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The Quiet City 1999 short story by Jonathan Hicks Three years after Episode IV - A New Hope Arach
slowed his speeder down to a crawl and looked at the city in confusion. Wennicas
was an industrial planet nestled comfortably on a trade route through the Setnin
Sector. Covered in low hills and sparse grasslands, the atmosphere, though
almost always daylight from the planet’s axial tilt was always breezy with
small showers every few days. This strange meteorological quirk kept the air
smelling fresh and damp. The
city of Haipspa on the Great Haipspa Canyon was a collection of tall
buildings design to taper at the top, with slots cut into their sides for
transports and airspeeders. The city had been built
on both sides of the canyon and as a result huge bridges had been constructed
to connect the two halves. Besides this, the city had also spilled down into
the canyon, with ridges constructed within the rock down to the bottom of the
chasm which had been converted into a main thoroughfare connecting this city
with the smelting facilities a hundred kilometres to the north. The huge
towers rose from the gash in the planet like clawing vines stretching for the
sun. As
ugly as the buildings were, Arach loved the city. He had lived on Wennicas
for most of his life, combining his love for all things mechanical with his
full-time occupation; he salvaged and dealt with spares for starships and
speeders, modifications were an option and it was rumoured that if you needed
it, Arach would get it. A
rumour which Arach started himself. The
bustle of the city was what had always attracted Arach. His salvage yard was
a few kilometres out of Haipspa but he made sure he made the trip at least
twice a turn. Supplies, business and entertainment. Haipspa had it all for
Arach. But
at the moment all he could do was stare at the city in confusion. When
Arach crested the hill from his junkyard, he suddenly noticed something was
absent, and as he approached the city he knew what it was; there was no
sound. Small flying reptiles still cried out, the mammals in the bushes
snorted and snuffled, the steam geysers to the south roared their fury. But
that was it. There
were no sounds of any starships passing overhead, any work sirens blaring,
the sounds of the great processor and generator pressure valves venting
excess gases. No speeders passing, no Skyhopper's
buzzing overhead. Just silence. Arach
slid his hand over his newly baldhead. He had become bored with his long
thick hair, shaved it, and then immediately regretted it. Small hairs were already
sprouting and it felt strange to the touch. He wiped his hand down his face
to the small trimmed beard, which encircled his mouth, and he pursed his
lips. Weird. Slowly
he pressed the accelerator with his thumb and leaned forward in his seat. At
a low speed he entered the outskirts of the city and scanned the low-lying
residential buildings with his naked eyes. All
the doors and windows were closed. Storm shutters were sealed,
blast doors to speeder pens were shut. No gas or steam drifted from ventilation
ducts. No sound. No movement. As
Arach turned his head back to watch the road he saw something move, fast,
across his path. In panic he slammed his feet down on the brake panel and
stretched his arms against the steering wheel. With heart pounding and teeth
gritted, he turned and came to a stop. A
two-legged baby Mnu-Mnu scurried over the road and
into a small depression, where it snuffled, screeched and then ran off into
the wilderness. Arach noticed it had a muzzle and lead, which flapped in the
air behind it, as it fled. On it’s rump was its
owner's stampmark. His
confusion soared to new heights as he watched the rapidly receding dust
cloud. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, he turned the vehicle towards
Haipspa. Now he scanned the buildings and the road ahead. The
streets were clean, with the odd small dust cloud whipped up by the breezes
being channelled down the main entrance road. Houses and apartment buildings
stood quiet, all windows and doors sealed or simply locked down. Some of the
more extravagant security measures, consisting of shielding over every portal
the building possessed, were activated and in place. Road
holograms still blazed, directing busy traffic that didn’t exist and
informing the unknowledgable, in several different
languages, where certain routes lead. This
told Arach that the city still had some form of power. He piloted the speeder
at a liberal speed to reach the city centre where the huge trading malls had
been built on the bridges stretching over the canyon. Those places were where
the main hangars and communal complexes were located. Surely, he reasoned, if
there was any sign of life it was going to be there. As
he passed the first few landing bays on the edge of the canyon, with the
towering buildings rising above him, he noticed that the security doors were
open showing the hangars empty. He frowned. Even the business hangars were
empty, where traders were continually landing and taking off. These hangars
were in use the whole time, they were busy even when
trade was slow. Again
the streets were devoid of movement or any signs of life. Retail rooms were
sealed and offices were locked up. The
trade halls and communal centres were as deserted as the rest of the city.
Arach’s mind whirled with the possibilities as he clambered out of the
speeder and entered one of the huge market domes, built near the very centre
of the largest bridge. The area where Cart’s stand used to be was totally
empty. Ju’rut’s stand area was oil-stained, as
always, but empty. His friends had left, too. Where was everyone? The whole
city, thousands of beings, just gone? No one here. What happened?
Evacuation? A fight? No signs of fighting. Some kind of emergency, a natural
disaster? No, there would be people still here, warning the outskirts people,
like me, of the danger. No warning signs, no calls. “Hello?” He called, his voice echoing
around the hall with a strange deep resonance. He tried the call only once;
as he heard his own voice reflected back at him he realised that if there was
a danger, he didn’t want to attract it. He
walked from the hall and back out into the sunlight. Light drizzle began, and
he let the refreshing moisture cover his face. He walked to the railing of
the bridge and looked over, down into the chasm below and the rest of the
city. He scanned the streets below but saw more of the same. Sealed doors
shuttered windows. Lifeless. “Nobody’s home.” He said to himself. The
sound of ringing metal on metal made him spin,
staring down the roadway to the next trading hall. The sound echoed in the
hall as his voice had, and the sound took on the effect of something scraping
across the ground. Then silence, except for the fading resonance of the
sound. Arach
quick-stepped to his speeder, pulling loose a rifle secured behind the driver’s
seat. He checked the charge, set it to stun and slowly approached the hangar. He
felt his pulse quicken, sweat form droplets that overpowered the moisture on
his face. He admitted to himself, he was scared. The city had never seemed
so... alien to him. He
peeked around the door of the hall rifle first, and saw a metal container
lying on the floor, lid off, contents spilled over the ground. A form,
humanoid, was cowered over the contents and was hastily stuffing large
pockets with what appeared to be out-of-date foodpacks.
As he stepped into the light coming through the door his shadow fell on the
figure and it stood and spun quickly. A
Devaronian, his sharp-toothed mouth curled into a snarl, his coiling horns
from his head protruding at different angles, his red face pockmarked and
grazed. Clothes ragged and torn, several ripped garments hanging over
withered bones. Arach recognised him for a dirter
straight away, not from his appearance but his smell. Dirters
were the beings who had come to Haipspa seeking work but found only poverty
in the darker reaches of the lower chasm. The
Devaronian glared at Arach, clutching foodpacks to
his chest protectively, but when he saw the rifle in his hands he panicked
even though the weapon wasn’t pointed in his direction. One
hand came up placatingly, stretched out to Arach
palm out, foodpacks dropping to the floor. “No.”
He growled, his voice gravely and wavering. Arach
realised how threatening he must appear, and lowered the weapon so that it
was behind him. “No, wait don’t worry, wait...” The
Devaronian, however, was backing off. “Hungry, just hungry. No-one wants this, I’m not a thief, please...” “I’m not going to hurt you, just tell me,
what... where is everyone, what’s...?” “Get out.” The Devaronian stammered.
“They’re coming, coming. Run. Get out!” The alien was almost hysterical now,
dropping the packs as he started to back away. “Who? Who is coming?” With
a whimper and a sudden spin, the Devaronian turned and ran off for the far
exit. "They’re coming!” He screamed, his
voice starting more echoes that Arach winced at. He watched helplessly as the
alien bolted for the door, passed through and vanished. All he could hear
then were his footsteps receding into the distance. Although
the alien had been none too helpful and his information cryptic, his panic
had been all too informative. Someone was coming, someone who had terrified
the citizens and cleaned out an entire city. Arach
started contemplating what the threat may be when he noticed a low
reverberating under his feet. The resonance was sequential, the tremors
sudden and evenly spaced. He looked about in confusion, and then headed
outside. A quake? Maybe the citizens had evacuated because of a tectonic
warning? He headed back to the speeder, making up his mind to get out of the
city and try and contact one of the other settlements for information. A
glint of sunlight reflecting off a bright surface caught his eye, down in the
chasm, far up the canyon. He squinted at the light as it flickered and he
slowly approached the railing. Unclipping
a small macroscope from his belt he held it up to
his eye and zoomed the visual receptor to where the
light was coming from. The enhanced image clarified as the light dimmed and
he zeroed in on the object the light was bouncing off. A
huge object, a quadruped, its head waving from side to side as it lumbered
along. Huge. As Arach looked at it the picture cleared and he swallowed hard. An
Imperial AT-AT, the huge lumbering four-legged war machine of the Galactic
Empire, was slowly walking up the canyon. Heavy assault cannons bristled from
its head, and as it came fully into sight he saw another one coming up behind
it. At their feet were smaller objects; AT-ST's, the smaller two legged
versions of the huge battle engines, quick-stepped along with speeder bikers
flanking them. For
some reason, Arach couldn’t take his eyes off the approaching Imperials. So
large. So powerful. With every step the ground under his feet shook. He
turned from the railing and walked quickly back to his speeder. His hands
were tingling and his teeth were grinding. His mind worked furiously.
Suddenly, he had been seized with the need to leave the city. Like
everyone else. Over
the far railing of the huge bridge he could make out more shapes coming down
from the opposite side of the city. More AT-AT’s
and their support. The rumbling under his feet had become almost constant.
And then the sounds from the sky began. His
head snapped up. Landing ships were coming down in the hangars, huge troop
transports and small three-winged shuttles. As they began their descent, TIE
fighters screamed overhead, some passing below under the bridge. Smaller
combat vessels dropped down into the streets, mainly outside the councillor's
offices and the policing department. As soon as landing gear touched plastcrete, pressure doors unsealed and boarding ramps
dropped. Arach watched, rooted to the spot, stupefied even, as white armoured
Stormtroopers emerged, spreading out, covering every
part of the areas they landed on. The first few just stood around the ships,
the next few moving out to cover key points in the streets, and then yet more
marching down the ramps in order. Grey uniformed officers followed them down
and looked around the area casually. They pointed in certain directions and
the Stormtroopers responded immediately to their instructions. Scouts
on speeder bikes flew past, shocking Arach out of his amazement. They spared
him casual glances as they headed out into the city. A tall AT-ST began walking
down the ramp of one of the larger transports and started walking down the
street towards him, Stormtroopers running behind it. Arach suddenly realised
he still had his rifle in his hand and quickly threw it into his speeder. He
walked around and pressed himself up against the vehicle as the AT-ST walked
past. The following Stormtroopers passed also, the odd one looking at him but
then turning their attention somewhere else. They walked so close to him he
could have stuck his foot out and tripped one. The thought actually came to
mind and he grinned to himself, trying to suppress his shock. An
officer began to walk across the street, looking intently at a datapad. As he
stood back to allow an armoured personnel carrier to pass he looked over at
Arach. Arach looked away, trying to ignore his gaze,
but the officer lowered his pad and started to walk over. “I thought this city was going to be
deserted.” The officer said, one hand dropping to his gunbelt
where he hooked his thumb. “What are you doing here?” Arach
stammered. He couldn’t think of anything to say and he blurted out. “I... I came in to buy a new plasma
welder.” The
officer smiled his perfect teeth white against his tanned skin. He pointed
over at a deserted hardware shop on the other side of the street. “Help yourself.” He said, laughed at his own joke, and then
crossed over the street. Arach
slowly climbed into his speeder, started it up and slowly turned it down the
road. A
Blaster shot made him snap his head around, and as he passed an alley opening
he saw the Devaronian lying face down in his pile of foodpacks,
his back smouldering. He had a long metal pipe held tightly in his hand, and
as the scene went out of view Arach saw two Stormtroopers materialising out
of the darkness with weapons ready. Several other troopers ran to the scene
to investigate. Arach forced his gaze back to the road and did his best to
ignore the body. At
a sedate pace he drifted back the way he had come, slowing at intervals to
allow squads of Stormtroopers to pass or heavy armament to pull out of hangar
bays. As he headed back into the residential district he saw Stormtroopers
doing house-to-house searches, Imperial technicians deactivating security
locks and the troopers entering the buildings and searching. Every building
was under scrutiny, even their adjoining garages and smaller constructs. The
Stormtroopers methodically went through every centimetre of the street. But
they ignored him. Every now and then he would have to slow as more troopers
and vehicles choked the road, but then a Stormtrooper would wave him on. He
finally reached the outer buildings and then accelerated into the wilderness
of Wennicas. The Empire! Here! He knew that the government of Wennicas were in
talks with the Empire to supply industrial goods, but from what he had heard
recently the talks had broken down after uncompromising demands from the
Imperial war machine. Had the talks failed so badly that it had caused
military action? He couldn’t believe it. Why? If the Empire took control of
Wennicas it was obvious what would happen. Taxes, oppression, virtual slave
labour for the poor souls in the workstations. He shook his head in sadness.
Maybe it was time to load his business on his ship and get off this planet. The
last hill loomed above him, on the other side was
his junkyard, his livelihood for these past few years. He sighed as he
approached. Just
before the crest he saw another speeder, one he recognised. Huge modified thruster engines and garish paintwork, pennants
fluttering from numerous communication antennae. It was Cart’s speeder. His
Rodian friend stood out in the road, waving his arms frantically. Arach
slammed his brakes on and stood in the cockpit. “Cart!”
He shouted. “What the hell is going on?” The Rodians voice, hoarse and whispery,
came out in a rush. His language was one that Arach understood. “I’ve been waiting for you. Talks broke
down between the guild and the Empire,” Cart explained. “Any excuse. Any
excuse for the Empire to take over. The guild told the populace and they got
out of there, fast. Wouldn’t you?” Arach
nodded. “I don’t believe it. I just... where is everyone?” “Well...” “No time, anyway. I’ve got to get my ship
packed up and out of here before the troops start scouring the area. Do you
now how much of my merchandise is illegal?” Cast
appeared worried. “There might be a problem there, Arach.” “What do you mean?” Arach suddenly felt
very nervous. “Well, you know you’re junkyard is built
over the area’s only fresh water outlet?” Arach
slammed his rear end back down into the pilot’s seat and hit the accelerator.
The Rodian called after him but he ignored the shouts for him to wait. “No, no, no.” He mumbled, and crested the
hill. There
was his junkyard. And
all around were makeshift tents, collapsible shelters, energy fields
protecting the refugees of the city from the elements. Thousands upon
thousands of refugees, hundreds of species, camped around the outer walls and
the inner yard, around the base of his ship and virtually filling the plain
his junkyard was situated on. Hundreds of beings, milling, swarming.
He heard shouts of friends, the laughter of children, calls from official
looking people trying to maintain order in the chaos. Arach
slowly stood and looked at the masses. “Oh dear" He said. The Quiet City 1999 short story by Jonathan Hicks Three years after Episode IV - A New Hope Histories - Set in and around the Empire's invasion of the planet Wennicas, this short story by Jonathan Hicks tells of some of the trials and tribulations that
befall the junker and all round good guy Arach
Raynor. Set not long after the
events of Episode V - The Empire
Strikes Back, this story shows the beginnings of the massive Imperial
push into the Setnin Sector - and
their intent on gaining revenge for their huge losses at the Battle of Mantin. Cast of
Characters Arach
Raynor Cast Ju'rut |