The Sacred Garden - GA T2 Dom of Seltos and Lohopa II

[Adder]

Wraith Squadron: [member="Asmus Janes"] | [member="Naomi Carolina"]
Rogue Squadron: [member="Alyce Hawke"] | [member="Choli Vyn"] “Smalls” | [member="Ben Carlin"] | [member="Dex Bastion"] | [member="Cale Gunderson"] | [member="Devyn Lynton"] | [member="Arix Askrima"] | [member="Owen Holst"] “Pie” | [member="Justinian Atreides"]

“Right back at ya.”

Adder grinned behind her Nerve helm, still veering about like a drunken fly. Straight flight paths had never been her friend, even back then when she’d fired up her first airspeeder. Erratic and unconventional.

Yeah.

“Told you I got your six, Freckles,” the redhead quipped back even as she looped back towards Four’s position. “Gotta clean your ears, kid.”

With that, Adder would come breezing in from above, flying inverted because why the heck not. Her laser cannon spewed a couple quick bursts on her command, clipping the enemy’s left ion engine as she sped overhead.

“He’s all yours, Four.”

Time for the pirate to face the music.

 

[Ben Carlin]

Rogue: [member="Alyce Hawke"] | [member="Choli Vyn"] | [member="Dex Bastion"] | [member="Cale Gunderson"] | [member="Devyn Lynton"] | [member="Arix Askrima"] | [member="Owen Holst"] | [member="Justinian Atreides"] |
Wraith: [member="Asmus Janes"] | [member="Naomi Carolina"] | [member="Adder"]

His mind seemed to shut off, his movements robotic as he finally engaged the targets ahead of him. He saw pairs of his own fighters pull off together as he pulled by himself and went after groups himself. He sung left and managed to get a stream off on one before he turned down quick and swirled before leveling off on another fighter and lit this one up to. Accelerating through the explosion he looked around for the next target.

Casting his eyes up he saw a group moving, spinning his fighter up he let out a large burst into the hull of the first ship sending debris into the windows of the fighters behind it and sending them into one another. The fighters behind got out of the way and moved to engage him. He started to pull them into a good ol' fashion dog fight in the area he made sure he controlled.

A dodge to the right, a swing to the left, he controlled the two fighters behind him, toying with them, allowing them to get close, but to never get the reward. He wanted them to open themselves up, but they weren't letting him go that easy. He did a quick spiral down and pulled up fast enough to catch the further pilot in a movement into his sights and lit him up before he did a quick reverse spiral and leveled off. The last fighter stuck below him so he decided to pull up in a loop and came down and finished off the other fighter following him before looking for more fighting to do.

 

[Ugohr Poof]

Objective: A Temple Raised
Loation: Seltos
Allies: GA and friends
Post: 11/25

"Even though, in today's galaxy, inflation is a seemingly a non-factor, how is inflation related to prices" a local investor asked.

"There-sa an inverse relationship between inflation rates and da prices of bonds: inflation eroden da purchasin power of yoursa bonds once theysa arrive at maturity. And den bonds tend to be expensive when inflation issa low, and low when inflation issa high"

"And yield history in this?" a youngling asked.

"Suppose yousa have a bond dat pays 3% annualized. When there-sa new bonds emitted at lower going interest rates, yousa can get a better price and den yoursa bonds becomen more attractive. However, when da going rates rise, da price of what yousa have get lower, since there-sa new bonds more attractive dan what yousa have"

The Gungan was a little perplexed by the endless stream of questions that followed the more basic ones. The more the lecture progressed, the more questions the audience had for him. They realized Jedi may not be so clueless around money after all, dispelling long-held preconceptions about Jedi as it pertained to personal finances and how does that relate to macroeconomics. Half an hour later, he was finally done with the questions being asked by the people in attendance, he could return to the construction site to sleep and check on the progress of the construction site, even though he does not expect excavation to be finished in one night. But before he could leave the conference room in the hotel, he had to make his obligatory closing remark about what he has to sell. Not only his own employer, officially as a B2B salesman, but also on behalf of the Alliance, whom he served on (highly-restricted!) Jedi business.

"Mesa hopen dat yousa consider IGR for yoursa banking needs, and also dat yousa consider buyen war bonds while wesa at war against da First Order"

 

[Zark San Tekka]

Post: 5
Wraith Squadron: [member="Asmus Janes"] | [member="Naomi Carolina"] | [member="Adder"]
Rogue Squadron: [member="Alyce Hawke"] | [member="Choli Vyn"] | [member="Ben Carlin"] | [member="Dex Bastion"] | [member="Cale Gunderson"] | [member="Devyn Lynton"] | [member="Owen Holst"] | [member="Justinian Atreides"]


With his cybernetic life support suit hardwired into the X-Wing's systems, Rogue Ten could almost feel the void as he hurtled through it at an extreme velocity. His implants had been hooked into the flight computer in a very crude, jury rigged fashion, so he did not experience the full sensation of feeling the craft as a part of his body as he had heard from others serving in the Starfighter Corps with such extensive synthetic componentry, primarily the pilots of Ghost Squadron.

Although Flight Officer Askrima (or Droid as he had been nicknamed as a joke by a member of the Wild Knights, and which was quickly becoming a contender for his callsign), had been transferred from command track to the Corps not long ago, both his artificially enhanced senses and reaction time as well as his training as a Jedi before joining the Navy had contributed to how quickly the young man had been noticed and picked up by the special forces squadron.

He put those advantages to use now with devastatingly efficient results. When he had flown with the Knights, the others had picked up on how even more than other Jedi combat pilots, Arix was more discerning with his shots than most. Where for most the act of dogfighting was a furious trade of barrages of laser fire, most solo engagements Rogue Ten found himself in consisting primarily of a lot of precise banking and maneuvering as his enemy frustratedly launched volley after volley in an attempt to pin him down, followed by a burst or two of laser fire from his X-Wing that would cut right through the other fighter's most critical systems. Often, his opening salvo would trigger chain reactions, leading him to a reputation as a one shot, one kill ace that while not necessarily accurate, was close enough to the truth that the myth endured in embellished recounts.

Wordlessly, the Flight Officer and his BB-8 unit exchanged a binaric data flow that his cognitive implants allowed him to process at a rate approaching stream of consciousness. The little astromech kept him updated on a moment to moment basis as to the status of every subsystem the fighter had down to the last detail, and in return Arix fed him repair and processing priorities as well as regular tactical updates for no practical purpose other than an irrational feeling he got when they flew that his particular BB liked to stay informed about the bigger picture.

At a certain point, he realized he was beginning to run out of targets. As a Jedi, he tended not to think of his opponents in terms of the challenge they provided to his skill level, but even he was beginning to appreciate that the Alliance squadrons seriously outclassed the pirates in terms of sheer natural ability.

"Rogue Ten, standing by," his robotic voice croaked out onto the comms, indicating he was awaiting new orders.

The time would come soon to decide what to do with the pirates themselves, and whether they would be taking any prisoners this day. The teachings of the Jedi way would suggest that he do everything in his power to give these people a second chance to do better, but when he had first joined the military he had been forced to accept, like his old master, that there were times when his duty to the oaths he had taken outweighed matters of philosophy. If the order was given to destroy the pirate motership, Arix would follow it.

 

[Zark San Tekka]

​

Skylane to Hell - Lohopa Justicar Objective​

​

While the SIS, freelancers, and special forces from the Starfighter Corps are looking into taking down the Tunnel Snakes from the inside, there is still a matter of their planet spanning distribution network and brazen criminal behavior. With the local authorities almost completely under their thumb, the massive swoop gang is free to terrorize the mining colonies with impunity. While there remain strict sanctions against open Alliance paramilitary operations on the neutral world, a team of Jedi Justicars, Galactic Alliance Guard, and mercenaries are not content to stand by and do nothing while innocent people suffer no matter whose flag they fly. With a big annual swoop race coming up, some within the Order have come up with a daring plan to enter posing as foreign racers, shorting the normally fixed results that would favor the Tunnel Snakes riders and keeping credits out of the hands of spice dealers. Others advocate a more a direct approach, taking the fight to the swoop gang on the streets but behind the scenes, the old fashioned Jedi way.

• Pose as a contestant in the annual Capital Swoop Race, beginning in the center of the planet's largest urban center before leaving the city limits for a scenic route across the exotic mineral rich untamed country side, with a whole array of natural obstacles, before returning back to the city center to cross the finish line.
• Take to the streets of Lohopa and dispense with some low key street justice, sticking up for the little guy while trying not to give away your New Jedi Order or Alliance affiliations.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Location: Lohopa II
Objective: Stake Your Claim
Post: 3

"Four million, and Aurora will provide droids to augment your security," Taeli countered almost immediately. The administrator's eyes widened at the prompt response, but then the surprise faded away. He was dealing with a Jedi after all, she was likely to know things even before he did. He reached out and signed his name on the datapad, agreeing to her terms.

"To a prosperous partnership, Master Raaf," he said, reaching across the table and shaking her hand. She gave a polite smile in response, rising to her feet before being escorted out by the security. Once she was outside, she pulled up her private line to Jaxson.

"Voraci Mining is on board, I want you to accelerate the establishing of our droid facility here," she instructed. "Send Voraci Mining a shipment of some of our older models."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Justicars
Lohopa II
Colony Vass

[member="Rebel Sunka"]
[member="Elmont Block"]
[member="Shamira Karuto"]
[member="Jada Raxis"]

Hopefully the tip was good. A lazy, sporadic rain fell upon Trextan's shoulders as he hunched over the bars of his swoop bike. The Justicars around him likewise tried to shield themselves from the elements as they waited. They were lined up in a side alley off one of the main streets. Through the entrance to the alley Trextan could see the nightlife holding up spare articles of clothing against the surprise rain as they darted between clubs.

The Tunnel Snakes had been brazenly attacking the mining warehouses just a few hundred metres away. Last time they had killed many civilians in the raid. One of their bikes had been shot down by a guard and crashed into the front of a packed club. Their plan was simple today. Wait for the swoop gang to arrive, drive them away and then take them down away from the urban areas. Trextan had his saber tucked into his jacket, but he doubted he would get to use it. They were doing this without drawing attention to who they were. The handcannon strapped to a holster on the side of the bike was going to be his main weapon for the encounter.

"Everyone good?" He asked.

 

[Ugohr Poof]

Objective: A Temple Raised
Loation: Seltos
Allies: GA and friends
Post: 12/25

While Ugohr quietly slips back into the constructinon site from the hotel, the temple construction site is getting the heavy excavation work done around him. The next day, the people responsible for the project come knocking at Ugohr's door with an opportunity that might be worth capitalizing upon. Sure, the population may not have a whole lot of wealth, but one would expect the population to be more disciplined about finances than Zeltrons. Or at least Ugohr would hold such an expectation, especially since there are tons of attendees that he had to refuse outright when his guest lecture on bond interest and pricing was held. In his mind, if the population is disciplined financially, then they can have funds to back larger-scale credit, which will then enable them to undertake larger-scale industrial ventures, such as lumber, large-scale agriculture, construction materials and other stuff of that nature. The official then notifies him of the opportunity:

"Because the temple is located in a major commercial area, perhaps you would like Pizza Hutt, IGR or both to set up shop here"

"Really? Where can wesa have available space for usen to rent?"

 

[Kairon Rees]

Lohopa II- Bars
OBJ: Find the Tunnel Snakes HQ
Post 1

[member="Anarya Drast"] [member="Jada Raxis"]

Kairon downed the rest of his beer and left the glass of suds at the bar. As he turned and slid off his stool. He was a tall, broad man and his feet were already almost on the fleet. As he stepped forward Jarrick fell into step behind him. Jarrick would always be the Eriadu sergeant. He followed his captain and kept everything in shape. Especially when the violence started.

A ring had formed around the fight. A young girl backing away from a brute with a pipe. Kairon wasn't a soldier like Jarrick. He'd been brought up on a pirate ship where they made the younger members fight barefist in the galley for entertainment. This was his kind of fight.

A quick appraisal and he could see the way things were heading: escalation. Another man was moving around the ring towards the back of the girl. Kairon could see him waiting for his moment. The girl was quick, but she wouldn't be quick with a limp of muscle wrapped around her shoulders. Kairon moved behind him, grasped him by the back of his jacket and tugged him backwards.

"Take care of that," he said to Jarrick. There was a muffled this behind him that he assumed was the old soldier encouraging the gang member to go away.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Craig Bowler"] Flight Officer [member="Adder"] [member="Naomi Carolina"] [member="Garven Antillies"] [member="Laira Vereen"] [member="Alyce Hawke"] [member="Choli Vyn"] “Smalls” [member="Ben Carlin"] [member="Dex Bastion"] [member="Cale Gunderson"] [member="Devyn Lynton"] [member="Arix Askrima"] [member="Owen Holst"] “Pie” [member="Justinian Atreides"]

A bright streak appeared on his holographic situational awareness display. A warning beep sounded in his left ear. It seemed he was in the firing solution of one of the GA freighters. Asmus pulled aside quickly and abandoned his run on the freighter.

An energy torpedo cut down the path that had been indicated followed by a smattering of ion cannon fire. Asmus turned back in towards the freighter as the firing stopped. Pulled down on the trigger he strafed the ventral hull of the heavy freighter taking out two defensive cannons.

He skimmed the hulled and pulled a full turn as he passed the rear edge of the hull. His thumb flicked the missile control and dumbfired it into the exhaust. A brilliant flash caused him to narrow his eyes and then the ship's engines cut out.

"Alright let's mop up and get back to the mess. I mean debrief."

 

[Ben Carlin]

Rogue: [member="Alyce Hawke"] | [member="Choli Vyn"] | [member="Dex Bastion"] | [member="Cale Gunderson"] | [member="Devyn Lynton"] | [member="Arix Askrima"] | [member="Owen Holst"] | [member="Justinian Atreides"] |
Wraith: [member="Asmus Janes"] | [member="Naomi Carolina"] | [member="Adder"]

He did a spin and a barrel roll trying to break the fighter trailing him, it stuck to him like glue, but he knew he could get him off. They kept the dance up, a left, a right, a spin. He managed to keep out of the sights of the fighter but could feel the pilot behind him desperately trying to take him out. He just had to hold out for a little longer, his window of opportunity was coming in face and he had to be fast enough to use it.

Flying toward the asteroid he ducked under it fast and came over the top before the fighter knew what hit him, a full spray of blaster hit him and blew up the ship before the man could ask what happened. He took a deep breath as he flew back looking around and then looking at his HUD for any targets, he didn't think he saw any until he heard the call, "Alright let's mop up and get back to the mess. I mean debrief."

"Copy that, Rogue Three coming back."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Location: Lohopa II
Objective: Stake Your Claim
Post: 4

"So what is it you wanted to show me?" Taeli asked as she dismounted from her speeder bike. One of her survey team members had asked to meet with her in a remote location several klicks from any other sight of habitation. Even other mines weren't this far out, but the Snivvian had sounded quite excited about whatever they had found. Several Aurora surveyors were walking around the site, setting down marking posts and generally taking readings of whatever lay beneath their feet.

"A massive untapped deposit of doonium," the Snivvian replied. "I understand we just signed an import agreement with Voraci Mining, but this could supply us with our own supplies and without a middleman."

"How much is down there?" she asked, interest piquing.

"Enough to last our ship production lines fifty years," the Snivvian answered, earning a raised eyebrow from Taeli. "We aren't sure how it has avoided detection from any of the mining companies or the Mining Guild, might have to do with their sensors not being up to snuff or no one paying attention to such a remote location."

It wouldn't be the first time Aurora had dabbled in mining, considering the operations on Galantos and Jabiim involved their own mines to fuel their facilities. But doonium was extremely valuable as armor and hull for ships, always had been and likely always would be.

 

[Ugohr Poof]

Objective: A Temple Raised
Loation: Seltos
Allies: GA and friends
Post: 13/25

"At one condition: if we open the temple's bank account with IGR"

"Then yousa need to know a few things: da staff alone will require yousa to maintain a pretty high minimum daily balance. And then yousa will not pay maintenance fees. Then da temple's insurance will also be discounted so long as yousa keep da daily account balance over dat amount"

Even though it may not be realistic to expect the IGR locations on this planet to be built in such short order on Seltos, or to get leases so quickly in Sommin City (despite the rents in Sommin City having nothing on Elrood or Coruscant), Ugohr had a curve thrown at him. Turns out that only the temple's bank account and insurance are the orders of the day. The locals would never, ever expect Jedi to understand the intricacies of financial management; it was a surprise to the officials in charge of the temple's construction to find Jedi that actually understood the upkeep. Because, while the sources of revenue were often donation-based for the Jedi proper, the NJO was opaque at best when it comes to administrative functions, and especially finance-related stuff, was often difficult to get Jedi to do. Sometimes having to outsource administrative duties may not have been for the best.

 

[Miel Tevv]

Location: Lohopa Capital
Objective: Expand Energy Business
Post: 7 (SoroSuub: 1)


"I'm telling you, Voraci was the one!" the excitable Hapan nearly shouted as he gesticulated wildly to emphasize his points, "I had a feeling about that one, and you know I can smell a missed opportunity from parsecs out."

It was outbursts like these that explained why the two executives were dining together in Miel's private quarters here at the highest rate hotel the capital of the mining colony world had to offer. For his own part, Director Miel Tevv of SoroSuub's Public Relations division remained as usual subdued, if not a little bemused at his eccentric colleague and odd sort of mentor in the fields of financial politics and high level economics. Deputy Director Nathanos Darksword was a controversial figure within the upper echelons of the predominantly Sullustan run megacorp, and the rest of the board would have likely thrown such an outsider to the curb long ago if it had not been for his continued intervention on Nathanos' behalf. As the cousin of Admiral Tevv himself, he still had trouble adjusting to his word being tantamount to law ever since he had come back and found his family had a controlling stake in the company that was Sullust, in many ways.

"You may be right, all the data we had on Voraci Mining looked promising indeed," Director Tevv admitted between mouthfuls of judiciously sampled local cuisine, "But we can hardly blame Aurora Industries for being savvy negotiators. Besides, I think you'll like my idea anyway. I believe it has some of your flair to it."

"Go on," Nathanos had just as suddenly calmed down and was now rapt in attention, fidgeting just long enough to light a cigarra before motioning for Miel to continue.

"I brought you to a mining colony, its only fair you would assume we were here to purchase a mine," Miel admitted, grinning wolfishly at the slowly raising eyebrow of his Hapan colleague, "But whats the one thing all these mines need to keep running?"

"Brothels?" Nathanos speculated after a long silence.

Sighing, Miel rolled his eyes, snapped his fingers, and pointed up at the light source above them.

"Power," his right hand blurted out at once, realization suddenly dawning on the near-human.

"And who is one of the biggest power providers in three sectors?" the Sullustan goaded him on.

"I've taught you well, my young apprentice," Darksword managed in a mockingly serious tone, before chuckling, "Who did you have in mind?"

"I've lined up meetings with several of the largest energy providers on the planet in the morning," Miel shrugged, now a little embarrassed at the praise, "I'd like your thoughts before I make a final call."

"How early in the morning?" Nathanos asked warily.

"Late enough," the Director sighed once more.

Beaming back at him, the Hapan downed the rest of his wine in one gulp.

 

[Adder]

Wraith Squadron: [member="Asmus Janes"] | [member="Naomi Carolina"]
Rogue Squadron: [member="Alyce Hawke"] | [member="Choli Vyn"] “Smalls” | [member="Ben Carlin"] | [member="Dex Bastion"] | [member="Cale Gunderson"] | [member="Devyn Lynton"] | [member="Arix Askrima"] | [member="Owen Holst"] “Pie” | [member="Justinian Atreides"]


“Roger, Wingcom,” Adder shot back quick as she prepared herself to take out her pursuer. A mismatched rustbucket had been tailing her in a mad chase around two frigates for near on two minutes now. Whatever mad mind had contrived that fighter and cobbled it together, they knew what they were doing.

She was hard pressed to out-maneuver him – didn’t help that she had to watch out for the pirates’ point defense at the same time.

Shet shet shet

Through a long exhale, Adder killed her main ion engine and shoved downwards with her thrusters. Instead of pitching into a loop, the Limb lost altitude bodily, allowing her to correct her angle of attack in a fraction of a second.

The enemy, unprepared for the crazy stunt, overshot her position – she rewarded him with a laser burst to the ass for his trouble.

His engine spluttered fire, then exploded as it slammed into the hull of the second freighter.

“Rogues, Wraith – we got a window, freighter on my twelve. Hull breach, let’s get them!”

 

[H3xle]

LOCATION: Seltos - En Route
OBJECTIVE: BYOO - Follow the Call
POST: 1

Through the years of service Nicolas had given the Jedi Order, from youngling to master, he has learned many skills. Though the majority of his missions have been as a shadow, however, he was also a capable pilot and soldier. Up until he had stepped into the role of leading a Republic Remnant, he had never really been in the limelight, and he had quickly learned that he despised it in an almost un-Jedi way. In the interim since returning to his work bringing light to the galaxy, leaving the Republic Remnant to settle in an out of the way system, away from traitors and enemies for the time being, he had found a measure of peace.

Through peace he had grown in his connection to the force.

Through that connection, he was now following a calling. He didn't know who, what, or why he was being called, but he followed it none-the-less.

He had left the Azure Star outside the system, not wanting to announce his presence in the system, and taken his interceptor in. He followed the call to the planet Seltos, avoiding the notice of any, if at all possible, and aiming to land in a series of mountains. As he gained the upper atmosphere, he felt the call growing, pulling him closer like a beacon of light in the dark of night.

With the swiftness borne of training and the force, Nicolas brought the interceptor down, and landed.

Leaving the small fighter craft, he slipped down the slope, following the call towards a sheltered valley.

 

[Ugohr Poof]

Objective: A Temple Raised
Loation: Seltos
Allies: GA and friends
Post: 14/25

"Hold on, insurance? You mentioned that we would be getting a discount for insurance if we maintain a sufficient daily account balance?"

"Disen related to yoursa co-pay: yoursa co-pay issa da same as da minimum daily account balance"

"What does your own insurance policy even cover?"

"Disen all-inclusive: wesa need a little help for yoursa to get a quote, but da first item wesa need issa da value of da temple and itsa prospective contents"

While, of course, Ugohr was welcome to ask for the actuary, which is the name they call insurance adjusters internally, he had to try hard not to rely on the actuary to escape. Also, he had the equivalent of a phone-tap on any means of communication he could use while on off-world business. Basically this means that he cannot make the actuary come in person. And, of course, some items fetched higher premiums but others would just be uninsurable, such as warships or other military hardware. Yet a Jedi temple is insurable, even though with greater risks than most other institutional property, short of a planetary parliament, prison or a psychiatric hospital (albeit for different reasons in all three cases). Meanwhile the younglings continued to experiment on telekinesis using rivets on-site, with the construction crews being puzzled as to why they were even doing that in the first place, even though they were still issued hard hats and safety boots - as they should.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Adder"] [member="Ben Carlin"]

There was still some fight in the enemy. The resistance was disorganised now. Some fled for the edges of the gravity well to calculate jumps. Normally this would have forced the Alliance forces to chase them. But the fighter squadrons would only head in those directions to meet the impending arrivals. Several light carriers emerged from hyperspace and launched more fighters to pen them in.

Asmus focused on the craft around Adder. He closed quickly, picking his approach for a clear run with his repeating cannon.

"All squadrons, cease fire. They have - for the most part - surrendered."

"Some are still firing command," Asmus countered.

"Suggest you don't get shot then. Order stands: cease fire. Back off while we surround them and give the last the chance to surrender."

"Copy that. Wraiths, Rogue: the ANS Morteine, Valor class is our ride home." Asmus turned away and made himself a difficult target as he put some space between himself and the few feisty raiders left.

 

[Ben Carlin]

[member="Asmus Janes"] | [member="Adder"]

The ships jumped into space and immediately emptied out their fighters, hearing the comm chatter he moved his way towards them and fought a hole into their formations shooting left and right destroying fighters as he dodged and rolled trying to keep up the pressure on the fighters to make sure that the damaged ships could make it clear of the system.

He saw the Wraith, Asmus and Adder, fight off some of the fighters as he cleared some away off their right side.

"All squadrons, cease fire. They have - for the most part - surrendered."

Hearing this he slightly raised his brow as their fire surrounded his ship.

Before he could respond Asmus was on it saying that their were still ships firing.

"Suggest you don't get shot then. Order stands: cease fire. Back off while we surround them and give the last the chance to surrender."

With a soft sigh he nodded and listened to Asmus as they made their run back to the ANS Morteine. Making himself hard to hit he kept dodging and rolling keeping the fighters off him as he pulled the back of the back staying towards the more damaged fighters making sure they didn't get hit.

 

[H3xle]

Nicolas descended into the valley slowly, moving down a trail that was barely more than a game trail. At points, he had to rely on his mastery of the force to leap from a rock outcropping to another before continuing the trek. He assumed the trip would be doable with modern climbing gear, or even better, with a counter-grav system, but there was something viscerally enjoyable about moving down into the valley using only his balance and skills.

The travel was long, but after a few hours, Nicolas gained the valley floor. As he had seen from above, the valley floor was covered in two types of terrain. His immediate surroundings were a light deciduous forest, but he knew there were area of tall grass further west. The call drew him west and north, and he turned to follow it. The game path that led from the wall of the valley went south and west, so Nicolas quickly found himself off of the trail and hiking in woodland.

Another hour passed, Nicolas ate small bites of the rations he had on him, and drank his water, but did not pause his easy pace. Soon after, Nicolas was forced to pause as he arrived at a sheltered ravine. A swift moving river flowed down it's center, but the call seemed to draw him along it's length. Nicolas thought for a few moments, looking along the stream up to the northwest. The ground rose steadily as the forest crossed the ravine and then faded into grassland, but the river angled up that way at a shallower angle.

"I've come this far, a little water never hurt." He said to himself, while a small part of his mind joked that a lot of water definitely could.

Nicolas began to lower himself down the ravine face. He didn't know how deep the water ran, so jumping in wasn't something he'd like to do. As he climbed down, the face of the wall angled in, creating an overhang. Lower Nicolas climbed, relying on his finger strength and a bit of the force to keep him attached to the wall. Then, Nicolas looked down and saw a catwalk set up deep under the overhang. It was set so that neither side of the opening above would be able to see it without climbing down. New target in sight, Nicolas renewed his descent and quickly gained the catwalk.

He knelt down and examined the catwalk as he massaged his forearms. It looked like standard industrial metal, with good welding work attaching pieces together. The bolts attaching it to the wall, likewise, told him nothing about who may have laid this in. It continued both ways along the river out of sight, so Nicolas turned in the direction of the calling, and began to walk again.