Private Spectral Sands

[Braze]

TAGS: Eloise Dinn

​

The twin suns of the desert planet, Tatooine, beat down upon the landing platform as Braze and his fellow Padawan stepped off their small starship. The heat was stifling, causing the air to shimmer in a haze. A gentle breeze brushed against their faces, offering some relief from the scorching suns above.

Braze adjusted the strap of his training blade, ensuring it was securely fastened to his side. He could feel the weight of the mission on his shoulders, a mixture of excitement and nerves churning in his stomach. This was his first time setting foot on Tatooine, a planet with a reputation for harsh conditions and dangerous wildlife.

"I think I packed enough water for the two of us. Do you have the coordinates?" Braze asked drawing up a hood on his over cloak to help keep off the sun. He was naturally pale and the sun was not his friend. He was already starting to feel miserable from the heat.

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise had always loved the outdoors, but even she had to admit that the sun was not her friend. Her fair skin was marked with dozens of freckles, and she took care to apply plenty of sunscreen before setting foot on the desert world of Tatooine.

"I think I packed enough water for the two of us. Do you have the coordinates?"

She glanced at her assigned partner, a white-haired boy with a girly face. “What coordinates?” she asked. “I thought you were going to bring us straight to where we needed to be. Where the hell are we, anyway?” She gestured to the barren desert around the ship.

Braze​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Eloise Dinn

​

"What?" Braze was confused by this. " No. We were given these coordinates for the planet. Let me check the briefing information. " He said and moved to pull out a data pad from his coat and looked it over. " No this is it more or less. I'm not really sure where this town is exactly. Maybe we are off a little bit?" Braze trailed. " I'm not trained as a pilot. "Braze admitted. " I thought you might be better suited for checking our coordinates?" Braze asked.

All trhoughout the flats in every which way it seemed like barren sands this way and that.

 

[Eloise Dinn]

“I know that we were given coordinates, doofus. You should’ve brought us straight to the location prescribed in the coordinates, rather than parking us out here in the middle of nowhere!”

Then it came out that he wasn’t a good pilot. Figures.

"I thought you might be better suited for checking our coordinates?"

Eloise shot him a glare. “What gave you that idea?” she snapped. “You’ve known me for all of five minutes, and you’re already deciding what my strengths are. I suppose you’re only good for sunburn, Blaze?”

With an exasperated sigh, she checked the coordinates and headed in the direction they indicated.

Braze​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Eloise Dinn

​

"I don't even have a pilot's license yet. " Braze countered as if it meant anything to argue the point further. He had given the briefing data to the piloting droid as best he could. He was not used to going out like this with others let alone having these kinds of responsibilities. He hadn't been on missive with another padawan either and figured she might have been the more experienced of the two of them and knew more than he would about procedures.

It was already unbearably hot and she was being an unbearable 'partner' in this too. Part of him wondered if he was sent here with her as some form of unusual or cruel punishment.

"I thought YOU were supposed to be the leader of this missive, how am I supposed to know what you want done unless you use your words and tell me what you want done?" Braze asked his tone terse and argumentative as he stepped right up and stood directly in front of the girl who was nearly if not a foot taller than him.

Braze had been making a concentrated effort at being better and nicer to his peers as of late but he was still rather prone to his own childish behavior and she was making it extra difficult for him to hold his tongue.

"And it's B R A Z E. I'm your partner on this missive, not your servant. " He stated with a touch of aggression to his tone as he padded after her.

 

[Eloise Dinn]

He stepped in front of her. Luckily she saw him in time, or else she would’ve barreled into him—she could see right over the top of his head, which barely came up to her shoulders. Eloise rolled her eyes. “Last I checked, nobody was assigned as the leader,” she said. “But if you’re going to be this incompetent, Braze, I might as well step up.”

She stepped around him and kept walking. If he talked, she ignored him, hell bent on reaching their destination without further delay.

Eventually a village began to take shape just over a dune up ahead. No welcoming party came out to greet them, which was to be expected given the heat.

Eloise was drenched in sweat, her dyed purple hair darkening in color as it grew damp. It created the kind of sticky uncomfortable feeling that could only be cured with a shower. But the village was supposed to be suffering from a water shortage in addition to other problems, so they would have to conserve their supply of drinking water as much as possible. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she scanned the buildings they passed, looking for some sort of town hall or maybe just a cantina where they could speak to the locals and find out more about what was going on…

Braze​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Eloise Dinn

Braze rolled his eyes at her as she stated as much. He had a string of not-nice thoughts about his partner pass through his mind and he secured his gloves more tightly in place mindfully so. He did not need to develop any bonds with someone like /her/. "Shouldn't we have perhaps waited for nightfall when temperatures were cooler before venturing out?" Braze asked as he padded after her thinking perhaps this wasn't the best idea. He already didn't like her attitude and was very quickly forming his own negative opinions about her. Despite all that frustration welling up under the surface, he padded along after her carrying with him their water supply which was no easy task as his boots sank with each step into the loose sands below. He already hated the mission and they had just arrived.

"Where should we start? I can't imagine where they might gather water in a place like this. " Braze offered looking about rather unfamiliar with the world. He did do some studying up on moister farms on the trip here and watched a few documentaries on the subject. He spotted what he thought was a moister machine and pointed towards it. " Perhaps we should look those over?" He suggested as he adjusted his goggles.

 

[Eloise Dinn]

"Shouldn't we have perhaps waited for nightfall when temperatures were cooler before venturing out?"

“Maybe you should’ve thought of that before you decided to leave the ship,” Eloise replied without slowing her pace. She was too bitter at this point to pay him much heed.

Braze pointed to a moisture vaporator. Eloise paused long enough to look back at him. “Sure,” she said. “But it’s generally a good idea to talk to people before touching their stuff.”

And she wanted to get out of the heat. She approached the building next to the machine and knocked on the door, hoping someone would answer.

Braze​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Eloise Dinn

​

As Eloise knocked on the door, it swung open with a creak, revealing an elderly woman with weathered features. She wore simple desert attire, and her eyes held a mix of weariness and curiosity. "Greetings, travelers," she said with a tired smile. "You must be new around here. I'm Rana. What brings you to our humble village?"

Braze followed Eloise to the door, adjusting his goggles and offering a polite nod to Rana. "Hello, we're Jedi Padawans, sent to assist with any troubles your village might be facing," he explained, his tone respectful and genuine.

Rana's eyes lit up at the mention of Jedi. "Jedi, you say? Oh, it's been a long time since we've had any of your kind visit us. Please, come inside and share some shade." She motioned for them to enter, leading them into a cool, dimly lit room with cushions arranged on the floor.

As they sat down, Braze wiped his brow and asked, "We've heard there's a water shortage here. Can you tell us more about what's been happening?"

Rana's expression turned somber. "Yes, it's true. Our moisture vaporators haven't been producing as much water as they used to. It's like something is draining the moisture from the air itself. But that's not all. Some of the droids that help us tend to the vaporators have been acting... strange. Almost possessed, you could say."

Braze offered a concerned look to Eloise, "Possessed by what, do you know?"

Rana shook her head. "We're not sure. It's like they're being controlled by some outside force. And the strange thing is, we've been hearing whispers in the wind, voices that seem to echo through the desert."

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise opened her mouth to reply to Rana’s question, but Braze beat her to the punch. Crossing her arms over her chest, she waited for him to finish before adding, “You called for our aid.”

The woman invited them inside, for which Eloise was very grateful. Air conditioning was truly one of the greatest inventions of all time.

She was less impressed with Rana’s conclusions about the droids, which struck her as unlikely superstitions. “Or it could be a virus,” she suggested. “Something might be infecting their programming and spreading like a disease, making them act strange.”

Whispers in the wind sounded vague. “Can you be more specific? What do the voices say?”

Braze​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Eloise Dinn

​

Rana listened attentively to Eloise's suggestion about the droids, her expression thoughtful as if considering the possibility. "A virus, you say? That's an interesting perspective, young one," she replied with a nod. "We're not well-versed in technology out here, but it could explain their erratic behavior. Still, there's an air of something more ancient and unsettling in the way they move, as if they're being guided by an unseen hand."

When Eloise inquired about the whispers, Rana's demeanor turned solemn. She hesitated for a moment before speaking, her gaze distant as if recalling the haunting sounds. "The voices, they're faint and elusive, like echoes carried by the desert wind. They speak of lost times, of pain and betrayal. Some say they hear warnings, while others claim to hear demands for retribution." Rana's voice grew quieter, almost reverent. "It's as if the spirits of the past are trying to communicate their grievances to us, but their words remain cryptic and enigmatic."

She looked between Eloise and Braze, her expression earnest. "I understand that all of this might sound fantastical and strange, but for generations, our people have held onto these stories as a part of our history. Whatever is happening, it's affecting our way of life, and we're in desperate need of help."

Rana's eyes held a mixture of hope and uncertainty as if she was trying to bridge the gap between the mysticism of their traditions and the rationality of the Jedi.

Rana nodded as she continued, her gaze focused on some distant memory. "I've heard the whispers myself, at times when the wind is just right. Some of the phrases that have been recounted by those who claim to hear them include, 'Reclaim what was taken,' 'Seek the heart beneath the sands,' and 'The balance must be restored.'"

She paused, her brow furrowing slightly as if she was trying to recall more. "There have been variations, but those are the words that have been most commonly mentioned. They speak of a deep yearning for justice and a desire to mend what has been broken."

Rana's gaze shifted between Eloise and Braze, her expression earnest and full of hope. "We believe that you, as Jedi, may be the bridge between our world and whatever force is at play. If there's any way you can help us make sense of this, and perhaps find a solution to our water shortage and the droids' behavior, we would be forever grateful."

As she finished speaking, a somber breeze swept through the room, carrying with it a faint whisper that seemed to echo the very words Rana had just shared.

 

[Eloise Dinn]

For a poor woman from an isolated farming community, Rama possessed an unusually large vocabulary. Eloise sat and listened to her explanation, but she remained skeptical of any supernatural causes for these incidents. After all, it could be replicated with technology or the Force—the latter technically was supernatural, though many Jedi would deny it. Eloise, who had spent much of her life pretending to be a goddess, would certainly have preferred a more scientific explanation.

“We’ll take care of it,” she assured the woman. “Could you show us one of the malfunctioning droids?”

Braze

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Eloise Dinn​

Rana's eyes lit up with gratitude as Eloise offered to help. "Thank you for your kindness," she said, her manner of speaking standing out in the rural setting. "I'm truly grateful for your willingness to assist."

Taking Eloise and her companion Braze to a tidy workshop on her farm, Rana opened the door, revealing tools, spare parts, and a couple of malfunctioning droids. Pointing at one of them, its metallic shell scuffed and dented, she explained the issue.

"This droid was working fine until recently," Rana said. "Now, it's behaving strangely—moving on its own, making odd noises, and even saying things I can't understand."

Braze, Eloise's companion and a skilled technician, stepped forward to examine the droid. With his technical expertise, he was well-suited for the task.

"Let's try to figure this out," Braze said, focused on the droid. He touched its casing, using his toolkit to open panels and inspect components.

After a few moments of examination, Braze looked at Rana. "I don't sense any supernatural interference. It's likely a technical glitch—maybe a programming error or faulty circuit causing these issues."

Rana nodded, taking in the information. "So, no ghosts or spirits?"

Braze smiled reassuringly. "Exactly. I'll continue to examine the droid and find the problem."

Rana nodded again and stepped aside, allowing Braze to work. She departed the pair leaving them on their own.

"Perhaps they all just have some sort of malware causing them to act out of order. " Braze suggested. " I wouldn't put it pas some sleemo to frag up some droids for a bit o' sick kicks. Wouldn't it ne supper nova if we finished earlier than expected?"

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Rana led them to a workshop, where an immobile droid lay. Braze immediately went to examine it, while Eloise hung back, surveying the room. It was filled with tools, parts, and other droids in need of repair.

Braze claimed he couldn't sense any supernatural interference. Eloise couldn't feel anything like that either. So far the idea that the droids were simply malfunctioning due to a mechanical issue still seemed the most likely explanation.

At least, until she did feel something—a spike in the Force—and then the droid Braze was work on suddenly sat up straight, its eyes glowing white. Rana had already left, which meant it was just Eloise and Braze to witness this event. The droid sputtered, its voice modulator stuttering, before it managed to get a single word out:

"Help."

Braze​