For a Brighter Future, Together | Midvinter Aftermath [Silver Jedi & Allies]

[Echob Krirgo]

He ran off, with the boy on his back. Sensing more Jedi nearby, he followed his senses. Refugees and bodies were everywhere, some refugees sluggishly walking and some sprinting. Bodies reached up to his hands in some areas. Great. Now he would have to clean off his robes. When he finally got out of the sea of bodies, he saw a building in front of him on fire. There were flaming men and women screaming and running, just succeeding in igniting more. He quickly ran in a different path around the house, to not be burnt himself.

Finally, he saw a bunch of Jedi Knights and Masters by a nearby house. He ran over, almost tripping over a large corpse. Eventually he got to them.

"Sir! Sir! I have a little boy who lost his mother, do you know where she is? If not, then can you take care of him?" he said, out of breath and desperate.
"Please help the poor boy! He's sick and weak and in pain!" he said loudly. All the effort in carrying the boy and moving over the bodies had worn him out, and he fell down, fainting.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member="Nina Heavenshield"] | [member="Matsu Ike"] | [member="Arisa Yune"] | [member="Tyluko Dubykee"] | @Soriel Crieff | [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] | [member="Catherine Soja"] | [member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

He then got down on one knee himself to place a fatherly kiss upon the padawan's forehead, before rising once more with help from his wife. "Miss Yune," he then turned to the Atrisian woman. "Do whatever you can for these people. They've all been through the worst hell imaginable. I want every Ranger able to stand to aid in the restoration of the city. Have... have them bring in and distribute all the food, water and medicine your ships can spare." There was little in the way of commanding tone in his voice, with his words resembling more of a plea for help. Thurion then offered the Jedi Knight a bow of his head.

"Already on it," she said with a nod. "While the ringleaders evaded capture, there are still hundreds of their ilk on the surface, including a large number of Acolytes. I've tasked some Ranger units as well as my own forces to begin processing the survivors as POWs for now, and they will be transferred off planet to my ships for holding."

Her initial greeting had come out a little hoarse, but as she continued speaking, her voice would become more steady as she spoke as a commander, expression solemn. Seeing and feeling the well of emotions from the Grandmaster, she felt the need to stiffen up or she might find herself breaking down. There would be a time for mourning, but right now she needed to keep it together to complete the task at hand. While this was still very much a new uncomfortable reality for the Silver Jedi, the Republic transplant had known nothing by this sort of ruin for the past few years. Her last battle for the Republic would lead her to witness the death of thousands in a single terrible stroke of evil. This was her life now.

While attempting to remain poised, she reached up to give Thurion a small stroke on the shoulder. She imagined that many people would be looking to him for aid and guidance, but he was just as devastated by events as the rest and required the same kind of comfort. They were all victims here.

She wanted to offer words of comfort at that point, but a ping from her neural link drew her attention away from the immediate scene. Rangers were reporting some violent outbreak at one of the processing camps outside the city. Her expression darkened at that news, and she would begin to pull away.

"I'll be sure that the people are taken care of," she said. "I've ended the blockade of the 7th fleet, so we should be seeing more relief units from Voss. As always, Kiribi is a friend to the Silver Jedi, President Blake sends his regards."

With that, she turned away to address the emergency personally. Even then, the Sith did not respect the Silvers, so she would make an example of some to finally shut up the whole lot so she wouldn't have to send them on a first class trip into the sun. She was nearly at that point with frayed nerves.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Tyluko-Kai Kaimana]

"Stay strong...trust the Force"

This is what the Dolphinarian told himself as he and the Valkyri boy, Thonro approached the charred, broken remains of the boys house. Small fires still flickered about, eating away at the corners of the wreckage. The sight broke Tyluko's sensitive heart. The small boy climbed down from his shoulders walking a few steps through the snow towards his house.

"Thonro....I am so sorry" was the only thing Tyluko could think to say as he gazed upon what used to be the boy's entire world.

The boy just looked at the scorching cinders that were once his home, his shelter....his world. "I used to wait with Mama at the house for Papa to come home from his fishing trips. I would always run out to see him as he came home, and try to see if I could hold the fish that he had caught that day......now it's gone." The boy said as tears began to fall down his cheeks.

Tyluko walked up behind the child placing his hands on the boys shoulders. "I am so sorry, little one. It is not fair and I can understand if you are upset."

The boy turned around and looked up at Tyluko. "I just....I just....Wish I could see my mama one last time." he said before hugging Tyluko and nuzzling his head into his body.

Tyluko hugged the boy back, closing his eyes as he held the boy. He focused the Force to help calm his mind and also the mind of the boy. However he felt something....a small ping in the Force trying to alert him to something. He sensed a feeling of desperation, a feeling of pain and despair. What could it be....... Then he suddenly realized it. His eyes shot open and he looked at the rubble.

There was someone still alive in there.

[member="Coci Heavenshield"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel listened to the Grand Master’s response. It seemed the main assault was not the only Sith action on the planet and she wondered how many villages or outlying settlements had been attacked — or were possibly still under threat. With the focus here, it was an easy target for any cowardly Sith that preferred to take on undefended locals.

As they travelled, she respected Thurion’s silence — this was clearly personal for him and her ability to be dispassionate was hardly an asset at this point. Maybe it was even a weakness?

She sensed them losing altitude before the Grand Master confirming they were at their destination. The scenes were of nothing short of devastation.

And as they landed, she sensed other Jedi were already here and was preparing to disembark when the Grand Master placed his hand on her shoulder. She wondered if she had some tell-tale sign of her previous work was present. She knew her robes were damp from the snow, had some mud splattered on them and were torn in a couple of places. And although she had no time to get changed, the thought crossed her mind that she had something foreign on her cloak.

But she soon realised that the hand was a reassuring one. So she paused as he left the ship and took in the massacre first hand.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Coci Heavenshield"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

"I am alright", she whispered to him as her husband enfolded her in his arms, and she was physically with only minor injuries. Her arms found their own way around him, one hand reaching for his face and her finger tips played with his beard. "How many times have we done this?, found each other and bathed each other's wounds and soothed our souls?", she pulled back from the embrace to look into his eyes. "No doubt we will continue to do so ..", .. I should have killed him. Her unvoiced words sitting at the front of her mind, it had been Connor Harrison that had sold them out, a low act even for him. "I was too lenient .. I gave him a chance .. but I failed and my failure has done this, I should have been stronger and kil ...". She closed her eyes still unable to say the word, her spoken words not making sense to those that would hear them.

"I am alright", she repeated if only to convince herself of such. "And there is still much to be done here for these people, I am sure you saw the destruction". Coci let out a long breath, finally releasing the tension in her body and it was completely due to Thurion's presence, she was able to take solace in this once more.

Around them all the healers continued their work, some of them pausing to see who had come to the house but they did not stop. It was then she noticed Sorel, "Master Crieff, we could use your help .. there is too many". And soon the ceremony would begin, the first part of the 'healing' process for the Valkyri.

​

​

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Joza Perl"] | [member="Tyluko Dubykee"] | [member="Sorel Crieff"]​

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

"Too many to count," he replied, "and we'll continue to do so until the end of time." His words were intended to serve both as comfort for his wife while also reminding himself that the fight would never be truly over. Retiring and settling down won't change that. The struggle between light and dark is eternal, that much is known to anyone. Coci's next words were more akin to rambling, a mess of words that very few would be able to grasp without context.

"What's done is done, sweetie," he shushed her, soothed her. "Do not lament being unable to kill an old friend. You would not have been able to live with yourself if you had." Whether it had truly been Connor that informed the Sith of the family's connection to Midvinter was unclear, and even so there was no telling whether he had parted with the information willingly. If there is one thing the Sith are good at, it's getting what they want using any means at their disposal. Thurion was not so willing to give up on Connor just yet. Perhaps he is just being gullible, but such is his way.

His hand moved down to settle upon her tummy as his lips found hers for an all-too brief kiss. "You need to sit down, my love. Let others shoulder the burden for once," he urged her, taking her delicate condition into consideration. "Sorel," he turned to the woman, hand grasping hers while keeping an arm wrapped around his wife. "Please see to these people's needs. I'm leaving you in charge of the relief efforts here. Coordinate with [member="Joza Perl"] and her healers." Thurion squeezed her hand gently before stepping aside with Coci, finding a quiet place away from the crowds. As they passed Joza he offered her a thankful nod.

The stables were still intact, and the hay would make things comfortable for his wife to sit down in. "I know you want to help, but you need to take a moment to yourself," he told her in gentle voice, hand once more caressing her tummy. "You're living and breathing for two, now," he added with a smile and sat down beside her, resting her head against his shoulder while his fingers played in her hair. "I love you."

[member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member="Sorel Crieff"] | [member="Tyluko Dubykee"]​

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel gave Thurion and Coci a few moments, hanging back to allow the two to chat before she stepped close to them.

She bowed politely to Coci and nodded when asked to help. “I am at your disposal,” she said, “Anything and everything I can do, I shall. My healing skills are mostly field medic level, but I can turn my hand to most things.”

And then she turned her attention back to Thurion. She took his hand as she understood the sadness he was going through. You didn’t need to be an Empath to understand the conflicting emotions — and few of them were positive. And with Coci pregnant, she wondered how he shouldered all of the responsibilities he currently embraced with a combination of dignity and resoluteness.

“Of course,” she replied simply and headed off to find Joza — her healers were sadly the top of Sorel’s list of needs right now.

Fortunately Joza was nearby and Sorel spotted her and immediately headed in her direction.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Coci Heavenshield"] [member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza returned [member="Thurion Heavenshield"]’s nod with a momentary bow of her head as he moved on to comfort his wife. Her focus was mainly put towards handling the injured, concentration narrowing as she slowly injected the burnt man with a syringe of generic anti-inflammatory medication. The nearby conversation faded to soft mumbling, and the Zeltron wasn’t about to intrude by overtly listening, though a few words of importance tickled her ear. Living and breathing for two? It admittedly took her a few moments to come to the conclusion that [member="Coci Heavenshield"] was pregnant, though it conjured a soft, muted sort of happy feeling in her. Babies brought so much joy with them, if her own experience was anything to go by.

The familiar face of [member="Sorel Crieff"] approached next, and Joza couldn’t help but give an old friend a small, tired smile. Sorel was one of the few friends that was still around from her Padawan days—around meaning not dead or turned to Sith ways. “Sorel,” She greeted softly with a bit more warmth this time around. “It’s good to see you again.” Questions formed on her tongue. How had she been? What had she been up to with the Silver Jedi while Joza had drifted to other parts of the galaxy? Now wasn’t the time to play catch up, though. She gestured towards the man she’d been attention to, face gnarled by streaking burn wounds. “We don’t have many Force-abled healers here, myself included.” Joza’s own ability to heal via the Force had disappeared a long while ago. “Please, jump in anywhere you see fit.”

 

[Tyluko-Kai Kaimana]

He could feel it, the vibrations through the Force given off by someone in distress. Someone was trapped under the rubble, struggling. He could sense the desperation and pain being felt. He had to act quickly.

"Thonro! There is someone in that rubble, I can sense it!"

The boy looked at him his eyes full of confusion and he stuttered to find his words "But..wha.. I I....I don't under.." Tyluko quickly cut him off "Trust me someone is under there and we need to get them out now!"

Thonro ran towards the rubble and started to clear away what pieces of the wreckage he could. Desperately trying to clear it away. "Momma! Momma I'm coming!!"

Tyluko took a deep breath, he had to use the Force to lift away the rubble but admittedly his current fatigued state would make this difficult but he had to. He closed his eyes and took one more deep breath, his lungs filling with the fresh, frigid air as he began to focus the Force. He focused on the rubble, picturing it in his mind outstretching his hands to channel the Force to lift the rubble. Thonro looked on with amazement as the rubble slowly began to clear away. Tyluko gritted his teeth as he removed one last piece of debris revealing a woman clinging to life.

Thonro's eyes lit up and he ran to the woman. "Mother! You are ok!" he cried as tears streamed down his face. The boy kneeled in front of the woman gently clutching her hand. The woman's eyes fluttered weakly and she let out a strained cough as she tried to speak. The woman raised her hand to stroke her son's cheek managing to give him a smile "Thonro, my beloved son......yo....you are alive...."

"Yes mama, I am alive because of this man, his people are here to help and he helped find you"

Tyluko walked over to the woman kneeling beside her, the woman managed to smile weakly at him "Thank you....kind stranger". The woman was weak, she was clinging to life by a thread and she needed help immediately. "It was my pleasure ma'am but we must find you medical attention immediately. Please allow me to help you"

The Woman nodded weakly as she closed her eyes again. Tyluko wasted no time; he gently scooped the woman into his arms and began to run back to where the other Jedi were located. Thonro followed right beside him, his small tiny hands grasping his mother's. Tyluko could feel the life essence of the woman draining prompting him to run even faster. He eventually reached back to where the other Jedi were.

"Help Masters, we need help! This woman needs help immediately, please!"

[member="Coci Heavenshield"] [member="Joza Perl"] [member="Sorel Crieff"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

It was a double edged sword, yes she would have lamented killing Connor, and if things had gone different in the Dark Heart, that is precisely what she would have done. Coci had tried her best to reason with him, but it became very clear that reason had left his mind at that point but even still she had done her best to provide him with a glimmer of hope but in the events afterward he had extinguished that himself. Now, with his new set of 'friends', and what she had come to believe he had done here on Midvinter, his actions now unforgivable .. at least to her. Especially, what the Sith had done here, he can revel in his so called 'victory' but she knew that one day it would all come back to haunt him.

And so Coci, let her husband lead her from the house that had become the healers hall and into a stable still standing after the attack. The smell of the hay was sweet and warm and so very inviting now she was able to take time for herself with Thurion. Fatigue of the mind started to take a toll on her physically and as they took comfort in each other, she laid back against the hay encouraging him to follow her. "This is the second time we have taken our rest in a nest of straw", she even managed at smile when thinking of the Gryphon, but there was no feathers this time.

Soon they would have to find energy enough to commence the ceremony, and face the horrors of the situation once more but the people of Husavik needed them, need all of them to show strength for the fallen, and shoulder the grief alongside them. Thurion, their Thane and Lord of Midvinter would stand and give the blessing, and Coci would stand by his side as always but these people demanded more then this, their would look to them both to give them hope for the future.

"We have to come back here Thurion, we have to protect these people as best we can", the west was greatly exposed as are some other parts of Midvinter and now they would have a new duty to take them into their next phase of their lives. She turned in the hay until she could look him in his blue eyes, "I love you too, with all that I am". And she kissed him deeply.

​

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Sorel Crieff"] | [member="Joza Perl"] | [member="Tyluko Dubykee"]​

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel returned Joza’s smile and bowed simultaneously. She’d been with the Silvers for many years now and it seemed few Jedi that she remembered from her Padawan days were still around. But Joza was one — even if they didn’t necessarily socialise any more.

“In better circumstances it would have been great to catch up on old days and what’s happened since. But right now? I think we know what’s the priority.”

So she took Joza’s words at face value and wandered over to the nearest casualty. She was no master Healer, but she knew enough. And the first person she encountered was beyond her repertoire in terms of his burns but she could definitely help his pain, so placed a hand on a part of his body that wasn’t damaged and pushed the Force into his body. She both ensured his pain was taken away and also pressed through the emotion of calm — to allow him to rest. And as she did, she looked around for some help to take over to allow her to move on to help someone else.

[member="Tyluko Dubykee"] [member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

With a few polite words in response, [member="Sorel Crieff"] had swiftly inserted herself into the relief process. Joza had to smile briefly at that. To her, the Jedi Master was the type of person who could clearly see her own priorities, managing to gently set other things aside in favor of doing what needs to be done—for that, Joza was proud of her friend Sorel. Though their own ambitions and goals kept them in different parts of the galaxy, an air of friendliness remained around the two.

However, the aura of the approaching [member="Tyluko Dubykee"] was far less peaceful—there was no doubt that both Jedi would feel his frantic nerves drift toward them like the chilly Midvinter air.

The Zeltron shot upwards from her crouched position, motioning for another healer to take her place as swift footsteps brought her out of the stone home and towards the Dolphinarian who was cradling a woman clinging to life. “Oh no,” She whispered softly, face set in grim determination as she gestured for another Heka Healer to take Sorel’s place. “Where did you find her?” She asked Tyluko, eyes quickly pouring over the injured woman to see what she could assess. “Come, bring her inside!” Waving towards the hut, she glanced down at the small child her heart nearly crumbled right then and there. It didn’t take a doctor to know that at first glance, this woman was gravely injured. “Sorel, I’ll need your help with this one…”

 

[Tyluko-Kai Kaimana]

As Tyluko reached the stone home where the Silver Jedi were performing medical aid, he stopped for a brief moment, his lungs felt like they were burning as he gasped for air. He looked down upon the weak and dying woman cradled in his arms, and then to Thonro clutching her arm he felt his strength return. Two Jedi had come out to respond to his panicked calls for help. As they came out he watched as their eyes fell upon the woman in his arms; he didn't have to be a Jedi to sense the emotions they were both feeling. One of the Jedi who had bright pink skin looked up at him asking him where she was found. "Master, I found her trapped under the rubble of their destroyed home, I have tried to do what I can but her injuries appear to be very severe."

The Jedi then ushered them inside, and Tyluko followed with Thonro right by his side. The other Jedi looked down at Thonro who could only manage to look back at them with sorrowful, pleading eyes. As they went inside the hut, Tyluko looked around to see numerous Valkyri being treated by healers. Many were in very bad shape and some appeared to not have made it. Tyluko bowed his head in sorrow and muttered a prayer under his breath. Thonro looked up at Tyluko and then to the two Jedi healers "Is my mother going to be alright....Please do something for her..sh....she is all I have left." His voice shaking as tears swelled in his eyes. The sight broke Tylukos heart, he used his tail to nudge the boy closer to him, softly embracing him with it. Tyluko then looked up to his fellow Jedi, "Please do what you can" he said softly.

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Sorel Crieff"] [member="Coci Heavenshield"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Joza Perl]

“Lay her down here.” The Zeltron managed to clear a space with a rug beneath it—not the most luxurious bedding but the best they could do in these circumstances. Even without a doctor’s eye, it was becoming increasingly apparently that the woman’s injuries were far too severe to survive. Green eyes studied her crumpled form, noting the shallowness of her breath indicative of damaged lungs.

Nudging the small child gently, she tapped at his arm. “Boy, why don’t you hold your mother’s hand? It will make her more comfortable to know that you’re here.” Her voice was soft and maternal, not quite hinting at why. Was the child old enough to know of death? She didn’t know, and that wasn’t her place. Her gaze flickered up to [member="Tyluko Dubykee"] with sympathy, understanding the young Jedi’s plight. They couldn’t save everyone, and that was a lesson that Joza still found hard.

Gingerly, she placed two fingers at the woman’s shoulder and concentrated. The Zeltron was no healer, but she sought to take up for it by mastering pain—first her own, then beyond her. Crucitorn had its uses, and at the very most she could allow this woman to slip into death in peace.

[member="Tyluko Dubykee"]