The rebels watched the fort and the closed door for a few minutes.

"Oh, look: a tumbleweed."

Lyla wasn't known for her patience, and she worried for Tera's safety. "So, how long's it been now? Should I go have a look-see?"

"Time is an illusion.", Oglo simply replied.  He had closed his eyes again and let himself feel for Tera's feelings.  Even though Lyla can't feel them, it should be apparent that nothing has yet gone wrong for Tera because nothing has yet gone wrong for the two waiting outside.

"Lunchtime doubly so." Lyla added, though it was surely closer to evening now. Her tummy was rumbling and she could kill for a bath, and that dilapidated fort had been the lap of luxury inside.

Oglo watched as a bead of sweat dribbled down Lyla's... whatever you call those things hanging off her head.  He watched as it nearly reached the tip and then evaporated into the dry desert heat.  Ithorians weren't made for standing under the broiling sun.  Even in the shadow of the canyon walls, the air was still to hot for him.  "And don't forget your towel.", he said trying to remind Lyla to towel off her sweat.  But really he was reminding himself to bring a towel so he can wet it and drape it over his head.  It was lucky that what others perceived as the head of the Ithorian was just his eye-stalks mounted over his mouths.  The brain was deep inside the body protected by the body mass.  Even so, it wasn't easily cooled as effectively as it could be kept warm by placing it in the center of the body.

Lyla's lekku were really very useful organs. The cores of brain matter were sheathed in a layer of fat, which accumulated here rather than on undesirable parts of the body, which would add unwanted insulation in Ryloth's hot Bright Lands. Plus, by being long and thin, they could more efficiently radiate heat to further cool a twi'lek down. Similarly, the bifurcated shape of the brain also helped keep it cool, meaning the twi'leks could keep their wits about them. All of this meant that twi'leks were a hardy species and well adapted to a desert environment, and Lyla was not overly put out by the heat. Like most creatures, the sweat also helped her cool down, and her all-weather cloak did a decent job of collecting it. Later, she could cycle it through her condensing canteen to recover some fresh water. "I always know where my towel is." she said, putting her eye back to the scope.

Ten minutes passes and Lyla sees nothing happening and the fort and Oglo does not feel any further messages from Tera. Both are grateful for the shelter the ruins offer them from the hot desert suns.

Laying down and concentrating solely on a rifle scope at nothing happening at all wasn't a particularly exciting way of spending ten minutes or so, and Lyla began stifling yawns. She checked her watch, then the angles of the suns. "Well, it's been over ten minutes. You wanna go check up on her?"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:29, Sat 06 July 2013.

"I don't know.  I don't feel that anything has gone amiss.  It's not like she is frightened or in pain.  And I didn't feel her quickly die.", said Oglo using his odd quick-speech pattern.  Something was agitating him and he looked over his shoulder like he was watching for people following them.

Calming down his nervousness, he said more slowly, "We better... hrmmmm... go introduce ourselves... Hummm... Sandpeople sure... hrmmm... to come back.... Hrmmm... But we are... hrmmm... not checking on Tera.  We are... hrmmm... confident in her.  It is we... humm... who are fearful."

Lyla didn't know what to make of Oglo's claims that he could somehow sense Tera's state. He was one of them Force nuts. It was best just to humour him. "Right, and I didn't see her corpse being chucked out the door."

She stood, stretching out her limbs after laying in a sniper's still pose for so long. Then she slung her rifle and her backpack. "Well, of course. Let's go say hi."

Leaving her nest, Lyla stalked through the ruined city back to the fort. This time, she wasn't creeping up on the place in the buff, though she wondered if she should. Letting Oglo knock while she stayed hidden and could mount a rescue if anything went wrong seemed a smart idea. Except for the naked part.

Oglo noticed Lyla drifting back behind him.  He paused for a moment, turned, and looked over his shoulder.  "Don't you think... hrmmm... of hiding again.  If bad things... hrmmm.... happened to Tera... hummm... wouldn't be smart... hrmm... to go in... hrmmm... one at a time.", he said to her.

Oglo then went back on walking.  He didn't try to hide, except to keep his head from being out in direct sunlight.  We tried not to worry about the danger of Womprats or Sandpeople lurking around every corner.  He felt confident in his ability to sense the danger right before it struck.  Nor did he prepare for such danger by drawing his pistol.  He presumed he was being watched from the fortress, and thus didn't want to thought of as preparing to attack.

"Maybe you're the bait?" Lyla suggested mischievously, picking up her pace. "'Sides, I wouldn't want to be seen with some nasty Ithorian bounty hunter."

Oglo looked down on himself.  He was a puny example of an Ithorian.  He was too short and too skinny; hardly the robust figure that one would associate with a bounty hunter.  It's only by Human standards that he seemed of average height and weight.  He was dressed in only a simple tunic and trousers.  These were the clothes of a peasant, not some well-paid and well-equipped bounty hunter.  His weapons consisted of a Sporting Blaster Pistol inside its holster tucked into the front of his belt.  The weapon was sufficient for taking down small prey like Womp Rats, but it wouldn't do for taking down hardened criminals.  If Oglo was a bounty hunter, he was a pathetic wannabe who would be laughed at more than feared.

In contrast, he looked at Lyla who appeared to be a fine physical specimen of her species.  Being a Twi'lek, she would be presumed to be both tough and crafty.  Her ability to both track and stalk her prey has been demonstrated.  In a world where one presumes that a woman can be smart enough to turn her weaknesses into strengths, she could easily make it as a bounty hunter.  Probably not the kind of bounty hunter to be feared, but certainly the kind who you don't see until they've got you, which if you're a particularly paranoid criminal is the kind that you fear the most.

"Yeah, well maybe I don't want to be seen with you.", replied Oglo hastily trying to turn Lyla's words on themselves.  "I wouldn't want to be seen as some bounty hunter's lacky who's being put out front as bait."

What Oglo really was concerned about was what would happen if he was wrong about the occupants of the Fort and Lyla was right.  He would walk right up and be attacked from out of the blue.  Then Lyla would come save him.  How ignoble would that be?!  Oglo was gifted with a strong connection to The Force!  Why would the Universe do that to him if it didn't intend for him to be a great hero?  If anything, it should be him saving Lyla.  He did it before back in the gorge against the Sandpeople, but no one really appreciated it.  Their minds were closed to his claims.  For him to be a great hero though, Oglo knew that he had to test himself against the dangers the Galaxy had to offer.  Only by conquering adversity does one grow stronger.  No one ever heard of anyone becoming a great and powerful Jedi by staying on the farm.

Oglo weighed the pros and cons in his mind.  Being saved by Lyla would be embarrassing.  Luckily, there was no one else around to share in his shame.  Except for Lyla and she was likely to rub Oglo's weaknesses in his face regardless.  Those who have a poor sense of self-worth often sooth themselves by teasing others.  Lyla was a bully and for that Oglo pitied her.  But he couldn't hang back any longer and let others face the dangers.  That was no way for a great and powerful Jedi to behave.  Oglo knew that if he was ever going to find someone to teach him the ways of a Jedi, he should first start acting like one.  The Force does not reward those who refuse the call.  Oglo could already feel his connection to The Force growing.  It was like a muscle that went unused for a long time but now that he has been flexing it with greater frequency, it has been growing stronger.  Besides, if The Force really did smile upon him, and it wasn't just toying with him as a cruel joke, then The Force would protect him.

Oglo then continued forward on his own.  He didn't care anymore if Lyla hung back or not.  He knew that at heart she was a coward.  It was foolish to expect from her what he demanded of himself.  It isn't like she carried the strength, or burdens, of The Force.  In his mind he repeated this mantra, 'I am an agent of The Force.  The Force will guide me.  The Force will warn me.  The Force will shield me.  The Force wants only to protect Life.  I am an agent of The Force.' ect. as all mantras are, it was circuitous.  He didn't know if it really helped his connection to The Force.  But it did keep his feet moving forward in the right direction.

Oglo sounded defensive, and he only talked fast and natural when he was bothered, like talking so slowly and awkwardly was a deliberate act. Apparently she'd riled him, but the Ithorian couldn't seem to take a joke. "Good point. You wait out behind the rocks and I'll do the talking." she suggested. "Folks on Tatooine know me for a desert ranger. And I'm likeable."

"Likeable?  Hrmmmm... Yes, I suppose you are... hrmmm... to men who've been... hummm... holding out in a fort for months.", returned Oglo going back to his old way of speaking.  He meant it sort of as joke, but what he said was also a warning to Lyla.  Tatooine is a planet without rules, and without rules, anything can happen.  For all her knew, Tera was willingly "entertaining" the men holding out inside the fort.  He wouldn't sense anything was amiss if she was willingly doing it.  After all, if they want to bargain, Tera doesn't have a lot more to bargain with than herself.  Throwing Lyla into the bargain would add spice.

"But no.  Hrmmm... I will not hide out... hrmmm... behind rocks while you... hrmmm.... go in.  It is too perilous. Hrmm... Yes, I know... hrmmm... You want to face the peril.  Hrmmm... But no, it is too perilous.  Hmmmmm... Together we shall... hummmm.... face the peril.", said Oglo.  Suddenly he was reminded of a scene from an old holovid movie he saw when he was very young.  It was a funny scene although the reason why it was so funny had eluded him until he reached adulthood.

Approaching the fort and going to the front door both Lyla and Oglo have a feeling they are being watched. When the reach the door, it is the same as when Lyla last saw it. It is a large door with no external controls. Before either can shout out or knock on the door a deep and rumbling voices calls from the roof “holster your weapons.”

A moment later a huge, hulking, reptilian male with a boney-ridged head leaped down from the roof to stand near the hangar door. In his scaled hands is a blaster rifle. His massive chest is encased in armour and across it a bandolier holds many grenades.

"Great. I need the credits." Lyla said blandly, not offended or bothered by what Oglo insinuated. She hadn't always been a ranger after all, and felt she could take care of herself.

The Ithorian started to babble and appeared to be stuck in a loop, so Lyla folded her ear down on his side, shaping it into a cone to reduce the droning noise to a more bearable degree. Another useful adaptation to the elements.

Now in line-of-sight of the watchtowers, Lyla felt uncomfortably exposed, oddly more so than when she'd been naked. Nudity, in the right circumstances, could be a shield. Now, she had no cover or camouflage, knew she was being watched by unfriendly eyes, and could be shot down at any time.

She stared up at the guard as he showed he showed himself. She didn't immediately respond to his demand, and kept her rifle pointed at the dirt. She asked "Where's our friend?"

Deep, slow and deliberate the reptilian man repeated his demand “holster your weapons” the guard clicked a switch on his rifle and Lyla saw that the grenade launcher beneath the weapon’s main barrel was armed and ready to fire.

“You’ll be joining you friend soon enough. Commander Tallon wants to speak with you all” he then answered Lyla's question, he pointed the rifle in their direction then the door slid open. Inside the fort was an elegant lobby. Done in marble and polished stone, the room has tall pillars with intricate carvings and beautiful tapestries from the Galactic Core.

Oglo's pistol was always in its holster.  Only once during the journey had he even had the top flap of his holster open so he could easily draw his pistol.  It was holstering a rifle that seemed a little difficult to do.  But at least they weren't being told to throw down their weapons.  That's what he was afraid of.  That would mean that they are being taken prisoner, rather than for a parley.  But this is exactly what he had hoped for.  It seemed silly now that his companions resisted for so long.  They really ought to learn to listen more to Oglo's council.  This has to be because he had remained silent for so long.  People tend to think the mute are stupid.  So he will be mute no longer.

She wasn't willing to show that she was threatened, even though she was terrified at having an armed weapon pointed at her. She wouldn't stand for bullying. Be large and in charge. Lyla raised a long-existent eyebrow, saying "A grenade launcher, seriously? Bit much, doncha think?" She grabbed the long barrel of her DC-15A blaster rifle, a weapon almost as tall she was when she extended the stock. "How the heck am I supposed to holster this thing?" Nevertheless, she calmly folded the stock and slung the strap around her shoulder so it hung off her back. She could still whip it out quick enough.

The next part surprised her. Commander Tallon, really? They'd come through enough lies and double-crosses and traps on this mission that she wasn't taking that for an answer. "We'd like to meet our friend first."

The act of shouldering her rifle got the desired result from the lizardman. He laughed a slow laugh at Lyla “maybe for you puny one” he replied in his deep voice.

He then waved a hand for Oglo and Lyla to lead the way “your friend is with the Commander. Through the lobby and go clockwise” they could see that through the lobby was a circular passage that must run around the whole fort, leading to every chamber.

Lyla peered around the lizard-man and through the door at the opulent space within. She didn't like entering a stranger's house, especially if they didn't offer traditional twi'janii hospitality. That had kept the scattered, rival Twi'lek clans, travelling along the narrow twilight lands of Ryloth, peacefully interacting and bound to share food, entertainment, shelter, and protection. If someone didn't, then, well, terrible things could happen.

Reluctant, she glanced at Oglo, wanting to know what he thought about this.


OOC: ID the lizard-man's race: Galactic Lore 13, Life Sciences 15

"You see?  Hrmmmm... Oglo don't know... hummm... what you worry about.", said Oglo.  The quality of his grammar seemed to go up and down like his apparent IQ.

Oglo kept his hands held out in front of him so he wouldn't be mistaken for going for his weapon.  When told to go clockwise, he drew a circle in the air with one finger.  This was a way of working out just which way clockwise is.  If he was troubled at all, he didn't show it.  In fact, the only trouble in his mind had to do with all these extra people Tallon had congregated around himself.  Convincing one man to join up with the Rebellion was one thing, but now they had to convince his followers as well.

Judging by how well armed they were, Oglo figured them for mercenaries.  But mercenaries work for pay.  Who was paying these?  And could The Rebellion offer them compensatory pay?  Oglo wasn't qualified to make such negotiations and he knew it.  He could make promises and appear confident that The Rebellion would honor those promises.  But he really didn't know if they would.

Lots of things, Lyla didn't answer. She sighed. Well, they either sort this out now, or continue screwing around for the rest of the day until the bounty hunters came along. She just had to hope this wasn't another trap. "Fine. Take us to your leader."