06-17-2016, 08:05 PM
Quote:Coruscant, Tier 1. A few minutes before entering the Endless DunesNatural sand.
It was quite the sight for someone who came from a planet of pure snowstorms and iced oceans. Sand was filled to the brim in pictures, entire swaths of land covered in sand, even continents! It was hard to imagine that even an entire world would only be covered in sand and rock. Kalli heard of the stories, of the expeditions from her species homeworld, brave souls who ventured into the unknown to find new habitable worlds. Much of these stories started off with sorrow, tales of entire crews dying before reaching their designated systems, colony ships exploding as they couldn't handle the crushing atmosphere, wildlife killing off entire cities. It was all so horrifying when she was young, content with staying inside and dealing with the malfunctioning heaters.
But something kept gnawing at her, a desire to see more, know more- something that her life just didn't provide. Those stories of horrible deaths became stories of respect, strong admiration having grown for those who braved the unknown. Heroes who dared to do anything despite the warnings. Those who perished became idols to her, much to the worries of her mother and her father, though the latter was too busy staying alive in a war zone a whole continent away to actually worry about his daughter.
She felt like one of those heroes, something that she didn't feel while serving as a supposed 'agent' of the organization she was conscripted into. To actually have braved the unknown, this multiversal place, it felt great. She couldn't comprehend why, blood was shed here and enough evidence left to paint her a vigilante, but it felt like real progress. If not for society, then for her, some sort of change that made her better than who she was before. This was certainly ignorance and a lack of empathy for others, but it didn't make her any less worthy of being courageous in her own mind.
Laughably- for someone who felt like a hero -she hadn't even moved through the gate yet.
The citizen behind Kalli rolled his eyes, saying "Excuse me, madam?" while waiting for her to awaken from the long thought process she was going through.
Kalli blinked, shaking her head as if she had suddenly awaken "Oh, right." she replied to the citizen, moving forward in the line that lead to the gate.
The Endless Dunes gate was quite a masterpiece. Not that the gate was rather beautiful to look at, but much rather all the protection surrounding it. An entire checkpoint of stormtroopers surrounded the gate, impatient as well with how slow their day felt. The process to get through was fast and violent, the soldiers taking no time to dawdle. If you were too slow, they'd push you and yell, if you were too fast they'd stop you in your place and pat you down for any contraband, suspicious why someone would be so eager to leave Coruscant. If someone was smart, they'd just follow right behind and do as ordered with little dialogue as possible. Kalli hoped to be so fortunate, but that skirmish in Tier 4 already cost her any privacy in this place.
No solid evidence showed up to prove Kalli one of the shooters who assassinated the leader of a gang. Only one man was left alive, and while he spoke of two primes, one being a small rabbit and the other a tall avian, no one actually accused Kalli of being one of those primes. Was the Empire's soldiers being careless about Tier 4, or just that there were too many non-humans here? Maybe she was given a free pass for not having harmed any law abiding citizens in the process, or maybe judgement was coming and she didn't see it. Kalli didn't want to know either way. She had too much pride in her work, rather worryingly so considering it involved the death of people, mortal beings.
"Next!" The private yelled, another individual would walk forward and get assigned a place to be patted down and scanned by their security system. Those who came back through the gate were even more thoroughly checked then those leaving, though fellow stormtroopers seemed to get it easy when coming back from deployment in the Dunes. "Next!" The trooper yelled again, barely looking up from his datapad as someone walked over. The line continued to decrease until Kalli was the one next.
"Alright, you're a prime, system says level two..." the trooper continued to mutter on about the datapad's contents. He finished quickly, still not looking up despite addressing Kalli "You'll be assigned over th-"
A clatter of boots, loud, noisy, like a parade. It caught almost all the citizens off guard, though the garrisoned troopers here seemed to be at ease about it. The boots kept getting louder until an entire platoon of stormtroopers- thirty men it seemed -walked into Coruscant, carrying more sand with them which piled up on the outskirts of the gate. Soldiers yelled for people to make room, and some even watched as they walked passed, both in awe and in horror.
The entire platoon seemed to be beaten and bruised, with some dried blood on their armor as well. A unlucky individual at the front was without his right arm, his fatigues folded up while his face was plentiful with cuts. If those at the checkpoint hadn't been informed of the platoon's arrival earlier, they would've all been rushing up in order to deliver medical attention. Not like the platoon didn't receive medical attention already- Carrefore probably had it's fair share of medics and a actual facility to help the wounded. But whatever supplies they got couldn't wash their armor, or remove any permanent damage. The platoon itself was stopped after walking a fair distance from the gate, being confronted by the checkpoint commander who showed great respect to them, simply making sure they were given the permit to return from deployment before walking out of their way. The gate went back to normal as if the bruised soldiers never walked past, but Kalli couldn't get the sight of that one-armed soldier out of her head.
"A tip, prime," the private began "don't end up like that unit. And a better idea, don't end up dead." he then began to chuckle as if death was a joke, but either his mortality as a secondary- or maybe the brutality of living over and over again that primes dealt with -made him sigh with sadness or pity. "Move, your position is marked by the blue light." He pointed toward the horizontal line of people, a blue light at the end of said line. Kalli followed the order silently, looking back at the platoon until it disappeared into a transport.
Were those the heroes she admired, embodied in another species? People who lost much in the name of their nation? She began to doubt herself, as well as hating how she thought she was being some sort of courageous individual for committing to exploration. This verse was dangerous enough with armed gangsters, it seemed disturbing that something even worse could be ahead.
***
Despite expectations, this wasn't a desert. Nor was it trying to kill her.
Yet.
A savanna, sparse grasslands and trees with some few wildlife drinking from puddles of water, the more predatory chasing after fellow non-sentient animals, dots chasing each other in the distance. There was plenty of shade, thankfully, but none of it too often to make this place feel safe from the sun's rays, it didn't help that Kalli was already sweating under her combat vest. "Something lighter would be nice." She thought to herself, annoyed with the weight of the vest that she was instantly exhausted by. It wasn't all unpleasant, her fatigues offering protection from the one or two flies desperately trying to land themselves on her arms or legs, but it didn't help that the air kept getting blocked from such fatigues. Her equipment clattered against her as well, pouches of ammunition and shield devices making their own jingle as she walked. Unpleasant as it was, she at least felt prepared in case one of the wild beasts decided to try and take a chunk out of her.
This gate was unlike that back at Coruscant, no massive checkpoint, only four soldiers and their officer, all of who were silent. Their eyes did the speaking for them, watching with suspicion as each person moved through the gate, no matter if they were unarmed, armed, prime or secondary. They didn't trust this place, nor did they trust the checkpoint on the other side, only their instinct, reflexes and their weapons. And they didn't need to speak to be aggressive, merely staring them in the eye felt like a death sentence. Kalli only exchanged quick glances each, moving forward toward the metal sign that was ahead of the gate, right next to the road.
"Carrefore Region" the words were underlined, also the largest on the sign "Carrefore Village" was below it, a arrow pointing upward to where the road was leading. The village couldn't be seen with the naked eye, a dot on the horizon as it were (if no clutter was in the way) but with binoculars, one could easily see the tan buildings and local civilians. While Kalli couldn't quite well guess the distance, it felt unhealthy to not pack herself with extra supplies. Standing a bit to the side, she began the three minute process of summoning up two more canteens of water, as well as a energy bar. While the material began to take form, the stormtroopers kept a close eye on Kalli, one even taking some few steps closer in silence, keeping his rifle in a tight grip. The prime couldn't tell if she was sweating over the heat, or over the pressure of having armed soldier watch over her.
The process continued, the civilians who arrived remaining to observe the summoning with intrigue for only a second before walking along the road, as well as one lucky individual meeting up with a comrade who had a truck waiting for them. After all the movement with everyone beginning their trip toward Carrefore, Kalli was finally done summoning her extra supplies. The stormtrooper double checked what was on the ground before turning about on his heels and walking back to his position at the gate. Eagerly gathering what she had summoned, Kalli attached the canteens to her belt- making a quick snack of the energy bar -and made her move toward Carrefore, keeping some short distance behind the other citizens from Coruscant. Some talked loudly, others kept quiet, one or two armed and watching any animals in the grass, all the while walking toward the village that grew ever closer. Dust still settling from those who rode in a truck.
Despite the exhaustion it was taking to go through the savanna, it was very uneventful, so much so that the casual talk that was happening grew in volume. Laughter was even occurring among the secondaries, at least the small group of unarmed ones. All of them talking as if they were in no danger. Kalli maintained her silence, observing the scenery with expressionless enjoyment, finally away from the constant stress of being under watch by the Empire, for now. As well as being able to breathe true clean air! That was reason enough to stay here for some time before exploring another verse.
The band of strangers reached it's destination. Carrefore- the village that is -a place of some civilized people in the midst of this savanna. A few stormtroopers stood guard at the entrance, one on a roof stop with their rifle at the edge, watching out over the savanna's grassland for any threats. Meanwhile vehicles rushed on through the entrance, Kalli and the rest making room for them to drive on in. She saw their markings, Empire, just like these soldiers. "How much territory does this 'Empire' have?" She thought to herself once more, waiting for the kicked up sand and dirt to settle before moving on into Carrefore. Walking on what could arguably be called a sidewalk, she kept her pace, slipping between civilians in search of a hostel of sorts, someplace for her to rest and change her apparel. Such a place didn't appear for quite some time, and the fact she ran out of water while getting to this place didn't help.
Afternoon was settling in as well, the grasslands outside were slowly fading into the darkness, the yellow light that would glitter the water steadily fading and retreating back to the horizon. Adrenaline kept her upright luckily, her body just as eager as her to find a place safe to sleep in. Never did she dare intrude on the silent civilians who lived here however, all of them kept to themselves it seemed, quietly and respectfully moving about their daily business. Surely if there was a market or shop communication was there, but otherwise, it was a peaceful silence. Such silence she didn't want to interrupt with questions.