Private Down Here, Salt is a way of Life.

[Jax Thio]

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Location: Crait​

Equipment: Jedi Robes, Jax's Lightsaber​

Tag: Aveline Cuiléin​

<Welcome to the middle of nowhere! Can we go now?>

Normally Jax would've chastised BB-12 but he had to admit the Droid was right. Crait was one of the many backwater planets that was located in the further reaches of the Outer Rim. A mineral planet comprised of mostly salt and red sand. Early in the Galactic Civil War, the Rebels established a base on Crait mostly to conduct experimentations that were lost to time and to observe Imperial Fleets who were patrolling Hutt Cartel space. Now and days, only smugglers reside here due to how far away it is from authority "looks like the smugglers will be in for a big surprise when they see a Jedi." Jax said to BB-12 when he landed on the red sand with his X-Wing.

Part of him wondered if the Jedi sent this far into the Outer Rim on purpose, Jax wasn't the easiest Jedi to deal with due to his adherence to the Living Force and his rebellious attitude towards authority. Often taking the law into his own hands to complete missions, Jax was to capture a criminal wanted theft who escaped Galactic Alliance jurisdiction and reportedly fled to Crait.

<This place looks so boring.> BB-12 beeped through the translator. <I mean the red sand is cool and all but damn even hub ahead looks dreary.>
A few miles ahead, Jax could see a small town that was mostly nondescript, some rusted buildings there and a small Cantina. Nothing to write home about but Jax was surprised that there was some semblance of civilization even it is to house some of the most notorious criminals. "Don't worry BB-12," Jax chuckling as he landed and shut down the Starfighter. "All we need to do is go in grab the criminal who is....."

The Jedi took out his Holoprojector which displayed a Duros male. "Hondo Gries," Jax continued. "Duros male wanted for smuggling, theft, assault with a deadly weapon and possession of narcotics. Your typical criminal worked for the Hutts for a bit before claiming he got a gig by some big wigs in CIS space. We do our job and then get drunk to the point where we can't see straight."

<I want to eat at Crazy Tacos.> BB-12 said using his infil-red eye to scan the area ahead. <That's strange.> he beeped. <Temperature is a little low this time of day.>
Jax opened the hatch and immediately felt a cool breeze bristle against his skin. "It is a little chilly," he said. "Perhaps it's closer to night?"
<It's 12 o clock.> BB-12 said. <And due to their Sun's intense luminosity, they only get moonlight every few hours.>

BB-12 released himself from his hatch while Jax climbed out feeling his boots sink a bit into the red sand. "I do sense something peculiar," he muttered looking around. "Something is seriously off."

<I'll stay with the ship then.> BB-12 said. <I have to admit I'm not liking these drops in temperature.>
Jax laughed. "Don't tell me you're actually afraid?" he said crossing his arms.

The droid jumped a bit. <Frack no!> he said. <I just..... rather make sure that we have a smooth get away once we capture what's his face.>
"Whatever," Jax said turning to the town. "I shouldn't be long, we'll communicate through radio."

<Where's Aveline?> BB-12 beeped.

Jax looked up in the sky. "I dunno," Jax said. "She should be following me but she has her head in space again it seems."

He sighed. "I'll wait for her." Jax said. "The more time we waste though, the more that criminal could get away."

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[Aveline Cuiléin]

Crait was a desolate and uninhabitable world, and Aveline had no clue what they were meant to accomplish here. Being the Padawan, it was of course not for her to know but to follow, and follow she did.

They journey was a long one, and Aveline made the trip within her A-Wing. Not a lot of space to move about. This did, however, present her with a great opportunity to meditate and work on some exercises. Recent lessons had focused on shielding, both mentally and with abilities such as Force Barrier. Though she couldn't test it against anything, she went through the lesson from Kashyyyk in her mind, threw up barriers, then repeat.

Finally she arrived at the destination, not long after Jax it would turn out. Though such was their timing when she, a Silver, was assigned to someone from the NJO.

Soon enough he'd be able to see her A-Wing coming in for a smooth landing, flying low before parking right next to Jax's X-Wing.

The cockpit popped open and out hopped the brown-haired Padawan, ready for action.

Jax Thio

 

[Jax Thio]

​

Location: Crait​

Equipment: Jedi Robes, Jax's Lightsaber​

Tag: Aveline Cuiléin​

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Jax took a deep breath watching Aveline's A-Wing land next to his. Aveline loved flying and is a talented pilot but sometimes she would often take the scenic route in terms of flying through hyperlanes. "Aveline," Jax said. "You're late."​

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The Jedi Knight placed his hands on his while BB-12 spun his head chuckling at Aveline's predicament. <Ohhhh! You're in troubleeeee!!!!> He beeped.​

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"I had to wait 10 minutes for you," Jax said. "That's 10 minutes that our target could escape. How many times do I have to tell you to stay focused?"​

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Temper tantrums is the name of Aveline's game and Jax certainly expecting it. "If you wanted to travel through space," Jax suggested. "Then you should've signed up with the GADF Navy."​

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He sighed shaking his head. "Since you love to take your sweet time," Jax said. "Why don't you take point? Also....."​

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There was disturbance in the Force, a gust frigid wind bristled against Jax's dark skin. Strange.... the weather is very cool despite the Sun shining bright over Crait. "The temperature out of whack." Jax muttered. "And I sense somethings off."​

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[Aveline Cuiléin]

"I'm always in trouble, BB" Aveline said as she hopped out of her A-Wing. Despite herself, she couldn't help but just laugh and shake her head. "Not even two seconds on the ground and I'm already getting berated. Nice to see you too Jax"

"You know, I'm flying out of Silver Space and you out of Alliance. Coming from different planets we're not gonna land exactly the same time. You realize that, right?" A deviation from the usual 'temper tantrum', as he liked calling it, was a more fed up version. She was getting criticised to the point of being beyond caring. If every other step she took would turn out wrong, why bother letting herself get worked up over it? She needed a new defensive mechanism to survive.

"I'll take point" she said, and started out in the direction he'd lined out for them. For all her act of trying to seem unaffected, she couldn't help but let him get to her, and it got in the way of her own focus and connection to the Force. As such, she didn't sense whatever disturbance it was that Jax had picked up on.

The distance between them and their destination had her wishing they had a speeder each, but can't win them all. She started with an easy jog.

Jax Thio

 

[Jax Thio]

​

Location: Crait​

Equipment: Jedi Robes, Jax's Lightsaber​

Tag: Aveline Cuiléin​

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"You know trying to act like you're an adult is not working right?" Jax said when Aveline walked ahead of him to scout. "The indifference that I sense in you is a problem. You're not paying attention to your surroundings."​

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<Forget about her Jax!> BB-12 beeped. <I want to see if she'll be the first person to get hypothermia in a desert!>​

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"Wait what?" Jax raised an eyebrow wondering what in death's name BB was talking about.​

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<Check your comlink!> BB-12 whirred. <Temperature's been dropping rapidly! Judging by my calculations this desert planet is gonna be as cold as Hoth in a couple of months!>​

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BB had to be joking right? Even during missions, BB-12 liked to joke around but the air around Jax became colder causing the Jedi Knight to gulp. Slowly reaching his commlink, Jax eyes grew wide seeing the dropping temperature. "50 degrees Fahrenheit?!" Jax exclaimed. "Crait might as well be snowing at this rate!"​

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What was going on here? Crait is a temperate planet but it's starting to become a frozen tundra despite the fact that the Sun is shining above. "BB," Jax said. "Scan the area for any anomalies, something is messing with the planet."​

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<Whatever,> BB whirred. <Why don't you go ask the locals in that nearby town ahead?>​

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Jax looked at the small town just below them. It was surrounded by red sand flats he wondered if the criminal took refuge there. He had to based on how cold it was. "That's for my padawan," Jax said before jogging after Aveline.​

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"You know Aveline!" Jax shouted. "Forget the Force! You should be shivering by now!"​

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Was Aveline this thick headed?​

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[Aveline Cuiléin]

Aveline blocked Jax out, throwing up a barrier between herself and his insults. He would not get her to lose focus… Although that very thought process acknowledged that he indeed had done so.

I won’t forget the Force. I trust in it, unlike some people, she thought to herself.

«Shivering?» she asked with confusion, turning back over her shoulder to glance his way. «It’s only what.. Like ten degrees?» It was a leap away from Kashyyyk, but perhaps winters her side of Nubia had given her a thick skin. «Though you have a point… Isn’t it a little weird for a desert planet? What could cause this?» she wondered aloud.

She knew if she needed to, the Force would be there for her to wrap her in its warm embrace, and aid her in dealing with a dropping temperature. For now, however, she managed.

Making it over to the village, she examined the faces of the locals she could see. Surely they could tell her what was going on. She tried looking for someone to speak to, grab the attention of

Jax Thio

 

[Jax Thio]

​

Location: Crait​

Equipment: Jedi Robes, Jax's Lightsaber​

Tag: Aveline Cuiléin​

​

"The temp is dropping rapidly," Jax tossed Aveline his commlink. "Heading towards the negatives, BB believes that within the hour it's gonna be the same temperature as Hoth."​

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The Jedi Knight once again looked at the bright Sun. "I'm not sure," Jax said. "But right now, that criminal is no longer our top priority."​

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Jax and Aveline approached the city limits where they saw what looked to be a miner shivering next to a large icicle. "Y-you there!" He called out his teeth colliding against each other "A-are you Jedi?!"​

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"Hello there!" Jax said noticing that the air became colder to the point where he could see his breath. The temperature dropped again? Or are they getting close to the source? "Do you know what's going on? Why is it so cold all of a sudden?"​

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"I don't know," the miner replied. "All I know is that it's been happening for about 2 weeks."​

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"Two weeks?" Jax looked Aveline. "This is getting stranger," he whispered.​

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[Aveline Cuiléin]

"What?" she turned, stunned. "Hoth? Hoth?! That's not possible... Tell him to check his scanners again" and hadn't he said in two months just a moment earlier?

And then the miner next to the icicle. Icicle. What in the blazes is going on?

After speaking with the miner, Aveline pulled Jax to the side. Now she could see his breath, she could see her own. "I think this is too big for us. We need to call for aid. The Silvers, the Alliance... But these people aren't ready for this!" she didn't know what to do, no one had trained her for this situation, and she imagined the same counted for Jax.

With a desert planet turning into Hoth at this pace... It was unprecedented. Was the star collapsing? Was the planet?

"We might have to call in a full evacuation of the planet" she shook her head in disbelief. What in the fething Force was going on...

Jax Thio

 

[Jax Thio]

​

Location: Crait​

Equipment: Jedi Robes, Jax's Lightsaber​

Tag: Aveline Cuiléin​

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So much for the tough girl image that Aveline portrayed.​

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Jax sensed panic fill her almost instantly. Her heart was pounding at a rapid pace, her expression scrunched up into fear and worry. Doubt started to creep in her mind, and it began to dictate her actions. "Hey," Jax said in a calm tone walking up to his Padawan and placing his hand upon her small shoulder. The Jedi Knight sent calming waves of the Force throughout her body in an attempt to calm her.​

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"Calm down Aveline," he whispered. "We're far away from Alliance space, by the time help arrives it'll already be frozen hellhole. We have time, you just to calm down and relax. Trust in the Living Force."​

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And the Living Force has been thrown out of equilibrium. "Can you describe what happened?" Jax asked the miner.​

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"I dunno," he responded. "Our clients arrived two weeks ago. The boss told us that he's going to personally oversee the excavation."​

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"Excavation?" Jax raised an eyebrow. "Of what?"​

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"We weren't told," the miner asked. "But since they left, the atmosphere has changed dramatically."​

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[Aveline Cuiléin]

Aveline didn't want to calm down. Certainly not in the dismissive manner she'd grown so accustomed to with Jax. Still she closed her eyes, taking deep breaths... Allowing the calming waves of the Force to wash over her. Still her mind. She was a Jedi. There is no emotion, there is peace, Aveline recited the Jedi Code to herself. It helped.

"Change the average temperature of a planet by just a few degrees, and entire ecosystems start to fail. You just said, this place will turn to Hoth in two hours. That's a planet-killing event. These people aren't equipped for that." Unless of course Jax had been exaggerating for effect... It wasn't unlike him. She shouldn't have taken him that literal, or at the very least, come to her own conclusions.

Still, he was right. They were too far out to get help from the Alliance within then. They had to make their investigation, get to the bottom of this, then report it to their respective Jedi councils. They would know what to do.

What the miner told them had clear parallels with the unusual anomalies on the planet. "Who were these clients?" Aveline asked. "Anything you can tell us of where they came from? Their ship?" turning to Jax, she said "We need to have a look at this excavation site. And go after those clients after."

Jax Thio

 

[Jax Thio]

​

Location: Crait​

Equipment: Jedi Robes, Jax's Lightsaber​

Tag: Aveline Cuiléin​

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"Then we need to hurry," Jax said through clenched teeth flashing Aveline a concerned look. "You are training to become a Jedi, you need to act decisively and quickly as a Jedi."​

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"They run a business called Starsoul Brewery," The man replied. "I dunno why an alcohol company would want to come to a planet like this but the paid well and gave us stacks of brew! Still, they went to the hills and haven't appeared ever since. You think they had to do with this?"​

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"I'm not sure," Jax said frowning. "We're gonna have to ask around before setting off."​

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[Aveline Cuiléin]

"Right. What do you think, go by speeder or ship? We could have the droid get it ready" she said, thinking out loud and checking to see how Jax would want to approach this. "I can go about securing us some speeders"

Jax's call. If he wanted speeders, she'd head on out and get them two, if not, well, then no need.

Either way, she'd try to get them ready to leave as soon as they were able, leaving Jax to question whomever he wanted meanwhile.

Time was of the essence, before this place turned into a frost bucket. She hoped Jax's stubbornness on handling this without reporting in wouldn't come back to bite her someway... Jax wasn't exactly on the best footing with the Council, from what she gathered. She hoped she wouldn't inherit the sentiment.

"Find out anything?" she asked later.

Jax Thio