Sun and Shadow [SJO Exploration]

[Sabine Galen]

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Location: Aboard a Maka-Eekai L4000, Morning Valor​

Orbit above an unnamed planet, Wild Space​

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Sabine stood quietly in the corridor, gazing out the view port at the tawny planet below. She stared blankly, not really looking at the view below. In the last few weeks, she and her father had settled on Kashyyyk. The two had wandered for years and years, it felt strange to have an actual base of operations now. Sabine hadn't quite decided whether or not she liked it that way. But, it wasn’t long before she realized her reflection in the glass had been joined my her father, his wise gaze upon her.

“You look deep in thought,” he said, coming to stand next to her. “Is there anything troubling you, Sabine?”

“No, I’m fine—”she started to say, but realized that he would see right through her. “There’s just so many Jedi at Silver Rest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many together…”

“Oh? I hope you don’t feel that I’ve deprived you."

“Nothing like that,” Sabine shook her head, smiling. Together the pair turned, and made their way towards the conference room. In just a few moments, her father would make his introduction to the Order of the Silver Jedi members that had chosen to accompany them on this mission of exploration.

The Pathfinders, as she understood it, were a group of explorers within the Order's ranks. But, they had not seen very much action – a fact that her father hoped to change as their new leader. Glancing sidelong at him, Sabine could see the tiny smile on his face, and the way it lit up his eyes. He was excited about this, she could tell. After all, he always had had an interest in archaeology. She supposed the chance to explore and study with the Silver Jedi had been too tempting to pass up.

With a new ship built just for exploration, the Pathfinders were well set on their way. Sabine was anxious to get started. The two arrived at the designated conference room, Yves Galen stood near the projector, and Sabine took a seat at the table. There were light refreshments available, but Sabine knew that her father would likely get right down to business once everyone had arrived.

[OOC – Any SJO are welcome to join! Other LS are welcome, too (just PM me). There will be a reward at the end for participants that finish out the thread! ]​

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[member="Cassius Droma"] | [member="Sky'ito Yumi"] | [member="Kiran Arlos"]​

 

[Ronak]

When the ship he had taken arrived to dock with the Jedis' exploration vessel, Ronak felt quite nervous. The wolfman had worked as a scout and path finder before, but never had he met so many Jedi at once as he was now supposed to meet. When Yves Galen had asked for a scout skilled in wilderness exploration to support a crew of archeologists, he had had no idea that this was a Jedis' mission. Well, he had not asked either. Granted this was much better than others who had hired him for explorations, but still he felt nervous inspite of his curiosity which still drove him forward.

The droid which awaited him at the air lock to greet him and lead him along the ships corridors received little more than an irritated scowl and a curt growl in response. These metal creatures without any changing scent to tell their origin or true feelings always vexed him. The awe at admiring the interior of the new ship however made him forget about his irritation with the droid. The ships he usually travelled on were old, run down and less than comforting - part of why he disliked space travel.

As they moved through the vessel, he also became aware of the feeling of the presence of others, not by their scent or noises, but from a feeling deep within. Although not trained in using the force himself consciously, he still had developed an awareness for such things - and for sure this did not come unexpected after all.

The Shistavanen had been too absorbed with his toughts to notice that they entered the actual conference room until the droid announced his arrival with its rasping metal voice causing Ronak's ears to twitch. The man who had hired him was staring out of the window, while a young woman seemed to await him or anyone entering the room quite anxiously. For a moment, Ronak was at a loss of words which were never his forte anyways, before deciding to take the blunt approach. "I am Ronak. You hired me as your scout ... Sir, Miss", he added after hesitating a bit.



[member="Sabine Galen"]
[member="Cassius Droma"]
[member="Sky'ito Yumi"]
[member="Kiran Arlos"]

 

[Kiran Arlos]

Exploration was always something that Kiran had a knack for. While his time on the run in his earlier years he found himself moving from place to place and all the while his fear of being caught for his crimes had put him on edge. He still took the time to stop for a moment and take a look at his surroundings.

Luckily all that was in the past now. He had a new future thanks to a few members of the Silver Jedi. He respected them greatly for their decisions and he wouldn't let them down. Even though the past mission he was on before kept him away for almost a month.

The Jedi Padawan entered the conference room and smiled at those that were present. One of them the Master leading the expedition. "Greetings Master Galen." Kiran looked towards the other two in the room and gave a friendly nod and wave. "Hello, I'm Kiran Arlos, thanks for allowing me to take part in this venture."

The Jedi padawan glanced towards the refreshments that were about and inclined himself to get a drink before he sat down. This would technically be his first formal explorative mission with the Silvers. He hoped he would make at least a decent impression upon them.



[member="Ronak"] [member="Sabine Galen"]

 

[Milla Caranthyr]

Eager blue eyes took in the view of the planet below. The dusty brown planet might not have looked like much to some, but to Milla, it was a whole new adventure in waiting. Her wide eyes turned to see another ship approaching the Morning Valor before disappearing from her view. Milla turned back to the view port and caught her own reflection. She wore a light brown Jedi tunic anddark brown cargo pants rolled up to her knees. Her feet were bare except for the heavy cloth wrap around the bridge and sole of her feet, that worked it's way up her leg to mid calf. Leaving her toes, the ball and heel of her feet exposed to the metal floor below. She didn't like wearing boots or shoes anymore, preferring to feel the ground beneath her feet. The small necklace she wore was made of strong dark plant fibers and had a small metal leaf in the center.

Milla gave the planet one last look before taking off at a jog for the conference room. Many people she passed in the hallway either greeted her or told her to slow down. She had only been on this vessel for a short time, but a good number of folks already knew who she was. None of it bad, luckily for her. Many knew her as an adventurous little child who had a knack for getting into where she wasn't supposed to be, then asking half a million questions as she was ushered out of the area.

Her feet slid some on the smooth metal floor as she quickly rounded corners. Once or twice she almost collided with some bigger then her, which wasn't a hard accomplishment given how small she was. Finally, she skidded to a stop in front of the conference room. She peeked inside the room to see if anyone would notice her. Once she thought the coast was clear, she slipped into the room and sat further back in the corner. Good enough to hear and see, but also enough to be out of the way.

[member="Sabine Galen"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

When Cassius Droma had been asked by the Pathfinders to help them choose their primary vessel for explanation, the archaeologist pilot couldn’t say no. After a short amount of time in thought, he’d recommended the Maka-Eekai L4000 transport. Not exactly the obvious choice for missions such as this, but Cassius knew the importance of keeping a low profile.

At only sixty-six meters long, it wasn’t a large vessel like a cruiser or frigate, but Cassius knew it would have all of the amenities a small team like the Pathfinder would need: spacious quarters for up to eight people, a galley, medbay, and even the large cargo bay on the lowest level could be used as a shuttle bay.

That’s where Cassius was now, doing some checks on his RZ-2 A-wing. His new VCX-100 was still being outfitted by Corellian Engineering Corporation, and the Stardust Melody was currently being cleaned and serviced for its soon-to-be new owner, so he was using the small fighter as transport for the time being. Taking a look at his chronometer, Cassius turned heel and headed for the turbolift, realizing it was time for the briefing.

His attire was usual for him: a cross between spacer and Jedi. On this mission especially, his clothes leaned more towards robes. For one thing, he knew that they were going to a desert planet, so he dressed like he had on Ruusan: longer robes to help protect his body from the sun. Another was that he was going to be working with Yves Galen for the first time – Sabine’s father and mentor. The latter had spoken of the former after their encounter on Klatooine, and he was eager to prove himself to the Jedi Master.

Stepping into the conference room, he gave a silent nod to those there, taking note of the ones that had already arrived. The only face he knew was Sabine’s, so he sat next to her towards the front, giving her a small smile.

[member="Sabine Galen"] | [member="Ronak"] | [member="Kiran Arlos"] | [member="Milla Ordo"]

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Now this took her back, exploration, going to a distant world to look through ancient ruins. A favorite past time of hers, memories of her past expeditions coming back into mind. She had met many interesting people during those trips, some that would become friends others that would become enemies that she would have several run ins. Though today would not be like that, today's she would be accompanying several of her fellow Jedi's as apart of the Pathfinders. It was honestly a little ironic considering her mother was a Pathfinder in the CIS, even if the jobs were a little different, Sukai did not expect herself to be sent off to kill some troublemaker, that was the shadows job.

Approaching the craft she was more then eager to lift off, a skip in her spet as she went past the air lock, following the signature of those present in the ship. Surprising almost all of them were unfamiliar, their scent and looks two, Sukai soon coming to see a whole group of people she had not met before. [member="Sabine Galen"] was probably the only person she had seen before and even then she hadn't really spoken to the women, having to learn her name from others after their groups went on the expedition of the old whip wreak a while back.

The other 4 though were completely new to her, Sukai giving the group as a whole a deep respectful bow, "greetings everyone I am Knight Yumi, it is quite interesting to see so many new faces here, this should make for a nice trip". Hopefully she would be able to make some actual friends during their expedition, it was a little sad to say that she was not really well acquainted with anyone one in the Silver Jedi. As everyone settled in she awaited the ship to land and lead the group towards the sandy surface, already her mind abuzz with what sorts of things they could find beneath the dunes.

[member="Cassius Droma"] [member="Milla Ordo"] [member="Kiran Arlos"] [member="Ronak"] [member="Sabine Galen"]

 

[Sabine Galen]

Master Yves Galen readied his information, which was neatly prepared. Projected before them was an image of the world that waited for them – and a map. He offered a polite nod to each that entered, noting Ronak, and Kiran Arlos, and a young woman with raven hair. The small form of a young girl had not gone unnoticed by the Master's sharp eyes, and he quirked a brow at Sabine.

Catching her father's glance, she gave him a bit of a shrug. The young one must have slipped aboard when no one was looking. At least, that was Sabine's thought. She was reminded of a younger version of herself, always eager for adventure. While her father was fond of children, she knew that he sometimes felt a bit awkward in their company. Turning, she spotted Cassius Droma enter, and she offered him a grin. Of course, she'd told her father about the Jedi that she'd collided with on Klatooine.

“Good to see you,” Sabine said in a hushed voice to Cassius.

Once everyone had assembled, Master Galen wasted no time.

“Greetings, everyone.” He offered a polite nod. “My name is Yves Galen. I am very excited to start my journey with the Silver Jedi, and I do look forward to working with each of you. Today, I am very pleased to say, we have the opportunity to explore some temple ruins. We believe this location was once home to a religious group that worshiped the sun. We are hoping to learn more as we explore. There are some remarkable finds waiting for us. I was here to start the efforts and soon realized that I needed help.”

A smile.

“That's where all of you come in.” Yves gestured with his hands. “I have a map available for each of you. Some points of interest: I would like you to note the location of the tombs – we will show our respect by leaving them undisturbed. Any other location is free to explore, but do beware of lose rocks and unstable passageways – you'll see some of the known trouble spots highlighted on the map.”

Master Galen leaned to the side and pressed the ship's comm. “Adair, please take us down.” Looking back to the group, he lofted his brows. “Are there any questions?”

MAP:

Spoiler

[member="Sky'ito Yumi"] | [member="Cassius Droma"] | [member="Milla Ordo"] | [member="Kiran Arlos"] | [member="Ronak"]

 

[Ronak]

No sooner than Ronak had entered than a familiar form slipped inside the room. The sounds of the door however gave her away to the wolfman, who did not even have to turn and look at her to recognise her by her scent. This was already the third time, he met the girl [member="Milla Ordo"] . Now she seemed to have changed from before or her clothing at least, when he finally did see her. Instead of rags she now wore the Jedi's tunic. Feeling quite happy for her and her final improvement, he tried to give her friendly nod and a smile baring wolfish teeth which might look discouraging to the girl unfamiliar with the Shistavanen.

His gaze was turned away from the girl, [member="Sabine Galen"] and @Yves Galen as more people started to arrive. The other new arrivals [member="Kiran Arlos"] and [member="Cassius Droma"] looked more like what he had Jedi imagines to look like from the stories, while [member="Sky'ito Yumi"] was hard for him to place. Curiostiy was raging against shyness and @Yves Galen relieved him of the conflict, before he could start to annoy the others with questions as the Master started his explanations. Ronak pricked his ears and listened intently to the explanantions which were focussed on the location of the former temple, but contained little about its surroundings. Carefully, he studied the map which held none of the informations he was looking for.

Looking around questioningly to see, if anyone wanted to ask a question first, the wolfman voiced his concerns: "I suppose you will not land right on top of your temple site. So, you will have to find a landing spot at some distance and make your way to the actual location. Do have any information on the terrain in the temple's surroundings, the fauna and flora native on the planet which could by now live in the location of the ruins?"

 

[Milla Caranthyr]

Milla spotted [member="Ronak"] as she sat down near the back of the room. She was surprised to see him here, but was happy at the same time to see a familiar face. The small girl gave a quick wave and smile at Ronak when he tried to smile at her. She could almost tell that his excitement was outweighing his nervousness, just like herself.

Her attention quickly became transfixed on what Master Galen had to say. She might have been young, and could barely read or write, but she was a very curious child. The thought of going to an ancient ruin to discover what was there excited her. Milla may have been born a Mandalorian and was a fierce fighter for her age, but she enjoyed learning about things of the past more then she did fighting. She remembered many of the stories the elders would tell her and the other street urchins of the planet she was orphaned on. Stories of heroes and empires from long ago. Now, she was getting to explore such a place herself.

[member="Sabine Galen"]

 

[Kiran Arlos]

This was looking to be quite the trip, Kiran thought. More showed up and that was always a good thing. The Jedi Master leading the mission and spoke and Kiran listened attentively as he instructed them on what they were to be doing and the exact parameters of the exploration mission at hand. The Jedi Padawan took a look over the map, noting everything that he could.

Kiran looked back up just as the one called [member="Ronak"] had inquired about some things. Kiran too, had a question.

"Should we expect to run into any sort of hostile attention?"

[member="Milla Ordo"] [member="Sabine Galen"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"] [member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Sabine Galen]

“Quite right,” Yves nodded as Ronak spoke. “We'll be landing near the temple, just a short walk away. But, you should be prepared for the sun and heat. It is an open area, not much of note, aside from the sand.”

The Master began to gather this notes.

“I've been here before,” He added, “We did not encounter any hostiles. From what I can tell, this place was abandoned long ago. Needless to say, we should still remain alert while we are in the ruins.”

The ship descended to the dusty planet below, soon touching down on the scorching desert landscape. Outside, there was a rather large mountain with rock formations that went off into the distance. And the dig site awaited.

“Well, then.” Yves offered a nod to everyone. “I shall be stationed in the temple quarters of the site, should you need me.” He would pick up where he left off during his last visit, working to excavate a rather large sun emblem. With that, the bald man gave a slight bow and swept from the conference room, heading towards the exit.

Sabine smiled as she rose from her seat and gave her supplies a last check. Dressed in plain trousers, a white tunic, she wrapped a long white scarf about her shoulders and brought it up to cover her head like a hood. The end of the scarf was tucked in, covering her nose and mouth in anticipation of traveling through the sand.

As the ramp lowered, an expanse of desert was presented before them. The heat immediately finding them, too. The strange temple site was there, ancient and crumbling. Sabine silently wondered how long it would take for the ruins themselves to blow away with the breeze.

“I think I'll head into the...” She glanced at the map. “The ceremony site... if anyone wants to join me.”

A man, their pilot, peeked out and shook his head. 'Nope...' he muttered before turning around to head back inside the ship – but not before giving Sabine a small wink.

Spoiler

Imagine something like this or this

[member="Sky'ito Yumi"] | [member="Cassius Droma"] | [member="Milla Ordo"] | [member="Kiran Arlos"] | [member="Ronak"]

 

[Ronak]

[member="Kiran Arlos"] seemed also sensible enough to think about possible hostilities, although he possibly meant not wildlife originated ones which had not been Ronak's first concern. Yves Galen allayed their fears quite properly, however this did not increase the wolfman's mood. The word heat did not in the least amuse the Shistavanen whose fur provided for extra heating under such circumstances. Better for him to stay out of the sun and keep to places where shade would be provided at least. Deserts where not his favourite environment - they lacked trees providing cooling and shade, fresh springs providing water, wildlife providing food or a source for study. At least there were no hostile creatures native on the planet unlike others he had been to before.

When hearing the temple quarters and ceremony site mentioned, Ronak quickly checked the map. The temple chambers looked quite open, the ceremony site held the promise of the unknown behind the collapsed parts sparking his curiosity. Without education as an archeologist the best he could do was dig and search for access points to new unknown sites. "I will join you", he yelped pacing after [member="Sabine Galen"]. "I have no idea about archeology really except that it's digging for ancient artifacts. Maybe I could learn a thing or two."

His gaze went to [member="Milla Ordo"] asking her nonverbally, if she would wish to join as well.

[member="Sky'ito Yumi"]
[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Milla Caranthyr]

Sand, that was something Milla was used to. The planet she was orphaned on was nothing but sand and dirt. A short trip and lack of hostiles was another plus to the situation, a situation she hoped wouldn't change.

Every began to file out of the room and chose where they were going first. Milla gave [member="Ronak"] a nod when he looked at her. She was definitely going to stick with him and [member="Sabine Galen"]. This would give her a better opportunity to learn, and be safer at the same time.

As they headed towards the ramp, they passed the view port that she had been looking out of earlier. She grabbed the satchel and hooded poncho she had stashed there earlier. The poncho was light grey, slightly tattered and a size to large, but Milla refused to get rid of it yet. The satchel containe a small variety of things, including a water canister.

She stood at the bottom of the ramp with the others, staring out at the ruins before them. The sight made her pause for a moment as she was pulling on her poncho. The ruins were bigger than she expected, but that meant more to explore. She finally managed to get her poncho on and shift from one foot to the other in anticipation. Then she remembered something important. Reaching into her satchel, she pulled out a small cylinder tracker and handed it to Sabine. "I'm supposed to give this to adults in charge whenever I go places. My necklace has a beacon in it and this is what you use to locate it, incase I get lost....or something."

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Sukai quickly sat down as the Jedi master stood out front, seems she arrive to late to properly converse and get to know those present. The small speech given by Galen though was more then enough to get herself excited for the coming expedition, a small smile constantly on her face as each second drew closer to arrival on the planet. Sun worship was quite an old for of religion, but who could blame old cultures like that, a huge orange ball that gave them light heat and essentially life.

She didn't have any question immediately come to mind and as the talk was wrapped up quickly rushed to her locker in order to get ready for the trip into the temple. It was nice to know the place lacked any immediate threats it became a pain to constantly have your site inspections and research interrupted. Most annoying type of interruption being cave hermit Sith that tries to cut your eye out with a saber, not a very fun experience to live through.

She continued to reminis about the event while donning her Nanban Dou, making sure the strapping was and HUD was secure before moving to the ramp with the others, her face being bombarded by the warm sandy air of the planet. "Now that is warm", such being the first time Sukia had step foot on a warm planet for at least a year, she had almost forgotten that dry face biting feel of the heat.

Stepping down the ramp it seemed everyone wanted to go to the ceremony room, an interesting choice, though first she would glean if anyone else had a differing opinion. "Anyone want to head to the Temple Chambers? if not I guess I am going with everyone else", she stated looking towards [member="Sabine Galen"] and the two others she had yet to learn the names of ([member="Ronak"] [member="Milla Ordo"]). It was sort of shaping up to be a class field trip if everyone went the same way... which wasn't a bad thing.

[member="Sabine Galen"] [member="Kiran Arlos"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

Cassius sat and listened to the Jedi Master as he spoke, his eyes glued to the map. He had loaded it into his datapad and was inspecting it as a hologram. They’d already managed to identify certain parts… except one. There was a section that had yet to be explored, it seemed, due to some parts that had been collapsed. That drew Cassius’s attention, if anything.

The mention of a people that worshipped the sun wasn’t uncommon for pre-hyperspace cultures, but it reminded him of a mission that had brought him to Ansion, which was very far away from here. That trip hadn’t proved to be entirely fruitful, but he had at least met his current mentor, Gianna Aegis.

He was disappointed to hear that the tombs would be off-limits. In his experience, burial rituals told a lot about a society and its culture, but he understood the reasoning for it. Respect for the dead was something only a few explorers adhered by. He wasn’t sure if his probe droids would be allowed in there or not, but he was already anticipating a ‘No’ from the Jedi Master, so he decided to not bring up the subject.

Everyone got up and started to get ready, eventually heading for the ramp. All Cassius needed was a pack that he slung over his shoulders and onto his back. Other than his utilitarian belt, it housed everything he used on site visits like this. He stepped down the ramp and into the hot sun, immediately grateful that he had packed a larger amount of water for this trip. Being from a frozen world, he never did well in environments like this. A scarf and goggles hung about his neck, ready to be used in case the wind picked up.

The ceremony site seemed to be where everyone was headed, and Cassius had figured that would be his first stop as well. It would be a hallowed place, and a great deal about their religious practices could be found here. From this, he could put everything else he subsequently discovered in context.

The most alien among them, a wolfish humanoid, mentioned how they thought of archaeology as digging for artifacts. “It’s much more than that, my friend,” he said, walking along the sandy and rocky terrain to the site. “It’s about discovering and learning about past cultures. The artifacts certainly help, but they’re merely a piece of the larger puzzle. And be careful of merely digging – it’s easy to damage things if you’re not cautious. Use these,” Cassius tossed the man a trowel and brush – the essential tools of an archaeologist.

After briefly passing through the temple chambers, he entered the ceremony site. Immediately, he set down his pack and opened it, pulling out two small Prowler-2000 probe droids. They were a little smaller than their centuries-old counterparts, with a more domed head. Activating them, he set them to a general scan, which would feed back into his datapad and add to the map they were given, rendering out a three-dimensional scan of every rock and crevasse. The droids sprang to life, hovering around with repulsors as blue light emanated from their scanners.

Kneeling down, Cassius used a small brush to move some sand away from a rectangular stone that appears to have fallen some time ago. There were markings and pictograms etched in, and Cassius squinted and canted his head as he inspected them. “Has anyone been able to translate any of this yet?” he asked Sabine, calling over a probe droid to have it scanned so he could study it later.

[member="Sabine Galen"] | [member="Ronak"] | [member="Kiran Arlos"] | [member="Milla Ordo"] | [member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

 

[Kiran Arlos]

"Of course, Master." Kiran acknowledged as he took a nonchalant glance to his lightsaber. He seriously doubted there would be any trouble. However as Master Galen had wisely instructed to be on guard, alert at all times. While it seemed majority of the party was heading towards the ceremony site, another had opted to go towards the Temple chambers.

"I'll accompany you to the Temple chambers." Kiran said with a small smile. While he knew it probably would be just as beneficial for everyone to go together, splitting up too had it's perks as well. Even if [member="Sky'ito Yumi"] had opted to go with the other group, Kiran would continue to go to the Temple Chambers. It would be something different and he didn't want to get in the way too much.


[member="Cassius Droma"] [member="Milla Ordo"] [member="Ronak"] [member="Sabine Galen"]

 

[Sabine Galen]

As the groups began to split, Yves Galen started off towards the temple chambers, where some work had already been started previously. There was a rather large sun dial in the middle, half excavated. Walking briskly, the Jedi Master had hardly remembered to address those that had chosen to follow him.

“Ah,” he started, looking to them. “If you would like to assist me, please take up a brush and begin to clear the surface of sand. Perhaps we can extract this piece today, that would be the hope. But, there is also an area just here...” He pointed. “Where we have not started digging, if you... feel up to it.”

There were shovels waiting, Yves offered a smile.

"I should really like to find more of their texts." He added, already focused on his task. "We believe that some will be found here, look for anything... with an inscription..." He trailed off, dusting about the sun dial.

[member="Kiran Arlos"], [member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

------------------------------​

Meanwhile, Sabine looked down as the young one offered her a small cylinder. She took it in her palm, and gave a nod as she learned that it was a tracking device. Good idea, she had to muse. “Very well. I'll hold onto it, then.” She smiled as she placed the device safely into her pocket.

She was pleased to see that Ronak was eager to learn. That's probably why her father had invited him along on this trip. And of course, she knew that Cassius was well interested in this sort of thing. Sabine smiled as he gave their wolfish companion a little advice about archaeology. She watched as he began to unpack what appeared to be some probe droids.

Taking up her own brush, she moved towards what seemed to be an altar.

There was a raised slab of flat rock, the bottom of which was still obscured by sand. Starting in a small area, she began to sweep some of the sand away. But she paused as Cassius address her.

“Hmm, I don't think so.” She shrugged. “It's something that'll take some time, I suspect.”

But, then... the slightest inkling of darkness was felt – it was so quick and brief that she wasn't sure if she'd even felt it... Rather than say anything just yet, she looked to the others.

[member="Cassius Droma"], [member="Milla Ordo"], [member="Ronak"]

 

[Ronak]

“It’s much more than that, my friend. It’s about discovering and learning about past cultures. The artifacts certainly help, but they’re merely a piece of the larger puzzle. And be careful of merely digging – it’s easy to damage things if you’re not cautious. Use these!", [member="Cassius Droma"] explained and placed the tools into Ronak's hands. Curiously he eyed the brush and a trowel. How could you ever efficiently dig with this small thing? But he refrained from asking the question aloud and turned to follow them, intent to learn from observation rather than asking such an embarassing question. The brush made sense at least for getting rid of sand and dust.

As he kept an eye on the young one, he noted that [member="Milla Ordo"] handed the counterpiece of the bracelet to [member="Sabine Galen"] that she had also worn on Lothal. That it was meant for keeping track of her was news to him, but it made perfect sense for keeping the bright girl safe. Following them to the ceremony site showed that the planet was indeed vastly empty and their digging site the only place of interest is this desert landscape within several miles radius.

As [member="Cassius Droma"] released his probe droid Ronak had to consciously control his dislike and refrain from snarling at the metal things. What quieted him was that the really looked more like tools than humanoids. The Shistavanen preferred to rely on his own senses rather than a machine's ones. Looking around intently he inhaled deeply to pick up any scents. Of course he could detect his party members whose scents he knew by now, then there were the machines and beyond that was something musky and decaying, a smell not unexpected where ancient burial chambers were nearby - although it smelt almost too intense for long unopened tombs.

The markings looked interesting, but he had no experience with code breaking and neither with ancient languages. Patiently, he waited until the real archeologists had finished their exchange before he voiced his concern to the two: "You said that the tombs should stay preserved. But I can smell some intense scent of decay. It could be just an animal's cadaver, although I did not note any life forms yet. But it could also be that something cracked an opening into the tomb site - most likely something natural like an earth quake. Should we check this out?"


[member="Kiran Arlos"]
[member="Sky'ito Yumi"]

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Sukai gave a small smile to [member="Kiran Arlos"] as he too decided to go to to the chambers, id be a bit crowded for everyone to head to the same area. Besides they would get the chance to dig up some old writings or artifacts in the main area. "Well looks like we have our work cut out for us don't we", she replied following master Galen into the larger space, observing the current dig site.

She observed the different tasks but with only 3 people it would probably be a bit more wise to have them concentrate on one task instead of splitting up. "I think we should all work on brushes and taking the sand away from the different areas, can get that done quickly and hopefully find something interesting". Maybe she would be able to take something back home to put in the family vault, nothing over the top or important, but hopefully an item worth it's value. "As for ancient text, well my grandmother would be ideal for that, she is quite the archeologist herself... well it is her job, though unfortunately I've not really been given her wisdom in past events, though I am sure she won't mind a holo call if we do stumble across anything".

[member="Sabine Galen"]

 

[Milla Caranthyr]

Milla gave [member="Sabine Galen"] a small nod before following after the group into the ruins. The sand was hot under her bare feet, but not hot enough to hurt or be uncomfortable. Her gaze took the ancient ruins in with great curiosity. There was so much to see and probably find buried under the sand. For now, though, she would have to curb some of her excitement and learn from the more experienced archeologists here.

She watched [member="Cassius Droma"] release a couple probe droids to scan the area. This was definitely a useful idea in her mind, and one that could help them map things out quicker. She half listened to the conversation when [member="Ronak"] asked his questions. Instead she focused on a some of the faded carvings in the stone. From what she understood, no one had quite figured translated the language.

Milla sat down in the shade and began to dig around in her satchel. She didn't have fancy equipment like Cassius, but she made do with what she had. From the satchel, she pulled out an old sketchbook and a heavily used pencil. Reading and writing was something she really didn't know, but she had spent many long nights learning how to draw to pass the time. She placed the sketchbook in her lap and began to draw the carvings on the wall exactly as she saw them. Then she moved on to drawing the parts of the temple directly in front of her. From half buried walls, to pillars both toppled and standing.

Then she felt something, a weird chill run down her back. She paused from her drawings to look around for a moment. The fact she felt a slight chill was strange considering they were in a desert. Then again, it might have just been her body trying to cool down in this desert sun. Her thoughts were distracted by Ronak when he mentioned the tombs and how they might be opened somehow. As interested as Milla was to figure out what was in there and see who and what the beings who lived here before looked like. She felt as if they should leave it be, but really wasn't sure if it was out of respect or something else.