Geel Zlta
We don’t have to win, we only have to fight
“It's where all the idealists hang out, I hear.”
― Han Solo
Yavin. The big red one. In its own right, it is little more than a footnote in history – but one of its three habitable moons, on the other hand, that had some history behind it.
The fourth moon of Yavin had been occupied by many different sentient species over thousands of years of galactic history – the native, although ultimately doomed Massassi, slain by Exar Kun; Humans serving the masters of the Sith, the Jedi, the Republic, and the Rebellion; and, according to legend, at least one Rodian.
Many stories of Yavin 4 were just that – stories. But, Geel noted, in every myth there was a grain of truth. Maybe the name of the planet changed, or the size of the haul – but there was no such thing as an empty rumour in his limited experience. And what separated the men from the boys was the ability to see that grain of truth for what it was.
Currently, history would mark Geel as a boy.
Most started a treasure hunt at the huge, pyramidlike structures that even orbital scans could pick up. They were currently situated on the far side of this moon from Geel. Sure, they were packed with treasures and loot. Except that fact was true over 4,000 years ago.
Geel was here to find something – anything of value. He was an independent operator with morals. Breaking the law was out – unless it resulted in the downfall of the dark-side. But for personal gain? His ethics did not allow for any misdemeanours. So he either found routine work to pay the bills, or – or, as his recent exploits had led him to – he recovered artefacts to fund his one-man crusade to rid the galaxy of dark-siders forever.
It was how he’d scraped enough credits together to buy this old ship. The one he was currently hanging upside-down from in his safety harness in the cockpit. And even upside down, what he saw scared him.
In hindsight, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. His antiquated droid was carrying out repairs to the hull and cockpit and he figured the ship would be able to go back into space in a day – two tops.
He looked around for more of the ripe blue grenade fungi, a curious local species that spreads its
spores via explosive combustion. A cluster would have been enough to destroy the ship – and Geel too. As it was, the one he’d spied shattered the cockpit window and did mostly superficial damage.
The air had hit Geel like a wet sock. The Yavin moon is a jungle planet, and the atmosphere is practically steam. But Geel was doing his best to ignore the fact as his scanner showed that – below the tree line, there was a small set of ruins ahead.
Little is still known about the ancient builders of the fortresses on this moon. No one knows how they were able to cut and transport huge stone blocks from the crust of Yavin 4, or how those blocks were transformed into huge towers.
Night fell quickly. The tropical humidity had given way to an unusually balmy evening. Massassi leaves rustled in the cool breeze and Geel could not ignored a sense of dark clouds on the horizon, the air heavily laden with doom.
He looked up. A lambent glow from the setting gas giant streaked the sky; the Massassi trees rose tall, spreading their many-branched silhouettes against the deepening purple. Stars poked out, lights twinkling through a cloak of blackness.
And Geel could not shake the feeling of dread. Maybe it was because he was alone. Alone and without an obvious weapon – save a wholly unreliable blaster – and the flight suit he was dressed in. But he knew, deep down, it was more than that.
He sensed the dark-side.
[member="Jamie Pyne"]
― Han Solo
Yavin. The big red one. In its own right, it is little more than a footnote in history – but one of its three habitable moons, on the other hand, that had some history behind it.
The fourth moon of Yavin had been occupied by many different sentient species over thousands of years of galactic history – the native, although ultimately doomed Massassi, slain by Exar Kun; Humans serving the masters of the Sith, the Jedi, the Republic, and the Rebellion; and, according to legend, at least one Rodian.
Many stories of Yavin 4 were just that – stories. But, Geel noted, in every myth there was a grain of truth. Maybe the name of the planet changed, or the size of the haul – but there was no such thing as an empty rumour in his limited experience. And what separated the men from the boys was the ability to see that grain of truth for what it was.
Currently, history would mark Geel as a boy.
Most started a treasure hunt at the huge, pyramidlike structures that even orbital scans could pick up. They were currently situated on the far side of this moon from Geel. Sure, they were packed with treasures and loot. Except that fact was true over 4,000 years ago.
Geel was here to find something – anything of value. He was an independent operator with morals. Breaking the law was out – unless it resulted in the downfall of the dark-side. But for personal gain? His ethics did not allow for any misdemeanours. So he either found routine work to pay the bills, or – or, as his recent exploits had led him to – he recovered artefacts to fund his one-man crusade to rid the galaxy of dark-siders forever.
It was how he’d scraped enough credits together to buy this old ship. The one he was currently hanging upside-down from in his safety harness in the cockpit. And even upside down, what he saw scared him.
###
In hindsight, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. His antiquated droid was carrying out repairs to the hull and cockpit and he figured the ship would be able to go back into space in a day – two tops.
He looked around for more of the ripe blue grenade fungi, a curious local species that spreads its
spores via explosive combustion. A cluster would have been enough to destroy the ship – and Geel too. As it was, the one he’d spied shattered the cockpit window and did mostly superficial damage.
The air had hit Geel like a wet sock. The Yavin moon is a jungle planet, and the atmosphere is practically steam. But Geel was doing his best to ignore the fact as his scanner showed that – below the tree line, there was a small set of ruins ahead.
Little is still known about the ancient builders of the fortresses on this moon. No one knows how they were able to cut and transport huge stone blocks from the crust of Yavin 4, or how those blocks were transformed into huge towers.
Night fell quickly. The tropical humidity had given way to an unusually balmy evening. Massassi leaves rustled in the cool breeze and Geel could not ignored a sense of dark clouds on the horizon, the air heavily laden with doom.
He looked up. A lambent glow from the setting gas giant streaked the sky; the Massassi trees rose tall, spreading their many-branched silhouettes against the deepening purple. Stars poked out, lights twinkling through a cloak of blackness.
And Geel could not shake the feeling of dread. Maybe it was because he was alone. Alone and without an obvious weapon – save a wholly unreliable blaster – and the flight suit he was dressed in. But he knew, deep down, it was more than that.
He sensed the dark-side.
[member="Jamie Pyne"]