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]

[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?

[thefinaljedi]

Not entirely, the orchards were run by friends who've departed, and I've had help...though, most of it is gone now as well.

[He starts towards the barn, and there's a snuffling, grunting sound coming from inside.]

It's not much, but it's better than nothing. I don't really have much in the way of automation, so the vast majority of it needs to be done by hand.

[reviling]

[Levi follows, curious about the animals here. Inside the walls meat was considered a luxury commodity, though the military often made due with sausages of varying quality. If they didn't need the nutrition to operate the gear well enough, Levi suspects that they would never see any of it at all.

As a result, though, he's not familiar with raising any animals other than horses.]

Everything is done by hand where I'm from. It won't be a problem.

[thefinaljedi]

Fair enough. And fair warning, you might want to stand back. Hamal is a little curious when it comes to strangers.

[And Luke opens the barn door, revealing an absolutely enormous creature, standing easily two and a half meters tall. It turns towards the entrance and ambles out, a long pink tongue wiggling towards Levi as Luke reaches out to stroke a curved horn.]

[reviling]

[Levi lifts an eyebrow, but does as Luke suggests, taking a few steps back before he opens the door--

...to reveal what is easily the strangest creature he's ever seen. Surprise, for once, is easily seen on his face as he takes a few more steps back to avoid that too-large tongue.]

What exactly do you use this big-ass walking fuzzball for?

[thefinaljedi]

[Luke chuckles at the reaction, giving the elephant-like creature a pat before turning to Levi.]

Bantha are used throughout my home galaxy as pack animals and beasts of burden. He's good for moving heavy things, plowing, and fertilizer.

[reviling]

[all they have are cows, maybe oxen. Definitely nothing this big, so the size is the biggest thing for him to take in - which seems odd, given that he's accustomed to fighting titans as tall as fifteen meters. But titans aren't animals.]

He looks useful for that, at least.

[pause.]

Galaxy?

[thefinaljedi]

He's strong enough for it.

[Luke heads over to a barrel and pulls out a small root, offering it over to the creature, and it's only practice that keeps him from getting his hand covered in drool.]

Galaxy, yes. [He pauses, looking back.] Are you unfamiliar with the word?

[reviling]

[copious amounts of drool - definitely not his thing, but he's also routinely covered in evaporating blood back home. It's hard to say which he finds more distasteful.

Levi meets Luke's gaze evenly.]

No, it's not a word I've heard before.

[thefinaljedi]

Ah. [Luke shrugs. Easy enough to explain.]

A galaxy is a stellar body, an area of space that contains hundreds or thousands of star clusters. Each cluster may contain thousands of stars, each with their own planetary system. Essentially it's a group of stars so vast you can't even see the other side without a specialized tool.

[reviling]

[Easy to explain, less so to understand. Levi thinks about it for a few moments, trying to envision it. Thousands of stars in a cluster, thousands of star clusters. Stars, seen from the night sky, and if it was dark enough and far away from the brightness of a fire, on clear nights they seemed to make a milky streak across the blackness.

It's difficult to know if this gap in knowledge is because of what had been suppressed by the ruling class, or Levi's own limited education. Perhaps a combination of both. Regardless:]

Sounds fucking huge.