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In a very short period of time, the major settlements became havens for those seeking to flee justice and to engage in risky pursuits. Of the smaller settlements, most were left alone. Simple farmers lived as they did before, yet were fearful that they would fall foul of bandits if they fell behind in their protection payments. So it was for the Jesgage homestead. Young Neomi Jesgage saw her family hunted for sport and she was then cruely abandoned as the sole survivor - a lesson for others. In defiance, she went on to survive. She knew that she was now beneath the interest of the bandits and outlaws nearby, for she only produced enough food to keep herself alive. She dreamed of escape... and she dreamed of revenge. She did not ever feel that she would ever have the means of achieving either, until the day the stranger arrived.
Neomi heard the whine of the swoop bike as it sped toward the farm from the distance. Surprised that a bandit would approach the farm and would do so alone, she waited... waited until the swoop pulled to a stop only a few feet away from her. The rider was tall and clothed in simple robes. He pulled his hood back and Neomi saw the face of a middle aged man, a man with a sour face who squinted in the the light of the noon-day sun. Neomi thought this odd, as most bandits were either young men or hideous aliens. He turned to her and was breathing steadily as he powered down the repulser engines of the transport. "Are you Neomi Jesgage?" the stranger asked.
"I am. Have you came to take my farm from me now, as you have taken my family?" Neomi said in defiance.
Neomi blinked in surprise as his weathered face cracked into a large smile and the stranger broke into hearty laughter. There was nothing sinister about the laugh, and Neomi wondered what the stranger wanted.
"No Neomi," the stranger replied, "nothing that I can do will atone for your loss, but those who did that to you have been punished. This is now yours."
Neomi watched as the stranger stepped off his bike and began to unfasten the clasps of the bike harness. Inside the storage case was a small fortune of Asthras currency. Her hand went to her mouth.
"You... you are not here to..?"
"No, I am not. I am a simple man passing through, and I heard a group of braggarts tell the tale of what happened here. They will not trouble you again. They will not trouble anyone again."
"Then you must come in and I must offer you refreshments. Surely you will not refuse?"
"No I rather think not. That is very kind of you." the stranger said with a smile. A quiet wind caught the edges of his robe and Neomi saw the lightsaber at his belt. Neomi gasped with surprise.
"You are a Jedi Knight?"
"Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Murlynd, Jedi Master and World Protector."
To be continued.