Forged in Ice

[Darth Ophidia]

There are some planets in the galaxy that have such inhospitable climate that one would only dare it for something truly precious. It had been home to all sorts of factions, and equally inhospitable to friend or foe. Now, once more, the planet stood unclaimed and free to accept all those desperate enough to seek refuge in its frosty embrace. Now, the Sith Assassins were establishing their nefarious purposes on the snow-covered planet. After the loss of their home base, the Sith Assassins had been adrift, but now homes were being built on planets all around the galaxy, and Hoth would be their forge.

Darth Ophidia stood in the snow, wrapped in several layers of warm coats to keep her hairless body from the cold. Through the metal mask of her helm, she watched as the volcanic fissures broke violently through the ice, throwing steam, smoke and minerals into the air in a fantastic mixture of ice and fire. She could not help but to be reminded of the Dark Side of the Force, how it always broke through and surfaced in the end despite all odds. She held in her hands a datapad with the schematics of their workplace, among other. Soon, this area would be swarming with the working force of the Sith Assassins. A small base for work would be established where they could forge their weapons, and perhaps even more importantly: To create synthetic crystals for lightsabres.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"What was once one, is now many. Are you prepared [member="Darth Ophidia"] ?" Darth Ferus was quick to show. A Forge may as well be his specialty, but this sort of Forge was new to him. Both hands were folded over his chest as he looked over the lava field, and unlike Ophidia he was layered in so much more clothing. Fire and lava was a place he could survive in no issue. Cold and ice was not. Had he not been as close to the lava, which was dangerously so, he would of been shivering.

"Let's scout a bit. There should be a cavern or two we could use to build the Forge in. I don't want it resting in plain view."

 

[Darth Ophidia]

"As prepared as I can be, [member="Darth Ferus"]. I have collected all available data about the planet surface. However, I must admit it is less than I had hoped."

The protective mask with its elaborate etchings turned to the Sith Lord. The fur-lining of her outermost coat whipped against the beskar shell protecting her head. While she did not expect combat, she had worn it in order to utilize its' visual and audio sensors, not to mention the added protection it gave her against the cold, harsh winds of the planet surface. She could see the dropships as dark specks in the distance, shipping in the working forces that would secure the perimeter and build the main structure of their forge. They had hired experts of engineering to create a structure that would survive and remain stable between the frozen surface and the volcanic fissures, they would work together to set up the perfect forge. However, the perfect location would still have to be determined.

She nodded in agreement as the Red Assassin suggested they begin the scouting, a wry smile spread across her lips as she decided to joke with the Sith Lord. A dangerous game, but she knew Darth Ferus could take a joke.

"Do you want to go together, or solo? You can hold my hand if you're afraid."

 

[Darth Ferus]

"If you would like to hold my hand, I can take you diving into the Lava. I'm sure your body could handle it." A retort. A grin would form on the man's face as he glanced towards [member="Darth Ophidia"] . His body had been modified to resist the extreme temperatures such as Lava, if only for a short time at this level. But he wouldn't stand around and move off towards the lava field. It was more than one fount of the molten rock to be found. Hoth was a unique place, as all it's water was frozen. Including oceans. So canyons like this one they were about to go in were in reality the bottom of the ocean itself, where normally the pressure would kill someone instantly, and there would be no light.

Still as they walked however the air would be frozen save for standing right beside one of the fissures, which was sadly an impossibility. But as they went deeper, finding the cave he had mentioned became quite easy.

Before them, carved into the side of the rock and ice face, was a cave seeming to glow red.

"At least it wasn't going to take too long to find, no?"

 

[Darth Ophidia]

"And here I didn't bring a swimsuit."

Her voice had a mock pout in it as she spoke, but she didn't dwell on the jokes. Instead she walked with the Red Assassin as they explored the area. She activated a close range beacon for their workers to follow and kept it in her left hand. With Darth Ferus' near whimsical nature, she felt responsible for managing the logistics of the operation. However, following the Sith Lord was worth it as his senses lead them to the perfect spot.

"Again, your nose has led us to a gold mine, Lord Ferus. The ice-caves are notoriously shifty, we may want to make a stable entrance to the cavern mouth."

She stabbed the beacon into a cluster of ice to free her hand, and rubbed her fingers together as she approached cautiously the red-glowing cavern. As they came nearer, the radiating heat of the cavern became tangible. Ice evaded the heat in a large arch, creating an open space around the mouth of the cavern. There was a constant struggle between the warm and the cold. Water dripped from the ceiling, evaporated in the mouth and was sucked out into the cold, only to freeze once more.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Aye, it would be best. But let's also make sure that the cave isn't completely lava. Need a solid foundation as well, no?" The thought of [member="Darth Ophidia"] in a swim suit brought a smile to the Red Assassins face, but he didn't dwell on it. This wasn't the time for such distractions after all. Slowly the man worked his way into the cave, making sure that each step didn't end with falling through the rock below into a pool of lava. He could resist the heat, but he would still melt. Thankfully, the ground seemed solid.

Within was a massive cavern, with a small offshoot of a lava pool near the end. The best part was it was low to the ground, meaning that the Lava didn't run immediately under foot from where they were standing.

Both hands spread wide as he looked over the sight, calling out to the Pale Assassin with shear enjoyment.

"This is perfect!"

 

[Darth Ophidia]

"Of course."

She followed him in, and started taking pictures through her datapad. She had to stand at a certain distance from the pool so not to get burned even despite her thick clothing. Ophidia would probably be braving the heat later on, but currently it was a matter of building a forge. She even took a picture of the Sith Lord standing with his arms spread wide. It could make for some good propaganda. The images were utilized for scanning space, and while she was taking them, heat fluctuations were monitored to better understand the volcanic activity. They wouldn't want a sudden eruption of magma while they were working. She also turned and made scans of the entrance, giving the engineers what they needed to concoct a plan of the building.

"[member="Darth Ferus"], the teams are ready to move in and begin the planning and construction soon."

She smiled a little as the Red Assassin stood there, with arms spread and exclaimed in joy over their discovery.

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Make it now, I'd rather not wait. There's much to do." With that, the Sith Lord would move into the center of the chamber. His arms would spread wide as his eyes closed, he reaching out to the Force itself. [member="Darth Ophidia"] would find him going into a deep meditation, cutting off from any sort of communication. The cave themselves began to shake as he reached outwards, slowly beginning to change the cavern itself.

A podium of sorts within the center would slowly begin to rise, and all of his attention was on just the reshaping.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

She would not waste time with words if the Sith Lord said immediately. Orders to deploy were issued and the dropships of workers, engineers, and technicians landed outside the mouth of the ice-cave, drawn to the beacon she had left just outside the stone mouth. Experts from Csilla begun the planning to stabilise, reinforce and widen the Ice-cave while maintaining an icy outer shell, giving them camouflage. The heat-signature would also be masked as much as possible, hiding the base as nothing more than a part of the glaciers.

With efficiency only the Sith could truly provide, the workers set to moulding the ice and erecting the metal shell of the building outside. Crates of equipment and materials were loaded off the ships and sorted for purpose. Ophidia consulted briefly with the architects and engineers as they were breaking into tiffs about the construction, but mostly the building went smoothly. It was not as if they were building a large base, but it needed to be solid and ideally defensible against a skirmish. When things seemed to go smoothly, she returned to the lava chamber and removed her helmet. She wanted to feel the heat on her skin, the searing pain and the rush of the Dark Side that followed.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

As [member="Darth Ophidia"] came back into the room, she would find it much more than altered. Ferus had changed the entire layout through his usage of the Force. What seemed to be a staircase lead up an artificial mound, and at the top a smooth, solid altar. It was rare for the Sith to use his Earth Shaping, as time had shown him it took far more concentration than that of fire, and he was an impulsive fighter, but as the main element he himself was specifically attuned to, he had a natural skill many should fear. Golden eyes glanced over as the female entered once more, and a light bow was offered.

"And how goes it?"

 

[Darth Ophidia]

"It goes well, the experst from Csilla are making quick work of the Ice and stabilising the tunnel. The equipment needed for the geological compressor is being brought up shortly. I like what you've done with the place."

She was genuinely impressed. She had expected some change, but this was quite the stunning difference. Ophidia held her helmet under her left arm as she walked up the stairs of the mound and ran her hands across the smooth altar. Even up there, the heat beat against her face, but she persisted by reaching into the Force, a skill she needed to work more on. She could imagine the work this room would allow them to do, what wonderful and terrible weapons they could create; Tools with which a new galaxy could be built.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Don't expect to see it very often. Earth Shaping takes too much focus and standing still for my taste." A light chuckle escaped his lips before he glanced out back at the cavern entrance. So far so good. But, this was all [member="Darth Ophidia"] 's idea. With a grin he would bow his head to her. The Pale Assassin was the leader of this mission after all. "Anything else you need of me?"

 

[Darth Ophidia]

"Duly noted."

She sat down her helmet on the stone slab and removed a leather purse from the back of her robes. It sagged heavily on the stone. Next, she placed the hilt of a lightsabre -which she had obtained on Belgaroth by defeating a Jedi- next to the leather purse. She looked at [member="Darth Ferus"] while raising the portion of her face that would contain an eyebrow. Then she bowed her head in return, the way masters had bowed back at her when she had greeted them or paid her respects.

"The geological compressor still needs to be installed, but I am sure our labourers can manage. If they want to ever see home, that is. Thank you, Lord Ferus. You have been invaluable as always."

She offered the Sith Lord a grateful smile, and as if on cue, the workers started assembling the vital piece of equipment that was the geological compression chamber. Experts had been brought in to construct it and set it to the optimal settings for creating lightsabre crystals. They worked quite efficiently, but it was taking far too long for Ophidia's taste.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Ophidia stood in front of the altar, feeling the heat upon her face from the magma below. She folded er hands on her midriff and closed her eyes as she slipped into a state of meditation. She focused on the materials in front of her, inspecting them with her mind and pouring a part of her presence into the objects. She had been doing this for months in order to gain ultimate control of each element that would become her final sabre.

Meanwhile, the experts worked on the structure all around her. The tunnel was stabilised and covered with walls to insulate and bring it to a more habitable temperature. The room she stood in would be kept as it was, except for the instalment of the geological compressor, which was taking shape at an almost pleasing pace. Ophidia was deep in her meditative trance, pouring her mind into the objects and delving deeper into the mysteries of the Dark Side, while workers laboured all through what would be the forge; her forge. The idea was most pleasing, she had come to the point now where things were attributed to her, not only to the Order of the Sith. This only made her fight for it harder. She was a greedy one, and she would not let go of what was hers.

Time passed as she stood there, and then she was interrupted by someone clearing their throats. She emerged from her trance and opened her eyes slowly.

"Yes?"

The annoyance in her voice was palpable, and the chiss that had spoken cringed while bowing his head.

"We have finished, milady. The Geological Compression Chamber is complete. The tunnel is stabilised and facilitated as you ordered."

A smile spread over her lips, as she looked around her and then set the burning embers her eyes had become, on the chiss.

"Good! Let there be celebrations. Soon you may all go home wealthy, as promised."

The Chiss smiled, and mirth spread through the tunnels as a job well done was celebrated.