21st Transmission [Video/Written/Action] (Forward Dated to March 17)

[thefinaljedi]

[Well it's about that time of year, when the weather begins to shift and it's beginning to get to the point where cultivating and preparing to for planting season is becoming a necessity. And to get all this started, Luke needs your help. He opens up the journal and smiles at the camera.]

Good afternoon Luceti,

For those of you that don't know me, my name is Luke Skywalker. For the last couple of years I've been tending to some of the farmlands outside the village, trying to build up emergency stores as well as bringing a bit of self-sufficiency to the enclosure. And as some of you may know, within the last year both Nami and Applejack have both departed, leaving the orchards near the farmland untended. I've been tending to them as best I can, but the vast majority of the help I had with the work has also returned home.

In the interest of better utilizing the space I'd like to request the help of anyone willing to volunteer their time with a bit of manual labor. I'm afraid it's simply not going to be possible to manage it all by myself, and any help would be greatly appreciated. It's beginning to near the planting season, after all. I'm happy to offer whatever services I can provide in exchange.

[There's a pause, and he seems to look somewhere off camera.]

On a related note, if there's anyone who knows anything about building irrigation systems, I'd appreciate any advice.

Thank you for your time, and may the Force be with you all.

[Shutting off the feed, he sends out two private messages.]


Written, Filtered to Loki
Loki, I know this is much less interesting than musical theater and cookies, but I was hoping I could get your help with a bit of magical work on the farm.



Written, Filtered to Trafalgar Law
Law, I figure we should probably revisit some of those supply caches and check on them. Possibly restock and take care of a few other things down that vein.

Comments

[reviling]

I see.

[Levi follows Luke, easily keeping pace despite shorter strides, and that next statement is incredibly interesting.]

A Shift that stuck? How often does that happen?

Y'know, Luke's somewhat amazed to meet someone shorter than him!

[thefinaljedi]

[Luke doesn't exactly hurry, setting an easy, meandering pace. It's not like he's in a rush, after all.]

Not too often. I arrived in the village after this particular change, but from what Nami told me, the farmlands were originally created during the Shift. They remained afterwards, and until I started using them a summer later, they were just there, sitting.

Now, I know some Shifts are more permanent in other enclosures. But I can't think of any here that weren't specifically requested.

fehifaj ahaha sobbing forever Levi's shortness

[reviling]

The farmlands stuck after a shift because someone requested it? I didn't know the Malnosso could be so generous.

[the last part is said...extremely dryly (moreso than usual). Although this puts a few fresh doubts in his mind. Perhaps the Malnosso don't actually care about controlling them through free supplies, if they're allowing them to so easily cultivate their own food.]

Has anything else stuck around because people asked for them?

haha, he's still taller than Krillin ~_~

[thefinaljedi]

[Luke shook his head.]

No, no. They willingly provide shifts in return for mission points. Have you not noticed that House 44 looks a bit like a castle? A friend of mine had that shift put into place. The farmlands stayed by chance as far as I know.

lmao true

[reviling]

'By chance.' Seems even odder that they'd let that kind of thing stay by chance if they want us to stay dependent on them as a food source. Unless that means they have less control over this place than they want us to believe.

[thefinaljedi]

Well, they encouraged farming in Vaskoth. Though, that enclosure is gone now. I don't entirely believe that they want us dependent on them for that.

[reviling]

What happened to it?

[thefinaljedi]

It was destroyed about the same time the Third Party invaded Luceti last fall, if you were around for that.

[He's not sure.]

[reviling]

...I wasn't. Who destroyed it?

[thefinaljedi]

[Luke shrugs]

The Third Party, working with a renegade Malnosso named Zompano. They tried to do the same to us, but we overcame their mind-shift, and I believe Zompano was killed, temporarily, by a woman named Saori.

[reviling]

[this more than a little disconcerting. He stops along the path.]

So what happens to the people inside an enclosure that's been destroyed?

[thefinaljedi]

[Luke stops as well, and looks levelly at Levi.]

Presumably, they were all sacrificed by the Third Party. They're dead. Permanently.

[reviling]

Permanently.

[he repeats it, eyes stern and with an intense focus.]

You mean they won't even return to where they came from?

Sorry, today's kind of a nappy day for me.

[thefinaljedi]

As far as we know, no.

[Luke closes his eyes and nods.]

That's the ultimate goal of the Third Party, to sacrifice the entire planet. I, again, do not have specifics for Vaskoth as I'm not one of the Malnosso, but everything we know about the enemy points to that being the case.

haha no worries

[reviling]

What's the point in complete annihilation?

[It's a question he's often wondered about the enemies they've been fighting against in his own home. Why? What's to be gained from exterminating what's left of humanity? Why are their most dangerous threats not the monsters themselves, but other people? What is the point?]

[thefinaljedi]

[Luke closes his eyes, head shaking slightly. He's never had a good answer for this.]

I wish I could say. It seems pointless, and it's wrapped up in the religion of the Third Party. They're some sort of nihilistic cult, and all they seem to want to do is bring death.

[reviling]

Grand.

[Some people have a hard enough time surviving without worrying about nihilistic cults trying to wipe them out.

He starts walking again.]

[thefinaljedi]

[Luke follows. The nihilistic cult thing...well, it's not that different from Mindor or Dathomir, and thankfully the Third Party doesn't have rancors...but still.]

Yeah. Either way, that's what we're dealing with. They make the Malnosso seem almost reasonable.

[reviling]

Almost. Hard for a pack of mad scientists to act reasonably.

[which is more or less how he sees them. A bunch of Hanges, but with even less moral compass so that they veer much closer to evil, even if out of neglect or inability (or lack of desire) to care.]

[thefinaljedi]

True enough.

[He's reminded of more than one himself. The people from Maw Installation were just a bit too cracked for him, and they were normal compared to the Malnosso.]

Though, the Malnosso's Security Force isn't as bad as the rest of them.

[reviling]

Meaning?

[Luke seems to have more insight into and direct experience with the Malnosso than several others he's encountered. It's interesting information that Levi's filing away for later.]</small.

[thefinaljedi]

They're soldiers, they aren't scientists. Some of them have been indirectly helpful to us, and they're more willing to listen.

[He's been on a lot of missions, and in his two years here he's seen a lot of change.]

[reviling]

I see. That's good to know.

[he'll have to relate this information to Erwin when he returns.]

[are they there yet?]

[thefinaljedi]

Specialist Davis, in particular.

[And yes, they are. He waves towards the farmland, which is several large fields, three or so small buildings, and one large one. Off in the distance there's another barn and visible orchards. And...there's also a rather distinctive farm-animal smell.]

And here we are.

[reviling]

Davis. I'll keep that in mind.

[Levi is no stranger to the smell of animals, given the number of horses in the care of the Survey Corps. He's less familiar with actual cultivation, given that nothing grew in the slums for want of sunlight and the corps often simply received rations from the nearby territories.]

Not bad. You've been managing this by yourself for a while?