LANDFALL | TAVIMBI | FEBRUARY MINGLE LOG

[ironwood]

Characters: ALL!
Date: January 27th to ???
Location: City of Hatal, Tavimbi
Situation: After anchoring Tu Vishan to the coastline of Tavimbi, the city of Hatal welcomes kedan and Foreigners alike.
Warnings/Rating: Add warnings as needed.


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The southern port city of Hatal is used to getting its fair share of visitors, so after the initial surprise of having a continent-sized turtle washing ashore and parking there like it's going to be a while, the Tavimbians recover with admirable poise and begin processing the new arrivals through their customs procedure. After providing a basic summary of their informátion (age, species, duration of tenure on Tu Vishan, and list of "potentially disruptive abilities") they'll be issued a pass stamp, which they must keep on their person while in Hatal. It's made of a brassy metal, a little larger than a credit card, and inscribed with their information, their date of arrival, and whether they've had any run-ins with the laws in Tavimbi (it will be stamped accordingly by the authorities if such happens.)

Once that's all taken care of, visitors will be welcomed to Hatal!

OOC: There are starters in the comments for various areas of Hatal, or you can use the rest of the post for anything on Tavimbi which doesn't fit under those headings.

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LINKS
Hatal Exterior - The Metal Heights | The Causeway Level | The Reservoir Level
The Artery Level | The Lorn Level | The Jagaiz Rings | OOC Post

Comments

[ironcoin]

"Good luck with them," Charako says laughingly. "I don't mind the Sabonile by and large, but they've got some ideas that just don't mesh with how things really work. I'm all for revering Hapoyela, but I can't let it stand in the way of progress."

Charako nods at the question. "I'm heading to the main chamber shortly," she said. "You can tag along, sure. And the Xunutane is part of a web, would be the easiest way to describe it. You've got something similar in your world?" Her green jewel-bright eyes gleam hungrily.

"Don't suppose you'd feel like sharing more details on that?"

[hadthehighground]

"In a sense, yes."

He was most grateful that she was willing to allow him to tag along. Obi-Wan also certainly didn't mind sharing details either. It was a fair exchange of information after all. Thus he launched into it as they walked along.

"We call it the Force. It's an energy field that connects all living things. Some, like myself, are able to sense and manipulate its power."

[ironcoin]

She's intensely interested in that. "All living things?" she echoes. "Even people? How do you sense it? What are the requirements for being able to sense it? And manipulate it how?"

[hadthehighground]

Obi-Wan nodded at the initial questions. Yes, even people. Her enthusiasm bringing a smile to his face. He can relate with her eagerness to learn. He is much the same way.

"I can feel it's energy, just as I can the Xunutane's.Those who are sensitive to the Force are born this way. Though it takes a considerable amount of training to use it effectively. As for how, there are many ways to use the Force."

With that he reaches out to summon a tool nearby to his hand. He didn't often give demonstrations of his abilities but in cases like this it was easier than trying to explain.

"I can also feel your presence and sense things before they happen."

A watered down explanation really. It would take a long time to go in depth.

[ironcoin]

Charako whistled in appreciation of the talent. "Now that's quite a trick," she said. "I know other people come from places that have magic, because we get a lot of visitors from other continents, but it's still a sight to see. You know I have to ask though, what does my presence feel like?"

[hadthehighground]

While he didn't care much for his abilities being referred to as magic, he knew that was the easiest thing people could relate with when it came to the Force. Thus he often let that slide. Just as he will now.

"Energetic," was the first word that came to Obi-Wan's mind. "I sense an admirable intellect and a pride in your work."

[ironcoin]

Charako beamed at the descriptor, because she had worked hard to reach her position of foreman with the Dexedi, largely in part to those very qualities Obi-Wan had listed off. And sure, it was possible that he was just attempting to flatter her, but she could hardly claim to be entirely immune to flattery once in a while. Her work didn't leave much time for a social life, some days.

"Bet that comes in handy more often than not," she surmised with a smile. "Then again, I'd be happy just to do that trick with the spanner you just did! Having my tools come zipping over to me would save me a lot of time. Don't suppose that's something you can teach?"

But then she came back to the original reason Obi-Wan had approached her. "The Xunutane is through here," she said, opening a large metal door to the inner chamber where it was housed. There were metal supports all around it, and it was very large... some people were quite taken aback by its size, when they first saw it. A metal catwalk ran around the exterior of the room, on which were mounted many devices and sensors, and two banks of monitoring stations occupied the far wall.

"Well, there she is," Charako said, pride evident in her voice. "The heartbeat of Hatal. Beautiful, isn't it?"

The crystal radiated no heat, though the light pulsed very gently, sending rainbow fragments of light bouncing off the walls and metal constructions around it.

[hadthehighground]

Obi-Wan certainly wasn't above using flattery, especially where it was deserved. He was coming to like this Dexedi quite well.

"It certainly has its uses," he admits with a smile. "And if you were sensitive to the Force, absolutely. Otherwise, I'm afraid not." He would likely be able to sense it if she were, though that wasn't the only way to test if someone was able to use the Force. "Though since your Xunutane feels similar, there may be all sorts of possibilities."

When they stepped into the room, Obi-Wan had to pause in awe as he beheld the giant crystal. It was certainly a sight, that was for sure. Not only for its mass, but the sheer beauty of it as well. "Oh... yes," he agreed with a bit of child-like wonder. He then looked over at Charako again. "I don't suppose you would allow me to meditate here for awhile?"

[ironcoin]

Charako looks interested. "How do you tell if someone's sensitive to it?" she asked. "Not sure why the Xunutane would feel similar!"

Obi-Wan's request gets a perplexed tilt of her head, but she nods. "I don't see why not," she answered. "So long as you're not going to be in the way of my workers."

[hadthehighground]

"There are a few ways to tell. The Jedi have a variety of tests that can be performed. Also, there are usually signs such as faster than normal reflexes."

He then shook his head in assurance. "I promise I'll stay out of your way. I'd like to see if I could somehow... 'talk' to the Xunutane through the Force. Perhaps that might shed some light on why it feels similar."

[ironcoin]

Charako laughed at his explanation. "Oh, you sound like one of the Sabonile now, thinking that the Xunutane is something that can be spoken to. Still, I've no objection, so long as you don't try to physically touch it, so stay behind the walkway railings."

[hadthehighground]

He had been expecting that comparison actually, and he could only smile. The Sabonile and the Jedi were very different but they did have a few similarities.

"Of course. And I won't be long. Thank you for your hospitality, Charako."

With a polite bow, the Jedi Master moved away from the Muin though being sure not to go far and to stay well within sight. Stopping at a railing, he placed his heads on it and breathed in deeply. The Jedi then closed his eyes as he began his meditation. Calming his mind and focusing, he mentally reached into the Force and felt his way to the Xunutane.

[ironcoin]

Privately, Charako hoped the Foreigners stayed around Hatal for a while. Obi-Wan was a very charming ambassador for them, and she was learning so much from them.

At the Jedi's mental inquiry, the Xunutane doesn't really react. There's nothing that would indicate any kind of sentience or presence other than an energy, other than conveying that it was quite old and part of a significantly larger power-- like this crystal was only a node of it.

Should Obi-Wan attempt to trace the pathways that link the Xunutane outside of Hatal and to the other cities' crystals, however, it will cause a reaction in the power output, making the lights flicker and the conversion generators to whine with the change in source, making some of the Dexedi workers around the room give exclamations of surprise.

[hadthehighground]

So it wasn't alive, though he hadn't been expecting it to be anyhow. Not in the traditional sense. But there was that power and the fact that the Xunutane was only a part of a broader web. He did indeed follow the pathways, curiously exploring where they went and feeling the other crystals in other cities spread across the contingent.

However, the results of his probing aren't immediately apparent to him as he has to concentrate quite hard on what he's doing. The flickering of the lights and the surprised Dexedi going unnoticed. Somebody might have to shake him or something to make Obi-Wan snap out of it.

[ironcoin]

And that intervention does come a moment later when Charako, having rather quickly put two and two together, grabs Obi-Wan by the arm and thumps him a good one on the shoulder. "Hey! Stop that, whatever you're doing!"

[hadthehighground]

And just like that he stops, a bit startled at the thump to his shoulder. Opening his eyes he looked around and then to Charako.

"Forgive me. ... Did something happen?"

From the way he spoke it was clear he hadn't expected anything to and truly hadn't meant any harm.

[ironcoin]

She stared at him for a moment, as if trying to decide whether the question was serious. "Yeah something happened," she finally said. "You made the power feed... do something. My sensors went crazy for a moment. What'd you do?"

[hadthehighground]

"I was tracing the network. I could feel the crystals in other cities," Obi-Wan explained.

"Your Xunutane is quite amazing, but it seems to be only a small part of something much bigger and more powerful."

He then paused as the fact that he had unintentionally caused a panic sunk in.

"My apologies, I didn't realize it would do that. I hope it wasn't anything permanent?"

[ironcoin]

"All of them?" Charako seemed startled. "In so short a time? It took us years to properly map the entire web."

She shakes her head at his question. "No, it looks like it was a temporary glitch in the flow, it's already leveled off."

[hadthehighground]

"Yes, I believe so."

It had been quite the amazing and vast network. He didn't doubt it had taken them that long to map it.

"Oh, good. Though I wonder why it reacted that way. As much as I'd like to study further it seems best not to."

He certainly didn't want to interfere with the workings of the city after all. The Xunutane was the lifeline of their civilization.

[ironcoin]

"I wouldn't mind attempting it again, on a much smaller scale and in a more controlled setting," Charako replied. "But for now, let's avoid doing that again. If you'll excuse me, I have some people to go calm down."

[hadthehighground]

Obi-Wan bowed politely as Charako excused herself. With one more look at the Xunutane, the Jedi decided it was time that he did the same. So he showed himself out.