Ask Forest Fires

[Crix Aran]

Was he ready for missions like this? Crix had no idea but he hoped that he was ready enough when his Jedi Master had actually come along with him because if he was still a burden even when working with Hannibal and another Jedi? Well if he was still a burden even then he was going to have to sit down and re-think his life or something drastic like that. Probably something less drastic than more training from Hannibal though - doing that many sit ups had to be against some kind of law somewhere.

Had to be.

But as they sat in the dropship they'd managed to hitch a ride on, Crix whistled a little bit as he saw the fires spreading out across the horizon. It was amazing to consider that all of this had started from someone's party getting out of control a few miles away. Like literally miles away and it was now burning through literal acres of forest land and it was heading to the main spaceport.

Did it count as a design flaw if you didn't take massive spontaneous bush fires into consideration when choosing a location for your spaceport? Crix wasn't about to say it was though he wasn't sure they wouldn't be cutting down some of the surrounding forest-land to keep this kind of thing from happening in the future. He turned to his Master as the dropship sped through the air.

"So what - we gonna use the Force to freeze it or something?"

He wasn't very knowledgeable about the Force yet.

Spoiler: Mission Brief

News reaches the temple that an incident in a nearby town has started a forest fire that threatens to consume the largest spaceport in the sector, which would make it difficult for the government to reply any settlements in the region. Help rescue anyone trapped in the fire and contain the spread before the fires reach the spaceport.

@Mr. Teatime @Topher Ridge

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

There was a lot of rhetoric floating around, internally and externally, about a fire rising in the galaxy. Everything was a mess one way or another, Sith and Jedi and Rangers and everyone else was getting ready for a war, politicians were being the absolute shitbirds they always were in their continued insistence that the Republic to be as useless as possible, and Hannibal's ribs were still a little sore. He hadn't expected to be dealing with an actual, literal fire. It wasn't even a Sith doing it this time.

He'd dressed in his new assortment of simple, vaguely tunic-like clothing, his cloak left behind on his still as of yet unnamed yacht and Sol Puara's lightsaber sitting pretty clipped to his utility belt. He was just going to take the garment off anyway to deal with the fire. Up in the air above the area the yacht flew with its sensors running, piloted by a series of droids led by Lee. Ego clung to Hannibal's shoulder, photoreceptors sweeping across the flames.

Also, Crix was here. Hannibal had fairly quickly gotten him into training, all the better to distract him from recent events until the therapist got back to him about the kid. He had the spirit, it was true, but had been through quite an adventure. Putting it mildly.

"Boy or girl, I wonder? Or neither?" he asked nobody in particular, a leather-gloved hand stroking thoughtfully across his chin. "Maybe. Ego, wind speed and direction." Ego rattled off a series of beeps and warbles. "Yeah, solid maybe. Just need to stop the spread, not put the whole thing out."

Hannibal let out a sharp whistle that rose and then fell in tone, Ego responding by leaping from his shoulder and flying off to begin scanning along with the ship.

"But first priority are any trapped survivors. Keep an eye out, listen to your instincts. They might know better than you do," he advised Crix. In truth, the part of teaching where he helped someone to development their Force sensitivity over the long term was new to him. He'd introduced a person or two to what the Force actually felt like, but at least half of Hannibal's usage of the Force was refined for how he saw and experienced it. He'd have to, ah, translate it for Crix. Baby steps.

"Hope you don't mind being muscle again, Jago. Show us what the Matukai can do, eh?"

@Nefieslab @Topher Ridge

 

[Jago Haaldin]

The heat was pretty oppressive this close to the fires, even up in the dropship. It was nothing Jago couldn't handle but to the aquatic natured being, well let's just say it wasn't his first choice of environment. Though he was more than happy to here to help out the Devaronians with their fire problem. Well more like raging inferno that threatened to consume a major space port problem, but who was keeping track. The bigger problem was possible civilians trapped in area with no way to escape. That was why Jago had jumped at the chance to come and aid his Jedi bros in helping out the locals.

As Master Hannibal took a moment to address his student, Jago looked over the area from the vantage of the dropship. His stomach lurched a bit each time the ship adjusted it's course, but it wasn't as bad as it usually was. The Matukai assumed that his repeated missions with the Jedi had lessened his distaste for flying, a bit at least. He'd still be much happier once they could get their feet on the ground, even in the inferno down below. Though back to the task at hand, the fire was about to reach the point of no return. They needed to find a solution fast if they were going to spare the port. Though Jago was more worried about saving any people trapped in the fires already. People had been informed to evacuate the area, but the fires had spread quickly in the dry season of Devaron. Jago could already make out several dwellings ingulfed in flame and could only hope that their owners had gotten to safety.

When Hannibal addressed him he managed a smile and shrug. "Hey that's what we Matukai do best yeah? More than happy to lend a hand and put this muscle to good use."

@Nefieslab @Mr. Teatime

 

[Crix Aran]

Boy or girl? Well that was going to be mentally filed right under "stuff he wasn't sure his Master was joking about or not" along with... just so much. So many things his Master said were either jokes or they were actually jokes hiding truths or lessons or other emotions. He wasn't sure if it was a test of his ability to sense emotions or if his Master really was just like that.

He was currently working under the theory that it was both.

"My instincts know better than I do...? How does that work? Wait, no... don't tell me... feel don't think, right?"

Crix needed to work on some of the basics he knew but still it was awkward settling into using his feelings rather than looking for a tech solution. Reaching into the Force, he took a deep breath and was immediately assaulted by two presences in the Force.

One he knew was his Master Hannibal... it linked to a memory he had of his time heading to Corellia with all of his friends. Just sitting around a table in that old freighter, laughing and joking.

Making a joke when there was a knot of tension in his stomach he couldn't quite explain... but not wanting to give up and just go home so working with it always there in the background and still being every bit himself despite it all... that was what his Master felt like.

The other was clearly Jago Haaldin - their ally for the mission...

Watching Enby and Willa ride their swoop bikes at top speed, the swoop bikes that he had fixed up for them... that sense of joy and excitement on behalf of others mixed with the overwhelming sense that he had done good work.

He pushed through those two presences and out into the local area. So many presences in the Force but so many of them too simplistic to be sentient life... but some of them were.

"To the... east I think? Yeah yeah the east." he pointed in the direction he was feeling it, which was actually the west, "It feels like... confusion and pain and... and panic."

He knew those emotions well.

@Mr. Teatime @Topher Ridge

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal nodded toward Crix as he seemed to figure out the gist of what the young Master said. He looked out over the burning landscape, seemingly lost in thought, though in truth he was allowing his senses to spread themselves across the forest. It was something he'd always had some trouble with, instead relying on his intuition to guide him where he needed to go, but ever since Sullust it had become a much simpler task.

The young Master looked over in the direction Crix pointed in, an amused grin spreading over his features. Even if he wasn't familiar with the cardinals on this planet, Crix still had a decent grasp on what to feel for. He was a good kid.

"Rule of go left prevails! Pilot, due west!" he said into his ear comm and the dropship banked left to head in the indicated direction. Now it was Hannibal's turn. Between Jedi senses and the scanners from probe droids and the ship above, it wasn't too long before a cluster of devaronians was spotted huddled on the ground in a clearing, surrounded on all sides by fire and flame. They started shouting and waving their arms as the dropship came into view, some of their number clearly not doing so well in the smoke. While their kind were extremely resistant to high heat, that wasn't the case with ash inhalation.

The dropship wouldn't be able to land in that without a little help. Hannibal turned to his Padawan. "Mask up, Crix. We-" His head snapped back to the clearing and, quite without warning, he leapt from the open door of the ship. The Force slowed his fall and protected him from the smoke and heat, wrapped around him as a cloak. Halfway down a burning tree began to fall toward the group and they panicked, trying to drag themselves and the less mobile among thing away.

His boots hit ashen ground and a gloved hand rose up, the Force answering Hannibal's call. The large tree's descent slowed and the stopped partway through its motion, the flames licking along its length seeming to flicker and die in the same moment. The hand moved to the right and the tree moved with it, away from the people, until it landed heavily on the ground a safe distance from them.

The dropship above got as close as it could get and Hannibal waved his hand toward the other two, speaking through his earpiece.

"C'mon, we need to get them on board the hard way!"

@Nefieslab @Topher Ridge

 

[Crix Aran]

West? Why was he...? Ah. He'd gotten East and West mixed up when he was reaching into the Force? Well that wasn't unexpected but it was more than a little bit embarrassing to forget something to very easy. Hells, it was even visible on a compass in the cockpit just a few meters away! Oh he was never going to live that mistake down.

Still, he knew what he was looking for so that was a plus - it would be something he kept hold of going forward he supposed. Crix leaned forward, waiting for his Master's commands and quickly grabbed a protective mask with attached rebreather at his instructions before pausing as he watched Hannibal plunge out of the side of the ship.

"I hate it when he does that..."

Nodding to his companion, Crix grabbed hold of a rappel line that the dropship was already equipped with. Grabbing onto it, Crix pulled a set of thicker ropes with a built-in chair along with him before leaning out the side of the dropship. Unlike his Master, Crix didn't use the Force at all as he descended, letting the other line with it's chair go as he reached the ground so there would be two lines to get people up at minimum.

He moved further into the ash, hunting for people. Unfortunately he was hunting for injured people and he found one very easily indeed. An older Devaronian had broken both of his legs and needed to be evacuated as quickly as possible. Grabbing the older man under the arms, Crix nodded to a couple of others who helped him lift the injured man and carry him over to the chair mounted ropes.

"Hans, what's the play here for all the ash? They're breathing it in and I can't see shrak!"

@Topher Ridge @Mr. Teatime

 

[Jago Haaldin]

Jago still marveled at the Jedi's abilities of perception. The way could reach out with the light and touch those around them was astonishing to the Matukai. He didn't doubt his own beliefs and training, simply knowing that the Jedi put their time and effort into different skills and techniques than his own order. Still the telepathic and telekinetic wonders the Jedi could accomplish never failed to put a smile on Jago's face.

The ship banked hard and headed west as the pair of Jedi sensed some civilians in trouble. Jago fell back on his own training as they they neared and let the light begin to course and flow through his being. He focused on enhancing his natural senses, in particular his sense of hearing. With the force he could filter out the sounds of the ship and fires and heard the cries of the trapped Devaronians up ahead. That was when master Hannibal suddenly jumped from the ship and Jago could see why. As Hannibal caught the tree Jago would follow the Master and simply hop from the ship as it descended.

The heat grew worse as he approached the ground so Jago fell back on another Matukai technique. He simply used the force and the control he could exert over his body to simply lower his body temperature. Without the aid of a shield Jago would be perfectly comfortable in the heat. He was even so in tune with his own body that the smoke and ash would essentially just be naturally filtered out of his lungs with no effect.

Jago would immediately head to the gathered group of civilians to help them out. He could see that a few were already injured and as Crix came down with the rescue chair and rappel line he would gingerly pick up an injured woman and carry her to the ropes as Crix and a few others helped an older man. Her arm was injured so he quickly tied the line and made a make shift harness. Crix was right though, the ash was going to be a problem. Hell if the ship could get lower the repulsors could clear out the smoke and ash relatively easily. So as the woman and older man were lifted up to the ship Jago took a look around and got an idea.

He let the force speed him up a bit and he dashed over to a tree that had yet to catch fire, but was blocking the ships landing. He let loose with his fists into the wood and after 3 hits and a number of splinters it fell away from the survivors and the ship. He went to the next tree and qued his own commlink, "We need to clear the area for the ship! It's engines should be able to clear area of the ash if it get lower yeah?!" The next tree landed with a crash and he moved to the next. The didn't need to clear out a ton of trees and with some burning anyway they wouldn't take long to fell. He hoped Crix would continue to help the others while he and Hans cleared the area. They just didn't have time to try and get those people up on the ship 2 at a time.

@Mr. Teatime @Nefieslab

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal really was proud of Crix at that moment. The young man barely knew what he was doing as a Jedi, frankly, since he'd more or less just started. But as a good person who wanted to help others? Absolute unit he was. Definitely took after his mother.

Jago was equally as hard working, showing off the bravery and skill of the Matukai that Hannibal had always appreciated. Some of their training methods weren't terribly different from his own he'd adopted over the years, and it really showed in the manner the energetic Nautolan handled business.

But now that the falling tree was handled, Crix was correct. The ash was a problem. If there was ever a time to be a Jedi Master about something, helping others was it. Maximum effort time.

The Jedi Master took a deep breath, the Force continuing to shield him from his environment, and both arms came away from his body in a slow, steady spiral motion, one above and one below. A rushing whirl of air spread out from where he was, expanding his protection from the ash to include the fallen Devaronians as well as Crix's drop-chair. It was only a short term solution, but it would help for the moment.

The effort required to keep air in a relatively small area free of ash was minimal, and Hannibal had effort to spare. While Jago worked on one side of trees in the way, Hannibal unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and got to work himself. The brilliant silver blade ignited and he flung it forward in a burning arc, slicing through trees farther away from the Matukai so they fell away from the clearing, his left hand guiding its path. It eventually came back to his hand, turned off, and was replaced on his belt.

Between Jago's rapid anti-arboreal fisticuffs and Hannibal's lightsaber the area was clear enough for the dropship to lower itself down into the tight space, repulsors doing a good enough job of clearing the area of ash that Hannibal didn't feel the need to keep up his influence on the air. Instead he turned around toward the group of Devaronians and handed off a couple of emergency rebreathers for a pair that were truly struggling with the whole ash in the air thing to the point of unconsciousness. He tweaked the oxygen settings on the rebreathers before giving them away, a temporary measure but it would help them not asphyxiate in the meantime.

@Nefieslab @Topher Ridge

 

[Crix Aran]

Well Jago was punching down trees in a few blows and Hannibal was using the Force to physically clear the air of ash. Crix wasn’t sure what they expected him to do to pull something out of his backside that could match something like that. He really hoped they didn’t expect him to have as much of an impact on the current situation as them.

Because he was both in awe and calling hax.

Instead he helped the injured man into the harness and tapped the com-link that was built into the side of his rebreather.

“Bring the ship in closer to the ground – the LZ is open!” he told the pilot, “But remember to not actually land!”

With the dropship lower it would be easier to get injured onto it but with it landed it’s repulsors would naturally be less effective at causing winds to beat back the ash and flames. Even with Hannibal’s display, Crix knew that normal people wouldn’t be so quick to believe that the air was alright until they could point to something they knew, something they understood, and call it the reason for their safety.

Wind could do that for now.

The people needed to see something familiar working alongside the Jedi, it should help them feel better when their planet was literally on fire around them. Reaching into the Force again, Crix didn’t close his eyes and didn’t stop moving. He was still helping the walking injured onto the dropship when he felt it.

Claustrophobia… heat… panic…

“Hans!” he called out to his Master, pointing in another direction, “There’s a small house – a lodge or something – in that direction! The family barricaded themselves in!”

He was sure they’d felt like it was a good idea to lock themselves into a house when there was a forest fire approaching but, for the life of him, Crix couldn’t say he saw it.

@Topher Ridge @Mr. Teatime

 

[Jago Haaldin]

Jago smiled as another tree fell and he took in his and Hannibal's handy work. The area was clear enough for the drop ship to land and Jago moved swiftly back over to offer any aid he could. He helped the Padawan load the poor civilians onto the ship and smiled warmly at any who were still conscious. "There ya go, we'll get you folks outta here in no time yeah?" One little boy even managed a half smile back to Jago and he instantly knew that all the heat, ash, and smoke was worth it to see that little boy have a bit of hope.

Jago's head snapped over to Crix as he yelled out and then back to the direction the Zabrak had pointed. Jago fell into the force again and didn't think. While his Jedi allies could such amazing things with their mastery of the force; like move objects with their minds, affect the minds of those around them, hell even unleash elemental blasts from their fingertips, Jago could something pretty amazing as well....run fast as all hell. With the light coursing through the fibers of his muscles and bones Jago would take off in a blur of green and blue motion in the direction Crix had pointed.

He ran and leapt, slid, or punched through any fallen trees in his way on his route to the home of the trapped Devaronians. With the effort of his movement he'd been forced to end his concentration on lowering his body temperature so as he moved the heat began to build and build around him. He payed it no mind, utterly determined to get to that house, the house that came into sight through the smoke and ash around him. The Matukai saw something else as he got closer and he could see it was the forms of two people stood out front of the house.

Jago skidded to a stop near them and they jumped from the shock of a random Nautolan that seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Hey is there still anyone inside?!" The pair, a younger male and an older female both nodded. "Please it's my husband and daughter! We tried to get out once the fire came but Teela ran back to grab something and my husband went in after her.....it's been 5 minutes." Tears began to stream down the woman's face and Jago turned to face the house and could see why, it was a miracle the dwelling was even standing with the amount of flames engulfing it.

Jago simply nodded and ran though the front door....

@Mr. Teatime @Nefieslab

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

"Get them on board, Crix!" the Jedi Master shouted, and away he went again without another word. Hannibal turned to follow Jago, becoming a blur as he shot through the smoke-filled air. Flames parted in his path and extinguished in his way, hands and feet bouncing off wood, stone, and earth. He danced on the winds of winter, a mix of physical athleticism and Force ability. It was the exactly the kind of reason why he advocated for the training he and Crix did.

Hannibal emerged from the chaos of smoke and fire shortly behind Jago, the edges of his tunic smoking slightly from the heat and wood ash staining his skin. He slowed in front of the burning cabin and watched as the Matukai ran inside. Face set in a determined grin he followed suite, the Force answering his call to shield them from the heat and smoke. Choking to death wasn't on his list of activities for the day.

The protection should allow Jago and he to find the people inside well enough, and as far as Hannibal was concerned he still had energy to spare.

@Nefieslab @Topher Ridge

 

[Crix Aran]

Fire fire everywhere and here he was helping the stragglers.

His Master and their ally were off running around, literally punching trees down and recycling the air and he was busy helping old people get up onto a transport. There was nothing he could do about the fires themselves because they were simply beyond him in a way that they weren't for both Jago and Hans. And what struck Crix as so alien, so incredibly strange, was how it made him feel to be just going to and fro helping people instead of doing more...

He was fine with it.

How strange was it that Crix could find no small amount of satisfaction in helping the people on a much smaller scale when he could have been jealous of his allies and their ability to do so much more than him? It was sentient nature to be jealous of those with more than you and yet he just, didn't feel it. Instead he was just happy that he was helping in what ways he could actually help.

"Mister! Mister my kitty!"

... especially saving a cat for a little girl.

Dashing through the ash and the fire, Crix clutched the frightened cat to his chest as tightly as he dared. He covered it with his arms to shelter it from the heat and to try and reassure it that he was, in fact, there for it. Honestly, he didn't know why a lothcat was even on the planet but he didn't need to know that. Bursting through a thick cloud of the smoke, he approached the transport and the crying young girl.

"Hey now no need to cry..." he slowly helped pull the cat's claws from his robes and presented the subdued cat to the little girl, "I got her for you, alright?"

Seeing the little girl and the cat react so happily and hug each other? He'd take that over being able to punch down a tree any day.

@Mr. Teatime @Topher Ridge

 

[Jago Haaldin]

The Matukai was met with the expected sight of an inferno as he entered the house, though he still felt the heat he noticed he was still breathing easily. He turned and noticed that Hannibal had followed him into the burning home and Jago smiled. Jago focused his senses and drowned out the sound of the fire that crackled around them and then he heard what he was looking for...the sound of a whimpering child. It was upstairs and grew more quite with every moment. He'd make for the stairs and assumed Hans had sensed the pair up there.

The stairs faired better than most of the house but flames were already licking at the ceiling above them. Once he reached the top of the stairs he made down the hall and stopped. He now understood why the father and daughter hadn't gotten out. A large chunk of the roof had caved in and blocked the way down the hall. The piece of roof that had fallen was ingulfed in flames. Jago would turn to the master. "I know you've used a lot of juice already bud, but if you can put the flames out I can get that chunk out of the way yeah?" The floor beneath them shuddered and the sound of others pieces of the building falling could be heard. Whatever they were to do it needed to be done now.

@Mr. Teatime @Nefieslab

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Oh good, a collapsed and burning bit of roof. But as luck would have it, putting out flames wasn't actually particularly energy intensive unless another Force user was feeding them. Moreso it required concentration and practice, two things Hannibal had no shortage of most days. Not that he could put out a forest's worth of fire, but a hallway? Easy enough.

The young Jedi flashed Jago a confident grin and raised a hand, sweeping it slowly left to right in the direction of the burning hall. The flames swirled and flickered, and in line with the hand began to go out as if smothered, leaving smoking and blackened wood in its place.

"Should probably hurry this up," he commented, face firmly set. Keeping heat and smoke away wasn't all that energy intensive either, hypothetically, but doing it for a lengthy amount of time was still taxing. But he could recover on the way back to the front of the fire later. For now he'd simply follow Jago forward after he moved what was blocking their way to get to the two beyond.

"Can you carry them both?" he asked, glancing over. Hannibal didn't need his hands to do what he was doing, per say, but it was certainly easier than without.

@Nefieslab @Topher Ridge

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix wasn’t going to just focus on the wounded because they were already being evacuated by the ship that the Jedi and their allies had flown in on. With that ship gone, another was on it’s way down but there were fewer people in need of rescue in the local area. Hans and Jago had gone off in the direction of a burning building and Crix was still out in the area on his own.

So he was outside during a forest fire and throwing himself into the building would just make him more of a hindrance than a help. But the ship that came in to land was an old LAAT ship that the planet had obviously had in militia use since the Clone Wars. Old but perfectly suited for getting people in and out of danger.

Also…

“Pilot!” he called out to the pilot as he stepped aboard the ship, “We need to set up a control line to keep this area from getting overwhelmed.”

Luckily for everyone involved, the ship was equipped with the side ball-turrets and their rather concentrated laser fire options. Crix sat himself down in the turret and started tinkering with his multi-tool under the controls.

“Divert all weapons power to my turret.” He called out over the com built into the turret, “Get us up above the treeline and I’m going to start forming a control line.”

The pilot and co-pilot seemed to see what he was driving at because they immediately agreed and he busied himself making sure the power wouldn’t fry the turret controls while they ascended.

“At cruising altitude, Jedi. Warnings across all civilian and military signals in the area.”

Grabbing the turret controls, Crix took a deep breath and attached the targeting apparatus. There were signs of civilians further back but no one was near the encroaching line of the forest fire’s advance – which meant he was clear to fire. Pulling the triggers, he held them as long as he could, carving trees, bushes and ground up with the continuous stream of laser fire until he was forced to pull back from the triggers to prevent overheating.

A large trench had been formed, ahead of the approaching line of fire but wide enough to help keep the fire from making the leap to the next line of trees. With his turret cooling he commed Hans.

“Hans, I’m in a local LAAT gunship – I’m carving up a control line using the weapons on the thing. Stay alive in your woodland retreat cottage, yeah?”

@Mr. Teatime @Topher Ridge