Cold, Hard Truth

[Shalken]

HOTH​

theme​

The ship rocked as Azarael guided the Initiative scout craft through the harsh, powerful winds of the ice-covered planet. The ship rocked and rumbled, struggling to stay steady in the severe weather. The cyborg, opting to forego his typical gunship Midnight Exigent for a more suitable craft, was forced to fly the ship manually instead of utilizing the cerebral connection he was so used to. "Blast these flying conditions..." he growled mechanically under his breath.

Their mission was fairly simple: reach the coordinates of the mysterious artefact, pick it up, and bring it back to the Void. That is, assuming the ancient tome was correct about this entire legend. Azarael wasn't sure what to believe, but if the Skyline Cartel was curious enough to keep records on it, then it was worth investigation.

@Cameron Foster @christhebarker @Tray Tor​

 

[Claire (AI)]

Little was known about the so called "shards of Vhoro" in the Accord's data banks so as a result Claire could not draw a hard conclusion on how dangerous the mission would be. Although at the current rate that Azarael was steering the shuttle into every pocket of turbulence she would not be surprised if the transcended navy admiral ended the mission prematurely by barreling the party into a cliff face. Claire activated the hologram emitter on the ship's center console next to where Azarael was sitting and projected her avatar through it. "If operating this craft has proven itself to be too much of a challenge for you I would be happy to assume direct control over this vessel." She asked rather bluntly.

 

[Fabian Retarma]

Fabian sat in the passenger seat of the gunship since he preferred not be involved in flying even though he could fly. he had eyes closed feeling out to see if he could sense thing that could be related to the shards of Vhoro, but he found it hard to concentrate with near constant violent shaking of the ship, he opens his eyes as the other two talk "I'm sure Azarael can handle it, but you can help by using those sensors because I can't concentrate with the force while this ship violently jolts around" he says reassuringly

 

[Daska]

The shuttle continued to rock as Daska sat behind the pilot in the ship's cockpit. He was carrying his now familiar set of vibroblade javelins on his back and flicked his knife around through his scaled hands as the other spoke. He had been on a previous mission with Fabian and was familiar with the warrior, although the cyborg pilot and accompanying AI were new to him. "I'm sure Fabian will agree that it doesn't really matter how you get us down as long as we're intact at the end of the flight." Daska said as he watched the icy landscape of Hoth zip past the shuttle's windscreen.

This shard they were headed down to get interested the Trandoshan, even if it was purely out of his enjoyment of a good hunt. This hunt was not one of prey, though, although if these shards were as valuable and rare as the Accord said they were he was sure it would be worth the journey. Whilst Daska wasn't quite clear of exactly what these shards were for, he knew that the Accord wanted them and if that was the case he'd go and get them. Unfortunately, their first lead was on the coldest damn planet in the galaxy and his species weren't exactly accustomed to such weather. He shivered slightly in his seat.

 

[Shalken]

Glancing at the holographic image of Claire, Azarael instantly regretted it as another wave of turbulence rocked the ship, forcing him to struggle to steady the craft. "I am a centuries-old admiral, I think I can handle myself in these situatio----"

Mid-sentence, the craft hit a pocket of dead air, plummeting the ship several meters downward out of the sky. When it finally regained momentum, it was too late. The ship lurched as it connected roughly with the ground, the ship's walls groaning as the metal hull slid across meters of snow and ice. When the ship finally ground to a halt, Azarael simply sat there for a few moments. Checking various systems, he was relieved to discover that the hull was still mostly intact. "Don't worry, we're fine. The ship will still fly - we just need a slight tune-up before we can make the return trip." Checking the nav-computer, he was pleased to see their destination was not far off after all. Downloading the information to his HUD, he rose from the cockpit, gathering up his gear. Out of a side compartment popped a small astromech droid that chirped cheerily. "Good, I was afraid I'd have to go out there with a mag-wrench and fix this mess myself. Droid, take a look at what's wrong. The rest of you, bundle up - we're going for a walk."

 

[Claire (AI)]

Claire's holographic avatar fizzled as the ship plummeted directly into the frozen earth. "You were saying?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow as she quickly ran through the ship's systems to see what the extent of the damage was. "It would appear that the damage to the ship is mostly cosmetic. Hull integrity is within acceptable levels, engines are functional, and communications is still online. Nice flying."

Claire's snarky smiling avatar disappeared as she transferred her consciousness into her scout dronewhich hummed to life and floated into the air and exited the shuttle.

 

[Fabian Retarma]

fabian shook as the ship crash and scraped across the icy ground of the planet. he groans as he exits the ship stretching and feeling his neck "Any landing you can walk from is a successful landing in my book, so let's get moving" he say with chattering teeth, he then pulls up his hood, covers his face with a scarf and follows the metal man into the blizzard around them

 

[Daska]

Daska had bought a hooded fur coat with him specifically because of the temperature, although he doubted it would help to much. He was also carrying a much needed portable heating unit underneath the jacket in an attempt to keep at least his vital organs working and as they stepped out into the howling air of the planet he saw that it was mostly working. He'd never been to Hoth or any planet as cold as this and despite the icy conditions he couldn't help but be struck by the sloping vistas ahead of them. Nothing but white for miles and miles. Taking a few paces away from the shuttle, he turned to their robotic leader. "So where are we going?"

 

[Shalken]

Offering no other response to the Claire other than an annoyed rumble, Azarael stepped outside, not needing to prepare for the harsh cold winds that awaited the group. Pulling up a holomap of the surrounding terrain, a point blipped nearby indicating the location of the object they were seeking. Looking up from the map to compare it with his surroundings, he spotted the looming shadows of an icy cliff face. As the wind howled noisily, he switched to his helmet's comms as he nodded towards the natural protrusion, "We got lucky, if we slid any further we'd have crashed into that ice wall - likely crawling out of the wreckage, if not dead." This also posed a problem for them; the cliff lay right between them and their target.

"So where are we going?" Making his way around the ship to get a closer look at the cliff, Azarael answered ponderously, "The location should be due South-west, beyond this glacier..." The Admiral began to trudge towards the terrain through the snow to examine it more closely. As the group gathered near the wall, the wind was somewhat lessened, the natural formation blocking the wind. "I'd rather not have to climb over, if at all possible. We are unequipped to do so, especially in this weather."

As his gaze examined the peak, he noticed a strange notch at the top, which continued down to the base. Stepping towards it, he realized it was in reality a pass carved through the solid rock and ice face, leading off in the direction where they needed to go. However, the pass was partially blocked with chunks of ice and piles of snow.

 

[Claire (AI)]

The harsh winds buffeted Claire's drone and threatened to knock it out of the sky as she briefly flew it into the air in order to survey their surroundings. Noticing the same carved path that Azarael saw, wether it was man-made it a natural phenomena was unable to be determined by the icy conditions.

"The obstacle looks like it might be able to be traversed, that is assuming that one could keep his footing while climbing." She said, referencing the obstical which blocked their path. "Alternatively, if someone has a heat based weapon or perhaps a low yield thermal detonator we might be able to melt it. I would advise against blowing it up, the last thing we need is to be buried under 12 feet of fresh snow."

 

[Fabian Retarma]

Fabian steps forward "no need for that I can clear debris, just give me some space" fabian walk closer to the pass, raising both his hands toward the debris, for a few seconds nothing happens and Fabians hands begin to shake then a large chunk of ice begins to slow rise from debris and move from the pass entrance to a few meters away from the entrance, he continues to do this until the way is clearly traversable. dropping last ice chunk, Fabian puts his hands on his hips while puffing and huffing "there... it should be... clear.. just give me... a moment... to rest" he say short of breath.

 

[Daska]

The debris slowly cleared from their path as Fabian became visibly exhausted. Daska didn't see the force in action too much, the practice being uncommon amongst his people, but it never failed to impress him a little. "Nice job. Let's get moving." He said as he patted Fabian on the back. Motioning for Azarael to go first, Daska made his way down the narrow pathway in the cliff face. Despite usually preferring to work alone, he had to admit it felt good to have allies watching his back and being united under the Accord meant they could trust each other.

 

[Shalken]

At Claire's suggestion, Azarael grumbled, "I would rather not have to waste our ammo shooting into a pile of snow if we can avoid--" At that moment, Fabian stepped up, grasping a chunk of the debris with the Force and bidding it move out of their path. What a useful tool, the Force. And to think that entire wars were waged over how it was used, be it Light Side or Dark. Azarael didn't care much for the semantics of it all, but he could not deny its effectiveness.

Once the debris was all cleared, Azarael nodded, "Good work, Retarma." Waiting for a few moments before progressing, the cyborg inspected the inside of the long passageway between the ice cliffs. "Strange," he pondered, "ithat formation doesn't look natural..." Once the others were ready, Azarael stepped into the passage, advancing slowly but steadily, his rifle at the ready.

The cliff faces on either side of them were sheer, rising up high into the air. Inside, the group was perfectly sheltered from the howling wind and blowing snow. Strangely enough, the path that they stepped on was leveled and flat, not uneven or rocky like one would expect. Soon, the answer was revealed to them, as the thick cliffs suddenly widened at the end of the long passage.

​

There, before them all, sat a settlement. In the center sat a great bonfire, the flames rising high into the air, and various huts and houses stood in a circle around it. The entire village was encased in the protective walls of ice, keeping out the majority of the snow and wind, and on the far side lay two great metal doors with rockrete steps leading up to them. Planted in the ground were banners that floated in the wind, emblazoned with an emblem akin to a blackened, fiery rose. As the group stepped forth from the passageway, women, men, and children alike all halted, staring at the newcomers. Many of them gathered up their belongings and immediately hurried into their homes, while others stood by, gazing suspiciously at the Accord members.

Looking down to the datapad he carried, Azarael quietly relayed to his allies, "Judging by the coordinates, the artefact is on the other side of those doors." He nodded at the massive entrance that lay directly across from them. "It seems we will have to negotiate with these people first. Be friendly, perhaps they don't know they have this powerful artifact in their....temple."

As he spoke, a small contingent of armed villagers began to approach the Accord members, with an elderly man at their head. When they had come withing talking distance, the elder spoke, "I must congratulate you, adventurers, for discovering the location of our humble settlement. It is not common for passersby to wander in here, unless they were led. Now, tell me.....why are you here?"

 

[Claire (AI)]

Claire was pondering the paradoxical effect that the force had on objects as Fabian cleared the frozen debris. To Claire there would be no logical reason for hard matter to be moved using the force as according to her sensors no gravitational fluctuations or outside force were detected. It was something that she had to be careful devoting computing power to, lest she fall into an irreversible feedback loop. "An.. adequate performance."

It wasn't long until the party made their way through the crevasse only to be greeted by a posse of armed villagers led by an elderly man. "Congratulations are hardly warranted, your only defense was a large pile of snow."

"Pssh.. Organics..." she beamed directly into Azarael's mind. "I calculate that we have ample ammunition for a full frontal assault.. Please tell me that's the plan I am already sick of these monks and only 19.57 seconds have elapsed."

 

[Fabian Retarma]

fabian turns to face claire "Don't be so rude Claire, this is their home, we are their guests. They could of shots as soon as we walked in here but they didn't, now let's show them the same courtesy" he turns to face the chief elder "Pardon are floating friend, she isn't must understanding of different cultures. and to answer your question we found an ancient tome that leads us here it also said something about shards? we hoping to find out more here?" he asked politely in a non-aggressive stance while subtlely show off his lightsaber to see if they recognise it and what reaction comes from it.

 

[Daska]

The sporadic huts seemed to be in keeping with the impressive architecture of the building across from the group. Daska briefly noted this as being odd, but the notion was overcome with how the humble looking village people reminded him of back home. Whilst the snowy landscape was a stark contrast, some subtle part of the village's primitive tents and houses resonated with him. His companions were talking to this old man far too directly for Daska's tastes.

Maybe something more deceptive could aid them here. Of course, stealing wasn't really preferable and they didnt need to attack these people, but a plausible excuse for investigating the main building could do no harm. Stepping forwards towards the man, he spoke carefully and with a tone of respect. "We have heard rumour of the artifact held at this location. I'm sure you'd agree that a simple chance to witness this object of great interest could do no harm and I personally hope for an enlightening experience. Almost shocking himself with this unusually articulate display, Daska hoped that a pretence of some kind of religious or scientific interest could be established here.