We Didn't Start The Fire

[Sol Damerin]

Planet: Dantooine
Location: A farming village out in the boonies

It was a bright sunny day on Dantooine which was one of the more pleasant planets in the outer rim. The whole thing was pastoral and pleasant the kind of place you might want to retire to after a lifetime on a city planet like Nar Shaada or Coruscant. The air was clean, crisp and felt good in your lungs and there was a sense of peace when you were on the planet that was nice. Probably thanks to the Jedi Enclave that had been on it in the days of the Old Republic.

Sol had often theorized that, what you might call, the ambient Force of a planet took on characteristics dependant on what happened on it. Most, he thinks, would agree though some argued that The Force was just energy and couldn't take on such characteristics. However, The Force was more than just energy. It moved through every living thing in the galaxy and it connected everything. He suspected that it formed something like a mass subconscious for the universe at large. Shared impressions and beliefs creating truths from nothing so to speak.

These are the thoughts that occupy Sol's mind as he sits on top of a grain silo, legs crossed in the lotus position, and stares out at the rolling prairies. Between jobs, he often came out to places like this to sit and think, meditate, and relax. It felt good to be away from the often hectic lifestyle he had as a wandering mercenary. He'd stumbled upon this town just wandering about and one of the farmers had offered him a place to stay and a hot meal for some help. They were good people in this part of the galaxy.

Which is why his brow furrows when he sees a great plume of dust in the distance, something about it gave him a bad feeling. He narrows his eyes at it trying to discern what it before he realizes he will have to use Force sight. The Force flows through him and the distant objects get closer, closer, closer until. Well kark, that wasn't good now, was it? It looked like a group of raiders, not uncommon in the outer rim. Criminals who attacked small outpost towns like this to kill, rape, and steal.

Getting to his feet he presses the knuckles of his right fist against his jaw applying pressure until. *pop* *pop* *pop* All of the knuckles in his hand crack as does his neck. It was going to be an interesting and unpleasant afternoon it seemed. He drops down from the silo to go warn his farmer friend and to have them pass along the message to the rest of the small town. They were about to be attacked.


[member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

To say Sukai had traveled a bit in her day was an understatement, the young Jin having pretty much been to every planet at lest once in her life time, excluding a few new discoveries and the inhospitable ones that could not support life. She had seen many marvels and amazing sights, places many people would love to live, areas which the rich would spend millions on just to build their own private home, but despite all this nothing gave her the same feeling as home.

Even with Danttooine under Sith rule, and a lot of new, information tightening laws, life seemed to carry on unimpeded for those out in the country, though the same could not be said for the remainders of the Jedi Enclave. Sukai stood a top a ridge not far form one of the villages she grew up in as a kid, spying what remained of the Enclave through a pair of binoculars, the environment and time had treated it well, but the Sith had laid waste to it, no doubt removing any Jedi teachings and destroying them, in a addition to tainting the one light-side prominent structure.

With the previous invasion of Miral by the Silver Jedi, TSE forces had been more absent then usual from the spares world, allowing Sukai to slip in unnoticed, determined to see what she could salvage from the ruins, but as it turned out luck would be against her, the area still guarded heavily by TSE troopers, it seemed they were willing to take soldiers away from the urban and rural areas, but not this place. '...... such a waist, the least they could do is store it somewhere and keep it out of reach for their brain washed followers, but no, they have to destroy it all'.

Sukai let out a long sight before walking back to her speeder bike, it seemed as though this trip would futile, for now at lest, maybe stay a few day and see how things progress. Reeving up the engine her bike slowly started to head back to the village, the tall grain silos being a distinctive and easily recognizable land mark, 'might as well mingle with everyone while I am here, see what the latest new going around is'.

[member="Sol Damerin"] [member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Nima Tann]

Nima was on her way to Dantooine, a planet under the control of the Sith, following the recent distress signal coming from what it seemed to be outer areas of the planet. It was a risky move, that's for sure, but after the Silver Jedi attack on Mirial, and the fact that the signal was coming from an area that was far from the central control, she wouldn't have to deal with a formidable amount of Sith troops. Still, one wouldn't be too careful, so her shuttle was equipped for stealthy missions, and was fast enough if the situation got too risky.

"Land us a bit far from the coordinates." She instructed the pilot, and then turned to one of the crew members. "Prepare a speeder for me, I'll continue on land." Watching the crew member move, she sighed, rubbing her forehead. She was having occasional headaches these days, needless to say, they were annoying. "Master Tann? You okay?" She came to her senses after hearing the crew member's worried tone. So she put up a smile, and nodded. "Uh-huh, don't worry. Just a headache." She answered, trying to sound as convincing as possible. The crew member nodded and returned to what she was doing, after giving her another worried look.

Anyway, it seemed that she arrived to her destination, and no matter how she wanted to just enjoy the fresh air and the wonderful scenery, it was the time to move. Taking the speeder, she rode towards the coordinates of the distress signal. And what she saw in front of her once she arrived, rendered her speechless. She was late, buildings were on fire, the ground was painted with blood, and people, animals slaughtered. She immediately concentrated on the Force, search for any possible survivors, this wouldn't be the end, right? Luckily, it wasn't. She could feel presences nearby. So her search began, and minutes afterwards she found a hatch of some sorts, hidden by a heap of hay.

"I am here to help." She knocked on the hatch. "Whoever did this is gone." First, there was no voice. But then, the hatch clicked, as if it was unlocked. An old person, probably the owner of the farm, escaped the hatch first, and then followed the other survivors. "So, you a Sith? I didn't know your kind cared about us." He said with a strong accent, after he saw her lightsaber. "No, I'm not. I'm Nima, an ex-Jedi. We have caught your distress signal, so I'm here to help." She didn't tell the whole story, again, one wouldn't be too careful. "Well, girlie. You are a bit late for that. They've gone." The old man responded, he sounded too... normal about this. "Uhm.. I'm sorry I couldn't arrive sooner. Are any of you hurt? Do you need medical attention? I have a shuttle not far from here, we can evacuate you to a safer place." However, it didn't seem like the old man was interested in her offer.

"The hell we need help. This is our home, we didn't abandon it before and we won't abandon it now. If you want to help, go catch those who did this. There is a village south of here. Their next stop will be there." Nima didn't like his tone, but she could understand him, after all, they have just survived from an attack. She didn't know how he was so sure that their next target would be there, but a lead was better than none. "Thank you. But at least let me contact my crew to bring you some supplies. Food, medicine... whatever you need until you rebuild." After a couple of attempts for persuasion, the old man finally accepted this offer of hers. Nima sent a message to the crew back in the ship, and then she was on the roads once more, going towards this other village. Hopefully she wasn't too late for this one too.

[member="Sol Damerin"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

 

[Sol Damerin]

When dealing with a force that outnumbered you by any significant number you had a few options. The first and best in his opinion was guerilla tactics. Turn your weakness into a strength by launching small raids against your foes to sow discord and confusion before vanishing into the night. Maximize enemy casualties while limiting your own, lure them into traps, thin the heard until they broke or reinforcements arrived. However, that only worked if you were an attacking force, not a defending force. You had to be mobile and today he had to defend this town so guerrilla tactics were out.

Next option was to just run away. War was often a numbers game and while a good fighter might be able to take down more than one man by himself that didn't matter if there was ten to take their place. However, the framers had been unwilling to leave their homes and livestock behind. If they lost the town, if they lost their homes they were as good as dead anyway in their minds. They didn't really have time for an orderly retreat so he hadn't argued the point, even if it was stupid. As long as you were alive there was hope. Raiders could also do worse than kill them.

After that, there was using the terrain to your advantage. The ideal would be a bottleneck, force your enemies into a narrow killing box where their numbers meant nothing. They were in the middle of a flat open prairie. While some of the buildings could be used to this effect, this wasn't really a legitimate option since it also required well-trained troops. Ones that wouldn't break and would instantly fill a gap in the line when it appeared. So not a group of peaceful farmers.

The last option, for group tactics anyway, was the one he ordered the farmers to take. They were, as quickly as they could, spreading the word to gather in the town hall. It was the largest most easily fortified building in town. A few of the farmers had some rifles and were decent shots so they'd stay on the second floor and snipe. This was called fortifying for a siege, which he knew was doomed to fail. These raiders probably had some explosives and even if they didn't it wouldn't stop them from looting.

However, there was a slightly unorthodox option when it came to fighting off an invading force that normal people couldn't take. It was called The Force. It wasn't often that Sol was forced to go all out, damn he hated how cheesy that sounded even in his own head, but it was applicable considering his modus operandi. Most of the time he suppressed his presence in The Force with force stealth, avoided using it as much as he could, and kept his lightsabers hidden with their vibroblade disguise. More and more often lately though he'd been breaking from his disguise as a normal mercenary and using The Force candidly. However, even then he'd only drawn his sabers for combat against the Iron Knights on Kwenn Station. Today he'd bring his full strength in The Force to bear as well as his lightsabers.

Coming to outskirts of the village he stood on the main road. The raiders were almost upon them less than five minutes out now. He hoped he'd be enough to take them all out, but he didn't know if that is what The Force would will today. Drawing his vibroblades his flicks the hidden catch on the hilts and flicks his wrists. The blade detach flying to either side of him to land in the dirt, revealing the short handles of his shoto lightsabers underneath. Then he closes his eyes and breathes.

Inhale, exhale.

As it always did The Force began to gather around him like a storm. The dark side swirled about him whipping out and lashing excitedly at the impending violence. He stands in the middle of the conflux of power inside a pocket of light side energy, inside the eye of the storm. He finds his centre, he embraces all that he is, he creates his own harmony.

Inhale, exhale.

The twin blade ignites one blinding white the other ominous crimson. The lead raiders were on a speeders, one had seen the single figure standing in front of the village and had planned on running Sol down. The raider didn't have time to react when those blades appeared.

Inhale, exhale.

Pale blue eyes snap open as Sol sidesteps with unnatural grace and brings his sabers down on the swoop that just missed him. They slice cleanly through and the speeder crashes into the ground the rider goes flying to crash into the side of a building at the speeder skitters across the ground. Sol has already moved, jumping to the next approaching speeder and landing on it nimbly kicking the rider off. The battle had begun, two down... five or six dozen to go.

[member="Sky'ito Yumi"] | [member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Slowly the village came into proper view, but something was off, she could feel panic and fear throughout the small civilized area, was the place under attack? Had they started one of their raids to find those that opposed their rule, or hunting potential force users to add into the dark ranks. Regardless of what events were transpiring she had to get there quickly, even if nothing could be done, she was not going to let anyone get away with damaging her home without a serious fight. Her hands twisted around on the handles of the speeder, the engines roaring louder as the craft accelerated closer to the village.

Upon coming closer she heard fighting in the distant, unsure of what was happening, but it did not seem like the Sith was attacking, no blaster fire or ship, no instead there was the sound of crashing, and other speeder bikes... "raiders". With the Sith in power and only caring about things that would affect their rule raiders and pirates had become more prevalent on their more inner and less defended worlds, Danttooine being one of those many worlds.

Dismounting she ran over to the local cantina, opening the door to find women and children hiding away from the outside, one of them brandishing an old rifle in her face, a little stunned up otherwise happy to see Sukai. "Emma what’s going on, is the village under attack"? The woman named Emma lowered the gun, glancing out the door for a moment before replying, "We received word form a neighboring village on a raider band moving here, we gathered up what arms we had to fight, but it seems from the sound of things that mercenary looking fellow it at work, though I am glad you’re here, though he defiantly looked skill, against a group that large, I'm not sure he'll last".

Sukai gave Emma a nod before unclipping her sabre staff, "what direction is the fighting in"? "Over that side of town, though if the raiders are smart they may try to surround us, but that would be the safest place to start", "Thanks I'll be off now, just make sure to give me a message if you’re in danger", "Sure thing, just don't get yourself kill Sky". The two departed from one another as Sukai ran out the door again, using the force to speed up her sprint before leaping over some buildings and out of sight, 'it will take more than an army of raiders to kill me'.

Jumping over one last structure she came face to face with the somewhat one-sided battle outside, there was a lone man standing in the open field, brandishing what appeared to be a double-bladed light sabre with a white and red blade, but that's not had surprised her, what did was the identity of the man, '.... is that Sol, why is he here, on a Sith world no less'? She could that there were a few crashed speeders near the entrance of the village, no doubt some of the stupid raiders had tried to run down that force users, only to be cleaved in half.

Despite this no matter how skilled someone was with a sabre, if the attackers were smart enough to fire at him form every direction even someone like Sol would perish with ease, though such a situation provided the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack. With the raider distracted Sukai launched from atop of her perch, her purple bladed sabre staff springing to life as she sailed through the air, landing to the left of the group, sending a powerful force push into the mass of speeders.

Sukai stood up, admiring her handy work before entering a defensive stance, and calm but sly smirk appearing across her face, “Hello there”.

[member="Sol Damerin"] l @Sky'ito Yumi

 

[Nima Tann]

She picked up speed, trying to reach to the village as soon as possible. If the bandits took this route as the elder suggested, she would catch them from behind and have the chance to attack first, hopefully catch them before it was too late. She activated her commlink to contact Leyla, the crew member who she instructed to bring some supplies to the farm.

"Hey Leyla. Is everything alright there?" She asked, and the response came immediately, which was a relief.

"Affirmative, Master Tann, we have brought the supplies, and had no contact with the enemy. Grandpa was a bit noisy though... ahem... Returning to the shuttle now." There was some static, but it sounded legit. So many years in battlefield made one paranoid.

"Good job. Be careful out there, we are still in Sith territory."

"Likewise." With that, Nima deactivated her commlink, and concentrated on the road. She was coming closer, that was for sure, as she could see the smoke from afar. It... didn't look good. She was going as fast as she could, perhaps it was still not too late. "Not again..." She thought, one fail was bad enough.

However, as the distance between her and the smoke decreased and decreased and she could see the entrance to the village, she realised the smoke wasn't coming from the buildings but from the speeders nearby. So, the elder was right. They didn't want to be evacuated, but hopefully, the supplies would help them rebuild.

Now, back to the battlefield, the sight meant she could still surprise the enemy, and from the looks of it, there were people fighting against them. And her suspicions proved to be true once the enemies were in sight, and were busy fighting the two people, who seemed to be Force users. Nima prepared for her attack, and drove her speeder right towards the group of bandits full speed. Once she was close enough, she activated her lightsaber and started to jump from one speeder to another towards her allies, or at least people who weren't aiming at her, neutralising the enemies on her way quickly with precise attacks. Her speeder crashed to a speeder on the front, and the ones behind were affected by the explosion as well.

She finally landed nearby the two after taking out a good amount, and took a defensive stance.

"Are the villagers safe?" She asked, deflecting the blaster bolts coming her way.

[member="Sky'ito Yumi"] [member="Sol Damerin"]

 

[Sol Damerin]

The first wave of speeder mounted raiders is soon dealt with, far faster than Sol had expected. Of course, that wasn't surprising since two more Force users joined the fray. The mercenary wasn't sure if he was happy about that or annoyed. He wouldn't have started waving his sabers around if he knew more Force user would show up. He sword by The Force if either of them tried to recruit him to one of their stupid blood factions he'd... Be very annoyed when he told them where to stick it.

He recognizes the first from Askaj. Sky, the less annoying but also kind of annoying of the two Yumi siblings. The one that went blabbing to her friends and family about him. He'd have words with her about going around telling everyone she knew about grumpy old men who wanted to be left alone. The second was a Twi'lek woman he didn't know but who adopted a similar tactic as he had to deal with the speeders. It was a bit more effective than Sky's force push since the bikes could correct for that like they did for wind. However, as stated earlier the first wave was dealt with and they had a few moments of breathing room before the transports were in range. Thankfully they hadn't revved up their turrets just yet but it was only a matter of time.

"I have the villagers fortifying the town hall. But if we don't deal the heavy turrets on those transports they are as good as dead." He responds to Nima as he eyes the four large transports he can see screaming towards them. Pleasantries could wait for after the battle. Especially since the transports get into range and open up with their turrets sending plums of dirt into the air as the rapid-fire blaster turrets open up around them. They were off target but that wouldn't last forever.

Gunning his stolen speeder he takes off toward them weaving through the hellfire of shots letting The Force guide him. He wasn't the best piolet but he was really good at letting The Force tell him how to move and these guys weren't exactly firing with military discipline. He manages to get in close to one of The Transports and right before it can fire on him from point-blank range he leaps onto the side. His speeder careens into the ship exploding in a ball of fire as he runs up the side and slices the top of the turret off with a quick stroke of his saber. A moment later he vanishes inside of an access hatch and gets to work.

[member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

It had been a while since she had seen Sol, but something about the man seemed different, like he held some sort of resentment to her, wearing a similar expression to her father or mother when they were about to lecture her for misbehaving. ‘Oh kuso, what have I done this time’? whatever problem the two had with each other would have to wait, as a new force user entered the fray. Bounding from bike to bike, slicing each one as they went, causing the tightly bunched speeders to collide with one another, causing quite the fire ball. Why did Twi’leks always look to majestic, even when causing such destruction.

Upon landing the woman inquired about the well being of the villager, “The rest, those who cannot fight are taking refuge in the local bar, though I am not sure how long any building would last against those things”. Against such a target rushing in blindly would not really work, a plan of attack would be needed, any wrong move could mean that on of said transport could get through, though it seemed Sol had other plans taking on of the abandoned speeders and rushing head long into the mass of oncoming raiders. “For the love of… force guide me” following the old man’s example Sukai raced forward, deflecting a blaster bolt into the chest of and oncoming raider, backflipping onto their speeder, turning it around and racing for the nearest transport.

With the force enhancing her reaction time, providing a path that only she could see, the young Jin practically carved a path of death through the raiders, her purpled bladed sabre staff cutting through anyone stupid enough to get close to her. Often enough deflecting shot back into the attacker, making their bike to spin out of control, reeking more havoc among the already chaotic group of bandits.

Coming closer to her own targeted transport she leaned to off to the side, letting the speeder bike fly past into more enemies while leaping off and onto the tank like craft, striking her sabre into its steel hull for stability. Her memory flashing back to the last interaction with her mother, the story she told about her first major engagement under the new CIS government, how the battle droids had turned on their own personal, her unit coming under attack by overwhelming forces. During that fire fight Kurenai had taken it upon herself to attack an enemy tank, taking control of it and turning it on the enemy droids, a tactic that could prove useful here too.

Cutting a hole though the main hatch Sukai dropped in, greeted by several blasters pointed at her chest, "I'll give you an option, surrender, or die".

[member="Sol Damerin"] l [member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Nima Tann]

Nima nodded as the both explained the villagers were safe, taking the warnings into consideration. First impressions, they didn't sound like Sith, or a threat to her. However, the introductions had to wait. The bikers were taken care of, and they had a few seconds to get ready for the next wave, which Nima was sure was coming pretty soon, as she could hear a loud voice, getting louder and louder each second. And not so long after that, 4 transports appeared at the entrance, each carried turrets that would be problematic for both the group and the villagers. 3 were smaller and a lot faster than the other. One wondered how some bandits got their hands on this kind of tech, but they were going to find out soon enough. Nima watched her two allies immediately run towards the transports. Brute force was a good tactic, however there was always a possibility of it backfiring, so Nima had something else in mind. She ran towards a cover to keep her safe from the wild blaster bolts, and taking deep breaths, concentrated on the Force.

One advantage of being a mentalist was, it worked very well on people who didn't know how to shield their minds. And considering that they didn't face a Force user yet, it was worth a try. The faster transport being an immediate threat, she focused on the people inside it, and created a link between her mind and theirs. The link was weakened by the count of people it affected, so it had to be fixed. First, they could feel a sharp headache and confusion as Nima sent them mental blasts that would feel like a thousand tiny needles stabbing their brain. It was the first step of checking their defences, and reinforcing her link. After making sure, she planted the feeling of paranoia inside their minds.

"It starts as a few suspicious looks.

Then, the line between the allies and enemies gets blurry slowly, as the paranoia grows.

Fear replaces the feeling of paranoia.

And chaos ensues."

Soon, the bandits turned on each other, and started slaughtering each other mindlessly. Fear for their life was enhanced with the feeling of rage, which didn't help them realise that their minds were altered. One by one their numbers decreased, and it ended by the transport crashing into a building with quite a speed. Silence took over after that. One would say, Nima didn't expect such outcome. She thought it would create some distraction for her to get in and take care of the bandits. That proved the bandits already had some issues about each other, there was no trust and loyalty between them, as if they were forced to work together. Hmm...

[member="Sol Damerin"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

 

[Sol Damerin]

The transport Sol vanished inside of continues forward for a few moments. Then suddenly it comes to a slow, halt. A second latter that massive turret up top opens up fire chewing into the other transports which only aided Nima's mental attack. The massive turret chewing into men who were already suspicious of their fellows encouraging them to turn and attack. When the turret clicks empty he hops onto the roof and surveys the scene. Three of the four transports are dealt with, any straggling speeders are turning tail and fleeing back to whence they came.

It was honestly a better result than he could have hoped for. The other two Force Wielders had effectively stopped the transports he couldn't reach. By himself, they would have definitely made it to town, dropped troops, and started wreaking havoc. So as mildly annoyed as he was that another person knew he could use The Force, even though it was rapidly becoming an open secret, he was pleased for the help. It appears as if no one was going to die today. At least, as long as the kid in last transport handled her pirates without an issue....

A shadow suddenly darkens the sky and looking up Sol see's a ship. A big ship, nearly five hundred meters long and loaded to the absolute brim with guns. The kind of ship that transports like the one he as standing on could have dropped out of. It flies overhead and then ascends into the sky heading back to orbit. That could be very, very bad. Sprinting back towards the village he looks for the other two. If that ship decided to do an orbital bombardment they were in a lot of trouble. Just who the hell were these guys and what were they up to? What was a group of raiders doing with tech like this?

[member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

The raiders on the inside of the transport gave her a deadly look before opening fire, only to have the bolts deflected back into their faces, their bodies dropping to the floor, scorch marks in their heads, "I warned them... now, let’s see how this gun works". Taking reign of the vehicle Sukai targeted the last remaining transport, after seeing the one Sol was in decimate the speeders, while another went haywire from the looks of things, pouring fire onto its repulse disks, causing the craft to explode on one side, sending it flipping end over end, squashing what remind of the speeder bikes, effectively wiping out the first wave, save for a few strangers and wounded.

Sukai drive the transport around to the side, opening the hatch, eyeing the devastation that had be brought against those that would harm others, but the question remained, why attack this simple village, the amount of raiders present was that of a small army, and maybe even more if this was just the first attack. Why not hit one of the major farming complexes, or attack a Sith outpost and steal some high-grade weaponry, something didn't add up, which got her even more interested in why Sol was here.

Jumping off the transport Sukai walked towards the other two, patting down smouldering patches on her clothes where stray bolts had hit or grazed, "well that was... something. hope no one in the village was-". Her sentence was cut off by a looming shadow engulfed the area, were the Sith here, no wait, looking up the design of the ship didn't look Sith, was that where the pirates came from? and how did they get a capital ship, and why attack a village... "oh no... Emma". Such a ship no doubt had enough fire power to level had a city, so much so that they could destroy a small village with ease.

[member="Sol Damerin"] l [member="Nima Tann"]

With new found purpose and fear Sukai climbed back into the raider transport driving it back towards the cantina where at least half the village was sheltered, they needed to get out of here and now, it was a good thing she had kept this thing alive, they would need all the help they could get if everyone was to get to safety. "Now one that I know is going to die today if I have anything to say about it".

 

[Nima Tann]

The transports were dealt with with the collective efforts of 3 Force Users, and there was yet another small silence for them to breathe. Nima opened her eyes, out of breath and her nose bleeding. As much as mentalism was useful, it also hurt the user if the scale was big. Cleaning her nose as she regained her balance, she looked at the battlefield. The buildings at the front were a bit damaged, burning transports a bit in the back, and corpses and damaged speeders filled the entrance. She would call for assistance to get things back in liveable state when they secured the safety of the villagers. She listened to the young girl talking, before she was interrupted by the sharp voice and the looming shadow of a ship flying right above their head, and then it disappeared just as fast as its appearance. It... didn't look good.

Why bother sending so much firepower to a small village, she wondered. And how did a bunch of raiders manage to get so much tech? Who was behind all this? But there was something else in her mind that supressed all others, and that was to ensure that the villagers were safe before the ship did something. So, like her allies, she rushed towards the hall.

"We need to secure the villagers." She told the other two. "As quickly as possible."

Once they arrived to the hall, they met a woman who was aiming her rifle at the entrance door, ready to pull the trigger, but when she saw the young girl, her hands trembled and she put the rifle down.

"Sky? Is it done? Are we safe?" The woman spoke.

"I'm afraid you aren't just yet." Nima replied, keeping her calm. She was met with the curious looks of the villagers. "We'll need to evacuate you to a safer place."

At this point, their best bet would be to find a bunker for the villagers, as bringing them out while there was a possibility of bombing would be a bad idea.

[member="Sol Damerin"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

 

[Sol Damerin]

The Twi'lek woman was on the ball and doing things the smart way. For now, they were allies and it was best for them to focus on the people rather than pleasantries. Hurrying along with her into town he added his voice to her's. Considering he was the one that had warned them of the attack that was coming the people in the town hall decided to listen to his advice. He was about to rush out and grab one of the transports when Sky showed up in the town square riding one. "Good thinking." He says to the girl as he gets to work dragging out the raider bodies inside.

The single transport wasn't large enough for everyone so after a moment he directed the men to handle the rest. He rushes out and grabs another. Two might fit the whole village though it'd be cramped. By the time he is back the first one is loaded with the women and children, ready to go. Meanwhile, the men get to work emptying the second transport. Things were going well and he was beginning to think that the capital ship had just left when he had a sudden premonition.

Sol's gaze snaps to the sky at the same time he reaches out with The Force raising both hands. Above a concussion bomb that had been streaking down towards the town from the heavens stops about a hundred feet above the ground. There is an immediate look of intense and focus concentration on Sol's face as he struggles to hold the bomb at bay. It wasn't a large one but more than enough to level the town if it hit the ground. Even if he redirected it, it would still take out a large chunk of the surrounding countryside. "KEEP MOVING!" Sol demands as people start to look up in shock and horror, his bellow galvanizing them into action.

[member="Sky'ito Yumi"] | [member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Getting out of the transport she gave a nod to Sol, it seemed whatever grudge the man had against her was gone for the moment, imminent destruction seemed to make people put aside their differences relatively easily. "It’s a start, but we can get women children and elders into this and get them to safety first", she remarked to Sol jumping to the ground and back peddling to the cantina as the man started disposing of the raiders bodies.

Entering the establishment, she says everyone still huddled together, though welcoming faces at her arrival, the Twi'lek force users already starting to get people ready for departure, no doubt informing them of the present danger. "Sky what happening, why do we have to leave", okay looks like she hadn't yet, but there was no time to waste, "I cannot explain right away, but those raiders have some big guns, we need everyone into the transports out front to leave now, elderly, women and children first, those with riding experience can salvage speeder bikes from the battle and run with those". Several of the people had shocked looks on their face, afraid and confused why such a group of people would target them and why the Sith, for all their boasting about peace and security had not done anything about it.

"Come one this way", sky lead the villagers to the transport, older people being carried by younger people, the transports soon being filled and ready to go, while men and other raced to their speeder or other transports lying around, but it wasn't enough. Soon though another transport came around the corner, piloted by Sol, it appeared to be a little damaged, but it was better than nothing, but with both craft others lying around, soon everyone was up and ready leave, perhaps everyone would be able to get away unscathed.
Until the screeching sound echoed through the air, a sharp pang in the force of ever approaching danger, the pirates where not blasting the surface away with tubro lasers, they were using some type of bomb. Such ordinance would wipe away almost everything for miles around, Sukai was stunned, utterly perplexed on why this was happening, Sols words being the only thing to bring her back to the present, “Everyone load up and move out, try and make it to a ridge or shelter as soon as possible”!

People scrambled, quickly mounting on their transports, a new sense of panic spreading through them. With everyone now busy Sukai turned her attention back to the one person capable of preventing the bomb from falling. “Sol, how long can you hold that bomb, if you can buy enough time I can swing back and pick you up on my speeder and outrun the blast”?

[member="Sol Damerin"] l [member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Nima Tann]

Fortunately, there was less panic than expected, since the villagers knew the other two, they were quick to get organised. The young girl, whose name was Sky, as she heard from the lady with the rifle, brought one of the transports. Her other ally and a bunch of villagers found another, which was quite damaged but still operating. Helping people to get into the transports alongside Sky, Nima sighed in relief, however couldn't save herself from thinking that something was going to go wrong, considering the ship in the sky earlier. They just had to be quick.

The first transport was full of villagers already, the remaining villagers started filling the other one. However, it wasn't going to be that easy it seemed as suddenly, she felt a sharp headache, like the ones she got whenever danger was coming her way, and heard loud, disturbing voice coming from the sky, confirming that thought. Once she turned to her allies to check if they were okay, she noticed the bomb in the air, held by the man who she soon learned the name of. Everyone was ready to depart after his shout, speeding up the process. She turned to Sky once she checked the area once more to make sure everyone was in, and then started talking.

"Get the villagers out of here. I have a shuttle nearby. Follow the north road, it's just at the outskirts of a destroyed farm. Tell the crew to contact me as soon as you arrived. "

Then she activated her holocomm. "I'm sending two transports your way. They are friendly, don't open fire." The response arrived almost immediately. "Understood."

"I have a plan, but you'll need to keep the bomb in the air until the villagers are at a safe distance." She then told Sol, and concentrated on the Force to create a bubble around the bomb. This way, they wouldn't need to deal with a blast. It was going to be one hell of a blast to contain though, so that's why she wanted to be sure. Closing her eyes, she focused on the bubble to reinforce it with her energy.

Breathe in, breathe out...

[member="Sol Damerin"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

 

[Sol Damerin]

Holding the bomb in and of itself wasn't hard. A lot of the initial strain had come from stopping its downward momentum, without detonating it. Now holding it was mostly a strain due to distance and the required finesse to keep it suspended at distance without applying any pressure to the trigger. The actual expenditure of energy wasn't much but the focus to maintain the balance was taking a lot of focus.

Fortunately, he could focus on that while Sky and Nima worked towards getting the rest of the villager loaded up. Once that was done both of them were talking to him. Sky wanted to know how long he could keep it up and Nima, well a Force bubble was an interesting work around. However, he wasn't sure that she was strong enough to absorb the entire brunt of the blast. There was also another problem.

"They are going to notice the lack of a boom soon."

Sol points out that eventually, the raiders were going to launch another bomb. Or two. "Do you think that you can get that Force bubble around us?" He asks Nima his own plan forming. "Could use the first bomb to take out the second when it drops. Use The Force bubble to survive then get out of here." That was the best plan he could come up with considering the circumstances. But hell he was game to another suggestion.

[member="Sky'ito Yumi"] | [member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Turning away from Sol Sukai headed back to the transports but was stopped by the Twi'lek woman, the force user giving her instruction in evacuating the villagers, giving her the necessary direction, "destroyed farm north, got it". Sukai nodded to [member="Nima Tann"], though slightly hesitant she knew the planes like the back of her hand, and probably had the best chance o get these people to safety, there was not a lot she could do about such a threat anyways, skills still lacking compared to the two most likely masters. "I'll make sure everyone gets out alive, just don't go getting yourself killed".

Turning back she leapt onto the transports with its turret missing, thanks to Sol, allowing her voice to he heard among all the villagers. "Alright everyone, where heading out, keep it going as fast as possible but try and keep it at a comfortable pase, one wrong move and we may crash". With a round of yes's and right's the speeders and villagers where off, the slightly damaged but functioning speeders engine winning away as the left the village and the few possessions they had behind, but the question still poked in her mind, what where the raiders after.

She shook her head, that would have to wait, all that mattered now was getting the people out of the blast radius and to this transport the Twi'lek had waiting for them, "Keep heading up this road until we get to the destroyed farm, there is a ship waiting to pick us up, be ready to unload and bored it, I do not know if it is able to hold these craft, so its best to be prepared".

[member="Sol Damerin"] l [member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Nima Tann]

The villagers and the young girl left the village and Nima could no longer sense their presence nearby. However, in order to go through phase two, she waited for her crew's confirmation, just to be sure if things went wrong. After all, she used quite a lot of energy in her mental assault against the bandits, she was sure about one thing though, this was going to hurt nonetheless. Taking a deep breath, she continued feeding the bubble energy.

However, her concentration broke once she heard a voice, no, it wasn't the one she was waiting for, but from the man nearby who was holding the bomb. "Hmm?" She opened her eyes, looking at him. Listening to his words, she came to a realisation that things wouldn't be so easy as she thought.

Another bomb. Of course, there would be another bomb. Still had some questions of why the bandits were so fixated on destroying the village, she let the current Force bubble vanish. He had an idea, and even though it involved taking out a bomb with another, they had no time to discuss, so Nima nodded, moving towards him.

"I can do that. Keep close and don't miss the bomb." She said, and then extended her arm. They had one chance, and it had to be perfect. The barrier started forming around them, as it slowly ascended and took a bubbly shape. It was a bit easier to keep the explosion out than in, so it wouldn't require as much energy.

Meanwhile, two ship crew members were waiting at the broken gates of the destroyed farm for the transports, to prevent them from finding the wrong ship. They were fully armored, rifle at their hand in case any surprises showed up. Even though they looked like trouble, one could notice the logo on their armor was the same as the Twi'lek's.

[member="Sol Damerin"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

 

[Sol Damerin]

This was going to hurt. Sol takes a deep breath and watches the sky as the transports speed away. They were moving fast and they would likely be able to stay just ahead of the explosion. An explosion that was about to happen. "Miss?" He asks Nima as he sees the second bomb steaking down. He waits until the second bomb is within the blast radius of the first and then... BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Applying pressure to the trigger he denotes the first bomb midair. The concussive blast speeding out and impacting the second bomb that was still almost a hundred meters above it. This was good. What was bad was when that concussive wave of energy came rocketing down towards the town. Sol, deciding living was better than being accused of impropriety gets as close to Nima as he can pressing his body against her's to minimize the size of the bubble she has to make and therefore the energy. More or less just hugging the Twi'lek woman.

The wave crashes into the two and the town. The tallest buildings are destroyed, the smaller ones suffer serious damage, and her Force bubble stands up to the pressure though they are dug into the earth slightly. Then just as quickly as it began it is over. Sol groans and releases Nima his teeth hurt. "I think we should go." He says staggering slightly as he looks around realizing they would have to walk or run. Kark. Well, given the town was now leveled it was unlikely they would launch another bomb.

[member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Sukai stood atop of the leading transport as they sped away from the doomed village, silence coming from all those presents, only the drones of the craft engines sounding around. There was no need for words, everyone knew what was going to happen, to their homes, their livelihood, everything but themselves would most likely be destroyed, whatever promises of protection and safety under the so called peaceful Sith rule had vanished long ago.

Sukai could only hope that they reached out of the blast zone quick enough she knew the bombs would have to detonator sooner or later, though she was opting for 'later', though said explosion came much too early for her liking as the large blast roared in the distance, engulfing everything it touched, rocketing towards them at a frightening speed, "Such speed, and power... that was not one blast... EVERYONE BRAES YOURSELVES". She had not used it much, but she had recently learned how to form force barriers during her time among the SJO, now would be, no had to be her first major use.

'Remember what Jaridan taught you, willpower, not energy’ Sukai concentrated hard on creating the barrier to surround the group of transports, focusing on those present, people she had known most her life, friend, almost family, she would not fail them, she could not fail them. The barrier formed around them just as the dying shock wave hit, washing over the field, though not as strong the size of the barrier pushes an immense strain on Sukai mind and body before finally passing, the young woman, dropping to her knees, panting heavily.

She slowly looked around, it seemed that all the transports survived without a scratch, "Ha. ha, I did it", "He sky, look, the farm, and there's a ship as well". Turning her eyes forward she caught sight of the craft, armed men patrolling around, the fact they had yet to fire on them confirming that they wear friendly, "Great, once we get on bored we will have to double back for Sol and the Twi'lek, hopefully they survived". Though she could not feel their force signature from here, Sukai was confident both were able to protect themselves from such a blast.

[member="Sol Damerin"] l [member="Nima Tann"]