Private The Long Ride Home

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He'd only been to the planet once since its destruction. What he'd come to find there had not been for the faint of heart, and Cedric was hard pressed to allow himself such torment again. It had to be done though. The old communications array had information pertaining to several caches hidden throughout the galaxy; securing them would go a long way toward making sure the Imperium was ahead of the curve militarily.

He'd chosen to come with none, save for another Essonian. Dante of Ession had proven himself quite capable during the conflict on Teta, so much so that Cedric had elected to bring the young man along with him to their ruined homeworld.

The stealth vessel was near-silent as it dipped beneath the ash choked clouds to the wasteland below that had once been the capital city. Its towers had been reduced to atoms, the land poisoned with radiation. None lived here now, save for the scavengers that fought simply to survive.

The Jedi Master breath a quiet sigh as the small two-man ship settled in a clearing between several ruined buildings. The Sith wouldn't come out this far. There was nothing left here for them to watch over.

"Welcome home," Cedric intoned to his companion as he rose from his seat. "Are you ready to see what's become of our world?"

Al'Taylor Quarnz

 

[Al'Taylor Quarnz]

Ever since the planet's destruction, the masked man and his canine companion spent the days all the same. The sun rose, he and Bud left whatever makeshift home they had made for the night to scavenge for food, find old tools, hunt for sport, and more. The days got shorter, the memories of the civilized age on this planet faded. Nothing ever changed. Every now and then, the pair would meet a survivor and engage in cooperative activities for a bit with each other.

But they all disappeared.

The area that Al'Taylor had staked his own claim for land was littered with the skeletons of numerous creatures, including sentient ones, and the parts of droids, ships, vehicles, you name it. If it was random, it was there. Today, the two found almost nothing. They had enough food to get by for a few more days, but it was always better to hunt for their food a few days before, just in case someone stole. Eventually, they decided to call it quits early in the 'afternoon' and camp out on a destroyed tower. Once they got settled and organized everything, the man and dog both made inventory of what they had. It wasn't much, but it was enough to survive.

"Pretty uneventful day, huh Bud?" he said to his companion, rubbing the dog's head while it laid down with its tongue out to relax. Bud barked quietly in reply. He wasn't a loud dog, which was a trait that came in handy. Loud dogs were dead dogs in the apocalypse.

"Well, time to change filters." he added as he reached up and removed his protective mask, exchanging his older filters and discarding them only to replace them with brand new ones. He did the same for his canine friend, putting both of their masks back on afterward. No one could really survive without one. Or that's all he really knew.

Then, he stared into the sky, observing the layer of ash and toxic radiation that now composed the majority of the atmosphere. It was a lonely life. One could only question how long someone could survive without going insane..

P Placeholder 0128 | Dante of Ession

 

[Dante of Ession]

Dante stared, blankly through the window of the vessel, black smoke, covering the once crystal clear glass. As he began to descent toward the war torn world, he was flooded with memories.

He barely escaped the world with his life, yet here he stood, where it all began. And suddenly, his emotions overcame him. He turned toward the grey, metallic wall of the vessel, shedding a singular, sorrow-filled tear and as he wiped the tear from his hoarse, dry cheek, his sadness was relieved from him. All that he held now was anger, a rage directed toward the entire galaxy. He was ready to wage war.

Suddenly, his reality was restored, his mind cleared. He had a mission, which he would complete with the utmost efficiency. He turned toward his superior, Cedric of the Grayson Imperium.

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Al'Taylor Quarnz

 

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There was a heaviness to the return that Cedric had anticipated, but still found appalling. Ession had once been an ecunemopolis: its prosperity had seen most of the world completely coated in civilization. Now there was little by way of life, save for rats and mutated beasts that roamed the lands in search of sustenance. The juxtaposition was enough to tug at Cedric's heartstrings.

He reigned in his emotions for now. They had a mission.

"We'll avenge Ession," he finally spoke, reaching over to squeeze Dante on the shoulder before drawing back. "It'll take time. Years even, but we'll get there." It was all he could offer. There was nothing else to be said.

The shuttle set down in an open clearing between a mass of ruined buildings. Little did they know that they had settled down close to Al'Taylor Quarnz 's chosen home.

"Put your helmet on. Air could be toxic here," Cedric ordered as he set his own helm in place, the shuttle's cockpit hissing as it opened, the dry, warm air of Ession flowing inward.

Dante of Ession

 

[Dante of Ession]

As Dante placed the air-tight helmet onto his head and secured its position, the cockpit opened, revealing what was left of his world. He stepped forward, toward the exit. And then, with a certain grace, he set foot on his world once more. As he stared, blankly at the destroyed planet, he imagined what it was like before the assault.

Skyscrapers and high-rises, once reaching to the heavens were now nothing more than heaps of ash and ruin, on the world's surface. Crowds of people, filling the streets and living their lives were reduced to nothingness. All life on the planet was annihilated, by everyone who failed to protect it.

As Dante began to draw farther and farther from the ship, he was immediately puzzled. Soon, this confusion morphed into astonishment as he began to feel the presence of Life.

P Placeholder 0128 Al'Taylor Quarnz

 

[Al'Taylor Quarnz]

The wasteland that was before him was quite peaceful in its own little way. If you stayed long enough after the destruction of Ession, you'd easily get used to it. The radioactive creatures roaming that would attack every now and then. The headaches you'd get from radiation and dehydration. The struggle of setting up camp wondering if you'd wake up or be killed in your sleep by some sort of beast or another traveler that came by to steal your inventory. It was a constant state of worry for the masked man.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by the disturbance of the weird thing that came every now and then. Some would say it was the force. Al'Taylor knew nothing of the sort. He just felt things when he felt them, but now he felt two. Shortly after this feeling came, Bud woke from his sleep and barked loudly through his protective mask. He was a quiet dog and only barked when something was unusual.

"What is it, Bud? What's wrong?" said Al'Taylor as he rose to his feet, scanning the horizon for whatever brought about this disturbance. He did not draw his weapons just yet, but simply observed. Waiting.

P Placeholder 0128 | Dante of Ession

 

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Ession was nearly dead.

The surface had been wrecked in its entirety. The majority of the planet's life had been wiped out in the bombardment, and what little persevered was sparce and often mutated. Even still, it carried on, just as the people of Ession had. Just as tragedy would not be the end of her children, so to would it not be for Ession.

That momentary hopeful thought quickly slipped away as Cedric looked upon the ruined buildings. "Where you here when the bombardment began?" He asked of Dante of Ession .

Another presence approached from a nearby hill. Cedric's hand fell toward his lightsaber as he called out. "We mean you no harm." A pause, "Can you come out to speak with us friend?"

Al'Taylor Quarnz

 

[Dante of Ession]

The overwhelming presence, unlike anything Dante had previously experienced, diminished greatly, as Cedric called for him.

He stood for a moment, silent, absorbed by the catastrophic state of his world.

He finally spoke: "We endured the annihilation, Our world did not." He faced the man now, who he began to profoundly respect. "If you must know, yes, I was one the planet on the day of the bombardment."

Dante was suddenly chilled by a much smaller presence than previously felt, nevertheless, someone was near. There was another person on the planet, another Essonian. As the Imperator called for the presence, Dante already began to walk toward the heavily equipped man and his furry companion.

P Placeholder 0128 Al'Taylor Quarnz

 

[Al'Taylor Quarnz]

The two men approached slowly, one's hand reached down to his hip.

Al'Taylor sensed he meant no harm. They weren't conquerors of any sort. He felt that they both had some sort of sympathy for the situation. Perhaps more children of Ession? He couldn't tell a criminal from a native brother. They all left within days. Minutes for some. The action here was minimal, so was Al'Taylor's human reaction.

As he stood atop the hill and Dante of Ession approached, his canine friend began barking. He too wasn't used to any sort of reaction rather than with his caretaker. Al'Taylor quickly reached down once more and comforted his true friend. The other man, P Placeholder 0128 , soon called out to him from below.

"We mean you no harm." he said.

This statement was true.

"Can you come out and speak with us friend?" he concluded, a friendly tone setting in the air.

The destroyed man smiled behind his protective mask. A friend, he thought. The first one in a very long time. He laughed quietly to himself as he pet Bud's head.

"Of course I can come talk to you! We don't get very many visitors, you know! Welcome to... err.... uh..." he obviously didn't remember.

"Starts with an E I think. Whatever. I'm so glad you're here! Wow! You're the first person I've seen in a long time!" he said, the excitement projecting through his mask. His eyes glowed brightly in happiness. Almost even seen through the mask.

 

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"I was in orbit, leading the evacuation, or what was left of it. The Sith made quick work of most of our transports." Cedric nosed scrunched up in distaste as he recalled the unpleasant memory. The remnants of the Essonian fleet had been quickly swept aside when the entirety of the Sith Empire's forces had come knocking. What little hope of resistance there had been was dashed the moment their ships had dropped out of hyperspace.

"I'm amazed you survived," he added honestly. Small bands of survivors had made their way to Coruscant since the Imperium had risen, and Cedric couldn't fathom how they'd done so. There were few worlds as devastated as Ession.

An immediate sadness took hold of Cedric's heart as he took in the state of the man and his beastly companion. To see one of his people reduced to such a state that they did not remember the name of the homeworld was devastating.

"It is Ession, brother," Cedric stepped forward, reaching out to clap the survivor on his shoulder should the man allow. "I am Cedric, and my companion is Dante. This place was once our home, as it is yours."

Dante of Ession , Al'Taylor Quarnz

 

[Dante of Ession]

As Dante and his partner neared the man and his canine companion, he embraced the man, hugging him, in a brotherly manner. Soon after, he knelt onto one knee and began to pet the beautiful little beast.

Dante was astonished to see such life on this world, as was he angry to see this life so utterly damaged. If he possessed the capacity to withdraw any more sorrow, he would feel the corresponding sympathy. However, despite his actions, Dante possessed human emotion, more than most others. It was the tragic events, which occurred throughout his lifetime that damaged his mental state. Possessing no such room for excess sorrow, he generated rage.

Even so, he felt compassion and brotherhood towards the men he stood beside today, for they were the only living Essionans he knew. His partner and this stranger, whom he had never met before, was the closest thing he now had to a family.

P Placeholder 0128 Al'Taylor Quarnz

 

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The kinship of the Essonian people was a strong one. Their bonds were not solely of blood, but of values, culture, and suffering. No Essonian lived that did not feel a kinship with another of their people. Their tribe had been reduced to such a size that selfishness simply was not something to be considered. Survival demanded such.

"We should -" his words were stolen from his throat as the hum of a starship rumbled overhead. He jerked his head toward the sound, eyes going wide as he recognized the faint black dot that was rapidly approaching from the mountains to the north.

"Move!" He snapped, waving for the men to follow as he charged his way toward one of the burnt out skyscrapers, darting his way past the blast-scorched doors to the sanctuary of the structure within.

He whirled about, waiting to make sure the two men followed.

Dante of Ession