the odd kidnapping not withstanding. It was sparsely populated, peaceful, beautiful, and a safe place to live.

The bruises that dotted his face, cuts that marred his arms, and blood that stained his collar suggested otherwise.

Utopia or not (it wasn't, he'd grown up starving on this world), even Naboo had problems. The farmers were being harassed by a group of miscreants: their harvests being pilfered, their livestock being stolen, and most recently—a young farmhand had lost his life at the end of a vibrosword. Naboo took care of its people (they didn't), but launching an investigation into a few tons of grain going missing, and the odd farm animal being killed didn't exactly make the list of priorities.

Killing a teen though? That had attracted some attention. His. Gatz had sent word back to the Order, requesting help for his world, but he couldn't bring himself to just wait around for it.

He'd spent the last three nights running his borrowed speeder from farm to farm, trying to catch whoever was doing this in the act. The first night had turned up nothing. On the second night, a farm East of him had been hit, but Gatz had been too late to see anything other than the scorched remains of a barnhouse. Last night, however, he'd gotten the drop on a dozen men in the middle of a raid.

He... hadn't expected a dozen armed and trained men. Hence the bruises, cuts, and general beating he'd taken. It was his own fault for refusing to carry a lightsaber, thinking he could end the conflict without violence just this once. Still, after he'd chased them off—and coughing up a liberal amount of blood—Gatz had managed to track them to the lake, where any prints or evidence of their passing had promptly vanished.

And so, on the fourth night, Gatz waited. He sat under a beech tree near the shore line, legs crossed, eyes closed, and his breathing slow. Gatz had often found meditation difficult. His mind had never been one for being quiet, and peace simply wasn't attainable for him most of the time. But with everything going on as of late—Midvintir, Tython, Ithor, Nar Shaddaa and the rest—he was afraid that if he didn't try, he'd lose himself in the violence the Jedi Way had forced him into as of late.

Even now, with his lightsaber sitting on the ground in front of him, Gatz desperately hoped he wouldn't have to draw his weapon. He'd killed more people in his half year as a Jedi than he had during the span of his seven year smuggling career.

The sun began to fall behind the mountains. And still Gatz sat—battered, bruised, but unmoving—simply waiting for the enemy to appear once more.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: Naboo - Lake Country
Objective: Respond to Call for Help
Tags: Gatz Derrevar


Life had been rough for the Jedi lately. Katarine felt isolated and disconnected from the galaxy now more than ever. She had slept for a thousand years and woke up to the same war nonsense. The Jedi preached peace but how could they act on it when the Galactic Alliance was always in the middle of a war? Just recently the Jedi had moved their capital and sent the padawans to safety, while the knights and masters battled the front lines. Katarine had returned to her work as a Jedi Investigator because that was what she knew. She was better behind the helm of an investigation than she was on a battlefield but everything was taking its tole. She felt like there was more violence now than when she fought in the Rebellion. It all begged the question: did anything ever change?

She was tired. After busting up a spice ring and finding a serial killer in the midst Kat wanted nothing more than a nice long hot bath and a drink, but a message caught her attention that she simply couldn't ignore. She had worked with Gatz before, and found the man to be charming if slightly unsure of himself. She couldn't turn a blind eye on his request for help, especially if it was an investigation that needed done. Who better to call than a Jedi Investigator?

She had landed on Naboo and poked around, asking questions and trying to determine where the padawan was. The Lake Country seemed an odd choice, but that seemed to be where the trail lead. She felt him before she saw him, sitting in the meditation pose but not truly meditating. She raised an eyebrow and watched him for a second, before announcing her presence.

"That's a spiffy new lightsaber kid."

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

Gatz had felt Master Ryiah's presence long before she came close enough to speak to him. He still had made no move to get up, though. He stayed in his position under the beech tree, breathing slow, and sinking himself into the Force. It was about more than just reflection, this time, or attaining peace. If was going to go into battle—and he hoped he didn't have to—he ought to do it with a body that wasn't beaten and aching.

Force Healing was not a skill he was naturally talented in. No, he could only make that claim about the forms of lightsaber combat. But... through a long and frustrating process of trial and error, Gatz was starting to improve upon his limited healing ability. It was a slow process, and he still couldn't do more than heal deep cuts, but it was enough.

Slowly, over the course of his time meditating, the bruises on his face began to heal. The cuts along his arms stitched themselves back together. Until the only evidence that remained of his altercation with the raiders was the blood that dotted his collar.

"That's a spiffy new lightsaber kid."

"Thank you," there was a rare quality of serenity to his voice, "I hate how often I'm forced to use it."

Gatz breathed out a long sigh, and opened his eyes. It was dark now, the sun having long since crested behind the mountains, and all that was left was him, Master Ryiah, and the lake lapping at the shore.

"I'm glad to see you again, Master Ryiah," Gatz offered her a small small smile, "...even if you do call me a 'kid' despite having no more than a few years on me."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: Lake Country
Objective: Chat
Tags: Gatz Derrevar


Katarine watched him sinking into his meditative stance properly and could feel the serenity washing over him. He did seem more put together than he had on their last mission, but something still felt off. She couldn't put her finger on it. Her deep green eyes lingered for a moment on his blond locks and for a second she felt a memory creep up. Another blond haired man, dressed as a pirate. For some reason the memory made her heart clench and she felt like she couldn't breath for a second. As soon as it came it was gone, like water slipping through her palms, and she was left frustrated once more with the amnesia hibernation sickness had brought. Her deep green eyes traveled over the Jedi in front of her and she frowned slightly. Was she drawn to him because he reminded her of someone? Who? She may never know.


"I'm glad to see you again, Master Ryiah," Gatz offered her a small small smile, "...even if you do call me a 'kid' despite having no more than a few years on me."

Kat chuckled at this comment. "I was born 44 years before the Battle of Yavin. I look pretty good for my age. Maybe if I ever get sick of the violence being a Jedi brings up I'll go into the pharmaceutical industry and sell my beauty secrets."

She smiled at him and took a seat across from him, fixing him with her deep green eyed stare. It was no coincidence she made a joke about violence. She was waiting to see if he wanted to talk about what was bothering him.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

Kat chuckled at this comment. "I was born 44 years before the Battle of Yavin. I look pretty good for my age. Maybe if I ever get sick of the violence being a Jedi brings up I'll go into the pharmaceutical industry and sell my beauty secrets."

"Well, if you're really over nine-hundred years old, then you ought to try modeling. If this is how you look after pushing a millennia of aging, then I don't think you'd find yourself out of work any time soon."

Though, admittedly, Gatz was pretty damn certain that she wasn't actually a thousand years old biologically. Put in stasis, like Valery Noble had been? That seemed to make the most sense. But he chose not to pry further, despite his interest. Her history wasn't his business to peruse through... and they had bigger fish to fry, currently.

Gatz looked out at the lake, silent and still, aside from small waves lapping at the shoreline. He took a moment to digest the small joke Master Ryiah had made about Jedi and how often they found themselves in a fight. For all the Order's claims that they were peacekeepers, his own experience had been far more violent. By now, Gatz had crossed the point where he'd taken more lives with a lightsaber than he ever had with a blaster.

He wondered: was he really doing better? Or was he just doing more of the same, just in the name of something else?

"Raiders have been coming at night," Gatz started to explain, "burning farms, stealing harvests and livestock, and then fleeing back across this lake. My goal is to stop them before they leave the shore... and I'm hoping I can do it without drawing my lightsaber. Just this once."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Gatz Derrevar


She listened as he explained the case he was working. He did seem upset about how violent things tended to be and she could understand that. After a century Katarine felt the galaxy was no better off than it had been when fighting the empire. The more things changed the more the stayed the same. It was easy to get lost in disillusion. Maybe if she could help him win without a saber this time she could restore his faith. That seemed like the type of thing expected from a master of the Order. Of course someone like Master Noble would be better at this than Kat was. The woman did not count herself among the great Jedi of the eras, but she did want to help Gatz. She was drawn to him even if she may never know why.

“There are farmers on Dantooine who try to keep their livestock alive against predators but they refuse to kill the predators. Instead they trap the predators…. Perhaps we can spring a trap for your raiders…”

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

The truth was: Gatz had little hope of resolving this without violence. It just... it seemed like everything he touched ended in death. He wanted to believe it was possible to end this without bloodshed, and he wanted to believe that they could find a way to convince the raiders to leave, but the chances of both those things were incredibly slim. Reasonable people typically didn't burn farms and kill teenagers.

If he had to pick between killing these raiders, and letting the raiders harm more of his people... well, that was an easy calculus.

“There are farmers on Dantooine who try to keep their livestock alive against predators but they refuse to kill the predators. Instead they trap the predators…. Perhaps we can spring a trap for your raiders…”

Master Ryiah's suggestion gave him an ounce more hope. He looked to her, question already lingering in his eyes, wondering what she was thinking of. Gatz had never been good at traps—unless springing them counted. But Master Ryiah was far more wise than he, and far more experienced... even if she did still struggle with today's technology.

"Okay, my interest it piqued," Gatz admitted, "how would you suggest we lay this trap?"

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Gatz Derrevar

Katarine was glad to see he didn’t scoff at her idea. It was a bit far fetched to think they could pull this off and yet stranger things had happened.

“Well on Dantooine they used pit traps. The predators would come to get the sheep and then fall into the pit. Then the farmers could take care of them. We could do something similar. We will need a really big pit, a good piece of bait, and cooperation with the local authorities. They can arrest these raiders and take them to prison. “

She waited to see what he thought. It was a pretty primitive idea but that might be why the raiders didn’t see it coming. Of course there were other types of traps they could spring.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"Plenty of livestock to be the bait," Gatz offered, "and I'm sure local authorities will finally get involved if we actually have perpetrators for them to arrest. What I'm not sure about is how we'll dig these pits in time. The raiders hit every night, and they seemingly hit farms randomly. I haven't been able to puzzle together a pattern to their strikes."

In fact, that was why he was here, waiting for them at the lakeshore. If he didn't know where they were going to strike, then the only thing he could do is cut them off from the avenue they approached from. But still, the lake was quiet. Perhaps running into him last night,—subsequently being chased off without a score—had inspired caution in them?

Gatz was sure he'd have seen or heard them by now. If they weren't coming tonight, out of a desire to be more careful or plan better... then he and Master Ryiah might actually have the time to set these traps she was talking about.

"I thought I'd have seen them coming across the lake by now," Gatz admitted, "but maybe my scuffle with them discouraged them for a night. If you agree, I'd like to wait here until sunrise, because if they do come, I want to stop them at the shore. But if they don't... I think we'd have a whole day to set your trap."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Gatz Derrevar

“If you wanted to spend the night with me all you had to do was ask.”

She winked at him but flirty sarcasm aside it was a good plan. She did not know as much about the raids as he did and she doubted she would be able to find a pattern either. These types of operations worked best when they were scattered and unpredictable. Any good criminal would want to keep them that way.

“Have you learned anything else about these raiders?”

It looked like they had a long night ahead so she may as well get up to speed. She wondered if maybe they were selling the live stock or if this was about damage so the farmers would pay for protection. Until they knew more it was hard to pin down a motive.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

“If you wanted to spend the night with me all you had to do was ask.”

"You're wearing too many clothes for how I typically spend my nights." Gatz winked back.

But then he turned his attention back to the matter at hand. As much as he loved seducing beautiful women—Jedi Masters or not—he'd left that sleazy part of himself in the past, and he rather thought he was better for it. That man had cared about no one other than himself, and the women he'd been with had been more like conquests to him than people. And Gatz felt no small amount of shame in recalling that.

Still, he couldn't deny that the attention was nice. Even if he was certain that Katarine Ryiah would scream and run as soon as she saw him without a shirt.

"They come in a pack of about a dozen," Gatz went on to answer her question, "well armed, trained. They wear dark cloaks to obscure their identity, but they're definitely wearing partial armor. They take what they want, then burn down the farm they hit, and disappear across the lake somewhere—but no one has spotted any camps."

He'd spent the majority of his day on the opposite side of the lake, looking for just that. He hadn't even turned up the remains of a bonfire.

"That's all I know. I tried psychometry at the most recent farm they hit, but I didn't get anything useful from it. They're quick, efficient, and quiet."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Gatz Derrevar


Katarine chuckled at his comment about clothes. Things were very different in the Jedi Order than they used to be. Back in her day Jedi were not allowed to form attachments. Of course after Order 66 many of the survivors did form attachments or go on to live other types of lives. She imagined she must have dome something with hers too, if only she could remember it. The Jedi of today had entire families together and lived outside the temple. It had been strange when Kat had first realized what was happening, but now she was not sure how to feel about it. A good part of her felt lonely and isolated, which came with the territory of being undercover all the time. Still she wondered if she shouldn't break the old traditions and form some attachments. Gatz would be a fun person to attach to. He was handsome and had the former underworld swagger that made her knees weak, but that probably wouldn't be the best way to help him. She was supposed to be the master in this situation wasn't she? Though he was not by any means the uncertain padawan she had first met. He had grown a lot and come a long way.

"It's odd to me they burn the farm afterwards. That is clearly to send a message but the question is to who? I wonder if these men are more complicated than typical pirates? Maybe..."

She frowned and paused in thought. They were supposed to be doing things without violence or at least trying to.

"If we could get one of them to talk we might learn more.... but it certainly wouldn't be a pretty picture."

She sighed and rubbed her eyes. She was tired of the same old story. Part of her really did want to buy a farm, settle down, have some kids and forget all of this madness. But what type of Jedi did that?

"Do the locals know anything?"

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

Gatz had expected a reprimand for his comment—which he most certainly deserved, whether he was joking or not. A good Padawan didn't make a pass at Jedi Masters, no matter how pretty they were. And yet, Master Ryiah chuckled at his words instead of correcting his behavior. She was downright receptive to his flirting, and he had no idea what to do with that information. Capitalize on it? Or—

Raiders, Gatz. His mind butted in, protect the people first. Debate getting into a Jedi Master's pants later

Right.

"It's odd to me they burn the farm afterwards. That is clearly to send a message but the question is to who? I wonder if these men are more complicated than typical pirates? Maybe..."

"I think the burning might have a second justification: to erase any evidence," Gatz theorized, "for the same reason they rely on hand signals during an attack, instead of talking. They don't want to be identified in any possible way—and what criminal does? But they take it to a much further degree than most scoundrels I knew back in my less-than-legal days."

But truth was: Gatz had little knowledge of raiders and pirates, aside from shooting the odd one down while they were after his cargo. For all his faults, he'd never associated with men like that. He'd stuck to drug peddlers and fellow smugglers—which wasn't any better, mind you, but it was different.

"The locals didn't give me much to go off of, but it wouldn't hurt to canvas them a second time. We can only learn more from them, not less."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Gatz Derrevar

She nodded as he spoke about forensic counter measures. He was correct that fire did a beautiful job at that but add it to the hand signals and that made Katarine think that there was a reason these men didn’t want to be identified.

“It’s possible they know their victims or are somehow related in some way. They know we would be able to track them so they go through great lengths to hide their identity. This might be personal for them.”

She sat in silence for a moment, and finally her deep green eyes met his again.

“Well we can wait it out and see if they strike. If they do not then I say we look at victimology and canvas locals again. That might give us something so we know where to spring a trap. “

She stretched her arms up and cracked her neck.

“Looks like we got ourselves a stake out. Hope you know some good stories. These things can drag on.”

She smiled to let him know she was joking. Kat actually did enjoy his company and she did want to help him.

“You doing okay? It’s been a while since we worked together I hope you will permit me to say I am impressed with how much you’ve grown as a Jedi since then.”

She knew it was corny and she wasn’t his full time master but Kat had been impressed with Gatz since day one. Perhaps a little for selfish reasons of attraction but also because he just reminded her of better times. He was determined to make his life better which was admirable. She had been excited to see him again and he did not disappoint.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

“It’s possible they know their victims or are somehow related in some way. They know we would be able to track them so they go through great lengths to hide their identity. This might be personal for them.”

"They seem to know exactly where these farms are at." Gatz confirmed, "could just have maps, but I haven't ruled out the idea that they might actually be locals."

Gatz didn't want to believe that the good people of Naboo—the ones who weren't filthy rich—would do something like this to one another... but this world had spawned him, and there was a time in his life when he'd been far from a good man. Some days, he still wasn't convinced that he was. Desperation could drive a man to any lengths, and that was just as true on Naboo as it was everywhere else in the galaxy.

They may not have had any real suspects yet, but at least they had a plan of action: sit in vigil for the night, canvas the locals once more in the morning. It might not have been very complex, but it was better than doing nothing at all.

Surprisingly, Master Ryiah complemented him. Why did people keep doing that? He hadn't done anything particularly deserving of praise. All he'd really done so far is rack up an impressive number of injuries and fail—

No. He had to stop doing that.

"You might be giving me too much credit," Gatz admitted, "I haven't done anything worth being proud of. Not yet."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

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Tags: Gatz Derrevar

"You might be giving me too much credit," Gatz admitted, "I haven't done anything worth being proud of. Not yet."

Katarine smiled and shook her head. "I wouldn't say that. You seem more confident, and you successfully constructed a lightsaber. You've managed to help a lot of people during your tenure with the Jedi. You really don't realize how much just one person can change the galaxy."

She sat back on her elbows and glanced up at the sky. It felt like they were in the quiet before the storm. That's how most stakeouts felt. The waiting could be hard but Jedi were supposed to be patient after all.

"Sometimes it can be difficult to really feel like you've made a mark on this galaxy. I like to think our actions matter to some degree."

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

He knew there was some truth to Master Ryiah's words. Even for all his failures and struggles, some people were living better lives because of him now. Maybe it didn't undo all the things he'd done during his tenure on Nar Shaddaa... but that had never been the point, had it? He'd known from the day he decided to turn his life around that he wasn't in this for redemption.

Only to do better. And he was, even if his pace was slower than he'd like.

"Maybe you're right," he admitted, "everyone keeps telling me that I'm too hard on myself. I keep trying to tell them that they're not being hard enough on me. That I deserve harsh treatment, for being so remedial, and for what I used to be. But if you and every other Jedi Master I've spoken to disagree... then maybe I've been wrong this whole time."

Gatz blew out a sigh, feeling lighter for having allowed himself to admit that. Maybe he was a slow learner, and maybe he had a long way to go... but he'd also come a long way already. Surely that was worth taking into consideration?

"So," Gatz changed the subject, "we have basically a whole night to wait through. Do you want to meditate, trade stories, or go skinny dipping in the lake?"

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: Lake Country
Objective: Kill Time
Tags: Gatz Derrevar

"we have basically a whole night to wait through. Do you want to meditate, trade stories, or go skinny dipping in the lake?"

Katarine giggled at his comment about skinny dipping. She hadn't done that in a long time, but it felt somewhat familiar. Had she done that in her past? When were these memories going to come back to her?

"It would be a pretty poor sight if the raiders show up and we are caught with our pants down.. literally." She chuckled. "Imagine what the Council would say. But I will take a raincheck." She winked at him and ran her fingers through the grass below them. It was a fine clear night and she could see why the raiders would choose a night like this. It would be easy to get in and get out without weather hurting the raid.

"Why don't you tell me about yourself? I'd tell you more about me but honestly I don't know much. Hibernation sickness gave me amnesia. The doctors aren't sure if it's temporary. I do have a memory crystal that might have some answers but I've been having trouble extracting the data from it."

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"It would be a pretty poor sight if the raiders show up and we are caught with our pants down.. literally." She chuckled. "Imagine what the Council would say. But I will take a raincheck."

Gatz snorted. It wouldn't have been the first time he was—literally—caught with his pants down. For the most part, he was rather glad that those days were behind him. But even now, a better man, he thought he'd have a hard time turning down a roll in the hay with Katarine Ryiah. So, thank the Force they had an assignment to focus on.

"You want to know about me?"

Gatz blinked, genuinely surprised. Most people heard "former smuggler" and turned their noses up at him. Even some Jedi—who preached forgiveness and coming back to the light—had refused to give him the time of day. He couldn't quite blame them... but that didn't mean their rejection didn't hurt.

"There's not a whole lot to tell really," Gatz admitted, "not anything worthwhile anyways. I was born here, but my parents gave me to the Order at a young age. I chose to come home when I was nine. Spent my childhood getting into trouble, and generally being a nuisance. Then my mom got sick, and my dad was murdered, so I had to start putting food on the table and paying for my mother's treatment myself. Hauling freight didn't cut it, so I turned to smuggling for over half a decade. Then my mom died anyways, and I met Valery, and... she reminded me that there was still more to me. So I came back."

That summed it up, really.

"Not nearly as interesting as getting frozen in time, I know."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

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Location: Lake Country
Objective: Kill Time Before Raids
Tags: Gatz Derrevar

Katarine listened as Gatz described the rough time he had gone through with his mom. She could understand turning to a darker path in order to provide for someone you loved. It felt vaguely familiar to her, not just understandable but relatable. Had she done that? Would she ever know?

"I am sorry to hear about your mom. I think you were just being a good son. Sometimes we don't get to choose the obstacles life throws at us. All we can do is roll with what we are given and make the best choices in the moment. You carry your past heavily but believe me I wish I had mine. Its what makes you who you are, and I for one am glad to know you."

She smiled at him and hoped he would forgive her being a little sappy.

"You know now that I think of it I'm not even sure I know my birth year. The doctors guessed at Theed General but who knows. I'm sure if I had a past to tell you it wouldn't be nearly as cool as being frozen in time sounds."

She chuckled and looked up at the sky. It was starting to get darker.

"Did you spend a lot of time at the lake country when you were younger?"

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