Private Against the Clock

[Jared Starchaser]

The fact that this Jedi was on a frozen world was really bizarre to him. Kattada was a world of life, so was Monastery. Dagobah too… They were places for Jedi to be, and Jedi to hide. Though he knew some of the Force adjacent folk who hid on Hoth. And there was Jakku to consider. Why Jedi tried to hide on such forsaken worlds was beyond him. Looking back at the ship, he was in full gear for this weather, even if he hated it.

The Crosscurrent wasn’t far back, and he had his two swoops aboard. He wasn’t sure if that was a mad decision or brilliant. “Coordinates said this world, and not far from here. This is the only landing site…” Jared shook his head. Rocky cliffs, a path, and snow fields. This was definitely a great idea.

That was when he heard the telltale whine of a twin ion ship. Looking up, he squinted and his goggles gave him some set up of vision. Definitely a TIE Shuttle. But unique… hunters.

“Looks like we’re not the only ones looking!”

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Winter gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

The crunch of snow under her boots came with a low grumble muffled into the collar of her heavy coat. Valery had pulled it so high that only her eyes showed above the fur-lined edge, but even that did little to ease the sting of the wind against her face. Her shoulders were tight, her body language carrying every ounce of her dislike for the cold.

She was a woman meant for fire and sun, not frozen wastelands, damnit.

"This is miserable," she muttered, tugging the coat tighter around herself as she walked up alongside Jared. A breath escaped in a white cloud as she tilted her head toward him. "Tell me you at least have a speeder with heating on that ship of yours. Otherwise, I'm starting to think you lured me here on purpose." The edge of a smirk betrayed the tease beneath her grumbling, though her tone still carried her obvious discomfort.

The sudden roar of engines cut through the air, pulling her gaze skyward. A TIE Shuttle carved its way across the clouds, the sound rattling through the cliffs around them. Valery exhaled sharply, sinking her nose back into the warmth of her collar. "Perfect. Hunters." Another low grumble followed.

"As if the cold wasn't bad enough."

Jared Starchaser ​

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Yeah, snow. He was not happy with it. But again, they had to be here. Jared went where the Force called him, and sometimes that was to awful places such as this. Lucky for him, his new hobby was finding useful creatures to report back to others like him, hunters, rangers, beast wardens. He was a novice at it, but still, it was worth it. Keeping a few in the proper container aboard the Oasis for moving it with his ship? A good option.

They unfortunately had none here. They did have the speeders.

When he looked over at the Grandmaster, and as he spoke, he nodded. So she was human, after all. Good to know.

“Nah, swoops. We’ll have to make do with the Force.” He hated that answer, but sometimes it was all he had. Jared was more prepped for all the warm worlds, and had they had time to go to the Oasis he may have been able to prep, but time was of the essence here.

“Looks like we;re on the clock.” He said as the ship’s cargo hold lift started to drop, on its four pillars, two swoop bikes were lowered down.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Winter gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery let out a heavy sigh, a puff of white mist rising into the frigid air. A loose strand of hair fell against her cheek, and with a huff she blew it aside before tugging her collar back up. Her eyes shifted from the TIE in the clouds to the swoops being lowered, and she gave Jared a faint smirk.

"Better get moving, then," she muttered, her voice edged with the same weary frustration the cold had dragged out of her since they landed. Still, there was a flicker of relief in her tone. At least it meant no more trudging through snowdrifts on foot.

She stepped toward the bikes, her gloved hand brushing over the metal as she swung a leg over and settled into the seat. "I'll give you this much," she added, the smirk tugging a little wider, "They may not be warm, but swoops are at least fun." Her orange eyes flicked toward him, the grin lingering.

"Lead the way."

Jared Starchaser ​

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Worlds like this were his bane. There was a time he was tempted to learn some spells from the Dathomiri witches that’d help him use the cold as a weapon, but those times were long past. He knew he didn’t need it. Tactics, a good blaster, a better saber, and the Force skills that his family was known for were all he needed.

Sure, Light didn’t do much against natural beasts in the way his father used it, but the way Jared did? Provided so much more. As Valery suggested they move, Jared nodded and mounted one of the pair of bikes.

“I think I’ve got them zeroed in…” One skill he had was converting his instinctive astrogation to planetside work. Looking her over, he nodded. Swoops were fun, but also the go-anywhere of the old Outer Rim Judges. He was fine with that. With a second glance, he pushed the throttle forward, rushing off, loosely in the direction the TIE was going, but definitely in the direction of the target.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Winter gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery eased the swoop forward, letting Jared take the lead. He clearly had a sense for the direction, and she wasn't about to get in the way of that. But once he was off, her own throttle opened up and the engine growled under her as she caught up, falling into place alongside him with a faint grin tugging at her lips.

"If this wasn't a serious mission," she called over the roar of wind and engines, "I'd be racing you right now." Her smirk flashed quickly before her eyes shifted back ahead, orange gaze narrowing against the cold bite of air.

The sensation in the Force pressed harder the further they went, pulling her focus beyond the horizon. She leaned slightly forward in the seat and spoke again, "They're slowing down. I can feel it. They must be landing."

Her grip on the controls tightened, ready for what was coming.

Jared Starchaser ​

 

[Jared Starchaser]

The freedom a motorized vehicle provided was a lot that all Starchasers seemed to share. Moving at speeds greater than they could achieve elsewhere. Honestly it was a wonder they weren't speedsters. But being explorers with a Force enhanced sense of direction and a wild ability with Force Light made them a beacon for others.

Snow whipping on his visor the Mirialan smirked as he saw Valery catch up. His swoop was a late model one set up for Judges of the Outer Rim, modified to his liking. Hers was more of a stock model of the same.

"Too bad a TIE is here huh?" A laugh escaped him over the comms. His eyes went back to the sky. As she spoke he nodded. "Not far out. They're probably landing."

They had to get around the ridge. Pushing the throttle more, it was a silent let's hurry. Jared hoped they didn't land between them and the target.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Winter gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery leaned low over the handlebars as the swoop ate up the distance, her gaze sharp on the horizon. The roar of engines and the bite of the wind were background noise compared to the pull of the Force guiding her. Ahead, a flicker of motion caught her eye. The TIE was descending, cutting toward the line of mountains that loomed in the distance. She narrowed her eyes, catching sight of dark openings scattered along the cliffside.

"They're heading for the caves," she said over the comm, "If they've been hiding out here, that's where we'll find them."

She throttled down as they closed in, easing her swoop into a halt behind a ridge that gave them cover. Snow swirled as she swung off the bike, boots crunching against the frozen ground. She looked back at Jared, her hand settling on the hilt at her hip.

"We go on foot from here," Valery said firmly. "Any closer on the swoops and they'll hear us coming. Let's move before they have a chance to vanish into those caves."

Jared Starchaser ​

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Following the TIEs in the storm that was here was no easy feat. The noise did help, their trust in the Force helped further. Jared was a hunter, he knew he could get after these beings but it was a matter if he could keep up. Swoops and starfighters were different speeds, after all.

“Makes sense for me, too.” Most sentients did go for something that resembled a residence. They didn’t spend too much time out in the wilds. Making a note of where the swoops were and leaving a beacon on his, this was a foreign planet and he didn’t want to lose his swoops.

“Yeah, foot makes sense. If we’re lucky they won’t have a Forcer, or a tracker with them and are working on given coordinates. Which means bounty hunters.” Frankly, Jared would prefer the hunters, they could at least be disabled.

Checking his ger, the old Levantine armor, his kyber cannon, and lightsaber, he nodded. “Lets get moving!”

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Winter gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery nodded as she pulled her cloak tighter against the wind. "Then let's not waste time," she said, starting down the ridge with careful steps.

The ship loomed against the pale landscape when they reached it, ramp lowered and still warm from its descent. Valery's eyes swept the ground, and almost immediately she crouched, gloved fingers brushing across the snow. Clear tracks led away from the vessel, cutting toward the cliffside.

"Footprints," she said, rising again to scan the trail. Her gaze flicked to Jared, "Can you tell how many passed through here?"

She rested a hand against her lightsaber hilt, ready to move, "Either way, they cannot be far. Let's follow and close the distance before they disappear into the caves."

Jared Starchaser ​

 

[Jared Starchaser]

This snow was going to need to melt real fast. Jared had a chance to learn the cryokinetic powers, but the Witches made it clear it wasn’t quite where he wanted to be, at least under his father’s view, or the current team partner he had. He pulled his kyber cannon from its shoulder holster and warmed it up. The kyber inside, blue, gave the gun a bit of a power boost, but more than that, the powercell didn’t need to be replaced. As he stepped forward, he saw the prints again.

Taking a knee, he put his hand on the footprints.

“Feels like a squad… Six? Lightly armored, not stormtroopers… Elites?” He looked up at the older Jedi.

Blaster bolts stung even more in the cold.

“Caves aren’t far, can feel the… change in the wind.” He did learn a few things from Witches.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Winter gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery arched a brow, her lips curving into a smirk as she glanced his way. "In the wind, hm? All I feel are my toes and fingers freezing up." Her tone carried a light tease.

Still, her gaze shifted back to the tracks with a faint nod. "You're right though. They're not just raiders. Better trained, probably disciplined enough to give us trouble if we're not careful." Her hand brushed over the hilt at her side before she started forward, heading to the caves.

The caves loomed ahead soon after, dark mouths yawning open against the cliffside. The prints led directly toward them, and at the edge of the entrance lay a faint glowstick. Valery slowed, her eyes narrowing on the mark. "Looks like they wanted to be sure they could find their way back out."

She tilted her head slightly toward Jared, her voice quieter now. "Means they went in deep. Let's not give them too much of a head start."

Jared Starchaser ​

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Jared had been out and around the galaxy a bit, as a Judge, and as a Warden he learned many tricks that superceded his own Jedi teachings from his father. The way he worked now was that of the Levantine Sentries, he was a hunter, and a protector. Looking at her, he nodded.

“I mean, it is freezing here.” He nodded, suddenly a little no-nonsense. They needed to find this person, before that Imperial ship did. “Yeah, not raiders. Maybe bounty hunters?” Or worse, purge troopers. That wouldn’t be great, because it meant the they were hunting Forcers, and having that out in the Outer Rim was not something Jared wanted.

They needed to keep to the Core with these big fights.

As she pointed out the glow rods, Jared nodded. “Yeah, they’re ahead.” He hooked up his saber again and pulled out his blaster. “Only a bit ahead, We can catch them.” He whispered, knowing that the Force was going to give them the haste they needed as he started forward.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Winter gear
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery's brow furrowed slightly at his words. "Maybe," she said, though the tone suggested she wasn't convinced. "But bounty hunters this organized, this deep in the Outer Rim… it doesn't feel right. They usually work alone or in small cells, not squads." Her gaze lingered on the glowstick again, then shifted toward the shadows that swallowed the cave mouth.

She stepped forward beside him and began to head inside. The sound of their steps echoed faintly off the stone walls as they entered, the temperature dropping with every meter they moved. Valery reached out through the Force, feeling the ripples of movement ahead... tense, quick, and persistent.

Then the silence was shattered. A single blaster shot rang out, ahead, its sound echoing through the entire cave system. Another followed, the echoes chasing each other down the narrow passage.

Valery's head snapped toward Jared, her instincts already pulling her forward. "Come on," she said quickly. She then broke into a run, saber hand ready at her side as she pushed ahead toward the sound.

Whatever waited for them deeper inside, it was already in motion.

Jared Starchaser ​

 

[Jared Starchaser]

He honestly doubted it was bouty hunters. He could always hope though. Jared would rather deal with rabble this far out than some sort of Imperial or Sith inquisition hunting people down. And in this cave? He couldn’t see the sky and didn’t care for that one bit. But in they went. Lightsaber in his hands. He could tell something wasn’t right here.

And that typically lead to not bounty hunters, they’d be going after younglings and the like. Easy targets. This was something else.

And the blaster bolt that rang out? They were moving away. He nodded as she bid him to follow. He reached out in the Force to help himself navigate, getting a feel for the history of the stone, and seeing where they had gone. One turn, another, a drop, and then a large room.

Another tweak of the Force and they were ‘followed’ by what looked like ancient Alliance Irregulars, from the time the GA was on Sullust. Armored enough.

And down below? Purge troopers and a dark sider, purple blade lit, facing off onto the ones they were here for, green and yellow blades. Jared made a shout for ‘throw down your weapons.’

Valery Noble