Merry Hoth-mas (Complete)

[Desmond C'artyom]

Desmond stared out over the open waste. He had to pick the correct direction or he'd be royally kharked. The plus side to it was so would the others. The down side was that he would be too. While being lost on a snow covered ice ball for the rest of his life sounded doable, the others might protest. He imagined the rest of them turning on him as he accidentally guided them in the wrong direction. They pulled blasters and the Mandalorian even had a mall to bash his head in with. At least that's how it went in his head. In truth he might be able to talk himself out of it. But, in all likely hood he would get them lost and one of the stormtroopers would lead them in the correct direction. Then he'd be locked in the brig for a very, very long time.

Regardless he had something with him that would make sure this very thing did not happen. In his coat pocket he had an ancient trinket known as a GPS. It tapped into the feed of the local first order satellites and transmitted the data back to his device. He pulled the device from his jacket pocket and eyed it carefully. He made sure no one was able to sneak a peak at this revolutionary tech and then pointed in a specific direction "IT'S THATA WAY!" He shouted as he pointed in a seemingly random direction over the blank white arctic waste land.

[member="Faith Organa"], [member="Rexus Wenck"], [member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Bounty Hunter? No. I'm a hunter though. Big game mostly." The rest wasn't all that important in First Order territory. Most of his other titles and ranks he had already forsook for the life of peace and early retirement from war. The Mandalorian had been many things, but he wasn't any of them anymore. He was just a husband and father with a hobby and years of battle experience.

"Have you ever been to Hoth before?" Draco asked Faith as he pulled himself up against her, keeping his hands in her pockets so that they would stay warm better and so that he could hold onto her as they road through the wind and snow. The wind kind of hurt the exposed pieces of skin that could be found on him, and the ice was bitingly cold, sticking to his goggles and clinging to his winterized armor already turning white as they roamed the snow. Darkness crept above them in the clouds as the star sank closer and closer to the horizon, setting slowly.

"Because if you haven't it would explain why you are so eager to stay here even longer to feed these people." He grumbled and held onto her tighter as the Tauntaun jerked them about slightly with its odd, two legged gait. Sticking around after the fact to feed a bunch of First Order soldiers didn't sit well with him for a number of reasons, not the least of which was having been born and raised on Eriadu. She always had to play nice, and it had gotten her very far in life, though there were some times when talking just didn't work anymore.

Draco watched the Chiss pick a direction at random and lost faith in their situation entirely. The Stormtroopers could probably find their way back, and he and Faith could survive a while out in the cold so long as he stayed rested and they had food. That said, he could also sorta guide them if they got too lost, though it would be through feeling out for a safe place with the Force, which may not necessarily be civilization.

"Seriously. Boots. Only boots when we get back from this." he whispered into Faith's ear just above a raspy whisper so she could hear him and the timber in his voice.

[member="Faith Organa"] [member="Rexus Wenck"] [member="Desmond C'artyom"]

 

[Faith Organa]

[member="Desmond C'artyom"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Rexus Wenck"]​

​

Faith shook her head no, "Boots huh," she had not been to Hoth before there was a first time for everything, she grinned big when Desmond said THATTA WAY, and off they were trotting through the snow. The mountains rose up on the horizons settling back against the cold skies, the gray clouds were endless as they showered upon the frigid world the tiny white flecks of white.

Faith caught a couple on her glove she could see just how intricate the flakes were, frozen for a moment then her warm breath melted them into tiny drops which refroze back into ice. How quickly the air was changing?

"How cold does it get here?" She was thinking now if robbers had taken the supplies they'd be restricted just like they were, so at night they'd be holed up but during the day moving around. The wind would wipe out any sign of tracks if there had ever been any.

So she hoped that their little jaunt through the snow would catch the attention of someone. Course something had already caught the movement, a few somethings and were already stalking them waiting for their moment to reach out.

 

[Rexus Wenck]

"Big game eh?" Rexus said, "What sort of game? Acklay? Wampa? Krayt Dragon?" The stormtrooper felt a little more optimistic about his future now. The assurance that this man hunted large creatures improved morale. He watched the woman and the man siddle up together. Were they married? Perhaps they were lovers? He was stopped from thinking by the interuption of the lovely Gerhard Walsht.

"Ooh! That's a good question!" The stormtrooper said, "I remember, about a week ago, it was real cold. So me, Twigg and our mate Riles decided to test it."

"Gerhard, I swear if you finish this story, I'll snap your neck." Rexus barked.

"Aw, come on boss, it's a little fun." Gerhard whined.

"We are meant to be Supreme Leader's most professional unit!" Rexus snapped.

"Boss with all due respect," Twigg said, "Kark off, you sound like a Wolf."

Rexus sighed, "You're right. Go ahead."

"Anyways," Gerhard said with a snigger, "Here's what happened, me, Twigg and Riles get to drinking, and we decide to check how cold it was." Gerhard pasued, "So we get to the airlock, at the east side of the barracks, we drop anchor, and we, well..." He paused to giggle, "We start pissing, and it froze, middle of the air."

[member="Faith Organa"] | [member="Draco Vereen"] | [member="Desmond C'artyom"]

 

[Desmond C'artyom]

Desmond C'artyom heard the storm troopers talk about freezing piss and could not stop laughing.

"Lucky your jewels didn't freeze too! I always get a little drip on the pants and it freezes right over. Someone walked in on me dry humpin' the blasted heater trying to get the stuff to thaw out,"

He laughed even harder. But, like all good things in Des's life it quickly came to an end. He looked at his GPS to make sure they maintained course and realized the device wasn't working properly. He hit it a few times with a careless knuckle and found it did little to help. The storm was causing interference and Des began to wonder how long it would take the others to figure out.

The thought of the bear chested, big game hunting, manly Mandalorian ripping him in half began to slowly creep back into his mind...

"Er.. We just keep going this way! I think..."

[member="Rexus Wenck"], [member="Faith Organa"], [member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Well, Gorgodons, which are basically woolly, blaster-proof Rancors that live on Illum." Draco pointed to the leather pauldron on his shoulder, "I don't think I've hunted Wampa before, but I've hunted a couple larger predators. Gorgodon is probably the most relevant being from an Ice planet and all. I don't necessarily have my hunting gear with me, but I'm sure I could improvise." Normally he carried a coilgun that fired harpoons with explosive tips, but those were heavy and he hadn't planned on going hunting when he had come out to Hoth this time.

Draco pulled himself closer to Faith, shifting his weight behind her some and adjusting his position on the back of the Tauntaun, wrapping his arms around her waist a little tighter as the chill started to seep into the air. The snow was falling gently, and the wind wasn't howling terribly, but the heat in the air started to get sapped from the air as the sun drifted towards the horizon, the bottom of the sun touching the edge of the tundra in the distance. "We need to get inside soon, ner runi. Even if its just a makeshift igloo in the snow I can at least keep me and you alive." The others were a maybe. He couldn't exactly keep them from getting frostbite like he could help Faith, and so other than telling them it was time.

Draco snapped his head around to the chiss when he spoke. "YOU THINK! Its an outpost. Its on a holomap. There is a dot that says 'You are Here' and another dot with 'Outpost'. How in the blue blazes do you think its that way?" With the Chiss proving to be either a very dedicated assassin planning on dying with the group to fulfill his contract, or being inept. Either way it was quite bad.

The Mandalorian's senses spread out, stretching thin as he began seeking life forms, touches from the Force that might tell him where the path they sought was, which direction they should go. It was difficult enough that the warmth he had been providing he and Faith through the Force faded and disappeared while he searched for their salvation.

[member="Faith Organa"] [member="Desmond C'artyom"] [member="Rexus Wenck"]

 

[Faith Organa]

[member="Rexus Wenck"] [member="Desmond C'artyom"] [member="Draco Vereen"]


Conversation was light and breezy and freezing, she sat and wondered was that possible could..someone...and have it freeze in mid air? She kept hold of the reigns of her tauntaun while she tried to reason that out, she didn't want to see it to believe it but she most certainly needed proof. She looked back at Draco and smiled, later., yep later.

She heard words like professional, and supreme leader, "LT who is the leader of the First Order? I only know what the news says, maybe..you could...enlighten me?" Not that she wanted to join the First Order but she was certainly one for understanding and at least finding a path of least resistance to walk upon with them. Course the LT hadn't answered her question about the dinner for him and his men. Was that because they weren't allowed? Or he wasn't interested? She didn't know.

The snow was pretty it danced every where, she felt warm with Draco, and oddly a bit at ease with the others. She wasn't hard to get along with.

Now their guide was sure...maybe...."Freezing out here is not an option." she yelled. But how far were they from the base now they had been riding for over an hour, and now they were coming into a canyon that seemed more like gauntlet. She couldn't help but imagine someone up there ready to shoot at them.

There was a roar, followed by another, and another. Now where did that come from? She looked around, the tauntaun began to fight the direction she wanted to go. She dug her knees in to hold it to the course..it naturally started to run faster..."How far to go?"

She had an idea it was about another hour, maybe hour and half...so this was a half way point..

ROAR ROAR ROAR

The sound rumbled around them breaking the silence and adding that...now what moment.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco arched an eyebrow at Faith as she looked back at him with a mischievous smile. She was up to something, but most of the time when she thought about these kinds of things they worked out for him in the end. Enough so that he would likely be amicable to her requests when she sprung them on him.

He gave her a quizzical look in return and then snuggled up against her again, keeping his hands and face warm and braced from the wind while he rode behind her. He softly muttered, "boots." under his breath as he got comfortable. So far the trek was just going on just fine, he and Faith were keeping warm together on their tauntaun.

The first roar fluttered across the wind, and then the next, and the next. The volume was carried across the tundra and swept around by the winter wind, the eerie cold droning the noise out, piercing the air. He couldn't quite tell where it was coming from or how many there were. Having never hunted on Hoth so he also didn't recognize the sound the creature or creatures were making.

"What the hell is that?" Draco asked, sitting up straight behind Faith, holding on to her tightly while the tauntaun tried to resist her pull on the reigns and began running faster, obviously a little spooked. He looked around the group for the source of the rumblings. And what he saw was a creature much larger than how he had imagined a wampa. "Holy Feth."

[member="Faith Organa"] [member="Desmond C'artyom"] [member="Rexus Wenck"]

 

[Faith Organa]

[member="Rexus Wenck"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Desmond C'artyom"]​

​

The roars carried on the winds that swept around them, did it mean they were close or far she didn't know but she had this odd sensation by the way the tauntaun was fighting her for control that close was a better bet.

She pulled back as she would a thranta hoping to reign in the speed she tried to pat the neck to reassure it but just as she reached the creature seem to throw a fit and took off bouncing her and Draco till their teeth felt as if they would jar free of their permanent place. The snow began to blow harder making visibility even more difficult, she turned to look behind them for their guide and the LT she could not see them through the snow.

"Feth" was all she could whisper, she pulled a bit harder not wanting to give in to the speed of the tauntaun but it thought otherwise, even though it began wheezing through each breath. It seemed to run in a zig zag, then straight as if it were evading something. Another set of roars carried on the winds Faith couldn't see any lights around them, were they close to the outpost?

"Draco, I think we are being chased." Course now who or what was chasing them?

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco pulled himself against Faith, holding himself firm while the Tauntaun struggled against the reigns in her hands, trying its best to break from her guidance. With the wind and the snow whipping against their faces Draco lost sight of their companions in the tundra. Not the best thing for him and Faith to be all alone out on the tundra, but it was better than being last in line while being chased.

"I think I can kinda see it." Draco muttered into her ear as he turned back around looking in front of them. If he hadn't been afraid for her life he would have enjoyed the rid a bit more with her in front of him like she was. "Just so long as we are going in the right direction we can go as fast as she wants." It wasn't terribly important to the Mandalorian if the tauntaun survived the ordeal and lived through the cold and ice, so long as Faith did he would be perfectly content. Though he did quite like the creature.

Having ridden together had its benefits, he got to be snuggled up against Faith while the ride had been easy, but now it was a detriment. The beast was weighed down and would tire itself out trying to run like this. Glancing over his shoulder he still thought he could see an outline of a very large Wampa and that worried him. There was only so much time a tired tauntaun could buy the couple before he would have to do something.

[member="Faith Organa"]

 

[Faith Organa]

Faith nodded and let the tauntaun have its head and run as fast as it wanted, "I just don't know if we are headed in the right direction what if we run off some cliff we need...to slow down, or get off something Draco. Running blind is going to get us killed" She looked around for the First Order folks, they were no where to be seen unless it was the snow that hid them from her sight.

"ANYONE OUT THERE!!!??" She suddenly had that very bad feeling about it all.

The tauntaun turned hard and began sliding downwards..."Oh no" Faith held the reigns it was too late for directions the only direction was down...but how far down would they go...ok so maybe this wasn't one of her better ideas...yeah yeah boots there'd have to be a week of boots at this rate.

They stopped sliding, they had not gone very far but enough that they were off the path from above..and the sky was turning gray...Feth..

[member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Desmond C'artyom"] [member="Rexus Wenck"]

 

[Rexus Wenck]

"You dunno?" Rexus asked, "Thought you would have picked it up through the posters around the spaceports in these parts," He said, "Supreme Leader, Sieger Ren." The stormtrooper said, "He's an older guy, hair white as snow and a voice that'd charm the knickers off of a gundark," The trooper said, "But day to day, things are run by the council of, what are they again?"

"I think it's Moff's," Twigg said, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Through the council of Moffs. They run the day to day education, health and foreign affairs of it." Rexus then paused, "Above them all is then the Supreme Commander, Supreme Leader's right hand man, he does all sortsa business with the military."

"Aye,' Gerhard said, "Helluva bloke too."

"Aye, real top bloke," the stormtrooper affirmed, "Once met him, he was real nice, had the-" he was cut off by the roaring of a beast coming after them. "Kark!" Rexus bellowed, "Twigg, Gerhard, run!" He commanded.

The stormtrooper trio began to run after the Alderaanian and her Mandolorian lover. The stormtroopers took out their combat pistols, and began firing hap hazardly at the beasts pursuing them. The trio kept close together, in a triangular formation a TIE pilot would have been proud of. Rexus saw the Organa fly off the path, "Lads, cover me, I'm going after her!" he barked to the others.

[member="Faith Organa"] | [member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco slipped his hands out of Faith's jacket pockets, wrapping his arms around her waist so that he could keep a better grip on her and the saddle on the tauntaun's back, exposing his bare hands to the bitter cold and biting wind. He didn't hardly notice the change, and likely wouldn't for some time. "Don't worry Ner runi I've got ever-." His words cut off as the creature began sliding down a slope suddenly.

The added weight of carrying both of them caused the creature to be unable to try and slip its way back up the slop when they stopped sliding. If they made it out of this in one piece, Draco swore to himself he was getting them a big furry blanket for their bed to hide from this cold under. His eyes darted around looking at their surroundings, trying to gain a gauge of where they were.

He could feel several life forms about them, three or four above them on the path they had been. Draco instinctively clutched Faith tighter, squeezing her slightly. "Its okay Ner Runi. Nothing bad will happen to you so long as I'm here." He whispered into her ear. His arm reached out and pointed out to their left, "That way to get back to our friends. The slope tapers off some I think." He thought. There was no telling how deep the snow got there, and whether they were still being followed.

[member="Faith Organa"] [member="Rexus Wenck"]

 

[Faith Organa]

Faith wrestled with the tauntaun, "We have to walk some Draco till it calms down something is spooking it" She looked around not frightened, not yet but she didn't like that they couldn't see what was roaring and if Draco saw anything he was wise enough not to tell her.

She turned it was the way he whispered things it wasn't the usual tone, as hard as he tried there was that hint it in. She smiled looking at him, "I know Draco. my Knight Errant right?" She pat his arm, "let's see about getting back on the path, up there" She wasn't sure and their guide was not with them but if something must come down, surely going up was right.

The tauntaun pulled hard, Faith pulled harder. Her fingers curled around the reigns as she held tightly the cold was biting at her exposed skin on her face. Pin pricks of cold touched everywhere. The snow was deep, and crunched with each step.

There were more roars around them Faith felt her heart skip a beat and thump faster. Yes an andrenaline rush was building. "Do you think the LT will find us?" Yes Draco was more than capable but not against an army, or if fate was playing its hand he wasn't against more than one wampah.

She moved again lifting her knees high and pushing through, "I like snow, and it likes me" Yes...yes it does she thought...

[member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Rexus Wenck"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco dismounted the Tauntaun just after Faith did, clutching his hands to his face and breathing out, exhaling warm air over his frigid digits and rubbing them together to keep them warm. The Mandalorian didn't have good gloves, he couldn't use them and do what he wanted to anyway even if he had them. It only took a moment, but the blood and flesh in his fingers returned to their normal temperature. His pistol on his side wasn't exactly good for hunting big game and he wasn't even certain he had seen anything.

"Yeah, we will need to hike it too keep weight off the tauntaun or he won't make it back up the slope at all." Draco's voice was trying to remain level and calm, but he was having to shout over the wind of the blizzard around them. He was worried, not about himself, but about her. She wasn't a fragile easily broken princess, but she was his princess and she wasn't made of solid beskar. She could take care of herself, but that didn't mean he ever wanted her to have to.

He reached out and put his hand on the reigns alongside her. "Do you want the reigns, or the pistol?" He asked grinning even though his face largely hidden by cloth as he held up his pistol, holding it by the barrel so that she could take the grip if she wanted to. He would feel better with her using it to defend herself rather than being reliant on him. He had a knife and the Force if he needed it, she could use a pistol but he wasn't going to make her take it. Snow crunched beneath their feet as the trudged through deep snow and ice, each step difficult to make, burying his feet in snow. Cold bit at his hands and face every now and again, and his temperature was stable but cold.

Each step brought them a little further forward and a little further back up the slope, back towards salvation and the warmth of the colony they were travelling to.

[member="Faith Organa"] [member="Rexus Wenck"]

 

[Faith Organa]

It was going to get a big more complicated as it always tended to, Faith's was holding the reigns of the tauntaun tightly as she walked, Draco was following on foot. The LT was working his way towards them.

Just as over head another roar ripped through the silence, this time having no load on its back the tauntaun terrified took off running dragging Faith with it. "Draccooooooo" her voice echoed as the creature ran no idea how far she had gone or if the roaring thing was chasing them Faith let go of the reigns which sent her tumbling. When she stopped she was covered in snow and laid there staring up at the stars.

"pretty" she sighed, as she slowly rolled over looking around for anything. She pushed up to her knees, having tuck her hair back to be able to see better. She didn't see Draco or the LT. "not so good"

Track in the snow would be lost quickly so..she had follow them back towards Draco and the LT. Nothing was broke she was just sore now, being drug around by a tauntaun could do that.

The roar however that had started this whole mess echoed again. "I need a new carpet, wampah fur would be nice." She was jesting of course just angry that her ride in the snow was now once again a tumble in the snow. As she walked, she could see a set of lights heading her way. She smiled, Draco and the LT for certain. She trudged on.

[member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Rexus Wenck"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

The roar caused the Tauntaun to take off, dragging Faith off into the white covered darkness through the wind and snow flurries taking her out of eye sight. Instinctively, he took off behind it, stomping as quickly as he could through the heavy snow drifts, shouting into the cold abyss. "FAITH!" He listened and felt for her through the Force, feeling her out in the cold, alone.

Yes, he could tell where she was in relation to him, snapping on a glow-rod on his shoulder to illuminate his path and provide her a beacon to travel towards in the snow. The sound of a roar echoed through the air again, the air reverberated as the noise seemed to come from in front of him. On the air he could hear the sounds of a tauntaun bleating in fear and pain, but no human screams or shouts.

Hurriedly he pushed through the snow and ice, exhaling red flames from his mouth to warm himself and to melt through the thickest snows he encountered. "FAITH! Follow the sound of my voice." Shadows fell over him from behind him, a towering silhouette looming over his large frame. Of course. Ignoring it, Draco surged through the snow and ice following the familiar presence Faith exuded in the Force.

All he could think to himself was of course more had to go wrong, of course they had to be separated. Of course he was going to be distracted in Faith's time of need.

The shape tore through the darkness and cold, lashing out at him with a wooly paw ending in massive claws.

[member="Faith Organa"]

 

[Faith Organa]

She groaned as she trudged she could hear Draco, "HERE HERE" She kept moving for stopping would mean she'd get cold, and she didn't want that. What was it about snow that Faith seemed to always get in trouble in the snow?!

There were lights coming towards here, oh great, "DRACO?" She kept moving snow was seeping inside her boots, she clapped her hands together. Wait. She did stop. That wasn't the way she came from there weren't any tracks, hers went off to the left, while..the lights were coming from the right. Ut oh.

Had they seen her? She tried to run in the snow in the tauntauns tracks. She stopped yelling they'd hear her, but then Draco wouldn't hear her. She kept moving she headed towards the sides where maybe she could find some cover, to hide behind. She didn't remember passing anything that big. Snow blocks, canyon...no none of that except where they slid and even that wasn't something that could hide anyone.

FETH.

Faith started to move but then she realized they'd see her tracks, now what? Keep moving.

Faith tried to run again, she felt like she was in jello and moving slow. Feth kark damn... sometimes there just aren't enough words to describe panic.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco felt himself thrown from his feet, tossed bodily into the snow with a grunt. The wooly arm of the creature faded back into the blizzard winds as the beast recoiled from the strike.

With a groan Draco rose to his feet, glaring daggers into the wampa that had ambushed him on the tundra. He pulled on the web of the Force strongly, pouring energy into his muscles and bones to strengthen and empower them, drawing his knife from his belt. "I don't have time for this." He muttered, taking his first step forward.

The creature was obviously not used to smaller prey like a man advancing on it, as in response the beast rose up from all fours to his full height posturing dominance, and it was quite large indeed. Large enough that Draco wondered if his long knife would be long enough to reach major organs. Its left paw swiped out towards the man in the snow.

Surprisingly enough, the man was able to block the paw, throwing his forearm between the himself and the massive beast. The pressure it placed on his bones was noticeable, painful. But he was able to keep the beast from sending him sprawling into the snow and ice with a blow that might have broken bones under normal circumstances. Draco stepped forward and drove the knife blade forward, barely having the reach to penetrate the being's hide, drawing a thin trickle of blood from the wampa and a mighty roar from its throat as it bared down on him, throwing its weight forward and into the tall man.

Draco slib backwards in the snow, bracing his shoulder against the wampa's chest as it shoved him backwards, slapping its massive paws into his back and digging claws into the large coat and armorweave he wore. The Mandalorian brought the knife forward in repeated quick jabs into the monster's pelt, creating several deep wounds in its flesh until his feet stopped against a large stone, allowing him to regain his footing.

With a burst of energy granted to him by the Force, Draco shoved the creature backwards off of him, much to the Wampa's surprise. Blood trickled down Draco's back, dripping from the stomach of the beast.

[member="Faith Organa"]

 

[Faith Organa]

[member="Rexus Wenck"] [member="Draco Vereen"]

Ok this was not fun not what she envisioned at all. All she wanted to do was help the outpost and head home, but nooooo here she was in the snow again. Why was it she could see lights? It was only slightly dark. Did darkness come that quickly?

She kept moving though but when she heard the roar of an animal it was as if she had been shot she moved quicker. Draco was in danger? As she got nearer she could see the wampah just as Draco pushed it back. Oh, did he kill it? Was it moving still?

She pulled the blaster she had, they were all armed just in case, and began shooting at the wampah. She watched to see if Draco was moving, so far he had not. Was he dead! Faith now out of fear and anger just kept shooting, even after the wampah stopped moving.

"Draco DRACO, answer me..." it was then there was yelling from the group she had seen coming towards her they hard heard the roars and the blaster shots. Faith shook her head. Above them men were looking over, "Hey you need help?"

She looked at the wampah and at Draco.."yes."

She did not know if they were from the outpost, with the First Order, or thieves she only knew they offered help.