Ask Caf, Blasters and Sabers

[Lorcan]

Huh.

The cavalry had arrived - fancy that.

He had been staring down the barrel of his gifted blaster, about to blow a raider's head clean apart, when they showed up and immediately the raider wanted to surrender, throwing down his weapon. It took Lorcan a few seconds to realize that the reason why the raider looked absolutely terrified was that he was still holding the blaster up. His finger hadn't moved from the trigger and he felt a sudden, powerful, urge to pull the trigger.

To blast the man to pieces and enjoy the look of panic and horror the moment before it was blasted into a dozen pieces. It was a very strong, very real, feeling but he knew he didn't have to listen to it. It wasn't a compulsion or an order or a corruption; he just knew that he would enjoy it.

It was realizing that last part that gave him the strength to lower the blaster a little bit dropping it to the ground and walking away. He didn't care that the raider had taken the chance to run off, to evade justice, because he was just... numb to it all. Sitting himself down in one of the transports, he just sat there and stared at his hands for a few moments before deciding he knew what to do. Reaching into his armour he pulled out his Ranger's badge.

He stared at it for a second before dropping it to the grass outside the transport before sighing and leaning back in his seat, eyes closed.

"I can't do this shite anymore."

@Catbert @ModernMarvel @TerranSteel @Reyn

 

[Kel Dryden]

Still inside the bunker, Kel was unaware of what had transpired outside. He wasn't even in the first line of defense. That way, he'd at least get a few more moments to live. Maybe even a whole extra 5 minutes minutes if he's lucky. Especially if he wrestled a gun from someone. Already a few armed men were entering the bunker. But... nobody was shooting. "Kark yeah!" the scoundrel exhaled, realizing that it weren't the pirates, but the militia who had come to the rescue. With no more need to fight for his life, he leaned on his weapon like on an actual staff and limped towards the exit.

A slow and steady flow of survivors was leaving the bunker, and Kel stopped leaning on his staff to try and blend in. Multiple evac vessels had landed in the clearing, and people were flocking towards them. Kel wasn't in a hurry to do that though. This time, he would be much more mindful on his seat choices. Lest he'd end up on the same flight with sector rangers again. And speaking of the devil...

Kel noticed the senior ranger, Lorcan, boarding a shuttle. Would it be too much to hope that the rangers were too out of it to remember their original mission? Either way, I'm boarding another shuttle, just in case. Then something drew the scoundrel's attention. The senior ranger stared at something, before discarding it in the grass. Could it be...?

The scoundrel looked around. He didn't see the more uptight ranger anywhere. Perhaps he was too busy assisting the militia. But most likely, he had boarded the same shuttle as Lorcan. Birds of a feather, after all... Once Lorcan's shuttle would take off, Kel would approach the landing site and cast a glance around. After making sure that no familiar faces (especially that flatfoot Corran) were looking, he'd hunker down. Amid the trampled grass, he'd find what Lorcan had discarded... Holy kriff! Jackpot! Didn't they teach you drukfaces not to litter? Don't worry though, I'll be a good guy and clean up. Finders keepers!

Pocketing the senior ranger's badge into his jacket, Kel leaned on the staff to get up again. The stims were wearing off, and the pain in the chest and the back was kicking back in. But regardless, a smug smirk appeared on the scoundrel's face. He was alive, relatively unharmed (given the circumstances), and got a useful souvenir out of it. Now, he only had to evade the rangers after landing on Onderon. Luckily, he hadn't broken any laws there—yet—so perhaps a jurisdiction issue could save the day. Hopefully, by the time it was settled, the Black Swift and her crew would arrive to pick him up.

But that was a concern for another day. Kel limped towards one of the remaining shuttles. However, a member of the militia raised a hand in a stopping gesture. The kark is this druk! Arrested already?! The smirk was washed off Kel's face, and he tensed his muscles. "I can't let you aboard with weapons, sir. You'll have to hand them over. We'll return them on Onderon." The unexpected resolution made Kel chuckle, the chuckle turning into brief, somewhat hysterical laughter.

The militiaman was initially confused by the outburst, but then shared a smirk, as Kel extended the broken staff and the blaster with the damaged fire mode selector, set to stun. Both weapons were out of power, and covered in Dxun dirt. "Yeah, sure," the young man finished laughing. "I bet I won't need them where I'm going."

Spoiler: Tags

@ModernMarvel, @TerranSteel, @Reyn, @Nefieslab
It looks like this was the final round, unless I'm mistaken.

 

[Brienna Lanaamer]

Bri prepared herself for combat not knowing how much longer she could go. It was the final round of what had been the longest day she had experienced in over a year. The change of time from when the starliner first departed to its eventual destination on Dxun didn't exaclty count, but Bri could already feel that it was a point she would be embellishing in later descriptions of the events. And then I had to fight off a whole pack of gharzr! The pirates, however, did not launch their attack. Instead, the loud sounds of overhead shuttles and ships reverberated the metal in the bunker, as Onderonian militia slowly entered, beginning the evacuation of the survivors to Dxun's more hospitable sister planet.

The Jedi sighed and slumped her shoulders, extinguishing her saber and placing it back inside her jacket pocket. It was over. Finally. The never ending day of being in an extreme crash landing, nearly being eaten by dangerous creatures (twice), and surviving pirate attacks (multiple times). Bri couldn't help but smile at seeing the relieved faces of those who welcomed the Onderonians like the saviors they were. Her smile turned into a frown, however, thinking of all of those who lost their lives, needlessly, at the hands of the pirates who had first hijacked the starliner. It left Bri with conflicting emotions.

The evacuation proceeded in orderly fashion, with Bri attempting to spot her ragtag companions who had helped her to survive the series of unfortunate events. The Senior Ranger had boarded a transport, while his deputy, Corran, was assisting in shepherding survivors out of the bunker. Izel looked to finally be catching a breath nearby, while the criminal, Kel, appeared to be on the custody of the Onderonians, but it was hard to make out the conversation between him and the militiaman. Bri had half a mind to ensure that the criminal didn't escape his custody once again, but stopped herself from interjecting, simply, standing and watching him walk off after forfeiting his weapons. It would work out.

Bri returned to Izel's side and offered a reassuring pat on her shoulder, along with a face of relief. The Jedi leaned her back against the wall and closed her eyes, breathing in deeply.

 

[Corran Velt]

In ragged lines, groups of civilians were warded onto transports by militia who looked polished with chrome compared to the dirty and disheveled survivors. The pirates were rounded up in smaller groups, cuffed, and loaded in less welcoming shuttles. Corran had been determined in his responsibility to act as an authority to guide the shaken and fatigued survivors to their staging area when a young militia woman confirmed they were taking over and kindly asked him to board a transport.

The human part of the young man was relieved, in every sense of the word, to finally get off this planet. The Ranger half of him felt like his business was unfinished. As Corran shuffled forward in a small group boarding a transport, he saw another one take off with Lorcan sitting by the door as it closed. The senior Ranger had a rougher time once the pirates counter-attacked, but the blond youth had hoped they would be on the same evac. Maybe it didn’t matter. The rendezvous zone on Onderon would likely be the same. They could meet up then.

One after the other squeezed into the shuttle and Corran was one of the last, so he sat near the passenger compartment door. Across the cleared field of evacuees, he could see the two Jedi sitting side by side against the wall. Both had done incredible things – miracles even – and he never really got a chance to thank them. Their Order may have been a wrong in his eyes, but individual force-users had only ever done him kindness. He tried to wave and shout to give them a well-wishing, but the transport thrusters kicked on; drowning out his voice. Upward the craft went into the sky, slowly gaining altitude.

From the vantage point of the door-seat, Corran could see Kel Dryden speaking with a member of the Onderonian militia. There’s that unfinished business. From up here, he could do nothing. Sector Rangers operated at the pleasure of planetary or multi-planetary governments. That’s why they stuck mostly to the Outer Rim where governance was limited and justice hard to dispense. With the militia here, his jurisdiction ended unless requested. A uniformed Onderonian tapped Corran's shoulder to watch out for the shuttle door. He nodded and pulled his arms and legs in. The blond Ranger took one last look across the savage skies of Dxun, the Demon Moon, as the door slid shut. He never wanted to see it again.

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel shakily sat down on the soft earth beneath her, leaning back against the bunker wall as she watched the civilians slowly file onto the shuttles to be taken to safety. She was tired, and starting to nod off a bit, but struggled to stay awake for the time being, to ensure everyone got on the ships safely. She doubted her or Bri were needed anymore. It was quite clear the Onderonian militia had things well under control. Still, she felt compelled to keep an eye out.

As the Jedi Knight joined her and placed a hand on her shoulder she looked up at the human briefly before nodding to her in respectful acknowledgement and then turning her attention back to the evacuation. "Thank you for all your help Master." She said courteously, though from her voice it was clear she could barely muster the words to speak at all. She let out a ragged sigh. "I was supposed to be visiting my family today. Instead I suspect we'll all be spending the rest of it locked up with some bureaucrats explaining what happened here."

As her eyes scanned over the shuttles she caught a glimpse of the junior ranger Corran waving to them and trying to shout something. The Vratix perked up a bit and weakly raised a hand to wave back. Well, they had managed to help some people, and that was what really mattered. Izel had become a Jedi for the sole purpose of expanding her own knowledge and becoming more powerful in the Force. But the Order had had more of an effect on her than she ever would have expected. They had the potential to do so much good for the galaxy, and so much bad as well. She thought back to how the senior ranger had held such contempt for the Jedi. Knowing everything that they were capable of it was easy to see why.

She wanted to change the minds of people like him, to make them see the Jedi as a force for good in the universe. More and more she was finding herself wanting to uphold their tenets, overriding any desire to simply pursue knowledge and power. She still had her ambitions of course, but no longer would she simply seek these things for her own sake. Everything would be for the Jedi, and through them the galaxy. That was what she was resolved to do.

Eventually the militia would usher her and Bri onto the shuttle as well to leave this cursed place, but for the time being she just sat back and looked up at the sky. Interestingly, when ignoring the pirates, the wildlife, the unchecked overgrown jungles, and the pervading dark presence, Dxun wasn't such a bad place. One might even make the mistake of thinking it was beautiful.

//End Thread