First stop

[Sorel Crieff]

Master Ike was straight to the point – and Sorel liked that about her. Her previous Master could be overly cryptic and sometime this was helpful but at other times infuriating.

“Then to them we’ll go,” Sorel said, standing and making sure she hadn’t left any litter behind. “You seem…invigorated, Master. I guess it’s not every day you find such things.” Then a small frown formed on her face. “What do you mean – jump? Do you mean from one vehicle to the next?”

It wasn’t that she was unprepared for action, but she preferred to be forewarned if at all possible.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Well findig things was easy, she could find things at sites like bowls and pots but artifacts that were of more value those were harder to find as she spoke. "Well finding things is easy enough but finding things that are valuable or rare like holocrons. It is very exciting." She was giddy now and going into the section of the warehouse it was mostly bare just scraps of crystal and chunks of different things before she moved up towards the tram seeing the power outputs were low. They needed to get it up as she was turning on more systems with a nod of her head. All of the work they had going on for it. "See anything in here that might be of use?"

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel followed her Master around the warehouse. She knew instinctively that the Noetikons weren’t here but clearly they were looking for a way to get to them or find anything that would help on their endeavour.

She started to search in her own right but could see only junk. As she walked, she disturbed aeons of dust and untold debris and almost missed it as she walked. She retraced a couple of steps and bent down. Under some scattered parts was a flimsy. And on it was printed a variety of different coloured lines. It was a map.

She rubbed off the remaining dust and rushed to her Master’s side. “Master Ike, it looks like a map. Or rather a guide. It looks like the routes the trams travel. I’m guessing that this will help us find the hiding place for the Holocrons.”

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

A map would come in very handy as Matsu finsihed getting the power restarted for them. the way she would have hopefully done it was geothermal over some station but no telling with old krayt facilities. She could at least move them along as the tram coming into view while it shook a little getting the dust off. Matsu motioned for Sorel to join her. "That will help, we can use it to navigate and get closer to the holocrons." A small smirk on her face though while she was going inside and setting it to go at a safe speed. "Now we just need to wait and see where it goes to get us close." She was ready to see what her padawan could do but Sorel had found a map for this network so they could move in later and rework it.

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel followed her Master onto the tram and immediately opened up a service hatch and checked out the wiring. She blew away the dust that was smelling decidedly unhealthy, given the length of time since the tram was last activated – an acrid smell of burning filling her nostrils.

“It’s all in working order, Master. Once the dust works its way through the system, the smell will disappear and the tram should run at optimal speed. And as far as I can tell, you’ve activated the network. They run on a timetable,” she pointed at the flimsy again. “So we can jump from one to another or get off at pre-determined stops and switch trams. What we can’t do is change course. Or rather we can, but we run the risk of hitting a tram coming in the opposite direction. I suspect the timetable is very precise.”

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

That was good to know and the jedi master looked over some of the things as it started moving along the track. She was thankful there didn't seem to be any more weight than the two of them. The mapping from the drones were showing the location she marked under some of the tracks while there was time to wait for it. She moved to the center of the tram and sat down to meditate. Slowly reaching out with the force energies to quiet her mind while she was expanding it outwards to the planet and sensing her padawan. "We have some time, meditate and prepare yourself, we don't know what we might face in this place or if the ships defenses are still active."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel had spent two years travelling the galaxy after her Master's death. Although she was unable to pick up any new abilities in this time, she was able to practice those she already knew. And Meditation was one of them. So she sat cross-legged on the floor of the tram and closed her eyes. She emptied herself of all feelings and opened herself to the Force. This allowed her to centre herself and felt calmness and serenity flow through her, as if she were a pond without so much as a single ripple.

Memories and all thoughts left her, as did emotion. She was at one with the Force and was entirely at peace.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Traveling took them a couple of hours with the trams going slow as Matsu worked with Sorel. To meditate and reflect on what they were training along the way in this journey. The jedi master keeping track in her head as the chrono chimed with them in proximity to their departure point. She darted up with a nod of her head that it was time to go. She opened the tram doors and there was the glittering crystals jutting up around them as she could see the warehouse in the distance and pointing spoke. "Now when you jump focus the force around you to slow your descent and propel yourself towards the gaps." It was hard to explain without showing as she lept out and turned around to pay attention hovering for her padawan instead of just gliding to keep her safe.

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Time was irrelevant when you were Meditating. Sorel had travelled for two years on board her ship and so was used to passing the time in this way – and found it beneficial at the same time.

So Sorel could not tell if five minutes or five hours had passed when her Master indicated they should be ready to act. She stood, refreshed and at one with the Force, which was just as well as she was about to learn a new ability on the fly.

She broadly understood what her Master meant. So many abilities overlapped and what was described felt like a variation of Force Jump and Force Push, to leap but to control your descent. She jumped when indicated and using the Force, she was able to slow her fall. It was hardly hovering, as her Master was able to do, but she was able to maintain a safe speed to ensure she didn’t fall too quickly. But her concentration was such that she chose not to speak to her Master and instead gave the jump her entire focus.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Matsu watched her as she followed her padawan and could almost feel the concentration rolling off of her as she moved leading the way and coming down a little ways into the flater sections. between te jutting rocks and crystals. The warehouse wasn't from the same people that made the trams as it was marked with another logo mostly faded on the side. Matsu could feel the ship inside while she grabbed the handle of the door and pulled to open it with some small straining at first. The strength was needed as it felt rusted from dissuse as it scrapped. Bringing her attention around for some of the things when inside it looked like an old machine shop that was stropping things for parts. She knew places like this. "A chop shop maybe, capture ships, bring them back and strip for parts to sell off."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Her Master was no doubt taking in detail – lots of it. Sorel on the other hand was entirely focused on not dying. There were the variables like jumping from a moving object. And then there were jutting rocks as well as crystals to contend with. But she landed in one piece and followed her Master as she opened the warehouse door. It took a little effort and a lot of noise of metal on metal, but finally the entrance was revealed and the darkness inside was filled with light from behind them.

Sorel recognised a lot of the parts that were scattered around. Parts of old ships mostly. The console of a YT-1300, a solar panel from a Genosian solar sailer, a screen from a Lambda class shuttle, what looked like half an engine from a Corellian HWK-290 and other pieces too small to identify as from a given ship.

“If you’re looking for spare parts for an old ship, this place is a gold-mine.” The Holocrons were temporarily forgotten as she walked amongst the old ship parts, identifying them and speculating where she was unsure.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Matsu had to agree while she was looking through the shop and the old parts gave some indication to things with great interest. Getting her to the back where she saw there were several ships secured and abandoned with sections taken so no one was intact or usable. She could see the ship there in the back of them while walking. "Some of these are ancient looking and some look like Krayt ships they likely got from the facilities here." SHe could lead over some of the things touching the ship with her hand and giving a grin while she showed the jedi symbol on the side of the half taken apart hull. "Here it is, one of the ships that cleared out the vaults and now we can work with it to recover things."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel meandered through the old warehouse, keeping one eye on her Master now, making sure she kept broadly close to her and never letting her out of her sight for more than a few moments. They were heading towards the back of the building and Sorel noted there were more I act ships here, albeit with significant omissions, to make them unflyable - like a lack of wings, or an engine.

Her eyes were drawn to the symbol as her Master pointed it out and Sorel walked up alongside her Master. It was both reassuring and odd to see a Jedi symbol on a ship here, in this place.

"How long has it been here, Master," she asked earnestly. She wasn't aware that the Holocrons had been moved around.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

"Several years at least, going by the dust on it more then anything. I can't say for certain though and will have to see inside maybe with the logs." She was still guessing but getting inside the ship was easy enough, they usually removed the doors so it couldn't be sealed first while she went to them and inside. Letting Sorel catch up as she moved through it. It wasn't that large maybe the size of a light freighter most cargo transporters used. The hallways stripped and gutted but the cargo hold remained as the doors were thick turadium instead of durasteel. "They make doors to the seate building like this, not easy to get through and I am guessing the interior is much the same. Just a thick box holding everything.... we might be lucky most people don't think jedi have things of value."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel followed and listened. There were many things she didn't understand but now wasn't the time to reflect on them. At least not to valise them. Their eyes had to be on the prize. But the thoughts bounced around her head regardless. Like why were they here? Who brought them? Why hadn't the Jedi come for them before? But one was not only troubling her, it also felt relevant. So as they moved through the ship, she spoke it out loud. "Master, is there any chance that the hold is booby-trapped? Or indeed the contents? I mean, do we need to take precautions?"

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Booby traps? She thought about it and.... well most traps like that jedi didn't do but this was meant to basically contain and secret away the artifacts within a vault so only one person could use it. She was looking at some of the things with her attention on different things. Mainly the lock while she lifted it up and started working on tinkering with it while she used the multi tool to pop the top off. and hook up a datapad. "There might be, normally jedi might have alarms but deadly traps I don't think those would be there.... Given what this was meant to do though, we shouldn't take chances.." She was prepared for anything and set the glow rod up above. "Help me with the locks and magnetic seals."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

When it came to locks and security devices, Sorel tended to use the Force over technology. A few of the measures were easily dealt with - she placed her hand on them and a purple haze formed around her hand before sparks arced to the security devices and disabled them.

Having tackled the easy ones, she pulled out her tool-kit and set to work on the others. With the advent of more sophisticated data-encryption, the ways of hacking security devices had similarly evolved - to the point of stalemate. So often, the safest locks were not protected by any codes - but by more old-fashioned means. Anyone could plug a datapad with the right software loaded up into a lock, but it took skill to manually bypass seals.

It would take time - but they weren't up against a deadline, so she systematically worked her way through the defences, leaving some for her Master as her own means of cracking codes was a lot quicker for many of the locks.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Matsu stayed working with it, using the force to guide her movements with the lock and mechanics as she was communing with it. The sounds of the machinery springing to life as the seals were released on the door one after another to give her a better idea for working with some of the things. The doors were cracked as she moved her hands to start prying it apart and made enough of a gap to toss in a glow rods to cast the room in ble light. Starring in at the different crates and boxes of other things when the door was finally opened enough for the two of them to enter inside. She focused reaching out with the force to sense for electronic equipment or signatures that might still be active. She couldn't feel anything in there while she stepped in cracking another glowrod and setting it on a crate.

 

[Sorel Crieff]

The work was delicate and required total concentration but finally they were able to open the doors enough for her Master to be able to pull them apart. A small gap at first the room beyond was illuminated with a glow rod or two. It looked much like any storage area – full of boxes, but she knew this was more than just an average broom closet.

She eagerly followed her Master in and was surprised that there was not a strong sensation of the Force in here, but her logic kicked in and she surmised that the Holocrons – if here – would be transported in some sort of resin to nullify their signature, in case they drew unwanted attention.

And given her Master was far more adept at sensing such things, she settled back and waited – ready to help at the merest hint of a request.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Matsu focused her attention on things working with it with some excitement now as she moved between the crates. Allowing her hands to touch each one and prepare a few ideas going forward until she stopped looking at the locking mechanisms focusing a little to open them. Soon the crates were open and pottery, tapestries, books and scrolls that had been collected wee visible again while she was searching through it gently. She was being careful with the artifacts and getting what they could out while she set a few of the scrolls and tablets aside. The older things safe until she got to another crate bringing the different packing foam up revealing the noetikans and device to use them while she set it next to scrolls and tablets.