Chapter 6: Oc'nel
Alpheridies
"Jazal! Be gentler!" Oc'nel winced. His headache was terrible. It felt like her fingers were rubbing on his brain.
"Sorry Itoll. This is very interesting," she said in an awed voice.
Despite being very aware that Jazal's hand was on the side of his face, Oc'nel felt like Jazal had stuck her fingers onto his head right between his snout and his eyes. His eyes were watering, and he could not open them. Suddenly he felt a wave of embarrassment and his fur began rippling and swirling.
"So that's… Embarrassment. Interesting. It waves in the opposite direction as guilt, a bit like nervousness. It seems like most of your emotion centres are not only connected to your Olfactory Node like a human, but they are actually IN your Olfactory Node!"
"Uh… What?" Oc'nel croaked.
"I wish this was an accepted scientific methodology that non-Force users could understand. This fact, Itoll… It explains how Bothans are sentient!"
"What?!" he gasped in an annoyed and offended tone.
"Haha, didn't have to poke your olfactory centre to get the hair swirl for annoyance," Jazal chuckled. "Itoll, no offense, but you Bothans have small brains. They are very wrinkled increasing the surface area, but theoretical models have shown that well… Your brains shouldn't make you as smart as they do. Your brains are even smaller than a Gungan's and about as wrinkled, yet well... We—you and I—just discovered that most, if not all, of your emotion centres are actually in the part of your brain we—the scientific community—thought was just for smelling! This means?"
"Ugh… That we'll be moving away from my smelling part of the brain?" Oc'nel groaned.
"Yes, and that this is not just your big sniffy-sniffy part of the brain. It has other functions," Jazal said playfully as she pinched his nose with her free hand. "This makes your brain much bigger than a Gungan's if we count your Olfactory Node as part of the brain. It's actually silly that we didn't, now that I think about it."
"Please move on to the other parts of my brain," Oc'nel moaned. "This is driving me crazy Jazal. You said you could let me probe your mind too?"
"I said you might be able to. Not everyone can. We'll try that tomorrow, today I am giving you practice getting your—"
"—Literally mind-kriffed?" Oc'nel growled exasperatedly. "I am pretty sure Bothans scientists figured out our own brains Jazal."
His headache subsided and he could finally open his eyes. Jazal was somehow holding his head still, he supposed she must be using the force, but he could look around the room with his one good eye.
"Relax. See? It's way less painful when you relax," Jazal said soothingly. "And I intend to learn more about your people. If we do this enough, eventually mind-probes won't even hurt. Most of the time, when I do this, I focus on memories. You're still okay with me trying to probe some of your memories?"
"How many memories could you probe?" Oc'nel asked curiously.
"I don't know to be honest. Not very many. I am not a droid. There is a fixed amount of information my brain can possibly process at once, just like you, my cute little Bothan."
"Little? I am tall for a Bothan," Oc'nel growled. He added more nervously. "I guess well, what type of memory do you want to see Jazal?"
"I suppose… well, how is it that you came to work for the Judicial Corps and ended up in my room?" Jazal asked.
His fur twirled with suspicion. "Fine," Oc'nel said. "The first part is not pretty though."
o.o.o.o.o
Oc'nel was back on Botha'ahir, under the dome. He was driving his tiny cube-shaped 1.5 meter-wide, four-seater navy-blue speeder. A TW-2 model R. Seated in the passenger seat was Zrask Oc'nel, Itoll's father. He was old, mostly grey furred, and had a patch of white fur on the left side of his face surrounding his blue eye. His right eye was brown, unlike Itoll Oc'nel's.
"Kor yas, pa Itoll? Nokiz ko podo beliya yag pomonta woks do korn Bothawui." ["The truth, Itoll? I cannot believe you are going to Bothawui,"] Zrask said cynically as he gestured through Oc'nel's windshield to the red-stained dusty dome roof above the city.
"Itoll," Jazal said gently.
"What?" Oc'nel asked. He snapped out of the memory, blinked a few times, then looked up at Jazal.
"I can't speak Bothese."
"I knew that but… What? You can't even understand it in my memory?" Oc'nel asked in alarm.
"Nope," Jazal admitted. She sounded embarrassed and foolish for the first time Oc'nel could remember.
"Alrighty then," Oc'nel said feeling a little cocky. Even if someone wanted to steal my memories of conversations, they would have to speak Bothese! "Well, what's going on is basically, Botha'ahir submitted itself to the legal governance of the Bothan Council, which lifted the sanctions. A year earlier, my brother Klaes had defected to Clan Askar from Botha'ahir so my dad was sad that I was leaving too. I was one of the only three Botha'ahir Bothans who was in the first batch of—"
"You can drive at age fifteen on Botha'ahir?" Jazal asked curiously.
I did not tell her my age in this memory, Oc'nel thought with surprise. "Sure. Actually, age fourteen is when you can. Funnily, I didn't think of the rules on Bothawui though. When I brought my speeder to Bothawui, I had to lock it up in storage for another year."
"Okay Itoll, you are chatting too much. I want you to show me… Maybe show me arriving off-world for the first time."
"Alright, in the memory I am about to show you, we, the two rebellious Onels and a Tannen who dared leave Botha'ahir, and General Yus Ata'nel are landing," Oc'nel explained.
He was now on the transport descending to the Bothan Martial Academy. General Ata'nel was going to be the first Onel teacher at the academy.
All of the Bothans except for Ata'nel looked extremely nervous. The seated grey furred Ata'nel, however, stared forth confidently with his one amber eye and one solidly blue eye.
"Wait?! Out of the three others, two of you have Heterochromia!" Jazal exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh yeah, most Clan Onel Bothans and Clan Tannen Bothans have it. Some of the Polar and Sub-Polar Bothawui Bothans do too. I have it myself," Oc'nel explained as he showed Jazal his reflection in a mirror.
"Huh," Jazal muttered. "Somehow, I never imagined your face looked like that. You are handsomer than I expected, that eye looks—"
"—Yeah, I am definitely going to get a new eye that is light blue. My favourite eye is the blue one," the Bothan interrupted, blabbering about himself with a smile. "But anyways… Out of the four of us, including the General, all were Marines actually."
"Marines? As children?" Jazal asked, unable to hide her feelings towards the practice of employing children as soldiers.
"Oh yeah, actually, I joined when I was fifteen…" Oc'nel paused. I can show Jazal this.
Oc'nel shifted to memory of 1.1 g detonator training. He and eleven other recruits were wearing RIS training armour, which was unpowered and did not have a built-in filter so smells could get in freely. They were in a dim dust-covered training dome set to 1.1 g, or roughly Bothawui gravity. There were targets off in the distance riddled with slugthrower holes.
Ata'nel, who was a Colonel at the time, was inspecting the training of all new recruits by the sergeant.
One of the recruits, a Bothan female by the name of Tanya Lon'tannen, stepped forth and threw her thermal detonator at the training bunker. The training bunker was a simple pillbox-shaped cement structure poking out of the red iron-smelling soil in the dome. Lon'tannen threw the detonator with impressive force, using the proper technique, however she threw it very inaccurately. It bounced off the top of the pillbox, rebounded three meters, and then rolled back towards the group of recruits.
Most of the recruits immediately dove for cover and so did the sergeant, but Lon'tannen and Oc'nel froze in terror.
Kriff I am going to die! Oc'nel thought and foolishly closed his eyes.
Ata'nel snarled "Nųkhįz!" ["No!"] and tackled Oc'nel and Lon'tannen, roughly shoving them into the red dirt and laying on top of them with his body.
Oc'nel curiously lifted his head, which was now under Ata'nel's armpit, and looked towards the detonator. His blue RIS armour snout was covered in red dirt.
The detonator exploded with a blinding light and a deafening roar shaking the ground. Shrapnel landed all around them, but fortunately, no one was hurt.
Ata'nel got up from on top of Oc'nel and Lon'tannen and started snarling angrily at the sergeant.
Back on Jazal's bed, Oc'nel started laughing uncontrollably with one of Jazal's hands holding his head still, but his snout rapidly opening and closing with hearty laughs.
"Itoll, see? It's dangerous for kids. Not to mention, it is very callous to cut your childhoods short like that," Jazal said sternly, caressing his snout gently.
"Master, I think it is more productive to think of us as little Bothan Padawans," Oc'nel said slyly.
"Padawans? That's very different." Jazal insisted.
"How so?" Oc'nel asked curiously. "I have been on Judicial missions with Padawans before, as young as fourteen. We have been shot at."
"Yeah, well, they're training and—ugh all right," Jazal sighed, conceding the point.
"Okay, back to our landing," Oc'nel said. "General Ata'nel, me and the other Bothan Padawans," Oc'nel said suppressing a laugh, "we were landing."
Back in the memory, as the ship's descent slowed, everything felt wrong. Oc'nel could feel the pain of being tugged on by the Bothawui's harsh gravity. It affected everything. His snout felt twenty times heavier and he had to struggle to get his face to not look at the ground. His whiskers felt wrong, like something was pulling them down to the ground. It hurt. His fur and thick brown mane flopped down and felt extremely itchy everywhere. I am so itchy!
Bothawui gravity felt similar to the training in the 1.1 g domes but somehow much worse. The familiar back compression pains started flaring up.
"Nokiz ko kat trefa panan Bothawuisk Botha mid pam lunter-mafask 'shnawz mo," ["I don't want to meet the Bothawui Bothans with my snout facing down"], General Ata'nel said calmly.
When Oc'nel didn't look up as suggested, Ata'nel snarled "Ghįn-mąfą ghųnthęr phąn Ųkh'nęl." ["Look up Oc'nel."]
Oc'nel looked up and growled "Khįz thrzį," ["Yes, General."]
The shuttle landed with a thud. All of four of the Bothan passengers cautiously unbuckled themselves and stood up. Oc'nel felt like he was going to fall over at first and braced himself. Even the General looked like he was straining.
The door opened. A far dimmer, much more white-looking light than on Botha'ahir shone in. Oc'nel smelled trees, all sorts of plants, soil with an organic earthy smell as opposed to a rusty iron smell, and a salty humid sharp smell that later turned out to be the ocean.
On top of that, was the smell of thousands of Bothans—far more musky-smelling than what Oc'nel was used to without the hint of sour Tannen and Onel Bothans had. This only piqued his curiosity. He was eager to get out, smell it, and smell them, all up close, and see it all.
The General stepped out first and took a deep panicky breath, and then walked forwards cautiously with his snout up. Something was wrong. His fur was standing up and swirling nervously.
Oc'nel stepped out nervously onto a majestic violet carpet laid out in front of the transport, took in a huge breath through his nose, then he looked forwards.
There were thousands of short stocky little Bothans in formation wearing a variety of uniforms from all of the branches: some were in green, some were in red and black, and some were in blue. Blue. The sky….He held his snout up higher and could see the sky.
Kriff! I am outside without a suit! I can't breathe! Oc'nel's fur fell flat in fear. He panicked, clenching at his throat gasping for air—Air which moments earlier had smelled exciting. He began coughing. His throat was on fire. He pissed his pants.
One of the Bothans exiting behind Oc'nel let off a blood-curdling scream of terror.
Some of the Bothawui Bothans at the front of the formation started laughing. They continued laughing for a few seconds, right until General Ata'nel collapsed, then gasped. Ata'nel fell backwards without breaking his fall. Dozens of Bothans wearing white uniforms and red crosses rushed to help them.
Oc'nel collapsed to his knees and let his snout face the ground. Focusing on the ground, he could breathe.
"Wow that is messed up," Jazal sighed. "General Ata'nel died?"
"Yeah," Oc'nel gulped. "It's ironic really," he said cynically, as his eyes teared up. "Ata'nel was responsible for numerous propaganda posters where we landed on Kothlis or Bothawui and kicked their asses—"
—Oc'nel briefly flashed Jazal once such poster from his memory. A group of six tall camouflage wearing Botha'ahir Bothans were holding Boola Carbines, standing in a town in the middle of a forest. They towered over all of the shorter Bothawui Bothans. In comparison, the Bothawui Bothans looked heroic, strong, and almost deified in the tiny presence of the timid Bothawui Bothans. The tiny adult Bothawui Bothans all looked terrified, but one of their children was standing before the Botha'ahir Bothans, accepting a piece of what looked like candy. Above the scene in brilliant dark purple letters:ЭвриўисСэюрск—Objective Secure.
After pausing to show Jazal the image, Oc'nel continued. "Then, this officer who spends his whole life preparing our society for war on Bothawui, lands on Bothawui for the first time, in peace, and got so frightened by Bothawui that he dies from a heart attack."
"And you stayed?!" Jazal asked in shock.
"Oh yeah. That was my first wake-up call Jazal," Oc'nel growled. "My first wake-up call that I had grown up in such a closed society, that even our leaders believed the nonsense. They could train us to throw thermal detonators at Bothawui gravity, run kilometres in it around in circles, but they had no idea we had developed Agoraphobia from living under domes for centuries," he sighed.
"I've visited Botha'ahir to see my family a few times," he continued when Jazal said nothing. "Once last year in fact. My family is, of course, still disappointed that I am not around. The Bothawui Bothans did learn from this experience too. Now, they always force us land at night, that way, we can acclimatise to, well, being outside without a space suit on."
Jazal continued stroking his head gently with her free hand. "What did you do next?"
"Oh, I was so itchy! Almost too itchy to even feel sad," Oc'nel showed her the memory of what happened in the hospital. After drinking lots of water and meeting some Bothawui Bothan cadets, he went downstairs to cafeteria. There was a barber in the visitor centre of the hospital: a gruff, black-furred, muscly, very musky smelling Bothan male with patches of grey on his mane. He had very fat muscly snout and looked like he was snarling.
He paid the barber 5 zaf, disrobed completely, and laid face down. He allowed the barber to almost completely buzz off his head hair, his mane, his whole back down to a two-length setting, his buttocks, his legs, his armpits, the backs of his arms. Then he rolled onto his front—
—Jazal gasped and started roaring with laughter uncontrollably.
"What?!" Oc'nel snarled angrily, snapping out of his memory, looking up at her face. "I thought you knew this was serious sad shtak."
Jazal could not stop laughing for twenty seconds. She caught her breath and explained, "I am sorry Itoll. It's just weird to me. You not only disrobed in front of a stranger, but you literally let a complete stranger, a very smelly one at that, shave your entire body! That was the weirdest thing I have ever perceived, and I am a Jedi. I don't think I have even heard of a weirder thing happening and the Galaxy is a very diverse place. I didn't quite get that you are so weird."
"I'm not very weird for a Bothan, Jazal. Lots of Bothans on all the worlds do that," Oc'nel muttered. "Not all. Some just let their fur grow shaggy and fall out in the summer, and some only get their manes trimmed and leave their face and body fur alone. After that though, existence was just too itchy for me. Gravity really bugs my hair Jazal. I've never let my mane grow out since."
"Your hair is still short. It's grown out a bit the last month, but… Is there really someone on Coruscant who shaves a number two length blade over your entire body?" she asked curiously.
"There are some barbers willing to do Bothans but no... I bought myself a droid and she does that for me. But, back to what happened next… I guess I'll just explain. The other two went back, completely traumatised and I became the first Botha'ahir Bothan to ever attend the Bothan Martial Academy. The next day I ventured outside again, feeling a bit colder with my shorter fur, with a nurse accompanying me, and was able to well… not panic. By the evening, I had set up in my dorm. Oh! Another ironic thing though… The Bothawui Bothans don't use clan names in military settings. Clan loyalty destroys unit cohesion. So, on Bothawui I am 'Itoll Oc' in a military setting. However, I was one of the tallest Bothans on the planet and both of my eyes are different colours, so everyone knew I was a Onel."
"Did you get harassed or bullied?" Jazal asked.
"Not really," he answered. "I did gets weird looks every day. I probably would have been bullied if Ata'nel had not died. I mean, seriously, I pissed my pants in front of a military formation. When Ata'nel died though, to my own surprise, all of the Bothawui felt very bad for us and tried to comfort us. For years and years there were conspiracy theories floating around on Botha'ahir that Bothawui had assassinated General Ata'nel. It honestly really angered me."
"I can see why," Jazal said thoughtfully. "He was partly killed by his own arrogance and the arrogance he instilled in others."
"Exactly," Oc'nel replied, "and the Bothawui Bothans were really nice to us after the horrible event. Don't get me wrong Jazal. Ata'nel saved my life, but he was also a fool. The type of fool that can only really exist in such a closed society as ours."
"Did any other Botha'ahir Bothans attend while you were there?" Jazal asked.
"Oh yeah!" Oc'nel said excitedly with a big reminiscing smile. "Tanya Lon'tannen became the first Clan Tannen at the Academy, my second to last year. The Commandant had me come with him to greet her that night at the landing pad. When she graduated, she necame the first Botha'ahir Marine with a commission from the Bothan Martial Academy."
"How did you join the Judicials?" Jazal asked interrogatively. She squeezed his head a bit more firmly.
Oc'nel thought and went back into his memories. He showed Jazal Sey'les, a shaggy, black, grey, and white—generally ashy-coloured Bothan one year ahead. She snarled a lot and flashed her fangs everywhere. All of the instructors hated her, and she had developed a very bad reputation with the Bothawui officer corps. The Republic launched a new program where Bothan Martial Academy graduates could go to the Judicial Academy for two years, instead of four, and graduate. Now she was in blue, and the next year, came back to recruit more Bothans into the Judicial forces.
"Sey'les?" Jazal asked.
"Yeah, Sey'les gave me the idea," Oc'nel admitted. "I do know her, but not very well. She was always a year ahead of me and now she is well… She was on Antar 4—"
—Jaza's presence slipped further back into Oc'nel's head.
"Jazal, be careful back there—"
"—What's this?" Jazal asked curiously.
Oc'nel gasped in horror as he felt her presence near where his Mk-2 chip was. "Jazal! Don't touch that—"
A robotic female voice Oc'nel had not heard in years suddenly spoke in his head. "Armour connection detected. Activating Mark 2 chip. To deactivate, move your tongue in movement Resh."
"AAAHH!" he yelled a panic and shoved Jazal off from him.
Jazal tumbled over the side of the bed.
The chip pumped Oc'nel's adrenal glands and, at the same time, activated a magnet. His head flew backwards, neck magnetically locking onto the hotel lamp at the bedside table. He fell off the bed.
"Jazal!" Oc'nel snarled angrily. He moved his tongue in a Resh shape and the magnet deactivated. Oc'nel was now lying on the floor panting with his legs on the bed; his neck was resting on the cold hard lamp.
"I am sorry Itoll," Jazal groaned, getting up from the floor. "That was definitely not supposed to be on your brain. What was that?"
"My Mk-2 chip," Oc'nel sighed. "All Bothan Marines get implanted with one. It lets us control suits of power armour and pumps up our adrenaline. Kriff! It's late. I told you to stay away from that. You could have killed me."
"I am sorry Itoll, here," Jazal grabbed his arm and pulled him to standing position, then helped him sit on the bed. She put her hand on the side of his face and her forehead up to his forehead.
Oc'nel felt a bit calmer. It was like he was getting a face and head massage, rather than a feeling in his brain.
"I think I'll teach you to meditate sometime," she muttered thoughtfully.
"Sorry for getting so mad," Oc'nel said.
"It's all right. That was dangerous," Jazal admitted. "I should be more careful." She stroked Oc'nel's snout and brushed his whiskers. "You are right though."
"Right about what?" Oc'nel sighed in a tired voice.
"A mysterious chip in your brain tells me that your scientists definitely studied the Bothan brain at some point."
o.o.o.o.o
At breakfast in the hotel lobby, Oc'nel got a some scary looking black juice that looked like fuel but actually tasted like Jogan fruit, some bread that seemed to be real bread, Gartro eggs that did not smell like real eggs but tasted like them, this strange large black melon that also tasted sweet; inside the melon were chunks of fruit that smelled like they were from a totally different type of plant. He also ordered some terrible tasting caf which he drank black—there was no milk substitute. Bothans did not produce lactase in adulthood which made them unable to consume milk from animals that many humanoids could.
By the third morning Oc'nel had concluded that, on Alpheridies, sweet fruit with breakfast was not an anomaly. "Jazal, what are these chunks of different fruit in the melon called?"
"Oh, I've never asked," she said plainly. "I've always thought of them as part of the dish. I think we should hurry up, you got up a bit late Itoll."
"Well, that wasn't completely my fault."
"True, but… hmm," Jazal spoke in a tone of suspicion. "Your bag does not seem very full."
Oc'nel took another bite of melon then looked down at his bag. She was right. His rucksack looked half the size of hers. Hmmm. He sniffed the air curiously. It doesn't smell like anything's missing, he thought confidently and smiled in relief.
"Itoll!" Jazal snapped. Are you sniffing the air rather than looking?"
"Sorry," Oc'nel replied.
"Search your rucksack to make sure you packed everything, that's an order. No sniffy sniffy, it's cute, but I doubt you can actually know for sure that you packed everything just by sniffing."
Oc'nel got up from his chair, opened his rucksack and started searching it. Boots? Yep I could smell those, hmmm… ration packs, check.
"Itoll, I sense you only packed two ration packs. We are starting a hike today, camping overnight, and finishing tomorrow. Can you really go on just two ration packs? The hike will be 57 kilometres."
"No, sorry that's not enough food. Is there any place here that would sell camping food?" Oc'nel's fur swirled with embarrassment. He scratched the back of his neck.
"There is a camping goods store right down the street," a gravelly death stick-smoker's voice said, intruding himself into the conversation.
"Thank you," Jazal said curtly, after turning around to face the stranger. "Itoll," she said turning back to him, "I also sense you only packed one pair of clothes."
"Oh, that's fine, Bothans hardly sweat through our skin," Itoll replied, gesturing with both hands towards his shirt. "I've been wearing these for two days."
"I know that. I not only can sense your clothes, but—never mind. It is forecast to rain today, so I expect your clothes will get wet and muddy," Jazal sighed.
"Very well, I can live with that. I've got fur Jazal," Oc'nel said confidently.
o.o.o.o.o
"It's sooooo rainy," Oc'nel yelled over the rain. "I am having trouble hearing anything but rain."
"Bothan, we need to walk at least ten more kilometres unless you want to walk for thirteen hours straight tomorrow."
"Sorry," Oc'nel said. His fur would have swirled nervously, but it couldn't because it was soaked.
Walking on the pitch-black trail for hours had, at first, radically improved Oc'nel's sense of hearing and smell. Before the rain picked up, Oc'nel felt like he could hear the echoes of obstacles before he reached them. Now however, the rain was so loud he could only hear rain and Jazal's voice.
"I can't see but, are there trees we can walk under?" Oc'nel asked.
"We will be passing out of the temperate circle and into the hotter subtropical one. There will be trees there, but first, we have a steep climb," Jazal said loudly.
Oc'nel tripped on a step and fell forwards. "Ouch!"
"Sorry, I should have said we have a steep climb this second," Jazal admitted while pulling him up. "Needless to say, watch your—"
"—ooof," Oc'nel groaned as he fell again. This time his knee painfully hit the hard rock in front of him.
"Well, this is harder than I thought it would be," Jazal said in a worried voice.
"I can't see the stairs." Oc'nel moaned.
"The steps are all the same height. Here, take a step… there you go. I'll tell you when we reach the last one."
With each new step, Oc'nel cautiously scraped the bottom of his boot onto the wet step in front of him. Something odd was in the air… Oc'nel sniffed twice. Is that lightning?
"Jazal, I think I smell lightning," he said.
"You can't smell lightning Itoll," Jazal corrected. "What you are smelling is ozone that happens because—You smell ozone? Hmmmm maybe I can smell it a bit too…"
Suddenly, the horizon was brilliantly lit by a bright white light. For a moment, Oc'nel could see the top of the hill and its shape illuminated by the light.
Oc'nel winced. "Jazal! I thought you said there wasn't any visible light on Alpheridies?"
"There is lightning," she admitted. "It is rare though, especially—"
—A deafening roar of thunder passed them, then echoed from the valley below. Some unseen animals squawked and shrieked in terror.
"That was loud," Oc'nel said, putting a finger from his free hand in his ear and squishing out some of the water. He was soaked. "I don't think it's the smartest idea to be at the top of a hill during a—"
"—We should be all right Itoll. We aren't walking over the very highest point."
Oc'nel sighed. "Jazal, I would never have imagined you were such a risktaker," he commented while continuing his blind walk up the stairs.
"Really?" Jazal gave a maniacal laugh. Her hand gripped his hand a bit more tightly.
For a brief moment, Oc'nel wondered what was so funny. Oh yeah… "I get why it's a funny observation."
She stuck her fingers in my mind, and now we are walking up a hill through a lightning storm on a planet with no light, except lightning. Risky. Damn that was a stupid observation. She also left Pax back in Fospolis. Risky… "Oh! Pax!" Oc'nel yelled suddenly, opening his eyes wide in shock despite the total lack of light.
"What of him?" Jazal asked.
"Did you call Pax yet?"
"Yeah, and I called Carver. They seem to be hitting it off," Jazal said.
"Good!" Oc'nel smiled to himself so optimistically that his eyes closed, and his snout opened as he smiled. It is really nice of Carver to be watching out for Pax like that. Honestly, Carver is a complete asshole, so this is a pleasant surprise.
o.o.o.o.o
Oc'nel did not look forward to crossing over the peak and walking down the other side. However, it turned out it was not really a hill or mountain, but the start of a plateau. They went up the hill, down slightly then walked on fairly level ground.
The rain slowed, the temperature felt like it was going up slightly, and the shrubbery thickened. Oc'nel could feel and hear all of the plant-analogs brushing up against his legs.
The plant-analogs smelled a lot like plants too. They didn't smell quite as refreshing, as if they produced less oxygen than real plants. None of them had a minty smell but instead, a smell almost like expired honey. A little bit sweet, but also musty and old. He walked slower, sniffing the air curiously while Jazal tugged him along.
"Welcome to the subtropical circle," Jazal said. "More life, as you can smell no doubt."
"Yeah," Oc'nel admitted. The ground became progressively squishier. Oc'nel's boots felt like they might get sucked off his feet.
"Damn," Jazal said suddenly and stopped. "It is going to be very muddy. Here, wait."
Oc'nel stopped and let go of Jazal's hand and turned around. He could see nothing in any direction. Sometimes when he squinted, his eyes would play tricks on him and invent little shapes, but nothing real was visible.
"Do you mind if I lift you?"
"Carry me?!" Oc'nel asked surprised. "I am not a toddler or something!"
"That's not what I mean. Lift you with the force over the mud," Jazal said simply.
"Oh…" his ears perked up curiously. "I suppose that would be fine."
The rain was now coming down in a quiet drizzle. Oc'nel could hear it dripping onto the leaves above.
"All right. I will lift you over the mud, set you down on a dry spot, then climb," Jazal explained.
"Climb?!"
"Yep Bothan, I am going to climb."
"Climb where I mean?" Oc'nel asked.
"The tree canopies connect. I can go from one tree to another and meet you on the other side. I need to meditate for a moment, calm down and be quiet."
"All right," Oc'nel said. He sat still and continued sniffing the air gently. None of the smells were things he had not yet smelled, but they were all fairly new and entertaining. Jazal went completely silent for a few minutes.
"Okay Itoll, I am going to float you over. Can you hold my things?"
"Sure," Oc'nel said excitedly. He was beaming in anticipation. "I have one question though. Why don't you float yourself over too?"
"I am not strong enough to do that," Jazal said in a neutral tone. "There are only two Jedi I have ever seen levitate themselves: Masters Yoda and Tera Sinube."
"Why is it difficult to do?" Oc'nel asked curiously.
"Bothan, it's analogous to lifting yourself physically. You may be able to lift your own body weight, but you cannot just squat down, put your hands under your thighs and carry yourself into the sky—it requires a totally different power. The type of levitation most Jedi can perform is analogous to you simply carrying things."
"All right, I get it. Lifting yourself would be violating a law of motion," he said. His snout dropped open in sudden realisation and astonishment and gasped. "Wait Jazal!" he yelled. "How do Yoda and Tera Sinube violate the laws of physics? How is—"
"—Enough questions," she huffed. "You are breaking my meditative state. I am not ready to speculate myself. If I ever learn, perhaps I will tell you. I know you are curious, but I am not going to spill every Jedi secret. Bothan, prepare yourself, three, two, one and…"
Oc'nel felt light pressure all over his body, his rucksack on his back felt lighter, and so did Jazal's rucksack he was carrying in his arms. He could see nothing but could feel a slight breeze and slight forward movement and he floated. "Whoa!"
Being Force-lifted by Jazal was surprisingly comfortable. It did not feel like being dragged or carried, but instead, more like being carried by a liquid. Everything on his body felt lighter. The weight was still there, but lighter.
Oc'nel had a sudden realisation. "Jazal, I think I have a theory for how Master Yoda can lift himself!"
"Bothan," Jazal strained, "Shut up! Tell me later. I am busy."
"Sorry," Oc'nel said. His fur was still too wet to swirl from anything.
After a few minutes, his feet gently touched the ground and the weight returned to him. He set Jazal's bag down and felt the ground with his hand. It was damp but not muddy.
"Thank you," he said smiling.
"No problem," Jazal panted.
"Is there a spot I can sit down?" Oc'nel asked.
"You need to sit down Bothan? You need to sit down?" she panted almost out of breath. "There's a log behind you, turn around and walk carefully."
"Okay, sorry and thanks," he said, and walked slowly taking tiny steps. Eventually, his boots bumped something wooden. He leaned over, felt it, turned around, and sat down.
Jazal began climbing. Oc'nel could not see her climb, but he could hear her straining and every once in a while, slipping on a wet piece of tree—perhaps tree-analog. Occasionally, a branch would fall down into the mud with a splash.
"Are you feeling all right?" Jazal asked. "Any feelings of worry, fear, any hallucinations?"
"Hallucinations? Nope. Actually, this is kind of nice," Oc'nel said with a smile.
"Okay good, I don't want you to end up suffering ill-effects from sensory deprivation—"
"—I do have a theory though about the force—" Oc'nel interrupted.
"You don't have a theory Itoll. A theory is a substantiated explanation for something happening in the universe. Not every thought a Bothan has is a theory."
"Oh," he said. Sheesh! "Okay Master," he said carefully, "I have a substantiated explanation for something happening in the universe."
"What is it?" she snapped as she strained.
"I think Masters Yoda and Sinube can float themselves—"
"—Levitate themselves Itoll."
"All right, levitate themselves," he sighed. "They can levitate themselves because they aren't actually violating a law of motion. They are making themselves lighter! They decrease their mass and—"
"—Itoll, your Bothan arrogance—wait…" Jazal gasped in shock. "Sorry Itoll, that actually makes some sense. Those Masters might spread their mass to be less dense than their surroundings," she said deep in thought. "Huh. I thought you were just an attractive guy who was a bit curious, very air-headed," she added bluntly while continuing to climb.
"Attractive guy? You can't see?" Oc'nel stammered, then growled "air-headed?!"
"Well, I can sense shapes and personality is a factor—" she paused for a moment. "Itoll, let's talk about your brain. I didn't know you were so… Imaginative. I underestimated you."
Oc'nel imagined she must be staring at him now. He was not sure how to take that complement. "Um… thanks? Why didn't you know I was 'imaginative' from reading my mind?"
"I literally saw like seven things from your memories and poked your sniffy-sniffy Bothan emotion centres a little bit," Jazal retorted. "Your theory impresses me though. It is definitely not how a scientist would word it, but imaginative and makes more sense than thinking of it as a type of lifting or levitation… Floating… like on a liquid."
"Thanks," he said, smiling to himself.
"If you are right though, I suppose, the logical next question is where little green's extra mass goes, when floats, he does," Jazal said in a mock Yoda voice.
Oc'nel started laughing out of control first then shuddered. He had this odd feeling that he was going to be smitten from the heavens for laughing at Yoda.
Jazal began straining again, climbing to another branch. "Little green might just be… Somehow spreading his mass out. Like how an oxygen tank sinks, but if you let the oxygen release into a balloon to occupy more space—AAAHHHHHH!" She screamed as a branch snapped and landed into the mud with a sickening THWAP.
"JAZAL?!" Oc'nel yelled in terror, his snout hanging open.
"I am… ugh! I am covered in mud!" she exclaimed. Oc'nel could hear her struggling to get up, squishing in the mud. "Ugh, my boot!" she yelled.
"Why don't you just use the force?" Oc'nel asked.
"It doesn't work that way," Jazal growled in a croaky voice.
Did I teach a non-Bothan to growl? Oc'nel smiled to himself.
"What's so funny?" Jazal asked sternly as she approached.
"You just growled a bit. Not like a Bothan, but it was funny."
Jazal sighed.
"What's the plan now?" Oc'nel asked.
o.o.o.o.o
Oc'nel had to fight the urge to squirm away from Jazal's muddy hand as she continued guiding him. His fur caked to her muddy hand. They walked four more clicks until they reached the Yasek River—also named after Master Yasek.
By the third click, it was no longer raining and Oc'nel had completely lost his sense of time. He felt sleepier than he did earlier in the day; his circadian clock was still working, but he had no idea what time it was, nor did Jazal allow him to turn on his datapad for risk of injuring local wildlife. Jazal still had her Shadowsync datapad, which did not emit light anyways other than infrared, as all active electronics do.
Jazal disrobed—of course, Oc'nel could not see Jazal disrobe but heard her groan loudly as she tried to yank off her under-cloak. The dried mud crackled.
He could smell and hear the nearby river.
"It might be easier, Master, if you jump in the river then disrobe," Oc'nel said in an even tone, his fur once again swirling nervously. The Jedi is definitely in an explosive mood.
"You are right," she sighed.
Oc'nel's fur relaxed with relief.
"I sense your fur is doing things again," she said as she hopped in with a splash.
"Yeah," Oc'nel replied. "It's nice."
Jazal threw her wet cloak onto the grass-analogs. It made a splatting noise as it landed.
Oc'nel disrobed in the dark, then jumped in the water too. His feet touched the muddy bottom.
"Be careful," Jazal said. "Swimming might be more difficult if you can't—"
"Actually, it's pretty easy," Oc'nel said happily, floating on his back allowing his sore legs to relax. "I don't intend to swim, just float."
"Well, you are floating away," Jazal chuckled and grabbed his foot, pulling him towards her. "Stay near me Itoll. This is a river."
"Okay," Oc'nel sighed, standing up. He took off his eyepatch. Huh. No difference. Might as well wash the fur around there. After pulling his face out of the water, Oc'nel asked, "how many more clicks till we stop for the night?" He sniffed the air curiously. It smelled like Miraluka, perhaps humans, but probably Miraluka were nearby.
"I think we can—"
—Oc'nel gasped and tensed up as he suddenly heard creaking boards and chatting voices. He submerged deeper in the water.
"Relax Itoll. You're naked on a planet where we all lack eyes. If it makes you feel better, Miraluka can sense what's under your clothes all the time unless you are wearing a thick suit of armour. You let a strange Bothan shave your whole body but feel embarrassment from this?" she asked sternly.
"Well, it feels weird," Oc'nel said sternly, allowing himself to stand up a little.
Jazal chuckled. "Also, here's your eyepatch you goof," she said, approaching Oc'nel from behind and putting it back on his eye.
"Well, hello there. I've never sensed your kind before. What are you?" a male voice asked.
What am I? Oc'nel began feeling a bit offended.
"He's pointing you Itoll," Jazal said softly.
"Well, I can't see," Oc'nel growled. He turned to the direction he heard the voice coming from "Bothan. I am a Bothan."
"What brings you to Alpheridies?" a female voice asked.
"Believe it or not, shore leave," Oc'nel said with an awkward chuckle.
"Why shouldn't we believe it?" the female voice asked interrogatively.
"Well… I dunno…" Oc'nel said awkwardly, starting to feel nervous.
"He doesn't mean to be rude," Jazal said. "He was attempting humour."
"Oh," the male voice attempted to fake a laugh. "Ha. Ha."
"You aren't a tour guide, are you? I sense the Kyber of two lightsabers in your bag," the male said. "Are you both Jedi?"
Two lightsabers… Oc'nel realised Jazal still had Master Averross's lightsaber. That's lucky she can lie and say I am a Jedi too and then—
"—Nope I am a Jedi but the Bothan is not," Jazal admitted. "Just showing a friend on shore-leave around my home-world."
"Interesting," the male said. "I didn't know Jedi had friends."
"Well, some of us do," Jazal said sternly. "There is nothing against having friends in the Jedi Code," she added, mimicking the same tone the stranger used in his innuendo.
Oc'nel scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Jazal," he whispered, "maybe you should tell them it is none of their business," he winced.
"We are heading out of the subtropical ring. We were originally planning on having our meal along the way. Would you like to join us right now?" the female asked.
"Certainly, are you fine with that Itoll?"
Oc'nel winced. "Sure," he said with a nervous growl. What is Jazal doing?
Jazal held his hand, climbed out, then pulled him up. She whispered in his ear, "here's a bit of Jedi business for you."
Oc'nel's ears perked up curiously.
Jazal began reciting something, "We have a rule. Honour the Jedi Order. When a Jedi misbehaves in public, an observer might think, 'If this Jedi represents the whole Order, then plainly no Jedi is worth respect.' On meeting a second Jedi, who behaves better than the first, that same person might think, 'Does this say that half the Jedi are good, and half bad?' On meeting a third Jedi, who behaves as well as the second, the person thinks, 'Was the first Jedi an exception, then?"
"I think—" Oc'nel started.
"—It is especially important for a Jedi like me who has a friend, to show that we are all not like Master Averross. He is currently all over the news. I am already leaving a somewhat dubious impression by being here with you. I want to leave, if not a good impression, then at least not an impression of being a reckless drunken maniac wielding a laser sword."
"All right," Oc'nel sighed "sorry," he stood up straighter. "I can't find my bag Jazal."
"Here, do you remember where you packed your towel?"
"I think I can find it, but maybe it would be better if you got it," he answered.
"Very well," Jazal muttered before rummaging through his bag, "here."
He could hear Jazal drying off and finding taking dry clothes from her bag.
Oc'nel took his towel and sopped up the bulk of the water from his fur. He was still extremely damp. He tried pulling up his trousers, but they clung to his wet fur and would not come up. They felt like tight wet socks. He nearly ripped his pants straining.
Jazal said impatiently, "Itoll, just come over here. None of us mind. You smell like a wet Bothan, but you would with clothes too."
"Off-worlders," the male chuckled. "The ones with eyes are especially odd. So many taboos centred around sight and being seen."
"I can't find you," Oc'nel winced nervously. Kriff. This is soooooo awkward!
He heard Jazal's footsteps approaching. She grabbed his hand and led him forwards.
"I recommend you drop your towel and sit on it," Jazal said. "There are some bugs in the dirt that bite, and I foresee that you will trip over yourself if you wrap it around your legs."
Foresee? Oc'nel stopped trying to wrap his towel around like a cloak and reluctantly dropped it, then sat down.
"Good," Jazal remarked and passed him a ration pack, and a set of scissors.
Oc'nel could smell the outside of the ration pack—rubbery plastic—but had no idea what was inside.
"We heard on the news that a Jedi Master—" the female started.
"—Let's start with introductions," Jazal interrupted. "I am Master Jazal, this is Itoll Oc'nel."
"Very well, I am Nodim," the female said, "and this is my husband—"
"—Hadal," the male said.
"Nice to meet you," Oc'nel said with a nervous wince. Okay, pretending I am alone with Jazal is not going to work.
"I apologise for making you uncomfortable," Hadal said.
Oc'nel's damp fur swirled with suspicion. He doubted Hadal's apology was genuine but, nonetheless, replied "that's all right." Every planet likes to haze the off-worlder.
"Back on topic," Nodim said sternly. "We saw on the news—"
"—The second kyber crystal your husband sensed," Jazal interrupted. "That belongs to the Jedi you saw on the news. If I have my way, he will never wield a lightsaber again."
"I am glad to hear it," Nodim said. "And I am glad someone like yourself is taking it seriously, however, as a practitioner of law myself, my problem is with the Jedi having their own criminal justice system. It allows for all sorts of abuse by rogue members of your order."
"I agree," Jazal said simply.
"You have no defence?" Nodim asked.
"No, I am pleading guilty—Not for Averross's behaviour mind you, he was actually my superior a few days ago, but for the Jedi having a bad system. It is outdated and represents an old era where most courts were run by kings. If I had my way, I'd abolish diplomatic immunity too and make the Jedi subject to local and Republic laws."
Oc'nel realised he was doing nothing but listening in on the conversation. He took the scissors, cut open his ration pack and sniffed the air curiously. Hmmm smells like meal #39 carrot soup and Alderaanian wafers.
The Miralukas took notice. "With a snout like that, your sense of smell must be very good Itoll," Hadal's voice said from the darkness.
"Yeah…" Oc'nel replied. "I could smell you two before I heard you."
Hadal laughed.
"Jazal, could you pass me some water?" Oc'nel asked holding out his hand.
Jazal passed him a canteen.
After setting the thin plastic heating element from his ration pack in front of him, Oc'nel cut open the heating element in his and poured water into it. The chemical reaction would generate lightless heat quickly on reaction with the water.
"What do we smell like then?" Nodim asked interrogatively.
Oc'nel put his hand over the heating element to feel if it was working. He could feel the hot steam billowing out and dropped the closed packet of soup inside. "Umm…. You are asking curiously, and won't be offended right?" Oc'nel growled nervously.
"Correct," Nodim said serenely.
"You smell like humans. Musky like most mammalian humanoids, but with a bit of a sharpness that burns when you get too sweaty," Oc'nel said simply. "I am not around most humans or Miralukas enough to distinguish you from each other. I mean… okay, I would be able to smell Jazal apart from you, but not a random Miraluka off the street and a random human from…. Alderaan."
Mhhmm Alderaan. Finishing that explanation, Oc'nel took out his Alderaanian wafer and ate it before the soup was ready, savouring the grainy taste.
"Well, it makes sense that we smell like humans," Jazal said after swallowing a bite of of Anaxsi dumpling soup. "We were humans less than 13,000 years ago." Jazal leaned over, said "here," and pulled out his sachet of soup from the heating element.
Oc'nel took it and carefully opened the top, then started licking the hot carrots.
"Here's a spoon Itoll," Jazal growled.
Oc'nel suppressed a laugh and took the spoon.
"Oh, I have heard of you before Jazal. You were that Jedi who did research here before with Master Poof were you not?" Hadal asked.
"Indeed," Jazal said simply, taking another bite.
"While I appreciate your… Scholarship, Master Jedi," Nodim said evenly, "don't you worry that you are spoiling the mysteries of the universe when you try to explain everything? As far as I was concerned, no one on Alpheridies was asking 'how did we evolve?' It seems to me like you are well… ruining a lot of important stories."
"As someone who practices law, respectfully, I would think that you often encounter information affected by context? Can't we just interpret those origin stories as dependent on context too? In this case, historical context," Jazal inquired, interrogatively.
Neither of the other Miralukas answered her question. Oc'nel sighed.
"Obviously, our ancestors, the Bothan's company excluded, were living on a strange world with no light, failing technology, with none of the important technological and cultural knowledge we have now. I take it by your tone that you believe my explanation of our origin is more logical than the old creation stories, correct?"
"Yes," Nodim and Hadal both admitted.
"Then, can't we just view those stories as the best explanation people had at the time, with some allegorical value to present day morality?" Jazal asked.
Nodim and Hadal were silent for a while.
After a while, Oc'nel chuckled, and spoke with a mouth full of carrots, "I am glad it's simpler for Bothans."
"It is?!" Hadal asked. "Do you not have religions and creation stories?"
"Well, some Bothawui Bothans do have creation stories. On Botha'ahir, where I am from, most of us don't believe in any religion other than making our home into a paradise. On the moons Bothawui though, as well as on Kothlis, they just follow the Bothan Way. It has a salvation story, but not a creation story."
"I suppose that would be simpler," Hadal said. "There would be no creation story that could conflict with new discoveries."
"Yep," Oc'nel said smiling.
Jazal gave a sigh of relief as if she and Oc'nel had dodged a social blaster shot.
"What's the Bothan Way?" Nodim asked.
Jazal groaned.
"Well, it's a long book I haven't completely read," Oc'nel admitted. "To be honest, I don't believe in most of it—"
—Jazal sighed in relief once more.
Oc'nel was beginning to see a pattern. Hmmm she doesn't like the Bothan Way.
"Master Jedi," Nodim said. "It is a bit rude of you to prevent your friend," she paused after using the same annoying innuendo-laced intonation as if to taste how it sounded. "You are preventing your friend from telling us a bit about his culture. We do not get a lot of off-worlders out here, and certainly not Bothans."
"My apologies," Jazal said evenly. "The dominant religion on Bothawui is an extremely materialistic one, to the point that many of its tenets would be culturally taboo here on Alpheridies. I just hope that you will not judge the Bothanstoo harshly."
After realising what Jazal was worried about, Oc'nel's fur swirled nervously. "Jazal, I think… well I do think there are some common grounds my culture would have with yours—both the Jedi and Miraluka."
"Like what?" Jazal asked curiously.
"Well, bounty hunters. We don't like 'em," Oc'nel said with a toothy smile. "Murder for profit in general is against the Bothan Way."
"True," Jazal noted. "But the reason for that, I believe, is a side-effect—a need to regulate your culture's otherwise unregulated, and frankly, sometimes libertine behaviour."
"I suppose," Oc'nel said thoughtfully, looking up at the darkness.
"I am so confused," Hadal said.
"Me too," Nodim admitted. "You are both dodging our questions."
Oc'nel sighed. "All right, the Bothan Way is essentially—at its core—self-focused. You put yourself first, then your family, then your clan, then Bothans, then every other sentient, then every non-sentient. You use your influence to make more people follow you, and then can help them, and when you increase your power, you help them too."
Nodim gave a cautious, uncomfortable, "hmmm."
"Focusing only on yourself, we believe, degrades the spirit," Hadal said. "That perspective on power and influence sounds quite… Dark Side, like the Sith philosophy," he added suspiciously.
"How did… well how do Bothans who don't attain power fit in?" Nodim asked curiously. "In much of our Miraluka history—and also Jedi history for that matter, people who believed in grabbing power and using it to influence others, invariably led to conflict and destruction. Where do the Bothans left out of the power structure fit in?"
Before Oc'nel could start explaining anything, Jazal spoke next. "I would characterise it as… Charismatic groups centred around an individual—almost like celebrity worship or cults. Most Bothans gravitate towards more charismatic members of their community, try to fit into their social circles, and try to stay in their good graces. From what I have read, most Bothans either carve out their own group of followers or fit into one."
"Jazal, I didn't know you had studied Bothan society in depth. Why didn't you tell me?" Oc'nel asked curiously, his fur swirled with suspicion.
"It never came up," Jazal answered simply. "Jedi learn of a variety of cultures when we are still in the Temple Crèche. Bothan culture inevitably comes up because it is so… so different from the Jedi way."
Great. Every Jedi views me with prejudice. Just great. "Well, in our defence," Oc'nel sighed, raising the palms of his hands. "The Bothan Way developed during a time when there was lots of conflict between Botha'ahir and Bothawui. Basically, we are supposed to live life for our own benefit, rather than to hurt other Bothans or other sentients."
Oc'nel paused waiting for someone else to say something. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again into the darkness. "On the bright side, that makes most Bothan conflicts more interpersonal and political than violent. It's also not completely selfish because through gaining power and influence you can help those you care for. I admit though, I don't believe in it myself as a moral code to live by. Also, many acts that would be considered immoral on Coruscant are allowed in the Bothan Way—"
—Hadal and Nodim both started roaring with laughter.
Jazal laughed too. It sounded like she was trying not to laugh but could not help herself.
"Immoral… on Coruscant!" Hadal laughed, barely able to speak. "There are things that Coruscanti consider immoral? That's news to me!"
Oc'nel did not understand, helplessly turning from one laughing voice to another. He tried to laugh along but only managed a fake smile.
"They're joking," Jazal said consolingly and rubbed her knuckles on his head. "It is funny to Miralukas and Jedi. We know that Coruscanti have some morals, at least literally. It is just that on Alpheridies, Coruscanti people seem very materialistic, vain, and selfish too. You even think your people are comparatively even more materialistic than the humans on Coruscant. Do you see why I was worried?"
"Yeah," Oc'nel said with a toothy grin. His fur stopped swirling nervously and flopped down in relief.
"It is interesting to learn of other cultures, even if I don't agree with them," Hadal said finally.
Oc'nel opened his mouth to say something then stopped. Hadal's arrogance almost made Oc'nel want to start defending Bothan culture, but he let it slide. Funny how comments like that make me want to defend something I disagree with.
"Well, it was very nice to meet you both," Nodim said. "I am glad that you managed to find a friendyou care for so much, despite being a Jedi."
"It was very interesting to talk with you Itoll and I wish we could chat for longer," Hadal sighed regretfully. "We really must be going though; we hope to reach the snowline by Primeday."
"Hopefully we shall meet again," Jazal said serenely.
"It was nice to meet you Nodim and Hadal," Oc'nel said and stood up waving goodbye to where he thought they were standing.
Hadal grabbed Oc'nel's furry forearm darkness and held it firmly, interrupting Oc'nel's wave.
Oc'nel gasped and froze at first, then awkwardly returned Hadal's arm-grab, realising it was like a handshake of some sorts. He grabbed Hadal's fleshy warm forearm for a moment, then let go.
Nodim then grabbed Oc'nel's forearm, and he returned the ritual grabbing her sleeve-covered forearm, not able to see a thing.
They said no more words. Oc'nel stood there listening to Nodim and Hadal's footsteps on the grassy plant-analogs get further and further away. Well, that was kriffing weird!
"Let's just set up camp here," Jazal said finally. "We will have a nine-hour hike tomorrow, with an extra day to spare if we need it before the Agarath departs."
"Sounds good," Oc'nel replied standing still uselessly while Jazal set things up.
Jazal rummaged through the bags.
Oc'nel could hear her unzipping sleeping bags as he stood still thinking of how strange this entire experience was. "You know," he said finally. "Meeting people, talking to them for a while, and only knowing whether they are male, or female, is weird. If I never see Hadal or Nodim in the light, I will go to my grave not knowing what hair colour either had, how old they were, how tall they were, really… anything. I mean, they smell like humans, Hadal was not wearing long sleeves, Nodim was wearing long sleeves, and I can recognise their voices. It feels almost tragic."
Jazal chuckled, softly at first, then began roaring with laughter.