RIDE THE STORM

A fly lands on his neck.

Alexander swats the buzzing insect away, grimacing at the trail of sweat sliding down the back of his neck. He’s been watching from this ridge for hours, lying stomach-down on the rocks and sand, staring down into the gorge below. 

The newcomer he’s guiding is asleep on the ground a few feet away, stretched out on a bedroll beneath a tree, hat tipped over his eyes to shield his face from the sun. Why on earth this man wants to snatch up a Ghost Nation girl is beyond him. There are plenty of women back in town—

Bzzzzz.

He raises his hand to swat away another fly, but freezes with his hand raised. 

There she is.

He can’t make out her face from this distance, but two long braids swaying as she walks…they seem familiar. She seems familiar. But that’s absurd, he’s never met any women from Ghost Nation, just done some minor trading with exiles.

She was lucky to be alive, honestly. Her people had always been peaceful, fishing and gathering along the rivers of the valley. They communicated and traded with the white men, enough for her to have learned their language and some of their culture.Life wasn’t idyllic, there was always the threat of being taken by them or worse, if the lingering stories from other tribes were true, but it was at least something she knew how to weather.

The Ghost were a completely different story; they were warriors that did not take kindly to the intruders, who fought with the other local tribes, who took captives and had no mercy. How was she to know what would happen to her when she was taken as a child? That she would be given to a family as a replacement for the daughter they lost to fever? That they would come to dislike the poor replacement who had ‘too much water in her’ (as her light eyes indicated) and had learned too much about the white devils?

The basket she was carrying was beginning to grow too heavy for her arms to bear, but the trouble that would come from dropping the water she was carrying was so much worse than the pain. Still, she risked taking the time to pause, carefully setting it down and wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of a hand. They would be expecting her, and taking too long would draw scorn, but it would only be worse if she lost her cargo and was forced to start over again.

Good morning Pita Taufatofua and literally no one else, coming through the Opening Ceremony last night lubed up and ready to go. (CNN) 

It’s the first time he’s been on Coruscant in months.

He’s not technically supposed to leave the base…but he’s off-duty, he’s already filed his report with maintenance for his LAAT/i, and doesn’t have to report back in for a few hours. He’s supposed to be asleep in his bunk until nineteen-hundred, but what’s the harm in taking a walk instead?

Xann loiters on a walkway outside a tiny cafe, a cup of rapidly-cooling caf in his gloved hand. He can’t drink it without removing his helmet, and there are a few too many civilians on this side street for him to feel fully comfortable with removing it. It’s been a few too many weeks surrounded by just the GAR, and having the eyes of too many civvies on him makes him feel a bit twitchy, though a day or two back in civilization is all he needs to adjust again.

The massive, sprawling Republic Center for Military Operations looms over everything else in the area even from several blocks away, casting long shadows in the afternoon light and dwarfing the tapcafs and businesses on the streets around it. He knows from a fellow pilot willing to pass along gossip that Hirani was spotted going into Commander Fox’s office a short time ago, and hopes she’s leaving the Guard on foot today.

War being normal was not something she had ever considered, but as the months dragged along, she was left with the sinking feeling that there might come a point when there children in the galaxy who knew nothing else, Force knew that was the clones’ lot in life.

Hirani followed behind the guardsman tasked with escorting her out of the Guard headquarters, mulling it over in her head. A full day of helping Fox sort and file the reports and paperwork that came with his position, listening to the comm signals and passing conversations, opened her eyes to the fact. The men of the 22nd had never known anything but battles, tactics, and a strict military existence; these men had the chance to see the old ‘normal’, but weren’t really allowed to experience it. It wasn’t fair, and while the Galaxy seemed to be a place devoid of fairness on a good day, things were only getting worse.

Flashing a smile, she gave the Guard a wave and tugged her robe closer before it could whip around her with the gust of air that came with stepping out onto the street. Her train of thought died in the cacophony of city life, leaving her to begin her trek back to the temple without such heavy thoughts weighing on her. Normally she wouldn’t want to draw attention to herself with her Jedi garb, but with the way things were progressing, the visibility of the Jedi and clone troopers was seen as important for morale.

Her lekku bobbed behind her as she slipped through the crowd, light feet keeping her out of the way of bigger citizens with ease and keeping her from being trampled in the afternoon foot traffic. Up until she was passing the tapcaf, of course. She saw the Pilot’s helmet first, lips pursed as she reached out to see if she knew him. She did.

”Xann?” She paused, lifting a hand to wave, just in time for an Ithorian dignitary to bowl into her and knock her to the ground in a decidedly un-jedi-like way. She caught herself, a flood of apologies spilling from her as she helped him up, face bright purple in embarrassment. He grumbled, but was ultimately fine, if not annoyed, as he hurried off.

This is going to be a Star Wars Character/Ask Blog, asks, posts, and whatnot involving my various OCs for the Old Republic. Picture references are from SWTOR, brief info on each one is in the character list.

A group of people with no time for anything, and too much on their minds. A little luck is a lot of luck, and may the gods bless them all. Or not.

Special Agent Patriot

Padawan Vuzte

Darth Makke