Private In Ruin and Wreckage A Path Forward

[Lossa Aureus]

Location: Lotho Minor, Scrapyard
Equipment: Skinsuit, Jumpsuit and Robes
Accessories: Bracelet, Echo Stone
Weapons: Lossa's Lightsaber, Turmoil - Lightsaber, Concealed Blaster, Nasty-Stabby
Ship: Skiptown
Tags: Makko Vyres

She hadn't intended to drag someone along with her on this little leg of her journey forward, but Makko honestly seemed the best option given the rumblings she'd heard about Lotho Minor. Aside from being the former territory of an empire, it also held its own secrets given the lengthy time it had been around to gather and lose scrap.

The separate rooms aboard the Skiptown offering plenty of privacy and silence for him to send reassuring holo's back if need be as she kept to her own room, reviewing the holocron Sanna had left for her.

Meditating at times in the pilots seat with Turmoil floating in her lap. Unyielding in its stubborn nature before her waning patience as understanding the purpose it had proposed to her. Her own saber melding readily but offering little in the way of focus as Turmoil did. Supposedly a blade of might and majesty turned dark by a Sith knight. Once more returned to its might and majesty in a more pure form by her grandmother.

But the crystal held little patience for her flighty nature, and seemed to throw itself into whatever strike she made against her wishes.

Once more taking the saber in hand as her slight floating came to end with a slight pain forming behind her eyes. The crystal was a bright fixture in her mind that seemed to cause pain rather than bring focus. A frustrating thing given the expectation of mastering and forming a bond with it as per the instructions left on Sanna's holocron. The crystal offering little in guidance or reason besides its unyielding feelings. It's unwillingness to even allow her to properly practice with it still a clear sign of its continued belligerence.

"Makko, we're about ready to hit atmo if you want to get up here." Her hands flipped on the weapons systems of the Skiptown, the vessel slowing as the gravity of the planet began to make itself known. The controls jarring in her hand before returning to normal.

Not the only oddity on their trip so far, but worrying about a ghost hyperwave signal when the atmosphere could eat away at an unprotected hull was far more pressing at the moment.

Activating the shields before the acidic atmosphere could entirely pelt their underside as the ship shuddered and burned bright before breaking into the space below. The engines churning for a moment at the change before adapting and providing power once more. A series of switches flipped and the ship began to scan the ground below, the entire ship dropping low and following the sharp rises with ease while trailing an easy dip before rising again along the lines of wreckage and debris below.

A playful light coming to her eyes as she spied a half devoured wreck coming up fast before it disappeared from sight.

"Hope your up to date on your immuno-boosters. Plenty of rusty looking stuff down there."

 

[Makko Vyres]

SHIELD | ARMOR | LIGHTSABER | DRONES | SHIP | PISTOL​

"Wow. What a lovely planet. I might take some more shots just to be certain."

The deadpan response was followed by a smirk. Then it was followed by a look of genuine concern that he needed more shots. Makko didn't know how they worked. Was it like painkillers and taking more was more effective?

It had been a difficult few weeks, but this had seemed genuinely important to Lossa.

It was also, he had thought to himself, an opportunity to see a new world. Opportunity, he now realised, was a word that was never to be associated with this planet.

"Alright how do we know we've found it and..." Makko stood up to try and looked down through the haze.

"...how big an area do we have to search?"

That was dependent upon them narrowing this down at all from the ship, he imagined.

Makko sat back down, glancing at her lightsaber. He had sensed the slight tremors in the Force. Whatever she was doing to try and attune with her heirlooms it did not feel entirely peaceful.

 

[Lossa Aureus]

Location: Lotho Minor, Scrapyard
Equipment: Skinsuit, Jumpsuit and Robes
Accessories: Bracelet, Echo Stone
Weapons: Lossa's Lightsaber, Turmoil - Lightsaber, Concealed Blaster, Nasty-Stabby
Ship: Skiptown
Tags: Makko Vyres

There was a smile behind the grimace. His observation about the planet and needing more shots pretty spot on as his expression shifted to concern. Lips sucked back to keep from laughing.

"They don't stack." She took a guess at his thoughts, before they shifted to genuine questions about the little trip of find her grandma's holocron. Drawing in a deep breath before clearing her throat at the question of location and search area.

Which had been the difficult part of deciphering her little message.

"Uh. Well. Mama Sanna stayed here after she left the core. Made a living picking apart scrap and selling it for... anything really. But," Hand flitting over to the scanner systems, muddled slightly by the large presence of magnetic materials. Her words becoming less confident as she kept adding on. "Looking for symbols. Hopefully not scratched out. Or too faded. Or... gone."

Handing him a datapad with the symbol plastered on the screen. A plain hexagon outline, with a small legend beside it depicting the different symbols and their meaning. A line ending in X for no go. One line ending in a pronounced dot for direction. A line ending with a box outline for safety. Or dwelling.

"I'm taking a liberty with the box one. It wasn't readily apparent and she was cryptic as chit with her words." A fact that hadn't eluded Lossa while she'd delved into the holocron for more information. The Skiptown gave an affirming chirp at her desired location. The landing area that had been recorded by her grandfather on the planet. And the best lead she had for locating the hidden cache.

"This was where grandpa had recorded his entry and exit from the planet with grandma." The ship settled into a small recess of junk and what counted for landscape.

Sitting back and examining their surroundings from the cockpit viewport. Eventually leading them, with severe hesitation and triple checking they had sufficient gear to protect them from the acidic rain, down into what passed for an opening into a series of protective tunnels beneath the junk field.

IN THE BACKGROUND​

The tracker they had placed on Lossa Darcuhl's ship alerted them to travel outside of the core. Wonder and opportunity at a chance to snatch her up prompting a small team to be made and given a small cargo vessel to follow her out to the far reaches. The New Way set their course for her location.

 

[Makko Vyres]

He wasn't certain how immunoshots worked, but if he scratched himself on a rusty pieces of scrap he was going to demand more.

Makko took a brief recording of the images, saving them to his neural implants. He didn't feel like taking chances with the scrawls.

"I, er, don't like these big crosses. I think I don't like the idea of finding out what one of those might be before I find the symbol warning about it."

Slowly they descended. Sensors had picked out a safe patch of ground, but the curved glass afforded them a view of the ground below. The salvage was piled up high on either side of them. If anything disturbed that balance the ship would get half buried. Makko tried not to imagine that.


"Guess it's a good place to hide something," Makko admitted as they made their way into the tunnels.

"How are you like... feeling about all this stuff?" Makko asked. "I mean, it's quite a lot right?"

 

[Lossa Aureus]

Location: Lotho Minor, Scrapyard Tunnels
Equipment: Skinsuit, Jumpsuit and Robes
Accessories: Bracelet, Echo Stone
Weapons: Lossa's Lightsaber, Turmoil - Lightsaber, Concealed Blaster, Nasty-Stabby
Tags: Makko Vyres
She couldn't shake the grin at his trepidations.

"Yeah. Hopefully we see the symbol before that. Otherwise. Well," She shrugged enough to be dismissive. "We'll have to hope we are quicker than the danger."

Not reassuring in the slightest but more matter of fact. She could deal with danger. What bothered her was the brains behind it all. And trying to figure out a woman she'd barely knew with the latest revelation.

Nodding along with his words about it being a good hiding place as she carefully pulled a leg over a small pile, pausing part way across to see if there was anything... well. Familiar poking out of it. Finding nothing of note she passed over it, and half turned to speak.

"Well. I. Hmm. I mean," To say she'd been confused wouldn't do it justice. "Mama Sanna. She."

Words were failing her, and the environment wasn't helping her construct the thoughts for it. Instead letting the sensation of familiarity and comfort seep through her mental barriers. A fond and soft smile behind the feelings as she tried again.

"I miss her. But I don't. Even knowing I won't see her again. I can't help but like. Feel. Good? Even her passing wasn't horrible, I guess. I mean. Didn't have any troubles. I still. I feel alone. And this." Fumbling across how she was feeling almost landed her missing a line with a dot pointing down a right hand tunnel.

"This reminds me that there was more to her than I know. Knew."

 

[Makko Vyres]

MAKKO

SHIELD | ARMOR | LIGHTSABER | DRONES | SHIP | PISTOL​

"I am getting better with the Force. With a bit of luck I'll sense something before we go boom," Makko said.

It was something of an understatement. He had been a deeply mediocre padawan. It was determination that separated the average from the exceptional, not natural talent. It might not have been healthy for Makko to find that drive in the wake of a Ukatis wedding, but he had been single-minded in pursuing knighthood.

Makko had never known his parents. They had been jacked into the net as he grew up, raised more by the community of the favella. He didn't even know where they were now and had never felt enough of a connection to find out if the corp-sec had imprisoned or executed them quietly. Realising that caused a pang of regret.

"It's alright not to know how to feel, y'know?" Makko said as he climbed after her. "We can talk later if you'd rather, but maybe it would be good to."

He would probably be more use as just a pair of ears than a set of eyes, he thought to himself.

 

[Lossa Aureus]

Location: Lotho Minor, Scrapyard Tunnels
Equipment: Skinsuit, Jumpsuit and Robes
Accessories: Bracelet, Echo Stone
Weapons: Lossa's Lightsaber, Turmoil - Lightsaber, Concealed Blaster, Nasty-Stabby
Tags: Makko Vyres

Giving him a thumbs up at the mention of becoming better in the force. She'd remembered he was fair decent with that little trick of his. Keeping people out of an area. The drive to become even better something she'd failed to witness.

Which was probably for the better with how recent events had been going.

"Sweet. I've apparently not got the sense for danger even when it's staring me in the face so." A small frustrated laugh coming from the talk as they passed through another Junction of tunnels.

Her hand hovering above the wall to focus her eyes as she paused and thought.

She'd always been hyper aware of her emotions. Had to be. Especially when she could influence how others were feeling. To be out of sorts with them now. Had she been slacking in her own way? Well. More so than usual?

"I guess. It's. A strange mix of things. And. I mean. I don't know that putting it off is gonna help me figure it out. I." A finger gouged the dust on the wall, leaning to support herself as she grumbled. "I don't know. I feel like I got tossed into the deep end without warning I guess."

 

[Makko Vyres]

​

"You can probably tell when someone wants to hurt you, I bet," Makko replied.

Not that there was anyone lingering with intent around a ten year old trap. If he had rigged something like this he would have included low power electronics and given them a deactivation challenge code and frequency. It seemed safer that following a maze.

"You know who are are though," he said. "This doesn't change that. What do you think we might find here?" Makko asked. "If it's a million credits I guess it does change who you are," he laughed.

He could hear rain pelting against the metal around them. In some places the shapes of the panels seemed to amplify the sound after them.

"That one of the symbols?" he asked

 

[Lossa Aureus]

Location: Lotho Minor, Scrapyard Tunnels
Equipment: Skinsuit, Jumpsuit and Robes
Accessories: Bracelet, Echo Stone
Weapons: Lossa's Lightsaber, Turmoil - Lightsaber, Concealed Blaster, Nasty-Stabby
Tags: Makko Vyres

She stared over her shoulder at Makko and grinned.

"Aside from the obvious, yes I can definitely sense that." Exasperation mingled with the laugh she gave. Shaking her head as he continued, the cheer leaving her as he mentioned a million credits and that changing who they were.

"I'll put credits down on some odd trinkets. Maybe really old food. A million credits though. Somebody had to trip over themselves to leave that behind." Humor crept back into her tone as she imagined that particular picture, barely catching the rain until he pointed out a symbol on the wall.

Stepping closer and staring until the only reasonable thing left to do was try to clean it off. A portion flaking off as she winced and groaned at the sight. Hands held high to keep herself from trying to pick up the flake.

"Well feth. Uh. That's. This is either a trap, or one of the hidden passages. Uh. Feth." Her eyes searching the mangled remains of... ship components along the far wall before staring at what she guessed were some droid parts mixed with... something along the other wall.

"See if you can find something over there." Pointing to the ship side while she squatted beside the droid pieces. Her hands busy for a moment sifting through things that might have been a functioning droid at some point in time before she paused.

"What would you do with a million credits?"

 

[Makko Vyres]

M A K K O
​

"I'll put credits down on some odd trinkets. Maybe really old food. A million credits though. Somebody had to trip over themselves to leave that behind." Humor crept back into her tone as she imagined that particular picture, barely catching the rain until he pointed out a symbol on the wall.

"Huh? Oh, I thought you were saying you were gonna spend a million credits on trinkets and really old food for a sec..."

"See if you can find something over there."

"On it," went Makko.

He stretched out with the Force. There was lots of old technology around him. He tried to pick up on any functioning signals, something that would have indicated a trap. The problem was that many traps were purely mechanical or would only send a sudden burst on a particularly frequency the moment they were triggered.

"A million credits..."

He thought of how Cora had been cut off from her family, exiled from Ukatis. She would have known what to do with a million credits.

"Dunno, but I'd start with a fecking big, blow out party."

Makko ran his fingers along the door door. It wasn't fully sealed and there was a slight flow of air.

"There's more space behind this door. Outside the ship. Like it was set down on a tunnel. Maybe." Makko had never been very good at getting an understanding of his physical surroundings through the Force.

 

[Lossa Aureus]

Location: Lotho Minor, Scrapyard Tunnels
Equipment: Skinsuit, Jumpsuit and Robes
Accessories: Bracelet, Echo Stone
Weapons: Lossa's Lightsaber, Turmoil - Lightsaber, Concealed Blaster, Nasty-Stabby
Tags: Makko Vyres

She snorted, not so silently laughing at the idea of dropping that many credits on such things.

An idea forming from a different path for such an expenditure when her thoughts drifted to Naboo and other planet's that might have the same problem.

"Well. Maybe. Not for me but others." The idea gaining some merit as she pondered food banks and other places that needed help.

The idea taking up headspace as she let her hands wander over parts, shifting something as it fell from its precarious support and tumbled down with a loud crash. The echo filling the tunnel and reverberating around in her head.

Face screwed up in dramatically exaggerated pain at the sounds paired with a sound of disgust.

"Remind me to not do that again." Thrown over her shoulder as she tried to arrange the junk out of her way. Pausing at the mention of throwing a party.

She couldn't help but smile at the idea. It was fitting for him really.

"You gonna get uh. Oh. Who was it-Clown World Order booked out again for that big party?" Half teasing, casting her eyes over to him as he explored a door.

Almost looking away before he spoke about space behind the door. Interest firmly placed on the space now as she joined him, holding a hand over it with a grin.

"Mm. Let's see what's behind it." Withdrawing Turmoil with a nod before firmly planting her feet and igniting the white blade. Pressing it into the metal, the blade ate away greedily with a continuing hiss as she began cutting a door for them.

Something behind the door gave way with a snap, but the door itself remained closed as she glanced behind her.

"Hope that wasn't important..." A worried glance back to Makko as the first half of the cut fell away, and began working on the second portion. A cable dangling from the left hand side as the second half fell outward with a hearty push.

The cable itself didn't seem directly connected to anything, but their was a slight hum to the space they entered. The area far more open than the tunnels they had been in. The saber falling silent, clipped to her belt as she squinted into the dark.

"This seems, built in?" Eyes adjusting to reveal pillars running from ground to ceiling, the room just large enough to serve as a meeting room if a large group got comfortable with being shoulder to shoulder. The room inside formed with pieced together walls. Squinting a little harder revealing another door to the right and one leading forward as she stepped inside with a cautious glance.

A heavy, mechanical grinding along the wall making her freeze as something pulled itself free from its hidden place along the wall.