One Loth-Wolf, Two Padawan, Three Jedi, Four Younglings, Plus Vorts! (( note ^^ indicates translated into Standard, << is mental ))

** Jedi page ** ** Vortigaunt page **

The Vortigaunts did not immediately understand the words that were spoken, but they clearly knew it was speech and not merely animal noises. It would be Bahhsan's job to begin interpreting their languages - multiple tongues, such a varied group! They had similiarities to the Vortigaunts - two legs, at least two arms, a head, eyes and ears. Some had antennae closer to their own side-facing tubes, only placed atop their heads! And a few had features obscured by feathers or fur, some were more bare but had added tentacles or lobes to their craniums. One was on four feet; but all of these new arrivals glowed so strongly with vortessence that all four Vorts happily reached out with their minds.

Bahhsan felt one mind in particular, belonging to a red-skinned male having large peaked shapes and tentacles on his head, and aimed a careful thought. <<We welcome you to our camp.>>

He clearly heard her mind, and was not confused as to its source. He quieted the others in his large group, and stood closer. But then he also beckoned two smaller ones, the heavily furry one, and a paler yellow-green female. He appeared to be conferring with them. Kaggat cleared his throat, indicating Bahhsan and Tahndarr beside him, then held his two main hands in a symbol with his third below: a triune, which the green shaded girl indicated eagerly to her elder. The furry one gave off a broken croak, her voice as well as language was radically different than the other girl's. But still: it was language, not guttural grunting.

The male stood taller, and the girls faced the Vortigaunts with him, less confident or bold, but definitely just as curious as Tahndarr was looking back at them! Bahhsan took her place beside Kaggat, and couldn't help but give a little pleased shake to her head at the bouncing Tahndarr. The youngest of their group was all but humming with the same excitement as that little green skinned girl!

Syruk, Raycholokli, and Ciizla seemed to calm themselves, breathing at a slower pace, the younger and smaller ones trying to match their elder's audible inhale. Obviously clearing their minds, the trio then assembled their Vortessence, visible to everyone - though only the four Vorts called it that.

<<Thank you for your guidance,>> the adult said, his mental voice was oddly muted toward the Vorts, but soon enough they would hear him more clearly. Joined as it was by the pair of younglings, he added, <<What is this place?>>

<<To easily answer you,>> Bahhsan replied, with the aid of her own companions energy, <<let us flux shift, let our minds merge enough to understand one another.>>

Though they didn't understand her just when she said it, it was Ciizla who asked her furry friend aside, ^^they can do that?^^ and obviously the reply was a rumbling assent.

From one three-fingered hand first to the furry one, then the five fingered gloved, and another small five-fingered hand with little grasping cups on each finger's end; the touch lit the air with energy, the blue glow from Bahhsan's eye and aura swept between them all. The girls looked around in amazement, the Wookiee giving off a high chitter, as their adult companion drew in his own surprised breath and opened his eyes widely.

^^What are they doing?^^ Asked the tall female with the long conical head.

It was the small feathered one who assured her elder, ^^they are not attacking, they're friendly!^^ She among them was so highly empathic that she would often hold back with things like this: the connection she had with all life was part of her species, after all. And they were often on their guard, a bit too easily swayed or brought to tears. Here though, these creature-people were as measured and calm as could be, though obviously held their own excited commentary with one another.

When the trio of Jedi were free from the sweeping Force that had encircled them all, they knew that the others had a different word for it. Vortessence. But it was the same, the essence of life bound together, manipulated by those who could master it, but affected by all creatures.

"Show them next!" Ciizla exclaimed with a happy clap, it was the most boisterous her companions had ever seen her! "They will understand!"

Three by three then, including Crux who carefully inserted himself into their mix, the Jedi and the Vortigaunts offered each other their minds and languages. It surprised Bahhsan that while some of them couldn't speak the Wookiee language (in particular anyway) everyone understood it. Probably their companions would have a similarly difficult time forming the long slow growls, the super-low-frequency rattling, and the deeply resonant calls that Vortikind shared with those 'Wookiees'. But to know what most of their sounds meant, that was likely already part of their culture; she and the Vorts now knew that this varied group were but a tiny fraction of those races represented from their home worlds.

Only Crux seemed a little left out, but he too spoke in 'standard', though he still preferred to mentally connect even with the Vorts. "There are threes, but for me," he was much taller than Kaggat but came to the elder Vort, "they were three but for you, too!" It was clear that some of the group had discovered more than merely how to translate the words they heard...

"Then I wonder, who might complete our triune?" Kaggat chuckled, and scritched the Lothwolf behind one of his immense ears - which Crux seemed to like quite a bit. He liked it even more when the Vortigaunt told him, "Interesting, your name means Found, in my tongue."

Nearly everyone paused and waited before erupting in chatter. How could the Lothwolf name mean the same thing across what appeared to be dimensions let alone different species language?! It was Mochifa that again said, "the Force binds us all, truly."

**

The exploration of this weird biologically-active world was now far more fun. With people who could levitate small objects or cast them with telekinetic force over larger gaps than could be jumped across, they found their way to the floating islands that had evidence of inhabitation. Crux did want to explore, but he was also best at listening for dangers - and there were plenty of dangers here. From above, from below, from the very 'trees' and 'rocks'! It turned out that Crux's large ears could easily detect when one of the big spires was ready to burst out from the ground, or if the huge slow-flapping manta-like fliers was going to make a diving pass. One of those beasts could eat their entire group, with one gulp!

Gravity seemed quite odd on this place too, a concept that some of the group didn't really latch on to until they nearly jumped too far over a gap. Timing their landings would be essential. Or, as Dararm and Jargra both pointed out, they could use the guide wires that had been carefully placed by 'whoever had been here before them', to get around without fear of drifting between the floating islands forever.

The dynamic between the disparate Force and Vortessence users was actually surprising and helpful. Bahhsan and Mochifa Ne had much in common, both of them determined to make the most of their situation and their charges, uniting their groups with impressive direction; also they encouraged Ivah'dasa to suggest courses of action. Dararm fell in easily with Kuwwippuy as well as Jargra, providing apt physical defenses when those weird tri-legged canine things with a face of insect-like eyes came too near. Kaggat, Syruk, and Eshnur easily exchanged ideas and helped pass them along to the students. Tahndarr hooked up with the eager Dari and excitable Ciizla to do a lot more unusual stunts and exploration. And Crux kept Raycholokli near him; she was sensitive as he was to the ways of creatures, she could help him spot those dangers and even command some of the local animals to stay away!

Each of the ones from their far-far away world realized that the Vortigaunts were at least as strong in the Force as their own powers were Vortal. When Kuwwippuy had to break out his twin force blades to fend off a weirdly aggressive plant (one might never think that would be necessary?) each of the Vorts took note. They discussed these light-sabers and light-knives; asking how did they work, and more importantly how could they find their own?

But it turned out the Vorts already had the component most needed: a crystal! The younglings of the group of Jedi watched with wide eyes, as Kaggat removed the red, green, and violet colored crystals from his belt pouch, and then as the other three showed off their own discoveries of yellow, electric blue, and brighter green. Though it seemed to put off the elders of the Jedi group, Kaggat's red crystal 'showed no inclination toward the Dark Side' according to Mochifa. Perhaps it was drawn toward blood, as the others would also be drawn toward healing and even focusing other Force energies. After all, Kaggat was an instructor on their homeworld, not-quite a master of any skill set but certainly adept enough to help younger children find their own path. He was 'drawn in all directions', but for the moment he wanted to direct those crystals into beams of pure light.

"We lack the typical components that made up our own," Dari commented, "but there are so many pieces and even that tooling bench over there," she indicated the local structure, meant for people about her size and clearly for a five-fingered species. They knew that because there were doors that had hand-shaped locks on them. While they could press their hands on those locks, Syruk, Mochifa, Dari, and Eshnur's hands were not 'recognized' by the mechanism. Obviously the Rodians hands didn't quite suit the task either, Ivah's three fingers (outnumbering the Vorts by a whole digit, while they had thumbs rounding their quantity out, they only had two spindly fingers) nor the Wookiees hands would fit. So they opted to try finding other ways of getting into those sealed locations.

They judged that the last time anyone had been through these structures was over a year, traces of life that had been left sitting around were in states of decay, and Raycholokli recognized the signs that they didn't kill and eat the local wildlife, rather the spare food had been sitting around, and the local animals left spoor.

So they figured, why not break in? Such a thing was hardly above many Jedi's abilities, and they were not so high-and-mighty that they would wait it out in the hopes that their creators would come looking. Having a more formal shelter might be nice too! So they chose one of the structures that had a workbench and a small drill press, lathe, and other such tools fit for making the complex items needed for a lightsaber. Or, of course, for making things that the scientific labs nearby would use, break, and recycle... It took little effort on the part of Kuwwippuy to slide his thin light blade through the gap of one doorway, and though they all held their breath wondering if an alarm might sound, none came.

They entered and carefully assessed the area. There were a great number of small pieces of metal, rubber gaskets, all manner of tubes and materials to work with. "None of us are masters at this," Mochifa reminded them all, "but we all made our own lightsabers."

"I haven't made mine yet," Jargra muttered, and Ciizla elbowed him. But she also echoed the sentiment... They would set out with Raycholokli to find their own locally-sourced crystals, but only after it was clear that they worked for the adults. Plus, they hadn't been given the go-ahead to even start that process. They weren't padawan, they were younglings still. It was a rite of passage that only one of them had done yet.

As each of the Jedi had learned, the Vortigaunts would find the 'right equipment' for their needs. How would their hilts look? What intensity would their beams glow, if they did at all? They did use parts that had been strewn around, but also a few bits here and there that were part of the natural area. The spongy membrane of one of those 'pad hopper' plants in particular, when torn off or cut carefully, and heated a bit, then doused with the brilliant shiny blue water, made for excellent comfort padding. It might even have worked well for insulation, doorways, or other such coverings, Dararm and Kuwwippuy would tuck that knowledge away for future exploration.

And that 'blue water' - it had been seeping out of this world, into that mountain 'somehow'. This place, this entire dimension, felt like it was overlapped quite a bit with other strong Force or Vortal sites. Like the odd smell of the whole realm, the water tasted a little strange, but it always had the effect of energizing a tired youngling or healing a cut or bruise fully within seconds. Each of them began carrying a vial of it on their person; the dangers of this world outnumbered the safe parts after all, and Eshnur might not always be nearby to help heal them.

Though Kaggat was the one to first desire doing so, it was Dararm who succeeded in creating his own hilt first. He had chosen some odd and unnatural substances: stiff but well-cured cream colored plastic tubing, durable black glass, steel and rubber for the rest. The interior was more 'traditionally' formed of the wires and delicate mechanisms that would then be set up braced within, and between some of those bits, a slot for a small shard of that crystal he had.

The Master Jedi showed off the interiors of their own lightsaber hilts, making a day of it to show the younglings that had yet to make their own, just how complex they could be. Jargra however realized he would be able to make one with more ease than the Wookiee girl, and might offer her help there too. But hovering the parts was also something that needed to be done, it was a ritual, after all. Focusing on just 'throwing some parts together with a screwdriver and spanner' was not 'how a lightsaber was made'.

The Vorts truly enjoyed this activity as well, and would hold their own in parts aloft so others could take closer looks. Why weren't these fittings going together properly, oh there was a wire slightly out of place. What about putting the safety switch in a slightly different location than those with the longer palms, the Vorts needed to arrange their hilts in a way that their hands would easily embrace. With two very long and slender fingers, and one somewhat stubby thumb, they were effectively on their own in that regard. It was 'whatever felt best'.

But Dararm fit his together, carefully examining each portion, adding to it or taking away, and then finally setting that small chip of brilliant blue crystal into its nested spot. Telekinetically apt, he moved the parts close using his power, before grasping it and tightening each of the three main portions together with his hands.

"Now, I'll light my own," Mochifa said, taking her hilt from her wrapped robe's pocket. It was a rarity, she had virtually never had to light it up either for defense or for show in the time that she'd been tending to the younglings. But it wasn't merely the younglings who were watching with wide eyes! She'd given careful instruction first - don't look into the active end. Don't hold it too close to yourself, but then chuckled that the Vortigaunts didn't have hair or even clothing that might get burned by it... How to stand to hold it was left up to the Vorts too - their legs didn't have the same center of gravity as the others. She concentrated, and they all detected not only the determined press of that safety with her hand, but the nudge from her mind over the Force. With that distinctive humming sound, her vibrant green blade became visible and stood without sparks or wavering.

Dararm adopted a stance that would typically help with bracing in a stiff wind on the plains. He softened it a little however, when Eshnur commented, "you aren't about to fight the blade, you don't need to be too stiff."

It was true, the blade was his own, it was an extension of his Force, of his Vortessence. And it came out of the hilt smoothly, as brightly blue as the electrically-charged crystals that it had been chipped from! It wasn't silent, and it did spark a bit, but they expected that by now. Since it was crafted from a local stone, one which had such properties, and one which had demonstrably improved his own talents in that regard, it would clearly deliver a strong electrical blow in addition to its cauterizing effects.

Each of them in turn developed their own hilts, their own techniques. Kaggat created his own green blade first, its hum was different from Mochifa's. It felt more energetic, in tune with his movements, and he swiftly realized how good it was to be able to lift it with telekinetic energy.

While Tahndarr's was also green, it had a teal tint to it quite similar to the Wookiee master's curved blades. Perhaps some day she would figure out just exactly how he got light to display a curve... There were no external portions to those things! (He kept quiet about it, but there were, in fact, external bits - they were released when he pressed the safety!)

As Kaggat continued to work - he was determined to use all of those different crystals - Bahhsan had gone a radical direction with hers. Two small yellow crystals, and a pair of joined blades. She'd found some dark metal pieces, and got Jargra to help her tool them into an elegant shape, oval with a join at their ends. She could heft this blade with her two main hands, or one in each, or even, as she aptly demonstrated on starting the blades for the first time, flicker them to work only while one side was held, but switch which one it was! The Jedi all admitted that would be a difficult pattern to master, but one which would impress even the most experienced Jedi fighter. Those with that experience, Syruk and Kuwwippuy, watched her move and swing this double blade around, and that technique of alternating which hilt was active seemed to be made easier by her third hand, focusing the Vortessence with each quick gesture.

In all then, Kaggat managed his blades. The red stone producing an eerily deep red shade that was able to set teeth on edge and made a sound that would terrify virtually any enemy when he moved it. While the violet one sang high and clear in the audible searing of air, it all but left flashing markers behind it when he spun around.

"Truly unconventional," Syruk said, "but I like it, something for every occasion," he smirked.

**

Over time, exploration and practice became their goal, rather than the elusive 'find our way home' that both groups had started out with. The Vortigaunts assured the Jedi: they could communicate with their kin in their dimension should they really need to. A feat which might have surprised them before, but now that they'd had the chance to work with each others respective abilities... it seemed rather typical. Very strong in the Force with extremely specific methods, or broadly able to use Vortessence to their whim, punctuated with a surprising oddity.

The groups would rest and meditate together, with Crux or Kuwwippuy normally standing guard and sleeping late or rising early. Without any sun (or suns in the Vorts case) to tell time of day or just exactly how many days they had been there, they relied upon the still-pulsing 'event' and counted eights.

Together they learned cultural differences. The aquatic Nautolan Eshnur enjoyed talking to Bahhsan about those tadpoles she now almost regretted setting into the chum tank back home ("surely they will have overtaken my hut by now!"); Ivah'dasa knew that Crux was lonely and he knew she was not timid but guarded due to her extreme emotional sensitivity, but they sought solace in the group's confidence. Each began their own journey, as the younglings also found their lightsaber parts and their crystals. Only the adult Padawan and Masters had their crystals from 'their own dimension', rather than this one.

Since Ivah'dasa had hers only barely a few months before their outing, she was still not practiced with its use. It was an unusually bright white, not because she hadn't decided upon a course of training, but because her breed required much more balance and tuning to keep from being swept away. It was possible to keep that clarity of purpose, to change the color of an existing blade, but hers had always been white, and would remain so.

Ciizla found a different blue crystal while diving deeply into the waters of one shimmering pool; it was unlike the other electrically charged blade, hers was a vibrant shade, nearly indigo. Though there were Jedi legends about any given shade of kyber crystal blades, precious few of them existed to describe just what an 'indigo' blade might mean.

Jargra discovered another of those unusual colored crystals, violet, but a more light periwinkle sort of color - similar to the shade of the nebula in the sky of this weird shattered world. Syruk was impressed with that choice, at least, for to the charming Togruta, that meant that the boy who would normally be brushed off as 'just a pilot' had far more to him than merely flight skills.

And at long last, Raycholokli made an interesting discovery of her own, on one of the more scattered and small islands that hovered a few skips away from their main 'base' island. It was a clear crystal, but there were dazzling tiny flecks of gold within it, and she felt compelled to pick it up. It all but sang to her, and from what everyone else had shared over the course of their time here said, that meant it was absolutely 'hers'. To their surprise the blade picked up that gold coloration. She'd chosen to create a hilt out of the nearby and readily available wildlife remnants instead of metal - with the interior of course being fit suitably for the task of lighting a superheated blade, the empty and small elongated tube of 'bone' served her hands perfectly. Whether it was the bone from an animal like those yipping colorful eye-hounds, or more likely the cast off or broken tip of one of the shards that struck upward (occasionally spearing those big manta creatures in mid-flight), who knew? All the pieces worked together, and she had enough at that size to fix or expand the hilt to suit her grown adult hands eventually.

Crux sniffed eagerly at each of their devices, but gave a strangely barking laugh when Dararm asked if he wanted one of his own. <<What would I do with that? Singe my fur, that's what!>>

**

Their time on this place, which they all adopted the Vortigaunt's name of "Xen", the 'other home', grew to be in the double-digits of eights still based on that pulsing energy. It did eminate from this place, from that specific cavern floor. They could detect no physical device, no machinery that drove it, but it would collect and grow brighter - visible by any Force or Vortal sense - then give off a strong pulse, and suddenly fade, all with strict regularity.

So they'd come to count on it, how many pulses would they allow Dari and Ciizla to camp out on that one dark-grounded island without aid, how much time would go by between the massive flying mantas feeding frenzies above. How long they'd been there was more than a year by any of their homeworld calendars. They adapted to the presence of animals and strange skies, they counted on each other for triangulation of their camps.

What they had not counted on, however, was the sudden appearance of a strange presence that all of them made note of. Strongly Vortal, as it had a specific 'tint' to the color of its energy, everyone wondered just what - or who - was making it. It was a turquoise color, brighter green than Kuwwippuy's teal blades, edged with the pale white blue that rivaled Dararm's charged one. Darker and lighter shades of blue, teal, green, and white all mixed in together whenever they noticed it. But only after each of them had independently discovered it, did its creator appear to all of them.

One of them had seen that strange fluttering of light perched on a spire. Another seemingly from beyond an impossibly wide gap where no sane person could reach nor leave. Others in a variety of locales; behind doors that no one opened and rooms that had no other exits, silently on catwalks that nearly collapsed when one of them stood upon it, in a darkened science chamber, on a very distant floating island mooring. But now here he was, very clearly visible, and not a figment of anyone's imagination.

"A... Human?" Eshnur muttered, "I didn't even imagine that could happen..." And though he was shushed by others, he was correct - even Mochifa didn't understand how a single human might contain so much Force energy, or Vortessance, or - whatever he had going on. It was Ivah'dasa that tried taking a closer squinting look at him, as he stood improbably on the top of one of the structures nearby, that she stiffened and stood close by Mochifa.

"That is no human," she said, low and quiet, but she was certain that he'd heard her.

The Vortigaunts on the other hand had all turned to stare at this person, not with fear or wonder, but with some amount of confusion.

"Nach'lih kallah-vahh," Kaggat said, carefully, "the Seeker of Mysteries."

"You know this person?" Mochifa asked, somewhat sharper than she intended. The Vortigaunts hadn't taken their eyes - all sixteen in total - off of this man as he stood nearly motionless up there. They knew he was there even though the light was often shifting, it was impossible for any of these people to be blind to his Vortal aura. Or perhaps the light was Vortal, briefly blinding them as he manipulated it without moving even a finger.

"I know of him, we all do, but the legends would be old even for me." Kaggat had compared himself to the Wookiee in the group, at least twice Mochifa's age, but he was unsure - they didn't measure time as firmly on the Vort homeworld, it wasn't all that necessary. He added, "and he was not 'human' when we knew of him."

The amount of mistrust in the air among this group rose sharply, but the man up there merely watched, until at last he vanished in a strange ball of orange colored energy... and reappeared near their camp site in a similar ball of turquoise that crackled with a very peculiar aftertaste. Given the variety of appearances of all the Jedi and Vortigaunts, his was ... boring. He wore simple, dark grey-blue clothing with a dusky violet tie that he adjusted casually while the group dealt with his sudden appearance. Short cropped black hair, slightly gaunt face. He would fit in easily on any Human world in the Jedi's galaxy, he held himself with the air of self-importance that a business owner or a politician, or an assassin, might.

While Mochifa was going to ask what do you mean he wasn't Human, with this proximity it became eminently clear to all of them - youngest to eldest - that it was very true. Absolutely nothing of that physical appearance meant a thing, save those eyes which had the glowing remnants of the turquoise energy. The rest of his skin, his actually-present biological body, was there for show and nothing else. It barely contained the energy he held, and with this close proximity, Ivah'dasa gave a tiny high cry, and collapsed.

Though several of the Jedi moved to interpose themselves, as if he'd attacked, it was Tahndarr who held her hand up and out, "she is delicate, and he is strong," she told them, and it was true. She'd displayed incidents with very-emotional people before the Jedi group mobilized so long ago, and been observed to have issues with those Force users who were apt to throw their power around.

Moreover, this man, the Seeker of Mysteries, suddenly seemed more tangibly concerned for the girl who was now being held by the big Wookiee. And it looked to all that this human-styled being was not going to mess with a Wookiee even if he had all the power of the Force coursing through his body.

"That... was not my intention," he said, voice quieter than they guessed it might be. "I apologize, I have ... had that effect on others, I should have been more careful," he nodded toward the tall Cerean and then turned to look at Kaggat. "Your memory is long, but it has been ... quite a while since I have... been to your home world." He looked away just a bit, "several thousand years, yes?"

"Long enough to fall into myth," was Kaggat's reply.

The half-smirk that the man gave, the little chuckle, "oh the others will love that," he muttered. But soon enough he assessed the group at large. "I also apologize for not attending you all before now. I was a touch... busy, with things on the other side of this," he waved his hand nebulously around and they realized he meant 'the source of the structures'.

In the time they'd been here on Xen, they had decoded some but not all of the language that had been pervasive on items. Warning signs and directional markers were easiest, but a lot of the gathered papers, displays on charts, and other data was highly technical and unlikely to be read even by native readers let alone by people who had never used higher math. While a couple of their group could decode the data, they also didn't know what any of it was for.

"They will be returning to spruce up the place," this Mystery said, "but I believe they will be ... entertaining to watch encounter you."

"So you're just going to watch?" Jargra said, large dark eyes seeming to shift their focus onto him. "Is this a warning to us, or...?"

"Well," the man adjusted that tie again, "as I said, I should have attended to you all before now. But since you used the portal so long ago, I'm afraid it slipped into the background. Black Mesa takes up quite a bit of my time."

He faintly nodded toward a painted symbol, and they realized: it was the owner of the locations?

"I will be interested in meeting them," Mochifa Ne said, "their work and resources have provided us with a solid foundation, is that not what they would want?"

With another more genuine grin, the Mystery chuckled, "since it's what I want, yes, that is correct." He gazed over the group's collected presence, down toward the origin island, "they did not set that portal up. They have another, built by hands and minds that lack most Vortal abilities." He again nodded toward a much more distant chunk of floating rock, one which was clearly out of reach for this group's abilities. "Their own work has continued even while you've been here. Would you like to see it?"

**

The group of scientists were taking a lunch break, apparently, when this large collection of aliens arrived with an abrupt and somewhat dusty thud on the landing pad. A single member remained unconscious, Ivah'dasa was still overwhelmed not just by the presence of a person capable of teleporting himself and more than a dozen others, but with that teleportation itself. She roused, still being held by the large Wookiee, who carefully placed her onto the flat steel platform.

Ivah'dasa was the first to speak, "they're just as excited as we are." Her voice was weak, she still had to maintain herself with difficulty. But she was right - there were not quite a dozen others here, and uniformly they had bold smiles and open minds.

It was Raycholokli who gave a warble, "they aren't all human, though?"

A few of these people were varied, not as much as the Jedi, but one or two of them had longer furry ears, one sported a feather crest. But they all wore the same overall gear of labcoats and ties, a couple had biohazard gear while one or two had heavier armor clearly designed for difficult or dangerous work - and this place was both difficult and dangerous so that followed. One of those in the armor strode up to the Mystery, he also had ears and a slightly curled tail. Wait, no, he wasn't wearing the armor? He had fur that was... colored like it?

The Jedi group didn't catch what he said to the Mystery, but the human-formed entity nodded confidently, and the canine-morph walked quickly back into the facility beyond.

That facility was much larger, and what looked to be from the outside, slightly more modern. It was cleaner, anyway - and since they'd been living in the other island's structure for a full year, and it had been abandoned at least that long before then, the group now wondered more why they had stopped using it...

But they didn't wonder long, as one of the Vorts suggested mentally, <<perhaps because he cleared them away from the portal?>>

Which did seem rather plausible, if he'd forgotten about them perhaps that portal had been opening and closing for quite some time before they'd even arrived.

"It surprises me that you speak English," one of the scientists said, peering closely at Syruk Lis who gave one of his 'charming and disarming' smiles in response.

"We don't call it that," Dari replied, since Syruk was more likely to string her along. "But we understand one another regardless, it's ... complicated."

"Everything is complicated," the canine from earlier said, "and it'll get more complex the longer you look. But that doesn't mean it's not worth looking at."

When they did look - still out there on the main external gathering spot, but now off of the landing pad - that landing pad held... something they didn't even comprehend at first. Large and biological, winged and long-tailed...

"That's a dragon," Eshnur exclaimed. And it was, indeed: one which heard him and let her antennae flutter around while she got settled. She wasn't too large to fit on this landing pad, but ... the other dragon that was on the way absolutely was. There were more of them on the way, too.

"How have we not seen them before now?" It wasn't just Ciizla but one of the other scientists from Black Mesa that said it, noticed the other, and laughed together. Ciizla was talking about the dragons, the scientist was talking about Ciizla's group.

At Kaggat's nudge, Bahhsan said openly, "we weren't meant to meet until now," and looked directly at the Mystery - the human one... who stood now beside one with the same aura, the same intensity, but who had a squared bovine face and horns, hoofed feet, and a tufted tail - and still had the same outfit on as the first.

"Why are there two of him now," Ivah'dasa sighed, but it was more for effect than because she was worried. Honestly from her perspective, they were the same person only spread out a little, maybe one had a slightly bluer-green tint or the other was humming at a tiny-bit-slower frequency. She would get used to it, a sensible girl. A good young Jedi was adaptable, after all.

They would all have to adapt now - because some of those dragons were sniffing them over. The group didn't know what to expect! They were friendly dragons, in such a strange variety of appearances. From the 'cow' that the horned Mystery rode in on (or did they just show up? they hadn't seen where any of these dragons had been before now) to the multiwinged and slightly garishly orange and cream one that the canine was with, an insensibly massive black and green one, to a sleek slightly-mottled blue one with a rider who had their own wings?

"Wait, that... is a Kthari?" Raycholokli said, not understood by the general group of scientists, but to the Jedi and Vorts it was clear she knew what that winged person was. "What is a Kthari doing here?"

It was clear that the person in question also noticed immediately - they came straight over. Their dragon was smaller than the others by a little bit, or perhaps by comparsion wasn't really all that small, since the Kthari was taller than all but the Wookie adult! "What are you doing here?"

There were far more questions to be had - all of them would be answered over time, but the more pressing matter was why there were dragons, science, offworlders, people from other dimensions, all in one place?

There were three or maybe even four of the Mystery now, Ivah'dasa kept glancing back toward that vibrant turquoise noise in her Force vision. Oh and there was also another couple dragons nestling behind them. She just blinked a few times and turned back to the group's animated conversations for now. The reason the dragons were there, and the reason the portal had been opened in the first place, obviously, was to hook the results together.

**

notes: after all that, they do start finding dragons! This story takes place around RY 12 / 2022, after a number of events, though some amount of time-wobble exists. In the Far Far Away realm the Jedi group exists around 19 BBY (Before Battle of Yavin). They do not know of the events that occur later including the slaughter of most Jedi and younglings. Should they return to their home dimension, it will be due to Karen Kenobi's urging, since she's also a professor at CHS, and it will happen likely around 20 ABY after things have settled. (How do you think Keenan even got the coordinates for such a portal to open in that dimension?)

The Xen that this group have found is Twoarth's version, distinct from the Rookery's or Repurposed Xen. It's "co-owned" by the pair of bovine and temporarily-human Keenan Lanes (or more accurately Knotleaf Kale-baah and Lane) since their respective Twoarth Black Mesas both arrived to it in conjunction.

The Twoarth Xen's presence is also coupled with the fact that the Vortigaunts in that same dimension are special - their world was not overtaken by the Combine, and their species was not enslaved by Nihilanth. This is notable because they're 'untainted' by the Combine, and had a more friendly relationship with the Mystery than other versions. This version also is noted because of the presence of female Vorts, which had been effectively wiped out on both Rookery and Repurposed Earth dimensions.

The variety of Keenan present for this meeting above include Nachos California (with his insanely large dragon), the local pair of Knotleaf and human Keenan - this version hasn't been detailed but is distinct from Repurposed and Rookery/Local Lane and spends most of his time faffing about at Black Mesa or Twoarth's Aperture Science halfway across the country from Carramba or New Mexico where Black Mesa is. He has occasionally showed up in other writing, namely mentioned in the Carramba Road Rally 2016, but he isn't a professor at CHS like his counterpart from the Fur-Side is. He figures there's already a bunch, but he will absolutely sub for the human Repurposed version if he needs time away from his classes... (shhh do NOT tell admin that!) But also later on in this massive Search Party (lol see what I did there)(because they're all Searched) it's Nachos that will likely transport folks around and bring younger dragons or those who cannot teleport, to their destination back here. His dragon can easily carry a young Pernese type, or almost any breed of Pyrrhan, and doesn't even need to fly to produce a portal to move through. Of course neither does Nachos.