Log:Tatooine: Queen of the Desert
Tatooine: Queen of the Desert
OOC Date: November 13, 2022
Location: Tatooine
Participants: Pilha Aino (GM), Kutha Buvu Pah, Kirana Ryder
It is the blue dawn in the desert several hundred klicks north of Mos Espa. The sky is beginning to lighten but the twin suns of Tatooine have not yet risen. The air still has a chill to it and a soft breeze sighs over the field of boulders and rocky outcrops. Word has been put out. Kalveh, known as "the "Queen of the Desert", a rare type of low-growing thornbush that blooms once every hundred years, has been seen flowering in the desert. Plant hunters have been searching high and low for it, desperate to sell the rare flowers to unscrupulous, rich collectors. Pilha Aino, concerned about the natural heritage of her adopted home, has put word out that she wants to find the thornbush to collect it for an arboretum to study it. So, plant experts are needed. Plant experts and bodyguards because the deep deserts of Tatooine are never safe. Pilha, dressed in the loose sand-coloured clothing of Tatooine and a crimson scarf wound around her face and head so that only her green eyes are visble, stands next to her swoop. She has a satchel on her back. She waits.
Sandstreaks in the distance announce the arrival of another rider. A swoop bike grows larger as it nears, its rider clan in grey durasteel armor painted with varying shades of purple throughout. A few spots of paint look to be fresh as though the armor has undergone repairs or alteration in those places. Behind the rider is an old-tech Battle Droid. The swoop pulls up near Pilha and the figure kicks the lever to disengage its engines, sliding over the side and waving a hand for the droid to hop off and follow. The shape and gait of this figure are feminine, and she looks to stand slightly short for an adult human. Despite her appearance, she isn't that heavily armed - only displaying a pistol on her left hip and a telescopic staff attached to her back. The droid speaks first as the pair near. 'I remember this place!' is its first statement. Battle droids were programmed to sound a bit jubilant despite whatever they say, so it almost sounds excited to be here. The Mandalorian approaches Pilha in her wraps and scarf. <"Here for the work?"> She asks, stopping and leaning her weight idly to one side. <"Kirana Ryder."> She turns to gesture at the droid. <"Bonnie."> As though to greet Pilha, the droid holds its stun rifle at battle-ready, triggering for the activation. 'We are ready to work!' comes the droid's excited-sounding tone. Kirana adds, <"The ad mentioned you wanted to find this plant for philanthropic reasons. It's not unlikely that earned you an enemy or two. I can work security for an extra fee. Up to you.">
An old speederbike draws through the sands, leaving an avian-tail in its wake announcing the coming of a Zelosian orchardist to these far flung ranges north of Espa. Slipping along on 'neutralized' repulsors for the few yards before the braking thrusters arrest its movement, Qutha Pah comes at last. Dressed in his homespun of earthy colors with little frill or decoration and his haversack pulled from a saddlebag to hook its strap over chest and shoulder he lifts a hand in greeting upon his arrival. No head coverings, in fact the goggles to keep dust from his eyes are removed and he seems to flourish beneath the sun, not a drop of sweat on him despite the growing morning heat and a bottle from his hip gains him a few swallows of water. "G'mornin' ladies." extrapolating from armor contours perhaps, "Hope I t'ain' late in gittin here." Turning a slow circle to survey the area, leaning towards the sun regardless of which direction his facing at the time, an unconscious physical preference it appears.
Pilha reaches up a tatooed hand to pull one end of her scarf free, revealing her tanned face. She holds out her left hand to Kirana Ryder. "Pilha Aino," she greets the Mandalorian and her droid. If she's phased by a Mandalorian turning up in Doomseeker armour, she doesn't look it. She has a strange accent, part Nar Shaddaa, part Corellian. Her hand is rough, dry skin showing someone who works a lot with her hands. Her nails are short and torn. "Could do with some security," Pilha says. "If we're not attacked by plant hunters, there's things like sandswimmers to keep a look out for. How much are you charging?" But before Kirana can respond, Pilha sees Qutha arrive. "Just a sec," she says to Kirana. She turns to Qutha, "Hey, Pilha Aino, Kirana, Ryder, Bonnie," she introduces them all. "You're the plant expert, yes?"
A leftie herself, Kirana takes Pilha's hand and nods along to the agreement of security work. <"Standard rate. Sandswimmer would be extra. Have to blast those."> Beside her, the droid turns its head toward the open desert, exclaiming, 'A sandswimmer!?' On hearing Qutha approach, Kirana turns around to watch his arrival. As Pilha moves to greet him and introduce everyone, Kirana reaches to her back to grab her telescopic staff, currently retracted to about a foot and a half. She doesn't hold it like she's going to attack, only so that it can be quickly extended if the group were surprised by an ambush of some kind. Though in the open desert like this, there would hopefully be plenty of time to see rivals and plant-poachers (if that's even a thing) approach. <"Keep your optics scanning,"> she instructs Bonnie. <"Watch for tremors.">
"Oh, I'd not be too aught worried out here. Ev'n san'people are rare this close t'Mos Espa las' I heard." bobbing his head a bit and touching his chest, "Well, n'm an expert af'er a fashion. H'ain't a bot'nist none, but I know m'way 'roun' a frond'r few dozen." offering a guileless grin and tipping his head to the Mandalorian, "Qutha Pah, Qutha's fine. Mis'er Pah's m'pap." winking one vibrantly green eye before he takes another slow turn where he stands. "So, where aught you 'spect'n t've seen this here rare bloom'n, type? I'd be mos' innerested in gittin' me a clippin' f'm'own work." adjusting his haversack, opening it to look inside at the myriad little odds and ends that he has tucked away in its earthy smelling depths.
Pilha tucks her scarf in, covering her face again. She stares patiently at Qutha, clearly trying to decipher his speech patterns and accent. She pauses, then nods her scarf-covered head slowly. She gestures at the field of boulders and outcrops on the edge of which they stand, beginning to be painted in golds and pinks as Tatooine's twin suns peak about the horizon. "They're known to grow in the shady crevices of rocks and boulders. The blooms are yellow and have a faint citrus-like scent." Pilha pulls the satchel off her back and pulls out a bottle of water and some cups. She takes a drink, then offers a cup of water to Kirana and Qutha each. "It's getting warmer - drink." To Kirana she says, "What's your usual rate?"
Kirana reaches in to a small utility pouch at her thigh, producing a digicard, which she exhanges to Pilha for the cup of water, on which will detail her contact info and various rates. Her free hand moves up to twist her helmet, unclapsing it to be removed and held under the crook of her right arm. This reveals a young woman looking to be barely older than a human teenager. She's a thirty year old Morellian, of course, but due to the race's aging patterns she looks like she's barely pushing twenty. Dark black hair is pulled in to a tight ponytail and her face is devoid of makeup. Small brown eyes glance in to the cup of water before she drinks it all down. "Rate's on the card. Thank you for the water." Beside her, the droid chimes in: 'Ryder, I'm not seeing any signs of sandswimmers!' Kirana smirks to the droid, nodding her head toward the distant desert. "Well, keep looking." Finished with the water, she hands back the cup, replaces her helmet and holds her collapsed staff to her side as she looks about to survey areas that could contain crevices and such.
Patting one of several bottles on his belt, Qutha offers Pilha another bright smiles when she offers water, sauntering towards the rocks indicated by the planetary resident. Humming to himself and at a moment a bit of words escaping on a breath, "Purp'l robes they shall wear... The Spirit worl' risin'..." Hunkering by a bit of stone, leaning close and taking several long breaths before he turns back a moment to look back at the others, pausing to study the appearance of the one up-armored, head canting and brow lifting. One shoulder comes up a fraction and he turns back to his work - muttering and murmuring coming from him - likely talking to himself in an amiable under-breath speech. No stranger to getting dirty, either, Qutha's fingers run lightly through the sand, going a little deeper and his head cants to one side. Not listening, but an unconscious tilt of concentration that puts the sunlight on his face.
The suns are peeking about the horizon. The sandstone boulders and outcrops, crossed with lines of sediment in golds and ochres, cast long shadows. Here and there, the explorers see thorny twigs and yellow blooms, tucked into crevices and waving sightly in the dawn breeze. Pilha wanders over to one and crouches down to examine it closer. "Hey, Qutha," she calls to the botanist. "How do you reckon is the best way to move these?"
Kirana follows the pair toward the outcropping that's of interest to them, ignoring the horizon for now. That's Bonnie's job for the time being. For its part, the droid does continue to watch the distant sands, and if body language can be understood from a droid, it is a little on-edge presently. Kneeling down a few feet from the sample in question, the Morellian peers at it from behind her visor, carefully studying its qualities. She may not be a botanist or even a floral specialist, but maybe she'll recognize it. She doesn't, of course, but it's still good information to have, whatever the Zelosian derives from it. <"This Kalveh plant - toxic? What's special about it? Have to figure it's useful in something if it's been picked near to extinction."> This close to Qutha, it's her turn to study him for a moment, though her attention turns to the droid a moment later to check on it. Things seem normal for now, and she's nearby if a hand is needed.
"Sometimes, easiest t'be t'one movin', reckon." head tilting some, "Aught we'd need t'git as much of the roots with the sand 'round it." digging in his haversack, "Got me sommat for that sorta work too." drawing out a flexible container, almost looking like flimsiplast with a thicker ring around the top. Qutha crouches down next to Pilha once she's found one, motioning while slipping his fingers into the sand, "Look f'cold sand, that'll have a titch'a moisture, will make find'n the roots easier. We're goin' hafta dig around its perim'ter an haul it out." smiling a little wider while he does what he'd said, hunting cooler sand and for the edges of it. "Tis a rare thing, Miss Ryder. It's a green thing aught grows on Tatooine and blooms once'a cent'ry. That makes it like a granite plate on a mud planet, it do." Pilha glances at Kirana. "Mandalorians are nothing if not pragmatic," she murmurs to Qutha with an amused glint in her eye. She stands, to address Kirana. "I don't think it's toxic. Like Qutha said, they're just rare, and it's.... like," the veiled woman shrugs. "Well, it'd be a shame if they all ended up in some rich person's collection on Coruscant or Naboo."
"Well, pragm'tism has its place after all." nodding and working to further define the borders of where the plant roots are to be, so absorbed in his work that he has become oblivious to his surroundings. Humming to himself again, a trowel appears in his hand and he begins a slow tracing trench-line as he goes. "Naboo'd be aught likely t'have someone that'd cultivate it for a grand garden. Be m'likely t'git others clippin's t'share it. Not like Alderaan'd do. Coruscant, defi'tly jus' end up killed n'flash pr'served for someone to poin't an say 'Lookiee here what I done got'. Worse sorta fate f'it ifn y'ask me." head shaking, Qutha keeps to work.
<"Bunch of quirky weirdos on Taris,"> Kirana inputs. <"The type to collect something rare just to show it off to their neighbors."> Behind her, Bonnie says with a nervous, still somehow jubilant tone, 'Err, Ryder!'
The Morellian ignores the droid's worry as she's likely used to it worrying about things like that. If it'd have been a sandswimmer, the droid would have been more specific, yeah? <"Kind of like Coruscant, but more racist. Hear they pay well, though."> Kirana places her staff in the sand, still collapsed in on itself, and uses it to push herself to her feet so she can start surveying further in to the crack for other plants. Pilha and Qutha have this one under control, may as well find one for herself to dig up. Behind her again comes the droid's digital voice, 'Ryder!'
Standing to address Kirana as she is, Pilha sees a flash of movement. Three male humans, wearing dusty desert robes and wielding blasters, are skulking around in the boulder field some 50m away. Pilha pulls her M-434, and ducks behind a boulder. "Kirana, Qutha," the woman hisses to them both. She gestures at the three humans. "We got company." The first human, with a shock of red hair, ducks behind a boulder. He draws his weapon and brings it to bear at Kirana, letting off a quick shot. "That's your only warning!" he yells. "These plants are ours."
The second and third plant hunters also duck down and brings their weapons to bear, but holds their fire, waiting to see what the trio will do. On getting the warning from someone that doesn't complain all the time (that being Pilha, Bonnie is always worried about something), Kirana Ryder spins around to see the trio after they've already taken their cover positions. When a shot comes toward her, she lets it strike the boulder a small distance to the side of her, swinging her arm forward to extend her staff to its full position, thumbing a lever to lock it in place. <"That wasn't smart. If you leave now, I won't have to show you why."> To her side, Bonnie raises its stun rifle, having already activated it much earlier, and aims it at the man that shot shot at its owner. 'Hands up, Laserbrains!' it issues in typical battle droid comical manner.
Looking up at being told there's 'company' Qutha blinks, looking up and frowning at the sight of blaster wielding sorts on approach. Frown growing on his features. Standing slowly, hands lifted slightly, the Zelosian's head tilts to one side and then the other, taking a breath and shaking his head, "Well..." And then shots are fired, his irises widen then his right hand drops - a cylinder of carved wood with a single gold button falling into his palm and a vibrant cerulean energy blade extending. His stance changes immediately, 'sword arm' held with the lightsaber blade extended with the point down and his left hand tucking behind his back. Something some might accredit to an archaic fencers stance. "Gennlebein's... we aught need t'do this." jaw tensing a bit, "How's bout we have a sit, have a chat... things can be done peaceful like an we kin all git out real polite like." Qutha Buvu Pah depresses the Bright Suns button on his cylindrical unetiwood lightsaber hilt and with an electric snap-hiss a brilliant blue energy beam rises forth!
Pilha does a double-take at Qutha. No-one told /her/ he was a Jedi. Peering over the rock, she keeps her M-434 trained on the hunter who spoke, staring at him but holding her fire and her tongue.
Derisive laughter meets Kirana's words, but there is stunned silence from the trio of hunters when Qutha wields his lightsabre, and then flashes of movement between the boulders as they move together to confer. A beat. "You... you won't attack us?" calls the lead hunter.
When the lightsaber is ignited ner hear, Kirana doesn't turn to look - she heard it, and it could only have come from one of the two of them. And since Qutha spoke immediately after, that's all the information she needed. She continues to face down the would-be assailants with her staff held at battle-ready. She spreads her feet in to a fighting stance in case one of them charges her while Qutha speaks.
After Qutha convinces them to back down, Bonnie, in typical battle droid fashion, can't help but to throw its weight around a little. 'We were here first!' it exclaims in its chipper, digital voice. 'Scram, schuttas, before we turn you to scrap!' They were organics. They wouldn't be turned to scrap. But battle droids are just like that. "Hush now." said to the droid, the blade remains extended away, point towards the ground, "I h'ain' gonna attack none, less'n y'make it un'voidable." a single step forward, watching the trio and ticking his chin towards the clearer sandy ground, "Now we jus' need t'be civ'lized here." mouth pressing into a line and his entire body seems to relax.
"We done git to this spot first off, like said. N'we don' care ifn' this plant gits a credit'r two t'rub t'gether. But y'er not jumpin' claim. This here ones been found innits gonna be preserved so it kin be sit where it can grow, seed. I'mma sort who knows his way 'roun' plants though. I'd be happy t'git some viable clippin' for you." Expression serene, but voice firming now after a breath, Qutha looks from one to the next, "But ifn y'er lookin' t'make a scrap out of it, hurt folk... Then what comes nex' is as The Force wills."
The breeze has dropped and with the suns clear above the horizon, the temperature is rising fast. Pilha, as a gesture of good will, slowly moves her pistol so the barrel points at the gravel-strewn desert floor. She shifts position slightly, her boots crunching on the dry desert beneath them. She doesn't holster her weapon, though. She watches the trio of hunters.
<"Go ahead and finish with the roots,"> Kirana suggests, turning her head toward Pilha first, and then to Qutha, she adds: <"I'll keep overwatch. If these poachers decide to attack after all, it shouldn't be too much of an issue for Boonie and I."> Beside her, the droid aims its stun rifle from one goon to the next, to the next, making sure they all know that they're in the line of fire. Kirana twirls her staff in a half, crescent shape spin in a small flourish meant to show the trio that she's still ready to fight if she needs to. To accentuate this, she retains her combat posture.
More silence. One of the hunters gets up and crouch runs away, clearly payday isn't worth the risk of taking on a Mandalorian, battle droid, and Jedi. Whispered words. "Mandalorian" "Battle droid" "actual JEDI!" can be heard, drifting over the furnace-hot boulder field. The lead hunter stands slowly, "A big clipping?" he asks.
