Hot Spring Zero Dawn

[Isaiah Dashiell]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-qZzZDIxq0&index=7&list=RDEM1w7SmjLe9MPlxFVae4E1OA​

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A heavy sigh escaped the lips of the tired explorer. The hot water of the natural spring relaxed his muscles and the excess of salt in the water made him float aimlessly through around the lake. GUIDE may not have paid as well as he liked, but there were so many moments like this that not being paid like a galactic celebrity had its perks. Heck, he even got a luxurious stealth transport as his personal starship.

The stars above in the night sky were beautiful when paired with the subtle blue-green glow that came from the Shard colony at the bottom of this particular lake. The sound of a Shard transport coming in to land at the capitol droned overhead, almost drowning out the sound of the waves crashing along the shore.

He sighed again and swam back to shore. Even the sands on this particular hot spring lake were blue-green, remnants of the colony that now lived deep below the surface of the strange salt water hot spring. Shaking his hair free of moisture Izzy made his way back to his shuttle, dusting his sandy feet off on the grass before jumping up a few steps with the aid of the Force, frightening away the strange mechanical deer-like creatures that seem to have taken root on the world.

He still wasn't sure what they were. The software he received from the starport should have been able to translate the Shard's electromagnetic signals, but when he had it on and listened to the strange mechanical fauna all he got was static, sometimes strange groans and moans. The closest thing he could liken it to was animal noises. He watched them bound away and shrugged.

After a short dip in the sanisteam he plopped down in front of his terminal, hair sopping wet again, and logged on to GUIDE's intergalactic communications network to log his "findings" for the day. Like his stay on Mandalore he was slated to stay on the planet for a few months. His first month was spent in the capital city. Since then he had been spending days at a time in the wilds communicating with and visiting various Shard colonies. There was much he learned from them and about them. They too knew little about, or at least refused to talk about the strange mechanical creatures that seemed to populate their world in the last few centuries. What he did know is that they came in all shapes and sizes and were even the pets and companions of individual Shards and colonists in the few towns and cities that dotted the landscape.

As he was thinking about the Shard and the many mysteries that surrounded them he got a blip on his notification screen.

"Oh Kark me."

His boss was coming.

"There goes my vacation..."

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

[member="Isaiah Dashiell"]

GUIDE was going to Orax. Or at least, they already had a Pathfinder there, and Magdalena was going that way. Aeshi figured she might as well go too. As a recently hired Starnaut, she figured working on this was a good way to get started. Get to know the boss, her fellow Guide members, get some field experience. Learn some ways of the Pathfinders. Also to try and give her a ship a proper shakedown cruises on an expeditionary mission without being in truly uncharted space.

Nice and easy. She lounged back in her captain's chair. The nice, exceptionally comfortable captain's chair she had paid extra for. Completely worth the price. But now it was time to test the rest of the systems. Not the evasion ones, not yet. Navigation and the new hyperdrive. She leaned forward and sat staright in her chair, hands moving over to the navcomputer. It was a new, upgraded one- a Kol Mark IV system. Said to be one of the most advanced ones in the galaxy.

To have one in her own ship... it sent a tingle down her spine. It booted up rapidly, pinpointing her location exactly. Then she punched in the coordinates for this new world, watching as the computer pulled up the route. Seemed quick enough.

Now the second part of the test.

"This is Captain Aeshi Tillian," she said through the comms to the B.o.B, "Moving to hyperspace vector. See you all on Orax."

Then she punched the button for the hyperdrive, watching as stars turned from dots to streaks and then to the swirls of hyperspace. Aeshi leaned back in the seat.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Shards were indeed a very interesting ... people.

Uh, rocks?

Culture, they were an interesting culture.

Sentient rocks. Who'd have thought. Magdalena faintly recalled listening to stories about shards. A rebellion somewhere during the Gulag Plague. Hyper-advanced crystals encased in metallic mechanical droid bodies fighting for rights and liberties any free-thinking people might. Their technology, she'd learned in her research since hearing about the Orax mission, was one of the more ultra-modern of the galaxy. Who better to approach about the proliferation of knowledge and galactic education?

Really, the Pathfinders got to have all the fun.

Magda was jealous of all the interesting things Isaiah must have been doing here on Orax since his arrival. Meeting dignitaries, communing with the local populace, mapping out locations. Underwater cities! How fascinating!

You bet your GUIDE Gearpin the Boss was on her way.

The Magesteria drew in over the landscape with its engines purring and settled down not far from Pathfinder Dashiell's current location. Magda had on record that another new Starnaut was set to rendez vous with the Mission team to get her feet wet, though she hadn't any idea how literal that might actually be.

Magda stepped down the docking ramp and out into the open air, inhaling the strangely humid yet crisp taste of the waning afternoon hour. A content smile drew across her face as she looked around, not immediately striking out for Isaiah. It was nice to simply appreciate the sights of a new world.

[member="Isaiah Dashiell"] [member="Aeshi Tillian"]

 

[Isaiah Dashiell]

Creia's mechanical legs clanked down the boarding ramp and onto the fertile soil, the salty smell of the large hot spring filled her nostrils. It was good to be out in the field again. She didn't often get the chance, but when she did it was usually with Magdalena, her young employer. They were here to meet Izzy, a Pathfinder she had an unusual amount of trouble keeping tabs on.

She took a few steps towards his GUIDE transport and was hit with the smell of cooking GUIDE rations. Was he...grilling them? The faint sound of music came from the open boarding ramp of the transport.

---------------------------------------

Izzy whistled along with the music playing in the background. By his count he had a few more hours before Mags was supposed to arrive so he had plenty of time to make some breakfast and take a dip. The spring was so filled with salt that he could float comfortably in a sitting position with a tray of food and eat while taking a hot bath. He grinned imagining the blissful morning.

Of course he was out in the middle of nowhere and even the Shard colony he was here learning from was on the other side of the medium sized lake so he often took his dips in the nude. Today was no exception. Sliding the food onto the tray and grabbing his speaker and utensils he walked out onto the grass. He took a deep breath and let the feeling of the wet grass between his toes fill him with joy.

"Isaiah Dashiell!" He recognized that voice. With a grin filled with dread he craned his neck towards the voice and of course it was none other than Creia Xiao and [member="Magdalena Lethe"]. A tiny scream filled his mind as he cursed the day he was born.

[member="Aeshi Tillian"]

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Decked in dark layers of protective exploratory gear, Magda was--more or less--enthralled with capturing images of the landscape with her GUIDE Datapad. Talking to herself under her breath as she followed the sound of her Pathfinder's footsteps she came to a stop as Creia did.

"Isaiah Dashiell!"

Magda herself even jumped slightly at the outburst, datapad held out before her she slowly turned her eyes upwards to see what the hub-bub was all about. What she found gave her brain a short-circuit. Magda stood there stunned, wide-eyed, cheeks turning a furious shade of pink.

Creia reached to push the datapad upwards to block Magda's line of view without even turning to look at her.

Magda blinked as lines of backlit research data replaced the image of a stark-naked-Dashiell, "Thank you." The mental image, however, remained. The GUIDE Founder loudly cleared her throat and spoke at Isaiah from behind her datapad, "Mr. Dashiell this is adorab-..I mean deplorable. Your dignity, please!"

[member="Isaiah Dashiell"] [member="Aeshi Tillian"]

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"] [member="Isaiah Dashiell"]
==========================

Aeshi leaned forward in her seat, tapping the console. The Orax system's readouts snapped up into holographic display. She ran the sensors- searching especially for the other GUIDE ships. She found them easily enough. One had just landed. Its engines were still hot even. She set the coordinates into the computer and pushed the controls forward. The StarDream began her descent, atmospheric flares bursting against the shields.

The ship glowed a hot red, even at its relatively slow descent. But then, compared to the depths of space and its massive distances with equally massive speeds, anything atmospheric was slow. Wisps of clouds spun their way past the viewport while the ground grew ever closer in view. She kept the descent slow and steady, until the other ship stepped into view.

With a hiss of hydraulics and gentle thrumming of the engine, the ship set itself down on the ground by the other, rocking as it rested fully on the ground. She smiled and pulled her coat on over her vest.

The boarding ramp descended with a quick hiss as Aeshi strode out. She raised an amused eyebrow at the sight of a naked man and two women, one who was hiding her face behind a datapad. That one she recognized as Magdalena- GUIDE founder. Apparently while she was an expert at seeing possibilities and needs, she wasn't so good at seeing naked men.

Everyone had their expertise, Aeshi supposed. Given the rather odd situation, she supposed it was best to introduce herself.

"Aeshi Tillian. New starnaut who just joined up." Tossing a thumb in the direction of her ship, "And that's the Stardream."

It was a beautiful Corellian freighter- updated and modified with all sorts of attachments. Most noticeably a large sensor dish, but also some rather more questionable things on top. Things more akin to smugglers even.

 

[Isaiah Dashiell]

Great, great start to the morning. He hadn't even eaten his breakfast yet and things were already going horribly. With great haste he scrambled back up the loading ramp of his GUIDE shuttle and struggled to find clothing appropriate for his day of work ahead.

Why did she have to come HERE of all places? Didn't she have to be at some meeting or another? He sighed as those thoughts ran through his mind. In a few minutes he was ready to explore clad in his stolen , questionably obtained Vanguard Armor. Despite not having any of the official tools to keep it running the armor looked pretty good considering the beatings he had been through over the last few years exploring.

He looked from his boss and superior to the new Starnaut and sighed.

"Alright, now that we've all been properly introduced let's head out. There should be a Colony on the other side of this lake."

And by colony of course he meant a giant grouping of Shard.

"I've found that the salt and minerals in the hot springs that dot Orax are actually what sort of...feed, the Shard. I haven't figured out how they take in the nutrients, but that's what we have you for right Mags? You can ask them all the long winded questions..." he paused and gave a wolfish grin to the party of three before pivoting on his heel, turning away from the group and muttering, "And I can get back to that bath..."

[member="Aeshi Tillian"] [member="Magdalena Lethe"]

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Hnnnnnn.

Magda's foot was tapping against the ground. Not quite a nervous tap, not quite an impatient tap. Perhaps a mixture of the two; an amalgamation of the anxiety she felt welling up in her stomach. Flashes of fur, beastly glowing eyes, fangs. Things she spent the better part of a month getting over after everything on Mandalore was said and done. Took time enough to see him in the same room without experiencing flashbacks.

There was one thing for certain, her fear of dogs wasn't something going away anytime soon.

"Aeshi Tillian. New Starnaut who just joined up."

"Oh!" oh thank goodness, a distraction. Magda turned her head to look over, maintaining her datapad just as it was to ensure she did not see anything that was not needed to be seen. The GUIDE Founder offered a hand to shake, "Wonderful. It's a pleasure Miss Tillian. I'm Magdalena Lethe, Founder of GUIDE. This here is Creia Xiao, Senior Pathfinder. And that over there..." she glanced to Creia questioningly and Creia in turn nodded that the coast was clear. Magda lowered her datapad and carefully brushed wild locks of brown from her face, "Is Isaiah Dashiell, the Pathfinder heading up the Orax mission."

"Alright, now that we've all been properly introduced let's head out. There should be a Colony on the other side of this lake."

"A colony," her enthusiasm was palpable. Magda may or may not have purposefully waited a beat so that Creia was walking between herself and Isaiah - which of course also meant she was next to Aeshi. You know, to better make her acquaintance.

"I've found that the salt and minerals in the hot springs that dot Orax are actually what sort of...feed, the Shard. I haven't figured out how they take in the nutrients, but that's what we have you for right Mags? You can ask them all the long winded questions..."

"Mr. Dashiell your reports have been nothing short of remarkable. I've been comparing them to known research on the Shards and found that much information that can be gleaned from immediate sources is vastly out of date. Similar to what we discovered on Mand-" a slight stutter, she gently cleared her throat, "many other missions. These new findings are only serving to solidify the purpose of GUIDE and all that we do. It's really rather fascinating all things considered. So many thousands of technologically forward cultures and peoples and still the major galactic databanks are out of date."

"I, for one, am excited to see that rectified. I can't even begin to imagine the knowledge and information these Shard colonies contain what with their extended life expectancy and all..." she'd pocketed her datapad inside her shoulderbag - the very same one pulled from a smoldering wreckage on Mandalore - and looked brightly to Aeshi, "what brought you to join GUIDE, Miss Tillian?"

[member="Isaiah Dashiell"] [member="Aeshi Tillian"]

 

[Isaiah Dashiell]

Idle conversation between Aeshi and Mags droned on for what seemed like ages, drowning out even the calming sound of the waves crashing on the colorful shore after a while it seemed. Of course Creia was talkative as always...Not. He tried to make conversation, he really did. But she just kept giving him this disapproving glance that you'd expect from a father meeting his daughter's swoop gangbanger boyfriend.

He would know.
He had been on the receiving end of the look many times before.

So instead he buried himself in his notes on his datapad. A loud Moo in the distance and a low thumping sound brought Izzy from his "studies", if playing Revenge of the Death Star was to be considered studying, back to the realm of reality. Creia's arm jutted out suddenly, causing Izzy to crash into it.

"What is that sound?" She asked, both curiously and cautiously.

"I think its just Water Buffalo."

"What is a...Buffalo?"

"I'm not really sure...I've only found one reference to the species name off world and several on Oraxian databases. All I know is that there are at least three species of 'Buffalo' native to the planet. From what I've gathered they look like...smaller, less furry Bantha. Definitely could be used as cattle, but I haven't really been to any small settlements to verify"

They were in view now. Indeed they were much smaller than a Bantha. Where a Bantha could easly surpass two and three meters in height these mammals seemed to barely make half of their height, not including their massive horns. There was a clear difference in sex, but without getting closer one couldn't tell which was which. Some had long, straight horns that reached high into the sky and others had shorter, slightly more curved horns than the other.

Creia waved Mags over and handed her a pair of macrobinoculors from her utility belt. The beasts were blacks and tans in color and seemed to be drinking directly from the hotspring's waters. An incredible feat considering the temperature of the massive lake could reach boiling temperatures depending on the time of day.

[member="Magdalena Lethe"] [member="Aeshi Tillian"]

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

[member="Isaiah Dashiell"] [member="Magdalena Lethe"]
--------------------

The small team started moving and Aeshi strode after them, boots thumping softly against the ground, listening to their chatter. She wasn't entirely sure what they were all discussing, but she would figure out in time. Colonies and Shards were things she had never heard of before, although she supposed as a GUIDE employee, that she should be at least somewhat familiar with them. Regardless, she know soon enough.

"Pleasure," Aeshi answered after Magadalena introduced everyone. One was her boss and the others were Pathfinders. Senior Pathfinder even, probably above her in pay-grade, but different departments. So technically, she suspected only needed to answer to one. And that one, well, she seemed awfully innocent to be running these types of missions. Creia seemed more like one to be running these sorts of jobs. "Nice to meet you all."

She strode on a little further, listening further. The bath was an interesting comment and her lips twitched at the thought. She turned to Magadalena.

"I wanted to get away from the Core and politics. Figured finding new planets was a good way to do so." Her lips twitched a little further, almost deviously. "And maybe catching a few surprised bathers is... a pleasant bonus."

But then she stopped when she caught sight of the water buffalo. Never before had she seen anything like those. Cities and spaceports were where most of her experience lay. These creatures were something quite beyond her. Massive and seemingly gentle beasts. She tried to think of some sort of clever phrase, but they all escaped her. She pulled out her own macrobinoculars and narrowed in on the beasts.

Words still escaped her. Was this what Pathfinders always found?