The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

[Voices of The Deep]

"The North Remembers."​

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The whirls and ruthless sounds of heavy wind seemed to howl into the sky as the endless expanse of snow glittered from the dimly shining sun. And as those icy blue eyes squinted from the heavy amount of snow that seemed to dance around her relentlessly. This planet was barren...nothing but a snowy wasteland ever since the great war over eight hundred years ago. But despite this Winter found a strange sense of peace in such a place...the cold clung to her skin and bit at her flesh. Needles pricking her cheeks as the marked through a valley of snow. Making her way back to her ship up in the mountains...she was unsure why she was drawn here...by fate, by chance. Or maybe by some force that dictated the Galaxy. Perhaps even the force itself.

Regardless. Winter was done here. There was nothing left for her to explore on this god forsaken planet.

Little did she know...a separate force was being drawn to her...from beyond the misty horizon.

[member="Kaeda Vevut"]

 

[Kaeda Vevut]

Location: Hoth
Objective: Bring down Neilon Farr (Random NPC Bounty)

Kaeda had travelled around the galaxy, hunting down bounties. She had seen the woods of Endor and Kashyyk, the desert of Tattooine, all the way to the swamps of Dagobah. Every time, she hunted down her quarry, followed them to their dens. Then she drew them out and took them down. Most times she didn't even have to kill them, but such was not something she was averse to. As a Mandalorian born and bred, war came easy to her.

This quarry was supposed to be easy, which should have been her first clue that it wouldn't be easy. She had first picked up his trail on Nar Shaddaa, little Coruscant as it was called. But he had duped her there and made for Onderon. From there, she had tracked him here, to Hoth. Now, she was pitting her survival skills against the fury of the ice planet. She wouldn't let one get away, she wouldn't take that mark on her record.

She trudged through the snow drift, wishing she'd have taken a Tauntaun from the stable at the spaceport, but she had her pride. Her pride would kill her, someday. She had the trail, and the weather reports said that the next blizzard was still hours away. She just had to make it down this mountain.

Part way down the mountain, she found a ship, perched on a plateau. Kaeda knew it wasn't her quarry's ship, at least not the one he used to get here. The engines were off, so he had to still be on the ground. The tracks went straight past the ship, almost without stopping. Kaeda stopped, however, she needed to check the ship out, make sure that her quarry wasn't in it. After a short bit of searching, she found an access panel. She fell to her knees and began to slice into it. Her slicing skills weren't great, but she should be able to get owner information. When she did get that, she couldn't decide if she should laugh or cry.

"Winter...a ship, on Hoth...belongs to Winter..." She couldn't believe it, it almost had to be a joke, but who in their right mind would buy a ship just to park it on Hoth for a joke. Looking around, Kaeda noticed a second set of prints in the snow. She should have seen it earlier. There might actually be a Winter here, and they may be in trouble...

@Winter Sovereign

 

[Voices of The Deep]

The white haired woman had never really thought about the irony of her name when she was in places relatively cold or snowy...frankly her sense of humor was slightly damaged and making a joke out of her name was the type of thing that would fly way over her head...not that it wasn't funny. Cause to be honest had she been on the outside looking in seeing someone named winter or something on an icy planet would probably derive a snicker from the blue eyed devil.

These thoughts where soon pushed back into the depths of her mind where they belonged. Simply making her way back to the ship before that blasted blizzard arrived and ruined her day. And after about twenty minutes of trudging through the snow the sound of what seemed like an engine seemed to rattle behind her.

And just as Winter took a pause to look over her shoulder, there was suddenly a loud 'POW' of a blaster. Those pupils dilated in alarm, thinking faster and throwing her body to the side...arms poised back as she rotated slightly, watching as the crimson laser flew right by her chest. Azure blue eyes flared with color, looking up to see a speeder bike rushing right for her. Winter narrowed her eyes and quickly drew her lightsaber when the next shot was fired, deflecting it upward and then deactivating her saber when the mysterious being raced past her and began to circle around the woman as if she were prey.


So who was this individual she wondered? Winter scoffed at the thought.


"Do you wanna die? There are easier ways to kill yourself!" She hissed coldly, bright eyes becoming even brighter as she clenched her fist tightly. Watching as the biker continued to circle her.

[member="Kaeda Vevut"]

 

[Kaeda Vevut]

Location: Hoth, Surface
Objective: Bring down Quarry

While Kaeda sat there pondering the second set of tracks and regaining some stamina (trudging through snow took a lot out of you), she heard the unmistakable sound of a speeder engine, followed by the unmistakable sound of blaster fire. She sat there and listened for a little while, trying to determine if the sound of the speeder and blaster were coming from where she was going, where the tracks were going, or where she had already tread, back down the mountain the other way. After a moment spent orienting, she knew that it was heading towards where her quarry and this Winter had gone. She stood and unlimbered her crossbow, making sure she had a full pack of quarrels set in there.

Then she began to move. With luck, one of the groups would be her quarry and she could take him by surprise.

[member="winter sovereign"]

 

[Voices of The Deep]

Winter focused on the speeder that continued to circle around her. Keeping her nerve and trying to anticipate that the man would do next...but as the moments passed by it seemed he was not very concerned with engaging her despite the shots he fired. Perhaps whey where warning shots? And if so, they had gotten extremely close. The frosty haired female scowled in irritation, trying to figure out what this guys end game was. He had to want something...right? How many people would really come to Hoth of all places just to do this to unsuspecting strangers?

And in the midst of these thoughts, a shiver traveled up her spine. Turning around quickly only to see a large net flying right at her...steady streams of electricity traveling along the net. Winters eyes narrowed, not even fast enough to do anything as the net wrapped itself around her and forced her into the snow. The electricity surged through her body, making the woman clench her teeth and twitch violently in the snow before it slowly began to force her into unconsciousness. The world quickly fading into blackness.

---​

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Time passed...an hour...maybe two? And the woman found herself waking abruptly to the sound of laughing. Bright eyes flew open and she pulled herself up off the floor. Her head whipping around only to see that she had been tied down to the support beam of a ship...a rather nice one at that. Winter's expression formed into that of fury as she watched about five men talking and playing cards at some kind of gambling table while Winter was locked behind a set of bars and her hands tied behind her back.


"Look boys...our guest is awake." One of them mumbled in disinterest. Winter's eye twitched in irritation. Watching as they all looked up at her for a brief moment before going back to their cards.

Suddenly, a sixth man appeared from the cockpit of the ship...walking up to Winters cage and taking a seat on the provided stool.

"So where is you're partner?" He asked bluntly. Making Winter blink before cocking a brow.

"Do i look like the type who plays well with others?" Winter muttered. The man simply shrugged and leaned back a bit.

"I dunno, maybe...all i know if this bounty hunter chick has been hunting my ass for a while now...and suddenly you show up...on Hoth...of all places." He explained in amusement. "Whats a sexy thing such as yourself doing out here anyway...gonna catch a cold out here." He teased, slowly sliding his hand into the cage an rubbing it along Winters thigh.

The woman smirked a bit and licked her lips. "I ain't no bounty hunter...but i do consider myself a 'man eater'" She teased flirtatiously. Moving her hips a bit closer to him and allowing him to get a good feel for her. "And god i'm hungry." She whispered in a almost sultry tone. The men at the table where suddenly looking over, distracted from their card game. The man smiled, groping Winters rear and pulling her rather close.

"Well you've got a five star meal right here." He whispered, leaning into the open bars of the cage. "Go wait outside boys..." He ordered.

The men all exchanged glances and shrugged. Packing up their stuff and heading out the ship with their weapons.


Men where...so predictable. And as she leaned in close, their lips inches away. Those bright blue eyes flared up...channeling the force into her lips.

She always wanted to try this.

"Mmm, just a bite." She whispered one last time.


[member="Kaeda Vevut"]

 

[Kaeda Vevut]

Location: Hoth, Surface
Objective: Bring down quarry

Moving through snow was hard enough, trying to do so stealthily made the going even slower. She eventually got to the place where Winter had been taken, the tracks left behind told an interesting story. The owner of the ship, had stood here. This Winter, likely a female humanoid from the foot wear patterns she had left in the snow, had been returning to her ship when she got surprised by a speeder. The speeder had orbited her a few times, and Winter had tried to keep it in sight. There were depressions in the snow where blaster bolts had melted through, but Kaeda couldn't tell who was shooting. Eventually, Winter had gotten surprised by a net, electrified by the way it looked like she had spasmed on the ground. More boots, men folk from the wide stances and heavy wear patterns. They had picked up the fallen Winter and carried her a distance. Then the repulsor patterns take off down the mountain again.

Winter had been taken, and the likely conclusion was that it was her quarry, Neilon Farr who had done it.

Kaeda took off down the mountain, maintaining as stealthy an approach as she could. Hopefully she'd get to them before Neilon took another life, or worse.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tracking through snow for the better part of two hours was tiring. Kaeda had tracked the speeder into an ice crevasse, then out into another valley. Down in the bowl of the valley was a ship. Neilon Farrs ship, a Cabur class patrol ship, likely stolen from a Mandalorian somewhere. Once she took down Neilon, she'd have to take the ship in for adjudication. She was a shite pilot, but if no one claimed it, Kaeda might just claim it for herself. She had enough money to supply a crew for one now, and she'd enjoyed previous Caburs she'd flown on.

Kaeda moved very slowly down the valley, keeping as many rock and ice formations between her and the ship. She was glad she'd at least bought a tauntaun fur cloak, as it let her blend into the snow and ice background. Once she got close enough, she saw five men exit the ship and loiter beneath it. They didn't set a watch, like a professional crew would, instead they stuck close to the engine pod that was on standby. It was a source of warmth in the otherwise inhospitably cold world of Hoth. Kaeda wrapped her cloak about her as she studied the situation, tensing and relaxing muscles throughout her body to limber up for the coming fight. There were five men, all armed with various blaster pistols and melee weapons, though all of those were sheathed and holstered. Studying the faces, she saw no sign of Neilon Farr, nor of a woman who could be Winter. That was a bad sign. She'd have to take them all out quickly and quietly.

Suddenly, one turned and walked toward her outcropping. He made a crude comment about having to relieve himself, and was moving to get out of sight of the ship. Kaeda sidled backwards, into the shadow of the outcropping. The man turned the corner of the outcropping and stepped out of sight of the ship as he began to free himself. He never saw more than a glint of weak sunlight off of a small durasteel knife, as Kaeda threw it unerringly through the mans right eye and into the brain. The man slumped against the outcropping, still gripping his pants, and lay still on the ground, leaking life fluid from his eye. Kaeda retrieved the knife, cleaned it on the mans shirt, then re-sheathed it. If she had the time, she could wait here for another one or two to wander over looking for their buddy, but Kaeda didn't know what Neilon was doing to Winter in the ship. She peeked around the side of the outcropping farthest from the men and waited a moment. When all were looking a different way, Kaeda wrapped herself in a camouflaging cloak of the force and moved quietly to a landing strut, hiding behind it as she readied her fighting knives in her hands. She left her crossbow there, then stalked forward. She reached the one closest to the gangway and practically climbed him in the blink of an eye, left hand sliding the pommel of one knife into the mans mouth as he yawned, the other sliding a deep furrow into the mans throat with the other. She brought him down backwards, using her legs to quietly catch him, then slide him to the ground. She moved quickly to the next, stabbing up through the bottom of his chin with her left hand knife while throwing the right hand knife into the side of the neck of a third. They made enough noise to draw the attention of the one farthest away. He was smoking something, turning mid draw as Kaeda sprinted towards him. She drew her sword and struck in one fluid motion, carving the mans jacket, shirt, skin and bone with the well forged blade. The sudden ferocity of the blow started the man coughing as he choked on his smoke. Kaeda's left hand struck forward, jamming the knife there into the front of his throat at a slight upward angle. The man fell as silently as the others.

Adrenaline coursed through her body, but she forced herself to think. She retrieved and cleaned her weapons, re-sheathing them appropriately before grabbing a keycard from one of the men. She grabbed her crossbow from behind the landing strut, then keyed her way into the ship.

Neilon made a growling noise, but didn't turn as Kaeda gained the area behind him, aiming her crossbow at the mans back, a grin crossed her face as she saw that she'd been in time to save Winter, though she was confused a little by what she saw.

"I'd say I'm sorry to interrupt..." she started to say.

[member="winter sovereign"]

 

[Voices of The Deep]

The snowstorm outside was strong...seeping through the metal walls of the ship and coiling itself around the mysterious woman as her icy blue eyes focused intently on her target. She could sense the presence of another lingering around them...the multiple forces of life that had been asked to leave where becoming less and less active, like the dimming of a distant light. The one the man spoke of must of arrived...and right on time. Winter did not really look forward to dealing with all those thugs once she escaped. Regardless...the man continued to grope and explore as the flirting became more and more insistent. Winter merely played the game the way it was supposed to be played...a giggle here, a wink there. She knew how to use the feelings of others to her advantage when it came to these types of things...in his mind he must of thought he was pretty hot shit...but in reality he was little more than a puppet on her hand.


The man lost himself...going as far as to close his eyes and simply chuckle to himself. And in that moment Winter looked up to see a woman with a crossbow wander in quietly...Winters icy blue orbs looked the woman over...ebony hair, a fair complexion and dark lined eyes that spoke volumes of her character...Winter winked at her trustingly, giving a brief nod to the man and smiling deviously.

And then, as if they had spoken previously the woman made herself known. The man's eyes quickly went wide in alarm as he swung himself around to see the bounty hunter. And in that second his back was turned Winters eyes became dark and menacing. And with her arms tied behind her back she lifted them upwards from behind...the bones in her shoulders cracking and popping as she lifted them over her head and dislocated her shoulder, only to relocate it back to her front as she reached through the bars and pulled the back of the mans head thorough them...his back arching as he looked up at the ceiling...her expression cold and frightening. "Pucker up lover boy." She hissed, leaning down and pressing his lips into hers...the man grunted and struggled as Winter used the force...drawing out the very essence that warmed his body...a 'kiss of death' as the man's veins bulged along his face and body...eyes becoming bloodshot as the kiss became locked without hope of escape.

The man helplessly clawed at the bars as his muscles grew weak. His insides becoming as cold as the planets core as his soft, warm flesh became callus and pale...frost soon spreading along his body as if he had gotten a horrifying case of frostbite from the inside out. And as his body went limp, Winter slowly broke the kiss...her hands caressing his frozen hair as she grabbed the key in his breast pocket and let him go...watching as he crashed to the floor with his eyes wide open...those eyes of his frozen solid like icy orbs as his mouth remained opened as well...a cold mist escaping his lunges and making ghost of his final breath.

Winter took a deep breath and sighed...slowly twisting her neck and cracking it audibly. Looking towards the bounty hunter and narrowing her eyes tightly...the cuffs that hugged her wrist became harshly frozen...smashing them against the bars and shattering them like glass. Taking the key and unlocking the door, Winter allowed it to sway open...slowly walking out and stepping over the mans frozen corpse as the woman looked the bounty hunter over.

"Hmmm, excellent timing." Winter mused, a slight glimmer in her icy eyes. "Thanks...for taking care of those guys out there." She said bluntly, looking over to the man and sighing a bit. "I hope he is as much worth to you dead as he was alive." She muttered under her breath.

[member="Kaeda Vevut"]

 

[Kaeda Vevut]

Location: Hoth, Surface
Objective: Figure this out

Kaeda's face went from grinning, to curious, to stunned in the time it took for Winter to seemingly eat the man's soul. She had sensed that the force was strong within the woman, but that was a thing that Kaeda had never even heard of before. She was quite impressed, and maybe a little aroused, in a macabre sort of way. However, this was not an episode of True Blood, so no hanky panky on or with a corpse, or even near a corpse so far as Kaeda was concerned.

"Hmmm, excellent timing." Winter mused, a slight glimmer in her icy eyes. "Thanks...for taking care of those guys out there." She said bluntly, looking over to the man and sighing a bit. "I hope he is as much worth to you dead as he was alive."

Kaeda took a moment to process the words, then shrugged a shoulder, aiming the crossbow down at the ground instead of in the direction of where Neilon had been.

"The bounty specified either, with more money for a live capture." She said in a neutral tone. "I'm going to assume that this'll count as extenuating circumstances, so I might get a little extra. Frankly, I'm just glad he's caught, he gave me quite the chase." The quarry was handled. She'd have to find a freezer or cargo hold to stuff him in, so he didn't defrost and start smelling up the place. "You took him down, after he captured you, kudos for that, so the bounty should be half yours..." She normally worked alone so she could keep most of the bounty to herself, but she had to admit that Winter had done the capturing/killing. There'd be other bounties. Maybe instead of a full crew for the ship, she'd buy a couple droids and hire a decent engineer. Sharper in the short run, but more economical in the long run. "I'm Kaeda, by the by. Kaeda Vevut."

[member="winter sovereign"]

 

[Voices of The Deep]

Winter gave the woman a brief nod as she remained silent for a moment...most likely trying to think of a reply. In that time, the blue toned woman strutted over to the table the crew was playing cards at. A feminine sway in her firm hips and a sense of dominant firmness in each step. Reaching for a key card that had been left there and then walking to the far side of the room where a few lockers where held. Swiping the card in one of them just to see it beeped red with error...Winter tried the next...then the next. Until finally one of the lockers opened. The metal door popped open and revealed that...it was empty. Winters eye twitched in irritation...where in the bloody hell was her shit?

Looking over the other lockers, the woman went back to the first one and tossed the key card...taking a few steps back and lifting her foot off the ground as if she where balancing like some sort of monk...however, before she did anything the bounty hunter behind her found her words. Explaining the situation with the bounty and expression how she'd split it before introducing herself. Winter slowly looked over her shoulder...her vibrant blue eyes landing on Kaeda's...cold enough to send shivers rippling down her core.

"Well that is certainly generous of you...humbleness and honor are not often found in bounty hunters..." Winter mused, looking away from her and back at the locker as she held her position. The tight leather of her pants hugging her voluptuous curves. "Regardless...he was your quarry. You chased him down and took out his crew...i will not take you're rightfully earned credits simply because you where late to pull the trigger. I was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time and got lucky." She explained coldly yet softly. And when she finished Winter launched her foot into the metal door of the locker...the amount of pressure easily pushing the then metal so far in that it popped off the hinges. The heel of her boot putting a nice tiny hole in the stretched and impaled steel.

Winter recoiled her foot and placed it firmly back onto the ground, Reaching forward and plucking the door from the locker frame and tossing it aside...her gear displayed inside, Winter took her lightsaber and put it on her hip...taking her blaster and slipping it back into the holster on her thigh. Taking her communication device and strapping it back to her wrist before turning back to face the bounty hunter. Tilting her head and popping a hip to the side and resting her hand on it.

"It is a pleasure [member="Kaeda Vevut"] . My name is...Winter Sovereign..." She greeted, a smirk tugging at the corner of her blue toned lips.

 

[Kaeda Vevut]

Location: Hoth, Surface
Objective: Capture Quarry, Figure this out

Kaeda watched with interest as Winter savaged the locker, then retrieved her stuff from inside it. Among the articles were both a blaster and a lightsaber. That told something about the person she was interacting with. Kaeda had sensed that Winter was a force user, even before she'd seen the 'kiss of death.' Now she knew that Winter was trained enough to have a lightsaber. She also knew that it was unlikely she was a traditional Jedi, as blasters weren't typical for them.

"I'd figured you were Winter, I found your ship up on the ridge." Kaeda took her eyes away from Winter as she stowed her gear and went over to a console against the bulkhead. She flitted through menus. "So, you weren't after Neilon here, this is a pretty remote region of a pretty remote planet to be on. Mind if I ask what you were doing out here?" She turned from the console and looked over at Winter, then went back to looking over the ships systems.

[member="winter sovereign"]

 

[Voices of The Deep]

That cold gaze wandered over the contents of the ship as the woman before her studied Winters appearance. The blue eyed devil was pretty easy to read given her exotic look and style of clothing. Still, when the bounty hunter said she figured out who she was when she found her ship Winter cocked a brow and narrowed her eyes. "You found my ship...and found out who i am? And Scarlett did not stop you" She questioned with amusement in her tone. Chuckling and pressing her fingertips between her eyebrows and scrunching them together. "Peace has cost her awareness. Victory has not been kind to that woman...she's slipping." Winter mused, looking up at the bounty hunter as she went to the consulate and fiddled with it.

Her next question did not go unheard. Winter walked over to the wall off to the side and leaned up against it...planting a foot behind her and into the steel wall as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I came here looking for something...a lead. But i found nothing unfortunately so it was a wasted trip. Though this little misadventure has relived me of boredom and you are rather stunning. A girl taking names and dominating the competition...a woman after my own heart." Winter explained, a hint of tease in her tone as she began to shuffle an old coin through her fingers. "What might you plan to be doing after we leave here? I assume taking lover boy over there to the one with the bounty before he ends up decomposing." She muttered, scoffing a bit. She should probably contact Scarlett...god knows she was probably out trekking in a blizzard looking for her.

[member="Kaeda Vevut"]

 

[Kaeda Vevut]

"You found my ship...and found out who i am? And Scarlett did not stop you"
"Peace has cost her awareness. Victory has not been kind to that woman...she's slipping."

"I didn't see anyone by your ship, but I didn't go into it. I found an external display and found the registry information using an old trick a stationmaster once showed me. Your ship is undamaged by it, but it gave me your name." Kaeda paused as she concentrated on the console, tapping furiously at the keyboard for a minute, then relaxing as a positive noise came from the console. "And I now have the command codes for the ship here." She beamed to herself, then turned toward Winter again.

"I came here looking for something...a lead. But i found nothing unfortunately so it was a wasted trip. Though this little misadventure has relived me of boredom and you are rather stunning. A girl taking names and dominating the competition...a woman after my own heart."
"What might you plan to be doing after we leave here? I assume taking lover boy over there to the one with the bounty before he ends up decomposing."

"Leads are something I'm decent at chasing down, though I won't pry." She replied, continuing after a small breath "Yeah, the body needs to be returned to the local Bounty Hunters guildhouse for identification and my payout. From there, I've got nothing planned. It was going to be a toss up between checking the boards for another hunt or go on a vacation. I've got some money saved up, so I should be able to pursue some hobbies for a while..." Hobbies, the gaining of knowledge and strength so she could fight the One Sith and bring them down was essentially her hobby. It brought her no money, and finding teachers that would train a young Mandalorian witch could get expensive. Of course, a spa weekend to Maramere would be nice, as well, but Kaeda rarely let herself get a completely relaxing vacation.

[member="winter sovereign"]