Private Past Tense

[Makai Dashiell]

Present : Ravaath | Theme | Silicax Oxalate


Feet crunched along small rocks and pebbles, scanner in hand. He was walking deeper inside a cave, headlamp bouncing everywhere as he tried not to fall. Atmospheric scans had shown a lot of promise in the sparsely populated planet, especially in terms of rare silicax oxalate. It was difficult to obtain, not a common mineral found in any mine. Makai had never seen any ‘in the wild’ so to speak.

Yet here he was. Scanners indicated the area was rich in the oxalate, he just had to find a vein, to see it with his own eyes in order to mark it down and make his decision to pull the trigger on the expansion. Makai liked to see the minerals first. Anyone could just go off the scanner, off what the penetrating radar was pinging back.

It could take hours. Often, it was physical, backbreaking work.

Yet he enjoyed it. Technically he was supposed to have a partner out here, someone to help set up equipment and run the reports and flag locations for extraction. Makai preferred to work alone. He needed to work some things out alone and having someone chatter in his ear all day wouldn’t help. No, this required him marinating in his stupidity, plotting in his loub-and-leather journal. How long was it going to take? That part he wasn't so sure.

Pushing forward, he finally found one lone crystal cluster of silicax oxalate. Datapad was immediately brought out and he marked the location, the readout of the scanners, general notes about the area. According to his read-outs, there was more than enough to make the project financially feasible in just this area alone.

He continued on, ears picking up the sound of moving water. He picked up the pace, following the noise, he eventually came upon a bioluminescent cave. Fungus or something similar coated the cave ceiling, creating stars. Headlamp bounced around as he looked at the water. Clear and cold. A deep fed spring. Makai turned off the headlamp and plunged into darkness, letting his eyes adjust. Clothes removed, he entered the frigid water, experimentally kicking through the water before turning over on his back and floating, taking in the lightshow above him.

Past : Arkuhn Farm , Orron III

​

The water was colder than Makai preferred. The shaggy-haired teen had spent most of his life in warm places. Orron III had real seasons and ice and mountains that often meant icy runoff into caverns and rivers. Spending so much time at the Farm he had learned to always dip a toe in first before just diving in headfirst like he did on Dac or Ceto. A lot of freezing moments as a young child. Yet the cooler water was worth it, the bioluminescent mushrooms dotting the ceiling and walls put on a spectacular show.

Just about to roll on his back, arms slipped around his shoulders, head coming to rest next to his.

Myra Elspeth Arceneau ; best friend, confidant, and teenage crush had grown tired of sitting on dry land.

"I thought it was too cold for you?"

"It is. I just wanted to...I...I got bored."

"Oh." Bored? Didn't know I was in competition with the dry shoreline. "What've you been up to?"

"Went to Empress Teta with Mama and Pa."

"To visit your stepsisters?"

"Yeah." A pause, he could feel her debating to tell him something. "Its not fair Makai, they are so effortlessly beautiful."

"Yeah and so are you, whats the big deal?"

"Don't be an idiot Makai Dashiell."

"I'm not! Maybe you're just being stubborn and don't want to listen to me because of my idiot status."

"Exactly. I can't take your word for it. Its like your Ma sayin' you're beautiful. They gotta say it."

"That's not true, I don't have to say it. I could have stayed quiet. You're just too stubborn to see."

"I'm not stubborn!"

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Present : Sorimow | Theme | Rock Ivory

​

Son of a...

Makai was convinced the universe was out to get him. First the planet ; ice and snow. Second ; tightly packed mountain ranges had made landing the vessel next to impossible. Third ; was there a mention of ice and snow and cold temperatures? He sat orbited the planet for at least an hour after the scans had completed, debating if he should even land. Due to the massive expense of the shuttle, every movement was logged, someone could dig into the logs and see where he was but not the what or why of the length of stay.

Yet the scans were too good. Quartz, priorite, and rock ivory were all in great abundance.

So here he was, heavy pack full of sampling equipment, trudging up a steep hill that might as well be a miniature mountain. The shuttle was far off in the distance, his breath coming out in little puffs. Mind wandered. Obviously the location was too valuable to be left alone, left to its own devices. He'd have to put into his notes landing and mineral extraction were going to be a pain. Maybe some smaller equipment in first to bulldoze enough of the hillside to land properly.

Trudging up the hill wasn't going to make it long term. Nothing he could do about that now.


Past : Arkuhn Farm

"Ellie." Voice was barely a whisper as he leaned over bed. A thermos of caf was in hand, sealed and ready to go. "Ellie Arceneau."

Makai couldn't speak too loud. Her parents were asleep just down the hall and he had no idea how light of a sleeper either one of them were. Granted the Farm was nothing but a glorified castle with room after room but things tended to echo. If they were caught sneaking out this early in the morning no doubt that would be the end of his stays permanently.

Hand reached out and shook her shoulder. "Ellie"

Grey eyes popped open in surprise. Hand came to clutch the thick blankets tight to her chest, as if she was exposed despite wearing a pajama top buttoned well up to the collarbones. Surprise quickly turned into ire and concern all at once.

"Makai!" He made a motion to quiet down, gesturing towards the dark windows. Her voice dropped several octaves. "Makai? Are you okay? Why are you in my room this early?!"

"Get up and get dressed. I wanna show you something. It looks like it snowed earlier but thats not what I want to show you. Hurry up...just...just throw something on over your pajamas."

"No."

After some heated whispered debates about getting up and getting out of the home, they were on a snow covered gravel road, ice and rock crunching and groaning under their boots. Hand was wrapped around hers as they walked in darkness, lit dimly by a waning moon.The horizon was starting to brighten, the sun would be making an appearance soon.

Iced blue gaze glanced to her as they walked, keeping a brisk pace. Brows suddenly knit together, as if thinking, before looking at his best friend in utter and complete shock.

"That's my hoodie! I thought I lost it here."

"No. No it's not.... I-I've had this."

"So your Ma purposely bought you a too big piece of clothing?"

"Yes." An annoyed look was tossed in his direction. "It's all the rage in high core fashion."

Makai rolled his eyes and dropped the subject. Finding themselves at the bottom of a steep hill, he hoped she could keep up the pace. Until she balked like a nerf trying to be led across a river by its reigns. Eyes squinted at his chrono in the dark, he was on a schedule, racing the sun. So, without another a word, he picked her up in a rescue carry, and started up that steep hill with a protesting Trade Heiress across his back and shoulders.

"Makai Dashiell you put me down this instant! You're going to hurt yourself, then what?"

"You're being dramatic. How am I going to hurt myself? You weigh nothing, like carting feathers."

"Makai. Put.Me.Down."

"I will...."

"....thank you!"

"When we reach the top."

"Makai!"

She protested all the way to the top of the hill, Makai finally setting her back on her feet on a flat patch of earth. They found themselves across from a large rocky mountain not too far in the distance, separated by a snowy tree filled valley. A waterfall could be heard but not seen, the quiet echoing all around them. Ellie looked to him, confused.

"This is it?"

"No, give it a minute." Makai looked at his chrono. "Not long now."

A few minutes later they were treated to a spectacular show, the sunrise turning the waterfall bright bright orange and yellow, as if someone had lit the water on fire all at once. His arm went around her shoulders and pulled her close, offering the thermos of caf he managed to drag all the way out to view the early morning event.

"Worth the sacrifice of sleep I'd say."

"Thank you."

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Present : Bunduki | Theme | Zersium

Legs stretched out before him, Makai was trying to work by campfire and lantern light. Could he go inside the shuttle, lock it for the night, and use the lighting inside? Sure but there was no fun in that. He currently had a thick piece of thread, large needle, and his leather bound loub-paper notebook all juggled in his lap. Kuro batted at the thread, the Loth-cat unable to resist.

"Kuro, knock it off."

He was trying to stitch more pages into his book, having used every inch of space over the last two years. The book had been in his possession for longer than that, ever since he was fourteen. Makai had never dedicated himself to using it daily until just a few years ago, before that it had merely been notations of various types of marine geological finds he found during his travels. Now it had turned into a bit of an odd mixture of notes to himself, lists of goals and ideas and how to achieve them, letters to his long-lost best friend.

Makai was tired, eyes burning as he did the task of sewing in the new pieces. It had been a long day of mapping a zersium vein, one that stretched long throughout the valley. Tomorrow he would pick up the task again, confident the scanners had picked up more deposits roughly two miles from his location. It looked like the planet was quickly moving to the top of his list of top priorities for Salacia.

Needle was punched though the last piece of leather, reaching the top. Makai tied the thread to the best of ability before grabbing his graphite pencil, balancing the notebook between his thigh and knee to begin his writings. Dear Ellie, Another year down, another year of this being my favorite birthday gift....

A letter for someone who would never see it.

Past :

Hand was in hers as they exited the holotheater, two of the last to do so as they waited for the early evening crowds to clear. They had just got done seeing Sleepless on Selonia, about a young son who calls into a radio program trying to get a wife for his father. Some reporter fell in love over the radio, then they wanted to meet on Coruscant for a romantic day. Makai wasn't sure how he felt about the entire movie.

"Was that supposed to be romantic? I can't say I enjoyed that one Ells. It was...I don't know. We've seen better straight-to-holonet films than this one. Not a fan this time around."

Makai had become well versed in romantic comedies and dramas. Certain holofilms were offlimits for Ellie ; horror, war or warfare, anything overly loud or tense. At this point they were well versed in what was safe to go see, romantic comedies were a hit, as was anything involving superheroes. Despite it being his birthday, he had let her pick something different, rather than watching the newest Captain Atlantis holofilm for the third time in a month.

"We left Dad and Miss Arceneau high and dry at the restaurant." The adults had begun to talk, cigarillos were lit on the patio space, and he and Ellie had quickly grown bored. They had asked to leave with a promise of meeting the two back at the Dashiell home before it got 'too late' as Makai had put it. Birthdays hadn't been a big deal for him for years so it wasn't as if they had just jumped ship on some grand soiree. "Guess we should head back home."

"Not yet. Dessert?" Myra knew he wasn't going to pass up a chance to eat again.

The pair found themselves sharing a massive piece of cake at a caf shop, leaning in close together as they talked. Half-way through, Myra had reached into the inner pocket of her coat and passed him a small simply wrapped package. His brows knit together, putting his fork down as he package was picked up and looked at as if a foreign object.

"Its a birthday gift..."

Tearing open the paper, he could hear her talking as a leather notebook was revealed, a compass embossed on the cover.

"....if you don't like it you can give it back to me...I'll return it.."

Self-doubt colored his best friends tone as he looked back up at her and smiled brilliantly. He flipped a few pages, drawing the book closer to him so Ellie wouldn't be tempted to take it back to where she bought it.

"Are you kidding? This is my favorite birthday gift ever. Thank you."