Blue Vapor

[Jessica Cloud]

​

The Western Expanse
Ilum

Accidents happen. Even to a Jedi. During a routine satellite repair above the ionscape of Ilum's sixth sphere a Jedi machinist's starship had been struck by a meteor shower. A bad one too. The eventual outcome of that freak and unforeseen situation was the pilot ejecting over the Sol Peninsula and his ship disappearing into the barren Western Expanse of Ilum. A mess to be sure. The pilot, yes, they had recovered two hours ago. Alas. His ship? ...Not so much.

At least. Not yet.

It was thirty six minutes into the operation and Jessica Cloud had yet to remove her headphones. The Jedi Knight and Inquisitor of Chandrila was piloting a jumpship and doing her best not to fall asleep at the wheel. The western expanse of Ilum was little more than blue mountains under a churning blue sky. It was a clear day in the all-winter biome and you could see for a vast, vast distances in every direction. Yet it was always the same image that greeted your eyes. One blue mountain valley after another. Forever and ever, off into the edge of time. Lost. If she could have put it any better herself. This mission was a white neddle in a snow colored haystack. Useless.

On the musical side of things, it was a much more optimistic story. The trial run of her new headphones was going smashingly and her personal phone held hours and hours worth of sweet jams for her to enjoy. So even though they were slated to be out here for hours on end, looking for a lost starship amongst the snow? Heh. She had prepared accordingly. Even if that meant spending the rest of the adventure just migrating across the controls.

They hadn't picked up the ship's radio signal even once in their skyward patrol. Not a single sign of the darn Jedi vessel. Just an empty radar and endless valley's of snow-covered fun. ...Fun? More like frost covered agony to be sure. At this rate? This little expedition could take until tomorrow morning. Bleh.

"Yo? How we doing back there eh?"

Jess slipped the headphones off her long brunette head. Pausing her music just long enough to see if her co-pilot was still alive and kicking. They hadn't really talked since they'd left the White Base.

"You still alive back there or should I phone the Temple and tell them we've lost another one? Heh."

She smirked and nodded to herself. Ahh. What a boring trip.

The jumpship glided over the expanse like a quiet sentinel. A lazy voyage soaring ever onward into the endless Ilum skies. The perfect beginning to an even more perfect adventure.

.....

@Raydo

 

[Raydo]

Silas hated the cold. He had spent some time on Ilum, but stayed away from the frozen planet whenever possible. It made him miss Tyhton all the much more. He had only meant to be on the planet long enough to deliver a report, but had been volun-told to help in a "simple" recovery mission. They have been out here for what seemed like an eternity.

He had sat behind the older Jedi pilot, in silence. She didn't seem all that interested in talking, so Silas remained silent. So he watched the sensors for something...anything to appear. An hour in, he stirred in his seat as he spotted something, but as he focused, his "blip" turned out to be a fly that had landed on the console.

He was shocked when the other Jedi broke the silence, removing her headphones. He didn't really register her words clearly right away as he was half dozing off in his seat. "Huh? Me?" he said ridiculously "Smooth. Who else would she be talking to" he thought blinking his eyes open. "Yeah, I am back here, barely though." he said chuckling. "Defiantly not the most exciting assignment for sure. Didn't think it would take us this long through" he said looking out over the white world.

He hated this planet.

@Jessica Cloud

 

[Jessica Cloud]

Jess nodded with her eyes to the horizon,

"Yeah. It really shouldn't. Our lost ship should have a black box and it really should be broadcasting. We should have seen something by now."

The woman in black frowned and stared at her console again. Still nothing.

"Alright. This isn't working. I'm going to com the Temple and tell them to get us some satellite support out here. We'll track the downed ship using a materials scan. An isolation on the ships drive core should..."

*beep beep beep*

Suddenly Jess stopped and blinked at her scope. Wait. Wait! Maybe they had something after all!

"What a minute... Think we've got something. Bringing us in closer now. Zoom in on that and tell me what we've got yeah?"

The jumpship changed course sharply and began a flurried descent into the mountain valley. As the clouds parted a beautiful vast lake of calm blue water appeared. No sign of smoke or ship though? Strange. Could it have crashed into the water? Ya know? ...That might explain the weak signal. This could just be it!

"I'm gonna skim the water now. ...Got anything back there?"

The vessel streaked over the blue lake at a hair's breath to the water's surface. This was sure to get them the best reading possible. Or... Ya know. Kill them both in a sudden, yet inevitable, crash across a massive body of water at ludicrous speeds nigh a flaming bat out of hell.

Meh. Which ever came first.

.....

@Raydo

 

[Raydo]

The ship rattled at the older Jedi Knight took them down into the valley. Silas didn't particularly like atmospheric flight, especially when it felt that the ship was going to shake itself apart.

"I don't see anyth..." he was mid reply when his whole console went dark.

He felt the engines go silent as well.

"We're dead back here." he said, trying to push back the panic in his voice.

They were going to crash, and due to their dive into the valley they were moving faster than one would want to be going if having to make a crash landing. "What do we do?" he asked the woman as they began to drop from the sky. The cockpit was silent without the hum of the engines, it was a surreal feeling.

He tightened his restraints. "I know its a bad time for request, but id prefer not crashing into the water!" he said.

 

[Jessica Cloud]

"As you wish!"

There was a deviant twinkle in Jess' eyes as she said that. A spark that drew out from her inner most depths and inspired. No. Not inspired. Inflamed.

"Here we go!"

The engines roared back to life right on que and the wind buffeted against the storm. Great streaks of light flared from the vessel's tail as they smashed against the sky's bitter wind with a terrible pull. Jess drew up on the stick with a whirl of her grin and their ship came to a grand rising shear, right over the water's edge. They leveled off and power was restored to the consoles. Leaving their vessel to skim easily over the water's wide breadth. Nice and easy.

Safe and sound.

"Ya know. For a Jedi, you sure don't seem to enjoy driving like one? Hehe." Jessica mused and winked to her co-pilot. "...Well. How about you try that console again. At this range? Yeah. We should be able to see right down to the lake's bottom. Ha. If there's a ship down there? ...We'll know it. Soon enough."

Outside the skimming vessel, the water was like smooth glass. Just a bird on a feather. With not a care in the world.

Meanwhile, on the bottom of the lake a burning wreckage continued to bubble and boil in the cauldron's dark waters. Oh yes indeed. It seems our heroes had found their lost Starship after all.

.....

@Raydo

 

[Silas Lightsinger]

The ship roared back to life, and Silas let out his breath he didn't know he was holding.

"No where in the Jedi Code does it say you need to fly like a crazy person." he mumbled with only a hint of annoyance in it. He couldn't help but feel relief when then they touched down.

Within a few moments, he was standing on solid ground once again, he resisted the urge to be dramatic and kiss the earth, choosing instead to move to he edge of the lake. It may have been just warm enough for the water to not freeze over, but it was still incredibly cold outside of the ship.

"So." he said looking into the water just off the small beach "We have found our ship, but how do we plan on getting down there?" he asked turning towards the woman. "If she thinks I am getting in that blasted water...." he thought as he awaited her response.

 

[Jessica Cloud]

Jess unbuckled and moved outside the ship. Somewhat joyfully deviant of her own efforts at having watched poor Silas get a little frazzled at landing.

"Have no fear. Science is here!"

She waved to the whole world and quickly retreated inside the ship. Emerging only moments later with a tiny little orb robot in her arms.

"Meet Mercy. Our underwater survey drone. Tada!"

Jess placed with tiny spherical creature into the icy water with a burr and a gasp. Retreating easily with a shake of her wet hands. Gackt! Cold!

"There! Now all we have to do is drive down there and see what's the matter. Here..."

She tossed him a computer tablet with a video game's controller scheme and layout.

"...Now. Your turn to drive. Hehe."

The tablet flashed to life with the vision of the poor little robot underneath the water. Oh? Apparently Silas was about to become the Jedi's first Drone Operator. Huh?

.....

@Silas Lightsinger

 

[Silas Lightsinger]

As Jessica leaned over the water, Silas reached out with the force, picking up a small stone and let it splash down beside the woman. It would not soak her, but it he had a feeling the cold water would prove to be just the right amount of revenge.

He grinned as he caught the tablet and the screen came to life. The controls were simple enough, he began piloting the small drone towards the bottom of lake.

"What are expecting to find?" he asked the woman as the drone descended to the bottom of the lake, searching for the sunken ship. There were several times he turned to put his back to the frigid wind. While he had escaped actually getting in the water, his hands still felt numb from the cold air.

The drone was at the bottom of lake, he then started moving it along the surface near the area they had spotted something earlier.

"Lets ask the freighter pilot crash his ship on Tattoine next time." he said jokingly as he continued his search.

 

[Jessica Cloud]

Revenge was best served OMG cold. Leaving poor Jessica to shake her wet hands and blade her eyes with distaste. Ugh. What a noddle-head.

"Expecting? Nothing. We just need to grab the ship's flight recorder for the satellite investigation. You know. Insurance purposes and all that."

Crashing a starship cost money. Money that insurance companies hated paying. Thus, investigations usually got launched to see whether or not the pilot was really at fault. Blah blah blah. Typical political baloney. Still. Even out here on Ilum? Money talks. That fighter sitting down there at the bottom of the lake? Yep. Still cost the Jedi Order thousands of credits to replace. Funny that. You'd think money would be the last of the Jedi's concerns. Ha. Nope. Still pretty relevant.

Well. Relevant enough to get Jessica stuck on this mission anyway. Bleh.

"So. How long have you been on Ilum anyway?"

Droning takes awhile. Might as well small talk before they both freeze to death. She didn't have anything more pressing to do right now anyway. He was driving.

.....

@Silas Lightsinger

 

[Silas Lightsinger]

"Too long." he responded as he focused on the small screen in front of him. "Arrived earlier this morning. Was hoping to be on my way to warmer places. Why the Jedi would choose this frozen hell as location for a temple is beyond me." he said with only a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"And what about you?" he asked.

He noticed the aquatic drone was pushed off to one side as a shadow passed over the camera. It made him jump a bit in surprise. Before he could right the small drone it was hit again, the shadow passing from the other side.

The force of the blow knocked the drone upside, it was difficult to find its orientation in the water.

"It would appear we aren't entirely welcome down there either."

 

[Jessica Cloud]

"Three days. Nothing special. I came for a supply dump and got swindled into this. I had hoped to be outsystem already. But alas... Fate is a cruel mistress."

Jess took the moment to browse their surroundings and glare up at the tall mountain peaks. Remembering that she had yet to call back to base with the fighter's exactly GPS.

"If there is a lifeform down there giving you trouble? Try guiding the drone towards the crash residue bubbles that drift out from the crash. Contaminants won't hurt the machine but fish hate the smell. Think of it like driving through the smoke."

It was the best advice she could ponder at the moment. Given the current temperature and depth? Jess wasn't even sure what kind of creature could be down there. Bleh. Flipping alien worlds and their strange biospheres. It was probably a salt-water mermaid for all Cloud knew. Go figure.

Jess moved to stand closer to the jumpship's engine ports. It was warmer near the heat exhaust,

"Ah. And that's my only drone too. Break it? And we'll have to fly all the way back to base just to get a new one."

The moral of the story: don't waste time. Neither of them wanted to come back here anyway.

.....

@Silas Lightsinger