A journey to an ice-covered hell. [Silver Jedi Order - Rangers]

[Valkren Calderon]

(Please PM and ask for permission to join.)​

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"The beasts were nothing but darkness, theres no better way to describe them..Just darkness."​

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- Sergeant Reese Smoak, Third Antarian Ranger security specialists.​

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Location: Kashyyyk, Ranger facility.​

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Colonel Valkren Calderon inhaled another drag of his cigarette, the ember that followed flicked lights at the features of the young officer's face. Valk tipped back the patrol hat onto the back of his head, reaching down and pulling the cigarette from his lips to discard the spent ash. Assuring that he had ashed in the trey next to the documents before him, he'd return his focus on the paperwork.

The report he was sifting through had just come in, a distress call from the ice-planet of Niflheim. Niflheim was not a common occurrence when reports came in across his desk, due to the Silver-Jedi assets on the ice planet only consisting of a research group and civilian contracted miners. However, the report that came to his desk from an urgent intel analyst, happened to be a distress call.

An unusual case, to say the least. Considering most research groups coming from Silver Jedi bases carried security attachments with them. So whatever the issue was, it was something that their security detail couldn't handle.

From the looks of the report, it seemed like one of the mining parties that left the camp struck into something that was causing problems, enough problems that called for an immediate search and rescue team.

So, the colonel put in the call for his operators. With the Radama Raiders and other ranger operatives requested for, Valkren collected his papers and data pads, moving to leave his make-shift office and head towards the briefing room.

With instructions from the brass, it seemed as if they wanted a Jedi attachment to the ranger strike team, which put Valk' in a strange position. He had fought along plenty of Jedi, both in the Republic and in the Silver Jedi, so it was nothing new. Yet, when having a Jedi commander along with your rangers, it's tough to follow along some orders that might be conflicting with the thoughts of Valk's. He had just hoped that the brass was picking a Jedi that would match up well with the tactics and ideas of the colonel.

But, Calderon had always trusted the chain-of-command that was the Antarian Rangers and their Jedi counterparts. They had gotten himself and his men out alive of every operation so far, and they didn't show any signs of letting him down now. Valkren soon reached the briefing room, where several rangers sporting their grey and blue BDU's were already present, some smoking cigarettes as they glanced through the briefing data pads that were under each of the few seats in the small room. Others chatted amongst each other, before all snapping to attention once they realized Valk' had entered the room. He raised a hand in a quick salute, bringing it back down to put his men at ease.

"At ease, ladies." Valkren said this, placing his paperwork and data pads down at the front of the room, reaching up to tighten his patrol cap around his head before searching his pockets for his cigarettes once more.

[member="Jyoti Nooran"] | [member="Roona Osmari"] | [member="Darren Torran"] | [member="Marl"] | [member="Kat Decoria"]

 

[Roona Osmari]

Walking the ranger base, Roona stuck a cigarette between her lips. Dressed simply in blue BDU’s, with the sleeves of her jacket rolled up, she looked the part of an on-duty member of the Rangers. It was nice to be back, she had to say. After suffering a shoulder injury on Trandosha, the sharpshooter had been placed on medical leave to recover. And during that time, she’d missed out on some deployments. The Ysannan had watched with envy as her fellow raiders went out time after time, while she had to sit back at the base.

As she blew some smoke out into the Kashyyyk afternoon air, she watched as several Rangers made their way inside in a hurry. Her green eyes followed after their figures for a moment, wondering curiously what the commotion was about. Catching a member of the Raiders by the sleeve, she inquired as to the occasion.

“Mission briefing, Echo.” Her comrade answered and then continued on his way.

Blinking, she dropped her cigarette to the ground and stomped it out with the heel of her boot. Lifting the communicator from her belt, she inspected the device – it was turned on, and it was not malfunctioning. Why hadn’t she received the call? Her commanding officers did know that her medical leave had concluded days ago, right? There was a moment’s hesitation as she narrowed her eyes in thought, but she decided that she was not going to be left behind.

Not this time.

Following the others, she made her way after them like she belonged. And as she entered the room, she spotted Colonel Calderon at the front. Roona straightened up and merely lifted an eyebrow to greet him before turning to sit with the other Radama Raiders. No matter her personal feelings, she was a soldier today and that meant her tough front would be up in full display. There would be no smiles or hints of affection. And there was also the fact that she still needed to decide whether or not she should be upset about being left out.

[member="Valkren Calderon"], [member="Jyoti Nooran"], [member="Darren Torran"], [member="Marl"], [member="Kat Decoria"]

 

[Beltran Rarr]

Location: Ranger Base, Kashyyyk
Allies: Antarian Rangers, Silver Jedi
Enemies: None currently
Engaging: Nobody

“Specialist Rarr!” A shrill voice sounded, cutting through the din of the common area where Beltran sat, looking out the window.

What did you do now? The Shadowy figure known as The Jester spoke inside his mind. It was rare that Beltran let his concentration lapse badly enough for the manifestations of his psyche to take visual form.

It just went to show him how badly all the downtime he’d endured since arriving on Kashyyyk, following his mission with Colonel Calderon on Alaris Prime.

“Nothing.” Beltran muttered, failing to look up at the increasingly agitated NCO who continued to call his named as she searched through the Ranger dorms. The Lorrdian briefly thought back to the conversation months before, where he’d agreed to join the Antarian Rangers.

At times, as he’d progressed through the basic training, he’d wondered whether he’d made a mistake. It wasn’t that he regretted learning all that this instructors had to teach him. In fact, he’d found the regimen just as challenging as Colonel Calderon had told him it was and that had suited him fine. It was the fact that even after graduating with excellent marks in numerous courses, and a few questionable marks on others, Beltran still felt very much like an outsider.

Certainly, the former mercenary turned soldier had distinguished himself, carving out a reputation for accomplishing his objectives in brutal, and often unorthodox ways. Still, he preferred to remain apart from the other recruits, and since graduation that divide had only served to widen as he’d waited for his orders.

“Specialist Rarr, I swear if I have to call your name one more time….!”

“Here!” The Lorrdian called out, raising his hand and forcing the shadowy hallucination of The Jester away to the back of his mind simultaneously.

”Kriff me!” The exasperated Sergeant breathed as she approached where Beltran sat. “Spend too much time on the demolitions range have we? Gone a little bit deaf, Specialist?”

Beltran stood as the Sergeant berated him, affecting the calm aura of indifference that had made him the bane of many a drill instructor in his time on Kashyyyk.

“Perhaps, Sergeant.” Beltran replied, his accented basic even a little more clipped than usual. “What can I do for you?”

“You got orders this morning,” She replied, handing him a datapad. “You’re to report to briefing in twenty minutes.”

Beltran glanced at the datapad, noting where he needed to be and when. There was precious little in the way of information concerning what he was to be briefed on, but the Lorrdian assumed that was why he was to be briefed. One thing he did note was that the briefing officer was none other than Colonel Calderon, the man who had made himself quite the nuisance on Alaris Beltran recalled, and subsequently recruited him into the Antarian Rangers.

A sense of curiosity began to outweigh the subtle melancholy that had defined Beltran’s mood for the last several days.

After only a moment of looking at the datapad, he handed it back to the Sergeant before responding. “Got it.”

Then without another word, the Lorrdian turned and headed out of the dorms. He wore the same blue BDU’s that most of the other Rangers seemed to. It wasn’t such a far cry from the black fatigues he’d worn on missions previous, so it didn’t bother him much to be out of his trademark business suit.

Upon arriving at the briefing room, he noticed that [member="Valkren Calderon"] was already there, seemingly ready to begin. Stepping inside, Beltran fixed the Colonel with a steady gaze and offered the man a single, curt nod before taking up a position with the others assembled.

Some he thought he recognized from the mission on Alaris, but mostly the room was filled with unfamiliars. That suited Beltran just fine. After all, he was here to do a job. Not make friends.

 

[Eugen Aker]

An unusual field report from a Ranger operative had attracted the attention of Jyoti, which reported a disturbance she interpreted as being paranormal in nature. She opted to follow the Rangers assigned to investigating the matter, fulfilling her duties as a Silver Shadow, hunting down the Darkness in all its manifestations.

Today it was the Radama Raiders on tap, led by Valkren. She assembled with his teams in the briefing room, taking her place in the front row. In her usual attire of snow-white robes, the Jedi stood out among her Ranger counterparts in their dark fatigues.

She didn't stand or salute as Valkren entered the room, but she did give him a respectful nod of acknowledgment. A sign she was looking to stay in the background and let him lead the show while she acted to support.

To her right was Charlie, her newest apprentice. As with the others, she got Charlie started on the ground running, believing there were a little better means of training than OJT. There was a real risk of danger, but if the Rangers could tackle or without any special powers, then certainly a Padawan could.

Now came the first challenge for the pair, getting through her first mission briefing, dry affairs that even left a steely Jyoti's mind wandering.

She prayed Valkren would go light on the Holopoint.

[member="Beltran Rarr"] [member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Charlie Nooran]

Jyoti had to picked her to come along on the mission. Out of all of the Jedi's padawans she was the newest of the bunch. An excitement washed over the young girl as she made sure to quickly pack everything that she was going to need along with a standard undergarment jumpsuit to regulate tempurature. She wasn't that great at tapas, but hopefully under Master Nooran's tutoring she could become better. Either way, she wasn't that aware of what was to happen with the mission and at this moment she truly didn't care. Charlie was going on her first real mission as a Jedi Padawan. Beyond her excitement at being at her Master's side, there were other things that came along with her joining the mission.

She was able to get into the field along with get paid – which meant she would be celebrating the victory with pies and fish tacos. Maybe if Jyoti was nice to her, she’d offer to share the spoils of victory. Yawning, Charlie glanced around at the others, the Rangers were interesting. Military through and through and here she was wearing a tan Padawan’s tunic and her Master being the brilliant and bright figure she was – wore white. Lips pressed together as she wondered if Jyoti had a collection of robes for very situation. The stare was cut short as she looked around and felt the thick air of silence, her stomach was on the verge of growling so to curb that she needed to eat. Patting herself down she wanted to make sure there was no hidden treat that she had tucked away for safe keeping. Nothing showed up, so instead she leaned forward into her pack and grabbed a packaged pastry.

Biting her lower lip, she stared at the pastry and pondered how to open it with the most delicate care. The last thing she needed was to cause a scene with her pastry bag crinkling. Looking at her Master and then back to the others, she decided to just get into it. The bag moved quietly in her fingers but didn’t open. Frowning, she tried to pull from the other end, but once again she was met with less than satisfactory results. As she continued to try and try other strategies, she became frustrated and grunted under her breath. Suddenly, the bag crinkled loudly as she ripped open the top with her teeth. Finally finding her way into the bag, Charlie stopped caring about being quiet and the bag and the pastry made as much noise as possible.

[member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Beltran Rarr"] [member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

Shortly after being brought to order, the silence of the room was broken by the sound of crinkling. Already cringing, Jyoti turned to the source of the sound on her right.

There she was, her Padawan tearing into a package of Twinkies like she was just relaxing at home. Honestly, she wasn't all that bothered by Charlie eating - there were people around them with coffee and other beverages - but by the fact she had to make the loudest disturbance possible while doing so.

Jyoti frowned in response, slightly embarrassed. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a few of Valkren's men giving Charlie some funny looks.

Still frowning, she focused in on Charlie for a private message through telepathy.

Please...contain yourself and mind your surroundings. This is a serious matter. Don't touch that pastry or your bag again until the briefing is concluded.

[member="Charlie"] [member="Beltran Rarr"] [member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Charlie Nooran]

Before Charlie was able to shove the Twinkie in her mouth, Jyoti invaded her mind and spoke as clear as day. She paused and then snapped her attention towards the Jedi Master and blinked. A shy smile spread across her face as the sound of an empty stomach gurgled in the room. A hand covered her stomach as the smile remained spread across her face and she looked back down at the twinkie. Quietly under her breath she spoke to Jyoti, “I’m sorry Master.”

Her stomach gurgled, and she leaned forward to shove the twinkie into her mouth and swallowed it whole. There was no going bac once the treat was opened it was just there taunting her. She disobeyed the first order from her Master, but the second one would be listened to. Her eyes fell on the bag’s open top that had her treats all on display. The entire bag filled to the top taunted her and she looked up towards Jyoti.

The look had so much sadness and pain that she had hoped that somewhere in Jyoti’s heart the woman felt bad and was going to give her a chance at eating the snacks again. The meeting was going to be boring and uneventful and if she could fall asleep on a whim she would.


[member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Beltran Rarr"] [member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Marl]

Marl had been sitting in the back quietly writing and reviewing notes of and for the meeting on his datapad. The reports were troubling to say the least. These mining companies usually had quite the security detail on them. What was it that they couldn’t handle? His train of thought was quickly destroyed by the girl next to him noisily ripped open a pastry bag. What kind of lessons have the Jedi been teaching their padawans? What happened to discipline? Marl tolled his eyes as he continued writing.

‘Back in my day, if a padawan did that during a briefing...’ He thought to himself.

Unfortunately for Marl, most of the SJO was non-military, including the Jedi to an extent. Though trained in the ways of the force and lightsaber combat, they weren’t the wise military generals he was used to back in the days of the Grand Republic. That’s why there’s men like Calderon in charge. Someone who understands strategy. Marl held Valkren in high regards, always had since he first shook his hand. Valkren was a very honorable man, someone he could truly say it was a pleasure to fight with. Marl continued reading the report. He reread it but there was no clear target. He awaited for Valkren to run the meeting before asking any questions.

[member="Charlie"]
[member="Jyoti Nooran"]
[member="Beltran Rarr"]
[member="Roona Osmari"]
[member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

A normally composed Jyoti now had her face twisted in disgust at Charlie.

She had dealt with unruly individuals as Padawan before, but Charlie took the cake (often quite literally). Wild, selfish, and immature. Qualities anathema to the Jedi. Anathema to adults in general, really. She now has a clue why she had found the young woman masterless on Tython.

Annoyed, she turned her silver gaze from Charlie to her open bag. The next moment, it was gone as if it had just been deleted from existence.

Not deleted, just tucked away out of reach.

<Charlie...if you can't follow simple instructions here, then how may I trust you in the field where someone's life may be in on the line? It may have been a mistake bringing you with me today.>

She faced forward, expression now sober from disappointment.

[member="Charlie"] [member="Beltran Rarr"] [member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Marl"]

 

[Charlie Nooran]

[SIZE=10pt]Cream filling clung to the corner of Charlie’s lip as she finished the pastry. Her stomach settled for the moment and then she felt the look Jyoti was giving her, burn into the side of her head. Looking up, she met the woman’s disgusted and disappointed face. The wind was quickly knocked out of Charlie’s sails as she looked away quickly, she felt like a massive pile of Bantha poo. Why did she have to give into her hunger like that? On Tython, the Masters gave her many scoldings on her primitive nature to feed. Her eyes fell back onto the back that now magically disappeared. Another dagger to her heart. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Her food gone and her master disappointed she didn’t think it could get any worse. Then it did. Jyoti’s voice filled her mind once again, this time hitting her where it hurt the most. Charlie sucked in the air in front of her and held it as she felt her hands grip the loose fabric on her pants tightly. She hated what she was in that moment, why couldn’t she control herself? Why couldn’t she just listen and be normal like the other padawans? The urge to cry was heavy, but she held it in. The girl didn’t want to disappoint her master any more or embarrass her, so instead she nodded and kept the tears at bay. This mission she had to prove herself worth something or she figured she would find herself back on Tython once again. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]She didn’t have to say it, but the look on her face and her demeanor showed how sorry she was. [/SIZE][member="Jyoti Nooran"] @Marl @Beltran Rarr [member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

The colonel watched as more and more faces filed in. Some, more familiar than others.

[member="Beltran Rarr"] was surely a sight for sore eyes. Ever since the young colonel's operation on Alaris Prime, the two operators had gone their separate ways for the most part. As seen now, it seems like Rarr had followed up on Valkren's challenge to become a real soldier, and not just a gun for hire. He had often wondered how the specialist had faired in training, only receiving weekly reports of the ex-hitman's progress.

He had heard that Beltran had quite the skillset when it came to the transitioning period in becoming a ranger, but some marks on the reports certainly struck Valkren as odd, having completed many of the mission scenario's with flying colors, at the price of a high 'casualty' rate. Perhaps it was something the colonel could explore, but he couldn't put 'putting the mission first' past Beltran, it was something every warrior has to do at one moment or another. He offered the specialist a respectful nod, folding his arms across his chest as he diverted his gaze to other familiar faces. He'd have to chat with Beltran soon.

The next face he spotted was one that gave him conflicting emotions. He was never happier whenever his eyes were drawn to [member="Roona Osmari"], however he had recently taken up the habit of leaving his team member out of briefing calls during her temporary leave due to the injury sustained on Trandosha. After her brush with death, Valkren couldn't help but want to 'bench' his teammate. Perhaps it was the feelings he held towards her, perhaps he was just being protective, but he knew that she didn't know that. Echo was also someone who Valkren would have to talk to separately, making eye contact with her for a moment. He could sense a hint of betrayal in her eyes, but he couldn't deal with this now, the mission came first.

[member="Marl"] was also present, a sergeant in the rangers and a friend Valkren was lucky to call a brother, he had proven himself time and time again through their operations together. It was always good to see him, and to know another familiar face would be watching his team's back.

Then came their team's Jedi attachment, [member="Jyoti Nooran"] appeared in the room, her white robes clashing against the ranger's blue and grey BDU design. However, an unfamiliar Padawan soon followed after her, both finding their place in the briefing room. Valkren returned Jyoti's respectful nod with one of his own. Soon afterwards Valk' glanced about once more, looking to be sure that the entire team was present before he began.

The colonel cleared his throat momentarily, settling his thoughts momentarily as everyone finished getting settled in.

"Right, let's get this start-" His voice was cut short from the crinkling of wrappers from Jyoti's padawan, [member="Charlie"]. Many of the rangers' eyes in the room were drawn to this disturbance as well, and the small interaction between a master and padawan, if they could even call it an interaction.

Valkren blinked, analyzing the expression on Jyoti's face as the interaction came to an end, watching for a sign that there wouldn't be another interruption. He understood the situation she was facing, but in the end, this was a briefing. The men and women with them in the room all knew that knowing the details of the mission before they set out on it would be the difference between life and death, determining on their opposition.

The young colonel would straighten his posture once more, the lights suddenly dimmed in the room, almost on que as Valkren's voice pierced the sudden silence in the dark room.

"Hope everyone got some good rest, cause' this one's a doozy."

A holopoint suddenly appeared on the wall behind him, displaying a small camp-like compound with several small buildings similar to trailers forming almost a perfect square, it seemed to be a live feed, due to several black specks who were most likely miners and scientists walking back and forth between facilities on the ice-covered terrain.

"Niflheim, ice planet. Plagued by constant ice-storms and some chilly weather, to say the least. If you've looked through the briefing, you'll know that the Silver's are present on this planet due to the high Kyber crystal presence in the caverns below the surface of the planet. Current assets on planet consist of scientists and civilian contracted mining parties. Six hours ago, one of the three mining teams they send out from this camp every morning, never returned. Now, usually when it comes to planets that have been marked to have 'non-hostile fauna' present, we tend to let the security detail assigned to the research teams deal with missing contractors."

Valkren paced from one side of the room to the other during these statements, pausing to let the slide change to an individual audio file.

"This is the reason why we're going instead of those security teams. A member of the security team assigned to the miners made one last transmission before they went dark. This is it."

The audio file began as Valkren fell silent, having heard it before and knowing what it brought to the table. Static broke through, before two separate voices came through, one female and the other male.

"Sergeant Smoak, please report. Sergeant Smoak, please report." The female's voice calmly intruded on the static.

The response was muddled with harsh feedback and loud background noises, the few times the male's voice was audible, it was panicked.

"...anyone there...caverns."

"Who is this? Sergeant Smoak, please respond."

"Smoak is dead!....were clearing the caverns...facility."

"Please repeat, you're not coming through fully. Sir?"

"...Send the karkin' military! The Jedi! Anything you..."

Suddenly, a gruesome bone-crunching snap was heard, followed by an ear-bleeding shriek before the transmission cut off completely. The lights in the briefing room came to life once more, Valkren rolling a spare cigarette back and forth between his index finger and thumb as he watched the audio file on the holopoint disappear. The transmission didn't give the brass much to work with. The only thing they got from it was that the security personnel on-site was not enough to handle whatever Smoak's team encountered.

Valkren tucked the cigarette behind his ear, pulling his patrol cap down tight onto his head as he moved to the front of the room again.

"We leave in thirty. We take two dropships, both loaded with a lovely donation of an APC each courtesy of the First ranger armored corps. Once we've landed at the camp, we separate into two teams. Team one will take both APC's to the last known location of the mining team. Team two remains with the camp and the dropships, and will attempt to remain in constant contact with team one incase we run into anything we can't handle."

Lieutenant Konrad Harris, the raiders' XO, raised his hand momentarily, before speaking up when Valkren cleared the question.

"Armaments?"

"Full shells' boys and girls, weatherman says Niflheim is bound for ice storms for the entirety of our visit." Groans soon followed this, and Valkren knew why. As much as they loved the protection of their Katarn combat armor, they had gotten the chance to enjoy several operations before this one where they went 'naked,' in the rangers' terms. This meant that they went with just tactical webbing and not their full-suit of armor.

Today, they didn't know their opposition or the states of the caverns they'd soon be in, so a full set of armor would be necessary for all of them. The warmth of the suits would just be a bonus.

"Anymore questions?"

 

[Roona Osmari]

Watching silently as the room began to fill; Roona leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. She could hear idle chatter of her fellow Raiders, but she remained tight-lipped. There had been but a fleeting moment of eye contact with Colonel Calderon, but at the moment her gaze was focused on the door. She noted the unfamiliar face of [member="Beltran Rarr"], perhaps he was a new recruit. Next, the Jedi made their presence felt -- [member="Jyoti Nooran"] and [member="charlie"]. Roona recognized the Echani woman, but she couldn’t recall having seen the young brunette before.

She offered a small but respectful nod to [member="Marl"]. He’d made a good impression on her during Trandosha, he was skilled and capable in battle. Roona only hoped that she had not come out of that mission in such a sorry state. Next time, she wouldn’t fail.

The sharpshooter’s green eyes snapped in the direction of Master Nooran’s companion. The young woman seemed to be attempting to open a small package quietly, but with little success. The crinkling sound had drawn the attention of the room, also causing Colonel Calderon to pause. Roona brought a slender hand up and rubbed the side of her forehead, waiting for the briefing to continue.

As she listened to [member="Valkren Calderon"], she imagined the cold, hostile environment that waited for them on Niflheim. It didn’t sound like a pleasant place, and she was not looking forward to working in such frigid conditions. The Ysannan straightened up slightly at the sound of the audio played for them, and her brow furrowed as she listened to the voices.

She wasn’t a woman easily shaken, but she had to admit that it was eerie.

It definitely seemed that their teams would have their work cut out for them today. As the Colonel explained the objectives of the two teams, Roona found her lips pressing together into a thin line. She wondered which team she would be assigned to… Glancing around to see if there were any additional questions, she moved to the edge of her seat. Roona was anxious to get back into action, she was ready.

 

[Beltran Rarr]

Location: Ranger Base, Kashyyyk
Allies: [member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Marl"] [member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Charlie"]
Enemies: None currently
Engaging: Nobody

As briefing came to order, Beltran had taken a seat near the back. He did now what he always did in unfamiliar situations, he read the room. Owing to a long and complicated history, Lorrdians like Beltran had an uncanny knack for picking up complex emotions and intentions from simply reading others’ body language, and this room held more than enough of both.

First, his attention had been drawn to the Jedi woman and her apparent apprentice. Colonel Calderon had just been about to begin when the, admittedly obnoxious, crinkling of a pastry package had stopped him midsentence.

He had, with interest, watched as the Jedi woman had fixed the younger girl with a steely gaze. More had transpired between the two than it seemed. For barely a second after their eyes had met, the girl suddenly began to radiate a sense of hurt and disappointment. It was a subtle thing and the Lorrdian doubted anyone else had picked up on it, but something had definitely occured between the two women.

Perhaps they were using the Force to communicate, he considered. While on Kashyyyk, Beltran had been far too busy with training to spend much time with the Jedi. But, he had encountered force users before in his travels and had seem them accomplish seemingly impossible things. It certainly made sense that they might be able to use this power to communicate silently.

Next, he brought his attention back to the young Colonel. Calderon remained something of a contradiction to him. On the surface, the officer appeared to be everything he should be: honorable, courageous and dedicated. The man could be, and probably was as Beltran considered the matter, the poster boy for being a good soldier. However, Beltran also caught glimpses in the man’s manner that indicated much more going on beneath the surface.

For instance, there was a definite change in Calderon’s body language the moment he met the eyes of a female Ranger sitting not far from
Beltran. Concern could be read in his body language, and something else. Something the Lorrdian couldn’t quite put his finger on. Beltran hesitated to make any guesses as to what that might be, for he knew the dangers that presented themselves in making quick and rash judgments.

He would continue to watch his new allies and learn more about them. Perhaps they would prove useful to him in the future, or perhaps his time here on Kashyyyk would only be a stepping stone to other things.

Only time would tell.

As the Colonel began the briefing, Beltran let his musings die down. He listened carefully as Calderon explained the situation, noting that the world they were planning to travel to had a high concentration of Kyber crystals. Beltran had read of these crystals and knew that they important to the Jedi and used in the creation of their lightsabers.

It was likely that these crystals would fetch an impressive price on the black market, so Beltran made a note to see if he could perhaps pocket one or two of them. After all, even though the Rangers were paying him now, the Lorrdian had never truly stopped being a mercenary in his mind. Each new situation brought with it the possibility of profit.

And since his client from the Alaris mission had yet to make good on the remainder of what Beltran was owed, the Lorrdian needed to make up for the shortfall somehow. Later, when he was on more even footing with the Rangers, Beltran would arrange a short furlough and travel to Nar Shadda to pay his client a “visit.”

But that would have to wait, at the very least until after this mission.

Leaning forward, Beltran listened as the audio recording was played. It intrigued him to say the least. On the surface, it seemed that the missing team had encountered some form of indigenous predator. But why then, would that necessitate a call for the Jedi and the Antarian Rangers? Surely, the security detail already present on planet should have been able to handle that.

Once the recording was finished, Calderon outlined the deployment plan. Beltran idly wondered which team he would be selected for. He would prefer the chance to go with team one, if for no other reason than to see if he could get a few of those crystals.

As the question about armaments was raised, he found himself cocking an eyebrow as the room descended into groans. That was something about military life that Beltran truly didn’t understand: the complaining. One did what one had to do, to complete the objective and survive. If that meant wearing a full suit of armor, then that was what had to happen.

Better more protection than less, he thought, his arm twitching a little with the reminder of the injury he’d sustained on Alaris. An injury that had only occurred because Beltran hadn’t had the resources needed to do the job cleanly which was another reason why he’d agreed to join up with the Rangers. At least here, he had access to any number of resources, and though he could only use them for Ranger business, that didn’t mean that the Lorrdian couldn’t find out more about their suppliers.

As the floor was opened to further questions, Beltran simply sat quietly and waited. Time would tell what was in store for him, and he knew better than most that rushing things was never a good idea.

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Valkren glanced to either side of the room, before speaking up after assuring himself no-one else would have any questions.

"Right then, grab your kits and meet at strip one. A team of fighters will be on escort duty until we've come into range of Niflheim. Dismissed."

The room turned from organized to messy as many of the rangers in the vicinity scurried to be the first out the door. Some knew that due to their 'position' on the team, they'd have to hustle to find a comfortable spot on the transport to their destination.

The colonel stood there momentarily, letting more of the room's occupants move out of the briefing area before making his way down from the front. He made sure to pick up his pack of smokes from one of the tables in the front before making his way out. Valk suddenly stopped next to where Roona had taken position to watch the briefing. He reached up and tightened his patrol cap, staring straight towards the exit of the room as to not draw attention to the pair as he spoke.

"Echo, we need to talk. Post-mission."

After taking a moment to see if there was any reaction from the marksman, Valkren moved on. He'd made a habit of usually being the first to their transports for missions, aside from the crew members.

Eventually, Valkren would be at the airstrip. His BDU's replaced with a black protective 'sleeve' that would rest underneath his armor plating. From his feet up to his waist was already stiff with the plates from their katarn armor, his patrol cap was turned backwards in a rather casual manner as he went over flight plans with one of the crew chiefs. He raised his gaze from the data pad in the crew chief's hand to the airstrip around the two transports. A group of four X-Wings rested just behind them down the strip, ready and able to provide security for the Ranger and Jedi strike force.

His attention was drawn to the rangers and Jedi alike that walked the length of the strips from the facilities to the location of their drop ships, some sporting the same kind of getup, half-plating for comfort, while others went as far as to equip the base of their chest plates and rigs, it was all up to the operator in how and when they wanted to prepare. After the entire team boarded into the separate ships, finding the most comfortable spots they could within the troop bay's around the APCs, Valkren climbed aboard as well, turning his cap about as he did so, fishing his pack of cigarettes out from behind one of the plates as he stepped up the ramp.

The ramp closed behind the colonel as he took out a a single smoke, placing it in-between his lips as he walked between the wall of the troop bay and the side of the APC, sliding by a ranger as he lifted a rotary cannon to another soldier atop of the vehicle. He moved through as the thrusters bursting to life outside became audible, the second transport following suit soon after.

Reaching up and lighting the cigarette, he'd spy the familiar face of the mercenary Beltran.

"Specialist Rarr!" He'd speak up, making his way over, assuring the solidify his position on the floor of the transport as they began to lift off, their escorts taking off ahead of them to get a head start and provide some clear airspace.

Standing in front of him, he'd take a drag of the cigarette, before removing the stick from his mouth to speak once more. "It's been a while since Alaris Prime, how was basic? Need a smoke?"

[member="Beltran Rarr"] | [member="Roona Osmari"] | [member="Jyoti Nooran"] | [member="Charlie"] | [member="Marl"]

 

[Roona Osmari]

Roona sat for a moment longer, watching as the eager men and women jumped to their feet. She pushed up from her seat just as the line out the door began to thin, and soon found that Colonel Calderon was there at her side. Like him, her eyes remained focused on the doorway. The marksman acknowledged Valkren’s words with a silent nod of her head.

Her frosty stare might have easily rivaled the cold waiting on the surface of Niflheim.

Green eyes found the back of the Colonel’s cap as he walked up to the front of the group. Roona moodily shifted her gaze away from him, forcing her eyes to the ground. Indeed she was not the sunniest of people, but even she had not quite anticipated such a sullen mood upon her return to duty. What did Valkren wish to speak about? Roona felt a shiver of nerves. Of course, it could easily have been the normal pre-mission jitters. Even it if wasn’t, she would pretend it was the latter. Steeling herself, she moved on to prepare. After all, the Colonel hadn’t said a word about keeping her on the bench this time.

Out on the airstrip, Roona joined the others. Clad in half armor and body-glove, she cradled the rest of her belongings tightly under an arm. Piling into the ship, she found a place to stand with her fellow raiders. She could feel their eyes upon her as she stood there. Roona’d been out of the count for a few missions… she worried that she had become rusty. Perhaps they felt the same; perhaps they feared that she would let them down this time, too.

“You alright, Echo?” A voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Yes, fine…” She answered automatically.

Even though he stood some distance away, her eyes found Valkren as he talked with the man he called Specialist Rarr. As the rest of the Rangers piled in, she was just another face in the crowd – shoulder to shoulder with her comrades.

[member="Valkren Calderon"], [member="Beltran Rarr"], [member="Jyoti Nooran"], [member="Charlie"]

 

[Charlie Nooran]

[SIZE=10pt]Charlie listened to the briefing and stared harder at the ground. Ice storms meant cold and cold was something she grew up knowing she needed to stay away from. Her species was not the type to like extreme cold or extreme heat. She held a hand to her chest as she felt the pounding of her two hearts and sighed heavily. Cold meant something close to death if she remained in it too long. The briefing concluded and everyone stood up to mingle with each other. Charlie reached down for her bag, but remembered Jyoti shipped that thing off into some other dimension. Internally she died for her Twinkies, but there was another issue at hand. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Footsteps followed Jyoti’s as she caught up to the Master and grabbed her arm. Dragging the woman aside before she could get her attention caught by one of her old comrades or something. “Master, there’s a major problem with where we’re going.” Charlie ran her hand through her hair as she was nervous and couldn’t really explain it any better than she was going to. She feared that Jyoti would take her off the mission, which meant that another padawan would tag along or the woman would go on her own. Deeper than that fear, was the fear that the Master would ship her back to Tython. Shuddering at the thought, Charlie refocused her mind and began to speak.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Uh have you ever heard of a K’paur? There’s not a lot of us out there most of us are mixed. I’m mixed, but my Father was pure my mother was mixed, anyways beside the point. We…” Frowning, she grabbed the woman’s hand and placed it in a safe spot on her chest. Jyoti would be able to feel the twin hearts beating – rapidly now because of the conversation…. yep because of the conversation. “I have two hearts.” She dropped the Master’s hand. “Two hearts that really don’t do well in extreme temperatures. Blessing and a curse, but these ice storms…they can kill me, stop my hearts dead in their tracks…” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]She paused, trying not to ramble. “What do I do?” [/SIZE]

[member="Jyoti Nooran"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

Then

Jyoti started to frown again as Charlie pulled her aside on their way out of the briefing room, assuming her apprentice was about to bug her about the twinkies. They and the bag were still locked in an alternate pocket dimension, far far away.

She opened her mouth to scold Charlie, but stopped as Charlie spoke of another issue altogether, then grabbed her hand to place over the chest to feel a pair of beating hearts.

"K'paur." she repeated slowly as she pulled back her hand. "This is news to me. Maybe something you should have told me about in the beginning."

Long ago, as Grandmaster in another life, Jyoti had considered enacting a policy of mandatory background checks and examinations of all incoming initiates during inprocessing. This revelation proved why that may now still be a good idea.

Charlie looked about ready to panic, but Jyoti remained calm as she considered her options with her apprentice.

"I'll give you a choice," she said after a short pause. "You can stay or go. Your situation isn't exactly unique within the Silver Order or the Antarian Rangers. We have individuals, like Valkyri, with similar temperature intolerances. It's something they all learn how to deal with during their time of service. So, do you know the techniques, and have the equipment to keep yourself warm?"

[member="Charlie"]

 

[Charlie Nooran]

[SIZE=10pt]Jyoti’s tone was something she didn’t expect, but she should have. The woman was cold and Charlie was still struggling to understand it. Did Jyoti regret taking her off Tython? Was this how she always was with her students? Still, it was a concern that Charlie had and she felt that her Master didn’t care much for it. With the information that was given and the choices that Jyoti was giving her, Charlie recoiled slightly. She pulled away from her Master and began to build the walls that she had put down back on Tython. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]She had her body suit that was helpful, but she didn’t have the skills to keep herself warm. Learning was an option, but what if she didn’t pick up on it? What if she failed when it mattered most? There was a real fear and it continued to manifest as she thought about it. Looking back at her Master, she wanted to tell her she’d go home, but then it would mean she probably would never be trained beyond this point. A hand clutched at her shirt as she nervously nodded. “I have a thermal that goes under my clothing when it’s cold…but beyond that I don’t think it would help me. I don’t know how to regulate my temperature beyond what my body does on its own…” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Remained recoiled as she quickly shut herself off, she tried to think through her studies back on Tython about anything that would help her in this situation. Nothing registered and she remained fearful for whatever decision was going to be made. It was a good chance she would be staying on Kashyykk. [/SIZE][member="Jyoti Nooran"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

Then

"That is...surprising. For someone in your situation, you need to know these things to be prepared for such hazards."

Mentally, she could feel Charlie recede telepathically like she was wincing. Jyoti knew she could come off as being brusque as a master, but she was hard on her padawan because the galaxy was an unforgiving place, especially to Jedi on the frontlines against the forces of darkness. It would then be the greatest disservice to those under her charge to coddle them, as much as they may end up hating her. That was her burden as a master.

"Some fault lies with your previous teachers on their lack of instruction on a matter so pertinent to your survival, but at the end of the day, you need to take personal responsibility for your shortcomings. Less twinkie time and more studying is an order."

"We have some items on hand to keep you warm - force field generators, hardsuits - but I'd like to show you some things as a backup, if you decide to go. Otherwise, I'll just pass and get another team to fill in for us."

[member="Charlie"]

 

[Charlie Nooran]

[SIZE=10pt]Jyoti was offering options for the padawan to survive her first mission. Charlie knew the woman meant well, but it still hurt her knowing that she was being a burden because she didn’t learn how to keep herself regulated or have other survival skills. Sighing softly, Charlie folded her arms across her chest and nodded. She didn’t’ want to be the reason why Jyoti didn’t go on this mission, they were already here and it would hinder the group by having to go through and find another Jedi group. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“I want to go, please show me how I can survive. I’d like not to have to carry all of that.” A frown appeared on the Padawan’s face as Jyoti had mentioned about her giving up some of her snack time for study time. The girl studied a lot of what she needed to look at, maybe she needed to focus on application more than reading. Either way, she wasn’t a fan of having to give up snacks. Charlie decided to not argue that point and realized she needed to take the harsh lesson she was going to be getting. [/SIZE][member="Jyoti Nooran"]