Ask Glee Anselm Salt in the Water

[Jaesa Valerin]

"Interesting..." Jaesa accepted the bag, peering inside through the glass of her helmet. Fifteen didn't seem like all that much, but who knew how prolific these little critters were. The padawans were struggling with one; Tiberius seemed to have found one too. The Nautolans had pretty much grouped up together, forming pairs or working alone.

At the sound of Tiberius' victorious shout, Jaesa shook her head and began to swim towards the man. He had just gotten one of the trackers onto the little creature's head, and it had gone on to happily swim away.

"They're kinda cute," Jaesa mused through her suit's comms, yellow eyes tracking the thing as it scrambled to get away from them. Between its odd, but colorful appendages and silly facial expressions, it rode the line between adorable and just plain alien. Those same eyes continued to survey, searching out for the wiggle of movement amongst the coral.

"There!" Her hands reached out, and from the rock and plantlife came one of the little coramicals into her arms. There was little it could do to resist the gentle pull of the Force, and after a moment of struggle it gave up, floating toward her with a vaguely pouty look on its face. From there it was not difficult for her to slip one of the trackers onto its little horn and send it off on its way.

"This is a nice break from the war front, don't you think?" she asked Tiberius, her gaze finally jumping back to him. For once, and despite being surrounded by miles and miles of endless ocean, she felt relaxed. The Dathomirian swam further into the coral, hoping he would follow as she did. "Or, and I'll be honest, any form of temple duties." She added that last bit with a laugh.

"Look! There's one right there!" Jaesa pointed it out to Tiberius, her voice dropping to a hush as her finger zeroed in on it. Compared to some they'd seen so far, it was quite large!

tags: @LouJoVi @Sicadorito @logan2665

 

[Quin Leonkri]

As Elidan extended a hand toward the coramical, Quin felt it start to calm down. Soon enough it was laying in his arms, perfectly content as his friend attached the monitor to the creature’s horn.

“Thanks. That was impressive!” Quin grinned at Elidan before looking back at the others, and it looked like they had already gone off on their own. Tiberius had already found one, and that left just the two Padawans here. Time to get to work!

Quin swam a little farther down to another patch of coral, hoping that Elidan was coming along. He stopped a small distance in front of it to check it for any sign of movement. When he saw the flick of a tail, he reached out to grab it. “Got you!” But when he drew his hand back, the only thing in his glove was a piece of pink seaweed. “Oh. Never mind.”

Then he saw the real coramical take the chance to try and swim away. Before it could escape though, Quin extended his hand and felt the Force wrap around the little creature, tugging it toward him. This one didn’t seem to be as terrified of him as the other one was, to his delight. Was it Elidan’s work again? Either way, he was able to place a monitor on it and pat its head before letting it swim back to where he’d found it.

“You know, we should do stuff like this more often,” he commented to Elidan as he looked over the coral. Their vibrant colors reminded him a little of the plants on Jakku. “It sure beats running around observatories with overgrown jungles inside them.”

Spoiler: Monitor tracker

13/15 monitors remaining so I don't forget

@LouJoVi @logan2665 @lizziie

 

[Elidan]

Elidan smiled at Quin, while he continued to pelt the Coramical head. The half-Annfyn didn’t think that what he did was so impressive. It was only the result of him practicing the use of the Force to communicate with the nature around him. He believed that if it worked with plants, something similar also could happen with the animals. Looking at the adorable creature in the other Padawan’s arms, his theory seemed to be right.

Then, Quin released the coramical and swam away to another patch of coral. Thinking that the other could need his help again, Elidan followed him. When he saw that the other Padawan grabbed the seaweed thinking that it was one of the animals, the half-Annfyn couldn’t avoid giving a small smile and thinking how it was funny.

When he saw the real coramical swimming away, Elidan thought that perhaps he should use the Force to calm it. However, Quin had the same idea and the hal-Annfyn decided to let him try to do it. A smile appeared on his lips when he saw that the other Padawan was able to successfully make the creature come back to him.

While he watched Quin place the monitor on the coramical’s horn, the auburn-haired boy heard him mention Jakku. Elidan’s smile disappeared and he moved his right hand to cover his left one. Even after having it replaced by a mechanical one, it was as if he could still feel the pain coming from here.

Not wanting to remember about what happened on this day, Elidan decided to search for more coramicals to distract himself of these memories. He saw one swimming close to the abyss. While he knew that they shouldn’t get too close to it, the half-Annfyn thought that by using the Force he could make the animal swim back to him. With that in mind, he moved after the creature.

@lizziie @Sicadorito @logan2665

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

The zabrak swam over to join Tiberius after he had successfully caught his first coramical. “They are kinda cute.” He responded as he watched the creature swim away. He looked around him and saw the Padawans in the distance using the force to capture the creatures and now Jaesa had caught one using the force as well. *I mean, if you want to do it the easy way.* Tiberius thought to himself.

The knight scanned the environment looking for more coramicals. He saw some movement among the plant life. He stuck out a hand and also used the force to wrap an invisible hand around the multicolored animal. It drifted through the water towards Tiberius. This was much easier than physically chasing after them, he had to admit. The coramical landed softly in the palm of his hand where Tiberius was able to slip a tracker onto the pliable horn that stuck out of its head.

Jaesa mention that this was a nice break. Tiberius nodded. “You got that right.” It was true, it seemed like all Tiberius had done lately was fight. So this mission was a bit more relaxing than what he was used to. The Dathomirian swam farther into the coral and Tiberius followed.

Jaesa continued her thought. So far as temple duties were concerned Tiberius didn’t have many of them, but agreed with the master all the same. “I bet it is a nice break to actually get out and see the galaxy rather being cooped up in the Temple.” Tiberius wasn’t 100% sure what all Jaesa’s temple duties entailed, but he imagined her sitting behind a desk all day doing paperwork. What could be more boring?

As the pair swam deeper into the coral Jaesa spotted another coramical. Tiberius eyes followed the outstretched Dathomirian finger. This one was not quite as small as the others. It definitely wouldn’t fit in the palm of your hand. “Whoa” Tiberius whispered with surprise. He reached out with the force to try and grab it. It was working, the large coramical was floating towards the Jedi. Tiberius caught site of the creatures face. It wore an expression of confusion and anger. It started to thrash around.

Once the creature was in reach Tiberius wrapped his arms around the beast as it continued thrashing about. “Can. You. Tag it?” The knight’s voice came in spurts asking Jaesa to help him out. The coramical was surprisingly strong. Its head smacked against Tiberius helmet and its tail was hitting his side. Eventually the creature broke free from Tiberius grip and began to swim away. Had they been on land where gravity was more of a thing the knight probably would have fallen to the ground from the force of the coramical escaping. However, since they were under water he just drifted back a little. “Did you get it?” He asked Jaesa.

Tag: @lizziie @Sicadorito @LouJoVi

 

[Jaesa Valerin]

While Tiberius struggled with the axolotl-like creature, Jaesa quickly moved to slip and clip a tag onto its cranial appendage. By the time it broke free, the device had been secured tight.

"Yeah, all good," she assured him as her yellow eyes followed the creature off into the reef. "This will probably take us an hour or two," she figured. The initial ones would be easy to catch, but the Dathomirian was sure they'd alert their friends, and finding the damn things would get a bit more difficult. Their stupidly-cute faces made up for that, at least.

"AWW!" The happy cry of one of the teens in the Nautolan group rang through the water, and Jaesa turned to look her way. Sahni held up a tiny little coramical in her hands—a baby by the look of it. "It's so cute!"

Turning back to Tiberius, Jaesa would comment on the interaction. "It's a shame we don't have these back home." She could envision the padawans keeping them as pets, and the Masters using them to teach the value of responsibility and such.

"Alright." The Jedi Master rolled back her shoulders, then put on a more determined face. "Time to get to work."

~~~~~​

An hour of catching and releasing later, Jaesa only had three trackers left in her bag.

tags: @LouJoVi @logan2665 @Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin regretted the words almost as soon as they came out of his mouth. He saw Elidan’s smile vanish and hand go to his other, and a feeling of guilt rose up in his chest. He shouldn’t have been so insensitive.

“I’m sorry.” He couldn’t bring himself to look at Elidan, and instead distracted himself with searching for coramicals, as the other Padawan was doing. His friend seemed to have found one close to where the water was starting to grow dark, and Quin, while not following him out of fear of startling the coramical, watched for a minute to make sure that he got what he was chasing after before turning back to the wall of coral to search for his own.

Fortunately, he was able to find one rather quickly, though it was mostly through luck. He had been swimming alongside the coral when he accidentally bumped into one with his flipper, which just happened to be a coramical! He turned around just in time to prevent it from swimming away, wrapping it in his arms as he’d done with the first one. As he finished tagging it and let it go back into the coral, he wondered what it would be like if he were to spend his life doing assignments like this one.

~~~~~

A little over an hour later, Quin only had one monitor left in his bag, and the last coramical was evading him. All the ones he’d found were either tagged already, too small to hold a monitor, or were simply hiding in corners he’d yet to find.

“Come out, wherever you are…”

@LouJoVi @logan2665 @lizziie

 

[Elidan]

Elidan cautiously approached the coramical, not wanting to make it swim away. The animal had stopped in some coral-covered rocks that were close to the abyss. The half-Annfyn feared that if he moved abruptly, the amphib would get scared and swim into the darkness.

When he was at a good distance, the Padawan stretched his hand in front of the coramical and focused on it with the Force. Like what happened early, he was able to connect with the animal and show that he didn’t want to hurt it. After some minutes, the amphib swam toward his open arms.

Now that he was holding one of them, Elidan could see how these creatures were adorable. It was amazing how their skin reminded him of the coral that grew on these rocks. The evolution was really something fantastic. Through it, the coramicals had developed this amazing camouflage to hide from predators. It was sad to think that such a wonderful animal was threatened with extinction.

After he tagged this one, Elidan released the animal. While he watched it swim away, the half-Annfyn thought that this mission could seem to be something that Jedi would not do, but they were protecting the life of the coramicals. Since the mission of a Jedi was to protect life in the Galaxy, they were doing right by working here. With a smile on his lips, the Padawan continued with his job.

—---------------------------​

After some hours, Elidan was able to tag other coramicals. His trick with the Force proved to be very useful. The half-Anfynn doubted that he would be able to approach so many animals without using it. Now, he had only one monitor in his bag.

While he looked after the coramicals, the half-Annfyn saw Quin again. He felt bad for having left the other Padawan alone so abruptly. It wasn’t his fault that he lost his hand that day. Then, he swam toward the other boy, deciding to help him.

@lizziie @Sicadorito @logan2665

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

Tiberius watched as the colorful creature swam away. He thanked Jaesa for slipping the tracker on the large coramical. The knight peered into his bag. He had hardly made a dent in the number of trackers that he was given. His attention was caught by one of the apprentices’ exclamation. He turned to see what was going on. It was hard to distinguish between whether it was an exclamation of panic or joy. Turns out it was joy. Evidently, the young nautolan was overcome by the cute factor of these creatures.

Tiberius heard Jaesa’s comment about wishing they had coramical’s back home. “I mean, we could if we had the right environment.” He stated. He envisioned a large tank filled with these creatures. They probably wouldn’t be as happy on Yavin as they would be here in their natural habitat. The jedi shook his head confirming that that was not a good idea.

“Or we could set up a temple here.” He thought out loud. Although, Tiberius figured the chances of that coming true were probably slim. The places that Jedi were welcomed visitors was becoming fewer and fewer. Hopefully, however, this mission might help to change that.

*Alright, back to it* He thought to himself. These coramicals weren’t going to tag themselves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

About an hour later Tiberius was watching as another coramical swam off into the expansive blue ocean. He reached in his back to grab another track, but his hand was only met with the bottom of the bag. He peered into his back and found that his hand had not deceived him. He was in fact out of trackers.

He swam over to Jaesa. “How’s it going over here?” He asked as he neared the master. He cast a glance around them it looked as though most of the nautolans had finished and were huddled in groups talking and giggling. There were of course others who were still working to tag the coramicals, but it appeared that the Jedi were the slowpokes here.

Tag: @lizziie @LouJoVi @Sicadorito

 

[Jaesa Valerin]

One more, two more, and then three more coramicals tagged, and Jaesa too finally held an empty bag. She took a look around to see the Nautolans were long done and spotted Tiberius swimming her way as well. She gave him a little wave, then piped up to answer when he asked her how things were going. "Just finished up! The last few took me a bit longer to find... but it seems they didn't have as many issues." She was, of course, referring to the Nautolan teenagers who were grouped up, and had been grouped up for the last twenty minutes or so. "It's probably easier for them, seeing as they live here and all." Their eyes were probably better adapted to noticing movement in the water, too.

With her eyes finding Elidan and Quin, she would add, "It seems they're wrapping up as well." Jaesa wasn't the only one to notice this either.

"Alright! It seems like we're starting to get wrapped up, no?" The group of Nautolan teens hushed and turned to face Jes as he began to call out to everyone. Jaesa gave him a thumbs-up for herself and Tiberius.

"We good?" His eyes would flick over to Elidan and Quin, looking for their seal of approval before he continued. Once they gave him the signal, he would continue. "Alright! Kids, head on back. I gotta talk to our Jedi friends about some stuff real quick, then we'll be right there!"

After a series of "okay's!" the Nautolan teens swam off back towards the town they'd come from. Jaesa swam to close the distance between her and Jes, and gestured for Tiberius to do the same. "What's next on the list?" she asked once she got there.

"Part of the coramical population decline has to do with an invasive species that's started to invade the area. There's a cave down below where I know a bunch of them are living. It'll be your next task, and while it can wait until tomorrow, I wanted to show you all to the location first." With that he would swim off, diving over the cliffside and into the dark blue.

tags: @Sicadorito @logan2665 @LouJoVi

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin smiled when he saw Elidan swim over. Was he forgiven? It had been a while since the topic was brought up, and the two had worked in silence for the past hour. He was glad that they were back together, though. He’d missed Elidan’s company, and he was sure that the other Padawan could feel it through the Force.

Turning back to the coral wall with new eyes, feeling better about things, Quin spotted a coramical! It was tucked away behind a piece of rock or coral, he couldn’t tell which. Whatever it was, he concentrated on reaching past it with the Force and gently pulling the coramical out, as he’d done so many times earlier today. At this point, it was effortless, and the tag was quickly put onto its horn. It swam away soon afterwards. His task was complete!

He would stay and help Elidan tag his last coramical before heading back to where Jes, Jaesa, and Tiberius were waiting. It seemed that the Nautolans had finished long before the Jedi had, but that didn’t bother him. This was their home, after all, and they would have known where to look to find the little creatures.

At Jes’s prompt, Quin responded with a quick, “Yes sir!” before the Nautolan went on. When Jaesa and Tiberius swam closer to their guide to hear about their next task, Quin glanced at Elidan before doing the same.

“You mean we’re going down there?” Quin gulped as he eyed the dark waters below the cliff. Jes dove down, confirming what he had said, and after a moment of hesitation the Padawan started to follow.

I hope these invasive species aren’t big…

@LouJoVi @logan2665 @lizziie

 

[Elidan]

When Elidan returned to near Quin, the half-Annfyn could feel that the other Padawan became relieved with his presence. He became confused with the reason why it happened, being totally oblivious to the other fear and guilty for having made him remember the events of Jakku. The auburn-haired boy didn’t blame him for it and wasn’t mad at the other boy. He only swam away because he wanted some time alone.

The half-Annfyn helped Quin place the last of his monitors on the coramicals. Elidan would happily accept the other boy’s help to place his last monitor in one of the colorful creatures. By using his Force ability, the auburn-haired boy was able to calm down one of these animals that was hidden among some rocks covered by corals.

While Quin held the coramical, Elidan would carefully place the monitor on the animal’s horn. When it was done, the half-Annfyn would signal for the other boy to release it. “That was fun.” he said, this time with his voice. After what they saw in Jakku, the auburn-haired boy had decided that he felt comfortable enough to talk near him. The Padawan would smile at the boy one last time before swimming to where Jaesa and Tiberius were.

Once they were reunited with the Knights and the Nautholans, Jes would explain what they were going to do next. Elidan had read how invasive species were dangerous for the indigenous ones. They could eat or replace them and without predators their population could grow without control. Dealing with them would be very helpful for the environment.

He heard Quin’s comment and turned to the other Padawan. Elidan smiled at him trying to comfort him. When the others were swimming away after Jes, the half-Annfyn stayed close to the other. “Well, it’ll probably be less dangerous than Jakku, and I’ll be there if you need.” he whispered, so only the other boy would be able to hear.

@lizziie @Sicadorito @logan2665

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

“Well, they do have the home field advantage here.” Tiberius stated in response to Jaesa. It seemed that Jes had also noticed that things were winding down and his voice could be heard as he began to swim closer to the jedi.

Tiberius watched the group of nautolans scurry off at Jes’ command. Tiberis followed Jaesa and the two closed the distance between them and the Nautolan. The knight listened for Jes’ response to Jaesa’s question. After telling the group of jedi that they’d be taking care of an invasive species the alien disappeared below the side of the cliff.

*Invasive species?* Tiberius though to himself. He wondered what kind of creatures they would be looking for. Were they cute and colorful like the coramicals? The knight hoped that these creatures wouldn't pose any potential for bodily harm to himself and the other Jedi. This mission had been so laidback that he would hate for that to be ruined. They had to do what they had to do though

Tiberius peered over the edge of the cliff into the dark void that now laid in front of them. The padawans were the first to follow Jes. Tiberius looked at Jaesa. “Better get going. Don’t want to get left behind.” With that he, too, plunged down into the blue abyss. While his comment was meant to be light hearted it was also true that you probably wouldn’t want to be left behind out here. Without a guide Tiberius would probably wander for days looking for his way back to town.

Tiberius caught up to Jes. “So where did this invasive species come from?” he asked as they continued to descend deeper and deeper.

Tag: @LouJoVi @lizziie @Sicadorito

 

[Jaesa Valerin]

Jaesa nodded and followed, though she hesitated briefly before following the rest of them over the cliff edge. The fact that she couldn't even begin to see the bottom made fear beat in her chest, but the Dathomirian forced her legs to kick and move along with everyone else despite it.

"We're not really sure," Jes would answer Tiberius' question. "We think their eggs ended up here somehow. They don't reproduce particularly quickly, but the parents relentlessly defend their youth, so the survival rate of the creatures' offspring is high. Anyways, here's the cave."

They came upon the entrance. It was less assuming that Jaesa thought it was going to be. It was no bigger than six feet in diameter, though it was irregularly shaped. The light only penetrated so far in, but she could see it widened a bit past the entrance when she looked further with the Force. She was getting the pulse of life from within the cave - it was definitely habited.

"Alright, and we'll come back here tomorrow to do what?" Jaesa asked, turning to Jes.

"This is the only place they've chosen to live, for some reason. They're killing the indigenous populations, so they need to be removed. Whether you remove them by capture or killing them, I will leave that up to you."

---

The next day...​

Jaesa would lead the others to the same location the next day, somewhat early in the morning, but late enough that the waters were lit up. All four of them would have a light attachment for their helmets as the cave would be too dark for them to see.

"I saw we go in and investigate first, then decide how we're going to deal with them," she stated as they hovered outside the entrance of the opening. "If it's going to be possible to remove them without killing the entire population, we should attempt to do so."

tag: @LouJoVi @Sicadorito @logan2665

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“It was. Thanks, man.” Quin smiled at Elidan, trying to pinpoint what had changed. For some reason, something felt different now. All of a sudden, he realized that his friend had just used his voice to talk to him. Somehow that, more than anything else, filled him with a warm feeling inside as he swam into the dark. He would wear it on his heart like a badge of honor.

When they arrived in front of the cave, Tiberius asked a good question about the invasive species. That would be a good place to start. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Nautolans knew about as much as the Jedi did on that matter, and it would be up to them to find out. Whether that was a good thing or not, Quin felt himself become a little more apprehensive.

Then Jaesa asked what they were going to do, and Jes’ answer was more or less what Quin expected. He exchanged a glance with Elidan, hoping that this task would go as smoothly as tagging the coramicals had.

---

This time, Quin stayed closely with the group and followed behind Master Valerin as they approached the cave. When she explained what the plan was, he took it in and nodded to show that he understood.

“Yes, Master.” He tried to peer inside the cave to see what was ahead, but aside from the part near the entrance, he couldn’t see much more. The lights on their helmets would certainly come in handy.

@LouJoVi @logan2665 @lizziie

 

[Elidan]

While he followed the others away from the cliff edge, Elidan paid close attention to what they were saying about the invasive species. Whatever was this animal, the circumstances surrounding it were very mysterious. He wondered how this creature could arrive on this planet without no one knowing or noticing.

When Jes mentioned that one of the possibilities of dealing with this species was killing it, Elidan felt uncomfortable with it. As far as he knew, they were living beings that arrived in an unknown place and were only doing what was necessary for them to survive. He didn’t believe that they as Jedi should kill these animals only because they were trying to find a new life. Moving them was the only solution that he was willing to do.

Then, Elidan noticed that Quin was looking at him. He could feel that his friend was apprehensive, perhaps fearing what they were going to do tomorrow. The half-Annfyn smiled at him, trying to comfort the other boy. However, he was also uncertain about the next day.

—------------------------------------​

In the next morning, Elidan followed the other Jedi back toward the cliff. He was wearing the same diving outfit from yesterday, but this time a flashlight had been added. They were going inside a cave with an unknown creature. Staying in the dark would not really help them in what they wanted to do.

The half-Annfyn nodded in agreement to what Jaesa had said. He felt relieved that the Jedi Master had wanted to find a way to remove the creatures without killing them. Elidan would do anything to avoid it. They should go there and investigate it immediately.

@lizziie @Sicadorito @logan2665

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

Tiberius listened to Jes’ answer, but the knight did not find it to be satisfactory. His brow furrowed and the corners of his lips turned down in disappointment. It seemed as though no one really knew what these mysterious creatures were or where they came from. Tiberius wondered if these mystery creatures had made their way to other parts of this planet.

Tiberius swam a little closer to try and get a better look inside the small entrance to the cave. The light didn’t penetrate very far past the mouth of the cave. The darkness was thick, but Tiberius noticed the shadowy figure dart back as he got closer to the entrance. He wasn’t able to tell what the creature was though.

The knight turned around as he heard the voice of Jaesa fill the brief silence. Her voice was followed by that of Jes. Tiberius nodded along as each of them spoke. It seemed that they had their marching orders for the next day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

The next morning Tiberius woke up and rolled out of bed. He felt a little bit of achiness in his muscles. Maneuvering in the water was a full body work out for sure. He slipped on his still slightly damp diving suit from the day before and then fit his helmet over his head. The only difference in his gear was the flashlight that was now affixed to the top of his diving helmet. This new addition would be very helpful for the groups caving expedition that they were about to embark on.

The door to Tiberius’ room made a “whooshing” sound as it opened and allowed him to exit his humble abode. He met up with the rest of the group and together they made their way back to the entrance of the cave. It seemed as though it was just the Jedi today. They had left the nautolans back in the town.

Upon arrival to the cave Jaesa explained their course of action. Tiberius nodded in agreement. “Sounds good.” Was hi verbal response. He looked over to his right at the two padawans and then back to Jaesa. “Well, shall we get started then?” He leaned forward and kicked his feet to propel him towards the darkened entrance to the cave.

Tag: @lizziie @Sicadorito @LouJoVi