Private Frozen Maintenance

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble Saahar

The Red Night exited hyperspace above Hoth, not with it's usual shudder, but with an alarming shaking that rattled the whole ship. Warning sirens sounded as the primary generator died, plunging the interior of the vessel into darkness, before the back-up generator kicked in and everything was washed in dull red lighting. Gatz sighed, and stared out at the white orb beneath them, as his ship drifted dead in space.

Gatz keyed the ship wide intercom, "Arfour, did we blow another fuse?"

He waited a moment before hearing back, <No. We fried a relay this time.>

Gatz groaned in annoyance. The Red Night had been a pristine ship, once. Not a wire out of place. But constant assignments for Valery, his friends, himself, and the Order had put some serious wear and tear on his vessel. And now that he'd given up smuggling, he just didn't have the money to repair it. The labor he could supply himself, but the parts? His bank account was in the negative as it was. He wouldn't be fixing his ship any time soon.

"Can you get the engines online? Shut down everything else if you have to, but I need to put her down on the ground."

<Gonna have to cannibalize a relay from somewhere else on the ship.>

"Do what you have to do. But I don't want to be dead in the water this close to Sith space."

He blew out a sigh and looked back out through the viewport. This should have been an easy assignment: Hoth had old listening stations, and once upon a time, Valery had wanted to get those stations up and running in case the Sith decided to invade from the Outer Rim. He'd sort of torpedoed that mission with his starving, being chased by bounty hunters, exhaustion, and failing mental health. Naturally, now that he was trying to make up for that, it was about to be torpedoed again.

All because his ship was falling to pieces.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

"Saahar? Can you initiate a scan? Try electronic signatures first, then life forms." If Gatz was down there, it was possible that his ship still held power. That would be easiest to detect, but if his systems were already dead, then a life form scan could hopefully give them something. Hoth wasn't exactly as populated as most other planets after all.

Either way, they needed to find him.

Valery was made aware of his mission to Hoth and whenever Jedi were tasked to go on dangerous missions, or simply to travel to a dangerous planet, it was common for them to check in and report on progress. Nothing good had turned out from Hoth, so Valery decided to go looking. But not alone. Saahar was going to be accompanying her, so she could see more of the Galaxy and learn alongside an experienced Jedi.

They'd find him, together.

Gatz Derrevar Saahar ​

 

[Saahar]

Saahar couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this keyed up for a mission. Which- considering how tame it was in reference to literally everything else she'd done as a Sith -may have been a slight overreaction. At least this time around she wasn't actively antagonizing a small village or coming within inches of paralyzing a man. No, instead Valery has invited her to assist in a rescue.

The word almost felt foreign to her.

Ultimately the company was more of a stressor then the objective at hand. Slowly and carefully, she'd learned to trust the hand Valery had extended, and now she found herself in the unfortunate position of wanting to prove the Jedi had been right about her. That saving her from that warehouse could and would amount to something.

With some serious effort, she could almost get over the unconformable reminder of how close they were to Sith space.

"Got something." the girl confirmed after having done as Valery asked. a genuine chime of excitement in her voice. It was rare she did anything with the intention of helping rather than hurting. "Not sure how long we'll have it though, it's a weak signal."

Which likely meant whoever they were looking for was in a mad scramble to keep their ship alive.

"What's your guy doing this far out anyway?" Saahar asked. Little did she know, she'd likely care significantly less about his wellbeing in just a matter of minutes. But right now, he remained a faceless friend of Valery's just in need of a bail out.

Gatz Derrevar Valery Noble

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble Saahar

Planetfall hadn't been the smoothest.

With only three of her six engines working, The Red Night had flown like a slug with a brick attached to its back. With Hoth's harsh blizzard winds obscuring his view, Gatz had been forced to rely on sonar of all things to navigate down to the planets surface. It had been a rickety, terrifying trip—a far cry from the ease with which he usually helmed his father's ship.

But he'd touched down without crashing, only a dozen feet away from the bunker.

"Tin Can," Gatz stood from his seat, "how long is that backup generator good for?"

<Few hours. Should keep the ship warm while it's running.>

Well, at least life support was working, if nothing else. But with the power out, The Red Night wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. They were, essentially, stranded on the frozen world. And communications were dead along with the rest of the ship, so Gatz had no way of calling for help.

"Keep an eye on things," he ordered the droid, as he pulled an old parka from his closet, "I'm going to see if I can get this old listening post up and running. I'm sure they had a way to get in contact with the Alliance or the Republic, or whoever operated this base. Might actually save our asses."

<I don't have one of those.>

"Shut up. I have my commlink on me. Just let me know if anything changes."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

"Good work," Valery said, having noticed the excitement in Saahar's voice after finding the signal. "I've got a lock on it, so I'll take us down as close as I can." Signals weren't precise if there was a lot of interference, so to avoid landing straight on top of Gatz, Valery took their shuttle down a safe distance away, somewhere on an open plane of ice and snow. Their ship wouldn't be damaged there, and it was easy enough to launch an expedition.

Gatz might even hear them flying overhead.

"He was looking into the listening posts here. They can help us monitor the Sith active in the Outer Rim," Valery explained. "I don't sense or detect any signs of battle, so I believe his ship has issues." At least that meant they wouldn't be chased down by dangerous Sith Lords or Imperial soldiers this time.

Hopefully.

"Alright, bringing us down. Put on your coat, and let's try to find him. If we follow our senses, it shouldn't be hard."

Gatz Derrevar Saahar ​

 

[Saahar]

The girl peered out the view port and subsequently grimaced. The cold. It was just another notch on the long list of things she hated.

"The only thing my senses are telling me is that I'm about to risk some serious frostbite."

It was all for a good enough cause though. Which was something she seemed to constantly need to remind herself of.

The Sith would've just let her freeze.

Coming to a stop by Valery, parka at the ready, Saahar folded her arms and readied herself to brave the elements. As soon as she felt the ship make landfall her resolve shook the tiniest bit before quickly resuturing.

She took one step outside the ship, shuddered, and then tried to hone in her senses on the faintest sign of life. After a moment an oddly familiar presence registered in her mind, pushing her in the direction of Gatz's ship. The link was flimsy and on the verge of disappearing the more distance Gatz put between him and the ship.

"I don't think he wanted to stay put." Saahar mused.

Valery Noble Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble Saahar

The hangar doors didn't have power. Of course they didn't, why would they? This listening post had only been dead since the fall of the Galactic Empire. So Gatz stood outside the bunker, frozen wind having already frosted his hair, debating on how he was going to get it. He could, in theory, lift the hangar door. It was big, probably weighed tons, but size mattered not, right?

It'd probably leave him winded and gasping for air though. Telekinesis was one of the few Jedi skills he had an sort of competence in, and he had raw power in the Force in spades, but he'd never practiced lifting something this heavy. Could he do it? Yes. Would he pass out right after? Probably.

Gatz decided that cutting a hole in the door with his lightsaber would be easier, even if it was the uncivilized approach.

He was halfway through cutting a Gatz sized hole in the door, synthetic blue blade melting right through thick durasteel, when he heard a ship pass above him. He looked up, but could only see the howling blizzard. For a moment, fear gripped him—had the Sith known he was coming? But a moment later, he felt a presence in the Force that he would always recognize.

Valery. And... someone else that he ought to have known, but didn't. Gatz found that he was both relieved, and annoyed.

"I swear, if she's here to babysit me, we're going to have words," Gatz muttered to himself, but he was only complaining half-heartedly, "I have a grip on things for once. A little faith would be nice." But there was a small smile on his face.

Besides, she had literally bankrolled a mini vacation for the two of them. He couldn't actually be annoyed with her, and he wasn't. He just... he needed to feel like he could do something on his own for once. Without Valery holding his hand as she usually did.

Still... if something did go sideways today, it would be nice to have the Jedi Battlemaster around.

"You know," Gatz rang Val's comm, "if you were planning to come along, we could have carpooled."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

"You don't have to tell me. I hate the cold," Valery admitted with a faint grin. There were few things she hated, but the cold was very high on that list. It showed immediately, as they stepped outside. She scrunched her nose and hid away much of her face into her coat. Hands shifted into pockets and there was some light cursing under her breath. Unusual for the otherwise calm and collected Jedi Master, but such was the pain of cold.

At least it seemed that Saahar felt the same about it.

"Seems like it. He probably went ahead with the mission, but we'll find him." Unwilling to remove her face from her coat, Valery's voice sounded muffled but at least still comprehensible. She then took a turn and walked around her ship to start heading into the direction she felt him.

Not a moment later, her comm rang.

<I wasn't planning to since you had it covered. But this isn't a planet to run ship trouble and we lost contact with yours. Everything alright?> Valery gestured with her head for Saahar to keep following her. For now, she figured they'd best catch up with him and handle the ship later.

"Are you good with ship maintenance?" Valery asked her as they walked. "...because I'm not." At least she had parts for maintenance on board, but only because her husband managed all of that.

Gatz Derrevar Saahar ​

 

[Saahar]

Saahar followed after at a shuffling, reluctant pace. Her silent protest wasn't going to get her back on board and enjoying the luxuries of temperature regulation any sooner, but still- It was the principle of things. Hugging her parka tighter, she simply nodded along and watched expectantly as Valery answered her com. The voice that came through, while familiar, didn't immediately cause Saahar to pause until the mental lag caught up with her a moment later.

Ah. That guy.

Brief images of Makko's recovery room flashed through her mind before her expression settled into a distinct grimace. Saahar couldn't necessarily fault him for reacting as he did, he was only defending his friend after all. Still some tiny, spiteful part of her sincerely hoped he was having an awful (or at the very least a cold) time.

While Valery may have felt Saahar's hesitation, the girl made no comment on her discovery. She instead fell in pace alongside the Jedi and shrugged at her inquiry "Not particularly..."

Saahar hadn't been well educated on- well anything really- but definitely not the finer mechanics of ship repair. That meant unless Makko's buddy happened to be skilled enough, they'd probably be here a while. The girl suppressed a groan.

Valery Noble Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble Saahar

<I wasn't planning to since you had it covered. But this isn't a planet to run ship trouble and we lost contact with yours. Everything alright?>

Well, his ship was dead and he was probably stranded here, so no. And there was no point in lying about that, because Valery always caught him in a lie.

<Everything is fine,> Gatz fibbed anyways, <I've got it all handled. The Red Night is just... a little under the weather.>

Literally, considering they were at the rim of a rapidly approaching blizzard. But she had also seen better days. It was a wonder he'd made it down to the ground at all, and it was a downright miracle that he hadn't just smashed into Hoth's icy crust and blown himself up. As much as Gatz wanted to chalk his survival up to skill... it had been mostly blind luck that he'd managed a safe-ish landing.

<Maybe we should talk about this inside the listening post? I'm sure you're probably frozen half solid already. It's not far from where I landed.>

Unlike Gatz, who spent most of his time on a cold ship in the depths of space, Valery hated anything even remotely below warm temperatures. Honestly, he was surprised that she'd come out to Hoth herself at all. He always figured that was one of the few lines she'd draw when it came to helping him: being forced to deal with snow and ice.

Gatz resumed cutting a hole in the unpowered hangar door. He figured if he made it Gatz-sized, then Valery and whomever she'd brought a long would be able to fit through it just fine. He might have been a little on the lithe side still, but he was almost certainly taller than both of them.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber

<A little, huh?> Valery rolled her eyes and looked at Saahar for a moment. She seemed to be stuck in her own mind a bit as well, but Valery wasn't going to make her talk about it. For now, she wanted to focus on finding Gatz, completing the mission and getting them all off-world again.

Not just because she hated the cold.

<I'll see you there,> Valery then replied, choosing not to engage him over his comments about the cold. That was just him trying to change the subject, she imagined. She could handle the cold just fine — it was only uncomfortable.

With their plan set, Valery began leading the way towards the listening post. There were likely more of these on Hoth and in nearby systems, but it already felt like a relief to know that they were going to be used for good now. The Sith Order was becoming increasingly more dangerous, so careful monitoring was necessary.

"There, an opening." Valery looked from Saahar to the hole that had been cut inside the Hangar door. "Let's go see how much progress he has made."

Gatz Derrevar Saahar ​

 

[Saahar]

Saahar watched the exchange with little interest, clearly preoccupied as she braced for the inevitable. She didn't feel all that inclined to take the high ground, but to her credit the girl didn't drag her heels either. Inside would be warmer regardless of the awkward conversation that awaited. That seemed like a fair enough trade.

And besides, at least now she had Valery to vouch for her.

"There, an opening." Valery looked from Saahar to the hole that had been cut inside the Hangar door. "Let's go see how much progress he has made."

"Let's" Saahar agreed with zero detectable enthusiasm, her shoulders heaving up in a shrug. She kindly allowed for Valery to slip through the opening first before doing so herself, simply waiting for her suspicions to be confirmed.

Valery Noble Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Valery Noble Saahar

<No rush. This frozen hellhole isn't going anywhere.>

The inside of the old bunker was maybe five degrees warmer. Which meant that it was still cold enough to freeze his blood solid. Gatz supposed that made sense though: this glorified cave had been without power for centuries. All the heaters would have long since stopped running. And frankly, he probably wouldn't have cared much about that on his own. Being in discomfort was basically how he'd spent every moment of this last year and a half.

But Val would probably be cranky if he didn't get her some heat, so...

With a sigh, Gatz pulled a datapad out of his parka. It wasn't anything special, it just had map of the layout of this bunker—barring any cave-ins over the near millennia it had been abandoned. Naturally, the generator was closer to the heart of the base, and this place was practically a maze considering it was a natural formation. Still, it wouldn't be hard to find, he was sure.

Power first. Then heat to avoid a grouchy Jedi Master. Then he'd see what he could do about the listening post itself.

Footsteps echoed behind him, which clearly must have been Valery and her plus one. Gatz blinked in surprise as they stepped through the hole he'd cut in the door, and he found himself staring at Saahar. Then there was a bit of guilt. He had held a plastic knife against her, thinking she'd come to finish killing Makko... only to find out she was probably the only reason he was alive. And yeah, she'd been Sith once, and Sith couldn't be trusted. But there was a time when he couldn't be trusted either.

And then he met Valery.

Who was he to deny Saahar the same second chance he'd been given? The chance that had saved his life a thousand times over, given him purpose, and given him people who actually cared about him? She was still a kid, really. She needed those things more than he ever had. And who better to shepherd her to a better life, than the person who had done the very same for him?

So all Gatz said was, "I hope at least one of you can work a wrench. I'd hate to be the only Jedi here actually working."