Challenge Entry for JEDI's fanfic boards. Posted 8 Dec 05 on TF.N.
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Bastion Governmental Archives – 3000 S.E.
"Hey, Vrit, what are you looking at?" The man peers into the office at the girl studying the computer console. "Found anything interesting?"
"Maybe…" Vrit draws the word out, humming thoughtfully. "Most of these old archives are pretty boring – tax records from the Imperial Era, survey records from the First Republic, political concessions from the early Remnant period – you know the stuff…"
The man rolls his eyes. "But?"
"Well, I seem to have found an autobiography…"
"In the government archives? Sounds like a data transfer gone wrong…"
Vrit scratched her nose. "Yeah, I thought so too, until I looked at it… Apparently, this is the copy of the memory bank of a droid – apparently, he was owned by a family called the Skywalkers…"
"You're kidding me."
"Wish I was, boss…"
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Cryptology, six months later…
"Well, Mr. President, we've ascertained that the data bank piggy-backed along some of the old Chiss records – from the old libraries on Csilla, we think. In turn, of course, they could have come from anywhere – downloaded directly, collected by Thrawn, random files…"
Dul Kerit sighs, and pinches the bridge of his nose. "In summation, Chief…?"
"It'd make a great movie, but there's nothing we don't know in here. Honestly, decoding it is a better expenditure of the Historical Society's resources than ours."
President Kerit sighs, then says, "Just get me the paperwork by the end of the day. I'm sure the archivists will be ecstatic."
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Historical Society computer center, three years later…
"So, they finally reconstructed the whole thing, huh?"
The Verpine nods enthusiastically, saying something in an unintelligible buzz.
"73 years of files? I'm impressed, honestly. I thought droids from that time period got a little kinky after ten years or so."
The Verpine shrugs and clicks a response. "Yeah, I guess so. Hey, is it true that old Vertny is going to write a book about this? It's probably going to be terrible, all of his books are so dry."
The Verpine shrugs, and on cue the lights dim as the holoprojector prepares to show the Society's latest project. The Verpine and his companion turn to watch, giving it their fullest attention. The old holoprojector – reverse engineered by the Verpine's squad – flickers to life, and a young, beautiful woman in white strikes a beseeching pose.
"Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."
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Bastion Planetary College, 25 years later…
"Whatcha lookin' at?" the girl says in a sing-song voice.
The young man shrugs. "I have to make a historical drama, so I'm looking up some history books."
"Got any ideas of what you want to do it on?"
"I'm thinking about the Late Republican period. That's pretty exciting."
The girl blinks her pink eyes at him, then goes to a shelf and grabs several mighty volumes with ease. Being four meters tall and coming from a world with gravity four times that of Bastion can be quite useful.
"Hey, Culas, you might want to read these. They're a bit dry, but I'm sure you could make them exciting…"
She puts the books gently on the table in front of him, and picks one up and glances at the title.
History of the Transition Period between the Late Republican and the Early Imperial Eras: Volume IV. By Jent Vertny.
"Vertny? Now you are trying to kill me…"
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Bastion, Tri'nua Military Base, three years later…
The girl is thirteen, and she has just come back to Bastion after four years on Corellia. She is a Navy Brat, and her father is a sergeant in the navy. Until the rest of their shipping comes and her family is assigned quarters, there is nothing to do but sit. Her father is as bored as she, and heard that a few good holodramas have come out. She looks at Bastion curiously while she waits in line for tickets at the holo theater, and her father sighs and tugs her forward.
The theatre attendant smiles at them, revealing gleaming white fangs. "How may I help you, sir?" She asks pleasantly.
"I'd like two tickets for STAR WARS, please," he says politely. "Do you have a military discount?"
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Bastion, Bastion City, 28 years later…
"I swear, if this one is as bad as the other prequels, I'm bailing, OK?"
The girl is a human, and her hair is a bright red color. Her companion is an Ewok, and his fur is a deep, chocolaty brown. He barks in response to her comment, and she sighs and says, "It's not that the movies are bad, it's just the Culas sucks as a director!"
The Ewok laughs, and then chirrups something to her in a cheerful manner.
"I've seen Bastion Writing too, and it was good. The only explanation is, he's gone senile. If the lines from the last movie were any more wooden, I could use them for firewood."
The Ewok snarls something in response. The girl ignores the foul temper, and says haughtily, "That's because you are a deranged fanboy. Duh..."
The Ewok begins a tirade that shows no signs of stopping anytime soon when they step into the darkened theatre room, and she sighs and says, "If you keep that up, the others will avoid us just to watch the movie in peace…"
He chatter derisively, and the girl hides a smile behind her hand. "Look, he's written five famous novels - I expect that when you have that much fame and fortune, you can get away with wearing a yellow cocktail dress unremarked..."
The Ewok rolls his eyes.