driftfleet | Let's all hold hands and sing Kumbaya

_{[ He reached out and grasped said hand, giving a firm shake. ]}

Oh, it's been good. I'm a captain again, so some things are back to normal - as normal as they can get anyways.

I'm just so glad we're on a planet with sunlight! I didn't realize how much I missed trees.

_{[ He laughed at his joke, shifting to walk beside Poe along the path.
]}

Congratulations on the promotion here then.

Yeah, this is great. Compared to the last place, really great. It actually reminds me a lot of the planet I grew up on.

Really? That's interesting. I like to imagine this is what a prehistoric Earth would have looked like.

Did your people live in trees too?

You think? I've never been to Earth or even heard of it, so I'll take your word for that. But this? A lot like Yavin 4. My dad had a ranch there.

Nah, the only people I know who live in trees like this are the Wookiees and the Ewoks.

Ah, so you're a farm boy too?

_{[ He grinned before laughing as the fluff slug tickled at his neck.
]}

What are Wookies and Ewoks?

Through and through. Though both my parents were retired rebel alliance fighters. Mom taught me to fly practically before I could read.

Wookiees are these big, tall, and furry aliens. Ewoks are small, short, and furry aliens.

I lived with my uncle while my mom went out with my stepdad to do missions for the Fleet. It wasn't much of a farm, really, but I suppose it still counts. To be honest, I spent more time getting in trouble than doing farm work.

Do they live on the same planet? I'm sensing an evolutionary theme here if they do.

My dad didn't put up with that kind of trouble making. But he made his living off the ranch, since the pensions from the Alliance weren't exactly great.

No. Wookiees are from Kashyyyk, Ewoks are from Endor.

Well, uncle Frank didn't really want me there in the first place, so he wasn't all that concerned with my performance level. Which makes me think you're probably more of a farm boy than I ever was.

Hmm, interesting. I'll have to keep them in mind for when I get back on my own ship. I was on a five-year mission to explore unknown space, so maybe we'll come across them.

_{[ He turned his head slightly, thinking he had heard a rustle of
something, but shrugged it off. It was a forest, after all, things rustled.
]}

Ah, gotcha. That sounds like a bad situation. [He grins briefly.] Always thought of myself as a pilot first and a farmer second, but probably.

Where are you coming out of, then? Kashyyyk's pretty well known, though they're still not that welcoming for visitors thanks to the Empire.

Hah, we keep having more in common. I'm Captain way before I'm the farm boy from Iowa, though Bones loves to tease me about having eaten to much corn as a child.

_{[ He rolls his eyes and shakes his head fondly at the mention of his friend. ]}

I'm coming from Earth - the Milky Way system. I never heard of an Empire until I came here and spoke with Obi-Wan and Ashoka. Kashyyyk and probably your entire star system is unknown to me and mine - for now, that is. Now I'm rather determined to find my way there.

_{[ He grinned broadly, though his head turned again, steps faltering the slightest bit as he looked back, sure he had heard something this time. Naw, he was just being paranoid. Get chased by one giant crab monster once in your life... ]}

Huh, I don't know that one. But I think there are a lot of people here from Earth, right?

Maybe we're in different galaxies even. That's my best guess.

Yeah, I've noticed that. Different versions, but a lot seem to share similar histories.

Probably. But that just gives me a reason to keep pushing out beyond ours.

_{[ He grinned brightly, but that sound came again, and he was sure he heard a hiss this time. He frowned, reaching out and touching Poe's arm, pressing a finger to his own lips to signal for quiet. When he spoke, his own voice was soft, not quite a whisper. ]}

I think there's something following us.

Huh. That sounds weird. Though things are a little apparently a little weird with timelines from my own universe, from what Finn's told me.

[He gets very quiet, slowing his steps so he can listen. And... yep.]

Yeah.

Look for a tree. [Climbing is a better bet than running if it's something big.]

_{[ Kirk muttered an unintelligible curse beneath his breath and nodded,
glancing up and thinking quickly. He tapped Poe's shoulder and pointed to a
thicker tree nearby that looked like it had thick branches a good distance
off the ground without being impossible to climb. He held up a three
fingers, counting down. When the final finger fell he burst in a sprint for
the tree, hearing a screech behind - pursuit no doubt. He didn't look back
as he made for the tree and leapt up, grasping with his fingers, wincing as
bark tore into his palms and he scrambled upwards. ]}

[Poe's a little more used to running away from large animals, though certainly not ones quite like here. He makes sure Kirk gets ahead of him and runs on his heels, ready to give him a push up into the tree if necessary. He grew up on a forested moon, after all. He's pretty good at climbing for someone that doesn't have claws of anything.

But that screech sure is something. He knows better than to look until he's several branches up.]

Never seen anything like that before.

[It's big, it's scaley, and he's going to keep climbing just in case it can climb too.]

_{[ Yes, good idea Poe. Higher is better, and even if whatever's after
them can't climb, it probably has a nice vertical jump. He did not want to
be within jaw-snapping distance when the creature tried either, and at
least from a height advantage they could kick it down. Hopefully. He
scrambled onto one that looked thick enough to hold him and possibly Poe if
necessary, finally looking down at the creature that was trying to make a
meal of them. ]}

Uh - I think that's a dinosaur.

_{[ It certainly looked like one, hissing as it paced at the base of the
tree, reptilian eyes that were far to intelligent for his liking eyeing
them. ]}

What the hell is a dinosaur? [Other than -- really big. And hungry, apparently. Poe jumps upward to grab another branch and get further away from the thing.]

And they can't climb trees, can they?

They're animals that went extinct millions of years ago on my planet. Scientists theorized they looked a little something like that.

_{[ He glanced down at the creature slowly pacing, not liking the
cunning rumble that emanated from its chest. ]}

I sincerely hope not. But I think since it didn't immediately follow us up, there's a good chance it can't. But I'm fairly sure it can jump, so let's keep high. Hopefully it loses interest before long and looks for something in easier reach.

Well. Guess you can let your scientists know they were right.

[This is... sure a thing.]

Think it would help if we threw some branches at it?

_{[ It really is. This is Kirk's life, Poe. Literally 45% of it is
getting chased by crazy creatures and he has no idea why. ]}

No, I think that would antagonize it. Last thing we need to do is give it an incentive like revenge.

_{[ He grunted and shifted to make himself comfortable on his branch,
pulling the small pack he brought around to his front and working out a
canteen. Unscrewing it, he took a swallow and offered it out to Poe. ]}

Closest thing I could find to a brandy or a whiskey here. I think we might be up here for a bit, so might as well get comfortable, right?

[<a href="http://driftfleet.dreamwidth.org/362133.html?thread=77775509#cmt77775509>continued here</a>]

Let's all hold hands and sing Kumbaya

Re: B

Re: B

/sneaks some foreshadowing in there

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