Ask Tatooine Light and Darkness

[Cerberus]

Time: 0000, Location: Tattooine, 1083.2 Meters from Blue Mist Farm​

Six seeker droids around Cerberus alerted the half-human, half-zeltron Sith to a significant and abnormal drop in temperature. He mostly ignored it. The chilly night air did not bother Cerberus. Part of the reason he wasn't bothered by the cold was because his armour and clothing covered him head-to-toe. The straps that kept his Thermic Sword and it's sheath tightly on his back added another layer of protection against the bitter bites of the night air, but mostly he was used to being cold. For a few years now, even when he entered a heated room he struggled to get warm.

Once the seeker droids stopped beeping, he stopped thinking about the cold and reclaimed his focus on the job at hand.

The job seemed easy enough to him. Steal the bantha's from Blue Mist Farm and bring them to the few Sandcrawlers waiting for them. Cerberus wasn't sure where the Sandcrawlers planned to take the creatures, and he didn't quite care. They were probably going to another farm run by the criminal organisation that he was hired by, or to a slaughter house so they could be someone's next bantha burger.

In a swift motion, Cerberus waved his right arm in the air. His movement caught all six of the seeker droids' attention.

"Move out and alert me to anyone near the farm or in my path," the halfbreed hissed into the night air. All the droids beeped twice in recognition of the half breeds orders and moved out.

Once the droids left, Cerberus found himself alone again. The red blinking lights of the seeker droids were gone, and he was once again bathed in the shadows of the nearby mountains. He stayed in place for a few minutes, lingering his crimson eyes on the shifting sands, and let the seekers get a needed headstart. Once the time passed he pulled his coats dark blue hood back up over his head and began his slow approach towards Blue Mist Farms. Each step he took left a shallow footprint that slowly faded away from strong winds blowing thousands of grains of Tattooines sand overtop of them.

@Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

“-And honestly, I think the price of strawberries these days is hyperlane robbery! My folks and I used to grow them for nothin’,” Prani blabbed cheerfully.

'Grunt,' grunted the bantha in response.

“Aww, Spoons, ya know just what to say,” Prani said with a smile as she petted the giant beast. She was out by the stables to do an overnight shift to look for ‘bantha thieves’. Evidently this farm had some of the highest quality bantha which produced top tier milk. Their meat was also top-grade once they stopped producing milk. Apparently that made it ripe for thieving poachers who stole calves or older bantha for themselves or the black market.

As a huge animal lover, Prani couldn’t stand for this, so she tagged along when a Knight led a mission to Tatooine. She had never been on a desert planet before so the day was spent marveling at the dunes and sweating profusely. Fortunately, she eventually dressed like a local and cooled off.

The Knight was asleep and gave her the menial task of night shift for the bantha. The scouts hadn’t reported any activity so at this point Prani was just keeping the animals company. She made friends already and was seated on a stump surrounded by at least three of them.

“Look, Nuggets,” She said to one of the bantha that nudged her, “I’m here to chat with all of y’all,” She said, “You ain’t gotta shove Spoons outta the way!”

There was a tingling feeling at the back of her neck and she sat up straight. Was there someone here?

@Dread

 

[Cerberus]

A dragged out, single mechanical beep crackled over Cerberus' comlink, followed by coordinates from one of the seeker droids. Evidently, there was a scout only slightly north-east of the Sith's position. The halfbreed Sith instantly made up his mind about how he was going to handle it.

The eerily cold air followed Cerberus as he veered slightly off course. His right hand's pointer finger promptly tapped on his helmet, turning on its low-light vision mode just as he stepped closer towards the inky black darkness of a large cliff bottom. He wanted cover in the near pitch-black and to take advantage of the dark colours of his clothing and armour.

It didn't take long for the Sith to get in eyesight of his now-target, as the scout was still near the area specified by the seeker droid. Cerberus' crimson eyes immediately fixated on his target. Without pause, he reached out with his right hand and wrapped the Force around the scouts neck with a sudden, vice-like grip. Mercilessly and swiftly, the Force began crushing the scout's oesophagus, leaving the man helpless. The man could do nothing but claw at his throat while blood from the snapping muscles began to pool in and drip from his mouth.

This was the easiest, quickest method to do away with the scout, Cerberus thought. Cerberus wasn’t able to use the Force so obviously on every job, but this time he was alone. His contractors hired only him to engage the farm and moreover, he was blissfully unaware of nearby Jedi that could sense his use of the Force.

@Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani began to suspect that Spoons and Nuggets were getting bored of her stories. She couldn’t understand why - her stories were riveting! She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, “Well fine then,” She pouted, watching one of them walk off and promptly take a large dump. The smell didn’t bother her as she was used to animals, “Better out than in I always say!” Prani called out, chuckling to herself.

She was about to settle in for a nap when she sensed something in the Force. It made her feel sick - especially since she was extremely Light-aligned. She couldn’t tell where it came from, but she knew right away that there was a Dark Sider nearby. Prani jumped to her feet, scrambling towards one of the bantha to stand next to it to obscure herself from view. She couldn’t see anyone and she had seen enough Holomovies to know that calling out ‘who’s there?!’ loudly was the dumbest move ever.

For now, she remained on high alert, not making any sudden moves and looking to see if she spotted anyone arriving closer to the bantha. The worst they were told to expect were bandits, so why was a Force user here?! Prani chewed her lip, wondering if she could bolt towards the house and rouse the Jedi Knight. But what if she got jumped on the way? Once again, Prani groaned inwardly, wishing she was more of a combat Jedi…

Meanwhile, the Sith would realize one of the bantha was staring at him. Very intently. As if right into his soul.

'Moo,' Moo'd the bantha.

@Dread

 

[Cerberus]

The now lifeless body of the scout flopped haphazardly to the ground and landed in an unflattering pose. Something about the way the scouts leg twisted overtop of his body was a little disturbing. Cerberus paid little mind to it though, only stopping at the body to fish out a comlink. He wasn't sure how long it'd be until someone checked in with the now dead scout so he had to keep moving.

Unfortunately the potent smell of bantha shit penetrated his helmet as soon as he arrived at the farm, causing his nose to twist. It wasn't far off from the smell of a lot of criminals that didn't put grooming high on their list. Disgusting, or maybe Cerberus was a little high strong and over zealous with cleanliness and grooming. Either way he reached back and drew his Thermic Sword, activating its super heating function. A yellow glow accompanied the blade as he slashed and broke a lock on the gate into the bantha pen.

Of course once he started to walk through the pen he noticed one bantha staring into his very soul. What the kark was wrong with it? It moo'd and then that's when the young Sith thought he saw something out of place near the bantha's leg. The side of a thing or person poking out. Ceberus frowned, holding up his left free-hand, a wave of fear pulsed out from around him. This fear caused panic in the nearby cattle, causing them to begin to run. This, Ceberus hoped, would start a stampede he could direct towards the waiting Sandcrawlers, but his crimson eyes quickly fixated on what the batha revealed by moving.

Ceberus remained eerily calm but spoke immediately. "You shouldn’t be out here alone, girl," he said in a forceful tone. What was she? The daughter of the farmer?

@Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani was terrified, and it only got worse when she spotted a figure walking into the pen. There was a surge of fear that overwhelmed the bantha, but also her. However, she wasn’t broken so easily, not when she was this far into the Light. In her panic, she quickly coiled the Force around the figure in an attempt to toss them. By luck, it would yeet the intruder right into the fresh pile of bantha turds if successful. At worst it would make him stumble and step into it. Either way, he was about to find that pile of gifts.

Unfortunately, Prani was unable to do much else with her cover blown. She jumped to her feet, “Why’re you tryin’ to bother these bantha?!” She called out, “Y’all have better things to do!” Prani’s words were far braver than she felt.

@Dread

 

[Cerberus]

Cerberus felt himself get sent backwards. He found himself frozen in somewhat shock during the motion because of what he sensed from the attack-- the light. He was so shocked that he let go of his sword when he landed in piles of bantha doo, also by surprise. The absolutely vile smell of the bantha droppings invaded his nostril like daggers so long that they pierced all the way up into his skull and broke him out of his shock. Though that only made way for anger. The mere thought of being this dirty sent him into a momentary rage.

He never got this dirty. NEVER.

The feeling of intense aggression and the rise of adrenaline caused his pupils to dilate nearly pin-sized as he growled, "I'm going to KARKING KILL YOU" deeply with malice.

He didn't even think about the fact that the girl didn't do a follow up attack and nothing she said he was able to hear. All he did was stand up, absolutely pissed, and unclip his red bladed lightsaber from his belt, but he didn't ignite it yet.

He stopped for a second now that he was out of the sh*t and managed to excerise a little self control, because he was reminded that this was a lightside user. It was only the second time he had ever encountered one and the first one killed his master. There were so many thoughts going through his head, he felt off his game. "Who are you?" he asked plainly, now moving forward towards the girl with his crimson eyes fixtated on her.

@Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani winced as the man shouted, feeling guilty about throwing him into a literal pile of poodoo. She was out in the open no thanks to her bantha friends. Prani flailed her arms, “Don’t kill me! Can’t we talk this out?” She shouted back, panicking internally. She was completely in over her head - a common theme with her.

“I’m um…Prani,” She mumbled before kicking herself internally. Why did she just give her actual name? “I’m..sorry for throwin’ ya into..” Prani bit her lip, “Look, I’m s’upposed to be keepin, these bantha safe. S-So could ya kindly um.. Go somewhere else?” She asked politely. Maybe with a few kind words he would just leave?

“Besides you’ll prolly be wantin’ a shower, right? Ehehe..” She chuckled awkwardly. It was a fair argument - he smelled horrific and was stewing in it.

@Dread

 

[Cerberus]

Cerberus didn't stop walking towards her, even though it threw him off that she actually told him her name. Prani. Prani. He'd remember that name. Everything she said settled wrong with him, her comment about him needing a shower in particular made his right eye twitch slightly because he was already not in the mood.

"No," Cerberus answered coldly. It was a multifaceted reply in the young Sith's mind, "You aren't supposed to be this pathetic," he growled. She was a lightsider, maybe even a Jedi of some kind, "You're meant to attack me, not shrivel in fear."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing and seeing. This girl was nothing like the Jedi that killed his master. He wanted to stop and think this through fully because something felt wrong about all of this, but he was in the middle of a job and needed to make calls quicker or risk losing his credits. As he tried to close the gap between the two, he ignited his red lightsaber, the snap-hiss of the blade springing to life was accompanied by him reaching out with his left hand with the Force. His eyes flickered an inky unnatural yellow and he attempted to wrap the Force around her neck, to begin to choke her. "FIGHT ME!" he demanded.

@Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Was this guy actually insane? Prani’s eyes widened as she began to talk, but was quickly cut off with the choke. She didn’t fight him, but she did channel the Force to resist the hold on her neck. She was outranked and outmatched, so she couldn’t beat him in a battle of wills. However, as she gazed at him, she stared unblinkingly. There was no anger there, just sadness with what could almost be read as forgiveness. Prani was not a combat Jedi, and she always struggled with it. She would defend and protect, but she would always find it difficult to actually harm others.

While she began to lose air supply and grow faint, a commotion could be heard in the distance. Trees began to crack and split in half. Something massive was rampaging over this way and it spooked the bantha. They were so terrified that they broke right through their enclosure, tearing past the fences. Some of them began to charge towards where the two Force users were, threatening to trample them both on their way. The Sith could simply drop Prani in the path or yank her and himself out of the way.

There were only seconds left to avoid the stampede and no telling what triggered all of this.

@Dread

 

[Cerberus]

That face she made, it stopped him in his tracks for a few fleeting heartbeats. That untempered innocence of hers even in a galaxy such as this. He wasn't sure what it did to him more: confuse or infuriate him. Time was not on his side however, the rumblings of the sand beneath them made that crystal clear.

The sudden spike he felt of danger was clear too.

Right away he noticed the Banthas stampeding towards the two Force users. Cerberus knew he needed to continue to react quickly. His first decision was simple since the girl hadn't moved away from him and the two were close. The halfbreed leapt forward, to wrap his left arm around the girl's stomach if able, moving both himself and her out of the way. As soon as they were clear, he’d let go of her with a deep, annoyed grunt. Helping her was purely selfish on his part, he told himself. Their business was not done.

But Cerberus had little to no time to think because he knew what was coming: a kyrat dragon, gobbler of the bantha’s he was hired to steal. “At least do the smart thing and run, girl" he said coldly to her upon the realisation, still refusing to look at her.

The young halfbreed readied himself, stepping a foot forward. "HEY YOU BASTARD!" he screamed towards it. Despite knowing how crazy this was, he needed to get it away from here. From the bantha's and maybe also... no, no, just the bantha's.

@Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani yelped as he stopped choking her but suddenly grabbed her by the midsection and launched them both out of the way. The bantha thundered past where she had been moments prior, narrowly avoiding getting trampled. Prani was so surprised by the gesture from the man that she almost forgot about the choke or the fact that she now also smelled like bantha poodoo. He yelled at her to run before proceeding to…

What the heck was he doing?

She watched in horror as he tried to lure the massive dragon towards himself, “IT’S GONNA EAT YA IF YOU DO THAT!” Prani screeched, shocked at the absurd move he made. Without thinking twice, she focused the Force, tapping into her specialty. Within seconds, vines erupted from the earth, extending from nearby trees and snaking through the ground. They wrapped around one of its legs, making it trip. She had intended to completely ensnare it, but it only partially paused it for a few moments. (roll: 7/20)

Prani looked around frantically, “Hmm maybe I can try to tame it,” She mused, glancing at the guy, “NO DON’T TRY TO KILL IT THAT’S SO MEAN! IT’S SUCH A MAGNIFICENT BEAST PLEASE DON’T STAB IT!” She pleaded in case he had his saber drawn already.

@Dread