Here Dahgee, Dahgee...

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Dahgee. A mining world located in the Mid Rim that specialized in a unique lightsaber crystal that created a very interesting blade that zig-zagged. The Dahgee Jedi of old used them. Lori had hoped to acquire such a crystal for herself for she was unique in her own right, even amongst her family.

Flying her little training fighter the Grey Sparrow, Lori approached the planet that was thankfully nestled in neutral space. There was no big governments to worry about, no worries about war breaking out at all. It was just pure freedom.

Her Dad [member="Veiere Arenais"] was unaware of this venture. But he had been helping her gather materials for creating a lightsaber of her own. All that she was missing was a crystal. Most Jedi went to Ilum for kyber crystals, yet she felt that it just wasn't for her. She wasn't a part of any Jedi Order, nor had she ever really come across any, outside of her twin brother's girlfriend. So instead she sought something that was more to her taste.

Touching down on a designated landing pad outside of one of the mining towns, Lori powered down her fighter and lifted the canopy. It was a cloudy day, perhaps a bit chilly too. At least she packed up some good clothing. Pants, long sleeved shirt and a long coat provided enough cover. She wasn't dressed like a Jedi or dressed like the Princess of Commenor that she was. She was just dressed like a spacer so that she'd stand out a little less. Only her aura in the Force would say differently.

She jumped out of her fighter, satchel in hand and secured her fighter so that no one would steal it. Hopefully no one would try. But something told her that this wasn't going to be an easy trip.

Maybe she'd be lucky and her gut instinct would be wrong.

Maybe.

[member="Mirvak"]

 

[Mirvak]

Mirvak's personal ship touched down on a landing pad on the other side of the village. As soon as it touched down the ramp unceremoniously lowered and Mirvak flew out of it in his speeder, dressed in black rags and a hood to hide his horribly scared visage and arm, and conceal his identity. He tossed a few credits to the service droid approaching him for payment to use the landing pad. Something caught Mirvak's attention and he brought the speeder to a halt, raising his head as if sniffing out a new scent. He sensed another presence, [member="Loreena Arenais"]', for a moment, but it was not close. His maw scowled heavily and his brow furrowed as he concentrated on it, looking around the town slowly.

The presence dissipated and melted into the background of the planet's force nexus. He then immediately ignored it and rode on with purpose. The beast was in search of something, too. But not a crystal, he was in search of a powerful Sith relic rumored to be hidden in an abandoned kyber crystal mine. That was his target destination, and he revved up his speederbike and flew off in the direction of the mine, his hood catching the wind and flapping behind him, revealing his hideous face.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

The hairs rose on the back of her neck as [member="Mirvak"] searched for her. She didn't stay perfectly still though. Instead Lori just walked to one of the old mines that held the Dahgee crystals. She just wanted to appear to be one of the crowd. Just who it was that posed a danger, she wasn't sure, but she wasn't about to wait to find out either.

Lori picked up a few pieces of fruit from one of the merchant booths, tucking two inside of her satchel and one on hand to eat on her way. She had a couple of kilometres to walk, which wasn't too bad.

On her way to the mine, Lori had passed a whole variety of species and droids. Only a few bothered to look at her, all of them busy with their own lives. Neither of them seemed to pose a threat either. Perhaps the hint of danger that she had felt was all in her head?

She hummed a tune while she ate her fruit as she walked, trying to imagine what the crystal that she'd pick out would look like. Would it be tiny? Or so big that she'd need to chisel it down? Lori brought a few tools to help her with in any case. They were nestled into her satchel along with a first aid kid and small blaster. Not to mention the fruits that she had just bought as well.

A short time later Lori found herself at the crystal mine. It was supposed to be abandoned, according to the holonet. Yet there was a speeder near the entrance. Hmm...Maybe it was a tour guide or something? Or some other young Force user looking for a crystal? She wasn't certain. Curiosity and the need to acquire a crystal of her own bade her to step inside.

The further that she stepped in, the darker the cave became. Lori chided herself for not bringing a torch. But she was more or less alone, wasn't she? Concentrating on the air molecules in front of her, she pushed them with the Force, making them spin and rotate faster and faster until they illuminated, creating a pea-sized ball of light. Lori pushed it ahead of her to guide her in the dark.

She paused as she thought that she heard something from up head. Must be the owner of the speederbike.

"Hello???" Her voice echoed, bouncing off the mine's numerous walls and passages. Now she waited for a response, if any.

 

[Mirvak]

The wolf dismounted his speederbike and stomped off into the mine. Guided by his ability to see in the low lighting, he trudged down into the mine. He reached out to the Force in search of the Sith relic, guiding him deeper and deeper into the mine. He passed by some protruding crystal formations the deeper he went, feeling out in the Force but nothing returning to him. The impatient Sith raised his left hand, blasting away old mining equipment and dislodging rocks in search of the holocron. The more he searched, the more angered he became, the tip he was given was beginning to seem like a farce.

He suddenly felt a presence from behind him, faint and approaching. He recognized it immediately as the presence he had brushed off as nothing from before. That's when he heard an echo from above, a young woman's voice calling out for an answer. His clawed hand pulled his lightsaber from his belt as he snorted and chuffed in anger, turning back to the direction of the voice. His dark, malevolent presence now permeated the mine. Mirvak didn't need much reason to kill somebody, but the fact that a force presence was following him to the supposed location of a Sith holocron which may or may not exist was more than enough.

The giant wolf made his way back up the mine, his heavy form making tiny rocks and bits of crystals go clattering across the floor of the mine as he approached. The evil presence in the force grew stronger as he became angrier, building up his rage for the fight. He soon saw his target, a woman guiding her way with a ball of light. She could not yet see him, but in the dimly lit mine Mirvak could clearly see her.

Now clearly being able to be heard by [member="Loreena Arenais"], he let out a low grumbling growl from his throat which transitioned into a hissing acidic accusation dripping with hate,"Jeeeeee-dhai!" Mirvak ignited his massive greatsaber about 15 feet in front of Loreena, his terrifying, massive black form illuminated in a dark red hue. He pulled his lips back into a vicious snarl as he built up speed, preparing to cleave the woman in half with his greatsaber.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

The whole area felt cold all of a sudden. And it was moreso than just the humidity levels of the mine. Lori shivered in spite of herself as the hairs on the back of her neck rose all the more. She squinted as she peered in the darkness, her little ball of light only giving her a few feet of visibility.

Something was coming. A big something. A lumbering beast of Darkness.

And then there it was. A deep voice hissing at her, no doubt picking up on her Force sensitivity as she was intuned to his. A Sith. Why was he here? Was he looking for a crystal too?

But then he ignited his lightsaber, now giving Lori her first sight of [member="Mirvak"] . The dark red glow made him look even more menacing. "Jedi? No...I-I...What big teeth you have." She stammered as she moved backwards.

Lori had no lightsaber to fight back with. So instead she hurled her ball of light into Mirvak's face in order to blind him while she quickly turned and moved to hide behind some of the rock and crystal formations. All the while she dug into her satchel and pulled out her blaster, placing her finger on the trigger.

The odds were stacked against her, but maybe luck wouldn't be.

 

[Mirvak]

Mirvak let out an angered bark as the ball of light was flung in his face, blinding him temporarily. He advanced and began to swing wildly in the direction of Loreena's presence, his massive greatsaber slashing through formations of rock and crystal and sending bits of grit flying as he advanced. The wolf was beginning to build up speed as he did, and his erratic, enraged lightsaber swinging seemed to take up the entire mine shaft. He growled in his throat, grunting with each swing as he approached [member="Loreena Arenais"].

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Her cover was blown. Well, sort of. Lori moved from her hiding spot as [member="Mirvak"] 's lightsaber began to cut through it. With the wide arcs being taken, she had no choice but to move back from the way that she came. It was as though he was driving her out of the mine.

Lori ran off ahead, moving fast. Instead of shooting at Mirvak, she shot at the crystals and rocks hanging from above, hoping to bring enough instability to cause them to fall in between them. Her plan was to slow him down at least.

"Couldn't we talk this over?! I wasn't hunting for you!
Just a crystal!"

 

[Mirvak]

Mirvak slowly regained his sight as he advanced at an even pace towards [member="Loreena Arenais"]. His saber was an uncomfortable foot away from her as it slashed through her cover, the rock and crystal formation glowing bright red where it had been struck as the lightsaber hissed loudly. The Sith was clearly intent of disposing of her for the simple crime of being a suspected Jedi. Mirvak raised his greatsaber in anticipation to deflect the blaster bolts as she fired at the ceiling above him. Crystal stalagmites and rocks fell around him, crashing into him. He stumbled for a moment, as a knee high pile of debris formed in front of him. He growled as he was pelted and lacerated by the cascading crystals.

He raised his hands, and the large debris pile began to shuffle and rise. "Here are your crystals, weakling." He barked in an annoyed tone, as he flung his hands forward, shooting the rocks and crystals up the shaft towards her.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Like blaster bolts of their own, the crystals and rocks were sent flying her way. She took cover behind an opening in the uneven walls that made up the tunnels. However some of the rocks had struck her arm, leaving bruises and cuts on her skin. A cold chill ran through Lori then. No one had tried to kill her before. Never had she come across such a life and death situation. Even when her planet was attacked by the Sith, her position as the daughter of it's ruler ensured her survival. But now?

Now it was very different. And she had only herself to rely on.

Lori clenched her jaw, balling her free hand into a fist as she centered herself, remembering her training both with the Mandalorians, as well as the start of her Padawan lessons with her Dad. Everything around her was her friend. Everything around her could be used to defeat her enemy. "Weakling? I'm not the one that has to use a lightsaber just to fight a girl half his size! I didn't realize that I invoked such fear in you. Seems like you're the weakling around here!!" Oh yes, she was egging him on. On purpose. Make him blinded with his hate so much that he'd stop thinking about what he was doing.

And her size certainly gave her an advantage. Lori squeezed further into the smaller tunnel, hoping that it wouldn't come to a dead end that would leave her trapped. All the while her eyes and blaster were trained on where [member="Mirvak"] was expected to approach. There was no way that he could pursue without cutting through. The question was...would he?

 

[Mirvak]

Mirvak stomped forward at the same pace, not willing to expend more energy than necessary on the whelp. His ears pricked up as [member="Loreena Arenais"] insulted him. The wolf snarled, letting out a short, vicious growl in response. Catching up to where she had been a second ago, he scanned the area, seeing nothing. He then heard some rocks clatter together and movement from a small tunnel, one that he had no way of getting through. He extinguished his great saber. "I'll save your master the trouble of buying a tomb." He raised both his hands, then extended them towards the small opening. It began to quake, and crack, as small rocks began to crumble around the entrance of the small tunnel. Mirvak seemed intent on blocking Loreena inside.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

His lightsaber was extinguished, plunging them Lori and [member="Mirvak"] into darkness again. At first she thought that she was safe. But then she heard the rumbles and the cracking amongst the rocks.

Oh no.

A tomb??? She didn't want to be trapped!

Lori already had her blaster aimed at the opening, so she opened fire on the Darksider hoping to spoil his concentration enough to stop what he was doing.

 

[Mirvak]

Mirvak's upper right leg was shot by one of the blaster bolt, he barked in pain and shuffled out of the way of the small entrance. He growled, his upper leg screaming in pain, but that only empowered him further. He took his right hand and placed it against the wall, sending a force shockwave into wall in the hopes of collapsing the small tunnel she was in, still. [member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori stopped shooting as soon as [member="Mirvak"] was struck. It wasn't her objective to kill him, even though he fully intended to do so to her. She let out a sigh of relief as there seemed to be a pause in their fight.

But that reprieve was short lived. Seconds later the Force shockwave was sent into the rock wall, causing the tunnel to tremble and debris to fall. Lori did the only thing that she could. She crouched down and covered her neck and head with her arms until it stopped. The sounds of the rocks and crystals filling up the entrance was easy to surmise in the dark. Plumes of dust filled the tunnel, making the air more difficult to breathe.

Once it all settled, Lori carefully got up from her position. She couldn't see anything, so she focused in the air particles and spun them quickly like before, until they formed a small ball of light. The tunnel entrance was blocked. That was clear. "Fine! Be that way!"

Lori let out a quick breath in a huff. Well now what? She turned around and did the only thing that she could do. She continued on, hoping that she'd find another opening or at least, anything but a dead end.

 

[Glascojones]

Mirvak let out an angered bark as the ball of light was flung in his face, blinding him temporarily. He advanced and began to swing wildly in the direction of Loreena's presence, his massive greatsaber slashing through formations of rock and crystal and sending bits of grit flying as he advanced. The wolf was beginning to build up speed as he did, and his erratic, enraged lightsaber swinging seemed to take up the entire mine shaft. He growled in his throat, grunting with each swing as he approached [member="Loreena Arenais"].