Private Rancor On the Loose

[Arlo Renard]

Nar Kreeta

“Look out! He’s loose!”

“Get ‘em!”

The escaped rancor didn’t take kindly to the attempts at recapturing him. Roaring angrily, the beast thrashed against the ropes trying to bind him, barreling toward a crowded city street.

People screamed and scattered out of the way—all except for one. Kai moved a little to the side, standing next to a duracrete pillar holding up the corner of a building, but his focus was intent upon the rancor, stretching out with the Force to touch the animal’s enraged mind, trying to calm it...

Amelia Venthyra​

 

[Amelia Venthyra]

Location: Nar Keeta, Random City

It wasn’t often that Amelia would swing by a city aside from parking her ship somewhere or to find a place to rest. Sometimes she might even eavesdrop into people’s conversations just glean some information of possible leads. However the case was anything but that.

The problem when it comes to rancor being in a city, whether it was bound or in this case early stages of rampage. Cities are generally crowded as citizens begin to flee with panicked screams upon the sight of the rancor that managed to get loose. Amelia knew that the majority of these people wouldn’t be able to escape in time from the rancor’s wrath, and she grimaced at the thought of so many innocents being taken from this incident.

Amelia allowed the Force to gather under her feet before she jumped high and landed on top of a small building. Not wasting a heartbeat, she began to run and leap from building to building towards the rancor. It was already smashing against the buildings and any obstacles in its path as rancors are infamous for. Some people had already gotten hurt by it, and without thinking twice. Amelia leapt from a nearby building as she went for the rancor. She didn’t draw a saber or use her bow that remained on her back. Instead she flipped her body to angle herself before landing on top of the rancor’s head with her hand holding onto one of it’s spikes. Reaching into the Force once more, Amelia places a gentle palm on top of the rancor who proceeded to thrash about in attempts to throw her off.

Instead she reached into it’s mind of anger before her voice spoke in the midst of her struggle. ”Calm yourself. Nobody is out here to harm you, I promise.” Yet even as she says this both verbally and within the beast’s mind. She could feel the pain and fear like she was being confined. Only known to volts coursing through the body, darkness, and the feeling of some metal cage. At least, these were the surface thoughts that Amelia picked up on, and she’s not certain if this trick in the mind would work on a rancor. It works against smaller beasts, so she figured in theory it would work against a rancor as well.

Arlo Renard

 

[Arlo Renard]

Kai sensed another mind crowding in with the rancor’s, one with similar intentions, before he saw the girl that had jumped onto the rancor’s back.

<Hi!> he greeted her telepathically. <We’ve got to stop him before he gets any farther into the city.>

The rancor might have been able to overpower Kai’s or Amelia’s lone attempts at calming it, but against the two of them simultaneously it was no match. The creature started to slow down, then stopped, apparently confused and disoriented, but calm.

From there the handlers jumped in, roping the rancor and holding it in place. Kai continued to exert his influence on the rancor’s mind, keeping it steady, then finally released it once the creature was secured.

Amelia Venthyra​

 

[Amelia Venthyra]

Location: Nar Keeta

It wasn’t really out of the ordinary or surprising to detect another mind, however it was a bit unusual for Amelia as she trained religiously to protect her thoughts from being read. Even influenced by an outside source as her mental barrier so to speak. Amelia’s focus was on the rancor that she didn’t even consider the possibility of another force user to be nearby. But whatever the case was both Amelia and the unknown telepath held a common goal. A goal to calm down the rancor before a greater tragedy occurs.

Amelia continued on with her actions by using the force to infiltrate the mind of the rancor in attempts to calm down his agitation and fear. The other mind whom Amelia assumed was the telepath was also inside of the rancor’s mind who was doing pretty much the same thing as she was. Their combined efforts managed to pacify the rancor long enough for the captors to come and bind the rancor once more. Amelia was relieved that the rancor was dealt a more peaceful hand that didn’t involve blasters, explosions, lightsabers, or even the Force to do a number of harmful effects to it. Things that Amelia didn’t wish to inflict on the creature. Sure rancors are notorious for the amount of destruction that they’re capable of inflicting, but Amelia knew about rancors enough that they’re a territorial predator who isn’t the type to back down from a challenge. More often than not a rancor is difficult to contain due to their tendencies to go into a blind rage. Usually due to the lack of food, some owners tend to do so just before something like a fight arena happens.

After the men and women bound the beast, Amelia slid down as one of them attempted to approach with a hundred apologies. However, in that moment she gave the person a right hook to the face which knocked him down to the ground. Her face flushed with emotions as she spoke in a stern tone.

”Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to keep a rancor or any beast of that size to be transported on nothing except ropes?! You were two seconds from unleashing a catastrophe and potentially killing citizens! So count yourself lucky that you do not have that in your consciousness.” Usually she doesn’t get angry, not easily at any rate. But in this case when hundreds if not thousands were nearly injured or worse killed by the rancor that managed to get loose. That’s where Amelia has a short fuse on, and in this case she felt like her anger was justified.

”I’m sorry! We are truly, deeply, sorry!” The man on the ground held the side of his face where Amelia had struck him as his left eye stung with tears. Amelia points at the speculators as people were slowly regaining their composure and trying to figure out what was going on.

”Tell that to them! Their lives were endangered by your people’s actions, and next time you try to cart a rancor off somewhere. Find a better means of keeping them in check, otherwise there will be another incident.” A couple of them scampered off to the growing crowd as they desperately attempted to explain the situation. Naturally voices of concern and doubt echoed throughout the streets. Amelia finally lets out a sigh before she pats the bound rancor on the leg.

”See you next time, big guy.” And with that Amelia began to take her leave. Not before she searched through the Force in attempts to locate that unknown presence, a telepath. She even used her eyes in an attempt to hone in on the individuals.

Arlo Renard

 

[Arlo Renard]

From his spot on the corner of the street, Kai witnessed the altercation between the rancor handler and the red-haired woman. He quickly realized that she was the one who had helped with calming the beast. Her behavior surprised him—striking someone for their negligence was very uncharacteristic of a Jedi. Assuming she was a Jedi, that is.

As she began to search for him with the Force, Kai eagerly stepped forward, approaching her from across the square. Thanks to the amulet he carried, his innate Dark Side corruption was hidden from her senses, replaced by a more neutral aura. He looked like a teenage boy, around fifteen years old with tousled brown hair and bright blue eyes. Just the right age for a fresh-faced Padawan.

His lips clearly didn’t move when he “spoke”.

<You didn’t need to hit that man, you know. All of the handlers messed up by not doing their jobs right, not just him, and you can’t punch all of them.> Granted, Kai wasn’t sure why they had a caged rancor in the first place. For all he knew, the entire operation could be cruel and barbaric, or even illegal. But there was little he could do about it on his own. <My name is Kai. Are you a Jedi?>

Amelia Venthyra​

 

[Amelia Venthyra]

Perhaps Amelia did come across has too aggressive, but if there's anything that Amelia learned as that sometimes setting an example especially after a dire situation as they just had was necessary. She was a bit surprised to find that the source of this telepathy came from none other than a boy in his teenage years. Sure it wasn't uncommon to find somebody around his age gifted in some aspect of the Force, but usually that came with diligent training from childhood. She raised a brow at the boy's statement, although she did toyed with the thought of punching the group as a whole.


"No I cannot, but they need to understand how serious the consequences would be. Nature isn't as forgiving as a slap on a wrist." Amelia spoke through telepathy in response to the boy's comment according to her method. She never was the type to sugarcoat her words when it comes to a serious situation where lives were in danger.


The question of whether she was a Jedi came up and frankly Amelia doesn't go around saying that she was a Jedi. However, on her belt were two cylindrical hilts that appeared to be made out of dark quicksilver that catches a lone ray of light.


"That's one way to put it, but yes I am. Are you a natural telepath or did someone teach you in the Force?" Amelia questioned in telepathy, sharing some of her motives of curiosity and caution in a weird blend.

Arlo Renard

 

[Arlo Renard]

Kai’s brow furrowed at her response. <Nature doesn’t have any laws or morality, though. That stuff’s just on us.> To him the rancor handlers’ negligence was something they should be held legally accountable for, not subjected to nature’s unpredictable and often disproportionate wrath.

He was, however, delighted to find another person capable of telepathic communication. To the bystanders walking around, the two telepaths seemed to be staring at each other intently in complete silence, while Kai made occasional gestures for emphasis or changed his facial expression. Anyone unfamiliar with telepathy would probably find the sight rather funny.

<I’m a natural telepath, and I’m training to be a Jedi.> He raised a hand to his throat. <I can talk out loud, but I prefer not to. I don’t like vibrations. What about you? Did somebody teach you?>

Amelia Venthyra​

 

[Amelia Venthyra]

Amelia's hazel eyes shifted over to the rancor and honestly thought that the rancor would beg to differ. Of course there was honestly an unspoken rule amongst the beasts. The law to live so to speak, and on that note Amelia toyed with the thought of releasing the rancor back to the wilds. However with a predator like that, it'll tip the balance and disrupt however stable the ecosystem already was. Which can create problems for the nearby civilization on a longer term than a rancor smashing through a portion of a city. Perhaps they seriously cannot comprehend the fact that a rancor could wipe out half of the city population on its own unless some military grade weaponry was used? Sure Amelia could technically shoot it's eyes out, but that would only make it more dangerous in her mind. Shocking it could stop the rancor briefly, but it'll be angrier as the result.

"Perhaps. Most of nature respects balance, much like the Force. It can be like a raging torrent, or could be as calm as still water. Sometimes we need to give things a push, or a punch in this case, to nudge them in the right direction. Different methods and routes, but the destination is the same." Amelia traced the air like she was drawing out an invisible map. Yet the routes she drew all connects to the nexus, the center of the routes. She won't deny that she's harsh even for a Jedi.

"But sorry to disappoint you. Being good is a noble goal and requires a certain finesse with words to accomplish. However I'm not so good with words as you can probably tell." She's not shy about it either. Truthfully combat has been her thing for the longest, but even then she doesn't draw her weapons unless she absolutely has to.

"That will be a yes and no. I was given the resources, tools, and time at Silver Rest in Kashyyyk to improve my understanding of the Force and the ways of a Jedi. Occasionally a Jedi Master would offer advice and guide me along to understanding. But otherwise the Force was my dedicated teacher. Still is in fact."

Arlo Renard

 

[Arlo Renard]

<It’s okay. I’m not disappointed.> A little confused, maybe.

He listened to her talk about her training. Kashyyyk was familiar to him, but only through secondhand memories. Knight Hrroarwic, who had been his cell guard back in the days when he was still a prisoner of the Jedi rather than a member, was a Wookiee, and Kai had eaten some of his memories of his homeworld. But he himself had never actually been there.

<I’ve never been to Kashyyyk,> he said truthfully. <Is that where the Wookiees live?>

After she had a chance to answer, he said, <I’m being trained at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. I didn’t know you could be taught by the Force, though… how does that work?> He was, perhaps, taking her words a little too literally.

Amelia Venthyra​

 

[Amelia Venthyra]

Not only was the boy curious, but also a bit gullible to some extent. Or perhaps takes things a bit too literal. Some people views the Force as some tool for an end. Others view it as an innocent invisible creature that's being tainted by the darkside. When in reality the Force flows through everything and in everyone. Light side and dark side are one of the same. Both are part of the Force, but that train of thought was leading to some dangerous thoughts so Amelia shut down those thoughts.


"The Force speaks in whispers and visions within the mind. Sometimes they are bizarre and doesn't make sense at the time, but in time it teaches some valuable things. For instance, there was one time about a decade or so ago. Right before I became a Warden, I was given a test by my father figure as a rite of passage into adulthood. This meant I had to go down into the Shadowlands to hunt a creature down." She's paused as a strand of her red hair shifts with the wind. Amelia tucks the rogue lock behind her ear before continuing.


"Shadowlands was located in the bottom portion of the Kashyyyk forests, and it is where some vicious beasts reside. Even those who feed off the Force from the living." And so a video, a memory, replays of when Amelia was armed with only her Padawan lightsaber, a common bow and a quiver of arrows. Alone on the forest floor with darkness creeping in every corner as the frosty air clung to her furs and face. Yet she was attacked, ambushed more like, by a terentatek as a fierce fight had ensued between them. Amelia was full of adrenaline, and fear. Yet through that fear she braved the obstacles and ended up coming out of there alive although barely. As she had gotten scratched by the terentatek, and least to say that was very unpleasant.


"Wookiees are native to Kashyyyk, yes. They're a proud race of hunters and warriors. Of course, some tend to focus on the more modern trade such as droids and starships.

Arlo Renard

 

[Arlo Renard]

<What’s a Warden?> he asked. He had heard the word used to describe a person who looks after prisoners in a jail, but the way she used it, it seemed to have some special significance.

<Feed off the Force—>

Kai froze in mid-thought as she projected her memory into his mind. She could probably sense his sudden worry… and hunger… before the images left him. It had lasted only a moment, not long enough for him to initiate a feeding. If he had, he likely wouldn’t have been able to stop himself.

His smile was back at the mention of Wookiees, though it was a nervous grin. <They’re big and furry.> His smile faltered a little. <And loud and scary sometimes. I like them, though.>

Amelia Venthyra​