Private Footprints in the sand

[Jesse Organa]

Seren Gwyn

"That is because we have a good group and team.. an engineer helps. Mugan knows his stuff." Ginger said it as she was looking at Guilia and motioned. "He said if we pull in more the tree platforms could benefit from these here. The gap between the barriers we could reinforce from above... which would darken them as tunnels but we could dig parts of them out. THe covers being used to give us something to stand on as we would only have to brace one side with the other supported by the trees and stone. Then we would be able to have a middle level if we needed it to move around to be secured. Also could work if we find potentially any other survivors."

Ginger said it while she was moving. "Or you know if case and while I don't mind waking up with all of you around me.. sometimes nice to be able to stretch out." Ginger said it while she looked at Mari. "Also wouldn't have to sneak off to some dangerous part of the jungle." THerre was a laugh and Guilia shook her head but she was lifting the panel as she let Mari go and start securing it. Showing Jesse where with the vines and using the stone to pound it into place. The fencing there as the gap was being covered and put into shadows. "If we have some mirrors we might be able to set them up to reflect the sun and brighten the areas so leave them darkened and secured. We should pack them with extra things we want to reinforce like wood."

 

[Seren Gwyn]

Seren listened as Ginger explained the idea, her gaze moving slowly across the growing barricade and the trees that framed it. The structure was beginning to resemble something more intentional now, rather than the scattered remains of a crash site. Panels wedged between trunks, stones packed at their bases, vines pulling everything tight together. It was crude, but it was holding.

Her eyes drifted briefly upward to the branches above them, imagining the platforms Ginger was describing.

"Mugan is thinking ahead," she said calmly. "Using the trees for support will save us a great deal of effort. Stone and metal alone would take far longer to reinforce."

She stepped closer to the panel that Guilia and Jesse had secured, pressing her hand briefly against the plating as if testing its stability before nodding faintly.

"A middle level between the barriers could work well. It gives us a place to move safely and watch the approaches without being seen immediately."

When Ginger joked about stretching out and sneaking off into the jungle, Seren's mouth curved slightly with quiet amusement.

"A little personal space would likely improve morale as well," she said lightly. "And reduce the odds of someone wandering somewhere dangerous simply to get a moment alone."

Her attention shifted when the idea of mirrors was mentioned.

Seren tilted her head slightly, considering it.

"That could work," she said after a moment. "If we place them carefully, we could bring light down into the tunnels without exposing the openings too much. Enough to see what we are doing without making the structure obvious from outside."

She looked back toward the barrier and the surrounding jungle.

"And if we reinforce the tunnels with wood as you suggested, they will hold better against weather and pressure from above."

A faint smile returned as she looked at the others moving around the worksite.

"For a camp built from broken pods and whatever the jungle gives us…We are turning it into something surprisingly clever."

Jesse Organa

 

[Jesse Organa]

Seren Gwyn

Jesse looked at Seren with a nod of her head. "Scraps and innovation are perfect... well hopefully. When we manage to make turrets to defend it might be a little much but we can work to keep it improved and safe. Even if we do have to move we'd be able to have this be a secured fallback position if used correctly." She said it as Mari and Ginger were finishing parts with Guilia. Jesse was checking on some of it as they had sectioned the tree trunk and it was inside on the beach section they had. Divided up into four segments with Mugen there as he finished with Guilia and Ginger bringing the second trunk in. Mari and Jesse securing the outer barricade as she moved along the space between to check the other fences where it was secured.

Jesse moved towards the section of rock outcropping they had developed and it served other purposes when they had secured two things. One was a small tidal pool that had been drained, dug out into an underwater section and then allowed to fill with nothing inside. Mugan had set it up with a second system and sealed it so they could use a pulley to drain the waters into a sealed section of cave them disseminated then dissolved into the soil. It was... welcomed and once they had secured it with fresh seawater being able to be sucked in from a basin well everyone had cheered but she was mostly checking seals and the door before securing it and heading back.

Guilia had given Mugen what supplies they had from the cache while he was laying out more plans but they had developed what would serve as a mold for sections and they were designed simple enough. His hands going to the components with a nod. "These will work and we were able to draw in two pods for stripping down." He said it while indicating parts that were being hauled in and divided. "There was several fish in there and they had... cleaned up." He said it and there was a large shark like beast being gutted and prepared. The beast hanging up while they were draining it with the teeth being taken out carefully.

Jesse could see the value in shark teeth here and the bones what there was could come in handy. The scales as well possibly. "We'll be able to use the meat easily, the organs for different things. The blubber we can melt for fires better then wood in the kilns to harden and bake the pieces and the teeth are sharp enough we can design them with intestine and bone to make traps for some of the larger creatures." He said it and they had brought the shell covered raft in as it was being unloaded of other things scavenged. Mari stretched out but helped there when the tidal pools were showing fresh urchins they could grab. Jesse had to admit she was impressed more and more.

 

[Seren Gwyn]

Seren moved quietly along the edge of the worksite, observing the progress with thoughtful attention rather than stepping into the flow of decisions. The camp had begun to take on a rhythm of its own now. Everyone seemed to know where they fit within the work, where their hands were most useful.

It was something she respected.

Her amber eyes followed Jesse as she inspected the barricades and the tidal system Mugan had constructed. The engineering behind it drew a faint nod of approval from her as she looked over the seals and the basin that pulled fresh seawater inward.

"That system is clever," she said calmly as Jesse finished checking the door. "Draining it through the cave soil keeps the area cleaner, and it means we will not attract as many predators to the shoreline."

Her gaze drifted toward the massive shark-like creature being processed nearby. The sight might have unsettled some, but Seren only watched with quiet curiosity as the teeth were removed and the blubber prepared.

"Using everything from it is smart," she added, her tone thoughtful rather than authoritative. "Nothing here is easy to replace, so turning one catch into tools, fuel, and food will stretch what we have much farther."

She crouched near the pile of recovered teeth for a moment, examining one between her fingers before setting it back with the others.

"Those will make effective hooks as well as traps," she said lightly. "If the jungle creatures are anything like the ones I have seen on similar worlds, sharp edges tend to convince them to keep their distance."

Seren stood again, brushing a bit of sand from her hand as she glanced toward the others hauling parts from the stripped pods.

A small smile crossed her face as Mari stretched and dove back into helping with the tidal pools.

"It is impressive how quickly this place is coming together," she said quietly. "A few days ago, this was just wreckage and jungle. Now it is starting to look like something that might actually keep us alive."

Her gaze shifted briefly toward Jesse.

"And it helps that everyone seems to know what they are doing."

Jesse Organa

 

[Jesse Organa]

Seren Gwyn

Mari looked at Seren and she gave a look. "Yeah but we can't be wasting time and we can't do something like that. If my husband finds us we'll all be dead... assuming he cares.... Worse part is the credits I took can't even find. They are likely at the bottom of the ocean now so be really bad." She said it while she was going and looked at the woman. "Though if it was him and his gang that sabotaged us don't tell him that we'll just kill us slowly if he thinks we are lying... and me and Ginger will already be in some trouble." She spoke while moving though and went over to meet Ginger with a smile when they had some food being cooked for everyone.

 

[Seren Gwyn]

Seren listened as Mari spoke, her hands busy helping move one of the lighter pieces of salvaged wood toward the stack the others had begun forming near the barricade. She did not interrupt, letting the woman finish before responding. Her expression remained calm, thoughtful rather than alarmed, though the shadows around her feet shifted faintly with the subtle currents of the Force.

When Mari finished and moved toward Ginger, Seren followed a few steps behind before answering, her voice measured and steady.

"If your husband was responsible for the sabotage, then worrying about the credits is the least of our concerns," she said quietly, setting the wood down with the rest of the pile. "Credits can sink to the bottom of an ocean, and the galaxy will continue turning without them."

She brushed a bit of sand from her hands and glanced briefly toward the tree line, her senses stretching outward in a careful, instinctive sweep before returning her attention to Mari and Ginger.

"But if there is even a possibility that someone might come looking for you, then we simply continue doing exactly what we are doing now," she continued. "Building something defensible. Staying organized. Watching the horizon."

Her tone held no accusation toward Mari, only a practical calm.

"Whatever trouble you may have left behind out there," she added, gesturing lightly toward the distant ocean, "it will not reach us any faster because we are afraid of it."

A faint, reassuring smile touched her lips as the smell of cooking food drifted over from Ginger's direction.

"For now, we eat, we keep working, and we keep each other alive."

She tilted her head slightly toward the food.

"And if your husband does appear someday, then he will discover he is dealing with far more than a stranded group of survivors."

Jesse Organa

 

[Jesse Organa]

Seren Gwyn

She looked back. "Yeah credits can sink and not matter in most cases but it is a matter of pride. His wife left him, she stole from him, she ran away with the bodyguard he hired because it wasn't a guy who might flirt with her. The credits might not matter, he can make them back likely in a few days... but the hit to his reputation among the other criminals and gangs is the problem.. he would have to make an example less because he is angry and more because it has to be done so others don't get the idea that they can do it." Mari said it when she was looking at more of it and gave some to Ginger who was working with some to make better weapons they would be able to use as well as told like a saw for the wood.

Mugen came as he was excited but had plenty. Guilia with him as he was excited. "Oh we got some great news, those trees they got down will be perfect and the roots were were able to spread out at the barricade and walls. For reinforcements as needed with the scrap and rock. More mud caked on it as it has been hardening when dried. We got a temperature controlled area now with it so we can cool some of the bottles of water." He said it and Mari looked at him. "Those novels you read are really detailed aren't they?" She said it with a smile and Mugen was blushing. "They could be, best part is the gadgets and seeing them work."

 

[Seren Gwyn]

Seren listened to Mari without interrupting, her expression thoughtful rather than dismissive. She understood the kind of world Mari was describing. Pride, reputation, and fear were currencies just as powerful as credits in places where law meant very little.

When Mari finished explaining, Seren gave a small, acknowledging nod.

"You are probably right," she said calmly. "Men like that rarely chase something because of the money. They chase it because they believe the world is watching."

She glanced briefly toward the ocean, the wind stirring loose strands of her dark hair, before her attention returned to the group.

"If he ever does come looking, then it will not be because of a few lost credits. It will be because he thinks he has something to prove."

Her tone remained steady, neither fearful nor dismissive of the possibility.

Before she could say more, Mugen arrived practically glowing with excitement. Seren turned toward him, her posture easing as she listened to his rapid explanation about the trees, the barricades, and the cooling chamber.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"That sounds like excellent progress," she said, glancing toward the direction of the barricade where the work had been happening. "Reinforced walls and controlled storage will make a great deal of difference if we are here for any length of time."

When Mari teased him about his novels and gadgets, Seren's smile grew slightly warmer as she looked back at Mugen.

"Stories have a way of teaching useful ideas," she said lightly. "Many great inventions started as something someone once imagined in a book."

Her gaze drifted briefly over the work they had already completed. The barricades, salvaged panels, tools, and the camp's growing organization.

"Besides," she added gently, "right now imagination may be one of our most valuable resources."

She gave Mugen a small nod of encouragement.

"If your ideas help us make this place safer and more comfortable, then I think we should listen to every one of them."

Jesse Organa