Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Never More Nellore

Tabaqui ; Nellore, Former manufacturing capital.



Tucked away in its little corner of Levantine Sanctum space, Tabaqui was feeling the reaches of outside contact once more. Granted, this contact was small and insignificant. There may be small game hunting trips on the planet and outsiders coming to trade with locals, but it was nothing on the scale of what the planet once was. Doubtful that is ever would be restored. Yet perhaps this was for the better. Tabaqui had a past that wasn't exactly rosy.


Judah stood on a small hill on the outskirts of Nellore. From a distance it looked quiet and peaceful, the ruins a monument to the fallen planet. Reports from others had stated otherwise. Nellore had survivor activity inside. Not the friendly kind that relief aid could build a stick-frame house for and set up in a small village. Rather vicious warlords that used others as slaves, pawns in their turf wars. What exactly they had been fighting over remained a mystery to Judah. More territory? Tabaqui was all but uninhabited. They could have acres upon acres of stretches with little to no opposition.


Beside him, [member="Coci Sinopi"] was quiet, taking in the city with him. The woman had settled on Tabaqui near a village. Judah had been tempted to move out here himself. Or at least build a quiet corner to escape to when things got rough. He might as well. Today wouldn't be the day though to build a oceanside shack though.


"You know....this isn't going to be easy. Whats the final plan for Nellore? You know...after all this is said and done."
 
She remembered the events of the village near the home that [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] had built for their family, close to the lake. They too had troubles with crime lords who demanded payment for what they loosely deemed protection, from what she did not know, considering the village lived in peace before their arrival. They had terrorised that village for the sake of profit and nothing more, and worse in their demands of women for slaves. Once Thurion and she had uncovered this hidden terror, they put a stop to it.

But now, the same had come to Nellore, an old city once thriving in trade and industry so history tells, but now lay waste, not only from conflict but the ravages of time. A small pocket of people had once more made Nellore home, which invited the unsavoury.

“Maybe we should let the people decide that, I think all we need to do is give them the freedom to do so and maybe give them a structure in security and defence to keep it”. She looked over at Judah, a member of the Sanctum.

No visage of a Jedi stood beside Judah today, but a woman clad in casual clothing, yet practical for the situation. Saber and blaster hidden under a charcoal jacket would be all that indicated her as Jedi.

“Besides where would the fun if it was simple. When is life ever that”, she smiled. Only recently had Coci stood the grounds of the battle fields of Midvinter and side by side with Thurion did she fight the massive army of Valkyri, what would be a few criminals? Never underestimate your enemy.

[member="Judah Dashiell"]
 
[member="Thurion Heavenshield"], [member="Judah Dashiell"]


"Freedom's not a magic wand that will make everything better. These people have been in the dark ages for centuries. Simply kicking out a gang of villains won't change that. Never mind the fact that the slaves won't have anything resembling an education. Without giving them that, they'll just end up de facto slaves again after being nominally freed," a third voice suddenly spoke as Siobhan Kerrigan stepped forward.



"So, what's the plan? Beyond beating up criminals. Well, that depends on the level of commitment. Place needs nfrastructure, basic services, running water. And naturally security and an administration. Ideally both will at least somewhat pay attention to lessons about civic duty and good governance instead of being crooks paying lip service, but that's ideally. Line between a constable and an armed thug gets blurry even after 'liberation' on a third world hellhole. Hell, I grew up on one. Took OP years to straighten Dahomey out and we had plenty of resources then. Tabaqui's even worse off. Nation-building is a queen. Oh, and hi, Mr Dashiell, Master Jedi. Sorry I'm late," she gave Judah and Coci a nod as she approached them. For a change Siobhan was not wearing her ridiculously imposing beskar'gam, but came dressed simply in casual clothing. Pants, a sleeveless shirt, her feet tucked in combat boots. Bolt pistol was on her hip, lightsabre tied to her belt.


Dahomey had been the first planet she and Tegaea had liberated. A third world planet in the grips of warlords and slave traders. She left out the part that in order to pacify and develop it, Omega Pyre had needed to use methods that would probably be unpalatable to the Levantines. That was when OP had still been cool in her estimation and gotten things done. However, while the planet was a lot better off than before, it was still governed as a colony. Siobhan also happened to have an adopted daughter who had fled an awful civil war from a planet in wild space and then lived almost a decade alone in the wilderness.



After all, no thread about helping the downtrodden would be complete without a total cynic in the party. Who liked to talk a lot. Besides, it gives this writer to make more or less informed sociopolitical commentary on concepts such as nation-building, humanitarian intervention and the thin line separating it from imperialism.
 
[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Coci Sinopi"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Thessa Kai"]



"Letting the natives decide makes sense.....what if they only want to be slaves?" Moral questions abounded in this situation. As the normally-clothed Kerrigan arrived, she only added more questions than answers to their situation. They could easily liberate the slaves on Nellore. Yet they knew nothing but slavery -- or at least the majority of them did. Village structure or governmental structure would be a vastly unknown concept.


"I wouldn't say you are late Lady Kerrigan. Just debating here. I suppose we can educate the slaves but this is a long and perhaps tediously slow process. They would need protection in the long term. Does the Sanctum even care about this little back water enough to station troops to watch over them? If so, who can we trust to not abuse power?"


Judah looked back to Master Sinopi.


"Sounds like a Jedi relief effort if I've ever heard of one. What if instead of troops we have educators to help work out problems? I dont know....it just feels like if we involve the military it would be trading one warlord for another in their eyes."



OOC Note :

Feel free to jump in when/if you can Thurion. Also, see, I do post Thessa. Perhaps you should join us someday but I doubt you will

:p
 
"Whatever we decide upon, we still gotta take out their captors", came the voice of Thurion scaling the small hill. "They've got tight security throughout the entire perimeter. Getting in unnoticed won't be easy. Mr. Dashiell, Master Kerrigan..." he greeted the two, then sent a wink and a smirk [member="Coci Sinopi"]'s way. "Then again, where would the fun be were it simple?"

With Tabaqui being as hot as it is, you wouldn't see Thurion don his trusty leather jacket in its tropical forests. Thus he simply wore a black tank-top and combat pants/boots. On his hip rested his lightsaber fastened to his utility belt. Quite the opposite from wearing full plate armour on top of thick furs like he did on Midvinter.

"As for what comes next for these people, well... We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Won't know the facts until we get in there."

[member="Judah Dashiell"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
 
[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Judah Dashiell"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

[SIZE=10.5pt]“There must be some form of infrastructure in place, even if only rudimentary, these crime lords generally speaking like their modern conveniences, in time that could be developed and extended”,[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt] she turned to the woman that had just arrived and offered a bow of the head in respect and greeting. “Coci Sinopi”, she offered as introduction.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]“Freedom from oppression will create issues on many levels, but without freedom they do not have the freedom of choice? Or the ability to acquire knowledge outside of what they have come accustomed to. I believe most beings would not choose slavery if they had the choice”. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]“Yes if Levantine Sanctum permits, I am sure the Silver Jedi will be more than willing to send relief and assist in further development. In regards to the governance that would fall under the jurisdiction of Lev Sanctum? After liberation and relief effort are underway?”,[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt] she turned to Judah. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Then the sound of a very familiar voice reached her ears and she smiled, before her black eyes sparkled as they fell over Thurion. “We could go in with all ‘guns blazing’, or we could simply walk up and knock on the front door. Posing as traders wanting to buy?”. [/SIZE]
 
[member="Judah Dashiell"], [member="Coci Sinopi"], [member="Thurion Heavenshield"]


"Slavery is not something you want. You don't choose to let others treat you as livestock, beat and rape you to their heart's content because you're a possession," Siobhan stated flatly. It seemed to be one of the few things she felt passionate about.


Then again, once she had been a slave. Slavers held sway in the town, ergo they would all die. She gave the newcomer, Thurion, a look. If the Republic had thought things through a bit more, maybe Contruum wouldn't have been so frakked up, she thought. In her opinion the Levantines tended to be far too idealistic. Then again, she was a total cynic at the best of the times. Except in her family life. There she was a wide-eyed romantic!


"I don't know how the Levantines run things, but the natives would need a period of tutelage. Firemane's already providing security in a number of areas on the planet, we can extend that and train natives. Likewise we have a care of medical specialists, led by the master healer [member="Coryth Elaris"], able to provide medical aid and set up a medical infrastructure." So far most of the development work on Tabaqui had been done by Salacia and Firemane. She did not know what Judah's plans for the place were, so she did not presume.


She turned to look upon the ruins of the town and the perimeter security the guards had set up. They had strength in numbers, but like everywhere on Tabaqui their weaponry was terribly dated. Then again this was the sort of planet where archaic slugthrowers would be considered modern. Personally she was tempted to take to the skies and give the grunts a good battering ramming while she was flying.


"Anyhow, on to the now. Their weapons are crap; these are armed thugs, not trained soldiers. Never mind the psychological impact of facing 'magic powers' they don't know. Still, I suggest doing some recon on the place before charging in guns blazing, if only to reduce the likelihood of slaves being caught in the crossfire and collateral damage being high. If we meet the gang leaders, we're in position for a more surgical strike. You know...they may have heard what I did at New Arrah and that I 'conquered' it. And that I have 'dark witchy powers'. That would make me something like a warlord in their estimation," she smirked slightly at that.


"I can pose as a woman of power inteested 'buying slaves and trading weapons'. Who wants a meeting warlord to warlord,." She looked over the group, and found that she had a sizeable entourage. She could play the part of the dark witch well. After all, she was a Dark Jedi Cyborg Noblewoman Dominatrix! "You make a great entourage. I'll give the Firemane outpost in New Arrah a call. A team and a Gunship can be here within a short span of time to provide support for the attack when we launch it."
 
[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Coci Sinopi"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"]



"I call dibs on being your indentured man, Lady Kerrigan" Judah's mouth quirked in a small grin. He often didn't tease the other woman. Mainly they were business associates. Certainly there were no Dashiell and Kerrigan-Alcori beach cookouts occurring on a regular basis. Still, the seriousness of the situation needed a bit of tension cutting.


"This idea, while risky, does give us the best opportunity to scope out the situation. I do not want to go in guns blazing and we end up taking out innocents. I don't think that will win us any points with the locals. What do you think Masters Sinopi and Heavenshield? I do not see a situation in which we can make a more precise surgical strike with minimal loss of life than this one."
 
"There is no other option for us other then to pose as traders", guns blazing is simply not Coci's modus operandi after all she is a Jedi Shadow, stealth and silence is paramount. "It would be too risky otherwise".

"Once inside we will have a better view of the situation, see exactly what security and weaponry they have place, unless any one else has better idea .. we should go?".

Coci walked over to Thurion, and rested her hand on his arm, "Here we go again", she whispered.
 
When [member="Coci Sinopi"] approached him, Thurion smiled wide and even snuck a passing kiss on her cheek. "Here we go again", he repeated her words. "Let's do it. The good ol' 'Master and Servant' routine." He turned to [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]. "Have the gunship remain on alert should we need reinforcements, alternatively serve as medevac transport in case things take a turn for the worse."

[member="Judah Dashiell"]
 
'Master and servant gambit' summed it up nicely. Why had Siobhan not simply said that instead of talking so much? Presumably because she liked to hear herself talk a lot. For a moment or two Siobhan wondered whether she'd be able to get away with making out with [member="Coci Sinopi"] as part of the aforementioned gambit. Without Thurion or Coci presumably rebelling and punching her. After all, she was the mistress! Hmm. On second thought, that probably would not work. Nonetheless she could not help thinking that the Silver Jedi Master would look stunning in a skintight, leather catsuit. Unfortunately it was way too hot on Tabaqui for that sort of thing.



Anyhow, Siobhan gave [member="Judah Dashiell"], her new indentured manling a wink. "You are my favourite manling slave. You know your place. All that's missing is a slave collar," she said in her haughtiest tone, which was very haughty. After all, she had gotten pointers from the sadly dead Star Queen Silaqui of the Eldorai. As for Dashiell and Kerrigan-Alcori beach cookouts, this one thinks that must happen.



She gave [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] a nod. He and Coci perfectly fit the role of warrior minions. So she got out her comm and sent a quick message to the Firemane base. In broad terms the message said to prepare a Gunship and a small strike force that would include some medics. It was ordered to deploy and be ready to intervene, but not attack unless she ordered it. If things escalated too much, troops could thus drop into the town to provide support. The psychological impact of a heavily armoured bird of prey swooping down from the sky might also have an effect of its own.


"Sent the message. Now let us go forth and announce my coming to this motley gang of warlords and their tribe. Primitive as they are, I hear they slaves in bountiful supply who will service me well, so this excursion may be worth my time. Warriors Thurion and Coci, lead the way," she spoke imperiously, with the air of someone who looked upon the town before her and thought she owned the place. Given the fact that she was a noble and sort of a dominatrix, she had plenty of experience when it came to that. She stood tall and proud, even in the heat, carrying herself with perfect poise and with power radiating from her Force aura, which was, well, dark and stuff. This writer is apparently in the mood to make incredibly lame quips.
 
[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Judah Dashiell"]

Without any further hesitation, Coci took the lead and began to proceed toward the Nellore. It was hard going at first, as the jungle is thick with over hanging and entwining vegetation. The exercise of it and the humidity began to take it's toll on her body and sweat formed on her skin. The local avian creatures noted their progress and voiced their arrival to some extent or protest at their intrusion on their territory. Small land based creatures scurried about them, either out of curiosity or fleeing in fear.

Smack. Her hand slapped her neck to try and rid a small insect biting at her. But regardless of she pressed on toward the outskirts of the old town. And before long they had broken through the dense jungle and began to cross the open area toward the main entrance.

Naturally, there are guards and armed ones at that, Walk casual, she thought. On approach, "Greetings, Lady Kerrigan has arrived, and wishes to speak with the Lord of Nellore", she said hoping that was fitting enough. Coci stepped aside like a good little minion to allow Siobhan to do her thing.
 
[member="Coci Sinopi"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"]


So the group set off to look like little peons for one Lady Kerrigan. It was best they merely walked a great distance behind her, looking as if Siobhan was about to slap them for breathing the wrong way at any moment. Judah wasn't so worried about the armed guards. He was with three Force users -- all Masters of some sort. It was more the predatory creatures possibly lurking in the ruins and encroaching jungled area.


Guards looked down from their crude and crumbling guard posts. They were collected ruins -- bits of duracrete with homemade mortar and steel beams slapped together. Extremely antique and well-worn slugthrowers were immediately trained on the group. A look was exchanged between the guards and a shout for more. No one had ever willing come to the large gated entrance before.


"State your business before we shoot you where you stand!"
 
Thurion walked behind Coci, keeping a wary eye on the surrounding jungle at all times. One never knew when to expect an ambush or not, and the narrow path through the woods they walked was treacherous in this regard. They made it through, however, and were soon after halted by one of the many armed guards patrolling the main gate.

He looked over at Coci, giving her a look that would tell her to be ready for the worst. As for doing the talking, it would be best to let [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] do so. If one of her minions spoke up, it would probably make her look bad. In the meantime, he placed a firm hand on [member="Judah Dashiell"]'s shoulder to keep him from trying anything funny. All for show, of course.
 
[member="Judah Dashiell"], [member="Coci Sinopi"], [member="Thurion Heavenshield"]


It was time to be dramatic, act pompous and as if she owned the place and was the mightiest thing in the universe. Siobhan was quite good at that, despite never having taken any drama classes at school...well, she had never received a formal education in her childhood.



Anyhow, as the primitively armed guards shouted she stepped forward so that they could see her, whilst her 'minions' were arrayed behind her. Her stride was confident and nonchalant, her stance regal with a commanding air around her. "I am Lady Kerrigan. The great sorceress who has come from the stars and to whose might New Arrah now bends. Its craven warlords were put to the sword by me. I wish to meet with your lord and trade goods for slaves to...service my desires. I seek no conflict wth you, but if you wish to test my powers to be sure I speak truly...go ahead. You will find I cannot fall," she proclaimed. Siobhan had never been adept at mentalism, though her abilities had been boosted through her bond with [member="Mirien Valdier"], but she put her Force in her words, amplifying them.


For a moment a tense silence descended upon them. One imagined that word of what had transpired in New Arrah had reached this place, as rumours at least. At the same time, these were still the guards of the lord of Nellore and one did not parlay with strangers upon words alone. Never mind the distrust of witches that was so strong here.


Finally the man who seemed to be the commander of this band of guardsmen and thugs gave the order. "See what the 'witch' can do. Fire!" There was a brief moment of hesitation, then the guards opened fire with ther antique and extremely well-worn slugthrowers. This one hopes that Judah's writer does not mind this one hijacking the NPCs for a moment! Primitive the guns might be, Siobhan was not wearing any armour, just a pair of tight black pants and a sleeveless shirt, so if they hit it would still hurt a lot and could be fatal...but she had the Force.


BANG BANG BANG and so on and so forth. The birds took flight as the loud noise of gunfire tore through the air. Countless bullets shot straight towards Siobhan and peppered her...only to be repelled by a translucent barrier of Force energy, which seemed to have been spontaneously conjured up as if by magic. When the smoke cleared Siobhan still stood there, completely and utterly unfazed. "Now...will you take me to your leader?" she asked sweetly, sounding almost bored, something perhaps underlined by the fact that she neither reached for her weapons nor made any threatening move, as if all this was beneath her.
 
Thurion had moved to Judah feigning guard over capture and would also provide an added protection for Judah if things got hot. Coci remained by Siobhan and stood tall in defiance and arrogance as she eyes the guards. As sense of a show of strength and power to the “Lady Kerrigan”.

A moment of tension filled the air, prickling through the force and Coci tensed her body ready for anything. They opened fire all directed toward Sio, Coci’s hand went for her saber hidden under her jacket, but stopped as she realised the bolts from the antiquated guns did little to penetrate Sio’s defences.

Coci stepped forward, it would not do to reveal their hand just yet, that before them stood three Masters of the Force and a man that could more than handle himself. She pulled out two high powered pistols from their holsters instead and aimed them directly at the leader of the guard’s sight set directly between his eyes. She squeezed the trigger to the point before engaging the trigger, her face emotionless.

“Now that was not very nice was it? .. Orders Lady Kerrigan”, she simply spoke softly, threatening with even tone.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Judah Dashiell"]
 
[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Coci Sinopi"]


Judah watched with a semi-bored interest as Siobhan displayed her magical powers for the natives. It seemed he and Thurion were just nameless muscle in the background and the ladies were taking all the charge. Not that it particularly mattered to himself. They seemed to even be enjoying themselves even. Despite the bullets flying towards them and what not. Being the only non-Forcer in the group he hoped the three knew what they were doing. Judah wasn't in the mood for getting shot today, especially by a slug thrower.


Meanwhile, our NPC goons were either standing in awe of the great powers before them or had run off to cower like small children. So much for the big bad warlord and his cronies thus far. There seemed to be a bit of silent confirmation running throughout the compound. As in, if they didn't let in the visitors surely their walls would be destroyed, and perhaps much more.


"The Honorable Hawei will now receive you. He says he is most interested in your exploits"


The large cobbled-together gates opened, revealing a dank and ruined city. Already it was clear slaves were hard at work. A type of mud-stucco patching was going on at a nearby building, slaves on make-shift scaffolding in tattered clothes. Some looked barely old enough to be school children, hauling in the raw materials for others to put on the building. Elsewhere, several elderly women washed clothes in better shape -- most likely servants for the Honorable Hawei.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom