Galaxies Far Away

Darkness.

At first, there is nothing but a dull ringing in your ears.

Then comes the sound of machinery—metal grinding against metal, distant alarms chirping, and the constant hum of engines somewhere beyond your sight. The noise pounds against your skull as consciousness slowly returns.

Your eyes flutter open.

Everything is a blur.

Harsh white lights hang overhead, their glow distorted through unfocused vision. Shapes move frantically around you. Tall figures. Humanoid, but clearly not human. Their voices overlap in a language you don't understand as they rush between glowing consoles and flickering displays.

Panic seems to ripple through the room.

Several of the aliens notice you're awake and quickly gather around. They begin speaking to you, their words sharp and urgent, but the sounds are completely foreign.

You stare blankly.

The aliens exchange uneasy glances.

One of them retrieves a small metallic device and cautiously approaches. Before you can react, a sharp pain shoots through your ear.

You instinctively recoil.

The device emits a series of rapid beeps and static-like pulses that echo inside your head. For several agonizing moments, the noise is unbearable.

Then, suddenly—

The sounds begin to make sense.

The strange language shifts into recognizable words as the translator calibrates.

The room falls silent.

The aliens take several nervous steps back.

Only now do you notice the blasters aimed directly at your chest.

Among the group stands one who appears to be their leader—a Togruta with orange skin and striped montrals. Despite his efforts to appear composed, fear is evident in his trembling voice.

He studies you carefully before speaking.

"You're human..."

The statement hangs heavily in the air.

His grip tightens on his blaster.

"What are you doing aboard our ship?"

Around him, the other Togruta remain tense, fingers resting near their triggers as they anxiously await your answer.

The sounds of unfamiliar wildlife echo through the darkness around you.

Strange calls and distant roars drift through the dense forest, unlike anything you have ever heard before. Massive trees tower overhead, their branches weaving together to form a canopy that blocks much of the sky. Shadows stretch between the trunks, concealing whatever creatures may be watching from beyond your sight.

The air is warm and heavy with the scent of damp earth and exotic vegetation.

Somewhere nearby, something large moves through the undergrowth.

Then, through the wilderness, another sound reaches your ears.

Metal.

The faint hum of machinery.

A rhythmic series of mechanical noises carries through the forest from somewhere in the distance, clearly artificial amid the untamed wilderness.

Whether it belongs to a settlement, a starship, or something else entirely is impossible to tell.

For now, you stand alone among the alien trees, surrounded by an unfamiliar world and the countless mysteries hidden within it.

Life on Juront is simple.

Day after day, the routine rarely changes.

You rise with the local sun, tend to the moisture harvesters, feed the livestock, repair machinery worn down by dust and time, and complete whatever chores the day demands. The work is honest, if repetitive. Out here on the distant moon, excitement is a luxury few can afford.

Most days pass exactly as the one before.

Today was supposed to be no different.

As you go about your work, a sudden flash streaks across the sky.

You look up just in time to see something burning through the atmosphere.

A trail of fire cuts across the heavens before disappearing beyond the distant dunes.

Several moments later, the ground trembles beneath your feet.

A deep, thunderous impact rolls across the desert.

Silence follows.

Whatever fell from the sky came down somewhere beyond the horizon.

Out on Juront, ships rarely pass overhead, and things certainly don't fall from orbit without reason.

For the first time in a long while, something unexpected has happened.

And whatever crashed out there is still waiting to be discovered.