Dantooine Raiders

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Dantooine, a neutral planet completely unaffected by the war between the Galactic Alliance and the Sith Empire. Despite being completely unremarkable, it had a charm to it.

Kyi didn't mind being here though, it reminded him of his parents' farm back on Lothal, back when life was more simple and also...it was a nice change of pace from spending most of his time with the Jedi, meditating and speaking monotonously could only go so far.

The Jedi had received a distress call from the farmers, problems with bandits, the usual. Kyi was sent here with another Padawan, Kye Gruukran, the two didn't get along too well but they were forced to accompany each other on this mission by the Jedi Council. Kyi suspected this was a ploy to get the two to spend time together, he dare not question the orders of the High Council though...even though he didn't like this idea.

@jamessour

 

[Kye Gruukran]

The shuttle ride to Dantooine was uneventful, and Kye and the other padawan didn't talk much - that didn't bother Kye. This was a mission from the masters and thus, it was a chance to prove himself. Why they sent him with another padawan, especially this particular padawan escaped Kye. He didn't like him, the way he smelled, or the way he carried himself. Whatever Kye thought. He could carry this mission out in his sleep, and perhaps the Council had sent Kyi along as a handicap - an additional challenge to overcome.

As they stepped out of the spaceport Kye turned to Kyi, "It's not a far journey out to the farm, however, I think hiring a shpeeder may give ush better time." Without waiting for much of a response, the Bothan walked to a local speeder-rental and began negotiations with the local behind the desk.

Kye was not wearing his jedi robes, but more typical clothing. He wore a blaster on his belt, and his saber was hidden in the backpack on his back. While Dantooine was neutral, he didn't want to attract any unwanted entanglements.

In a couple of moments, the speeder was secured in their possession. Kye looked to Kyi with a raised eyebrow, "How are you with driving?"

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

"Driving? I used to drive my Dad's speeder back on the farm all the time." Kyi paused. Kyi felt the Bothan's resentment of him through the Force, it was annoying, Kyi recited the Jedi Code to himself to keep his emotions in check, "So yeah, my driving's good."

The two Padawans approached the speeder, Kyi sat in the driver's seat and switched on the speeder's engine. It let out a small hum, this was a newer, sleeker model, not like the ones back at home, this was somewhat exciting as Kyi had never driven a landspeeder this up-to-date before. Kyi proceeded to place his hands on the throttles and motion them forward to accelerate, the two were off.

The scenery was beautiful, calming, especially with the added effect of the wind blowing through his face and hair. Kyi hadn't felt this much joy since his days back home, why did he keep thinking of home? Maybe it was nostalgia, with the intense Jedi training and the war currently going on, it was easier to feel sentiment toward the easier days. Kyi trailed his gaze toward Kye, the silence was a bit too uncomfortable, he noticed Kye's gaze was straight ahead, he could tell the Bothan was solely focused on the mission and pitied the fact that Kye couldn't enjoy the tranquillity of the Dantooine fields, "I get it, you don't like me and I don't like you." the young Padawan said bluntly, "But...this mission doesn't have to be boring. I can sense your determination, lighten up, enjoy the scenery. It's not often we get a break from training, a break from the other Jedi."

@jamessour

 

[Kye Gruukran]

Kye chuckled slightly and mumbled under his breath, "We'll see..." and climbed into the passenger's seat.

Dantooine was plain, boring, and it made Kye long for his homeworld - Stop. He thought. He caught himself dazing. Unfocused. He fixed his eyes straight ahead. He had made mistakes in the past being unfocused, and a lot more was at stake in the field.

Feeling the eyes of Kyi slide to him, Kye fixed his eyes forward. Kye chuckled and flashed a toothy, snarling Bothan grin.

"Enjoyment is not why we are here, Padawan Waveshhhtrider." Kye practically spat the word 'padawan.' "shome of us don't want a break. Perhapsh if you wanted a break, you should have shtayed home, or ashked for leave."

Kye looked at Kyi, "I believe the farm is coming up shoon. As humansh out here can be racishts, why don't you take the contact and shee if we can find a lead on the banditsh." Kye was taking command of this mission. He would prove to the masters his ability. Whether or not the other padawan liked it didn't matter. He wanted to help these people, bring justice, and get back to the temple with a good report.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Kyi rolled his eyes, so much for attempting to offer an olive branch to make the mission slightly more bearable, E chu ta. He felt anger rile up into his chest as the Bothan referred to his Padawan rank so condescendingly, did he think he was superior? They were both Padawans, both still in training. Kyi proceeded to exhale the anger away and refer to his Jedi teachings to stay calm, the rest of the journey was silent.

Kyi parked the landspeeder outside the farm and the young Padawan hopped out of the driver's seat. The memory's came flooding back, this farm reminded him of home, Kyi proceeded to shake it off as he needed to focus now. A farmer came out to greet Kyi, he was short with a small gut and his hairline was noticeably receding, "Master Jedi! Thank the stars you're here!" the farmer exclaimed eagerly, "My name is Finley."

"Actually, I'm still a Padawan learner but that won't take away from my ability to help solve this issue, you mentioned bandits in your distress call?" Kyi asked in a respectful tone.

Finley looked slightly disappointed at the fact Kyi was a Padawan but this didn't bother Kyi. "Well...for some weeks now, bandits keep coming to mine and other farmer's farm's every few weeks and demanding credits for 'protection' but it's all bantha poodoo!" Finley stated angrily, "And when we don't give them credits, they slaughter half of our livestock and ruin our crops!"

"Well...do you have any idea where they could be now? Do they leave any clues on their whereabouts?" Kyi asked with assertion, Finley shook his head and shrugged however. Kyi crossed his arms and looked to the ground in thought, he was known to be a strategic thinker, he tugged at his Padawan braid for any idea of what to do. Completely stumped and out of ideas, he knew he had to ask for Kye's advice and returned to him to explain the situation. Kyi was not in the mood for his lectures.


@jamessour

 

[Kye Gruukran]

As Kyi parked the speeder and hopped out, Kye put his backpack on the ground of the speeder in front of him and rifled through it. No need to be hidden any longer - He removed his lightsaber and attached it to his belt. He then leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. He was frustrated with his partner and his childish attitude and took a moment to calm himself. If he was going to see combat soon, he needed to be completely focused. He centered himself, bringing his full attention to the here and now.

Kyi approached the speeder and Kye stepped out, slinging the backpack back to its proper place and stretched slightly. His acute hearing had picked up most of the conversation, but he let Kyi explain everything again. Kye was amused that Kyi seemed so stumped and frustrated, and likely the Bothan would have brought something up... but he wasn't entirely sure what to do either - but he'd be dead sooner than admitting that to the human.

"Perhapsh we could coordinate with the other farmersh and see if there is a pattern in their shtrikes. If we can intercept them on their way to a farm, we could follow them back. I'm shure the famersh have communicated with each other how often they get hit, and I suspect that the bandits have a timeline they have to make shure they don't tap the same reshources too much. Ashk the gentleman to call the othersh, and let's see if we can determine who ish next."

Kye would follow Kyi to the farmer this time, to be ready to interject.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

After Kye had explained his plan to Kyi, he wasn't afraid to admit to himself that it was a decent plan although he was slightly embarrassed. However, a modicum of respect for the Bothan started to form due to his quick thinking and assertive nature...even if it was a tiny bit pretentious.

The two Padawans approached Finley, "My...partner in this mission has come up with a plan.", Kyi proceeded to explain Kye's plan to the short farmer which only took a few moments, "So, if you call all the other farmers we can figure out the bandits' pattern." Finley liked the plan and proceeded to return to his home to contact the other farmers. The two were alone once more, they awkwardly stood next to each other and the silence was unbearable.

Kyi cleared his throat, "Ahem, uhhh...so, as far as plans go...yours wasn't so...bad. So, good job.", it almost physically strained him to get these words out but Kyi was starting to grow tired of the animosity, life was too short to make enemies - or whatever Kyi and Kye were, he hoped that by complimenting the young Bothan that he would also start to lighten up.



@jamessour

 

[Kye Gruukran]

As Kyi explained the plan to Finley, he appreciated the fact that he gave Kye credit for the plan. It was small, but it felt good. Finley was responsive and quickly went off to coordinate with the others.

That's when the human opened his mouth again. "Ahem, uhhh...so, as far as plans go...yours wasn't so...bad. So, good job."

Kye let the words hang for a moment trying to calculate how to respond to the back-handed compliment. He cleared his throat with a sort of growl before speaking. "Well perhapsh if you had any shemblance of critical thinking you could have come up with a 'not sho bad' plan. As far as plansh go, ANY plan is better than a non-existant one." Kye never looked at the human. Perhaps Kyi didn't mean any disrespect, but basic was not Kye's first language and the idea of calling it a "not-so-bad" plan was lost in translation. To Kye, it simply registered as an insult.

Without giving Kyi a chance to respond, Finley ran up, scrambling to catch his breath.

"I tried to call the farm just over the hill and they didn't answer. Not even the droid! I think they're being jammed - The bandits are there right now I believe."

Without a second of hesitation, Kye asked, "That way?" and pointed towards the south. The farmer nodded and Kye turned and ran back to the passenger seat. It was go time.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

The Bothan snapped back at Kyi "Well perhapsh if you had any shemblance of critical thinking you could have come up with a 'not sho bad' plan. As far as plansh go, ANY plan is better than a non-existant one." Kyi wasn't surprised, why did he even bother to try and be respectful.

Suddenly, Finley returned urgently and explained that the farm over the hill was being attacked. Kyi followed after Kye to the landspeeder, Kyi leaped into the driver's seat and switched on its engine and zoomed into the horizon, "I know we have our differences, Kye but this is serious, so I just want to say that I've got your back and I hope you have mine too." the landspeeder's engine roared as Kyi let the Force guide his driving and manoeuvred the landspeeder through the fields.

Kyi arrived at the farm being attacked, he and Kye leapt out of the landspeeder. In the distance, Kyi saw a dozen bandits scattered across the farm causing chaos. He looked even closer and saw that they were accompanied by kath hounds! E chu ta, this just got a lot more difficult. Kyi then gripped his lightsaber, the cold metal gave him a small shiver - it was that or the adrenaline.

Kyi then proceeded to unclip his lightsaber from his belt and activated it, a bright blue blade emerged from it's silver and black hilt, "I've counted a dozen bandits, instead of splitting up and taking six each, it would be safer to go in together and take out one at a time. Especially with those kath hounds there, you with me?" Kyi looked into the Bothan's eyes showing the upmost trust in him.

@jamessour

 

[Kye Gruukran]

Kye landed next to his partner and gaped in disbelief as Kyi ignited his blade. "Why did you do that!?" Kye demanded as the eyes off all the bandits quickly narrowed in on the pair. Kye could hardly believe it. They could have snuck up, they could have gotten close... but no. Now they had to cross distance with blaster rifles trained at them. "Get down!" Kye said as a barrage of blaster fire began to ring out in their direction. Kye dove back behind their rented speeder for cover, absently wondering if the extra insurance he purchased would cover blaster burns.

Drawing his pistol, Kye looked to his partner, "No choice but to shplit up now. I counted at leasht a dozen, plush hounds. I'll flank away from the farmhoushe. You should get in to make shure they don't kill the farmer." All the while, bolts rung out against the durasteel of the speeder.

Inhaling deeply, Kye could smell the coming kath hounds. Trusting his instincts, he rolled out from the speeder squeezing three bolts from the side arm, burning a small hole in a kath hound closing the distance. Kye didn't pause but jumped up and sprinted towards the outlying buildings.

Five of the bandits seemed to fixate on Kye and they started to converge on him shouting different orders to each other.

The remaining seven bandits stayed trained on Kyi.

Time to test our metal. Kye ignited his blue blade and held it in his off-hand, keeping his blaster in his dominant grip.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Kark it all! Why did I do that? Kyi thought to himself, Kye was right, they should have used the element of surprise but alas, Kyi was always headstrong and impatient, as the rain of blast fire barraged the two, he hid alongside Kye behind the landspeeder. Kye then informed him of his plan, Kyi acknowledged this and began to make his way toward the farmer's home to make sure they were safe, he'd have to get through the seven bandits first though.

Kyi tightened his grip on his lightsaber and sprinted his way into the next point of cover, Kyi had noticed that the bandits were armed with blasters and Ataru wouldn't be much use at this distance and Kyi wasn't too good at deflecting blaster bolts yet - nor did he have any clue on how to use tutaminis either. Kyi would have to think outside the box this time, thinking quickly, he noticed a piece of steel debris on the floor beside him which was probably from the stables. Kyi closed his eyes and called out to the Force to reach the steel debris and hover it in front of him, this would protect him from any incoming blaster bolts while he closed in the gap between him and the bandits.

Hope this works he thought to himself, Kyi exited his cover, with the steel debris hovering directly in front of him and he charged toward the seven bandits, the steel debris was completely protecting him from all the blaster bolts.

@jamessour

 

[Kye Gruukran]

Another hound came around the shed that Kye was using as cover. Svwishshhh. His blade sliced the legs off and as it fell Kye dove behind the body, shooting a couple of blaster bolts off at the bandits who were trying to encircle him. He couldn't let that happen. His bolts made the two nearest bandits fall to the ground. With a burst of speed, he leaped up and ran to the barn, where he had seen a bandit go.

Coming around the corner, the bandit fired, and Kye dropped to the ground, as he didn't have enough time to deflect any bolts. As he hit the ground he shot once, pegging the bandit in the thigh. The bandit screamed, and with a roll, Kye came up and pistol-whipped the wounded bandit in the head. Hard. It would be helpful to keep one alive. They'd need to track them back to their outpost after this.

Peering around the corner, the four remaining bandits on Kye's side were converging again. This time they were sticking together, and as soon as they saw Kye's ears around the corner, they all fired, forcing the Bothan to swear and go back behind cover.

He looked across the way and saw Kyi using the force to carry a piece of dura-steel as a barricade. That was brilliant, but Kye greatly struggled with telekinetic control of the force. He decided that doing something like that would take too much concentration. Instead, he vaulted through the window of the barn and jumped up into the balcony.

It was light outside, but there were many shadows inside the barn. Perfect. The bandits entered the barn.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Kyi continued charging towards the bandits, blaster bolts deflecting off the durasteel piece of debris. Kyi noticed that he had closed in enough and dropped the piece of debries, Kyi was surprised at himself - he had never been able to sustain his Force telekinesis for that long before but desperate times called for desperate measures. Kyi had to act fast, Kyi called upon the Force once more to augment his physical capabilities just so he could use one of the most physically demanded lightsaber forms, Form IV.

Kyi used his lightsaber to slice off the front of one of the bandit's blasters and proceeded to elbow another in the face, knocking him out immediately due to his augmented strength. Kyi didn't want to kill them - even though they were scum, all life was valuable. He then proceeded to position his lightsaber defensively, standing off with the remaining five bandits. "I don't want to kill you. Surrender and I won't have to." he said over the loud hum of his lightsaber.

Kyi felt the bandit's intent through the Force, they had no intention of surrendering. The bandit's raised their blaster rifles once more but before they could do anything, Kyi was like a blur, he closed in once more and proceeded to sever one of the bandit's blaster carrying hand off causing him to wail in pain and back kicks another bandit in his stomach, stunning him, Kyi turned around to incapacitate him.

BLAST

"NYYARRGH!" Kyi had let his guard down, a blaster bolt managed to graze his dominant arm. Angered by this, Kyi used the Force to push one of the bandits several feet back. Kark! My arm! Kyi clenched his wounded arm. This fight was about to be much more difficult but Kyi was stubborn, he wasn't about to let bandits stop him.

@jamessour

 

[Kye Gruukran]

The bandits were sticking together this time as they entered the door of the barn. They weren't military trained. There was no precision, and they didn't check their corners. As they neared the center of the barn, Kye leaped up, raining down bolts down on the bandits as he fell on them, saber igniting, slicing. There were no screams. Just the smell of burnt flesh.

Standing proudly, Kye de-ignighted his blade - WHAM "Ggorrrrooooo!" He got tackled by a kath hound that escaped his attention. This one was almost as big as he as and it stabbed his left forearm with a tusk, sending his blaster flying. "RRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" Kye growled in return as he ignited the blade through the beast's skull, killing it quickly.

Looking down at his wounded arm, his tunic wet with blood. He grimaced but didn't have time to pause when he heard Kyi scream in pain. He grabbed his blaster and ran outside.

As he approached he fired blaster bolts towards the remaining bandits. He didn't tag any of them, but it caused them to hesitate. To flinch and look around. It should give Kyi a chance to close the distance and take them... So Kye hoped.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Kyi had no idea how he'd take out these bandits, with his arm incapacitated. Suddenly, as if fate - or the Force had heard him, random blaster bolts had caused the bandits to become distracted. Kyi quickly mustered up the strength to swing his wounded arm and slashed at the remaining three bandits in a horizontal line, killing them all in a single strike. The idiots made it way too easy by standing so close together. The three bandits' bodies collapsed to the floor with a hard thud.

Standing in the distance, he saw Kye holding out his blaster. Kyi never thought he'd see the day where he was actually happy to see Kye, he deactivated his lightsaber and continued to clench his arm. Kyi approached the young Bothan and smiled "Thank you. Seriously.", he said, "That's all of them right?"

Kyi then heard a groaning in the distance, it was one of the bandits he had knocked out earlier. "You should question any survivors on where the others may be located. I'll go on and check to see if the farmers are okay." Kyi said assertively.

@jamessour

 

[Kye Gruukran]

Kye breathed a sigh of relief and holstered his blaster. He looked to Kyi as he spoke and bowed in response. "I believe that wash all of them," Then he looked quickly towards the horizons, scanning them quickly, "I don't think they're shmart enough to posht a shcout... They weren't expecting reshisthance."

Kye looked at his arm and at Kyi's arm, "How is your arm? Do you need any treatment?"

He nodded in response to Kyi's command. For once, it seemed the two were working well together. Before going any farther, Kye took out a bacta bandage and wrapped it around his arm tightly. It would keep any disease from taking root, but his arm would be useless for the next few days.

We walked toward the moaning bandit and crouched in his face and let an out a snarl, "Are you ready to cooperate?"

The bandit spit at Kye's face. Kye stood and wiped his face. He looked to make sure Kyi wasn't in eyeshot anymore and pulled his gun out again. Then, in a forced rage, Kye shoved the gun against the bandit's cheek hard. The barrel was still warm, and it caused the bandit to let out a small screech.

"Lishten. You don't need to die. I want you to live. But we can't have you harashhing these poor farmersh. Tell me where you camp." The bandit shoot his head. Kye smacked the bandit with the blaster. "Now!"

The bandit, eyes filled with fear looked up, "Over by Reshhi Ridge."

"Good." Then Kye fired. It was a stun bolt. The bandit fell limp to the ground.

He walked to the homestead to coordinate with Kyi.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Kyi was grateful for Kye's concern but it was only a graze, it would be better soon. Kyi seperated from Kye and strolled toward the farmers' homestead, he knocked on the entrance to their home softly. After some moments, he heard whimpering from the other side of the door, "A-are they gone?" the farmer asked. "Yes, you're safe now." he responded, the door was then opened and he accompanied the farmer into his bedroom.

There he saw the farmer's family, a wife, a son and a daughter cowering in the corner, completely shaking with fear and endless amounts of tears streaming down their red eyes. Kyi felt their hysteria through the Force, he pitied them, "The problem's been dealt with...they can't hurt you anymore." he said sympathetically, upon hearing this the children shot up and ran toward Kyi and began hugging his legs individually thanking him profusely. Feeling happy to have helped out and knowing that the family was safe, he ruffled their hair in a comforting manner. "You should stay here for the time being, my partner and I are going to locate the source of these attacks and arrest them." Kyi said confidently.

Kyi proceeded to exit the farmer's homestead and rendezvoused with Kye, Kyi noticed that his arm was feeling slightly better - at least to the point he could move it freely, although it hurt when he did. "The farmer and his family are okay, thankfully. Did you get any leads?" he asked the Bothan in a soft tone - Kyi had begun to warm up to Kye, maybe the Bothan wasn't so bad after all.

@jamessour

 

[Kye Gruukran]

Kye holstered his blasted again as Kyi approached. He felt slightly guilty for extracting the information in this way, but he needed the information more than he cared about some thug. The bandits deserved death - they were criminals.

Nodding the Bothan stepped close, "Reshhi Ridge. They're at Reshhi Ridge. We should head there shoon as they will be expecting thish group back shortly." Kye turned towards the speeder and then paused looking back at Kyi, "And might I shuggesht a bit more tact in our approach thish time?" If Kyi was observant he'd see that Kye's ears were slightly crooked, and his eyes gleaming. He was teasing. But whether or not Kyi would be able to understand the joke would depend on how much he knew of Bothan body language.

With that comment, Kye would get in the passenger seat again, scowling at the singe marks all over the new speeder. He looked at his wound and knew it would be fine. He reloaded his blaster and got ready mentally for the next engagement.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Kyi wasn't sure if the Bothan was joking or not but nonetheless, he was right, "Yeah...sorry about that. I tend to follow my impulses too much." he laughed awkwardly. He approached the landspeeder with Kye, the landspeeder was riddled with blaster marks and he sighed thinking about all the credits they'd have to pay back but this wasn't important right now.

He entered the driver's seat and began driving with the goal of heading to Reshhi Ridge, this mission had taken its toll on Kyi. Kyi hadn't been in a fight like that ever and he wondered how much worse it would be on the front lines, a person could only take so much death and violence. While driving, Kyi trailed his gaze toward Kye, "Hey...thanks again for distracting those bandits. I had no idea what would've happened if you hadn't shown up...well, I'd probably Bantha fodder. Too stubborn to run away from a fight." he confessed, he then looked at Kye's arm and showed an expression of genuine concern on his freckled face. "Oh and...how's your arm?" he asked.

@jamessour

 

[Kye Gruukran]

Kye could tell that his partner was becoming warmer to him... Kye didn't mind, but at the same time, he didn't care to be friends. Sure, battle had a way of knitting people together, this was well known, but Kye didn't save Kyi because he liked Kyi. He helped because he was another Jedi. It was what Jedi do.

"You would have done the shhame," Kye said without looking over to Kyi. It wasn't mean, but it wasn't kind either. It was rather matter-of-fact.

Kye looked at his arm and the bandage that was slightly pink with blood. "It hurts, but it will recover." Kye shrugged, "I trushted my shense of shmell over the force... A Kath Hound took me by shurprise.... I desherve such a would for my mishtake."

The speeder was getting closer to the ridge. At the bottom of the ridge would be a small encampment of about another dozen guards. They had blaster rifles, several more hounds, but they were unaware of anything for the time being.

@AfroBandit20