Mission to Abeloth

[Telthòr]

"For a second, I was going to mention we're on a Dark Side infested world, I didn't doubt a disturbance in the Force," Ricardt remarked with suppressed laughter. He let Corvus do her thing and began to look around. They remained standing at the fork, waiting for her judgement when he heard something. Footsteps. Corvus didn't seem to hear it as she meditated on the paths, Ricardt looked to Tugoro with a frown on his brow, giving him the look of 'did you hear that?'

Corvus raised her opinion, drawing the attention of the Archaeologist back to her. "It's worth a shot," he said, trusting in her ability to locate the artefacts. He began down the middle path, no different in appearance than the other two. "Ah yes, the Miraluka. It's not just Force Sight though that the Masters mean. It's a big play on instinct," Ricardt provided to the conversation. He tried to focus his ears on any other sound that wasn't coming from the trio, but it was hard to focus on hearing when he was keeping his eyes ahead, and his intellect on the ball of light in his hand. Not to mention the thudding of their feet below them that seemed to echo endlessly.

The corridor began to open into a tremendous chamber hewn from rock. For all intents and purposes, it appeared to be a natural cave structure, but to the trained eye he could identity that someone had been here, and they had carved it out to this specific appearance. He knew not why, but it was welcome. There seemed to be a breeze that came through, replacing what had been thin air with a beautiful gust and resupply of thick oxygen. He breathed in a sigh, but was grossly curious about where the breeze was coming from. He bathed the room in the golden light, looking around he saw what they had been after. The decomposing corpse of a Pau'an; Dark Acolyte Fein Medon. The murderer of Padawans Jora Vao and Kuan Le.

[member="Metus De'cal"] [member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

“Instinct, yes. Feeling the Force, rather than trying to wrestle with it.”

She followed his lead as they travelled down the corridor until the natural roughness of the walls gave way to smooth lines and a very large cave. The stale air was replenished by a breeze of fresh and Corvus wondered where the other exit was.

Corvus stared at the decomposing body and waited for Ricardt to share what he must know. It was no accident they’d found this decaying corpse.

Whilst she waited, she momentarily closed her eyes. Was this the source of the Light the Force had shown her?

[member="Metus De'cal"] [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] [member="Ricardt Darkmourne"]

 

[Telthòr]

"It would be useful to have an investigator right about now," Ricardt mused to himself, falling in a squat beside the body. He referred to the uncommon, if not mostly rare specialisation of the Jedi, to investigate homicides and other such things. They typically closely worked with intelligence agencies. There was no visible blood on the man, but bruises and a single laceration around his neck certainly indicated something. The Umbaran curled his hands around the fabric of the mans robes and pulled open, revealing an ornate lightsaber utilising the material wintrium as its pummel. He lifted it up, and activated the blade. His suspicions were proven correct. Durindfire crystal. The plasma ignited with a beautiful silver sheen.

He glanced to Corvus, "You may prove yourself, if he's got this he certainly has the holocron." Ricardt often dealt with holocrons, and when he discovered them it was his duty to unlock its knowledge and catalogue it, but that was his secondary job, his primary was finding it. With a seeker of knowledge in his presence, he felt it her prime objective to handle the holocron. He began to pat down the robes until he found the secret compartment in his robes, a concealed pocket. Ricardt dug his hands in and pulled out an emerald cube that pulsated with the force. He turned to Corvus, tossing it towards her gently, "Catch." Ricardt stood and looked to Tugoro, "We should make sure no one else is around before we sit down and figure out what happened here."

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus watched with dispassion as Ricardt examined the body. He was clearly looking for clues to his death, or perhaps how long he’d been dead or something equally as important.

When he activated the dead man’s lightsaber she noticed a distinctive silver sheen to the blade. Many Jedi on Corellia used a Durindfire gem as it was common for members of the Horn family. She was herself a cousin on the family – but due to its size, so was half of Corellia.

At the mention of word holocron, her ears pricked up. When he threw her the emerald cube, it was her pupils turn to react, growing large in her violet eyes.

She had seen and handled many in her time. As something of a scholar back on Corellia, she was always one of the first to be granted access to new knowledge - despite her young age. Since her time on Ossus she’d been lucky enough to interact with the Great Holocron, Tionne's Holocron, and the Codex of Tython onboard Jorus Merrill’s ship.

But she had never, ever, been tossed a holocron whose information wasn’t already catalogued. Of course, it may be catalogued somewhere but nowhere useful in the here and now.

“What if it contains dark secrets?” She spoke to Ricardt without taking her eyes off the crystal-lattice device and, in fairness, was already examining it before he had a chance to respond. She kept up a running commentary, as much for her own benefit as those with her.

“It’s a cube, so most likely Jedi in origin.” She closed her eyes and ‘sensed’ the cube but simultaneously opened her own mind – effectively ‘showing’ the cube of her true intentions, that she was pure in spirit and an ardent follower of the Light side of the Force.

She knew this was a risk – but one worth taking. Sith holocrons had been known to corrupt the unaware but gatekeepers could sense Force Users and restrict information accordingly. Unless it could trust her, it would reveal nothing. This was no locked box to be opened with the right key. The box was the key, the container and the contents all rolled into one.

Opening her eyes, she added, “I’m letting it know we’re friendly.”

Despite Ricardt's words that they should delay examining the holocron her eyes said she wanted to open it here and now. Immediately in fact!

[member="Ricardt Darkmourne"] [member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Lord Gaius]

The Force-imbued artificial intelligence felt it. Something organic with a noticeable midichlorian count, reaching out to him. He could feel the probing of her mind, and it was not the first. Others had tried before her. As of now, Parmi Miemant, former apprentice of Hasjo Hallu before his death had been the only living being to access its knowledge. The Gatekeeper was aware Parmi had long since vanished, and her friend Jora Vao was dead. And now Jora's killer lay dead in a cave. His circumstances of death was of great importance, and his judgement of her pure heart could be said she was Jedi. There was a duty to inform her, but she was not yet ready for the wealth of knowledge he held. His was that of warcraft, and hers was not.

A seemingly holographic display burst to life from the top of the cube, standing before Corvus. The figure was as small as ones hand. It emanated an emerald glow from its being. The creature was a Nautolan, but heavily armoured. An array of weapons were clamped around his waist, it defied common sense. There were the obvious weapons, a single-blade lightsaber and a lightsaber pike, and the not so obvious, the San-Ni Staff, Lightwhip and Long-handle Lightsaber. "You have been deemed worthy," the voice boomed, "But not of what I hold secret." The Gatekeeper looked into the eyes of Corvus, "Beware, you're not the only ones here."

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Telthòr]

Ricardt had just clipped the secondary lightsaber to his belt when Corvus began to talk to him, seemingly distracted by the treasure trove of knowledge he had tossed towards her. "It's likely to contain 'dark secrets', but not in the sense you're thinking. It is a Jedi holocron," he confirmed. He held out his hands and sent the Force Light to shower the chamber in light, illuminating even the darkest corners once more. He peered out, and saw the direction from which the breeze was coming from. He began to wander closely.

"Good, I'd hate for that holocron to think we're not," he said to Corvus when she alerted the cube they were friendly. He rested his hand on the lightsaber at his side, squinting his eyes to peer into the darkness. Even his ultraviolet eyesight was finding difficulty in assuming what was down the other corridor. It was such an inky black that it could consume all other darkness, for this was the only way to describe such a colour. Rather, it was devoid of it entirely. He felt the breeze once more, than vanished, and once more it returned. His ears plucked the sound of the Gatekeeper, "Beware, you're not the only ones here." It was then that Ricardt realised it wasn't a breeze. It was a creatures breath. A skittering was heard, and out from the darkness emerged an Energy Spider.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

"Well that was unexpected!"

This was clearly the Nautolan they'd previously discussed. A very, very well-armed chap.

Corvus' mind was now in conflict. The holocron was activated and gave three key pieces of information but no answers. One (she counted them off in her head). She was worthy. Worthy of what? Two. She was clearly of insufficient rank or specialism to be imparted with whatever secrets he held. But Corvus wondered what else he could share, that wasn't secret? And finally, he told them they weren't alone. But who else was there?

Corvus has many mantras, sayings gleaned from holocrons and datapads. Words of wisdom from Jedi Masters to great politicians and some that just sounded right regardless of who said them. One screamed out at her now. "Don't center on your anxieties, Obi-Wan. Keep your concentration here and now, where it belongs."

Point three was clearly the priority, despite the learning part of her brain trying to convince her otherwise. And to emphasise the point, Ricardt illuminated the chamber to reveal a large arachnid, scuttling towards them. "Do you think it's the herbivorous type?" she asked Ricardt as she could feel its breath on her neck.

[member="Ricardt Darkmourne"]

 

[Telthòr]

"Do you think it's the herbivorous type?" Corvus asked Ricardt, and he could only mutter under his breath, "We'll find ou-Argh!" His voice was cut short when the spider rapidly spun its body around, shooting out silk that clasped around the mouth of Ricardt. The Umbaran began to fall backwards, slamming against the ground with a meaty thud. The durindfire lightsaber he had tried to retrieve was thrown across the room, clattering besides Corvus' feet. Ricardt began to claw his fingernails at the silk, tearing the material apart but no sooner had the spider advanced. It began to coil its long, thinly legs around the Umbaran, encasing him in a coffin of silk.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was momentarily paralysed. She'd clocked up hours and hours of sparring with droids, remotes and even other Padawans but nothing could have prepared her for picking up a lightsaber in a real combat situation.

But that’s exactly what she did. She grabbed the Durindfire lightsaber and reacting on instinct, activated it. Training and theory told her to center herself in the Force, to allow it to flow through her and guide her. But she wasn’t listening to any of that at this point.

Instead she swung the blade and removed one of the spider’s legs. Having attracted its attention, she waved the bright saber in its face, hoping to either scare it off or lure it away from Ricardt. She was suddenly aware that her breathing was laboured and she quickly calmed herself and, finally, centered herself in the Force.

[member="Ricardt Darkmourne"]

 

[Telthòr]

The room collapsed into darkness as the Force Light vanished. The durindfire crystal illuminated the room, but barely. The plasma didn't emit a light powerful enough to shine throughout the inky blackness. The spider skittered towards her, its razor sharp feet scraping against the rock, shooting off sparks. The plasma swung and severed a leg, a sickening gurgle came from its mouth and the energy spider reared back. Ricardt struggled on the ground, muffled shouting emitting from his cacoon. He wiggled about, light starting to emit from the cracks in the webbing. Then an explosion of golden rays lit up the room, eviscerating the webbing. Ricardt had focused his mind, concentrating the Force Light into an intense blast of energy.

The Umbaran crawled onto his feet, reaching down his body to unclip his own lightsaber. The emerald blade burst to life with a familiar snap-hiss. His form was that of Niman, with no notable strengths but no weaknesses either. He kept his blade in the low guard, unsure how to attack such a foe. "You think your holocron knows what to do!?" he asked Corvus.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Tugoro had fought many creatures and opponents in his time as a Padawan. He prided himself on the fact that he had dispatched many foes with his combat prowess, though it didn't always have his back. The young boy's eyelids would open as he stared widely, having never seen such a monster. The spider was of considerable size, and seemed to have razor sharp claws on each feet. Watching the spider carefully, Tugoro would examine it's reaction to the light given off by the saber's plasma. Apparently due to it's habit of living in the dark, it disliked bright illumination. Reaching down to his waist, Tugoro would grasp the black metal of one of his own weapons, pulling it from his belt. The saber was Sith in design, and thus when ignited revealed the powerful crimson glow. It's plasma blade was longer than most, giving Tugoro a longer reach with his strikes. Having snapped out od the fascination of the holocron, the experienced Padawan would leap forward, landing in front of the lethal spider. Thrusting his blade arm forward, Tugoro would attempt to fend the creature off, aiming to scare it off, if only temporarily.

"This is where the fun begins." Tugoro would comment, in his quick and blank tone of voice. He would cast a quick glance to the duo, before recalling the words of Hasjo. Had the master been referring to the spider, or something else?
[member="Corvus Raaf"]
[member="Ricardt Darkmourne"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus admired Ricardt's presence of mind. Learning all about Force theory at the Academy was one thing - but reacting in a real-life situation was another. Had she been by herself, she knew she would be spider-fodder by now. But fortunately she wasn't alone.

Seeing her two comrades fire up their sabers, she stepped back, deactivated hers and turned her attention back to the holocron.

The emerald Nautolan re-appeared. "In something of a rush. Large spider. What do we do? Please..."

The addition of the pleasantry at the end was a reflex and seemed incongruous considering the situation.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"] [member="Ricardt Darkmourne"] [member="Hasjo Hallu"]

 

[Ellie Mors]

Location: Jungle Near Ruins

Silara's small clutch fighter, a relatively old style starfighter, settled down among the trees and bushes atop the dark world. Her travels had led her to such a place not only because of its incredible beauty and dangerous environment, but its intense connection to the dark side of the force - something which she loved so much that some, even those among the Sith, began to see her as obsessed. What had actually brought up coming to the planet earlier than expected, she'd initially intended to arrange a visit with her master [member="Darth Veles"], was a tip off that there were a group of Republic Jedi and possibly researchers making a visit to the small and secluded world. Though the report she'd intercepted was about a bunch of relatively inexperienced Jedi apprentices, she still made it a point to drop in and keep an eye on them - Silara was often doing such with the Silver Jedi as of late, and she would spare no sympathy for others, especially not Republic scum. After leaving her small spacecraft, and locking it up, the Sith Knight made her way through the overgrowth as she reached out with the force to feel about for other force signatures - something she had happened to have an innate talent for. With a smug grin, Silara stalked off toward the feeling of something much more light than the rest of the world, especially in comparison to herself.

(Thanks for the invite.)

[member="Ricardt Darkmourne"]

 

[Lord Gaius]

As the spider approached, as he knew it would, that was not the only threat he had mean't. Though as of now, it was the most critical. In life, Hasjo had reached the zenith of knowledge in combat, and weapons. The Gatekeeper didn't need to look around the room to analyse the situation. The Force imbued holocron was well capable of reaching out and detecting the scenario itself. Tugoro charged, the spider reared, using its long legs to propel itself away from attack. Corvus turned around, her blade de-activated, she said, "In something of a rush. Large spider. What do we do? Please..."

He hesitated for a moment. The Gatekeeper held an identical personality to the real creature before his demise, and was equally untrusting of those he didn't know. A trait from long years combatting Sith. Hasjo Hallu watched Corvus, and felt the presence of Tugoro and Ricardt. The others may not be worthy yet, but she was. And the Gatekeeper wasn't going to stand by when innocent Padawans were mercilessly slaughtered. He doubted his own self as to why he would hesitate. The voice of the holocron emitted from the Gatekeeper, "Less talk, more practice."

The Gatekeeper moved, retrieving its own lightsaber so it could demonstrate. It would have no power, but that of visualisation. "Spread wide, keep low and go for the legs. The spider can't kill you if it can't move. Become unpredictable, relinquish yourself into the power of the Force. Be as quick as a Nexu, and as unrelenting as a Sarlaac." Hasjo began to demonstrate, strafing his blade in a series of down-start movements that slashed upwards at varying degrees, constantly moving back and forth. When his blade came up, he slashed down. Hasjo would be unrelenting, and he expected them to be too. An energy spider was no foe to be underestimated.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"] [member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Silara Vantai"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded at the holographic image. "Thanks...OK boys, you heard the advice - go for the legs."

Form III was still the most natural stance for her, and although she figured she could keep the creature at bay for a while, she knew it wouldn't be enough. So, igniting the lightsaber once more she took up the Form of Ataru, both hands on the sabre, the blade held vertically at her side, wrists just below shoulder height. All that training with Viper was about to pay off - she hoped.

She had the pace to carry it off and combining it with her knowledge of Teräs Käsi, she was confident that, with the others there, they would prevail. 'Good thing it doesn't have a blaster,' she mused as she took up the opening stance. She lacked the power of many of the Padawans she'd sparred with but she was able to unleash a flurry of fast strikes from multiple directions - all the time keeping moving - all the time slashing downwards at its legs.

A second spider leg was removed but Corvus over-extended and stumbled, coming precariously close to the spider's spinneret glands.

[member="Ricardt Darkmourne"] [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] [member="Hasjo Hallu"] [member="Silara Vantai"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

Metus could feel a fight going on as he advanced through the darkness of the ruins, and questioned if he should attempt to try and strike while they were distracted or not. In the end he chose the latter, deciding to stay in the background and eventually move against them once they were weakened and tired after their mysterious little fight. The Sith apprentice walked back towards where he came in and placed his torch onto the ground near the initial corridor that led into the open area from the entrance, then moved to sit in the corner of the room and wait for them to come to him. Hopefully they would be too weak to put up a decent fight, but if not he could maybe go after them with trickery and hit-and-run tactics.

Now in a proper hiding place in the deepest shadows of the room, Metus sat on the ground with crossed legs and his weapon in his lap while mentally preparing to do what he was trained to do. These Jedi would face a man ready to rely on whatever dirty trick he could employ to win, and ready to flee if his life was on the line despite what some would say is a cowardly action.

 

[Telthòr]

Ricardt took the advice to heart. He spread out wide from the group, and rather than engaging the beast in close quarters he took another approach. It was too fast to claim all of its legs, but he curled his arm back and lunged. His hilt was propelled from his grasp. His mind concentrated on controlling the cosmic energies to allow the blade to remain activated, all the while soaring through the air to cut two legs at the joints. He pulled with the Force, bringing the blade back to him.

((Small post, and late rely. Very sorry, just been sick IRL))

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

The crimson light that shone brightly would move, as the young Padawan took several steps backwards, allowing his comrades to take advantage of the opening he had created with his distraction. The long, dangerous limbs that the energy spider possessed would begin to lessen with every passing moment, making it less and less of a threat for the group. Grinning smugly, the battle hardened youth figured he would allow the two to slay the creature, for they were definitely capable of accomplishing that. Turning from the group, Tugoro would walk a few steps forward, facing the direction in which [member="Metus De'cal"] was. The entire planet was covered in dark energy, however it seemed to radiate the strongest from two different locations. Hasjo had been right, they were not alone. The red beam of plasma would disengage, retracting into the dark metallic hilt that Tugoro grasped in his hand.

The young boy would scowl briefly, as he recalled the exotic weapons master's words, that had apparently deemed him unworthy. What made him so unworthy? Surely, Tugoro was more worthy than the two present. At least, that was how his smug mind worked things out. Instead of dwelling on such envious thoughts, the Jedi would push them away, knowing that they had no place in being. Glancing back at the group, he would check to see how they were keeping up, surely the creature had passed, or fled by now.
[member="Ricardt Darkmourne"]
[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Focusing on her Teräs Käsi training, Corvus regained her feet and moved with extreme speed out of the spider's reach. Three more slashes and another limb was severed. Five down now and she took the opportunity to step back and reappraise the situation.

She didn't want to die but she didn't want to kill it either. If it chose to scuttle away (as best it could), that would be the perfect outcome for Corvus.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"] [member="Ricardt Darkmourne"] [member="Metus De'cal"] [member="Silara Vantai"]

 

[Ellie Mors]

Location: Outside Ruins

"Well isn't this just gorgeous." The Sith remarked to herself as she walked up towards the entrance to the ruins, feeling the source of several living force users within. A small grin began to form from the corners of her lips as she took light, silent, steps into the cavernous entrance of the ruined structure. Within the structure she could feel someone faltering on the edge of darkness, much like a Jedi as they fell into depravity to the dark side, and it was a feeling she could not get enough of - making her way towards the group with no intention of slowing down. Though the others were quite a ways away, Silara felt the premonition of a fight about to break out - perhaps even before she was to arrive. It was unfortunate for these Jedi to be stalked by such a woman, as she was certainly one Sith to not trifle with, and her success in various battles and wars had made her all the more skilled and adept in both direct combat and assassination. As she drew nearer, however, there was a feeling she could not shake, sense of fate being the best she could describe it as. Down the hall there must be someone of great potential, but she could not tell which of the force signatures it was, only that a meeting between her and they would certainly be interesting.

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] [member="Ricardt Darkmourne"] [member="Metus De'cal"] [member="Darth Vidar"]