Faction Of Gungans and Men [RNR]

[Atlas Drake]

ROYAL BOATHOUSE
THEED

Captain Drake watched a flock of pelikki coast over the Solleu River. Nature's serenity clashed with noisy docks filled by royal sailors loading cargo into nets and lowering the first of several modified D-11 water speeders covered in holostatic shields down with tractor beams. These luxurious craft were reserved for the Queen's handmaiden and other dignitaries to make the journey in stylish comfort so he would have to admire them from afar. Once their tow cables were hooked up to the submersibles like anchors, sailors tipped several cargo nets into the water.

"Comlink check!" Atlas shouted to even hear himself over the nearby Virdugo Plunge, "We'll be diving in a few minutes!"

Mists kicked up by the roaring waterfall's base all but obscured Theed up on the cliffs above in a dreamlike fog. Drake zipped up his wetsuit and tied the holster for a flare gun around one leg. His tehk'la blade rested in a scabbard already magnetized to his lower back. Plenty of local dive experts on Naboo but not so many volunteers since the last convoy failed to return. He searched the docks for their guide's distinctive gungan physiology.

"Skip!" Drake called out waving his arms, "Skipper! Neb...uh, paddlewompy! Soon-soon! Understand?"

The gregarious gungan known to local Theed fishers as Skipper stared at Atlas for a few seconds then nodded enthusiastically. That did not comfort him much. Skip didn't seem to understand much basic and nodded like that in response to most questions. Despite his skepticism even some of the royal sailors vouched for the gungan's vast knowledge of Naboo's often treacherous deep waters. Quickest way to Gunga City from Theed was through the planet core but that was a death sentence. Captain Drake and the others needed Skip to locate a safer route through outer mantle tunnels all the way to his people's hidden metropolis deep beneath Lake Paonga.

Sucking oxygen in through a small rebreather, Drake braced himself for the temperature drop midplunge. He swam out a brief distance to one of the sleek chromium Devilfish still tied to the royal docks and punched in its activation sequence. Asking the Force to be with him under his breath even though he didn't actually believe, Atlas tried not to the think about the odds against survival if he got lost down there in the abyss.

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Atlas Drake

​

Echoes of cargo being loaded and random chatter filled the docks. The teenage boy made his way through different groups of people, strolling forward with a fishing pole casually in one hand. Lysander's presence often felt a bit out of place, as if he had a thing for showing up where he wasn't exactly expected or invited.

His front chest pack carried an assortment of tools, lures, and even food. The zipper could barely contain everything. After Briana Sal-Soren had the audacity to give him a ration bar during one of their recent missions, he vowed to never leave the enclave unprepared again.

The blonde's loose fitting shirt billowed in the breeze, he was simply comfortable; the fabric felt quite nice against his skin, and its colors were a stark contrast compared to the boring robes that most Jedi wore. His black shorts stopped just above his knees, which allowed for easy movement. The flip flops on his feet were simple.

Just like any other day for Lysander, it promised adventure. If he remembered correctly, there were a few tasks assigned by his Master, but was positive he could slip under the radar and find some enjoyment for himself, partaking in the simpler pleasures of life.

A few minutes later, the Padawan was casting a line into the water with the exact same confidence he had with a lightsaber. Fishing had become a hobby he enjoyed more since arriving on Naboo months ago, and now felt grateful that his brother Roman Vossari had introduced him to it.

Under a pair of stylish black shades, his eyes now scanned the area before eventually landing on a familiar face across the dock. Was that the same outsider from the sabacc game the other week? Either way, his own hands were full now, and the man seemed to be overseeing something of importance.

He observed the figure soon swimming out towards what appeared to be some kind of one man submarine. After that, the boy returned his gaze back to the fishing line.

 

[Eaton Waters]

Eaton was more than happy to take a different tack every so often. He heard about some folks getting together on Naboo, a water world he hadn’t really checked out much of. Following the guidance from Brooke, who had located some of her people there, the mostly-thief was more than happy to do some real work. Maybe even some good work. After all, he tried to help people when he was flitting about in space. Signing on with an aquatic exploration team?

Well, that was just second nature for the blubreen.

With the communications check, Eaton responded back. “Loud and clear.” Eaton had a lighter wetsuit on, but he was still half human, and he’d need at least a spring suit, if he was using Pamarthe slang. A smaller wetsuit, but still allowed him more personal interaction with the water. The blonde had followed closer to Atlas when the call came up.

“Thats some impression, Cap.” Eaton was double checking his gear, a weight belt, dive knife, telescopic spear – from back home, but better under water than most things, dive computer, because he sure as hell didn’t know these waters… And yeah, he was ready to go. Diving in, he followed, and surpassed Atlas as he was heading to the Devilfish. It’d help get them where they needed. So long as Skipper didn’t get them lost.


Atlas Drake

 

[Mellomere]

Net Bag - Crate Hook - Knife​

Freeport was a lovely place. So many different species that held the same regard for the waters as her own people did. Though some seemed more content to simply watch silently as their days passed by rather than engage in any kind of in depth conversation about what might have brought them to this lovely planet. The small group she had come here with were more excited about the large city than the people around them and had made sure to make the fact known when they had returned to the cove they called home.

Mellomere however had been entirely enthralled by the new things to discover. Bartering for one of those hook things the dock workers used along with a knife she could manage even underwater. The netting that had been thrown away fashioned into a nice carryall bag for beneath the water as well.

Something that had excited her as she continued to dive and scour the seabed shelf beside the waterfall. Thankfully avoiding any curious eyes as she navigated the rocky outcrop from below with her tailed form. The local animals coming to take a look at her as she smiled and examined them in return with a fanged smile. Some looking delicious enough to tempt her from her task of finding clams and other trinket worthy bobbles as something disturbed the waters around her. The fish around her scattering as she hooked the claw into the rock to keep her in place while she twisted and turned to examine the area.

A gathering of sleek looking things in the water catching her eye as two bodies swam down from what she guessed was a dock above. A dark spot appearing on the surface as she cocked her head slightly and swam up to examine it. A hook eventually coming into sight as she realized she had come across a fishing line by someone on the dock.

Giving it a wide berth as she broke the surface enough to see who was the owner of the line. Eyes barely above the waterline as she spied the human( Lysander von Ascania ) sitting there with strange colored eyes and hair like gold. Cocking her head slightly as she rose a little more out of the water to speak.

"Can I ask you a question?" Mellomere almost sang the question, staring intently at the dark color of his eyes that seemed to wrap around his head.

Atlas Drake | Eaton Waters​

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Atlas Drake Eaton Waters Mellomere​

The rhythm of the water lapping below the dock mirrored his relaxed mood. Slowly, everything else faded away, leaving the moment to simply stretch. The Padawan was completely present, enjoying the nature around him.

When a voice suddenly broke through the silence, Lysander's expression was unfazed, almost like he was expecting it. His weight shifted to one side. “Nope, you may not ask me a question,” he quickly replied in a dismissive tone.

With how much he enjoyed fishing lately, granting someone his time was surely like a luxury. But as the words echoed in his mind, there was a melodic quality to them that grabbed his attention, finally breaking the blonde's deep contemplation. A second later, he turned his head, lifting an eyebrow.

A sly smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. "That’s kind of a weird way to approach someone you know," he continued, his voice carrying a hint of playfulness. “Look. I'll be honest. I sort of already have a long list of girls waiting for their chance, so maybe you should just go home.”

Still, Lysander couldn't deny that the tactic was slightly amusing. Beneath his current exterior, there was a flicker of intrigue. He then let out a long dramatic sigh. "Alright. One question. And only one, please. Don't use it to start asking for more, either. You're going to scare all the fish away if you talk too much!”

Shifting his focus back, he began reeling in the fishing line.

 

[Mellomere]

Net Bag - Crate Hook - Knife​

She blinked at the strange being when she was first dismissed. Displeasure plain on her face as she began to think on the next order of business. Wanting to see what the other two beneath the water were doing as swam a little closer to see him better before leaving. Eyes narrowing slightly as he seemed to change his mind a few heartbeats later.

Then he mentioned a long list of girls waiting for their chance and once more she stared at him blankly.

One question. Was she sure she wanted to ask what was up with his eyes? What did he mean by a long list of girls waiting? Was he some sort of human stud that was on break for the time being? This was possibly a new aspect of humans she had not encountered yet and the want to know what he meant was already eating away at wanting to ask about his eyes. Glancing below the water, she spied the fish slowly returning to their patterns as her head rose again to speak after settling on her first wonder.

"What sort of human are you, I mean, why do your eyes look so dark and wrap around your head?" Staring intently at him as she shifted the net in her hands below the surface.

Lysander von Ascania | Atlas Drake | Eaton Waters​

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Atlas Drake Eaton Waters Mellomere

​

Lysander watched as the colorful lure popped out of the water surface. As he turned his gaze to the girl once more, the question struck him as rather odd, and even a bit confusing at first. Why was she so fixated on his eyes? Most went for his blonde hair instead. The Padawan titled his head slightly, trying to piece everything together.

The longer he stood there with his fishing pole in hand, the more he wondered whether Mell was even actually human or not. Accustomed to mostly Ukatis and now Naboo, where humans thrived and made up the majority of the population, something about her began to stand out more.

A smirk broke out across his face. “You see,” he started, adjusting the shades on his nose until they were just right, “these sunglasses are mainly to shield my eyes from the sun. And to make me look even cooler, of course.”

He then struck a random pose. “But if we’re being honest here, it’s actually me that makes the sunglasses look cool.” Laughter bubbled up within the teen, but it was more to himself than anything else. Now there were a few questions swirling around in his head.

“So, why are you hiding in the water? Or do you usually stalk people around here?” Lysander cast the fishing line back out into the water again before hearing the sound of a splash in the distance. “Wait.. uh, my sunglasses.. they don’t actually wrap around my head that much, do they?”

 

[Mellomere]

Net Bag - Crate Hook - Knife​

He seemed confused by her question rather than unwilling to share his answer. Matching the tilt of his head as if mimicking him might help his thoughts sort themselves.

Finally, he moved with what she remembered as a smile of sorts. A grin it was called. An expression made when someone was being silly or otherwise being unserious. A reaction that made her brow furrow slightly as he moved his eyes with his other hand. Shock plain on her face as she gasped at the sight. Commenting on how cool they made him look as he shifted and presented himself in an impressive way. The effort seeming lost on her as she stared at his adjustable eyes.

"Sun. Glasses?" The word tested as she recalled now that the humans wore strange covers on their face when they took to the water sometimes. "Oh! They are like the dive goggles!"

The realization and excitement evident as she giggled to herself and splashed a little with her nodding.

Feeling entirely silly for not realizing they were a cover for his eyes as he asked her a question in return. Beaming at being asked finally rather than watching him scamper away. Swimming even closer as her dark shape became more defined in the water. Her tail slowly treading water beneath her all the while.

"I live in the water! You and the others were making noisy shadows while I was looking for clams. So, I came to see who you were." Pulling the net bag up above the water to showcase the small haul of clams and shiny things she had found already. "See!"

Beaming at him a smile with what could be mistaken for human shaped teeth at first. Expression shifting slightly as she looked over his sunglasses and turned this way and that to examine the sun glasses better.

"No. I guess they don't wrap all the way around. They are cool though! Do they work well?" Coming close enough now to the dock that her tail was almost entirely visible from where he stood. Watching him cast once more with curiosity before looking up at him once more.

Lysander von Ascania | Atlas Drake | Eaton Waters​

 

[Atlas Drake]

ROYAL BOATHOUSE
THEED
Lysander von Ascania Mellomere

“Thats some impression, Cap.”

"Yeah well..." Atlas was breathing heavily from failing to keep pace with Eaton, "my gunganese is...a little rusty."

Skipper let out a primal whoop before backflipping off the dock in an impressively high leap which created a mighty splash. He swam circles fast enough to keep pace with even the Devilfish thanks to a well-adapted gungan physiology.

"I'm going to make a quick dive and have a look around."

Drake fully submerged himself in the Solleau River and drifted down allowing his eyes to adjust. He took in the vibrant ecosystem that thrived beneath Naboo's waters. Schools of fish scattered away from his intrusion. Faint blinking from the dark below represented a marker buoy for the closest underwater tunnel to the planet's wider subterranean network.

"Conditions look good down there," he told Eaton when he emerged, "I thought I saw a karkarodon for a second, but it's just a naboo girl talking to that fisherman over there."

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Atlas Drake Eaton Waters Mellomere

​

A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he feigned an air of seriousness. “No, these are nothing like dive goggles. They’re designed to protect my eyes from that giant ball of fire in the sky, not the water below.” He gestured dramatically towards the sun, the one that hung in the blue sky. “This might sound crazy.. But some of us would like to keep our retinas intact.”

The girl was starting to seem like something otherworldly, no doubt someone that didn't live on the dry land as himself. His heart quickened a beat when she suggested living in the water. As she pulled out the net bag, he squinted against the sun’s rays, scrutinizing the way she kept looking at him like he was some kind of puzzle.

“Those noises, they were probably just the others,” he mused aloud, attempting to reground himself in logic. He made another gesture, this time to the others on the dock.

“So, what are you going to do with the clams?” he asked, trying to keep the conversation light, even as unease was felt in the pit of his stomach. “Are you planning on eating them?” He spoke with nonchalance, but it was hard to ignore the instinct warning him about what might be beneath the surface. He tried to reach out with the Force but wasn’t able to get much of a better reading.

A brief pause dragged out between them. “You know, raw clams can be unhealthy. That's how peasants eat them.” She was definitely not of his world; he could sense it deep within him now. The realization hit him sharply. "They probably have some kind of gross bacteria on them.."

The way she leaned in was almost unsettling; he couldn’t tell whether her teeth were human or alien. "Oh, they're definitely working.. like magic," he suggested. The sunglasses were adjusted once more. "In fact, your compliments are somehow powering them up."

Placing his other hand back on the fishing pole, he began to reel in the line slowly once more. “Well, I think I’m just going to focus on me, my rod, and being good without any.. slimy surprises, does that sound ok to you?”

 

[Mellomere]

Net Bag - Crate Hook - Knife​

As he explained, she would look at the sun in the sky before looking back at him. It was the first she had heard of the sun being dangerous here. Something she would have to remember to ask the others when she got back if they needed to find some of these sunglasses to protect themselves also.

Whatever a retina was, it sounded important.

Beaming as he seemed to answer his own question about the clams, she only nodded in response. The way he said the word peasant made her blink. As if the word was disgusting or left a bad taste on his tongue. Which was strange that a word could have a flavor. Maybe another human thing. The want to ask strong as he continued to speak before she could.

Enamored now with the sun glasses as he spoke of them being magically powered. Staring intently at them to etch them into her mind to try and find the same pair for herself if they were so powerful and easily made better.

The mention of bacteria made her blink, unsure what that might be as he adjusted the sun glasses and then held on to the fishing pole. Her eyes narrowed once more, knowing when a polite enough chance to leave was given.

"Best of luck to you sunglasses!" Dropping out of sight now below the water. Attention swiftly shifting to sounds of splashing nearby as she dove to find the next source of new things on this world.

A familiar looking being came into sight as she ducked below the dock. At least, familiar in the way that it looked like others of its kind. A gungan that was all too eager to be back in the water it seemed. Swimming in circles as she smiled and laughed to herself as her form slowly came closer. Waving to the being as she instead swam over to the two strange looking ones that seemed to be staring at each other.

The gills on her neck flaring with each breath as she tried to examine them both from a safe distance. Long tail keeping her leveled with them and their strange looking bubbles.

Lysander von Ascania | Atlas Drake | Eaton Waters​

 

[Eaton Waters]

Eaton had no problem with the water. He wasn’t a full Blubreen but he was at least half. And that meant something. Besides that, he was from a nice aquatic world where he and his sister had learned to hone their own innate skill in the water. Working with others in the water would be a little tiring, but he had read up on Atlas and had respect for what the man had done. Besides, he was a Kathol Outback local. “I’m not sure even Gungans are good with their own communication.” Eaton followed that up with a quick laugh. He didn’t have anything against the other race, they were just a bit… sheltered?

When Atlas gave a mention that he was going to dive ahead, Eaton nodded and kept at the surface for a few moments, surveying the land near Theed before Atlas surfaced again. “Karkarodon, really?” His eyes went wide, almost excited by the chance of one of the shark folks nearby. He hadn’t seen many other aquatics outside of Freeport. Maybe a Herglic here or there, or a Yinchorri. Those ones were neat.

“I didn’t know the Naboo could shift like that.” He shrugged and took a breath before holding his head under the water, seeing if he could find what Atlas was talking about but remaining where he was.


Atlas Drake Lysander von Ascania Mellomere