Log:Happy Little Trees

Happy Little Trees

OOC Date: May 10, 2020
Location: Yavin IV
Participants: Poe Dameron and Septima Carnine

The VCX-100 light freighter named 'Ghost' settled upon its skids, weathering the well packed landing zone of Yavin IV's surface. Tall jungle trees with heavy leaves of red, green, and yellow flapped evenly from the gust the repulsors kicked up until the craft had finally transitioned. Engines cut, leaving only the -tick, tick, tick- of coolant relieving engine pressure.

At the helm of the craft is Poe Dameron. He had been flying, for the most part, in a reverent silence. The reason became clear when they had broken the atmosphere and dipped below the cloud cover. A sea of jungle green awaited them, with only the ancient peaks of Massassi temples showing in some places. "This world has been at peace since the war. Largely uninhabited, save one spot.. from time to time." Poe explained.

When the ramp extended to the ground, a B1 Battle Droid named 'Mister Bones' marched right down the ramp carrying a heavy DP-23 shotgun. Its beak-like head comically turning to scan their surroundings before marching around the base of the ship to protect it against predator wildlife. This task is performed wordlessly, as Poe had long since muted the automaton. Next came the orange and white BB-series droid; he was one of kind and rolled with a particularily humorous enthusiasm that kept his domed head shaking back and forth.

Behind this droid steps Poe Dameron, his hand hooking upon the threshold over head before casually moving out beneath the glare of Yavin's star.

Yavin Prime dominated the view of the sky, contrasting a natural blue sky with white clouds against a backdrop of unnerving red with the lines of swirling gases. "That sight never gets old." Poe comments again, stepping out into the clearing and pointing toward the homestead. "Just there.. see the tree over the walls?"

Septima hadn't left Chandrila in a few years and for various reasons. She was wary to leave her home during the First Order occupation and her skills were not needed elsewhere, so she had stayed. So a trip off planet with the General sounds like a very nice change of pace. The silence didn't bother her as she was looking over the controls and BB-8 quite often, others might be offended, but, she was a curious person. That and the droid was adorable.

When Poe finally speak there's a look over to him, her greenish gold gaze warming as she smiles, "Is this your families home?" she asks him. She's dressed plainly enough, a white shirt under a grey jacket with pants that match. Black boots have been well worn. Her hair is done today, which means the wind catches an errant curl ever so often. She is bright eyed and excited to see the place.

She heads after the General and the droids, her bodyguard had been left on Chandrila with a bit of a pout, but, she was safe. When she gets a look at the view that is in front of her she stops, eyes assessing lush forest and the fluffy clouds, "This place is stunningly beautiful." she tells him. Then she's up on her tip toes, trying to see the tree more, "I see it!" she grins.

"It is. Well, was. That's a long, sad story." Poe says, dismissing it with a wave. "Come on, let's go get a better look at it." Poe moves with the casual swagger of someone who had supreme confidence. He wasn't fast, and the usual sense of underlying urgency he gave was not present here. "Yavin IV is a true treasure. An emerald looking world, full of life, and history, and quiet. I know now, more than ever, why my parents chose it after the Rebellion." Poe's voice is reflective and nostalgic as he stops by the wall where there's a protective door.

Brushing the paneling off, he taps in the code and the door begins to open, revealing the homestead, the overgrown garden, and a courtyard where a stream of fresh water trickled through. Looming above it all, surrounded by flowers of ever color, stood an Uneti tree whose leaves were shaped like sharp blades and left crescent looking shadows upon the ground.

The ambience here was peaceful, the sound of buzzing insects, the chirping of avian life, and the trickling of the stream. "It's called an Uneti tree. Luke Skywalker said there were only two left in the whole galaxy." From the tone of Poe's voice, he was not certain of the validity of that statement. He steps through the stream without much care for getting wet. "When I first saw this, it was as a sapling. My mother had received it for serving with Princess Leia and Commander Skywalker. Now.." He motions to its massive size. "Luke said that it was strong in the Force.. whatever that means.., but you look at this tree long enough and you'll realize too, that it's special."

Septima is quiet as she looks to Poe, "Sometimes long, sad stories need to be told." she nods to this. "But maybe another time." she states with a soft smile when he waves it off. The woman is relaxed and trying to note every little detail of the place, which cannot be done in one trip. "It would be a nice place to retire to after such a string of events." she comments on that.

She gives a peek around when the door starts to open, revealing the overgrown treasure inside. There is a tiny internal scream at the garden being overgrown, but, she could deal! "So many plants..." she whispers.

Then she finds the Uneti tree in her line of sight and there's a quiet that comes over her as she takes in the tree. Listening to Poe's words as he speaks, "I've never even heard of one. So learning they exist even in their endangered state and seeing one is breathtaking." she tells the man. "So it's connected to the Force...that is quite interesting." she adds to that. "Are you its guardian now?" she asks.

Poe did not comment on the story being told. It was a painful one, and no one wanted to remember the day their biggest hero died. "It would be." He answers, glancing toward the homestead a moment and hearing the laughter from his childhood in that instant. A cursory glances toward the open area where his mother's A-Wing used to be finds it empty, and overgrown. It's in that direction he steps to avoid obscuring any view of the coveted tree Septima may wish to seek!

"Yeah, I haven't had time to come back and clean it up. I came last spring with someone, but with the war, things.." He gestures as if to convey how complicated they got. "..went crazy, you know?"

"I mean, most Jedi would argue that the Force is connected to everything. Though, this particular tree, uhh.. emboldens it? I'm not sure if that's right. Makes it stronger?" He shakes his head and laughs. "The Force is a subject I'm not good at, sadly. Maybe Rey could speak more to it."-- To her question. "Nah. It belongs here now, and doesn't need my protection anymore. Come over here.." He motions to the spot where high weeds were. With a pass of his arm, he revealed a small, sapling grove where several other 'baby' Uneti trees had begun to spring up. "Being the last of something does not always lead to an end. At least, that's what Leia would say." He offers Septima, smiling a charming smile. "I'd like you to have one of these saplings. Please."

Septima doesn't press on things being told. There was new ground being tread and she really didn't want to shove her foot in her mouth. She keeps an eye on Poe for a moment, but, she does look around the place when he points things out.

"If you'd like help with getting it cleaned back up and the plants back in order I would be happy to offer help and guidance." she offers with a smile. No pressure or anything really. "And yes, I can imagine that life has been pretty hectic and crazy during things." she frowns to that.

Then she wanders closer to the tree and where he is wanting her to go, curiousness in her eyes. "Rey as in the Jedi Rey? That would be something interesting." she states with a smile. Then he sweeps the weeds back and shows the saplings that are growing there and her face lights up, "Oh look at them." she laughs as she crouches down. Poe's words catch her off guard though, her eyes going wide for a moment a bit comically, "Are you sure?" she asks him. She looks down to the saplings, hands resting on her knees as she does, "We could put it in the unity garden." she states with a soft smile. "The Force flows in all things, I believe that. Though I don't know a lot about the Jedi than what I've heard in stories and things like that." she states.

"Oh that won't be necessary. Not now, at least. I do plan to come back at some point though, to clear it up and return it to what it used to be like. I'm just not ready yet." Poe says with a cheerful look.

"Yes, the Jedi, Rey. She's a good friend of mine. She's always a bit more wise to the mysteries of the Force, and sometimes.. she's better with words too. Hahaha." His chuckle tapers as he watches Septima look over the saplings he's revealed. Swallowing a bit, he prepares to step, but BB-8 emerges from the weeds ahead of him, warbling. "Careful, buddy. I almost tripped over you!"

"Yeah, I'm sure. The only way there will be more is if we spread them. Why not put one on Chandrila, let it grow and be a symbol of something. The Jedi can debate its more esoteric nature while all us regular folk can comment how pretty it is. It'll be great!"

Septima gives a smile to him, "Things take time. I understand that completely." she nods to that. She listens to him when he talks on Rey and there's a smile to his words. "Sometimes not everything is about words or being good with them, Poe." she points out with a chuckle. "Though she sounds like a wonderful person that I'd like to meet eventually. We've had so many Jedi around Hanna City that I feel I've most certainly missed some of them." she states.

She looks over the saplings with a contented look and there's a soft sigh out as she looks up to the bigger tree, "I think they'll do well if they are transplanted with care." she states.

She's standing about the same time that BB-8 warbles his way out of the tall grass unexpectedly and there's a little jump from the woman and a laugh, "I was wondering where he'd gotten off to." she comments to Poe as she turns to look at him.

"I think it's a lovely idea to spread them and see them thrive again. With all the rebuilding and new beginnings it is a perfect time." she states. Then she chuckles, "I agree on that. I'll stand around and talk about how pretty they are all day if someone lets me." she admits.

Poe chuckles. "So, what tools do you need? To dig one of these up, I mean." Poe gestures to the tree saplings casually, then hooks his hands to his gun belt and stands with a slightly jutting hip. "I can go dig around for shovels, or if you brought some things, I'll have Bones grab those from the Ghost. I wasn't quite sure how to transport something like this, so I wanted to bring the expert, you know?" One hand raises up to tease his hair back in a combing motion, oddly boyish when the hand lingers at the back of his head as if to scratch while looking unsure.

"Force trees and gardening in general have always been more of an interest with my family. We used to grow what we'd eat out here, and hunt our own meat. Surviving out here was a different adventure.. daily."

Septima gives a bit of a smile to that, "Ummm, probably just need a trowel and a container to put it in. Do you want to make travel containers for the saplings that are going to other planets? I could do that while I'm here unless you're bringing everyone to personally pick theirs up?" she asks him with a smile.

Then she pats the bag on her side, "I've got a few gardening tools, a big shovel might help the process go faster, but I'm not in a rush unless you are." she points out with a soft smile. "Probably need to take special care with them." she nods.

Then there's a curious quirk of an eyebrow, "Oh? Was there anything in particular that you liked growing or that you miss growing?" she asks him as she lets her gaze go back to him.

"I'm not even sure who else I would give the others to. Haha. So we'll just worry about yours for now. Bee-Bee-Eight, buddy, go tell Bones to get the Senator's tools for her." The droids issues an acknowledging warble before moving off, and rolling back out the door of the gate to go find the Battle Droid.

"Oh, I'm not even sure I remember what all we grew here, to be honest. It was so long ago. I've had a couple thousand rations since then, and everything, more or less, just tastes the same. Hahaha." Poe looks around the small saplings, stepping about to flatten some of the weeds using his boots. "There's not rush. Anything worth doing is going to take time. I'll see if I can find some other things that might help, though. I'll be right back." After circling the spot and flattening weeds, the pilot walks off to find a half buried shed beneath a curtain of foliage. He has trouble tugging the door open though he eventually gets it, then starts to cough from all the dust.

Poe waves his hand before stepping into the structure to look around.

Septima is quiet for a few moments after he says he doesn't know who to give them to, "Well, we will be all the more special for having it in Hanna City then." she tells him quietly as her smile warms. "Thank you, Beebee." she tells the droid when he goes off to tell Bones things.

"Maybe you need some good home cooked food then. Rations kind of get old after awhile, but, I'm guessing it's easier to eat when on the move and things of that nature." she states. She looks down to the flattened weeds once Poe is done with them and then back to him when he's walking off.

"Need any help?" she calls. Hoping there's just tools in there...and that no wild creatures have taken it up as a home.

"I can't think of the last time I experienced home-cooked anything." Poe calls from the shed, his voice distorted a bit. "Nah, I got it.. it's just a mess in here is all." The sound of things falling over follows before Poe finally emerges with a few tools all his own, to include a shovel and a hatchet. Surprisingly enough, the hatchet is in good condition, spared from the elements of the jungle.

Poe rejoins Septima, setting the hatch down (because you never knew what it may come in handy for) and taking hold of the shovel. "Alright, I can do the digging portion, I just need you to point out where we start." Sweat had already begun to form over his brow, giving his hair a darker tone when wet.

[PASS ( +38)] Septima Carnine's Knowledge: Horticulture @ (100) diff.

"You should try it again sometime!" Septima calls happily as she's already kneeling down to look around the saplings. Thank the gods she's not talking to them yet. She clears some of the weeds away carefully with nimble fingers, creating a tidy little pile that doesn't get everywhere. She hums softly, picking the one sapling out that she feels most attached to already.

She looks up when Poe is exiting the shed with his own tools and there's a smile, "I think I can do that." she nods to him. She then tugs her jacket off and settles it down on the ground next to her bag before she takes a knee in front of the sapling, she draws a wide circle with the pointer finger of her right hand, "If we dig farther out it'll help to not damage the roots and we can wrap them while transporting it back to Chandrila." she tells him. "We don't have the tropical climate in Hanna City, so hopefully that won't effect it's growth." she admits.

"I'm not sure it requires a tropical climate. My mother said these trees used to be on Coruscant, where the Jedi temple was." He angles the spade where she tells him, then props his boot on the leverage before stepping on it to drive his weight onto the shovel. The spade sinks into the ground, and he wiggles it a bit, then pulls out and moves to the next point.

The process is slow, made with care for the plant. Poe's no stranger to hardwork though the climate does seem to test him as sweat has begun to get a bit thicker and he's red in the face. He removes the shadowsilk shemagh from around his neck and wipes his brow and face, leaning on the shovel to survey what's next. "I think that should be good. We just need to put it in a planter, right?" The item they planned to use to transport it.

Septima helps with some of the loosening of the soil, but she doesn't take his job away. She just points out where to dig and they manage to not hit or damage the roots. Which is a successful part of transportation. She watches as he wipes the sweat from his brow and then she looks away to the ground, where is that planter?

"Oh, yes, I think I have one." she states as she picks the bag up that she has, digging through it. She grabs the one container that she brought and there is a bit of a look between it and the sapling, "This should be big enough for it and dirt to pack in around the roots." she nods to this.

"Take a break, we're almost done and there's no reason to sweat yourself to death, Poe." she tells him as she kneels on the other side of the sapling, testing the dirt, "Perfect." she smiles up to the pilot. "Can I ask what your mothers name was? Or is that a sensitive subject?" she asks him.

"Shara. Shara Bey." Poe says, leaning against the shovel casually while watching Septima. "It's not really sensitive. She was my hero growing up. Every story I heard about my parents are rooted in the Rebel Alliance. Things they did for people, the battles they fought. It's all very moving. My mom fits into the picture because she was the one who encouraged my love for flying. She was the best starpilot in the galaxy." Poe said, uncaring if the notion was true or not.

"She passed of Bloodburn when I was younger. It was hard. Life here came to a close as my dad lost his way. All he'd known was his love for her, and when she was gone, well." Poe made a gesture-like shrug. "He's still out there. Somewhere. Fighting the good fight, I imagine. Like me, I guess." He chuckles. "How's it going down there?"

Septima gives a soft smile when she hears his mothers name, "That is a beautiful name." she tells him as she clears out some of the dirt and finally gets to the roots. It's a gentle process. Not wanting to injure the little tree. The container is brought closer as she listens to him talk on things. It brings a smile to her face.

The mention of Bloodburn does bring a look of concern to her face, "I've only heard of that rarely." she tells him. "Sometimes we don't recover if someone we die passes, or we force outselves into a tunnel vision version of life to not think about it sometimes." she shakes her head.

She pats the dirt in around the newly potted sapling, "I think it's going okay. We are probably good to close this little one up and load it onto the ship." she smiles. "Did you have anything else you wanted to do while you were here?" she asks him.

"I was too young to force myself to do anything. The pain was raw. In a way, I lost myself too. Got caught up with the wrong people, did some bad things. It was only when I realized that another threat was cropping up that I began to think about my mother again. So I joined the flight academy for the New Republic, and after a few missions; General Or.. Leia found and recruited me for the Resistance. The rest, is as they say, history." Poe fills in the old hole with dirt after taking a seedling lear from one of the others and dropping it down into the hole. Given the frequent rains, it'd find now shortage of water; everything else didn't!

"I appreciate you listening to me. It's not really a difficult topic, but this place takes me back. It reminds me of her."

When asked if there was anything else he wanted to do, Poe glanced around and then shook his head no. "Nah. One day I'll come back when I'm ready. For now, let's get this little guy a new home." Poe picked up his tools, intent to carry them back to the shed where he got them, then shut the door. Bones came to help carry the sapling, and BB-8 was BB-8.

Septima listens to him with a bit of a soft look in her eyes, "There is always a time to turn things around and to start over again. You realized that and that is good." she tells him with a soft smile. "The Princess will be missed, I still think she's a princess. She was a role model for many girls on Chandrila." she admits to that.

She gives a smile to him as she brushes the dirt from her hands and she reaches out tentatively to give his arm a gentle squeeze, some people didn't like comforting touches, so it was a testing the waters thing. 'Thank you for confiding in me. And for everything. I appreciate the gift and the getting to spend time and speak with you, Poe." she gives a dip of her head to that.

"I'm sure you'll come back another time. This place is very peaceful. I don't know if it's the tree...or everything, but I like the energy here." she smiles. She gathers her jacket and bag after handing Bones the container with the precious cargo and then waits for Poe quietly.

Poe doesn't shy from the touch. He offers a charming smile and nods, raising his other hand to motion them ahead. "Of course. I figured you might enjoy a change in scenery at least. Chandrila has been getting a bit more crowded lately afterall."

When they leave the homestead, Poe locks the place up behind him, even testing the door after it closed. Satisfied it was secure, he followed after Septima, bringing up the rear of the group. "It's hard to tell," he answers. "That's part of Yavin IV's mystery." If she looked back, she'd find him smiling again.

After a few minutes aboard, the Ghost began to power up. Moments later, the old military craft rose, and blasted off toward the sky, its golden engines bright and leaving a long contrail of white clouds behind them.