Private Torches and Pitchforks

[Loomi]

Torches and Pitchforks
Lothal
Tags: Valery Noble , Colette

For unknown reasons, Sithspawn have begun to appear on the rural Outer Rim world of Lothal. Their concentration is small, but reports of attacks on farming settlements have begun to flood in, including instances of casualties. A brief investigation by the Lothal Protectorate, the planets governing military body, determined that the attacks seem to be concentrated around one location in particular, the old Jedi Temple. Locals have begin to arm themselves in the hope of reclaiming the temple and driving out the darkside beasts, despite the orders given by their Commander in Chief Fynch to stand down. To ensure that casualties are left at a minimum, Fynch has called upon the aid of the Galactic Alliance's New Jedi Order in the hopes that further disaster is avoided.

Now the Sword of the Jedi and two padawan learners are on route to Lothal to ensure that a band of gung-ho farmers don't run off and get themselves killed, and one of those said padawan learners was on the verge of a panic attack.

Loomi had a lot in her life that she was juggling right now. Learning that she had been enslaved and tortured as a child was, admittedly, pretty rough. Actually, pretty rough was an understatement. She was in shambles. Now here she was on a mission to fight Sithspawn, creatures she had never encountered before in her life, all while trying to put on a strong face that at least faked some level of composure. Needless to say, there were a lot of stressful things around her that kept worming their way into her mind at the moment.

Worse is that she knew the people who she was being sent with. Colette was her roommate for starters, but her master was a completely different case. Valery Noble was not an individual she knew very well, but everything about her was overwhelming. Not in the bad way, more so in the accomplishment way. She was so wise and strong, Loomi couldn't help but feel somewhat like the weak link present. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of either Jedi on the shuttle with her. She couldn't linger on that thought for long though. The pilot called back, informing them that they had just entered into the Lothal system.

"A-are there any reports of what kind of Sithspawn were seen?" Loomi finally asked, trying to keep here nerves down. "I-I tried researching a few, b-but I didn't get very far..."

Obviously. She couldn't read, and any audio form of research only gave her nightmares. All the talk of consuming souls and collecting the memories of those who would be trapped in eternal torture. It was not the greatest thing to be reading before curfew.

 

[Valery Noble]

Enroute to Lothal

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Loomi Colette

When the call from Fynch reached her, Valery immediately responded. The man had not only saved her life once during a Gala, but she respected him for the leader that he was. And once again, his strength as a leader showed, as he decided to call on the Jedi's help, rather than risk the lives of his own people by sending them up against a threat they likely didn't understand. Valery, however, was an expert at handling Sithspawn from serving as a Jedi Shadow for many years.

But she wasn't going to handle this alone.

Her own Padawan, as well as her Padawan's roommate would be joining her for this task. Both hadn't exactly been confronted by Sithspawn very much, as far as she knew anyway, but they were ready. With Valery close, they'd also have the support of someone who could protect them if something bad were to happen, but Valery wasn't counting on it. As long as they approached this carefully and methodically, they'd get through this together.

"I don't think so, and I'd rather not follow the identification of the locals. No offense to them, but if they get it wrong and we go in expecting a far lesser threat, we'll be in trouble," Valery said as she glanced over at Loomi. "We'll figure it out once we're there, and I'll help find the best way to deal with them."

 

[Colette]

Loomi // Valery Noble

It was hard to keep truths hidden when someone shared your space for a majority of the day. Sleep might have been a temporary respite, but it was still one that was needed ever so often. Colette struggled for her own reasons, but even she understood that in the little hammock that Loomi had put together there was a storm brewing under her skin, same as it was now. She didn't quite know what it was but she could sense its presence much like the one that was brewing under her own skin.

She suspected that it was about the same thing, at least in here. It wasn't often that Colette actually seemed to go out on these more 'violent' missions. More often than not she was accompanying someone or even Valery herself to investigate strange natural phenomenon. Sithspawn from what Colette could understand was not natural in the slightest. At least not anymore.

With this in mind she shifted to be next to her friend in case that would make her feel better.

"We know that these things are violent, that livestock have been taken or even people themselves." Colette nodded at Valery and Loomi both. "I agree that we'll most likely be better off not worrying about it until we are there."

Plan to plan later and all that. It wasn't much of a — well, plan — at all but it struck her as the best they could come up with in this moment without wasting time and effort on things that would never come to be.

Colette shifted her attention to Loomi with a whisper.

"You seem really tense." She said and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "You're in good company, and you are good company. Everything okay?"

 

[Loomi]

Lothal
Tags: Colette , Valery Noble

"You're in good company, and you are good company. Everything okay?"

"Y-yeah," Loomi nodded, giving a faint smile. "I think so. Just... there's a lot I'm thinking about, that's all."

The reassurance from her friend was all she needed to recompose herself a little. She was here with other people. Good people. Everything was going to be okay. Loomi was still nervous, of course, but who wouldn't be when facing Sithspawn for the first time?

It wasn't long before they had entered the atmosphere. Loomi peered outside the ship with the force, using her tracking to feel the vibrations in the ground below. They were landing next to a large structure, most likely the temple. It felt like a group of people were gathered outside, shuffling their feet anxiously. Maybe twenty or so? Most concerning was what she felt from within the temple. A pit of darkness, writing and swirling with the vibration of more limbs than she could count. The girl broke a sweat, a wave of goosebumps waking up along her spine.

"Th-there's a few civilians outside the temple," she relayed. "And... a lot of something dark inside."

The ship landed, the transport door swinging open. There was no going back now.

 

[Valery Noble]

Enroute to Lothal

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Loomi Colette

"It's alright to be a bit tense," Valery said as she looked over at the two Padawans with a soft smile. "I'd be more concerned if you felt nothing at all, going into a mission like this. Sithspawn are dangerous creatures, so a healthy amount of caution never hurts." She then glanced at Colette, and showed an appreciative smile. "But she's also right — we're a good team, so we'll make this work and be on our way again before you know it."

Looking out of the window, Valery could soon see the Temple appearing, as well as the people down below. She frowned, showing that she didn't like them being so close whatsoever, but perhaps they were simply curious. Or even the people who made sure the darkness inside the structure couldn't make its way out somehow.

"Let's make sure people stay at a safe distance if we go inside. I don't want them to become targets," Valery said as they made their landing, and the ramp began to lower. She then got up from her seat, looked at the Padawans one more time, and stepped outside to greet the civilians.

"Everything alright here? I don't think it's safe to be this close."

 

[Colette]

Loomi // Valery Noble

"I'm scared too." Colette admitted and gave Loomi another squeeze of her shoulder before she withdrew her hand again. "We should be good, master." She said and gave her own equipment a quick once-over. "Ready when you are."

As the trio stepped out it was to the curiosity of the people that had gathered around what very well could be staring down the darkened hallways of their own deaths. It was strangely human, Colette supposed, but in the end idiotic and stupid.

You know, civilized people stuff.

"Like sheep putting their heads between the teeth of the wolf." Colette muttered, not being one to choose 'kind' words when the dangers were very real. She sighed and looked at the other two. "We need to get people to back off."

 

[Loomi]

Lothal
Tags: Valery Noble , Colette

"Everything alright here? I don't think it's safe to be this close."

The group turned, their rural attire and basic weapons rather apparent. They were farmers. A few had pitchforks, some armed with hunting rifles, and the rest a mix of sharp equipment they probably just pulled out of their households.

"Master Jedi," an older Nautolan man began, clearly the leader of the group. "The Commander told us you'd come... but we had our doubts."

"We know it isn't safe!" one younger woman snapped, a pale-skinned Twi'lek. "We're going down there to give those things hell!"

"Relax, Kalie," the old man interjected with a frown. "Apologies... those beasts aren't too welcome round these parts. This young one's father killed one of 'em, but he's since fallen ill. Others... well, they haven't been so lucky."

Loomi stepped forward, trying to compose herself. She had to talk a little, right? If she was ever going to become a Jedi Knight she had to at least assert herself a little.

"We've come to take care of them," Loomi assured, managing to stow her stutter. "You should lead your people home. It isn't safe."

The old man chuckled, even sighing a little. It seemed that he very much didn't want to be here.

"I appreciate the concern, lass," the Nautolan continued, "But my people aren't going anywhere. They wanna fight. If you have good reason for them not to, by all means be my guest."

A sweat broke on the Godoan's forehead. This was gonna be harder than she thought.

 

[Valery Noble]

Enroute to Lothal

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Loomi Colette

Well, these people certainly had a death wish.

Valery glanced at Colette for a moment, knowing all the things she would want to tell these people. But before her stubborn little apprentice could piss them off, she stepped forward and reached for a datapad. She had pulled up a picture of a huge Terentatek on the display, which she knew was a creature unlikely to be here. But it looked dangerous, and any report on it was quite serious about how lethal the beast was.

"If any of these people come across a beast like this, they'll die," she said flatly. "If it's not their claws, teeth or incredible strength that tears you apart, it will be the Dark Side corrupting your minds to turn you into mindless zombies, or worse, shatter your mind altogether." She paused, put away the datapad and stared them down more seriously.

"We're trained to handle these beasts, and I have many years of experience handling them. If you let me, I'll solve this problem with the Padawans here. But I'm going to need you all to not get in the way, for your own safety as well as mine."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble // Loomi

A single spittle of a response parted between Colette's lips before Valery cut her off and gave the response that the kid wouldn't have. It was diplomatic but firm and to the point. Colette would have chided them, called them idiots and told them to go ahead and die or get out of her way, proving yet again that there weren't a whole lot of diplomatic bones in her body just yet.

Except, then one of them spoke up again in defiance of Valery, and Colette instantly felt herself lock eyes with the woman.

"There are people in there who are our friends!" She yelled. "We have a right to help them, too!"

The padawan swallowed her words for a moment, struggled to keep herself back and hoped that either Loomi or Valery would pick back up again. But the woman spoke, and Colette broke.

"I'm going to—"

"Stay right where you are." Colette said and took one step forward. "If you step in there, you WILL die, and it WILL be painful."

"These beasts don't know mercy, and they won't go easy on you just because you want to retrieve the bodies of someone you care for. If anything, they are using their bodies for that exact purpose, to lure you in so that they can crack open your limbs one by one to revel in the pain and the suffering."

"Please, let us go in first, take these monsters out, and once we've given the all clear, you can come in to get your loved ones."

Brave face on, but Colette could very much feel the way that her own words burned against her skin as if half-expecting Valery to set her ablaze the second the crowd was out of view. The kid waited for the crowd's response.

 

[Loomi]

Lothal
Tags: Valery Noble , Colette

"Please, let us go in first, take these monsters out, and once we've given the all clear, you can come in to get your loved ones."

This had the gathered crowd of farmers frozen up. Most of them by now had realized the severity of the situation they were about to plunge themselves into, but they hadn't yet processed the consequences of what may occur. Slowly, murmuring amongst the group seemed to indicate a desire to back off.

"I suppose that settles it then," the old Nautolan sighed, seeming rather relieved. "We'll get out of your way. I suppose you'll know where to find us when the deed is done."

The old man gave a brief bow of thanks before turning and calling for his people to follow. Slowly but surely they did just that. Loomi let out an exhale, clutching at her chest. She had completely frozen up. The Godoan couldn't help but feel so small in comparison to the other two outspoken Jedi present.

"Th-that was great," Loomi praised, giving a half smile. "S-sorry I froze up... I probably should've said something else."

 

[Valery Noble]

Enroute to Lothal

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers
Tag: Loomi Colette

Despite what she tried to tell them, one woman seemed to still not be convinced and was about to speak up against her when Colette interfered. Valery blinked and turned to Colette, whose approach was... a little more direct. She couldn't help but feel a little proud, because even though it was perhaps harsh, it was also honest. If those people went in there, they'd more than likely be torn apart before they could even scream for help.

This was for the best.

Luckily, her words resonated with the group of civilians, and the Jedi were left to go about their business without interference. Valery just dipped her head to Colette and turned to Loomi, "It's quite alright, we're a team for a reason." She smiled and placed a comforting hand on the younger woman's shoulder.

"I'll lead the way inside, but stay close and keep your own eyes and senses alert." With that, unless either of them opposed, Valery would move towards the entrance and step inside, hoping to find what they were looking for.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble Loomi

Valery handled it. Colette gave an affirming nod to Loomi to underline what the master was saying, although a small part of Colette's mind was most certainly starting to wonder if this was a good idea after all. In the end she figured it was social anxiety, it was an understandable thing to have. The two girls had spent a room together, they knew that each of them were capable in their means. To write Loomi off now was to do her a great disservice.

Colette withdrew her saber and kept it firm in her hands as she looked down what must have seemed like the darkest corridor that she had ever seen before. She could hear faint hints of both growling and laughter coming from inside, no doubt something that was both a truth and a lie.

She readied herself with a deep breath and a sharp exhale and centered her focus on following her guy and Valery on this.

"At your command, master."

 

[Loomi]

Lothal
Tags: Colette , Valery Noble

"It's quite alright, we're a team for a reason."

Yeah. It was fine. She just had to work up to everything. She was the youngest one here after all. It made since that she was inexperienced.

The darkness was quickly what took priority in her mind, however. As they descended down into the Temple the overwhelming feeling of dread grew. Loomi reached out in the force, trying to get a feel for how many Sithspawn might be present. One, two... and slowly her focus devolved, a shudder going down her back.

There were too many to count.

"Th-there's a lot ahead," she muttered. "I-I don't know how many."

Eyes would begin to appear in the dark corridor ahead, some showing the glimmer of a vague bipedal form. In the center appeared a larger set of eyes, a set of four. The sickly glow of blister traps was soon to follow.