Bargain Basement Bomb

[Bobbi]

A good conversation between Sadhric and his pet Mandal, and then things explode.
Ja’eeth:
It was almost a chant, the roar that took over a small section of Keldabe, rumbling out in varying degrees of volume through the open streets of the surrounding area. The closer one would get to the sound the more discernable it would become. It was the noise of cheers, voices both young and old mingling together with the ruckus of stampeding feet. Life continued elsewhere in Keldabe, the roll of the occupation practically undisturbed by the game that had taken over a playing field within the city. Shouts of "Yeah, get'em!" And "Go! Run!" Mixed with Mandal terms that echoed the same sentiments in basic. The crowd that had gathered was watching a group of youths swarm and flock across the field in a back and forth game. Little feet trampled up dust on the barren ground, each participant in possession of a strip of fabric that denoted their particular team. Today, the teams were a number of two, and among those playing Ja'dan scrambled to find his footing after having dodged an older child who had reached for his maroon colored cloth. The evasion was swift, but came with the price of balance. "Come on, Ja'dan! Get up, keep going!" Ja'eeth's encouragement came from the edge of the crowd, the demolition expert pumping a fist into the air to punctuate the moment her son wiggled away from the kid who'd gone after him.


Sadhric:
There was a cancer in the flesh of the crowd. Proper function of its tissue was that bold, yelling, enthusiastic mass! Where the cancer grew, there was less enthusiasm, more caution, more watchfulness; less yelling, more murmuring.

The Mand'alor was here, cutting his way through the crowd with a shoulder.

The person really doing the cutting, though, was a sun-browned, square-faced woman with enough years layered on that her face was a kind of tough and rough armor all its own. Her forehead sported a legendary horizontal scar left over from a fight that had nearly cost her her life. Today, she led a knot into the throng at the edge of the match.

Somewhere beneath ultratough nerf hide shoulderguards, vambraces, greaves and knee scales, Yen Amidi wore a dusty old blue tunic, reddish-brownish-dirtish-frayedish pants, and a belt of old knives each fashioned by her own hands. Her scarred shoulderguards pinned down a sleeveless nerf hide coat, and a handwoven homespun old grey cowl kept the sun off of her.

Accompanying her in the knot were others from her clan, dressed with similar mind for utility over all other concerns, and the Mand'alor on whom the sun found Lenses and stamped copper plates that almost--but not quite--made an armor.

He was black and copper, so neat and clean-edged that in that crowd he looked like a droid.

Ja’eeth:
"Roll!" Ja'eeth's shouting continued in basic for a moment before she repeated it in Mando'a, her voice well mixed into those of others around her, "Yeah! Good boy!" Ja'dan had cut underfoot of another child barreling his way, the smaller Ja'dan pushing himself to the left and down into the dirt to roll away, coming back up to his feet with dusty grit clinging to his dark hair, turning it to a clay-gray color, his shoulders, arms and back thickly covered in dust. The boy took one moment to look around. Suddenly there were not so many children surrounding him. The numbers were dwindling. Ja'dan sprang up, rushing into a quick hustle that was aimed to take him toward the side of the field where Sadhric, Yen Amidi, and her guards had come to watch. He wasn't alone in that hustle. A tug from behind him told him another child had gotten their hands on his piece of cloth. It was a hard enough tug to both draw his attention and trip him up. A ruddy faced girl that was easily three years older than Ja'dan, dirt smeared across her face and covering her hands, had a good grip on the boy's shirt and was trying to tug him backward for a better grasp on freeing his maroon strip of fabric. He stumbled, twisting himself. It gave the girl what she needed but it took him closer to her in the process. When she pulled his strip away from him, Ja'dan came away with a prize of his own. His little hand tangled up in the dingy white strip of cloth the girl had been carrying for the other team. Where the crowd had hushed and became wary did not escape notice of those watching the game. Eyes shifted that way, murmurs and head nods took place that direction for those who hadn't become wrapped up in the game.



Sadhric:
Yen Amidi and those of her clan reacted to the change in the attitude of the spectators with easy-going diligence. Some calls to them were ignored, some addressed in Mando'a as if the questions and comments were all part of a conversation they were all having.

Yen Amidi herself and the Mand'alor spoke quietly until it became impossible not to notice that their presence was affecting the game a little. Amidi broke off first; Sadhric Tlin stopped talking because she had; then the old warrior saw the tussle at the edge--a small boy and a bigger girl in a quick encounter; a maroon flash, then a filthy white one--and shifted forward with a full-voiced roar of "HaHA!"

Ja’eeth:
It was a bump to her shoulder just as Ja'dan ripped the girl's flag away from her that caused Ja'eeth to first look that way, and then in the direction indicated by For'gat, a wide shouldered Mandal male with hair the color of salt. It was just in time to hear Amidi laugh, and in plenty of time to see Sadhric beside her. In her ear, For'gat was saying "Who is that with Amidi?", the Mando'a rolling from him cleanly. On the field was Ja'dan, triumphant in his own loss, grinning and proud of his accomplishment, turning to join his teammates who had already been beaten. The girl, red faced as she was, had not missed the fact that she, too was out of the game. Undone by a child three years younger. "He looks important," Ja'eeth avoided the direct answer, giving one she felt more fitting instead. The girl on the field, instead of heading back to her own team, was reaching once more for Ja'dan, trapping his arm in her grasp in an attempt to pull him back toward her.


Sadhric:
Amidi wasn't the only one who saw the girl's move and called it out in Mando'a, jabbing a finger up and toward the field, though in the area right around her attention was a bit split.

The Mand'alor got jostled by the shoulder of one of Amidi's compatriots and looked around. It was difficult to read his rather set expression through the Lenses, but something about him conveyed irritation, and maybe uneasiness.


Ja’eeth:
It hadn't been missed from the other side of the field either. With several calling the girl's way, the Mandal supervising her team broke free from her group of youngsters and began that way. The girl gave a hard enough squeeze to bruise the boy's arm before releasing it with an angry frown on her face. The tantrum was bottled, the foul released, and the girl was heading toward the woman coming her way. Once released, Ja'dan was heading for Amidi and her guards. Close by to them, just next to where the group stood was an older woman with dark tanned skin lined with leathery wrinkles. Her age put her well past fighting in any war, as did the crook in her posture and the cane she leaned against. Her voice held no bearing of her age, however. She was calling out to Ja'dan, waving him toward her with her free hand. Across the field, Ja'eeth had disappeared, having withdrawn to the outer edge in order to reach her son.



Sadhric:
Amidi seemed to be pointedly countering the chill around her group by... very obviously enjoying the sight of the game, getting into it as other fouls were cut off and there were more clever encounters between the young ones. She also may have been ignoring her guest's stiffness.

Ja’eeth:
Near by Amidi, Ja'dan had reached the elderly woman and Ja'eeth was working on shouldering her way through. "Excuse me," Sadhric would hear behind him and to his right from where Ja'eeth was working her way through. The game continued on, just a small handful of participants remaining. From somewhere the old woman had produced a piece of clean cloth and was wiping Ja'dan's face clean, speaking to him in their native tongue under the edge of the crowd around her, "You are still alive, you still have your prize. Things are not so bad as to deserve such tears." She was kind and patient in tone, even as her clean cloth became moist and dirty from her efforts.


Sadhric:
Ja'eeth might notice a heightened vigilance in that particular knot. The zabrak she attempted to push aside did move, but gave some resistance to buy half a second to make a wide step around her. The other direction would have been the fastest way aside. His move had the effect of keeping him between Ja'eeth and--

Something tiny triggered Sadhric's recognition and he turned to look, Lenses flashing.

Ja’eeth:
The big Zabrak moved aside, keeping himself between Ja'eeth and Sadhric which was fine for the moment. She had just set her eyes on the old woman who was cleaning Ja'dan's face, and was pushing that way. "See, now," the old woman told the boy, "here is your mother. All is right with the world." His tears were stopping, as were the tiny shakes of his shoulders through them. The piece of cloth was being stuffed back where it had been, the old woman looking Ja'eeth's way, "No worse for wear," she rattled on in Mando'a. There was careful avoidance from Ja'eeth as she moved past the Zabrak and Sadhric Tlin, her eyes kept on her boy for just those last few steps, "Ja'dan," she spoke the boy's name, and he moved closer, rubbing the bruise on his arm, "I'm proud of you." He hugged to her side, and she held him there and close, only then feeling free enough to take a look around, catching the sunlight's glint off of Tlin's glasses.


Sadhric:
He knew Ja'eeth.

Of course he did.

Just then, he watched her and the boy--the old woman, too, before the crowd shifted enough to obscure them a little. Then Amidi leaned in to laugh and talk low-voiced to him, and she had his focus once more.


Ja’eeth
The game ended not too much longer after that with children finding their ways to their parents and the crowd dispersing slowly, breaking apart the way that crowds do after such things. Ja'dan had stayed close to the old woman and Ja'eeth for the remainder of the match and received some pats to his shoulder from others around them for his efforts that day. When it was over, the old woman took Ja'dan by the hand "Come my boy," she said to the child, her kind tone easing through her Mandoa, "Let's celebrate! Just don't tell your grandfather!" Looking to Ja'eeth, Ja'dan got her permission before letting the old woman lead him away with the rest of those slowly bleeding away from the group.


Sadhric:
By that time, Yen Amidi's reason for coming had revealed itself.

She'd called out to one of the children, who had skidded to a halt, head whipping around, before the child lit with joy. Soon the old warrior and part of her group were clapping the skinny girl on the back, congratulating her and telling her how much she'd grown, how fast she was, how they'd hardly recognized her without snot crusted under her nose. The girl's parents and a small knot of their friends found their way over cautiously to see what the delay was, and then they too erupted in catching up and boasting.

Sadhric had long since become something of a shadow and slipped away.

He went not at all unnoticed.

It was hard to say whether he appeared distracted or not. The eyes could be windows, and his were well shuttered.

His was not a wandering, however. Slow as he went, he did have a destination. An intercept course.

Surrounded by Mandalorians with all kinds of opinions and possibilities regarding his proximity and seeming lack of backup, he attempted to keep sight of Ja'eeth among them and catch up with her through perseverance rather than haste.


Ja’eeth:
Ja'eeth would not have been hard for Sadhric to catch up to. With Ja'dan in his grandmother's care, she had found the chance to smile and chat with the parents of the girl who had rough handled her son. The red faced girl was pouting, ignored, as her parents talked with Ja'eeth about the match and what the girl would need to improve on before the next one. It was a short conversation, the girl finding a friend to talk to. It ended with the girl tugging on her father's arm while an aunt made her way toward the girl, her parents, and Ja'eeth. Taking her leave, Ja'eeth turned away from the group, and waved to For'gat and the boy he carried on his shoulders.


Sadhric:
"This was not really how I imagined your life." Sadhric was close enough now to just say the words instead of raising his voice, despite all the conversation going on amongst those who weren't tight-lipped about his presence, and those who hadn't noticed him.

Ja’eeth:
"How did you imagine it, if not like this?" As Ja'eeth turned toward Sadhric she nodded past him toward someone who had waved her way, and smiled politely when a questioning look was shot Sadhric's way from that particular Mandal, a red headed woman who wore her hair so short there was nothing but red stubble to shadow her scalp.


Sadhric:
Sadhric glanced too, and then made a gesture. They should walk. Better than being a stone around which the river had to flow. The river noticed such stones. "I suppose it wouldn't be fair to say what I imagined."

Ja’eeth:
Posture shifting, she was willing to walk with him, "Well, if you wont tell me that, then would you tell me if its better or worse than reality?"

Sadhric:
He looked at her sidelong, out from behind the Lenses that hid his eyes behind mirrors. "Worse. I've had an eye on you, but I didn't imagine any tenderness in your life might be unfeigned."

Ja’eeth:
"All casing and no coolant?" Her hands found their way behind her back as they walked, clasping together softly, her eyes on a child in the distance who was chasing another in an impromptu game of tag, "I've had the thought that you might have been watching, keeping an eye on your investment. I did what I had to to keep questions from being asked. That meant a lot of walls, and living for work once upon a time."


Sadhric:
The real truth was more that he'd never given it much thought, and that in that void there was room for a lot.

He left it, though. "You've not quite been in the original arrangement for some time now."


Ja’eeth:
Her shoulders were back and down, relaxed as they walked, "Our original arrangement was that you own me. Have I breached our mutual understanding of that in some way?"


Sadhric:
"The core remains." Touch the Tekal family or allow it, and.... "The rest has matured a little, don't you think?"


Ja’eeth:
-The core remains.- Her head dipped in a slow nod, the easy expression she had carried tightened around her eyes and pulled enough at her mouth for Sadhric to see it. Ja'eeth was controlling just how much of it showed, "What would you have me do?"


Sadhric:
"Mm?" He had indeed seen that pinch in her face, but her question surprised him. "What do you mean? I have no orders for you. 'Don't kill Tekals or allow them to be hurt' should be one of those little background constants in your universe, rather than an order by this time, no?" He shrugged a little. "So that was Ja'dan, back there? I mistook him for a dustball."

Ja’eeth:
The pinch to her face was replaced by a question, Ja'eeth looking his way as it took over. The mirrored lenses, what she could see of them, reflected back to her the world around them in reverse, as well as the image of her own face, his eyes unseen except for a very small glimpse of the side of Sadhric's face, "That was Ja'dan. He did well for his size in a group like that." Her hands unclasped from behind her to hang loosely at their sides as they walked, the soft dry dirt beneath her boots shifting and giving to the imprints she was making there, "If I had known about Medren and Marian, I would have done something sooner. And as soon as I heard about Solomon's woman and child, I acted as fast as I could. I know it wasn't fast enough."


Sadhric:
"I appreciated your work." He was making people part around them rather than weaving through, only rarely making way for someone with an obvious burden, or for a slow-moving speeder. "How is Ja'dan with the idea of being separated from the other two?"

Ja’eeth:
"He doesn't fully understand what's going to happen. I've spoken to him, and while he knows they are going away and he won't be able to play with them, he thinks one day they'll spend time together again. To him, they're just going on a trip for a few days and when they come back nothing will have changed."


Sadhric:
The man nodded and was silent for a short time. Then, as they crossed a footbridge over a rustic water channel lined with streams of plants and dense algae: "This is a mess, isn't it."

Ja’eeth:
"Has it ever been anything but a mess?" Passing over the bridge, Ja'eeth shifted closer to Sadhric for a step, letting a Gerrenthum guard have some space to pass, going the way she and Sadhric had just come.


Sadhric:
"No. Maybe. Do you think there's truth behind legends?"


Ja’eeth:
"From what I know of legends, there is always some kernel of truth to them. They're always based on something that happened, even if the details get blown out of proportion due to time or obscured for the same reason. Why do you ask?" At the otherside of the footbridge the dirt became more packed, paved looking. They were at the skirts of a section of the city devoted to squat homes and short stacked apartment buildings.


Sadhric:
The Lenses would reflect one face, then a house, then a bit of sky, then more faces and shadows and parked speeders as The Mechanic took it all in. "I've been thinking on the ones that tell of better times. Better ways of going about the business of living."

Ja’eeth:
"Stories of peace?" Once again she found herself looking his way, catching a glint of light and some reflections off of his lenses as he took in everything around them, "I do like those stories. Everyone always sounds so happy, and everything always sounds so great. I have to admit, though, that I don't think I'd know what to do with myself if something like that every came about. There's not much need to blow something up in times of peace."


Sadhric:
"Not necessarily peace, and not necessarily happy in the stories I mean," he said. "Whatever their problems, they describe people who reach for better."


Ja’eeth:
"People do that every day, don't they? I mean, some people do -- most people -- I think. If somethings wrong in their lives, they figure out how to fix it or in the very least to make it better for themselves and those they live with. Every day is an opportunity..."


Sadhric:
Sadhric stopped walking and stared at her, waiting this out.

Ja’eeth:
Ja'eeth took notice of that, and stopped with him, turning where she stood to face him, "Those legends aren't just stories. They were somebody's chance to change something. What is it you want to change?"


Sadhric:
"This." He was lying, but only in part. He made a little gesture, tight but enough to indicate all around them. Maybe Keldabe. Maybe Mandalore. Or-- "How this story goes. How it ends. I know the ending. I want to change it."

Ja’eeth:
"This story is still being written, there is no end to it yet. What do you need to get the ending you want?"


Sadhric:
His laugh was a contained little grunt. "Insight."

Ja’eeth:
A crooked half-smile took over Ja'eeth's expression, "Just tell me what you want to know."


Sadhric:
He tipped his head sideway to look at her as he turned away and slowly started walking again, copying her half-smile with a cynical twist. Even so, once oriented he nodded emphatically and said, "All riiiiight... Someone advised me that, to be heard, I had to fight. I politely declined. There has to be another way. Has to. Because this situation is now more complicated than you lot dealing with a giant Chiss anvil hanging over your heads."

Ja’eethL
"No," She had started walking with him again, "You don't need to fight. Your position as Manda'lore is already secured. Fighting would be what you need to do in order to get where you already are. Winning a fight doesn't mean they'll hear you. It just means they'll respect where you stand. If you want them to hear you, promise them something and follow through with it -- something positive, I would think. The name of our last Mand’lor has left an awful taste in a lot of mouths. They need something to wash it out with. If you get the majority on your side, the rest will follow. Have you spoken with any clan heads yet? I saw you with Yen Amidi, but have you spoken with anyone else?"


Sadhric:
Sadhric's sealed lips pinched upward on one side as he squinted. "You're painting in awfully big strokes--but I do have your boy doing some of that legwork for me. Yen Amidi was the first with whom I've spoken. She's...." There might have been a scowl there, but the Lenses helped obscure it. "... extended an invitation for me to meet Breis Teimar at some annual dust-storm-something-or-other up in the north where they are."

He recalled exactly what that dust-storm-something-or-other had been called, and why it was, and when it was, but his disinterest got the better of him in relating it.

Ja’eeth:
"You should go," Her encouragement lacked the same tone she had used with Ja'dan on the field, that having been more motherly while this was something else entirely. "I think there will be quite a few clan heads there, but I wouldn't suggest you going alone. Take someone with you that you trust just in case. Bries Teimar and Yen Aimidi are both great starts for getting your voice heard among the clans. Its worth the time, it really is, but the celebration can be messy and almost anything can happen."


Sadhric:
They had walked half another lopsided block before he said, "I already accepted."

Ja’eeth:
"Good." That one word was both thoughtful and amused at the same time,
"and if you opt not to take anyone with you, then at least go armed."


Sadhric:
He was looking at her again. Another man might have rolled his eyes. "Why is it that so many people feel the need to give me advice like that?"

Ja’eeth:
"I meant no insult." She apologized, casting a glance his way.


Sadhric:
Sadhric eyed her and then sighed, shrugging it off.


Ja’eet:
For a short moment Ja'eeth was quiet, letting silence fall while trying to think of something to say to the man beside her. In her recollection this was the longest conversation they'd had that wasn't directly related to him pointing her in some direction. There was something more human about it, and that was disarming when considering their past. Somehow, those conversations now seemed easier than this one, "Hopefully Teimar will be willing to hear you. May I ask what you plan on saying to them?"


Sadhric:
"You may not," he said easily. "You may instead tell me what you might say, in my place."

Ja’eeth:
The corners of her mouth pinched and pulled downward slightly in thought, "I'm not sure what I would say. I think I'd more have an agenda than any prepared words. I would want to focus on ways to stop the occupation, rebuilding what we've had to dismantle, and I think I'd hear out their concerns."


Sadhric:
Sadhric looked amused. "I don't have a 'speech,' either, if that's what you wished to know by contrast."

Ja’eeth:
"Honestly," the pinch at the corners of her lips relaxed, her head turning so she was looking at him as they walked for a little second, "Yes, I think it was."


Sadhric:
"It's a lot like being told not to go unarmed, in a way," he said, grinning lopsidedly and tipping his head toward her pointedly.

Ja’eeth:
"I -am- sorry about that," She told him with a smile, "I think I've gotten too used to stating the obvious from dealing with the kids. Wipe your nose when its running and all that."


Sadhric:
The grin widened, then sobered. His tone shifted: "Do you like that life?"

Ja’eeth:
"It has its moments. After having been away from them so long, it's been nice to come home and be with them. Do I like it, though? Right now I'm enjoying it, but I'm in no way ready to retire. This idle life isn't for me in the long run."


Sadhric:
"Why not?" Each word clipped, businesslike, and off-key.

Ja’eeth:
"I've got nothing to do with my hands, and there are some days when I could -swear- my brain is liquifying from not being used. I love Ja'dan, and would die to save his life, but living like this is too soft for me."


Sadhric:
"Nothing to do with your hands, liiiike...." His voice was very low, and about as light-hearted as it could be given... "... constructing weapons that kill."

Ja’eeth:
"Like that," her smile fell flat, "Or, something else constructive. I came back from running interference, and the entire place was upside down. I'm still not sure where to put myself to use around here. There's not much need for a demolitions expert right now."


Sadhric:
"No, but there's a lot of use for someone who can help me build things up instead." His pace hadn't changed.

A little channel now joined their footpath, singing brightly on Sadhric's right, separating them from the nearest homes. These were still modest things--at least by Core standards. There were signs everywhere of handwork and old-fashioned tools for basic domestic jobs.

Ja’eeth:
"You mean like literal construction, or more of the public relation type?" A breeze picked up, swaying some short sprouts of dry grass in the dirt near the little brook, and causing a few strands of dark hair to shift against the top of her head.


Sadhric
"Neither. I speak your language." He said it in her language. "But on some of the outer clans' customs there is no literature."

Ja’eeth:
Clear surprise struck her features drawing her eyes wide a bit. He knew Mandoa. Ja'eeth made mental note to not swear toward him in her native tongue while within earshot if the need ever arose in the future. "So you want me to tell you what I know?" Up until that point they'd been speaking basic. Now that she knew he could speak Mandoa she was using that instead.


Sadhric:
The shift seemed to amuse him--or to satisfy some private thought he'd had. The two things could result in much the same smile in him. "Do you think you could be useful in such an endeavor?"

Ja’eeth:
"I do," the surprise was easing back as Ja'eeth nodded.


Sadhric:
"Excellent. Tell me all about your credentials."

Ja’eeth:
"Well," she began, "I spent time floating through numerous clans before being adopted into Rhakeen's. I've retained contact with a lot of those I met during that time even though it was years ago."


Sadhric:
A line appeared at Sadhric's brow and he glanced at her. "I never did dig much into how you came to this in the first place."

Ja’eeth:
"I'm not sure why that surprises me, or even if it should," she told him with a slight smile, "When I was a child I was brought here. I don't know my life before that. I only know what I was told, and I wasn't told much of anything. Here, though, I was taken in by an elderly couple in the north east. They took care of me, and I did what I could to help take care of them. By the time I was prepubescent they'd both found their rest, and since I hadn't been officially adopted I didn't have a home. I passed hands, from clan to clan until finding one that was willing to take me."
From clan to clan,^


Sadhric:
"You tell that tale like you're giving a report." Pause. "I appreciate the lack of embellishment."

Ja’eeth:
"It seemed like brevity was the best course considering the length of the tale." A sharp nod was given.


Sadhric:
The Mechanic grinned a sealed grin and then chuckled, looking off across the narrow channel. Vines trailed down into it, cleared just enough so that the water could run run run.

The path they were on squeezed in a little as it led them between two buildings now as they curved away from the water. Sadhric slowed to let Ja'eeth go first rather than rubbing shoulders with her.

Ja’eeth:
"Thank you," Ja'eeth slipped in front of Sadhric, once more clasping her hands behind her back lightly as she started down the narrowing path between the two buildings. The buildings were of low design like many of the others in the area. There were patches of grass that could be counted for yards, but right then the grass was yellow at the tips and browning down toward the root in signs that it hadn't rained in quite a while in the area.


Sadhric:
There was junk in there, too, stacked up in old, probably non-functional magnacrates interspersed with half-boxes made of real wood.

"I should tell you," he began, but did not immediately follow it up.

Ja’eeth:
"Tell me?" The opportunity was taken to prod a bit, Ja'eeth shifting slightly sideways so as not to disturb a short stack of crates that seemed to be filled with random household junk. At first glance she could see an old cafe machine, and a busted up terminal the parts of which were shattered and distributed unevenly through the rest of the stack.


Sadhric:
The grin left behind, his face was tight as he weighed something out.

"I won't harm your little boy. Your son. We're done with that."

Ja’eeth:
He was in the best position to see it when her hands tightened in their clasp, "I am glad to hear that." Her head turned to the left slightly, Ja'eeth talking over her shoulder toward him, "It will not affect my performance." There was a mindfulness that went into how she was moving, her hands peeling out of that clasp.


Sadhric:
"I didn't think it would," Sadhric told her. "I wanted it spoken. In case doubt lingered."

Ja’eeth:
The pathway was widened back out up ahead with the edges of the buildings in clear sight. Her right hand was pressed against the wall of the building next to her as she overstepped a fallen bit of trash that looked like a droid arm that had been crushed, "Thank you for that, it was a concern." She was trying to sound casual, working on speaking around the sudden urge to be protective of her boy.


Sadhric:
Not a whim, that, but also not a manipulation. Rather, with it Sadhric was holding his breath. Not literally, of course. That could be noticed. This was a well-hidden leap. He doubted Ja'eeth would understand. He doubted most people could.

The Mechanic remained fully self-contained. In that alley, he touched nothing.

In her voice he heard some shaping. "You don't believe me."

Ja’eeth:
"I have no reason to think you'd lie to me. You've not ever done so before." The water they'd been walking past before had wound itself away from the path they were following, that would be seen as they came out from between the buildings, "I don't like the thought of anything happening to that boy, least of all that something being my fault."


Sadhric:
"I understand." He could leave it at that.

Houses started stacking. It wasn't the heart of Keldabe by a long shot, but here was at least a cluster denser than what they'd just walked through.


Ja’eeth:
The neighborhood was taking shape around them, and on coming out between the houses Ja'eeth had to fall short a step to avoid her legs being rammed into by the narrow head of a golden furred dog who dodged the rest of the way in an agile leap and kept running, "Damn dog."


Sadhric:
"That is an argument for Coruscant."

When he'd seen it coming, Sadhric had gotten well to the side. Unseen, he'd been ready to kill the thing.

Ja’eeth:
"Damn dogs?" Her shoulders had hitched, and then drawn back quickly when the dog avoided her, and now she was looking Sadhric's way.


Sadhric:
"Mm. Coruscant's hazards are sentient." A smile twitched. "Or gravity."

Ja’eeth:
"Is it any wonder I avoid that planet as much as I can?" That was muttered as Ja'eeth took a look further down the way before stepping out into the street only to stop and look again, "Right or left?"


Sadhric:
The question would be met with him studying each direction in turn. Clearly, he wasn't on his way to a specific someplace. Just walking. "Left looks less trying."

Ja’eeth:
"Left it is," She turned that way. Somewhere, off where the dog had gone, was the sound of barking in three different pitches. "How are you liking Keldabe? I know you've been here before, but does it look any different than it had before?"


Sadhric:
Walking with her again, instead of behind her, he shot her a look. "I'm not sure I can properly answer that. I don't much like it at all."

Ja’eeth:
A laugh snapped out of her, "Yeah, its not for everyone. Is there any one thing in particular you don't like about it?"


Sadhric:
A curt laugh was returned. "Circumstances."


Ja’eeth:
"It hasn't exactly been a city of promise, has it?"


Sadhric:
"I'm not sure what you mean by that," he admitted, emphasis on the you.
Ja’eeth:
"Nothing was really meant by it. I've just not ever known you to come here without business to see to, and before now all of it was none too peaceful. And all of that was on our end."


Sadhric:
He glanced at her. "What is this city for you, then?"

Ja’eeth:
"Its a base of operation. Its where I live, but its not home. If I had to pack up and leave tonight, I wouldn't miss it. There are people I'd miss, but I wouldn't miss the city."


Sadhric:
He squinted at her, it visible as a shift of his expression underneath the Lenses. "Oh? Where is 'home'?"

Ja’eeth:
"Do you remember where you found me when we established our arrangement?" She caught the shift as she looked his way. Mandals were starting to show themselves, now in the form of kids darting between houses, one carrying a heavy-looking nerf hide ball.


Sadhric:
"So that's where your heart turns warm?" He nodded, as if knowing that in this context was fundamentally different than knowing it intellectually.

Ja’eeth:
"It is. I'm only here because here is where the work was. I needed to be here for Rhakeen, and Ker'dan, and now Kel'dan, our son, and the Tekal children. If I didn't have reasons to stay, I'd have gone home long already."


Sadhric:
"And what would you do there?" Asked in a lowering tone, amused and quiet.

Ja’eeth:
"Take care of the folks," She shrugged, "Repair what I can, learn how to repair what I can't. I'd probably find some way to put my talents to use out there in someway, and yes I do mean blowing some holes in the ground...."


Sadhric:
"So quiet... but not too quiet." He was trying to match that up with what she'd said about not being ready to 'retire.'

Ja’eeth:
"Right, I can't exactly practice my trade when others might get hurt by it. That is all assuming, of course, that I'd be able to get access to the materials I'd need to even start building bombs again. I don't think our Hapan neighbors would be too keen on giving me that access right now."


Sadhric:
"Do you blame them?" He found it strange that-- Well. He found many things strange about this turn of conversation. But he was past being bothered by the fact that they were having it in the first place.


Ja’eeth:
The dark haired woman looked Sadhric's way, her green eyes sharp and clear in the bright light of day, were unprotected from the sun. Her complexion was not like many other Mando'a that Sadhric may have seen. She was tan, but her skin tone was closer to what would be seen from someone who had come from a coreward world rather than the mid-rim. Her build was athletic and strong in appearance, fit and feminine beneath simple clothes that wore well for the climate they were in. Her nose had a bit of a crook and a slope to it at the bridge, with a little scar that ran the width as proof of some injury long since healed. "No, I don't. Not at all."

Sadhric:
He nodded, glancing sidelong at her after a second to read her face. He knew there were honest answers and there were Game Answers. He understood that there might be no telling between the two.

So he changed the subject after walking on a little more.

"Kel'dan was concerned by the burned figures. --Don't blame him, mind: one seemed to be him. What are your thoughts?"

Ja’eeth:
On they walked, that group of young Mandals returning to sight for a brief moment. The ball had changed hands, and was doing so again as they dashed across the street ahead of Ja'eeth and Sadhric, "I've talked to some people since coming back. There are a good many who support what is being established, but there is an underlying distrust of Kel'dan. His brother had held the title of Mand'alor for as long as I can recall. He had been a good leader at one point, but with how things have turned there are a great many -- particularly the younger generations in the clans -- that aren't willing to be open to this change. They don't want to put their faith into a man whose brother they followed blindly into the war."


Sadhric:
"That's not how he tells it," Sadhric said wryly. "According to him, everyone would love him except that he reports to me."

He had an eye on those kids, and an eye on that ball. As with the dog, he had a wariness that kept him ready to....

... Ready to...

Ready to...

... what?

Kill a kid for being a snotty piece of crap?

Well, no. The truth was, Sadhric was boldly aware of what it meant that he'd come out in person, spoken with Yen Amidi as he had, and this--all of this--was an exercise in pushing lines. Making statements, yes, but more than that. Far, far more.

Ja’eeth:
The look she fixed on him at that moment was one that had her left eyebrow quirked upward, the right drawn down just slightly in an almost squint, "I think, sometimes, Kel'dan sees what he hopes instead of what's actually there." The look eased, "These people are Mandals, whatever fear they've tasted has long faded. The initial shock of knowing is gone. If the Chiss come, they come. We may not be ready, but we'll fight, that's the sentiment. It's not that they doubt it would ever happen, nor is it that they are itching to bring it on. If it happens, it just happens. I think what Kel'dan forgets in this is that the people have seen him by his brother's side through a lot, so now that he's standing in there may be some question in some minds that could be wondering if he is doing this to help his brother make amends, secretly, or if his intentions are true."


Sadhric:
"I'm not sure what you mean by that. You say that as if both things cannot simultaneously be true."

Ja’eeth:
"It could very well be. Its a thought I don't want to acknowledge, and perhaps that's why I said it the way I did. Others are far more keen to think that way, to think that he could be doing both. That's all the more reason for them not to want to trust him, though, right?"


Sadhric:
Sadhric shrugged. "I suppose." He looked around, following the kids, rooflines, shadows. "Frankly, I used Kel'dan because he was there. No other particular reason. Convenience."


Ja’eeth:
Ahead, two houses down from where they were, the game the children were playing continued, the ball passing hands with the group jumping to nab it out of the air if it came there way. The danger Sadhric was looking for didn't come from the rooftops near them, or the shadows, or even the kids at play. Further down the street, right where the children were playing, one of the houses suddenly lost its walls and windows. The explosion was concussive but small, throwing debris out into the street, the force of it rocking the block in a minor quake. One child was thrown into the dirt, having been closest to the building, her arms hooked upward ready to draw the ball down when the blast took place, showered in broken duraglass and splinters of wood and duracrete. Dust from the now collapsed home escaped in a plume, covering the street ahead, and the children who had been caught in it.



Sadhric:
Debris like daggers flew.

Sadhric whipped an arm up to protect his face as he turned, ducking, crouching, bracing--


Ja’eeth:
Reactions were what they were. Ja'eeth spun, wrapping her arms up around her head with her hands protecting the back of her neck. She wound up in a similar position to Sadhric's in that split second, her body winding up in front of where Sadhric was crouching, knees only slightly bent doing her best to cover him without -being- a cover for him. "Are you alright?" started to leave her, her arms beginning to relax away when another explosion took what was left of the house's backyard, drawing the dirt surrounding the hole inward and down into what had been a carved out root cellar basement. This one sent no debris into the street but for dry grass and clumps of dirt. The rumble of it was far less than what had come from the house. Ja'eeth, with the way she had been standing, did have to adjust the center of her weight to keep herself from knocking into The Mechanic with the second blast.


Sadhric:
"You?" Sadhric hissed back through bared teeth, which meant yes.

He was backing fast toward shelter-- just a wall to put his back to -- fast enough that he had to reach out to grab Ja'eeth by the sleeve to haul her back with him..

It was all

Second explosion--
Children--
Explosion characteristics--
Force calculations--
Pattern analysis--
--attack?
--demolition? --no filed plan.
--Ja'eeth reaction
Weapon efficacy--
Tactical position abysmal--
Comms--


Ja’eeth:
Ja'eeth's reaction to having her arm tugged on was a quick one. She was moving with Sadhric in the blink of an eye, and once against the wall she had her back to it, pressed tight. The explosion had not been a massive one, barely having affected the houses on either side of the one that had gone up in dust. The wind shifted, and something moved in the cloud that was just starting to settle. Someone laying there was still alive. Variables from the explosion would have it pinned as something homemade, and small. The size of the explosion and the amount of damage done would be initial proof of that.


Sadhric:
Teeth gritted, Sadhric scanned around quickly, assessing the likelihood that this was an attack. He did a few other fast things, too, regarding the Witchdoctor, but right then his attention was mainly on the area he could see.

He found himself counting children--

He certainly knew how many there had been over there, closer to the whole thing, and he was fast enough to pick out which ones were which--

In doing that he spotted the other figure, the one that moved a little, in the cloud.
Ja'eeth had her mind on much the same task, counting heads of children, and keeping an eye on what open space there was around them. Her work was a lot less technologically involved that Sadhric's. She had just her eyes to work with, and when something moved out there she had her eyes on it just as quickly. It was a larger form than a child, but it was bent and blocky in appearance, not the smooth lines of a body in motion. Where the head was, was a dome that ended in straight lines and angles in a horrible approximation of a head, the shoulders thicker looking and more padded. After a few seconds of trying to find a way to rise, the beskar wearing Mandal did find their way to their feet, stumbling for the edge of the pit.


Ja’eeth:
Sadhric’s eye on scene would pick out the small forms of the children, now scattered across the street, through the dirty fog that was finding its rest. The shower of debris had ended, but the damage had been done. The child that had been thrown lay unmoving, though she was breathing. Life signs, if he could see such things from that distance, would be there for all of them but there would be injuries. Not every house on the block had been heavily occupied, with only the one nearest the blast having more than one occupant within. The door to the house just right of the blast, closer to Sadhric and Ja'eeth opened, and stepping out were three Mandals, all female with one being obviously older than the other two. A mother and her two daughters. Hurried careful steps were bringing the trio closer to where Sadhric and Ja'eeth were as they fled the possible danger. Behind them, back closer to where the dog had nearly rammed into Ja'eeth's leg, a burly looking male was making his way closer carefully, and other signs of stirring in the neighborhood were happening in those surrounding homes as time seemed to kick back into motion for the block.


Sadhric:
"Comm the Hapan peacekeepers--do it now!" The growl tore out of him as he shot into a run toward the beskar-masked sentient, keeping tucked in close to the wall, one hand ghosting along it, the other hand--

--something very small and black had appeared in that hand.

The one in the beskar was just starting to gather enough strength to seek their feet right then. Sadhric meant to get close enough before they found that balance.


Ja’eeth:
Ja'eeth was on it the moment the order left Sadhric in a growl. The Mandal that he was approaching was a male figure. The torso and limbs too full to belong to a female figure. There were digits on the Mandal's hands that would give a hint that the being was, in the very least, humanoid in physiology.


Sadhric:
As soon as he was close enough, The Mechanic thumbed the device in his hand and slung it as fast as he could near the Mandal's side.

When it hit, it would unleash a repulsor wave that would send the figure into his own pit.

It would also, unfortunately, also send an arc of that same wave at two of the children who were in range, but they were further from where it would impact and would be spared much of the force.

Ja’eeth:
The being in beskar was moving, getting his hands beneath him in order to push himself up from where he lay prone in the dusty street. What markings were on his armor were covered with dust, dirt and glittering with shards of glass from the explosion. There was an obvious T-shape to the helmet’s viewfinder as the man moved his head in the natural motion of working on getting himself up. Ja’eeth was inching forward, comm in hand and quickly relating the situation to the Hapan peacekeepers with knowledge that they would be there as quickly as they could.

The black device hit the dirt near the male Mandal who had just enough time to slide a hand toward it before the repulsor wave went off. Whatever effort had been going into him getting up was now helping his body rest heavily back into the dirt, arms and legs limp and shifted from the force of that weight pounding down onto a brain and body that had just been recovering from being thrown in the blast. He lay unmoving in the pit.


Sadhric:
The settling cloud wasn't quite settled yet, and on his tongue Sadhric got a sampling of some of the components of that explosion... He first meant to go to the pit after the wave hit, but to do so he got a bit too close to one of the fallen children to ignore--

He threw a glance over his shoulder to see where Ja'eeth was.


Ja’eeth:
Ja'eeth was tucking her comm away, and coming within easy earshot. "They'll be here soon." She'd tell him before turning her head to spit some of the dust out of her mouth, after which she was pulling her shirt up to cover her mouth with the inner side of the fabric. The child that Sadhric had gotten close to was a young teenage boy. There was a large bump to his head, a knot that had cracked and was oozing a bit, dirt and dust clinging to the moist wound. There was a split to his lips, as well. He was laying on his left arm, a shard of wood sticking out from his shoulder. The taste of the air right near the house would be bitter, and smell of sour chemicals. Behind them, that big male was getting closer as well.

Sadhric:
Only now was Sadhric becoming acquainted with his own peppering of stings in his arm and side. He knew without looking that there would be no blood. But underneath his clothes, little prickles of bruises maybe.

His thoughts were scrambled. It was not because he did not know what to do.

He knew exactly what he needed to do.

Exactly.

It was the pressures crowding in that were igniting a raw hatred in him for whomever that was in the beskar, fanned by a rage and frustration that had to stay very small, very tightly packed, very much in a corner right now.

A sharp look at Ja'eeth. "You're not armed, are you." A statement.

Without waiting for her to reply, he shot another look at the others who had emerged--some leaving, one who had been approaching with a great deal more caution than Sadhric had.


Ja’eeth:
"Peacekeepers aren't too keen on us being armed," She told Sadhric, taking a moment to look around for something she could use before following his gaze back past her, "Stay back!" She shouted to the man, her Mando'a a bit stifled by the cloth over her face.


Sadhric:
"Fuck you," he muttered, shaking his head at her response and looking toward the pit.

"Let's just get these runts out of here," he said, at war with himself but sounding just the same.


Ja’eeth:
There were seven children to move. Ja'eeth didn't nod. She didn't do anything but lower herself to tuck her arms under the boy by her feet. There was a small shift in her stance, her own weight being evenly distributed between her feet, before she took the child's weight into her arms, being mindful of the child's shoulder. To the child, as she was lifting, Ja'eeth was speaking soft words in Mando'a, promising that it would be alright, her words carrying the effort it took to get from bending low to rising back up with a body in her arms. There was no movement from the pit.

Behind them, and across the other end of the street, doors were beginning to open. The ground hadn't shaken again, and no further explosions had happened. That there was movement outside was encouraging in some ways, and troubling in others. From the other end of the block a woman came running, roughly the same build as Ja'eeth but a bit taller in stature, behind her was a man that had been at the field. "Ja'eeth, clean water, eh?" He called out to where she and Sadhric were in Mando'a, "This way!" For'gat was an older man, middle aged with white hair that was always cut close to his head but never shaven. There were pock marks on his face, small indentations that could have been the ghostly remains of some shrapnel shower he had survived in his youth. The woman that had come with him was around the same age as For'gat, her hair was longer and a shade off of red-brown falling to her shoulders in the tight braid that kept it pulled to the back of her head. For'gat was wearing a heavy nerf hide vest, the shoulders cut with the selvage fraying around the seam. It was dust, old and worn. It moved with him like it was made to be worn by him. His pants were black, made of a dense weave material that was thick and just as heavy duty as his boots were. His arms were exposed, the vest keeping his chest covered with it closed tight across his frame. In his left hand For'gat was carrying a blaster.


Sadhric:
Had she called that man?

The question and its attendant thoughts smacked Sadhric into motion. From the outside, he hadn't paused long enough for it to look like much.

He didn't go for one of the young ones first, but made a dash for where his device could be seen as a lump of dust in its own divot out of the ground, the sand underneath it pressed into a dense plate from the discharge of its energy.

The Mechanic snapped it up and didn't right then go further to peer into the pit, instead vaulting a low half-ruined garden wall and stooping to drag a girl toward Ja'eeth.

His assessment that, in a neighborhood so homespun, nearby shelter was a crapshoot, meant few actual safe possibilities. He erred toward being a little hidden, and having a wall between any blaster bolts or debris from more blasts, and dragged the girl toward the corner of the building that he and Ja'eeth had put their backs to.

And if it mysteriously blew up?

Well, Keldabe would be more of a shithole than it currently was, and he wouldn't have to worry about that any longer.

Ja’eeth:
"Give us a hand, Chopper!" Ja'eeth responded to the call from For'gat, "Get it clear! Daisy, get your kit! Peacekeepers inbound!" She spared just enough time for that before turning to hustle herself down the block the other way, back toward where Sadhric was dragging the girl. For'gat's blaster was tucked away, the man driving himself toward the nearest child that needed to be scooped up. The woman made a wide turn and headed back to the house she'd come from. In this area there wasn't much room for a ship to settle down in the space between rows of homes without causing structural damage to the crete and mortar homes. The whine of incoming engines could be heard, however, getting closer to the location.


Sadhric:
So Ja'eeth knew two people by name in the city of Keldabe down a random footpath that Sadhric had chosen. The woman was the one who removed the idea that Ja'eeth had taken a second to call in friends. Sadhric made a note not to put his back to any of them.

Which was getting more difficult.

He could make it easier.

Once they had the two nearest the pit dragged to... "safety," he shot a look to the male and said, "Belay that! Secure the man in that pit!"

Which might have been an invitation for For'gat to get blown up himself, or an order, but as the dust settled Sadhric thought signs were pointing to the explosion being unplanned, a mistake, an accident, a miscalculation, and if that was so...

... while that meant there might be further mistakes, accidents, and miscalculations, the likelihood of a second round from that location was plummeting.

If it was to be anything, it was going to be someone else emerging from the site, or the beskar-wearing man's comrades showing up.

"Go with him," he barked at Ja'eeth.


Ja’eeth:
The boy Ja'eeth had carried was gently set down the moment she had him in the cover of the building. Her head snapped up, a look shooting back to the open area of the street. She heard 'secure the man in the pit!' and then 'go with him' close by her shoulder. Five dirt covered bodies took her focus for a moment before she was pushing herself up in a tight spin that would end with her sprinting off, head down, toward the pit, keeping herself as close to the shadow of the building they'd been using for cover as she could. For'gat's had found himself kneeling to take vitals, just a quick check before readying to move the child he had himself next to when Sadhric's order came. A quick eye was shot toward the pit, For'gat reaching for his blaster again. Someone was down there. The realization came with sight of Ja'eeth barreling toward the opening. He was up and moving, leaving the child, making his own hustle toward the pit.


Sadhric:
By the sound of those engines, within seconds they wouldn't be alone here. Friend or foe.

Sadhric took stock of everything in view, and what he could tell via his Lenses--which was not right then as tactically useful as others might think.

He felt a stillness come over him. It cut through the anger that had been gumming him up. And the fear. It was unusual. It was himself, carried down deep into his own chest, his own heart for a second, a breath, a blink. He gripped the wall next to him, his strong fingers feeling ineffectual against the stone of even that shoddy brickwork.

Then he was moving again, fast and low, to the next of the children who seemed to be having difficulty. They'd already gotten the worst-hit out of the way. Now it was a matter of getting the wobbly ones to whatever might work as shelter.

This is what Cato would do, was a thought that was somewhere in the mess of more relevant ones.

But he would be doing it better.


Ja’eeth:
Her booted feet pounded past one of the children, causing the boy to roll onto his side, grasping at his head with his hands, palms pushed flush against his ears. For'gat was at the edge of the pit before Ja'eeth was, the blaster tossed between them with For'gat reaching for a spare he'd had at his back. They each took up a position, blasters trained on the dirt covered armor of a man who was just then beginning to stir. Sadhric's evaluation of the situation would be that of the five children left two were having difficulty with their balance, working together to stand. One was laying on the ground with his ears covered, another was coughing into the ground, hands clawed into the sand, and the last was laying in a position that had her facing Ja'eeth and For'gat as they covered the pit, her left arm held close to her chest. Ships were in view, their shadows bearing down over the roofs of the surrounding buildings. Hapan ships, small transports filled with well armed peacekeepers. They were splitting, heading for either end of the block where they were going to set down. Sadhric would be getting a comm from a Commander Norres.


Sadhric:
No need to hold a comm while he worked. Sadhric was triage in motion. He got to the pair helping each other, went eye-level with them, hands on their shoulders, and did the fastest assessment he could. They got an intense stare each, in the end, a reading of pupils and strength at a glance only because they were at least standing up. "Get over there and stay put," he hissed at them before he went for the next one.

He did not want to leave the securing of the man in the pit to Ja'eeth and For'gat. He did not want to leave anything to anyone. But as in all such moments, he was forced to take second-best options, sometimes third-best, fourth-best. He had to wall off his need to control that end of things. That meant a switch was flipped that let him lock himself into the equivalent of an enlightened If I die, I die, even if it wasn't so very enlightened.

He'd decided his job was to get the kids back to a better distance and use his skills as a medic. Once decided, it might as well have been his programming.

He skidded to a knee next to the boy who was covering his ears, sending a puff of dust roiling away as he did so.

"Norres. Two blasts. Incidental injuries. At least one associated with bomb source being secured by two of my people. Possible third friendly here answers to 'Daisy.'"


Ja’eeth:
Recognition wasn't needed for those children that Sadhric had given the quick once over to. Trust came to them in the way he looked at them, the authority in that stare. To them, it was the look of someone who -knew- what to do. Listening came second nature in the face of that. Quick, but still slightly unsteady, feet carried the duo to where they'd been told to go. "Copy that. Medical is on its way. We're coming in." The ships were settled, and from them two teams, each, of Hapan soldiers began fanning out with the intent on heading toward the scene. Daisy had made quick work of retrieving her kit, and had only given the landing ships a glance before hurrying her way toward Sadhric. Her kit, he'd find, was a medical kit stocked with bacta patches and other emergency provisions.


Sadhric:
A glance showed him her and it, and he didn't waste words on gratitude, just signalled her over so he could reach over with filthy fingers to take stock of what she'd brought for them to work with. His air was for relaying to her what Norres had just told him about medical help being en route.

That was for morale.


Ja’eeth:
Daisy had the look of a woman who had done something like this before. She was comfortable in caring for those who had been broken up. Her hands were steady as she handed her kit over to Sadhric, and began looking the boy over. A glance was sent his way at news of the incoming medical, "Well, let's do what we can before they get here." The kit was fully stocked, everything still wrapped and sterile. There were some instruments in there, as well. A pair of shears, a suture kit with fresh needles. There were some stim-shots as well. The Hapans, now out of their ships, were moving in with their weapons drawn and checking angles as they went. The group splitting in half, one going toward Sadhric and Daisy, the other heading toward the pit where Ja'eeth and For'gat were. Ja'eeth's voice loud and deep as she shouted down into the hole, "Don't move!" In Mando'a.


Sadhric:
Well, no shit, Daisy.

Sadhric focused. Because he could. Because he had to. He picked out a selection of basics and left Daisy with the boy with the burst eardrums to go on to the next, assess, and get the boy moved.

That was the real priority right then.

It seemed over, the blowing up of things, but he didn't know that for sure. In that unknown, in lieu of snapped necks and other injuries that made moving the young ones dangerous, getting them further from the known blast area had to be the primary concern.


Ja’eeth:
Daisy got to work on the boy, doing what she could for him there. The boy Sadhric moved onto was no longer coughing into the dirt, having set back onto his legs to catch his breath. His face was red, but only from the effort of his coughing. He had some minor scratches on his face and hands, and some bruising against his arms. The Hapans, nearing the pit, took position with Ja'eeth volunteering to drop down into it to get her hands on the man in the armor. If something else were going to blow, it would blow. She wanted to get her hands on that beskar, For'gat behind her, giving her closer cover than those hovering at the edge of the pit.


Sadhric:
"Get your ass moving, kid--over there," Sadhric snapped as soon as he was sure the kid was basically unhurt. Nicks and scratches--they'd all have those.

He moved on, keeping an eye in between assessments on the activity at the edge of the pit.

That was when the Hapan medics caught up with them, cleaner and better equipped. He moved aside for them, telling them quickly what he thought, and violently shrugged them off when one tried to pull him aside, too.

Another shadow joined those of the ships that had remained above for aerial views. The Witchdoctor made for a strange-looking sentinel.

It couldn't solve every unknown, but its nearness helped Sadhric feel like he might not miss everything. So he went to join the peacekeepers near the edge.

If anything, it was Ja'eeth's confidence that made him think they could trust standing on the lip. Having a demolitions expert think it was probably all right did wonders.


Ja’eeth:
The blaster Ja'eeth held was tucked away, freeing her hands as For'gat covered her with the Hapans that stood at the edge above them. The man in the armor was not listening very well to the order not to move, he was working on getting his helmet off and was having some difficulty with that. His movements were frantic. Ja'eeth was approaching him from one side of the hole, For'gat from the other, slowly. Once close enough, Ja'eeth nailed his hand down with one boot while For'gat took care of the other. Once more, Ja'eeth was spitting off to the side. Down there the smell was stronger, though the taste of the acrid air had settled with the dust. Weight was put onto the man's gloved hand as Ja'eeth shifted forward enough to swipe dirt off the man's shoulder to get a look at the clan marking there, "Briem Tar's clan," She called back to those looking in from above, daring to cast a glance upward and back a bit, catching sight of Sadhric, "Orders?"

Sadhric:
The Mechanic knew a lot about explosives himself. The flavors in the air post-detonation might as well have been among his native spices. Right now, there was one answer:

"Take him into custody. Treat his injuries. Keep the beskar out of the gossip."