Guys, there's an aquarium listed as a point of interest on Dubrillion!!! We're going to an aquarium!!! See cool fishies!!!! Emerald sharks and rainbow fish!!
There's also a superlaser facility. Which isn't as nice.
But we can finally go see something nice!! I'm not doing more research on the political situation, as not to get disappointed. We're going to that aquarium even if it kills us idc 🐠🐟🐡🦈🐙
The Planetary Shield Generator Facility, Dubrillion
For the past four decades, the Shield Generator compound had been off-limits to anyone without the highest levels of clearance. And that was understandable: it was the most important military facility on the planet after all, its integrity was paramount to Dubrillion’s security. But recent events—namely the Eternal Fleet’s bombardment—had led to the facility being taken out of the King’s hands by the Senate.
Today there was a large congregation inside the main building; many were reporters and their camera crews, but there was also a Captain from the Republic Military, a representative of the Senate, several important Nobles, and their retinues. These VIPs stood on a raised platform at the wall on the opposite side of the door.
Lucrezia Tomms, special reporter with DubriliNext news, waited for the press conference to begin. She had six years of experience as a reporter, and was no stranger to patience. Just like many of the other reporters waiting around her.
Blurred Lines: Cursed Past Chapter 81 - Dubrillion
we're finally back with the main fic :D
Ash and Guss arrive at Dubrillion andinvestigate the scientists inventions
Ash sat looking out at the hyperspace trails they had to go the long way round to Dubrillion as to not arouse suspicion so that had left her with rather a lot of time with the Mon Cal to her right and he wasn’t exactly quiet.
Guss continued to question her “so you and Gacen were quite close then?” Ash rolled her eyes how long was he gonna ask this sort of thing
Ash shrugged “I mean I guess we lived together for two years and I helped him escape prison” Guss nodded frantically as he sat in the co-pilot's seat
Guss asked “well it’s not like you talked about personal issues it was just a living arrangement” Ash frowned why had she been paired off with him
Ash answered “well yeah I mean he was pretty depressed so we got pretty real by all accounts” Guss seemed to stifle a question “look Guss if you’re worried I’m stealing your best friend spot I doubt that’s true Gacen may be my best friend but I doubt I’m his, he’s good at talking to people but believe me I don’t care about being his best friend” Guss seemed to relax a little
He nodded “right right right of course my bad sorry it’s just your so cool and well I’m me” Ash frowned looking to him he wasn’t wrong but still
Ash asked him “so why did you stay with Risha after Gacen was captured” Guss looked away Ash assumed he was embarrassed but it was hard to read his face
Guss hesitated “well to be honest it was the only place where I didn’t feel like a screw up, the rest of the crew had places to go back to but I couldn’t exactly go back to the Jedi Order” Ash’s eyes widened
Ash was surprised “the Jedi order? What do you mean” of all the people to be part of the jedi order or at least formerly Guss was at the bottom of her list
Guss held his neck “I was formerly part of the Jedi order but I never really took to it so my force affinity only ever stayed this way” Ash was bewildered as Guss lifted a small trinket a few feet in the air
Ash had seen much more powerful jedi in her time but still was surprised to see it “so you had potential to become a jedi?” Guss nodded as the trinket fell out of the air suddenly
He stood it back up “well yes but I wasn’t ever any good at ‘controlling my emotions’ so I gave up” Ash nodded she could see that it seemed like a rather intense training system
Ash was still curious about something “you said something about Force affinity what’s that” Guss was seeming more comfortable as they continued to chat
Guss answered “well there’s two types, types like me where if trained right we could be Jedi but otherwise have an innate ability to perform a few powers for me it’s the force levitation of small objects and minor healing. And the other is when someone just has the innate ability of a force power regardless of training, like natural persuasion or some kind of ability to see through illusions that sorta thing” Ash had never heard of this she wondered if anyone she knew or had known had possessed such a power. Guss continued “once i suggested Gacen had innate charming power but he thought it was an insult to suggest that was anything but himself being charming” Guss chuckled and Ash couldn’t help but smile that did sound accurate
Ash had to admit maybe Guss wasn’t so bad “I never knew you had a force affinity maybe you will come in handy” Guss seemed to not know whether to take that as a compliment or not
Guss brushed it off “so where are you from Ash if you don’t mind me asking” Ash frowned no one ever really asked her that
Ash sighed “I don’t really know I’ve been a soldier all my life, I never knew my parents” Guss seemed to shuffle back seemingly worried he’d crossed a line
Guss apologized “sorry I didn’t want to bring up bad memories” Ash shook her head waving it off
Ash groaned “oh please don’t it’s ok I don’t long to meet them or anything if they were cruel enough to leave me in a republic camp then I don’t think I ever want to meet them, and they certainly won’t have any bearing on my life” Guss nodded his smile returning
His tone was softer “well you know what they say you find your real family in your friends” Ash sighed great pity he may have a point there but it still felt like pity
Ash responded tersely “yeah I guess so but don’t worry I’m not grasping for some form of companionship I’m doing just fine, it won't suddenly make me ‘happier’ or anything” Guss nodded at her not pressing it any further as great as a family sounded she doubted it’d fulfil her desire to help people so what was the point
They sat in silence for the rest of the trip until the sound of the ship coming out hyperspace began and they watched the planet of Dubrillion come into view and vibrant planet of reds and greens with large expansive oceans with many white fluffy clouds populating the sky although in some areas those clouds seemed to take on more of a smoggy quality. But then she noticed the large capital ship hovering over the system, she’d read up on it apparently the turret on the bottom could isolate an area and send a barrage of concentrated laser blasts to it, such a weapon made her shudder.
Nonetheless Ash could see why Risha loved her home it was stunning she began piloting down away from the larger cities she could see to the coordinates Risha had given her of Armande’s workshop as they breached the surface Ash turned on the stealth landing in a field not too far away
She put a beacon down to remember where they parked “ok Guss get the personal stealth fields” Guss nodded heading off to get them as Ash planned a route to the workshop apparently his inventions were dangerous and not what he ever intended to make so they’d have to be careful, Ash could only imagine what error had lead to the turrets creation
She walked out to where Guss was waiting at the edge of the tall grass with the stealth equipment “alright just follow my lead and catalogue all we see” he nodded and they snuck through the grass which was providing ample cover
Soon they arrived at the ridge where a very manmade looking rock jutted out, Ash rolled her eyes this guy was not subtle, she got out the slicer gear and identified the console hidden behind some rocks.
Ash scoffed “I’ve broken into systems with triple layer encryption and this guy has a stack of rocks hiding his let’s just say I’m less than impressed” it was more embarrassing that this guy had captured her and Gacen but then again that was due to his bounty hunter friend
Guss responded “I suppose this must mean the inventions are all the more dangerous for him to have not been fired” Guss may have a point there but she wasn’t sure, nearby she noticed as two large rocks slid apart and she gestured Guss to follow. She sliced into the cameras as they walked in disabling them while they were inside as well as any alarm they would set off.
Soon they were inside and found an array of inventions on display she began to catalogue them down as did Guss, they ranged from all sorts of things, a renewable battery that actually was used as a bomb, an advanced shovel with a razor sharp edge and a conveyor belt that worked better as a garbage disposal.
Ash chuckled this was the definition of failing upwards, Guss called her over “hey Ash look at this mining vessel” Ash walked over to see the vessel which seemed more like spaceship to her
She looked close and saw it had been renamed submersible she looked at it “well it’s certainly not going to do any mining it would come apart against any hard metal, I doubt it’s amazing as a submersible either” what it did look like though was a quick escape vessel if they were caught out
Guss nodded “I suppose I could test that theory underwater would be less taxing for me than you” he joked “unless you have secret gills” Ash gave him an unamused look and led him away they continued to catalogue the bad inventions until they came to a seperate room
In it they saw a microscope on the farside of the room, Guss went over to it and read “Microscope capable of scanning what it’s looking at simultaneously to showing it” he bent down to the inevitable actual use “High power concentrated laser barrage” Ash’s eyes widened that was like the turret
She walked over and took a look the resemblance was definitely there “this is what that capital ship turret is based of we have to get this thing on record” Guss’ eyes widened putting two and two together
Guss smiled “well we should take it then so he can’t make anymore” Ash nodded that was a good idea but they should make sure it was safe, before she could however Guss had picked it up and a force field appeared around them “wooops” it flickered but seemed to work like a normal force field
Ash stared daggers through him “I was going to say wait it may be trapped” Guss shrunk down his lack of clumsiness was bound to run out at some point
A holo of Armande flickered to life weirdly not facing towards them “well well well trying to steal my prized possession I don’t think so I’ll be back very soon to see who has dared to enter my lab” Ash watched as amalgamated droids appeared from hatches around the room, well getting out of here wasn’t part of the plan but she could adapt...
Captain Beryl Thorne wandered the nearly-empty hallways of the Rineld estate, relishing in the newfound sense of security that had returned. It had been two days since Risha had surrendered to the President General of the new Regime. More than two thirds of the guards had volunteered to guard the prison she would be housed at, out of admiration for her courage at remaining behind on the world when she could have fled. Some handmaidens, clerks, and servants had also transferred over to the prison staff to serve her.
Jerre Kraot—one time hero, ace combat pilot, crack shot, and smuggler, current entrepreneur, husband, and father of three—awoke to find himself on the floor. Even to his own years, his groan sounded pitiful and weak. He could not open his eyes no matter how hard he tried, and his nostrils were inundated by the acrid smoke. A high-pitched ringing sounded in his ears, and he dully realized he was concussed.
How? What had happened? They had all been in the kitchen, cooking a scrumptious roast to commemorate his and Cedonia’s eighth-year anniversary. Alan—carefully supervised by his nanny droid—had been cutting some carrots and apples. Mark was playing his music box intently, listening to the chime-like notes as though they were the most beautiful things in the galaxy. Cedonia had been cradling their daughter Juunie.
Everyone had been so happy, so animated; joking and playing and singing. And then the crash of glass; something hurtled through his window at a high speed. He was thrown off his feet, hit his head against something round and hard, and his lights had gone out.
The Royal estate was visible on the horizon, looming larger with every second, and the occupants of the dropship went about performing their final checks on their kits. A disjointed chorus of beeps and bops filled the small passenger compartment as fresh blaster packs were loaded and safeties disengaged. Akaavi helped Daerren strap a jet pack onto his armor and gave him a helmet. Sumalee pressed the release on the doors and they opened.
Strong yelled into the cockpit. “Remember my request Stede. That shitbag King is mine!”
“Sure thing champ. Watch our backs today and you’ll get your payback.”
Pandemonium. What little order remained on Dubrillion was going down the drain. Anger was the law on the street.
For the past three weeks, angry throngs had torn down the few buildings which still stood, looting anything of value before squabbling over it. Blood ran like rivers at the slightest provocation, and the most damning ones at the moment were having worked for the government or nobility, or having once numbered among the elite. The term ‘elite’ was loosely applied, unfortunately, so even small business owners and shopkeepers were being rounded up and lynched.
Fires burned everywhere, and not all of those attempting to escape the fires were there by accident.
Elsewhere on Dubrillion, certain gang leaders were gaining prominence over others. Sometimes their followers engaged in brutal clashes, leading to horrific maiming and death tolls. But sometimes, they formed alliances, combined their power bases.
Vette was the most prominent voice for peace, just as she’d predicted. Those weeks spent running around getting acquainted paid off. Not to mention, many of these people knew that when their darkest hour had come for them, the only ones who had had their back had been the Alliance. Her belonging to that organization gave her a degree of protection.
But that was all the bright side she got. The extremists had begun to coalesce around six figures. Dannel Borrs, Vinden Leeds, Kaya Russell, Perry Shell, Orbal Days, and Vinna Row. These six combined boasted a huge following across the entire planet, and easily dwarfed Vette’s own moderates. And despite the best efforts of Vette, Risha, and all of their contacts, these were eventually able to form a government, which they called the Free Peoples’ Utopiocracy of Dubrillion.