Chronicles Of The Force - Prologue (Doug)

[Josh Dragovalor]

At this point, Joshua had shut his emotions off, in a way. He couldn't do this mission right, and he couldn't do it without innocent casualties, without doing so. If he showed remorse or mercy... Then he would have a problem. And innocent people would die because of it. He had no choice... Because otherwise, they'd take the choice from him and take the lives of innocents. He couldn't have that. And what if the people they decided to kill - should Josh hesitate - end up being Doug's parents? How could he forgive himself if he allowed that?

As they turned the corner, Josh would retreat behind cover to scan the area, motioning for Doug to get behind him as he would disengage his lightsaber. He tried to sense life nearby... And peeked out from their cover spot to scout the area.

"Four slavers.... Armed. Three with blasters, one with a vibroblade. Ideas?" He inquired toward Doug.

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug had followed after Josh, standing behind him as he scoped out the area around a corner and proceeded to say what he found. Doug scratched his chin as he tried to think of an idea when asked for any.

"Will have to be a bit careful with the blaster ones... Maybe we could try a sneak attack if there is a way to get closer to them... Or something. Not sure if the first thing we did back there would work again..." He brainstormed aloud, looking around the area more for some more certainty.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"A sneak attack.... Genius" Josh would respond with a grin starting to cross the blonde's face. Doug had the right idea, it seemed. "Listen, I want you to get to a safe spot, and then start firing. I'm going to sneak up above, and when you start firing, I'll swoop down and attack. With the element of surprise, we just might be able to beat these guys" The Jedi Master would suggest.

"So... I have a little trick. Was hoping to save this for later but... Just get to the safe spot and start shooting, will ya?" The Jedi would remark before suddenly... He was gone! He'd disappeared! Somehow, the Jedi had turned invisible, and would start climbing up toward the roof. While he couldn't fight while using the Current due to his lack of specialty in the field... It gave the Jedi Master the ability to get himself in position and wait...

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug was kind of surprised that Josh found his idea to be genius. He always was sort of intelligent, but he still has trouble expressing it sometimes.

When that thought was out of Doug's mind as Josh stopped another explanation, his eyes widened when the blonde then just abruptly vanished before he could even nod in agreement to his suggestion. What couldn't these Jedi folks do!? He looked around in confusion as his thoughts spiraled on what just happened. He snapped out of it as he recalled Josh's instructions and began to sneak about towards a safer location.

He managed to find some sort of conveniently placed crate and he crouched down behind it, raising up and aiming his blaster. He looked to the sides as a bead of sweat fell down the side of his head and he squinted his eyes slightly as he began to focus. Being told to just fire once he was in a safer spot and presuming the blonde was positioned, he began firing. He shot out some of those red lasers towards the four slavers, particularly trying to aim at the three with the blasters. Like before, his aim was unusually sharp despite his slight nervousness.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Well, it was a simple idea. But a good one, for sure. It was a good way to combat numbers if you had the means to do so. They didn't have much of a choice, it was a Jedi and a farmer with a blaster against an entire camp of these guys. And they seemed to be more bunched together then the usual camps that he held. Were they guarding something more then this? He wasn't sure. But he'd figure it out once they would get there.

Trusting Doug to do what was needed, he would wait until the redhead would start firing. Once he had, Josh would turn visible again, allowing himself to expend energy normally. While the slavers began firing on Doug, Josh would land behind them, lightsaber ignited and with a fierce demeanor he would drive the blade through the back of the head of one of the blaster slavers. The other one would turn around and try to fire at Josh, but he would raise a hand and he'd find himself being sent flying through the wall. Whether he was dead or out cold, he didn't know. But Doug had one more blasterman to contend with as one more hit the scene. Meanwhile, the man holding a vibroblade would attack the Jedi and Josh would strike back, leaving them at a clash.

Doug would be on his own for the lone blasterman.

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

When the firefight had ensured, Doug had crouched back down behind the box, peaking his head out to see Josh's assault on the slaver guards. The blonde took down two of them and ended up being distracted by the one with the vibroblade. Doug slowly inched back up and raised his blaster towards the remaining slaver that had a blaster, squinted, and then fired a precise shot towards him, hoping it would land without any trouble.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

The man with the blaster, obviously a trained slaver guard, would sidestep the blaster bolt and continue firing rapidly at Doug. It seemed Doug would have to be a little more assertive in his pursuit if he were hoping to get some hits in. Meanwhile, Josh would be fighting back and forth with the vibroblade wielder. He was surprised at the man's skill with a vibroblade and would be respectful if not for the man being a slaver. Finally, Josh would leap over the man's head, avoiding a slash at his underside as he did, and would stab his blade through the blaster man's skull from the back. The man would let out a piercing scream before falling in death.

Joshua would have to quickly sidestep and then get his blade up to avoid an attempted sneak attack from the vibroblade wielder, resulting in another clash. He would silently motion toward Doug with his eyes toward the man's back, as if signalling for him to shoot him.

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug had crouched behind the box for a bit as the blaster slaver had managed to avoid his shot and began a laser onslaught towards him. When he began to see an opening, he rose up and prepared to shoot at the slaver again, but Josh had managed to stab the man in the head before he could attempt another shot. He grimaced slightly at the sight, but he shook his head a little as he observed some more.

Doug watched the Jedi clash with the vibroblade slaver once more and as they clashed, he noticed that the blonde's eyes were glancing downward... Almost at the slaver's back. He tilted his head, but then he raised the blaster and fired a shot at the man's back. It seems that Doug got the memo after all. It wasn't over yet, though...

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"GAH!"

The man had let out a yelp in response to the searing-hot red of the blaster bolt striking his back, sending a searing sensation through his body as it would burn through his clothing and hit his flesh. While not the same as the bullet predecessors, the blaster bolts were meant for burning to death, which in some ways was a lot more effective. They also had unlimited ammo reserves, though they could overheat or run out of juice, but it was easily re-loadable.

The sensation caused the man to clutch his back, giving the Jedi an easy shot to bring the lightsaber onto his head, downing the man. This wasn't Josh's regular fighting style, but a necessary one to ensure that this particular mission was a success. He nodded over to Doug once he noted the slavers in the area were dead. "That seems to take care of the slavers in this area" Josh would observe as he scanned the area. He looked over at a door that seemed to lead inside the base, and creaked it open a little, noting the lack of slavers guarding the inside. Inside though, were a few slaves, cowering in the corner. Motioning Doug over, Josh would walk over, de-activating his lightsaber.

"Where are the slavers?" Josh would inquire, and one of the frightened slaves would point down the nearby stars. "Their... Their leader is down there, sar.... Are... Are you going to kill us as well?" One of them would ask.

Josh shook his head. "No. But I want you to run. All of you. Round up any slaves in this base and make a break for it" He said, handing one of them the key he had taken off one of the slavers. "If this key doesn't work, send one of you back to me and I'll look for a new one. Use it on the cages. Once you're all free, I want you to head to the top of the hill over west. We'll meet you there once we're done, and try to unlock those collars you're wearing" The Jedi would remark, and their eyes would lighten up in delight. "Th-thank you Mr. Jedi!" One of the slaves would respond gratefully, as Josh would hand them the key and they'd make a run for it, but not without remarking "There are more slaves below! The new ones are down there in cells, prepping for being processed to be sold! The ones up here are ones they're keeping themselves! We can save the ones on the surface, but please save the ones below before they are sold! Please sars! We beg you!" They would ask. Josh would smile a bit and nod. "We will. Thanks for the tip" The Jedi would respond and watched them run as he looked toward Doug. "Seeing as we didn't see your parents on the way here... It's safe to assume they're downstairs" Josh would remark. "You ready?"

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug had followed after Josh through the series of events that led to an encounter with some slaves, which Josh had given a key and the instruction to run and free any others. With some helpful tips given by them, they made have found a clue to where Doug's parents were.

When asked if he was ready to head down and see if the dynamic duo would find Doug parents, Doug nodded hastily. "Of course...!" He said somewhat eagerly. He really wanted this insane situation to finally be done with, didn't he?

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He nodded in response and the two would head down the stairs. As they were, the blonde would turn his head toward Doug to ask a question.

"So mind if I ask, what did you do back on Tatooine? And why in the blue hell would you even -try- to come out here, with little fighting experience, to try and take on a camp of slavers by yourself? Even for me alone it's a suicide mission but I'm trained for this. But you? Either you have a lot of guts, or you're just really stupid" The blonde would admit. "So what motivated it?"

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug looked down at the ground and scratched his head with the hand that was not griping the blaster. What a rather abrupt time to be asking that question. He was quiet as he himself did not seem to know the answer to it.

"... I thought I already mentioned that me and my family were moisture farmers... And I guess I don't know why I came. Family was taken away... i felt like I needed to do something about it... If I didn't, then I guess I thought no one else would... I need them and they need me. I wouldn't have been able to take care of everything by myself. I'd probably lose everything... It also helps that I do love my mom and dad. That's pretty important after all... I care about my family and I just felt like... I had to save them... I underestimated just what I was getting myself into, but I guess I just didn't care either way..." He started bantering on in a somewhat reserved manner. May not be the most straightforward answer, but he was getting his point across. Love for one's family is truly a wondrous thing...

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

The Jedi would nod in response. "Attachments... They used to teach us not to hold attachments. They once forbade love entirely. Of course, it turns out.... While love can make you do foolish and arrogant things, and give into your desires.... Love can also make you strong. Love can make you brave. Love can make you stand up and do things that you may be afraid to do otherwise. And it takes real courage to be able to stand up for someone you love, even at the risk of your own life" He observed aloud as they walked. "But you also did it because you would have nothing left otherwise..."

"So tell me... Are you a man driven by your love for your family? Or are you driven by your instinct to survive?"

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug scratched his head a little. He heard the Jedi speaking about his Order. Old rules that appeared to be defunct at this point. The tall blonde then asked him another question and it was a bit of a trickier one... Was this all about survival or love? He began to muse a little about it. He did care about his family without a doubt, but he did also mention what would likely happen to him if something bad happened to his parents. He wanted to see if they were okay...

He finally could speak up. "... I care about my parents. I really do. I mean, even if we somehow don't make it back home from wherever or whatever this planet is, it would just relieve me to see that they're alright and that I wouldn't be alone... What would I do if they were harmed or even...?" He started to speak, but then he choked up slightly and coughed into his arm. "Mmh... I just need to know." He uttered quietly as he lowered it, taking a deep breath.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

The Jedi would smile faintly underneath his hood, seeming satisfied with that answer. "You have a kind and unselfish heart. Sure, part of your motivation was survival, you wouldn't be able to survive without them. But at the same time, your love, your compassion, your regard for others, was what gave you the courage, gave you the strength to be able to make your way here despite having no means normally of getting here. You've defied danger and defied what you would normally find to be impossible, to make it possible. And then fate brought you here, at the same time as I was about to storm the camp.... The Force works in strange ways" Joshua would conclude. And in that moment, he thought he felt something... A ting. A sensitivity. A connection. There was something there, radiating from the young man.... Was it the Force? He certainly wasn't a Force User... But perhaps he was sensitive?

He would have to find out later, but for now, they needed to focus on finding Doug's family.

Josh would move behind a corridor when he heard footsteps, motioning for Doug to hide as well. Two guards were making their way through the hallway, blasters raised, seeming much more on guard after the commotion that had been heard upstairs...

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Whew, he didn't say anything that may have been considered wrong. The Jedi seemed to be commending him for what he had done surprisingly... That made him feel pretty good about himself despite the nuttiness of his actions... And he mentioned The Force again. Did it have to do with that coincidence? With the mention of that, he noticed that Josh seemed to look at him weirdly. He wasn't sure what that was about, but it seems that would have to wait for later.

The two appeared to have company as two more slavers had begun to head down the hallway. Doug looked to the sides and quickly hid behind another nearby corridor. How convenient!

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

As the two slavers would step past them, the Jedi Master would quickly lunge from behind, his strength allowing him to quickly grab and slam their heads together, knocking out the slavers for the moment. He would nod over at Doug before motioning for him to grab the other unconscious slaver into a room nearby. Once they had done that, the Jedi would take the uniform of the slaver, retreating somewhere private, and then returning garbed in the uniform himself, with a red hood over his head and face, smirking faintly under the hood as he would spin around a key for one of the cages down here. Perfect.

Josh would motion, without a word, for Doug to do the same, as he would move to hide the body. He hadn't killed them mainly because he didn't tend to go for a dishonorable fight.... Should they wake up and attack, of course, then he'd fight fairly. Once the body was hidden, he'd stand guard at the entrance to give Doug time to change into the disguise.

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug peaked out as Josh took out the two slavers with ease. They both had then proceeded to drag the unconscious bodies of the slavers into another room. After a bit of waiting, he saw that Josh had changed into the slaver outfit as a disguise. This was starting to sound very familiar...

Doug nodded at the motion and then took off the other slaver's uniform and retreated elsewhere to change into it. He returned garbed in the other uniform as well and looked down at what he was wearing. This was definitely a little different than what he was used to wearing. Doug then dragged the body of the other slaver and hid him as well. They were now ready to make their next move...

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Once the two had grabbed the disguises and hidden the bodies, Josh would quickly motion for Doug to walk alongside him as he would quickly walk down the hall. It was obvious what he was searching for, the holding cells. They needed to get the slaves out of here first and foremost before they could engage these guys in combat down here. Finally, after several minutes of walking, and several close calls of the Jedi thinking they may be caught, they would arrive at the holding cells, with bars all around them on both sides. They could see people in rags sitting around, with collars on their necks.

"Doug, find your parents" He ordered quietly toward the redhead. He needed to make sure Doug found his family so he could focus on the task at hand...

[member="Douglas Starwind"]

 

[Douglas Starwind]

Doug had followed after Josh and despite some close calls, they managed to get to the holding cells without any trouble after quite a bit of walking down the halls.

Doug nodded after Josh ordered him to look for his parents and he glanced around the cells to see if his parents were in any of them. It would be quite a shame if they got this far and they were nowhere to be seen.

After a bit of searching, his eyes came across some familiar faces... It was a tall man who appeared to be in his late 40s and a shorter woman in her early 50s. They were sitting there with misery in their eyes. The grown man bore a notable resemblance to Doug, sans his hair being much shorter and brown, having brown eyes, and sporting a red goatee. Sitting next to him was a woman with long blonde hair that was in a braid and green-ish eyes. It was them... It was them! "... Mom... Dad...?" He uttered. He glanced back at Josh and gestured for him to come over. "Josh...! I think I found 'em...!" He said quietly with a bit of excitement in his voice.