I'm sure that this is starting to sound like a broken record; but I'm so sorry about the infrequent updates! Recently my depression took a sharp turn for the worse, I've had medication issues, and my mother's been in the hospital more often than not.
That said, I'm very proud of this chapter. I had my new beta-reader, the fabulous t-rex989, look it over and he's given the green light! So, after one more pass myself, I hereby give you Chapter 10!
For all that the Berkians, especially the young Dragon Riding Padawans, had to catch up with well over 10,000 years of technology and advancement. They forgot that, while they were learning from the Jedi, the Jedi were learning from them, too. Tribal customs and alliances, the history and anthropology of the area, and the limits of what could be made and manufactured on Berk, as would be seen particularly well later today…
"Stoick!" says Salak, when he sees the Chief on the other side of the village square.
"Ah, Salak! Wonderin' when ye'd come to town today." replied the Chief, as Salak serenely glides across the square.
"Um, Stoick. If you can spare some manpower, it would be huge help; I need some people at the crash site." says Salak, knowing full-well that he needed more than just "some manpower".
"Sure! I'll go grab Gobber and Spitelout, and…" started Stoick, but Salak cut him off.
"Um, might need a bit more than that..." Salak interjected
Stoick gave Salak a look, one eyebrow cocked up, then asked, "What are we needed for, exactly?"
Two Hours Later… Alright!" shouts Dara, "I need you five to hammer that leg until it sits straight!"
Five villagers, including Gobber, began to whack one of the legs of the crashed starship with hammers, logs, really anything sturdy and heavy they could lay their hands on, trying to pry it out of its compartment while the unpowered ship hung above them, lifted by Salak and Terrwyn using the Force. They already had three of the five legs in position, and Salak and Dara had been able to power up the fifth leg with several linked fusion-lanterns, so that wouldn't take much time to deploy…
"Ok!" shouts Gobber, wiping sweat from his brow, "She's straight up an' down!"
"Perfect!" shouts Dara in reply, acting as foreman. Luckily, she'd been able to rig up a remote starter for the fifth leg, so she wouldn't have to clamber through the darkened ship to activate it. So, Dara looked down at her Datapad and pressed several holographic keys.
The village watched in amazement as the fifth leg's compartment slowly opened, (usually it would have far more power, so it was somewhat slow and cumbersome now) and the fifth leg gracefully sliding out and into position.
"Alright! Salak, Terrwyn! You can put it down now!" Dara finally shouted
Salak and Terrwyn both had sweat running down their faces, for they'd been holding the ship aloft for at least forty-five minutes. Now, however, they moved it a hundred feet to the right, so it could sit flat and not in the crater it had made, and slowly set it down.
A great cheer erupted from the village, they'd helped repair something that most of them could never possibly understand! Not to mention something that had traveled through places they probably couldn't fathom!
The majority of the village left to continue their daily tasks, though now with several more talking-points than before. It was only when the riders, Stoick, Gobber, and Dara had gathered around Salak and Terrwyn that Terrwyn's legs shook and she collapsed into Salak's arms.
"Is she alright!", yells Stoick as Terrwyn seems to fall unconscious, the cries of several of the riders, especially those she claimed as students, though not from Dara, suspiciously, ringing out.
"Just exhaustion" says Salak calmly, "Lifting that much for so long really drains a person, she just needs some rest. To tell you the truth, I think I should lie down, too."
Stoick then picks up Terrwyn and guides Salak back to the Haddock household, where they could both earn a well-deserved rest…
Midday, Dara… Gobber and Hiccup were working at the forge, processing a large backlog of orders.
They both sweat over separate pieces of hot-metal, Hiccup finally dunking his into the quench-tank, resulting in a satisfying hiss.
As Hiccup examines his work for any defects caused by an improper quench, he hears a familiar voice shout, "Hello!? Anyone here!?"
Hiccup quickly puts down the half-finished sword, Gobber now quenching his piece, then runs outside.
Dara stood outside, having just stopped her repulsorsled outside the forge, a large and unidentifiable chunk of metal on the back.
"Master Dara!" says Hiccup with his usual cheer, "What brings you to the forge?"
Dara smiles at Hiccup, then gestures to the large chunk of machinery on the back of the sled, saying, "I needed somewhere to work on this, and Stoick said that the best place would be the forge, said you might even be able to help."
"Sure" says a voice behind Hiccup, Gobber having just come out of the workshop, "Let's get it inside"
He and Hiccup start to try and grab it when it lifts into the air, both are startled till they look at Dara, who has her hand raised and is obviously manipulating it with the Force.
After negotiating the door Dara sets it down in a corner of the forge, seemingly very interested in the tools around her. "So this is where you do all your metalwork?" she asks.
"Yep" says Gobber, clapping a hand on Hiccup's shoulder in pride, "so whata'ya think?"
Dara doesn't answer, instead she walks slowly around the forge. Picking up tools and bits of equipment, examining them, placing them carefully back where they were found, and for lack of better terms, poking and prodding around the small building for the better part of five minutes.
Gobber and Hiccup, however grew somewhat apprehensive and a little concerned. Salak had described Dara as a very ingenuitive Jedi, and well experienced with, oh how had Salak put it. 'Metal-and-machine work'?
"Um," Hiccup awkwardly stated at last. At this Dara turned her head towards him, her face showing curiosity and attentiveness. "Master Dara, well… um…"
However, where Hiccup tried to ask awkward questions delicately. Gobber was rather blunt. "Ye look like ya never seen a forge before?"
At this Dara smiled and straightened up. "Well" she began, "I have to confess that even with twenty-seven years of mechanical work under my belt, I've never seen tools so… like these."
This puzzled out two blacksmiths, the older of whom (Gobber) then asked, "Well… then what ya use when yer… ya know… blacksmithin?"
At this Dara chuckled lightly, and leaned back against the anvil, shaking her head side-to-side in bemusement before stating, "Where we come from." With 'We' meaning herself, Terrwyn, and Salak. "We don't have blacksmiths."
This, understandably, puzzled Hiccup and Gobber. The latter of which then pressed, "Well, than who ya have to fix all yer metal… well… things?"
Dara looked over at the chunk of machinery that she had carted along with her, then back to our curious blacksmiths, before saying, "We don't have blacksmiths, we have mechanics."
Gobber and Hiccup both had blank expressions, it was a long moment before Hiccup asked, "What's a mechanic?"
Now Dara laughed lightly, and walked out of the room, only to reappear moments later carrying a fine-looking metal chest. Which she set down on the counter, then she stripped off her dark brown outer robe, which was highly flammable, and pressed a wide panel which caused the chest to open upwards, revealing its contents.
Hiccup and Gobber, naturally, were curious and walked over. Only to find that the chest contained a set of fine metallic instruments in perfectly contoured slots that neither of them could identify.
They looked at Dara with confusion, not really understanding what she was getting at.
Obviously, Dara understood their confusion. She then elaborated on her previous statements, "This is our ships primary tool kit." she gestured to the chest, "This is the basics that we use to do metalwork and repairs."
Hiccup and Gobber looked again in the case and began to wonder what in Thor's name any of these, rather fragile looking tools, did.
Dara figured that now was a perfect time for a demonstration. So, she reached into the case and pulled out a Fusioncutter. Then looked into the forge and asked, "Do you have a scrap piece of metal that I can demonstrate on?"
Gobber wordlessly reached under the counter and pulled out an old sword, obviously damaged beyond repair.
Accepting the object, Dara then reached again into the toolbox and pulled out three pairs of welder's goggles.
Placing one pair above her eyes, she thrust out the remaining two pairs to Hiccup and Gobber.
Each grabbed a pair and held it with confusion, obviously waiting for an explanation.
"This tool" Dara gestured with the Fusioncutter, "makes a light so bright that it can permanently damage your eyes, these goggles are made so that that doesn't happen."
The pair of smiths still looked at the goggles without trying to put them on, this led Dara to believe that they didn't know where they went on one's person.
"You put them over your eyes, the strap on the back holds them to your head." she added.
Quickly, the pair placed on the goggles and Dara pulled hers down over her eyes. She them placed the beat-up sword on the anvil and activated the Fusioncutter. Within twenty seconds she had sliced the sword in half lengthwise.
As the trio pulled their goggles off their eyes, and watched the metal rapidly cool, Dara found their mouth's hanging agape.
That is when Dara knew that this would be a long day.
Slightly Later, Terrwyn… Terrwyn had only awoken about fifteen minutes ago from her recuperative nap. Upon waking she couldn't find Dara, and didn't want to disturb Salak's meditation. So, she walked out of the Haddock residence and stretched out her back.
That's when she heard her name being called in alarm.
"Master Terrwyn!" shouted Astrid, who was running up the road toward her
Instantly worried, Terrwyn rapidly descended the steps and jogged briskly towards the young Dragon Rider. "What's wrong?"
"It's Stormfly!" Astrid said breathlessly.
Terrwyn immediately recognized the name of Astrid's Nadder, and saying, "Show me", followed Astrid, without another word, up to Gothi's residence.
Upon entering the one-room dwelling, which was smaller than it appeared to be on the outside due to its haphazard construction. Terrwyn was confronted by the overwhelming odor of burning herbs. She coughed several times into her clenched fist before her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she then saw Stormfly curled in the center of the hut. Gothi was poking her and prodding her, and the Nadder looked pale and very unwell.
Astrid was nearly in hysterics, as she began to explain what happened to Terrwyn. "I to give Stormfly a roast chicken" she said, "and found her pale like this and looking like Meatlug had sat on her for a day! So, I came to Gothi. It took everything Stormfly had left to get up here."
Astrid paused to take in a few breaths, then continued, before Terrwyn could even get a word in. "Fishlegs taught me how to read Gothi's scribbles a month ago, and then I remembered that you're a Jedi Healer. So-So" Astrid was becoming so frantic that her sentences were beginning to fall apart, "I came to you and then-I mean she's so pale! And-And… please help!"
It was at that moment that Terrwyn grabbed Astrid's shoulders and sent calming waves of the Force through herself and into Astrid, whose breathing became slightly steadier and more rhythmic. "Astrid." Terrwyn said gently, "You can't help her if you pass out, calm down. I'll gladly help."
Terrwyn was then the recipient of one of the most sincere, grateful, and relieved smiles that she had ever received. Even if Astrid was Salak's padawan and not hers; she still felt a bond then and there with the young rider.
Determined to not let Astrid down, Terrwyn stood straight, flexed her fingers, and pulled out her personal (and highly improved) medpac.
Terrwyn knelt down by Stormfly's side. This would be difficult, seeing as she had no prior knowledge on this species anatomy or good reference information to go on, but she'd be dammed before she stood by and let another living being suffer if she could help it.
She was also determined to include Astrid in Stormfly's treatment, for emotional support if not for "on-the-job" training, so to speak.
"Alright" started Terrwyn, slipping back into battlefield RMSU (Republic Mobile Surgical Unit) medic mode, and said, "I'm going to need some light…"
There was a rather awkward pause.
Terrwyn started a little and looked around, Gothi and Astrid were both giving her a confused look. It was then that it hit Terrwyn that she wasn't in a "modern" medical setting anymore.
She sighed and said, "Sorry, usually the head medic simply says the tool they need and someone hands it to them. I guess I forgot that I'm not in a medical unit anymore."
There was a pause. "Alright" Terrwyn began again, "Astrid I want you to help."
"Really?" asked Astrid, surprised, "I'm usually the one giving the wounds, not healing them!"
"If your to be a Jedi," replied Terrwyn calmly, "You have to be prepared to aid living creatures wherever and whenever you can. Think of this as your first step into a larger world."
Astrid nodded and knelt down to help Terrwyn.
The older Jedi reached into her medpac and pulled out an examination light, quickly turning it on; and showing Astrid how to do so, whilst giving a running commentary. Terrwyn checked the Nadder's eyes, the pupils weren't dilated so she then checked the nose for discharge from the sinuses.
Seeing none of that either, and judging from her instinct, connection with the Force, experience and intuition. Terrwyn judged that it probably wasn't a reaction, but an infection of some sort.
"Alright" Terrwyn instructed, "I think this is an infection, so let's look for wounds that could have let any viruses or bacteria in…"
Seeing utter incomprehension in both Gothi and Astrid's faces, Terrwyn decided to ask a question, hoping that she would get the answer she wanted, but not really expecting it.
"Astrid," Terrwyn asked, "What is an infection?"
Astrid blinked at such a strange question, "Um," she began, "it's when you get dirt and stuff into your body and it makes you sick."
Terrwyn threw her a mortified look, one that only deepened when she saw Gothi, the village healer no less! Nod in agreement.
"Oh, this'll be a long day" Terrwyn mumbled.
So, over the next three-and-a-half hours, Terrwyn not only gave a lesson on how to treat a rusty nail wound on a Deadly Nadder's left thigh. But she tried to impart basic medical knowledge, of her caliber, onto Gothi and Astrid.
The funniest part, if such a word could be used, was when she began to explain microorganisms. Which Astrid nearly laughed at, calling them "Wee beasties", at least until her and Gothi realized that Terrwyn was serious.
Even after Stormfly was fully taken care of, Terrwyn continued her lessons. She nearly threw a fit when shown Gothi's surgical instruments. Covered in blood and dirt as they were. It must have been around dinnertime when Terrwyn's insistence on thorough sterilization ended, though this probably had as much to do with a sore throat and empty stomach, than anything like the end of her passionate persistence.
Berk Great Hall, Dinnertime… the table of Berk notables (Jedi, Gobber, Stoick, and the Dragon Riders) was abuzz with conversation, which lasted long after their respective plates had been cleaned.
Personally, Salak thought the discussion fascinating. From a rather detached point-of-view. As he watched the assimilation from one culture to another, far more…primitive, society. If he were an anthropologist, he mused, this would have made a good datasheet to submit to Coruscant's bureau on intergalactic planetary and interspecies relations.
At the end of a long discussion in an even longer night, as all members of the conversation went to their respective beds; they all had one relatively similar thought etched into their minds. Meaningful learning, like anything else worth doing, took time.
I'm sorry if this chapter seemed rather mundane, but that's what fascinates me. I also use these things to set up things to happen in the future. No spoilers though! So, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter!