The Grease Monkeys' Sis [Krius]

[Lief]

Abandoned. Lost. Deserted.

Jyn was not having the best of months.

Not only had her Master left without a word, but she had been left on two different planets devoid of sapient life and made to fend for herself. While Moira had saved her from one such scenario, it seemed as though fate had wanted her to have yet another taste of discomfort. Body and clothes caked in mud and grime, bloody hands from having to resort to the butchering of native fauna to survive and a sore and hungry body that wanted nothing more than to soak and rest without fearing what lay within the wilds around her.

But Vendaxa was a dangerous planet; it was no place for children, it was not somewhere one could catch their forty winks of sleep or a warm shower. Instead predators roamed the thick jungles, swampy undergrowth threatened to drag the unwary traveler under and the dense air left one feeling sweaty and unable to breathe. And those were precisely the ailments Jyn had to contend with.

Trudging ever onward, afraid to stop and rest, the girl felt exhausted and just about ready to drop. Yet she felt a fight within herself all the same, an urge to keep on going - the desire to live! Never had it resonated so strongly within her. Then again, never had her life been in such dire peril. Why anyone would choose to visit such a world was beyond Jyn, and the last sign of sapient life had already left the world. Jyn doubted she would find anyone else, and she did not know if the world held any settlements.

If someone did not come soon, she knew she would die or go stir crazy. On a world with such an abundance of life, perhaps she would strike gold and find a biologist? Then again, luck was not shining down on Jyn these days.

And anything could happen in a Galaxy such as this one.

 

[Connor Harrison]

The humid air whipped around Krius Syonis as he ran, the distant roar of the young Acklay reverberated through the trees of the forest he had sought refuge. Not even the Force had helped him this time – truly he felt helpless for one of the few times in his adult life.

It didn’t help matters his hands were bound in tight, braided hemp as a result of his captivity. Trying to find the girl he had saved years before, Keziah Denko, on the planet he had heard she passed through, Krius had surrendered to local natives in the attempt to infiltrate their community and then rip them apart from the inside with knowledge of the girl.

But thanks to the wandering beasts, the Acklay, Krius didn’t have to do any ripping apart because the monster did it for him. Blood, bone and flesh decorated the destroyed huts and shacks of the Vendaxan tribe, a few stragglers escaping into the surrounding jungle. Krius did the same, and didn’t stop running.

The fresh wound across his chest, a nice cut from the savages hunting knife, felt cool and dry in the open air as blood matted to his chest, but in his head his heart thumped, blood sounded in his ears and his throat was dry. Soon all he could hear was his own breathing, but he didn’t stop running.

Over fallen tree trunks, past thick vines, it was a natural obstacle course. Krius thundered through a shallow stream, water spraying up as he dragged his tired legs through. He moved towards a large clump of rock and fauna and fell back into it, his skin cool on the hard stone. He lay his head back, closing his eyes to catch his breath, body heaving and shaking from the thrill of the hunt he had just escaped from.

Nature sounded all around him. Life forms were all around him, young and old, but nothing as mighty as the Acklay back from where he came. He hugged the rock, and waited until he felt the beast had moved on.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

In the distance Jyn could see smoke rising. For a moment she thought her eyes were straining and playing tricks on her, but then she could smell the distinct scent of burning with a touch of iron. Blood. Shaking her head to try and reorientate herself, Jyn began to press onward. Life. She could sense life... And distress. The wail of the native Acklay pierced her ears, a screech that ran along her spine in disjointed shivers. The child grit her teeth and pressed on. Life. She could sense real, sentient life. Distressed or not, that meant supplies. Perhaps she would be lucky, perhaps the person would be alive. Perhaps she would be luckier still, and they would be dead with their supplies for the taking...

No, Jyn... You can't think like that. You're not a Sith. Snap out of it. But the desire to live was too strong. She had no desire to die here, in the wilds. If that meant another persons' misery, then that wasn't on her... Was it? Survival of the fittest, meant the weakest fell so the strongest could continue onward. Well Jyn would not be weak, not today.

Breaking through into a clearing, which contained many small huts, Jyn was met with a massacre... And worse. The scent of blood had brought more than just the young girl to the site, and creatures prowled around the outskirts, fearful of the fire yet driven by the corpses which lay in the Acklay's wake. It was then that she saw it... Food. Supply crates... Water. It had to be fresh... It had to be!

Stumbling forward, to the hiss of the jungle combined, she crashed to the ground and quickly began to snaffle up the supplies that she could, cramming them into her satchel - much to Fuz's discomfort - and grasping flasks of water and Force knew what else. At this point not even her animal taming abilities would have had much of an effect, her mind was frazzled and her actions animalistic. Instead she leapt from the place she had crouched and bounded through the trees. The creatures did not give chase. A felled beast was much easier on them than one small, scrawny fleeing one.

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

As the cold water lapped around his calves, the brown trousers he wore clinging to his skin, Krius turned and placed his dirty hands on the rock as he leant carefully forward to peer over and up were he came. Black smoke could be seen dancing upwards through the trees in the distance, and a small scoff escaped his lips.

Well, the plan had backfired and he had let himself down, but at least he was still here and the others would be worm food. He had no –

There – a rustle and heavy snapping of wood.

Kris crouched slightly keeping his eye forward to watch for the beast, it was back. No; no it wasn’t. It was a survivor, running – a child as well? Two mangled lifeforms thundering along the path Krius had taken. So there was still a chance for answers!

Turning quickly, working a route the survivor would take, and he doubted it would be through the stream, he pulled himself up on the bank and onto the mud and woodland, and scurried over the a tree trunk jutting from the ground. Letting the Force reach around the tree to form a net that would paint a picture of the being running towards them, he calmed his breathing and prepared to strike.

The Force soon wasn’t needed as he heard the footsteps running closer towards the tree –

…closer…closer…

…and he moved.

Intercepting the runner, Krius span around with his arms out stretched and swung them to hopefully crash into their chest and stop them wonderfully hard in their tracks.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

As she ran Fuz oo'd in frustration and clambered out upon her shoulder. The satchel had, in his defense, been filled to overflowing, leaving the creature without very much room within. He grasped at her head, but not in a way that would leave her blinded, and for all intents and purposes kept watch. Continuing to flee through the forest, Jyn did not even think about resting. For all she knew at least one of those creatures had followed her, rather than having to fight for scraps.

Fuz's internal signals of worry and concern were transmitted far too late, as moments later Jyn was flung to the floor. Her head throbbed and she was extremely disorientated as she lay there in the mud. By this point Fuz had already fled into the trees, yet all the same he was watching his companion and was prepared to screech should he need to. After all, he was but a tiny monkey, there wasn't much he could really do against a fully grown man.

Rubbing at her head Jyn made a move to sit up, believing that she had stupidly ran into a branch that had been lower than expected. Yet what she saw instead left her wide eyed. Instinctively her hand moved to the slugthrower which had fallen from her belt when she fell, and her finger slipped naturally over the trigger. "S-Stay back..." she slurred, still as disoriented as she had been when she fell. By now instincts were taking over as opposed to real conscious decisions. Click went the safety as she cocked back the spur and stared at him.

Oh, this was so not her year.

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Letting out a cry as he landed a hit against something that felt a lot less sturdy than a chest, Krius noted it was a young girl who fell backwards to the floor with a satisfying crunch. And then, a monkey? Not a monkey-lizard, but a monkey, running away.

Looking to the small beast hiding in the foliage, he looked down to see the girl fumbling for her weapon that looked quite nasty, as much as the graze on her head from the rope that hit her on his wrists. His breathing slowed, and he smiled out of bewilderment.

”Wha..? Who are you? Little lost I think, no markets to steal from here little girl. Here be monsters.”

Monsters, partly meaning himself over the Acklay. He disregarded her feeble response and moved back over to the rock coming from the babbling stream and started rubbing his makeshift handcuffs on the sharpest edge. Krius really needed to tend to this wound.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

She watched him as he stared over at Fuz, and her gut twisted. Of all the things she had lost, she knew that Fuz would be the nail in the coffin. The last thing she had, the only companion. This brought about a pure determination, which had her lift up the slugthrower and somehow hold it steady... Yet his attention swiftly turned from the monkey to her, and she felt her strength wane. Shuffling backwards against the floor, she kept her hazy gaze fixed up at him, head continuing to spin.

"I'm not lost" she stated, with a stronger tone of voice than she knew she had in her. Oh, Force, what was going on? As if things hadn't been bad enough on this hellish planet, now there was someone with crazy eyes who went around knocking down children. And how dare he accuse her of thieving. The only time she had taken anything that was not her own was when she found the datacron on Teth, and even then that place had been long since abandoned. Her provisions were technically her own to take, since the Sith Order had left them there... Was she not part of the Sith Order, at least when it still existed?

"And I am not a thief!"

But her presence deflated soon after. Who was she kidding? Why did she care if someone slandered her name? Jyn Sol was nothing anymore. Not even her own Master could remember to find her. She was a joke.

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Krius turned and chuckled, reaching out with the Force and throwing a good number of small round fruits into her lap, landing with a soft thud-thud-thud.

”Well you’re not here picking berries are you? It’s fine, I don’t care what you do to survive.”

Moving gently, he pushed harder on the rope and drew from the firciton he was creating. As well as burning his gaze to manipulate the elements coming from the fraying rope, a small burst of flame erupted from the rock and singed the rope as quick as a flash.

”Finally.”

He pulled apart his hands with a soft crunch of smouldering rope and turned back to the girl, reaching down to take one of the larger berries on the dirty floor.

”So what are little girl? Here for the hunting season?”

Krius bit into the fruist hungrily and leant back on the tree trunk he had come from, one hand pressing on his chest wound, now drying with crusty crimson blood forming a weak scab.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Fighting to keep down the color which rose in her cheeks, Jyn finally realised that she had, in fact, stolen from the burning tribe. She had never done such a thing before... When he threw the fruit at her with the Force, her heart stopped. Kriff, kriff, kriff... The last thing she wanted was to run into a Force User! All they ever did was bring trouble... Distressed, at least for a moment, she closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. She needed to get out of here.

While the man was focusing on cutting the rope, Jyn sent out a very quick mental signal to Fuz through the Force, something he had become well attuned to, and lifted herself up off the ground. The world swam and everything sounded as though she had been submerged under water. Fuz oo'd a few times as she slumped back down to her knees in the mud. Kriff! He'd hit her hard. Reaching out to one of the trees, she used it for support as she dragged herself back up.

But by this time the man had turned and was sat staring at her again. She didn't want to speak, she wanted to leave -- even if she had spent days roaming this world looking for a way out. Slowly she began to back up, keeping ahold of the thick tree for support. What a great idea it was, leaving Civilisation...

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Krius stopped chewing for a moment, faced with silence. He shook his head a little, and waved his hand as if encouraging a reply.

”Well?”

He shook his head before she could answer and threw the fruit core down to the ground.

”Why are people in this galaxy so afraid of everything? You’ve got nothing to be worried about with what you can do, so don’t worry so much. You think I’m going to hurt the monkey or something?”

He winced as he looked down at his chest.

”You don’t know any healing do you?”

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Jyn grimaced.

Who was he to judge her? If he knew what she had been through, if he had faced the same, then he would have been apprehensive too. "You did assault me" she managed to say, before shaking her head and holding onto her right temple, which had taken the brunt of his attack. "It doesn't matter." Jyn wasn't about to mope around, she was done with that. Moira had encouraged her to live for herself, and be no person's pawn... Perhaps it was time she grew up and took responsibility for her actions, for her life. "I'm not here for a reason." But she didn't give a better answer than that.

Instead she stumbled closer to him and sunk to her knees. It seemed that this world was testing what little knowledge she had of first aid. Sighing she rummaged through the satchel until she came across a few supplies: those she had gotten from the wrecked ship, those she had quickly grabbed from the village...

Thankfully there was disinfectant in the small medi-kit which had washed ashore, the casing for which having been waterproof, because they were a long way from the salt water ocean now. Kneeling down infront of him, she began to apply a healthy amount of the liquid onto one of the clean rags and carefully reached out, watching him and then his wound both. She knew that something that severe could not be faked, yet all the same she had to be at least a little bit cautious. "Sit still, and don't say anything. Speaking makes your chest move."

Cleaning from the centre out, to ensure that any dirt, gravel or other forms of shrapnel was removed from the wound, Jyn took the time to ensure that every area was covered and the residual blood removed. Then she applied a little more, until the blood that was still flowing was red and fresh. Next came the needle - with no vibroneedle to be found, she had to resort to cruder methods. Stitching up as much of the skin as she could, albeit not as neatly as she might have done had she not been exhausted and low on sugar, she sealed off the wound as best she could. Unrolling a bandage she pressed a wad against the cut and then began to bind up the wound, taking care to make sure it wasn't so tight as to cut off blood circulation, yet at the same time strong enough to withhold movement.

The wonders of things you learn, being raised in a military household. If only the supplies had some...

... Perfect.

Pulling out an ampule of anti-shock and a sterile needle, from the same kit, Jyn swiftly - and without any care for the sight of it - injected herself with the medicine. Almost immediately she felt the concussive effects begin to fade, and her mind fully cleared. Sighing she gestured to the satchel. "There should be pain medication and antibiotics, too... You should take both." The last thing he needed now was an infection. If nothing else could have set her at ease, then realising that he was just as fragile as she was in a forest full of monsters was certainly good enough.

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

”Well better assaulting you then accidentally killing you.” he mumbled as the girl came closer and started to inspect him.

Smiling to himself at her position, he looked up and winced gently as she prodded and dripped liquid down his torso, and he sank down at her command by the tree and watched her with great interest. He wanted to speak, but knew it would be best to keep quiet. Looping his arm around a branch, Krius settled himself and pushed down into the ground and pulled hard against the wood to prepare for any pain.

Wincing again as she began to clean the wound, he watched all her movements carefully and noted the implements she had, making sure she wasn’t about to slice him open even more or drive a blade into his windpipe to make an escape.

She looked like she wouldn’t hesitate to lash out if provoked and run away from all trouble she left behind, and that sort of person was the most dangerous but most beneficial to someone like Krius. However he wasn’t in the position now to take someone under his wing. Maybe later…

”OW!”

He jumped and refrained from cursing as she worked with a sharp needle to bind the wound. A warm sweat formed on his brow as he chewed into his cheek and pushed down as hard as he could, chest muscles jolting as she worked carefully to seal the wound.

And with some strange injection to finish her off, it was done. He frowned at her – was she a drug user too as well as a thief? Oh what a catch. He glanced at the satchel and reached over for it, rooting for the antibiotics. He moved carefully to avoid stretching the wound and took two large blue tablets in his mouth and clawed himself over to the stream, placing the pills in his mouth and cupping the cold water to his mouth in his hands numerous times to wash it all down.

With a smack of the lips, he knelt and looked back to the girl.

”Thank you. I owe you one. Name’s Krius.”

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Jyn grit her teeth every time the man jolted. "I said sit still." She knew that it was difficult, having medical attention done without any form of sedative, but if he messed up by moving too much then it could have ended up worse than when she began. All the same, somehow they got through the brief procedure and the moment she was done and had given herself a dosage of anti-shock she felt his curious eyes boring against her. "It's anti-shock. It aids with concussion." Then she realised that her own head was bleeding somewhat from the force at which she struck the ground, and she sighed.

While the pair could discuss whatever they desired for as long as they desired - with both of them seeming relatively stuck for the moment, Jyn took out an antibacterial wipe and simply cleaned her head - a better choice given that it was but a graze, albeit one which lost her a decent amount of blood. Wipes were not useful for chest wounds as deep as Krius'. The fact that he gave his name set her further at ease, although she had no way to fully know that this was in fact his name.

"You're welcome. I'm Jyn." She had nothing left to lose, not really, her name was worthless now anyway. Not like when she met Tirdarius. Back then the Empire was strong, and her family name had meant something. Likely, her Father was dead now. What did that mean for her brother? The thought saddened her for but a moment. When she heard him drinking, however, she narrowed her eyes. "That water's teaming with bacteria... You'll nullify the medicine if you carry that on." With a sigh she reached to her lap and pulled free one of the flasks.

"Drink this instead." She tossed it at him, not really sure what was in it save for the fact it was definitely drinkable.

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Krius stopped mid drink, turned back and made a nice fountain of water spitting from his mouth back into to stream, spitting out the last of it and grimacing.

”Thanks.”

He didn’t think about drinking the water, it was cold and wet and he’d had worse in the past but when someone made it obvious of the bacteria and germs he was taking on, it made his stomach turn. Accepting the water, he took one mouthful to rinse the mouth and spit, and another to drink. That felt good – clean.

”Jyn. Nice name,” he said as he threw the bottle back and stood, examining his chest, ” tell me, who’s the ah, the…thing, the monkey.”

Krius flicked his head towards the foliage where the little beast still cowered, creeping further out but still shying away. He chuckled and knelt down, holding out his hand.

”Funny little thing isn’t he.”

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Catching the flask in one hand, and quickly setting it back to her belt, Jyn cast her gaze down over Fuz as the man mentioned him, before leaning down on her hind and gesturing with her head towards Krius. Hesitantly, Fuz scurried out towards Jyn, nudged her knee with his head, and then pattered on over towards Krius - yet he didn't get too close.

"His name is Fuz" she said, as though no more explanation was needed. She dropped her gaze back down to the little fat monkey, who had grown so much since the day she had rescued him, and sighed for a moment. This was what she had been lowered to. This was all she had in life. And for a moment it made her protective side flare up.

Fuz must have felt it, for moments after arriving near Krius he turned and scurried back over to her. Gently he clambered up her leg, then her torso, until finally he settled at her shoulder. One of his long hands settled to the opposing side of her head, and he bent his little knees to keep the best balance. From there he watched Krius, head tilting in amusing curiosity.

"I think he likes you" she remarked, somewhat bemused.

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

A little confident wave of the hand and a smile was all Krius provided.

”What’s not to like!”

Resting his hands between his knees, arms on his elbows, he looked at Jyn. She was a little fighter, but there was something about her. Like he’d met her before in another time. She was definitely holding back.

”I saw the look in your eyes when I used the Force – why do you fear it? You have that gift inside you too, it’s how I felt you coming and, ah…yeah, managed to nearly take your head off.”

He shifted in his posture, still on her level and beckoning to Fuzz.

”I see your pain, and I’m sorry to feel that, but you can do a lot to make something of yourself if you wanted to. I can help you, as I do owe you one remember..”

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Internally, Jyn began to grimace to the show of over-confidence, before realising that everyone was different. They responded to things differently. Furrowing her brows a little, she tilted her head to the side - almost in the same way that Fuz had - and sighed to the question. This was hardly something she wanted to discuss with a relative stranger!

"I have my reasons" she said, reaching up a hand to gently stroke across Fuz's body, keeping him calm and content in the process. "I don't believe I have any need to use it." That was a lie. There was far, far more to it than that... But she didn't really know how to express it. She hadn't even really revealed it to Tirdarius, and he had been the only person she had ever even come close to trusting before.

Fuz carefully climbed down from Jyn and began to sniff at the hand which was beckoning him, before slowly peering back at Jyn, as though seeking permission..? No. If you looked closer, you'd realise that he was making sure it was safe, that Jyn was safe...

And Jyn simply nodded her head, just the once.

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Watching the monkey sniff and look between the two of them, Krius tapped his fingers on the wooded ground, enticing play with no real malice. Listening, he nodded absently as he watched the monkey.

”I see. I think we all have reason to use it. It helps us survive in a galaxy where people like us, like you, often have nothing.”

He looked up and gave her a small smile, feeling the gently caress of fur on his fingers, making him chuckle softly.

”Well, I know you have your friend here. Look after him, because life is just…cruel. It isn’t fair. But when things don’t seem fair, or if you feel alone, there is one thing you’ll always have.”

Lowering his head a little and turning it, to copy the monkey, Krius smiled and made a couple of soft oo-ooing noises, and he could have sworn Fuz copied him. That meant the animal was content. As his fur was touching Krius, the man didn’t have to move fast to snap his fingers forward and bury his fingers into the soft flesh of the creature, immediately starting to cry out, thrash and writhe around in the tight grip of the stranger pulling him away from his only friend.

Pushing up on his knees, Krius stood and wrapped his other hand around the monkey’s small head and with an exertion that didn’t require any Force enhancement, he pulled the skull sharply from the shoulders with a wonderfully dull pop of bone as the tiny animal’s high-pitched screeching suddenly died with him.

”You’ll always have the Force, see!”

Feeling the monkey go limp, Krius fluidly threw his arm to the right and tossed the monkey out to the woodland floor amongst the bark and moss.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

But Jyn had everything before her force sensitivity was found.

A loving mother and father, a home and a good education. She had siblings and friends. She had been happy.

Now, due to the Force, all she had was Fuz. This one, small creature who had been with her through thick and thin. From the Academy on Korriban, and the torturous whims of the Sith, to the Imperium and the Inquisition, the Sith and her isolation... Fuz was everything. The one constant. The one companion. The Force? It had done nothing for her. But she couldn't express that to him coherently.

"The Force has been a curse since the day I first learned of my sensitivity. I have lost all because of it." She lowered her gaze down to Fuz, who stared back at her immediately sensing her peering upon him. "Except him."

The more the man spoke, the more her gut twisted. Something was wrong... The words he spoke were ominous, yet Jyn could not quite fathom what was going to happen. She felt warnings, sharp and sudden, through the Force, yet was too unattuned to it to properly heed what was being said.

And then came the screech, the worst sound Jyn had ever heard, with a feeling of pain and dread and desperation coursing through her. Jyn dropped from her knees, back onto her backside, and began to reel and gasp - the connection with Fuz strong enough to almost be considered a Force Bond, had Fuz not been lacking sentience. She grasped at her neck at the same time that the pop resounded through the trees, and then fell back against the ground, gasping for air that never seemed to flow into her lungs.

Somewhere, amongst it all, tears had begun to form and fall down her cheeks.

She had felt thousands of lives extinguished at Belkadan, witnessed numerous beings tortured by the Sith, yet none of this even combined could equate to how she currently felt. It was as though a void had been torn into her very core, which left her aching and numb all at once. "N-No..." she managed to whimper, shaking her head as she tried her very best to stand up and face the man who had taken him from her.

"No!" Dropping back to her knees, Jyn removed the slugthrower once again and aimed it at Krius, without much hesitation firing off a shot. Yet her vision was blurred and her aim was off. Instead the slug itself landed in the tree at his side, far from his body. She just continued to repeat the word over, crawling towards the discarded body. "You're a MONSTER!" she finally yelled, breaking up the series of disbelieving words to throw laced lines at him; her tongue was especially vehement.

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Rolling his eyes at the shot that boomed through the trees and nowhere near him, Krius reached out and plucked the weapon from her grip into his. Such a heavy weapon, and she wanted to use THIS over the natural Force?

”I’ve heard that word so many times it’s losing all merit. Monster monster monster, blah blah BLAH.”

With the last loud mock of his sentence, he turned with the slugthrower and fired a shot at the dead body of Fuz. It was enough to scare Jyn, the loud crack of the bolt and the close proximity of the shot, but also the debris that spat up around her, including the bloody, burnt remains of her pet monkey.

”I do hate those weapons – see, they’re so...monstrous, wouldn’t you say?”

He discarded it to the ground and moved over sideways and crouched down a few yards from the reeling youth and tried to turn his head to get her attention and peer into those fiery eyes amidst the tears.

”Jyn, trust me. Getting rid of that thing was the first step for you to actually becoming someone stronger. No ties, nothing to depend on other than yourself and the Force that resides in you and you can draw on it from the world around you. Ok?”

Krius felt the desire to smile – a caring smile, because he was right. She did look a mess, but she was worth showing what the Force was all about if it would help her.

[member="Jyn Sol"]