Campaign Ruins and Robots - Part One: Dude Where's my Holocron?

[Ryv]

Ryv smiled as he watched the gathered group begin working. For some of them, it might've been their first real job aboard the praxeum station. Peace proved to be a great gift to the fledgling order, providing both safety and a sense of belonging to many, but it did not come without effort. Many aboard the station found themselves working similar jobs every day, Ryv included. Rather than try and clean off each box, he simply removed his jacket and set it off to the side. Now in a tattered long-sleeved shirt, he began his work in earnest. Dust and grime built up on his gloves and clothing, but it went ignored. His focus remained on whatever sat on the table before him. Several minutes went by before he even thought to look up and check on the others.

Seeing Bernard spend a period dusting didn't surprise the kiffar in the slightest. The arkanian, by nature, maintained a pristine outward display at almost all times, unlike the jacket-clad Ryv. Aaran's disposition towards the labor also seemed entirely natural. The larger padawan worked around the station likely as much as Ryv, if not more. Not having to worry about the brawnier boy, Ryv shifted his gaze to search for Auteme. When he couldn't place her immediately, he shrugged and went back to work. Not only was she a Jedi all the same as him, but scholarly pursuits were her specialty. If anyone knew how to navigate the station, it is her, or so Ryv thought.

As Auteme entered the side room and began digging around, the faintest shift in this wing of the station's lighting would occur. The usual soft, blue glow that permeated the settled portion of the station disappeared, replaced by an icy tone. It grew brighter, beginning to cause intense pain to anyone looking directly at it. The more practiced learners of the group would feel a growing surge of power in the force as if someone or something was suddenly calling the force to its will. A low, distant whine began to grow in intensity, rising in pitch and volume until everyone in the room had to cover their ears to ward away ear-splitting screech of unknown origin. Between the piercing sound and omnipresent icy-white light, a sense of fear and concern may very well set in for all the young Jedi. And just as suddenly as it came, it went.

When Loske and Auteme opened their eyes, the duo would find themselves a few feet apart, facing one another. Upon further inspection of their surroundings, they'd realize they no longer stood within the storage room, but instead at the base of a ruined staircase leading up to a temple built into a brightly lit cliff face. Shadows hung over the rest of the area, caused by the sourceless glow. Further up the staircase, the two women could both hear and see what appeared to be a group of phillaks grazing in the sun, chewing at small patches of vegetation through the cracks in the massive structure. The beasts did not seem particularly hostile, though they did eye the two Jedi with caution.

Elsewhere, Aaran would find it difficult to breathe as he opened his eyes, only to see Bernard strewn across his chest. They appeared to be in a more closed-off space. Lichen covered the cracked walls, housing dozens of insects and rodents scurrying about the room. No exit appeared to them; however, the sound of metal grinding against stone echoed throughout the forgotten room. A pile of rubble began to shift before it fell aside, revealing a towering metallic guardian. A hum of energy could sounded from the creature as a familiar icy blue glow took form in its chest and visor. Before the two padawan could even consider the possibilities in the connection, a beam of pure energy shot out at them, aimed to pass right over them.

Aaran Tafo | Auteme | Bernard of Arca | Loske Treicolt​

 

[Loske Treicolt]

A double chin-nod indicated it was time to lift, and with Bernard of Arca 's help, elevating the crate and maneuvering it from point A to point B was significantly easier. The pair would waddle with mild strain before setting it down. Loske clapped her hands together, and a powdery dust cloud flitted from her touch. She turned her head to evade coughing back into it and making it a cycle.

"Thanks for your help!" She offered, peeking from around the crate to the snow-haired Jedi.

That was arguably the largest box that needed to be relocated, and Loske took quick stock of what there was left to do. Many hands were making short work of the task, and the room was starting to look more organized already. Hands to hips now, she couldn't seem to see Auteme. An innate sense suggested she'd gone exploring, and Loske slunk away from her part of the crate to the most obviously dim lit section of the room, disappearing into a similar hole as the other girl. "Are you finding anything interesting?" She'd ask, by way of introducing herself to the space and Auteme's proximity.

Her question went unanswered by the brunette Padawan, but instead it seemed the station was keen on responding itself. The empyrean shifted and rolled, bubbling with intention that was lost on Loske's unrefined senses. It announced itself beyond the riptides of Ashla, emanating a shrill alarm. Her palms snapped to her ears and she grimaced at the high-pitched klaxon. The next sense that was assaulted was her sight. It was overwhelmed with brilliance and the silhouette of her friend, and any of their surroundings was drowned out in ice-blue luminescence and she closed her eyes, crouching in anguish from the sensory assault.

Several blinks later, she was standing again. Quite unexplainably parallel to Auteme . Her gaze immediately snapped from assessing the well-being of her companion to their surroundings. Stairs, shadows, mammals. Temple. Biiiiiiigggg temple.

Without taking too much stock in the circumstance and their whereabouts, Loske held her palms outward to evidence a lacksadaisical shrug and a sentiment of goading. "We obviously have to go in."

Then a quick twist, and the obvious question of: "Where are we?"

Aaran Tafo // Ryv

 

[Bernard of Arca]

He gave a swift nod to Loske after they'd set down the large box. Despite the care he took to rid it of the dust, he still found his gloves gone dark where they had touched the ancient metal. The other padawan turned to the room, taking in all the work ahead of them. Bernard took this opportunity to quietly slip away and back to his section of the medbay. There was no more cleaning to be done, only the groundwork for later categorization; he figured that wouldn't take too long.

It occurred to him only when he walked past the big pile of already processed boxes how fast they had been. He'd figured that clearing out a section of Peace as extensive as it was originally indicated would take them a considerable amount of time, but now he realized that most of his assumptions had been falsely based on his individual rate of progress. The initial doubts about their efficiency had been baseless, it seemed. He made a note of not underestimating Jedi synergy in the future.

He halted as a sudden shift of light in the room occurred. His right hand instinctively fell to the hilt of his lightsabre. Loske and Auteme were missing from their group. Renewed concern rose as he began to pace towards Aaran, intending to ask if he knew where they had gone off to, but before he could say a word he found the world gone dark.

When he woke up again the world around him was reminiscent of an ancient sewer, though it lacked the overpowering stench. He peered around the darkened room for a few moments before he noticed that the ground underneath him moved. The familiar face of Aaran greeted him as he looked down.

Rumbling from another side of the room cut short any exchange of questions. The hum of energy which accompanied the new light source's appearance drew his attention.

The glowing eyes of a metal warrior peered back at Bernard. No emotions were passed between the meeting of their gaze, neither did he feel anything alive from it in the Force. Nonetheless, he felt danger emanate from the massive figure as it stood almost dormant.

His intuition was rewarded with the answer it expected as a beam of blue energy shot forth from the warrior's chest. It seared the ground a few feet in front of the two padawan, but the beam didn't stay stationary.

Without allowing for any resistance from the other padawan, Bernard took ahold of him and rolled them both out of harm's way. The ground where they'd woken up mere moments ago was left scorched in the beam's wake.

Shoving the other padawan off of him gently, he sprang to his feet. The hilt of his sabre flew into his hand with the aid of the Force and soon enough the familiar faint blue glow illuminated the area around them.

He barely suppressed the instinct to rush into battle, catching himself as he took a step toward the droid.

"Plan?" he asked, glancing at the other padawan. If he was to become part of a team, he couldn't just rush into battle on his own. There was a methodology to battle as a group and he intended to exploit their numbers advantage.

Loske Treicolt Ryv Aaran Tafo Auteme

 

[Auteme]

Before she was able to respond to Loske's call, the lighting seemed to change, the Force with it. A sudden screeching split her ears. "Ow! Hey, what the-" The light blinded her and she raised her hands, trying to protect her face from whatever it was...

And then she was someplace else.

She rubbed the spots out of her eyes and found herself looking at Loske. Auteme's gaze slipped away just as quickly to study her surroundings, doing a quick three-sixty to take in everything. Phillaks? She tried to think, but finally it was the other padawan's question that pushed her to focus a little harder.

"I can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure we're having a vision... unless only I'm having a vision, and you're not really here." Auteme squinted at Loske for a moment, then grinned. "Just kidding... it wouldn't really matter, anyways. Wait... actually, do you know how to Cleanse Mind? We could probably just get out. I'd do it if I knew..." She scratched her head and looked at her feet. When it came to actually using the Force, she wasn't very good. Cleanse mind should've been something she practiced more often, considering how essential it was to a Jedi's repertoire.

She looked up at the sky again, catching a glimpse of a sun. Combined with the phillaks... "This is probably Zeffo. Those are phillaks, which are native there. And I'm ninety percent sure Zeffo only has the one sun. Considering it was also eventually abandoned when they all died out, and they left a lot of ruins behind..." She turned to look at the temple, studying its architecture for a few moments. "It'd make sense, too, that if we tripped some old vision on Peace we'd be transported someplace familiar to a Zeffo individual..."

Other theories floated around in her head. Maybe they'd been forced to project themselves here? But why was such a room in the medical wing? It could've been the last memories of a dying Zeffo, here in the medical bay. Were they just observers, or meant to explore?

She didn't see any other exits to this little enclosed valley, and she wasn't sure enough that getting hurt here wouldn't hurt her actual body, so she wouldn't risk trying to climb out. It seemed that the temple was their best bet. And surely a temple would hold so many secrets about the worshipers who went there and the culture that resided. Auteme nodded in agreement to her companion's statement. "Let's go in."

And so she began to hop up the stairs towards the temple.

Loske Treicolt Ryv Aaran Tafo Bernard of Arca

 

[Aaran Tafo]

The change in locale was met with a wrenching twist in the burly Padawan's stomach. His body reacting to whatever effect that had transposed faster than his mind could process it.

All that really went through his mind was that he tasted dust and that Bernard's elbows were ridiculously skinny and pointy. Jabbing right into his midsection as the Arkanian managed to right themselves. The burlier Padawan staggering to his own feet moments after his albino companion. "Did you get the number of that speeder?" He asked aloud, forcing himself back to his feet as he tried to rub the stars out of his eyes.

Naturally, he completely missed the hostile droid's assault. No doubt if he was on his own. That destruction blast would have hit him head on. Either burning a hole through his chest. Or knocking him through a wall. Both outcomes were rather unpleasant. So it was a good thing when he once again found himself knocked to the ground, the Albino Arkanian once again sprawled over him. Of course, the difference now was that some part of the Padawan's mind now acknowledged this as a fight. And so the well-honed instincts decided to kick in.

Eyes clearing, mind sharpening. He sprung to his feet alongside Bernard. His saber not drawn just yet. Instead taking the split second to study his foe. Tall, armoured plated and no life that he could sense. More than likely some kind of ancient defense droid. An old one from the station? Possibly. But such theories could be left for later. No doubt Master Quill or Auteme would be able to tell after he dragged it back to them.

"Go for the legs. I'll distract." He barked out in response of Bernard's suggestion of a plan of attack. Glad that the other Padawan was already prepared for a fight.

Focusing his mind and reaching out with the Force. Aaran's will gripped a nearby crumbling wall to their side. With a grunt and twist of his wrist. A chunk of the wall cratered. A large slab of stone, roughly the size of the Padawan's torso was wrenched out. With another flick of his wrist, it was sent flying. Aimed to impact with the Automaton's chest. Either forcing it to block, step aside or simply blast the incoming debris into dust. Either way, Bernard would have his opening.

Ryv
Auteme
Loske Treicolt
Bernard of Arca

 

[Ryv]

The threshold of the temple stood stalwart, though it had lost some of its luster across the ages. Weathering and erosion slowly chipped away at an ancient script that once decorated the gate's frame, while small fissures climbed along the solid surface. As Auteme began her ascent, the largest of the phillak pack padded forward, placing itself protectively between the smaller three and the encroaching Jedi. Behind it, the others continued their meager meal, eyes never entirely leaving the approaching duo. The sound of slow chewing grew louder with each step they took, marking each bit of vegetation torn away from the brittle earth by the grazing beasts.

Once Auteme stepped up the final step, the pack's protector matched her movements and stood before her. It peered down at the human girl, its size dwarfing the padawan considerably. The phillak flared its nostrils and huffed, the small gust of wind blowing back the short hair framing her face. Looking closely, the learned Jedi would likely note the ridges across the beast's horns, marking it as a female of its species. The three smaller creatures soon joined the pack leader, peering around her at Loske as she moved up the stairs behind Auteme.

The quartet of beasts did not move away, nor did they move to aggress the two strangers. Instead, they took up a position before the temple and eyed each of them carefully.

While Auteme and Loske found themselves in a tense stalemate, the temple guardian facing off against Aaran and Bernard continued its assault. Once its chest beam failed to impact its two targets, the metallic creature stomped forward once more. As its heavy feet thudded into the ground, waves of rippling energy exploded outward from beneath it and crashed towards the trespassing Jedi. It steadied its stance and prepared another beam of energy from its chest, but found itself knocked off balance as the large slab of rock slammed into its body. The automaton's upper body swiveled on impact, the beam carving through the rock beneath them and up one of the walls.

Light peaked through a portion of the ruined wall, and a small thrumming of energy leaked into the room, easily felt by the two Jedi.

Elsewhere, Ryv opened his eyes and found himself lying prone along a cliffside. He peered down, eyes widening in shock before he scrambled back.

"No, no, no, no," the kiffar shook his head and scrambled to his feet. He dusted himself off, cursing to himself as he noticed his jacket had gone missing. "Uhh, hello? Auteme? Aaran?" he called out to the empty cavern before looking out over the massive room he found himself within. An underground lake decorated the base of the cliff, fed by a roaring waterfall across the cave from him. "Okay, I guess I'm al-" he stopped midsentence, interrupted by a small BD unit headbutting his leg and chirping up at him aggressively. "Oh, sweet! I'm not alone at all," he reached down and scooped up the droid. "Where are we, little dude?"

The droid beeped and whirred out a response, shaking his head from side to side.

"You don't know, huh? Well, that's no good," Ryv stepped up to the cliffside and crossed his arms. "Guess we should find the others and call an evac-ship to grab us," he shifted his attention to the droid as it chirped out its agreement. "Alright, great. I'm gonn-"

The sound of something scraping against the stone behind the Jedi Padawan stopped his speech once more. Ryv turned to see a massive, blue-skinned jotaz lurching closer. He looked back towards the cliff and frowned before taking his lightsaber from his side. He activated the weapon, casting a verdant glow over the surrounding stone. The jotaz picked up speed before swiping out at the kiffar with a massive arm. Ryv ducked beneath it and rolled away from the cliffside. He took a deep breath and pushed out with the force, hoping to send the creature over the edge. Instead, it slid a few feet, turned, and wrapped a meaty hand around the smaller man.

Without a second thought, the beast turned and tossed Ryv off the cliff.

Aaran Tafo | Auteme | Bernard of Arca | Loske Treicolt​

 

[Loske Treicolt]

"I've never even heard of Cleanse Mind." Loske admitted balefully. There were so many names and titles to keep track of in this Jedi business that she elected to be stubbourn about it and make offhand remarks here and there to be irksome to Cedric, rather than usefully cataloguing all the things she should know.

She hadn't actually expected Auteme to have the answer to the question of where they were, and she raised her eyebrows in delighted surprise when she nominated Zeffo as an option. And then named the creatures as Phillaks.

Keeping pace with the short-haired scholar, the blonde trotted up the stairs; not taking caution to moderate her approach on behalf of the grazing mammals. They seemed occupied in tearing whatever remnants of grass that had poked through the crags of the temple stairway, and less concerned with the intruders. One snorted loudly, lazily lifting its head as the two girls approached the doorway. And then it moved to directly oppose them, and ensure they gained no further ground on their territory.

"Erm," Loske chewed on the inside of her cheek, narrowing her eyes at the creature. This was kind of like the Rock Renderer on Sullust, but far less aggressive. Cedric had said she could impress on people's minds, could she do so for animals, as well? She drew in a breath, relaxing any tension that may suggest to the mother that she and Auteme were a threat. "I think we just need to relax? Right?" She closed her eyes, noting the location of Auteme within The Force, and the steady resolve of the Phillak ahead. Its mind was small, on comparison. It didn't leave much of an impression in the ebb and flow of the metaphysical connection, but it did exist. And it was heavy, and it was focused. Gently, Loske focused on the thought of passing by and leaving the pack of Phillaks alone; her outreaching presence stretching to comfort the creature that the girls would bring no harm.

Ryv // Bernard of Arca // Aaran Tafo

 

[Auteme]

"It's fine," Auteme said with a kind smile. She didn't know Cleanse Mind either. To be fair, it was only now that she'd started walking towards the temple the opportunity was truly presented itself. This was Zeffo, an ancient and clearly untouched place to study. Moreover she now had first-had experience with Force visions -- or potentially teleportation, she still couldn't quite tell. In any case, there was much to learn and experience here.

She didn't particularly want to be stopped by a few animals. Despite her interest in such things, now wasn't really the time... but if she was impatient, this would end poorly. "Phillaks aren't violent unless provoked," she said, only ninety percent sure she was right. "She's probably just protecting her children." She followed Loske's lead as the other padawan began to reach out to the creature. Auteme wasn't afraid of the horned beast, but it may be afraid of her. After all, the phillak's family was nearby.

She closed her eyes, feeling the same emotions that Loske was projecting. There was nothing to fear here; no harm would come to any of them. The temple was close, and she was eager to see it, but a Jedi's first duty was to protect life.

Loske Treicolt Ryv Bernard of Arca Aaran Tafo