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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 1870266" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 60: Contact“This is just too much ground to cover,” Voort commented after their third stop through the exploration of the desert. It was not, according to Hansen, the deep desert yet. In fact, that was well beyond the bleak horizon. Sand. Spreading out in all directions. They had stopped each time at a rock outcropping. According to Hansen, natural caves provided the best cover and were common sites for small communities. She failed to mention until much later that they should also be watching the ground closely. Watching for small, almost miniature dunes. Those were signs of an ‘opening’ down to a Topsider community. Most of which were below ground, though many of the males resided in the caves of Narani who had been driven off.    Hansen, who was standing up on a larger rock, trying to examine the rest of the outcropping for any kind of cave. Seeing none, she sighed and allowed herself to nod, “There is still much ground to cover.”    Another sigh came from Landau. He was sitting on top of the canopy of the landspeeder, allowing his backside to burn on the metal but not really minding it all the much. Once you got used to the heat, it really wasn’t all that bad. His eyes were on the distant horizon ahead of them, watching as the star that Arranis orbited began its long and slow fall below the horizon. Over his shoulder, he said, “We’ll want to be getting back soon.”    Stepping down from her perch, Hansen nodded with a look of dismay across her face, “Yes...”    Jen, who was standing next to Voort and pondering the lack of wildlife. There should be at least something, as the Topsiders were apparently native. That meant that life had once developed here. But where was the rest of it? It seemed highly unlikely that all of the reptilian creatures that Topsiders evolved from had simply disappeared. Then what? All of them evolved? Again, unlikely. Somehow, Jen had a feeling that this was an important link in a chain she knew nothing about. Hearing the new discussion on heading back, Jen raised an eyebrow, “I thought we had a ways to go?”    “We do,” said Hansen, passing by Voort and Jen and moving back to the speeder, “But night in the desert here is dangerous.”    “I get the feeling it isn’t just the drop in temperature,” Voort said quietly to Jen as a side comment.    Jen smiled at this, but stayed silent. Hearing his friend’s comment, Landau also smiled and climbed down off of the speeder, “Topsiders do their hunting at night.”    Despite not having encountered the reptilian natives of Arranis yet, the constant worries about the Topsiders were enough for even Voort to want to avoid them if possible. Not needing any more encouragement, he stepped down and walked over to the speeder. Jen followed, and in a matter of minutes they were all back in the speeder. Hansen had the engines powered up and they were off, turning back to the west where the larger rock formations were. Where their temporary home was.    After only a few minutes traveling across the slowly darkening desert, Jen began to feel a strange...almost pushing at her mind. It was subtle, but in no way gentle. Almost...searching, but more like prying. Hunting even. Carefully, she tugged on Voort’s sleeve gently. Leaning close, she whispered, “I...there’s something...”    Voort just nodded, speaking even quieter, “Push it out of your mind. Focus on something else and he will go.”    He. The moment that she heard the word, she thought the name. A twinge of pain shot through her mind before she managed to push the thought away with another. At first, Jen found herself thinking of home. Alderaan. So many years ago. At a time like this, smiling was almost out of place, but a small smile did creep onto her face. But despite the pain the memories would bring when she allowed, if she simply remembered the look on her sister’s face the day she’d been married. Strangely, though, her thoughts wandered. From that, she saw friends. Some long dead, but she felt not reason to grieve, simply glad to see their faces at least once more. But one face...one face she stared at for a long time.    Opening her mouth to say something, Jen was surprised to be at a loss for words. Voort saw this, and raised an eyebrow. She tried again, barely managing to speak, “You...you were the one on Mon Calamari.”    A strange look suddenly washed over Voort. A mix of pain, remembrance, and something else she couldn’t pinpoint. And then a realization came over him, too, as she remember her face from ten years earlier, “The scientist that got away...”    “You were Talon,” Jen said, remembering the massacre at the research facility she’d been stationed at on Mon Calamari during the Rebellion. Wiped out by what was at first assumed to be a larger Imperial Commando force, but was soon discovered to be the act of a single Imperial. This discovery came from the fact that two more facilities were lost in much the same way soon after. Talon was that Imperial. And Voort was Talon. No wonder she’d felt a strange sense of familiarity upon seeing him. The day her friends had been killed, she’d hid in a locker, and stared through the slits straight into his face. She was sure he knew she was there...but he simply left. Why...?    “You reminded me of my wife,” Voort said very quietly.    Nothing else was spoken on this. What could be said? He’d killed many of her friends, and that was only a matter of years after her family and other friends were killed on Alderaan. It had seemed like a perfect one two punch...and here was the man who delivered the second. And yet...there was a feeling there that shouldn’t have been. Something she couldn’t completely explain just yet, but part of her worried about what it could mean. Or even if it was a good thing.    The speeder stopped. That snapped Jen and Voort back into the reality around them. The sun had set, leaving a large black with only slight blues from the light of the small moon hanging in the sky. No question had to be asked as to why they’d stopped. It was plainly obvious. A large group of humanoid shapes stood in the way. In fact, they were now surrounding the speeder completely. Part of Voort thought that they should just plow on through, but the large build of the creatures warned against that. It was likely they’d manage to cause damage to the speeder before it got away.    “Topsiders,” Landau said, already getting his blaster pistol out and very thankful for the close canopy of the speeder.    “A large group,” added Hansen, glancing back to Voort and Jen.    Voort sat forward, carefully examining the long blades in many of the now noticeably reptilian creatures. If the powerful tails didn’t give that away , the lizard like heads sure did. Even in the low light. But the blades were what had Voort’s attention. Half meter...no, at least meter long swords of a metal he couldn’t identify in the low light. Just as he was about to comment on an possible course of action, one of the Topsiders, dead center, stepped forward.    It...no, he stopped directly in front of the speeder’s nose. The Topsider had a large, sand colored tone to its scales. He wore what looked to be a lighter version of the Narani’s robe, minus the hood. Tilting his head slightly, the two eyes could be seen focusing to try to see through the viewport. As they all sat waiting, the Topsider spoke in a harsh, strained Basic, “You will sssstep out of thisss machine, Narani.”    All of them exchanged glances. It was agreed upon that this was a bad idea. However, so was staying inside. None of them thought that debating the point that they were not Narani was a good idea. Thankfully, only Hansen wore robes that would make her look like the Narani. The others had forgone the robes while traveling in the relative comfort of the speeder. So...they opened the canopy.    At the movement, all of the topsiders jumped, a low hissing sound heard from all of them. Well, except the one that had spoken. The fact that neither Hansen nor Landau had ever known a Topsider to speak Basic was another major point being avoided. Though they all stepped out, weapons were raised and aimed. Hansen’s at the Topsider standing closest, while Jen and Landau simply had weapons out in a more defensive position. Voort, though, only kept a hand at his belt. Every single one of them, save Voort and the lead Topsider, looked ready to pounce and kill at the slightest signal.    The two that stood still, however, were carefully watching each other as only predators could. The Topsider tilted its head, examining Voort in a very careful fashion. In a moment, he extended a clawed hand towards Voort, “You...you are not Narani...”    “No. I’m not,” Voort responded, flatly and dangerously. The advantage was in his hands, if only because the Topsider showed surprise and Voort an eerie calm. Even the other Topsiders saw this. All weapons lowered, as it quickly became obvious that neither Voort or this Topsider(despite the sign of surprise) were to be trifled with.    “You...you not hunt ussss?” another question, though this time not nearly as surprised when compared to the Topsider’s first words. The creature was connecting and thinking. Far beyond the limits that Landau had described them. Obviously, these Topsiders were not all stupid brutes.    Voort’s tone, though, did not change, still holding the same cold air to it, “We do not.”    And then, in that moment when all the built up tension seemed to be ready to fade away, something snapped. Or rather, someone. From behind Voort, a Topsider hissed something in a strange language. A second later, there was a chorus of yells, and then they all charged. He and the lead Topsider exchanged last glances before both raised their weapons and charged each other. There was no choice left now.</blockquote>

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