Private Secret Tunnel!

[Klar]

​

TYTHON​

Tython Wilderness | Xuko Pagoi ​

All things considered, Klar didn't have a LOT of experience with wilderness survival. Most of what she knew outside of the exceedingly basic training the Jedi had given her was osmosis from various hologames and films. The Codru-Ji, for better or worse, was a creature of the cities. She'd been born on Coruscant, she'd lived on a Pleasure Barge, she'd gone back to Courscant, and eventually she'd moved to Tython to train at the Jedi temple. That'd been her first encounter with trees that weren't safely tended in tiny, sterile parks. Animals that weren't urban vermin. Bugs.

It'd also been her first time seeing the night sky from a terrestrial location. She'd fallen in love immediately, and had been looking for more reasons to get out and see more of what the natural world had to offer.

Pouring over some survey data of the area some distance away from the Jedi temple had turned up some irregularities that suggested to Klar the presence of a fairly large cave system. That likely meant crystals - and lots of them. There were always uses for interesting crystals, but moreover? There might be ruins, and things worth bringing back to the surface. Klar spent days pouring over the data, planning her trip, reading up on what she'd need. She'd planned her bags, her route, her backup plans, her evacuation route. She'd then realized she knew almost nothing about how to survive in the wilderness past what was in the datapad she was planning to bring. And one of the first thing it'd suggested? Don't go alone. At the very least, you needed to have somebody around who could call for help or drag you to safety in an emergency.

Honestly? Only one option. And all of his stuff could fit on the speeder bike she'd borrowed from the garage!

"Basically!" Klar explained, raising her voice to be heard over the wind. "We'll get down into the valley, set up camp, and survey the area until we find the cave entrance. I have a good idea of where it is. But! The most recent geographic data in the area is seventy years old." As she spoke, the blonde wove the speeder bike lazily through trees and around obstacles, not pushing the engines out to a speed where hitting anything would be a real risk. She kept her eyes forward, talking with her lower hands as her uppers handled the steering - though the temptation to look over her shoulder to make eye contact with the Zabrak riding pillion was VERY tempting.

"At the rate we're going, we'll be there shortly - so if you see a good spot to set up camp, let me know!" Klar explained, still speaking over the wind. "I think there's a lake nearby! Or there WAS. I know water is very important!"

Everything Klar thought she'd need was stuffed into the saddlebags strapped to the back of the bike. A pup tent, some food and water, clothes, and a first aid kit. Archeological gear took up the bulk of the space, Klar's backpack strapped somewhat roughly to the rear spoiler along with the larger tools she thought they might need. Shovel, axe, satellite map of the area, her splitsabers.

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Although many things had changed in his life since becoming a Jedi, one habit Xuko refused to give up was keeping a "go" bag packed and ready with essentials for at least a week of survival; assuming more or less normal environments. That wasn't to say that there hadn't been upgrades that had come with joining the Order- the water purifier was new and much more reliable, the tent was actually waterproof, and the food capsules were no longer expired- but it also meant that Xuko was ready to say yes whenever an adventure presented itself... and experience had quickly taught him that time spent with Klar was always an adventure.

Xuko, for his part, didn't mind riding pillion behind Klar. She provided constant commentary along the way, which helped pass the time, and once Xuko got used to seeing two hands not on the controls he was able to relax. The Codru-Ji flew safely, which allowed for some sightseeing along the way, and Xuko always appreciated time spent in green places such as the jungles of Tython. Furthermore, Klar's research had even uncovered that this area was in a place not known to be inhabited by fleshraiders, which added an extra incentive to go out and explore. That didn't mean that he wasn't prepared- his lightsaber tapped against his thigh along with the rhythm of the engines- but it probably contributed to two Padawans being granted license to explore in the first place.

"Water is important" Xuko echoed, smiling inwardly. He was pleased that Klar seemed to grasp the reality of their expedition. She had taken initiative and appeared more prepared than most for an adventure outside of the Temple. "It is possible one of the caves can serve as a campsite" he suggested, spotting one of the landmarks he'd committed to memory as the speeder eased its way across the terrain. He took one of his hands from where it was wrapped comfortably around Klar's waist to point out their next turn. "The cave entrance should be just up there."

Klar

 

[Klar]

"Camping inside the cave would be pretty nice!" Klar agreed cheerfully, driving the speeder bike on a gradual downward slope and then up a grassy bank, dipping lazily around a pair of trees. Had she been going faster, she might've missed the cave entrance entirely - the mouth of the cave came out of the back of the hill they'd just gone over. Nearly completely occluded by man-sized rocks, thick brush and bushes, the cave was a nearly straight drop from the surface. The kind of place a hiker might disappear into just by stepping down the hill the wrong way.

Klar canted the speeder back around to the entrance and climbed off, taking a moment to stretch her legs out and groan a little. Rubbing her lower back, she opened a map and spread it across the rear spoiler of the speeder. "This is the place, right?" She asked Xuko hopefully, grinning ear-to-ear. "Survey data shows that this entrance was much larger way back when. I think it might've had a bit of a landslide come down from that hill here, hiding the entrance." A lot could happen in seventy years. Klar didn't question it - she wasn't a geologist.

"It looks like it might be a pretty steep incline downwards. That means water at the bottom, right?" The blonde asked excitedly. "I hope we don't have to swim very far to progress deeper. We don't have much in the way of air, and I hear that cave diving is exceedingly dangerous..." Klar trailing off suggested that she was looking for Xuko to confirm or deny this, though she already knew. Her energy suggested that the danger wasn't necessarily a deal-breaker. And it wasn't! They had modest rebreathers, and she'd brought a swimsuit just in case.

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Although the cave entrance was only a few hours away from the temple, Xuko could see how it had faded from the Jedi's collective knowledge. A rockslide or some similar event had camouflaged the entrance, ensuring that it was nearly impossible to find the caves from more than a few meters away.

Xuko winced as he stretched stiff muscles, taking a short walk around where the speeder was parked to get his land legs back underneath him and making a mental note of this unwelcome sensation for the future. If he'd had to fight immediately after dismounting, his mobility and potentially his balance would've been severely impacted. Better to learn this now than while under fire.

A quick glance at the map and Xuko confirmed with a nod of his head what Klar already knew- this was indeed the place she had scouted out. The Zabrak peered down into the mouth of the cave, and wasn't surprised to discover that he couldn't see the bottom due to the darkness within. "I have not been cave diving myself" he admitted. "Not enough water on Iridonia." Odd how he'd never considered the problem of having too much water.

Xuko found a stone about the size of a baseball and brought it to the edge of the cave. Holding a finger to his lips lest Klar start talking, he tossed it into the mouth of the cave and listened. After just over a second, he heart a splat, and nodded to Klar to let her know it was okay to speak again. "There is water at the bottom, but not enough to swim in- at least not right away. We can climb down and look. It should not be too far."

Klar

 

[Klar]

Klad waited with bated breath once the rock plunged down, counting visibly. Once she heard the telltale plonk of rock-on-water violence, she grinned and flashed Xuko a thumbs up. "Great plan!"

The Codru-Ji took a moment to stretch, then started suiting up. She hung a lantern off her belt, slipped on a vest with lots of pockets, and pulled a coil of rope out of the speeder's saddlebags. The speeder itself served as the anchor point for the rope - Klar pushed it closer to the mouth of the cave, then tied the rope securly to an eye on the back of the vehicle. Despite her lack of survival skills, Klar apparently had some fantastic experience with knots, weaving a skillful clove hitch in record time. She also took a moment to engage the emergency brake on the speeder bike.

"This rope's got sixty meters on it. I've got two more." The blonde explained proudly as she began stepping into a climbing harness. It fit a little goofy over shorts, but she didn't HATE the way it looked. "I actually did some rock climbing back on Coruscant! All indoor stuff, in gyms." She chirped. "I know it isn't the same, but at least I already had some of the equipment."

Another flashlight on her vest, a camera just in case, and a moment to tighten the laces on her boots. And then, her favorite part - the gloves. Klar pulled the fingerless gloves on with great relish. You always knew some real work was going to get done when you had to wear gloves to do it. "Ready-go! You wanna go down first, or should I?"

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Xuko did some quick mental math to compare the length of the rope with the distance he'd estimated the descent to be- another reason for tossing the rock in. Of course, there was probably some type of technology which could easily and accurately have measured their descent, but the Zabrak was ignorant of it. Instead, he stuck to his tried and true method, using the tools he had around him. "Sixty meters should be more than enough for this descent" he decided.

The Zabrak himself had a pair of Grappling Spike launchers- one primary, one as a backup- which could be easily rewound once fired. Although these only had a 40-meter range, Xuko preferred them over traditional rope for their convenience. That didn't mean that Klar's knot-typing went unnoticed, however. "You are quite proficient with rope" he said, nodding towards the climbing harness Klar had made. Xuko knew a few knots, but Klar had him beat. "There is much I can learn from you in that area."

Unlike Klar, Xuko did not have fingerless gloves; his were more multipurpose; again, a fixture of convenience rather than specificity. While not as flexible or as breathable as Klar's, Xuko figured they would provide adequate protection while they climbed. Xuko did a quick once-over of Klar's equipment before nodding in approval. The Codru-Ji was ready, and Xuko could see no good reason to deny her.

"Go ahead" he said. "I will follow once you have reached the bottom."

Klar

 

[Klar]

Klar gave her climbing partner a playful salute as she wove the climbing rope through her harness. She approached the mouth of the cave, took a couple of experimental tugs on the rope, then began descending. The lip of the cave was not nearly as steep as it would be further down, but she was nevertheless cautious. "Rocks here a little slick!" Klar called up in warning.

Once past the lip, she could begin to descend a little quicker. Though she wasn't belaying at full speed, Klar maintained a good pace. Three hands helped her regulate her speed and control her descent, with a fourth she shone her lantern further down to have a look at where she was going. As she began nearing the bottom, the blonde woman slowed down. Not much light filtered down from above, but her lantern got her a good look around. Luckily, they had had enough rope to get to the bottom. It was a CONSIDERABLE way down.

Klar touched down in a bowl-shaped depression slightly more than five meters across, filled with old water. Said water had been gathering long enough to wear small grooves in the limestone lip of the 'bowl' flowing down deeper into the cave.

Klar flipped out a notebook once she was clear of Xuko's landing point. "Roughly 45 meter descent, you figure?" She speculated, drawing a rough approximation of the diagonal shaft they'd descended. "With the way this depression is shaped- I wonder if some big kinetic weapon or something hit here long ago, and that's what made the cave? It looks like it's almost a straight tube carved up to the surface from this angle, doesn't it?"

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Once he was confident that everything topside was working as intended, Xuko watched Klar descend into the tunnel. He quickly found that he appreciated the lantern she carried; not only did it serve as a light source for Klar, it served as a barometer of sorts for Xuko. As long as he could track Klar's steady descent, using the gentle bob of the lantern light as she belayed, he knew that she was safe. As it was, he needn't have worried; Klar's experience climbing and four hands made quick work of the descent, and soon it was Xuko's turn.

The Zabrak played out some of his fibercord launcher, also using the speeder bike as an anchor point, before navigating the lip of the cave mouth. Like Klar said it was slippery, but as a result of her warning he was able to catch himself when one of his boots unexpectedly slid. He then belayed his way downwards, maintaining a steady descent by controlling how quickly the line played out. With about 7 meters to go he reached the end of his line, and had to resort to his second launcher to safely descend the final few meters. Still, with one button push the first line disengaged, allowing him to retract both launchers for later use should the need arise.

Once his boots sploshed down into water a few inches deep, Xuko took his bearings. The mouth of the cave was a tiny circle of light above them; a portal to the outside world that felt impossibly far away. Xuko suddenly found it much more difficult to breathe. The rocky cave walls around him seemed to press inwards, and the thought of moving further away from the surface sent a chill of fear through him. "Uh... yes" he said, his voice smaller than he remembered it. Despite his fear, he told himself that he had to forge onwards; Klar had seemed so excited about this trip, and he would not be the reason she did not get to do it. Vorr'kath Zhen.

"How far down does this cave go?"


Klar

 

[Klar]

Klar watched with mild bemusement as Xuko slowly, carefully descended his own rope. when he finally made it to the bottom, she couldn't help but note that he seemed a little tense. She opted to give him a friendly pat on the shoulder and chuckle. "No idea why you didn't just use MY rope, Xuko." The blonde pointed out teasingly. "But, it's fine. Maybe we'll need to get up in a hurry or something, like if there's a cave in. Then we'll be thankful we have two ropes to the entrance."

Her voice was swallowed by the cave around them, the fathomless billions of tons of sold stone, soil, and darkness. One might've thought that their voice would echo in a cave, but in one this small? It tended to have the opposite effect, muting everything like a sponge. The hushed silence of a crypt, complete with the stale, slightly damp air. "I have no clue how far down it goes. Maybe forever!" The blonde laughed. "That's what we're here to find out."

Speaking of. Klar put an air testing device on around her neck and shone her lantern about. There were two clear paths - one wet, a groove carved by the water spilling down from the little depression they were in. The other dry, relatively level with the bowl. A tall, narrow passageway they'd have to really squeeze into. Klar considered both.

"The water flows down. But if we're looking for a place to camp, let's check out the dry spots first?" She suggested cheerfully. Klar turned sideways and began slipping between the walls of the cave, a maneuver that forced her to contort herself a little awkwardly to get through. Not for the first or last time, she was annoyed with her build and envious of Xuko's. "I think there's an opening arounds five meters back!" She called out, straining a little. "C'mon!"

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

"You will have to teach me how to make one of those rope harnesses" Xuko said, almost grateful for the distraction that thought provided. Envisioning Klar teaching him different knots back in the temple meant a future in which he wasn't trapped down here, far from the surface. Unfortunately, Klar's next words did little to quell the steadily-growing panic he felt growing in his chest.

Xuko looked with trepidation as Klar chose the smaller of the two tunnels to explore first. The Zabrak could not think of a survival-based lie that might counteract the Codri-Ji's logic regarding camping spaces, and by the time he thought to voice his desire to camp up on the surface she had already made good headway into the narrow tunnel. The very narrow tunnel. "Are you sure..." Xuko felt even smaller as his voice was seemingly swallowed up by the massive, uncompromising wall of stone; the rest of his sentence dying in his throat as he realized that he risked losing sight of the Codru-Ji... and the thought of being down here alone finally galvanized him into action.

Xuko's hands shook as he began stepping slowly down the tunnel, several meters behind Klar. He was pretty sure that his heartbeat- wild and cacophonous in his own ears- was loud enough to be felt through the stone further down the tunnel. His breathing came faster, too, as he reached the spot where Klar had needed to twist and felt the stone pressing in on him from either side.

"Does it get wider..." he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut and inching himself forwards, then repeated himself loud enough for Klar to hear.

"Does it get wider?!"

Klar

 

[Klar]

Xuko was struggling, but Klar had no idea. The tightness of the crevasse was just on the border of being manageable, and at this point she was too far into the sun cost fallacy to abandon advancing without some sort of obstacle. So long as all she had to do was keep twisting and turning and wiggling sideways into the stone, she could keep moving forward. At least, until she hit a spot that was just a bit too much of a pinch for her, so would probably absolutely be too tight for Xuko. Klar wiggled a bit more, tried to see deeper, then sighed and took a moment to catch her breath.

"Does it get wider?!"

Klar managed to turn her head around and peer backwards, a little alarmed by Xuko's tone. In all the stone and rock entombing them, it was easy to lose track of each other's voice - apparently - but it was the alarm in his voice that really caught her off guard. The Zabrak didn't show emotions very readily, she'd gathered, especially not the big intense ones. But now he sounded downright flustered, and appeared to be breathing heavily. Klar's brow knit with concern.

She offered what she hoped was a compassionate view as Xuko came more clearly into view, still sandwiched between stone walls. "I think it's too tight to go further. We'll have to turn back" Klar apologized, wedged snugly in the stone. She lifted her lantern slightly, using a free hand to try and keep the light out of Xuko's eyes. "Take a moment. You okay, Xuko?" The blonde asked gently.

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

The tunnel did not get wider up ahead. Xuko wanted to collapse to his knees and curl up in the fetal position, and pretty much the only thing that kept him from doing so was the fact that it was physically impossible to do anything other than scoot a couple inches in either direction in the tunnel. And by dumb luck, or perhaps because the universe had a cruel sense of humor, Klar's words that they'd have to go back came just as Xuko navigated a particularly narrow point of the tunnel. The ensuing "widening" was in reality only a couple of centimeters, but Xuko had just gotten his hopes up; now, he was faced with retracing his steps though a passageway so narrow he couldn't even turn his head to see where he was going.

What he could see was Klar, now. That meant that he wasn't alone in this hell. Xuko marveled at the Codru-Ji's calm, even though she was more tightly stuck than he was. The Zabrak considered deflecting or ignoring Klar's question, but ultimately decided on honesty. "I am not doing well" he admitted, his breathing still irregular. "The walls are closing in on me and it is difficult to breathe and I am very afraid of dying down here and being squished to death and I think I just heard a voice that was not yours and I do not want to go back through the small space I just squeezed through and how are you so calm I do not want to die down here...". It was, quite possibly, the longest uninterrupted stream of dialogue he'd ever spoken, but it poured out of him like a waterfall.

Was he crying? He wasn't crying. It was perspiration.

Klar

 

[Klar]

Oh wow okay. Klar locked in on Xuko intently, blocking out the pressure on her ribs or the way a rock was jutting into her back, or the fact that she couldn't really move much at all. "Okay, Xuko? Xuko, I need you to listen to me." Klar spoke as gently and calmly as she could, wiggling a couple of steps closer. Close enough to reach out with one of her lower arms and gently grab his arm. "It's alright. We're okay. The rocks won't move. Focus on breathing." She coaxed softly, trying to talk him down the same way she might talk down one of the kids having an episode. The stakes were somewhat higher here, panic could mean getting stuck or twisting the wrong way and breaking something, and that'd just make things worse. If Xuko had an episode and got himself trapped, they'd probably both die. If he panicked and tried to carve some space with his lightsaber, he'd likely bring more rocks down on them.

Now HER heart was racing.

"Look at me, Xuko." Klar requested quietly. "It's alright to be scared. Let it flow through you and out of you. Find your peace." She instructed. "All you need to do is - slowly - start making your way backwards and focus on me. Focus on breathing. Focus on the Jedi code. Can you do that?" The blonde asked hopefully. "Just a couple meters backwards, and you're out. We can get to the surface in no time and we never have to come down here again. Okay? Calm breathing, small movements."

Klar gave his arm a small tug. "My eyes. Look at me. Let's go get some fresh air, okay?"