The Anger Of Angels

[Jamie Pyne]

"It's fine, really." Jamie realized she may have just taken a bit of her frustration with the situation out on Ceri when it wasn't due or appropriate.

"I'm sorry for being rude. I'd be happy to show you whatever I know if we don't die out here."

The blonde eyed the medallion with an uneasy expression. Whatever this thing was was both unnatural and frankly rather creepy. She'd never been exposed to alchemy in more than passing conversation. It wasn't something that was generally practiced back home, and Jamie had never personally seen anyone utilize, teach, or otherwise know much more about it than her, which was nothing.

"I see." She said finally, after the hesitation of putting it over her head passed. Hope this works. "How long is too long?"

The two made it to where the exit would have been, except now it was more like an open top speeder, the top of the hull having been completely torn off from this area, snow falling lightly inside. "Well, guess up is the way out?"

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

A smile followed her nod.

There was a moderate portion of her training with Rave that had included fencing- Sith swords, the usual lightsaber, things like that. But that was a long time ago and she hadn't had a lot of opportunities to freshen up her lessons again. So when, when, they survived this experience... training would be welcome.

"Unsure, depends on the person's physiology and natural inclination towards temperature and-" Ceri glanced at Pyne for a moment, while they were walking. "Well... just tell me if the tip of your nose starts itching furiously, OK?"

Why the tip of her nose? She hadn't figured that one out yet.

Cerita scratched her nose as they studied the hull ripped to shreds and revealed snow everywhere. As far as the eye could reach, which wasn't far, because they still had to climb out of the ship, but that was besides the point.

"Sadly I didn't bring my jetpack with me, so that's probably for the best."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

This was starting to sound like a rather big gamble, wearing these medallions. Jamie wasn't entirely certain if she wanted to dive any further into the ins and outs of these objects out of fear that she might uncover some other forgotten side-effect. Instead the blonde just gave a quick nod in acknowledgement before turning her gaze back to the situation at hand, escaping the ship and making their way to, well, anywhere but that ship, and hopefully before night fell.

"Well, I guess that means we're climbing out." As if that wasn't painfully obvious, she still said it nonetheless. "Want to help me stack some of this rubble up against the wall and we can just use it like a ladder to get out?"

There was certainly plenty of debris to use, that much was certain. It wouldn't likely be hard to construct something stable enough to get them the twelve or so feet to the opening in the hull.

"We can figure out where to go after."

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Ceri looked around to see what they could use for those purposes.

They were currently in what remained of the old cargo bay- clearly they couldn't use the doors anymore, with them being drowned under several feet of snow and the electronics being out. But the contents of the smallish cargo bay could provide them with a way out. They probably could have used one of the larger gashes in the hull on the way here, but they weren't sure where they would end up then.

This way they would be able to have some altitude, which would give them the opportunity to check out the surroundings.

"Yup, I don't think giving you a boost would cut it here." There were a few crates here and there, the table had been smashed to pieces, so that wouldn't work out, but there were more stuff laying around here. Some chunks of durasteel; ripped off the hull by all accounts and scattered around the bay.

Eventually a haphazard tower of sorts was constructed from the bits and pieces strewn together. It was decided that Ceri would make the climb first, because of her... unique psychology, if it suddenly crashed- there was a bigger chance that she'd survive the fall.

A pragmatic choice.

"Uhhh, you might wanna come up and see this." She shouted down while staring at it. It being what seemed to be a huge mountain of ice and snow, all around it just planes of snow as far as the eyes could reach. But there was some smoke coming from the top of the monstrous thing, almost... as if it was a caldera of sorts.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The blonde stood by and waited for Ceri to climb up and check out the scene. Though when beckoned, she scrambled to make her way up and join the other woman to see whatever it was she was being called for.

"Oh." She started to say, before the sudden and sharp wind blew past,instantly making her face contort and cringe.

"This is bad. We're in the middle of nowhere, and whatever...that" she said, pointing towards the top of the mountain peak hundreds of feet above them. "-is, is pretty damn far away."

They really had no options though. They could sit in the wreckage of the ship and hope that someone picked up the distress signal as they went down, potentially freeze or starve to death while waiting, or wander around on some remote ice planet for an unknown period of time, hoping to find both food and shelter, as well as some semblance of a town, or life, and find a way off world. Both were rather bleak outlooks, though the only one that had some measure of certainty was the billowing smoke high atop the mountain. The question was could they even make it that far?

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Yup." Ceri seemed less worried now, though. It was probably because her mind was centered around problem solving, around analyzing situations and figuring out the best way to get out of problematic situations. A moment ago they had no idea where they were.

They could have been anywhere- a deep crevice, in the middle of a plain of snow and ice... inside the volcano.

There had been a lot of scary possibilities, but this one? This one Cerita could handle.

"Alright, no point in stalling. Let's go."

With that said the girl started to climb over the edge and rolled into the snow. Part of her just wanted to lie down and get some rest, every single portion of her body still hurt, her mind was still woozy... if slightly better after the bacta patch. But there was no time to just relax- instead she crawled up to her knees again and helped Pyne to get out of there as well.

After pulling her over the edge they sat there for a moment. The medallions were keeping them warmish, but it wouldn't do to rely on them too much.

Time to move.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Alright." There wasn't much more to say. They would either sit out in the cold or walk through it blindly. Jamie was hoping for something a bit more reassuring when she gave a look around, but that amount of luck just wasn't in the cards today. "One sec." Her hands fell to her waist, adjusting the belt that Starlight was attached to, ensuring that it was tight and wouldn't go missing. Taking one of the shirt's she'd retrieved from the wreckage she carefully wrapped it around her head and face, covering as much as possible to help keep her vision clear.

"Okay. Let's go."

Standing up in the snow it rose to just about her calf, making moving quickly rather difficult. This is gonna be a long walk.

How long it would take to reach the base of the mountain was entirely unknown. The peak itself was massive, towering above all of the other frozen landscape before it. Luckily for them, the path at least to the mountain was pretty flat with only a few snow dunes in their way, likely the result of harsh winds over time.

After several minutes of trudging through the snow Jamie stopped, hearing an odd noise.

"Watch your step, I think we're walking on ice."

However thick or thin it was had yet to be seen, but Jamie wasn't entirely interested in making new discoveries.

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Don't worry." Ceri responded after a moment of listening. "The sound of cracking isn't dangerous in itself- it could mean the ice is simply changing shape."

Or it meant that the crash of the ship had send thick cracks through the foundation of the ice, and every single step they were taking was only additional weight bearing down on the mass.

But mentioning that wouldn't do much good for either of them. Snow was literally everywhere, so they wouldn't know where there was ice and where there was ground. So they couldn't very well find some safety... they just had to hope and press on, lagging back and moving slowly could mean their death.

Better to keep moving and traverse it as far as posi-

"Feth, are you seeing what I am seeing?" A bit farther in the distance, the form was obscured by the winds and snow flailing around, but it was getting closer and it was fast. "I think... that isn't good news."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Changing shape into a big crater that we'll fall to our deaths you mean. She kept that thought to herself, though, and continued walking, if not a tad bit faster.

The wind began to pick up a bit as the two wandered further from the crash site, perhaps the pretense of a rather large storm coming. That would surely make things more difficult than they already were.

Jamie covered a portion of her face from the wind to try and understand whatever it was that Ceri was talking about. "What?" Her voice was ultimately drowned out by the gale force winds that carried her words off into the distance.

Instead she shouted, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Turning her head back forward she caught a glimpse of something approaching. What in the world is that? And what's it doing out here? Jamie didn't really think anything would be way out here. Much like a desert, though instead of sand it was snow, she figured this was nothing but a wasteland of snow, ice, hale, and storms. The girl squinted her eyes to try and focus on the figure moving faster than a human realistically could given the depth of the snow. "HELLO!?"

Maybe it doesn't speak Galactic Basic?

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Anyone else might have tried shouting harder, but Ceri recognized the futility in that now. The winds were simply too hard to break through them with just her natural voice, so instead she just kept on walking - hoping there would be a lull in the storm at some point, so they could exchange some words - at least that was the original plan.

That changed the moment Cerita recognized the shape of the thing running at them at lightning speed.

It was a big problem.

Her hand clasped on Pyne's shoulder, tightening around it so she would stop.

"RUN." Preferably the other direction, but the sudden panic rising at the back of her throat didn't leave much in the way of explanation.

Run where though? Back to the ship, no that wasn't an opt-

That's it. Lure it towards that earlier patch of ice and then break it underneath it, so it would be stuck there instead of eating their limbs one piece at a time. She still couldn't focus her mind enough to talk into Pyne's head, but there was just enough determination left that she could share a general picture of her idea.

The Sithspawn was getting closer, they started moving.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

IT DEFINITELY DOESN'T SPEAK BASIC. HOLY FETH THAT THING IS HUGE!

Jamie entered full on panic mode seeing the features of this behemoth charging towards them with little on its' mind other than crushing them, tearing them apart, and eating them. Probably not even in that order. Ceri didn't have to tell Jamie twice, she knew when it was time to flee. Now was the time. A wild shriek burst from deep within her lungs as she began to run as quickly as her legs would take her in the deep snow. That was a problem. This monster was enormous, able to move and navigate far easier than she given the circumstances. Still she had little alternative.

"WHAT IS THAT THING!?" She shouted to Cerita as the two ran full throttle away from the creature. She wanted to turn back, to see how close it was, how much faster than them it was, but fear was in control at this point and refused to allow her the ability to turn her head back as her focus was necessary to not trip and fall right then.

"IT'S GOING TO KILL US! WHAT DO WE DO!?"

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Kark.

She wasn't able to get through to her - maybe it was Pyne's fear of the moment, still her own brain frakking with her or something entirely else, but the conclusion was the same: she didn't know the plan.

That was bad.

Ceri just shook her head and they kept running at the direction. The direction, where that heavy cracking had sounded just a few minutes ago. Behind them the beast was gaining speed and distance on them, she could hear the cracking of ice and the howl of the Sithspawn as it approached.

Ten seconds- if she counted it right.

Six.

She cursed behind her teeth, sending off a prayer to any gods willing to listen. Didn't matter she didn't give a flying frack about them, in this defining moment? She'd take all the luck she could get.

NOW. With a push that defied the strength most people assumed was within that thin body, Cerita pushed Pyne to the left while throwing herself to the right- just in time. The beast glanced right past Cerita, she could see the red in its eyes, the saliva at the teeth. But its momentum meant that he couldn't suddenly turn on her.

A sickening crack sounded next as the beast landed heavily on the already fragile ice. Her presence in the Force shrunk to a pinpoint, its focus completely at the molecular structure of the ice -- a piercing headache threatened her focus, a bit of blood seeping from her nostril -- and then a BOOM.

As the beast sunk into the ice.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Much like the beast charging like a freight train behind them, Jamie hadn't expected Cerita to do quite that. Clumsy enough on her own, with the assistance the girl tripped over herself as she was violently shoved to the side. Out of harms way? Sure, out of her own way? Definitely not!

One .... two... three.

On the third step she lost her balance, falling quickly forward, hands out and waiving like she were falling out of a tall building in a vain attempt to somehow brace herself. And down she went. "Wo-ooah!"

Thud. Face first into the snow, her body sinking in like the most comfortable of beds, enveloping her in a sheet of white beneath the surface. Though to her surprise immediately following her own demise into the soft, thick snow, a massive, almost thunder striking sound echoed all around her, as if an earthquake had just occurred. It shook the ground beneath her, even managing to shake her own body as the tremors surged past before fading into nothingness.

The only thing she heard now was the howl of the wind. The beast? Where had it gone?

Resembling something akin to a winter fox, or a snow bunny, the blonde pulled her head above the snow pile and looked around for both the beast and Ceri. The other girl was difficult to see, given the still heavy snowfall, but the beast? It was gone.

But where did it manage to g- "Oh!" She practically shouted. "It fell through the ice!?"

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

A slightly green, but more snowy white arm waved through the air.

"Ye...yeah... yup, uhu." Exhaustion was palpable in her voice, she felt like complete and utter shet right now. And they weren't even climbing the mountain yet, just... running away from Sithspawn that weren't supposed to be here in the first place.

Why was there a Sithspawn here?

A terentatek even.

Sithspawn in Alliance space wasn't an oddity, in itself. Elrood was still suffering under it - even with her corporation trying to isolate and contain the threats as much as possible, but Belsavis? It was one of the more protected worlds under the Alliance fold, especially because of the many secrets deep under the ice.

A terentatek?

Ceri finally climbed back to her feet and tried to dust off some of the snow and ice that was creeping up.

"That... was... something." She managed to say, when they regrouped. Behind them the Sithspawn was still raging, deep, deep in the pit of ice.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie trudged her way through the snow back over to Ceri. She was noticeably exhausted, though far more than Jamie. Why though? The girl looked about as fit as Jamie, perhaps even more so. The blonde was a bit winded, sure, but not to the point of near collapsing. Had she done something to cause the creature to fall through the ice that Jamie missed after being shoved out of the way?

"Are you okay?" She inquired, offering a hand for the other girl to brace with.

"What exactly happened? Or maybe more importantly, what did you do?"

Looking over to the rather large hole in the ice, there was muffled roars, screeches, and frantic clawing from beneath the surface.

"That? Did you do that?"

But how? There was no time! By now one would think Jamie would understand a bit more of the workings of the Force, but every time she thought she knew something she was again re-learning what she thought she knew. It was a never ending cycle.

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She accepted the help, leaning a tad on Pyne while they walked away from the hole and the beast inside.

Some might have found it offensive or a bruise towards their ego, but that made little sense to Cerita. Her body clearly needed a moment to recuperate from the exertion displayed just a few moments ago. So she could either be an idiot about it and try to ignore it, maybe putting too much stress on her body... or she could accept the help.

"Yeah." The response came in between ragged takes of breath, but she soon realized that that wasn't much of an answer. Seemed Pyne had little in the way of real experience in the Force.

"Force technique," Art of the Small. She had learned that ages ago. "Allows one to alter molecular structures on the fly if you focus deeply enough... isn't meant to be done in such rapid succession or all of a sudden without preparation."

She rubbed at her nose, blood coming away and clinging to her hand.

"Consequences apply, sadly. How you holding up? Sorry I had to shove ya, wasn't much time to explain."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

There was a small smile, a slow shake of the head, then a pause and a nod of appreciation.

"You saved us." As if that wasn't obvious.

Still, the deed deserved recognition. If it weren't for Ceri, she'd be food for whatever that thing was. "Do you know what that thing was? I've never seen anything like it before. Certainly not on Naboo, though we have our own demons that lurk beneath the water. But I've never seen anything that looked like that in any book I've read. That thing is the stuff of nightmares."

Jamie paused, rather than trekking forward, to give Cerita time to catch her breath, wipe away the blood from the strain of whatever Force power that was. She was bewildered by how folks learned things like that. Was it years of practice? Was it knowledge passed down from some kind of ancient practice? Where did anyone learn these outlandish powers? Floating things in the air was still a bit of a strain for Jamie, while people like Ceri were manipulating atoms with their mind. Crazy!

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'm not being chewed on right now, that's good enough in my book."

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Had she voiced her questions out loud Ceri would probably have answered a fair few of them. The art of alchemy and science in general were quite... rare these days -- few people bothered with them, preferring the ability to move shet around with their mind, or even use their own mind to control other minds, shoot lightning from their finger tips... things like that.

Alchemy wasn't all that appreciated, sadly.

"Yeah." she responded after a moment of pause. "Terentatek -- usually found around Korriban, Dromund Kaas, worlds that are strong in the Darkside."

"It isn't supposed to be here." Ceri added after a moment of thought, brow furrowing in thought again.

Why was it here?

"Especially with the Alliance controlling this world... the possibilities arising, they are none to pleasant."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

It's not supposed to be here!? "So someone just...BROUGHT one of those...Those things here!?" Who in their right mind would do that? Nevermind that, who could get one of those things here!? It wasn't exactly friendly, nor was it slow, or feeble! It was huge and menacing! "You think that maybe it was cargo that somehow got left behind?" Boy did she hope that was the case, and that there wasn't more of these Teren....Tatek things, lurking about, hidden behind the wall of snow that they had continued wandering through.

Among the other possibilities that ran through her head were that someone had intentionally brought it here, like some kind of twisted guard dog. Or maybe they were being bred in some kind of top secret base here! Now she was getting carried away, her thoughts delving into HoloVids. Still, it could happen!

"We should get going. I'm feeling worse about this now than I was before."

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"I hope so, but I honestly doubt it." She shook her head. "Things like that aren't just transported around for no reason. Difficult to do too, they are almost impossible to restrain without actually, ya know, killing them."

Cerita said through experience.

If there was one thing she knew, it was Sithspawn and especially terentateks. AEI had a long history with them and other - even more - aggressive 'spawns.

"Yeah... yeah, let's go."

But at the back of her head she wondered if it was a good idea to move towards the caldera. Especially considering the beast had originated from that place in the first place.

"Be careful though, if there's more where that came from... we might be in some big steaming shet."