RPlog:Futile Research - Arrival

Depot -- New Alderaan: Ord Mantell

The Ord Mantell supply depot is sandwiched between the back end of the planet's New Republic Military compound, and the range of tall hills that surround New Alderaan. Central to the depot is an expansive landing pad, surrounded on all sides by supply warehouses of every kind, and a repair garage for ground and air machines. Built into the closest hills themselves are the starship hangars and repair facilities. The size of the hangars and repair bays, from outside, is misleading. They are a multi-level operation built into the ground, and fully equipped with a series of cranes and elevators meant to transport starships from storage and repair levels. A broad roadway leads away from the military compound, heading east toward a broad, open field.

The massive exodus of refugees from Dac to Ord Mantell? It hasn't happened yet. Only a few major transports have come in, under the protection of the NRCRV /Audacity/ and her support ships. Hundreds of refugees from the first wave are still being processed by the local authorities, placed into hotels, and given digital paperwork that will help them begin building a new life in New Alderaan. So, how does one explain the sheer mass of cargo ships that are making landfall, not only in the main starport, but here at the New Republic Military Depot? Well, it could easily be explained when some massive machinery starts unloading from the bulk freighters that have brought them in. Bulk recyclers from Furo-Corp, to recycle trash and waste into building materials. Massive construction droids to build new buildings. Large pieces of equipment meant to upgrade Beyerplest's old coal-burning power facilites into new fusion-core reactor systems. The expansion phase of New Alderaan has begun, and Luke Skywalker is taking a breather, perched atop his X-Wing and chewing on a piece of freeze dried nerf meat.

Nestled into the landing queue among all those cargo ships is a small sloop about one-third the size of just one of them. Gently curved from bow to stern, the Wild Rose had made a sharp but slow turn into her final pattern and settled almost perfectly aside one of the taller landing structures. An oddity of design, the sloop's embarkation area is on the /uppermost/ deck; it takes some time, but the military landing area is well-equipped and soon has a long gangway extended to the ship's hangar. While his crew is assigned to take care of the non-resident refugees they had ferried from Dac, Enb'Zik is among the first to make the hundred-or-so meter trip up the ramp to the lifts that will carry passengers and crew alike back to ground level, or further into the heart of the bunker as necessary. Zik catches sight of Jedi One through the transparisteel lift windows, that logo on her hull being somewhat unique. Glancing down at the ten year-old girl with him, he comments, "It looks like Luke is already here."

Clutching their meager belongings, a crowd of youngsters, who is by now getting tired of each others' company, scrambles tiredly out the ramp of the Wild Rose, trailing behind the Sullustan. Some of the more enterprising youth have acquired new belongings in their time on Dac, but having misplaced some possessions is not uncommon for this group. Leading the pack for once, and not trailing behind lost in her own thoughts, a young brown-haired girl alertly looks around the military complex. Arise didn't lose anything on Dac herself, rather she gave it away, and it really wasn't "hers" in the first place. But the only thing that matters now is her guarded way of surveying the view: was this really such a good idea? She looks up at Enb'Zik when he starts talking to her and blinks. Luke? She glances in the direction he was looking. "Oh. Mr. Skywalker."

With his arc-welder patching up a piston on /Jedi One's/ nose landing strut, R2-D2 pauses long enough to wheel backwards and bleep a message up at Luke. "Yes, Artoo," replies Luke. "A promise is a promise." He leans forward, mirth in his eyes as he regards the droid from the top of his fighter. "But you have to wait for the parts to ship in." R2-D2 blats, and rolls back under the ship to resume his welding.

Ikihsa chuckles at Arise and nods, "Yes, Mr. Skywalker. Only every time I've ever tried to call him that, he's insisted that I be less formal." The lift settles at the tarmac level and opens, and Enb'Zik steps out before turning to make eye contact with another Sullustan that seems to be riding herd of the group of youngsters. The two speak briefly in Sullustese, Zik motioning at one point at Arise before the other nods. Then, looking to the girl, Zik explains, "Mr. Vegnu is going to secure quarters for your group. You can go with them, or if you'd like, you can go visit Luke with me."

When Enb'zik chuckles, Arise looks a little worried. "I thought the REEEALLY formal way to say it is 'Master Skywalker,' but there's something about that way that just sounds weird, I think. Maybe I'm wrong..." The girl looks to see where the other Sullustan is trying to get the attention of all the other kids. They mostly just file along, eager to get somewhere more comfortable to sleep. "What do you think I should do?"

Luke sighs slightly. "I swear, It's like trying to discipline a retarded womprat sometimes," he murmurs, definitely under his breath, and hopefully quiet enough that R2-D2's aural receptors won't catch it over the welder's hissing. He rises to his feet and hops down from the top of the starfighter, landing with a thud on the tarmac, and turns to observe the expansive, busy starport. Two Furo-Corp recycling machines are being unloaded from one of the larger cruisers... the devices are so large they took up the entire bulk freighter's interior! The Jedi Master's eyes widen... it'll be impressive to see those monsters in action, as they plow through the trash dumps west of New Alderaan, recycling waste into building materials. The rest of the Military landing port is busy with similar activities... construction droids among many of the devices being unloaded. The planetary government sure is taking a financial hit on this, but it will undoubtedly pay off. As long as the military can defend the system...

"It's really up to you, Arise," Enb'Zik answers. "If you're as travel weary as the others, you may wish to rest for awhile. But if you're not ready to settle in just yet, you're more than welcome to come along. It's rare one sees Luke that /something/ interesting doesn't happening." Zik moves as if to begin walking toward the parked X-wing fighter, though he doesn't intend to hurry the girl, either. "Are you aware of why his formal title is Master?" Zik asks.

Well, of course, it's only polite to continue a conversation, rather than interrupt it, so the natural thing for Arise to do is to keep walking along with Enb'Zik. Or maybe the girl really wants an excuse to find out what the Jedi has been thinking, but she won't admit it. She almost smiles when delivering the obvious response: "Well of course everyone knows why that is!" But this place definitely has her somewhat on edge. She furiously grips the strap of her one small bag.

Shael emerges from an office, just in time to see Luke's repeat-acrobatics, dismounting from his X-Wing once again. Something the Jedi Master does for kicks? Along with her usual wrinkled coveralls, she wears a big grin on her face and carries a piece of a flimsiplast in her hand. New work secured, and probably for a while, what with all the supplies the New Republic will need to be shipping here for the refugees.

Luke is almost a full meter away from the X-Wing before his eyes catch sight of a familiar, though unlikely, duo. Walking his way, Luke turns to face Enb'Zik and Arise, a smile forming on his face at seeing the former. However, as they draw into closer proximity, the Jedi Master begins to sense the tension radiating from the younger one. His eyes go toward Arise, but he makes every attempt to hide the fact that he notices anything. He simply waits for them to draw near enough to strike up conversation. R2-D2 keeps working on that landing strut.

Shael Shael is a young lady, in the truest sense of the term. She looks to be no older than her late teens, and usually wears a friendly and relaxed grin. Or a look of concentration if she's engaging in her favorite past times, piloting and racing. Her hair is kept at about shoulder length, and is a dark shade of blonde, though it used to be lighter when she spent more time out in the sun as a child. She tends to dress in messy and wrinkled coveralls that usually have a splotch or two of grease on them. At least they're cleaner than Whisler's.

Eddies. Ones Enb'Zik might actually recognize if he were paying a little closer attention to the medium in which they swirl. "Oh, Everyone?" he asks, lifting a hand as he sees Luke looking their direction. "You might be surprised if you knew the whole answer. There's a history lesson buried in there somewhere." Maybe they'll get to it before they reach Skywalker, or maybe it will have to wait until later.

If she was in almost any other mood, Arise's curiosity would be piqued at the prospect of a history lession, especially considering the state of sheer boredom that many of the other evacuee children experienced on Dac. But not now. Instead, She starts to regret this decision, feeling a pang of rebuke in the Sullustans' tone. Her gaze falls to stare at the ground disappearing below her feet as she walks. Seeing no reason to NOT approach the extremely friendly and approachable Jedi Master, Shael makes her way over towards Luke with a bounce in her step to match her grin. This whole refugee thing is turning out to be very lucrative for her. Not that she was happy about Coruscant being taken, of course. Because... She's not. It's only when she's closer that she notices the Sullustan and the child also making their way over towards Luke, and she turns to look at them curiously. Especially the Sullustan. They all look a like, right? It's gotta be a different Sullustan. Surely.

"Hey, you two," says Luke in greeting, and, on noticing Shael from the corner of his eye, turns to greet her as well. Glancing at the flimsi in her hand, he raises his eyebrows. "I guess that means we'll still be seeing you around these parts?"

This time Enb'Zik does notice something of a hitch in Arise's step, and he looks down at her curiously. There'd be no rebuke whatever intended in his voice, and whatever else might be the underlying cause of her new hesitation, he clearly has no idea what it is. "Hi, Luke," he greets the man. He's glad the rendezvous has gone as planned and has a short update, but he turns back to the girl first. "Arise, are you alright?"

There Enb'zik goes with the first-name thing again. Oy. Arise is acutely reminded just how out of her depth she should feel. But another, growing, part of the girl's mind knows she can't feel this way forever. She's her own person, and that has to be worth something, right? "I..." It takes her a moment to figure out how to say what's on her mind. "I hope the Republic made the right decision here," she continues softly. "There's still some supplies they're lacking," Shael confirms for Luke. "So I've got another few runs to do. Easy enough work, and safe. Unlike that last mess you got me into." Right. That's Luke's fault now? Wasn't it Daana that lined that job up for Shael? "Helping and paying off the bills at the same time. Not bad for a day's work."

That last mess had also gotten Kyrin tortured and nearly maimed for information by Imperial ISB agents. A shadow crosses Luke's face as he recalls the memory... he will always have to control his anger when it comes to the Empire. "Well, you deserve the work," he notes, shying away from memories of Operation Shado Kolpo. "You're trustworthy." Choosing not to intrude on the conversation that is developing between Zik and Arise, he keeps his attention fixed on Shael, for the moment. "Have /you/ had a chance to take a look at the rest of the city?" His tone suggests that he, still, has not.

What a fascinating consideration, Enb'Zik marvels. From a ten year-old human, no less. He finds himself nodding slowly, "So do I, Arise." He tilts his head thoughtfully, for he had been not only 'the Republic' who had made the decision; it had been his delegation among a few others that had proposed it in the first place. "You're in a good place," he reassures her. "We picked it for good reasons. It's safe, there's enough room for everyone, and the Empire won't likely think to look here. Deciding where to put refugees that will be best for them is a hard task, but we've worked hard at this. I really think it is the right decision."

At first, the serious declaration from the Sullustan brings some relief to the girl. At least she's not alone. But then she realizes that wasn't what he meant, and her expression falls in an obviously tired wince. "I'm sorry, sir. But you really mean that the Empire won't think to look right behind them, were we could just reach up and tap them on the shoulder if we wanted? You think?" Shael glances curiously at the girl for a moment, before turning back to answer Luke. "Well, if there's one thing Karrde taught me it's 'keep your mouth shut or /other/ people will die because of it.' Not something I want on my conscience. And no, I haven't had much time to look around. Getting my paycheck took a bit longer then I thought. Then there was the matter of finding some food, and tracking down someone to get another shipment assigned to me... Been a full day."

Luke bobs his head slowly. "I know what you mean. You wouldn't believe it, but I've even got /staffing/ problems up on the mothership. I've got some new, promising crew but..." He pauses, not entirely sure how best to explain a long, complicated situation to someone who just has never been a part of it. He eventually shakes his head and says, "Nevermind." A snippet of the conversation between Enb'Zik and Arise is caught by the Jedi Master. Perhaps more than just a mere snippet, if we're honest with each other here, for with a simple moment's thought, he can begin to understand the feelings bouncing between the girl and the Sullustan. He glances their way once more with an intuitive look... but it would be beyond rude to butt in on their conversation.

Enb'Zik smiles at Arise but winces at Shael's pronouncement about people dying. Talk about your bad timing. The Sullustan casts a look in the woman's direction, then lowers himself into a crouch that's more at Arise's height. "Young one," he begins, "On the surface it may not make much sense. But deeper down, when you know some of the things the Senate knows and knew before they decided to send all of us here, it's the safest place we can be. Even if the Empire sees, you have my word we'll be safe here. Be at ease, okay?"

In war, it is impossible to know everything. Especially that innocent refugees will be perfectly safe though surrounded on three sides by the enemy. But Enb'Zik has spent years in this fight on every front, both government and military, and now Jedi, as well. He'd risked his own life, his wife's, and the lives of many good soldiers for the purpose of rescuing the innocent and spiriting them away to safety. He have never voted for Ord Mantell without very good reason and utter certainty that, if not perfect, it was the best choice available.

If he's trying to reassure her, it isn't working. One day, she hopes that someone will actually sit down with all these kids and actually talk with them about all this stuff. But apparently today isn't the right day. "I'm sorry. Maybe I'm more tired than I thought. Maybe I can't think straight yet. Maybe I should just go."

"The mothership?" Shael asks curiously. "The Jedi's ship, you mean?" What do they have, a capital ship? "I'm sure you'll get it sorted out. There are plenty of people out there who'd just love to work for you and the Jedi, I bet." Shael isn't volunteering, though. She's got more than enough employers already. Plus, Enb'zik has her distracted, now, when he says the keyword. 'Senate.' Frell. It IS the Senator, isn't it? At least no one's said her name, yet. Hopefully no one ever will.

Glancing over to Shael, Luke nods his head. "Yeah... plenty of people," he notes, as if to suggest that more people might want to work with the Jedi than are qualified for the demands. He turns his head back to the other two, and says, "Perhaps we all ought to turn in, get some rest. It's been a busy day... tomorrow will only have more in store. But Zik's right, Arise... we /will/ be protected here." He glances to Enb'Zik and Shael, then gives them all his most sincere farewell, with a nod of his head. "May the Force be with us." Leaving R2-D2 to the task at hand, he turns and heads for the mililtary compound, where he'll find himself a bunk for the night. Hopefully.