These Shattered Stars -- Logs

The Kel Dor leads back out to the truck, which he turns around on the slow lift, then drives out through the gate and holo-wall. He turns onto the road heading back into town, driving carefully along the narrow track and watching the hover-truck's many scanners and indicators.

Freyja murmurs quietly to her friends, We should double check it's the same Ameil later, but I bet it is. She was quite distinctive... and the Force is like that.

Fhazil replies, I'm astonished. I guess maybe it isn't so odd that unusual Hutts might gravitate towards one another.

Freyja grins at Fhazil, Why astonished? I find it encouraging. It says we're on the right track, regarding the needs of the Force. Do you not agree?

Zero thinks about it. I'd bet that it is. Ameil is not a common patronymic for Hutts. Somewhat sarcastically he adds, For one thing it has far few consonants and doesn't sound quite enough like a bodily function. Freyja covers a giggle at Zero's thought!

The road twists along, away from the stone ridge and back into lushly forested valley, almost a jungle. Giant trees support a thick green canopy many meters above, which holds its own strange forms of life. The shaded ground is thick with heavy bushes, vines, and other ground cover. The road winds between the huge trees, not quite a straight highway, and not quite a meandering animal track the locals have paved.

Freyja looks around happily, enjoying the vibrant profusion of life. This is so much nicer than the rigidly managed environment of the Malice! She blinks at a sudden thought... then smiles at the revelation. That's why you thought the Sith people were so much more alive than Republic folk, wasn't it, Fhaziza? It wasn't that they really were uniformly so... as that what you saw was so different than what you were used to!

Zero for his part finds old habits picking at his thoughts as he watches the foliage pass. Sniper nest... natural blind... sniper nest... sniper nest... good spot for bushwhackers... natural blind...

Freyja cheerfully explains, I just realized that had to be the case, when I understood I was glorying in how alive here is, compared to the Malice. Am I right?

Fhazil looks out the side of the truck, considering and breathing in the richly scented air. His return thought is, You know, it might be that after all. The feeling on Ziost is much different than this, but it's just as wonderfully rich in other ways. Maybe it is just the contrast. Freyja smiles in quiet contentment at Fhazil, sending him a gentle hug even as she's still deeply appreciating the warmly enveloping feel of life all around her again.

The Kel Dor is watching the road when one of the scanners begins *feep*ing for attention. He looks down at it and slows again, trying to make sense of its jumbled readings. The profusion of life around them is confusing them somewhat. He slows the truck a little, so he can pay better attention to it and not plow into a tree.

Vakkal snorts and replies, And here I thought it was just you being so happy about being able to carouse in bars all night again. Fhazil sticks his tongue out at the broad, dark-furred alien, who grins toothily in return.

Maybe we'll get to see it sometime. I'd like to see your home someday, in peace. Freyja giggles at the two of them, then grins, looking at the scanner interestedly and wondering what's heading their way -- if at all.

Because his attention is on the display screens, the Kel Dor isn't watching the road very carefully. A number of blips show in front of and around the truck, which has slowed to just more than a fast walk. Nothing seems visible in the underbrush.

Freyja, seeing something moving in the underbrush, murmurs quietly to the Kel Dor, "What sort of creature here is quadrupedal, low to the ground, runs in packs, and is willing to surround and follow this truck, please?"

Vakkal, also watching now, says, "There are several of them. I've seen at least three."

Zero narrows his eyes a little. Pack animals... hunters, look how they're splitting to surround.

Freyja nods absently to Zero as she watches them, and murmurs quietly, "Mek, you might want to get your, ah... weapon from Vakkal?"

Zero reaches slowly for his lightsaber, ...they're circling.

Freyja adds softly, I count at least four, my friends... want me to try talking to them before they attack?

Zero clears Kawatuara and turns the grip absently in his hand. If they tighten their posture any more they're going to be in leaping range. Best talk fast if we want to avoid a fight, lover.

The Kel Dor says, "I'm not sure. The scanner isn't clear on them." He looks back at the road, unsure if he should accelerate or stop. "Some things will attack a vehicle that has stopped, and others attack if it speeds up. And in both cases we have things that can take out this truck." He looks out the ports, adding, "Usually the bigger ones are more to worry about, but this thing isn't armored."

Freyja nods, Hai, but I'll have to open a window or something to do so, Zeriza. Shall I, or would that be too alarming for our driver, do you think? She adds quietly, "Don't stop then, and don't speed up yet, please?"

The Kel Dor says, "Okay." He glances back and asks, "Why?"

Zero glances to either side. Encircled. Damn. He unlocks the lightsaber's grip, splitting Kawatuara to guard both sides. "And crack a window... perhaps we can reason our way out of this."

Freyja nods to Zero, Reassure the Kel Dor for me, would you please, guys? Then she works her way as carefully as she can over people to be next to the back. She struggles with unlocking it for a moment, then says to Vakkal, "Be ready to shut this very fast, all right, Vakiza? I'll make sure I don't fall out." Then she slides the door open and links to the nearest creature she sees.

Vakkal comes up behind Freyja, and braces himself in the corner. He has one hand on the door and the other on his blaster. "Ready, Makkaisdottir."

Zero turns to call over his shoulder to the Kel Dor, while still facing the open door, "It's all right... trust us, please. We're going to see if Makkaisdottir can talk our way out of this fight."

The Kel Dor says, "I think they're vwolls. I've never heard of them being smart enough to talk, though."

Freyja waits until she feels the linkage 'click,' ignoring what may be going on behind her as she calls out calmly, through the Force as well as verbally, "Heiyo, hunters! We are not edible. There are other good things to eat deeper in the jungle, however."

Zero says, "You just have to have ears to hear." He grins. "Don't worry, everything's possible in the Force."

There's a rustling from some bushes, and a large, low animal bursts out from under cover and trots along after the slowly cruising truck. It raises its head and its nose works, revealing the huge collection of teeth the animal bears. It's just below a meter high at the front shoulder, a little lower in the rear, and has no tail. It has a huge jaw full of horrible teeth, hairless skin with a dark brown tint, and looks lizard-like, although it moves more quickly than most cold-blooded animals.

Freyja watches in fascinated interest -- although she's not so lost in fascination as to forget it might decide the truck is edible. She keeps a careful eye on its body language as she repeats with the calm assurance of the very confident, "We are not edible, and we have many sharp teeth ourselves. There is tasty, easy prey deeper in the jungle, brave hunter."

Freyja gets a faint response, confusion, and, "Smell edible. Eaten square-metals-on-road before."

Kourakani's handle is in her hand as she replies, "We understand, but we are not like other square-metals-on-road. We have very sharp teeth and a new, dangerous scent. Smell and you will know." She has a very firm grasp on the truck with one hand. With the other she holds up Kourakani, tilted so it's roughly pointed towards the large creature's head. There's the faint hiss of a lightsaber lighting up -- and the golden-flame-tongue of Kourakani dances brightly in the daylight. Freyja repeats calmly, "We are not prey, good hunter, and we do not wish to harm you without need. Go hunt elsewhere, please."

The driver hears an odd noise and glances back. He sees the lightsaber and says, "Huh?" but then looks back at the road, deciding to ask later.

Zero calls back, "Eyes on the road, please!" He sighs a bit. I don't think we are going to make progress with this animal. Listen, friends... He recites a short, centering mantra to invoke his own Battlemind for the others.

Freyja's eyes glow a pale silver-blue as she shares in Zero's Battlemind. A moment later, her Senses-Enhancing call to the Force flares brightly into existence. She blinks at the sudden, incredible rush of information... then smiles slowly and unworriedly at the creature trotting along behind the truck. Her Sensing Motive is allowing her to read the creature's body language easily.

Her mental (as well as physical) voice has the ring of absolute conviction, "Go, brave one. This is not a meal here for you and your friends today, and you do not want unnecessary pain." She whispers to Zero, Find out from the Kel Dor if vwolls are cannibalistic, please, sweetheart?

Zero says, "Are these creatures in the habit of eating each other?"

The Kel Dor says, "I don't know. I try and avoid them."

Zero says, "There you have it, dear."

Freyja draws in a slow breath, letting Intimidation grow within her and feeling the Force roil brightly around her, then barks sharply, "Go! Now!"

The following animal makes an unhappy sounding "chuff" sort of noise, and rears its head back like someone has sharply flicked its nose. It slows to a stop, and the truck floats away from it, leaving it glaring behind them. A long, tense moment follows. Nothing happens. Freyja waits long enough there's no chance for the creature to mistake their actions for fear, then murmurs quietly, "Vakkal, shut the door, please." She turns her head towards the front, calling, "We can speed up very, very gently now, please."

Vakkal pushes the 'Close' control, and the door hisses shut. Watching the scanners, and trusting this very strange group more than he wants to, the driver does slowly speed up. The flicker of following animals slowly drops behind. After another few tense minutes, the hover-truck flies over a little creek, and the Kel Dor relaxes and accelerates some more. "Looks like we got away."

Freyja scrambles back to her seat, smiling happily, "Excellent! It's always nice when we don't have to hurt anyone." She beams at the Kel Dor, adding, "Thank you for believing in us."

Zero hmphs. "Well, it may have been hopeful to consider negotiation before a simple go away."

Freyja grins at Zero, "Hey, at least I remembered to turn my weapon off before I returned here!" She leans companionably against him, sighing happily and relaxing. It's really a nice world here, she thinks... warm and full of life!

Zero says, "Any port in a storm, no? I'm just pleased they chose to listen rather than fight."

Freyja nods contentedly, her eyes half closed as she lets the collected Force in her drain slowly, "I also." She thinks a bit, then adds, When we get back, we should do a bit more research, I'm thinking? We should use the Eclipse to locate where we think Kalatis' compound is, see if there's anything visible on the surface there, check and see if that's part of the missing records Kal was upset about... and then figure out how we're going to get in when the Excavator reaches the underground compound in a week or two, hai?

Zero nods. That is the plan so far...

Freyja adds thoughtfully, Sweetheart, you might want to ask the Kel Dor to quietly forget to mention what he saw here, too?

The ride back in to town is fairly uneventful. At one point what appears to be a river of small animals made mostly of teeth is crossing the road, but they stay on the ground. The Kel Dor merely raises the altitude of the truck a half-meter more and flies over them, "Hungry Varmints, those are called. Maybe they have another name, but I don't know it. No problem for the truck, but they're a real danger if you're camped, or so I've been told."

Freyja grins, leaning forward to watch them, "Lovely descriptive name, I must say!"

The Kel Dor says, "A herd like that will strip a bantha clean in no time, were one fool enough to get in their way."

Zero hms. "A real pleasure world, Garqi."

Freyja grins at Zero, "Hey, there are some nice parts to it!"

Fhazil says, "Yes. Wherever you are," and smiles brightly at Freyja.

Freyja laughs delightedly, leaning to gently brush her fingertips along his cheek, "Aw, you're sweet!" She grins, blowing him a kiss as she leans back in her seat again.

Zero says to the Kel Dor, "Regardless... given the business your boss has become embroiled in, it may be better for you to forget whatever happens today, for a few months at least."

The Kel Dor says, "You don't live long on Garqi without the help of everyone you meet, and you don't make friends and allies by being overly free with things you may know about them that they might not like known." He shifts a little, perhaps glancing at Zero through his darkened goggles, and saying, "Anyway, Dale's good people. I wouldn't make trouble for him."

Freyja smiles at the Kel Dor reassuringly. A few moments later she curiously asks, "So... does anyone have any idea why things are quite so... lethal here? Are the plants vicious too, or is there just a real lack of herbivores on Garqi?"

The Kel Dor says, "In the deeper forest there's more of the dangerous plants, yes. Many of them are just toxic, or noxious. There are a lot of things that make their way by eating them, too. There's a couple of scientists in town studying how some of the animals survive the toxins. Apparently they can't figure that out."

Freyja's eyes light up in fascination, "Scientists in town studying toxin resistance?! Oooh... if we're going to be here a few days, maybe they'd be willing to share notes with me!"

The Kel Dor says, "If you're that interested I'm sure they'll be willing to talk to you. I get the idea they find some of the trappers and hunters they deal with somewhat provincial. Nobody else can get them the samples they need, though."

Freyja laughs, "Hai, communication between different fields of expertise is always... ah..." she grins, searching for a polite way to put it, "problematic!"

The town comes back into view and the driver works his way through it deftly, heading back to the spaceport and the storage company's office, "Ask Kal how building the new City Hall killed some people, if you want to hear about a strange plant."

Freyja wonders happily if they'll have time for her to find one of those really big animals, and if she could befriend it for a while... perhaps long enough to find something useful for the scientists! She'd be happy to do that for them -- new medical information is always helpful. She blinks at the Kel Dor's curious statement, then nods a bit more gravely, "Hai, we'll do that... and thank you very much for your faith in us. We really appreciate your being willing to drive us out to see Digger Dale."

Zero takes a step back from the navigation module and folds his arms. He scratches his head absently, double-checking the coordinates and the fine red line spanning the holodisplay's planetary map. His overcloak is spread over one of the seats -- he's apparently been at this a while. He leans back against the opposite wall. "Well, that looks about as right as I can get it." He ponders how long it will take to translate this route into geographic (as opposed to geological) coordinates so as to be able to fly there, the Eclipse being somewhat unsuited to burrowing.

Zero taps his lips idly. What I would really like is to cross-reference this with the local maps to find out if these correspond to the missing map areas. Although I have a small intuition that they will... more importantly, I'd like to know just how many guns will be upraised when we arrive... He pushes off the wall and calls toward the common room, "Who wants to visit Kal again? I think we have answers for some questions he might like answered."

Freyja glances at Zero from where she's gently rubbing the faux under the chin, and smiles, "I'd like to go. I want to buy some nice, comfortable native-made shorts."

Fhazil sits up from where he's been lying, idly draped across Vakkal and playing with dark fur, and says, "Great! Let's go see what we can learn." Vakkal says only, "Oof!" but that's probably unrelated.

Freyja stands and stretches lithely, adding, "This stuff is good, but too warm for here." She's referring to her skintight black leather outfit.

Zero's been wearing his usual blue outfit without the cloak, and unbuttoned quite a way. "All right then, let's go... I think he'll be pleased to hear what we have to say, and after all..." he grins, "we're Jedi. We're friends to all." He tries to say that with a straight face -- and fails, by and large. "Watch the ship for us, Bi Xia... and stay away from the lizards."

Freyja blinks at the new name, then grins, "Oh, nice! Is it Sedraki? What's it mean?"

Zero smiles and shrugs. "It was the name of a girl in my village. She was pretty. Had green eyes." He pets the little creature. "Don't talk to any strange varmints, little one. This planet's lost its mind." The faux yiffs and wags her tail enthusiastically, before settling down to watch over the ship. And maybe sleep curled up next to poor Manishsha, who is not handling the heat at all well.

A short while later Freyja looks much, much more comfortable, having changed immediately into the newly-purchased shorts and one of her ubiquitous cropped athletic tops. Her other clothing has been neatly folded into a backpack, and her usual utility belt drapes across her slender hips. Her wavy, fiery gold mane ruffles behind her as she strides happily down the street, bare arms and legs gleaming golden in the sunshine. As she usually does when happy, she's singing softly to herself as she heads with her friends to meet with Kal again.

Kal is found at the reception desk at City hall, apparently a man-of-all trades and one of a very few full-time employees. He seems pleased enough to see the four travelers, and suggests a less-public place to talk. When shown the co-ordinates he fiddles with his outdated terminal for a moment, then brings up orbital photos of the area. They have an indicator on them which notes, 'Photo log outdated.'

Kal hrms. "Now, I wonder what that's about?" A quick check says the photos of this area have not been updated in some time. The big man frowns, "Well, that's odd, isn't it?"

Freyja leans interestedly to look. At the note she curiously inquires, "Can they be updated in the next few days? Could a ship do an orbital fly-by or something?"

Kal says, "Oh, a ship sure could, any time it wanted to. Yours, for instance. Or any one here, if you can pay 'em enough. To get our satellite to do it will take probably a couple of weeks, maybe longer. I'd have to ask some of the guys over at the space port, and they always go off on to these long, painful discussions of orbits and angles and three-dimensional spherical geometry."

Freyja thinks a moment, then looks hopefully at Zero and Fhazil, "Could we, do you think?"

Zero says, "Absolutely."

Freyja beams, "Excellent!" then grins at Kal, "Would it be possible for you to arrange permission for us to do so, with the local authorities?"

Kal chuckles, looks at Zero, and says, "Don't hit anybody else, okay?" He then looks at Freyja and says, "That's about as official as it gets around here. You'll need normal takeoff clearance, but that's routine."

Freyja laughs, lightly touching Kal's arm as she says quite sincerely, "Thank you so much for your help, honorable Kal." She pauses, then adds, "Um... is there a hotel, or anything similar in town, that you could recommend to us? It looks like we may be here a few days, after all."

Kal grins, "I do what I can. This is also the middle of one of the missing land transfer areas, and I want to know who's been fiddling with the records."

Freyja nods quietly, "Hai, we understand. It's a good bet the current owner of the land is the culprit. We hope to bring him to justice."

He adds, "There's two hotels; one's very nice but considered a little expensive. Mind you, this is a statement of trappers who find having to use a charge cell for their blaster to kill a week's worth of meat too expensive. The other is... minimal. It's aimed at those same trappers. Anything that isn't overtly hostile is a great improvement for them. You'd probably be more comfortable in your own ship than in the inexpensive hotel."

Freyja nods thoughtfully, "All right, that's good to know. Um..." she considers, then adds, "We were told to ask you about building City Hall in regards to a toxic plant... and I wanted to ask you where the toxicity scientists were staying, please?"

Kal says, "Oh, that was a real mess. Three of our construction crew were killed while cutting down a couple of trees. We were building this new facility rather than using a filing cabinet stuck in the back of someone's woodshed, getting a little more organized. We had half a dozen people working on it. All six of them were down. The only reason we didn't lose them all is that another woodsman and I happened to be nearby and had oxygen in our standard kit, so we could go in and pull 'em out. We were too slow finding the other three."

Freyja looks confused, "Er... did the tree fall on them or something? Oh! It released some gas?"

Kal says, "Nope. It defends itself from predators and fire by storing, concentrating, and releasing nitrogen. Invisible, but it suffocates things. They're a spongy wood with lots of pockets in it, and the center of the tree is all but hollow."

Freyja nods, understanding now. "I take it surprises like this are unpleasantly common here?" She frowns thoughtfully, "I wonder why..."

Kal says, "Yep. Several of us woodsmen had seen the trees before, and not thought anything of them. Of course, we hadn't molested them enough to trigger their effect. Even if we'd have climbed them with spikes it probably wouldn't have released enough gas to bother us. Now, a big saw -- that made a big enough hole, and the nitrogen came on out. It's heavier than air, you know, and just sat there suffocating the crew."

Freyja nods, musing, "Poor sapients." She sighs, shaking her head once to clear it, and adds, "And the scientists?"

Kal says, "It's a real shame. This has been a very dangerous world. Even the trees fight back." He adds, "Oh! They've got a building near the hotel. They're both on the far end of town, away from the spaceport." Kal gives good, clear directions. It's at most only a few blocks.

Freyja smiles and thanks Kal, and invites him to dinner at the Eclipse for one of the nights they'll be around, if he'd like. Then she looks at her friends, "We have everything we can get here. Would you like to go do the flyby now, or go visit the toxicity scientists?" She lights up suddenly, "Or you guys could go flyby, and I'll chat with the scientists?"

Zero says, "Certainly. It shouldn't take long at all to complete the survey... long enough for you to have a chat, at least."

Vakkal says, "I'm staying with Freyja." Fhazil looks at Zero, and says, "Shall we take a little trip?"

Zero says, "A trip to orbit it is, then." Freyja grins and gives Zero and Fhazil a warm hug and a kiss, then cheerfully almost skips off to geek-squeal with the scientists!

Freyja visits the scientists. She is startled to discover they work in a completely sealed building. A small lobby contains a video monitor and what appears to be an airlock door. This is made clearer when she presses the button by the monitor, and it is answered by an unmasked Kel Dor woman. She has unusual, silvery irises, and asks what she can do for them.

Freyja asks about toxins and is told she'd be invited in, if she would wear a mask. She and Vakkal don full-face breathing masks -- tricky on Vakkal but manageable -- and they go into the Kel Dor home and laboratory. The two Kel Dor there -- a male and female, together for a very long time and very comfortable around each other -- are pleased to greet the visitors and apologize for the masks.

Freyja is very happy they've invited her in, and reassures them she and her companion are not inconvenienced at all. She's quite interested in their work with toxicity, although she's but an amateur compared to them. If they're interested in chatting, she'd love to hear what they've discovered, and to share the little bits of information concerning some unusual, probably Sith-related toxins she's discovered during her work?

The two Kel Dor smile -- unusual to be able to see that -- and are happy to discuss it. Apparently, living with a different atmosphere has made their chemists and biologists very good, and they're interestedly studying this diverse and unusual world. They're happy to discuss what they know with Freyja. Much of what they do is pure research and not very useful to someone who wants to know how not to get killed by something biting them.

They found Freyja's foresight in gathering data on unusual species commendable, though. They are quite interested in the Sith toxins, too, having no contact at all with the Sith. The male Kel Dor says, "I am not sure what I would do were I to meet someone from the Sith Empire. It would be horrible!" His companion agrees.

Freyja grins and admits she's always fascinated by new animals and biology. Being from Balmorra, most other worlds' species look subtly wrong and broken to her, after all -- they're missing legs, to her way of seeing things! She grins again at the comment regarding the Sith Empire, and simply notes she'd hope they could find things in common, before things got ugly. She also apologizes for having no actual samples, but is quite willing to share the data she collected on the Sith poisons.

The scientists are quite understanding; toxins are dangerous to store and work with. The scans from Freyja's medscanner will be interesting enough, and they would appreciate a chance to review them. Freyja happily downloads any data the scientists are willing to share in return. It may be over her head, but synopses are still useful even if she doesn't understand how they got to that point. Once that's done, she curiously asks them about the silver eyes of the one -- isn't that a sign of Force awareness in their species? Is one of them a Jedi?

The female Kel Dor says, "Long ago it was considered a blessing from the gods, and those of us with silver eyes were trained with the Force. That hasn't been done since we met the Jedi and they taught us that it was the Force itself, not any other thing that mattered. A Jedi tested all of us while we were in school, and I wasn't any more capable than others were."

Freyja looks curious, "Huh. Interesting. Was it linked at all with Force awareness, then, or was that mostly just a myth?" She scans lightly across the two Kel Dor with her own Force Sensitivity. She's quite aware sometimes it takes a while for someone to 'wake up' to the Force.

The Kel Dor shrugs, "I really don't know. I suspect it was just a myth kept alive by those who benefited from it. It's been thousands of years since we met the Republic, and those times are long behind us. We have enough Jedi of our own, with and without silvery eyes, and that seems to work out well for everyone. I am not disappointed. I was able to pursue biological chemistry, which I've always found fascinating."

Freyja notes with interest the woman has a small hint of Force aptitude. Where her male companion shows as a living thing, she shows slightly more impact in the Force and perhaps more capability. Perhaps not much, and definitely untrained, but still... a small, small hint is there. Freyja smiles, then says, "Well, I have heard sometimes it takes a while for folks to awaken to the Force. Maybe that could happen here too?"

The female Kel Dor laughs brightly, her un-amplified voice unusual too, "Perhaps, but what would I do with it? I'm perfectly satisfied with things the way they are. Someday when we're finished here we'll be able to retire to someplace quiet on Dorin and teach new curious minds, or simply tend a garden and be at ease. I'm not sure I would be ready for the challenges that the Jedi seem to face so willingly."

Freyja grins quietly, "I guess that means all is well within the Force then, hai? Can't ask for more than that." She chats a bit more with the two Kel Dor, enjoying their deep enthusiasm about their work, then finally departs, thanking them for their kindness and friendliness to her. She'll cheerfully take their contact information also, if they wish, so she can send them any other information she might find about toxins in the course of her travels.

They are happy to share contact information with Freyja. The male is startled when he hears Freyja's name, though, asking, "Freyja Rigg of Balmorra? The heir of Haus Rigg?"

Freyja looks a bit startled herself, "Er, hai... hai, that is me. I'm surprised you recognized the name...?"

The man says, "Oh, we saw your wedding on the HoloNet! Our cousin follows all the social events closely, and had it on. She works at the hotel, and they like to keep up with that kind of thing." The woman smiles, adding, "It was very pretty. I'm not sure I understood it all, but it was obviously a significant event. I particularly enjoyed the Reading Of The Contract. What lovely forethought."

Freyja laughs, "Oh, dear, I didn't expect to be recognized. Um... might I ask a huge favor of you both, please? I'm using the alias of Makkaisdottir here. Could I ask you both to not reveal my identity here?" She blinks at hearing the Kel Dor most enjoyed the part Humans usually find deeply boring, then grins, "Well, thank you, honorable lady. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I admit, I was almost melting under those heavy robes, so wasn't paying too close attention at that exact moment!"

The woman grins, "Well, yes, I can imagine how you might have been distracted. They must have had you under a dozen lights to make you shine like that." Both Kel Dor nod sagely, and the man says, "Don't worry, we won't mention it." They do share a pleased, conspiratorial smile with one another, but seem perfectly content to keep this under their hats -- so to speak.

Freyja laughs a bit startledly, then grins, her eyes dancing, "Goodness, I shall have to actually watch the holovids myself -- I shone?" She beams, inordinately pleased at the friendliness and kindness of the two Kel Dor, and thanks them profusely for helping her out with this issue.

Freyja heads back to the hotel with Vakkal, gleefully singing and skipping around him as she does so. She almost carols to him, "Isn't it nice to meet folks who actually aren't scared or angry with you, and who actually like you even though they know who you are, Vakiza-love? -and then to even get to learn new things!?" She sighs happily, giving Vakkal an exuberant hug, then cheerfully continues bouncing along around him towards the hotel.

Vakkal is never one to miss out on an exuberant hug, and grins at her, "I can understand. You know who and what I am, and don't seem to mind all that much."

Freyja laughs delightedly, tossing her head back without a care in the world, her hair shining in the sunlight -- she doesn't get to do that often, and she very much savors that freedom right now! Then she grins mischievously at Vakkal, "Well, I don't know... should I mind? I mean, it's not like you chew the carpet or anything, right?"

Vakkal grins, commenting, "Not that I'll admit in public," and forestalls any more comments by arriving at the hotel, where he and Freyja find a room and wait for Fhazil, Manishsha, and Zero to return.

Fhazil and Zero warm up the Platinum Eclipse and Fhazil gets the spaceport authority on comm, telling them, "Yeah, we just want to orbit a couple of times." When pressed, he says, "We wanted to find something we lost, and thought we'd look. It wasn't stuck in the sofa, so we're going to go have a higher look." Amongst much friendly snickering, control gives them clearance and Zero takes off.

Zero yawns softly, locking the ship into orbit along the correct angle to carry them across what he thinks are the appropriate coordinates. "Well, there it is, then. We should be above the site in a few hours."

The time passes uneventfully, and the Eclipse's recorders capture the area at as high a resolution as they can. Nothing leaps out to bother them, nothing seems to scan them, and nothing shoots giant death rays at them. The pictures come back more interestingly than the visual flyby, though -- someone's done something down there. All the big trees are gone from a certain area, and there's a rocky outcrop where one probably shouldn't be. The forest seems to be creeping back in on it to a point, but there's a blank spot probably a hundred meters around.

Fhazil looks over Zero's shoulder as he brings the images in, "Ooh, look at that! A landing pad, at least, if not concealed doors."

Zero narrows his eyes. "A rocky dome in the middle of the deep rainforest. In the wetland. Uh huh."

The next scan is even more revealing. The dome shows on infrared, as does a blob of space under the forest. Something is down there and it's something kind of large. Fhazil says, "The Senator doesn't do things small, does he?"

Zero sighs faintly. "Never did. I think it gratifies his ego... why else keep a stable of the four best killers in the Core -- and let them come in and out of your office?" He rolls his eyes. "I heard he was never able to get into the Exchange, you know. I think he's compensating... for something, at least."

Fhazil says, "The Exchange?"

Zero says, "The galactic crime syndicate. It's sort of a... consortium of horrible people."

Fhazil says, "Oh. We call ours 'The Moot.' They wouldn't put up with competition like your Senate seems to." He grins, "But things are different there."

Zero grins. "The Senate is a whole other game of Pazaak."

Fhazil says, "So, shall we go tell Vakkal and Freyja what we've found, or do you want to go have a look at this right now?"

Zero says, "Let's try and find out just a little more. I'd like to be as prepared as possible -- once Dale bursts through that retaining wall, there will be no time for anything but settling accounts with the Senator, and I do not want us to be surprised. Especially not with two tons of rock overhead and a Hutt in a tank-sized digging machine having a go at the walls."

Fhazil gives his patented manic grin, "Sounds like a party to me." He chuckles, "I wonder if we might be best off just lurking someplace and waiting for them to come out? Or do you think we should blow the top off and go in at the same time? And how do you propose we find out more? Another pass? Closer? Land?"

Zero murmurs. "Dale... the Hutt. And Ameil the Hutt." He glances at Fhazil, "That just doesn't sound right, does it? They must be aliases, don't you think? How else does a race that gave us The Great Bogga give us Dale the Hutt?"

Fhazil chuckles, "Digger Dale sounds like a name that got pinned on him from outside by some flippant human. If he's really trying to leave his past behind him then it doesn't surprise me he uses an alias. What better one than one that wouldn't make you expect a Hutt?"

Zero scratches his head absently. "I guess so... anyway, shall we make another pass a bit lower this time?"

Fhazil says, "Sounds like a plan to me. Go in as close as you want. I'll run the scanners."

Zero nods. "I'll bring us in just above atmosphere -- maybe we can turn a few of the more sensitive instruments on it. Or if nothing else give Kal better data to make up for the trouble we're about to cause him when we blow that thing up..."

Fhazil's snicker is answer enough. The two men work together easily to gather more data. Nothing shoots at them, but the scanners find what might be hidden guns. They'd be enough to hurt the Eclipse if she were caught unawares, too. Fhazil says, "Hey, if there were doors here, wouldn't this open section be somewhat muted infrared wise? It's actually brighter than the things around it. Do you think it's an open hangar with a holo-screen in front of it?"

Zero drums his fingers on the console. "I think you're right. We might be able to insert from there... but what's concerning me is this... and this... and this." He points to a few spots on the monitor. "Ion guns, probably. A few direct shots to our keel would leave us unpowered and attempting to glide into the rainforest." He glances at Fhazil. "Probably would be fun, but perhaps only to you and me. I can see where Freyja and Vakkal... and Manishsha... and everyone else in the area... might consider it less so. But I think if we configure all the armor forward and concentrate shields on the forward arc, we can shrug them off long enough to get in without attempting an unpowered flight speed record."

Fhazil says, "Most of these types of guns have a limit on how low they can angle, too. If we come in at a steep angle, we might be able to sneak in under their angle of attack, and drop in on them. And if they're distracted they're less likely to be able to respond well." He adds, "Or we see if we can get some big missiles."

Zero hmms, folding his arms behind his head. "That's a good point. Getting in low enough might be difficult, unless..." He grins slowly. "We could come in very, very fast... at treetop level... and drop as soon as we cleared the tree line before they have a chance to acquire target."

Fhazil nods, "That's what I was thinking." His 'insane' grin is back as he says, "Sounds like fun to me..."

Zero just sighs, then grins broadly. "Gods below, I miss swoop racing. This is going to be the most fun I've had in a long time."

Fhazil says, "Now all we have to do is convince Freyja, Manishsha, and -- most difficult -- Vakkal that it's safe." He adds, "Vakkal knows me too well."

Zero says, "Well... you know, it isn't safe. Not at all. But under the circumstances, now that we know where the weaponry is and how to approach it, it's merely safer than our previous ideas. Safer by a tremendous margin, given the prospect of otherwise being shot into the trees, but still unsafe by a huge margin against the standards of safe things."

Fhazil says, "Everything is relative. Invading a fleeing Senator's bunker probably isn't high on the list anyway. Why don't we go tell the others and see how crazy they think we are. And then we'll probably do it anyway."

Zero says, "Well, of course we will." He smiles. "I just love you sometimes." Returning to the city is straightforward, not a problem, even when Manishsha comes in without knocking. After they land, they go to the hotel to find Vakkal and Freyja and discuss final plans.

The hotel room has air-conditioning, and Vakkal has it set for 'blizzard,' which has it mostly warding off the humidity and heat of the world around them. Vakkal is lying on the bed naked in front of an A/C vent. Freyja is cuddled up in the lee of the arctic blast, also naked and enjoying his fur. Manishsha says, "Ooh, a man after my own heart," and moves over close to a vent of his own.

Zero starts to complain as he enters the door; "Gods below, it's like Hoth in here! Who set the-" He pauses as he clears the corner, then looks at Fhazil, "How do we keep missing these things?"

Freyja grins lazily through a warm tangle of her own hair at the little Kushiban, not commenting on what precisely Vakkal was actually after a few moments ago. Instead she simply mmms contentedly at her arriving friends, then almost purrs, "Have a nice time, guys?"

Fhazil asks in reply, "Couldn't they ask the same?" and grins. He sits down on one of the chairs farthest from the giant wall of cold and says, "Well, we found something."

There's a slightly smug, slightly purring feel of mmmmmme too..., but Freyja only politely verbalizes, "Mmm? What did you find?"

Zero grins and folds his arms, huddling into himself as he leans against the wall. "Sheesh. It was just a kiss. Sorry about that, Manishsha, didn't hear you come in." He rubs his upper arms. "Anyway... we found the place. It's most certainly Kalatis' dugout, but it's also quite well protected. While we were able to determine where the hologram wall is, there appear to be some cannon emplacements nearby. Where he was able to afford that is anyone's guess... but regardless, we think we can weather that."

Manishsha says, "Weather that? You plan on letting them shoot us?"

Freyja sits up, pushing her heavy mane of hair back with both hands, her slender golden form gleaming slightly still. Interestedly she says, "How so, please?" Then she leans back relaxedly against Vakkal's steady form, listening. Vakkal doesn't move. He just lies there, smiling blissfully, the cold breeze ruffling his fur and the beautiful golden woman resting against him. He might even be listening.

Zero arches an eyebrow. "Yes, Watcher, I intend to let my home and only means off this death-world be shot with ion cannons." He smiles, "Really, now. The Eclipse's armor may be reconfigured, as well as the shields. We will reset the Eclipse's defenses to focus on the forward arc, and come in at treetop level. Once we clear the small open area where the base is located we will make a somewhat steep insertion and land more or less on top of the entrance holo. Once we achieve an altitude below... oh, thirty degrees, would you say, Fhazil? -we should be below the arc of fire and out of danger."

Fhazil says, "Yeah, that sounds about right. If we come in right, they'll get one, maybe two shots at us, if they're right on top of things. If, as we suspect, they're a little distracted, nothing will happen."

Freyja blinks, trying to imagine that. Finally she says cautiously, "Um... might it be safer to take something smaller than the Eclipse in, if we're going in so low?"

Zero says, "While that would be better from a profile point of view, Freyja, I have strong doubts about the ability of anything less resilient to weather a hit, should we incur one."

Freyja raises an eyebrow at Fhazil's almost flippant answer, then looks thoughtfully at Zero. "Hm. Well, how's this? Watcher Manishsha, can you pilot? We should have someone upside, because if anyone is likely to shoot out of this fiasco in a hidden ship, leaving all his people behind... it's Kalatis."

Fhazil simply asks, "Have we got anything else?"

Freyja nods to Fhazil, "Our regular ship's speeder for getting around towns in, but that's it. And it's not armored, neh."

Zero says, "We have thick armor and a very serviceable shield generator to hide behind, in case the enemy should surprise us. Unless the Republic would be so kind as to lend us a landing gunship, we're limited in what we can accomplish."

Fhazil says, "Well, yeah, we could come in very fast and low in the speeder." He thinks about it.

Zero rubs his hands together, then exhales; he seems to be expecting to see his breath. "It would be possible for me to set the autopilot to resume orbit after we perform a landing, if Manishsha could at least operate the weaponry." He glances at Fhazil, "I really would not want to suffer a hit from a surface-to-air blaster emplacement in that speeder, Fhazil."

Freyja says, "Why not have you guys fly us in low, then we drop in the speeder into the trees and Manishsha takes the Eclipse up again as we fly in?"

Zero says, "If the Watcher is amenable to that idea, I certainly could arrange it."

Freyja says, "Then if Kalatis manages to slip through our fingers, we still have one last shot at the Logispawn. Plus, Eclipse is safely out of the way -- she is our home, after all."

Zero nods. "I'm sure between the two of us, Manishsha and I could get the weapons tracking system to lock on the little slime-rat's craft and perhaps get a probably hyperspace trajectory out of it before it escaped."

Freyja says, "Excellent. So, go in low in the Eclipse, set it so Manishsha can handle her on his own, drop in the air-sled and go in, and..." she grins, "hopefully take the little monster captive, safe and sound!" She's silent a moment as she thinks, then murmurs, "Wonder who that Sith is..."

Zero slides his hands under his arms, huddling a little more. "That's our real worry, as far as opposition goes," he replies. "Kalatis could not fight his way out of an unlocked closet. A Sith -- worse, a Sith hard enough to dare betray them -- is a worry."

Freyja nods slowly, "Or worse -- that's just one Sith of several Oathers at his disposal."

Zero says, "Another possibility, to be sure."

Freyja grins, sitting up and holding out her arms, "Wanna warm up, sweetheart?"

Zero says, "I thought you'd never ask... I can't stand the cold." Freyja laughs and happily draws Zero close.

Manishsha says, "I am not a pilot. I do not know how useful I will be in that aspect of the plan; I'm not sure I could land the ship should I be the only one on it. I can probably work the laser turret, but I suspect landing is harder."

Zero says, "I'll handle that, no worry there. I can get us low enough to drop the speeder. After that you should be able to lock in an autopilot path to get the ship back to orbit."

Freyja says, "We don't want you to land, Watcher -- just circle and shoot any escaping ships. Zero can probably set the autopilot to do the circling, in fact, hai?" She nods, agreeing with Zero's assessment.

Manishsha says, "As you say, it is your home. If someone is shooting at you, do you really want one who cannot pilot it at the controls? I would rather be on the ground with you, because there I am confident I could do some real good."

Zero turns around a little so he can actually address the Watcher, "You should only have to do anything at all in the -- whoops, pardon, Vakkal -- in the event something goes seriously out of plan. But also I could easily tell the -- mmf -- computer to return to a predetermined landing location and we could ride the speeder back. It might be a little dangerous to take the overland trip in the speeder, but I suppose if we stayed high enough above treetop level we should be all right."

Manishsha asks, "Would it be useful to try and get some assistance?"

Freyja murmurs a bit distractedly, "If you're comfortable with that, sure... why not?"

Manishsha says, "It would not bother me, and it might help us a great deal. I don't know if we have time to bring in outside help, but perhaps there is someone here who can help us."

Freyja looks up, tossing her hair back and grinning a bit mischievously, "Bet Kal would like to help? He's not happy about those missing files."

Manishsha says, "I was thinking the same thing. And even if he doesn't want to help, he might know someone who could."

Freyja nods a bit absently, "Sounds fine to me," and happily goes back to what she was doing previously.

Zero reaches back to curl an arm around Freyja's shoulders and run his fingers through her hair. He gets some of Vakkal in there somewhere, his aim being somewhat limited in reverse. "I'm sure we could talk him into helping. Not that it would take much, I imagine."

[Previous Log] [Index] [Next Log]

Last modified: 2002-Jul-16 16:14:54

All material on this site is
Copyright © 2002-2024 Reality Fault
unless specifically indicated on each document.
All Rights Reserved.
Administrated by Reality Fault Webmaster