Cave Diving

[Arryn Vahn]

"Ilum? The snow planet? Must be pretty serious."

Planet: Ilum
Location: Ilum's Lower Atmosphere

Arryn was excited, yet nervous. The job he had gotten was fresh, straight off the top of the job board. It was also easy too. A quick cash grab, a retrieval. Unusual in the line of work but it's still a job. "The Crystal Caves of Ilum" it advertised. But the job had its own set of twists. Something in the fine print that Arryn had skipped over. In order for this job to be completed correctly he would need a fore-user. A force-user. Arryn had a distinct distastefulness towards force-users. It came straight from his father, who showed the same little respect towards the community. Yet the job had to completed, and Arryn need his credits. He didn't know where to find a force wielder, yet he knew someone who did. He was eventually matched with a force-user who had a certain fondness with Mandalorians. It would make the job a lot easier.

The Serpent had just breached the Upper Atmosphere of the icy planet, Arryn seeing the snowy mountains and different caves down below. He had never seen anything like it, nor had any plan to prior the him accepting the job. He had put the Serpent on autopilot, moving from the cockpit towards the main lobby area of the ship. His weapons would lay out right in front of him, cleaned and refurbished so they had no problem when it came to any danger. His helmet would also lay on the table, the T-shaped visor staring right back at him. A holodisplay had come up in the cockpit, followed by a beeping noise. Arryn moved back over to the cockpit to see that he quickly approaching the landing zone. He moved back to the lobby to put on his beskar'gam. The Serpent would slow down in order to not speed past the landing zone. Arryn, armor on and in place, had switched the ship from auto pilot to manual, releasing the landing gear. The ship slowly came to a halt and had touched down smoothly, dead on the landing zone. He moved back over to his weapons table and dawned all over his gear he needed. He pressed a button on his vambraces to lower the landing ramp so he could leave, also grabbing his helmet in the process. He took one look over of the helmet, before putting it on, it fitting tightly and comfortably upon his head. He then moved towards the landing ramp. He could already feel the cool air move against his armor as he slowly stepped down the ramp. He stepped off of the landing ramp and onto the slippery snow, the door closing behind him. He snow crunched under his boots, leaving imprints as he walked along the surface of the icy planet. He took a look upwards towards the cloudy blue sky. He saw a large object move towards the landing area. His partner, moving ever so closer towards him. Arryn awaited his arrival, but looked upon the cave that was in front of him. The cave the job forum so accurately described. The cave's entrance was dark, only being illuminated by the light from the planet. It intimidated Arryn, almost as if it was asking to be explored.

His partners ship landed closely beside his. Arryn turned and walked towards the landing ramp of the his accomplice. The door had landed on the snow, his partner on the the other side of it. Arryn stared up at him, glaring with his T-shaped visor.

"Ready?" He asked him.

[member="The False Knight"]​

 

[The False Knight]

Ilum was a place Clovis Lighthawk had been to many a times. With their Kyber crystals buried in the ice it was a perfect place to gather resources, It was also a perfect spot to train younglings as they made their way for their first lightsabers. Clovis was ever thankful he had not come here for his own blade at the time. The cold never suited him. While he learned many tricks and ways to starve off the cold weather in his adult years, as a Padawan he was ignorant to such control. But that didn't stop him from always being prepared.

Clovis had only been in the company of the Mandalorians some five years now. But his knowledge and skills were quickly recognized so he made a rather decent name for himself in their culture. It was because of this reason that the Mandalorians built for him a ship (paid for of course by his family's deep pockets) which the man named The Tsunami. The large vessel was perfect for Clovis's need to show off, albeit the only reason. He wanted it to stand as a permanent home away from home should the need arise. With several floors and his own personal staff of droids, the man had everything he needed on that ship.

But the ship was too large to come docking on some snowy climate so he would take a small personal shuttle down to the surface instead. It seated himself and one other then had docking space for a set of bikes in the back. It wasn't meant to be living in. Landing next to his comrade's shuttle Clovis would then set up the security features and keep the lifelines on minimal (he didn't want the engines freezing over). While the man was dressed in a set of white and black robes, he still wore a set of pure white Beskar'gam under them. The only thing missing was the T-visor helmet that separated most armored mercenaries from the Mandoa culture. To correct some of this appearance however, the man sported a katana-style vibroblade at his waist rather than that of a lightsaber. That wasn't to say he didn't own one, he just kept it for emergencies.

Pulllng his scarf over his face, the man departed from his ship before the ramp closed up behind him. "Let us be quick," he replied to the man when asking if he was ready. "It's best not to stay out in these temperatures."

 

[Arryn Vahn]

The Mandalorian nodded at his accomplice's wise remark. He turned his back towards him, and stared directly at the entrance of the cave. A holopad display showed up in his right palm. Arryn moved over so his partner could see the screen. On the display it showed a rotating crystal, glowing a slight tint of green that was visible on the blue screen. Arryn cleared his throat and spoke up. "We are looking for this. The Kyber Crystal the job board described. And I need your help to find it," The Mandalorian said, still looking at the display. The display screen quickly faded away after a couple seconds and Arryn started to move towards the cave. He stopped before he entered. He took a look at the cave's intricate detail. The walls decorated with different colorless crystals were all about. Arryn looked back at his partner and beckoned him forward using a hand gesture.

The cave itself was illuminated through small holes in the ceiling. Arryn had a hard time seeing through the dark, but ultimately found his way in the end. But what they were looking for most likely wasn't in plain sight. The kyber crystal was to be found somewhere in the old cave, yet the Mandalorian had no clue where to look. It was pointless. Arryn still kept his head up and explored the sides of the cave, becoming fascinated by the intricacy of the crystals but also annoyed because of the cold weather and climate.

He kept an eye on his Mandalorian friend though. He had enough trust in him to call him a partner, but who knows the true intention of the man. Arryn would only have to wait and see.

[member="The False Knight"]​

 

[The False Knight]

A kyber crystal? Seems easy enough. The cave was littered with them, if you knew where to look at least. But Clovis had a feeling Arryn was looking for a specific one. One that might be bigger than your average gem. That's the only likely possibility. Else why would someone want a generic crystal unless they were specifically going to be making a light saber. No this meant something to some one. And while Clovis didn't care for the reason, it would make the job slightly easier if he knew more about it. Nothing he could do now though.

With that, they moved to the mouth of the cave and beyond where Clovis would then lower his scarf and smooth out his hair which had gotten tangled in the icy wind. The light that touched the cave walls was fading ever faster as they moved inward and Clovis had a sneaking suspicion that his comrade hand't packed any sort of lights. It was also something he hadn't thought about, mainly because with so much Force connection in these caves he could navigate with seeing where he was going.

But the man was generous today, and would reach behind his back to bring out a single-grip lightsaber hilt made of gold durasteel. With a flip of his thumb the hilt would ignite an orange beam which gently lit the area around them. He didn't want to leave it on the whole time, for they still ran on batteries in their own right. But it wasn't like he was using it for anything else at the moment. Another good reason he carried his vibrosword around.

With that, Clovis let the breath of the Force surround him as his instincts took hold and began to guide him. So long as Arryn didn't mind, he would take the lead and start to walk down the curved paths within the cave. He was careful to mind his footing, for even he would slip every now and then on the slippery ice. It didn't help that the walls occasionally dripped water from above and made tiny puddles on the already frozen ground. Not only did they have to worry about twisting an ankle, but one wrong move on a cliffside and they'd go tumbling down. Clovis didn't want to think about what would happen if one of them fell...

"Careful, my friend," he would warn. "The cave may seem empty, but there are threats all around us."

[member="Arryn Vahn"]​

 

[Arryn Vahn]

Arryn witnessed the cave glow with light when the force-user had ignited his jetii'kad, or lightsaber. The orange glow lit up the walls next to them, allowing them to see much better than previously before. He would usually have his flashlight, but it wasn't in his possession at the moment. He stared into the orange plasma blade. He could feel the warmth of the blade compared to the chill air and cold surroundings. He was still shivering due to the cold, but the lightsaber helped. Yet, Clovis passed him, taking the lead. Arryn stayed silent. He was usually the one to take point, the man to take charge of it all in case something went wrong, yet he was in the back. But he wouldn't contest this issue due to the fact that he had no clue where he was going or where to look. His adversary would have a better chance in discovering the location of the Kyber Crystal.

"Careful, my friend," he would warn. "The cave may seem empty, but there are threats all around us."

Arryn somewhat felt the same way. He suspected that the journey ahead would contain some trials, but it was nothing he couldn't face. His prideful manner, as per usual. It would get the best of him, one day or another. Continuing along the path there was nothing but blank, empty crystals. No light. As they moved deeper and deeper into the cave, small sounds of echoed footsteps scurried across the the cave floor. The inhabitants of the planet. The select few creatures who chose to live on the desolate planet must also live in the depths of the crystal caves as well. Tiny beady eyes glowed in the dark as the blinked and moved about on the walls and on the ceiling of the cave. The Mandalorian grabbed one of his "quickdraw" blaster pistols and drew it out of its holster. The last thing he wanted was one of these creatures ripping him apart or taking a nice chunk of his neck for a hefty snack. He tightened his grip on the weapon as he slowly continued downwards with his partner. Arryn took quick 2 second looks behind to make sure he wasn't being followed. A paranoia nightmare, as it would slowly seem to be.

"Something is watching us. Stay on your guard," Arryn said with a stern look of doubtfulness.

[member="The False Knight"]​

​

(OOC: I know this took a bit longer than usual, I was just having some issues keeping up with school, is all. Hope you can understand. )