Hello there! Well, here's the follow up story that I mentioned in my final author note of Remnants of the Force. This story follows the two characters introduced in that story, Randal Sarn and Rika Tymor, and picks up two years after the events in Remnants of the Force. I view the first story as a sort of pilot episode and all subsequent stories, including this one here, will more than likely be much shorter. Again, with most of the stories I've posted up here, it is actually finished, so there's no chance of the story never being completed. I'll post a chapter a week or so, so stay tuned! If you like what you read, let me know! It's good to know that someone out there enjoys reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. Well, without further ado, I give you Way of the Blaster!


Chapter 1 Breaking Point

Dienzo III. Outskirts of the Middle Rim.

Mining was naturally hard work, and it didn't help that the hills surrounding his village were mainly made up of the tough and drill head eating magnium. As Giles Lancor momentarily took a break from operating his pneumatic drill and wiped the sweat away from his brow with a dust covered gray glove, his entire body felt numb. The constant jarring vibrations from the drill had coursed through his body for the past nine hours straight. And though he knew that it was brutal to his body, he found enjoyment in his work. After all, it was good honest work; free from the overbearing boss constantly looking over one's shoulder, always driving you harder to get every last ounce of work out of you. Giles found pleasure in his work because he, like other claim holders of New Beginning, was his own boss and was looking out for his own interests and not a corporation's.

While the magnium brought a small profit from the processing plants in town, everyone was really mining to find the most precious ore this side of Imperial Center; Aurodium. Not much of the precious ore had been found yet in the two years since New Beginning was settled, but everyone had a feeling that the hills of Red Canyon were full of Aurodium veins just waiting for the determined miner to find and strike it rich. If that were to happen, that particular miner's family would be set for life for generations.

It was this thought that always gave Giles the extra incentive to carry on, and just before he reactivated his drill to get back to work, he heard the sweet chiming sound of the dinner bell ringing. New Beginning wasn't just a small settlement of miners and dreamers all looking for a brighter future, but it was a small close knit community that bonded as if they were all family, or at least a very diverse extended one.

Giles gladly undid the power line to his drill and fought the massively heavy tool back to a leaning position against the mine's wall and set out to wash up before he sat down for dinner. As he exited the mine, the deep orange sun was setting towards the east and the light shined directly into the mine's entrance. As he squinted at the welcome bright light, he removed his gloves and shoved them into his back pocket.

As he walked down the trail that lead back into the center of the village, other miners were exiting their chosen spots in the multiple faceted hill side and smiled at each other as they all headed into the center of the village. Giles shook hands with several of his fellow miners and paused briefly at the village's small moisture collector in the center of the village and let the cool water run into his hands. After he splashed his face and wiped it on an offered towel by one of the many house wives that saw the running of the village proper, he took his seat at the large long table where everyone sat and ate their meals together.

As everyone found their seats and plates and bowls began to be passed around, everyone paused as they all heard thunder rolling in the distance. At first, it sounded like a storm out on the open plains, but after a few seconds, the sound didn't dissipate, it grew louder. Realization hit them all at once.

"Run!" one of the miners shouted as he jumped from the table.

"Get the women and children inside!" Giles yelled as he tried to get the attention of several of the other miners, but the grip of fear was now in full swing.

Giles ran around the village center, trying to make sure everyone got inside their homes and were safe, but as the roaring sound came closer, panic and chaos took over, and reason disappeared. Before anyone could properly get inside, the first of the swoops came over the hill.

The swoops were loud and obnoxious, but their riders were the real threat. Once one appeared, more kept pouring over the hill, their riders yelling and hollering at the top of their lungs as they sped through the village, aiming for anyone who was caught out in the open. All of the riders speed around and darted between the houses, all the while firing blaster pistols into the air and randomly into the houses. One of the riders stopped his swoop next to the long table, grabbed a nerf rib with his teeth, and then kicked the entire table over, spilling everything onto the ground.

Another pulled a grenade out of his saddle bag and lobbed it haphazardly into one of the homes. With a fiery explosion, the house erupted, sending flaming debris everywhere.

Giles, fuming in anger, ran at one of the riders. Though he was unarmed and had no idea what he was going to do if he caught him, he felt he had to do something. But before he got close, something heavy and cold slammed into his back and he fell face first into the dirt. When he rolled over, he saw the leader of the swoop gang, a wretched near human named Kaul, sneering evilly at him.

"Sickle Riders! Roll out!" Kaul yelled as he revved his swoop's engine and took off leaving a rising cloud of dust in his wake. The other riders all began to laugh loudly and congratulate each other as they tore out of the small and devastated village, leaving all of the chaos that they had wrought in their wake.

Giles stood and watched the last of the gang members disappear over the hill, and continued to stand there until the sounds of their loud engines died away. Angrily, he spat on the ground and turned around to start rebuilding after this latest raid.


Hours later, after the majority of the mess was picked up as best as they could, the villagers of New Beginning gathered around the up righted table and debated what was to come next.

"This was all that Dalledos's doing! We all know he has those Sickle Riders on his payroll!" one of the miner's wives said. She was followed by half of the village agreeing, and the other half calling Dalledo a variety of vulgar names.

"But why would he do this? We have nothing he wants," another villager said.

"Oh yes we do. He knows just as well as we do what's in these hills, and he wants it all for himself. Always has ever since he took over the Dorvalla Mining operation on this planet," an old weathered Rodian named Tolas Los said.

"Well he can have it. I'm too old to be hassled with this sort of crap. I've got a family I have to think about," an old Arkanian miner named Otzz Churhee said. This was followed by another round of rumbling from everyone present. Giles stood up and motioned for everyone to get quiet.

"Of course we know who it is whose behind all this, there's no question about that. The real question that we need to be asking ourselves is what are we going to do about it?"

"What do you mean?" Tolas asked.

"Well, are we just going to sit back and let him continue to harass us like this? We all know that every raid gets worse than the one before."

"What are you suggesting? That we fight back?" one of the villagers said in a mildly shocked sounding voice.

"Why not? There's more of us than there is of them," Giles said. Several of the villagers went quiet, but others laughed at the idea.

"You must have been hit on the head harder than you thought," Otzz said as he stood from his seat.

"No, I don't think so. Listen, we've all come here for our own reasons. Like you Otzz, what reason did you come here?" Otzz looked around and saw that the entire village was now looking at him, waiting for him to respond.

"I came here looking for credits, like everyone else."

"We all know that, but why did you choose this planet, why did you choose to mine? There's plenty of other jobs you could have taken in this galaxy if you just wanted credits."

"Well," the old man said as he looked at the ground. "I've had plenty of jobs in my lifetime, but mining out here gave me my own schedule, I guess. If I wanted to take a day off to be with my family, I could."

"Exactly," Giles said as he looked around at the multitude of faces in the crowd. "Freedom brought us here. Sure the work is hard and we get little financial reward for it, but we're free. Free to make our own schedule, free to do the work that we want to do. We don't have to answer to anyone's orders, or grovel every time a boss or supervisor comes by. We're out here because we want to be, pure and simple. But what we have here is ours, and not anyone or anybody is going to come here and take it away from us. I know it's not going to be easy, and in fact it's probably going to be dangerous. But I'm sure that every one of you would be willing to fight, if need be, to preserve that freedom we have here. Am I right?" At first everyone was just quiet, but eventually everyone started to mumble in agreement.

"Sure, we're all willing to keep what we have here, but exactly how are we going to go that?" Tolas Los asked. At this, the villagers again went silent.

"I'll fight. Hell, I know how to use a blaster," a young man said from the side.

"Cal! Don't interrupt!" the young man's mother said.

"No, Cal's right. We all may be old and worn down, but young Cal there is still young, not even in his prime yet. He has the right idea! If we all stand together and put up a fight against Dalledo, he's going to have to back down and leave us alone!" Giles said triumphantly.

"All right, Giles, you've made your point. But you still haven't said how we're going to do it. In case you haven't looked around, we're just simple miners, not soldiers," Tolas said as he crossed his arms. Giles let out a heavy sigh through his nose as he placed his hands into his back pockets.

"I know, I know. We've got the numbers, and we've all got hunting rifles and such, but you're right. We're not soldiers. To be honest, I wouldn't have the foggiest clue as to what to do to set up a defense."

"Well, it was fun while it lasted, I guess," Otzz said as he turned to leave.

"Now hold on. I said I didn't know how to go about defending this village, but that doesn't mean we can't hire someone who does." Out of everything that was said at the meeting on this night, nothing else made everyone instantly go as silent as this statement did.

"You want to pay someone to defend our village?" an old woman said.

"No, not pay someone to do it for us, but to teach us how to defend ourselves." Giles was answered with more blank stares and a few murmurings about how his idea was ludicrous.

"Listen, just a minute ago, we were all onboard for fighting to save our village. Now when I mention that we may have to spend a few credits to help save our way of life, you instantly abandon the idea?"

"It's not that, Giles," Tolas said, "it's just that so many of us have invested nearly everything we've got into our lives here. The mines haven't produced anything larger than a few dust particles in the past few months. Now you're wanting us to spend what little we have saved up to hire some mercenaries? It's not that we're not willing, it's just that those credits were going to be used to buy food for our children and blankets to keep them warm."

"I know it's difficult, but we can get through this if we all stick together. We can save credits by planting gardens and banding together to make ends meet. We've always lived together as if we were one large family, maybe it's time we actually came together and really acted like one."

It took a few moments of inner discussion before everyone seemed to come to a general consensus.

"All right, Giles. We'll all pitch in and do our share. But where are you going to find someone who can help us?" Tolas asked.

"In the morning I'll take as much magnium as I can into Stonehaven and try to find someone there who can help us."

"Well, I hope you find someone quick, for your sake," Tolas said as everyone stood from the table and began to head back towards their homes. As the crowd dispersed, the young man named Cal Damiel craned his head over his fellow villagers and caught a glimpse of shimmering blonde hair. He not so politely pushed his way over to the love of his life and gently placed his hand on her bare forearm. Her skin was smooth and cool to the touch, but it sent waves of electricity through his arm.

"Kayla, are you all right? I tried to find you when the swoops came in, but I couldn't in all the confusion."

"I'm fine, thanks," Kayla Lunelle said with a small forced smile as she removed her arm from his awkward clammy touch. It was no secret that Cal had a crush on her, and it was no secret to everyone in the village except for Cal that she didn't feel the same way. But while she didn't share the same feelings for him, she still remained civil with him if not cold, hoping that he would eventually get the hint.

"Don't you worry, Kayla. I'll protect you from anything Dalledo or his swoop gang tries, you have my word on that."

"Um, thanks, I guess," Kayla said as she tried to force another smile, but wasn't sure if she was able to pull it off convincingly. "I've got to go, bye," she said and quickly turned and made her way back to her small home where she lived with her family.

Cal let out a love struck sigh and smiled widely as he floated back towards his home, all the while remembering how beautiful Kayla looked when she smiled at him.