Broccli_Head
Explorer
Can't believe I missed this one, Doc.
Glad to see you with a story hour again.
Glad to see you with a story hour again.
-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
STAR WARS - The Clone Wars - Child of Prophecy FOLDED
- Thread starter Dr Midnight
- Start date
Dr Midnight
Explorer
Broccli!!! How are ya, buddy? Ahh, my first reader, come back... you know, you're like the first dollar, framed on the wall, and I'm the local shopkeeper. I always look at you and sniffle fondly. *snrk* OH, HOLD ME- weep weep
Story chunk coming tonight!
Story chunk coming tonight!
Dr Midnight
Explorer
The Rezschechk are peaceful herbivores. These lumbering giants roam the forests of Ilstaes IV, stripping the trees of their cobalt-rich pine needles for sustenance. When the settlers came to the moon, they “domesticated” a few and put them to work hauling equipment such as the two-ton canisters used to safely store mined temp. Rezschechk are easily twenty meters tall, generally, and have two strong “arms” tipped with thick, heavy claws used for climbing the sides of the mountains that form the landscape. They have large eyes that gleam red in the darkness, to better exploit Ilstaes-IV’s unique light spectrum, and their mouths are lined in sharp teeth that are little more than tools to “comb” the needles from the branches.
One thing was learned early on about the Rezschechk: they are engraged beyond belief by a certain frequency of noise generated by Kellian disintegration mines. These mines are used to clear new tunnels beneath the earth, generally, and the first time one was used with a Rezschechk in the camp, twelve men died before the beast was put down. The mines were abandoned as a tool, but some cautious miners kept the deactivated mines on hand for the simple idea that one day they might need the beasts to rage upon invaders or hostiles.
The idea hadn’t been used until the day Jaren Creel came down in the Indelible.
Jaren adjusted his grip on his blasters nervously and shouted “How long’s it going to take to get this ship moving?!”
The pilot yelled his frustrated response. “This isn’t a speeder, this is a capital ship! I’ve got two men co-piloting, and it’ll still take a minute to get in the air!”
The beast lumbered from its pen, roaring and brandishing its claws. Froth dripped to the hard-packed ground and the thing advanced on the hated thing that was making the noise, lying close to a large metal monster of some kind.
Jaren waited until the thing stood over the mine. He aimed and shot the silver thing he thought to be a bomb. To his dismay, it merely sparked and lay there in pieces. He’d hoped it would detonate and destroy the monster. The Rezschechk stared down at the thing, and the noise that drove it mad was no more. Still, the bloodlust was in the beast and it needed an outlet for its rage. It stomped across the camp to the ship. It seemed determined to rip something apart for putting it through the noise-based madness.
Jaren ran aboard the ship from where he’d been standing, at the ramp’s base. The ramp closed behind him and the ship began humming to life. The Rezschechk screamed and raked a taloned paw down the starboard side of the Indelible’s hull. Sparks flew and there were four ragged, parallel gouges baring the ship’s inner workings.
The thing savaged the hull further, apparently under the belief that the hovering ship was trying to fight back. It didn’t notice when a boulder lifted from the ground and flew up to strike it in the back of the head. The force didn’t kill it or even hurt it badly, but it turned and roared at the huddled miners, two hundred meters to the north. They had clearly tried to hurt it, and the tiny pink things would pay.
It didn’t notice when the Indelible turned in the air away from it and hit the thrusters. The jetwash of the capital ship’s atmospheric thrusters scorched it and immediately lit it on fire just before the Indelible flew off, up into the dark sky.
Magnus watched out a window as the flaming Rezschechk screamed and tore its way through the camp, destroying everything it could. The bodies of men flew into the air over the backlit treeline. The Jedi Knight then turned to his student and asked “The rock- was that you?”
Pock looked up at him, unsure. “Yes Master.” He was clearly wondering whether he’d done the right thing. Sometimes what was right by the Jedi code wasn’t entirely clear to him, and often he was scolded for doing what he thought was helping.
Magnus nodded. “Your instinct serves you well. You strove to distract the beast so that we might escape. Good job.” Pock grinned.
Jaren cursed nearby and looked at the hole in his shirt the grazing blaster bolt had left. “I’m hit,” he grunted. He seemed more upset that his finery was damaged than that he’d been struck in a firefight.
Pock laughed. “And you were going to protect me??” He wandered over to the man. “Hold still, I can heal you.”
Creel said “Don’t hurt me, kid…”
Mikau Me spoke to the droid that had chosen an awkward moment to introduce itself. “Hello. I apologize, but I am afraid I was unable to make out your name over the sound of blasterfire.”
The droid bowed politely. “Understandable, I’m sure. My name is Y3-Ns, droid/ship interface and maintenance. I’m quite pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Y3, can you tell us if the ship was damaged at all by the creature’s attack?”
“Of course, sir.” The droid hobbled over to the computer and interfaced with it. After a moment, Y3 said “Ahh. It seems most systems are functional- the sublight drive is at 98% operating capacity, the fuel cells remain unmolested, and the hyperdrive is undamaged. Only the velocital dampers are down.”
“I see. I know nothing of a ship’s workings… will damaged velocital dampers prevent us from entering hyperspace?”
“No, sir,” Y3 twittered.
Mikau relaxed somewhat. “Ahh. Very good.”
“It will, however, prevent us from safely leaving it.”
Magnus glared at the droid. “What?”
“Velocital dampers are, in effect, what makes going from light speed to sub-light speed possible. Without them, the sudden reduction in speed would rip us to our component molecules instantaneously. It’s not unlike striking a durasteel wall at light speed.”
“Wonderful,” Turon said.
The ship rose out of Ilstaes-IV’s stratosphere and into orbit. The thirty-five other moons of the system floated about them.
“Now what?” the pilot asked. The tone of his voice told that the encounter with the monster had left him shaken, and that this matter of the velocital dampers wasn’t helping his mood. “Stuck on the outer rim without light speed. This is not good at all.”
Mikau spoke calmly, as he always did. “Y3, is there a nearby planet where we can make repairs? Preferably one friendly to the Republic?”
Y3 took a moment, then said “Why, yes, sir. The Tarsoan system nearby boasts the planet of Phelene, a Rebublic-sworn metropolis planet.”
“Truly? A city-planet out on the rim?”
“Yes, sir. It should be just a few hours away, provided we use our top sub-light burn speed.”
The pilot and his two crewmen gasped and pointed out the viewshield. Separatist forces were entering the Ilstaean system from the opposite side- three large cruisers, moving slowly. “Separatists… they haven’t spotted us yet.”
Jaren Creel said “Well, poodoo… seems we’re not done running yet.”
“Quickly, pilot,” Mikau Me chirped. “Can we make it out of the sytem without their noticing?”
“We can try,” the pilot said, easing the ship into place, heading for Phelene while putting Ilstaes-IV directly between the Indelible and the Separatists. “Let’s hope this works…”
More to come…
One thing was learned early on about the Rezschechk: they are engraged beyond belief by a certain frequency of noise generated by Kellian disintegration mines. These mines are used to clear new tunnels beneath the earth, generally, and the first time one was used with a Rezschechk in the camp, twelve men died before the beast was put down. The mines were abandoned as a tool, but some cautious miners kept the deactivated mines on hand for the simple idea that one day they might need the beasts to rage upon invaders or hostiles.
The idea hadn’t been used until the day Jaren Creel came down in the Indelible.
Jaren adjusted his grip on his blasters nervously and shouted “How long’s it going to take to get this ship moving?!”
The pilot yelled his frustrated response. “This isn’t a speeder, this is a capital ship! I’ve got two men co-piloting, and it’ll still take a minute to get in the air!”
The beast lumbered from its pen, roaring and brandishing its claws. Froth dripped to the hard-packed ground and the thing advanced on the hated thing that was making the noise, lying close to a large metal monster of some kind.
Jaren waited until the thing stood over the mine. He aimed and shot the silver thing he thought to be a bomb. To his dismay, it merely sparked and lay there in pieces. He’d hoped it would detonate and destroy the monster. The Rezschechk stared down at the thing, and the noise that drove it mad was no more. Still, the bloodlust was in the beast and it needed an outlet for its rage. It stomped across the camp to the ship. It seemed determined to rip something apart for putting it through the noise-based madness.
Jaren ran aboard the ship from where he’d been standing, at the ramp’s base. The ramp closed behind him and the ship began humming to life. The Rezschechk screamed and raked a taloned paw down the starboard side of the Indelible’s hull. Sparks flew and there were four ragged, parallel gouges baring the ship’s inner workings.
The thing savaged the hull further, apparently under the belief that the hovering ship was trying to fight back. It didn’t notice when a boulder lifted from the ground and flew up to strike it in the back of the head. The force didn’t kill it or even hurt it badly, but it turned and roared at the huddled miners, two hundred meters to the north. They had clearly tried to hurt it, and the tiny pink things would pay.
It didn’t notice when the Indelible turned in the air away from it and hit the thrusters. The jetwash of the capital ship’s atmospheric thrusters scorched it and immediately lit it on fire just before the Indelible flew off, up into the dark sky.
Magnus watched out a window as the flaming Rezschechk screamed and tore its way through the camp, destroying everything it could. The bodies of men flew into the air over the backlit treeline. The Jedi Knight then turned to his student and asked “The rock- was that you?”
Pock looked up at him, unsure. “Yes Master.” He was clearly wondering whether he’d done the right thing. Sometimes what was right by the Jedi code wasn’t entirely clear to him, and often he was scolded for doing what he thought was helping.
Magnus nodded. “Your instinct serves you well. You strove to distract the beast so that we might escape. Good job.” Pock grinned.
Jaren cursed nearby and looked at the hole in his shirt the grazing blaster bolt had left. “I’m hit,” he grunted. He seemed more upset that his finery was damaged than that he’d been struck in a firefight.
Pock laughed. “And you were going to protect me??” He wandered over to the man. “Hold still, I can heal you.”
Creel said “Don’t hurt me, kid…”
Mikau Me spoke to the droid that had chosen an awkward moment to introduce itself. “Hello. I apologize, but I am afraid I was unable to make out your name over the sound of blasterfire.”
The droid bowed politely. “Understandable, I’m sure. My name is Y3-Ns, droid/ship interface and maintenance. I’m quite pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Y3, can you tell us if the ship was damaged at all by the creature’s attack?”
“Of course, sir.” The droid hobbled over to the computer and interfaced with it. After a moment, Y3 said “Ahh. It seems most systems are functional- the sublight drive is at 98% operating capacity, the fuel cells remain unmolested, and the hyperdrive is undamaged. Only the velocital dampers are down.”
“I see. I know nothing of a ship’s workings… will damaged velocital dampers prevent us from entering hyperspace?”
“No, sir,” Y3 twittered.
Mikau relaxed somewhat. “Ahh. Very good.”
“It will, however, prevent us from safely leaving it.”
Magnus glared at the droid. “What?”
“Velocital dampers are, in effect, what makes going from light speed to sub-light speed possible. Without them, the sudden reduction in speed would rip us to our component molecules instantaneously. It’s not unlike striking a durasteel wall at light speed.”
“Wonderful,” Turon said.
The ship rose out of Ilstaes-IV’s stratosphere and into orbit. The thirty-five other moons of the system floated about them.
“Now what?” the pilot asked. The tone of his voice told that the encounter with the monster had left him shaken, and that this matter of the velocital dampers wasn’t helping his mood. “Stuck on the outer rim without light speed. This is not good at all.”
Mikau spoke calmly, as he always did. “Y3, is there a nearby planet where we can make repairs? Preferably one friendly to the Republic?”
Y3 took a moment, then said “Why, yes, sir. The Tarsoan system nearby boasts the planet of Phelene, a Rebublic-sworn metropolis planet.”
“Truly? A city-planet out on the rim?”
“Yes, sir. It should be just a few hours away, provided we use our top sub-light burn speed.”
The pilot and his two crewmen gasped and pointed out the viewshield. Separatist forces were entering the Ilstaean system from the opposite side- three large cruisers, moving slowly. “Separatists… they haven’t spotted us yet.”
Jaren Creel said “Well, poodoo… seems we’re not done running yet.”
“Quickly, pilot,” Mikau Me chirped. “Can we make it out of the sytem without their noticing?”
“We can try,” the pilot said, easing the ship into place, heading for Phelene while putting Ilstaes-IV directly between the Indelible and the Separatists. “Let’s hope this works…”
More to come…
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Stone Angel
First Post
Yeah art and an update, just like the good ol days. Wow DM the art is good, not what I expected, really goes right along with Cartoon network's series hand in hand. So good to have you back in full blown glory.
The Seraph of Earth and Stone
The Seraph of Earth and Stone
Dr Midnight
Explorer
The ship eased into its top speed away from the Ilstaean system. The whole while the crew and passengers watched the scanners for any sign of pursuit from the Separatist cruisers, remaining silent. After an hour, they relaxed. They were safely away from the system and there was no sign that the Separatists were on their way.
“We’re very fortunate that Ilstaes’ moon bodies interfere with scanning equipment as well as they do,” the pilot said with a sigh of relief. “Without the high sulfite content in the asteroid core, we might not have made it away. Those Techno Union ships are outfitted with top-of-the-line equipment.”
They flew for four more hours before they came to Phelene. It was a large, hazily tan planet.
Mikau observed Phelene as it loomed larger in the viewshield. “Are we certain this is a metropolis?” he asked. “It appears to be an ordinary desert planet. Perhaps our information is outdated.”
Y3-Ns interfaced with the ship’s computer again and said “I’m sorry, sir, but according to all indications, this is indeed Phelene, Republic metropolitic planet. Perhaps there is an explanation.”
“One you can’t give us just yet?”
The droid seemed embarrassed that he couldn’t function to suit his hosts’ needs. “No sir. Our data on outer rim worlds is scant, as a rule... The little information we have on the planet is far greater than that of most planets this deep in space, and that is only because this is a large center of trade.”
“Trade?” Magnus looked and said “I see no in or outgoing ships. We appear to be the only bird in the sky.”
“Yes sir,” Y3 said. “I am unsure of what this could mean, but the coordinates are constant in that this is Phelene.”
The Indelible came down into the upper atmosphere and the group looked on the landscape. The planet had no outstanding topography- that is, it seemed perfectly round… and desertlike. Tan-orange ground extended from horizon to semicircular horizon, unbroken by mountains or chasms… or cities. Only small hemispherical glass and steel huts glinted in the sunlight, far below, each a half kilometer from the other. They dotted the land for as far as the eye could see.
“Perhaps there was a battle,” Mikau suggested.
“Negative,” Magnus replied. “Look, there are no scorch marks, no rubble… just huts. There’s been no fight, but apparently there’s no city, either.”
The pilot said “No landing beacon, either. Whatever this place is, it’s not equipped for interstellar trade, I’ll tell you that much.”
Y3 huffed defensively. “The instruments and coordinates are all correct. I can only…”
Magnus waved off the discussion. “It doesn’t matter, we really have nowhere else to go at the moment. Maybe we can fix the ship once on the ground. Put her down anywhere, captain.”
The Indelible landed gently on the dry ground, and a cloud of dust puffed over them and settled as the engines idled.
“The instruments say that the atmosphere’s breathable,” the pilot said. He glanced at Y3-Ns. “Let’s hope at least that much is correct.” He thumbed the button for the ramp door, and it opened.
The Jedi, Jaren Creel, and Y3-Ns walked outside of the ship and stood staring around at the landscape. The air was hot and dry and the sun beat down on them. Pock shielded his eyes from the glare and looked about. He asked “What are those little dome-things?”
The igloo-like domes that lay over the landscape in a gridlike pattern were no less odd from the ground. They were glass half-spheres, and the insides were worked with bits of steel, layered in a clockwork fashion. There was no sign of life anywhere.
“I don’t know, Pock,” Magnus said. “Don’t go near them. Y3, what do you think of the damage?”
The droid had been looking up at the claw marks in the hull. “Hmm? What do I think?”
“Yeah, what do you think about it?”
The droid seemed confused about Magnus’ question, and he answered the inquiry as plainly as he could. “I, err… I believe it was caused when the monster attacked the ship.”
“I know that,” Magnus said, almost impatiently. “Do you think you can fix it?”
“Oh, gracious me, no,” Y3 said immediately. “I’m programmed for minor computer recoding, internal rewiring, interfacing… small things. This is hull damage. I’m afraid I’m just not equipped to handle such a task.”
Creel sighed. “We’re going to need a repair team. Let’s go investigate these huts, maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Mikau Me walked gracefully to one of the huts and examined it. “I say,” he called, “it appears there is a door in the side of the construct, and a panel to operate it. I wonder if…” He reached for the panel with a slender white hand and before he could touch it the door hissed open. The kaminoan straightened himself. “Oh my.”
Inside the hut was an odd creature. Its body was a brown, furry pill-shape. From the sides, two swirling green tentacles moved about. It had one tentacle coming from its lower half, and on this it stood. It had a beanlike head extending from the top of the body, and in the face was set four eyes and a three-lipped mouth. The eyes blinked excitedly- two vertically, and then the others horizontally. It spoke.
The sound was a rude torrent of snorting noises and wet smacks. Mikau Me had never heard this language and did his best to appear friendly to the creature. “Pardon me, sir, but do you speak Basic?”
The thing snorted and writhed its arms.
“I see,” Mikau said, at a loss.
Jaren nudged Y3-Ns and said “Hey, are you one of them droids that speaks three hundred million forms of communication?”
“Why, no, sir. I’m afraid I am only fluent in three million two hundred thousand nine hundred and seventeen languages. A failing on my part… I’m mostly programmed for shipboard protocol. I do believe, however, that the Pheleeni is speaking a broken dialect of Ghenan, which I am familiar with.”
“Get to it, then,”
The droid wobbled over stiffly to the hut, where the creature and Mikau stood staring at each other.
Y3 snorted some form of greeting. The Pheleeni snorted back, and the two spoke briefly. The droid turned to Mikau and said “I believe he says his name is Pontu Forto, and he is pleased to see us.”
“This is good. Extend our greetings from the heart of the Republic.”
The droid did that. When the Pheleeni was done responding, Y3 translated. “He seems to insist that though he is ‘joyful of Republic’, we should not be here.”
Mikau thought about that for a moment. “Why not?”
The answer came back after a moment. “He says that it is ‘make no time’, which I take to mean that we shouldn’t be here just now. He says that ‘near time great…’ I’m fairly certain he’s saying precipitation here. Rain.”
“Rain?” Mikau looked upwards. Only two small clouds hovered in the perfect blue sky, like tiny puffs of smoke. They seemed to be dwindling. “I beg your pardon, Y3, but those clouds could never condense enough moisture to rain. I hail from a rain-soaked planet, where the oceans toss and heave, fed by the constant torrents. This is a desert.”
“Yes sir, I noted that as well. Still, mister Forto seems to be stating that it will rain soon, and that this is somehow a problem.”
The droid and the Pheleeni spoke again. Y3 said “He tells us we can ‘yes ship make’, or that we can repair the ship. We can do it soon, apparently, but we cannot do it now. ‘Make no time, though ship make time near’.”
Mikau related the conversation with the others. No matter how ridiculous it might seem to fear impending rain under clear skies, the two Jedi Knights thought it best to obey the local’s counsel. The pilot volunteered to take the Indelible offplanet until after it had rained. Magnus was given a ground-to-orbit comlink, and the ship lifted up into the sky.
Y3 said “Our host graciously says that we should ‘make go under’, or go inside the hut with him now. I don’t believe he thinks it safe out here.”
The sky was now perfectly clear.
The group walked into the hut with the alien and the door closed behind them. Inside it was cramped and the sun acted like on the hut like a greenhouse. It was uncomfortably warm within, but the Pheleeni didn’t seem to mind. The humans and the kaminoan, however, began to perspire.
After a time, Jaren grew impatient of waiting. “Our friend here said soon we could get the ship fixed, is that right? What’s the holdup?”
Before Y3 had a chance to ask the Pheleeni, the comlink crackled.
“Indelible to ground, Indelible to ground…” the pilot’s voice said, nervous and fuzzed by static. “We’ve got a problem.”
Several kilometers above the surface, the ship had broken through the blue of Phelene’s ozone and was emerging into the dark space of the planet’s orbit, dwarfed by the immense Separatist ship waiting there.
More to come…
“We’re very fortunate that Ilstaes’ moon bodies interfere with scanning equipment as well as they do,” the pilot said with a sigh of relief. “Without the high sulfite content in the asteroid core, we might not have made it away. Those Techno Union ships are outfitted with top-of-the-line equipment.”
They flew for four more hours before they came to Phelene. It was a large, hazily tan planet.
Mikau observed Phelene as it loomed larger in the viewshield. “Are we certain this is a metropolis?” he asked. “It appears to be an ordinary desert planet. Perhaps our information is outdated.”
Y3-Ns interfaced with the ship’s computer again and said “I’m sorry, sir, but according to all indications, this is indeed Phelene, Republic metropolitic planet. Perhaps there is an explanation.”
“One you can’t give us just yet?”
The droid seemed embarrassed that he couldn’t function to suit his hosts’ needs. “No sir. Our data on outer rim worlds is scant, as a rule... The little information we have on the planet is far greater than that of most planets this deep in space, and that is only because this is a large center of trade.”
“Trade?” Magnus looked and said “I see no in or outgoing ships. We appear to be the only bird in the sky.”
“Yes sir,” Y3 said. “I am unsure of what this could mean, but the coordinates are constant in that this is Phelene.”
The Indelible came down into the upper atmosphere and the group looked on the landscape. The planet had no outstanding topography- that is, it seemed perfectly round… and desertlike. Tan-orange ground extended from horizon to semicircular horizon, unbroken by mountains or chasms… or cities. Only small hemispherical glass and steel huts glinted in the sunlight, far below, each a half kilometer from the other. They dotted the land for as far as the eye could see.
“Perhaps there was a battle,” Mikau suggested.
“Negative,” Magnus replied. “Look, there are no scorch marks, no rubble… just huts. There’s been no fight, but apparently there’s no city, either.”
The pilot said “No landing beacon, either. Whatever this place is, it’s not equipped for interstellar trade, I’ll tell you that much.”
Y3 huffed defensively. “The instruments and coordinates are all correct. I can only…”
Magnus waved off the discussion. “It doesn’t matter, we really have nowhere else to go at the moment. Maybe we can fix the ship once on the ground. Put her down anywhere, captain.”
The Indelible landed gently on the dry ground, and a cloud of dust puffed over them and settled as the engines idled.
“The instruments say that the atmosphere’s breathable,” the pilot said. He glanced at Y3-Ns. “Let’s hope at least that much is correct.” He thumbed the button for the ramp door, and it opened.
The Jedi, Jaren Creel, and Y3-Ns walked outside of the ship and stood staring around at the landscape. The air was hot and dry and the sun beat down on them. Pock shielded his eyes from the glare and looked about. He asked “What are those little dome-things?”
The igloo-like domes that lay over the landscape in a gridlike pattern were no less odd from the ground. They were glass half-spheres, and the insides were worked with bits of steel, layered in a clockwork fashion. There was no sign of life anywhere.
“I don’t know, Pock,” Magnus said. “Don’t go near them. Y3, what do you think of the damage?”
The droid had been looking up at the claw marks in the hull. “Hmm? What do I think?”
“Yeah, what do you think about it?”
The droid seemed confused about Magnus’ question, and he answered the inquiry as plainly as he could. “I, err… I believe it was caused when the monster attacked the ship.”
“I know that,” Magnus said, almost impatiently. “Do you think you can fix it?”
“Oh, gracious me, no,” Y3 said immediately. “I’m programmed for minor computer recoding, internal rewiring, interfacing… small things. This is hull damage. I’m afraid I’m just not equipped to handle such a task.”
Creel sighed. “We’re going to need a repair team. Let’s go investigate these huts, maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Mikau Me walked gracefully to one of the huts and examined it. “I say,” he called, “it appears there is a door in the side of the construct, and a panel to operate it. I wonder if…” He reached for the panel with a slender white hand and before he could touch it the door hissed open. The kaminoan straightened himself. “Oh my.”
Inside the hut was an odd creature. Its body was a brown, furry pill-shape. From the sides, two swirling green tentacles moved about. It had one tentacle coming from its lower half, and on this it stood. It had a beanlike head extending from the top of the body, and in the face was set four eyes and a three-lipped mouth. The eyes blinked excitedly- two vertically, and then the others horizontally. It spoke.
The sound was a rude torrent of snorting noises and wet smacks. Mikau Me had never heard this language and did his best to appear friendly to the creature. “Pardon me, sir, but do you speak Basic?”
The thing snorted and writhed its arms.
“I see,” Mikau said, at a loss.
Jaren nudged Y3-Ns and said “Hey, are you one of them droids that speaks three hundred million forms of communication?”
“Why, no, sir. I’m afraid I am only fluent in three million two hundred thousand nine hundred and seventeen languages. A failing on my part… I’m mostly programmed for shipboard protocol. I do believe, however, that the Pheleeni is speaking a broken dialect of Ghenan, which I am familiar with.”
“Get to it, then,”
The droid wobbled over stiffly to the hut, where the creature and Mikau stood staring at each other.
Y3 snorted some form of greeting. The Pheleeni snorted back, and the two spoke briefly. The droid turned to Mikau and said “I believe he says his name is Pontu Forto, and he is pleased to see us.”
“This is good. Extend our greetings from the heart of the Republic.”
The droid did that. When the Pheleeni was done responding, Y3 translated. “He seems to insist that though he is ‘joyful of Republic’, we should not be here.”
Mikau thought about that for a moment. “Why not?”
The answer came back after a moment. “He says that it is ‘make no time’, which I take to mean that we shouldn’t be here just now. He says that ‘near time great…’ I’m fairly certain he’s saying precipitation here. Rain.”
“Rain?” Mikau looked upwards. Only two small clouds hovered in the perfect blue sky, like tiny puffs of smoke. They seemed to be dwindling. “I beg your pardon, Y3, but those clouds could never condense enough moisture to rain. I hail from a rain-soaked planet, where the oceans toss and heave, fed by the constant torrents. This is a desert.”
“Yes sir, I noted that as well. Still, mister Forto seems to be stating that it will rain soon, and that this is somehow a problem.”
The droid and the Pheleeni spoke again. Y3 said “He tells us we can ‘yes ship make’, or that we can repair the ship. We can do it soon, apparently, but we cannot do it now. ‘Make no time, though ship make time near’.”
Mikau related the conversation with the others. No matter how ridiculous it might seem to fear impending rain under clear skies, the two Jedi Knights thought it best to obey the local’s counsel. The pilot volunteered to take the Indelible offplanet until after it had rained. Magnus was given a ground-to-orbit comlink, and the ship lifted up into the sky.
Y3 said “Our host graciously says that we should ‘make go under’, or go inside the hut with him now. I don’t believe he thinks it safe out here.”
The sky was now perfectly clear.
The group walked into the hut with the alien and the door closed behind them. Inside it was cramped and the sun acted like on the hut like a greenhouse. It was uncomfortably warm within, but the Pheleeni didn’t seem to mind. The humans and the kaminoan, however, began to perspire.
After a time, Jaren grew impatient of waiting. “Our friend here said soon we could get the ship fixed, is that right? What’s the holdup?”
Before Y3 had a chance to ask the Pheleeni, the comlink crackled.
“Indelible to ground, Indelible to ground…” the pilot’s voice said, nervous and fuzzed by static. “We’ve got a problem.”
Several kilometers above the surface, the ship had broken through the blue of Phelene’s ozone and was emerging into the dark space of the planet’s orbit, dwarfed by the immense Separatist ship waiting there.
More to come…
Stone Angel
First Post
Yeah more update goodness....
The Seraph of Earth and Stone
The Seraph of Earth and Stone
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strawberryJAMM
First Post
Just wanted to say that I am enjoying this. I'd always heard that Dr. Midnight's story hours were good, but as there hasn't been a current one I couldn't do anything to verify that.
Looking forward to the next update.
Jenni
PS: I hope you will post an illustration of the natives to this most recent planet - they sound very interesting.
=JAMM
Looking forward to the next update.
Jenni
PS: I hope you will post an illustration of the natives to this most recent planet - they sound very interesting.
=JAMM
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Dr Midnight
Explorer
strawberryJAMM
First Post
Kewlness! Thanks!Dr Midnight said:
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