Even more participation I suppose
The team trudged off the path, following their new ally as she lead them quickly through the woods that seemed to open up before them now. The foliage and vegetation was drab, as if something had sucked the color out of it, leaving the plants and the planet as a whole somber; a hollow shell of a past life full of vibrancy. Their new ally chattered amicably as they walked, warning them to be careful climbing over fallen logs or to watch their step so they wouldn't trip on roots. It might have been a pleasant hike if not for the pressing sense of urgency to find information and the oppressive feeling of something being incredibly off about the woods. Eventually they made their way to what looked like a small broadcast station in a clearing, paint peeling and windows all but boarded up, and yet the towers and antenna looked well kept. "What's the deal with this?" Syeriane looked up at the tower that seemed to stretch impossibly tall. "The tower?" Their friend asked. "Well they all need to be operational to bounce the signal, but the buildings don't need to be manned anymore. Everything is automatic, so the buildings at these stations are in pretty rough shape."
"Who mans the stations?" Mal asked. "Or, who did?" Bexxa paused for an uncomfortable moment before yanking open the door. "My people. But... they're mostly gone now." She held the door open, gesturing for the team to enter. "What... happened?" The yellow Paladin turned to look at her from inside the dark one room building. "Well, um..." She looked down and seemed to consider what to say. Raising her head with a sad smile, "You don't exactly need entire civilizations on a planet that's basically a radio repeater for Galra propaganda." "Oh." The black Paladin seemed to understand the distress and felt it best to not consider the next question of family. "You run this place by yourself?" Jas looked around at what was in the room, noticing a panel of buttons and one wall covered in paper with chicken scratch all over. Old transmissions caught over the radio, corresponding with advances and planet captures. "Pretty much." The door squeaked shut and Bexxa moved to the sheets over what small windows there were, letting more light into the room. "Occasionally I drag someone in, but people are few and far between." She bundled up the sheet. "And scared..." A deafening screech ran out through the building. All the Paladins covered their ears, wincing at the piercing noise. Bexxa rushed across the room to where the blue Paladin stood next to the panel, quickly pressing a combination of them. The noise stopped suddenly and everyone's eyes fell on her as she looked at Jas. They exchanged a look at it became evident that in an effort to investigate a button had been pressed that triggered the noise as an error. "Don't do that." She said quietly. "Have you been writing EVERYTHING down?" Waffle asked, shifting to look over the wall of all the hurried writing. "How long have you been at this?" "There's stuff up here I've never even heard of." The red Paladin turned around to find her standing there awkwardly. "I paid more attention after I realized how valuable it could be... and then when you guys started saving the world I," She set the sheet down and moved between Waffle and Syeriane to pull down a map. "I started this." It was a map of the Galaxy and Galra command. Planets and locations marked with received transmissions and correlations between when the action was completed if ever.
"This is amazing." Mal stepped forward, hand coming to touch the map and trace over the additions. "You did this for us?" "Yeah." Seemingly pleased that the Paladins appreciated her work, feathers began to rise which Bexxa slowly coaxed back to flat. "Imagine what we could do if we had this on the castle ship!" Syeriane exclaimed. "Would we be able to use your data?" "Of course... you can use the whole system!" Looking animatedly at all the Paladins, their new ally practically vibrated with excitement. "I believe that we may be able to predict where the Galra will be before they are there. And also!" She pointed enthusiastically. "These marks indicate planets and settlements where there have been uprisings or a decrease in security, so potential liberations and allies are... well they're practically written out here!" "We need to get this to the princess!" Sir smiled. "This kind of information could win the war!" "Does it work every time?" Waffle asked. "Do they know you do this?" Jas looked almost baffled. "How do you fly under the radar?" "Does anyone else know about this?" Syeriane jumped in. "Well, nothing is perfect. Sometimes plans change suddenly, but I've tried to reflect that, and for the most part if you wade through all the chatter and propaganda there's really good information. "I've been able to get away with it for the most part because our planet isn't a very big threat being such a small population that lives in fear so, the galra don't really pay much attention to what happens here. Aside from broadcasting what you call 'the soap operas', there's no outward sign that the radio waves are being used for anything suspicious, and even those are mostly dismissed by the Galra. "I've had mild to moderate success with getting those broadcasts to reach other planets, who then can decipher a message embedded in each one. It's hard, because I don't have all the facility to broadcast much farther, and I worry that my information falls on deaf ears. No one can really send a message back that they receive them or understand..."
"You send encrypted messages out on the radio waves?" The blue Paladin shouted. "That's crazy..." The black mused. "Shit..." Waffle breathed. "That is fucking sick." Bexxa flushed and her feathers fluffed under the praise. "I wanted to help..." She mumbled.