08-25-2016, 12:22 PM
It was an uneasy scene at the fountain, as Sergeant Stanek did his best to keep his composure. The being sitting on the rim of the fountain didn't look particularly like anything really special. By all accounts, it might have been a child, from her size. But it was something about the way she just...just stared. She almost never blinked. She was clearly listening very intently, and focusing just as intently on whoever happened to speak up at any given moment. She just sat there, looking relaxed as could be, and more curious and confused than anything else. But she never...she never said anything. The sheer strangeness of it all, combined with the unsettlingly fierce cast of her red-pink eyes, set the sergeant on edge. He was thankful more than ever for the helmet, hiding his face from view, and the modulation and filtering in his vocal systems, hiding the faint shaking to his voice as he launched into the usual 'newcomer spiel' that was standard issue and literally drilled into the head of every trooper going out on Fountain Watch.
Sisto, the most fearless — or most clueless, depending on who you asked — of the group had taken up a spot on the rim of the fountain himself, adding in a brief, "The most technologically advanced verse here, y'know." The kid got points for trying to help, and Stanek's thanks for diverting the eerie, unblinking stare from him, even for a moment.
But it didn't last long, before he was interrupted by a sudden, quick movement, the little blue...probably-not-child, of all things, raising a hand. Like a student in school, or a recruit in the classroom. It was almost surprising enough to take the edge out of him. Almost. "Er...y-yes?" he haltingly spoke up, inviting her to ask whatever question she might have had.
She slowly lowered her arm, letting it flop lazily across her lap as she leaned slightly forward. "You just kind of...keep going on about this place you're from. Coursarant--"
"Coruscant."
"Right, yes, that place. It's got a weird name." She crossed her arms over her torso, nodding her head emphatically, as if agreeing with herself. Off to one side, Rodi snickered in open amusement. "But...you just keep going on about it, what you do and stuff, and how great it is compared to other places." Her head slowly tilted to one side, a curious look filtering across her otherwise flat features. "But you never...go into much detail about those other places. It's kind of a one-sided picture."
"Dead to rights. She's got ya, Sarge," Sisto quipped, and the smirk was evident.
"Well, I uh..." Stanek faltered for a moment, before shaking his head. "My apologies. It's a routine we follow, gets kind of dull out here so we forget sometimes to go into detail on the other Verses in the interests of doing our jobs."
Graowr just returned her blank stare to the sergeant, as if she was waiting for something. She blinked once, and Stanek was forced to look away, beckoning over another of the troopers in his squad. "Jayce. This is your ball." The indicated trooper — quite pointedly the only one who had yet to utter a single word, or lower his blaster from its ready posture cradled in his arms — briskly strolled up, and Stanek clapped him on the shoulder. "Corporal Jayce here is our info man. Man's a walking encyclopedia on the Omniverse as a whole, and he's got a Dataverse uplink to try and ferret out anything he doesn't know right offhand. You got questions, he's your man."
Jayce just nodded his head, short and simple. "Affirmative. What would you like to know?"
Graowr just looked at the mostly silent man curiously, before she pointed out at one of the distant little things on the horizon. "Wassat?" she inquired.
Jayce turned, glanced at the object in question, and turned back, holding up one hand. A hologram flickered to life from an emitter in his palm, showing an old, worn archway of stone. Looked like it had really been there a while. "The gate to the Endless Dunes. A verse of endless deserts, low civilization, and high danger. Cannibals and bandits, and recent wars over territory have left it inhospitable, even for the ones who live there. Empire presence is very minimal there, and only in a single town. Travel there is not recommended unless you have specific business or sufficient means to defend yourself."
Graowr had leaned forward excitedly at the appearance of the hologram, peering at it curiously, then turning to look at the distant gate as Jayce methodically explained what lay beyond it. "Ooooh...." She turned back, looking directly at Jayce. "Sorry, sorry...I was listening to all that, and I got most of it, but...what's a desert?"
With the exception of Stanek, Jayce and Graowr, every member of the small group at the fountain erupted into laughs.
Sisto, the most fearless — or most clueless, depending on who you asked — of the group had taken up a spot on the rim of the fountain himself, adding in a brief, "The most technologically advanced verse here, y'know." The kid got points for trying to help, and Stanek's thanks for diverting the eerie, unblinking stare from him, even for a moment.
But it didn't last long, before he was interrupted by a sudden, quick movement, the little blue...probably-not-child, of all things, raising a hand. Like a student in school, or a recruit in the classroom. It was almost surprising enough to take the edge out of him. Almost. "Er...y-yes?" he haltingly spoke up, inviting her to ask whatever question she might have had.
She slowly lowered her arm, letting it flop lazily across her lap as she leaned slightly forward. "You just kind of...keep going on about this place you're from. Coursarant--"
"Coruscant."
"Right, yes, that place. It's got a weird name." She crossed her arms over her torso, nodding her head emphatically, as if agreeing with herself. Off to one side, Rodi snickered in open amusement. "But...you just keep going on about it, what you do and stuff, and how great it is compared to other places." Her head slowly tilted to one side, a curious look filtering across her otherwise flat features. "But you never...go into much detail about those other places. It's kind of a one-sided picture."
"Dead to rights. She's got ya, Sarge," Sisto quipped, and the smirk was evident.
"Well, I uh..." Stanek faltered for a moment, before shaking his head. "My apologies. It's a routine we follow, gets kind of dull out here so we forget sometimes to go into detail on the other Verses in the interests of doing our jobs."
Graowr just returned her blank stare to the sergeant, as if she was waiting for something. She blinked once, and Stanek was forced to look away, beckoning over another of the troopers in his squad. "Jayce. This is your ball." The indicated trooper — quite pointedly the only one who had yet to utter a single word, or lower his blaster from its ready posture cradled in his arms — briskly strolled up, and Stanek clapped him on the shoulder. "Corporal Jayce here is our info man. Man's a walking encyclopedia on the Omniverse as a whole, and he's got a Dataverse uplink to try and ferret out anything he doesn't know right offhand. You got questions, he's your man."
Jayce just nodded his head, short and simple. "Affirmative. What would you like to know?"
Graowr just looked at the mostly silent man curiously, before she pointed out at one of the distant little things on the horizon. "Wassat?" she inquired.
Jayce turned, glanced at the object in question, and turned back, holding up one hand. A hologram flickered to life from an emitter in his palm, showing an old, worn archway of stone. Looked like it had really been there a while. "The gate to the Endless Dunes. A verse of endless deserts, low civilization, and high danger. Cannibals and bandits, and recent wars over territory have left it inhospitable, even for the ones who live there. Empire presence is very minimal there, and only in a single town. Travel there is not recommended unless you have specific business or sufficient means to defend yourself."
Graowr had leaned forward excitedly at the appearance of the hologram, peering at it curiously, then turning to look at the distant gate as Jayce methodically explained what lay beyond it. "Ooooh...." She turned back, looking directly at Jayce. "Sorry, sorry...I was listening to all that, and I got most of it, but...what's a desert?"
With the exception of Stanek, Jayce and Graowr, every member of the small group at the fountain erupted into laughs.