Ask Argazdian Affluence

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera Albion wasn't particularly keen on this new mission. But it was on the Jedi Knight's long list of 'Uh, this needs to be taken care of.' Therefore, taken care of it would be. In this scenario, the planetary governor of Argazda, a pale-faced man obsessed with wearing very tall hats, demanded the Jedi come and take care of a droid problem that was steadily growing on the outskirts of the capital city. Old rogue droids on an angry little planet only known locally for its alignment with the separatists hundreds of years ago? It seemed simple enough.

Hera prayed it would be simple.

Sitting just outside the main city on a crude, old swoop bike -little more than two engines strapped to a hunk of metal- Hera waited for her Padawan companion to arrive. The bike was free, so she couldn't necessarily complain about it, but she did insist that Maura be given something a little safer and more up-to-date. Of course, safer and up-to-date also corresponded with 'slower.' But Maura would also have no room to complain, the bikes were offered up freely by the government and Hera was not one to look a gift-nerf in the eye.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura didn't know Hera, or at least, she'd never met the woman in person. She'd heard of her just like she'd heard of many Jedi knights, but she knew very little about her. Based on the tone of people the padawan had overheard talking about her... Maura still couldn't quite make a judgment. Although, if people seemed to like and dislike her equally, it probably meant she wasn't boring!

The mission, however, sounded dull. Beat up some old droids on some rinky-dinky planet? "Bor-ing." Unless they were like, the funny little ones that went "roger roger!" Maura could get behind that. She might even steal a head as a souvenir!

The padawan arrived at the rendezvous spot, announced beforehand by a cloud of dust forming behind her speeder. Despite the 'speed controls' - which she had decided to deal with at a later date - Maura had taken the sucker full speed out to the edge of the city. Her driving was equal parts responsible and reckless - she'd taken the least populated streets she could find out here. There would be no repeat of the infamous padawan speeder manslaughter incident coming from her.

"I have arrived!" When her speeder finally came to an abrupt stop, the girl waved a free hand in the air, jazzing it up as she grinned in the redhead's direction. Though she'd tied her hair back into a short little ponytail at the back of her head, countless strands had wormed their way out, giving the girl a frazzled look. "I'm Mau- er, Padawan Starwalk." Right, formalities. Alex had been more and more strict about her being more 'formal' recently.

"So uh, where are the droids?" She hoped it was a decently long ride. She wanted to see how fast the speeder could go.

tag: @Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

The roar of the speeder brought Hera's attention around as Padawan Starwalk rode up. She seemed to be driving her speeder as hard as she could, testing the limits of the speed limiter implemented on her bike. Grinning as the Padawan pulled up and waved, Hera waved back. "Hello 'Padawan Starwalk,' I'm going to call you Maura and you can call me Hera- if that's alright? Anyway, come on! I'll explain a little better on the way."

The joy of the Padawan was infectious, and Hera was more receptive to that than most. Revving the bike, Hera blasted off just slow enough that Maura would be able to keep up. Of course, it was fast enough that if they weren't paying attention a crash into a tree would be an instant death sentence. 'A good speed,' Hera thought, 'I think Maura would go even faster if I didn't stop her- ha.' Keeping her eyes forward, Hera spoke loudly over the roar of the swoop bikes.

"There's apparently a group of rogue droids from the era of the clone wars that have been raiding local villages around here. Why they're not able to be contained by local authorities and why they're conducting raids is the real question. The governor wasn't keen to offer up a lot of details, so we'll be stopping at a village just outside the area the droids have reportedly holed up in. Until we get there-! Tell me more about yourself! Why do you want to be a Jedi?"

Hera had time, and she liked listening to how other Padawans would describe themselves. Additionally, how they answered her questions told Hera a lot about a Padawan.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"Okay!" Master this, Master that... Maura did her best to always address her 'superiors' in the proper way, even though she sometimes forgot. It would be nice to just call Hera 'Hera' though. It was like half the length of 'Master Albion' too. "Lead the way!"

They sped off in a cloud of dust, Maura going full speed and Hera staying just ahead of her. The girl desperately wanted to give the thing a good few kicks to see if she could knock the speed controls off, but she didn't want to risk breaking the bike or angering the Jedi knight who already seemed pretty cool.

"That seems pretty sus!" Maura yelled back to Hera after the redhead finished her recap of the situation. She thought about the woman's questions for only a few seconds before she had her answer. "Well, I've been at the temple since I was like six or seven!" she shouted, pausing to cough up some of the billowing dust before she continued. "So I've been a Jedi all my life basically. I just want to help as many people as I can though, so I'm glad I was brought here!"

There was really no grandoise reason Maura wanted to be a Jedi. She felt at home after being brought to the Jedi, and even though her classes were a bore and she really wasn't the best at following all the teachings or doing all her lessons, she was very comfortable with the path she was taking. In fact, she wanted to take it even more seriously after the events post-creepy space station. Never once had she wondered what else could she be doing with her life. To her, the path of the Jedi was right.

"As for me- I love video games, and I can play the electric guitar and the drums! I love colorful things, I hate rats, and my favorite food is spicy rose petal chips! The spicier the better!"

Her voice was starting to feel a little hoarse from yelling in all the dust, so the padawan coughed again and shouted one more time. "What about you?"

tag: @Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera's hair flew behind them as they traveled and spoke, the air nicely keeping it out of her face as the wind buffeted against her. Her goggles more than provided protection against the whooshing air, though she wished there was something for the sickly smell of grease that seemed to permeate into the seats of the swoop bike. Forcing herself to ignore the powerful whipping of the wind, Hera focused on Maura's answers to her question.

She wanted to help people, an incredibly simple answer, but a valid one nonetheless. A single person wanting to do good in the galaxy could outweigh a thousand ne'er-do-wells if they put in the effort, so Hera would not ridicule such an answer. After that Maura told a little about herself and Hera couldn't help but grin at the young woman's answers. So many Jedi Padawans were so concerned with the goings-on of the galaxy around them that the thought of their favorite food wasn't even something that crossed their minds.

Pulling back her speeder a bit, Hera leveled her speed to match Maura's and ride directly alongside her as the Knight responded. "I like your style and your answers! It's good to want to help people, but I would say if that's your only conviction then you should hold on to it incredibly tightly. It will be tested one day! As for me- I am a blade-master, and I find it relaxing to train with my lightsabers almost all the time. But I also like working on droids! I can't cook though, not at all, and not from a lack of trying! Just can't do it!"

Laughing at herself, Hera noticed they were approaching the village and began to slow down her bike. The ride had been roughly obstacle free, allowing the trip to not take too long at their incredibly high speeds. As she started slowing down, Hera finished speaking. "The Jedi took me before I turned two, I have known no other life. The Jedi are my family, and I want to protect my family."

Pulling aside as they finally slowed down enough, Hera parked the swoop bike at the edge of a hill overlooking the village below the pair. It was no poor village barely scraping by, rather, it seemed to be a massive inter-connected complex of stonework buildings and droid repair yards. Scrap heaps dozens of meters high were scattered about the complex village layout as well, seeming to almost out number the livable houses. Chuckling, Hera added, "Well, it seems the 'why' of the droid raids is solved."

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"I can't cook either!" Maura shouted in response, giving the woman a grin and a solid thumbs up. "We have two things in common!" The other was that they'd both been a part of the Jedi for almost all of their lives. She thought the first one was more important.

They soon came to a stop on a hill that overlooked the 'village'. It didn't really match up with Maura's mental image of a village with the heaps of scrap metal and stone mason work. It seemed the place traded thatch roofs for taller buildings and farm lots for scrapyards.

"Because of the junk, right?" She looked over at Hera for any sign of approval, her hands busy at the back of her head as she fixed her hair back into a proper ponytail. Hair being in her hair was only okay when she was going breakneck speeds on a speeder anyways. "If they're droids, they've gotta left a trail, right? With their clunky feets n' all."

"Or maybe someone can just tell us where they came from?" That would be the easier option. Maura lifted her foot from the ground and squeezed her fist together, revving up the engine just enough for her to glide down the hill and toward the town below. As soon as she hit the bottom plateau though, the scent of freshly grilled meat hit her nostrils and any thought about finding the droids was temporarily overrun by the rumbling of her stomach.

tag: @Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera couldn't help but laugh at Maura's reaction to her cooking ability, it seemed Hera wasn't the only one who burned water. Dismounting her swoop as the pair reached the village, Hera focused in on a small man running what seemed to be a parking garage. While Maura asked her questions, Hera paid the man to watch their vehicles for a few hours. Turning towards the Padawan, Hera nodded, "Yes, yes, and yes haha."

As if on cue, a man in a large hat started half-running, half-waddling in their direction. "Master Jedis! Oh thank the stars you've come! Please! Stay here a little longer! The droids send a raiding party once a week, and they're due to arrive tomorrow if they stay on schedule!" Hera looked down at the man as he stopped, huffing and puffing, at her feet. It seemed as though he had thrown his full body weight and energy into his tirade instead of breathing. Smiling, Hera held out a hand that he promptly shook. With her other hand, however, she waved behind her back for Maura to shoo off in the direction of the food.

"Mayor Horrace Jef, yes? I was told you were to expect our arrival. Please, rest assured we will solve this issue for you." The Justicar told the man, taking in all that he was as she spoke. He stood no taller than 5'4, but his hat provided an extra 8 inches of height at least. More round than tall, his demeanor, dress, and weight spoke of a man who lifted no finger to manual labor. However, from the glances around them, the locals seemed more indifferent to the local mayor rather than despising him.

Hera told the man, pointing off a scrap heap, "Can you meet us up there? I would have a word with my Padawan before we speak further." Horrace looked in the direction of Hera's pointing finger and froze. Chuckling nervously, he replied, "Oh, yes, mhm, up there. I would love to, uh, speak further, but I'm so very busy. Perhaps I'll send a well-informed envoy to meet y-" "Fantastic," Hera interjected with a laugh and a rough pat on the back. Without another word, Hera turned away and pursued the direction she sent Maura off in.

Spotting the Padawan quickly, Hera asked, "Save some food for me-?" Then, with a smile, she continued, "Sorry, don't like bureaucrats myself. What do you think, should we stay the night here or go off ourselves to meet this raiding party head-on?"

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura was half-planning to try and slip away while Hera wasn't looking, then return with food for the both of them as an apology. However, the knight shooed her off the moment she began following her nose, so the girl forgot about being sneaky. Street meat, here she comes!

She met Hera halfway back, and just as the knight opened her mouth for the first time, Maura jut her hand out and presented Hera with a skewer lined with grilled, marinated red meats and a couple of seared vegetables. It was like a kebab, but the portions were a little oversized. "Hewe do go!" she exclaimed through a mouthful of food. She'd gotten Hera one anyway since the price was pretty cheap. The woman might be wise to take a second to question the quality of the food presented to her, but the padawan hadn't even hesitated. She would eat anything.

"Uhhhh- " Maura swallowed and took on a thoughtful look, but shrugged only a moment later. "Why can't we do both?" If she was asking as if it was one or the other though, maybe she should be more decisive. "Whichever puts us against the droids sooner," she answered before going back to gnawing at the kebab. "Maybe the droids are attacking 'cause they think there's some special part hidden in the mayor's hat," she snickered.

"But like, if we go after the droids now, worse case we can't do anything but get information and go back tomorrow. Best case, we beat them up and solve the issue!"

tag: @Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera smiled as Maura handed her the roast meat. Perhaps the Jedi Knight should have questioned its origins, but she did not. Food was no more than fuel, and Hera saw no reason to revel in it or seek it out unless it was necessary. Though, after their long ride in space, now was a good time to eat. Hera beckoned Maura to follow her as they spoke, heading towards the hill she had earlier pointed out in order to meet the envoy of the Mayor.

Maura's answer to her question was logical -mostly, that bit with the hat was weird- and it was the answer Hera would have come to herself. However, the Jedi Knight felt the reasoning behind it was slightly flawed. They needed to intercept the raid as attempting to defend a sprawling village comprised almost exclusively of duracrete and robot parts heaps would be nearly impossible. The droids would steal something or hurt someone, surely.

But intercepting the raiding party would also make things faster, and Maura caught that so- half points. Waiting to speak until they reached the top of the hill, Hera waited until the Mayor's envoy appeared. It was another Argazdian in a large hat; they seemed to really like them. Huffing and puffing, clearly also unused to physical labor, he pointed off in the direction the droids were coming from. Turning to Maura, Hera simply smiled and spoke.

"Lead the way!"

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura inhaled her kebab just in time for them to arrive at the hill. The envoy was another out-of-shape fellow with too big of a hat. Hera was all ready to go, but Maura had a very important question.

"What's with the hats?" she asked, head tilting to the side as a curious look took over her face. "Is it like, a fashion thing here? Or does the bigger the hat mean the more important you are?" Her curious look turned into a grin. Good, bad, or no answer, Maura would march off in the direction he pointed.

"So, they're violent right?" she asked. It was more of a rhetorical question though. As she spoke, Maura unclipped one of her sabers from her belt and left it unignited in her hand. "Should we just attack and take em all out? Or should we like... kill some of them and scare the rest off and then follow them back to their base and then ambush them there?"

She looked to Hera for an answer.

tag: @Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

The man didn't respond to Maura at her hat request, instead simply huffing and running off. Maura's curiosities would remain unanswered for the time being as she approached Hera, asking her simple questions. The Knight shrugged in response as she walked, "It can be assumed so. Raid is the word the locals used, but I'm not so positive. The local homes weren't blaster scarred and the village seemed to be prospering, it's possible the droids are just scavenging for someone else and the locals are overreacting."

Hera did not draw her lightsaber as the pair continued, instead saying, "If at all possible, we should just disable the droids or convince them to ignore us. If they're acting on someone else's orders, then they're someone else's property. The last thing we want to do is shove our lightsabers in the way if this turns out to be an internal dispute between two villages that the governor has sent us to screw up. If we just hack the droids aside and it turns out they were vital resources for another group, then we've only made more problems."

They had some walking to do, Hera felt through the Force, before any danger would approach them. So the Knight decided to pick the younger woman's brain a little bit. "Tell me, Maura, you said your goal as a Jedi is to help people. How do you see yourself doing that? Rather, I mean, take the scenario we are currently in. If these droids need the parts the village has to keep their masters's families alive and surviving, what would we do? Do we destroy them to satisfy our mission quota and doom the other group to poverty or worse? Or do we let them continue their 'raids,' hurting the livelihoods of the people we've been charged with assisting?"

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Hera had a point, and the surprise in Maura's eyes would be plainly obvious. She hadn't even thought of things that way

Maura thought about the question Hera proposed. They'd been asked to help the villagers, but if they found out that the droids were under the command of someone who needed the parts to stay alive, that made it a difficult situation. "Well, if the droids are really under someone's command, they're still stealing," she mused, partially to herself, partially in response to Hera. "Which is wrong, but at least it's for a reason."

The droids, if they had a master, had every right to seek out comfort, but the village had the right to want to stop theft. Maura didn't really know how to answer the question. "I- I dunno. I guess it would depend on... things. If it was really complicated like that I guess the best thing to do would be to get them to talk to each other?"

That was a pretty big question for a smooth-brained padawan.

tag: @Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera nodded as Maura spoke, listening quietly as the Padawan's gears turned in her head. As the young woman posed her solution, Hera smiled and responded, "Well then, we'll see if that kind of logic works. Because if my guess is correct, I'll be having you lead negotiations."

Their walk was relatively quiet after that, Hera only responding in pensive nods, smiles, or light chuckles if Maura attempted to engage the knight in small talk. Hera wanted Maura to really think about what the Knight had told her, this wasn't going to be another mission where the master takes all the hard work on themselves. Maura was sixteen now, in a few short years she would be a knight herself. She needed to learn how to effectively communicate between opposing parties without relying on a lightsaber.

Of course, Hera's intuition could not have prepared her for what they would soon hear over the horizon. The droids, the pair would hear them long before seeing them. A horrifying sound echoed throughout the hills and plains as the droids marched in their direction. Hera grasped Maura's arm gently and pulled her behind a rock with the red-headed knight.

The droids themselves, playing an assortment of bag-shaped instruments woven into their torsos, string instruments in their armed hands, and drums attached to their fronts and backs, marched in a single file line towards the village. Not only were they armed to the teeth, with a contingent of nearly a hundred archaic battle droids, Super battle droids, and droidekas, but each one seemed to be hand-painted. A unique and colorful design pattern was etched with a thousand different colors in a hundred different variations on the machines.

In the middle of the column, seen from far away, an HK-model gladiator droid, armed with two massive swords, could be seen standing on the backs of two Super Battle Droids. His torso was more than painted, his entire body was etched with intricate designs that could be seen even from the Jedi's vantage point. Too stunned to speak, Hera simply looked at Maura and grinned wildly.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

What? Hera was putting her in charge? "...okay!"

It took Maura all of three seconds to get over her initial shock and hesitation before she got excited about the idea. Alex led negotiations all the time - this would take her one more step in the direction of becoming just like her! Just taller and more colorful, of course.

"What the f- fffreak is that?" Hera and Maura ducked down behind a rock and peeked around the edge to see hundreds of battle droids decked out in colors and holding instruments of various kinds. She watched, dumbfounded, for about a minute before Hera looked her way and grinned.

This... this was nothing like anything she'd imagined.

Here went nothing.

Deciding that the best way to approach the droids was to walk out in front of them appearing unarmed, that's exactly what Maura did. She made sure her hands were visible at her sides, and as soon as she was planted a good ten meters in front of the closest droid, she gave them a friendly wave and then stood with her hands on her hips.

"HELLO!" she called out, looking past everyone to the big droid in the center that looked to be in charge. "MY NAME IS PADAWAN MAURA STARWALK! MAY I SPEAK WITH YOUR LEADER?"

If things went to shit... well, she still had her lightsabers on her hip.

tag: @Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera watched with a strange mixture of joy and horror and Maura leapt out and introduced herself. She grasped the hilts of her lightsabers as she waited behind the rock, ready to leap out at a moment's notice. The column of droids stopped with a strange wheeze as their bags squeezed and relaxed out of tune. The HK droid, still carried atop the shoulders of two super battle droids, slowly approached Padawan Starwalk.

Stopping just a few feet short of Maura, the super battle droids set the HK model down. His head clicked up and down as he examined Maura, then, with much visual fanfare of waving his sword arms, he spoke. "STATEMENT: Auch! Would ya lookit this wee likkle lass that done plopped 'erself down in front o' me vision! Never have Ah seen such bravery! An' 'ere Ah was thinkin' the Jeedai didn't 'ave a single brave soul in their whole armey! Boy was Ah wrong!"

Looking back at the droids, the HK simulated a hearty laugh. The Super Battle Droids and Regular B1 Droids all copied his laughter and accent as best they could. Looking back to Maura, the HK leader spoke once more. "QUERY: 'Ave those bloody Azgazdian devils sent ya to stop us? STATEMENT: Those big 'at wearin' buffoons! Too a'feart tah face us on their own Ah see!"

Hera had never really been one to be frozen in shock, nothing so crazy as to catch her off guard had ever happened to her before. But in this moment, the Jedi Knight had completely lost all reason in her mind. Never in her life had she heard such a strange way of speaking, and from DROIDS nonetheless. Hopefully, Maura would be able to think light on her feet, because unless those Droids started acting violent, Hera wasn't sure she could do much else but be dumbfounded.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

The droids kept walking, and Maura briefly had second thoughts. Was she supposed to feel completely at ease with a troop of oddly-colored and armed approaching her? "No, probably not." But Hera had entrusted these negotiations to her. "What would Master Voran do? Or- " A slew of movie characters filled in the blank. She had this!

Nothing, however, could have prepared Maura for the manner in which these droids spoke. Thanks to the padawan's ears, Hera would be able to see the surprise wash over Maura even from her hiding spot, and the padawan couldn't help but stare with a half-dropped jaw as the droid trilled out its 'statements' and 'queries' in the worst droid speak she'd ever had the displeasure of hearing.

But slowly, her dropped jaw turned into a grin. How cool were these dudes? Who in the galaxy programmed them? Maura puffed out her chest as the droid called her brave, but she managed to keep the task at hand in mind. "I need to figure out why they're taking those parts."

"I'm just here to talk!" she assured them, her voice louder and more lively than usual (yes, even more so) to match the energy presented by the droids' modulated voices. "Also, you guys are the coolest looking droids I've ever seen!" And the weirdest, but that was a major contributing factor to them being cool. "I've heard you've been collecting spare parts from the village! Are those parts important you you?"

She had no idea what she was doing, but maybe if she matched their energy, they could vibe things out.

tag: @Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

The droid's face was expressionless, as were all HK models, but the droids were capable of tone inflection in their speech. And the droid's tone would immediately reflect anger and indignation at Maura's questions as it responded, "STATEMENT: So Ah see ye dinnae ken a single thing! Ye are from them big 'at wearin' muppets! Well naow if'n ye be keen on stoppin' us then ye best prepare yerself! HAVE AT YE-!"

At that, the droid lunged at Maura with one of his arm blades. However, the blade would not reach Maura, as Hera had dashed faster than any eye could see and intercepted the blade. At a speed of 'blink and you would've missed her,' Hera's lightsaber held in front of Maura's face, blocking the droid's own blade. Setting the hilt of her second saber against the HK's temple, Hera spoke, "Let's calm down and talk, just as my Padawan says."

The HK hesitated for a minute before stepping away from Maura and withdrawing his blades. Deactivating her own, Hera stepped back as the droid spoke once more, his tone far more calm. "STATEMENT: Aye, 'twould be best if'n we talked this owut. INTERJECTION: Oi! B1s! Bring us some chairs!"

At that, a handful of B1 battle droids would fashion chairs out of heavy rocks, tree stumps, and whatever else they could find to assemble a little meeting table. On one side of the table sat Hera and Maura, seated together side by side on a single rock. On the other side the HK, a single super battle droid, and an ancient tactical droid that emerged from the crowd moments before sat down on separate stumps each.

Setting his blades aside, the HK spoke again, "STATEMENT: We require the resources o' the droid heaps ta maintain our creator. He's in a dire state. But the Azgazdians dinnae want ta help us. So we're forced ta steal from 'em."

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura really wasn't expecting her attempt at talking to go so poorly. The droid lunged and Maura was almost too late to pull her saber from her belt, but luckily for her, Hera flashed in front of her and the stinging sound of lightsaber against metal struck the air. Surprised, the padawan backed up several steps, her ears pinned back, but she slowly relaxed as the droids had another change of mood and pulled out 'chairs' and a 'table' for them.

Two more droids emerged from the crowd to sit with the HK, and Maura glanced briefly at Hera, uncertainty lacing her gaze before she followed suit and grabbed a seat. But she listened, and her head snapped to the side to make urgent eye contact with Hera when the droids finished speaking. She didn't say anything, but her gaze said it all: Hera had been right, or at least, close enough.

She looked back at the HK droid. "Why didn't they want to help you?" It seemed kind of stupid for them to just flat out refuse. Surely there was a reason behind it? "Maybe we could talk to the Azagazdians for you? You shouldn't have to be forced to steal to help your creator!"

tag: @Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

The HK slammed his fist on the table in response to Maura's question, his head clicking back and forth as he responded, "INFURIATED STATEMENT: The selfish bastards dinnae think our creator is worth the time! They're 'oping he kicks the bucket an' we just 'kriff off!" Suddenly, the tactical droid tapped the table softly. The HK and Super Battle Droid straightened up, as if the droids were capable of feeling fear at the response of their commanding officer.

"We have attempted amicable communications with the Argazdians, but they have refused us at every interval. I estimate no more than a ten percent chance of a change of heart if the communication comes from a Jedi. I calculate a twenty-five percent increase in successful conversation would occur should the Jedi threaten violence. They do not see our creator as 'sentient' and therefore do not value his life. Theft has become our only recourse. Our creator, glorious is he, has informed us that we may not inflict harm upon the Argazdians, which has reduced our efficiency by an estimated sixty-seven percent."

The tactical droid sat quietly for a moment before the super battle droid finally spoke up. His voice was deep and menacing, as he was originally designed to be terrifying to all sentient life. "We will wait for you. If you retrieve the Argazdians. We would speak. You would mediate."

Now the ball sat in the Jedi's court, and Hera glanced over at Maura. "If you can go get the Argazdians, I will wait here with our new friends," At that, she grinned, "Just be safe driving back! You can take my swoop if you'd like."

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

The Argazdians had requested her and Hera's presence, but the more she listened to the droids, the more she felt they weren't in the wrong. Of course, stealing wasn't good, but it wasn't like Maura could blame them. She'd stolen things for no reason at all, and they had all the reason in the world. Right?

The girl's ears drooped slightly at the calculated ten percent chance, and there was a frown that tugged at her lips when the droid suggested that threatening violence might actually help the situation. She could see why that might help, but it didn't seem very Jedi-like to try.

The padawan's feet had just started to swing back and forth when Hera glanced her way and told her to go get the Argazdians. "Okay!" She was starting to feel a little antsy just sitting down and listening to the droids ramble on in their weird voices. And she could take Hera's swoop? "OKAY!" The now excited girl eagerly jumped up and practically skipped over to where their speeders were off hiding. As soon as she was off and out of sight, the girl immediately squeezed her hand into a fist and grinned as she watched the speedometer hit the red.

It wasn't long before Maura was back at the village. Her arrival was announced by the cloud of dust billowing up behind her, and she quickly parked Hera's bike to begin looking around for the nearest Argazdian with the biggest hat. She spotted the out-of-shape man from before - what a coincidence! - and immediately descended upon him, nearly frightening him half to death.

"We found the droids!" she announced. "And we've decided that the best course of action is for you and them to talk things out." Maura put her hand on the man's shoulder and gave him a reassuring couple of pats. "Don't worry! Master Albion and I will mediate."

"No, no, no, and did I mention? No!" The man bristled up like a frightened cat, and he began furiously readjusting his collared shirt and massive, towering hat. "Those droids and their disgrace of a master haven no place here. Just do as we asked you for and get rid of them." With his tirade over, the man huffed and began to shuffle away, leaving a slightly confused and slightly surprised Maura behind him.

"Are you kidding me?" The words fell out of her mouth, though they were just barely loud enough for the man to register. His gait faltered as if he heard her, but he continued to walk away. Maura, in the meantime, was trying really hard not to get upset. "What would Alex do?" She had no idea. "What would Hera do?" That she didn't know either. The knight had put a lot of responsibility on the girl's shoulders though, and she felt obligated to not let her down. "What am I gonna do?"

Well, the droid did say there was a higher chance of the Argazdian complying if she threatened violence. And Maura really hated their stupid hats...

Thirty or so minutes later, Maura returned on Hera's speeder with a terrified-looking hat-wearer in tow, the brim of his towering accessory wrinkled and a bit crumpled. She slid to a stop, graciously helped the rotund man off the vehicle, and grinned toward Hera.

"Back!"

tag: @Black Noise