Braving the cold of Rhen Var [The Republic]

[Meeristali Peradun]

He hadn't been aboard before, and a shake of his head had indicated as such. Otherwise, he had been quiet while listening to [member="Corvus Raaf"] speak, nodding where appropriate, and cracking a smile, if not a grin at her foibles. He spent a good chunk of time in the archives himself, though most of his studies therein had been on the matter of where next to take his training, or to keep himself informed in advance on the places he had been, and so on. He didn't know the stories she spoke of, but chances were with hearing of them, he would look into it later, when he had a slice of time available.

Once aboard, he found that the praxeum ship was as fantastic as he had been told - [member="Michael Sardun"] had filled him in on the vessel and its virtues, and the Felacatian had been keen to pay it a visit when he could. Now was as good a time as any, with a bunch of unfamiliar faces that he would know better by the time this frigid trip was over. Well... he had met [member="Kiskla Grayson"] before. There was that. At any rate, obtaining crystals was an important task, particularly given his line of 'work', his 'calling' as a Jedi.

What was a Guardian without a lightsaber or two of his own, anyway? As per usual, he had two blasters on him, which he gave another thorough checking over once they were aboard the praxeum, but having them here felt like the complement of bringing a dagger to a blaster fight. Even so, he would manage just fine - his aim was second to none back on Felacat, but at the same time he had yet to test that against anything out here. The fact that not many Jedi used weapons outside of the lightsaber had a great deal to do with that insufficiency.

"Miss Raaf's correct," he said, the natural purr in his voice subdued, leaving a noticeable, flowing and rolling accent behind when he finally spoke up. "You all likely have more at your disposal than you're aware of. Don't discount that. For example, I'm not without the ability to go on the defense, or offense..."

His tail flicked as if to make a point, and vibrant orange eyes looked to each of [member="Tugoro Taidarious"], [member="Kana Truden"], and [member="VlPER"], before settling back on Raff as he stowed away the blaster he had in hand, which was found to be in perfect working order for what was probably the fifth time since they'd set out. He was curious who this '[member="Jerry Mars"]' was, but without a doubt, he'd soon find out.

"...having been a member of my people's armed forces, before this. Between that and the handful of skills I've acquired in my time amongst the Jedi, mitigating my current lack of a lightsaber shouldn't be too much of a problem... if we run into any problems."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus smiled at [member="Meeristali Peradun"]. They were going to be a good mix. It could only be broadened if [member="Johnny Diamonds"] was coming along and he wasn't.

Her datapad beeped at her, as if to admonish. She checked the message. Johnny Diamonds was coming along. No doubt he'd sliced her datapad to include his name.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Tugoro's eyes would shift slowly, moving to the corner of his vision to glance briefly at [member="Meeristali Peradun"]. He had never seen the man before in his life, though from the energy signature he gave off it was obvious that he was a Padawan. The youth would listen to his words, yet he did not show any signs of acknowledging them. The young boy could not help but roll his eyes, for he was usually the one to brag about his skills. A slight smirk would spread across the Padawan's face as he listened to [member="Corvus Raaf"], although it would disappear as he felt the datapad nudge his neck gently. The boy's neck would slowly crane to side, looking at the female with a blank expression, that would slowly turn into a grin. She was funny, he had to give her that.

Sighing quietly, the Jedi figured that there would more than likely be no trouble during their mission. Even so, he did not mind giving out his shoto saber.

 

[Kana Truden]

Kana reached out and grabbed [member="Tugoro Taidarious"]’ hilt right before it hit the ground.

“Uhh, thanks!” Kana shouted back before clipping the hilt to her belt.

As she began folding her jacket she couldn’t help but think about it, maybe she was just overcomplicating things? These things might not even be necessary in the end. She gave it some more thought before putting the jacket in the backpack. No, it was still better to be safe than sorry.

The pack was stuffed once more and she put it on her shoulder. It was a strange sensation to carry a lightsaber on her belt, but if it felt kind of smaller than the regular ones. Did he have tiny hands perhaps? ... Or maybe he just thought she had tiny hands. Switching it on the answer revealed itself; the blade was shorter than usual.

Kana switched it off and put it on her belt again. With a few light taps at the top of the hilt she set off to see more of the ship while she could. It had been a long time coming after all.

 

[Johnny Diamonds]

Johnny Diamonds was a Slicer by trade. One of the best. The best. Yeah, he was the best. At least, he'd not found a single system that could stump him yet, not even the ones of the Order. That's how he'd been hanging on the Kenobi-Class Praxeum the whole time. Truth be told, he'd just sorta stayed aboard after the last time he'd been on-board. Yup, that's his genius move; he simply didn't leave! Low-tech, but effective. Truth be told, he just marveled at the ship, and wanted to study as much of it as he could within reason. He wasn't trying to get in trouble, or court-martialed, or whatever it was that happened to a Jedi if you broke the rules. He'd figured it was easier that way than to be caught slicing the datapad of the Grandmaster to figure out where the ship was, et cetera. Just wasn't worth the risk, and he really admired Kiskla. There was a reasons he was the karking GRANDMASTER of the Order, after all. She was almost like a motherly-type; he didn't want to disappoint her or anything.

Still, that didn't stop him from slicing into Corvus' datapad like a hot knife through butter. See, Johnny did have a lightsaber. But it wasn't actually a working one. As a matter of fact, the things scared the ever loving daylights out of him. That story, however, was for another time. Point is, his lightsaber was in a small box in his messenger's bag, disassembled into it's core parts. And he didn't have a crystal anymore. He sold the one that was in it to get himself back to Coruscant to find his best friend. That too, another story for another day. Johnny had a lot of stories, but no time like the present! And so, that wild child Padawan roared his way through the Praxeum to where the rest of the group was assembled.

"Hey, Corvus! You know I'm not missing this for anyth- "

Johnny stopped dead in his tracks, and just kinda went into statue mode.

The Grandmaster was here, with them? Oh shock...


[member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[GM-1693]

RHEN VAR, Planetside

Scouting about the LZ, "Snipes" was lying prone in a snow bank, looking down his scope. So far he had not seen anything, and his armor was the only thing keeping him warm. His blue eyes covered by his helmet, darted back, and forth watching for any movement. He had been positioned about 100 yards from the LZ, while his very small squad of three, including himself, surrounded the landing zone.

"Kite, got anything on your end?" He asked through his helmets coms. Kite was using a standard assualt rifle with a acog attached. "Nothing Snipes, what about you Vox?" Vox was set 50 yards from the LZ with a carbine. They didnt know each other well, this was their first missiom together. All were part of the G.M. or Galactic Marines. A company trained to fight in any terrain.
"Nothing, so far were clear." He acknowledged.

"Damn Jedi, always like to take their time." Snipes said. "Hey are you not Mando, Snipes?" Vox said. "Yeah, I heard you could speak Mando'ade?" Kite commented back. Snipes sighed.
"Yeah, but I'm not speaking it for ya'll. Anyone know the ETA for their arrival?" He asked.

"About 1 or so more hours." Kite said. Kite was positioned near Snipes, being his spotter. "Hows the wind Kite?" He asked. "20° West, about 12 mph."
"Roger that, adjusting." He tweaked his scope some, and felt it was accurate now.

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Jerry Mars"] [member="Johnny Diamonds"] [member="Kana Truden"]

 

[VlPER]

Viper watched the interaction of everyone. Some seemed to be familiar with each other, while others were just sort of here. He was about to offer his own lightsaber up when...Tugoro, was it? Beat him to it. He simply smiled, and remained silent. Viper could be a bit cocky at times. But until he knew the strengths and weaknesses of his fellow padawans, he wouldn't try and show off. Nothing worse than trying to show off, and have someone bigger and badder knock you back down to size. His eyes were constantly roving about studying everyone quarks. His friend Corvus seemed to have an intriguing relationship with Tugoro. Interesting. Kana seemed almost anxious. Appearing to be checking, and double checking her things like she was missing something extremely important.

He found [member="Meeristali Peradun"] to be quite interesting. Previous experience from his time before the order. That was interesting. He had always been told, Jedi were sent in as small children to be trained. But this eclectic group seemed to defy that logic completely. Why even he himself had only more or less recently joined the order. Though it felt like it had been ages already.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he pulled up his datapad and sent Corvus a message. "If you need a blade. Just let me know. You know I have a couple to spare." When Viper saw her receive his message, he'd flash a small friendly smile. Then he noticed Kana taking off to see the ship after one last newcomer arrived. Having not had this opportunity, he gave the group a small quiet bow, and then went after her. "Hey Kana. Mind if I tag along?" He asked.

 

[Kana Truden]

"Oh, yeah sure, [member="VlPER"]" Kana smiled. "I didn't plan on going anywhere specific, just kinda get lost on the ship, y'know?"

And so Kana went and probably did just that, along with Viper if he wanted to get lost too.

((OOC: Sorry, my posting is going to slow down dramatically from now on... Probably. Exams, yo.))

 

[GM-1693]

Kite stood up, and stretched a little. "There's nothing here, it's Rhen Var for Hutt's sake." He said. A cold wind began to blow slowly about. Snipes stood up too, and spoke. "Come on back Vox, we'll go set up in one of the buildings, and wait for the Jedi arrivals." he hung his sniper over his shoulder, and stretched some himself. They had left Deadsy back at the small HQ they had made. With what buildings still existed here, nothing was really a safe place to call a HQ. It seemed at any moment these buildings would fall. Vox jogged his way down the snow fox hole he had made, and to the other two.

"Any idea why were even out here in this frozen hell?" He asked. Snipes shrugged. "Doesn't matter, orders are orders." They began their walk to the HQ, making small talk, and bickering on their way there. "You aint a bit curious Snipes?" Kite asked. Kite was the youngest of the four. Deadsy being the second, and then Snipes, leaving Vox to be the oldest. "We'll know when they get here." He actually didn't think the Jedi would say, and they would be following their lead for an unknown cause. 'Whatever it takes to get Alderaan back one day.' He thought to himself. He would had rather been at the retaking of Alderaan, then on this ice ball.

Finally getting to the HQ, Deadsy stepped out when he heard them approach. The HQ was set up in what looked like a frozen over shrine of some sorts. Back when the Jedi, or some other force worshiping cult still resided here. "Their getting here sir." Deadsy said. "Yeah? They say if they're bringing food?" Kite replied back. Vox rubbed at his stomach. "Yeah, some grub sounds good at the moment, not them damn cubes. Taste like stale protein." Deadsy laughed a little. "Everything tastes stale to you Vox." Now Kite was laughing. "Alright everyone inside, lets check on our drones." He ordered as he stepped inside the HQ shrine.

Inside was computers all hooked up from what they could bring, a big stationary turret, and a few other survival stuffs. They had been here a week, scouting around the place, checking for enemy presence, and the works. The monitors were linked to the drones that were out scouting the spots they felt were too dangerous to go in person. "So...if there was a enemy here, who would they be?" Kite asked. "Probably Sith." Vox said in reply. Snipes shook his head no. Deadsy chimed in. "Then Shadow Empire maybe, or the Imperial Remnant?" Snipes shook his head more no. "Sith are too busy with Coruscant, and the SE, have their own leadership problems. The Remnant isn't even a threat at the moment. No it's probably someone we've never heard of, maybe some rif raf band of rogues. I don't know. Could just be some wildlife problems." He said watching the monitors. [member="Corvus Raaf"] @Tugoro Taidarius [member="VlPER"] [member="Johnny Diamonds"] [member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

And so, that wild child Padawan roared his way through the Praxeum to where the rest of the group was assembled.

"Hey, Corvus! You know I'm not missing this for anyth- "

Johnny stopped dead in his tracks, and just kinda went into statue mode.

The Grandmaster was here, with them? Oh shock...

Corvus bowed formally to Johnny, unable to keep the smirk from her face. "What is it about you, this ship and grand entrances?"

Before he had time to respond, she waved her datapad at him. "And you couldn't just reply in the timescale required like everyone else? Anyway, do you know everyone here..."

[member="Meeristali Peradun"] [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] [member="VlPER"] [member="Kana Truden"] [member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he pulled up his datapad and sent Corvus a message. "If you need a blade. Just let me know. You know I have a couple to spare." When Viper saw her receive his message, he'd flash a small friendly smile.

Corvus returned the smile and then punched in a message. "Thanks. I knew you'd have my back. If I need it, I'll holler."

[member="VlPER"]

 

[VlPER]

[member="Kana Truden"]

Viper smiled and shrugged. "That sounds like a good plan. I like it. Simple, easy to remember." He laughed as they moved away from the group.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Getting Corvus' message, Viper smiled again, but didn't look back this time. For now, he wanted to see as much of the ship as he could....or were allowed, before they went planet side.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus busied herself during the trip. It was relatively short - Rhen var wasn't so far away - but time equalled training in Corvus' mind. And contrary to how most people believed her priorities to be, she went straight to a training room with a combination of practice droids.

Reputations invariably preceded people – and Jedi were no exception. She knew many considered her the most bookish of the Padawans and initially that tag stung. Back on Corellia she was the reckless one, always getting into scrapes of one form or another. But time changes people and Corvus was no different. And the Jedi Scholar tag had an advantage. Everyone assumed she was poor with a lightsaber as a consequence. Now, she’d be the first to admit she wasn’t a natural. But a holocron she’d read when she first arrived on Ossus changed her mindset. Master Gladwell had said that it takes roughly ten thousand hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field. And he had the evidence to prove it. Success was down to hard work, not natural ability. And it wasn’t just about hard work. She’d fallen in love with practice to the point where she wanted to do little else. Master Gladwell had predicted this of course.

So she performed a variety of meditations before adopting Center of Being. Activating the BCA-11/X blaster droids, she performed all of the defensive manoeuvres, using Form III and cycling through the Three Rings. The Inner Ring was the most challenging and not designed for deflecting blaster fire – which is why she used it. From a ready stance with the hilt held at her navel, she attempted to deflect the blasts by angling the blade’s tip and shunting them aside with the lower third of the blade. It called for the quickest reflexes and even with her Teräs Käsi training; she picked up a couple of nasty bruises from where she was hit.

Undeterred, she switched to the droids wielding sabers. First one and then two together. She cycled them through all of the Forms and finally set them for random moves. Most opponents she’d encountered in sparring improvised or blended styles and this drill was an attempt to simulate this.

She in turn cycled through the forms she knew best. Form I (underrated in her opinion), Forms II and IV that she was slowly building competence in – and her preferred Form, Soresu.

A few more bruises and a nasty burn later, she made a quick trip to the med-bay before preparing for the descent to Rhen Var.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Word reached them that they’d reached Rhen Var. They made their way to a shuttle and took up their seats. The galactic map on display showed they were near the Tion Cluster in the Outer Rim Territories. Rhen Var was the first planet in the Tobali system.

When they arrived, it was hard to believe this planet was once the home of an ancient civilization – or that old Jedi artefacts were found beneath the ice on the planet.

Rhen Var lived up to its description. Isolated…frozen…crumbling. The first thing they saw was a complement of troopers, blending into the background with their snow gear. Oh, and some small buildings they'd clearly erected that looked as though they would fall at any minute, such was the wind that was cutting them in two.

Corvus stepped forward and approached the one that looked to be in charge. Bowing politely, she said, “We’re here. Anything to report?” At the same time she glanced around to see if [member="Jerry Mars"] had arrived.

[member="VlPER"] [member="CC-1693"] [member="Kana Truden"] [member="Johnny Diamonds"] [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] [member="Meeristali Peradun"] [member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[VlPER]

Viper had come in by way of his own vessel, instead of the shuttle that the rest of the group took. As they approached the LZ, he made a few basic scans of the area. It appeared as though they had a welcoming party below. He was aware this Jerry Mars person was to be there. But he hadn't expected a small camp full of people. He hung back in his ship a bit just to keep an eye on things. After soon seeing there was no danger being presented by this group, he brought his ship down and landed nearby the shuttle.

Viper quickly grabbed his gear. Some extra warm clothing to go over his Jedi robes, his two sabers from his great grandfather. It was these that sparked a memory. Running to a chest in his room, he pulled out another lightsaber. The main saber of his relatives wife. He'd make sure Corvus went into this exploratory mission armed. Granted the force was a powerful ally. But they were still padawans, and it never hurt to be prepared. He smirked remembering Corvus' message. She knew he'd have her back. "Heh. Just like you had mine on Naboo." He mumbled to himself.

Shaking his head free of the thoughts, he grabbed a few rations, some basic medical supplies, and stuffed them all in a small backpack. Viper frowned at the med supplies. He had just begun learning the art of force healing. But was no where near proficient enough yet to not need them. A fact that annoyed him greatly. With all the people, he had lost. Viper wanted every possible way available to him to save others in the future. He saw the force as a way to help others cheat death.

Looking himself over to make sure he had everything, he headed out and rejoined the others. Giving a small respectful bow himself, he stood by and listened.

 

[Kana Truden]

Rhen Var was just as Kana had predicted from what little she had actually read about it. It was indeed a cold wasteland with nothing but snow and ice as far as the eye could see. Well, not quite but it was still as accurate of a description as she could give you. At least she had her jacket, so that was something.

Following Corvus through the snow the situation just felt a lot more real. They were actually on Rhen Var now just as intended, and Corvus had shown herself a capable leader so far. Everything was actually looking pretty good up to this point and even Kana had to admit that. Then again, they had only just arrived.

She joined the others with the bowing. If she knew how to do a proper salute she would have done that instead but a bow would have been good enough for now.

As Corvus got the status report from the soldiers Kana leaned over to [member="VlPER"].

“Remember, if anyone asks about the ruckus caused outside the starboard life support systems we know nothing about it.”

 

[VlPER]

[member="Kana Truden"]

Viper feigned a small cough to mask his snicker. He then leaned over and whispered to his newest friend as he recalled their escapade through the ship. "I won't say anything if you won't. But in our defense...they REALLY need to stop putting do not push signs next to giant red buttons! It's just...to much to ask of a person."

He straightened up once more and tried to focus on what the trooper was saying. Though a smirk was still plain on his face.

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

(Sorry for the delay guys, basically just posting a reaction post. If you want me involved, tag me--otherwise, have fun! )

@VIPER’s enthusiasm was as tangible as the depressor Kiskla activated to allow them access to the hangar. Instantly, the sickly ultraviolet rays soaked down on herself and student. Despite it’s typical lighting schematics, she loved the praxeum — it was a symbol of pure learning and challenge. Not to be too materialistic, but it was a representation for the way she intended the Jedi Order to flow; as constant students.

Despite her Padawan’s insistence to race, Kiskla arrived in the room with the rest of the learners at her own pace. It wasn’t out of fear of looking unprofessional, but rather interacting with all she could en route to the briefing room. Plus, c’mon — asking a master of Force manipulation to race? Kid, you’d be seeing stars.

After dipping her head in appropriate salutations (a lazy girl’s bow), she became an observer for the majority of the conversation before they all disappeared to do their own things.

Rhen Var.

Instinctively, her features froze. Kiskla Grayson hated the cold, and it made her mood incredibly sour. She was the heir to a desert planet, and had spent a majority of her training years on Naboo where the climate was constantly pleasant. The snow made her irritable, and ice never brought out her benevolence either.
She shifted her jaw in thought, and drummed her hips with her fingertips. She had duties to perform on board, but if it was to the benefit of those undertaking this activity, she would accompany them. Lightsabre building? Sure!

If you run into trouble, the Praxeum will be stationed in the atmosphere.

[member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Jerry Mars"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="CC-1693"] | [member="Johnny Diamonds"] | [member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[GM-1693]

Watching the shuttles land, Deadsy scrambled to the turret. "Calm down, its the Jedi." Snipes said raising a hand to calm him down. "Come on lets welcome them to the hell frozen over." He said walking out of their small HQ, and into the opening. They casually walked their way to meet the Jedi half way. All four of them.

When they finally reached the Jedi within ear shot reach, Snipes asked, "CC-1693 reporting in. So far all clear. The winds like to pick up randomly, and they are bone biting chilly." He said saluting the group. "These here are your escorts...minde asking...exactly what it is we're doing here?" He was asking really just anyone. He didn't know who was in charge. Kite, Vox, and Deadsy stood behind him.
[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="VlPER"] @Johnny Diamond

 

[Corvus Raaf]

"These here are your escorts...mind asking...exactly what is it we're doing here?"

Corvus wondered if anyone else was going to say anything but when a short silence risked becoming an embarrassing one, she spoke.

“We’re here to do a bit of exploring. I’m Padawan Corvus Raaf.” She quickly named the others present but stopped short of introducing Grandmaster Grayson, who was hanging slightly back from the group. She didn’t know if she should mention that the Grandmaster was here – so decided to omit this piece of information.

“And you are?” Once the soldier replied, she continued. “It’s a combination of a search, exploration and probably a few challenges thrown in for good measure. Coping with the cold will be the first order of the day.”

“So. We're looking for a nearby mountain. When we find that, we need to find a large ice statue. And that will lead us to the cave we’re searching for.”

Looking up, she saw the surrounding foothills with a single, imposing mountain towering over them. “OK, I think we can tick the first one off the list.”

The terrain between them and their target looked inhospitable at best.

“We're waiting for one more but in the interests of not freezing our derrieres off, we'll head off soon. In terms of what you can do; scouting, helping to clear obstacles, climbing, keeping unwelcome things away. Usual stuff.”

She smiled as warmly as she could in the conditions.

[member="VlPER"] | [member="CC-1693"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Johnny Diamonds"] | [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Kiskla Grayson"]