B E A C O N
Hive Mind
E A D U
Sitting at the edge of the galactic disc, situated at the start of the long tendril of space that held a great expanse of undocumented worlds and unmapped stars, was the humble world of Eadu. It was covered in dense greens and rocky cliffs, rainy half the year and dry the rest. Its population wasn't quite much, attracting industrialists and researchers while lacking permanent residents, but there was a presence of a handful of species on the world. Industries used the planet as a staging point to reach others in the region, as its lack of civilian life meant less risk of crime or insurrection that was far more likely on neighboring worlds, while researchers were instead more fascinated by the prospect of unearthing the labs and studies left behind by the original galactic empire for their work on the kyber crystals and the death star.
It was a normal day on Eadu. It was the second half of their solar rotation, the rainy season of course, so the clouds hung low, the star of the system was blotted from the sky, and the rocky and green terrain was sleek with rain. Thunder boomed overhead like a broken record that someone just couldn't manage to cast off, and the occasional flash of lightning illuminated an otherwise darkened sky. A transport hub shared by both the mining guild and the research groups traversing the world, sitting near the ruins of an old lab, was only expecting one last shipment to come in for the week, as the weather was going to make atmospheric reentry a tad bit more dangerous than most pilots would like. A shipment that was running just a tad bit late now.
"What is taking that blasted freighter so long, it's been nearly twenty minutes since the drop time."
"What? You don't like getting paid overtime to just sit here and wait for some glasses, drillers, and supplies to get here? All we've got to do is check off their arrival when they get here and we get a big fat paycheck on Taungsday."
"I don't not want the pay, but I definitely don't want to be stuck in some box with you all day either."
"Guess it's a good thing the radar just picked up our shipment arriving then, eh? Could've taken a bit longer, if you ask me, but I don't think you would."
"Oh shove off. You get your overtime, I get my time away from you for a week."
While two air traffic controllers squabbled over their jobs in the control room, the freighter - the last shipment in question - pulled down through the clouds at a slightly uneven pace, coming in just a little too fast for anyone's comfort. "This is air traffic control E dash 47, please slow your descent and right yourselves, you're coming in a little too hot and just a little too close." The request was met with radio silence, at first, but then some static buzzed across the airway. "That wasn't a suggestion, please slow your descent - you may cause injury to those aboard your ship if you do not slow down." More silence, and some concern from the two men in their tower sitting right in the path of the arriving freighter. "I repeat, slow down and right your landing path."
"Uh.. hey, doesn't it look like their landing gear isn't engaged?"
"How can you see anything in this weather?"
"Look at the camera screen, moron - oh chit! Get your rear moving, they're on a course for the flight tower!"
Several moments later and it was radio silence across the entire planet - no more shipments expected in, and the only presumably operating flight tower was now little more than a smoldering flame underneath a blanket of rain. The unfortunate freighter, on the other hand, was now resting several tens of meters away from the majority of the debris, largely unharmed. The two traffic controllers were dead, killed on impact in their attempt to make their way down the stairwell, and the unfortunate crash would go unreported and unknown as far as the rest of the galaxy was concerned.
As the exit hatch of the freighter hissed open and a ramp extended down, however, it appeared that Eadu was certainly a world to be concerned about.
[member="Vanessa Vantai"]
E A D U
Sitting at the edge of the galactic disc, situated at the start of the long tendril of space that held a great expanse of undocumented worlds and unmapped stars, was the humble world of Eadu. It was covered in dense greens and rocky cliffs, rainy half the year and dry the rest. Its population wasn't quite much, attracting industrialists and researchers while lacking permanent residents, but there was a presence of a handful of species on the world. Industries used the planet as a staging point to reach others in the region, as its lack of civilian life meant less risk of crime or insurrection that was far more likely on neighboring worlds, while researchers were instead more fascinated by the prospect of unearthing the labs and studies left behind by the original galactic empire for their work on the kyber crystals and the death star.
It was a normal day on Eadu. It was the second half of their solar rotation, the rainy season of course, so the clouds hung low, the star of the system was blotted from the sky, and the rocky and green terrain was sleek with rain. Thunder boomed overhead like a broken record that someone just couldn't manage to cast off, and the occasional flash of lightning illuminated an otherwise darkened sky. A transport hub shared by both the mining guild and the research groups traversing the world, sitting near the ruins of an old lab, was only expecting one last shipment to come in for the week, as the weather was going to make atmospheric reentry a tad bit more dangerous than most pilots would like. A shipment that was running just a tad bit late now.
"What is taking that blasted freighter so long, it's been nearly twenty minutes since the drop time."
"What? You don't like getting paid overtime to just sit here and wait for some glasses, drillers, and supplies to get here? All we've got to do is check off their arrival when they get here and we get a big fat paycheck on Taungsday."
"I don't not want the pay, but I definitely don't want to be stuck in some box with you all day either."
"Guess it's a good thing the radar just picked up our shipment arriving then, eh? Could've taken a bit longer, if you ask me, but I don't think you would."
"Oh shove off. You get your overtime, I get my time away from you for a week."
While two air traffic controllers squabbled over their jobs in the control room, the freighter - the last shipment in question - pulled down through the clouds at a slightly uneven pace, coming in just a little too fast for anyone's comfort. "This is air traffic control E dash 47, please slow your descent and right yourselves, you're coming in a little too hot and just a little too close." The request was met with radio silence, at first, but then some static buzzed across the airway. "That wasn't a suggestion, please slow your descent - you may cause injury to those aboard your ship if you do not slow down." More silence, and some concern from the two men in their tower sitting right in the path of the arriving freighter. "I repeat, slow down and right your landing path."
"Uh.. hey, doesn't it look like their landing gear isn't engaged?"
"How can you see anything in this weather?"
"Look at the camera screen, moron - oh chit! Get your rear moving, they're on a course for the flight tower!"
Several moments later and it was radio silence across the entire planet - no more shipments expected in, and the only presumably operating flight tower was now little more than a smoldering flame underneath a blanket of rain. The unfortunate freighter, on the other hand, was now resting several tens of meters away from the majority of the debris, largely unharmed. The two traffic controllers were dead, killed on impact in their attempt to make their way down the stairwell, and the unfortunate crash would go unreported and unknown as far as the rest of the galaxy was concerned.
As the exit hatch of the freighter hissed open and a ramp extended down, however, it appeared that Eadu was certainly a world to be concerned about.
[member="Vanessa Vantai"]
