Saga - PT Notes from the Field [exploring non-Human cultures for the 2021 Fanfiction Summer Olympics]

@JediMaster_Jen, @AzureAngel2 and @Thumper09: Yes, the Children's Table is definitely The Best Place To Be. The conversation is always more interesting, the participation more positive, and sometimes there are even crafts! I always learn something cool there. (This is one of the big reasons why I went into Youth Services library work -- I can play games, read fun books, do crafts, dress up in costume, and I get paid for it. Best Job Ever!)

Heh. Good question. From what I've found via research, most of the older Iyra aren't terribly impressed with anyone beneath their status, so I suspect it's a case of "You kids don't know how good you've got it -- when I was your age I had to WALK to school, and it was five miles uphill in a blizzard both ways every day...!" They're probably convinced that the whole galaxy is being run into the ground, so to speak.

I'm hoping to actually get her hired by the University of Sanbra at some point after she finishes her doctoral degree, and possibly become a co-collaborator on The Guide to Intelligent Life.

It's almost as if she planned all that....


Thank you to everyone for commenting!

 

love those entries about exploring eight-limbed races

 

Stepping for the first time into one of your threads, I'm realising that I really need to spend more time on the boards because this is AMAZING stuff. The droid! The birdies! The faux spat with the Togruta! The Iyra! And, most, most, most importantly, the Gungan myth!

All of your ficlets here are fantastic writing, but the Gungan myth had so much depth and such a real-life vibe, I am simply speechless. Plus, it was made great use of the prompt – I initially expected that the fantastical bit was the myth itself, but then it turned out that it was taking place in the story's "real life".

Vestri comes across as such a good scientist, competent and humble at the same time, and with a healthy dose of geekdom, as the following exchange shows:

I just loved the way she manoeuvred herself into the place where she wanted to be.

You'll be seeing me in your other story threads as soon as I'm on vacation, but meanwhile, I'll still be here patiently waiting for more!

 

I'm a great supporter of octopuses in real life (won't eat them, for starters, but also love to visit them in aquariums, and hope to meet one in the wild someday). I wonder if actual octopuses feel the same way about us as the Iyra do...

Thank you. I was a little concerned that people would be rolling their eyes over "more Gungan stuff," because I do write about them frequently, but people seem to like this one. It's sometimes difficult to think of what could possibly be "fantastical" in the Star Wars universe, because there's so much technology and otherworldly creatures (and Star Wars itself is really more fantasy than science fiction), but meeting an actual deity seemed to fit the prompt. It was a toss-up between this story and another piece called "Cross-Training," which will be posted at the end of the decathlon, as to which was more "fantastical," but the other piece fit the "AU Archery" prompt better, so here we are.

I wish the [blush_face] icon was working, because that would fit here. I'm pleased that you have enjoyed my stories thus far.

Vestri does believe in doing her homework, that's for certain. I think that listening and observing is more important to a scientist than talking, particularly when dealing with people and cultures.

Thank you for commenting!

 

Considering that real octopuses punch fish for no reason and can be overall huge jerks, I'd say they're exactly like the Iyra when it comes to feeling about us That said, I'm also a huge cephalopod supporter and absolutely won't consume them but greatly admire them, which is why if they decide to take over the world, I have no objection to that and humbly welcome our local underwater alien overlords.

 

We do have an Octopus Respect Thread here at the JCC. Of course, it includes some rather tasteless humor, but there's plenty of genuinely good (and actually respectful) content as well.

 

"Library Rescue"
1500 Word Dash: A 1500 word story about your character, family, friendship or couple with any theme.​

“We have a bit of a . . . conundrum,” Querth Enon stated.

Vestri eyed his translation device. “What kind of conundrum?”

“I have met a most singular individual,” Querth replied. “He – I suppose you could say he followed me home and has asked for our help. Come and meet him.”

Vestri had been sitting at a café table across the street from the bookstore she had been exploring. Now she packed up her books and followed the Ithorian back to their hotel. “I was looking around in one of the greenhouses,” Querth explained, “in case they had a rare species, and much to my surprise, they did! But I don’t think they intended him for sale. The staff may not have even known he was there.”

Entering his hotel room and closing the door behind them, Querth said, “Vestri Dain, this is Kethuthasing. He is a Revwien. Kethuthasing, Vestri Dain, Human.”

Vestri found herself facing a two-meter-tall orange plant. Kethuthasing’s elongated pepper-shaped body stood on four large leaves that served as legs, each ending in two curling “toes.” Five more leaves midway up the trunk also ended in curling fibers; two sets were intertwined, like a Human lacing their fingers together. A cluster of tiny bud stalks supported a clear oval dome where a Human head would be.

“Greetings, Vestri Dain,” Kethuthasing said. His voice sounded like a set of strummed hallikset strings.

“Nice to meet you, Kethuthasing. Querth tells me you’ve asked for help. What can we do for you?”

“My people have learned of the Jedi eradication,” Kethuthasing said. “Those of us who practice Tyia are now searching the galaxy to find and assist any Jedi we can. I was fortunate to stumble across Jocasta Nu, Jedi librarian and archivist. She is assembling a collection of found or rescued Jedi resources. I was supposed to pick up the bundle at a local bookshop, but all the owner had for me was this.” Kethuthasing held out two slips of flimsi.

“’I have had to deal with uninvited guests’,” Vestri read aloud. “’This of course ruins our party plans’.” The word “ruins” was slightly smudged. “’So you must carry on without me. Do your homework, then follow the Jedi’s code and give the speech’.”

The second flimsy held a quote:


“Those who set a course and cannot adjust their heading
Will break upon the rocks as surely
As those who sail heedless of direction.
We cannot change the direction of the wind.
Nor can we afford to be blown whichever way it chooses.
We act; we decide; and we are acted upon.”


The quote continued, but Vestri stopped reading. “We’ll do our best, Kethuthasing. Let me get my team together, and figure this out.”

A few minutes later, Vestri had rounded up and briefed Aonda, Daggari, Neshu, and Zeta. Fitting everyone into the room was a challenge, but they finally arranged themselves on the beds around the flimsy slips.

“Observations?” Vestri suggested.

“Four words are smudged,” Daggari pointed out. “’Ruins’, ‘Jedi’s Code’, and ‘Speech’. There might be some significance there since nothing else is smudged.”

“The word ‘ruins’ has two meanings. There are a set of ruins here on Kalabrad. I took a tour yesterday,” Neshu stated.

“So the books could be hidden there?”

“Yes, and extremely well hidden,” Neshu explained. He drew out a pocket holodisk and activated it, displaying a series of stone walls and buildings. “Several parts of the ruins contain stone ‘doors’ built into the rocks. The tour guide said the doors are activated by sound, even after hundreds of years. He demonstrated how they worked by blowing a tune on a mouth-pipe, causing one of the doors to swing open. They’re almost invisible unless you know exactly where to look. And apparently some of them can still be ‘programmed’ to open for specific sounds.”

“All right. Let’s see if we can figure this out, and then we’ll go sightseeing,” Vestri said. She looked back at the flimsi. “’Follow the Jedi’s code, and give the speech’. Does anyone here actually know the Jedi Code?”

“I’m not sure that’s really what it says,” Aonda interrupted. She pointed. “It says ‘follow the Jedi’s code. Singular. One Jedi. Probably Jocasta Nu herself. Her code must be on this paper.”

“The dots,” Neshu said. “Some are in the margins, others under or over words.”

“So, what order do we use? All dots above first, below second, or vice versa, or what?”

“Start with single dots, then double.”

“All the single dots, or just the ones on top?”

“If I may,” Zeta interjected. “I can do this much more quickly than any of you. I will try the different combinations of single and double dots, above and under letters. Give me a few minutes.”

Ten minutes later, Zeta said, “The most promising possibility seems to be single dots above, double dots above, single dots below, double dots below.” She began to recite letters:

“k-n-o-w-i-n-g-o-t-h-e-r-s-i-s-i-n-t-e-l-l-i-g-e-n-c-e-k-n-o-w-i-n-g-y-o-u-r-s-e-l-f-i-s-t-r-u-e-w-i-s-d-o-m-


After some debate about lines and punctuation, the group produced the following

“Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.”


“Good work, Zeta,” Vestri complimented the droid. “Now we just need to visit the ruins.”

“They seem to be open to the public at all times,” Neshu said. “They’re not a big tourist draw, apparently.”

“Good enough,” Vestri said. She picked up the bookstore bag. “I’ll just bring a carrier and some camouflage.”

~*~*~*~*~​

The ruins were a 30-minute walk outside the city. “We should probably make sure we have the place to ourselves,” Kethuthasing remarked. “If someone was following Jocasta Nu, they might also be keeping an eye on this place.”

The group spread out, searching; the ruins seemed to be deserted. Once everyone had regrouped in the middle of the stones, Vestri turned to Dagarri. “Give the speech, Daggari.”


The Togruta began,

“Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom….”


For a moment, nothing happened. Then stone grated on stone, and a small portion of the rock wall slowly opened. Peering into the dark space, Aonda reached in and withdrew a bag. It contained half a dozen books.

“Collected Poems, Prayers, and Meditations on the Force,” she read from front covers. “A History of the Lothal Temple. Wayseeker’s Journey. The Chronicles of Brus-bu.”

“Definitely Jedi texts,” Kethuthasing stated. “Jocasta Nu must have hidden them here when she was pursued by the Empire.”

“How would she know to do that?” Daggari asked.

“The Jedi Archives go back thousands of years,” Neshu replied. “They might well contain information about these ruins and its doors.”

“Now we just need to get these off-planet with Kethuthasing,” Vestri said.

Querth nodded. “Leave that to me.”

~*~*~*~*~​

“Do you know anything about plants, Lieutenant?” Querth asked.

“I know they make up salads,” the lieutenant replied. “Otherwise, no.” The Ithorian and a pair of Imperial troopers stood in a loading bay for out-bound ships.

Querth nodded. “These are my samples from Wild Space. Some are edibles, some are medicinals, some are ornamentals.”

“Okay. Manifest says you’ve got 157 plants in – “ the trooper consulted his datapad “ -- 149 containers.”

“Really? We gotta go through the whole list?” his companion complained.

“No. I think we can just count the plants.” The helmet turned to Querth. “They’re all tagged?”

“Of course.” Querth escorted the officers through the small forest of greenery, pointing out the highlights “—possible cure for Begro’s Fever; this one produces amazing flowers; might be able to gene-splice this one for pest control….”

The troopers paused in front of a planter containing a large orange pepper-shaped plant. “This one’s huge!” the second trooper commented.

“If I can get it to flower, it will be the pride of my collection!” Querth enthused.

“Well, good luck with that,” the lieutenant remarked dismissively. “I think that’s all of them.” He signaled a loader. “Get ‘em on board.”

~*~*~*~*~​

After liftoff, Querth and Vestri wandered down to the cargo hold. “How are you doing, Kethuthasing?” Vestri asked.

“Well enough. I have plenty of nutrients in this soil, and as long as I’m watered occasionally, I will be fine. I think it best if the package stays buried for the duration of the voyage.”

“Agreed. I’m sorry we can’t offer you better accommodations, though.”

One of the large leaves Kethuthasing used as arms waved dismissively. “I have been in worse places.”

“Fortunately, I have to tend my plants during the trip, so we have an excuse for someone to stop down and keep you company,” Querth said.

“And I would love to hear more about Tyia,” Vestri added.

Kethuthasing warned, “One of my other assigned tasks is to spread the doctrine of Tyia whenever possible. You may get more information than you bargained for.”

Vestri grinned. “I’m a Sentientologist, Kethuthasing. I study cultures. Everything influences culture – biology, history, geography, philosophy, mathematics – everything. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no such thing as useless information. Tell me whatever you think I need to know.”

End

​

Note: The Revwien were one of the species noted in gizkaspice’s Xenobiology Challenge, and they just seemed like such an interesting group that I couldn’t resist.

https://www.starwars.com/news/welcome-to-the-star-wars-jungle
https://swse.fandom.com/wiki/Revwien

For another story featuring the Revwien, see Thumper09's piece "Going Within, Going Without"

The final rendition of the code phrase in this story is from Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching:

“Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.”

The "Those who set a course" quote on Jocasta Nu's message is attributed to Oz Ladnod, Poet to the Royal Court of Onderon, published in Collected Poems, Prayers, and Meditations on the Force, a book I would very much like to add to my personal library. In actuality, the quote appears in Guardians of the Whills, by Greg Rucka, which chronicles an adventure of Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus on Jedha shortly before the events of Star Wars: Rogue One.

 

love how they saved the plant-species from the imperials

 

Great job! I saw when you signed up for the decathlon that you were planning on doing an entry with the Revwien, and I've been looking forward to seeing what you did with them.

I like that Jocasta Nu would be trying to find and collect Jedi texts to protect them, and I love that Kethuthasing as a Tyia practitioner is helping her. For some reason I can picture Jocasta duking it out with the Imperials over her books.

It was fun seeing the group trying to figure out the code on the note and how many different variations there could be. Good thing Zeta was there to help out. I liked the "set a course" poem a lot - I might have to track down that Greg Rucka story.

Querth had a good idea for how to get Kethuthasing past the Imperials. Now I'm thinking the Revwien might make good spies and smugglers with a trick like that. And by helping Kethuthasing with his mission, Vestri is not only learning about other cultures, she and her team are actively helping to preserve an endangered one.

Great job! Looking forward to more!

(Thank you for the plug! That's very generous of you. )

 

This was fan-tas-tic. I didn't know anything about the Revwien and this was the best introduction I could have hoped for, meeting him amidst Vestri's band of sentientologists who have proper manners and know how to behave themselves, as in:

This is a tiny detail in the story, but it's got to be the best introduction between two characters of different species I have ever seen.

The Jocasta Nu/Jedi texts plot was delightful, and Querth's plan to "hide" Kethuthasing in plain sight and, under him, the Jedi books was such a smart twist. Somehow I feel that the plants will be overwatered, what with Vestri coming to the cargo hold to learn about Tyia

 

Thank you. The Revwien were a new species for me, too, so we don't delve too much into their actual culture. Thumper09's story does a lot more of that.

That was a subconscious move on my part, but it makes sense, now that I think about it, since the Revwien homeworld is off the beaten hyperspace lanes, and Kethuthasing might not actually know what species Vestri is. I guess it's kind of egotistical to think that everyone in the galaxy would recognize a Human on sight....

The Jocasta Nu bit showed up in one of the Star Wars comics at one point (I think it was a Darth Vader title, but I'm not certain), so that's quasi-canon, I think. I have some friends who are gardeners and otherwise know a lot about plants. The rest of us recognize a salad when we see it, so I suspected the stormtroopers might not realize who/what they're looking at.

Thank you for reading!

The Iyra are new to me as well, so I'm happy to have received them as my challenge. I'm hoping to do more with them, or at least with Tem Eliss, in the future.

Thank you for reading and commenting!

Thank you. Querth is a pretty clever fellow, a fact that he tends to hide under a "pacifistic plant guy" exterior.

Thank you. I was a bit concerned that I was going to inadvertently steal plot points from your challenge response, but I read the first section you posted and it seems our two stories are really nothing alike. Looking forward to the rest of yours, by the way.

Do not mess with books when a librarian is around! Many of us consider protecting books to be a sacred duty, and we will fight you for them.

Rucka's story was published as a small hardcover, and I think it was aimed at middle grade readers. If all you want are the poems and prayers, they are collected here. I do recommend reading the book, however.

I hadn't thought of that, but it's a good idea. Someone should tip off the Resistance....

You're welcome. As both a librarian and a writer, I believe in supporting writers. Plus, as I mentioned, I read the first part of your Revwien story and liked it, so of course I'm going to recommend it to other people.

 

Excellent! Loved how the team came together to figure out the puzzle.

 

I love how you can take an alien species and wrap a story around it so good it belongs in some kind of a SW storybook A great take on the Revwiens!

I kind of wish real world plants would just directly tell silly people who can't take care of plants these simple instructions

 

Liked meeting all of Vestri's colleagues. Awesomely inventive way to retrieve the Jedi texts.

 

Thank you. Everyone should play to their strengths -- it allows for some very inventive problem-solving.

Thank you. With only 1500 words, some of this seemed a bit rushed, but I'm glad to hear it worked.

The Revwien seem overall to be friendly and curious, especially since they don't have a lot of connections with the galaxy as a whole. As for the stormtroopers, well, sometimes bias is its own punishment.

One of the reviewers above commented that Vestri is likely to be so fascinated by Kethuthasing and Tiya that the poor Revwien is going to end up over-watered.... I'd like to think Vestri would be more careful of the Jedi texts than that, since books and water don't tend to mix very well.

At the moment I don't, but that could change if an idea presents itself. Thank you for reading and commenting!

Thank you. That's high praise indeed! And now I wish that I had actually taken Botany in college -- my emphasis in my Bachelor's Degree work was on science writing, but somehow I didn't studying anything on plants outside basic biology. Well, I can always take a course at my local college, I suppose.

 

"Misunderstood"
400 Word Cross Country: 400 words about your character or couple with any theme.​

Two hand-axe throwing competitions and some good-natured insult-swapping later, a pair of Gamorreans were sitting at their table.

“I mean, everyone thinks we’re all stupid,” Orp Gusnoff grumbled. “Just because some of us ended up in dead-end jobs with Hutt gangsters. Me, I wanted to go into engineering. Could I get a college to accept me? Nope. I actually had one rejection letter accuse me of lying on my application, because of course ‘everyone knew’ Gamorreans didn’t have the brains to do this kind of mental work. Unbelievable!” He threw both hands up in the air.

His companion Eentat Vondrarf nodded. “Yeah. My brother writes poetry. Good poetry, too. Can’t get anything published. Editors think he plagiarized someone else’s work. It’s disheartening.”

“Believe me, I can relate,” Aonda remarked. “People look at me, and they think either ‘exotic dancer,’ ‘personal body slave,’ or ‘expensive escort service.’ Because those are the only jobs a female Twi-lek could possibly do. And when I try to explain that I’m a doctor working as a field medic, I get some variation on ‘Hey, babe, I got something you can examine right here, hurr hurr hurr.’ It gets thoroughly frustrating!”

Orp shook his head. “That’s just not right. Did any of ‘em hurt you?”

“No, they were… shown the error of their ways.” Aonda smiled.

“Last couple of jerks who did that to her won’t be doing it again any time soon,” Vestri assured them.

“And if they do, they’ll have to do it while singin’ soprano!” added Daggari Hekoth, the Togrutan weapons enthusiast, grinning. The Ganorreans roared their approval and slammed their mugs against hers.

Eentat leaned over and handed Aonda a piece of flimsi. “Here. You ever decide you want a full-time formal bodyguard, you call my niece. She’s looking to move into that line of work. Tell her that Uncle ‘Ee’ sent you, she’ll give you a good rate.“

“Thank you, Eentat. I’ll keep her in mind.” Aonda tucked the flimsi into a belt pouch.

“Shift’s starting soon.” Orp rose. “So, you guys gonna be around tomorrow night?”

“No, sadly we’re outbound for Mydasos,” Vestri replied. “We’ll be doing some field work there, with a race called the Phylodon. Mysterious folks, by all accounts. But we should be back through in about six months or so.”

“Right. Look us up on your way back through. Drinks are on us next time!”

End​

Notes:
This story was inspired in part by this post in the Appreciation for Underappreciated Characters thread. Because it was just such a great idea.

Links for anyone interested in learning more about the Phyolodon and the Mydasos, even though they don't actually appear in the story.

And yes, as a matter of fact, Gamorreans do indeed write poetry. Shame on those editors….

 

great piece to show the Gamorreans in a different way .

 

Too bad the Gamorreans and the Twi'lek have to deal with such stereotypes. Excellent entry.

 

Awesome! and I'm afraid I'm in the camp with those who never thought Gamorreans would or could write poetry ... Aonda's frustration is understandable and all too common I'm afraid even in RL situations. Thanks for sharing this.

 

Great job! Y'know, when Eentat mentioned his niece, I admit it surprised me a bit because I never really gave much thought to Gamorreans having families or, for that matter, I realized I never really hear much about female Gamorreans. Mostly it's the stereotypical "male guard" like Eentat and Orp are talking about. (With the exception of Piggy with Wraith Squadron, but Piggy was admittedly a much different case.) I imagine it's got to be frustrating for them dealing with in-universe people who have blind spots like I do OOU. I also liked that Orp and Eentat were genuinely concerned for Aonda's safety, which further distances them from the "brutish thug" type of characterization a lot of Gamorreans seem to get. I hope Eentat and Orp, as well as Aonda and the rest, are all able to break through those stereotypes in whatever they choose to do. Excellent work!

 

Nice to see the Gamorreans and Twi'lek in a different light and to bring to attention the discrimination they, and probably other species, face in the GFFA. I think SW has a habit of assigning a stereotype to each alien race which I really hate because there's so much diversity of roles humans take that it makes no sense for another species to only take one or a few.

 

I would like to mention that other than writing poetry, Gamorreans also have opera that consists of deep grunts, snorts and growls.

As someone who has written a Gamorrean before (although mine isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer) I was really happy to see them here and this story is a fantastic little fic about stereotypes and discrimination. I had to laugh out loud at the idea that the dudes who harrassed Aonda are now singing soprano but also at the Gamorreans' reaction. These two are smart, but they're not above axe-throwing and kicking someone in the sensitive parts!

It's a shame we won't see the Phylodon in this story, because they sound really interesting, but I'll keep an eye out for them in your other fics!

 

I was surprised at just how much their culture has been expanded over the years. You just never know....

Thank you. I think the TV Tropes description for this is "Planet of Hats," where every member of the race is basically the same. If we have this much Human diversity on Earth, why wouldn't other races have it, too?

I had no idea they wrote poetry before I started researching the Gamorreans, either, so ... yeah. Someone somewhere needs to invite them to a Poetry Slam or an Open Mic Night.

I suspect many of us have had to deal with stereotypes in our lives, and it is frustrating.

I hope so, tool. Somewhere in the back of my mind is a mini-story in which Aonda does contact Eentat's niece and discovers that not only does she do bodyguard work, she also has a certificate from a correspondence school and wants to eventually become an accountant....

Agreed. No one race should be all one thing. It's the members who are different who are the most interesting. At some point I would like to write about a Zygerrian who, say, runs a restaurant instead of a slavery ring, for example.

I had no idea about the opera. Kind of like Klingons in Star Trek, I guess.

I'll have to look for that story.... The "singing soprano" bit was a way to suggest something without actually stating it (and therefore not pushing the TOS here at TFN). I'm happy that it worked. And yes, these two guys are kind of like teens -- bright, but with an, um, interesting sense of humor.

Something to think about for future stories.

Thank you to everyone for reading and commenting!