#gurlanin

[nereiix]

Truly obsessed with your creature designs. Do you have any personal headcanons for gurlanin native environments, like what caused them to look like that

Your art is badass

Thank you! 😁

I don't really have any headcanons, for anything. I just try to work with what exists and go with it. So, to answer your question, I've never really thought about it. Overall, their abilities seem overkill, based on what little we know about Qiilura.

Here is a gdan running for its life!

[gars-weaponeer]

Giving a second shot to how the Gurlanin species look.

Many artists like to portray them as canids, but I think a mustelid fits better. I added some mongoose eyes to make them look more alien. Also did you know Gurlanins have their ears on their snout?

[for-the-sake-of-color]

Jet and his GF Mary Ann chilling in her Natural Form

If she looks like a borzoi, well, yea. Gurlanins have no canon design outside of 'canine-like marsupial' so I took some liberties She really takes 'puppy girl' to a whole new level HA

[want your own art? hire me!]

[mortallyclearwonderland]

Star Wars Alien Species - Gurlanin

The Gurlanins were a polymorphic species native to the planet Qiilura. Qiilura had many islands with fertile soil, deep river inlets, rolling plains, deciduous forests, lakes, and gameboard fields. The planet also had gem mines, sources of zeka quartz and green silicates. The planet was home to a number of native non-sentient species such as gdans, merlies and vheks.

During the Clone Wars, Qiilura was the location of a Separatist biological weapons lab that was developing a pathological agent specifically designed to kill clones. During the Mission to Qiilura, Omega Squad—a squad of Republic commandos—was sent to destroy the biological weapons lab and, if possible, locate Jedi Master Kast Fulier and his Padawan Etain Tur-Mukan. Although Master Kast Fulier was dead prior to their arrival, Omega Squad was ultimately successful in destroying the lab after joining up with Padawan Tur-Mukan and enlisting the help of a native Gurlanin, Jinart.

Due to the Separatist droids burning the barq fields in the search of one of Omega's members, there was a galactic shortage of the grain, causing economic problems for both the Trade Federation and the already impoverished farmers who lost their crops.

After the success of the mission to Qiilura, a deal was struck between the Republic and the Gurlanins to remove the Human colony. The terms of the agreement specified that the Gurlanins, with their ridiculously effective espionage skills, would act as spies for the Republic, and the entire Human colony would immediately be evicted from the planet by Republic forces. For the members of the dwindling population of Gurlanins, this meant that the merlie herds would once again reach their previous numbers in the wild, restoring balance to the environment. Failing to keep their end of the bargain, a Republic garrison was established and led by General Arligan Zey and Commander Etain Tur-Murkan. Their objective was to train the Human colonists in guerrilla warfare in case of another Separatist attack. However, because the Separatists had no other interests in the system, all that the training and equipping accomplished was the further encroachment of Gurlanin territory by Human colonists.

Furious, the Gurlanins decided that the only way to get the Republic to listen was to grab it by the ears. An entire Republic troopship was destroyed due to information leaked to the Separatists by Gurlanin agents. This caused the Senate to immediately understand the tremendous threat the Gurlanins could be, and a decision was quickly made to remove the Human colonists on Qiilura.

The Senate Committee on Refugees was informed by Republic Intelligence that at least two, and possibly a much larger number of other Gurlanins, had infiltrated Coruscant, where they were in place and standing by to inflict significant damage to the Republic in retaliation for the continued occupation of Qiilura. Tur-Murkan, now a General, led a contingent of clone troopers to expedite the evacuation of the Human colonists. The colonists resisted leaving their homes, and openly engaged Republic forces with the militias trained by Zey and Tur-Murkan. The evacuation quickly became an eviction, and when clone casualties grew out of hand, Tur-Murkan regretfully gave the order to use lethal force, if necessary, to remove the remaining colonist hold-outs.

When the Empire rose into power, Qiilura was conquered by Imperial stormtroopers.

During the Yuuzhan Vong's incursion into the galaxy, Qiilura fell within space conquered by the invaders.

Gurlanin are largely considered mysterious and manipulative, and always dangerous. Changelings are regarded by most as beings untrustworthy, though the Gurlanin are very loyal to those they deem worthy of their trust. However, betrayal of that trust can earn a very dangerous enemy, as the Gurlanin are vengeful. The Gurlanin are noted as having some of the most pleasant, soothing voices in the galaxy, lending aid to their attempts at persuasion and deception.

In their natural form, Gurlanin are large, fourlegged canines with coarse black fur and no noticeable ears. Their mouths have a number of sharp, lethal fangs used for hunting small mammals on Qiilura. However, Gurlanin are meta-morphs, and can change shape at will, often appearing as whatever is necessary to achieve their goals.

Gurlanin vary wildly in height, and weigh about 80 kilograms or 176 pounds.

Gurlanins age at the following stages:

1 - 10 Child

11 - 17 Young Adult

18 - 45 Adult

46 - 60 Middle Age

61 - 74 Old

Examples of Names: Helabrus, Jinart, Tanclae, Valaqil.

Languages: Gurlanin speak to each other telepathically, but most all have learned Basic, to better spy on the local barq farmers.

[june-girl-86]

Chapter 33

Chapter 33 overview:

From Dar, Liara gets the information they need to find the other Mandalorians. But an old enemy of the warriors is on the planet and Din confronts him. Will he be able to defeat him?

Warning of violence

Pairing: Din Djarin x OC Female!

ReaderRating: Mature/Explicit (+18)

Warnings: Canon-Typical Violence / Love / Action&Adventure / Blood&Violence / Drama & Romance / Slow Burn / Fluff&Smut

When Liara opened her eyes, she was sitting with her back leaning against the trunk of a willow tree whose branches reached down to the ground like a curtain and almost merged with the green grass. The memory of Cara made her gulp, and Liara wasn't sure if she had imagined it or if it had actually happened. But she could only find out if she left this place, and most importantly, she had to find out where she was now. She pulled herself up the growths of the trunk and pushed the branches aside. Only now did the acrid smoke enter her nose and she could see the fire on the horizon. The forest was on fire.

"Ahsoka? Din?"

Liara ran a few steps away from the willow and looked around searchingly.

"Don't worry, you're safe here!"

Liara turned around startled, an old woman in a brown dress stepped out of the shadows of the tree. Her hair went down to her knees. So silver and fine, it reminded her of Nola. Her brown eyes radiated peace and security.

"I'm Dar!" she declared, gesturing for Liara to come back.

"Where are the others?"

"They brought you to me when they noticed your condition!"

Liara heard the cracking of branches where the fire was blazing.

"What's happening?"

Dar sighed.

"It's our future..."

A scream was heard, a familiar buzzing, and then she saw Ahsoka emerge from the bushes. Duncan followed her shortly after, he had one of Ahsoka's lightsabers and was on the attack again. Din was nowhere to be seen.

"We have to help her!"

Excited, Liara looked at Dar, but she shook her head.

"You and Din must get to safety. The Gurlanin has sensed his presence!"

Liara frowned.

"The Gurlanin lives in the depths of the planet, he hunted the Mandalorians. We didn't know about it, he seemed to be asleep, but when Din's grandfather's clan followed us here from Corvus, he woke up and started provoking and attacking them. They tried to avoid him, but the Gurlanin outwitted them and after two of them died, they decided to leave us again. Lean, Din's grandfather despaired, so I broke an oath. I sent them to Gelgelar. Ask for Dagli! In the temple of Kooroo you will also find the way to them. I tell you this because the crystal will protect you from the Gurlanin! He can't get into your mind!"

The sound of Ahsoka's screaming entered her ears again, and she watched the two struggle. Duncan seemed to have the upper hand.

"Tell Ahsoka to start the fire, it will save us!"

Liara looked at Dar questioningly. The latter smiled in spite of herself and the leaves of the willow rustled, changing their green color, to blue. And then Liara realized that it was not leaves hanging from the branches, but countless butterflies. Again it rustled, then they rose and fluttered away. Dar looked after them wistfully, before she looked to the forest, the part, which did not burn yet. And there too, the butterflies flew out and disappeared into the horizon.

"Somewhere they will find a place and the neti will be reborn!"

Dar put her hand on the bag with the crystal and Liara somehow felt that it had become heavier.

"There are a lot of good people in this galaxy, although it usually seems that evil takes over. They're just louder at first, until we raise our voices! Farewell!"

Din watched Liara, who was supported by Ahsoka, as they walked quickly back to the silver lining. When she had regained consciousness at the foot of the old willow, she had reported her sight and that Dar had shown himself to her. Cara's torment had taken quite a toll on her. He and Ahsoka hadn't noticed at first that she was no longer behind them, not until Liara started screaming. She had just stood there, eyes wide, but no other reaction. Din had taken Liara in his arms and carried her. It hadn't been far to Dar, fortunately, and there he had wrapped her in his cloak, as she had begun to tremble. Ahsoka had tried to wake up the tree, but except for the rustling of the wind, nothing had been heard until Liara awoke again. For a moment he had thought a face was staring at him from the dark bark, but it was only the blink of an eye, then it had been over again.

Now they climbed the slope, running cross-country, as Ahsoka feared he would be the first to lie in wait for them on the main paths. Din had never heard of a Gurlanin, but Dar's report and Ahsoka's knowledge of it worried him. Automatically, his hand went to his belt, feeling the grip of the dark saber. But Ahsoka had already explained to him that the danger of the Gurlanin lay in its telepathic abilities. He could use his favorite voices to sneak into the minds of others and make them listen. If it did not work with the voice, he changed his tactics. The victim received images that eventually disturbed him enough to make him an easy prey.

Liara tripped over a root, but Ahsoka held her before she could fall to the ground. In return, his cloak got caught in the brush and he helped her untangle it. Her hands were shaking and she was pale in the face.

"You need a break!"

Liara shook her head.

"I can handle it!"

She gave him a weak smile and the three of them continued rushing through the undergrowth. When they arrived at their shelter, Liara would have kept running, but Ahsoka insisted they stay.

"I'd sense him, so far there's no danger, and we'll need our powers if there really is a confrontation!"

Liara had leaned against Din's shoulder and was dozing. She was too excited to fall asleep completely. Instead, she listened tensely, and every sound made her even more nervous. The wood of the broken trunk cracked and she winced inwardly. Din seemed to sense her discomfort, put his arm around her and pressed her lightly against him. The contact actually calmed her somewhat and her tension drained a little from her limbs. Each of them, hung their thoughts, they listened to the wind howling relentlessly and blowing the fine drizzle into their hiding place. And then, suddenly, there was silence.

Din noticed Ahsoka change her posture, Liara also detached herself from his side and sat up straight. A dark hum followed, the cracking of wood increased, and Ahsoka rose. She looked worried.

"He's coming. The neti are warning us!"

When they crawled out of the tree trunk, they were greeted by a gloomy environment, the sky covered with clouds. The rain was blown away and the wind had died down. The air was fresh and clear. Din turned to the women. Ahsoka activated her lightsaber to see better.

"Go to the ship. He wants me, so I'll face him!"

Din looked after the two. Liara had tried to argue with him about it, but Ahsoka had agreed with him. The crystal had to be brought to safety, if it was injured, the Jedi could at least accompany Liara. She cast several worried glances back at him until she disappeared from his sight between the trees.

Din took a deep breath, put on his helmet and activated the night vision. Then he too walked on slowly, able to hear the creaking of the wood, the light wind in the treetops. How he gently rocked them back and forth. First he heard a buzzing, then a point of light blinded him. He had to deactivate the night vision. Now he noticed how the dot was followed by others, reddish orange, buzzing over the damp moss and making it shimmer. The fireflies flew up and down, back and forth, past him further into the forest, until the lights and buzzing disappeared again, leaving Din alone.

The wind had driven away the clouds, and the silvery light of the moon shone down, making the thin threads to which moisture clung shine. They stretched across the undergrowth, into the bushes, deep inside. Quietly something buzzed, desperately one of the fireflies tried to get out of the net, but it was trapped. Din felt the cold gripping his limbs. He got goose bumps and shivered. It was as if someone was standing behind him and breathing down his neck. Briefly his thought was when he saw the orange dots in front of him, that more fireflies were hanging tight, but these two dots just stared at him. Din stopped, instead the eyes approached and when they came out of the grove, they were surrounded by pitch black fur. Except for his eyes, the pointed silver fangs and claws on his wide paws, his fur camouflaged him perfectly in the darkness.

The Gurlanin opened his mouth slightly, flashing the remaining teeth. A snarl and rumble sounded from his maw. He pawed the ground with his right front paw. His eyes continued to focus on Din. The two did not move, waiting to see what the other did. The gurlanin wrenched its mouth open, but nothing happened except a hissing gasp. But then Din felt that chill again, and as if his counterpart had summoned it, light veils formed over the ground, growing more and more dense. The fog enveloped him like a cloak of loneliness, a white wall that he could not break through even with his various views in his helmet.

Din took off his helmet, hoping he could see better that way, but the white blinded him even more and tears formed in his eyes. Din blinked, needing a clear view to react. He took the hilt of the dark saber, the steady hum calming him somewhat as he activated his weapon. Din drove the saber through the mist as if he could cut his way through freely. But, of course, that didn't work. The orange eyes, however, pierced that wall and seemed amused at the Mandalorian's reaction. He had walked blindly into his enemy's web just as the firefly had.

"An interesting weapon you possess. Your grandfather was entrusted with it once before, but he and his clan were too weak. They ducked their heads and fled. Several times, rather than face the enemy. And these are supposed to be Mandalorians?"

Din winced as that voice spoke up in his head. It was surprisingly warm, deep. And yet there was a malice in it.

"He didn't want to fight me, I kept asking him to. He just didn't take me seriously. That's why I had to kill those two from the clan. But they were also so stupid. They were in love, left the camp without telling the others. They were such an easy target. But instead of showing the clan that he was a worthy leader, he begged the Neti. And those trees helped him pile on, too. I can't believe you are his grandson. Oh what I have absorbed this pain, received the dreams in which had suffered so when your parents died. His beloved son was dead and you were gone!"

Din swallowed and continued to listen to the voice in his head.

"I didn't even have to do it myself. It was only because of my encouragement that they killed themselves. Oh it was heartbreaking when they were found!"

It was early morning, the birds were chirping and the Mandalorian walked slowly through the forest. The morning dew glistened in the soft light that stole through the trees. The last haze of mist still lingered in the air, almost looking as if it were dancing in the sun's rays, welcoming the day. The warrior walked this path every day since they had set up camp here, and yet it was a new experience every time. He hoped they could stay here, offer the boys a future, and perhaps from here, continue to search for the other Mandalorians and most importantly, find his grandson again. A gnarly sound rang out. He frowned, wondering where this was coming from. He approached it, two long shadows had formed on the ground, moving slightly. His gaze wandered upward and the Mandalorian sank to his knees. The gentle wind rocked the two bodies back and forth against the thick branch. The man's cry caused startled birds to flutter from their hiding places into the blue sky, which seemed uninterested in the drama happening below.

"You should have seen his despair, this sadness, this pain. Oh the girl, sweet 16, she was only. And once again he had to say goodbye to a loved one, his granddaughter. Yes, this was your cousin. But if your grandfather's pain was already intense, then you can surely imagine how her father, his second son must have felt. That rage. He would have fought me, but the others stopped him. I tried again and again, but the neti ganged up on me, and one day they were gone. I couldn't feel them anymore. But they left them here..."

Din had received the images in his mind, even the feelings had been conveyed to him by the Gurlanin, and the same anger was building up inside him. Suddenly the fog cleared and as he looked to the side, he could see a large stone overgrown with lichen, standing between old tree trunks and already leaning slightly to the side. The orange eyes of the gurlanin had disappeared, Din was sure he was still near it, yet the stone attracted him. The moonlight illuminated the night just enough for him to see everything. When he stood in front of it, two names were inscribed in it, and the crest of the Djarin clan. And then, the writing was already very weathered, but he spotted it anyway and carefully ran his fingers over it: Tion'tuur mhi motir teg ibac mhi cuyir be'ida at an oyacyir olyaor, mhi sarna chaab (When we understand that we are connected to all living things, we lose fear).

Din clenched his hand into a fist and took a deep breath. He turned around, trying to spot his opponent in the dense undergrowth. He made a decision, he had never been this close to his family after Corvus, and now he would do what they had not been able to do. Perhaps he would have decided the same way, but the dark saber seemed to make him braver.

"And now you hide? Show yourself if you want to fight me!"

A muffled rumble sounded, as if the Gurlanin was laughing at him. And then he actually heard in his mind loud and clear.

"As if you could do anything against me!"

It happened so fast, then the dangerous eyes rushed at the Mandalorian. Din dove to the side, landed in a shrub, breaking its branches in the process, and swung back to his feet. Then he noticed the change. It became so cold again and not a breath of air could be felt. At first the ground trembled only slightly, then it vibrated more and more until a large chunk of rock broke loose from the earth and was hurled at him. The chirping birds hissed from his bracers and crashed into the chunk. The fragments fell down, but before they touched the ground, they stopped in mid-air, as if their movement had been frozen. A blink of an eye later, they were shot again. They hurtled toward him at a high speed, the task to injure him, to hit him fatally. Din activated the dark saber and actually managed to destroy a few of them. He was hit by the rest. In the beskar-clad places it was bearable, but unfortunately the Gurlanin had it in for his legs and Din sank to his knees, groaning.

"Are you going soft already?" it sneered in his head, vibrating in every cell of his body. Din stood up, gritting his teeth and sending out push prayers that his legs would not fail him. His muscles burned and the twitching in his limbs came at an inopportune moment.

"I thought you wanted to fight. All I see is you using your magic, but you yourself don't stand up to it!", Din yelped in rage.

"You won't survive!"

The gurlanin showed himself to him, baring his pointed teeth.

"No one said I would survive this. But if I do, I'll drag you down with me. And no matter how badly you hurt me, I will cut off your head and strip the fur so that it beds my grave!"

Din provoked the monster, aware of what could happen to him and thinking of Liara. Without her he would never have ended up here, found out so much about his family. He never thought he would fall in love with someone. But after Grogu had already cracked his armor that was around his heart and soul, Liara had done the rest and driven the darkness out of him. And Liara was strong, she would lift the rest of the way alone with the help of Ahsoka. With the hope that he would still embrace her again, he stuck out his chest, raised his saber and with the other hand he waved to his counterpart.

A terrible roar sounded, whistling in Din's ears, and the blade of the dark saber slid through the air, ready to strike. Din felt the weapon yearn to kill the monster towering before him. It was a strange feeling and he was only now aware of how magical, mysterious the saber actually was. He could understand Gideon, who had been after the weapon, and also Bo-Katan, who could demonstrate her power with it. Now he hoped that the power would help him.

But the Gurlanin was quick and ran him down. Din fell on his back, quickly picked himself up and tried to find his footing on the slippery ground. And then the Gurlanin tricked again, appearing several times before his eyes. But Din didn't see giving up now. Confidence surged through Din's heart, making him forget the cold around him, and this time he charged toward one of the black bodies. Only a short distance to go. When he reached the monster, he set to leaping. The seconds seemed to slow down as he hurtled towards his target, yanked back his saber and lunged to strike. Before the Gurlanin caught him, the blade sliced through the air and struck the beast's body with full force. But instead of slicing through the fur, penetrating the flesh, the weapon rebounded and Din was thrown violently against a tree trunk. The body disappeared, leaving behind a ruined tree through which the dark saber had slipped. Panting heavily, Din sat up, his back aching and his eyes flickering. Still, he could see the merciless, cold eyes and the mouth contorted into a grin. Din touched the bark of the tree, tried to get his breathing under control and tried, as Ahsoka had shown him, to make contact with the Neti. He apologized in his mind several times for probably killing one of their own and asked them for help.

The Gurlanin didn't seem to want to wait for Din to recover, sprinted off and jumped toward him. It was then that Din realized he had lost the saber and searched for it in a panic. As the sharp claws of the gurlanin ran across his chest plate, making a screeching sound that caused nausea to rise in Din, which then impaled itself in his legs, and Din gritted his teeth to keep from crying out loud, something strange happened. Time seemed to stand still, but the monster's eyes moved, penetrated his visor and stared at him piercingly. But in the next moment, a warm feeling rose in Din, caused by the tree behind him. It gave him strength and support to finish the fight. In the process, he now discovered that the gurlanin was tied up. The lichens, bushes and grasses, the branches of the trees had wrapped themselves around his body and slowly the prisoner also grasped his situation. He roared and sent Din terrible images of what he would do to him and Liara. But Din only pushed himself up from the ground and the dark saber landed with pinpoint accuracy in his open, tingling palm. Only after he activated it did the surprising thought flash into his mind of how the weapon had reached him. But Din had something to finish now and repressed it. He could still talk to Ahsoka or Liara about it later.

"Ke nu'jurkadir sha Mando'ade! (Don't mess with Mandalorian)"

The Gurlanin salivated with anger and his spittle dripped down his chaps.

"Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur! (Today is a good day for someone else to die)"

Din placed the saber against the neck of the gurlanin and slowly pressed it into the flesh. A few seconds later, the once dangerous orange eyes extinguished and became as pitch black as the fur around them....

_________________

@echos-secret-tattoo

[niner1309]

“Not even Kal Skirata had dealt with Gurlanins, it seemed, or if he had he hadn’t mentioned it. Niner liked them. He wondered what world they came from. It was bound to be a fascinating one.

- Niner meeting Jinart the Gurlanin in Hard Contact, page 139

[thesummerstorms]

Rev Recaps: Hard Contact (Chapter 2)

CW: None except some mentions of series-typical past violence.  LONG ASS POST beneath the cut.

TL;DR Recap:  Darman meets Jedi General Arligan Zey, Jedi Commander Bardan Jusik, and his new squad members. This blogger loves Zey entirely too much. The gurlanin are introduced and exposition happens. Jinart is vague. 

So this is the chapter where we first meet Zey, who is honestly one of my favorite characters, and Jusik... who is not. That said, Jusik is actually pretty likeable in this first introduction, probably because he’s not on screen long enough to be vaguely perfect and lecture people.

We actually hear from Zey before we see him. The quote itself is before he technically takes command of the RCs (they’re still in stasis) but is otherwise pretty standard fare for a Traviss novel. The one thing that got me to highlight it is that the attribution lists Zey not as a General but as “Jedi Master Arligan Zey, intelligence officer.” Raise your hand if you really want to know what Zey was doing before the war. 🙋‍♀️

Anyway, we’re back in Darman’s point of view again. The commandos are being briefed for their mission in a glorified fridge as “Fleet support”. 

Yeah, you kind of understand why the Nulls flipped out about going into stasis if not waking up because you were reconditioned in your sleep is apparently on the table. (I still have questions about how the Kaminoans could AFFORD to deliberately kill as many soldiers as this book seems to imply, but I’ll save it for later.)

I don’t know why this description of Zey tickles me so much, but I enjoy it. Zey, sit down and stop pacing, you’re making the commandos nervous. Also, he was probably actually better suited to taking Etain as a Padawan than people thought...

Anyway, Darman watches Zey’s Gurlanin contact for a while and then.Atin shows up and everyone is very focused on his scarring (which is still fresh at this point.) We know in retrospect that he got the scar when Vau cut him open, but the hell if I know how that timeline works out. It’s three months post Geonosis, the squad has been chilled down and then just woke up on Ord Mantell, and apparently Vau stuck his nose in there somewhere before this meeting.

Zey: “Padawan, stop. You’re embarrassing me.”  I don’t know, I just really love Zey, okay? But also, again, it’s been three months since war broke out, but for all that Darman’s thrown off by the terms of address, Zey feels fairly... comfortable/practiced at this?

Zey gives all the needed exposition on Qiilura, which I never spell right on the first try, and on Ghez Hokan. 

I think “Death Squad” is meant to be “Death Watch” here, especially given Hokan’s characterization and the mention  of being so violent that it’s a surprise this other violent group kicked him out. If it was clarified somewhere else that something else was meant, I’ll accept it, but in the mean time I just need everyone to reflect on how embarrassing and cruel you have to be to be kicked out of Death Watch. Because Hokan lives up to it,

I... I am pretty sure the commandos speak Basic. Just saying. Jusik is awkward as fuck, so I choose to willfully misinterpret this as “Jusik has another emotional outburst which leads Zey to have to pause in embarrassment, again. Dar misinterprets this as emphasis.” Darman already has some really weird, Kaminoan-taught ideas about Jedi so-

Zey briefs them about the military base, which Etain knows about on planet, and also the very specific anti-clone bioweapon being developed there, which she does not, and lets them know Fulier has been out of contact for “some weeks”. (Etain also doesn’t know there IS a war or a clone army, and the weird ass timeline here is a whole rabbit hole so I’m just gonna move on.)

We get to one of my favorite moments in the chapter:

“The situation is Nemoidians.” *is confused when Omega does not immediately understand his pithy comment* Zey also stares at Niner expecting discussion, which Darman finally provides because he’s worried Zey will feel embarrassed otherwise. Nemodian stereotypes baked into the setting aside, it’s a pretty great little piece of characterization.

Seriously, what the hell did Zey and Jusik DO before the war???

I don’t know, again, I just like the characterization here. Anyway, the commandos talk shop a bit, Dar notes that Atin’s wound is still “weeping” and has to hurt “like fire”. :( 

“Darman was embarrassed for him”. Dar then does some tech talk which leads Niner to decide he’s the demolitions guy. He notes that he “was happy to have the demolitions role”. Which I guess makes sense since commandos are cross trained for all the potential roles, but I wonder if he did that with Theta Squad too.

Okay, but again, I have so many questions about back story here. Jusik is a maverick or intended to be one from the get go, but ... why is he so protective of Fulier’s reputation as to become defensive when the Gurlanin starts talking shit? Is it just because he sees Fulier from afar as a kind of kindred spirit? Or have he and Etain and Fulier and Zey run missions before? 

Jusik’s line to Etain in Triple Zero about “I know you well enough now” [to sense her pregnancy] makes me think they probably weren’t close friends, and Zey’s reunion with Etain at the end of the book is “remarkably formal” from Dar’s pov, including calling each other “Master” and “Padawan”, not by names. But she also doesn’t ask who he is, so it’s possible they have worked together, I guess?

Anyway, Jusik breaks the news that they only have eight hours until the hit Qiilura. I’m resisting the urge to check my copy of Essential Atlas on this one, because KT has a history of not thinking about hyperspace travel times and that prior knowledge bugs me. Then we cut to Etain, who is hiding in Birhan’s barn, being vagued at by Jinart.

I’m super biased of course, but I’m interested in Etain’s relationship with Kast Fulier, so this passage just feels like a weirdly... dispassionate description to me, coming from Etain, Kast’s likely orphaned Padawan, who is alone and afraid with out him, and as we’ll later find out regards Kast as the “only person who’d shown her kindness” other than Darman. (Paraphrasing).

From a Watsonian perspective, you can probably make the argument that Etain is, if not in shock, still dealing with a lot of mental trauma and stress in a short time, and responding accordingly. But it bugs me a little that Etain’s thoughts about this person who would have been her whole lifeline in the order are so neutral to even slightly negative, especially when you compare it to Jusik’s slight line the chapter before. 

And  especially when you consider that these faults are also Etain’s exact faults that are also sometimes her strengths. Reckless compassion, a bit of self-righteousness, impatience, and an inability to walk away when she could do something about an injustice.

And especially when you compare it to Niner (and Dar and Fi)’s never ending praise and affection for and memories of Kal Skirata later in the book. And you can’t even make the case that it was purposeful/Etain’s relationship is more strained than theirs, because again, it gets so little development/mention (plus paired with the “kindness” comment.)

You know I’m biased if you’ve been on this blog long at all, but it bugs me.

Again, this is just to say... people give Etain a lot of shit but “ ...or get a data transmission out in her stead. She still had a mission to complete, if only to justify Master Fulier’s sacrifice.”

I still don’t 100% understand how this scene actually played out, practically speaking, especially as everyone addresses Kast Fulier as a Jedi MASTER, not even a Knight with the courtesy title of Master, but a Master in his own right.

We get some more info about Hokan, which still tracks with what you’d expect of a Death Watch drop out, and also again shows that Etain was pretty fucking exhausted/traumatized before Omega even gets there.

Again, people give her some shit about her break down or moments of inner turmoil at various places in the book, but if she’s been there since before the war was declared, she’s been dealing with all of this, largely alone, for at least 3 months now. And this in addition to the attempted assault last chapter.

Anyway, the chapter ends with Jinart vaguing, but it’s just ~foreshadowing~ so it’s not super important to anything.

My big take aways for this chapter are that I love Zey and I really need a prequel to this novel, to be honest. 

[englepsi]

Kai’Aati

A Sith Gurlanin I made for a Star Wars rp I’ve been on for far too long.