[Episode V - NR][O12 - Reytha - NR3F] When the Fields Are Watching

Golden waves of grain rolled endlessly beneath a pale afternoon sky. Reytha’s harvest season was in full swing, accompanied by the steady hum of irrigation pumps, the slow crawl of repulsor carts, and distant cargo haulers lifting toward orbit. A routine patrol from the New Republic moved along a narrow stone path that cut through the fields. The scouts slowed when they spotted a pair of farmers working their field.

“Afternoon,” one of the troopers called over the wind. “Everything holding steady out here?”

The farmer, broad-shouldered and dusted with chaff, wiped his brow and offered a grateful nod. “Steadier than it’s been in months. We appreciate the patrols. Makes folks sleep easier.”

Beside him stood his wife, composed and still, her gaze sharp and unreadable. The troopers exchanged assurances and trade routes secured, patrol rotations increasing, rumors from Gyndine under watch. It was the sort of conversation meant to reassure a frontier world that the galaxy had not forgotten it.

Unseen in the tall wheat beyond the irrigation line, something else had not forgotten Reytha either.

An Imperial probe droid hovered low among the stalks, nearly brushing the tops of the crop. A single red optical lens adjusted focus as its sensors cataloged troop numbers, armor markings, weapon types, patrol timing. On the edge of the conversation, the farmer’s wife allowed her gaze to drift, just briefly, toward the deeper field.

When the patrol finally mounted their speeders and continued down the lane, their engines faded without incident. The farmer watched them go with quiet relief. His wife watched until they disappeared from sight. The fields returned to stillness. Wind moved through the grain in slow, rolling patterns. Then, from within her sleeve, a subtle flicker of activation.

In the wheat, the probe droid rose soundlessly, lifting above the stalks before vanishing beyond the rolling gold.

What appeared to be a simple show of force would soon reveal Reytha as more than a secondary objective… and far more dangerous than anyone anticipated.

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Additional Shots

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This topic was modified 2 days ago by Rebel84

 

Posted : 03/03/2026 1:38 pm