Dev Shadows of Atrisia

[Junko Ike]

Clearing her mind, the constant stream of attacks on the world... the endless talks about how they were not some galactic power yet everyone seemed to have plans for what they wanted to do on the planet itself... no one wanted to avoid it. Just another bauble to have on their galaxy map. Junko had been spending all of her time.. well trying to put out fires they had gotten away from the initial purpose... rebuilding and restoring... which was going to be tested out yet again. Thankfully they could be prepared for it as continuing revisions to make the world self sustaining from its villages to its cities... they were commissioning new city shields and defenses... walls with secured roadways and airways that would function to preserve the world.

She knew there was a wholelot more as well going into it... the defenses of the planet were a reaction to well.. the attacks on it by different species and groups. Mythos was one to teach them how you had to defend against a god.. nothing beat him and he shrugged off any number of attacks with a scoff... the order that unleashed a plague on the world and teleported through their defenses showed the need to have spatial anomaly detectors installed around the world and not just in space on ships. Force storms that could be summoned and fleets that could be brought in to attack. They learned and were continuing to work on the medical staffing situation since the Anshin had a large hospital section.

 

[Junko Ike]

She still had oh so much more to do though... so many things that needed to be factored in and she knew her mind would be racing... from hospitals that needed to be restocked to continued efforts with Tokaido who was a rising star going for Beifongs position as head of the Atrisian Naval forces... she had done a lot to stabilize but at the time had lacked the resources needed to build or rebuild a fleet... while he was providing much in the way of designs and ideas where they could improve how long it would take to build. The Anshin working as a massive shipyard would serve them well in terms of purposes like the Kiyomi and the Shang-Ri La which were able to heal and transport tens of thousands at a time.

Her mind was still going over the possibilities as she was walking with Io, who had shown her several things.. different plants on the island that were rare and beautiful... from flowers that only grew on the high overhanging cliffs... there was the trees where the branches were more flexible and you could slice them to get a syrupy water in case you were stuck in the elements and needed hydration. There was berries andshe was leading her through the forests now... overgrown vines on ancient ruins before they came ito a room. Another greenhouse but this was different... the glass long overgrown and sun filtered in. "Where are we now?"

 

[Junko Ike]

"One of the first greenhouses we found on the island... my father believed it was from one of the ancient botanists for the Quicksilver Empress." She said it while standing there and looking at it. The bed of flowers had thick layers of steam aroud it and Junko could feel the heat wthin the greenhouse was much more. Overgrown and dirt.. the panels of glass were covered in moisture and dirt from the outside. She had been surprised to see it but the vines on the windows gave it an otherworldly feeling when Io was standing there and motioning for her to come. An intricate system of grooves had been made into the wood from the outside.

She stood there and wiped a little sweat off ofher skin as Io stood next to her and changed a little... she went to the bed of flowers and leaves in the center of it. She was looking at Junko and stood there for a moment. "come here princess. let me show ou what I found here though it is hard to explain." She said ti with a smile and climbed onto the flowers which seemed to provide some give. She was retrieving a pot of rainwater that Junko could see and with a ladle she poured some of the water on the plants and the sizzling as more steam came up. "They grow on rocks... in the hot springs or near geothermal vents."

 

[Junko Ike]

Junko was interested in that, the steam rising as the cooler water hot the rocks and she could see where the pollen came from that thickened the air. The flowers blooming with enough moisture and steam so it obscured Io who was standing next to her.... and then she inhaled and could feel it.... her mind exploding outwards and taking in the planet itself. She could feel everything that was around her through the force and she knew this sensation... she had felt it before in the grove and in the hot springs of the north... she was feeling all of Atrisia and entering oneness with the force to sense the Atrisian system itself and the different force users. From the construction efforts and teams on the moon to the worlds within the system.

She was all around and could sense the worlds within the system itself... She knew the commonwealth was moving around itself and expanding outwards.... they were insular in many ways but the worlds that were closest to the commonwealth and within a small hyperspace jump they could still protect andwork with. The more far flung ones would take some time. She knew their works on things like the hyperspace security network that was being set back up would serve hopefully and if it worked for them then they would be able to bring it into their other commonwealth worlds... a measure with a dedicated route designed to go through it.

 

[Junko Ike]

There was more.. she knew how to expand her consciousnes.. she knew how to see through the force and focus it this was just providing a boost to her mentallyas she saw a number of the other worlds in the commonwealth... people only wanted to factor in Atrisia but the few hundred systems that were close to it in this small sector of the galaxy were largely under their authority... far off worlds like Sakura, Shri-Tal and Eisei or even Frisal could be a problem but they were not close enough completely... they were just something to work on and establish relations with.... well established isn't right... maintain and work on as she knew many of those worlds and had walked upon them.

She also had some other ideas about Atrisia as she was looking back towards it from the outside and making it a shining beacon of well effort and hard work would be important... what could come from it... what it could do or display to the galaxy wasn't loston her as if they di that and continued isolation then it would be harder... but there was also very few she had come across who understood the world without being there to tell them all about how much they are now going to benefit from having this worlds influence upon them.... it had always been seen as an insult and now they were learning how best to... ignore people and the attacks by just focusing on how to rebuild afterwards.... that is how they handled the latest attack unleashing a plague in the destroyed city after all.

 

[Junko Ike]

Junko continued to let her mind expand outwards... to let it focus and refocus across the planet as she was seeing different districts and areas of it being made by the continent and region. The main capital cities of each continent were receiving much needed continued upgrades. From defensive walls that would be around it three layers thick to villages within district walls far enough out they don't have to be surrounded and can expand but close enough they can have a planetary shield built around it. Some were happy to relocate o rich farmland and redrawing borders for different areas was all a part of the restructuring of the world itself.

She knew they were bringing in the different manufacturing stations... there were other parts of it. From repulsor cities that could serve like bulwarkson the world itself to the asteroids they were creating to form a debris cloud and ring around the world. It was set about to be layers of defenses and still she was checking and feeling the gravity and ion mines, flower batteries in space they used the sun to power themselves so that they could operate with just a droid brain and computer to target non atrisian ships that are not authorized. They were seeding the system itself and colonizing their other worlds within to better understand and expand it. Bringing the different cultures of Atrisia to the stars here on their world.

 

[Junko Ike]

Junkos mind reached further... more focused as she felt her blood pounding in her ears... she could feel it coursing through her body and everything was bringing her attention to it.. to this... she breathed inwards and then out into the universe itself through the force and where she was looking as the jedi master saw more of it.. going into the Agora valley itself and there was the Wukong with their temple.. the grove and springs where the plums grew that fed off of and into the force making lives much much longer on the world. A smile appearing on her face as she saw the continued efforts to build up. The people were being the same as ever... working together after the attacks from offworlders united again.

Then she was coming back... the vapors cooling down and Junko opened her eyes coming back to the small bed she was in with Io standing over her... eyes focused and looking down at her. The rainwater's around them had been used but only so much as Junko looked up and noticed the sweat and water intermingled and clinging to her skin. Everything felt a little sticky before she was moving and looking at some of the other things within the ancient greenhouse. It was dirty and rundown but there was a lot more to it.. a lot more that she could see as the jedi master allowed her mind to go back to everthing she felt and.... Io spoke. "You went everywhere didn't you?"

 

[Junko Ike]

Junko was looking at her and she was surprised at Io but she was also speaking as there was a thought or two. "Yeah... what is this... or is it not the place but the steam." Junko was looking at herself as she laid there and didn't feel dirty or sticky... she felt warm yes... she felt focused and rejuvenated but she looked like she was covered with a sort of sticky sap. "It is a flower... my father said something from ancient Atrisia that has been preserved in a few places... but the properties of the pollen when it mixes with the steam were.. different. Only I could tell him what was happening and it was like my mind was everywhere and I was as tall as a mountain one moment and then as small as a grain of sand."

Junko was looking at her and she nodded in some understanding.. she had been able to feel it... she had been able to get the idea and sensation within the force itself. Io was a force sensitive and the vapors altered her perception of the galaxy... it was mind altering and overwhelming for her a trained force user... that Io had been able to mentally handle the strain spoke to her control and power more then to her personality. Junko found herself smiling more though as she held a hand out to be helped up off the rocks and bed of flowers. Io offered her hand and helped her up as the pair of them stood there and Junko spoke with a smile.

 

[Junko Ike]

"I am... I am humbled in many ways Io... there wasn't much I believed could surprise me but being here has been an experience to say the least." She said it with a grin and stood close for a moment... just looking at Io who held her head down taking interest in the floor and her own feet suddenly. Junko thought it was adorable... more then she could have thought. "I am feeling better... inspired even... the planet is going through a revitalization in many ways... changes are coming across the world even if we have to keep fighting and clawing our way back from random attacks upon it." Still she was feeling great.. she was feeling ideas of what they might be able to say or do.

They finished up there... exiting the greenhouse and Junko was making a mental note of it as the island she was on felt more alive... more vibrant to her eyes. Where they could check everything out now before she was going with Iowards one of the other sections of it. Io was showing her different parts and it would be well into the night if they headed back towards the house... so where to go? "THere is an older house up this way." She said it and the ruins weren't really ruins it looked mysterious and overgrown but it was a manor in much the way some of the older buildings had been built into the side of a mountain and she could see it had fortifications.

 

[Junko Ike]

There was parts of the old house she was looking at here. The bult into the side of a mountain reminded herof her own palace on Shri-Tal... a beautiful place and still quite amazing for being an Atrisian colony world. She could see the outer gate of the building was still very much intact and strong... thick stone walls and wrought iron bars between that made slots for archers and spearmen. The stables where they would have had horses or other creatures that could have been ridden upon. Junko could see a lot more and it looked like it went into the mountain not just sitting next to it. The reduced space left it easier to defend here on the island.

She doubted there would need to be a massive attack force but given where they were it was always good to have a safe space ou could retreat to and the jeid master entered the house after Io unlocked it. The thick woooden and metal doors slid open effortlessly... the interior wa dark and cool but she could smell it in the air. Stale air, old books and paper and clothing... there was something about it as they went inside and she could see that the girl was excited... no doubt she had spent her time exploring here as well as everywhere else on the island. A look aroud showed there was a sort of camp site with bags of extra clothing and some canned foods thatwould last. Ration packs and fresh water.

 

[Junko Ike]

Io was looking at her and the jedi master took a seat as she looked around at the house itself. Interior was beautiful even if it was old and run down... an old screen that Junko knew was coming back in fashion for the women and the men were while being tough also welcoming the idea of getting to enjoy themselves. After jar'kais continued attacks and the wall of light was put up to sterilize the area of the darkside without destroying the structures... The recent attack with a grand mutated superweapons had only proved how... behind the times they were as strange and sudden attacks seemed to be in as she guessed they would have to find a hypergate or something cause everyone appeared there... and there only.

"A deathless beauty, crowned in flowers.... Daughter of Jeidushi, beautiful enchantress... Love is anguish, lust is sorrow, break my spirit my lady not longer." Junko was looking at Io as the girl spoke and turned to look at Junko with a smile on her face. "Princess... I know I am not the best or most beautiful but you are the only one I have seen since I was little aside from my father... please stay here with me or more take me home with you.. I wish to explore and see the world." She said it and was looking at her at Io came to her with a look of sadness as she sat down and was on her hands and knees in front of Junko bowing her head.

 

[Junko Ike]

Junko was looking at her as she knelt there and she didn't always enjoy this reaction it was awkward and hard to well come back from after the bowing anf the prostrating... it all made it very hard for them to see you as just another person instead of someone important or needing to be... "Enough enough... you don't have to do that really." She said it looking at Io as she moved forward and touched her shoulder lifting her up and she stood there as she turned her head to look over at her. "Io you do not have to bow like that to me here at least this is not the court... this is not formal.. I am just the woman you rescued off the beach. I should be humbled and bow to you."

Io was looking up at her and stood finally as Junko was looking at her. Where they could check around and Junko just held her close as they sat there with the rain starting... the soft sounds of it outside... the night sky as lightning flashed and thunder crashed outside. She was smiling as she saw it. "This house is beautiful... I wish I could have seen it in its prime." She said it with a look on her face as she kept looking out. "I am sure it was beautiful.. I know there was old structures around from my family it is why the emperor was happy to let my father reclaim this island and work on it. We had ties here and could work as caretakers.... I think he believed more then jsut two of us would be coming though."

 

[Junko Ike]

Junko understood that... she was recalling some of the court.. mostly conversations with the Emperor and Io's father about his intentions here on the island. He had wanted to study in peace and yeah it had seemed lik he was taking entire research teams and workers who could keep them going with the results but nothing ever really came of it. She was guessing he had passed and it had only been Io here for who knew how long but that was going to change... it had to change as Junko was here and her being here meant well others would come eventually once she managed to check in and tell them where she was... yes she would have to get on that.

"But I am here with you now princess... so that is a plus and well worth it." Eventually she would tell them, they would know thanks to her chevron if anything had happened to her. It would also be able to locate her if they asked the AI so she wasn't at risk... no she could stand to have a vacation as it were after everything that had been happening. Junko continued to hold Io who was there laying down and the sounds of the rain were soothing enough that eventually the two of them were asleep and she doubted it was graceful... Junko usually had a habit of rolling over and sleeping across the bed when she woke up in the morning and saw she had the woman kicked off the futon.

 

[Junko Ike]

"Oh sorry." She said it and compared to her bedding at the palace or on her ship well... this wasn't exactly the greatest... but then few things could really compare to it. Few things did but she was not looking to make it seem bad as Io rolled over and looked at her. Tussled hair all over her face. "I am sorry... I was hogging it and you had to get me out of the way.. so sorry princess." She said it with her head downcast and Junkofelt a pang of sadness that she had been expecting to be admonished rather then praised for her hard work... no they would have to do better and she would have to make sure that the girl understood she hadn't done anything wrong.

"Don't say that... you invited me here.. you shouldn't be kicked out of a bed even if it is a small one by a guest." She saidf it with a small smile and brought her hand to the girls hair mussing it for a moment before rolling over and getting up. She stretched out where she was looking and grabbed her kimono with a small look. Adjusting her sarashi for the moment when she moved and found a refresher... thankfully still powered as the natural power source from the vents was there.... She was also noticing how warm the house was with a nod of her head. Io went after her and Junko took one of the ration bars with her canteen getting something to eat for them.

 

[Junko Ike]

The two fo them took the time to eat. Junko making the food and th tea so that Io would at least not try and do everyting... letting her relax a little and the white blend of the tea well few had as she smiled. "There we go... you see Io as much as i enjoy well being a princess or a jedi master... I do prefer doing things for people." She said it and it sounded cliche.. I am a princess who is use o others doing things for me but oh I am so down to earth and all for a lack of decorum... I am hip fellow person.... Gods she really didn't think about it until now but then well she preferred just being honest and she cared little when not in the court if she was strictly a princess.

She looked at Io who was looking at her and offered a bow of her head. "I understand princess." She said it and Junko looked at her as she spoke. "Just Junko would be fine. Formaility is great for court but you rescued me..the least I can do is allow you not to have top call me princess all of the time." She said it and listened to Io who smiled and ate some food hiding her face. "But... but what if I want to call you princess still?" She was hiding her face but Junko could imagine plenty with it and she could imagine her cheeks burning with the admission about what she as thinking. "Well if it will make you happy... I suppose calling me princess is fine."

 

[Junko Ike]

That seemed to make her happy and Io lifted her head as Junko was crossing her arms and just looking at her... the girl practically was vibrating in place from her excitement... Io was looking at her before Junko spoke. "Oh alright... come here." She moved forward with a burst of speed and she was wrapping her arms around Junko jumping up and down with a smile on her face. Junko couldn't help it herself as her smile was infectious... her very nature seemed to want to get others to act differently and if this was her skills in the force manifesting then the jedi master was starting to understand a little for herself. "So where would we be going today since the rain has stopped?"

"Oh ah..." Io seemed to be thinking about it with a smile on her face before she was looking at it and there was something innocent about it. "Oh I know where we could go... there is an area of the island that you should see." She nodded and they had their equipment as the two of them would be abel to start heading out and she could smell in the air the fresh scent of flowers in the rain as they were blooming with the light itself. Junko looked around at allof it and Io was excited more and more while Junko held her hand out to one of the flowers using plant surge to make it larger and come out of the ground itself. She didn't need to rip it instead making a bulb of soil and water that could keep it.

 

[Junko Ike]

Junko presented it to Io with a smile as the girl took her hand and was leading her off deeper itno the mountains... around where they could see the island.... she climbed up one fo the trails in the forest letting them go into the canyon as ater from the nights rain was collected in massive leaves. The trees themselves were like smaller braided trees that had been put together and they looked beautiful. Where she was looking though a sheet of water then opened up to reveal a smaller valley. Tropical plants, the heat and what looked like a smaller lake in the center that had a large shoreline around it. Io was leading her down there with a smile on her face where she looked. "Come on."

Junko was looking at her and they went down towards the shore line of the lake for the mandatory beach moment that was required within any scenario. Junko stood there as she could see the sand was fine and felt more like exfoliate that would be in a spa for the skin with a nod of her head. She was liking it while Io showe her the small center of the lake and it looked like there was a smaller island in the middle of it. "Me and my father set this up... in the center is a platform with flowers on it and the water is made to be crystal clear with stones below that filter the waters and keep them clean as sediment won't be in the water as much."

 

[Junko Ike]

Hmm she was listening about the lake and there was a lot happening here... more so then she had originally thought with a smile on her face. The water itself was cool and refreshing... enjoyable even where she couldn't think about it. She was looking at the lake itself and there was a smile on her face. The lake itself was beautiful... more then that the central area where they could check everything out was beautiful with all of its flowers. She was understanding it now as Io had set it all up for display here. The young woman was smiling though as she got ready for a swim and was motioning for Junko to come and join her to go to the center island raft.

Junko went into the water with a smile on her face and it was not as cold as she was expecting letting the sun filter down onto the two of them. Io wasn't kidding though as she opened her eyes under the water. The fresh water from the lake and rain that had filled it up let her see for a good several feet. She used the force to hold her breath and just moved underwater letting it go over her eyes to protect them and increase her senses like sight to see around. She touched some of the stones that had been smoothed below the waters until coming through and rising up with Io on the small island filled with the flowers. She moved up and shook herself off with the water going around her.

 

[Junko Ike]

She swung her hair around almost like a whip for a moment as she slid it over her one shoulder and held it there. Wrapped around her chest like a top with a grin seeing Io who stood there and found a place to sit in the flowers. They were deep red almost like a bed against the clear blue waters with a smile on Junkos face where she could check it all out. "This really is a sight to behold... ou said you and your father made this?" Io looked at her and gave a nod of her head. "Yes it was one of the few times he seemed to want to do anything with or for me... the flowers were likely so I would stop bothering him about going back to the mainland."

Ah that made a sort of sense in a sad way she had to admit... if her father was just trying to keep her quiet or keep her from complaining so he could focus on his work then... neglect was never a good thing... She was glad her mother and father hadn't neglected her and her brother at least. it let the pair of them grow up into functioning young adults who did things... important things... but Io had been out here for years by herself and then even with someone here they hadn't paid much if any attention to them. She would have to see if there was a way to either come back to the island regularly or if there was a way Io would want to come with her.

 

[Junko Ike]

Frak she well she had been here a couple of days and while easily she could head back there wasn't a whole lot she needed to do. The Commonwealth had its people and the bulk of what they were doing now was again repairing and cleaning up. Dedicated groups for that purpose to reset as it were the situations. She knew a few days to recover and then getting right back itno it would be important as there were new things to build such as their naval forces and continue working on their ground forces... anti-teleportation technology would be needed since that seemed to be the go two method of getting to the planet... perhaps the asteroid stations they had plans to design could be fitted to disrupt matter transportation.

She was thinking about it and... "Io, your father did he teach you anything when it comes to growing plants or trees." She was thinking about it with a smirk on her face... they had Uneti trees in a grove and if they could use them and connect them to the agena.. then it could become something for new model Atrisian ships. She was having some ideas about what they might get to do and now well... now if she had Io who knew things. "He taught me a good deal." She smiled with most of it and moved over there to look at Junko giving her a smile. "Why do you want me to make you some flowers for your hair?" That got a small chuckle and there was an idea.