A Wedding On Retalik: Take Two (Jak Sandrow)

[Slot 14]

"We've had visitors from other worlds. They taught us how to speak the language they called 'Basic'. I've only ever spoken to a few off-worlders. I have never left Retalik's soil."​

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Leyan started to get a sinking feeling. A feeling that she'd have to completely leave the planet if she ever wanted to be free of Toreyl.​

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[member="Jak Sandrow"]​

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Jak scratched the back of his neck. "Well," he murmured, "I'm an off-worlder. This is my ship... and I will be leaving this planet any time now."

[member="Leyan Viceritas"]

 

[Slot 14]

Leyan looked down at her lap. She'd already guessed Jak was an off-worlder. No Theowei she'd ever met had a ship, or spoke Basic as fluently as he did. If he had a way to leave, maybe she should go too. But the thought of leaving everything she'd ever known scared her. But if she didn't leave... that scared her even more.​

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"T-take me with you."​

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[member="Jak Sandrow"]​

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Jak nodded. "Alright. You, ah.. you can stay in my quarters; I'll be fine in the cockpit." Ducking out of the cabin temporarily, he popped back in to push up the shutters for the window. He gave her a small smile. "Space is beautiful... if you want, there's a better view up front." With that, he left her to her thoughts and headed to the cockpit to start the pre-flight check.

[member="Leyan Viceritas"]

 

[Slot 14]

Leyan wiped her eyes, sitting on the bed for a little bit. She looked out the window. This would probably be the last time she saw this forest for a very long time. She took a deep breath to further calm herself before getting up to follow Jak. She walked into the small room, looking at all of the strange glowing panels and buttons. Sitting down in the other chair, she continued to look around in silence.​

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[member="Jak Sandrow"]​

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Jak sighed to himself. What to do... "If... if you have any questions, I'll be glad to answer them... have you looked at any star charts? do you know where you want to go?"

[member="Leyan Viceritas"]

 

[Slot 14]

"Star-chart? No.... Where is there to go?"​

​

Leyan looked at him curiously.​

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[member="Jak Sandrow"]​

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Jak genuinely smiled at her, and said, "Reach into that drawer, there, and get the thing with MAP written on it." Once she had pulled out a thin data stick, he plugged it into a slot, and said to her, "You.. might want to sit down."

[member="Leyan Viceritas"]

 

[Slot 14]

As Leyan did what Jak asked, the lights in the cockpit suddenly dimmed. A few seconds later, the room exploded with stars. She let out a small gasp, overcome with awe. There was a massive slow-swirling cluster of stars in the center of it all.​

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"What... Is this?"​

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[member="Jak Sandrow"]​

 

[Jak Sandrow]

"This," Jak said, a very faint note of longing coming into his voice, "is the galaxy as we know it today. Your planet, Retalik, is right... here." He gestured to a smaller star near the very edges of the map. The holo map zoomed in where he indicated, and he highlighted Retalik. A small list of details about the planet was listed below it. "There you go," he said, simply.

He was curious as to her thoughts about all this new stuff. Everything she would lay her eyes on would be new to her.

[member="Leyan Viceritas"]

 

[Slot 14]

Retalik. It looked.... beautiful. Leyan slowly reached out, letting her fingers go through the projection. It was so small compared to the rest of the map. And yet, it had been the only thing she had known for sixteen years. Her eyes were wide, their vibrant blue slightly brought out by the light from the starchart.​

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"Is it truly this small from far above?"​

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[member="Jak Sandrow"]​

 

[Jak Sandrow]

"Yeah," Jak said, slowly. Sometimes he forgot that every planet was unique, had its own beauty. He silently thanked the Force for the reminder.

"... would you like to see?" he asked, priming the engines, a whine starting up from the rear of the ship.

[member="Leyan Viceritas"]

 

[Slot 14]

Leyan slowly nodded, her eyes still glued to miniature Retalik. The sound made her jump and recoil a little. She wasn't quite ready to fully grasp what was about to happen.​

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[member="Jak Sandrow"]​

 

[Jak Sandrow]

As Jak fired up the engines, a slightly louder hum grew and filled the cabin. "I don't suppose you have engines, do you?" he asked.

He buckled himself in, and motioned that she do the same.

[member="Leyan Viceritas"]

 

[Slot 14]

Leyan mimicked what Jak was doing and pulled a strap over her lap. There was a metal clasp that the end of it went inside. She'd never really seen that, either.​

​

"Crovhana doesn't use very much in the way of technology. We feel it isn't necessary to block out any more of the natural planet than we already do."​

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[member="Jak Sandrow"]​

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Jak nodded. "Fair enough. Personally, I believe that nature and technology can coexist, if each takes care of the other.

"Alright, I'm going to lift off the ground... You might want to get a good view," he said, flicking on the artificial gravity.

[member="Leyan Viceritas"]

 

[Slot 14]

Leyan's hands shot up to the panel in front of her, gripping the edges as the ship started to lift off of the ground. Watching the trees disappear out the window almost made her dizzy.​

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[member="Jak Sandrow"]​

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Jak was going very slow, on purpose. He didn't want her to get vertigo, and he didn't want to overwhelm her, so... he lifted straight off, and, turning around, headed away at a slow pace, just above treetop level.

[member="Leyan Viceritas"]

 

[Slot 14]

Was she really... Flying? Leyan found herself leaning closer to the window, drinking in everything. She could see the mountains cupping the horizon. She could see lakes glittering with the the last colors of day. And then she saw...​

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"Crovhana." ​

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[member="Jak Sandrow"]​

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Jak tilted the ship to better face the city, giving her a view of the entire spread. The castle glittered in the night like a gem, and thousands of yellow lights hovered around it like fireflies.

[member="Leyan Viceritas"]