Private "An elegant weapon, for a more... civilized age."

[Perseus Kotar]

Art by: GenieOnMars

"It's a metal cylinder, about this long, with black grips and a few switches on the side."
―Luke Skywalker describes a lightsaber
- - -
​

Power cell, casing, focusing lens, emitter, and of course the most crucial - the crystal. The five main components of a lightsaber each with their own sub assemblies and intricate details. A collection of bits and scraps laid out on the workbench before Perseus, his eyes capturing each piece, its shape, its possible application. Over the past several months he had gathered the parts. He'd even fit them together a few times, partially. Even so he was still missing the most important piece, the final part that would allow him to complete his task, the task of creating his own lightsaber. "There are no two sabers alike, so also yours must be unique," or so Lord Zevran had said. Every time Perseus had tried to fit the parts together he seemed to run into a design problem, interior components conflicting with exterior design choices, wiring and soldering mishmashed in a way which created feedback issues during testing, the real crux of the problem was this though; Perseus had no crystal and without that he had nothing more than a metallic tube. A conundrum indeed.

Reaching out and picking up a curved bit of metal, Perseus ran his fingers over the surface and inspected it. A good piece, no metal scratchings or blemishes, but what was it? A quick scan of the chunk revealed it as durasteel. He frowned. Not what he was looking for. Another shiny bit of metal caught his eye but just as he was about to reach for it a loud chime emanated from down the corridor. Hurriedly setting the piece back on the bench, Perseus stood and headed towards the source of the sound - the cockpit. Stepping over the threshold and setting down in the seat his eyes darted to the viewscreen.

ARRIVAL IMMINENT. ETA ONE MINUTE.

Good, he thought to himself. Space made him uneasy, always preferring hard ground underfoot. It was something that despite spending the majority of his time travelling he still hadn't managed to shake, much to Lord Zevran's chagrin. Thankfully, today, Perseus had set out on his own. There would be no help from his master on this task, it was his alone to complete. It was his alone to fail. Fail, however, he would not. It was simple, "Acquire a lightsaber crystal and complete its construction." It was thus that he found himself readying to enter the orbital zone of Barab I.

Though Perseus' access to knowledge of the Force and its practitioners was limited he had managed to track down information pointing to the Outer Rim world as a source of crystals of quality required for his lightsaber. The information was dated though, the reality of it would only be revealed by getting to the surface and seeing it for himself. Clenching his jaw Perseus fought against his own impatience as he waited for the ship to drop out of hyperspace. It was true, he was oft impatient and had a tendency to be overconfident but it was important to note that it was not out of ignorance. Despite his eagerness to press forward he too had been thorough in preparing for his task. Readied in the cargo bay of the small shuttle were provisions, supplies, protective gear, and to top it off several crates of mining equipment. Another chime sounded, this time an audible prompt aired over the intercom.

"Alert. Hyperspace Reversion in five. Four. Three..." He was ready.

The ship lurched beneath his feet sending him awkwardly sprawling into the pilot's seat. *Mind the bump," he said silently to himself, adjusting himself in the chair. "Let's see what we've got." Focusing his attention on the scanner to his left, Perseus began looking for a landing zone near the equator. That would be the most logical place to land, moderate weather, less likely to have weather anomalies. Punching in a few criteria, he leaned back and waited for the computer to do its thing - soon enough he'd be on the ground and getting to work.

 

[Perseus Kotar]

Landfall
-

Engines spooled down, their high pitched roar slowly giving way to a thunderous cacophony as the storm battered the hull. Lightning flashed and sky poured down rain thick as Perseus had ever seen. It was a wonder he'd even made it to the ground in one piece, indicator lights flashing on his control panel signaling several electrical shorts in the vessel's systems. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he unbuckled his harness, only to be interrupted by a screech - an alarm sounding.

:: FIRE. FIRE. ENGINE HOUSING 2. FIRE. FIRE. ::

The audible alarm repeated itself, squawking over and over. It sent Perseus into motion, snatching up a small tank mounted on the wall as his feet rushed him towards a small emergency hatch at the side of the hull. Of course this would happen to me, he thought as he pushed out into the squall. He could see it, blue fire emanating from the cowling of his vessel's engine, torrential rain doing little to quell the flame. Grasping the small canister and aiming its nozzle towards the base of the flame Perseus activated the device, a thick ooze substance blasting forth and covering the source of the flame. That should help. He grit his teeth, the flame slowly but surely dying out, wisps of smoke and steam floating upwards as the flame finally dissipated. Another sigh of relief, masked by the violent fall of raindrops bouncing off of the ships hull - and his skull. So strong was the rainfall it had begun to sting.

Perseus retreated back into the ship, clothes laden with water, filled with the smell of acrid smoke. A twinge of anger filled his chest, fighting back against the chill he felt. The source of his anger was in fact self driven but such wisdom eluded him, instead blaming the weather, this planet. This was fault of the universe, not of his own making - the truth far less palatable. In frustration, Perseus set to the task at hand - shedding his clothing and replacing it with a dry layer. If he were to venture out he would need to prepare better, an environmental suit would do much to ease the struggle of dealing with the 20+ hour rain cycle of this planet. He would persevere - Zevran demanded it. He demanded it.