Treasure Hunting

[Qyren Leret]

The training saber's bright light burned Qyren's eyes as her gaze followed its slow path through the air. The Twi'lek padawan had only been working with the weapon for a week, beginning to learn the basics of the Soresu style that her Master employed. A defensive style, he had called it; Qyren thought that would suit her. As a devoted student, Qyren split her free time equally between practicing Soresu and the other training exercises Raloph and Nantaris instructed her in; thankfully, the meditation that was the core of Jedi training had come easily to her. Once she had gotten the hang of slowing her thoughts and centering herself, she simply began incorporating meditation into her daily routine. Meditating first thing in the morning and right before she slept at night seemed to ground her when her head might otherwise have spun with everything going on.

In a few short weeks, she had left the only home she had ever known, had almost been stranded on a space station, had met a Jedi Master happy to train her, had joined his anti-slavery group and had been introduced to a variety of personalities and warriors she had never had the pleasure to experience before-- not to mention that she had begun her new studies as a padawan. Qyren, usually steady, had felt her world was tilted when she was trying to be what she needed to be, trying to find her place among the Rangers as a non-combatant (for now) and a complete stranger. It had been... uncomfortable. The first day she would have likely spent entirely in her new quarters aboard the ship, wondering if the place she was offered here was genuine, had Raloph not come to her straight off and walked her down to breakfast in preparation for her first day of padawan training with Nantaris.

Although it had taken time for her to begin speaking more than a few words when prompted-- and although she still had trouble with many of the people aboard the ship-- she at least felt comfortable enough now with Nantaris and Raloph to speak when spoken to. Myr she felt comfortable with as well, as a matter of course, but she hadn't had much cause to spend time with her and therefore the amount of time they spent speaking was minimal. No matter who she was with, though, she had yet to return to the unusual gush of unprompted speaking she had exhibited when she had first met Nantaris.

She finished the last parry, paying careful attention to the twist of her wrist that always got in the way of its effectiveness, and lowered her lightsaber.


[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Qyren Leret"]
“Nicely done!” a voice said from behind her. Valiens Nantaris had materialised in the doorway, watching her. He certainly didn’t have the manner or aura of a traditional Jedi Master about him, but something much more casual. He would give her a guide to what he hoped for her to learn, and would help where she asked for it, but did not stand over her to make sure she did it.

He gestured, and the training bot she’d been duelling withdrew. “I’ve not been there long, just enough to check on how you were doing. So…how are you feeling? Anything you need help with or want to ask about?”

 

[Qyren Leret]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

Qyren smiled at her teacher and deactivated the training saber, the surprise of a moment before gone. "Thank you. I don't mind you watching, Master. I believe this piece will be mostly about practice; when we move into the more complicated aspects, though, I would appreciate the opportunity to train more with an experienced partner." I feel like I never see you. That was understandable, given how much Nantaris had to do as the captain of his crew, but, were it not for the periodic meals and lessons with him and Raloph, Qyren might have thought she was an after-thought for them, rather than a new student and member of their crew. The thought still plagued her, at times.

She mentally shook herself free of the thought and went to return her weapon to the rack. Genuinely, she was grateful for the opportunity to learn, and the Jedi she was learning from certainly had the experience to back their training styles. There was plenty for her to complete on her own, and she was well on her way to doing just that. "I'm feeling well, as I hope you are. Can I help you with something?"

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Qyren Leret"]
“Top of the world, Qyren,” Nantaris said expansively, coming fully in. “So, I know I’ve been a little busy lately, and I’ve been neglecting your training, what with things going on. Had a minor volcanic eruption on Arkas!” he said.

“However, I wanted to take a more personal hand in things with a little bit of a tutorial.” Amazingly this was not a prelude to asking for a lekku massage!

“There’s a site on Arkas I’ve been wanting to investigate for some time. I was going to send a team, but we could go check it out together. The best way to learn is by doing. I’ve never been one to enjoy sitting in classrooms or practicing the same thing for hours at a time. What do you say?”

 

[Qyren Leret]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

Qyren blinked at the unexpected declaration of a volcanic eruption on an unknown world. However, she didn't inquire further at the moment as Nantaris seemed intent on writing it off as "minor", perhaps given that his next offer was to go to said-world for a visit.

In spite of the clear threat of environmental danger, she hadn't had the opportunity to leave the ship at all since her arrival, and the thought of getting some fresh air was a welcome one given that she had grown up on a planet and had never before had to endure the endless darkness of space and the endless confinement of a ship. Although she had some personal doubts about her own abilities, she didn't think he would ask if he weren't confident she was ready, and the desire to see a sky and breath real air again was an enticing one.

"I would like that," she said with a smile. "Is this a scenario where we're likely to end up needing weapons?"

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Qyren Leret"]
“Aye. You will learn very swiftly that it’s always prudent to have your weapon with you. That doesn’t mean you should use it as a first or even second resort, but you must always be ready.”

He led the Twi’lek through the halls of the ship until he came at last to the hanger. A small shuttle had been prepared.

“Have you ever learned how to pilot? Would you like to? Arkas is pretty remote, so we can do a bit of a practice before heading down. If you like it you can try out the simulators on board the ship.”

 

[Qyren Leret]

Qyren retrieved her training saber and a blaster from the racks of weapons before following him, locking her weapons into place as they went.

"I've never piloted before, no, but I'd like to learn." Learning new skills could never be a bad thing. Now that she was out in the universe, actually, every new skill was another assurance that she could make it without being a burden or finding herself stranded. She'd never have the money for her own ship, but it was a good idea to be prepared to pilot the ships of others in the event they were injured.

Qyren scanned the shuttle as Nantaris led them toward it and followed him on board. "Just the two of us, Master?"

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Qyren Leret"]
“I think the two of us will be more than sufficient!” Nantaris declared airily. “Come along, dear.”

On board the shuttle Nantaris took the pilot’s chair, but left the co-pilot seat for Qyren.
“Right, I’ll take us out into open space. The key thing to remember is that most of the time piloting is really boring and 95% of the time you’re flying on autopilot or in hyperspace. It’s that 5% where you need to pilot which is the key.”

He enabled her side of the control panel. “First thing is, get a feel for the yoke of the ship…gently now. In time it will become as natural as walking, but first up it can feel weird.”

 

[Qyren Leret]

Her master did not always instill confidence in her.

The look she directed his way was equal parts hesitation and wariness, but Nantaris was moving on as if his response was perfectly reasonable. She settled into the copilot's seat and watched the panel before her light up. Some things were obvious, but there were plenty of unknown buttons, knobs and switches before her too. At least she knew what the steering wheel was; that was apparently what he wanted her to take hold of.

Wait. Didn't he just say he was taking us into open space? Qyren took a moment to eye the steering wheel distrustfully before she reached out. The first swell of thrusters as she moved it sent a jolt of fear through her, and the ship wobbled slightly as her hands twitched. She immediately corrected her mistake, steadying her hands before daring to move them again.

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Qyren Leret"]
Nantaris seemed not to notice her unease. He tended to show complete confidence no matter what, so it was uncertain if it was an act or a show.
As she made her first uncertain movements Nantaris chuckled.
“Caution is good, my dear, but you will never truly learn if you do not try. Relax, don’t be afraid.”
Closing his eyes, he reached out with the Force. Qyren would find her hands gently taken by an invisible presence and guided through the basic steering and controls of the ship. The grip was never tight or sudden, but was gentle and precise.

“Now…with what I have shown you…take us forward and then a gentle 180 degree turn.”

 

[Qyren Leret]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

Being touched by ghostly Force hands was a strange feeling. Qyren's skin crawled briefly, but she let them guide her and focused instead on memorizing what she was being shown. She nodded at her Master's request and, with a bit more gumption than she had shown a moment previously, pushed forward on the controls. When no disaster was forthcoming from the forward motion, she urged the ship into the required turn, glancing between the stars before them and the controls she was guiding.

That was easy enough.

She turned the ship back around, watching the stars swing about, and tried a few more practice accelerations and turns to take possession of her confidence. Ultimately, the ship wound up back in the same position it would have been in after the initial 180 degree turn, and Qyren looked to Nantaris expectantly.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Qyren Leret"]
“Nice work, lass! I’ll give you some more practice on the way back, but for now, we’d best get going.”

Taking control he took them down into Arkas’ atmosphere. The planet was a warm tropical climate complete with jungles and islands.

“There is a settlement for freed slaves I helped establish on this planet. That’s it over on the right,” Nantaris said.
Far below was the settlement of Freetown, a haven for emancipated people the Coalition had freed.

The ship flew on though, heading for some jungle islands a few dozen miles away.

 

[Qyren Leret]

"Master, what is it that we're looking for exactly?" Qyren asked. She stared out the window, enjoying the passing scenery and trying to take in everything they were going by. This was her first trip to Arkas, though the Rangers had mentioned Freetown before and had given Qyren a basic awareness of its existence. Once the settlement had passed by, she turned her attention to the islands they were heading toward. "If you've been here for so long, haven't you explored at least this close to the settlement? What's out there?"

Obviously, they wouldn't have searched the entire planet, but, for a few dozen miles, Qyren had assumed they would have learned everything there was to know. It may have depended on the population of the town and Nantaris's own availability, but surely someone had been exploring already, enough to find any treasures worth finding. Qyren, though she had thought often of the galaxy with some longing, had never actually been an explorer; it was the interest in doing and learning something new, and in seeing a real world for the first time after weeks on a spaceship, that was drawing her attention now.

It could be information they unearthed while exploring, too, she pointed out to herself, leaning forward to get a better glimpse at the glittering water far below them.

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Qyren Leret"]
Nantaris gave her a sidelong look. “In case you’d not noticed, I’ve been rather busy. Rescuing purple Twi’leks for instance,” he said with a raised eyebrow.

“But what we’re looking for is what we always look for on planets like this…treasure! This planet was famous, or infamous, for its pirates and slavers. Like said stereotypes they tended to bury their loot which was not easily sellable. Except, rather than a hole in the beach and a shovel they tend to be much more elaborate hiding places. I have a bead on one of them. It should be perfectly safe.”

Tempting fate, thy name is Valiens Nantaris!

 

[Qyren Leret]

Qyren dropped her eyes, abashed. She hadn't meant to imply that he had fallen behind in his duties or come across as disrespectful. She swallowed her tongue while Nantaris delivered the rest of his explanation and then nodded to acknowledge her understanding. Qyren had never been on a treasure hunt before and didn't know what skills she would need to learn in order to hunt down this 'perfectly safe' buried treasure; she would have to follow Nantaris's instructions to the letter until she had her footing. Though the accumulation of wealth didn't draw her in, the edge of excitement in Nantaris's delivery did. She folded her hands anxiously over one another, waiting to see which island they would land on.

What about the volcanoes? she wondered, eyes tracing the outline of the nearest volcanic island.

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Qyren Leret"]
Nantaris brought the ship down to land on a tidal flat. The tide was out so they would be fine for a few hours anyway.
In the ship Nantaris helped Qyren out and gave her a backpack to carry, taking one himself.
“You never know when you might need some of this stuff,” he said, heaving up the rucksack.

On the beach he led her into the jungle, occasionally consulting a hand-held scanner.
“Hmm, there’s a strong metal signal coming from this way,” he said, pausing at a fork in an overgrown track. “But there’s a cave over the other way. Hmm, let’s check out the metal first.”

When they reached it they found the metal was a crashed spaceship. It had been brought down years before as it was overgrown and the burnt areas of ground were sprouting green shoots. There was a skeleton inside the ship.
Nantaris sighed and knelt beside the corpse. “Poor chap. Doesn’t look like a pirate. Shot down for getting too close I guess,” he said, looking up ay Qyren.

 

[Qyren Leret]

Qyren frowned sadly at the wreckage and its lost pilot. Who had he been? Someone in distress looking for a place to land? A passer-by who didn't know he was flying to his own doom? A slaver or someone else of ill-repute, who deserved his fate for the fates he had delivered to others?

She shook her head when Nantaris looked at her and moved closer in order to peer into the twisted wreckage; the unfortunate pilot was the only object she could make out from here. "Do we leave him as he is? How many years do you think he's been here?" The length of time the ship had sat here unnoticed was indication enough that the jungle wasn't often frequented. It seemed sad that anyone should die, unknown, on a planet. What if they had family and friends who simply never heard from them again? Qyren could easily have wound up in a similar circumstance; her parents' relief when she had contacted them from Nantaris's ship had been all too apparent. "Should we look for some kind of identification before we go?"

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Qyren Leret"]

Nantaris knelt down again and tried to extricate the body. However, the years had not been kind and a skeletal arm came off at his touch. Quickly Nantaris stuffed the arm back inside.
As she did a wallet came loose, and he scanned it over.
“Commercial pilot. Looks like he’s been here five, maybe six years? There’s not much I can do…I could probably use the ship’s fuel to make it a pyre.”
He was happy to let it go, but if his Padawan was worried by it he was happy to try and help her.

 

[Qyren Leret]

She blinked when the arm came off, and a smile flickered on her face at Nantaris's abrupt replacement of it. When Nantaris inquired about her preferences for how to handle the body, Qyren shook her head. A fire could impact the jungle negatively, and the corpse wouldn't know the difference. "No. He's rested here this long; I think we should take the identification, though. Someone might want to know what became of him."

Had the pilot intended to search for treasure here as well, or had he been shot down for other reasons? The questions were practically unanswerable.

"The cave?" she inquired, knowing it was time to move on if they expected to have ample time to hunt down the treasure.

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Qyren Leret"]
“Good idea,” Nantaris said, pocketing it. After taking some water he left the crashed ship and made the move back into the jungle.

It was oppressive under the canopy where no air movement helped alleviate the damp heat. However, that changed a little when they came to a cave dug into the mountain side. It had once been natural, but expanded by mechanical means.

He held up his hand as they neared it and knelt down. On the turf were the bones of many animals, the bones of which had experienced violence and fire. Looking back, he saw several trees behind them were marked.
“Trap,” he whispered. “Concealed turrets or something. Anything gets close and…zap.”

“Be ready. I’ll spring the trap. When that happens, you move in and disable whatever it is whilst I hold its attention.”
He offered her a blaster pistol to go with her training sabre.