Raiders of The Lost Temple: Sibling Edition

[Tobias Wraith]

Tython​

Surface​

The Jackdaw was parked dozens of kilometers away, and all cities where a thing of the past. Well, the cities that had recently been erected thanks to the Sith that controlled the area. The wind went over the glass, the cheap speeder barely keeping up the speed that the Padawan was trying to get it to. “Ellie, when the speeder sounds like this. It means the alternator is about to go out,” he slapped the controls a few times to get the engine lights to cut off. “Which means we got ripped off at the rental place when we were in town.” Stupid Sith business, they always try to rip people off. Tobias slapped the controls again out of frustration before resting his elbow on the outside of the door. It would be a small miracle if they made it to the ruins of the Jedi temple.

Somehow Ellie had gotten them fake id’s, she had even managed to hide the fact that he had been part of the One Sith miltiary. How, well that wasn’t up for him to know. The things she was able to do at her age blew his mind. Both had lived different lives, but they had wound up together with vastly different skillsets. Instinctively he reached back to make sure their supplies were still in the back seat, if not they would be in trouble.

I can’t lose my lightsaber again, he thought.

“Are we close to the mountain? I know on the ship we looked at the coordinates, I just need to know if I’m going to have to pull over and fix this piece of poodoo of if we are going to make it.” Over the roar of the engine, he managed a smile at his sister. That much was clear after spending the greater part of two months with her, and now he couldn't imagine his life without out. As focused as he was, his memories shifted to an encounter that troubled him. A red twilek crossed his mind, and he remembered her threat. The smile dissapeared, but he made sure to look at the road as it happened.

She doesn't need to know, yet.

[member="Elanor Wraith"]

 

[Elanor Wraith]

A crash course in speeder breaking sounds. "Well, I COULD have packed one into the Jackdaw, but it would have blown our cover. Pull over here." She sniffed, hopping out of the vehicle as it coasted to a stop so she could get a better look around. The planet had gone to seed in the past few years, that was for sure. "...I think we're close enough tri walk." Ellie chewed the corner of her lip, then fished through their supplies.

When she stood back up, she had an old paper map and, somehow, a beige pith hat. She'd bought it specially for this expedition, along with a good bit of surveying equipment to drive home their assumed identities - Jareel and Jalaay Howiser, geological surveyors in the employ of the Imperial Geological Research & Evaluation committee, scouting out good and bad places for construction.

It helped that half that equipment would help them find other things, too.

Ellie unrolled her map on the steaming back of the speeder, scratching her head. She glanced up at the sky, then consulted her notes. "...we're not far. Maybe four kilometers." She reported, closing her ragged old book with a grin. "Once we reach the base of the mountain, the jungle should break a little and it'll be much easier going. How's the engine look?"

 

[Tobias Wraith]

“Okay sis, whatever you say.” The older of the two Wraiths said nothing as he throttled down, the clutch fighting against him as he slowed the speeder down. His entire being vibrated, and his teeth chattered as the engine block shook and stalled out as he initiated the parking brake. Under normal circumstances, he would have pulled over, but they were far from civilization. So he just let the speeder die right there, and he parked it. Getting out, he popped the hood, smoke greeting his face. Steam hissed at him, and water and other types of fluid sputtered from various compartments. Tobias managed to look over at [member="Elanor Wraith"] as she looked over some papers in the age of datapads. Don’t say anything, just let her look at her papers. The elder Wraith bit his tongue and instead inspected all of the parts of the engine, his hand going towards his trust sonic servowrench.

Tobias wasn’t a savant, nor was he an amazing mechanic. What he was, was a man who had been on many missions in places he didn’t belong. Did he know everything about the crappy engine before him? Of course not, but he did know just enough to get it to be serviceable. Eagerly walking to the trunk, he pulled out a few parts, and some fluid and set to work. It was nice and peaceful, local fauna the only sounds around. He was able to enjoy the sounds of the wind rustling, and for a moment he forgot where exactly he was at.

Oh yeah, I’m in Sith space.

“Well, the engine is..well let’s not go there. It will work for us.”

Getting his bag out, he took the jacket off and stuffed it in the bag with the rest of his supplies. Dressed in simple gray pants and a tight, vneck shirt. He put the bag on and strapped it to his chest and waist before pulling out his belt and sliding his blasters and lightsaber onto it. “So, you really had no pick on those horrible names you gave us?” His laughter was incredulous, “lead the way my navigator.”

 

[Elanor Wraith]

"We are trying to pass as Lorrdian, and they have silly names." Elanor defended idly, rolling the map up. "Turns out, trying to translate 'eyebrow twitch ring finger wiggle glance left' produces some laughable monikers." She tossed the map back into it's tube, tossed the tube back into the speeder, and gave a satisfied-sounding huff. Things were going well!

And thankfully, Tobias was around to do all the mechanical stuff she couldn't make heads or trails of. Elanor grabbed two bottles of water and hopped over the side of the speeder, plonking her khaki'd butt down in the driver's seat. When he came around, she tossed one of the cod drinks to her brother with a grin. "Hop in! I'll just take us there!" Ellie chirped. She had to get her learner's permit hours somewhere, after all.

 

[Tobias Wraith]

"Sis, I'm not even going to know what any that means." He smiled at her and pointed to a small pocket on his belt. "This little translator is the only reason I can communicate with every species in the galaxy on a whim. Without it I would be sunk." It wasn't the complete truth, Tobias could use the Force to sense intent. Just like he was scanning the area to make sure they weren't being followed. It wasn't easy when you were in a jungle, but the lightside aura of the planet certainly helped. Well, what was left of it. In the texts that he had read after the Sith had invaded, it had been speculated that they had corrupted the nexus on the world. Tobias wasn't that skilled in sensing an entire world like some Masters could do, but from what he could feel it was still mostly light.

It just didn't help that evil was everywhere on the world.

"Sure, you can drive." Tobias was busy looking the area over as he walked over and threw his backpack off and into the back seat. Unclipping his lightsaber, he kept that in his hand while he took a seat and made sure to buckle up. "Just don't get us killed or spotted by any Sith patrols. Good excuse or not, I can't hide that I'm a Jedi."

He didn't really want to either.

[member="Elanor Wraith"]

 

[Elanor Wraith]

Ellie kicked the speeder into gear and took off a little too fast, but did a more or less competent job of piloting. "Well, you see, Lorrdians speak Common, but have what's called Kinetic Communication - basically, they speak with their bodies, and communicate through little motions and gestures! Isn't that fascinating?" She gushed, steering around a perilously downed tree. "Basically, throughout history, they were the slaves of the Empire in whatever form it took, and developed kinetic communication as a way of speaking with one another while leaving their masters none the wiser - which is why it is such a direct and simple language, as it was quickly co-opted by geurrilla fighters and insurgents. Now, that doesn't become REALLY important 42 ABY...." She began, gesturing wildly with one hand while driving with the other.

What followed was a few kilometers of almost safe driving, packed with Elanor enthusiastically giving Tobias a crash-course in Lorrdian history, and specifically, the role they played in the First Galactic Civil war. Once she got rolling, it was hard to get her to stop - especially about something she was passionate for. And if there was one thing Elanor was passionate about, it was Galactic history. "So, basically, after the Kanz Disorders, the Lorrdians were a mishmash of slave peoples and refugees with a muddled heritage and cultural identity. Without Kinetic Communication - which, the meat of that language is really something else, let me tell you - they'd really be more of a collective than what some argue to be an entirely separate metahuman species. isn't that just totally cool?" The blonde asked as she bounced out of the parked speeder and grinned. They'd arrived at the base of the mountain in one piece - all that remained was to scale the thing and see what they could find.

 

[Tobias Wraith]

Tobias loved his sister, over the past month he had truly gotten to know her. She was everything that he wasn't, and then some. Where he was mechanically inclined a bit, and street smart, she was the academic. As he listened to her speak about Lorridians, he simply smiled and nodded his head. His arm hanging out the window, he enjoyed her driving. She braked a little too hard, and turned a little too sharply but he was having fun. The zest for life that she had only made him love her more. It was obvious she had grown up loved, everything she did exuded that emotion. Her temperament was perfect, he had often thought she would have made the better Jedi. Everything about her was the lightside of the Force without actually having a connection. While the older Wraith could have passed as the look-a-like for their progenitor, she was most definitely the one who matched all the reports on their father. So, he just smiled at her the entire time they drove. She was everything he wished to be, and she was so much younger.

It was why he was smuggling for the Sith on the side, he valued her life more than his. It was also why he had left the Republic, he couldn't manage so much and not get caught. Sure, the politics of that Order made it easy. It just wasn't in him to leave something so soon, but he had to so that his sister could be safe. Elanor was his priority, and he would do his best to keep her safe.

Would their father have it any other way?

"It is cool sis, very cool indeed." His words showed he was occupied with looking at the mountain, or rather the trail before them. Hopping out, he clipped his weapon back to his belt along with the blaster. Hooking his backpack back up, he took a sip of water from a canteen before tossing it to Elanor. "Don't forget to stay hydrated, I'm not dragging you back down here." He really wanted her at the ship, in orbit, but she had insisted on staying by his side. Walking briskly, he started towards the winding trail. "It's just going to be a hike for a kilometer. Then after that the real climbing begins." Carrying an extra fifty pounds wasn't a big deal after carrying his Rishi master everywhere during training. Tobias started up the trail, hoping his younger half could keep up. "Talk to me Ellie, what do you know about Tython from your texts? I can tell you what the Jedi wrote on the planet."

[member="Elanor Wraith"]

 

[Elanor Wraith]

Elanor caught the canteen - barely - and took a sip. "Don't worry! I can keep up." She promised merrily. Sure, there was danger. The planet was occupied, they were here illegally under assumed identities, but who would bother them this far out in the wilderness? Nobody, that was who. She was free to regard this trip, Ellie had decided, as exactly what it was: an adventure. She clipped the canteen onto her belt, shouldered her bag, then tossed a surveying tripod over her shoulder- just in case it was needed. It was part of their alibi, too, but more importantly, she wanted to be able to get readings if she felt a desire to. Ancient architecture was simply fascinating, especially when it managed to withstand the weight of so many centuries, wars, and conflicts. Surely there was something of worth to be found, there?

That'd make for one hell of a paper, too.


Elanor set off briskly, jogging to catch up with her brother and hustling to keep step with his longer stride. She didn't want him to think she was incapable in any way, after all. "The first known colonists of Tython are the Gree - but before they even arrived, some ancient race constructed a massive city on the surface. Of course, this is way back in like, thirty-four THOUSAND BBY." She explained cheerfully. "After that, it's mostly Dathomir and the Rakata that fought over the planet. Then the Tho Yor arrived, and would later form the covenant that was the primordial form of the Jedi Order." Ellie gestured wildly, grinning as she spread her arms. "Known as the Je'daii Order, some hard-line conservative force users use the name of that group as a call to arms as a return to ancient traditions. Which is really very fascinating, when you think of it. Any society is a living organism, and it grows and changes over time - but in the sight of our individual lives, that's hard to see. Anyway, a few hundred years later..."

Really, she could do this all day. The girl was a walking textbook of Historical information, especially anything to do with the Galactic Republic. She'd talk all the way up the mountain if he let her.