Nubica Felidae
We are well and truly forked...
Many hours of travelling later, the shuttle dropped out of hyperspace at the edge of the Anobis system.
In the cockpit Nubica sat and pointed to the small blip on the radar. The astromech beeped a warning.
“I see it. Just another ship sharing our course," she said.
“Mind you, we’re approaching pretty fast. That ship doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry. Smaller engines, a bulky design. Not built for speed. It's a cargo hauler probably.”
"Better let them know we're here." She leaned forward to the comms unit and opened a hailing frequency. "Ship ahead, this is the a Republic Galactic Republic shuttle on official business. Looks like we're on the same heading. Please identify yourself." Instead, the small hauler released a cluster of metallic spheres that drifted in space for a few seconds before exploding in a blossom of multicolored fire. Then the ship jinked to the right, altered course, and swept downward using its low-power engines. The shuttle dodged the debris and rapidly closed the distance.
"Space mines," Nubica said.
“Don’t worry,” she said to the R2 unit. “We’ll catch up to him in no time,"
The pilot ahead seemed to realise the same thing. He returned to his course and responded over the comm system. "H-hello, I’m an officially licensed cargo hauler from Ord Mantell. M-m-my apologies for that accidental release a minute ago. Our defensive systems malfunctioned and identified you as an enemy. I trust no one was injured?"
Nubica grunted. She nudged the shuttle closer to the other ship.
“No harm done.” But for good measure she sent the ship’s particulars to the Republic for cross-referencing.
Finally she brought the ship down through the atmosphere of Anobis toward the war-scarred inhabited areas. On her display was the location she’d been sent to investigate. Ahead was a wrinkled ridge of mountains in a temperate zone.
But instead of heading for the mountains, she arced the ship away toward the flat fertile ground embroidered with rivers and green forests, square patches that had once been fields, and small clusters of homes. The farmland, now brown and abandoned, was dotted with small craters.
"I want to try talking to the people of a farm village first," she said out loud. "Let's get a little perspective. “
Anobis had been an agricultural and mining colony world, never heavily populated and somewhat off the beaten path, despite its easy access to Ord Mantell. It seemed that the colonists managed to survive well enough to build their homes and live their lives, but no one ever became rich here. Except maybe the gun runners, as a civil war had continued on and off for so many years.
Even before the days of the Empire, the miners and the farmers had traditionally been separate groups with different needs and distinctly different outlooks. From the sketchy background files she’d seen, she knew that the miners and farmers had once cooperated with each other, exchanging metals and raw materials for produce.
But the two groups had been divided by their political leanings. The miners, more dependent on offworld trade, worked to maintain external links. The farmers had wanted freedom instead — the ability to succeed or fail on their own merits without the eyes of a Republic or Empire on them.
As she looked out of the cockpit windows, she saw a world with the potential for beauty, but with so many scars that a long time of peace would be needed for complete healing. A large forest fire burned in the hills, far from the nearest farming village. It might even have been a natural fire.
Nubica brought the ship in low over the largest farming village she could find. She manoeuvred the ship to a smooth landing not far from the cluster of rickety homes. The boarding ramp extended, and she climbed out, blinking in the hazy sunlight.
In the distance, the smoke from the distant fire curled up from the hills.
The timid villagers slowly crept out of their huts, heads lowered and shoulders hunched. They gaped in astonishment and fear at the strange spaceship. Nubica lifted her hands in a wave of greeting.
"I'm an official representative from the Republic, come to…” And suddenly she was less sure why she was here. To report on anything odd was the simple request. Now here, she realised how flimsy the brief was.
“To...er...take a look around.” It would have to do…
[member="Spencer Jacobs"]