Chapter 4 For a Better Defense
The early morning fog hung thickly to the ground. As the luxury shuttle began its landing cycle, the running lights projected long yellow beams of light onto the landing pad atop the Dalledo Mining Corp building. As the shuttle set down and the ramp lowered, Kaul, the leader of the Sickly Riders, walked up and waited for his employer to exit. When he did, Kaul made a slight nod to the man, and hid his disgust fairly well.
Jorg Dalledo was a short fat old Corellian, with receding gray wisps of hair and a thick mustache. He wore an ornate and expensive black suit in the popular styling of Coruscant, and he carried himself in a manner as if he were some form of royalty. Kaul of course knew that he wasn't, but it was one of the many things he tolerated as long as the credits kept flowing. If it wasn't for that, he would have grinded this offensively annoying bug of a man beneath his boot heel, but his bank account was large so he repressed his natural urge for the time being.
"How was your meeting with the Governor?" Kaul asked, but really didn't care. Dalledo had gone to meet with the regional governor and try to get his claim to all of Red Canyon legitimized by the government. Kaul didn't have the patience or the respect for dealing with authority, but it did prove useful from time to time. All Kaul cared about was getting paid and having fun doing it. If the government were to make Dalledo's claims to Red Canyon legal, then he and his boys would have an extra amount of fun riding into that village one final time and taking those pathetic villagers out once and for all. Up until now, Dalledo only wanted them to terrorize the people, not outright exterminate them which Kaul thought was unfortunate, since he would find enjoyment in razing those defenseless villagers to the ground.
"A waste of time. But I will say that the Governor is a crude businessman. He wouldn't make my claim legal outright, but he'd do it for forty percent of the profits. Looks like we'll just have to stick to it and drive those people out the old fashioned way. How is that going by the way?" Dalledo asked as he started to walk inside the building. Kaul fell in step beside him, followed by Dalledo's droid attendant who was carrying his luggage.
"We did another run through the day before. If you ask me, I think they're about to crack soon."
"Good, that's what I want to hear. Now… wait, what's wrong with him?" Dalledo stopped walking and peered through one of the doors that led to a lounge room that the swoop gang had taken over. Inside, a Nikto was continuously holding his abdomen, all the while rolling and moaning in pain.
"Diejkaz!" Kaul yelled out to the other Nikto that was tending to the injured one. "What's wrong with your brother?"
"We got in a bar fight with one of those villagers yesterday. He's getting better, I think." Kaul raised a scarred brow and stepped into the room.
"You mean to tell me that one of those pathetic villagers did this? Please tell me you killed the filthy Hutt-spawn."
"Uh, well, not exactly," Diejkaz quickly said as he fumbled for an answer. "It wasn't a villager who did this. Two spacers helped him out. A Twi'lek girl and a human guy. The girl punched him in his stomach."
"A Twi'lek girl? I'm disappointed in your men, Kual. If they can be bested by a dancing girl, then what hope do they have of terrorizing those stupid miners?"
"Don't worry, we'll take care of those miners," Kaul said as he leered at the injured Nikto.
"You better. Otherwise I'll use my credits to put a price on your head." With that, Dalledo continued to walk off to his own private room. Kaul turned back to the two and smacked Diejkaz on the back of the head.
"You let two spacers get the better of the Sickle Riders!?! Did you at least kill the two?"
"No, Boss. They pulled their blasters before we could do anything. But I did see them leaving with the miner. They went with him in his truck back to their village."
Kaul turned and then narrowed his scarred brow as he thought. What would two spacers be doing going to that pathetic mining village? There was nothing there but helpless idiots. But then again, the two did help out the villager when his men were going to rough him up. Could those pathetic fools actually be trying to stand up for themselves? The idea was laughable, but it could be a possibility. He would have to keep a close watch out for something like this.
"Diejkaz, I want you to keep an eye out on the west city entrance. If you see these spacers come back, I want to know immediately. Got it?"
"Yes, Boss. Right away," the Nikto said as he quickly exited the room and went to keep a look out. Kaul looked momentarily at the still writhing brother, and sneered as he walked out of the room. It was probably nothing, but he still had to tell Dalledo about this possible new development.
The sound of clanging pots and running water woke Randal from an uncomfortable sleep. Lazily he sat up on his makeshift bed on the couch, and instantly the sharp wincing pain surged in his back. Groggily, he stood from the old weathered couch and ran his hands over the small of his back as he tried to work out the annoying feeling. He somehow made his way over into the small kitchen and turned the water on in the sink. He splashed his face with the bitterly cold water and he took a towel off of a hook and dried off his face. The cold water did the job.
After he took the towel away and took in a deep breath, he looked through the dingy window and could see the same young girl from the night before looking back at him from her window. When she knew that she had been seen, she embarrassingly jumped and disappeared. Randal let out a laugh to himself as he shook his head.
"Something funny?" Rika asked from the now open bedroom door. Unlike Randal, she was all ready dressed and ready to go.
"Oh, just remembering what it was like to be young," Randal said as he went back to the couch and sat down to pull on his boots. "How did you sleep?" he asked, making small talk.
"Pretty good. The bed was sort of hard, but so is the bunk in the Destrier. How was yours?"
"Horrible. I think they stuffed this couch with rocks." Rika lightly laughed, and then went to exit the small house. Randal stood from the couch and pulled his jacket on and grabbed his gun belt.
Rika stopped and stood on the small covered porch and looked out at the morning movements of the village. Fog was still clinging to the edges of the community, but that didn't stop the younger people from busily setting the large table for breakfast. The table was filled with plates covered in different breads, some of them glazed with sugar and others thickly crusted with jelly.
Randal stepped out and stood next to Rika as he tightened his gun belt and then tied the bottom strap around his thigh. When he was done, he looked up and lightly shook his head as he smirked.
"What the kriff are these people doing up and moving this early in the morning? It's not normal." Rika looked sideways at Randal and tried not to laugh at his sense of humor and then nudged him in the arm with her elbow.
"Come on, let's get something to eat." The two made their way to the table, where they were joined by everyone else they had met and ate with last night. This time, instead of sitting down, everyone grabbed a cup of caff and one of the bread pastries and stood around talking to each other. Randal passed on the sugar coated breads and just drank a large cup of caff. As he took a sip, and was surprised that it actually didn't taste like hyperdrive lubricant, he nodded to Giles who then joined him and Rika near a large tree.
"Good morning. So what's the first thing that you want us to do?" Giles asked as he dunked a circular piece of round dough into his caff.
"Well, I guess we need to gather everyone that knows how to use a blaster together to form your defense militia. You do have blasters, right?" Randal asked.
"Of course. We have a few hunting rifles. I'll go around and tell everyone to get their blasters and we'll meet back up here." Randal nodded and Giles left to spread the word. After he was out of earshot, Rika brushed her hands together to get rid of the crumbs and turned to talk privately with Randal.
"So, do you know how to train a militia?"
"Not really," Randal said as he shrugged and took another gulp of the hot liquid. "I got a little training while in the academy about defending a perimeter in case we got shot down. I also got a crash course in the same thing a few years back. What about you? You fought in the war for three years."
"Well, that was a little different, I guess. The clone troops were the ones that were trained for combat, but we weren't ready for it. We more or less just jumped in with our lightsabers and hoped we didn't get our heads shot off."
"Well you won't be doing that this time. Here they come," Randal said as he nodded towards the small group of miners that were walking up with their blaster rifles held haphazardly.
"All right, this is everyone that has a blaster rifle," Giles said proudly as he slung his own rifle over his shoulder. Randal nodded and then motioned to the small crowd of twelve.
"Everyone, stand shoulder to shoulder and be ready for inspection," Rika said as she stood with her hands on her hips. Randal looked sideways at Rika with a raised brow, and she lightly shrugged back at her military-esque order. Randal then walked to the farthest man and motioned to him to hand over his blaster rifle. Randal gave it a once over, and then looked down the sight as he pointed it in the sky. He really didn't know if it was good or not, but the receiver and charge magazine ejected and seated itself properly, so he handed it back and nodded at the old Arkanian and moved to the next person.
Randal took the offered rifle, and as he looked over it, he looked up at the person who had handed it to him and saw a young man, possibly sixteen at most.
"What's your name, kid?"
"Cal Damiel," he said.
"And how old are you Cal?"
"Old enough," was all Cal said. Randal looked up at him as he checked over the rifle and then raised a brow.
"Listen, kid…"
"My name's Cal."
"All right, Cal, you ever shoot this thing before?"
"Yes, I've shot it before. I've gone hunting plenty of times. Any more questions?" Cal said, obviously getting annoyed and angry at Randal's questioning. Randal looked up and stared the kid straight in the eye.
"Listen, kid, this isn't some game you're gonna be playing with your friends, and it ain't some macho thing to impress some girl. This is serious. Now you might be able to shoot some dumb animal with this thing, but can you shoot a sentient person? Someone with their own thoughts, wants, and desires, the same as you? Someone that has a mother who raised them, maybe even a family of their own? Someone who's also shooting back at you, unlike some dumb animal that just runs away if you miss. Because those swoop gang members don't have remorse; they'll shoot you down where you stand just for looking at them sideways. So I'll ask you this only one time. You sure you want to do this?"
For a long silent moment, Cal just stood there, staring right back at Randal. Then, as if he could feel everyone's eyes on him, he turned slowly and saw that not only were the other rifle carrying men looking at him, but so was the rest of the village; everyone was now frozen in what they were doing and waiting for his response. Briefly his gaze fell on his mother, who was standing next to the young women who always prepared the meals. She was looking at him with a mix of pride and fear, knowing that whatever decision he made would mean that he was either grown up now, or still not ready for the burden of adulthood. Cal then saw Kayla, who was also watching him attentively. Any doubts that he had floating in his mind instantly fell away when he saw her, and he knew what he was willing to put his own life on the line for. He turned back around to Randal and nodded his head.
"Yes, I want to do this." Randal sighed and nodded his head.
"All right, but I'm not watching your back, kid. When the bolts start flying, I don't want to see you running away to your mommie."
"Sure, but I don't want to see you running home to yours either," Cal said defiantly. Randal briefly stared the kid down, but then smirked and walked away. Randal didn't bother to inspect the other rifles and pulled Giles off to the side. As the two spoke, Cal shook his head as his anger rose.
"Who does that guy think he is? Talking to me like that. Shoot, how do we even know if he's any good himself?" Cal said loud enough for the two on either side of him to hear.
"Relax, Cal, he didn't mean anything by it," Tolas said.
"But who's he to say I'm not ready for this? He doesn't have to live here like I do."
"Cal, shut it. You don't know what you're talking about," Otzz said on Cal's other side.
"But he does?"
"Yes, he does. You see those red pinstripes on his pants?" Otzz said as he nodded towards Randal. Cal looked and shrugged when he saw what Otzz was talking about.
"So?"
"They're Corellian Bloodstripes. Those are a decoration given out by the Corellian military. And they don't give them out for just anything."
"Yeah, usually going above and beyond the call of duty, courage under fire, that sort of thing," Tolas added.
"So you see, if he has those, then it's safe to say that he knows a little about the subject." Cal let out a defeated sigh and shifted the weight of his rifle to his other shoulder.
"Well, we'll see," Cal said dejectedly. Otzz leaned back behind Cal and exchanged a look with Tolas. They both knew that the kid's heart was in the right place, but they were going to have to look out for him.
Randal and Giles walked a small distance away from the others to where Rika was standing.
"Don't worry about Cal. He's pretty grown up for being as young as he is. His father died a year ago and he's grown up pretty fast," Giles said, trying to placate Randal. But instead of being angry, Randal shrugged and lightly laughed.
"The kid's got spirit, I'll give him that. Reminds me of myself when I was younger."
"So what's next?" Giles asked. Rika looked out at the canyon entrance, which was showing a brilliant rainbow of different shades of orange in the rising morning sun.
"The way we came in yesterday, through the canyon. Is that the only way into the valley?" Rika asked.
"Yes, well, it's the only way any sort of vehicle can get in. There's an old path that leads up through the rocks and comes out on the other side of the canyon, but no one uses it anymore. It used to lead to one of the original mine shafts we had here, but after it collapsed a year ago, we haven't used it."
"Good. I'm going to want everyone that isn't in the militia to help build a perimeter wall, maybe even with a gate." Giles nodded to Rika and then walked back to the center of the village, where everyone was still standing around the large table. After he announced what they were going to do, everyone went to get their tools to get ready for work.
As the villagers dispersed, Rika crossed her arms and looked out at the canyon walls.
"What do you think about the militia?"
"Those blasters belong in a museum. I'm surprised they even have power packs. Hopefully they know how to use them." With a nod, Randal left Rika and walked back to where the twelve men were standing, and was soon joined by Giles.
"Okay, listen up," Randal said as he rested his hands on his hips. "The average swoop travels at roughly 120 kilometers per hour, and with enough space can reach 200 easy. Now that canyon," Randal pointed towards the long straight cut through the mountainside, "is long and straight. So it's a safe bet that the next time that gang comes riding in here, they're gonna be coming in fast. So fast that you'll probably only get a few shots in at best. Now I'm not doubting that you know how to use those rifles, but we need to make sure that you can hit something at a distance that's moving a pretty good speed. Giles, I'm going to need that truck of yours." Giles nodded, and Randal motioned for the rest to follow him.
When they got to the truck, Randal motioned to a nearby tree that was growing large half meter sized seed pods. "While Giles gets the truck started, lets gather up some of those pods and load up the back of the truck." The others looked at each other in puzzlement, but started to help Randal cut the heavy hanging pods off of the tree and put them into the back of the truck. Once the truck got started, Randal climbed into the back and motioned for Giles to drive into the canyon.
As the truck moved further away from the village, Randal pushed the pods out one at a time. Once they had ran out of the pods, Randal banged on the roof of the truck and Giles turned back around. When they got back to the village, Randal and Giles got out of the truck and looked back into the canyon. The pods were now arranged in a random trail leading into the canyon; a perfect target range.
"All right, let's see just how good of shots you really are."
One by one, they each took up a prone position on the ground and took turns shooting the pods, which when they were hit exploded in a large splash of purple sap. It took several hours before the pods were all destroyed, and everyone who was shooting improved over the course of the day.
"Okay, let's take a break for now. Let's meet up back here in an hour," Randal said as he wiped the sweat away from his brow. As they departed to take their breaks, Randal looked around and found Rika directing a team of villagers as they used wheeled carts to move large chunks of rock from the mines to make a defensive wall. Randal walked over and surveyed the makeshift wall. Even though it was just rocks stacked up to about a meter, it looked pretty good.
"Not bad. That ought to slow them down," Randal commented.
"Yes, it should. How's the target practice going?" Rika asked as she took a break from directing the villagers.
"Well, they can shoot all right. After our break I'm going to see if they can hit a target that's moving."
"How are you going to do that?" Rika asked as she cocked a brow. Randal shrugged and watched one of the large rocks as it was set down in its place.
"I figured I'd drive that truck around in the canyon and see if they can hit any of those pods sitting in the back."
"You have any idea just how stupid that sounds?" Rika asked as she looked at Randal as if he had lost his mind. Randal laughed and shook his head.
"Well I'm not going to put the pods in the passenger seat. I'll carry them in that trailer attached to the back. Relax, I've seen them shoot. They won't be shooting anywhere near the cabin of that thing."
"Hmm, well, I hope you're right. I'd hate to have to try and find another freighter jockey as charming as you are," Rika jokingly said. Randal laughed and then wrapped an arm around her playfully.
"Don't worry, Sweetheart. You're stuck with me." Rika rolled her eyes at his patented smirk and then brushed away his arm before she went off to help a villager position another boulder sized addition.
Away from all the work, the girls of the village were working inside the kitchen making sandwiches for everyone to eat. Kayla looked up from the sink where she was washing a head of rodian lettuce and watched Randal and his partner interacting. After the Twi'lek walked away, Randal made his way to the moisture collector where several of the other members of the small militia were getting a drink.
"They make an odd couple, don't you think?" Kayla said aloud. The youngest girl, Sara, giggled to herself but stopped when Kayla gave her a stern look. Sara took one of the plates and quickly took it outside. Loran leaned close to Kayla and looked out the window as Randal started to talk to those around him.
"I don't think they're a couple. I overheard my mother say that when she was cleaning up their place after breakfast, she noticed that only half of the bed was slept in, and someone had slept on the couch." Kayla stopped washing the lettuce and thought about that. Maybe it was possible that the two weren't together. The Twi'lek girl, Ruxandra if Kayla remembered right, was very beautiful, but seemed to act more reserved and timid than what Kayla had heard about the females of her species. Randal seemed to be more outspoken and more aggressive in his demeanor. Kayla smiled warmly to herself as she thought about the handsome stranger.
"Maybe you should go talk to him," Loran said as she nudged her older cousin.
"Why don't you?" Kayla said back. Loran shrugged and then walked away, over exaggerating her swaying hips.
"Maybe I will," Loran said jokingly. Kayla and Loran let out a laugh, and together they took the remaining plates of sandwiches outside.
Randal took one of the thin metal cups and filled it with the cold water that flowed from the moisture collector. As he took a sip of the refreshing liquid, he nodded to Otzz and Cal, who were standing under the shade of a tree nearby. Otzz nodded back and then motioned for Randal to come over.
"I was telling Cal earlier about those Bloodstripes," Otzz said. Randal briefly looked down at his pants and then nodded as he took another deep drink from his cup.
"So what you earn those for? You get into a fire fight or something?" Cal asked.
"Something like that," Randal offered shortly. Cal shifted his weight and pushed himself off from the tree that he was leaning against.
"Well, you gonna tell the story or not?" Cal asked, sounding offended.
"It's a long story, kid. Maybe some other time." Randal took another drink as Kayla came up with a plate of sandwiches and offered the trio some food, but gave one to Randal first. Randal nodded his thanks, and she smiled widely at him. Cal took one and offered his thanks, but was only given a brief smile before she turned back to Randal.
"So, do the two of you often do this sort of work?" she asked, fishing for a conversation starter.
"No, not really. We normally just take shipments from one planet to another in my ship, the Destrier. Maybe you've heard of it." Kayla smiled, but shook her head no. "Well, this planet's pretty isolated. It's pretty famous in the Outer Rim," Randal said as he took a bite out of the sandwich. He knew, of course, that his ship probably wasn't as famous as he was making it out to be, but just like all other freighter pilots who boasted about their ships, they always like to imagine that they were the best pilots in the entire galaxy and that their ships would be forever known as the best of the best.
"How long have the two of you been together?" she asked innocently. Randal shrugged and took a bite out of his sandwich.
"Oh, I'd say about six years now."
Cal watched on and could feel his face getting hot as he watched Kayla smile at this newcomer the way that she used to smile at him. He was just going to have to knock him down a peg or two.
"So, are you pretty quick with that thing?" Cal said as he pointed at Randal's blaster. Cal then smiled cockily and rested his hand on his own blaster pistol. "I'm pretty fast myself." Cal then demonstrated by pulling the pistol out quickly and aimed it from the hip. He smiled at his own impressive display of speed and then holstered the blaster. Randal only raised his brow slightly at the display, but Cal could see that Kayla was impressed.
"Being quick ain't got nothing to do with it, kid. It's all about keeping calm. If you can stay calm and not get rattled, then you're gonna walk away alive."
"But what if the other guy's faster?" Cal asked defiantly. Randal shrugged and took another bite from his sandwich.
"Then he'll be in too much of a hurry and miss."
"What if he doesn't miss?" Cal said, this time with more edge in his voice. Randal swallowed the food in his mouth and then gave Cal a serious look.
"Then he'll be the one walking away, and you'll be lying on the ground. Look, I don't know what low budgeted holovids you've been watching, but the Outer Rim's not some sort of lawless frontier where a lone wanderer comes into town and sets things straight with the barrel of his blaster. Firefights are never straight forward and it's certainly not two guys staring each other down in the streets and they both go for their pistols and shoot each other down. They're usually pretty chaotic and they're over just as soon as they start."
A tense moment of silence fell over the small group, and Kayla excused herself. Randal caught the wandering look of Cal as she left, and instantly he understood where all the kid's hostility was coming from. Randal shook his head as he tried not to laugh and put his hand on Cal's shoulder.
"Look, kid. If you're wanting to impress a girl, do it with this," he said as he tapped a finger to his temple. "Not this," he then tapped the blaster on his hip. "This'll only get you into more trouble than it's worth. And it'll likely either drive a girl away, or end up getting them hurt. Trust me."
Cal attempted to protest again, but the sudden frankness of Randal and the truth that he spoke sank in with a deep realization. Cal nodded, and Randal tussled his hair before he motioned back towards the entrance.
"Come on, let's get back to work." Cal nodded and headed off towards the entrance while Randal went to get another cup of water. Otzz stayed behind and leaned against the moisture collector.
"You know, I think you finally got through to the kid. We've been trying to tell him that for some time, but it never seemed to sink in."
"Well, I only told him what I wished someone would have told me when I was his age. Would have saved me a whole lot of trouble." Otzz nodded in agreement and together the two headed off to the entrance to the village to meet up with the others.
A/N: I wanted to put a brief footnote in here concerning Randal's Bloodstripes. Wookiepedia has it listed that red stripes are 1st class and yellow are 2nd, which would mean that yellow stripes would be awarded before the red ones. But, considering Han had red ones in A New Hope, and yellow ones in Empire and Return of the Jedi, it makes me think that Wookiepedia has it backwards. So for all intents and purposes, Randal has red 2nd class stripes. But how did he earn them? Well, that's a story for some other time ;)