Episode X Dark Hunter

Why They Were

The planet's terrain slowly became more detailed as they descended. Mountains and valleys were more visible, and settlements came into view. The grey terrain was dotted with small villages, rare and spread out, mostly nestled into the valleys of the hill country where the rivers ran down into bottomless lakes; lakes that currently froze over every night and thawed by midday. The lakes were access points to the thermal aquifers and would thaw before the rest of the planet. These aquifers heated the subterranean water forming hot springs that fed the rivers. Arkanian mountains could be seen in the distance on either side and were jagged and permanently snow-capped. Snow and ice forming from the high humidity built up throughout the year and created slow glacial movements downward, cutting more sharp valleys over time.

Currently, it was the planet's mild season, summer, and ice only formed overnight on the lowland hills. This was a relative heatwave for the Arkanians. Videsse took it all in and pondered the planetary details as she continued her descending approach to Adascopolis which rested about one hundred kilometers further.

"Huh? That's interesting," she muttered to herself, seeing an aberration in the landscape.

"What?" Cam replied, leaning over the console, his forehead coming to a rest on the viewscreen glass.

Approaching and then beneath them, five hills were artificially leveled and nestled like stubbed plateaus beneath the neighboring hills. On the flattened surface of these hills, which totaled at least fifty square kilometers, there were hundreds of structures; light blue-grey, durasteel, other curved shell-like cylinders, some spear-headed structures laying on their sides, angular frameworks, and vast flat sheets. Droid crews, massive droid crews, both in size and numbers were involved in construction; even from two kilometers above they could be seen.

"What's that?" Cam questioned.

"Capital ships," Videsse answered. She flew over them and slowed her progress slightly, hidden in her cloak.

"That's got to be a hundred," Cam whistled in awe.

"Nah, more like a dozen," Videsse corrected. "Capital ships are huge, Cam. They'll construct them in pieces, then probably take the segments into space to assemble."

"So, they're making an army?" Cam asked. He removed his forehead from the glass leaving a greasy smear behind.

Videsse rolled her eyes as she saw it.

"A navy," Videsse corrected again. "That may explain why we were denied entry, though that's just a guess." She pushed forward and resumed her previous speed. "Anyway, it ain't our problem right now." She stopped talking.

Adascopolis now came into view. It was a city sprawled over five hills; five hills that were indiscernible under its light blue-grey skyscrapers. Arkanian architecture was sharp and ice-like, giving the impression that the city was an isolated mountain range punctuating the rolling hills like icicle spires.

Videsse directed Slave-1 to fly around the perimeter, looking for a place to land and hide her ship, figuring that an alert would have been sent to any regulatory authorities that a Firespray starship evaded the Planetary Guard. Eventually, she chose a spot nestled in a dry valley a kilometer from the city's edge. Once beneath the cover of the hills, she dropped the cloak. Slave-1 materialized and steam vents released as it angled onto its stern for landing. Videsse and Cam now faced the sky. Well, Videsse did. Cam had slid and fell backward to the rear wall on top of the retractable seat which was now the floor. He thudded to a stop and an audible "umph". He was fine, but Videsse was tired of warning him to buckle in. She smiled to herself and brushed a stray hair behind her ear.