[right][color=orange]Week 6, Day 6, morning[/color][/right]

A calming breeze gently blew one of the older Twi'lek's lekku as he worked tirelessly with his wrench. The recently retired mercenary was down on one knee as his gloved twisted in the final screw on his speeder bike. He let out a sigh of relief then wiped the sweat from his brow with an old towel, letting himself fall backwards to sit on the ground. Jer Vusid smirked at the sight of his familiar ride, having finished a few simple repairs on the repulsorlift vehicle. The fresh grey paint he'd given it a week before made it look brand new. He'd even painted over the insignia which had sat on the side of the craft for almost a decade. The all too familar sign of his mercenary band, a golden rancor skull. He technically wasn't a member of the group anymore, he was one of the few that could say he'd retired from the business. He rose up to his feet with a stretch, then grasped a metal canteen on top of his speederbike.

As Jer took a swig of water he stepped away from his bike and gazed upon the valley to his side, the canyons of Ryloth spread around his home. He'd nearly forgotten how beautiful the world was, but also how damn humid it was. He was practically soaked in sweat from working outside barely for a hour. As he swallowed the refreshing gulp of water he felt himself cool down internally. The ex mercenary then sat down on the sturdy wooden fence near him, which encircled his property. He smiled as it held his weight well, he impressed himself with his own building. Since he'd arrived back on his homeworld he'd taken it upon himself to do all of the groundwork at his new home. It was a simple cabin he'd purchased cheap, abandoned but not very run down. No major housework was needed, which was had filled him with relief. 

The cabin was in a more isolated part of Ryloth, a ways up from one of the villages. Jer hadn't even set foot in them since he had landed on the world. He honestly did not wish to go into any of them unless it was necessary, they were dangerous and infernally noisy. He'd brought enough rations and supplies to last for a little while. Any food they needed could be hunted or harvested, as evident by the growing vegetable garden behind the cabin where Jer was. They were practically in the wilderness where they'd chosen to live, but it was quiet. None of the native predators gave them much trouble, if they did Jer still had his proud collection of blasters. His starship, [i]the Fortitude[/i] was parked not far from his home, it was an old Corellian light freighter he'd bought the day of his retirement from the Golden Rancor company. 

"Jer, there's people approaching the cabin. They have blasters." A female voice exclaimed to him, breaking him out of his state of relaxation. His wife's words caused him to drop his drink, splashing water all over the grassy ground. He stared at Sienni, noticing the fear in the green skinned twi'lek's eyes as she held onto their son Adal's hand tightly. Seeing his beautiful wife in fear instantly filled Jer with anger at the 'visitors'.

"What? How many of them?" He asked, walking past her to get inside as he darted into his bedroom. The twi'lek pulled open a set of closet doors then frantically pulled his set of armor from out of it. 

"I counted five, I don't know if there's more but they were coming up the hill and heading towards the front door. They're all holding blasters. I'm scared Jer, what do we do?" She asked as her husband speedily put on his armor. He quickly adjusted his boots, then walked to a locked cabinet where his heavy blaster rifle resided. 

"I will handle it. They might be bandits or something. Hunters from the village wouldn't approach a home like that," Jer stated calmly as he held onto his V-201 in one hand, approaching his wife and son. Then spoke with total certainty. "Stay inside, stay out of sight, do not let them see you or Adal. If you hear blaster fire take Adal and run to the [i]Fortitude[/i]. If I'm not back within a few minutes then also run there. Go out the back, get in the ship and lock it down behind you. Arm yourself and sit in the cockpit, do not let anyone inside but me. Make them think the ship is abandoned, use the cannons if you absolutely need to."

"But what about you? They could kill you. They don't look like twi'leks. You're finally done fighting wars the last thing we need is to bury you. Adal and I need you Jer." Sienni replied, tears welling in her eyes. 

"Don't worry about me Sienni, you're even tougher than I am. Just listen to me please. A few bandits are child's play," Jer said calmly, flashing a tension breaking smile as he brought his wife in for a brief but powerful hug. Then he spoke once more, forcing his determination to protect his family overtake his sadness. "I love you both so much, please let me handle this."

"Be strong for us both Adal, I know you can be." He said to his young son, the boy was barely three years old. He reached out and hugged the young twi'lek, then rose to his feet. 

His wife and son ducked into the kitchen, away from the impending conflict. Jer stepped out of the front door and shut it tightly behind him. He was greeted by the sight of five armed Zygerrians, each looking ready for a fight. Four of them held blaster rifles while a fifth clenched onto a sword. They were slavers, had to be. Ryloth was in Hutt space and he never recalled the Hutt cartel and the Zygerrian Empire working together. The situation made his skin crawl but he kept any fear in check. None of the feline beings were heavily armored and he had the biggest gun as well as the most combat experience. 

"What the hell are you schuttas doing here? Leave now." Jer loudly exclaimed towards them, mindful of the distance between them. The quintent of slavers had just crossed over his fence, well within blaster range.

"What do we have here? We thought this building was abandoned, it was last time we flew over it. Instead we find an old tailhead, maybe more? Seems to be our lucky day." The sword wielding Zygerrian replied in words more akin to a taunt. A deep scar embedded in the slaver's right arm. 

"I'm the only one here. Get out of here now, I'm giving you one chance. I'm not some weak twi'lek, I could easily rip through all five of you like nothing." Jer declared, narrowing his brow as the invaders took another step towards him. 

"You sure are cocky for a future slave, I'll take delight in watching you toll away working. Take him in alive!" The scarred swordsman hollered back, as Jer answered with a volley of blaster fire which sent the Zygerrian to the ground in a heap. Smoke seeped from where the laser bolts impacted as the other slavers advanced, firing back at the twi'lek.

Jer dove to his right, sliding behind a set of metal crates. He thanked himself for not having brought the contents inside as the shots impacted into them instead of him. The former mercenary reached for his belt then flicked the ignition on a thermal detonator. With a grunt Jer heaved the explosive towards his attackers, causing them to scatter. Two were not quick enough and were caught in the ensuing blast. Dirt and wood kicked up as one of the Zygerrians screamed in pain, severely injured and blown away in the explosion. Another laid fallen on the ground, gruesomely taking the impact directly. The two still on their feet shifted to flank Jer as the mercenary rolled out of cover, firing into one of them with his blaster. Not letting go of the trigger until there was a hole in his target's gut. 

The last slaver fired at the twi'lek, bolts slamming into the ground around him. One glanced off his leg, causing him to grunt in surprise. His adrenaline carried him forward as he dashed to duck behind a set of rocks. More shots rang out, filling the once serene landscape with the sound of battle. They sailed above Jer as he held onto his weapon, waiting for the exact moment to retaliate. Once the volley of blasterfire was finished he rose from behind cover and shot back, his heavy blaster rifle kicking like an angry bantha as he made his mark. His shots struck into the skull of the last remaining Zygerrian, ending the attacker's life suddenly. Jer shifted out from behind the rocks as he was the last man standing. The slavers likely didn't expect such heavily armed resistance. 

The twi'lek strolled towards the other bodies as he ensured all of his attackers were dead. One of them still took labored breaths, his legs heavily disfigured from the detonator's blast, weapon out of reach. Jer approached the incapacitated slaver, making eye contact as he stood above the beaten raider victorious. The ex mercenary did not speak a word, only leveling his blaster at the slaver's skull before unleashing a trio of shots to finish the kill. He did not intend it as mercy, he simply did not want to leave the scum alive to potentially report to other of its vile kind. Then he walked with intent back towards his cabin, going around the left side to where his speederbike was. As he approached the vehicle he climbed onto it, flipped a switch and ignited the hovercraft. 

"Sienni its me, are you and Adal on the ship?" He asked, turning on his comm link. Directing his words to the communications device in the [i]Fortitude[/i]. He prayed deeply that his wife would answer. 

"Yes, are you okay? Please tell me they're gone!" Sienni replied, speaking from aboard the ship. She sat inside the freighter, having locked it down completely. Adal on her lap as she tried to keep the child calm. 

"They're all dead. I survived without a scratch, I'm gonna hop on my speeder and investigate. I don't want any others coming around here." He stated as he gently throttled the controls of his speederbike, coming into the open near the [i]Fortitude[/i]. 

"Jer don't. Get on the ship with us. We can leave the world and go somewhere safe. You don't know whats out there." Sienni said, on the verge of pleading. But she kept herself strong for Adal's sake. 

"I can't Sienni, this is our home I have to protect it. I will contact you later, I promise. Do not leave the ship, do not let anyone aboard, its the safest place to be. The slavers didn't look armed enough to cut into a freighter." He replied, a somber tone in his words as he continued to speak. "I love you so much, I promise I will make it back." 

Then the twi'lek speeded away, a part of him doubting his decision making. He very well could have hopped aboard his ship and left world. That wasn't the right choice, they'd work so hard to settle down on Ryloth they couldn't just pack it up and flee. His people were strong, even if they tended to be disorganized. He would bet there were some that were fighting back and Jer could help. Slavers were the worst of the worst, he couldn't have lived with himself if he let Sienni and Adal be taken by them. The former mercenary throttled harder on his speederbike as he headed into the tunnels beneath the surface, it was the best bet to find others. He'd found himself plunged into another conflict even in retirement.