A Jarful of Swarm (PM for invite)

[Jorzen Quank]

The Ark Royal touched down gently on one of the grassy plateaus of Karra. Quank's data chart showed that it was known as Choba's Point, overlooking Choba's Pass, in the Choba region. The Beast Hunter didn't know who Choba was, and didn't care. He was here to collect insects.

He'd found nothing in the guild's armory that he thought might help him, so had set out with only his own ship, weaponry, and gear to serve him. Said gear consisted of the envrionmental suit needed to protect himself from the Swarmers, a massive tank, and a large, long hose similar to the ones used by firefighters. The hose extended nearly one hundred meters from the ship's cargo bay. Quank had, in the past, used it to draw water as well as flush sewage, but this time, if things went right it would be used as a tunnel.

Now suited, the hunter checked his blaster, descended the landing ramp, and began the hunt for the first part of his plan.

 

[Jorzen Quank]

In the end, Quank had had to return to the Ark and retrieve a grav sled in order to haul the carcass of the 3-meter-long legworm, but the thing was now laying before the hose connected to the ship. Using a long knife, the hunter sliced the worm open and, as extra incentive, took a spray bottle of blood out and sprayed the worm near the head before heading back inside the ship.

Now, the wait.

Since he had time until (he hoped) the insects started to arrive and feast, the hunter decided to take a look around. Moving to the edge of the cliff overlooking the pass, Jorzen spotted something unusual, some half kilometer to his left, also near the cliff's edge. What he had first taken to be several trees seemed, in fact, to be mobile, and moving in his direction. Jorzen assumed they'd been drawn by the arrival of his ship, and wondered if they were the ones Matsu Ike had mentioned. Curious, he thought, as they were all supposed to be dead. Taking a glance back at his ship, Jorzen decided to meet them halfway.

As the two groups approached each other on the high top of the pass, Jorzen spread his arms wide to show he meant no harm, but realized the environmental suit he wore somewhat obscured his facial features. "Hello," he called to them. "I'm not from around here. Just visiting, picking up some insect samples. Not a Karran native, so..."

The three tree-like aliens, which Jorzen could now see easily topped twelve feet in height each, spread their branches in a mimicking gesture. Quank could hear their green leaves rustling, though no breeze filled the air.

"Sorry, I don't understand you. I thought...didn't the Karran's..."

The lead tree-thing moved even close to the cliff's edge, and bent a bough downwards. Jorzen, still too far away to be knocked off the cliff by one of the creatures, looked over. There, he saw a series of ledges, with cave openings in each.

"There? You live down there? Have you been hiding all this time?"

Leaves shook once more.

"Hunh."

The tree-like aliens moved still closer to Jorzen. In response, the hunter moved away from the edge of the cliff, since he still couldn't judge the creature's intent, placing them between himself and the pass. The aliens moved past Quank, their rooted trunks carrying them like wooden tenticles across the earth beneath them. As they passed, Jorzen could see the indication of facial features about three quarters of the way up their trunks; boles that resembled eyes, openings where a mouth might be. Once of the three had a blackened scar running down its right side and was missing several large branches near its crown, as if it had been struck by lightning.

The hunter fell in behind the tree creatures, having to walk quickly to keep up with the large creature's pace, until they stopped before his ship. The scarred one turned on its many roots, raising one of its thick limbs and making its rustling conversation.

"My ship," said Jorzen.

The tree pointed again, more forcefully, and rustled louder.

"It's my ship," repeated Jorzen, confused. Sighing, he pondered the situation, while at the same time seeing that insects had already begun to swarm the corpse of the legworm. "Look, I need to go inside my ship and start collecting these insects. I'm looking for Swarmers. The tiny ones. I'll be right back."

Quank moved to the opposite side of the ship, away from the insects and worm, lowered the landing ramp, and jogged up. Once inside, he removed his head covering and gloves, laying them near the door. Moving quickly through the ship, he arrived in the cargo bay, where the intake hose was attached to a large tank normally reserved for aquatic creatures. Activating the suction, Jorzen was able to pull hundreds of flying insects into the tank. As he shut the hose off, he only hoped that he'd gotten the Swarmers as well.

As the hunter moved to pick up an analyizer, though, the ship rang out with a heavy blow, then another, and a third.

"I've got a bad et cetera and so forth," he murmured.

 

[Jorzen Quank]

Abandoning his desire to see if he'd managed to catch the Swarmers, Jorzen bolted back up to the cockpit, looking through the viewscreen. The three tree-like aliens were now standing along the port side of the Ark Royal, at the entrance hatch. Jorzen heard another impact as the three mighty creatures struck the side of his ship.

"The hell?" he muttered. Heading back to the hatch, he quickly donned the gloves and helmet of his environmental suit, drew his blaster, and opened the hatch, but didn't engage the landing ramp.

"Stop it!" he yelled, lowering his blaster. "What's wrong with you?"

The three tree-things each took several root-filled steps backwards, all rustling at the same time.

"This is futile," Jorzen sighed. "Look, I don't know what you're saying, and I can't have Swarmers entering my ship. I wouldn't even know if they were here. They could be inside now. My skin is itchy," he added to himself, though he was certain the tiny Swarmers couldn't penetrate his suit.

The tree creature with the burn marks and missing limbs approached. It gestured to the blackened scars, then to the place where Jorzen imagined the mouth was.

"You can't communicate?" he asked. The tree rustled.

Jorzen Quank had never been technically trained in the use of the Force, though had spent some time among those who had, didn't refer to himself as a Force user, or attempt to draw attention to himself. But there were things he'd taught himself to do, living among the Tusken Raiders on Tatooine, and one of them was to draw from a planet's essence and coax plants to grow. It was a skill that had saved his life, and the lives of his former clansmen, more than once, for the sands of Tatooine did not yield its secrets lightly.

Jorzen tilted his head to one side, feeling the energy of the Force coarse through him, settling over him like a blanket. Because of the tree creature's height, Jorzen was able to reach it by simply sitting on edge of the door frame. He reached out slowly with his hands. The tree creature, sensing what the hunter wanted, sidled closer.

A warm green glow eminated from Jorzen, spreading to the alien. The tree creature's roots suddenly dug deeper into the ground, and an audible sigh escaped the hollow boles of the tree as all its limbs shuddered. Jorzen took no notice; he was amazed by the power he felt coursing through him.

Suddenly, he heard a voice in his head, like a whisper through fog: "Yes."

 

[Jorzen Quank]

Jorzen startled at the mental intrusion, but kept his hands on the tree-thing. Where only moments before there had been necrocytosis, now the blackened scars turned tan and green, and tiny shoots began to sprout upon the blackened branches where nothing had been able to grow.

"You can communicate mentally?" asked Jorzen aloud.

"I can," said the creature in his mind. "I am the Speaker."

Quank removed his hands, feeling he'd done as much as he could. "I'm Jorzen Quank."

"I am Eofyr, Speaker of the Io."

"Why can't the others speak?" asked Jorzen.

"They do not touch the Force. Speakers have the ability to communicate with those who are not Io."

"Are there more of you here? I thought you were all..." he left the sentence unfinished.

"We three are all that are left. Eyon, Gwyyd, and myself."

Curiosity piqued, Quank asked, "Are the Io related to the Neti?"

Eofyr's leaves rattled gently. "Very good, Jorzen Quank. Once, long ago, we came from the same place. But just like the Humans, we went in different directions, evolving separately. The Io have not been seen or heard from in hundreds upon hundreds of years."

"Next question then: why were you punching my ship?"

The leaves of all three Ioans shook in unison.

"Wait, they can understand me too?"

"Yes. I speak to you and translate to all. I am the Speaker."

"And you hit my ship because....?"

"We need a ride."

 

[Jorzen Quank]

Jorzen blinked. "You...need a ride."

"Yes. We have been here too long, hiding within the remnants of the vermigio mines that run through this range, coming out only long enough to gain nutrition from the sun. It has been a lonely existance, one that will end only with our extinction. The three of us don't want to die here. We want to leave, to go somewhere where we can plant our roots, drop our pollinated seeds, and thrive once more. Perhaps even reconnect with our Neti cousins. Your ship is large enough to carry us."

Jorzen nodded. "And what's in it for me?"

Several of Eofyr's branches moved. "What can we provide?"

Jorzen smiled. "I'm told you've developed molecular converters. Do you have any left?"

"Three," replied Eofyr. "One for each of us. The rest have been destroyed, broken, or fallen apart due to disuse."

"Well I don't want to leave you with none, so I'll take two."

"One."

Jorzen snorted. "Two."

"One."

"You do want to leave, don't you? No pun intended?"

"Fine, Jorzen Quank. Two. But we will require transport to a place that has the technological capability to allow us to build more, and in private. Our technological advances are held very closely."

Jorzen nodded. "I'll show you my maps while one of you goes back for the magic boxes."

 

[Jorzen Quank]

The beast hunter's work room was too small to accomodate the twelve-foot-tall arboreal creatures, so he'd brought his nav unit to the animal holding area and set it up on a work station. Activating it, a holo of the Outer Rim sprang up, illuminating the space.

"We're here," Jorzen said, pointing to Karra on the star chart. "I don't know how far away you want to move from the Rim, but I don't think you really need to, because..." He traced a line with his finger. "There. This is Cerea. The Cereans work hard to establish a peaceful rapport with nature. I've been there a few times myself, and I think it oculd be just what you're looking for." He keyed a button that zoomed in on the blue-green world, showing huge land masses covered in foliage.

"Yes," said Eofyr. "You are wise, Jorzen Quank. We believe this will suit our purposes well."

"So that's settled," said the hunter. "Now let's go check on my Swarmers."

 

[Jorzen Quank]

On the other side of the Ark Royal's bay, Jorzen shut off the intake hose, sealed the clear contained, and turned on the scanner, searching for his prize among the myriad insects flitting around or settling on the containers walls, floor, or ceiling. He moved the scanner back and forth slowly, deliberately, moving in sections to find any trace of the microscopic Swarmers.

"Nothing," he grumbled. "A tank full of pests, but nothing I need."

"What is it you seek?" asked the Speaker of the Io.

"They're called Swarmers," Jorzen explained, making another pass with the scanner, hoping he'd missed them the first time, that their size and speed had hidden them. "They're microscopic insects that the Karrans learned to control. Apparently they were able to send them up against enemies. A facefull of tiny bugs getting into your eyes, nose, and mouth has something of a negative impact on morale."

The Ioans rattled their branches, the sound whispering through the bay.

"That almost sounded like laughter," said Jorzen, lowering the scanner.

Eofyr leaned forward. "We know all about your Swarmers, Jorzen Quank. The Karrans used them against us for a time. It was an error."

Intrigued, Jorzen turned to regard the Speaker. "In what way?" he asked.

"Turn your scanner to me, and see."

Jorzen did as he was bade. Instantly the scanner registered dozens, hundreds, thousands of the tiny life forms. "They're on you!" he grinned.

"The Swarmers, as you call them, travel with us. They feed on our excess bark, keeping us clean. They are so small, and we are so large, that we have developed an understanding."

Jorzen looked the Ioan in its eye boles. "Well, can I have some?"

"Of course you can. They breed at an amazing pace, and have short lifespans. If you would like, we will keep them on us until we reach Cerea, after which time we will send them to your containment chamber. You should gather some fresh, non-sentient wood from outside to provide them sustenance and a reason to leave us."

Jorzen nodded, then went over to the case where he'd attempted to gather the Swarmers, reopened the line, and turned it to reverse, expelling the insects he'd gathered back into the Karran air.

 

[Jorzen Quank]

"The Neti are capable of changing their size," said Jorzen conversationally, sitting cross-legged atop the now-empty tank as they waited for Gwyyd. "Can you do that? It might make it easier for you to travel."

"We cannot," returned Eofyr. "Once maybe, but our growth is linear in fashion, born out across decades, until we reach our destined height and fullness."

The ship rang with a mighty blow. "I need to install a bell," said Jorzen, jumping to his feet, "before someone knocks a hole in my hull."

Making his way to the hatch, he let the third Ioan inside. "You've got the boxes?" he asked, getting right down to business. The tree-thing inclined its flexible trunk, peering down at the man, and held out a long brown branch. Cradled in its leafy appendages were three boxes as promised. Each was roughly three feet long, a foot and a half tall, and two feet wide, bronze and grey in color. A funnel-type hopper stood atop one end, while one end stood open. Jorzen saw a retractable ramp and table stand built into each. Jorzen took two, finding them much heavier than he'd anticipated, and led the way back to Eofyr. "Okay, so let's make sure these things work, and we can get some Swarmers in my tank, and get you three to your new home!"

Gwyyd rustled branches in the direction of the other two, who returned the gesture. Jorzen assumed they were filling their friend in on what was missed while retriveing the matter converters. After a few exchanges, Eofyr turned to look at Jorzen once more.

"You feed organic matter into the hopper at the top," he explained. "The device destabilizes the organic matter, taking the energy and reconstituting it into other forms. For example the hay you have stacked in bins against the wall can be turned into rope, or fabric."

"Fantastic!" beamed Jorzen. "Lead into gold?"

Eofyr rustled his branches in amusement. "No, that would be alchemy."

 

[Jorzen Quank]

Jorzen grabbed two armloads of hay from a nearby empty stable, breathing in the warm earthy smell of the feed, and carried it over to the machine. Across the section that wasn't taken up by the hopper he saw digital instructions lit up in Galactic Basic, with options for other languages as well. He scrolled through the choices until he came to textile. From there several sub-menus opened, and the hunter kept keying data until he was satisfied. He then proceeded to turn the machine on and begin feeding the large amount of hay carefully, so as not to jam the intake, and kept it up until his hands were empty. Before he was even done he saw a colorful scarf appearing at the other end, coiling and spilling across the holding tank he'd set it upon. "That's a big scarf," he smiled.

Demonstration complete, Jorzen wiped his hands on his pant legs. "All right, you, let's get you out of here."

 

[Jorzen Quank]

It was as Jorzen was settling into the pilot's seat that he saw the figures coming across the ground. A quick glace showed at least a dozen, running low to the ground, with what looked to be some sort of modified blaster strapped to their backs.

"Company!" he shouted over his shoulder. "Grab hold of something or get yourselves into a holding pen! The Karrans have found you and ---" Blaster fire shot forth, but the rat-like natives of the planet didn't hit with their first volley. "They're not happy!"

Quank punched the engines and initiated lift-off, the force from the large ship taking off sending the Karrans scattering in all directions.

As the natives had no means of following, the Ark Royal was soon clear of Karran's atmosphere, and a course plotted to Cerea. With the auto pilot engaged, Jorzen was able to check on the health and safety of his passengers.

Epilogue

"You have found us a good home," came the thought of the Io Speaker. "Were it not for you, the Io would have perished on Karra, lost to memory." Eofyr placed a hand-like branch on the beast hunter's shoulder.

"Happy to help," smiled Jorzen. "Without you I wouldn't have been able to complete my job, or at least it would've been much harder. And those matter transformers will come in handy as well."

"We wish you peace, Jorzen Quank."

"And you, Speaker of the Io."