Ask Plot Dig for Freedom!

[Fiach Dubh]

“It's kind of pretty from up here.”
“Sure, if you like depressing industrial space junk.”
― Zay Versio and Shriv Suurgav

Fiach had often visited the Mid Rim, but had never been to Bracca before and was something of a geek when it came to visiting planets, so mentally ticked it off her list. Plus, it was a different type of environment. Deserts, jungles and heavily populated industrial planets were the norm, but this was essentially a junkyard.

Bracca was somewhat inhospitable according to the mission brief but handily located close to various hyperspace routes, which no doubt resulted in its current state. Formerly controlled by the Scrapper Guild it was – given Fiach’s history – the sort of place she could spend weeks and months amongst the countless decommissioned starships seeking bits and pieces she could use to repair things.

But today was not a personal trip, she had been tasked, along with a Jedi she’d never worked with before, to help restore a CR90 corvettes. A blockade runners of old, it would be used by the Order as a base of operations for the Guardians. Despite being designed as a diplomatic ship, the model saw plenty of action as a combat craft and had a passenger capacity in the hundreds.

The briefing was precise and as the Jedi landed, Fiach appreciated the enormity of the work. The back third of the CR90 was buried in a mountain of scrap, pathways and suspended platforms from years of abandoned scrapping attempts. Apparently scrap rats and pests were running rampant. Their task was to make the engines clear for the repair work to really start.

Turning to Jocedor, Fiach smiled. “Being a Jedi isn’t all about waving a saber and sitting cross-legged meditating. I think we’re about to get our hands dirty.”

@JediKnightJocedorOakther

 

[Jocedor Oakther]

Jocedor Oakther was on a planet she had been to quite a few times before, however it was usually just to get a few pieces of scrap from a ship or two. Brecca wasn’t the most exiting planet in the world, being that it was littered with fallen ships and the vast desert that kept the ships secure in their final resting place wasn’t hospitable as most planets in the Galaxy.

Jocedor thought this time on Brecca was special though, for she was not alone on this graveyard of ships, she was with another member of the Jedi Order: Fiach Dubh. Jocedor hadn’t known her before this mission so she was really trying to connect with one of her (newly formed) Jedi Guardian Colleagues.

The blonde haired woman listened intently at what Fiach had said, her blonde hair down across her shoulders, crowning the traditional Jedi robe she had been wearing. In response to her fellow Jedi Jocedor responded with a gleeful smile of her own and a laugh before she echoed her own response back to Fiach, “You’re right! I can’t wait to role up my sleeves and get to work! This shouldn’t take too long, we’re two very strong and capable Jedi!”

(@Fiach Dubh )

 

[Fiach Dubh]

In the back of her mind, Fiach was wondering why she hadn’t been here before – it was like a treasure trove to someone who spent her spare time repairing droids and her ship.

Fiach’s ubiquitous smile widened slightly before returning to its usual (and entirely honest) position – her lips seemingly always upturned at the corners.

She folded her brown Jedi cloak and stowed it safely away. What lay ahead promised to be hot and dirty work and a flowing robe would not be the most practical of things to wear. Underneath were her Jedi robes of various shades of beige and brown – and her saber and shoto hung from her utility belt.

“Tookay,” she called softly, and a clearly refurbished R2 unit trundled into view. “Some of this work will be right up your street,” she said to the droid before turning back to Jocedor. “He works tirelessly but can be awkward at times – and please forgive him if he utters an obscenity or two. He never means it,” she looked back at the droid, “do you?”

His silence was deafening.

“Right,” Fiach asked, “first things first – do you have a preference of what you’d like to do, or a particular strength? Plus, shall we work together or separately? I’m entirely open to suggestions…” she looked around. “Like where to start!”

@Jocedor Oakther

 

[Jago Haaldin]

Jago jogged up behind the Jedi and waved happily, flashing his winning smile. "Hey there. They said you could probably use a bit more help over here yeah?" As Jago looked passed he whistled lowly. Yeah they were gonna need all the help they could get. "So we just need to get the engines free right? So those things at the back...yeah those." Jago smiled a bit more sheepishly now, his complete lack of knowledge of starships showed. It was a weakness he would have to deal with at some point, especially if he wanted to help his own order rebuild. They were going to need ships of their own and pilots to fly them. For now Jago shook the distraction away and looked back to Fiach. "Anyways, I say we work together yeah? More fun to work with company so the work will go by a bit faster."

The Matukai began to head toward the ship along with Fiach. "Well this should at least be easier than dealing with blood cults yeah?" Jago chuckled, just calling back to the first time he'd actually met Jedi, though he had no idea if she would recall that.

@Corbeau @Jocedor Oakther

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach may have lacked emotional intelligence – and she was certainly rubbish when it came to social interaction – but she had an exceptional memory (almost eidetic) – and so familiarity with people she’d met previously came easy to her.

“A little different than last time we met,” she said in response to Jago, “but a similar approach – we’re here to clean the mess up. Thankfully there will be no blasters or even Force users, but I can’t guarantee there won’t be a different kind of vermin.”

“The task is straightforward, use the droids available to clear the big stuff as we work our way towards the engines and deal with any unwanted visitors as we go along. Individually the local wildlife won’t be a problem, but if there are nests of them? That’s a different matter. And…I’d prefer it if we could re-house them as opposed to just killing them. This was their home before we claimed the ship, so it’s hardly their fault they live here.”

@Topher Ridge @Jocedor Oakther

 

[Jago Haaldin]

Jago nodded as Fiach described the task at hand. "Alright, sounds simple enough to me yeah?" He began to make his way forward and took a better look at the half buried ship that was to become the home of the Guardians. It was going to be some hard work, but at least it wasn't too buried in the mountain of scrap.

He looked to the woman and shrugged. "Guess we can just working back to front yeah? That way we're not risking the stuff at the back falling on us." Jago flashed his typical smile and began to jog over to the ship, as he got closer the scope of the ship and their task truly set in. While not insurmountable they may be here for a bit, possibly multiple days. The Matukai made his way to the back of the ship and hopped over various debris and scrap that littered the area around the corvette. He whistled as he reached the back and from this angle you could barely even see the thrusters through the piled debris. He clapped his hands together and then rubbed them. "Well let's get to it yeah?"

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach was not averse to hard work and was delighted that Jago was of a similar mind-set. She nodded at his suggestion, “Sounds like a plan,” she added. “We can lift the light stuff ourselves and load a grav-sled. Anything too heavy and I can use the Force to move it. But just like muscles, the Jedi’s use of the Force is not infinite. So I’ll use it sparingly.”

She jogged over to the ship with him and activated a couple of grav-sleds. “There’s a space just over there,” she indicated a flat area nearby with her hand, “where we can start to pile up the rubbish.”

And then she set to work, picking up smaller pieces of debris and occasionally using the Force to lift pieces that were too heavy to move by hand. “I’m surprised we haven’t encountered any creatures yet, but I guess they’ll be holed up in nests much deeper into the rubbish.”

@Topher Ridge

 

[Jago Haaldin]

The work went relatively quickly all things considered. Though Jago did find himself distracted any time Fiach used the force to left some of the heavier debris with her fekking mind. Just another trick the Jedi had cooked up that the Matukai had never seen any of his own order do. The more time he spent with the Jedi the more he grasped just how different the 2 orders were in terms of abilities. They were very similar in outlook it seemed though, and he was counting on that for the future of the Matukai.

While Fiach could lift the heavier objects, Jago was no slouch. The constant exercise of lifting various scrap made it all the easier for the Nautolan to channel the force within himself. With this he could lift several times the normal weight of an average being. If he really put his all into it, he could hoist around 450kg up and over his head. He reserved this for only necessary moments, as much like Fiach, the feat drained him quickly.

He tossed half and old X-wing foil into the ever growing pile the pair was making and looked back to Fiach and shrugged at her comment about critters. "Yeah figured we'd have dealt with some kind of critter by now. Not gonna complain about catching a break though yeah?" He chuckled and walked back to the buried ship. He dusted his hands off on his pants and eyed a particularly large piece of metal. It was resting directly on the left most thruster and if they could get it loose it'd go a long way toward their goal. The droids were diligently working on top of the ship to loosen up any debris up there so Jago figured he and Fiach could get it done.

"Hey see that bit there? Think with the 2 of us we can get that bit down yeah? I lift from the bottom and you get the top with your...ya know, mind stuff yeah?"

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

They made good progress and Fiach made sure she balanced the work the droids were able to do, her own manual labour, and her use of the Force. She was aware that Jago was also using the Force, in a way she was familiar with, but not as effective – for her – as Telekinesis.

And she appreciated the company – it was not the most exciting or necessarily rewarding of activity, so having someone to work with was a real bonus.

She stopped when he pointed out a large piece of debris and she nodded her acceptance of the plan. “Sounds good to me,” she added and half closed her eyes – to connect deeply with the Force. Once balanced and centred, she focused on the item, ignoring its size and simply connecting with it through the Force. Then, when Jago was ready, she extended her hand to guide the wreckage down and to the salvage area.

@Topher Ridge

 

[Jago Haaldin]

Jago smiled as Fiach agreed to help and he quickly positioned himself underneath the huge piece of scrap. He enhanced his muscles and lifted as Fiach's telekinetic lift came into play. He almost wondered why he bothered to help, as it felt like the piece was practically weightless. The Jedi techniques marveled him once again. He refused to be useless so he guided the piece toward the discarded pile of other scrap and debris to allow Fiach to concentrate on simply keeping the massive chunk of metal in the air.

About half way to the pile Jago could feel subtle vibrations under his feet. The vibrations grew stronger and stronger and Jago looked back toward the ships thrusters, A sound of scurrying followed and it seemed to be coming from a small hole that was in the rear of the ships fuselage. Suddenly several dozen scrap rats came pouring out of the hole and dispersed into other various trash around the area. Jago sighed and looked over to Fiach who was still concentrating. "Thought we were in trouble there for a sec.....what..." His sentence was cut off by the sound of a terrible shriek that came from same hole. Only a moment later a terrible creature exploded out of the small hole and stood to it's full 4m height. It let out another horrible screech from it's oozing maw of a mouth. Jago was the first thing it saw and it dashed toward him on spindly legs, intent for a fresh meal.

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

It was one thing to lift a very large object with the use of the Force. It was a discipline that made you suspend the logic of relative size and weight. Of course, it was always relative to the Jedi’s development – she could lift a lot more now than when she first began at the Order – but the principle remained broadly the same. If you believe you can, you will. If you believe you can’t, you won’t. And the latter was always true.

But doing so whilst someone stood underneath the object added a new dimension for Fiach and she was pleased she was working with a weight she knew was within her capabilities. So much so, that she probably took a lot of the weight and allowed Jago to manoeuvre and position the huge piece of scrap.

The noise distracted her and the durasteel wobbled slightly, but she kept it under control well enough to ensure it did not flatten Jago.

The arrival of a four-foot rat was another matter and would require some attention – for who knew how many more were to be dealt with? So, she effectively tossed the lump of scrap in the direction of the area they were storing the rubbish and turned her attention to the rodent.

“It would be good not to kill it, but I understand it may have other ideas.”

@Topher Ridge

 

[Jago Haaldin]

Of course, as soon as he thought they were safe, a bigger rat came calling. Followed by another trio of the beasties to make it a proper quartet. Jago suddenly felt much more of the weight of the scrap metal, but only for a moment. Obviously the sudden arrival of their new "friends" had briefly broken the Jedi's concentration. Just as quickly however the weight lessoned and he felt it suddenly push forward. Jago added a bit more umph with a physical push of his own and the ground shook as the piece of scrap landed. The impact also kicked up dust and dirt in the area.

As the first creature came on at Jago he could hear Fiach mention not to kill the creature. The gnashing teeth of the creature left some doubts but Jago would do his best. Instead of Teras Kasi Jago would fall into the opening stance of a different martial art. One he was far less familiar with but he'd studied the basics off, Karada Seigyo. Once close enough the creature leaped, the wild abandon of an animal that was eager for it's next meal. Jago counter, striking out with his right fist. Karada Seigyo was developed to counter force users, but against non-force users it's principles could still be effective. His fist struck the creature on it's left shoulder, and as he impacted Jago let the light briefly burst into his fist. The creature would roll in the air and land to Jago's left. As it tried to stand it limped and fell over, it's shoulder now paralyzed. Jago doubted his rudimentary knowledge would have been effective against any kind of sentient creature, but it seemed to be enough against these creatures.

"Ok this can work! I'll stun, see if you can put them to sleep or something yeah!"

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Having made it clear she would prefer a non-lethal outcome, Fiach was honour bound to lead in this manner. Rats were not something you could reason with, so the notion of negotiating their relocation was hardly an option. But how to subdue multiple foes without lasting injuries, especially given they were intent on making you their next meal?

Fiach was aware of Jago’s approach and approved.

She was no slouch when it came to martial arts, but to the extent she could execute nerve-numbing strikes with precision and avoid being bitten at the same time? She doubted she could carry that one off.

Instead, she used the Force in a way she had been trained and so faced off against the second of the four beasts. She extended a hand and channelled the Force through her body and out through her hand until she connected with the giant rat. She sensed its emotions. Hunger was there, for sure, but far greater was anger and…fear. As carefully as she could, Fiach pushed emotions to the creature. Calmness initially, until she sensed it was more receptive – and then tiredness. So strong was the suggestion that the creature stopped advancing and blinked a few times before literally keeling over on the spot, landing relatively softly and the sound of snoring now emanating from it’s mouth.

“Two down and two to go,” she said to Jago.

@Topher Ridge

 

[Jago Haaldin]

Jago decided it was best to go on the offensive and trusted that Fiach would handle the final rat. Especially after catching a glimpse of her simply putting one to sleep. The Matukai smiled and went in quickly on the next Rat as it slobbered and crawled it's way toward him. It's body language confirming it was simply defending what it saw as it's home. The rat lunged at him low, teeth aimed to tear into his legs. Jago simply leaped up, and twisted to rotate his body to invert and he struck down several times, letting out a bit of the light each time his fingers connected with the hairy back of the creature. He struck down it's spine and then let his aerial cartwheel complete with and easy landing behind the rat. It limped forward then fell stunned, but unharmed.

"Got that last one?" He assumed Fiach had already handled whatever that last beasty had in store for her. A smile on his face he scooped up the 2 stunned rats, his nose crinkling a bit at the smell of the beasts. "Alright I say we find new home for these fellas and get back to it yeah?"

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach was hoping that if these were the Alphas of the pack, wherever they went, the others would follow. It was an entirely logical assumption. The challenge was that she still had to deal with one rat, and they had to ensure that wherever they were placed, they’d want to stay there and not simply return ‘home.’

Not wishing to try her luck again with connecting to the rat, Fiach tried a different approach for the second. She was no master, but she was au fait with many martial arts – and therefore the concept of pressure points. Given the rats were mammals, it was likely they were similarly built anatomically. She hoped so.

As the final giant rat closed in on her, she lowered her body into a crouch. When it leaped, she fell backwards and allowed her feet to meet its chest as it landed on her. Using the Force, she propelled it on the direction it was already travelling and it landed, clearly winded, a few metres behind her. Leaping to her feet, she rushed over and immediately punched a bunch of nerve endings on the rats shoulder. It let out a small yelp and then lay motionless. She checked it was still alive, and sure it was, she summoned a grav-sled and loaded the two rats she’d overcome onto it.

“Right, now we need to find them a new home. Somewhere with food and water nearby would be ideal.”

@Topher Ridge

 

[Jago Haaldin]

Jago got a chance to see Fiach's showcase of her own martial skill and had to admit he was impressed. It wasn't the same as his own people's Karada Seigyo, but she demonstrated a knowledge of pressure points which she used to incapacitate the final critter. He smiled wide as he loaded his own 2 rats onto the grav-sled.

"Ya know they're not so bad when they're knocked out, almost cute yeah?" He chuckled and looked around at Fiach's suggestion. "Yeah and probably covered at the least. I'm guessing they like the dark, since they were hiding under all that scrap yeah?" Jago focused the force into his ears to enhance his hearing. He listened and after a moment he could hear the tell tale sound of running water. "I think I got it, you keep working here and I'll get these critters settled in. Feel like you were doing most of the work anyway yeah?" A playful wink would follow the comment and he led the grav-sled away from the ship.

It was only a few minutes before Jago saw the source of the sound. A little waterfall was pouring down from an overhang of scrap. The small stream led further away from the work site, so he figured if they did wake up, they probably follow the water before coming back to the site. After a gentle onloading of the rats Jago headed back. He waved to Fiach once back in sight. "Alright got the little fellas all settled in. Hopefully that was the worst thing we find under here yeah?"

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach raised an eyebrow. Cute? Was that a joke, or did Jago really think they were in some ways adorable? She let the comment go and nodded at his suggestion to carry on here, whilst he relocated the giant rats.

Once he’d left, she continued to clear the debris and worked on some of the larger pieces first. It actually made a significant difference very quickly. By the time he’d returned, she’d managed to lift half a dozen sizeable pieces and the back of the ship was starting to look a lot less like part of the scrapyard and more like the business end of a space-faring vessel.

Once Jago returned, she listened to his explanation and nodded her appreciation of his efforts. “Logic says they ought to be the worst thing and there shouldn’t be another pack in there. There’s the chance of coming across dead stuff, gruesome but not necessarily dangerous.”

@Topher Ridge

 

[Jago Haaldin]

Jago whistled when he returned with the grav-sled. "Wow, this almost looks like a ship now yeah?" Not that Jago was too sure of that given his almost complete lack of starship knowledge. Not to be too out done Jago handed the sled off to a droid and got back to work alongside the human. His thoughts drifted a bit as the work went on, not surprising considering how brain dead the work was. His brief time among the Jedi had shown the Matukai that, at least in his opinion, lacked in certain areas. Sure he was an outstanding fighter, but these Jedi, they were much more than warriors. They truly were peacekeepers, able to heal, move debris, and take down enemies in ways he had never imagined.

Not that Jago wasn't extremely proud to be Matukai, but he started to believe that his order could learn a lot from the Jedi. Though he also believed the Jedi could benefit from Matukai knowledge as well. He'd seen the Jedi fight now on multiple occasions and while they were peacekeepers their weapon of choice was by far one of the most deadly instruments ever created. The reliance they had on the weapon, but also most Jedi's belief in not killing, held them back in Jago's opinion. The idea that Jedi could benefit from more unarmed combat techniques wasn't that wild to him.


He pulled himself from these thoughts after a bit more work and aided the droids as they moved another rather large chunk of scrap. The ships second thruster was finally uncovered and he smiled as he wiped some sweat and grime of his forehead. "Yeah I think we're getting there."

@Corbeau

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach nodded as Jago commented that they were really making progress now. “It reminds me of puzzles I used to do as a child. They were called jig-saws. One of my fathers used to make them for me. He’d take an old picture and cut it up – and jumble the pieces up. I’d have to re-assemble the picture without having seen it complete. You’d piece together small pieces and suddenly, from nowhere, you’d see an image. This feels like that. For ages, we’ve moved small and large pieces and suddenly, the thrusters are visible and it begins to look like a proper ship.”

“As a child, that always spurred me on to go faster – once I could see what it was supposed to be. I wonder if that trait remains?”

Indeed, it appeared she’d received a new lease of life as her pace did pick up as she continued the monotonous yet essential work alongside Jago.

To help pass the time, she asked a question. “Tell me about the Matukai. All I know is the stuff of legend. What is your order really like?”

@Topher Ridge

 

[Jago Haaldin]

Jago shifted a few more pieces of scrap as Fiach told him an anecdote from her past. He chuckled as she finished, not at her story, but from the ever serious Fiach it was odd to here her talk of being a child. "Well only one way to find out yeah? Let's see if we can get it done today!" Jago picked picked up his own pace to match Fiach's new found vigor.

He kept looking and looked to Fiach when she asked about the Matukai. He smiled after a moment of thought, having decided how best to answer her. "Well...I could go into all the history of our order and what we've done in the past, but quite honestly I never cared much about that yeah? I guess to put it simply, we're a people who care about freedom and following our own path. We just want to live our lives in our own way like anybody else. I could tell you about our training and what we believe about the force and all, but I don't feel like that hits the core of what it means to be Matukai yeah?"

He had no idea if that had made any since at all, but as they worked he'd be happy to answer any follow up questions the Jedi had.

@Corbeau