First Reply Trouble in Lake Country

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"I think you knowing me is better for me than it is for you."

Katarine was right though: his past was what made him who he was. But Gatz couldn't help but wonder if he'd be better off without it. It wasn't that he envied Master Ryiah, because who would want to struggle with amnesia? It just that... he had a lot of memories he'd rather forget. Some he might even be better off forgetting. And yeah, maybe that was like running away from his problems, but it also sounded like bliss.

Unfortunately, his memories weren't going anywhere.

"You know now that I think of it I'm not even sure I know my birth year. The doctors guessed at Theed General but who knows. I'm sure if I had a past to tell you it wouldn't be nearly as cool as being frozen in time sounds."

"But you were a Jedi, right? Couldn't the Jedi Archives have information about you? I know that's not the same as recovering your memory, but surely you could at least discover your birth year. Maybe even your age!"

She really didn't look that much older than him. Then again, maybe that joke about sharing her secret to pharmaceutical companies wasn't a joke.

But then she was asking about Lake Country, and how often he'd come as a kid. And the truth was... Gatz really didn't remember how often he'd been here.

"We came here a few times, but not regularly." Gatz admitted, "travel isn't cheap, after all. Even for a man who owns his own freighter."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: Lake Country
Tags: Gatz Derrevar

"But you were a Jedi, right? Couldn't the Jedi Archives have information about you? I know that's not the same as recovering your memory, but surely you could at least discover your birth year. Maybe even your age!"

Katarine had not considered this. She didn't think she was one of the great Jedi of the galaxy so why would anybody write about her? Maybe there was something in the Temple however. She made a mental note to check when she got back. As a Jedi investigator she did not spend a lot of time at the Temple. Most of her life was undercover but that didn't mean she couldn't swing by for some light reading.

"We came here a few times, but not regularly."

​

Katarine nodded. She imagined most people who visited the lake country were a little more wealthy. They said even Princess Amadala had a place out here at one time, but maybe school trips or something would allow less well off families to see it. She was not sure.

"I'm sure you miss your parents. I probably miss mine. I don't know." She chuckled. "Tell me about them." ​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons:
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"Tell me about them."

"You... want to know about them?"

Gatz blinked at her, dumbfounded. No one had ever cared to let him talk before. Not about his parents, and not about how he missed them. Everyone had just expected him to shut up, and speedrun through his grief. And he'd gotten so used to that, that... he didn't even know how to talk about them. Or where to start. Or why anyone would care.

He shook his head.

"Sorry," He sighed, "It's just... no one has ever asked me that before. Not even Valery."

His parents weren't a topic anyone gave a shit about. His grief was expected to be bottled up. Truth was, Gatz had quietly accepted that he'd never get to talk to someone the way he needed to.

"My father was a freighter pilot," Gatz started, "he flew for a dozen different companies over my lifetime. It took him away from home a lot, and so... I don't have as many memories of him as I'd like. But he was a quiet, humble man. Not anything like me. And he loved speeder races. We didn't have money for much, growing up, but Dad always found a way to take me to the race track, when he was home."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: Naboo Lake Country
Objective: Await the Raiders
Tags: Gatz Derrevar


Katarine could feel a flicker of pain in the young man and she frowned. It was hard sometimes to find time to process grief and loss, especially when the galaxy needed you. She imagined it was even harder in the galaxy now because Jedi were allowed to form attachments. Where many saw that as a danger Katarine had always thought the love for others is what kept a Jedi going. She had always thought to never hide your heart and those were words she believed in even now.

"Your dad sounds like a great man. I'm sure he enjoyed that time you spent at the race track. Did you have any siblings or was it just you and him?"

She hopped she wasn't pushing too much. Some people may not want to talk about their past after all.

"Did your mom ever go to the races too?"

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"I'm an only child," Gatz answered, "so it was usually just him and me. Mom came out, sometimes, before she got sick. Occasionally my uncle would get roped in too, but he tried to wrangle his way out of it every time he could."

Gatz decided to lay back on the grass, hands clasped behind his head like a makeshift pillow. The stars were out in full force, a clear night in Lake Country. It was almost a shame that they were waiting for a bunch of raiders to show up. Well, actually, it was a shame, full stop. Raiders pillaging farms was typically a shameful thing.

But Gatz wished they didn't have to spend such a beautiful night worrying over something like that. It'd be nice to just be able to... talk to a friend, without the threat of danger looming overhead.

"They're all gone now," Gatz explained, "I buried each and every one of them. I'm all that's left."

He'd had months to get used to that. But time still hadn't made it any easier. It had only compounded how alone he felt, and how much he missed them.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Tags: Gatz Derrevar

Kat laid back in the grass next to Gatz, her head near his so they could talk and her deep green eyes looking up at the stars. It was peaceful to just contemplate the universe and talk with a friend. She wished it could last but the galaxy had a way of ruining these moments. As Gatz talked she could hear the pain in his words, and she guessed that he had buried his parents recently. That had to be hard. Kat herself could not remember her parents but she could remember grief. True she did not know who she was grieving but she knew the way it clenched your insides and weighed you down. It pressed in on you and made it difficult to breath. Each day would get harder and harder because you felt like you were growing away from those you missed.

"I'm sorry. I know it's hard when someone you love is gone. You feel like you are growing away from them. Each day you wish you could tell them about your life but you just can't. You want to believe they are safe in the Force but the not knowing, it just eats at you."

She signed and knew she was probably saying nothing new to him. "If you ever want to talk, or just remember them I'd be happy to listen. It's nice to hear someones memories."

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"I think the hardest part is... they never got to see what I would become." Gatz admitted softly, "Dad died when I was a punk teenager. My mother and my uncle both died before I came back to the Order... they passed thinking I was just some thug. And they were right, at the time."

Was he more now? Gatz liked to think so. Was he a good man? He didn't know how to answer that question, or if he would ever be able to definitively say 'yes' after all he'd done... but he was trying his best to act the way a good man would act. In the end, that was what mattered most, right? Redemption had never been what he was after. Just the idea of doing better.

"If you ever want to talk, or just remember them I'd be happy to listen. It's nice to hear someones memories."

"Thank you for offering. I might take you up on that."

Gatz's brow furrowed, as a question floated through his mind.

"If you don't mind me asking..." He started slowly, "what do you remember?"

She knew her birth year, right? She'd told him as much earlier. She knew her name too, supposedly. So what else was still floating around in her noggin, not conquered by her amnesia?

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: Naboo lake Country
Objective: Wait Out Raids
Tags: Gatz Derrevar


She was glad she had not pushed too far. It was so difficult to tell sometimes. He did seem genuinely pleased to have the possibility to talk in the future and this made her happy. If she could help his grief even a little that would be something worthy of her time.

It was hard to hear him talk about how he wished his parents could see him now. She knew that must be rough but she also knew his parents must have loved him and were probably already proud of him. The way he spoke about them you could tell there had been love there.

"I think your parents were already happy with what you were when they knew you. Just from your voice I can hear you had great love for them. They must have felt that. To them that was probably the greatest thing you could be, a loving son."

She of course had never met his parents so he might get angry and say how could she know, but it was just a feeling the master had. She'd learned long ago to trust her feelings.

His next question gave her pause. She closed her eyes and wrinkled up her nose, trying to think as hard as she could.

"I know some things. I remember Order 66. I remember..." She could see a pair of yellow eyes, belonging to a dark handsome man. He had asked her to dance and she had, and then he had playfully pushed her aside. Her eyes shot open.

"I had a twin brother. He... teased me."

She smiled to herself. It wasn't much but it was a memory.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"I think your parents were already happy with what you were when they knew you. Just from your voice I can hear you had great love for them. They must have felt that. To them that was probably the greatest thing you could be, a loving son."

Gatz said nothing to Katarine's reassurance... but he hoped she was right. Klein... well, Uncle Klein had literally died taking a bullet for him. The man had been an ass, gruff and with wavering compassion, but even after all of that the man had still died for him. And if he was willing to do that for his fuck up of a nephew, then surely Gatz's own mother had thought better of him than he assumed.

He'd still been a disappointment for most of his adult life. But, maybe they'd known he'd turn out okay.

Gatz turned his attention to Master Ryiah, who was focused on trying to recall what few memories she had. Order 66—the great Jedi purge if he was recalling his history correctly—and a twin brother. Gatz opened his mouth to ask after her brother, to see if she remembered anything else about him...

...only for something in the lake to erupt, scattering water along the shoreline, and soaking Gatz and Katarine in a brief, but torrential downpour.

"So... raincheck on swapping histories, yeah?"

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: Naboo Lake Country
Objective: Investigate What Happened
Tags: Gatz Derrevar


Water came cascading down as a large explosion shook the ground beneath them. Kat sat bolt upright, trying to see through the spray that was everywhere. Had it been a water monster? An explosion? Most likely the raids were starting. It was time to spring into action and stop these pirates before they could do more harm.

"So... raincheck on swapping histories, yeah?"

"Maybe a little less rain next time okay?" She commented and she pushed her now drenched hair out of her face.

"Lead the way Padawan Gatz."

This was after all as they say his party. Kat was here for support but it was important that Gatz lead this mission.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"Lead the way Padawan Gatz."

"Terrible idea, really." Gatz snorted, even as he ran for the shoreline, "bound to get us both killed."

But he cut his jokes short. The sudden typhoon came to an end, and the sound of roaring water was replaced by the hum of... engines? Repulsor lifts? Gatz didn't have to rely on his ears for long, though. Because with a spout of water no longer crashing down on them, he could clearly see what had just erupted from the lake.

A barge.

And, finally, it all made sense.

"No wonder no one could find any camps," Gatz said in awe, "there never were any! Our raiders are an aquatic species."

Naboo was home to one such species: the Gungans. Gatz didn't want to immediately blame these attacks on them though. There were many aquatic species in the galaxy, and Naboo was a very well-known planet. It was very possible these raiders had come here simply because they thought it'd be an easy target—a bunch of farms in a rural countryside, on an independent world.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much time to bask in his breakthrough. The barge started flying in their direction, and presumably, toward whatever farm was next.

Fortunately, Gatz had a very ambitious plan.

"What do you say we hitch a ride?"

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: Edge of Lake
Objective: Jump Onto Ship
Tags: Gatz Derrevar


Suddenly things were starting to make more sense. Gatz hadn’t found the camps because they were hiding beneath the water depths this entire time. Katarine’s eyes fell upon those waters and she suppressed a shudder. The woman had floated down there for a century and wouldn’t soon forget it.

"What do you say we hitch a ride?"

“We better hurry. This train is leaving the station!”

She summoned the Force into her legs and jumped, the way only Jedi could. The landing was a little rougher than she would have liked but she found her footing easily enough.

She turned to see if hopefully Gatz was right behind her.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

“We better hurry. This train is leaving the station!”

Man, it was nice to be around another Jedi with a sense of humor.

Gatz threw himself up after Master Ryiah, feet hitting the side of the skiff, and his hand wrapping around a guard rail. He used it as leverage to pull himself to the upper deck, where his feet hit wet durasteel with a thud. Casting his eyes around the barge, he found that the upper deck was entirely empty. He supposed that made sense: when this thing was underwater, it'd be impossible to walk the deck.

So their raiders were likely below, which meant that they'd have to find the hatch down. This thing must have been piloted from within, given the lack of controls up top. That seemed logical. But what Gatz really wanted to know was whether or not these pricks even knew they'd hitched a ride.

Having the element of surprise would be useful, if their stowing away had gone unnoticed.

"See if you can't find a way below deck," Gatz asked of the Jedi Master, "if you cover the stern, I'll look around the bow."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: On Ship
Objective: Cover Ship
Tags: Gatz Derrevar

"if you cover the stern, I'll look around the bow."

"Watch your behind. Got it."

She grinned at him and winked but then she was off heading towards the rear of the ship to find her way below. The thing was built smartly, with all of the ways below carefully set up to prevent leakage when it went into the depths below. When Kat found the sealed off entry point she quietly hit the controls. There was a soft hiss as the doorway unsealed itself and she was lead below.

The interior of the ship was dimly lit and she could feel a few sentient lifeforms up ahead. Choosing to hide just now, she pushed herself into a small niche and watched, her eyes adjusting to the light.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"Watch your behind. Got it."

"It is a nice butt."

Then Gatz was gone, heading toward the front of the skiff. The plating under his boots was slick, and he moved quietly and slowly so as not to alert anyone below—if they didn't already know the two of them were here. Judging by the way no one had come up, though, Gatz figured they were undetected for now.

It wasn't long before he found a hatch leading to the lower decks, much like Katarine did.

But when Gatz dropped down into his entrance, he came face to face with a man wrapped up in dark armor and a mask. They stared at each other for a moment, both surprised to have met this way.

"Sleep." Gatz waved a hand in front of him, pressing into the raider's mind—dominating the weaker will of the man in front of him.

And the man dropped to the deck with a thunk, snoring lightly as if he was wrapped up in bed. Gatz let out a quiet sigh, relieved he hadn't just bungled this whole makeshift operation.

"One down... who knows how many to go?"

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: Below Deck - Towards Stern
Objective: Remain Undetected
Tags: Gatz Derrevar


Katarine was crouched down in a small niche and remained silent while her party walked past her. The raider was clad is a dark armor and a dark mask, making Katarine consider once again that these were men that would be well known if they were seen. Everything they did seemed to protect their identities. She waited until the man had walked past her hiding place and then slid out, knocking him on the back of the head. She caught him as he fell and stuffed him into the makeshift niche.

She continued on down the small hallway that seemed to be leading to an engine room, judging by all the mechanical sounds she heard. She froze as two people walked in front of her, coming out of doors on the side of the hallway. They were not facing her but the could turn around at any moment. She used the Force to make something fall up ahead and they turned to investigate, giving time for her to slip in the door they just left.

Inside the room were maps spread on every surface. They showed the local farms and had different targets painted on them. So these were certainly the raiders in question. She walked forward and shifted some of the papers aside and frowned when she saw what looked like a symbol of the occult. This was odd for small time raiders. She picked up the symbol and studied it for a moment before she heard the door open.

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

She picked up the symbol and studied it for a moment before she heard the door open.

"What have we here?"

The figure standing in the door frame matched neither the figures Katarine had taken care of already, nor the figures Gatz had described on the beach. He was tall, swaddled in white robes with dark hair and eyes. He might have passed for human had it not been for the pigment of his skin: reddish-pink in color. He practically slithered in—though he had two normal legs, there was something sly and slimy about him—and let the door click shut behind him.

"I was looking for the pretty barmaid they took," he smiled, sinister in all ways, "but you're quite exquisite."

---

On the opposite end of the barge, Gatz was struggling on the ground, raider pulled into a choke hold. Did choke holds even work on whatever this aquatic species was? Judging by the way the man was striking at his arm, and writhing in his grasp, Gatz was going to guess "yes." But finally, after a few moments, the man went limp in his arms.

Gatz pushed the raider off of him, and rolled onto his back with a huff.

"They make that look so much easier in the movies."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: Ship - Room with Maps
Objective: Chat With Slime ball & Kick him in the Banta Sack
Tags: Gatz Derrevar

"I was looking for the pretty barmaid they took,"

Katarine smiled at the pinkish male that had just slithered in and slipped the paper with the occult symbol into her pocket for later viewing.

"I could go for a drink as well. Why don't we go look for her together?"

She was not happy to hear that there were potential hostages on board. Was this the raider expedition they had stumbled across or something much more sinister?

"Do you have anybody else here who doesn't want to be?"

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"I could go for a drink as well. Why don't we go look for her together?"

The man blinked at her, as if surprised by Katarine's response. Then he grinned, adopted that façade of swagger once more, and drew closer to the Jedi Master. Once he was in her personal bubble, it would become apparent that he'd been drinking—his breath smelled heavily of alcohol. Though, notably, the spirits he'd consumed weren't debilitating enough to make him stumble or slur his words.

"A wonderful idea!" He exclaimed, "I'll take you down to the bottom deck, and introduce you to the rest of the girls!"

The man seemingly ignored Katarine's second question, and yet answered it at the same time with the mention of other women onboard the large skiff.

---

Gatz paused outside the room Master Ryiah and this other fellow were in. Instinct screamed at him to bust in and clobber the dude, but Gatz heard no sounds of a scuffle or a fight. He couldn't make out words through the durasteel door, but it seemed like they were... talking? About what, he couldn't guess at. But the tone of voice they used was quiet, not loud or angry.

So he decided to trust in whatever Master Ryiah was doing.

Gatz moved along from the door, and instead snuck back to his half of the barge, where he'd spotted a staircase to the lowest deck of the vessel.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

​

Location: Lower Deck
Objective: Rescue People
Tags: Gatz Derrevar

"I'll take you down to the bottom deck, and introduce you to the rest of the girls!"

Katarine felt her spirits fall slightly but she didn't let it show on her face. So there were women here, possibly being held against their will. Was that what these raids were about or had they stumbled into something else?

She crinkled her nose as the smell of alcohol assaulted her senses but other than that she kept up her smile. As much as she wanted to punch this guy in the throat she wanted to see these other women. If there were captives aboard the vessel it would be a priority to get them to safety.

She felt Gatz on the other side of the door. His presence lingered for a moment and then he moved on. If all went according to plan he'd be down below if trouble started and they could rescue these women together.

"Lead the way good sir." She put on her most flirtatious smile and followed him to the door, which he opened for her. How chivalrous. She felt her insides crawl as she walked past him and felt a slap on her rear. She closed her eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath and centering herself before letting out a coy giggle, and proceeding down the hallway with her new friend. Katarine had spent a decade in the underworld, working undercover as an investigator and she was no stranger to using her feminine wiles to get on top of a case. It wasn't exactly the straight laced Jedi way, especially in the old days, but investigators weren't really the traditional Jedi the galaxy knew.

They climbed down a spiral staircase and came into a large hollowed out area that looked like it was originally meant for storage of merchandise. This must have been some type of cargo ship back in the day. There certainly wasn't cargo in there now however. Katarine felt her stomach churn at the sickening sight. There were a dozen cages, some containing females from various species who looked half starved. Others were empty and open, as if their occupants were elsewhere and would return. Was this a trafficking operation? Slavery?

She stepped lightly into the room and heard the pink skinned man behind her shutting the door. There was a loud clink of a lock, and Katarine felt herself mastering the urge to run screaming from the place. She didn't want to be here but then again she had a feeling nobody in those cages did either.

"Nice digs."

Her eyes were scanning the corners, trying to count how many hostages were here so she knew how many she needed to rescue. She knew she couldn't keep things calm forever but she also didn't want to trigger a fight and get an innocent hurt until it was absolutely necessary.

​