Private Trouble on Keshi: A call for help

[Guinevere Noble]

Two weeks Prior

Guinevere put the Newspaper down slowly on her desk, glancing over at her computer then back at it before getting to her feet slowly. It seemed a little convenient, but she wasn't really sure what else to do. The Pykes had slowly, but surely infiltrated their peaceful town. At first, she had no reason to impede them, as they came with promises to improve quality of life, among other things. Though it all started going downhill one night at the local bar. One of the locals had called out one of the Pykes for his behavior towards another of the townsfolk. She had seen plenty of fights mind you. Keshian men were no stranger to their ego battles. Yet, when she saw the outcome of this particular fight, she immediately knew something was wrong. Micah's jaw was still wired shut and the Pykes hadn't shown any remorse for the savage beating.

If she knew more about the galaxy, she could've seen this coming, but she didn't. As such the Marshall felt failure, she felt like she had been played; and worst of all she had given what she squarely believed to be the enemy of her town the perfect place to hold up. Even now, in front of the station the Pykes were taking up positions there. They wore body armor that could quite literally tank blaster shots, and she had no military grade weapons like they did...

She was scared. This level of animosity and violence was beyond her. The gang seemed to feed off of it though. She tried to show her face to the locals, but they saw her as weak at this point. What else could she do? It was pure luck one of the deputies had shown her the paper, asking if the woman was related. No, she didn't know who this Valery woman was, and had never heard about her before. She asked her parents, but they were also without information. In any case, she looked up many things in a short period. A Jedi was a peacekeeper, and were willing to help those in need, right? This should've been no different.

This woman, Valery, she was Keshian. Guinevere could see that clear as day. And she shared her family name. And while she had no idea what the concept of a Jedi Battlemaster was, she would take ANY kind of battle master to rid her city of the parasites that had now taken hold. She was going to try to reach out to her.

It took some digging, and she had to pull quite a few favors, but eventually wherever Valery was the message would have been delivered.

The chip had the word URGENT scribbled on it, and would open with Guinevere staring at the camera, glancing about before a protocol droid could be heard off camera

'You may begin, Marshall.'

Her eyes widened a bit, clearing her throat and staring at the camera, beginning to sign towards it.

'Jedi Battle-Master, my name is Guinevere Noble. Marshall of Kana Town. I believe we may be related, but that isn't the purpose of this message. I am begging you for help. Our town has been taken over by a gang of cruel people. They call themselves Pykes. They've beaten people, some have gone missing in the night. The large cities on Keshi'

Guinevere's face scrunched up in anger, shaking her head as the protocol droid as well paused with her. Though she continued.

'They had decided to leave us to our fate. I am no coward, but I do not have the manpower, or weaponry to take on this gang on my own. There are at least twenty, maybe even thirty that have turned out town hall into their own personal hangout. They promised to help us, bringing trade, medical supplies and farm equipment. All they've brought is what I believe to be drug synthesizing equipment. The smell coming from the Town Hall is disgusting. Even worse, I believe they are selling these drugs to our people.'

'We are not rich, but I will empty our towns coffers if you can help me rid the town of this malignant sore. I read in the paper, that you were a flame of the Jedi... THE Flame of the Jedi, and I beg you lend us that flame now.'

Her face softened, and she would glance about before offering one last sign, a loud BANG audible from a door that seemed to be in the room causing her to snap her head with a gasp. She pulled a blaster and walked out of view of the camera, the next thing visible was the protocol droid turning the camera to himself.

'Ah, goodbye was the last part. Good Day Madame Jedi'

The Recording switches off.


Current

She hid in the woods, heaving air as she tried to escape her pursuers. Every now and then, taking cover and firing a well-placed Blaster Bolt behind her. Hitting them, but only actually downing any if she could land multiple shots on the same target. They understood this and would switch the front man with each hit taken. It was safe to say things had devolved since she had sent that message. And now, the Pykes claimed she was a criminal, and had been embezzling money from the town. Their solution? She was to be executed in front of everyone.

She had other ideas. She knew she couldn't fight them all. No way she went down without fighting though. They were currently about a mile out of town, and she was running through the woods, trying to evade capture. Running in a very easy to track line, as she had no formal training in how to evade pursuers. She tried her best though and had killed two for sure. There was still six chasing her through the bush though, trying to hit her with stun rounds. One or two however were definitely firing blasters. Worst of all... She was getting tired.

She was terrified, but fighting still. Maybe a minute or two more of this, and she was going to just be another victim.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Noble Apartment
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Guinevere Noble

Sitting on the couch in her apartment, Valery inserted the strange chip she had received into the holo-projector. It was the first time she had ever gotten something like this delivered to her home, and the fact it had the word 'urgent' written on it made her wonder what it could be about, and who it was from. The sender wasn't obvious just from the package, which likely meant that its content was somewhat private.

When the projector turned on and the message began to play, though, Valery was completely stunned and watched with widened eyes. Not only was this woman a Keshian, but she was supposedly related as well? And for the first time in her life, a call for help came from her homeworld. She had left behind Keshi as an infant to join the Jedi, and never once looked back — she had no attachment to the planet or its people, really. But a legitimate call for assistance wasn't something a Jedi could ignore, so she quickly began to gather all her gear together.

She then kissed her husband and daughter goodbye, fired up the engines of her starfighter, and began the path towards Keshi. During the trip, the woman's words kept bouncing around in her mind — from the fact she was family, to the problem with the Pykes and even the new nickname she used. Valery had wondered why they had reached out to her specifically but it made sense now; she must have seen the article about her interview.

This trip was going to be a strange experience.

A few hours later...

Deep within the Keshian woods, Guinevere could hear the Pykes moving up behind, the sounds of their weapons firing echoing through the otherwise undisturbed environment. Bolts struck the trees around her, causing their bark to explode violently while some smaller trees were quite literally cut in half.

But as if the Force was with her, she was still going without getting hit.

Eventually, as exhaustion began to kick in, it seemed the Pykes were finally catching up though — their blaster fire was growing more intense, and their shots were striking the ground around her more accurately with each minute that passed. But this chaotic situation would suddenly be interrupted by a loud scream from one of the Pykes, and all their blaster fire towards Guinevere ceased abruptly.

If the woman were to turn around, she'd still see their bolts flying between the trees, but they were aiming at something else, and a violet glow was approaching them quickly. For about a minute, their weapons fire continued but gradually, it began to fade out until the entire forest was left in silence, and the Pykes were down on the ground with a woman standing between their bodies.

 

[Guinevere Noble]

Her legs were beginning to get weary, but somehow, she managed to maintain her pace a little longer. Eventually tripping over a vine and grimacing from the pain. Guinevere looked around, then crawled behind a downed tree stump. The blaster bolts were still firing, but they were missing. by a great deal. Perhaps she had gained some distance. Though... No, that wasn't it. They weren't shooting at her anymore. She peeked over the branch, staring back in the direction. Shouts of panic had broken out through the ranks; and she could've help but wonder if they had run into some of the more ferocious wildlife. Good, if they had.

What was that purple light? She was heaving still, dirt and mud matted into her hair created periodically painful tugs; though she didn't have time to focus on that. As she knelt, whatever was going on seemed to die down, and she would unholster her blaster, a regular old NN-14 Blaster Pistol. Not the very best, but certainly wasn't anything to scoff at. She steeled herself and started backtracking. If she was lucky, she might catch them unawares, and perhaps be able to fell one or two more. She wasn't giving up on Kana Town yet.

When she finally breached the tree line, what she saw made her gasp slightly. It was her, oddly enough, she approached the woman from behind ironically recreating the very pose she had first seen her in. Around her, the littered bodies of her pursuers. She took it the message had arrived then. Unfortunately, she no longer had the means to pay the woman, but wasn't sure if she should've told Valery immediately. Beyond that, she watched the woman with curiosity as her feet cautiously inched forward to the woman. Still holding the blaster shakily and determined to approach and make contact.

After a few more steps, she would offer Valery all she could without the ability to vocalize, a wave and a few curious blinks.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Noble Apartment
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Guinevere Noble

Valery drew in a deep breath as she looked down at the bodies of the Pykes — she had tried to get them to surrender, but their continued aggressiveness had demanded a quick response, and the consequences were that they would no longer be able to impose their wills on innocents again. Still, though, she disliked having to kill quite heavily and took a moment to fully calm herself.

When she finished, a tap of the ignition switch deactivated the two violet blades of her weapon, and that's when she also picked up on the woman approaching her from behind. Glancing over her shoulder, she stared straight into the Keshian's eyes and even though they differed in color, there was something about Guinevere that Valery recognized herself in.

Were they really related? Or was it just a coincidence? While she tried answering that question for herself, deep down the Force had already done that for her. She could feel that their meeting here was no coincidence.

"I take it you're Guinevere Noble?" Valery asked while her hand moved to clip the weapon back to her belt. "I came in response to your message."

"I'm here to help," she offered a smile and allowed the woman to adjust to her presence. She seemed a bit nervous, perhaps scared from what had happened? Either way, Valery tried to make herself seem a bit more approachable through her smile and open body language.

 

[Guinevere Noble]

What was she doing exactly? Guinevere couldn't figure it out. She had taken out all of these goons in less than a minute, but now she was meditating. Had it tired her? Or were Jedi just not intent on felling the ones they fought?

Her eyes went down to that double-sided lightsaber the other held, having never seen a weapon like it in her life. She had seen vibroblades, but this weapon was different. and emitted a sound that was equally peaceful but threatening. Steady ticks of energy ran through it, and the more she calmed from her previous ordeal, the more she couldn't help but focus her intent on the weapon, she felt it almost. While that didn't make sense, it didn't change the facts. The weapon felt alive, even at this distance.

"I take it you're Guinevere Noble?" Valery asked while her hand moved to clip the weapon back to her belt. "I came in response to your message."

She walked forward more, finding a bit more backbone in her steps, and would move to within a few feet of Valery. Nodding twice to her, then holstering her blaster.

Her hands rose, a quick series of movements given as if to communicate something to the other.
Thank You, please we need to get back. They've taken the Marshalls office over

She ended and crunched through the foliage past Valery, jogging back in the direction she came. She as well was excited over the prospect of them being related, but she had a duty in Kana Town, and she couldn't let her personal feelings cloud that. She was sure the woman would have more questions for her after this was all over, so onwards she went. Her confidence at historic levels knowing she had a true warrior at her back.

No, a Battle Master. The Pykes were in for it now...

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: Noble Apartment
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Guinevere Noble

Looking at the woman, she couldn't help but notice the way she looked at the double-bladed lightsaber. While it could have been a genuine interest in the type of weapon, Valery felt Guinevere's connection to the Force, and her crystal had a very particular feeling as well. Perhaps she could sense the crystal and its bond to Valery?

That was something to address later though because the Keshian signaled something that hinted at more trouble back at the town Valery had spotted from the sky on approach. If there were more Pykes out there going after people, that had to be her priority. There would always be time to learn more about Guinevere later.

"Show me the way back, but let's approach from a good angle. Not the way they're expecting their own men to return from," Valery added as she followed Guinevere in her jog, the hilt of her weapon still firmly grasped in her hand.

"And when the shooting starts, let me draw their attention first, okay? I'm sure you can handle yourself but it's better if their fire is concentrated on me." She'd be able to deflect it, after all, and provide Guinevere with opportunities to shoot back without having to worry too much.

"Also, any idea how many of them we're running into?"