Unrooted (Palara)

[Maalik]

Deep within the Jungles of Wayland's equatorial region, lay a tree that towered above those around it. Build into the uppermost canopy of this colossal tree was a rudimentary little home, cobbled together from the natural materials the jungles had to offer and accented with small features salvaged from a crashed starship or two. This was the home of a human named Maalik, who currently ascended to it by climbing along branches that seemed all too conveniently placed. The reason for this was evident when Maalik's hand found a branch that had been snapped off.


"Now, now, that will never do..." He muttered, laying his hand on the bark beneath the broken limb.


A moment later, a sapling appeared in the centre of the broken knot, growing quickly into a whole new branch, easily strong enough to support his weight.


"There, good as new!" He said, giggling to himself as he continued his climb.


Maalik had been living in this particular tree-home for so many years that he couldn't even remember. He was old but, while he knew that much, something had kept him from visibly aging. He appeared to be somewhere in his thirties but, in truth, he had no idea how old he was. He had never bothered keeping a record of time or date and, as far as he could remember, had never met another human in his life. There were the natives of the planet of course, but he kept himself away from their bickering and warring. On the one occasion a Psadan War Party had stumbled across his home, they had been swarmed by the many Vine Snakes that lived in the branches of the great tree; watched over by Maalik, who sat giggling upon a tree branch as the Psadan succumbed to the venomous attack.


The creatures of the Jungle and Maalik lived together in perfect harmony, often communicating with one-another thanks to Maalik's strong connection to the Force. It was this same connection that allowed him to influence the growth of plants and trees and detoxify his body of any poison that he may have ingested. This symbiotic relationship between human, flora and fauna was something rare for his species, as he had found by reading old holobooks salvaged from crashed ships. That, in itself, had been a challenge, as he had been forced to teach himself how to read. He wasn't great at it, but he had got by. He was curious in the extreme, so he had enjoyed the pursuit of new knowledge.


Stepping through the door, Maalik plucked the cloak from his shoulders and hung it on an outstretched branch. His axe was pulled from his belt and, along with his staff, was placed to one side, above the small wooden box that contained his most prized possession, before he sat down by the fire to cook his evening meal. He took an old helmet he had salvaged and half filled it with water before chopping vegetables into it. When he had finished, he hung the helmet from an iron chain, letting it rest above the glowing coals to boil. Next, he took two large steaks from the cooler, one of the few working modern amenities had, and chopped them up onto a steel plate, adding a few herbs that he had picked on his way through the jungle earlier and some rock salts. The smell of the meat beginning to cook filled his little home and brought a smile to his face once more.

[Palara Iscandar]

"RX-776, report."

The temperature had begun to soar, but Imperial Knight Palara Iscandar remained imperturbable.

The holographic communicator's tiny scout trooper saluted, and began to speak.

"Our location is RA: 2D-5C. We have made no contact with any life save animals."

"Very good. Continue your patrol. Keep in contact."

The AT-AT she was aboard marched onward, towering over the tree canopy of the jungle and setting birds to flight for miles. She leaned back in her seat, frowning as the two pilots drove the armored behemoth through the natural obstacles in its way. There was nothing around to arrest its forward movement, nothing with the size or strength to force it off course.

It was absolutely horrible for this sort of work.

As far as transport in this region was concerned, she knew it was actually ideal. But for a goal of suppression, it was merely a show of force, one that could be easily avoided if the proper preparations were made. Which was why she'd brought numerous AT-STs, speeder-bike scouts, and a reconnaissance regiment to drum out any dregs of the Marauders that had escaped the slaughter they'd earned some time before. In the jungle, it would be the scouts and soldiers on foot, with their training and discipline, that would carry the days.

If they could find the blasted fiends.

They'd been dispatched for a week, and in that time, not a trace of the ill equipped brigands had been found. Iscandar had consulted her instincts and the maps available to her, and the best place to hide would be the jungles in the equatorial region, far away from their ignominious defeat in the frozen wastes.

"Lady Iscandar," one of the pilots said, drawing her from her thoughts. "There's something of note in the distance."

"Hm?" she asked, curious. The pilot pointed, and she squinted through the bright sunlight. A tree, standing above all the others she'd yet seen here, was barely visible. It was miles distant. "Mark it down on ze maps. We are 'eading in zat direction anyway. If zey are around it, zis transport will warn zem we are coming. Send ze Zird Company around it to intercept anyone fleeing. Kill if necessary, but we need information, and ze dead are notoriously silent."

"Milady," the pilot answered. Iscandar frowned more deeply at the sight of the tree. Something felt different about it, but she couldn't tell if the feeling was connected to her mission or simply about the huge organism itself.

[Maalik]

Maalik had been enjoying the view of the setting sun, feeling its warmth upon his face as he reclined in his hammock eating his meal. The squawking of a flock of clawbirds caught his attention as they flew overhead, causing him to raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

"A little late to be flying...?" he muttered to himself, turning to face the direction from which they had come.

The sight he saw shocked him, enough so that he fell sharply to the floor as he scrambled from his hammock. A great metal beast made it's way through the jungle a few miles away. Rather than fear, he felt a sudden elation. His curiosity, surely, would be the death of him. Quickly standing and rushing to the wooden rail that skirted the edges of the hut, he let out a shriek of delight, bursting into a fit of shrill laughter.

"I've never seen a beast like this!" he said between laughs, scrambling around for his staff and axe before jumping from the tree. Catching one of the long vines that hung from a higher branch he slid down to the floor. By the time he did so, he could hear the heavy footfalls of the approaching machine in the distance. Most would flee as far away from the 'creature' as possible; not Maalik, he instead leapt from rock to root, traversing the jungle floor with all the agility his lithe frame could afford him. It was this same agility that was about to save his life, as he heard a shrill buzzing noise rapidly approaching him. He threw himself sideways just in time, as a brown and white blur burst from the foliage in front of him at about head height. Coming to an abrupt halt thanks to a large rock that arrested his momentum, the wildman watched as the blur turned and came to a stop in front of him. This blur, it soon became apparent, was a man, clad in white armour, riding some form of vehicle. The man dismounted, pointing some strange black device at Maalik that he realised must be one of the 'blasters' he had read about.

"Stay right there!" The Scout ordered, bringing forth a giggle from the strange man.

"Will that great beast not trample us if we stay here?" He replied, grinning.

The trooper cocked his head, clearly recognising the dubious levels of sanity that Maalik was displaying. Instead of answering, the trooper spoke into a small device in his hand.

"TH-997 to command, I've made contact with a local, seems fairly primitive. What are your orders?"

"Primitive?" Maalik said, a quizzical tone in his voice, "What do you mean primitive??"

[Palara Iscandar]

"Milady Iscandar, we have contact with a native, patching through," one of the pilots called back. Palara swung around in her seat, leaning forward to look at the tiny hologram of a scout trooper.

"Milady, there's a primitive local here. Unlikely to be one of the hostiles we are looking for. What are your orders?"

"A local?" Iscandar frowned. There weren't any locals here, as far as she knew. Wayland was by and large wild, with only a few centers of population. "Keep ze local zere. I 'ave your location. I will be zere momentarily."

"Understood."

"Bring me a speeder bike and an escort of two scout troopers."

Iscandar stood, bent over to keep from knocking herself about the head in the cramped confines of the AT-AT's cockpit and control station, and marched back through the neck to the main body, where she rappelled down to the ground.

"Milady Iscandar, a speeder bike as you requested, and your escort."

Iscandar nodded.

"You are in command while I am gone. You are more zan capable of overseeing zis force. If zere is somezing beyond your capabilities, contact me."

The Scout Officer nodded turned away as Iscandar straddled her bike and sped off, flanked on either side by her escort.

It was almost ten minutes going as fast as possible through the heavy jungle to reach the Scout trooper and the local.

"Milady Iscandar," the Trooper said, saluting. "This is the local. He says he doesn't know of anyone at all travelling through the jungle."

Iscandar turned to the bearded and curious man.

"I am an Imperial Knight of ze Zrone. My name eez Iscandar. You know of ze Empire?"

[Maalik]

Maalik was elated. So many new things were entering into the equation. And people! The prospect of interaction fascinated him, which was quite an irony considering how far away from sentients he preferred to stay normally.

"More of you are coming, yes? Looking for these people you asked me about?" He asked, bemused, before pointing at the man's armour, "And what is that you're wearing? You look ridiculous!"

He giggled, jumping up onto a rock and perching there, leaning upon the head of his staff.

"Just stay there, okay?" The Trooper asked, clearly agitated.

"Just stay there, okay?" Maalik imitated, with added ridiculousness in his tone.

The Trooper seemed almost relieved when the next three people arrived, two clad similarly to himself. They didn't interest the wildman, but the third? She was very intriguing. Her skin was red like the sky over a setting sun and she had some sort of snakelike appendages sprouting from her head.

"Iscandar... Iscandar" He let the name roll over his tongue, as if analyzing it. In truth, he was just enjoying the sensation of learning a new word, "As for this Empire? Only in books. I don't get many visitors here."

He giggled once more, then turned serious in the blink of an eye. Slipping down from the rock, he closed the gap between Iscandar and himself in naught but a few steps, moving with such speed and fluidity that it took the troopers completely by surprise. Panicking, they raised their weapons as the stranger reached out toward the Twi'leks head.

When he retracted his arm, however, Palara might hear a soft hissing. Much to the shock of the troopers, whose attention now turned to their immediate surroundings and the vines above them, two bright green vinesnakes were coiled around it.

"Now, now, scaly ones... no biting guests, that's rude..."

The snakes looked up at him, seemingly entranced by his words. Raising his arm to a vine, he spoke softly once more.

"Go on, home you go..."

[Palara Iscandar]

"Of course," she breathed. "Of course you use ze Force. Of course I am ze one to find you. Of course."

She didn't seem all that thrilled by the discovery of the man's sensitivity and ability with the Force. She had a mission to complete first before she started in on this person.

"Focus on me," she said, injecting the Force into her voice for added effect. "Good. Now, you've said zat zere are no people you know of zat 'ave passed zrough zese parts of the ze jungle. Are zere any ozzer parts of the ze jungle one could use to pass zrough, or 'ide in?"

[Maalik]

While still grinning, Maalik found himself unable to think straight. Considering his lax grip on reality, that may not have come as a surprise to most, but to him it just felt... odd. His thoughts were erratic to say the least but they were free, although now they felt restricted somewhat. He wondered if the cause was this red-skinned woman standing in front of him but there wasn't much he could do about it if she was, so he let his mind be drawn to her point of questioning.


"Hmm..." Maalik mused aloud,
"There are many places! There are also many dangers. The safest place would be the river. It slithers through the jungle like a Vine Snake, set into a deep scar in the earth itself."

The wildman giggled again, for reasons only he would ever know.


"The creatures go there to drink in the evenings and the mornings. They wouldn't like to be disturbed I don't think... So, if these people you're looking for went through there? They better have done it at a different time."

There was a frankly wicked looking grin on his face now as he crouched down, drawing a very detailed map in the dirt with effortless precision, showing the river miles to the east.

"I've been here a long time," he giggled, as if to explain. Who can truly tell why the madman speaks?