Return to Korriban

[Jsc]

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Return to Korriban​

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The massive dropship flew over the badlands with it's cargo bay open. Letting the hot dry air and the bright orange sun decorate the bay walls. It was a quiet ride through the desert. Windy but calm. It almost made you enjoy the ride. Well. Almost.

Karen Roberts sat in the back end of the cabin. Near the open hatch she could see out into the graveyard world beyond. Her eyes scanned it's sandy surface and she appreciated the quiet beauty it contained. Even a graveyard could be peaceful. At least, if only skin deep. She struggled in her seat and gripped her coat tight around her. It wasn't cold. She was just chilly.

The deck commander approached and sat down next to her. Activating his holo-array for the presentation,

"Okay Roberts. Here's the topographical readout. We've got cave entrances here and here. We'll drop you guys in here and get you as close as possible. After that, you've got SAT support and whatever drones you've brought with you. ICC is ready and waiting for any intel you can bring them. We'll add it to the computer and update you as you go."

"Sounds good Commander. Anything else?"

"Nope. Good luck."

He gave a stoic nod and closed his terminal. Returning to the cockpit as Karen returned her gaze to the outside world. Nodding to the desert over the hum of the engines. Welp. Here we go again.


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LZ Drop Point One

The massive bird came in slow and hovered only a meter above the ground. Karen threw the large duffle bags out the door and then dismounted with a jump. Landing with a thump on the warm dry ground. When everybody had jumped off, she gave the spin up sign and the giant shuttle pulled away from the earth. Returning to the dusty orange sky from whence it had come.

She wrapped her head in a scarf and a black headdress, to guard against the sun and the sandy wind. The temperature was cool in the shadows and warm in the sun. Typical desert evening. Almost pleasant. Almost calm. Then she turned her head to those that had decided to come with her. Some brave. Some foolish. All welcome and accounted for, as she addressed the group with a smile.

"Well. You disappointed you came yet? It only gets dustier from here on out."

It was still on overland hike to the cave. Bah. Nothing a little exercise in hoofing it can't fix. They had time.

...

 

[Krux Mullarus]

The dropship flight was rather uncomfortable, especially now that he felt like he should be on Voss. All of this time preaching about it, and finally he had found Setzi Lunelle and saved her from the Dark Side like he always said he would. He only had to help guide her down the path. Maybe then, his deep infatuation he still felt for her wouldn't be so one-sided.

But alas, here he was on Korriban again, where he had only been a few days prior for the initial Sanctum takeover. Still, [member="Karen Roberts"] had a point in her musings. What exactly did the Sanctum want with Korriban? To purify it?

Krux stepped off of the dropship in his new armor, which was hardly armor, really, but it certainly made Krux look much more intimidating. Like Master Roberts, he kept a white headress tied around his face, only letting his eyes peer through. The rest of him was durasteel, white leather, and cloth.

Facing Master Roberts, he couldn't help but chuckle, "I've spent enough time on this world that i'm used to it. I'd say this is a good warmup for this new armor of mine." said the newly-crowned Jedi Knight, his voice sounding much less stressed than it was before when he called himself a Padawan. Perhaps it was Setzi's redemption that had eased his aching heart, or how he had been given recognition for how much he had learned of the Light Side and the Jedi. One way or another, today was a good day for Knight Mullarus.

Knight Mullarus. Heh. He'd have to get used to being referred to as a Knight again.

 

[Barinthus E'ron]

[member="Krux Mullarus"] [member="Karen Roberts"]

This place again.... He said it to himself but had a grin on his face... enjoying it all. THe sights, the sounds, the view plus his master had asked him to practice his skills and get them up to par for something special she wanted to do. Rasu served to give him some nice missions and solo training in the jungles. She rather liked it while wearing the robes and walking off the dropship with a small look on his face. "Should be fun." She was excited to work on most of this while his attention went towards the mountains and waste of it all with the wind blowing in his hair. He was just glad to see the jedi peacock, someone his father had met fighting zombies and spoke highly of.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Already the heat of the planet was drying her skin. Abaigeal strapped the pack to her back over her robes and jumped off the boarding ramp after Master Roberts. Familiar with the woman, they had met on Felucia on that rather revealing mission. And they are set to work together again, which Abaigeal was most pleased about she will be able to learn a lot from her.

A cloud of orange dust rose up around her feet as they thudded into the surface of the planet. The darkside greeted the welcome once more, as it licked around the atmosphere and tried to seep into their souls. It will never give up, not easily anyway ..

The lightside will protect her as she drew it close around her to form a barrier. "Master Roberts, next time tell me to bring some moisturising cream", the corner of her mouth pulled up. She gave the rest of the group a nod in greeting.

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[member="Karen Roberts"] | [member="Krux Mullarus"] | [member="Barinthus E`ron"]​

 

[Jsc]

Good. She smirked under her mask. This crew had spirit.

[member="Krux Mullarus"] was eager for a fight, [member="Abaigeal E'ron"] was feeling #Blessed, and [member="Barinthus E`ron"] was in the mood for an adventure. Excellent. She wouldn't have to babysit a single one of them. Which, was good. Graug hives are known for their massive numbers. No slouches here.

"Yes yes. But let's not forget why we came. These space orks are a blight upon this planet. Caves, tunnels, and insurgent lairs everywhere. It's not safe for anyone to travel this region while they remain hidden and anonymous. Hopefully. Our recon today can give Command the intel it needs to lure them out from the shadows. Mapping their cave networks is just the first step to safeguarding our new construction on the planet. Though, it's no secret this whole planet is filled with them. Tombs, crypts, dungeons, and all."

She shrugged. Four members was no assault force. So they'd stick to the mission. Scout the underground lightly and leave the hard stuff for the Army.

"Give me a moment to get us setup on the ICC Network. Oh, I suppose we could make ourselves useful?"

Karen motioned to the three duffle bags,

"Krux. Open that one and setup the sci-com array inside. Just over there please. And don't forget to stake it down. ...Knight E'ron. Erm... Abby. Open up that bag and assemble the Recon Drone would you. Should be like putting together a paper airplane. No biggie. ...And, Barinthus. (I think that's you say it?) Would you open up that bag and release the Probe Droids. I think I brought five or six of them in there. Maybe?"

She folded her arms and nodded. That was enough for the gear.

"Pardon me a moment. I need to climb that ridge and get a signal. I'll be right back when everyone is finished."

Roberts tugged on her scarf and moved to hike a nearby rise. Fiddling with her DOS viewfinders as she trudged along. Taking a moment to make sure all their equipment was up to the task. Hiking be damned.

 

[Krux Mullarus]

"Krux. Open that one and setup the sci-com array inside. Just over there please. And don't forget to stake it down."

First official act as a Jedi Knight, and I...get to set up a...

Well, nobody ever said being a Jedi was glamorous...

"Alrighty then" was all that left Krux's mouth as he turned around and faced the duffle bag that seemed to peer at him from across the sand. What the heck is a sci dot com array anyway? he wondered as he began to open it and empty it's contents. He sighed somewhat hopelessly as he examined them.

"C'mon, Krux," he muttered, "If you can convince a Sith Lord you've been infatuated with for years after she left you to come to the Jedi with you...dammit, you can put together some wierd...antenna...thing"

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

"Paper airplane, right", she repeated more to herself. She grabbed the bag assigned to her, and opened it. In side are parts to assemble and she took out each one and placed them on the ground. Her eyes darted over to Knight Mullarus, to see how he was going with it all and to her relief he appeared just a 'confused' as she. Well I wont be alone in making a fool of myself.

Once the bag was empty, Abaigeal looked into it once more hoping to find a set of instructions to assemble the thing. Nothing presented itself. Okay, got to think now..

Some of the pieces were obvious, and slotted together with a click, others not so much. But through trial and error, the Recon Drone finally sat complete on the ground, she flicked the switch to test the small engine. It looked like a drone, sounded like a drone .. it is a drone.

Abaigeal stood up straight backed, hands on her hips and smiled at her handy work with a sense of pride.

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[member="Karen Roberts"] | [member="Krux Mullarus"] | [member="Barinthus E`ron"]​

 

[Barinthus E'ron]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"] [member="Krux Mullarus"] [member="Karen Roberts"]

He looked at the others and the master but releasing things was easier then the others... Felt almost cheap but he wasn't one to complain. Heading up as the woman seemed to think about his name. Just offering a bow of his head and smile taking the bag of probes while he slung it over his shoulder. "On it." The graug he had seen before and they were troubling to the last but he had the experienced ones here on his side to protect him. That made it easier while she started climbing clenching and unclenching his hands to focus and get a grip going on the rocks while he started climbing up towards the top. Arriving and opening the bag while he remained there for a moment turning on and releasing the probes to scout ahead.

 

[Jsc]

Karen stood on the top of the crest. Moving the viewfinders from rise to rise. Scouting the landscape as the HUD began to reboot on her goggles. She touched her eyepiece,

"Warbird this is Escort One. Do you copy?"

~ "Escort One this is Warbird. Go ahead." ~

"Just doing a com's check Warbird. Linking to ICC now. Should be broadcasting. HUD readout is lighting up now. How copy?"

~ "Computer is green Escort. We are live and receiving. Transmitting sat-maps and weather forecasting to your device now."

"Roger that Warbird. Escort One over and out."

She put down her goggles and nodded. Almost surprised that all the electronics were working as expected. That never seemed to happen for her. Something always went wrong. Someone always forgot to bring air support. The usual. Huh?

"Guess It's my lucky day. Strange. Welp. Don't fight it Karen. Bound to have a normal mission at least once in a while, I suppose."

...

She returned to the others and noted their work. Giving them a nod of her headdress,

"Good job. You're got a little commando in ya'll after all."

[member="Krux Mullarus"] was still working on the array but [member="Barinthus E`ron"] and [member="Abaigeal E'ron"] were already done.

"ICC support is up and running, and they've got us on the network already. Satellites positioned and we've got a clear hike to the cave opening. No hostile activity for kilometers. Nice and quiet. Just the way we like it."

She picked up the Recon Drone and spun it up. Then released it into the air like a hang glider. The mini airplane took off and just kept going. Rising up higher and higher until it was just a tiny speck in the bright orange sky. Karen tapped her wrist a few times to give it the right flight path. She wanted it circling overhead of the team. The Probes could do the real leg work.

"Okay. We're set. Let's get hiking. ...Barinthus. You've got point. Abby, Krux. You're next. ...Oh, Mullarus, don't worry about the software configuration on that thing. Just push the ON button and it will be fine. ...I'll bring up the rear."

Roberts moved to the sci-com array and nodded when it was functioning.

"Let's hustle people. We're on the clock. And if you've got talents with Vong-Sense, keep them sharp. After all, there is much more on this planet than just orks. Assume that all open ground is hostile ground. We're in their backyard and here to play ball. Let's do this."

She tapped her wrist again and began the move out. It was 10 minutes to the cave over desert ground. Mmm. This is were the fun begins. Bar had point.

 

[Thelma]

[member="Karen Roberts"] [member="Krux Mullarus"] [member="Abaigeal E'ron"] [member="Barinthus E`ron"]

Thelma was the last to get off the drop ship, she was busy getting medical supplies for them. She had several bacta kit's, as well the use of the force in this area. She could do very little else with the force, other than push and shove. She could hardly wield her saber pike, except to block incoming attacks. She was nervous, about this place, she had heard some of stories of this place, about fifty foot snarf cat's. She was not sure what a snarf cat was, but it sounded sounded really scary, it spat venom and had razor sharp claws. That was something a sith acolyte had to fight to prove they where ready. She did not want to stay at the back of the group, but she wanted to stay in the middle. This way the snarf cats would have to go through others first. She looked at the group and wonder what they would find in these caves, after all she does not even know what a snarf cat looked like.

 

[Barinthus E'ron]

He could hear the master and gave a nod looking towards what the others were doing. There was a lot of attention on some of the things and standing there for a moment as they were joined by another.padawan before he was putting his hands in his robes pockets dropping from the small perch he had released the drones and crouched. Just like he had been taught with the force as a cushion to soften his landing until he was moving out and directing with his hand for them to follow. The smell in the air came to his nostrils as they flared before he stretched out with the force senses and let the necklace the jedi had given augment his senses. THe lambent crystal within it for sensing the vong and their creatures.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Her eyes watched as the drone took of high into the air. She smiled, thank the force it worked. However, there was no more time for self congratulations, Master Roberts was all duty today and soon gave orders for them to move out.

Abaigeal followed on behind her brother, giving Knight Mullarus the hurry up with the nod of her head. As instinct would have it, her reached to her saber hilt to make sure it was firmly attached to her belt. As they progressed toward their destination, there was a sense of something in the air and it was not Barini's after shave. Something or someone was watching them. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and prickled her Force.

"Barini, you sense anything?", she asked as her eyes looked around the place. Her force senses reaching out forward of them, searching the landscape. She spotted the cave entrance up ahead but they still have a distance to cover. And it was hot, which made them all sweat and so doing, would give off a strong scent to any creature with a decent nose to smell. Did not help they were walking with the wind.

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[member="Karen Roberts"] | [member="Barinthus E`ron"] | [member="Thelma"] | [member="Krux Mullarus"]​