Private Cold Peaks And Rifles

[Candez Stoon]

Down the roots of the mountain, wind howled across and over the rock soundlikg like a pack of animals. Candez could have sworn that he had spied movement across the snow-covered cliffs and crevices. What creatures were down there? What a place to pick out. Of course he had picked it out, out to the Unknown Regions. Even if it was in Galactic Alliance territory, not many should be coming out this far to disrupt a simple smuggler. With a wrap around the lower half of his head, red tinted goggles over his red eyes and a long coat over his body, Candez kept a pair of electro-binoculars up to keep an eye out for the visitor he had arranged this meeting for.

His ship was farther up the peak, with his crew. For a long time they had been keeping on the low down. Small odd jobs. The Duros believed it time to take up the reigns and move off. Get back into work. Maybe design some weapons again, like old times. But first he had to get out there, make some contacts. He cut out the middle man, posting up an advertisement on the Holonet. Someone responded.

"...I hate this place." Copero was cold in it's arctic territories. He was wondering again why he ever picked this spot.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Copero

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Candez Stoon

From the cockpit of her X-wing, Valery looked at the planet ahead once she dropped from Hyperspace. She had actually never visited Copero before, but it was the closest planet to where she really needed to go. Soon, it would also become a rendezvous point for the Alliance fleets but right now, it was a meeting place.

During a recent mission, Valery had found old star charts that mapped a path into the Unknown regions. At the final destination, there was supposedly an ancient artifact of some kind, and with the way it was described in the texts she found, she wanted to get there before someone else did.

It was too dangerous to leave it be.

The problem was that she wasn't the best pilot when it came to hyperspace navigation. She was a dogfighter at heart, and while those skills were useful in many situations, this was not one of them. Thus, she contacted a smuggler who she believed would be able to help her out. Of course, for a price.

So not long after the Jedi Master had left hyperspace, she pierced through the atmosphere and initiated her landing near the meeting coordinates. She climbed out of her cockpit, removed her helmet, and shook out her long hair. Despite the cold, Valery was in her typical attire without a coat — it'd look strange perhaps, but the Force kept her warm.

"Candez Stoon?" Valery asked over the rushing winds, trying to figure out if he was already waiting for her.

 

[Candez Stoon]

Stoon had his arm raised up to his face when she had arrived. Checking and tinkering over with his wrist gauntlet, not checking with his surroundings at all which couldn't have been too smart in a hostile territory. What creatures could have been lurking nearby that could have easily pounced on an unaware prey? So when the Jedi showed up and called his name through the rushing wind he was taken a bit by surprise.

He stared a moment, then nodded. Lowering his arm down, Candez Stoon offered a simple nod in her direction.

"Yeah, that would be me. Stoon, gunsmith and smuggler. And you must be...my client?" The name escaped him for the moment. "I've got an interestin' pick of meeting locations, huh?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Copero

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Candez Stoon

"Easy there," Valery said, having noticed that her sudden appearance seemed to surprise him a little. But when his arm lowered, the man introduced himself and Valery quickly offered a polite smile. "A pleasure to meet you, and that's right. I'm Jedi Master Valery Noble, of the New Jedi Order."

Her smile brightened a little, mostly because he didn't seem to recognize her at all. It was a nice change of pace for her, especially on a mission like this.

"This is also a very interesting location, but luckily not where we need to be. Too cold, hm?" she smirked. "Is your ship ready for departure?"

 

[Candez Stoon]

Stoon was as relaxed as could be now. Save for the weather chilling him to the bone, biting winds. It was just a little too cold, yeah. She didn't seem the least bothered by it though. Not one bit. The Duros nodded to her introduction, taking a moment to wiping off snow off his goggles. "A Jedi Master, all right then." This was a job he definitely could not mess up.

"The Salty Mynock is ready and waiting! My crew are all aboard. I give the call, they come pick us up" he answered in response, having kept the ship at a distance. Just in case. "Any details on the job? Or is that waiting till we are aboard."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Copero

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Candez Stoon

"Alright, let's call them over so we can get out of this cold." He seemed more bothered by it than she did, but Valery didn't like the cold at all either. The Force was keeping her warm, and whatever discomfort she still felt, she was able to hide pretty well. Luckily, their mission would require them to go elsewhere.

"I have a set of coordinates for you," she then told him, before she offered a data card. "There's an uninhabited planet in the Unknown Regions that I'd like to visit, but it's difficult to reach. An asteroid belt shields it from direct Hyperspace Jumps, and strange storms have claimed many ships in the past."

"The rumors say there is great treasure to be found there, but I'm only looking for something specific. An artifact that once belonged to a Jedi."

"Do you think you and your crew can get me there?"

 

[Candez Stoon]

Candez Stoon gave a nod to the Jedi, turning around and raising his arm to his mouth to speak into the comm-link. He was listening to her all the while, speaking hushed words into the comm. There was some kind of reply now and then. Then he cut the call, turning back to the Jedi halfway through her explanation and taking her data card she had been holding out. Ferrying a Jedi into the Unknown Regions, uncharted space. Storms, asteroids. Who knew what else they could run into there?

"All right...sounds like all kinds of danger through there. What's the pay looking like?" Definitely something he should have brought up much earlier. But now that he knew what to expect, Candez could make a deal with Valery. "And is anyone else looking for this at all? Competition?"

Over the mountain they stood on a shadow cast down over the pair, a rumble of twin engines filling the air. It began it's landing procedures with the extension of landing gear and lowering of it's ramp. "Ah, there it is! The Salty Mynock!"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Copero

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Candez Stoon

Valery raised an eyebrow when she watched him turn to talk into his communicator, but decided against commenting on it. He was likely communicating back to his crew or someone he worked for, and as long as he got the job done for her, she didn't really care what they discussed. "The Alliance will make sure that you're rewarded for these dangerous efforts, Mr. Stoon," she said with a rather polite tone of voice.

She had already inquired and knew that payment was at least not going to be an issue. Not for a mission like this.

"I also don't believe anybody else is looking for the artifact. But we have very little information about the planet we're going to, so it might have its own dangers." Not that it really mattered much to her — she was more than ready to respond to any threat they faced along the way. Of course, with the exception of the threads involved in reaching the planet.

Soon enough, his ship appeared, and Valery looked up at with a soft smile. It luckily looked promising. "Nice ship you got there. I'm sure it'll get us where we need to be, hm?" she asked with a smirk. "Which reminds me. Once we reach the planet, you're free to join me but if you prefer to wait on the ship and avoid potential problems on the surface, that is fine with me too."

 

[Candez Stoon]

Candez Stoon had worked with someone from the Alliance once, a long while ago. The name escaped him now, but he knew how they were. And he accepted her word for that fact. He very much hoped to also be reimbursed for any lost equipment or injuries he and his crew suffered, but that could always be brought up later, right? Candez nodded in return. And from the sounds of it, with no competition along the way this may very well be a breeze.

"Of course it will! Every planet has dangers and tricks to survive, it's a matter of being quick on the feet and fast on the draw!" He pat his holster at his side, which housed a trusty side blaster. "Except I guess you can't really blast a storm...or a mountain. Or anything like that."

He paused at that, as if it required deep thought. But he pulled himself out of that, frowning for a moment yet a humored twinkle to the eyes. No way in the galaxy was he going to be getting left behind from such an adventure! "I am not at all staying onboard my ship. Might even bring one of my crew with us. But, a treasure hunt? Not missing out on that." He raised his comm to his mouth. "Hey! Make ready for lift off!" he called through it, approaching the vessel with it's lowered ramp where one of his crew awaited them, a bulking Quarren keeping a secure eye on the horizon.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Copero

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Candez Stoon

"I'd be happy to have you and anybody from your crew join me. I hope it won't be dangerous, but either way, I'm sure it'll be exciting." For a short time before her stasis, Valery had been a lorekeeper while she recovered from injuries that kept her away from the battlefields. During that experience, she had learned to appreciate the excitement of treasure hunts and exploration, so this was a mission she was looking forward to.

Very different from what her duties as Sword usually entailed, but almost equally thrilling.

The two then left to get into his ship, and once inside, he gave the order to prepare for take-off. Valery would follow him wherever he wanted to go, and idly looked around. "What kind of jobs usually keep you busy, if you don't mind me asking?" If they were going on this assignment together, might as well get to know him a little better.

 

[Candez Stoon]

Exciting certainly was one way of putting that. Who knew what may await them. And perhaps, just maybe, he could come out of this with a reward of his own from this place permitting that Valery allow him to do so. Candez had given his Quarren crew member a two-fingered salute upon passing by, receiving a gruff response while the Quarren scanned the horizon with electrobinoculars and a rifle. Candez led Valery to the lounging quarters of the ship, gesturing to the Dejarik table.

"Smuggling, weapon tests. I tend to make my own weapons, sell them off for replication. Earn small royalties, rarely nowadays. Mercenary work for a few people." He made himself comfortable in a seat, lifting a leg over. " I'm an all around kind of guy, as is my crew. You'll meet them no doubt. We got an on-ship medic, our pilot, an astromech and our muscle. You saw the muscle before we got on. Yam Yaw."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Copero

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Candez Stoon

Valery followed Candez into the lounge section of his ship and sat down across from him, but without tossing a leg over the table. This wasn't her home, so she didn't make herself too comfortable. "Staying flexible with what kind of jobs you can take does seem like it's good for business." She didn't really need smugglers or someone who could create weapons, but piloting skills were always worth a lot to her.

Not that she necessarily planned to hire people for that too often.

"I'd love to meet them when I can, especially if they're joining us on the surface there. You might want to keep Yam Yaw at your ship, though. Just so it has some level of protection still." Besides, she'd be more than capable of being the muscle for the group, as they explored and searched for what she was after.

"I uh, assume you'll be heading to the cockpit once we enter the dangerous stretches of space?"

 

[Candez Stoon]

Candez Stoon tapped the heel of his boot on the table rhythmically as the Salty Mynock began to lift off from the planet surface, snow blowing up the ramp before it closed up. The Duros nodded in agreement toward Valery, he was as flexible as they come. Even if it got tough. Or got them scammed. Or ended up with them having to scam a client to get out alive. Those were good times. Always good times.

"He prefers the ship. There's also R7-X3, a nurturing astromech droid. Shy, keeps to itself repairing. And Bobees, our pilot...and cook. An excellent cook. Then there is Vel, our onboard doctor and co-pilot. X3 belongs to her, they're almost too alike."

Candez paused at Valery's question posed towards him. Then shook his head. "That's Bobees' place, I don't intrude in his zone."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Copero

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Candez Stoon

"Sounds like quite the crew," Valery said with an honest smile. From a solid pilot to a doctor and droids to assist them all. It gave her the confidence she needed in this mission, although she would have liked to know the actual pilot better. She had been under the assumption that Candez would be flying them in.

But if he trusted in his pilot, she would too.

"Alright, I hope he's ready for it. The first thing to cross is a rather violent storm before he'll have to get us through a small asteroid field. After that, the planet's atmosphere has some turbulence and storms as well, but that shouldn't be an issue, hm?" she asked with a grin.

"And uh, before we get there, is there anything you'd like to know? About the mission or about me?"

 

[Candez Stoon]

It certainly was quite the crew. A good mix he had thrown in with, and with quite the ship as well. A customized freighter class from an old friend, modified for efficiency and speed. The combat role for the vessel could be better, but usually when it came to combat his crew got out of there. Fast. On the ground was another story, it wasn't easy to run on foot without an a hyperdrive.

Her description of their path slightly nerved him. A storm, then asteroids, and then some turbulence? This should go swell. He would have to relay the information to his pilot, once the flight path was engaged. Till then, he got himself comfortable. Things could get out of hand quickly and he liked to have his wits gathered before then.

"Yeah, there is. What else do you know of this artifact? Where it is? Anything else of note? Hostile wildlife, ancient traps, automated defenses, that sort of thing? If I'm walking into a temple filled with droids older than the last Great Galactic War, I wanna know. If not, then all goes well." But since when does any of this ever go well? "Also, I know you said no competition. But are you absolutely sure? Sure that no one else knows that might come for a piece?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Copero

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Candez Stoon

"It's a dark side artifact," Valery said rather bluntly, "Designed to be able to take control of other people and turn them into mindless slaves." Realizing that this was probably a worrying bit of information, she quickly began to speak again. "I've brought a special kind of resin with me, called Nullification resin. It will stop its ability to connect to others through the Force, and I plan to use it after I already cleansed it myself."

Still, there was some risk to this mission, but she was one of the Galaxy's most experienced Jedi Shadows, albeit a former Shadow. Handling Dark Side objects was as natural as breathing to her.

"Sadly, I don't know much about where it is stored other than the coordinates. So we'll have to be careful because it's possible there are traps or dangerous creatures there. Maybe even locals and it's certainly possible that I'm not the only one going after this object." It all came down to she didn't know yet. This planet was beyond what most considered charted space, so there was little to no information to find about it.

"It's going to be alright as long as you and your crew stay close to me, and listen to me when we're down there. Not because I want to be controlling, but I can warn you of dangers you can't feel or sense before it's too late."

 

[Candez Stoon]

That was a turn around in his mood, as his expression shifted. Now, the Force he knew little about. The Light and Dark, he knew even less about. What he did know? It was bad news, the Dark side. He had already thrown in with this mission, so there was no backing out in mind. At least not to him. And her reassurances did help slightly in his sudden shift there, but nonetheless it put him somewhat on edge.

"I mean...just as long as you don't make us mindless slaves!" he may have joked a little too loudly. "So there's little known, we can go off that. We will be sticking close." He paused for the moment, mulling over how they would go about this. His heel tapped rhythmically to the top of the table as he did so. "You sent the coordinates over to my pilot? I guess it is best we get flying there now."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Copero

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Candez Stoon

She could tell that her words had put him on edge, but Valery considered it a good thing. This meant that he wasn't going to underestimate the situation, and hopefully kept him sharp until they were back to safety. Dark Side artifacts were incredibly dangerous, and while they couldn't shield themselves from its effects, she could shield all of them. They'd have to stay close, just in case it was necessary.

"I won't," Valery then said with a chuckle as he joked, "In fact, I'm going to be able to shield you and your crew against this artifact. Perhaps it won't be necessary, but I am able to." With that said, and his assurance that they'd be sticking close, Valery felt confident about the mission.

"I did send him the coordinates, as well as an explanation about what to expect. If he's as good as you say he is, then I'm sure we'll reach our destination soon."

 

[Candez Stoon]

With that in mind that the pilot already had necessary information for their destination, the pilot was given the signal by Candez to set off. Their vessel lifted off to above the planet's atmosphere. The rest of the crew set off to their duties save for Candez himself. Just in case his client had anything more to add or had need of anything aboard the Salty Mynock. The Duros kept his eyes about the ship lounging area, thinking up a topic to discuss. Was there much else aside from their mission ahead?

"So...what made you become a Jedi? If you can talk about it, I don't know how secretive you lot can be or not" he said with a shrug, simply trying to just think of something to clear the air. "Met a few on my travels. None have tried to kill me yet so I assume I'm in someone's good books."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Copero

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Candez Stoon

"Jedi try to always avoid killing," Valery clarified when he mentioned having met several. "We defend ourselves and others, but we always aim to not cause harm." It was part of the Jedi philosophy to Honor Life — Jedi served to protect those unable to protect themselves, but preferably without having to kill.

In reality, sometimes there was no other choice when it came to self-defense or the defense of others.

"As for me, I was born a long time ago, when most Jedi were brought to the Order as infants. My parents discovered I was Force-sensitive and my abilities were quite dangerous. So they called the Jedi and I was brought to a Temple on New Cov," she explained with a chuckle. "Way later, I ended up in a stasis pod and that's how I ended up far into the future."

"These days, a lot of Jedi begin their training when they're much older, and for different reasons."

She paused for a moment.

"What about you? How did you end up where you are?"