It's with an obvious regret that Klyn has to agree with Jason.

"Yep... no use overloading the speeder.  After all, we are in no hurry. That was a good first harvest, you did well." he added.

"Now comes the funnier part: getting all this on the Gold. She's going to be even deadlier my beauty."

Lyla looked longingly around the landscape one last time. After all this talk of darkness, she figured that, once again, she would probably miss out on her much-needed hike. Briefly, she thought about suggesting she walk back, but after travelling by crystal wave, she realised she had little idea exactly how far away she was from the Gold, or in what direction. She moved up to Yustavan and others. 'Okay.'

A flourish of his crystal hands and the wave beneath them rippled. The rocks came alive and carried the trio of explorers back to the Alabak's Gold. The journey took them through many canyons and passed crystalline caves. When they reached their starship the speedertruck had also returned.

The others were unloading the refined delirium crystals and the scavenged tech. With the crystals they could fly back to Neskroff. They would also have some very valuable extra which they could modify their ship with.

Once the crystal wave had come to a slow stop Yustavan then said his farewells and prepared to return to his people.

Tera waved to the others as they stepped off the crystal wave "Uhhh....guys...how long will it take to get the Gold ready enough to go to Neskroff? We kinda need to get there quick." she asked quizzically before showing respect to the shaman in the way the Gutretee did.

"Tera is correct, we must leave as soon as possible." Bron says as he steps off the rubble and heads for the ship.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 10:36, Sun 13 Sept 2015.

Lyla hopped down off the crystal wave, and repeated Tera's gesture to the old shaman. She shook out her long legs; it was a fast and impressive way to travel, but standing up and trying to maintain her balance all that time wasn't half murder on her feet.

'Well, that's debatable,' Lyla interjected after Tera's and Bron's calls for urgency, 'For a problem we don't know the what, where, or when of.'

Jason glances back at Klyn as he's the one who can best answer that question, of course there are options.

"If it's 'that' important, can drive you back in our truck. It won't be quick but you won't have to wait for repairs to be complete.. What did you find out? Is the empire back?"

He certainly hopes not, because if they are, they're probably going to go straight to their crashed vehicle, which is rather nearby.

Klyn's good mood took a deep dive when Tera and the newcomer told him they had to leave.

Thankfully, Lyla added some temperance to the urgency.

"I finised the parts we needed, so she is flyworthy... kinda...  But what's the urgency?
There is still plenty of goods to grab from that imperial ship."

Clearly he wasn't going to move unless they had proof.  And with him, proof meant something material... mechanical ideally.

'Maybe you could take the speedertruck or Yustavan's crystal wave back to Neskroff and get started, and we'll join you later?' Lyla said, turning to Tera. But she felt guilty for being a damper on her friend's big emergency, and bailing on helping her out. 'Sorry. I just don't know what we could do about this shadow thing. It's all kind of... nebulous.' she said, waving her hands. The practical scout dealt in the basics of survival, and this just smelled of airy mysticism. It had all started when that weird Bron guy showed up, too... 'But if you want me to tag along for, y'know, company, I will.' she offered quietly, inclining her head meaningfully toward Bron, in a woman's offer of banding together against creepy men.

Looking around Bron speaks up "Get the speeder unloaded and get a good nights sleep. Being exhausted when we first meet this darkness will help no one."

Looking at Lyla as she says that Bron nods along, and looks to Tera and says "Come find me at your earliest convenience, I must meditate on the current situation"

With that Bron heads off to find the Hydroponics bay.

Tera looked at Lyla after Bron left, mouthing the words "meditate on the situation" looking as though though he might be a little odd. "Look, I know you're a little hesitant in coming along with us, but trust me. There's something there and it's dangerous, so of course I'd prefer to have you along. I know that me saying it's dangerous and you're perception of its danger are at odds, but there's something there and we need to deal with it."

"We can probably handle things here if you want to go with them"

Jason suggests to Lyla, he get's the impression Tera really wants her friend to come along and truth be told, he'd probably get more work done if Lyla isn't around looking all distracting. And most of all, what he said is true, they should be able to handle things here.

Unloading the speedertruck was light work with everyone gathered together. Inside the Alabak’s Gold was cosy but comfortable. There was space for ten to sleep. Exploring the cargo bays Bron found a unique set up. Instead of crates and boxes he found a thriving mass of vines and creepers. Discrete apparatus housed beds and sprinklers filled with nutrient rich hydroponics fluids. Bron sensed an abundance of life. Things had a looked of being cluttered and overgrown, where paths may have once been foliage had begun to overrun and tools lay discarded and unused.

In the engine room further checks on the refined delirium crystals gave Klyn confidence that he would have the Alabak's Gold skyworthy very soon. He also found room to store the scavenged tech until he had such time to begin further modifications to the jumpship.

In the morning Bron and Tera were alone for the first time since their meeting. The two took the speedertruck and began their journey back to Neskroff. The other Rebels began the process of replacing the depleted delirium cells from the engines with the new cells Klyn had refined from the planet's crust.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:21, Sun 20 Sept 2015.

Lyla was torn between duty to a friend and to her own need, between trust and doubt. She rubbed a head-tail anxiously, scuffing a boot against the crystal-rock, not sure what to do. 'I only wanted to hike up to a box canyon a few klicks east of here, observe the ruby wildebeest on the plain. After that prison, I just need to get away, get lost and find myself. This has all got a bit... busy.' she admitted, waving at the recovery operations around them. It was clear she was still disturbed over her interrogation, her torture. She had to lose that pain out there.

Bron kneels down beneath the overgrown forest that once was the hydroponics bay. Closing his eyes he begins his mantras as his master taught him to empty his mind and find his inner peace.

The abundance of life calls to him, soothes him and calms him. Bron quickly finds his center and begins to meditate on the problems at hand.

Klyn nodded his assent with the decision and quickly began working on unloading the speedertuck.

During one of his trips, he spotted Bron in the hydroponic bay.
"So, you found Oglo's den.  Apparently it fared well despite our absence.  At first I was opposed to the change he suggested: that jungle is less practical and too much water or humidity around... I feared for the electronics.

But in the end it worked well. I must admit even I like to wander here from time to time when we travel..."

He said, then left not waiting for an answer, and looking a bit sad.

He worked most of the night on small details, whistling happily as he did so.

On the morning he instructed the rest of the team how to manipulate the cells.
"Those are just patches, so a bit fragile. And you don't want to spill all the content on you."

Jason studies one of the power cells Klyn is holding and glances back at the X-wing. They already determined that it should be able to fly back to the base if they are able to restore power.

"Will these power cells work on the X-wing as well? The sooner we can get that back to the base the sooner they can begin repairs.. It's not as big a priority as the Alabak's Gold perhaps, but the rebellion needs every starfighter they can get.."

While the large transport will undoubtedly prove to be their main form of transportation, he's rather hoping rebel command will allow them to use the X-wing if they manage to bring it back, and that could be a huge aid to whatever mission they go on in the future.

Tera sympathised with her friend. While she thought they would need the Twi'lek she knew how much she needed to get out there. "I understand, Lyla. We'll be waiting for whenever you come back. Hopefully it's something Bron and I can handle on our own."

'Thanks.' Lyla said gratefully, patting the side of Tera's head; it was a twi'lek gesture of thanks and closeness, though Tera didn't have head-tails. 'Well, you've got to look for it first, and I don't think even I can hunt down a shadow. I don't know what that Bron thinks he's seeing, but I trust you know what you're doing. I'll catch you up soon as we get back. You sure you'll be alright?' she promised.

She looked to Bron had disappeared into the ship, recalling he'd wanted to talk with Tera and Tera had invited her to come with. 'Come on, I think your new friend wants to talk.' she beckoned, starting to walk back into the Alabak's Gold. 'Gods, we lose Oglo and then we get this guy...'

Tera shrugged, smiling at her friend at the gesture which she recognised as Twi'lek affection. "I'll be fine. I'm sure by the time you're ready to come back to Neskroff, we'll have some kind of idea of where the threat lies. I don't know about Bron myself...he seems odd, and as you're insinuating...odder than Oglo, but he saw the same thing I did. I can't help but feel that that means he'll turn out okay. I am glad I'm going though I hate to find out what trouble he could get himself into without me being there." Tera followed Lyla back towards the Gold "Just take the time you need. I'll be here when you feel up to fighting the Imperials again."

Tera hugged Lyla warmly, before going to see Bron. They needed to arrange heading into Neskroff.

Tera and Bron soon left on their mysterious errand to return to Neskroff.

Lyla returned the hug gratefully, friend to friend. 'Thanks. You stay safe. Go with the wind.' she wished Tera farewell, watching her go off with Bron. She had to wonder who this strange guy was, and why he was having such an effect on Tera. But Tera was a big girl who could take care of herself, and seemed to like this mystical stuff. Lyla had her own spiritual side, of course, but it was one grounded in, well, the ground, nature, and the mother goddess. Lyla had her own spiritual journey planned. Of course they had to go separate ways.

She rejoined Klyn, Rynn, and Jason, helping to unload the speedertruck and make space in the Gold, and to move the sensitive power cells. As much as she wanted to get away, she wasn't one to slack off when there was a job that needed doing. The guys would have some distractions yet. Still, with no training in mechanics, engineering, or computers, there was only so much she could do, and that was lifting and carrying.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:56, Tue 22 Sept 2015.

Eventually, with nothing more she could do around the salvage operations, the moody twi'lek said her goodbyes and slipped away. She'd gathered her things and packed some food to live off, and had marked her intended route on a map for others to follow her if she didn't return after a few days. With comms not working in the interference, she also had some flares in case she ran into trouble; she was thinking of falls and other accidents, rather than dangerous animals. The crystalline creatures of Isis shouldn't register her as food or threat, and ought to leave her alone. She had her new rifle anyway. Lyla had closely examined all the Alliance surveys and Gutretee lore they'd felt to share.

The scout disappeared down a fissure running eastward through the crystal, running fingertips along the faceted planes of an ancient fracture, marvelling at the sunlight that seeped through the walls so there were never any shadows, at the thousand rainbows refracted through natural prisms. She stopped when she cut her finger on a razor-sharp plane of crystal, learning to respect the dangers too. Sucking the blood from her finger and applying a bact-aid, she watched an emerald mouse-like animal become trapped in a monofilament spider-web. The web drew tight and neatly sliced into several chunks, before spindly insect-like things rushed out of hiding to carry them off. Stomach turning, Lyla reflected that Isis was a harsh and dangerous world, in addition to being a beautiful one. But, in her experience, most worlds were. She carefully noted how the monofilament web glinted in the sunlight, and walked much more carefully from there on.

She moved through a network of cracks and out into wider canyons, taking a lot of holopics, for her own recollections and to expand Alliance records about this world. What she discovered could be useful, for the safety of the base and for peace with the Gutetree. After a while, she several klicks away from the ships, Neskroff base, and all organic life. With no comms, no holonet, no other people, she was truly cut-off and alone. Just the way she liked it. As much as a people-person as she was, she needed to get away now and then. Her journey over the Brightlands of Ryloth had been hard, lonely, and terrifying, yet it had been the forge that made her. She would always keep coming back to that old wound.

All along, so far from anything, Lyla's thoughts turned inwards. She turned over and over the events of the last few missions, from Kwenn Space Station to Tatooine, to Isis to Miser, wondering what else she could have done, what she could have done differently. Of course she had doubts and regrets, everyone did, but hers led inexorably to an Imperial prison facility, to an interrogation chamber. Bound to a chair, drugged and interrogated, leered at by Grendreef and the Stormtroopers. It was only luck and pluck that gotten them away. Cruk. A thousand worse possibilities flooded her. That interrogation droid might have disassembled her. She might have spilled everything on the Polmanar blockade run or the secrets of Isis, and have all those deaths on her. They might have executed her. Worse, they might have keep her alive, in some brutal prison for the rest of her dramatically shortened life, as a slave in the Kessel spice mines or as a toy for the Imperials. Lyla had bottled up her fear at the time, buried it deep and covered it with bravado. After, they'd fought and run and brassed their way out on an Imperial shuttle. Then she'd slept off the drugs and exhaustion and terror, then she'd had reports, work, a stolen holiday. She'd not had time for terror and grief for herself.

Feeling her throat tighten and choke, her eyes quiver, her tails ache, that long-held terror came at last. Lyla let it come, sitting hard onto a rock and letting the tears flow like a waterfall onto the dry stone. Now she screamed and cried and thrashed about, pouring out her horror, shouting her anger and fear into the world, now there was no one around to hear. Just the way she liked it.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:42, Sat 26 Sept 2015.

But soon she stopped, gritting her teeth and setting her jaw, making herself as hard as stone until she'd stopped crying. The places she'd been, crying was an indulgence, tears a waste of water and salt. Even as a girl, when her parents and the whole of her clan had died in that heatstorm, she'd not cried for weeks, not until she'd found safety and food and water, not she knew for sure she was the only survivor. Weakness was for the strong. Gazing out upon the rainbow-arced crystal plains, Lyla slowly relaxed, finding peace again. It had been cleansing – cathartic, that was the word. She felt her experiences slipping into the past, though they would always be behind her. Now it was time to reflect.

She'd been captured, interrogated, drugged, humiliated, practically tortured, but she'd not broken, not even come close. She'd stayed strong and proud, and she felt stronger for it. Maybe if her captivity had stretched to weeks, it might've turned out differently, but she'd kept her tongue and her head long enough, and who knew how long she could've held out for? She'd not broken, she'd kept the secrets of Isis, had helped save everybody here. She'd been ready to die or do anything else. What did that mean? She'd pondered before the strange contradictions within herself. Only caught up in the Rebellion by chance and bad luck, she'd had the least interest in it, yet she'd stuck with it the longest, had been willing to die for it. After what she'd been through, she should be thinking about quitting, but hadn't even thought of it, but had been working toward their next adventure. She was a wanderer, a lost girl, always moving on, but she was sticking with this. She'd always been a follower, but now she felt like a leader, like the great Hera Syndulla. There were whispers of promotions for the team. She preferred peace, but she was fighting a war. She'd never had a cause before, but now she wanted to bring the Empire down. All things changed, and she was changing too. She'd only tried to survive. She'd gone with the winds as the goddess suggested, and now she was a part of the wind of change across the Galaxy. It all seemed to make sense, somehow.

Sitting on the rock, lost and finding herself, Lyla pulled out her memory-cord, a twi'lek custom for recording stories and memories, like a diary or charm-bracelet. Her clan had been traditional, and being the last, she felt she had to carry on what she remembered. Hers was worn, tied with many different strings, often repurposed, but it was all there. She tied new knots, coded signs showing her pain and strength and triumph. Let the past stay there. She draped the knotted cord around and around her neck, then set off on her journey again.

After another day of hard work under the instruction of Klyn the others were able to complete the needed repairs to the Alabak's Gold. At nightfall the starship was repaired enough to make the flight back to Neskroff. Jason, Klyn and Rynn were able to sit down to a well earned rest in the evening. In the communal area of the ship and enjoy a meal together. The area had a dejarik board and a link to the ship's sensor array so they would be able to monitor anything approaching and notify them upon Lyla's return.

---

The peace and solitude on the alien planet brought many reflections to Lyla, in more than one way as the light streamed through rocks also memories of her adventures reflected through her mind. Her mind was expanded and her knowledge  lengthened by the experience.

OOC Lyla can take a +2 circumstance bonus on any Survival or Knowledge (Galactic Lore and Life Sciences) whenever on Isis or on any subject relating to Isis.