Open Coruscant Aiding the Weary

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Two Knights and a Padawan stood outside of a large, open 'warehouse' type space hundreds of levels below the surface. Look up, one found metal, look down, one found metal, look around and what did you find? Metal. Hera hated it. But the people who would soon inhabit the space simply had no where else to go, so it was up to the Jedi to find pockets of homeless refugees and redirect them here. In addition, they had to find vendors willing to feed them on 'IOUs' until the Senator approved funding for their operation.

Turning to Sheffield, Hera would offer him a weak smile. Surely he could feel it just as she could, the pain and suffering echoing through this world. While it was not nearly as overwhelming as Nar Shaddaa had been, it was upsetting nonetheless. Gesturing towards the elevator behind them, the only practical way in and out of this area, Hera would speak. "I don't think we'll have trouble finding pockets of refugees and those who are hurting. My only worry is getting them fed, warm clothes, and properly sleeping materials. We are predicting a favorable reaction from the senator, but we're operating on IOUs at the moment. What do you think we should focus on first?"

The elevator doors slid open and Hera, stepping back, would allow Sheffield and Lani to step on first.



@Hera Albion @Lian Sheffield @Lani Tallis

 

[Lian Sheffield]

Lian rested his hands on his hips, examining the empty space before them for a while in a shared silence. His garb was simple today, with a cloak of sandy-brown draping across the left of his body and concealing his lightsaber. Next to him was the Jedi Knight, Hera, and a Padawan who he was yet to properly introduce himself to. Lian had met Hera during their activities on Corellia, and enjoyed being in her company. She was an ‘outsider’, too, in his eyes – one who had previously worked alone, and only more recently gotten more directly involved with the Order.

The space before them was to be a home to those who needed it, of which there was no doubt there were many. Lian caught a glimpse from Hera at the corner of his eye, and pursed his lips into a forced half-smile in return to her own. The atmosphere this deep below the surface of Coruscant was never a pleasant one. The force carried upon it the worry, anxiety and fear of the inhabitants, and it was hard not to be affected by it. She was feeling it too, no doubt.

Letting his arms hang by his sides, Lian turned to make his way toward the elevator as Hera spoke, listening along to their task at hand. Not one filled with glory, action, or great reward – but, as far Lian was concerned, a real task for the Jedi Order. That was part of the reason he had signed on to aid in the establishment of ‘Crosses of Light’. Most of his life in the Order had been spent as a Watchman in the Outer Rim, often staying on the same planet for years at a time, performing duties much like what they were about to carry out now. It was in these duties that Lian felt he got closest to the essence of what it was to be a Jedi – to see those who go unseen and help those who cannot help themselves. Never mind this recent spate of Jedi activity on the Holo Networks, this was how they should be spending their time.

He lifted a hand to scratch idly at his beard as they waited for the elevator to arrive, considering the question Hera raised. “Getting a supplier of hot, decent meals. Force knows where we’ll find that, but it’s where I’d start.”

The doors hissed open after a gentle ping signalled the arrival of the elevator, and as they stepped inside, Lian gave his attention to the young Zeltron beside him. She looked young, and didn’t carry herself with the strict discipline of an experienced Padawan – but, truthfully, he didn’t anything about her at all. Time to change that.

“It was good of you to put yourself forward for helping, here. What can I call you?”

@Black Noise @Catbert

 

[Lani Tallis]

Lani may have been born on Coruscant, but always avoided the lower levels. Her childhood was spent in a safer, more prosperous neighborhood; the Zeltron only ever heard about such places and what went down there from the holos. And later there was New Alderaan, an improvement by almost all accounts. In fact, the young Padawan had volunteered for the mission for a rather selfish reason: to see her and her sister's old home once again.

In truth, back on Yavin 4 she hadn't even bothered to figure out what she was signing up for. The Jedi were going to the lower levels of Coruscant. Clearly there'd have to be something that ordinary people couldn't handle. After all, her older sister—and a maverick Jedi Master at that—once explained that the Force could lend Jedi their powers, but also imposed responsibility. The responsibility of putting those powers to good use. Was playing humanitarians not a waste of Jedi talents then? There were so many non-Force-sensitives who could do the same thing! Logically, it seemed like a waste of resources.

But now Lani was in the lower levels. Amidst the poor, the homeless, the hungry. Far away from the Coruscant that was her home. In that giant hive, the Zeltron could experience the blank grey-ish burden of daily struggles and existential questions left unanswered. Perhaps even more keenly than other Jedi, because Lani did it both through the Force and through her innate abilities. At that point, it was hard to say where the line was.

The realization didn't fully dismiss the old logic that Jedi should be doing the different thing. But the people out there needed help, from Jedi or non-Jedi. And three Jedi were there to help. The task seemed insurmountable, and the young Zeltron honestly had no idea how the trio would tackle it. Deciding on what to go for first seemed like a good idea. Lani was smart enough not to interfere in the two senior Jedi talking. Especially the redhead, who had come across as rather stern back on Yavin 4.

Only when she was asked a question, would Lani reply: "Thank you." She accepted the praise from the bearded Knight, and its sincerity only made Lani feel worse about her pre-mission convictions. "My name is Galania." Somehow, she felt it was important for her to contribute—maybe because of that slight tinge of guilt?—so she did: "I agree... Maybe we should focus on the most basic and pressing concern, and go from there?" You needed new clothes only so often, old clothes could be used for makeshift beds and blankets. But food you needed every day... "Food and... water?" In truth, Lani didn't know whether or not the situation with water down there was bad. But it offered... "food for thought".

@Black Noise @Monimus

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera smiled at the two who accompanied her. She had met the Zeltron once before, on Yavin, and while their meeting was brief she hoped that this new venture would provide a better opportunity for the two of them to get to know each other. Sheffield was much in the same boat to Hera as Lani was, but she had found him to be reliable and level headed on the mission on Corella that the two had engaged in. This would be a great bonding experience, Hera hoped.

As to finding someone to actually feed the refugees, that wouldn't be too much of an issue to Hera. Most of these lower Coruscanti places had the capability to feed hundreds at once, if not thousands. It would be the trouble of payment that Hera knew would be their biggest difficulty. To work on promises alone may not be enough. Shaking her head, she put this out of her mind temporarily as they stepped off the elevator onto a busy street. Looking to Lani, she spoke, "Whoever feeds them can also provide water. It is not as scarce a resource on this world as you might think. It's all about logistics."

Walking, Hera would continue. "An Ecumenopolis is a logistical nightmare, but it can be managed. Food must be grown in greenhouses, dirt and soil nutrients must be shipped in along with supplementary foods. Meat is mostly farmed off world, but is unnecessary for survival for most species. Water is gathered by moisture evaporators, shipped in from offworld, and recycled from the populace's waste. There are, additionally, most likely massive oceans beneath the surface of the city that store the water for treatment plants-"

Hera stopped suddenly, spying a group of refugees in a nearby alleyway. Old men, women and children mostly in makeshift tents. Huddled around little heaters, they fought to stay warm in the perpetual cold of their durasteel surroundings. Nodding in their direction, the Jedi Knight continued. "A Ecumonopolis can take care of its out, of who it expects to take care of, even if they're not useful to society. But refugees throw the spanner in the works. Large groups of people alien to the world, not accounted for by logisticians, cannot be supported long term. They must eventually integrate, leave, or die. Unfortunately, the latter is often their only option. Now, go, convince them to come to our center if you can. I am..."

Looking around as she trailed off, Hera spotted a handful of local restaurants and food trucks. She figured the poorest refugees would hang out around here. Whatever the food providers threw out would be the dumpster divers first pickings. "I will see about talking to those caterers. See what we can scrounge up. Sheffield, would you mind staying with Lani?" And like that, once more, Hera started to walk off alone. The Jedi Knight didn't really intend to leave the other two so quick, but she was so used to being alone that it barely registered to her that she should stick together. Perhaps some day she would be able to overcome this base reaction, but today seemed to not be that day.

All her life, she had been alone. Even with her master, they would travel to remote worlds to train and stay there for years. Hera had spent almost two years on Nar Shaddaa just learning about the planet, its people, and the Force. She knew so much about these kinds of worlds and how they operated, but she knew so little about people. In all truthfulness, she wasn't so sure she could convince the refugees herself to come to the center. So it was in Lani and Sheffield's wisdom that she, unconsciously, leaned on.

@Monimus @Catbert

 

[Lian Sheffield]

“Lian.” He pursed his lips into a half smile, gently inclining his head towards Galania. It said a lot about her character to go out of her way to volunteer for an assignment such as this – or, at least, Lian thought it did. Little did he know of her more personal reason for accompanying the Knights.

As the trio made their way through the underlevel, Lian was content to quietly walk by Hera’s side as she told the group what she knew until she stopped at the edge of an alleyway, having spotted a group of desolate souls further down. More than impoverished, these people would die if their situation did not change. Lian shifted his posture a little to lean against the side of a building at the edge of the alleyway, Hera and Lani both to his right. He was tired today, and deep bags hung under his eyes. His sleep in the week leading up to the present had been particularly disturbed, and the dreams had been more intense since Ajan Kloss. Keeping himself busy with tasks and assignments usually helped, if for no reason other than it provided something to focus on – but today… today he was tired. His mind wandered a little as Hera continued on, who was speaking mainly for Lani’s benefit anyway.

His attention was brought back by the mention of his surname, though before he could respond with an acknowledgement, Hera was already on her way. Continuing to casually lean against the building, he brought up his arms to fold them against his chest as his gaze drifted to Lani.

“You get used to that.” He nodded his head in the vague direction that Hera had suddenly walked off in, adding with a grin, “It’s her thing.”

Taking a moment to fight the brain-fog that he was struggling against from his lack of sleep, Lian took the opportunity to get to know Galania before they would go to speak with those down the alley.

“Have you been to the underlevels before?” He exhaled softly, watching the refugees huddled together. He couldn’t hear much noise from down the alley, save for a few sporadic, weak coughs. “Some of these people have never known anything else. They’re completely unseen. Today, for a few, we can change that.”

@Black Noise @Catbert

 

[Lani Tallis]

Galania listened to what the redhead had to say, with an occasional nod. The tale solidified Lani's opinion on that particular Jedi. Despite being stern, Hera knew her stuff. She seemed to know more about city-planets than Lani did. Even though the young Zeltron had grown up on that particular one. She just stared at the people gathered around heaters, taking in what Hera had to say. For a moment, Lani could almost fear the cold they felt. The warmth going up from the heaters; the warmth and tingling smell of old ingrained dust.

To absorbed into the sudden experience, Hera's voice still ringing in her head, Galania didn't notice the redhead walking off. Only after Lian's comment did the Padawan reply with a surprised "Huh?" and noticed that there were just the two of them now. With her attention shifting to the Knight, Lani noticed something unusual. Unlike the redhead, Lian wasn't too eager to get to work. Or just wanted to talk first. Not that Galania wasn't distracted, she noticed a certain apathy in the Jedi Knight.

Still, he was in charge, so Galania remained by his side and answered when he had a question. "No," she just shook her head, stealing a sideways glance at a nearby wall. Fresh over layers of graffiti, there was a "No Sith, No Jedi" one. A slogan that Lani kept hearing over and over in previous months. The Zeltron had no idea how or why the graffiti ended up there, or what the Jedi had done to deserve it. "Dad told us me to go too far down. Not the safest place to be." For a moment, a slow wave of memories hit the young Zeltron.

At least Lian did feel resolute to get the job done. Talk to some refugees, convince them to come with? That sounded easy enough. Even though the Zeltron wasn't quite sure how those people would find anything different—the refugee center would probably be on the lower levels as well—but nodded again, taking point. Unless interrupted, she headed forth, expecting the Jedi Knight to follow. She would approach the gathering with an uncharacteristically quiet and indecisive "Hello..."

@Black Noise @Monimus

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Spoiler: spoiler

Feel free to DM the NPCs, as long as their responses are believable

The group huddled around the fire barely acknowledged the young Jedi's greeting. A child looked up at her, but none of the adults paid her much mind save one. An older man with dark skin and a bushy white beard flashed her a smile as he approached. He seemed more well off than the rest of the group, wearing a couple old jackets. His pants, while just as filthy as the rest of them, didn't seem to have any holes. Holding out a gloved hand, he spoke, "Howdy! You doing well missy? Now hopefully it's not any trouble but do you happen to have some money for a meal or two? We really only need a little bit, jobs are on the way and we've just got to tide over til we can find work!"


------------


Hera, far off down the street, approached the first restaurant. A smiling twilek woman at the front of the building held out a hand to the Jedi and asked, "How many in your party?" Hera, shaking her head, responded curtly, "Not dining in, tell me- do you cater?"
"Of course, approximately how many people are you looking to feed?"
"Roughly three hundred homeless, they'll-"
The woman held up her hand once more, cutting off Hera, "We don't do charity work." Then, without another word, moved on to the next customer.

Sighing, Hera moved on to the next eatery. It didn't surprise her that the hostess reacted in such a manner. Charity work was hard, thankless, and often meant a decrease in profits even if fairly compensated. Feeding three hundred people at a couple credits a meal paled in comparison to the hundreds of diners they served regularly for dozens of credits a meal.

@Monimus @Catbert

 

[Lani Tallis]

Galania returned a glance to the child who looked up at her. The Zeltron tried to smile, but just couldn't even force the corners of her lips to curl up. Pretending just didn't work; not in a place like that. Even if the people didn't acknowledge her, Lani couldn't but acknowledge them. Their hunger, cold, pain, and everyday struggle just to stay alive. All of it brooded over the Padawan; anywhere she'd turn, she saw and felt the same thing.

She even started checking her pockets for spare credits. She must've taken some with her... No. That's not a solution. Do you feed one while the others watch? Still, as heap of credits left her pocket, the Zeltron's tone full of sincere apology: "Sorry, that probably won't be enough." Lani simply yearned for those people to feel better. Even for a moment! That way, she'd be able to feel better herself.

That sudden gesture gained the attention of other refugees around. It wasn't every day that someone had credits to spare. "Thanks, kid," the old stranger accepted the chits, looking at the young Zeltron curiously. "You don't look like a local. Why come all the way down here?"

"I..." the Zeltron was lost for words for a few moments. "I'm helping a couple of friends down here. They... Want to set up a place where people would find food and shelter." As Lani spoke further, she grew more confident, and yet the old man tilted his head with some suspicion; and yet, because Lani did help, there was no outright hostility; only concern. "Oh kid, we heard those tales before. When someone just comes and offers you food and a job in the Outer Rim, it ain't usually New Alderaan, if you catch my drift."

Lani didn't know what to say to that. She'd look at the Jedi Knight for support...

Spoiler: OOC

I rolled a dice and it went ok. Lian just needs to find the right words.
@Monimus @Black Noise

 

[Lian Sheffield]

Lian hung back as Galania approached, and kept his position at the edge of the alleyway for a little while. The group didn't seem to take much notice of her initially, bar one elderly man he could just about make out. Instead, the rest carried on hushed whispers of their own and a few children kicked around a small, ragged ball without much energy. It was a sad sight, and one he hoped they could make a little brighter.

As Galania spoke to the group, Lian pushed himself off from the building he had been leaning against, starting to make his way towards her. There was no great hurry in his step, though he did catch the tail-end of Galania's conversation. Looking toward him, it was clear she expected Lian to carry the conversation forward.

"We can't promise you work, or more credits, but there will be warm beds, safety and hot food that you needn't fight for."

His tone was soft, and his voice not particularly loud.

"It might be easier to find decent work when you're not worrying over what the next day will bring. You don't have to go if you don't want to - but if you do, there's going to be a shelter setting up at the warehouse that used to be the plastech storage. Not far from here."

Lian opened up his palms towards the group at that, a few more having started to listen to the two strangers. Galania must have made a decent impression.

"It's up to you."

@Black Noise @Catbert