The Abyss [Drake Blackwood/Cass Tarentill/Vexander Graves]

[Vexander Graves]

-- THE ABYSS DERELICT --​

@[member="Cass Tarentill"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"]

Across the galaxy, there were countless mysteries and an infinite number of unconfirmed situations... and each year, the number increased. Still, some of them were uncovered by travelers with different tasks across the galaxy, while other certain amount were just reported to the authorities in order to be investigated.

Such action was not uncommon, most merchants and explorers didn't look at those mysteries with awe, but actually looked at them with distrust and fear... and who could blame them? you didn't know what you would find in the emptiness of space.

This was one of those events, but due to the nature of the situation, the local authorities didn't think that was wise to send a Military Team to explore and to bring the ship to known space, something was odd and for that reason they informed the Jedi Council hoping that the Masters would send a full team of Jedi Knights to discovers the secrets hidden for centuries in the vessel only known as The Abyss...

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**Onboard the Defender Class Light Corvette: The Nautilius**

The air in the ship smelled kind of nice, in fact, the ship was almost brand new; Vexander received it just a few weeks ago and this was it's maiden voyage. It was a shame that no trip could be performed, but it didn't matter in the end since there were pressing matters at hand.

Inside the ship, Vexander Graves remained in the cockpit of the ship with two other Padawans onboard, his own apprentice and Cass Tarentill, two promising young new Jedi. Their mission was simple, to explore a ship stranded in deep space and to prepare it so that it could be hauled.

There was something odd about the situation, the ship was an Interdictor class and reports from the explorers that found it showed that it was damaged, but not in pieces, and the life supporting system was up for most part of the ship... but no life signs were detected in the scanners...

Taking a deep breath after his third briefing review, he leaned back in his chair and waited for the signal to drop out of hyperspace with his eyes closed... the signal that would be coming in just a few minutes now...

​

 

[Drake Blackwood]

Drake stood next to his master @[member="Vexander Graves"] , who was reclining in his chair. They'd been sent to investigate a seemingly abandoned Interdiction class ship. Drake was excited. Maybe overly so. This was his first official mission for the Order, you could say. His master had taught him calming techniques, which Drake used as he stood. He didn't want to crowd the ship with his emotions. "Master, this ship, do we know much about it? Why would would someone just leave it there. If that is indeed what they did..." Drakes arms crossed. Not knowing what they would face out here, Drake had opted for a tighter outfit, as opposed to the Jedi robes. Almost like a pilots suit. He was definitely more comfortable, and used to, what he was currently wearing.

 

[Cass Tarentill]

Cass remained in the back of the ship, calming her nerves. Her first official mission with the Order was now at hand. Her saber in her hand, Cass admired its silver exterior and the shine it gave off when the light struck it just right. Taking a deep breath, Cass stood up and made her way to the cockpit. She did not know the other two Jedi very well. Her Master could not join them for the mission, though she wished Cass well. Lightly trained in two saber forms and basic force powers, she was by no means experienced.

But she could hold her own.

Arriving at the cockpit, she noticed the both of them were staring ominously at the Interdictor. It was massive in size, and it taunted Cass with adventure and danger. It was abandoned for some time now, which honestly surprised Cass. She had never seen a ship this size not get plundered as the days went on. Was their a reason it was not plundered as of now? What dangers lurked inside the ship. Looking at Drake and nodding at him encouragingly, Cass's tiny voice broke through the conversation. "The Abyss is not the name I would give a ship. Not exactly welcoming..."

@[member="Drake Blackwood"]
@[member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Drake Blackwood]

Drake turned as Cass walked in. He had his arms crossed, on hand raised up underneath his chin. He nodded to her in response. "Not at all...then again, I imagine it's not the most welcoming of ships." He shrugged. They'd soon find out. Drake looked back and forth between his master and Cass. Finally, his eyes rested on what was outside the cockpit. The look of hyperspace. He smiled at it, and looked around the cockpit. He stopped his breathing technique. Drake was just too excited.

@[member="Cass Tarentill"]
@[member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Vexander Graves]

@[member="Cass Tarentill"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"]

The two apprentices were not that young to be honest, just a few years behind Vex, and yet; they were quite smart and as ready as he was. The ship was finally in view and they were all looking at it. The ship's size was something to be amazed... and the damage was greater than he had imagined based on the reports. Before turning around to meet both Padawans, Vex prepared a scan to the whole ship.

"Well, warships usually do not have warm names... in most cases they want to impose them among others." said with his normal voice, not happy nor sad, it was actually quite neutral, and somehow like a military officer, perhaps Drake was used to it by now, but he expected the young girl to get used to it as well... afterall, it was not because he was a bad person, or because he was a harsh person, but manly because he was raised in that way.

Addressing the question his padawan did, the young man provided a few things based on what he knew and what was available in the reports.

"Actually Mr. Blackwood, is hard to tell why it was left stranded in open space, we do not know a lot about it... in fact, the merchants ship that picked the signal didn't want to investigate it and that is why we were sent. We need to find the logs of the ship and bring them in to the Council... perhaps activate the hyperdrive if is still functional and take it to Republic Space."

Vexander looked at the console at the very moment it began to beep. The scan was complete. Almost inmediately, the computer brought the results in the screen that everyone could see. Based on the report, they could all determine that there were no life signs, some of the pods were activated while others were still in place and that life support was still operations in all decks but in the hangar bay B which was on the other side from where they were approaching... besides that, nothing else could be determined.

"Well, we do not need the vaccumm suits nor breathing masks."

 

[Drake Blackwood]

"Shall we get going then?" Drake asked of his master. The same master who had lent him the lightsaber now clipped onto his belt. Normally, it was the only tool Drake needed to carry with him, but not today. Today, a blaster pistol was also clipped to his belt. He hadn't used it in a while, but today, it helped make him feel safer. With saber and blast on him, Drake felt almost invincible. His connection to the Force helped as well. Drake started moving out of the cockpit of his own accord. He wanted to get aboard that ship. He just had to wait for Vex to stop their ship...

 

[Cass Tarentill]

Cass listened to Vex intently. The man had authority about him, which was something Cass admired. One could take offense to the way he said things, but not Cass. She was happy to be corrected, especially in the means of military. Nodding along with Drake, Cass concurred that they indeed should be leaving soon. Gathering whatever she needed, she held her saber close in hand. No life signs did not mean danger. It could mean a variety of other things as well. It was a good things suits were not needed. Cass hated them dearly though she recognized their worth. Taking a deep breath, Cass readied herself mentally for whatever lie ahead. "Lets do this."

@[member="Drake Blackwood"]
@[member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Vexander Graves]

@[member="Cass Tarentill"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"]

Once that both Padawans showed the willingness and eagerness to get the mission done, Vexader punched the sublight engine of the Nautilius and it headed straight towards the nearby docking bay that belonged to the Abyss. It just took a couple of minutes for the ship to arrive, and it slowly managed to land in the open spaces.

With the punch of a button, the Knight left the ship ready for any emergency take off, you never knew what could happen; and once that everything was set, he opened the boarding ramp of the Defender Class.

"Stay together no matter what, remember; we might not find any living being outside, but we do not know if the ship's defenses are still operational and up." With that being said, Vexander checked his equipment and once that he felt ready, he went outside knowing that the two Padawans would be just a few steps away from him.

At the moment they all headed outside, they noticed that the place seemed like a haunted ship, lights were off in some parts, maybe because the power was failing in those areas, but they could see practically everything. The Force didn't bring any bad omens or alerts, everything seemed just peaceful but slightly creepy. Still, the Jedi had a mission and the Force was their ally... what could go wrong?

"Very well, let's head to the bridge, we will definetely find our answers there"

 

[Drake Blackwood]

Drake had his lightsaber out the moment the boarding ramp opened. His thumb brushed back and forth over ignition button. He made sure not to push it, but he'd be ready if he had to. The Padawan trusted his master, as a Padawan should, and he made sure to follow close, a few paces behind Vex's right shoulder. He didn't waste energy probing the ship with the Force, just his eyes. He save his energy for later, in case they had to fight. He had a feeling they would, but he had no idea what they would face. "Was there any record of this ship?" Drake looked back and forth between Vex and Cass, posing the question to both of them and not caring which one answered.

He jerked his lightsaber up, thinking he saw something. No, just shadows, he told himself. I need to calm down...he took in a deep breath, lowering his saber. Drake found himself performing this exercise more often than he expected to. He hoped that one day he'd be able to calm himself down without the technique. Like Vex did. Well, maybe Vex didn't need it, but Drake always admired how calm his master was. Now that he thought about it, this would be the first time he faced any real danger alongside the Jedi Knight.

That was probably why he was so anxious...

@[member="Vexander Graves"] @[member="Cass Tarentill"]

 

[Vexander Graves]

Vexander knew Drake for quite some time now, and he knew that he was a bit jumpy. And he didn't blame the young apprentice, this was his first mission with a lightsaber and the situation really caused a few shivers.

His question was straight forward, and the corellian Knight decided that he would answer... although he doubted that his answer would be what he was looking for, but that is what they had "Actually, there are no records of the ship Mr. Blackwood; it pre-dates the Dark Time... and most of that information was lost..." Vexander's demeanor was as calmned as possible, nothing could be heard and nothing could be seen... which was to be expected.

The team began to walk outside of the docking bay, once they reached the main door, Vex approached the console and punched a few buttons. The door opened, and although it was old, it was not rusty, it just did the normal sound that any other ship had when opening the door.

As soon as the door opened, the team managed to see that the main hallway didn't have any odd thing, it was just messy and dirty... dust covered all the corners but no sign of the crew or bodies could be found... just like the docking bay. Some areas had dim lights and others had a lot of it, it was erratical but nothing out of the ordinary. Still, the whole air around the place felt weird and the silence gave a void sense of emptiness.

Vexander looked at his datapad for second "It seems that the bridge is to the left. We need to be careful around corners, I'll go ahead while you two cover my back" not his usual gameplan since he preferred to cover the back of the team, but he thought that it fitted the current situation. The Jedi Knight walked and his steps didn't make any sound, he was using the knowledge he had in Force Concealment in order to mask the sound of his steps, but didn't use it to hide his appearance nor his Force Signature, he didn't know how to be selective on the power yet, he had to train further in order to master that specific facet of the power.

The whole place seemed depressing, quite gloomy... and without any sign of what happened it was just scary... still, Vexander has seen other scary things as a Jedi... he just had to adapt to the current situation and to remain strong for the team, for that reason his demeanor seemed calmned although...

"I have a bad feeling about this... stay sharp everyone"

The team walked all the way to the bridge and finally reached the large door of the elevator that reached the bridge of the vessel. However, the circuits to it were quite destroyed and it seemed like if someone shot a fire or two at the console.

"This complicate things..." said while caresing his beard a bit "...one of you know how to work this out?"

@[member="Drake Blackwood"] @[member="Cass Tarentill"]

 

[Drake Blackwood]

@[member="Cass Tarentill"] @[member="Vexander Graves"]

Drake shrugged, and looked at the busted console. "We could cut through, and climb up. Or hope there's another elevator somewhere." He looked to Cass, then to Vex, a perplexed look on his face, as if to ask them if they approved of his ideas. Drake suspected his master had probably already come up with an answer, but just wanted the two young Jedi to figure it out on their own. Drake ran a hand through his messy brown hair. Drake reached out through the Force, trying to tell if there was anything behind the elevator doors. He couldn't. Drake started walking towards the door, activating his lightsaber as he moved. "Wouldn't hurt to give it a try." He gestured to the door with a swipe of his blade, then moved to start cutting through it. Drake would cut a fairly large circle, unless of course, Vex moved to stop him.

 

[Cass Tarentill]

Cass walked along the corridors, her saber in hand. She was quiet, listening to the two of them talk and keeping an eye out. This place was terrifying mostly due to its secrets. Like an unguarded fortress ready to be opened, it was odd that the group could not find a single crew-member. Not even a body or anything. Keeping her saber in an unlit position but still keeping it in a ready stance, Cass reached out through the Force. She wanted to feel the ship, gather its energies in side of her. She was very sensitive to the Force, and was hoping she would hear or feel something out of the ordinary.

The elevator console had been completely boinked. After Vex commented on it, Cass approached it with a solemn look. She had gained a very basic knowledge of electronics from her childhood. Being poor and related to a thief and scoundrel meant breaking the law was a common thing honestly, and her brother had imparted a small amount of knowledge of slicing. Checking the console, Cass tries to reroute the power to the elevator but to no avail. "The console's broken on my end. Most of the wires were busted when it was shot open." Nodding towards Drake, who was going to cut the door open, Cass waited for the Knight's go ahead.

 

[Vexander Graves]

@[member="Cass Tarentill"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"]

Vexander paid close attention to the two padawan learners, they both had different approaches to the situation but they were effective. Nevertheless, it showed their intentions and gave a brief example of what kind of Jedi they were going to be. In the old days of the Jedi Order, Drake would have been called a Guardian and Cass would have been called a Sentinel... nevertheless, he decided not to place comments about the situation.

Based on the current situation and the type of mission, this was changing to be a normal mission to a training mission, a way for them to gain experience. In the end, it didn't matter for the Knight, he was there to assist.

Looking at Drake, Vex just nodded for a moment "Very well, but we cannot just open the door without knowing what is in there..." Vexander thought that another question would just stress the apprentices, instead, he just moved with the action "...Mr. Blackwood, open the door with the lightsaber, once it is open I'll clear the area and Lady Tarentill... you'll access the nearest console to disable any security protocols in place... any other hacking would be highly appreciated." Once the plan was outlined, he took his lightsaber and prepared himself "Very well... both ready?" the corellian waited for their answer and then gave the order: "Get it done Drake"

 

[Drake Blackwood]

Drake only nodded, and moved to start cutting. He held his lightsaber with his right hand on the bottom of the hilt, his left near the top, holding it the opposite way he was supposed to. He slowly penetrated the wall with the blade, and the metal melted where it touched. Slowly, he brought his blade in a large circle, large enough for all of them to jump through. Eventually, he had created a large molten circle in the door. Drake stepped back. "I'll kick in the part I cut, you two go in first, and I'll follow." His foot reared back, and came crashing down onto the part of the door he'd cut. Drake used the Force to help push it through the door with more speed. Drake quickly stepped to the side, pressing himself against the wall so Cass and Vex could pass him.

@[member="Cass Tarentill"] @[member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Cass Tarentill]

Cass nodded towards Vex. Her slicing abilities were not terribly good, but it was enough to turn off any security details. Hopefully the three Jedi wouldn't be walking into some deathtrap full of droids. Cass honestly hated droids and their kin, finding them to be annoying and ill-efficient. What was worse was their inability to feel emotion. Watching Drake cut a hole through the door, Cass readied herself. Both she and Vex would jump into the room, ready for anything that followed. Gripping her Lightsaber with one hand, she calmed herself and felt out through the Force. As soon as the hole was open, Cass would ignite her saber and run in, scanning the room for a security console. "Ready when you are Knight Vex"

@[member="Drake Blackwood"]
@[member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Vexander Graves]

The team seemed like a real unit, @[member="Drake Blackwood"] did an excellent job cutting through the door with the blue blade of the lightsaber, at the moment he kicked the door, the Knight noticed that @[member="Cass Tarentill"] was ready and informed that to Vex.

Moving as fast as he could, with the aid of the Force, the Knight entered with his lightsaber in hand, and just like if he wanted to announce themselves, he ignited his weapon revealing a wonderful cyan blade that illuminated the whole area. Placing himself in the Opening stance of Ataru, Vex surveyed the room with the help of the Force and suddenly...

"Clear!" Shouted at the two padawans while he deactivated the lightsaber and relaxing himself a bit... the Force didn't bring any warning or anything similar "Guess we can access the security console more relaxed than expected..." said with a puzzled tone in his voice, whoever was on the ship didn't have time to activate anything at all.

Vexander waited for all of them to be inside... he didn't mention anything at all regarding the state of the bridge though... at the moment they all entered, they managed to see the awful state of things: bodies where lying everywhere, corpses of the crew all over the place... the time took their share and descomposed the flesh of the ones that used to handle the ship leaving only their bones... The Knight has seen such hardships but he was not sure that the young ones have seen anything like it.

"This is unexpected..." said with a calmned voice, the same one he always had "...Miss Tarentill, we need to know what happened... Mister Blackwood, check the main computer and look for the captain's log."

Vexander on the other hand, proceeded to check the skeletons of the bodies around and to survey them in order to find probable causes for the odd situation they encountered.

 

[Drake Blackwood]

Drake almost felt sad when his master called the all clear. His blood had been pumping, and with that, he'd be attuning himself to the Force, ready to use it as his ally in a coming battle. Drake almost seemed to let out a breath he'd been holding in, but in actuality, the Force had stopped energizing him. Drake climbed through the hole he'd cut, moving to stand next to his master, just in time to hear his words.

What the ex-smuggler saw was one of the most gruesome things his eyes had ever rested on. He knew everyone else in the room besides them was dead, but it was almost as if he could still feel the suffering of these people through the Force. Without saying a word, Drake deactivated his blade, returning it to its spot on his belt, and moved over to what appeared to be a computer console. The young man was visibly shaken. Drake's hands moved fast, as he searched the computer for the captain's log. "Master, I believe I found it. Mind giving it a look?" He spoke softly. Drake didn't have much experience with technology, he'd only hoped he hadn't found the exact wrong thing.

@[member="Vexander Graves"] @[member="Cass Tarentill"]

 

[Cass Tarentill]

Cass ran in right after Knight Vex burst through the door. Flashing his blue saber open, the cyan glow brightened the hallway immediately. Cass as well drew her saber in her hand and ignited it, the bright green fighting its own battle with Vex's color. Vex immediately went into a Ataru form, which made Cass incredibly jealous. She longed to train in such a form, but waited eagerly to be taught. Bring her sword in a one handed stance for Makashi, she readied herself for the worst, and then her face faded.

Where adrenaline once pumped through her veins, now all she could feel was sadness. Her green saber illuminating her face, Cass' heart fell. She knew none of the crew-members, but still could not help the sadness washing over her. Such needless death made Cass' stomach turn. De-igniting her saber, Cass looked at Vex, listening intently to his instructions. While Drake ran towards the main computer console, Cass made her way to the security officers console. Still powered but barely, Cass rummaged throughout the main board, looking for any type of security footage. She was not sure if it would work, but if she could pull up footage of what happened, they all would easily know what happened on the derelict.

@[member="Drake Blackwood"] @[member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Vexander Graves]

Vexander didn't even looked back at the two apprentices, he was clearly too focused in the beings that were in the floor to raise his gaze upon the apprentices. But he was aware of their movements and their concerns, their feelings and their thoughts...

"Go ahead Mr. Blackwood" said respectfully at his Padawan in the same way he always did...

Searching the records, little could be found in the Captain's log but a single entry made... centuries ago available for @[member="Drake Blackwood"] to see

Spoiler

Day 267 Year 325ABY

...we have been locked away in the bridge... security teams are sweeping the Abyss and containing the contamination breach, we were going to help them but they shot the door and left us there until everything was clear... that was a week ago...

We do not have supplies, we are out of water; we can't hear anything through the comm and long range communications cannot be stablished due to the mysterious cloud... We are doomed...

While @[member="Cass Tarentill"] searched in the security terminal, she managed to see a series of footages... but it was not something nice to see.

The image showed how the security teams shot the console of the bridge, oddly enough the sound was not available. Four armed officers joined a group of around ten and they left towards the engine room with haste. The footage followed the team across corridors until they reached an area with a crossroad between hallways... and all of a sudden, the team of 14 distributed themselves to cover all areas and began to shoot... one by one they began to ahead to their respective hallways and dissappeared... nothing could be determined at all other than the lights from the blaster fire on each corridor... and a hand that appeared in the floor in one of the corners of the right corridor...

 

[Drake Blackwood]

"There's barely anything here. It looks like they got locked in, and died." Drake scratched the back of his neck. His fingers moved rather quickly over the computer, trying to see if he could find anything else. Drake shook his head, and moved to stand beside his master. "Something about contamination, and a 'cloud.' What does it matter, if this ship is so ancient?" The Padawan had a hard time understanding why something that seemed to have little effect on the galaxy in its current state. Drake's eyes scanned the bridge. There was no reason these people should've died, and he wondered if there would've been any security measures left on. So far, so good. But that could change at any moment. And if it did, Drake would be ready.

@[member="Vexander Graves"] @[member="Cass Tarentill"]