Private Call Me Ishmael

[Jacen Nimdok]

Temple Island, Ahch-To

Nimdok had been to more remote planets, but few places had the aura of mystery Ahch-To projected. Depending on who you asked, it might be the birthplace of the original Jedi Order. If it wasn’t Tython, that is, or some other unidentified world.

All Nimdok knew was that he needed to come here, preferably before the Eternal Empire dug their claws into the untouched soil. Currently they were dealing with internal strife—their Emperor had betrayed them and gone missing, and had more or less officially been replaced by his second, the new Empress. In other words, there was no predicting what they would do next, but any ancient remains left on Ahch-To would be at risk due to the planet’s proximity to their expanding borders. Since Nimdok had made it his mission to keep as many artifacts of historical value (and power) out of Sith hands, this mission was mandatory. House arrest be damned.

He wasn’t alone, of course. There were other archaeologists and anthropologists camped out on the planet as part of a larger effort to preserve the planet’s legacy, along with the occasional adventurer and treasure hunter who was only in it for the money and the fun of it all...

“Dad,” Miri said. When Nimdok didn’t respond, she spoke louder. “Daddy. Daddy.”

He looked up from his document-strewn datapad screen, where he had been cataloguing the team's latest findings. “Miri, Miri. What is it?”

His eight year old daughter pointed over the cliff where they were sitting, out toward the sea. “I saw a mermaid.”

“There are no Melodies on Ahch-To, Miri. You probably saw a big fish, or maybe an aquatic mammal.”

“It looked like a person though.”

Nimdok blinked and squinted in the direction she had pointed. “...That does look like a mermaid.”

“I told you so,” Miri said, exasperated. “It’s a lady and everything.”

Her father jammed his datapad into his pocket and stood up, moving closer to the cliff edge. The “mermaid” swam toward the shore below them, carried by the tide, and then managed to get her footing on the sand. “That’s not a mermaid, Miri.”

“Darn,” said Miri, who was always looking for mermaids.

The “mermaid” appeared to be a female Twi’lek wearing a diving suit. She dragged herself onto dry land, her posture and body language revealing exhaustion and, if Nimdok was a good judge of such things, extreme annoyance and/or disappointment. She yanked off her mask, tossed it on the sand, and then flopped down on the ground, gazing out at the sea. He didn't recognize her as a member of the archaeology team. So who was she?

Nimdok wasn’t sure whether to approach her or not. He glanced over at Miri, who stared back at him in expectation, then sighed. “All right, let’s go see what’s going on.”

The two followed the path down from the rocks to the sand. Nimdok gestured for Miri to stay back as he approached the Twi’lek. “Hello? Are you in trouble?”

Mi'la Undari​

 

[Mi'la Undari]

Mi'la didn't usually dabble in underwater antics, but this time was different. The latest transcriptions she had from the ancient Je'dai order had indicated there to be a ruined temple in the vicinity, lost within the oceans of the planet of Acho-to. Of course, being the curious mind she was, Mi'la couldn't resist.

She had no diving experiences, no real experience in underwater environments, and her only go to was an electronic map which she soon learned wasn't very water proof past five meters of depth. It was a wonder she hadn't killed herself in the first hour. Still, going with her gut feeling, she pressed on, diving deeper into the depths, probably far more than she should have. The water was an uncomfortable color, almost like an inky blue, seemingly more like swimming in hyperspace fuel than water. The strange aquatic life seemed to pay her little mind though, which helped her troubled mind, as she could focus her attention on finding the site. It was as her oxygen reached critical levels that she saw it, the faint trace of a stone structure, though between the condensation building up over her visor and the strain of being in a rather dangerous environment, the Twi'lek had to wonder at what she was seeing.

Mi'la released the small tracking beacon on her diving belt, before hitting the emergency surface device on her equipment. The regulator in her mouth reacted violently, sucking the air from her lungs as it rocketed her up to the surface of the ocean. Breaching the watery world under her, Mi'la coughed violently, spitting her regulator out as she guzzled down air. She needed to prepare more ahead of time. Without the force, this whole archeological buisness was rough. She glanced to the small watch on her wrist, the little blinking down indicated where a near by comm beacon was, which was her best chance to find help. With that set, she gently kicked in the direction, the ocean seemingly whisking her towards the shore, then suddenly seeming to turn on her.

What Mi'la had thought would be a calm swim to the shore, instead turned into a struggle to not drown. Her flotation device kept her from a watery grave, though the sea itself seemed to have other plans. Regardless, once she set upon shore, she crawled onto the land, prying her mask off and dropping onto the warm sand. Her eyes looked to the ocean just beyond, a small part morified at what had nearly befallen her, and dreading the idea of having to trudge back out there again. Before she could linger too much on her dark thoughts, a voice called to her, catching her attention. Gazing in the direction of the voice, Mi'la found a humanoid man approaching her, asking if she required aid. Where the hell had he been a few minutes ago? That would have been nice. Dropping back into the sand, Mi'la groaned, before waving her hand towards the man. "I'm fine, just nearly drowned is all." She remarked, before attempting to sit back up. She had a new discover that had to be shared, the whole drowning thing wasn'tnearly as important. "There's a whole damn temple out there, did you know that? Just out beyond here, right there in the sea!" She exclaimed, pointing out into the horizon, her tone exuberant as she nearly tripped over herself.

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

"I'm fine, just nearly drowned is all.”

The Twi’lek did indeed look rather waterlogged. Before Nimdok could ask her what exactly she had been doing in the ocean in the first place, she said something that stopped him dead in his tracks.

"There's a whole damn temple out there, did you know that? Just out beyond here, right there in the sea!"

“In… in the sea?” he echoed. “As in an underwater temple?”

His studies of Ahch-To hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort. Immediately intrigued, he began pelting her with questions. “Where did you hear about this temple? Did someone else tell you? Did you see it for yourself? Do you have any idea how old it is, who built it, and why?”

Slowing down, he realized he was getting way ahead of himself. “I’m Professor Nimdok. I’m part of the archaeology team here. And this is my daughter, Miri.” He gestured to Miri, who waved. “We’re trying to preserve the Jedi artifacts and ruins at this site. As far as I know, none of us were aware of an underwater temple.”

They had other things to worry about, like the sea leviathan that allegedly lived and hunted in Ahch-To's oceans and the terentatek-like beasts that were supposed to be deep in hibernation under the waters...

Mi'la Undari​

 

[Mi'la Undari]

Seeing she had stumbled upon a fellow archaeologist, Mi'la smiled, feeling that she was among her kind of people for once. "Yea, it's somewhere out there. I didn't get very close unfortunately, ran out of air and-" She stopped, feeling the need to cough over power her, as she needed to clear up some obstruction in her lungs; which turned out to be water. After that debacle, Mi'la waved to the younger girl, smiling as best she could despite everything. "Oh, well, I'm Mi'la, former jedi. I just sorta...do archaeology part time. Passion project really." She mused, sitting up as she felt her body was none too happy with her.

Ignorance was bliss, clearly, as Mi'la had no idea how dangerous the oceans of this world was. "Well, I'd love to help out anyway I can." She said, rising to her feet as she could feel a wave of fatigue come over her. "But I think I need to rest, I didn't know what I was doing down there and I feel rather ill." The Twi'lek remarked, stumbling forward before dropping to her knees. "Oh, erm, here I dropped a tracking beacon down there..." She muttered, unclipping her tracking device around her wrist and handing it to the man. "I'll just...be here trying not to die." She added, laying onto the sand, as she could feel her body revolting against her. Least she wasn't alone here, the chance of dying was relatively low.

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Nimdok tilted his head in concern as the woman hacked up seawater. Miri, who tried to be prepared for everything, handed Mi’la an unopened bottle of water, figuring she’d appreciate something with a little less salt.

He raised an eyebrow at her introduction. A former Jedi turned amateur archaeologist, eh? At least, that’s what she claimed to be.

“If you need medical attention, we do have a doctor back at the camp,” Nimdok said, resting his fists on his hips. “You wouldn’t happen to have encountered any large predators in the ocean, did you? We’ve heard only rumors about leviathans and other sea monsters.”

He took her tracking device and looked at it. The screen indicated the beacon had been left past the rocks. The archaeology team Nimdok was part of had focused their efforts on dry land, for the most part extremely reluctant to venture out past the rocks along the shore. But one of the other scientists, a woman with a passion for the sea as well as artifacts, had brought along some diving equipment. It was probably in better shape than whatever gear Mi’la had been using.

“How much time will you need to rest?” he asked, lowering the device. “I might be interested in going out there with you as a guide. There’s some deep sea diving gear back at the camp we could use if yours is broken, or you need a new air tank. I’m very interested in following this lead.”

“Can I come?” Miri asked hopefully.

“No. You have to stay here.”

“Darn.” She brightened a moment later, however, looking at her father with a mischievous grin. “Are you gonna turn into a mermaid?”

“A merman,” he corrected her with a snort. “And no. Probably not.”

“Probably means maybe...”

Nimdok scratched behind his ear and made a face, thankful for the fact that her young age meant he could dismiss Miri’s talk of shapeshifting as mere child’s play. Technically speaking, Nimdok could turn into a merman or a mermaid if he so desired, but such a form wouldn’t be sufficient for diving. He’d still need air. The addition of a tail would help with swimming, however…

“Pleeeeeease? Pretty please?” Miri pleaded. "If you're not gonna take me to see the Melodies, can't you at least turn into one? Just for one time?"

Seeing the look of bewilderment on Mi’la’s face at this bizarre conversation between father and daughter, Nimdok pressed a finger to his lips. “You aren’t supposed to mention that around strangers, gelfling,” he hissed.

Miri giggled and jumped up and down in the sand, already counting the victory for herself. Nimdok turned to the Twi’lek. “Sorry,” he apologized with a vague wave of his hand. “I uh, am a bit of a shapeshifter. On the side. I could probably swim deeper and go further than you, is what I mean, but I’ll need some backup, if you can provide it.”

Mi'la Undari​

 

[Mi'la Undari]

The offer of fresh water was a great relief for the Twi'lek, as Mi'la took it and immediately washed out the taste of sea water from her mouth. "Oh, thank the force, that's so much better!" Mi'la was about to wave off the offer for a doctor when the term 'predator' caught her attention. She hadn't even considered the risk of creatures down there willing to eat her. "Thank you for the water but...erm...no I didn't see anything worthy noting down there. Nor do I need a doctor, I think I'm just tired." She answered, her mind wandering to what a leviathan might look like, and how something like that could evade notice for so long. She was probably lucky to still be alive truth be told.

Hearing the man inquire that she might need to rest, Mi'la wasn't going to disagree, though for how long she hadn't a clue. "I think a quick nap and I'll be alright, thanks though." She muttered, rising to her feet as the fatigue became more manageable, and was treated to an amusing display of the man and his apparent daughter disagreeing about mer-people. It was amusing to watch, reminding her of her times as a child. She wasn't sure how old the little girl was, but she had the sense that the girl was rather young given the topic of discussion. Then the curve ball came, as Nimdok revealed a bit of a secret. Tilting her head to the side, Mi'la wasn't sure why the man was sorry for not telling her, thinking that he had a good reason to hide his true nature. If nothing else, it would be extremely helpful for this sort of thing. "Well, there's no need to apologize. I've worked with shape shifters before. Your skills will be exceptionally useful! I'd love to have your assistance." Mi'la responded with a bit more enthusiasm than before, moving closer to the man. "If...you could take me back to your camp, I'd like to take all of this gear off, maybe rest if it's not too much to ask?" She asked politely, feeling rather waterlogged by the gear she currently had strapped to her.

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

No sea predators. A good sign, though it could’ve been that she simply had very good luck and didn’t meet any during her swim.

"Well, there's no need to apologize. I've worked with shape shifters before. Your skills will be exceptionally useful! I'd love to have your assistance."

“Oh, it’s… um, not something I share with just anybody,” he said, dancing around the subject. He had his reasons for keeping his true nature a secret.

"If... you could take me back to your camp, I'd like to take all of this gear off, maybe rest if it's not too much to ask?"

“Certainly,” he said. “Follow me.”

He led Mi’la, with Miri skipping along beside him, to the camp. It was located on higher ground, away from the water’s edge, and consisted of small tent-like structures that could be set up and taken down quickly. The atmosphere of the camp was more like that of a bivouac rather than a vacation campground, with everyone following set rules and regulations, meeting certain standards, and keeping to a strict routine. Since they already recognized Nimdok and Miri, nobody really spared more than a passing glance at the newcomer Mi’la.

“I’ll go see if there’s a spare tent for you,” Nimdok said. “If not, I suppose you can rest in ours.” He disappeared into the expedition’s supply ship, which was parked a little further up the rocks.

Miri stayed behind. Craning her neck to look up at Mi’la and squinting in the sunshine, she asked, “Wanna see my shells?”

Regardless of how the Twi’lek answered, the girl went into her tent and came back carrying a blue plastic box. She opened it to reveal a kaleidoscope of brightly-colored shells from both the ocean and freshwater creatures.

“The first ones I got from the Scintilla, which is a space station really far away,” she explained, pointing to some of the shells. “Miss Inanna took me to the beach there. Then I got some from Jerrilek—that was a pretty planet—and some more from Monastery, which is where my stepsister Kurenai Yumi and her daughter Akari live.” She swished the shells around with her hand, and the motion revealed a flash of what looked like pearls hidden among the shells. “The rest are from right here on Ahch-To, which is a silly name for a planet.”

Nimdok had by that point returned, carrying a very different sort of box under his arm. Miri closed her box and called out to her father, “Are you gonna throw it?” she asked hopefully. When he didn’t immediately answer but just kept walking toward them, she started chanting excitedly, “Throw it, throw it, throw it!”

He shook his head and rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help cracking a smile. “Alright, alright,” he replied at last, getting her to stop yelling. Pausing, he looked around for a clear spot to set up the tent, found one, and then hefted the box in his hands, pressing his finger to a switch on the bottom side. “Ready?”

Miri was jumping up and down again, giggling in the carefree way only children can. Her father didn’t so much as throw the box as roll it like a bowling ball into the center of the area. By the time it came to a stop, the device had activated, unfolding like a flower. In just a few seconds a tent had formed, by some miracle of technology. Well, not really a miracle—self-assembling tents were a commonplace commodity these days, but Miri, who was still young and new enough to be dazzled by ordinary things, still considered it wonderfully novel. She cheered at the sight of Mi’la’s new tent.

“Your palace is ready for your nap,” Nimdok said to Mi’la with an exaggerated flourish of his hand. Turning to Miri, he added, “In the meantime, you and I are going to see about that diving gear while you work off that sugar from earlier. Look at how hyper you are, you're practically vibrating. I knew I shouldn’t have let you eat that candy bar this morning…”

“But it had peanuts in it!” Miri protested, though she returned her box of shells to her tent and obediently hurried after her father. “So it isn’t just sugar—it also has protein in it! That's what Miss Lynda said, anyway...” Her voice gradually drifted away as they left Mi’la to rest for a little while.

Mi'la Undari​