Wanderers in the Shadowed Land

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum had never been to Dagobah before. It was supposed to be a world with a large history and one that had played a minor role in events a long time ago. However he did not have access to the information. He had decided to come to scope the planet out as a potential spot for a factory, he did not have high hopes but it was a relatively hidden place. He hoped that it would have something, someplace to build.

The Sovereignty arrived in system and the Fate left the ship soon thereafter. The scans had shown that there were too many life signs for him to track any sort of intelligent life, however the tectonic scans had revealed a large number of cave systems of various sizes. He chose a medium sized one to go through. He would probably later look for a larger one to see if he could built a subterranean base or factory. They would be landing soon and then he would begin a search along the ground, while the Fate stayed in the air nearby.

[member="Kiara"]

 

[Kiara]

In a small dirt hut nearby...

[member="Ultimatum"]

Two icy blue eyes slowly fluttered open, greeted with the sight of a single swinging piece of cobweb, and it's owners, the spiders which roamed the web day and night in search of the small vibrations that signaled it's next meal. There were sounds nearby, those of which usually identified as travelers, searchers, or even worst, the Sith which always came around to discuss taking over her home for material pumping.

One foot in one slipper at a time, the short hermit stood with a small glare of light from the multiple screens shining about in her tiny home. Slowly she made her way to the door that protected a bare bit of the house, made from simple wood and a wooden hinge. Before making her way out, she took a single metal staff which sat taller than her, around two meters.

Robe dressed and hair wild, the woman stood outside of her hut in morning slippers and glanced about to the noises, already awaiting the arrival of whoever was coming about. Her mind wondered, pondering gently of the reasons people might be coming here once again. She never did enjoy visitors around these areas. On a planet such as this one, people usually only wanted to harvest or run away to the nearby Sith temple.

 

[Ultimatum]

As it turned out, there were few good places to land and the jungle was so dense that the areas with dry ground were mostly covered by the thick foliage. It was an interesting environment, the droid wondered how it maintained itself. He noted that there was a building nearby, so the readings from the computer said, whatever it was its condition said that there was likely nobody living in there. At least that was the likelihood, organics had a strange way of getting into all sorts of strange places, it was quite unnerving really to be working through seemingly uninhabitable areas and find some form of sentient organic life somehow making a living.

There was something to be said for the organic's ability to adapt, however irritating it might have been. However, that was something that also helped create the very problems that had given him his purpose. Now he was going about trying to work towards the goal of repairing their mess and they made it quite difficult. But then again, it was not entirely their own fault, it had something to do with their subliminal mind, something that made them selfish. Whatever that was, he had to find a solution.

Seeing as this was a difficult landing position, Ultimatum ordered the ship as close to the edge of the clearing as possible. While his body was supposed to be watertight, he did not want to test that, not now anyways. There was a good three meters between him and the shore of the mire. Not too bad a distance, could most definitely be worse. He walked the meter distance to the opposite side of the Fate before running and jumping. The momentum carried his body clear over the wet ground and then some. His feet were the first to touch the ground, however they were insufficient to halt his forward movement and he soon found himself crashing into a thick tree trunk. Needless to say, that was enough to stop him from going any further forward. His metal body took the hit and he rebounded about half a meter before falling over.

The Fate had already begun lifting into a higher position to allow the optimal coverage of close range life sign readings, by the time that Ultimatum had pushed himself to his feet. Had he been an organic that collision could have cost him a few hours of consciousness at the very least. As it was, his chest had crumpled in about three centimeters, damaging only some light and unimportant circuitry. He grimaced at the ugly damage done, it would definitely need to be pulled back out and repaired. Well this was off to a great start.

Turning his attention back to the plan, he brought up the maps of the area and the intended location. He organized himself and began moving off in the direction of the cave. He also began collecting signals from the Fate, overlaying the lifeform information into his three-dimensional map so that he had an idea of potential problems. They were very bad readings truth be told, the life of the forest was far too strong and dense to allow accurate information. He had to be ready for a fight even if his sensors picked up nothing.

[member="Kiara"]

 

[Kiara]

Sounds echoed far enough through the dense of the forest to be heard by two waiting hears, especially a nearby thunk of metal on tree, something that sounded more like a blunt force than more people coming along to test their new stone adze. Slow steps sunk partly into the thick mud that surrounded the dirt hut, slurping and sulking every time it was lifted and took another step closer.

With the help of a large metal staff, the woman soon came into range of the ships, and their apparent crew of a single robotic figure rolling back from a crash into the tree. A firm, tight face was kept emotionless throughout the sight, leading her eyes to scan the ships and the surrounding area for just a few moments before their return to the mechanical being.

"This is private property." She said in a small, gravely voice adapted from years of eating the local foods and fighting through sickness that cluttered her home time and time again. Though she stood small, she tried to keep a large meaning in her voice, as a first offensive opportunity for her visitors.

[member="Ultimatum"]

(Suggest following. I forgot to mention people sometimes.)

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum heard a voice speak, it was surprisingly quiet, though in truth the surroundings were not ideal for voices to travel too many trees and other sounds. He did however get the message and he was able to locate the origins of the voice. Ultimatum could not make out gender and the voice was too distorted and strange for him to identify in that manner, however whatever it was it did not appear to be intimidating. He dusted some of the moss and lichen off of his body before speaking back, "Deepest apologies. I am looking for some of the caverns nearby. Do you have directions?" He tried to sound polite, though his voice was somewhat altered due to the hit with the tree. That would need a little bit of work when he got back to the ship.

He wondered where this organic came from, a native? The droid had not been aware that there were many if any locals on Dagobah. Perhaps it was a refugee. He did not want any trouble, particularly with those that already lived here, but he did want to check the planet for potential. Maybe not a factory, maybe just a base to escape to should things go downhill on Mustafar, which they were beginning to show signs of.

[member="Kiara"]

(Alright. Done.)

 

[Kiara]

Fragile seemed to be a good word for the lady's movements to close in space between herself and the droid looking creature. With a small shrug of her shoulders, she pointed left of the droid's location and looked up into the dark mossy skies, littered with trees blocking the path of sun. It was a particularly clean day if you had lived in the swamps long enough to find out what the worst it could give.

"You should head a few thousand meters away from here. There is better soil there, and materialistic caverns. I'm pretty sure there may be a group of bounty hunters or something in the area though, so a proper clean-up would be advised." Again resting both of her hands on her staff - she blinked at the metal man with a curious eye, but not too curious.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum was surprised at the movements of this organic, seemingly more gentle than he would have expected from one who lived in this environment. However, he was concerned with the potential danger from this organic. Perhaps it was a trick of some sort, though this hardly seemed like the planet on which to trick and attempt to kill others. This seemed more like a world on which those who trusted one another worked together.

Ultimatum nodded his thanks before asking, "If I may ask, why are you here?" He was a bit curious as to the reason this organic was living on Dagobah. The caves would not be going anywhere, and he doubted that whatever threats were in the cave would become more so with time. The droid wondered if maybe this organic was hiding from something or if she was simply living here of her own accord. He realized that she appeared to be female, that made it only more interesting that she lived on this planet and made him ever more curious to why she was here.

[member="Kiara"]

 

[Kiara]

Such personal questions from a droid. As Kiara wasn't more used to the common medical C-units when she was around them, it seemed awfully unfamiliar to her for these beings to act sentimental. She paused for a small bit, then gently shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I guess people live where they see themselves most fit. Mine is out here."

That wasn't a question she was expecting, but having now had to think about it, that was just about the right answer she could get to without crossing any dangerous lines of religion and culturistic views.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum listened to her answer and found it amusing. It was a safe answer, though he had not asked for safe answers. He did not care for hurting people's feelings, not even his own, he cared for what they had to say and the truth of a matter. He liked organics, to a degree that originally he had thought impossible. They were enjoyable, they had their quirks and irregularities that made each one unique. That was why he was working for what he was. For them. They would likely never understand it, but he was here for them. That was his purpose and someday it would be accomplished.

He smiled as he responded, "Interesting. Would you like anything? I have some supplies if you need food or clean water." He had no need for the amenities that organics needed, his were more specialized needs that had to be supplied by very sophisticated machinery. He did not mind giving them away.

[member="Kiara"]

 

[Kiara]

The human kindly refused the offer with a small wave of her hand. She prodded her staff into the muddy parts again, staring at the machinery before turning back to her hut, going inside and closing the wooden door without another word. For someone who acted the way she did - it could be taken she hadn't learned many manners.

After a few long moments, she came out of the hut with a large handful of various metallic parts - they looked to vary from the ages in decades, scavenged all separately. "If you would like any of these you may have them, but I ask that you leave soon. I do not like company as much as you may expect."

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum decided it was time to go. He was uncertain if he had overstayed his welcome, but it was best to go take care of what he had arrived for. When [member="Kiara"] came out with the parts the droid politely shook his head. "Thank you, I have everything I need. I will leave you now. Forgive me if I have irritated you. Take care." He tuned and began walking towards the cavern system. It was good to meet new people, even if it was a one time meeting, or if they would not become friends. It was a way of at least knowing there were others beyond that which you knew. There were always those that you would never know, but to see them, to hear them, to be told of them, that made him understand he was working towards.

 

[Kiara]

A small sigh slowly left Kiara's lips as she saw the droid walk away. She adjusted, then moved the parts about in her hand before going back into her dirt hut. There she re-organized them into their piles, and sat down on her dirt but very warm bed, looking around her room slowly. Various droids, each different than the next, some dressed in half pieces of armor, some wearing whole pilot suits, and some looking like they were ready to work, just missing a few parts that were common - but always unavailable.

Small sadness built up in the hermit's home, but she stayed quiet. It was better that way, in her mind. She slowly rolled onto her side and let the heat of the fire warm her up, as her eyes closed and a small tear rolled down onto a bare piece of rock, sizzling away slowly. That was another meeting, yet again, unsuccessful in gathering so much courage that she could make a difference.

It's probably for the best. Probably for the best.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum wandered through the swamp for a time, making the general way towards the cave. He thought about the organic he had met, she had seemed polite enough. He wondered what she was doing here. Perhaps just living away from civilization, an understandable wish. The droid had no qualms with her or her way of life, he just had idly curiosity. The questions were pushed the back of his mind as he turned his attention to the cave.

He pushed through the hanging moss cover, gently lowering it back to where it had been before. The cave was dark, but his sight did not need light. He walked through the cave, using his sensors and scanners to check the overall integrity of the stone. It was not encouraging. The sort of rock that this area was made of was not conducive to the sort of construction that he would have planned for. Well, that simply meant that this world would be an unlikely place for his works. Not without damaging the ecology. Not a good thing and not something he planned on doing.