In the thick of it 5

I'm not hearing things am I?

That's definitely an Irish accent, or has it just been so long that I've forgotten what an Irish cunt sounds like.

Either way hearing it come from a lurmen felt weird to say the least.

With the Village Head here, Aayla introduced us, "We're peacekeepers, we are Jedi from the Galactic Republic. Our ship crashed a few miles away, and our communications were lost in the crash. We would be grateful for any assistance you can give us."

Not doing anything to hide his displeasure, with a disgruntled expression the Village Head responds, "Violence breeds violence. The Jedi are no peacekeepers." Glancing our lightsabers and the weapons the clones held as he spoke.

He did hit the nail of the head with his words though.

Any party that has itself involved in a war can't proclaim themselves as peacekeepers, doubly so if the conflict is taking place on a galaxy wide scale. Calling yourself a peacekeeper while leading legions of people into battle just makes you a hypocrite.

The entire Jedi Order is a mess right now. It was already going in the wrong direction before the clone wars started, but the mass exposure to violence has done nothing but speed the process up.

Jedi's mindsets have changed, no longer are they trying to put a peaceful end to the war. All they're doing is fanning the flames by sending their people out to different battlefronts across the galaxy.

It's like they've all got a one track mind. Thinking that the Confederacy of Independent Systems is bad and the Republic is just dealing out justice. They've managed to delude themselves into imagining what they're doing is good.

If they took a step back they'd see how far they've fallen from their title as peacekeepers.

Not that I'm saying there aren't any evil bastards in the Confederacy - there's plenty - but it's not like the Republic's any better.

That's just the pot calling the kettle black.

Clearly having something to say on the topic Anakin proclaimed, "We're fighting for freedom"

I'm not really one for a clash of ideal, so while everyone was occupied with the Village Chief I stood on the sidelines and sparked up a fag. In the process noting that the packet was nearly finished.

"And freedom and peace require fear and death?" The Elderly Lurmen shot back, "We colonized this system to find solace from your wretched war. We came here to find peace."

Taking on an even more severe expression that I thought was possible for his simian-esque face, he firmy said, "You must leave. You will only destroy what small amount of peace is left in the galaxy… You will only bring the destruction of us."

"Regardless of our part in the clone wars, we still need your help so we can leave. So you can continue to live here in peace." Aayla said.

"I am afraid I must do what's best for my people, we cannot help you. For then, we would be taking a side in the conflict, no matter how minor our aid might be." He told them, his stance on the matter not eased in the slightest.

"Please. Could you at least give us a hint? Anything?" Ahsoka said attempting to bargain.

"Afraid not my dealer child." His gaze softened ever so slightly at the young togruta, maybe feeling something along the lines of sympathy for the young padawan from being thrust into war at such an age.

Where's my sympathetic gaze? I'm younger than her. Eh, the verdicts are still out on that one.

Deciding to speed the process up I tell the Village Chief, "If staying neutral's what you're worried about, you're better off just giving us a hand. I mean wouldn't you wouldn't want the confederacy rocking up to your doorstep and finding out that your village has been conversing with the republic."

Taking a moment for an inhale to bind dramatic tension, "Who knows maybe they'll jump to conclusions and think that the lurmen are planning to join the republic? After all, those droids aren't the smartest things about."

Ignoring the conflicted look I was getting from Aayla, and the neutral and surprised ones from Ahsoka and Anakin. I continued to stare down the elderly lurman, and maybe, just maybe using the force to mess with his thought process.

Manipulating his chain of thought so he continuously dwelled over the negatives from choosing not to help us. Eventually the constant downward spiral leads to fear, fear of the repercussions himself and his village would face, should he choose to ignore our plea for help.

If you looked in the jedi archives, well probably not the normal one, but the archives that are only accessible to Jedi Masters. There's a high chance that what I'm currently using the force to do, is classed under the category of Force Fear, a dark side technique.

One that doesn't actually require the dark side to use, it's just classed as such since the Jedi scream hearsay at anything that invokes negative emotions.

In reality it should be put in the same boat as Mind Tricks and such. The Jedi are just too pussy to call it how it is.

After a noticeable silence, the village head replied in an alarmed manner, "I can't refuse a plea for help, can I?"

That's more like it. There's a high possibility that I'll get an earful from Aayla for doing this, but honestly I just don't care.

The sun's going down, and all I want right now is some food, a drink and a fucking sleep. A few fags as well.

With all but Aayla happy with the development, they listened in as the village elder regained some semblance of calm, "We can tell you about the location of other wreckages, but a jedi must stay as insurance. We can't have you running off to tell the republic about us and have them bring a legion of clones to occupy our planet."

A bit cautious, but whatever lets him sleep at night. Not like there's any value in occupying a neutral planet filled with fuckall but grass and lurmen.

Either way, it works out for me.

"I'll stay with them." I declared, probably too enthusiastically, and shooting my hand up for extra emphasis.

"Then it's decided, the rest of you follow me to my house and we'll tell you what we know. Wang Too, take him to a free house." He said, turning around and hobbling towards the centre of the village.

Another lurmen, one much younger than the Chief, split off from the group to get to me. He shared a vague resemblance to the elder, but it could just be me making things up, they all look pretty similar in my eyes.

"Please, follow me." beconded Wang Too.

Nice. Peace a quiet at last, and no one to complain about me hotboxing the room.

"Wait! I'd prefer to stay with Lycan." Aayla decided before they left with the Chief and the rest of the lurmen.

I take it back, a bit of alone time with Aayla can never go wrong.