Private Paper and Fire

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

[member="Karraala"]

She liked the sound of what her padawan was saying and it was useful to know and the her ability to read the situation was well helpful... more so then relying on the force and Wu realized how much she actually used it now to do some of the things that had once been simple or she might not have been great at.She wanted to try and have some ideas now and get back to the roots as she crouched down and investigated towards it; "Agreed." She said it but was pointing off in a direction... being here though some of it came back. Eyes and senses on alert to try and detect danger, a risk for what could be happening. "We'll investigate and should be able to find them if they were close by."

 

[Karraala]

Karraala nodded at [member="Wu Yeoh-Mei"] and looked around. Her nostrils flared a little as she sniffed the air. The Karta'Esh's ears swiveled back and forth, trying to find a man made sound amids the natural ones. The Padawan prowled quietly on her booted feet.

But every now and then, the girl looked over at her master, observing what the woman was doing.

 

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

[member="Karraala"]

Wu looked at the willingness of her padawan and gave a nod of her head as she moved. Going over the fields themselves and there was something about it as she breathed in the force around them. It was a beautiful place where the village first came into view. It village was raised, rocks with carved waterways between them and water wheels. It made for something wonderful to see but was strange if youweren't cafeful. Wu could see as they were going down the hill to check it out where the gates were closed and protected.. The sound of the waterwheels generatingpower for hem when it rushed past.

 

[Karraala]

Karraala walked beside [member="Wu Yeoh-Mei"] as they approached the closed gate. The padawan let her gaze wander, looking out for a possible ambush. But she also reminded herself to keep her hand off her lightsaber. There was no use in threatening the villagers.

That didn't mean she would slouch to make herself less threatening, though. The Karta'Esh walked proud and upright, with a smooth gait, a half step behind her master, as not to overshadow her. After all, this was master Wu's place. And she knew better how to talk to these people.

When she made another visual swipe, her ears perked up suddenly. Did she see a face over that wall?

 

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

[member="Karraala"]

Wu looked up at some of the people who were there and a smaller child looked over the wall. Waving to them as Wu smiled. "Hello, where is your elder?" The child was looking at her and then ran away as the gates opened. A few of what would be considered guards maybe... leather armors that looked uniform compared to the rest and some slug weapons to go with their swords. Where they were going around the village and it wasn't an attack, it was more just looking and they had the muscles to get the gates. Sun tanned muscles that were thicker then Wu's head as they towered over her. "Welcome." Where they were looking at them though brought another man out. Ornately dressed in yellow robes with all the looks of one who was important. "Welcome travelers, we were not expecting others to come with what has been happening."

 

[Karraala]

"What has been happening?" Karraala asked curious, remembering a moment too late that she should leave the talking to [member="Wu Yeoh-Mei"] . At least for the time being. She sideglanced at her master. A human would be blushing now, but on a Karta'esh, the tail started swishing in a wave like pattern, revealing her embarrassement.

The muscled men didn't scare her. Nor did the swords. But she saw what she thought to be blasters. Still somewhat of an unknown component in her tactical conciderations.
What Karraala sensed was not hostility though, rather a somewhat akin to a hopeful wariness. She also noticed a few stares, though most of the villagers were focused on master Wu and what Karraala surmised was the village elder.

Silent again, she waited, whether the Jedi would say something, or the elder.

 

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

[member="Karraala"]

Wu looked at the man and they were moving a little towards the gate so Wu could speak and see more of him. "Yes what sort of troubles are you having?" She said it with a look and offered an arm crooked and against her waist. A showing of trust as he escorted her inside and her padawan. The village itself inside the gates was beautiful as the houses were gated. different people sat behind the gates in dais to observe and be observed but the village mostly had its men in the shops and fields. The scent of freshly carved meats that were being cured and salted, the communal cooking that was being done... other parts of it were something they couldn't see.

Wu was brought to one of the tables overlooking their main source of water a river that flowed through the village. He sat down with a few others bringing tea and rice. "The snow wolves have become more troublesome. There was a time when they would raid us or the occasional traveler. Nothing to big in comparison. You might have hardly noticed as they took what could be taken and didn't harm people just what you could live without. Now though they have been getting more violent since their leader passed on in combat. He was challenged and the new one seems to be taking the raiding and pillaging more serious."

 

[Karraala]

Karraala followed the village elder and master [member="Wu Yeoh-Mei"] through the gates and into the village. She had relaxed a little, but still didn't let her guard down completely. The people looked at her with curiosity. She would have expected them to be more scared, but it seems strange species are not that uncommon, even in this remote area.
The Karta'Esh saw a few children peek through a cracked open window. She tilted her head and winked at them.
The children withdrew. With delighted shrieks and giggles, as her sensitive ears were able to pick up just so.

As would be proper for a nurian warrior in training, she stood nearby master Wu, but out of the way. Having an eye on the other womans back, watching, observing, learning. 'Good spirits, this feels so incredibly familiar.' The padawan thought.

Those snow wolves sound like quite a few bandit groups she knew herself. "They will probably move on when this village becomes more trouble than it is worth." She suggested, once again forgetting that she should let her Jedi master do the talking. "You have strong men and weapons. Do you know how to use them? A showing of strength often is enough to drive common bandits away."

 

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

[member="Karraala"]

"We do, rarely had need but we have fighters from the army. These were and still are mostly children from here they wanted to have a more exciting life but they always came back." He shrugged as there was something there, something small, children wanting to do their own thing or go against the customs of their people so become bandits but stay close to home and then return whenever. Wu was looking at them and at her padawan who had good questions. The elder was leading them and they had some of the warriors there training a handful of others. The army took from everywhere and let them return home as needed and without wars it was mostly go and train but never get tested as much. The jedi master was moving with attention on her them and more of the area around them. She could see into other parts of the mountains with paths and steep inclines. "We'll work to try and show some strength to them but only kill when and if we have to. I don't want to just slaughter people who might be somewhat misguided."

 

[Karraala]

Karraala listened to [member="Wu Yeoh-Mei"] nodding along in agreement. Senseless killing was not her thing either. "Maybe someone should challenge that new bandit leader, if he is defeated, his followers should see sense. Who is your best fighter?" It seemed her master didn't mind her asking questions, so she committed herself fully to this, in lack of a better word, war council, and spoke freely now. "Even if they never went onto campaign, there must be some of you that have fought." She looked at master Wu, questioning. "Unless we are the best fighters here?"

 

[Karraala]

Karraala listened to [member="Wu Yeoh-Mei"] nodding along in agreement. Senseless killing was not her thing either. "Maybe someone should challenge that new bandit leader, if he is defeated, his followers should see sense. Who is your best fighter?" It seemed her master didn't mind her asking questions, so she committed herself fully to this, in lack of a better word, war council, and spoke freely now. "Even if they never went onto campaign, there must be some of you that have fought." She looked at master Wu, questioning. "Unless we are the best fighters here?"

 

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

[member="Karraala"]

Wu looked at the padawan and the idea that they were the best fighters here was.... not exactly what she would really want to do. Them fighting and taking the place would be something but she was looking at them and the ones who were instructing seemed to know what the were doing. If the could or could not fight against bandits and their leader. Wu remained where she was though and if this was a council she might be able to bring a few things she had learned from the jedi here... delaying and preventing the loss of life would be something important. She could use the force to help them and get someone in place to challenge him assuming the leader charged and attacked. He could just hang back and send them in first to be attacked and try to weaken the force which could be dangerous. Not killing might leave additional enemies who could attack them in the second or third wave while they still hadn't gotten to the leader. Wu looked at her padawan. "One or two look to have more skill but if they just send waves or parties and the leader waits back we could end up trying to find him while not killing several engagements worth of enemies."

 

[Karraala]

"Could he keep his honour if he refuses a challange? If that is how he became the leader, doesn't he have to answer the challenge or lose his position?" The young padawan asked incredulous. "I mean, even amongst bandits, there has to be some honour." She looked around, as if for support, her tail raised, the ears perked. "If we can't single out the leader then we have to defend ourselves. We need to prepare for that at least." Her gaze fell out through the window for a moment. "I can think of one or two annoying but non lethal ways to slow them down a bit." The corners of her mouth went up, a grin that nearly exposed the tips of her fangs grew on her face. "Just in case."

 

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

[member="Karraala"]

"If one had to answer all challenges then it wouldn't do much. Most would need support to be able to at least have footing." Wu said it and she didn't deny her padawans logic but if anyone could challenge without having some sort of standing then it would be seen as more chaotic. She was looking at what they might be able to do. She started to work with them and try to reinforce their defenses... getting the men positioned just right to coverage of the areas with the smaller amount. She couldn't be certain how much they might have to fight but if her padawan had ideas of how to fortify then she would welcome them as a few of the females in the the buildings to protect the children who were in the largest building with the strongest doors. Water in case of fires, everything that could get in the way in pathways were cleared and Wu watched as the skies were getting a little darker from dusk. She crouched down and looked feeling in the force as she reached out to feel and touch the minds so she could see in the dark.

 

[Karraala]

"But... I thought that was how the current leader got into this position?" Karraala asked, somewhat confused. Maybe her grasp of Basic was not as good as she thought, she wondered.

"Either way, we need to do something, or the bandits won't leave this village alone." The padawan spoke with conviction. "And if I have to challenge his underlings first, so be it." She felt a tingle when something in the force touched her. It might have been her master, but she was not certain. Her fur bristled slightly at the sensation, and her tail swished quickly, once.

In the growing twilight, her pupils dilated, becoming rounder. "To prepare the village, first of all, I would dig a few holes around the main gate and cover them with sods. Anyone running over them would step through and fall, maybe break an ankle. But it is not lethal." She sounded almost apologetic. "That would help against them storming the gate. We could also prepare oil vats to make the paved ground at the gate slippery. Heating oil up to throw down on them is out, I guess. Those burns would be nasty." Karraala pondered, then went on: "But small rocks could be thrown from the walls. And the gate could be supported from behind. Do you have any big carts we could wedge behind the gate?"

 

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

[member="Karraala"]

Wu looked at her. "Yes the current leader challenged for it but he wouldn't have just walked up and challenged... he wouldn't have any way to ensure the others didn't just challenge him afterwards when he might be weak. He like most would need support and someone or a grop who would back him up in case of problems." Wu looked at her and the ideas for defenses were something that they would be able to use as the jedi master started dividing some of them. "Sounds like a plan, you begin on your task and I am going to work with some archers to set them up and looking for gaps in the defenses we might have or where it could be vulnerable." Wu said it with a grin on her face while she was moving after a moment to try and see where they could go as the jedi master prepared herself to battle meditate when the moment came and was reaching out to touch the minds of the villagers.

 

[Karraala]

Karraala nodded. "A'e master." She asked the gathered people: "Which of you are good with earth work?" A few raised their hands. "Good. You come with me. We will set the traps outside the gate." With that, they got to work. Karraala showed them what she had in mind, and they caught on quickly. Cutting out the sods, deepening the holes, and then covering up said holes with sods wasn't really a difficult task. The Padawan supervised them, showing how with a few twigs, they could keep the sods from slipping into the hole, revealing the trap. "But it won't take the weight of a person. See?" She explained.

Later, another man showed her the carts to block the gate. She stared at them for a bit, then asked: "But where are the wheels? You will never be able to shove these against the gate in a hurry."

The man looked at her confused. "They need no wheels." He activated the repulsor of one of the carts. It raised up smoothly.

The Karta'Esh watched, bewildered. "Ah... technology..." She shook her head, as if to get rid of an annoying fly at her nose. "Of course. Well, just keep them here, and if we need to secure the gate, make sure they land right against it, so there is no room for the gate to wriggle."

The man nodded in agreement. Whether he had not noticed her blunder or just ignored it, Karraala didn't know. "I'll leave you to it, then." She reassured him.

 

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

[member="Karraala"]

Wu stood overlooking it and was directing some of the different coverage areas. They had fairly decent protection from the mountains and higher walls... open fields going up to them in the high ground... so she was looking outwards over all of it and allowing the force to guide her she worked to make some more protection. Moving loose stones to fortify weaker areas and they were adding more emplacements that archers and gunners could use for the different areas. She could see where her padawan was building fortifications and Wu got an area for herself to focus on the force... battle meditating would require her to more or less be completely stationary and with her sash that was on her neck she would be able to focus and channel the force. She would just need some of the fighters who were here to protect her in case anything happened and warn her if things got worse. The jedi master knelt down and reached out touching and whispering towards each of the minds to try and make them familiar to her for later as she looked on and a few of the villagers rode off and away to scout and alert them early enough.

 

[Karraala]

Karraala was just overlooking the last of the preparations when she felt [member="Wu Yeoh-Mei"] in the force. It was as if her master was standing right behind her, but as she turned, there was no one.
The padawan closed her eyes, shutting out the outside and focusing on the inside of her mind. Jedi master Wu Yeoh-Mei's presence was everywhere. Like a blanket thrown over the settlement. It felt reassuring. She allowed herself to bask in the feeling for a moment...

... and heard clothes rustling next to her. "Excuse me, jedi." The owner of the voice tried hard to sound deferential, but the gruffness in it reminded Karraala of a man who was used to be in charge.

Her eyes flew open. "Quei? I mean... yes?"

"Everything is finished. We are ready."

The Karta'Esh nodded. "Good. I will tell my master."

 

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

[member="Karraala"]

She could feel her padawan approaching and there was a thought forming in her mind but then it was gone and she opened her eyes. Feeling her presence retract from the minds of the others. It was a strange sensation pulling herself back and having that lingering connection that allowed her to reach and touch all of the minds. "Padawan. " She said it blowing a bang out of her face and being a little shakey... battle meditation wasn't exactly something you could just do and stop on a whim it required as she had learned practicing it a high level of focus and control to maintain which when you broke it even coming out of it naturally was still like realizing you were hungry after several hours.

She breathed in and out looking at her padawan. "All should be well in hand now, they are working to reinforce where they can... we have the best prep work we can get with likely a short time and there is skill between the two of us." She wiped some of the sweat from her brow as she was preparing herself and took some of the water from her canteen. "I could feel you and the others but I wasn't certainof everything that you had managed to do. So I guess a progress report is in order for this."