Mission: Crystal Caves (Open to Jedi)

[Vala Melina]

As the the numbers began to swell, Vala said less. She watched as the others mingled and greeted each other, being polite when any were directed her way but she kept to herself. It seemed that for the most part everyone was ready to go. Master Vosra was conversing with Master Vis while Hatake questioned what exactly they will face inside the caves. Vala valued patience but there was a point where action (and eagerness) took over. She went over to the Masters and said, "Excuse me Masters, but I think everyone is ready. We can depart for the caves now."

She tried be polite but her insistence was clear.

[member="Talon Vosra"] [member="Peritus Vis"] [member="Dentrox Wendoi"] [member="Hatake Mutashi"] [member="Gherron Vael"]

 

[Peritus Vis]

Peritus turned his attention to both of the Padawan Learners that had spoke to him and started to think of the obstacles he had faced when he was a Padawan which was a long time ago now. He took a quick glance at the group who were ready to embark on the adventure set out before them all. A fellow Knight, a Master alongside the students to guide and support them when required. Peritus then began to speak to Hatake.

"Young Padawan, mentally and physically many are challenged with obstructions in their way. I cannot say what your obstacles will be when we head off to the caves that is a matter you'll be facing alone. However, any questions or queries I am sure we can provide some answers for you all." Peritus gave a smile to Hatake.

Peritus looked down over to Vala seeing her eagerness shine through he returned a brief nod in response to her statement that she said to the group. He took a quick glance around the ship to review the group that were ready to go. He gestured for them to start making their way out of the shuttle passenger bay to the exit. Peritus then began to speak with Vala as the group began to round-up and make their approach to the ship's door and ramp to depart for the Ilum crystal caves.

"Alright Padawan let's get going. Make sure you all have what you need to carryout this task set upon yourselves. Any questions direct them to either myself, Knight Vael and Master Vosra. May the Force be with you all, fellow Jedi." Peritus stated after he gave a short bow to the individuals ready to move out.

[member="Hatake Mutashi"] [member="Talon Vosra"] [member="Dentrox Wendoi"] [member="Gherron Vael"] [member="Vala Melina"]

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron smiled at the padawan's persistence, and nodded his head. "Of course, Vala, let us continue onward." Looking around first, he would make sure the others were ready before he actually went anywhere. So far, it seemed there were only two padawans on the trip. Gherron, as well as the other knight and master Vorsa would be nothing more than guides and security. He could deal with that. The last thing he wanted was a padawan in any sudden danger. After all, Jedi weren't the only ones who roamed Ilum.

[member="Hatake Mutashi"] @Talon Vorsa [member="Dentrox Wendoi"] [member="Vala Melina"] [member="Peritus Vis"]

 

[Vala Melina]

Vala listened to what Master Vis had to say them as they began moving out. "Yes Master Vis," she said, patting herself down again to make sure she had everything she needed.

She was indeed ready to go, physically anyway. She heard that people saw visions and illusions inside the cave. She wondered what she will encounter in there for as Master Vis said to Hatake, there are many obstacles both physically and mentally they must face and they must do it alone. She's used to doing things alone, she has been until recently when she was chosen by Master Vosra. Maybe it will have to do with something social or something? She had a feeling it might be mind games or pushing rocks or something.

A cold wind roused her from her thoughts. She just realized she was standing at the edge of the ramp and looking out into the icy world of Ilum. Just a short distance away was the entrance to the mystical Crystal Cave. Positioning her scarf to better protect her face, she moved out into the snow swirling winds with steps crunching in the snow. Gherron was already outside to meet them. She gave him an acknowledging nod and trekked onward to the cave.

[member="Peritus Vis"] [member="Gherron Vael"] [member="Hatake Mutashi"] [member="Talon Vosra"] [member="Dentrox Wendoi"]

 

[Lok Xiangu]

Hatake bowed once again to the higher up Jedis as he was ready to go. "I'm ready." he said in a calm tone. As long as he was confident and didn't worried about anything he would be fine, but that would prove him wrong as he was about to encounter the cave's obstacles. He didn't know what obstacles would come at him since he was trained at a young age to pass obstacles that people thought it was impossible to get through. He made sure that he had everything with him: knives, throwing knives, stars, smoke bombs, his body, mind, and the pieces of his lightsaber. If it was obstacles that would slow him down then he would easily take them down with his training and equipment. He then followed Vala as the two walked toward the crystal cave. "Don't worry. I'm sure we can take on these obstacles," he said smiling under his mask as he took out a star and showed it to her.

[member="Vala Melina"] [member="Gherron Vael"] [member="Peritus Vis"] @everyoneimissed

 

[Peritus Vis]

Peritus watched the Padawan Learners band together to head on out of the ship alongside a few other Jedi members to the wild, snowy storms of Ilum's surface it wasn't going to be easy for most if not prepared. He had then followed the group of Jedi out into the blizzard outside of the ship having snow attire placed over his body, a mask and visor allowing him to see through the blustery winds within the blizzard. Peritus allowed Vala to lead the pack off to the caves on the icy world whilst Peritus stay at the back of the group letting the other Knight and Master take command of the team present.

"I'll cover the rear so no surprises come our way or any threats attempt to flank us we will be prepared. Take charge Padawan Melina, got some ground to cover." He shouted amongst the group as they began to form up with one another. Peritus kept his hands near his waistline to be ready to use any equipment if necessary.

[member="Hatake Mutashi"] [member="Vala Melina"] [member="Gherron Vael"]

 

[Alan]

Tracyn's light shawl flapped madly in the howling winds of Ilum, his eyes glancing this and that way. Heavy beskar-plated boots crunched the white beneath them, while the body attached to them lumbered with the group. His helmet, a T-shaped visor with a heavy mark across the front that was strong enough to not only scratch the beskar, but to make a mark that completely dug into it. Whatever happened, it probably would have killed Tracyn if not for the helmet. Tracyn's body moved slowly, and gracefully. Ilum never failed to make Tracyn feel small and unimportant, but he hadn't experienced visions or illusions in the crystal caves. Tracyn had a trial of the spirit, and had conquered it. Again. And again. And he would always have to fight it, always be in a trial of his own mind and spirit. It was a constant, and those around him could feel it.


Tracyn's eyes danced along the group, but never settled too long on any one individual.

[member="Peritus Vis"] [member="Hatake Mutashi"] [member="Vala Melina"] [member="Gherron Vael"]

 

[Vala Melina]

Soon Vala Melina was soon joined by her fellow Padawan [member="Hatake Mutashi"] as they continued to trudge through the everlasting winter. He seemed confident that they will be able to tackle the obstacles ahead of them. She didn't share the same confidence but she was determined to obtain the goal she set ever since she was inducted into the Order as a baby. The mysterious Hatake took out a sharp piece of metal in the shape of a star and showed it to her. While she didn't slow down, she studied it. Though the howling wind did a good job of drowning out sound, she could still here the voice of Master [member="Peritus Vis"]. He called to them, telling Vala to take the lead. "Yes Master Vic!" she called back to him.

She never lead anything before besides a meditation session that didn't go so well. She hated being the spot of attention and leading was just that. It was another burden to add on top of worrying about retrieving her crystal, building her lightsaber correctly, and making sure everyone is okay. She let out a big sigh and focused her attention back toward the Caves. It wasn't much further now. However the last conversation wasn't lost on her. "What is it?" she asked Hatake, "This is the first time I've been out of the Temple in awhile and...I've never seen it before."

[member="Tracyn Ordo"] [member="Gherron Vael"] [member="Talon Vosra"] [member="Hatake Mutashi"] [member="Peritus Vis"]

 

[Jsc]

Jedi Sunlight Temple
Above the Crystal Caverns
Ilum

Some moments later...


"Come on in!"

The light shone brilliantly upon the doorway and caused the crystal walls to glitter with afternoon delight. White, blue, purple, and ribbons of red. Here, inside the ancient Temple complex even your shadow was a marvelous gem to behold. The sunlight glass in the chipping chasm roof above cast only small spears of illumination downwards towards the reflective floors. Most of the old pathways here were still lit by the gleaming blue gems that splintered outwards from the walls. They were like little raging balls of fire that still twirled and danced inside their blue glass cages. Lanterns and guideposts. Baubles and glowing bits. It made the whole complex dance with a dazzling and proactive reverence. It was beautiful. Though, It was chilly cold.

Just inside the hidden doorway that had opened with the afternoon sunlight, sat a white glamorous snow-bunny. Sam Jhovna. Clothed from head to toe in white fuzzy, fluttering fashion. She huddled near a tiny tin heater and warmed her hands on the simmering pot of stew above.

At her feet lay the corpses of two black obsidian war droids. The extra-light combat models, similar to the ancient Krath assassin bots from the Tetan systems. Creepy skeletal war droids with jagged blades in their hands and deep hidden cannons underneath their bony forearms. Indeed, even these carved and crippled models seemed as if they could jump back to life at any second. Sam frowned as she continued stirring,

"Welcome guys. And no. They are not Sith sentries nor illusions from the Shifting Walls. Good guess though, if you happened to it. ...No. These two had crushed remnants of sentient Shards custom built into their chest pieces. Yep. The Force Sensitive creatures. Crystalline entities with a mind and spirit, these were. Much more dangerous than just a war droid. And very, very intelligent in large groups."

She waved the Jedi company forward when they got closer,

"Actually. These two were already dead when I got here. But there is probably more inside where these came from. ...And I have no idea what cut them in two or crushed their torso plates, either. So maybe there is more than one unnatural devilish hazard stalking these old halls?"

Sam pulled up her hood to cover her face,

"So. ...Yeah. ...I decided to just make lunch and wait for back up instead. Hehe. Soup anybody?"

 

[Vala Melina]

As she got closer Vala saw a light. As they trudged on a figure became clear. There sitting in the doorway was a woman clad in fluffy white clothing. She was sitting over a heater with something cooking in a pot. She explained the presence of the two busted wardroids around her. She said the robots controlled by something called Shards, Force Sensitive sentient creatures. It seemed that there were more of them inside the caves and that something or someone was inside already hunting them. Vala couldn't tell if the shiver down her spine was from a tinge of fear or the cold. It was a good thing there were so many Jedi here, especially since the three of them were the only Padawans here. She didn't know what to think of these things walking the caverns during their rite of passage but she knew they could take them. She knew some of the people would relish the change. Secretly she too wouldn't mind getting into a fight. It would be preferable than some mind game or an emotion roller coaster.

The pretty woman there offered them soup. Happy to step out of the icy wind, Vala stepped forward. "Uh, I'll have some," she said then as she waited she asked, "Um...what's your name?"

[member="Sam Jhovna"] Tracyn Ordo Gherron Vael Talon Vosra Hatake Mutashi Peritus Vis

 

[Jsc]

The blond looked up at Vala from her seat on the ice,

"Sam Jhovna. Padawan and Businesswoman. Nice to meet you. ...I uh. I don't actually have any bowls or spoons. Oops."

She scratched her head,

"So... Maybe the food will have to wait. Hehe."

[member="Vala Melina"]

 

[Vala Melina]

Jedi Padawan and businesswoman? Interesting. Business in what? She didn't know Jedi can do business, especially one so young. Unfortunately though Sam didn't have anything to eat the wonderfully warm soup with. "It's okay," she said.

She stood uncomfortably in awkward silence for a bit while she waited for the others to come but then something came to mind. "Oh. I'm Vala by the way. Vala Melina," she said then asked, "So have you been here long?"

Sam Jhovna Tracyn Ordo Gherron Vael Talon Vosra Hatake Mutashi Peritus Vis

 

[Lok Xiangu]

"It's a Ninja star," he said to Vala, "something that we Ninjas use most of the time. Good for stealth and deadly as well from its points." he offered it to Vala so she could study it more. As they were walking they came upon a beautiful woman who offered them soup. Good on the outside and inside. The Ninja's attention now went to the woman who was called Sam and didn't take off his eye on her. He was so thankful that he was wearing his mask and bandana that covered up most of his face except his eye cause the Sam would notice that he was into her. He respectively bowed to her cause his old Master taught him to bow to everyone that you meet even if he or she is your enemy. "A pleasure to meet you, Sam. My name is Hatake and don't worry about the bowls or spoons. After all, we're not in a rush. But anyway, what brings you to this wonderful planet?" the other would probably think that he was crazy since he called this planet 'wonderful' but he enjoyed the cold and it never really bothered him.

[member="Sam Jhovna"] [member="Vala Melina"] [member="Gherron Vael"] [member="Tracyn Ordo"] [member="Peritus Vis"]

 

[Jsc]

Sam stood and looked at Vala, "About four hours. My team is parked above the blue rise. They don't like walking."

She shrugged. They weren't Jedi, so it didn't matter. Muggles don't care much for crystals anyway.

The blond turned to Hatake, "I came to recover samples of the glass magnacite from this temples interior. Like the glowing lanterns you see over there. It's for a science project in the archives. Padawan stuff. Meh. It wasn't supposed to take longer than 6 hours on-world. Oh well."

She pointed to the wardroids, "...Complications happen. Anyway. Good talk. Let's see what the Masters and Knights have to say about the situation."

[member="Hatake Mutashi"] [member="Vala Melina"]

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron watched the two padawans begin trekking into the caves, when yet another familiar face showed up... with soup? Cracking a small grin, he turned around to greet [member="Sam Jhovna"]. "Miss Jhovna! Nice to see you again. I see you always come prepared for trips like this, huh?" She began to bring the soup out, only to realize she didn't have any spoons. That's where the craftsman came in. Fishing in his pockets, he found a few small strips of soft aluminum, just thick enough to hold weight. Holding them up, he let loose a mischievous smile. "I can make three, four at the most. We'd have to share. Would that do?"

@Peritus Vin [member="Vala Melina"] [member="Hatake Mutashi"] @Talon Vorsa

 

[Jsc]

Sam jumped and clapped her hands. [member="Gherron Vael"] to the rescue!

"That would do perfectly. There is actually a kitchen and dining area somewhere in this very Temple complex. Add that to the mission objectives, and I'm sure we can find some bowls and cups for everybody too! ...Probably."

She scratched her head,

"Well. One thing at a time I suppose. Lunch will just have to wait."

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

A few hours had assed while Tugoro sat quietly, awaiting for the large Republic transport to reach it's destination. The Jedi temple on the p.lanet Coruscant was where the carrier was headed. Tthe young boy's short lived adventure on Alderaan was enjoyable, though it did not reap as many benefits as he expected. Sighing quietly, Tugoro couldn't help but feel somewhat empty. He felt as if a part of him was missing. Rocketing through space, the boy would soon arrive at the temple, where he would board a private shuttle to Ilum.

Walking through the large corridors of the Jedi temple, Tugoro's arms would lift as he slipped on his brown cloak, letting it cover his padawan uniform. The journey would be cold, for the planet was rather snowy. Gripping his cloak together, the boy would do his hardest to keep warm as he exitted on the transport's metallic ramp. He had heard stories of the crystal caves, telling of the substance's mystical connection to the force. Some even said that the right crystal called to you. Venturing through the snow, Tugoro would eventually make it to the cave, his exploration beginning as soon as he stepped foot in it. He would seek out a specific man who was said to be there a lot, gathering crystals.
[member="Talon Vosra"]

 

[Talon Vosra]

[member="Peritus Vis"] [member="Gherron Vael"] [member="Tracyn Ordo"] [member="Sam Jhovna"] [member="Vala Melina"] [member="Hatake Mutashi"]

Talon smiled and walked around the area as the Padawans and knights enjoyed the prospect of a meal. As a Zelosian, he didn't need to eat the conventional way, his chlorophyll-like blood made all he needed for the rays of the local sun. He walked over and checked the ancient droids. Sam had it right. Crushed remnants of crystals lay inside the droid's chest plates. The cuts appeared to be an energy weapon, but there was no sign of anything capable of crushing the shards.

"Did everyone practice their Tapas training?" Talon said looking at the droid carefully, "except for same who has enough fur to end baldness for Iktotch."

He looked at Sam with a grin and a wink before standing.

"When you're all ready we'll continue." He said putting his hands in his sleeves, "the crstals are only step one. Padawans still habe sabers too will.



[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Peritus Vis]

Peritus had looked to the group stop further up ahead seeing that some sort of droids were attacked and destroyed by some sort of predator from what he caught from Padawan Johvna's conversation with the rest of the Jedi banded together. He began to grow more alert by the recently destroyed droids left where the Padawan was stood amongst the group. Peritus motioned over to the Knights and Masters available in the journey to begin a brief discussion upon the situation before them all something didn't sit right with Peritus and he wanted to ensure no harm would come to any of the students present. He had inspected the remains of the droids firstly before beginning a group discussion, the shards weren't damaged but during the examination an energy weapon left markings upon each droid. He wandered back to the group only speaking to the Knights and Masters first without rising more concerns with the students.

"Masters, we should tread carefully now that we have discovered that something or someone has attacked a group of droids. The shards seem to be intact from what I could see upon inspection but perhaps an energized weapon arm had been used to destroy the ancient war-droids." He paused mid-way into the conversation to think.

"I say we stay on guard throughout this assignment with the students don't under-estimate anything or anyone you confront inside these caves. I wouldn't wander off from the team either it is probably better to stay in pairs at least if we run into trouble. Does anyone have anything to say?" He asked whilst looking around the area.

He watched the students chat amongst themselves about a mentioned science project that was being carried out in the Jedi Temple based here. Peritus thought it was good to hear and see a Padawan getting involved in certain lines of work on behalf of the Jedi Order and the Republic. He wondered if the rest of the students were involved in any other circular activities but turned his focus back onto the present to attend the matters at hand. He waited for the other Knights and Masters to respond to his statement to see what ideas they could bring forth to assist and resolve the issue the group had stumbled upon.

[member="Talon Vosra"] [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] [member="Sam Jhovna"] [member="Gherron Vael"] [member="Hatake Mutashi"] [member="Vala Melina"] [member="Tracyn Ordo"]

 

[Lok Xiangu]

Hatake was ready to get his crystal so he could get his lightsaber. He turned to Master Talon, "I'm ready to get my crystal, Master. But I'll wait until the others are ready too."

[member="Peritus Vis"] [member="Talon Vosra"] [member="Sam Jhovna"] [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] [member="Gherron Vael"] [member="Vala Melina"] [member="Tracyn Ordo"]