An Aquatic Homecoming

[Coren Starchaser]

The world of Dac, Mon Calamari to many, had been under siege from the Sith Empire. A world that was quintessentially linked to Skywalker’s Rebellion, and all freedom seeking governments since then. It was only now that the Mon Calamari owed others. Coren Starchaser had taken a team of various Jedi leaning governments to the world. And that meant running in with the light side, to pull those out who he could. Upon rescuing the family of Nemo Ven, a large detachment of the Mon Calamari had taken up Starchaer’s call to follow to the Outer Rim. He knew that many others would elect to work with Rick Kaoo and the Silver Jedi, and even more would head towards the New Republic. And that was fine.

So long as the infamous shipbulders were not supporting the Sith?

But the NIathal class shuttle reverted to real space ahead of a fleet. Alliance-in-Exile marked X-Wings were following the shuttle. And the voice of Coren Starchaser came across the fleet broadcast. “Admiral [member="Mazik Stazi"], I have a gift for you. WE’re going to need the local water moon though.” Tired, but excited, Coren was feeling a lot better now that they were in friendly space.

A few moments later, more ships, all Mon Calamari in design began entering the subspace of D’Qar. A message had gone out to [member="Dax Fyre"] and other Judges before Coren had arrived. Hyperspace communications was a bit of a pain but getting those who made the Coalition what it was to help welcome the newcomers.

“And I brought some VIPs, they want to meet the commander of the ship named after their son.”


OOC: For those interested, following the Sith Dominion of Mon Calamari, a sizeable detachment has arrived around D'Qar and are searching fr a new home in the suburbs of the Alliance in Exile's home base. How can the ORC use the Mon Calamari? We have ships, civilians, and shipbuilders. Lets set up a refugee camp.

 

[Micah tol Powl]

"All right, we're gonna have a great dive today!"

The young Nautolan slid across the deck of the drop ship that was preparing to deliver the refugees from Dac to the aquatic moon that orbited the planet D'Qar. Since the departure from what was now Sith Imperial space, the youngling had been faced with the daunting task of working with kids who were most likely orphans now.

He could kind of empathize with that plight.

...well, he thought that he could empathize with that plight, anyway.

To be honest, there was a lot about Zak Dymo that the doppelganger didn't actually know. Had Zak Dymo been an ophan? How had he come to the Jedi? These were questions about his clone template that the present form of the padawan menace just didn't have answers to. He knew that Zak had been raised by the Jedi of the Galactic Republic, but it seemed as though there was very little remaining of that once great institution, even as the New Republic tried to step into its shadow.

The majority of the kids were Mon Calamari, though there were a couple of Quarren younglings in the mix. To a surface dweller, there probably wasn't much distinction between the two. To an aquatic, however, it was the difference between the shoals and deep water. The Mon Calamari kids would want to hover between 14 and 18 meters, while the Quarren would likely dive for 30 meters. If not more.

Once they got in the water, the two groups were going to be hell to try and keep together.

But that was kind of how they got into this mess in the first place.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Bringing more of the galaxy together in a time of crisis was something that Jedi should strive for. With the Sith chasing more and more people from their homes, the Outer Rim Coalition had a lot to do, especially when you looked at it from the perspective of who was living within the borders. The Alliance in Exile was ready, but not always able to lend a hand. And that was a part of what was going on today. A large enough force of Mon Cala ships had arrived, but there wasn’t a place for them on D’Qar. However, local moons and unclaimed worlds were abundant in the Coalition space.

While the call to get the Ven family in contact with the fleet admiral [member="Mazik Stazi"] was underway, the scouts for the Alliance had provided a number of worlds ahead of the refugees’ arrival as to where to drop them. Well, drop them was not the right nuance, but a world to direct them to and assist with their settlement. Dropships were already moving from the larger vessels down to the planet.

Taking the Niathal ahead of the next wave of dropships, he landed it on the surface and opened the back hatch. “Alright folks. We’ve got some Alliance stations set up here, for our more aquatic species. A few prefab bases that are actually empty floating on, and submerged below the water. A host of Natoulans, and other Mon Calamari are already prepping for the arrival. And have been living here a bit.”

He looked up to space. “The non-war vessels are safe to land. SO are the war vessels, but I could understand if you wanted to punch back…” He was never going to force the Mon Cal into a fight, but he knew the type.

One of them nodded. “Let us get our civilians safe and under control first. You know our people will be ready to fight.”

The Starchaser nodded. Approaching the back of the ship, there were a number of rebreathers and submersible equipment for the non-aquatics, and Coren had been well versed in their use. Started to gear up, he looked out over the water’s surface.

[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKcBZlPHC3o​

​

Travel through hyperspace was super boring for younglings.

There was nothing to do in hyperspace. You couldn't even get Holo-Net reception unless you dropped to sub-light, so you hoped you had enough memory on the datapad for some good holo-cartoons that you hadn't already watched a bajillion times. And the battery life to keep them on.

Zak had the music on and had turned the dropship into an impromptu elementary school dance. Sliding across the floor and demonstrating a couple of basic moves for those who were joining in.

The lights dropped out for a moment. When they came back, the entire drop pod was lit in red light.

The clone had enough of Zak's memories to know what that meant. Waving his arms out, the Nautolan circled around as he quieted the murmuring younglings around him. "All right, we're almost there!" the boy chimed brightly. He was forcing some of the cheer, but it couldn't be helped.

They were kinda in this whether they wanted to be or not.

"Everybody get with their exit buddy," the Nautolan chirped, even as he slid up to where the ramp would open. True to form, the seal on the airlock disengaged loudly, prompting the loading ramp to open and reveal an alien horizon outside. Beneath the pod, an ocean sea swirled with white-capped waves.

It was time to take the plunge. "Do you have your exit buddy?" the boy asked, even as his large, abyssal eyes scanned for signs of a kid who was standing off by themselves.

When he didn't see any, the boy took a half-step and then made a large sweeping gesture to indicate for them to follow. "To infinity! AND BELOW!"

With that, the Nautolan took two rapid steps and jumped off of the drop ship.

The water was just a little under a meter from the end of the ramp. The Nautolan cannonballed into the ocean and used the Force to propel himself further down beneath the waves. He swallowed the familiar acrid taste of salt water, feeling it fill his lungs in the all-too-familiar sensation of drowning. It prompted a mild anxiety as his body adapted and his aquatic physiology began using his gills to handle the respiration.

As he adapted to the underwater environment, his head-tails were tracking the others that were joining him in the water. Soon, a school of Mon Calamari and Quarren younglings were swirling about in the ocean with the boy.

Glancing down at his wristlink, the young Nautolan checked the coordinates of the sunken base where he was supposed to deliver these refugees. "Everyone ready to swim?" the boy asked, a unique facet of his Nautolan adaptation allowing him to speak naturally underwater.

With that, the boy plunged deeper with the younglings in tow.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]​