Private Massive Support

[Mathieu Brion]

Massive Support​

Worrying reports had been trickling in from a recent addition to the Silver Sphere. Ever since the world of Tol Amn joined the Concord, the local government's bonds had grown stronger with the central authorities and the Jedi. It was a relation which had been prospering for some time and meant that it was far from unexpected that their governing body reached out in a call for help.

The wreckage from the crashed ships had yet to be fully removed since the employees of the bulk-freighting company which had received the gruesome and enormous task started a strike for better working conditions. The strike had since turned into a long and infected battle between the employees and their employer resulting in their work slowing down into a complete halt. That was not what the request for aid was about, however. The true cause for the request was that in increasing number of salvagers had begun looting the wreckages for valuable ship parts and in rare cases personal belongings. These looters were proving to be well armed enough to fend off law enforcement tasked to remove them from the location. There was trouble from multiple perspectives - lawless looters were being a clear detriment to the safety and security of the locals and the Concord was loosing credits when the ship parts that they would have salvaged themselves were salvaged by criminals.

Mathieu had been sent to help out and had been convinced that he would be dwarfed in comparison to the rest of the aid that was being sent. It was an odd way to word things but at the same time, it was also pleasing to know that he would be far from alone in the quest to remove the scavengers. Arriving by shuttle, he had rented a larger hovertruck to drive to the destination, figuring that the need for transportation of both scavengers and valuable parts which would be exposed after they were removed, seeing as the heavy rain could damage electronics. Looking around, he wondered where the others were, seeing as they could travel together. Being by the outskirts, he would be easy to spot since he wore his robes over the armour and was pretty lonesome under rain shelter.

Calder Icehammer

 

[Calder Icehammer]

It had been a long time since Calder last saw the Silver Jedi. Long ago, he was there with WolfMortum when the temple was attacked by a group of droids. Or at least, he believed they were droids. The only thing he remembered was the overwhelming strength these attackers had, and his heart being pierced by one of their lances. But the machine was defeated, and before it could self destruct and kill them all the Beorni had used the last of his strength to freeze them both.

That should have been the end. And yet, he still woke back up. Whatever the explosion had been sent him planets away. He was bandaged. He was healed. He was alone. It took many years for him to find his way back to the Silvers, and by then they had changed completely. But the threat of the Sith hadn't faded. And the Jedi were still needed.

Tol Amn was another of these worlds that needed help. Scavengers weren't Sith, but they were endangering a good number of lives for greed. And every life needed to be protected. He wasn't the only being sent to this planet. A Padawan. Mathieu Brion . Once soldier, now Jedi. Tall, but not too tall. Which was fantastic, given that the speeders on this world were too small for him to fit in. He chose one of the hovertrucks, knowing that the Padawan would rent it. He sat in the back, calmly meditating.

And waited.

Sure enough, the Padawan rented the vehicle. He rose from where he was sitting, reaching out to open up the sliding door that allowed a driver to look back and make sure their cargo was fine, and stuck his head through to look out at where they were going. "The rain is on our side today, so long as we keep going in this direction."

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Massive Support​

Something had been feeling off. Mathieu knew that another force sensitive aligned to the light had to be nearby, but getting a sense of who or where they were was hard. For some reason, this one eluded him. Seeing as it was a lighter presence, he didn't have any big concerns and was content in assuming that they would reveal themselves sooner or later. Perhaps the person was just shy.

Finally feeling like he had been standing out there in the rain shelter for long enough, the large Padawan decided to hop into the hovertruck. It would be warmer and while the sound of heavy rain and thunder was pleasant for a while, it was a bit better when listened to from inside, perhaps even with some music to add a little dynamism to it. With that, he entered the vehicle.

His eyebrows furrowed when he felt how the weight in the vehicle seemed to shift before the slider to the back of the truck opened. While he may have normally reacted by unsheathing his sabre, this time was different - the light sided presence was still there. Even then he shoved towards the door, ready to try to evade a potential attack. It was not a small head that popped out - but the voice seemed calm and at peace. Sitting by the edge of his seat, Mathieu asked "Who are you? I am Padawan Mathieu Brion." whilst wondering if this was what they meant when speaking of how he would be dwarfed by the other aid that was sent.

Calder Icehammer

 

[Calder Icehammer]

"Master Calder Icehammer." The large ursine features pulled into a kind smile, or at least as well as his features allowed. "You may call me Calder, if you prefer. The Icehammer is more a title of my people." His icy eyes turned back towards the road ahead of him as he nodded. "We should be going. There are many who need our assistance." It was an awkward way to sit, but Calder didn't have much choice as he settled where he was. More laid down where he was, so he could stare out a window and at least see where they were going.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Massive Support​

"Uh-huh" - the words 'Master Calder Icehammer' didn't tell him much except for the title. That in itself did suggest that the massive being whom had just stuck his head out the hatch was a Jedi and an experienced one at that. But aside from that, Mathieu had never heard of the man. At least his smile looked nice - but in truth, he had not seen enough Beorni to judge properly. Still, the alien was believable enough for Mathieu to trust him and before long, they took off.

Considering how much Calder had said, Mathieu was feeling awfully quiet. The awkwardness in the cabin was palpable - thankfully, the trip was going to be short. But even then, the large Padawan would prefer to break the ice "Why do your people call you Icehammer? Yours was special?" Calder wouldn't be able to say more than a few words before Mathieu silently pointed toward a ship's bridge sticking up behind the treeline, notifying his traveling companion that they were close.

Calder Icehammer

 

[Calder Icehammer]

Calder was completely oblivious to the awkwardness of the silence. In truth, he preferred silence. It was calming. Gave him time to focus on keeping himself cool in such a warm world. Well, compared to home. He focused on the crystal that made up the head of his hammer, letting the natural cold it gave off cool him down as the ship took off. Though, as Mathieu Brion spoke he chuckled. He broke off his focus, instead wanting to listen to what the Padawan was asking.

It was only natural for him to have questions, given their odd introduction.

"I am The Icehammer because of the weapon I wield. Have you heard of the Iskristall? On frozen planets it is a type of crystal that behaves like ice. My people have learned how to craft much with it, and I took one to create the Icehammer."

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Massive Support​

"Right" the reasoning had Mathieu thinking, for something was missing, or at least so he though. He threw the Jedi Master an odd look from time to time as he pondered on it. He really didn't know much about the Beorni but it still seemed a little strange "Y'know, if I attached my lightsabre to a pole, it would be a sabrestaff, right? But people wouldn't call me 'Mathieu Sabrestaff' - it's nothing that's unique for me and many have done it before me. So, I can't help but to wonder, are you really the only one who thought of combining the crystal with a hammer?"

As he finished asking the question, Mathieu turned off the lights and with the thick layer of clouds above and the sun having started to set by the horizon, darkness would work as their cover. The speed of the truck was also decreased, seeing as how it would result in lower noise from the engine. All in an effort to hide their presence. Far in the distance, artificial lights could be seen by the wreckage of a crashed shuttle with a provisionary lightning catcher next to it. Sparks were coming from inside - clear signs of a welding tool in use. "So, how would you like to do? We're taking the peaceful approach first, right?"

Calder Icehammer

 

[Calder Icehammer]

"I was not the one who created this first, you are correct! You are very wise for someone so young." It was clear the aged figure was avoiding going into detail about why exactly he was called the Icehammer, and opted only to explain what he thought was relevant. He'd rather focus on the task at hand then dive into those old stories and wounds. His gaze shifted to look outside towards the rapidly approaching wreckage. They were still a distance away when they finally stopped, but close enough to see what was happening.

The lumbering figure pulled his head back from the compartment before leaving out the back of the truck. The figure stood to his full height and stretched out. On his hip, the Icehammer. The weapon fit to him as a one handed weapon, but it was as tall as the average person. And likely as heavy by how it looked. "We will always take the peaceful approach. Should they fire upon us, defend yourself and stay behind me. I do not wish for you to come to any harm." There was another of those Beorni smiles before his attention was pulled forward once again.

He lead the way, head held high as he gaze over the group they were approaching. Scavengers for sure, armed with some pretty good weaponry. The Beorni's eyes narrowed lightly as he stared at one blaster in particular. Military issue. He lifted his hands. Rain was pelting him, but his water resistant fur kept him from getting actually wet. "I am Jedi Master Calder of the Silver Concord. This is Padawan Mathieu Brion . We would like to speak to you about a peaceful resolution to this conflict. This is property of the Concord, and what you are doing is illegal. Do you have a leader in which I could converse with?"

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Massive Support​

Mathieu threw an amused glance to his side. Okay, so maybe it was a topic which Calder wasn't too keen on covering - it was odd, for he did not seem to have the same qualms with revealing his nickname in the first place. But everyone had their secrets and there was really no reason for the Padawan to keep poking the bear. "Thank you, Master Calder" he said, a little puzzled. Few had ever credited Mathieu for being wise. It was a pleasant thing to hear but part of him wondered how genuine it was.

Soon, it was decided. The peaceful approach. Always the peaceful approach. It brought a soft smile to the Morellian's lips. It was just what he liked to hear - for while he was remarkably well equipped for a fight, he did have strong preference towards not hurting people if possible. Whether they be friends or foes. "Behind you, Master?" he asked, having looked for a sabre without success. "How do you fend off blasters?" he asked, making the nature of his uncertainty more clear.

Soon, they approached the crashed shuttle - they had been spotted from a distance - it was only natural seeing as how large they were - Calder in particular. The Scavengers looked to the two Jedi as one of them, a Twi'lek, contacted the others over comlink. Soon, a few heads could be seen sticking up from a shuttle further away and in the distance, a speeder engine ignited. The scavengers were not openly hostile but they seemed ready for a fight, all holding on to their weapons and eyeing the strangers carefully. "If you really cared about your property, you wouldn't have let them shoot it down. And that ship over there belonged to the Raiders" a seemingly eloquent Ithorian spoke, appearing to be their leader.

The middle-aged alien spoke, seemingly somewhat agitated by everything that was happening "If you really cared about what's right, you won't be asking us to leave while letting the Looters stay" he said, uttering the name of the other group with disgust "We're here making an honest living when you guys have neglected the treasures that can be found within these ships. The looters are plundering the wreckages - and not only the ships" The alien crossed his arms over his chest "When you tried to get us to leave the first time, we did so. But then the looters stayed. This time, we ain't going anywhere until you've dealt with them first" his voice was one of sheer determination.

Calder Icehammer

 

[Calder Icehammer]

"How do you fend off blasters?"​

The Beorni grinned this time as he glanced to the Padawan and only offered a wink as an answer. He either was keeping more secrets, or knew they'd already been spotted. Who knew what ears were around. Now before the Raiders he kept his hands up to show he was disarmed, and listened to their plight. Multiple groups were trying to scavenge the ship? Well, at least that was more information than before. His silver blue eyes scanned over for the Twi'lek for a moment, then he nodded.

"Then we will go to speak with these Looters first. But before we do, you have shown yourself to be resourceful. The Concord would not mind your assistance with dismantling this ship so the pieces might be refurbished. While I cannot promise the pay you might get on the black market, you would be still well compensated for what you do bring. And, you will not have to be considered a hostile enemy." He paused to let the words settle in, then bowed his head.

"I will be giving the same offer to these Looters. There is no reason we all cannot work together. Please, keep an open mind." Then he turned to leave. Well, once he was pointed in the Looters' direction. He walked towards that way silently, not even looking at Mathieu Brion until they were quite a distance away.

"Tell me, what did you see with them? What did they strike you as?"

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Massive Support​

The scavengers listened as the large Jedi Master spoke, apparently not being in a rush to have the conversation end. While they tried their best to not show much of a reaction, the scavengers were not master negotiators and from time to time, a seemingly interested nod could be spotted at the offer. But the verbal response was far more reserved "We will be here. Safe travels, Jedi." It was not a friendly phrase expressed as they parted ways - in a sense, it seemed more like an ominous warning but in the end, it was hard to tell exactly.

As they heard that the same offer would be extended to the looters, the Ithorian let out a most annoyed "OOoUUUHHhhhhh" but the Twi'lek quickly rushed to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder in the hopes of calming him down. Mathieu looked to the group, wondering what had just happened but instead of sharing what they had on their mind, the crew returned to salvaging the shuttle for parts. Just as the two Jedi left, the speeder arrived with more well-armed Scavengers, showing that they had a rather strong defence and a system well adapted to defending against unexpected threats.

When they were a fair bit away, Calder asked the question "The Ithorian leader seemed nice" he said, keeping light tone as he reflected on his spontaneous reflection on them. "I don't know how law-abiding they are" the words made Mathieu think of himself when he was still a Mercenary. And similarly to himself, he had one more reflection to add "But I don't think that they're bad people. At least, it didn't seem that way." he said, not even having thought about discovering their nature through the force.

Moving just a little ahead of the Master, Mathieu lead them closer to a treeline. There weren't many trees and some had fallen nearby - but at least it was something - for as things stood, Calder seemed like a prime target for a lightning strike, tall as he was. "That weird sound he made at the end though. I don't think they're very fond of the idea of working with the looters." His forehead furrowed for a few moments "But then, if the looters also disturb the bodies of those who've passed, I wouldn't blame the Scavengers for disliking the idea."

Calder Icehammer

 

[Calder Icehammer]

"And is that the only possible reason they might not like the idea of working with them?" Calder naturally could of answered, but there was something about being with a Padawan that brought out the teacher in him. Except, there was no smile this time. Around him the Spirits were restless. Violence. Death. It might of seemed easy at first to get the two groups to cease their aggression and instead work alongside the Concord, but they all had spilt blood. He pulled out a datapad from a back pocket, which was the size of Mathieu Brion 's bicep, idly scrolling through it for information.

Amount dead: None reported. Amount Injured: Twenty. He doubted those numbers were accurate, but it did tell a tale on it's own. He handed the Padawan the datapad, nodding to the incident reports. "Blood has been spilt. No death, but tensions will be high. What is our duty as Jedi here?" Another question, but this answer wasn't as obvious as the last. He watched the man closely, curious on just how far along Mathieu was in his training on this sort of matter.

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Massive Support​

"No" of course there were more reasons - Mathieu had not spent much time thinking about them - this was simply the one he thought was the most plausible one. Thinking out loud, he listed a few possibilities he could think of "Maybe they just don't like each other because of a clash of personalities. Or maybe they don't want to share the profits from salvaging the ship parts. Perhaps they think that the other team lacks the skill to do it properly. I don't know - for all we know, he might just be in a bad mood. With two Jedi barging in to remove him, it wouldn't be too far fetched, right?"

The Beorni soon took out an absolutely gargantuan datapad. It was higher than the highest mountains and had more girth than the planet of Coruscant - from a certain point of view. Receiving the humongous datapad, Mathieu looked the information it displayed over "Well, the local government asked us to remove the ones who were scavenging the ships." he said and added "Removing them could consist of transforming their nature from lawless scavengers to hired salvagers." Mathieu looked up at the Master but soon allowed his gaze to fall again as he considered the question once more "As Jedi, our duty is to establish peace and harmony" He looked up at the large ursine again, suspecting that he wanted to make peace between the two groups. Mathieu thought it was risky "Our task is to approach everyone with an open mind and make our decisions with clarity and serenity" he said, choosing to not say what he thought that Calder thought but he wasn't keen on.

Calder Icehammer

 

[Calder Icehammer]

"That cry wasn't of them not just disliking one another. Or that they thought these Looters weren't up to snuff. That was genuine anger. You saw their weapons, right? Military grade." Calder reached over Mathieu Brion , specifically tapping the casualty report. "These numbers aren't right. They wouldn't be that heavily armed for so few casualties. I believe there have been actual skirmishes between the Looters and Raiders that have resulted in injuries or, more likely, death. The Ithorian's fury was likely because of that."

With that spoken out loud the Beorni took back his datapad to stuff away in it's pouch on his belt. Ahead the sparks of another crew taking apart the ship were clearly seen. Likely the Looters. Well, hopefully. "That is the exact answer I wanted to hear. Or was it?" He peered down at the padawan again, suspiciously so.

"I want to know what you think. Not just about what our task should be, but of this situation. You do not need to hold yourself back. There is no learning if you do not stand by what you believe."

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Massive Support​

His eyes followed the massive datapad as Calder somehow managed to put it back in the pouch again. The large Padawan had been honest about waht his thoughts were to the extent that he spoke of his thoughts at all - but it seemed like the Jedi Master wanted more. He asked fore something more specific and concrete. Perhaps repeating words from the Jedi code wouldn't work so well on this one. For a while, he grew silent, thinking on what he thought of the situation "To me, it sounded like the Scavengers were genuinely disgusted by the Looter's approach to things. If they told the truth, I would assume that they the Scanveres tried to cooperate with the local authorities at first but came back here when they noticed that the Looters had managed to resist pressure from the authorities. So they had to get armed themselves." he said, explaining how the scenario which he saw as the most likely looked.

As the kept walking, the former Mercenary returned to his previous, more vague point "But we can't just act on the information one side has provided us with, so we'll have to look at the matter from a more neutral point of view. And that can only be done once we have heard what the Looters have to say for themselves. If we are lucky, it is a conflict which can be solved in a way that peace is created between them but if not, I think we should be prepared to make the ultimate outcome less ideal for one side while still doing our best to avoid using violence." he let out a long breath before admitting "I don't really know how that would be accomplished - but I usually don't plan that far ahead anyways"

Calder Icehammer