Braving the Storm

Posted on Wed Jan 23rd, 2013 @ 8:48pm by Thane & Bomoor Thort & Berry & Kip Hoddai & Sev Rezer & Morgo Le'Shaad

2,211 words; about a 11 minute read

Chapter: Chapter III: Relics
Location: Tython, near the Red Raptor
Timeline: Early, Day Eleven

OLD

"Very true," Bomoor agreed as he pulled himself up slowly from the dashboard, "I doubt this weather will be easing up any time soon so we had better gear up for a difficult journey. Thane and I should investigate that temple first of all. What the rest of you do is up to you. But, as our good Lady suggested, be careful what you uncover. The artefacts around here could very well be very powerful."

He looked to Berry who was now peering out of the window at the landscape ahead. He added, "But nonetheless, be thoughtful. We came here to learn so let's share our information. We're working together on this."

NEW

To fight back the cold bite of the billowing winds, Thane tugged up at the collars of his black greatcoat, icy blue eyes searching the distance. Where the jungle ended and the sudden and stark ashen landscape began - rocks, petrified trees, grey dust swirling about in the destructive Force storm - the weather was not entirely unlike some areas of Thane's homeworld, bar the swamps.

Here, the bright Tython sun, Tythos, was hidden behind the great, grey clouds, still hammering their violet lightning around the terrain. As another bolt struck, the near-blinding light threw up the outlines of the ruined temple in the distance, shortly followed by heavy thunder rumbling the very ground beneath them. As agreed by his senses, the temple was certainly their destination - and the cause of this wanton destruction.

He looked back to the Red Raptor where he saw the others disembarking, most garbed for the harsh weather system and more or less ready to endure whatever was thrown their way. As expected - and appreciated - Sev was armed to the teeth with his impressive arsenal. Some of it, Thane noted, was new since their visit to Coruscant, and certainly not standard equipment.

"Kip," he looked to the Devaronian, "I've had the warbling machines keep the ship on lockdown, and ready to communicate with us at a moment's notice if anything goes wrong." The former Jedi planted a comlink in the red alien's hand. "I presume you'll be coming with us and you have the best idea of what they're screeching about."

Kip placed the link around his right ear and aborted trying to explain fear, as a valid emotion, from droids. Thane had never respected droids and as his arrogance grew, his disdain for others he considered 'lesser' than himself would grow, as would his willingness to do as he pleased to them along with his arcade of justification for doing so. He popped on his goggles and threw up his hood on the cloak, the only thing he had added to his 'typical uniform'.

Bomoor saddled up beside Thane. He wore his Jedi robe for extra warmth over his more casual clothes but the fine brown fabric was blowing about a great deal, "This storm is tearing up everything around here!" he spoke in a loud tone, to overcome the masking effect of the wind. "Do we know what route we are taking? There's a massive fissure torn into the ground over there and we don't want to fall down one of those."

Sev Rezer was wearing full armor and changing his habit, he was using a typical Mandalorian armored helmet. "There's heat coming out from them and I'm activating my heat seeking scan in my helmet. I believe we'll be able to go through them unharmed if no one has ideas of going about alone." Sev was using several new weapons and equipment he had acquired from Kalen "Rex" Vickers, his Cartel contact on Coruscant. "But I can't say what kind of animals there are in the forest, the scanners aren't working too far. This 'Force Storm' of yours is quite vicious with electronic equipment."

It was a peculiar thing seeing the bounty hunter garbed in his full set of armour, rather than his usual helmet-less approach. Its distinctive T-shaped visor, antennae and scratched green metallic paint was a daunting sight, for more than just the simple reason of looking imposing.

For generations - primarily from around the advent of the current ABY calendar onwards - the armour Sev donned had become associated with the the New Mandalorian Crusade against the feeble Galactic Federation of the post-Krayt galaxy; named the "True Mandalorians", they brought the Federation to the brink of destruction, but not before a schism occurred, and a group known as the Mandalorian Defenders began a centuries-long civil war within their new space. Eventually, it culminated in the creation of Manda'toma, the empire from which Sev hailed from.

Even though the armour became associated with the Defenders after the True Mandalorians (now, rather, the Exiles) as they took on a new design, the image still evoked a wide array of emotions in the Third Republic and beyond, not only because of the New Crusade, but also because of the great number of Mandalorians in private armies and less-than-savoury occupations... and the mystery surrounding Manda'toma itself.

"It sounds like a good plan," Thane said with a nod to Sev, "so long as we are all prepared." He shifted his gaze over towards Berry as he made the comment, raising an eyebrow as he asked: "I hope you've brought the lightsaber? I fear you may well have an opportunity to use it."

Berry tried not to pout at him. "Yeah, yeah, I brought it...but I don't know why I can't just punch 'em!" She had her cabin blanket wrapped around her body for warmth, but nothing helped her feet and so she was hopping slightly on each at the cold.

"Punch a wild animal?", huffed Sev, his voice masked by the helmet. "And even if there's humanoids, they aren't going to play fair, adi'ka. They'll use anything they have on their hands: pistols, rifles and even lightsabers. You can't punch somebody if you're cut into little pieces." He turned to Thane. "Haven't you explained to her what's at stake here?" His head turned to Berry. "This is a hunting party. If you don't do your part someone can die. It could be me or Thane here. Even Boomor. There's real danger. Stop acting like this is some kind of harmless adventure." His voice dripped as cold as the weather. "I'm going to scout ahead. I'm done talking.", he said to Thane.

With that, Sev Rezer walked away slowly, bringing his magnetic rifle over his shoulder. It was a magnificent weapon that could shoot a great amount of energy after several seconds or - changing its mode - could fire like a laser rifle, giving away power for fire rate. It was one of Rex Vickers custom made weapons.

Kip followed along to the side a few meters, giving him perspective of the others' path as well as the area around him without too much 'soft clutter'. The Flows of Tython were a new (ish) thing to him, having become aware of the Force in hyperspace and now seeing them on this world where, though chaotic, they were very similar to what he had come to recognize. He spread his hands and fingers slightly, as if running his hands through water, fingertips trailing through swirling vibrant energy cascades.

Thane simply stood there for a minute, regarding Berry as he contemplated - and hoped she contemplated - what the Mandalorian had said. "Sev is absolutely right," he said firmly, "and this is no harmless adventure. Your fists may be good on Velusia fending off the odd sleazy pirate, or for smacking about some drunken fool in a Coruscant cantina, but they aren't going to stand up to much if a Jedi comes your way, 'light stick' flailing."

Placing a pale hand on the part-Aquar's shoulder and encouraging her to walk along Sev's own path, he continued. "You have a gift so few in the galaxy have, and to an even greater extent than even those few have; don't waste it on simply knocking a few teeth out and bloodying your knuckles when you can do so much more - and so much better." As Thane made the comment, he thought of his own developing dark skills, something he had yet to actually use in combat yet.

Bomoor walked up to Berry as Thane strode ahead to observe the trail Sev was scouting out, "Don't worry. Just stay close - this place is dangerous as I'm sure you can feel but I'm sure Sev will find us a safe route. Don't forget about your Force abilities, either - those can pack quite a punch too!"

Berry smiled warmly at Bomoor and Thane, then turned away to look ahead at where Mr. Rezer left. She pulled on her necklace before briefly rubbing the scar through her tunic...those bazooka flamethrower hands that burned a hole through her sister packed millions of punches, he wasn't a pirate, either, but one of the highest ranking military officials on Velusia. Not that it stopped her...but she needed to get stronger. She sighed and unhooked her lightsaber. "Yeah, I guess I should use this..." She pouted slightly to the side. What would Orza say if she became a better sword fighter? Oh well, the captain of a crew had to be the best, right?

Morgo had watched the crew’s exchange with a detached interest, amused that a few harsh words from Sev to the crew’s version of a pet little sister had sent the cavalry running. First came Thane and then, Bomoor. Smirking to herself, it seemed Morgo had her work cut out for her. Protecting Berry wouldn’t be hard when some of the crew had such an established protective instinct for the girl. Dirt and gravel crunched beneath her heavy, white boot as Morgo followed behind the others, a leather pack on her back.

The Ithorian gave her a nod before catching up with Thane, "Our Mandalorian friend is certainly kitted up for the occasion. I feel somewhat under-dressed. Do you think we'll encounter any resistance? I can't sense anything in this storm."

"Yes," Thane replied simply, waving his hand at the heavy clouds above them, "or else I doubt this would very likely be here." Setting his gaze back upon the temple in the distance, he was very interested in finding the source of the storm, of which the temple seemed to be the eye of, seemingly swirling around and slightly towards its cracked and ancient stone structure. The Human was also impressed by the apparent sturdiness of the structure, but when he stretched out, he, too, found his abilities muffled by the storm - particularly as they traipsed closer.

Nearing the fissure where Sev had entered, Thane could already feel the heat emanating from within, but was also able to spy the path the Mandalorian had taken. In truth, the former Jedi had some doubts about whether this would indeed be an acceptable path. It seemed he was wrong to doubt the Mandalorian's ability; the path looked dangerous but workable - so long as no one slipped off the side.

Even though they were weakened by the Force storm, Thane was still somewhat in tune with his sense, and whilst a certain level of foreboding seemed to grow, this path struck him as the right one. Even so, he ran his hand over his lightsaber hilt quickly before following Sev.

The heat from the fissure continued to rise as they trekked down the scraggy path carved out by the elements. The group carefully edged their way down, finding that the path at least gave them solace from the howling wind and downpour above, even if it did place them inches away from a perilous drop into the planet. Sev directed the group into a cave which led up and out into a small clearing. From here, they could see the temple clearly - a dark stone building with a purple-hue and two spires that shot up from its rooftop like horns. As the lightning cracked the sky once again, it seemed as though the bolt was drawn towards the spires.

"That path was better than I thought," Bomoor admitted, surveying the area, "Not too much further now but we seem quite exposed here."

Unlike his old friend, Thane did not feel so exposed; his senses were clearer now that they had reached the eye of the storm, now that they stood before this ancient Je'daii Temple, and as they drew closer, he examined some of the glyphs carved into the ancient stone, dotted here and there in between images of ancient battles. Many involved cloaked warriors beneath one of two circles - likely the moons of Tython - with the triumphant-looking army standing beneath the more impressive one.

"Bogan?" He asked, pointing towards the image as the group now stood beneath the massive and crumbling arch of the entrance to the temple. Although he looked briefly to Bomoor, he found himself directing the question to Morgo more. As his eyes passed to the Human woman, Thane noticed that one of the crumbling pillars had what looked to be fresh marks on it - clean cuts.

Lightsaber cuts.

TBC

RSS Feed