Star Wars: Battlefront Remnant
Disclaimer: I do not own either Star Wars or RWBY, they are the respective properties of Disney and Lucasarts and Rooster Teeth. Please support the official release.
The Frontier.
Life beyond the kingdoms was as harsh as it was rewarding in some cases. At the risk of frequent attacks from the Grimm and bandits looking for presumably easy targets, one could find themselves in rather lucrative positions with the right contacts and circumstances set in front of them. Villages and other small settlements often needed more resources than they could produce for themselves, so shipping companies and food stores with surplus goods could make a pretty penny off desperate or foolish frontiersmen and women who didn't plan far enough ahead in setting up their outside communities.
Vacuo was especially notorious for these dangers, a given since the Kingdom was mostly formed in desert regions. Aside from the Grimm and bandits, there was also natural phenomena. Sandstorms could come out of nowhere and swallow whole areas without anyone noticing 'til it was too late. Sinkholes could catch the weary caravan and traveler unawares or even simple dehydration.
The desert kingdom was once a thriving series of Oases. It was due to such luxuries that the people grew complacent, allowing for other factions to occupy and exploit them. To this day, the people of Vacuo simply survive in this harsh environment, having learned their lesson so many decades ago. Complacency led to weakness. If you could survive in these harsh lands, you were welcome as an equal; the undisputed rule of the Kingdom.
The bandits however, took the concept further. While they still typically perform their ill-reputable activities upon the people from the larger cities. Coming into the desert, they are among the hardiest of individuals in this harsh nation. Whereas regular city dwellers struggle in the communities they built to sustain themselves on the limited resources available, the numerous bandit clans thrive in the desert. They traverse the sands in search of easy prey as well as the few Oases left to plunder. To them, the sands around them are like a second skin; you would never know you were struck until it was all over.
This is what made bandit groups like the well-known Sand Raiders so effective; their knowledge of the land around them. It was this exact reason that led Jedi Knight Kygo Truzz to seek out their aid in repelling Separatists forces on this side of the planet. Vacuo had mainly desert landscapes and while having fought in numerous campaigns across desert worlds, Kygo still chose to rely on local knowledge rather than just his years of experience on such matters. His men didn't exactly share his confidence in the matter though. It was partly because his insectoid appearance unnerved most people and partly due to the nature of whom they were going to ask for help.
Kygo released as quiet a sigh as he could, but his breathing apparatus still caused it to resonate loud enough for all around him to hear as they traversed the desert landscape below in an LAAT gunship. The harsh, midday sun would have beaten down hard on him and his companions had they not been in the compact, sealed off space of the tan colored gunship. The ship itself was elongated and wide, with drooping wings on either side that carried the craft via repulsorlift engines.
While large enough to hold thirty people, Kygo only took a dozen veterans from the 83rd Arid Legion and his still acting commander as of two years now, Trapshot, on his errand. A smaller force would be necessary for the meeting to even work out. He hoped their additional passenger would help as she was said to as well.
Nena Khenet. One of the "best and brightest minds that Shade Academy had ever produced" was what the Headmistress told him when he proposed to her his idea to meet with the bandits. Khenet had lived outside the main cities for most of her life, so she was his consultant in this affair. Despite his inability to properly read human facial expression, he had figured she seemed confident enough in her abilities to see this through.
The people around her were battle-hardened war veterans of dozens of campaigns with the grizzled and focused demeanors to match. By contrast, she was nowhere near as hard-set, but her stance betrayed a very rough upbringing. She held onto one of the handles dotted across the interior, close to one of the men inspecting his gear -Relay- Kygo's mind instantly recalled the trooper's name. Her dark yellowish clothing blended together well with his own troops tanner hued armor. His own modest set of Jedi Robes were a dull brown in comparison, but he made due.
Nena's outfit was well tailored for the desert, loose fitting clothing that left a great deal of air circulation to flow throughout the outfit. The material was likely cotton, a great necessity when wanting to let nature takes its course and cool the body in the often-scorching environment. The modest dark yellow tulip tunic covered the young woman's body almost completely. Along with her light brown colored long pants and a tan colored scarf wrapped around her head, she was safe from the harsh weather.
Her scarf was down around her neck, so Kygo could make out more of her face and skin in the darkly lit interior. She had a light creamy brown tint to her skin, while her face was smooth looking and slightly narrow, possessing gold hued eyes. A small black line ran beneath her bottom lip, while a relatively heavy coating of light blue eyeshadow covered the space between her brows and lashes. Her hair, free of restriction, was a long and messy brunette sort. Had he any concept of human beauty, Kygo may have found her attractive for reasons he couldn't have explained.
For his part, Kygo was the sole, truly alien occupant of the craft. His appearance bared great resemblance to a common species of insect found frequently in the forests of Vale. Luckily, he had no pincers or claws to sell more of the image than he wished to. His robes covered most of his body, but his three-digit hands were hidden between the sleeves as he folded them anxiously. A habit he picked up when coming upon the eve of an important event. Hiding his hands behind the robes simply put his men at ease when they looked to him for confidence in current and future events.
Kygo had taken note of the fact that he and Nena were by far the shortest members of their group. It must seem comical to the outside observer, that a barely three foot and a half tall insect man in monk robes was leading a group of five to six-foot human men in full armor. That or it was disturbing, Kygo couldn't be sure which. Nena was only a few inches taller than he. But despite trying to keep at least cordial relations with him and his men, Nena's only words to them were a simple greeting from thirty minutes ago when they stepped on the craft and patient silence to their destination.
He assumed that might have been more of a familial trait as opposed to the standard behavior in Vacuo. The Headmistress herself and many others he had met in the interim of traveling to Shade Academy proved that well enough. A wide variety of peoples and ideas could be seen throughout Vacuo, some quiet and reserved like Nena, while others were bombastic and lively like the Headmistress. It lined up with Kygo's assumption that Vacuo may be the most culturally diverse of the four Kingdoms across Remnant.
Static echoed through the chamber and Kygo ceased his contemplations. All activity, or lack thereof, stopped as everyone's attention was drawn to the pilot's voice as he called out their approach.
"Attention, we are on approach to landing zone DELTA. ETA five minutes. I'd be careful down there sir, our instruments are getting some strange readings in the surrounding structures." The pilot warned cautiously.
"That may be the Dust Crystals embedded in the structures. They've been growing ever since the power plants suffered a meltdown." Nena politely supplied. It caused Kygo to grimace though. He did not appreciate having to deal with the added danger of a potentially toxic environment left in an abandoned city. The desert was already bad enough, but he would deal with it as he always had, calm and efficient. Nena was adamant though. The only way to meet with their quarry was to do so on their own turf. A point in their favor, but the old Jedi Knight had some tricks up his sleeve in case things got dicey. But he decided to add more points to his score if he could.
Kygo pressed a hidden switch on his arm and let his question be heard, "Who do you think will meet us there? Neither the Headmistress nor you were very forthcoming with details of whom we would be meeting." His voice came out in the guttural sounding clicks of his species, but the translator he always carried deciphered his words as quickly as they could, letting a mechanical voice translate the question. Nena at least didn't look too bothered by his voice, given her minute reaction of mere raised eyebrows.
"We don't know to be honest. The bandits roam the desert sands constantly, but we're fairly certain they all travel through Avaris at some point. The city's been abandoned for years, so the bandits have used it as a temporary stopping block in the past." She supplied, her voice rolling on some words and letters. She paused for a moment, pursing her lips as if choosing her next words carefully. Finally, she found herself once more, "If we're lucky, we may find a few of the clans meeting one another, but… I'm really not sure how they'll react to… all of this." He caught her implied message and understood. First contact was a mix up with civilized populations. People roughing it out in the wilds were sometimes more prone to superstition and distrust towards outside factors. Those wishing not to be found by the law were of a different breed though, one that Kygo was very accustomed to dealing with.
"Then I shall endeavor to make it as pleasant as possible for all parties involved. If there's one thing we Jedi are good at Miss Khenet, it's the art of negotiation." He tried to deliver that as mirthfully as possible, but the translator made it sound like he was more robotic than anything else, merely focused on the task at hand. His men knew differently, but they had the benefit of months spent with him on and off the field to know what he was like. Nena was very much like many other humans he'd met, ones who'd gone their whole lives without even imagining there was anything or one else out there.
Had he not been born a Gand, he likely would have developed some arrogant quirk that would have put others off upon first meeting. But the Gand were not known as one of the humblest species in the galaxy for nothing. Humility and politeness were simply ingrained traits they developed further as they grew old. Nena seemed polite, but whether she was humble or not was something he'd wait and see about.
She met his eyes. Her golden irises stared, or at least tried to find somewhere to stare among the grey compound eyes of his layered, brown, chitinous head. Her polite demeanor was breaking though. She was trying too hard to not insult him in some unspoken manner that she herself was having a minor panic attack trying to stay calm. Kygo decided to take the initiative and hopefully calm her down by clearing up any doubts.
"Don't worry though, I've been through many of these negotiations in my life. I've long since learned the trick to mitigating the risks are keen eyes and a good head on your shoulder." His words were accompanied by a slight disarming gesture of his hands. She still held his gaze though, not completely convinced, but at least hopeful that the strange being in front of her knew what he was doing.
"I'll hold you too that then." She muttered in a quieter voice, but he still managed to hear it. He wouldn't let what little faith she already had be stamped out. In a slightly louder voice though, "I just hope we don't run into the bigger clans. They tend to act much more aggressively compared to the smaller outfits."
Kygo would have raised an eyebrow at that tidbit of knowledge had he the means to do so. Instead, he directed another question at her, "I take it you're familiar with some of them? I was told you lived on the outskirts for a long time before going to the city."
"I'm more familiar with the older groups. They're likely a lot bigger than I remember. But as long as none of the old leaders are gone, we should be relatively safe to negotiate with them." She supplied hopefully. To this, all Kygo did was nod in acceptance of her answers and performed a mental rendition of the Jedi Code in his head out of habit. Luck didn't factor into the equation. For if there was one thing that Kygo knew about life, it was that there was no such thing as luck or coincidences, only the Force. He just hoped all Qui-Gon's talk of the "Living Force" would continue helping him as it had for years.
Even a Jedi couldn't escape the bounds of reality and there were many of those. Kygo just hoped he would live a bit longer to see his apprentice again. She was doing well for herself in her trials and would hopefully become a full-fledged knight by his return. He hoped all the best for her as he sent a small ping of encouragement across the stars to her. The bond between master and student knew little boundary on the unseen plane and they acknowledged this fact well. He received an equally small ping back and did his species equivalent of a human smile; a mental one, accompanied by the barest of relaxed movements beneath his robes.
The pilot called out again over the interior speakers, telling them they were very near the landing zone, only minutes now. The side doors of the LAAT opened, exposing the Jedi and his companions to the hot desert air. The sun finally had its chance to beat down on them like drums with its intense midday glare. The men placed their helmets on and Nena wrapped her scarf around her head. Kygo raised his own traveler's hood and protected himself from the penetrating gaze of the sun.
The craft came to a smooth stop, hoevering gently over the desert sands. They all stepped off the wide craft, three at a time on either side. The pilot gave them a send off as they descended upon the desert below. "Alright sir! This is as far as I can take you if we don't want to stir up the locals. The city is just a few klicks north of here." When they were all clear from the craft by a few feet, he raised the ship back up, "Just call us up sir and we'll get to your position double time." With that, the pilot angled the craft upwards and went back the way they came.
The assembled party watched the craft go for a few moments, before turning their eyes towards the insectoid Jedi. He gave his orders, "Alright, you heard him, the city's one klick due north of here. I have no doubt they likely saw the gunship but let's not automatically assume the worst, alright. We're here to ask for assistance, not fight them." Kygo turned around and they all followed without a word.
After a few minutes of walking however, Nena asked him one last question, "If we do meet with the clans or at least one of them, how do you propose we get their help. They don't like outsiders much and don't exactly have the most current information out here in the wilds."
Kygo considered her question, lowering his head in thought as they kept trekking across the desert landscape. To those behind him, it looked as though he was slightly hunched over in concern, unsure how to answer the girl's question. He answered but a second later. He raised his head and said simply, "As someone who comes from a very isolationist species, I think I can relate to them. Maybe. If not, then we could always pursue more aggressive negotiations as a last resort." At that, Kygo and a few of his men shook their heads amusingly at the inside joke.
Nena was sadly left a bit clueless to the term but tried taking it in stride as she contemplated how much ammo she had with her. Somehow, she figured it was nowhere near enough for the events to come…