Private The Lord, the Lady, and the Castle : Dantooine Military Base

[Ova Ziss]

Image Credits: Dylan Tyer, ArtStation

The Lord, The Lady, and the Castle
Tags: Ova Ziss | Nyva Shei | Lyssara Thrynn | Open​

Spoiler: Flavor Music

Deep in the heart of Dantooine's savanna jungle was a place that was called "Dantoo Town" by the locals. Because of the neglect of previous administrations of Dantooine, poverty affected Dantoo Town. The primary demographics of Dantooo Town was scavengers, the homeless, the transient, the deviant, the bold, and the daring. It was place where few people saw or noticed on Dantooine, which made the situation even more upsetting. The population was overwhelmingly either aliens or humans with various disabilities and maladies.

Unable to afford even a trip to the Dantooine Space Station, the inhabitants of Dantoo Town were the poorest of the poor. They got by through farming and scavenging, and by holding unofficial swoop races in empty prairies and farms. The young people got through their days by imagining how much better life is on "the station". The especially ambitious would talk about attending a swoop race championship "up on the Station" - as either a spectator, or even as a participant.

This place, Dantoo Town, was the birthplace of Ova Ziss. And, at last, he had returned. But, he had brought company. Ova fought back tears as he thought of his goals when he was a small child: how he had finally achieved his dream of visiting the Station. Ova thought of how many times he looked up into the stars, wishing that he and his father could find success, so that they could go to the Station. And they did.

Nyva Shel accompanied Ova Ziss to one of the farms in Dantoo Town.

Ova squeezed Nyva's hand. He turned to her. Nyva saw that Ova's eyes swelled with tears.

"This is where I grew up, Nyva. This is how the Sith left my hometown."

"What do you think of Dantoo Town? You can be honest."

Objectively, the town was in bad condition structurally. There was serious, obvious poverty here. Dantoo Town hadn't been touched for over thirty years, when it was shelled during a major planetary conflict of times past.

Dantoo Town had a single main strip that constituted the entirety of the town. All of the businesses, homes, restaurants, hotels, and casinos were located along this "Dantoo Strip". It was obvious, even from the design of the town, that it was never meant to be anything more than a stop-over for tourist ships. The poor rebuilding efforts by the former Sith Order administration made the strip look even more run-down than it is.

Nyva would know, from her Academy studies, that Dantoo Town was once frequented by both Imperial and Republican soldiers during the Old Republic. It was once a hot town for the soldiers to meet Dantooine's residents, and for the residents to get to know the people. Everybody made money there. Ova remembered what it was like just a short time ago: the history books and museums on Dantooine made Dantoo Town sound like a wonderful place when it was owned by the Republic.

[...]

"Lady Nyva. Mistress Lyssara. I want to show you something. It's worth the trip."

Ova urged Nyva onwards, still holding her hand tightly. Grenz the bodyguard, and a number of Sayu Ni Acolytes, were accompanying Lord Ziss and Nyva Shel. It was not clear to Nyva why Ova needed such a large security detail, when Dantoo Town appeared to be empty. The jungles were suspiciously empty, too.

Ova pointed at an unassuming tree, inside of a sap farm.

It had a strange symbol on it.

Spoiler: The Symbol from outside

Ova harshly jerked on one of the limbs of the tree. It was not a limb at all - but a lever.

Image Credits: Mace Madonusus, ArtStation

A hatch opened up near the dirt of the farm. The earth opened and revealed the secret Dantooine Military Base. There were stairs leading inside of a dark, dirty, but interesting-looking hangar area. It looked like it was a very large underground garage for swoop bikes. There were spider webs everywhere. Old equipment, guns, and parts were laid on the table, centuries of dust and debris littered over them.

"So it IS true", Ova said quietly.

But that certainly wasn't all. There were other rooms, and even an elevator leading down: the facility was massive.

"This tunnel system must travel for a mile" Ova turns to Nyva, gesturing to the massive complex and the hangar. He ran his hands along a slugthrower turret on the counter as he strode into the facility, switching the blue LED lights on as they walk together through it. The four Acolytes who came with Lord Ziss lit their lightsabers, in case anything went bump in the dark. They used their lightsabers as flashlights, looking for the console that would disable the base security and turn on the power.

"Did you recognize the symbol from outside? Do you know where we're standing right now?"

 

[Nyva Shei]

I stand there, in the shadow of this underground base, the ground crunching under my boots, observing the old facilities with a mix of fascination and fear. I squeeze Ova's hand a little tighter, as if to remind myself that I'm here, with him, in this place that time seems to have forgotten.

When Ova told me about the place, I didn't grasp the extent of what he wanted to show me. Dantooine, on the surface, seems like a forgotten place, a town left for dead after years of conflict and neglect. But what we're discovering here, beneath the ground, is making me question everything I thought I knew about this place.

The symbol on the tree... I've seen it somewhere, yes. But I never imagined it would be tied to something this vast and ancient. It wasn't just a decorative symbol; it was a marking, a key. A key to a secret much bigger than what we had seen on the surface.

Hearing Ova, I couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness. What he's experienced here, what this town represents to him... It's far more than just the apparent poverty. It speaks of a past that was erased, of broken hopes, of lost opportunities. And now, that same past is unfolding before us, in this military complex hidden beneath our feet.

I glance at Ova, and in his eyes, I see the same thing I'm feeling. He's been through hardships, faced shadows of the past he hoped to forget, but they've never truly gone away. He came back here, not only to see what he lost but also to unearth secrets he never wanted to confront.

"Yes, I recognize that symbol. It was a mark used by military factions during the Republic and the Empire." I move gently toward the old equipment, my fingers brushing against the weapons and parts covered in dust. "This isn't just a simple complex... It's a strategic base, Ova. A relic from the ancient conflicts. But why did you say it's true? What were you really expecting from this place? The symbol speaking about rebels. "

I glance anxiously at the Acolytes who are searching around us, their lightsabers lit. Their movements aren't just for lighting. There's something more here, something threatening, and I'm not sure I'm ready to discover what it is. But I know that for Ova, this place has always held a much more personal meaning.

"You knew this existed, didn't you?" I whisper, a feeling of doubt taking over me. "You knew this hidden base was here, and you wanted me to witness its discovery. Why you decides to show me this place? Gouvernor ?"

Ova Ziss

 

[Ova Ziss]

The Lord, The Lady, and the Castle
Tags: Ova Ziss | Nyva Shei | Lyssara Thrynn | Open by invitation.​

"Yes, I recognize that symbol. It was a mark used by military factions during the Republic and the Empire. This isn't just a simple complex... It's a strategic base, Ova. A relic from the ancient conflicts.

"You're right. This is Dantooine Base: the myth and the legend. The symbol on that tree, that is the symbol of The Rebel Alliance. They existed before the Galactic Alliance. They were ancient, yes, but they were very wise. They were led by a family called Skywalker, long ago. Famous on this planet. They haven't been back...not that I know" Ova smiles at Nyva and Lyssara.

Ova finds an old Republic-style blaster pistol. He runs it through his hands, examining the Rebel symbol on it. Ova starts examining the pistol's parts and mechanisms. Ova is trying to see if the blaster would ever shoot again. The Enclave Acolytes continue to search for a console or a circuit breaker to turn on the power.

"But why did you say it's true? What were you really expecting from this place? The symbol speaking about rebels."

"This base has a long, long, long history. That's what I wanted to find...its ancient history. We've come down here to learn about this base, and to find its secrets." Ova holds up the ancient Rebel pistol so that she have a look at it. Then, he tucks the broken blaster into his duty belt. "If we're going to be a rogue planet, then we may as well learn from the best rebels, right?"

Ova walks along the perimeter of the swoop hangar. An acolyte with a yellow lightsaber accompanies the two visitors and lights the way. If Nyva or Lyssara asked what he meant by 'rogue planet', he would politely ignore their questions.

"We were fortunate that the Jedi backed up their archives into this Military Base. They knew that only curious people like us would come down here to find it. Marauders would not bother with all this investigation and intrigue."

"The pirates on Dantooine destroyed the Jedi Enclave's records. But rumor has it that they kept these important records down here - both digitally, and also physically."

"If we find those records, it will change Dantooine forever. They had military research, technology, weapons, and so forth. They even provided accounts of war crimes by the Jedi and Sith. The Rebels, they had ideas that nobody has ever dreamed on Dantooine. I'm tired of hearing that this research is some forbidden fruit. We need that information. It could put away war criminals forever."

Ova hesitates. He has found the emergency light. He points it out to Nyva and gives her a playful nudge.

Ova flips the circuit breaker, and the lights come on.

The Military Base hangar opens up into a much larger area. There, dozens of abandoned starships - both Sith and Jedi - lie wrecked and dirtied. As an expert pilot, Nyva would be able to see that the spaceships are in great shape, and that it would not take much maintenance work to get them working again. There is an AT-ST walker standing at wait, practically untouched in all of these years. The armaments, however, are in bad shape. At the far wall is a gun rack for the soldiers, but nearly every gun on the gun rack is broken. It would take much work to bring the base to life.

Ova stares at the abandoned starship hangar with wonder and merriment. Where others see trash, he would see treasure that is just waiting to be salvaged and remade. Ova's teenage job as a scavenger flashed before his mind.

"We could end their siege by fighting out of this castle", Ova said quietly, his eyes scanning the starship hangar.

"You knew this existed, didn't you? You knew this hidden base was here, and you wanted me to witness its discovery. Why you decides to show me this place, Governor ?"

"Because I needed both of you. Because I knew I could talk to you both in private...and nobody, not even satellites, would hear us."

Ova inhaled deeply, and then exhaled. He turned around, addressing Nyva, Lyssara, Grenz, and the acolytes with the old starships as his backdrop. Ova looked pretty patriotic, without meaning to look that way. There was a busted-up Rebel flag hanging from the ceiling scaffolds.

"I am going rogue", Ova said plainly. "I don't like what the Diarchy is doing, and I don't like what my own company's Board of Directors is doing either. Dantooine needs to start defending itself, or our planet will be annihilated like so many others. I've contact the Space Wolves, Rogue Protocol, and the Witches already. Now, I'm asking for your help, Nyva. And your help too, Lyssara."

"We can start a mission right now. An eviction." Ova smirked.

"The Base has unwanted guests. I know they are here because they bragged."