Fly Me To The Moon (Mandalorian Exploration of Tra'Shebs)

[Arrbi Betna]

For the first time as far back as anyone could remember, Concordia's sister had sat in the sky. It had gazed back at Mandalore, standing silent vigil beside its more well known twin. Long forgotten, it had been cast aside by the Mandalorian people in favor of beskar, the miracle metal that had made the Mandalorians a force to be reckoned with. For countless centuries, even eons, it had sat alone and neglected.

No longer.

An expedition had been launched, one that would take the group to the forgotten moon. Scans showed the planet was locked in eternal ice, but then again, they'd always shown that. Other scans showed there was a thin, non-breathable atmosphere on the low gravity planet, but again, that had been known.

What hadn't been truly known was what lay beneath the ice.

A minor asteroid impact had been recorded by chance as it cratered the surface of the moon. Expecting ice and dust, observers were stunned to see liquid and steam thrown up in addition. At first, it was assumed the impact had generated intense heat, but as the heat died down, the liquid took longer to freeze over than normal, leading the thought that perhaps, just maybe, there was more at work than what was originally expected.

The expedition would determine if this was true or not.

And so Betna sat with many, many others in the passenger bay of an expedition ship as the moon grew ever closer in the viewports. Perhaps there would be beskar there, or maybe other minerals of importance. Perhaps there would be nothing to find. They wouldn't know until they got there.

In the meantime, the excitement grew and the dozens, if not scores, of volunteers waited with bated breath for the familiar shock of landing.

Tra'shebs, the End of the Stars, awaited them.

[member="Chiz Ne Ordo"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Ijaat Akun"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Garith Darkhold JR"] [member="Kiyron"] [member="Anija Betna"] [member="Samael Rekali"] [member="Arla Balor"] [member="Gilamar Skirata"]

 

[Chiz Ne Ordo]

To Chiz there was already a resource on Tra’shebs he could exploit. Well it most certainly seemed that way. He hoped it was water! The Planet Ordo was mostly deserts. There was an exception, there was a ring of plant life around the equator. Water on a desert plant was like gold. Clan Ordo could use this resource to make the planet more viable to grow and thrive in the hostile terrain. If the liquid was hydrogen or something like that, well there was profit there too!
Nobody, well hardly anybody went to this moon and it was near a constantly used flight path to Concordia and Mandalore. That might mean there is flight wreckage. That meant possible salvage for Chiz to exploit.

“Yep, Chiz ubar eddy”, the little armored Jawa could hardly sit in his seat he was so excited. In his broken speak he tried to say…yes, Chiz super ready. “WWWOooooo, Chiz ant ate”, he said trying to say Chiz can’t wait!

“Da thank’a thar is big asnty onsters thar”, Chiz was looking at @Arrbi Benta when he asked his question. What Chiz was trying to say was…do think there is big nasty monster there?

 

[Kiyron]

Kiyron felt rather out of place. He was new to the Mandalorians, to say the least, having been brought in by some folks affiliated with the Galactic Alliance. Sure, he had the combat experience to warrant being invited in, but he was still the new guy, unsure and not completely aware of everything that went on. His understanding of the language was progressing, but it was still a little difficult to keep up with. So, to try and be a better one, he had volunteered for this exploration mission. Surviving hostile terrain was one of his specialties, as was wilderness reconnaissance. It seemed like he actually had some skills to bring to the table.

But for now, he sat in the dropship, going through his gear again, and making sure everything was prepared. Weapons checked. Air checked. Armor systems checked. Cybernetic diagnostics checked. All was cleared and ready to go. Now hopefully he'd feel like a proper Mandalorian. Or at least, close to one. If he was professional and did this the same way he treated any combat mission, it would work out. Or should, anyways. That was what Kiyron was hoping for at least. Honestly, it was rather intimidating to be involved with the Mandalorians, to be part of such a legacy and contribute to such a reputation. Quite intimidating, in to be precise.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Kiyron"] [member="Chiz Ne Ordo"] [member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Gilamar Skirata"] [member="Samael Rekali"]

Exploration. The thought of it sent a thrill through Anija as she sat in the jump seat next to Arrbi. This... wasn't like the multitude of combat missions she'd been a part of over the years she'd been with the Mandalorians. No, this was different. It reminded her strongly of the missions she'd gone on with [member="Jorus Merrill"] and crew. Those were the days... The thought brought a momentary smile to her face. She'd always been one who enjoyed exploring.

And to be able to do so.. and in their own home system.... was quite the treat. Especially when she'd been to the edge of known space and beyond. There was no telling what this ball of ice which called Concordia it's neighbor was hiding under it's frozen surface. Her scientist's mind was already sifting through possibilities. And there were a great many of them, certainly. She grinned under her helmet and turned her ttention to her own gear, checking it over for probably the twentieth time. Chiz's comment made her smile again. She could sort of understand his excitement... and she could feel that of everyone else in the passenger bay. It was hard not to.

 

[The Angry Cheese]

Sitting towards the entrance of the shuttle, Tracinya is currently admiring his beskad as he patiently waits for the ship to land. The comment in Jawanese sounded like a bunch of gibberish to him, but he could tell the little Mandalorian was excited for this trip. And, truth be told, Tracinya was actually quite excited himself. He just prefers his own company to most others, even brothers or sisters-in-arms. Occasionally he'll glance to the others further inside the troop compartment, but otherwise he'll return to sharpening his beskad. While most Mandalorians would be enjoying their social times with their vode, Tracinya just wishes to keep to himself right now.

But that doesn't mean he wouldn't talk to anyone if they approach him, of course. He raises his sword to the light, inspecting it under a critical eye before nodding to himself and propping the sword against one of the open seats on either side of him, to the right. Giving another glance to the others, studying each one individually.

The Jawa seemed like a decent enough engineer, as always with their kind. Useful for finding ancient, forgotten technologies they may find here.

The new kid seemed decent enough, if not a bit green and nervous. Probably seen some combat before, but he still looks new to the Mando'ade.

The other man that wasn't nervous, a member of Clan Betna, seemed like a veteran. Probably been a Mandalorian longer than Tracinya, that's for sure, if not since birth.

Then came the woman... Everyone's armor fit them right, since it was custom made to fit them, but her armor seemed to fit her even more than normal. It was probably just his young mind at work, making things up, but still... Nevermind that, he better look away before [member="Anija Betna"] catches him staring.

 

[Marcus Lok]

You'll be able to breathe... You've checked it over ten times already... Don't be foolish.

Nothing stopped him from checking his gauntlet once again. The thought of suffocating on some god forsaken frozen rock a good many miles away from Mandalore kept him at his equipment, making sure that every reading held the same word; Nominal.

He knew what his job would be on this mission, and he had all of the equipment in the case next to his person. If anything went wrong with the ship, or their communications terminals or their vast assortment of other equipment and gear that usually followed expeditions off in their ventures, it was his job to make sure that it was fixed. So far, nothing could be reported on the ship as being wrong. That is to say, nothing serious, as it still gave off the slight sign that it was an older ship that probably hadn't been used for a bit of time and was in need of an inspection. His uplink to the ship's computer lagged rather constantly, and it kept giving off false readings that their port stabiliser was about to fall out of it's housing, but he had high hopes. His kute felt a bit heavier on his body than usual, and perhaps it was only his mind playing tricks on him, but he could swear it was causing him to sweat. More likely, however, it was the sensation that they would soon be landing.

His own rifle was slung over his shoulder, and was in sure reach should they need it upon landing... In case they encountered and wild ice chunks or marauding snowmen. His two pistols were holstered as well, and his armor was fitted tightly to his form which gave him a slight heir of confidence. His helmet held its green tinted HUD which now was working to display the inner workings of their craft, so that the young vod could attend to any malfunction at the slightest rearing of its head. He paid little attention to those around him, save for the odd hooded one that supposedly came from Ordo, or so someone had told him. Another was the man sitting towards the entrance of the shuttle, right across the way from himself actually, and he was admiring his own beskad which looked to be of high quality. Of course he would have no way of knowing, but it gleamed in the dull light of the ship nonetheless.


[member="Chiz Ne Ordo"] / [member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

Exploration was something Vilaz never have time to. He wasn't the type to go around the stars and see what historical features a planet has, or finding something peculiar of a system. Indeed, he did love venturing in the galaxy when it only makes him gain. Mercenary, bounty hunting, and raiding always have him the excitement of adventure and it filled his needs of it. But when it came to Mandalorian affairs then he felt obligated to join as they could discover new frontiers that were either a menace to eliminate or a friendly force to establish relations with. When news arrived of a Mandalorian expedition to an unknown moon in the Mandalore system the Field Marshal was one of the first to sign up.

For many years that uncharted moon was forgotten because of how the popularity of Concordia shadowed it. Today, they would explore its mysterious domain and see what riches and promises it could offer to the Clans. Accurate research had informed them that it had minerals within the layers of ice, but it could not identify the properties of it. Perhaps it hosted beskar? That would be known once they begun exploring the moon.

"Let's hope we hit gold," Vilaz said under his helmet. And when he meant gold he meant that priceless metal that was important to all Mandalorians: beskar.

[member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"] [member="Anija Betna"] [member="Kiyron"] [member="Chiz Ne Ordo"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

 

[The Angry Cheese]

(( I am behind. Mind helping me catch up? ))

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Betna stood up as the pilot gave the notification that they were minutes from landing. Outside, the moon loomed up, the landscape rising up to meet them. What had appeared as flat field of ice and the occasional rocky outcropping was far from the smoothness perceived from orbit. Instead of a flat landscape, ridges and jagged outcroppings of ice rolled across the horizon as far as the eye could see. In between lay ravines, some deep and dark while others were shallow and rugged. In the distance could be seen the rocky outcroppings, first believed to be moderately sized and equivalent of hills, but in truth were the size of mountains, some bigger than ones found on Mandalore at first glance. All throughout blew icy winds and the chill of the atmosphere. There was oxygen on the moon, that much was true, but the atmosphere was too thin to breath and, even if one could walk without a sealed suit, the place was too cold to survive without a sealed environment to reside in.

He shifted from the window and stood at the front of the cabin, using one hand on the overhead to steady himself.

"I don't think we'll have to worry about anything especially nasty trying to attack us," he said with a laugh to the small Jawa. It was an odd addition to the Mando'ade, but a welcome one nonetheless. Betna then turned to face the rest.

"In a moment we'll be landed and moving out. Those of you with training in arctic environments or frozen planets, help those who don't. Treat the whole place like a glacier. We don't know what's here or how stable the landscape really is, so be careful and stay near the ship. Once more ships arrive, we'll have better equipment to range further out, until then feel free to explore where you'd like so long as you do so safely. If you find anything interesting, let the rest know so we can catalog it and send folks to do basic research on it. If you find trouble or trouble finds you, give a shout on the comms and remember to check in periodically."

At that, the ship shuddered slightly, signifying that they had landed safely. Betna gestured at the back hatch and, by extension, the moon they had come to explore.

"Buckets on and have at it, vode."

[member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"] [member="Anija Betna"] [member="Kiyron"] [member="Chiz Ne Ordo"]

 

[The Angry Cheese]

(( I shall post once I have better inspiration... slight writer's block. ))

 

[Chiz Ne Ordo]

Buckets on? Chiz could take the hint. The little guy slipped his helmet on. Back into his own personal sealed environment Chiz was ready! He was up and ready. He was already out of his seat.

“Chiz eddy, [SIZE=14pt]Ya[/SIZE]”, he bounced over the back of the transport and to the back hatch Arrbi had pointed at. Then that excited little Jawa rubbed his gloved hands right before he exited the ship.

He had made it down to the end of the ramp. Then as soon as his boots hit the ice/snow…he slipped and fell right onto his shebs.

[SIZE=14pt]“UUFF”,[/SIZE] was the sound that escaped his lips as his but had hit the ground. Shocked and embarrassed he scrambled as fast as he could. He flipped over to his hands and knees. Then he with a quick hop he landed back on his feet. ‘No one saw that. Just keep on moving as nothing happened! ’, he told himself standing up looking around the frozen landscape.

 

[Kiyron]

Kiyron nodded as [member="Arrbi Betna"] gave the briefing. Excellent. A glacier. It'd been a while since he'd been around those. Probably not since Kelchase, that he could remember, unless that one phrik expedition with Havoc Squad was similar. Either way, this would be interesting. He rolled his neck and grabbed his gear, slipping out of the dropship behind [member="Chiz Ne Ordo"] as the Jawa slipped on the ice. He gave a nod and reached into his pack, pulling out a pair of spikes.

He knelt down and strapped them onto his boots, testing them as the metal dug into the ice.

"Careful, brother," He said, testing a few steps on the ice, "Try and add more aggressive traction to your soles."

This seemed to be working. He pulled out a probing stick and held it in front of him, sticking it into the ice. "And stay right behind me. Don't stray to either side."

The stick sank through the snow to his wrist and he pulled himself up short. "Crevasse. Need to find a way around until we know how wide it is."

 

[The Angry Cheese]

[member="Kiyron"]

Standing behind him was Tracinya, who currently had his twin Westar-34s drawn and was currently scanning the horizon. Fortunately, it seemed that their was no hostile life here. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell if there was any life at all! With a bored sigh, he glances over his shoulder to Kiyron, glancing down at the stick-looking thing for a moment.

"You think we'll find anything important in this frozen hellhole, vod?"

 

[Marcus Lok]

When the engines of their craft finally died down to silence, Marcus unhooked himself, and joined the procession that was working its way towards the door. The man just ahead of him, whom was called Tracinya, seemed to be rather uninterested in the frozen expanse that he had stepped out onto. Upon making his own way on to the surface, Marcus had nearly the same opinion. His boots already held small metal spikes, which were now digging into the brittle ice of the moon, but even this made traversing the snow a bit of a cautious venture. On his back, he carried his pack of tools and other assorted devices that could be used to fix up any electrical issues that may be encountered in the hostile cold landscape. At any rate, the air was coming through to him, and he was now quite uninterested in the vast area of white snow and ice that surrounded them.

"I'll bet this place is just teeming with riches..."

This was of course said in sarcasm, and he expected they might be more wise to explore Raxus Prime than this icy rock. He also eyed Kiyron who had mentioned the predicament with their path. With a sigh, Marcus prepared to move out. Hopefully this "Crevasse" didn't extend for miles.


[member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"] / [member="Kiyron"]

 

[Kiyron]

[member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

Kiyron glanced behind him to Tracinya who asked if they'd actually find anything important. He considered that for a few moments, dropping to one knee to probe further down, all the way to his hand. No sign of the bottom and he couldn't reach the other end with the pole either. Interesting. This was quite large then. Perhaps there was something down in it?

"Can't say, vod," Kiyron answered, "It's real easy for stuff to be hidden down in the ice. Bodies. Minerals. Wrecks." He shrugged and jabbed the pole through the snow into the crevasse, breaking out a large hole as chunks of snow and ice fell into the shadows beneath. Kiyron grinned beneath his helmet. That was better. Wait, what was that? He adjusted the zoom on his visor.

"We've got something metallic down there." He turned around, collapsing the pole and replacing it in his pack. Instead he drew out an ascension gun and fired into the ice. He gave it a tug, making sure it was secure. "Anyone care to join me?"

He gave them a half salute, strapped into the cable, and began walking down the edge of the crevasse.

 

[Darth Metus]

Although we often stared into her eyes, we knew nothing about her.

She had been cast adrift in the abyss of space, forever doomed to a life in the shadow of her sibling. How many eons had she watched the Mando'ade buzz about on the surface of Concordia? How many years did she stare? Did she desire to be as loved as her sister? Or did she...want to be left alone?

***​

Thoughts thundered through the mind of the Clone, matching the pace of his eager heart. Today he had an opportunity to fulfill the final desire of his creator: one that was vastly different from every other directive he had received. For one thing, it was not an order...it was a request. One asked alongside his blessing. Ishmael had finally obtained the freedom he longed for, and now set his sights upon the broken Clan Verd.

Ever since Isley's departure, they had been scattered. Shamed. To have a leader become Dar'manda was an affront to everything that the Mandalorians stood for. Sure, the members themselves weren't to blame, but social stigmas were...social stigmas. No amount of logic could deter sideways glances, rumors, and straight up discrimination. That is why Ishmael accepted the request...to become the new Aliit'buir. He would lead them to a new day, one of glory and acceptance.

Or die trying.

This day, he descended upon the second moon of Mandalore aboard a simple cruiser. It was a borrowed piece from his sire's corporate assets and would come in handy for the day's events. The point of bringing such a big fish to the uninhabited moon was simple: pre-fabricated base. In the event that the children of Mandalore discovered something of worth, it would be good to have a physical stronghold to fall back upon. Of course, Ishmael himself wouldn't be dedicating his time to erecting the base personally. There was a chasm to explore.

He was going to the asteroid.

Brisks steps bore him into the heart of a dropship where @Deneve, his...sibling? Waited. She had, as was her habit, stowed away on the ship and tagged along; amusing Ishmael to no end. With a grin, he nodded to the woman and slipped on his helmet before signalling the pilot to launch. Once airborne, a message was sent out to the Mandalorians already on the ground.

"Oya vod! This is Ishmael Verd, I'm headed for the asteroid's crash site. Anyone care to join me?"

[member="Kiyron"] | [member="Marcus Lok"] |[member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"] |[member="Chiz Ne Ordo"] | [member="Arrbi Betna"] |[member="Vilaz Munin"] | [member="Anija Betna"]

 

[Deneve Verd]

At least; oh kark, she didn't know what to consider her father's clone.


At least Ishmael appeased her sense of adventure. Something her father had a habit of shooting down far to often. So when a grin was given to her, she held in the urge to jump about in triumph.

Donning the armor, she had swiped from her father vault along with the sword Devorah's Song. It reeked of the dark side and made her slightly giddy, something that her father could be blamed for.

Glancing at Ishmael, she would give him a nod before directing her speech towards him,"At least you know better than to tell me no.~"With that she say back and waited for them to land so that the fun could begin.~

[member="Ishmael Verd"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

The familiar shudder of the vessel was a sign for everyone that hey had finally landed on their destination. For many centuries this moon never had been touched until now. Through the viewports of the ship a vast winter wonderland was all that could be seen. It reminded Vilaz of Midvinter because of the eternal cold cursed upon that rock, but this world was way different than home of the Valkyries. On Misvinter life could be sustained, however, there was no life to be found on the moon. Perhaps this was why older generations of Mandalorians have ignored this satellite. Nevertheless, its secrets would be unearthed even if they had to bring in a demolishing squad to do it.

After unbuckling himself from his seat the Redneck concealed his face with his helmet and made his way to the hatch so he could step on Tra'shebs. The Jawa was the first Mandalorian to step foot on the planet and fall down on it. He was an odd assest to the Mandalorians, but it sure made the ranks more diversed which was welcome. He was glad his armor was a source of warmth so he could combat against the harsh cold.

Receiving a public comm from Ishmael Vilaz responded back, "Send me your coordinates, vod, and I'll meet you you there," and ended the transmission, waiting until the coordinates would be sent to him. With him were two WESTAR 34 pistols, a few thermal detonators, and two beskar pickaxes. Nothing too extreme since this was an expedition and not a skirmish. He began to trek the ice with the spikes on his beskar bouts helping him not fall to the ground.

[member="Deneve Verd"] [member="Ishmael Verd"] [member="Kiyron"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"] [member="Chiz Ne Ordo"] [member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Anija Betna"]

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Chiz Ne Ordo"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Garith Darkhold JR"] [member="Kiyron"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Samael Rekali"] [member="Arla Balor"] [member="Gilamar Skirata"] [member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Deneve Verd"] [member="Ishmael Verd"] [member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"] [member="Jarell"]

ANija stood carefully, checking her gear over one final time as she move towards the hatch. She'd dpent the flight going over her gear several times. And each time the results were the same Nominal. What she was most concerned about was the pressure seals on her helmet, and if her readouts were to be trusted, they too were solid. A nod to herself, and a glance around the passenger compartment as she moved up next to Arrbi.

It appeared that the group was dispersing quickly to explore the areas around the ship... and some were more adventurous than others. She couldn't help the grin than spread across her face at the banter across the comm channels. At KIyron's comment, she glanced over and watched him driving a digging pole into the ice. "Be careful, vod. As you said, there's no way to tell how far it goes. We don't need to compromise the surface integrity of the ice. I don't want to be digging anyone out of any crevasses today." She tried to keep her tone light, and absently began humming to herself as she moved away from the ship and began runing some scans of her own. Mostly for mineral composition and ice surface integrity.

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Betna let the group wander out and stepped out onto the planet himself, keeping next to his wife. He hadn't done much exploration, really, so it was all new to him. Tra'shebs had always sat in the sky at night, but for some reason no one had bothered with the moon. Concordia had always taken precedent, what with the amount of beskar on the planet to fuel industry. There had really been no need to explore Tra'shebs outside of cursory scans.

"It's kind of odd, really," he said to his wife after a moment. "We spend thousands of years on a planet and colonize one of the moons, but never really give the second moon much more than a glance. You'd have thought they'd at least send cartographers or researchers out this way at some point."

He crossed his arms and shrugged to himself.

"Anything interesting on your scans, cyar'ika?" he asked.

[member="Chiz Ne Ordo"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Garith Darkhold JR"] [member="Kiyron"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Samael Rekali"] [member="Arla Balor"] [member="Gilamar Skirata"] [member="Anija Betna"] [member="Deneve Verd"] [member="Ishmael Verd"] [member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"] [member="Jarell"]